Volume XXXVII      Issue IX      September 2018
Last Trumpet Ministries, PO Box 806, Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Phone: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org

The Spirit Of Darkness And The Storms Of This Life

"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."

"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD."

In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will once again examine the current events of our day and a world struggling against the spirit of darkness and the storms of this life. The news headlines of today describe our world in a manner that could quite accurately be called apocalyptic. Against the backdrop of drought, famine, flooding, wildfires, and heatwaves, we see the masses floundering about as they toil to find hope and meaning in their lives. In the July 2018 issue of this newsletter, I reported that a growing number of Americans are suffering from a condition known as "news fatigue." This condition, brought about by an oversaturation of news coverage, has led to fear, anxiety, and hopelessness amongst the masses. Now a report has surfaced claiming that people are also suffering from "compassion fatigue." The article, which was published by The Guardian on August 2, 2018, suggests that an overabundance of negative press coverage has destroyed the ability of many Americans to feel empathy and compassion. (1) The article quotes psychologist Charles Figley who defines compassion fatigue as "a state of exhaustion and dysfunction, biologically, physiologically and emotionally, as a result of prolonged exposure to compassion stress." The condition is said to lead to a "decreased sense of purpose." (2) In light of this article, I find it highly interesting that Jesus, speaking of the days leading up to His return, warns us in Matthew 24:10-12, "And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." This description from our Saviour sounds very much like the time period we live in today. People are constantly offended, the United States is saturated with unrelenting hatred, and now people are losing their ability to feel compassion one toward another.

So much of what we see and hear today is designed to steal our hope. For example, filmmaker Michael Moore, who is known for such documentaries as "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11," recently declared that the American people need to abandon hope. "Hope is passive. Hope gives you permission to let someone else do the work… Hope, and the passivity that comes with it, is what helped get us here to begin with. It's the lazy way out. We don't need hope. We need action," Moore insisted. (3) Moore was speaking to a reporter for the liberal rag known as the Huffington Post in promotion of his documentary motion picture he has titled "Fahrenheit 11/9." The film, which lambasts current American President Donald Trump, even makes the bold statement that Trump will be the last president of the United States. (4) Thus, we have a filmmaker predicting the end of our young country, which has only existed for 242 years. It is not an uncommon attitude, and Moore's tirade against hope is a direct contradiction to the inspiring words of the Apostle Paul who wrote under the inspiration of God in Romans 5:1-5, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Regardless of who is president, prime minister, king, queen, or dictator, it does not change the fact that our hope is in God. Our God neither slumbers nor sleeps, and He certainly does not suffer from compassion fatigue. Unlike man, His compassions fail not. For as it tells us in Lamentations 3:22-26, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD." I urge every reader of this newsletter to repent of your sins if you have not yet done so, dedicate your life to God, and fully put your trust in Him. He is our source of hope!

America's Greatest Sin

It is with reluctance I find myself once again writing about America's greatest sin. However, recent events have transpired which God's people need to be aware of so that we can be informed on how to direct our prayers. In ancient times the Israelites often found themselves in dire straits because the people had been lured into false worship and servitude to devils. The scriptures tell us that false deities such as Baal and Molech were actually devils in disguise. This fact is proven in Deuteronomy 32:16-17 which tells us, "They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not." False worship to these deities required reprehensible acts, including the act of child sacrifice, which the Israelites would perform in the hope of ensuring prosperity. Today, people all over the world, and especially in the United States, are still sacrificing their children for the cause of prosperity using a method known as abortion. This is a fact that absolutely delights Chelsea Clinton, who is the daughter of former American President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary. Speaking at an event known as "Rise Up for Roe" in August 2018, Chelsea Clinton told her audience, "American women entering the labor force from 1973 to 2009 added three and a half trillion dollars to our economy. The net, new entrance of women - that is not disconnected from the fact that Roe became the law of the land in January of 1973." (5) Thus, in Clinton's warped mind, abortion has had a positive influence on the American economy because it has allowed women to participate in the American workforce unencumbered by children. Jesus told us that a day would come when children would be viewed as a burden rather than a blessing when He warned us in Luke 23:29, "For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck."

Sadly, not only is the barbaric practice of abortion far too common in this day and age, but many women who have undergone the procedure are proud of it. In the July 2018 issue of O Magazine, which is published by Oprah Winfrey, the so-called "Inspiration" section features an interview with a woman named Amelia Bonow. This woman became famous after she started a movement that encouraged women to "shout" their abortions on the social networking websites known as Twitter and Facebook. (6) Since 2015 when the movement began, more than 300,000 messages boasting of women getting abortions have been posted on Twitter. Videos have also been made in which one woman bragged that her abortion was "gentle, irreverent, and empowering." (7) Other words used by women to describe their abortions include "female-power witchy" and a "sacred taking of agency." (8) Make no mistake, these women are bragging of murder, and Oprah Winfrey is promoting their movement.

As sickening as it is to hear women bragging of their abortions, it is even worse to hear pastors at so-called churches promoting abortion, too. Yet, a church in Santa Cruz, California, has announced plans to open a restaurant and brewery that will donate a portion of its proceeds to Planned Parenthood. "We hope to be an absolute conundrum for people walking by. A church that serves beer and gives the profits away to places like Planned Parenthood is really exciting to me," the "pastor" of the church said. (9)

Meanwhile, an ice cream shop in Portland, Oregon, has partnered with the National Abortion Rights Action League, or NARAL. As a result of this partnership, a new limited edition ice cream flavor has been concocted to honor abortion. The flavor is called Rocky Roe v. Wade (10), and the proceeds from the sale of this devilish ice cream will be used to fight against pro-life efforts. "Order yours now and help defend reproductive freedom," NARAL wrote in a message on Twitter. (11) It has become evident that those who call themselves "pro-choice" not only support the taking of innocent lives through abortion, but they enjoy it.

Sadly, it seems that even Republican lawmakers who espouse to be pro-life advocates are not taking the battle against abortion seriously enough. This became obvious on August 23, 2018, when the Republican-controlled United States Congress voted in favor of an appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services that if passed by the House of Representatives would not only continue to provide federal funding for the mass-murder organization known as Planned Parenthood, but would also provide government funding for research that uses aborted babies in experiments. (12) Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, protested the federal funding for Planned Parenthood and asked the members of the Senate to vote on an amendment that would defund Planned Parenthood. "The public has long known that the Democrats are the abortion party. Now the public will know that many Republicans just give lip service to pro-life issues and are really more concerned with bloated government spending than with saving lives," Senator Paul declared. His proposal to defund Planned Parenthood failed, with 45 votes in favor of it and 48 votes opposed. The amendment needed sixty votes to pass. (13)

Conservatives in the United States are hoping that with the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the American Supreme Court, there will be a possibility that the disastrous Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, which made abortion legal in this country, might finally be overturned. However, according to a recent news report, Kavanaugh considers the Roe v. Wade decision to be "settled law," and therefore, it is unlikely that it will be overturned. "We talked about whether he considered Roe to be settled law. He said that he agreed with what Justice Roberts said at his nomination hearing, at which he said that it was settled law," said Republican Senator Susan Collins. (14) This is highly disappointing. In any case, God will hold those responsible for the treacherous sin of abortion accountable on Judgment Day regardless of what man may call settled law.

Scandal And Abuse In The Roman Catholic Church

In recent decades, there have been many accusations of abuse and misconduct within the Roman Catholic Church. Each allegation was met with shock and outrage from critics, but throngs of Catholics remained faithful to their religion. Now more reports are surfacing, and it has become an undeniable fact that abuse is rife within Roman Catholicism. These are not merely isolated incidents, but rather evidence of a systemic sickness within the religion.

In August 2018, a special grand jury report was released which reveals that 301 priests in the American state of Pennsylvania have been accused of molestation and sexual abuse. The victims of this abuse were often young boys, which reveals a disturbing homosexual pedophiliac tendency among members of the Catholic priesthood. Speaking of the report, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro was quoted as saying, "Pennsylvanians can finally learn the extent of sexual abuse in these dioceses. For the first time, we can all begin to understand the systematic cover up by the church leaders that followed. The abuse scarred every diocese. The cover up was sophisticated. The church protected the institution at all costs." (15) Not only did members of the Catholic priesthood commit these vile acts, but their superiors went out of the way to hide the scandals, choosing to protect the reputation of their organization rather than the children who had been violated. The report, which is 884 pages, begins with the words, "We the members of this grand jury need you to hear this. We know some of you have heard some of it before. There have been other reports about child sex abuse within the Roman Catholic Church. But never on this scale. For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace away. Now we know the truth: it happened everywhere." (16) According to the report, more than one thousand children in the state of Pennsylvania have been abused by priests since the 1940s. (17) Considering the fact that this report only covers one state, we can only wonder how much more abuse has been committed in other states and elsewhere around the world.

In another example of disgusting behavior, former Archbishop of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, was forced to resign from the College of Cardinals on June 20, 2018, after it was revealed that he had abused at least one underage altar boy and other young men. (18) To make matters worse, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who was an ambassador from the Vatican to Washington, D.C., from 2011 until 2016, wrote a scathing letter in August 2018 indicating that Pope Francis had long known about the sins of McCarrick and chose to take no action. (19) The letter also accused Roman Catholic officials of conspiring to keep silent and cover up the systemic abuse in the Catholic Church. "Bishops and priests, abusing their authority, have committed horrendous crimes to the detriment of their faithful, minors, innocent victims, and young men eager to offer their lives to the Church, or by their silence have not prevented that such crimes continue to be perpetrated," Vigano wrote. He further went on to write, "… If we truly want to free the Church from the fetid swamp into which she has fallen, we must have the courage to tear down the culture of secrecy and publicly confess the truths we have kept hidden. We must tear down the conspiracy of silence with which bishops and priests have protected themselves at the expense of their faithful…" Vigano concluded his letter by calling on Pope Francis to resign. (20) When questioned by a reporter, Pope Francis declined to comment on the letter. "I will say sincerely that I must say this, to you (the reporter) and all of you who are interested: Read the document carefully and judge it for yourselves. I will not say one word on this. I think the statement speaks for itself and you have sufficient journalistic ability to reach your own conclusions," the Pope said. (21) It is quite interesting that Francis chose not to deny the allegation. Although he would not comment on the letter specifically, he did beg for forgiveness at a speech given in Ireland on August 26, 2018. "None of us can fail to be moved by the stories of young people who suffered abuse, were robbed of their innocence and left scarred. This open wound challenges us to be firm and decisive in the pursuit of truth and justice. I beg forgiveness for these sins and for the scandal and betrayal felt by so many others in God's family," Francis pleaded. (22)

The seemingly never ending scandals plaguing the Catholic Church are starting to have a profound impact. "This has been the summer from hell for the Catholic Church, and our sins are blatantly exposed for the world to see," said Vatican adviser Thomas Rosica. (23) Many angry Catholics are seriously considering leaving the religion according to the Washington Post. "A lot of Catholics, we have to ask whether we have wasted our lives following this model of leadership. At this point, the (church) leadership in this country is not credible. The repeated scandals make it difficult or even impossible to pass the faith on to our kids… I think about it every hour," said writer Paul Elie. (24) Patricia McGuire, who is the president of Trinity Washington University, has a similar opinion. "It's almost unsalvageable. The church is in pieces. People have completely separated their faith from the organization," she said. (25)

Homosexuality And Transgenderism On The Rise

If it seems like the United States of America today is a vastly different country than you remember from your childhood, it is not just your imagination. At the forefront of society in modern America are LGBTQ issues. LGBTQ is an acronym which denotes people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning. While homosexuals have existed throughout human history, never before have they been so bold and open, especially in the United States. As such, legislation was introduced by Democratic Senators in late July 2018 that if passed will force the United States Census Bureau to ask the American people questions regarding their sexual orientation and gender identity. (26) Meanwhile, the Census Bureau announced in March 2018 that forms for the forthcoming census of 2020 will include new options that allow participants to indicate if they are in a same-sex or opposite-sex relationship. (27) The fact that these forms are being modified and rules for data collection are changing is an indicator that a growing percentage of the American people are now homosexual. This is especially true amongst young people. According to research conducted by Ipsos Mori and published in July 2018, only two-thirds of all members of Generation Z identify as heterosexual, or straight. Hannah Shrimpton, one of the authors of the study, said that this research indicates a "hugely greater exposure to communications on the variety of lifestyles available to young people today through social technology." She further went on to say, "In particular, this generation of young has grown up at a time when gender as a simple binary and fixed identity has been questioned much more widely - this is new, and will affect wider views of gender, sexuality, and much broader aspects of identity." (28) It seems that years of indoctrination at public schools and entertainment programming on television and in movies has been effective in reshaping the minds of young people. Generation Z is classified as those who were born between the years 1995 and 2010. (29)

In another indicator of the changing times, the Democratic nominee for governor in the state of Vermont is none other than Christine Hailquist, an individual who was born male and now claims to be female. (30) Hailquist has shown himself to be unabashedly anti-Christian, and he has a long history of criticizing those who adhere to Biblical standards. For example, in one message posted on Twitter, Hailquist complained that, "Radicalized Christians are a part of the American landscape, and we tolerate it." (31) One can only wonder what this individual might do if he becomes the governor of Vermont.

Amid the prevalence of homosexuality and transgenderism in the United States, a spirit of blasphemy has risen up. As such, a number of colleges and universities in this country are now offering highly offensive courses. For example, Eugene Lang College in New York City is offering a course called "Queering and Decolonizing Theology," which will also teach about so-called "transgender christs." (32) Harvard Divinity School is offering a course on "Queer Theologies, Queer Religions." The course description states: "We will consider the boundaries between queer theology and queer theory or between it and other political theologies. We will test the boundaries of 'Christianity' while considering the varied forms of queer religion outside familiar religious institutions…" (33) Even more perverse, Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, is offering a course entitled "Queering the Bible." The class description states that it "destabilizes long held assumptions about the Bible - and religion - says about gender and sexuality." (34) One thing is certain, students will leave these classrooms worse off than when they entered them.

Nowadays, young people are taught that they can be whatever they want to be and can even choose their own gender. As such, some people claim to be male, female, or gender non-conforming. One man in Canada recently decided to use this liberal mindset to his advantage. Upon purchasing a new automobile, the man contacted his insurance company and was perturbed to find that his insurance rate would be 1,100 dollars less per year if he was a woman. So he acquired a note from his doctor and wrote to the Canadian government requesting that he be reclassified as a woman. Although the man had done nothing to change his appearance and does not present nor act as a female, the Canadian government approved his request, and declared him to be a woman. "It was pretty simple. I just basically asked for it and said that I identify as a woman, or I'd like to identify as a woman," the man recounted. He further went on to say, "I was quite shocked but I was also relieved. I felt like I beat the system. I felt like I won." After his gender change, the cost of his automobile insurance was lowered considerably. (35) I realize that this story sounds like fake news, but numerous media outlets reported it including the New York Post, (36) the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and CBS News. (37) The world is becoming a very strange place.

In closing, we are no doubt living in a time of great peril. A recently released picture from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, shows that much of our planet is literally on fire. This includes regions in North America, South America, Africa, and even Australia. (38) Australia is currently in the clutches of a severe drought, which has made wildfires and bushfires worse, despite the fact that it is presently winter there. "For large areas in the north and west, bushfire season has been brought forward a whole two months to August - well into winter, which officially began 1 June. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the January to July period 2018 was the warmest in NSW (New South Wales) since 1910," states an article published by NASA. (39) Aerial images of the land in Australia's drought stricken regions are astonishing, with large swaths of land completely dried out, cracked, and crumbling. A report by Reuters News Service called the drought a "cancer eating away at farms." (40)

Wildfires in the American state of California have been tremendously severe this year. As of this writing, there have been 5,319 wildfires in California, which have consumed 1,227,472 acres of land. (41) The Carr Fire, which began on July 23, 2018, and is located in Shasta and Trinity Counties of California, has destroyed 1,079 residences, 22 commercial structures, and 503 outbuildings while many more were damaged. (42) The Mendocino Complex Fire, which is located near the city of Ukiah in northern California, has destroyed 157 residences and burned 402,468 acres of land. (43)

Europe is suffering, too. Recent weeks have brought a heatwave and numerous wildfires. In late July 2018, wildfires in the Attica region of Greece caused the death of 97 people. (44) In late August 2018, a wildfire the size of 500 soccer fields broke out near Klausdorf, Germany. Battling the flames in this region has been especially precarious for firefighters because buried ammunition from World War II has been exploding. "The ammunition is very dangerous, because one cannot step on the ground, and therefore one cannot get close to the fire," Brandenburg state's governor said. (45)

Even as some areas of the world suffer from severe drought and wildfires, other regions have suffered from extraordinary amounts of rain. For example, India's Kerala state is presently suffering from its worst flooding in a century with 800,000 people displaced and 350 people confirmed dead. (46) In the American state of Hawaii, Tropical Storm Lane, which had been a hurricane before making landfall, dropped more than forty inches of rain on the state's Big Island. (47) A large portion of my home state of Wisconsin has experienced flash flooding over the course of the last week with some nearby areas receiving nine or more inches of rain. (48)

Much more could be written but it is evident that our world is suffering as humanity battles both natural and spiritual storms. Thankfully, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, promised that if we build our lives on His teachings, we will be able to withstand the storms. In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus tells us, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."

Thank you all for your kind support of this ministry. Please remember that we are here to pray for you if you need prayer. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.