Volume XXXVIII      Issue II      February 2019
Last Trumpet Ministries, PO Box 806, Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Phone: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org

The Creation Travailing In The Days Of Evil

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

"Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned."

"The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again."

"Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will consider the concerning issues now affecting the world and the strange happenings which are occurring in God's creation. The planet earth is shifting, shaking, quaking, and repositioning itself. For example, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Anchorage, Alaska, in late November 2018, and the region has not stopped shaking since. On January 19, 2019, it was reported that 7,800 aftershocks have shaken the Anchorage area since the main earthquake struck with twenty of them having a magnitude of 4.5 or greater. (1)

Meanwhile, according to a recent news report, the magnetic pole of the earth is shifting dramatically, and at speeds that are far greater than normal. "The magnetic pole is moving so quickly that it has forced the world's geomagnetism experts into a rare move," stated the science journal that is known as Nature. This rare move is a recalibration of the World Magnetic Model, which is used to govern navigation at sea and the positioning of communications satellites. The model was originally scheduled for an update in the year 2020, but with the quickening pace of the pole's shifting, an update this year became urgent. "They realized that it was so inaccurate that it was about to exceed the acceptable (safe) limit for navigation errors," the report from Nature further informed. (2) Scientists have known for some time that the magnetic pole of the earth is shifting. In January 2018 National Geographic published an article about this very topic, but the writer downplayed the potential impact of such an event. The article states that the magnetic pole of the earth will likely reverse entirely one day, and when this happens, a compass will indicate that Antarctica is in the north and Canada in the south, leading to confusion for migrating animals. The article further states that during such a reversal the earth will be more susceptible to high levels of radiation, and thus, humanity could suffer from higher rates of diseases such as cancer. (3)

The rapid shift of the earth's magnetic pole calls to mind Isaiah 24:19-20, which tells us, "The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again." Without a doubt, we see the creation travailing under the weight of sin and wickedness. It is painfully evident that the world today desperately needs a Saviour. Thankfully, we know who to turn to in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1-3 reassures, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah." I urge every reader of this newsletter to repent of your sins if you have not yet done so and dedicate your life to God. In so doing, you will find that despite the troubling times we live in, He is always with you.

Socialism Rising In American Government

In the months leading up to the 2016 Presidential election in the United States, most of the attention was given to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton who lost, and Republican candidate Donald Trump who won. However, prior to Hillary Clinton securing the nomination as the Democrats' candidate for President, she was challenged by an eccentric Senator from Vermont by the name of Bernie Sanders. Sanders was well-liked among Millennials, and if not for some behind-the-scenes rigging by Clinton and the Democratic Party, he may have been more successful in his bid to become President of the United States. Senator Sanders is a Democratic Socialist, and his popularity with young people served as an indicator that socialism is rising in the United States. Indeed, a poll published in January 2019 found that 40 percent of Democrats who responded indicated that it would be a "good thing" for the United States to move toward socialism. (4)

During the midterm elections of 2018, the United States saw many new faces come to power in Washington, D.C. In total, there are 111 new members in Congress including 10 new Senators and 101 new Representatives. (5) One of the notable new faces in Washington is Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from the state of Michigan. Tlaib, who is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, is the first Muslim woman to serve in the United States Congress. (6) On January 3, 2019, her very first day in office, Tlaib made headlines when she referred to the American President as an unrepeatable vulgarity and vowed to impeach him. (7) Also of note, Tlaib is a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America. (8)

Tlaib is not the only new socialist in American government. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who at the age of 29 is the youngest woman to ever be sworn into Congress, is also an avowed socialist. Formerly, she worked as an organizer for the Bernie Sanders campaign, (9) and it is abundantly clear that this young Representative from New York is hungry for power. In fact, the young woman has a plan to completely transform the United States of America. Ocasio-Cortez has proposed a plan that she calls the "Green New Deal." This plan calls for the "installation of a national, energy-efficient 'smart grid,'" "upgrading every residential and industrial building for state-of-the-art energy efficiency," and the "elimination of greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing, agricultural and other industries." (10)

If this plan were implemented, every gasoline-powered vehicle would be taken off the road, and every American would be forced to accept "upgrades" to their homes whether they want them or not. Such endeavors would cost an exorbitant amount of money. In fact, the "Green New Deal" would cost an estimated 49 trillion dollars within the first ten years. (11) To help pay for her new deal, Ocasio-Cortez has proposed increasing taxes on the wealthy to 70 percent. (12) It stands to reason that the wealthy would not be wealthy very long after such increases, and I have a feeling that taxes would eventually rise for the middle class, too.

Oddly enough, despite the fact that Ocasio-Cortez has accomplished nothing as of yet, she likens herself to former American Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt while also labeling herself a "radical." "I think it's only ever been radicals who have changed this country. Abraham Lincoln made the radical decision to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Franklin Delano Roosevelt made the radical decision to embark on establishing programs like Social Security. That's radical," Ocasio-Cortez insisted. She further went on to say, "You know if that's what radical means, call me a radical." (13)

Ocasio-Cortez is wildly popular among young people and has a large following online. However, she is not well liked by some members of her own Democratic Party. Evidently, former Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman is unimpressed with the young lawmaker. "I certainly hope she's not the future and I don't believe she is," Lieberman said. In response, Ocasio-Cortez publically mocked Lieberman on the social networking website known as Twitter. (14) We are beginning to see the type of individuals who are now rising to power, and one can only wonder, will there someday be a socialist President of the United States? Thankfully, Ocasio-Cortez is too young to run for President in 2020. The United States Constitution requires the President of the United States to be at least thirty-five years old.

A Heartbreaking New Law

In 1973 abortion became legal in the United States. For as long as abortion has been legal, God-fearing people have opposed the barbaric practice. The battle has been ongoing, and numerous attempts have been made to stem the flow of innocent blood in this country. In recent months the state of Iowa has sought to enact a "fetal heartbeat bill" that would have made it illegal for women to procure an abortion after her baby's heartbeat could be detected. The fact that this law was passed in the spring of 2018 enraged abortion proponents because women usually do not even know that they are pregnant at the time a baby's heartbeat is first detectable. The law essentially banned most abortions in the state of Iowa. However, it was announced in January 2019 that Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert had struck down the new law, ruling that it was "unconstitutional." (15) In the past, other states such as North Dakota and Arkansas have attempted to enact similar laws. In every case, these laws have been ruled "unconstitutional" by judges. (16)

Newly-elected Ohio Governor Mike DeWine stated in January 2019 that he intends to sign a heartbeat bill in his state. Naturally, he fully expects that Planned Parenthood will challenge it, but he has expressed hope that the case will eventually go to the United States Supreme Court. (17) Given the fact that every other state that has attempted to implement such a law has been shot down, it truly would be a miracle if the law stood in Ohio.

Even as some American states are fighting to preserve the lives of innocent babies, the state of New York has taken a drastically different path. On January 22, 2019, a new law was passed in New York that allows women to have an abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy up to the day of birth. This law radically changes the definition of a "person" to simply mean "a human being who has been born and is alive." (18) In other words, a fully-grown nine-month-old infant is not considered a person unless he or she has been born! To make it even easier for a woman to have her baby murdered, the new law allows non-doctors to perform abortions. (19) Even more sickening, the law also removes an old regulation that required a doctor to be on-hand during abortions to render medical care to babies who survive the brutal abortion procedure and are born alive. The repealed law states, "When an abortion is to be performed after the twentieth week of pregnancy, a physician other than the physician performing the abortion shall be in attendance to take control of and to provide immediate medical care for any live birth that is the result of the abortion." (20) Without this provision, it is now legal for doctors in New York to simply allow babies to die even when they miraculously survive.

On January 22, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo celebrated the new law, writing in a message on Twitter, "Today I signed the Reproductive Health Act - codifying Roe V. Wade into state law and protecting women's reproductive rights no matter what the federal government does. This is a victory for all New Yorkers." (21) Governor Cuomo also ordered that the spire atop the One World Trade Center be lit pink to "celebrate this achievement and shine a bright light forward for the rest of the nation to follow." (22)

In Isaiah 5:20 we find a stern warning, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" We are living in a time period today where there are people who are doing this very thing. The moral compass of Andrew Cuomo is so askew that he actually believes his allowance of infanticide is virtuous. Yet, God sees the treacherous deeds of Governor Cuomo and the lawmakers of New York. Jeremiah 2:34-35 tells us, "Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned."

The people continue to shed innocent blood and believe their evil deeds are good. In fact, I have heard numerous stories from women indicating that their doctors tried to coerce them into having abortions. Such was the case when my mother-in-law was pregnant with the baby who would one day grow up and become my wife. The doctors told my mother-in-law that she was too old to have a baby and that her child would be born with Down syndrome. They were wrong. My wife does not have Down syndrome, and if the doctors had gotten their way, she never would have been born. The men and women who promote abortion will have to give an account for their actions on Judgment Day. It will not be pleasant.

A Manifesting Spirit Of Blasphemy

The entertainment industry in the United States has often been an outlet for darkened souls to unleash their depraved creativity on the world. This is truer now than it ever has been before. Without question, there are many celebrities in Hollywood who are extraordinarily anti-God. One such person is an actor by the name of Christian Bale. The actor, who is known for his role as Batman in numerous films, also played another famous character in a 2014 movie entitled "Exodus: Gods and Kings." In this movie, Bale played the Biblical character of Moses. However, the actor was clearly unimpressed by the man whom he was portraying. Speaking of Moses, Bale was quoted as saying, "I think the man was likely schizophrenic and was one of the most barbaric individuals that I ever read about in my life." He further went on to say, "He was a very troubled, tumultuous man and mercurial. But the biggest surprise was the nature of God. He was equally very mercurial." (23) It should be noted that one dictionary definition of the word "mercurial" is: "changeable; volatile; fickle; flighty; erratic," (24) - Everything that God is not.

Clearly, Bale does not think highly of Moses or of God. In 2019 the actor won a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of former American Vice-President Dick Cheney in a film called "Vice." Standing before his audience, clad in black apparel, Bale nonchalantly stated, "Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration for playing this role." (25) While some may believe he was simply joking, even if that is true, there are some things that should never be joked about. In response to Bale's offering of thanksgiving to the devil, the Church of Satan wrote on their Twitter website, "To us, Satan is a symbol of pride, liberty and individualism, and it serves as an external metaphorical projection of our highest personal potential. As Mr. Bale's own talent and skill won him the award, this is fitting." (26)

At this present time, one of the most popular entertainment providers in the United States is a company known as Netflix. Netflix uses their online platform to stream movies and television shows to millions of homes around the world. Some of their content strikes a rather dark tone, including a television show entitled "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina." The show, which is said to be a creepier version of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," recently landed Netflix in hot water along with Warner Brothers, the company that produces the show. Some episodes of the show used a satanic goat-headed statue of Baphomet that bears a striking resemblance to a statue made by an organization based in Salem, Massachusetts, known as the Satanic Temple. The Satanic Temple sued Netflix and Warner Brothers for copyright infringement and the case has now been settled. As part of the settlement, the Satanic Temple will be acknowledged by Netflix in the credits of the show. (27) One can only ponder, how bad must a show be if its producers get sued by Satanists for copyright infringement?

The Satanic Temple has gained a reputation for being a disruptor, and amazingly enough, the group was allowed to place a monument at the Illinois state capital building in Springfield, Illinois, to celebrate the holidays in 2018. Placed alongside a Christmas tree and Jewish menorah, the monument features a woman's arm with a snake coiled around it while holding an apple in her hand. The monument's plaque states, "Knowledge is the greatest gift." (28) Speaking of this development, David Druker, who is a spokesman for the Secretary of State's office in Illinois, was quoted as saying, "If you allow people to convey some messages then you need to be consistent. And the message itself - knowledge is the greatest gift - I don't know that there is much controversy with that." (29) The monument is based on the Biblical story of Adam and Eve who were the world's first people. A serpent beguiled Eve and convinced her to eat of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden claiming that in so doing she would have the "knowledge of good and evil." Yet, she and her husband Adam already had a knowledge of good because everything in the garden was good. All that was to be gained by this act of rebellion was knowledge of evil. Sadly, this knowledge of evil has been compounding human misery for thousands of years.

Another form of entertainment that is wildly popular today is the comic book. Comic books are loved by teenagers and adults alike, and numerous Hollywood movies are adapted from comic books each year. In January 2019 it was announced that DC Comics, which is famous for introducing characters such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, is planning to release a new comic book in the coming months entitled "Second Coming." In this blasphemous publication, Jesus Christ will be depicted as a failure who has to learn how to be successful from a real hero named "Sun-Man." "Witness the return of Jesus Christ, as He is sent on a most holy mission by God to learn what it takes to be the true messiah of mankind by becoming roommates with the world's favorite savior: the all-powerful superhero Sun-Man, the last son of Krispex!" declares the plot summary. The comic book's writer, Mark Russell, explained the premise as follows: "The concept is that God was so upset with Jesus' performance the first time he came to Earth since he was arrested so soon and crucified shortly after, that he has kept him locked up since then. God then sees this superhero on Earth a few thousand years later and says, 'that's what I wanted for you!'" (30) The fact that the supposed "all-powerful" superhero is named "Sun-Man" is no accident. Many pagan cultures have worshipped the sun as a deity for thousands of years. The so-called sun god has been known by many different names over the millennia including the Egyptian name Ra, the Greek names Apollo or Helios, and the Roman name Sol. The ancient Canaanites mentioned in the Bible called their sun deity Baal. As Christians, we know that these so-called deities are really just devils in disguise. This point is made in Deuteronomy 32:17 which tells us, "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." Thus, this comic book will depict Jesus Christ as inferior to a devil. This is rank blasphemy!

Needless to say, Christian people need to exercise the utmost caution when consuming entertainment. Much of what is displayed in movies, television shows, and other forms of media such as comic books is profoundly anti-God. We are admonished by the Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 5:22, "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

In closing, there is so much more that could be said about our world's present condition. As usual, the wars and rumors of wars are in full swing. The Israeli State and Iran are trading threats back and forth and soon could be at war. The dissolution of nuclear arms treaties between the United States and Russia again raises the specter of a nuclear conflict. The Chinese government has hinted in recent weeks that they may be putting their large army to use. On January 2, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the reunification of China with Taiwan whether Taiwan likes it or not. Xi said during his speech that he cannot "promise to renounce the use of force" and pledged to "reserve the option to use all necessary measures" to quash Taiwan's independence. (31) Even more worrisome, China has threatened to attack the United States' military. Speaking at a conference on December 20, 2018, Chinese Rear Admiral Lou Yuan suggested that the Chinese military could sink two American aircraft carriers, which would lead to 10,000 American casualties. Admiral Lou was then quoted as saying, "We'll see how frightened America is." (32)

When we consider the evil that is permeating the entire world today, it becomes all the more urgent that God's people stay awake and pay attention to what is happening all around us. In Ephesians 5:14-16 we are instructed, "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

Thank you all for your kind support of this ministry. We appreciate you and thank God that we are able to serve you. If you have any prayer requests, you are invited, as always, to send them our way. We know that our God sees us from heaven and hears our prayers. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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