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

The World Buckling Under Pressure

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

"In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will examine the events of our time which undeniably show that we are moving ever closer to our world's final day. Students of the Bible know that when our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, left this world in bodily form He made a promise that He would return the same way He left. As the disciples of Jesus watched Him ascend into heaven, two angels appeared and told them in Acts 1:11, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Since that day there have always been a people looking, waiting, and watching for our Saviour's return. However, far more people over the course of the last two thousand years have refused to believe this core tenet of the Bible. This controversy was addressed by the Apostle Peter in II Peter 3:3-4 which tells us, "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." Peter then goes on to remind us in verse 8 "that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." Finally, he emphatically informs in verse 10, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."

In this strange period of time in which we now live, the masses are still reluctant to believe that Jesus Christ is going to return. Yet, in a peculiar twist, a growing number of scientists, politicians, and even celebrities have expressed a belief that this world is growing closer to reaching its end. Earlier this year, reports surfaced indicating that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is a Democrat from New York, issued a statement declaring that there were only twelve years remaining to save the earth from climate change. In response, the Washington Post published an article on January 24, 2019, with the headline "Ocasio-Cortez says the world will end in 12 years. She is absolutely right." (1) Remarkably, the timeline for the earth's demise was moved up considerably in July 2019 when BBC News published an even bolder headline stating, "Climate Change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months." The piece quotes Charles, Prince of Wales, who said, "I am firmly of the view that the next 18 months will decide our ability to keep climate change to survivable levels and to restore nature to the equilibrium we need for our survival." (2) The article also cites Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, who is the founder of the Potsdam Climate Institute. He was quoted as saying, "The climate math is brutally clear: While the world can't be healed within the next few years, it may be fatally wounded by negligence until 2020." (3) In other words, it is believed that if drastic steps are not taken by the end of the year 2020 to curb climate change, it will be too late and the planet will be beyond the point of no return. These warnings, which are plastered all over the mainstream news, sound rather bleak and hopeless. Scripture reveals to us, however, that our great hope is not in this world, but our faith is in God that He will get us to our home with Him. It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul write in I Corinthians 15:19, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

When we read today's news headlines, it is no wonder that so many people are concerned about climate change and are, in fact, miserable. Last winter brought a polar vortex that chilled the Midwestern United States. Springtime brought massive flooding and a barrage of tornadoes. The summer season we are presently in has brought heatwaves, earthquakes, wildfires, and storms. Yet, what most people see as signs of irreversible manmade climate change, I see as signs that we are drawing ever closer to the return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. As such, we continue to watch. For as Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:13, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

Scorched With A Great Heat

With the summer season comes the expectation of warmer temperatures. Typically, the months of July and August are the warmest months of the year in the United States. However, what we have seen in July 2019 is unusual to say the least. On July 19, 2019, through July 21, 2019, a record-breaking heatwave held the American Midwest and East Coast in its clutches. It was so hot that ninety-four million Americans in twenty-three states were under heat advisories and warnings during this period. After accounting for humidity, numerous cities across the country had temperatures that felt like they were well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. (37.8 degrees Celsius.) This includes Chicago, Illinois, where it felt like 107 degrees, Boston Massachusetts, where it felt like 107 degrees, Baltimore, Maryland, where it felt like 107 degrees, Kansas City, Missouri, where it felt like 109 degrees, Hartford Connecticut, where it felt like 110 degrees, and the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., where it felt like 108 degrees. (4) Accuweather noted that the temperature and humidity in Washington made the city feel almost as hot as Death Valley, California, which is notoriously known as one of the hottest places in the United States. (5) It was also hot in Omaha, Nebraska, where staff members of the National Weather Service took advantage of the temperature and baked biscuits in a car on July 17, 2019. The biscuits were declared to be edible after eight hours of baking in the scorching heat. (6)

It was hotter than usual even in places where you would not expect it to be. This includes the nation's 49th state, Alaska, which no doubt evokes images of chilly temperatures and snow-capped mountains in the minds of most Americans. On July 4, 2019, Anchorage, Alaska, reached a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time in history. (7) The warmer than usual temperatures have made the vast state an ideal place for wildfires, and as such, much of the uninhabited land in Alaska is now on fire. (8) Other regions of the Arctic are also experiencing a higher than usual amount of wildfires including areas of Siberia, Scandinavia, and Greenland. As of July 26, 2019, there are hundreds of these fires burning according to BBC News. (9)

Meanwhile, the European continent has had not one but two heatwaves this summer. The first occurred in June 2019 during which a new all-time high temperature of 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded in France. (10) Just one month later, the scorching heat would return to Europe. On July 25, 2019, the city of Paris, France, set a new all-time high record temperature at 42.6 degrees Celsius. (108.7 degrees Fahrenheit.) On the same day, temperatures in the Netherlands reached 40.7 degrees Celsius (105.2 F), and 42.6 degrees Celsius in Germany. (11) Finally, with a reading of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 F), the United Kingdom recorded its second-highest ever temperature in Cambridge. (12)

Like so many other places, Australia has experienced heatwaves in recent times, too. These high temperatures are also accompanied by devastatingly dry conditions. A recent news article from Australia calls the present drought a "one in 120-year super drought" and reports that the last adequate rainfall in the country fell in 2016. (13)

In an Associated Press report dated July 17, 2019, it was claimed that June 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded for the world. The report then suggests that the month of July 2019 may topple the record just one month after it was set. As would be expected, the news reports tell us this is climate change. "Earth is running a fever that won't break thanks to climate change. This won't be the last record warm summer month that we will see," declared Kathie Dello, a climatologist from North Carolina. (14) Yet, if people would open their Bibles and turn to Revelation, chapter 16, they would find a scenario that is eerily similar to what is happening right now. Revelation 16:8-9 informs, "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory."

A Fearful Sight

Most of the time, when an object from outer space, such as a meteor or an asteroid, is approaching the earth, astronomers know about it well in advance. However, on July 25, 2019, the scientific community was surprised to learn that an asteroid came dangerously close to our planet, and amazingly, they were not even tracking it. "It struck up on us pretty quickly," stated Michael Brown, a professor in Australia from the Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy. He later went on to say, "People are only sort of realizing what happened pretty much after it's already flung past us." (15) The asteroid, which is now known as "Asteroid 2019 OK," came within 45,000 miles of earth, and with an estimated diameter of between 187 to 427 feet, it would have caused significant damage. "If the asteroid had struck Earth, most of it would have probably reached the ground resulting in devastating damage. It would have gone off like a very large nuclear weapon. Many megatons, perhaps in the ballpark of 10 megatons of TNT, so something not to be messed with," Professor Brown informed. (16) Astronomer Alan Duffy, who is a lead scientist at the Royal Institution of Australia, was noticeably shaken by this unexpected event. "I was stunned. This was a true shock," Duffy confessed. "It shook me out of my morning complacency. It's probably the largest asteroid to pass this close to Earth in quite a number of years." The fact that this asteroid went undetected for so long was especially troubling for Duffy. "It should worry us all, quite frankly. It's not a Hollywood movie. It is a clear and present danger," he said. (17)

The damage inflicted by space rocks can truly be astonishing. A painful reminder of this fact occurred in February 2013 when a meteor exploded over Russia. During this event, just one meteor damaged 4,000 buildings and shattered 2.2 million square feet of glass while injuring more than one thousand people. Speaking at the Planetary Defense Conference in April 2019, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine described the destruction in Russa. "It was brighter in the sky than the sun at that point when it entered Earth's atmosphere. And people could feel the heat from this object from 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) away. When it finally exploded 18 miles above the surface… it had… 30 times the energy of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima," he said, referencing one of the atomic bombs used by the United States against Japan during World War II. He also noted that the meteor caused damage to buildings in six cities. Finally, Bridenstine told his audience, "I wish I could tell you these events are exceptionally unique, but they are not." (18)

When we consider the fact that the aforementioned Asteroid 2019 OK came out of nowhere and stunned the scientific community, I cannot help but wonder if it was a warning shot from God. One thing is certain, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, warned us that we would see "fearful sights" in the days leading up to His return. Luke 21:11 tells us, "And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."

The Endless Shaking Of Earth

Speaking of earthquakes, it is a fact of life in this modern age that our planet never stops shaking. Moments ago when I asked the US Geological Survey website to show me a list of worldwide earthquakes over the course of the last thirty days, I was presented with a warning that said, "The current selection includes more earthquakes than your device may be able to display." After asking the website to list the earthquakes anyway, the website informed me that there have been 3,243 earthquakes throughout the last thirty days as of July 28, 2019. (19) This planet quakes with such regularity that most shakings go unreported by news outlets unless it happens to be a significant quake in a populated region of the world. Nevertheless, there are earthquakes happening every day, and not just on a worldwide level. According to a recent report by the Associated Press, the American state of California has earthquakes on a daily basis. (20) While the vast majority of these temblors are insignificant, sometimes there are major rumblings that serve as a poignant reminder of how volatile this planet can be.

On the morning of July 4, 2019, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 shook the region near Ridgecrest, California. (21) Approximately thirty-four hours later on July 5, 2019, a quake measuring 7.1 in magnitude struck the same region. (22) In the aftermath of these powerful quakes, the nerves of the townspeople were so frazzled that many chose to sleep outside rather than risk spending the night in a house that could start shaking and collapse at any moment. (23) On July 5, 2019, it was reported that aftershocks were occurring at a rate of about one per minute. (24) Since that time, the area near Ridgecrest has continued to rumble, and the Los Angeles Times reported on July 15, 2019, that there had been more than seventy aftershocks with a magnitude of 4.0 or higher. (25) By July 22, 2019, the total number of aftershocks exceeded 80,000. (26) The two powerful quakes of early July are estimated to have caused one billion dollars in damage. (27)

These earthquakes demonstrate once again that the world can change dramatically in just a moment of time. When a powerful earthquake shakes California, fears always arise that "the big one" may be coming. The truth is that no one knows the future except God. However, a big earthquake is coming one day, and it is going to shake more than the state of California. Revelation 16:18 describes this, stating, "And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great."

A Spiritual Shift

One of the biggest problems today is that so many young people have turned their backs on God and have instead embraced the occult. This trend was covered in depth by a recent story from the Los Angeles Times, which declares in the headline, "How Millennials Replaced Religion with Astrology and Crystals." (28) The article goes on to describe a "spiritual shift" wherein throngs of Millennials and other young people have concocted their own set of spiritual values and practices. "This is a worldwide, but certainly American, trend toward heterodoxy - toward individuals cooking up their own spiritual or religious stew and cooking it up their way. You're seeing an aggregation of disaffiliation, people coming up with their own meaning-making and their own personal spiritualities," said Jim Burklo the Senior Associate Dean and the University of Southern California's Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. (29) Interestingly enough, this was the same attitude in ancient Israel that caused so much trouble for the Israelites. Judges 17:6 tells us, "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

For the proud witches who are enjoying a new-found popularity, this trend indicates a return to ancient pagan practices. "I think that it's a yearning to return to something. There's a rejection of things that don't work. Socialism isn't new, and astrology isn't new, and earthly spirituality or living in accordance with the earth's rituals isn't new, it's ancient. I think we're yearning for something that technology cannot give us, that capitalism cannot give us," said a practicing witch from Los Angeles, California. (30) The disdain these witches have for Biblical values is evident, and they make no effort to hide it. "Unlike in certain dogmatic religions where there is a right and wrong way to be a practitioner, there isn't that in these nondenominational spiritualities, which I think is so beautiful. There isn't one way to be a human being," said another witch. (31)

While this trend toward the occult is troubling, it is not shocking. The young adults who have turned to the occult are a generation that grew up reading Harry Potter books instead of the Bible. As it stands, witchcraft has become big business. Astrologers and other occult practitioners have amassed a large amount of followers on the Internet, and a growing number of programs or "apps" are being developed for smartphones. Ross Clark, who is the CEO of a company that makes astrology apps for phones, was quoted as saying, "The services aspect of this business is bigger than anyone realizes. Mystical services are a 2.2 billion dollar market. At one point in pitching this idea someone said to me, 'but astrology is such a niche market.' And I said, nearly 40 percent of American women read their horoscope at least once a month. That's not a niche market." Clark later went on to say, "If you're a young person and you aren't interested in organized religion and you're experiencing transitions, the world is insane right now so there's so much political, economic, environmental turmoil, and then you have so much disruption by technology, so I think these ancient practices have a hold on us and generate an interest that is really compelling." (32)

It seems that technology and the occult have been a natural fit since the beginning. During a recent appearance on CNN, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates made a rather bizarre statement regarding Apple Computer's co-founder Steve Jobs. "I was like a minor wizard because he would be casting spells, and I would see people mesmerized, but because I'm a minor wizard, the spells don't work on me," said Gates. (33) Was Gates, who is presently the world's second wealthiest man, merely making a colorful illustration or was he hinting at a more profound reality? Take note that the Apple-1, which is regarded as the first personal computer to ever be made readily available to the public and first went to market in 1976, was sold for $666.66 per unit. (34) The Apple logo itself is an apple with a bite mark in it, which calls to mind the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit.

In closing, As we continue to watch in amazement at all the things happening in this world, it is abundantly clear that the planet we presently live on is buckling under the pressure of great wickedness. In fact, a Scripture used to describe the condition of the world in Noah's day also describes the world we know today quite well. Genesis 6:5 declares, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." These are the days of great upheaval as massive protests are happening in such places as the Chinese territory of Hong Kong. Mexico set a new record for homicides in 2019 resulting in the death of 17,608 people in just the first half of the year with more than three thousand people killed in the month of June 2019 alone. (35) In the United States, the city of Chicago, Illinois, continues to suffer from great violence. Forty-three people were shot on Memorial Day weekend in May 2019, and an additional fifty people were shot around the Independence Day holiday in July 2019, prompting Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to say, "It feels like we are losing the streets." (36) Additionally, hatred is still raging in the United States, and a recent poll from Pew Research found that eight out ten respondents fear that greater violence could erupt in this country due to the animosity fomented by political differences. (37) None of us know what the future may hold, but we certainly know that with each passing day, the coming of our Lord is drawing closer. Romans 13:11-12 tells us, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." As such, we long for the day when we will behold our Saviour, and the cry of our hearts is "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

Thank you to all who continue to support this ministry. It is a privilege to serve you and it is our hope that God will bless you all. If you have any prayer requests, you are more than welcome to send them our way. Our team of intercessors always give each prayer request individual attention. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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