Volume 44         Issue Four         April 2025

Last Trumpet Ministries · PO Box 806 · Beaver Dam, WI 53916

Phone: 920-887-2626   Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org

“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” I Cor. 14:8

The Transition

 

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” - Hebrews 13:8

 

Iconic folk singer Bob Dylan once famously sang, “the times they are a-changing.” This sentiment is strikingly appropriate for modern America as we witness profound change at a staggering rate. When President Donald Trump began his tenure as the 47th President of the United States less than three months ago, he immediately unleashed a governing strategy known as “flood the zone,” which is an unrelenting barrage of executive actions designed to keep his opponents off balance. “The breakneck speed is putting everyone on their heels,” declared Ryan Walker, the executive vice president of Heritage Action for America. “It’s been an overwhelming sensory overload,” complained Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland. He continued, “One moment I’m on the phone with someone who does cancer drug clinical trials for the government, who has been slated for removal because one small part of her job is outreach to the minority community. The next moment, I’m talking to lawyers at the Department of Justice, and they’ve been slated to be involuntarily reassigned. It just doesn’t stop.” American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Lee Gelernt also said, “The Trump administration is issuing multiple overlapping orders in an effort to have us play Whac-a-Mole. But we are prepared to do that.” (1)

 

Since taking office on January 20, 2025, Trump has signed 103 executive orders, (2) fired throngs of government employees, banned diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)  initiatives, announced new tariffs on goods imported from China, Canada, and Mexico, mobilized the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) against the migrant crisis in America,  and sought to reshape the whole of government using his newly founded Department of Government Efficiency, headed by his friend and ally Elon Musk. He has also sought to buy Greenland from Denmark and invited Canada to become “the 51st state,” much to the chagrin of many Canadians. Trump managed to do all of this while still finding time to visit the golf course on seventeen of his first sixty-seven days in office. (3) His controversial methods are a stunning departure from the lackadaisical tenure of his predecessor, Joe Biden. Will Trump succeed in his endeavors to reshape the United States? As uncertainty looms, the anxious public watches to see what will happen next.

 

A Little Disturbance

 

Given the dramatic departure from business as usual, it is not surprising that the economy is experiencing shockwaves. The American stock market has been experiencing extreme volatility. After an initial surge following Trump’s win in November 2024, the market shed an astonishing 4 trillion dollars in value between February 19 and March 10, 2025. (4) Ross Mayfield, an investment strategist at Baird, believes the Trump administration is willing to accept some volatility in the market if the ends justify the means. “The Trump administration seems a little more accepting of the idea that they’re okay with the market falling, and they’re potentially even okay with a recession in order to exact their broader goals.”  (5)

 

Indeed, President Trump knows his policies are disruptive, and this disruption is by design. In an address before Congress on March 4, 2025, Trump told his audience, “There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much.” (6) United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that there will be a “detox period” as Trump’s policy changes are implemented. He further went on to say, “Could we be seeing that this economy that we inherited is starting to roll a bit? Sure. And look, there’s going to be a natural adjustment as we move away from public spending to private spending.” (7)

 

As the Trump administration enacts new tariffs on Chinese, Canadian, Mexican, and European goods, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has warned that some prices will increase. “There’s going to be a short period of time where there will be some higher prices on certain products. It’s not inflation, that’s nonsense. It’s certain products for a short period of time.”  (8) In a recent interview on Fox News, President Trump indicated that he hopes there won’t be a recession, but also would not rule out the possibility. “I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big.  We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing. And there are always periods of – it takes a little time.” (9)

 

While Trump and his Cabinet maintain that the economic strain brought on by these new policies will only be temporary, some economists are skeptical. Bruce Kasman, the chief economist at JPMorgan Chase, puts the odds of a recession this year in the United States at about 40 percent. “Where we stand now is with a heightened concern about the U.S. economy,” he opined. He then went on to say, “If we continue down this road of what would be more disruptive, business-unfriendly policies, I think the risks on the recession front would go up.” (10) David Wessel, who is director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution was quoted as saying, “The U.S. economy has a lot of momentum and I don’t see any signs that the U.S. has entered a recession, but I do wonder if we are at an inflection point.” (11) Jesse Rothstein, an economics professor at the University of California-Berkeley seems more certain that a recession is headed our way. “It seems almost unavoidable at this point that we are headed for a deep, deep recession,” he warned. (12) A survey of economists published by Deutsche Bank in March 2025 predicts a 43 percent chance of a recession over the next twelve months. (13)

 

Given the growing pessimism, there is a real risk that talk of a recession could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If businesses anticipate economic downturns, they may freeze hiring or lay off workers. Consumers, fearing financial instability, could cut back on spending. This reduction in economic activity could, in turn, trigger the very recession people fear. Consumer spending drove 68 percent of all economic growth in the United States during the fourth quarter of 2024. (14) Thus, consumer spending is the biggest driver of economic growth by far. Interestingly, a report published by MarketWatch on March 28, 2025, indicates that the Consumer Confidence Index has fallen to its lowest point in 32 months. (15) A piece by Fortune Magazine was even gloomier, declaring in its headline, “Survey says Americans haven’t felt this dejected about their income and business prospects in over a decade.” The piece quotes Stephanie Guichard, a senior Conference Board economist who said, “Consumers’ expectations were especially gloomy, with pessimism about future business conditions deepening and confidence about future employment prospects falling to a 12-year low. Meanwhile, consumers' optimism about future income – which had held up quite strongly in the past few months – largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations.” (16)

 

Will Trump and his Cabinet be correct in their assertion that the current conditions are merely a temporary bump in the road, or will the pessimistic outlook of many economists prevail in the end? God knows. What we do know is that regardless of consumer confidence, our confidence in our God is steadfast and sure. Hebrews 10:35-39 admonishes, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Psalm 118:8 further clarifies how we should direct our confidence, declaring, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”

 

Who Is Elon Musk?

 

In recent days, two men have dominated the news headlines far more than anyone else. As expected, President Trump receives non-stop coverage in news publications and on television. Still, the other man increasingly in the public eye is not even a politician. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has made frequent appearances in the news cycle for years. As the CEO of Tesla, he was well-known for his pioneering work in developing electric vehicles. He also owns SpaceX, a private company focused on space exploration, which also provides satellite internet through its Starlink service. Another company he owns, Neuralink, specializes in the development of brain chips, which are used to create brain-to-computer interfaces. Despite overseeing multiple companies, the South African-born Musk has been tapped to head the newly founded Department of Government Efficiency. (DOGE) Considering his proximity to the President of the United States, we should thoughtfully consider who Elon Musk is and what he hopes to accomplish in his various roles.

 

We have all heard about Musk’s wealth, but what are his values? In 2024, Musk called himself a “cultural Christian.” In other words, he likes some of the values associated with Christianity, but he doesn’t believe everything in the Bible. “While I’m not a particularly religious person, I do believe that the teachings of Jesus are good and wise,” he said in an interview. (17) Although Musk may claim to like some of Christ’s teachings, there’s no indication that he has repented of his sins or that he regards Jesus Christ as his Saviour. His family life also clearly indicates that he does not adhere to the Bible’s teachings regarding adultery and fornication. As of this writing, he has fathered fourteen children with four different women. In February 2025, two women reported having newborns fathered by Musk. (18)

 

Regarding politics, Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, said in November 2024 that Elon is not a genuine conservative, noting that “Elon is dead center.” (19) In March 2024, Musk admitted that he had voted for Democrats for years. “I voted 100% Dem until a few years ago. Now, I think we need a red wave or America is toast,” Musk posted on X. (20)

 

In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, Elon Musk fully endorsed Trump as his candidate of choice for President of the United States. “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote at the time. (21) Soon thereafter, Musk was seen alongside Trump at many campaign events and quickly rose to prominence. Reports indicate that Musk contributed over 290 million dollars to the Trump campaign. (22) Is Musk being generous with his time and money because he believes in Trump, or could he have ulterior motives? What might Musk hope to gain as a trusted advisor to the President? Are his intentions altruistic or nefarious?

 

The Department Of Government Efficiency

 

As the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk is closely examining the inner workings of the United States government and leaving no stone unturned in his quest to eliminate wasteful government spending. In some cases, certain agencies are slated for near-total elimination, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Voice of America, both of which have been reduced by 99 percent. Under the supervision of DOGE, government workers have been offered early buyouts even as thousands of positions are eliminated.  As of this writing, 49,110 federal jobs have been eliminated, 75,000 workers have accepted buyouts, and at least 171,080 additional cuts are planned in the coming days. (23)

 

There has long been a need to eliminate government waste. Just one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) is a number so large that it is difficult to imagine and even harder to visualize. We must remember that a trillion is a thousand billion or one million million. If you spent one million dollars per day, it would take you 2,738 years to spend a trillion dollars. The current national debt exceeds 36 trillion dollars! (24) According to the United States Treasury Department, the United States government has spent more money than it has collected, thus creating a deficit, in forty-six of the last fifty years. The current deficit for fiscal year 2025 exceeds 1.1 trillion dollars and continues to grow. (25) Consequently, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the portion of the national debt held by the public is on pace to reach 138 trillion dollars by the year 2055. (26)

 

Clearly, there is an urgent need for action, and the Department of Government Efficiency is the Trump administration’s attempt at a solution. However, the daunting task of fixing the American debt crisis is not for the faint of heart. It is an endeavor that requires great care and precision. The wrong decisions could destabilize the entire country, which many Americans are concerned about today. Nevertheless, Elon Musk believes he will be able to eliminate a trillion dollars in wasteful government spending by the end of May 2025. “I think we will accomplish most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,” Musk said in a recent interview. He further went on to say, “The government is not efficient, and there is a lot of waste and fraud, so we feel confident that a 15% reduction can be done without affecting any of the critical government services.” (27) I sincerely hope that wise decisions will be made. If President Trump moves forward with defunding Planned Parenthood, as rumored, I would be pleased.

 

How is DOGE deciding where to eliminate spending? In a development that should surprise no one, it has been revealed that Musk and his staff are using artificial intelligence to analyze massive amounts of government data. (28) As such, AI is playing an outsized role in deciding what spending is cut and what is kept. Considering that thousands of government jobs have already been eliminated, and thousands more are expected to get the axe, how will the government fill the void left by the departed workforce? According to a report from the Washington Post published on February 5, 2025, Musk's ultimate goal is to replace much of the federal workforce with machines and artificial intelligence. “The end goal is replacing the human workforce with machines. Everything that can be machine-automated will be,” said an unnamed government official quoted in the article. (29)

 

Musk’s alleged goal of replacing government workers with machines fits well with his worldview. In May 2024, Musk boldly claimed that most jobs will be replaced by artificial intelligence in the future. “Probably none of us will have a job,” Musk insisted. He then went on to say, “If you want to do a job that’s kinda like a hobby, you can do a job. But otherwise, AI and the robots will provide any goods and services that you want.” (30) 

 

Where will the legion of robots come from that Musk envisions replacing the human workforce? As it turns out, one of Musk’s companies, Tesla, is currently developing a humanoid robot called Optimus. In October 2024, Musk laid out his vision for the future while speaking at the We, Robot event. “The Optimus will walk amongst you. You’ll be able to walk right up to them, and they will serve you drinks.” He also claimed that Optimus will be able to do a wide variety of tasks, including dog walking, babysitting, and mowing the lawn. “I believe this will be the most significant product ever created,” Musk boasted. (31) Musk estimates that humanoid robots will outnumber humanity in less than twenty years. “I think by 2040, there will probably be more humanoid robots than there are people.”  He then noted that a “robot that can do anything” would likely cost between $20,000 and $25,000 per unit. (32)

 

 

We should note that Musk is notorious for bold predictions and promises that often fail to materialize. Delusions of grandeur aside, however, Musk seems intent on eliminating jobs, replacing those jobs with robots, and producing the robots that replace the jobs. Assuming Optimus robots are deployed as government workers, Musk would make billions of dollars.

 

Neuralink Telepathy

 

Lest we forget, Elon Musk also wants to put a microchip in your brain. His brain-to-computer interface, which Neuralink produces, has been implanted in three people to date, with plans to implant twenty to thirty more people by the end of 2025. (33) In January 2024, a paralyzed man named Noland Arbaugh became the first to receive the Neuralink chip. The chip allows Arbaugh to control his computer with his thoughts, and he is delighted with the results. “I grew up playing games,” he said while noting that it was something he could no longer do after becoming disabled. “Now I’m beating my friends at games, which is something that really shouldn’t be possible, but it is.” Anil Seth, a neuroscience professor at the University of Sussex in England, offered a warning to anyone considering the Neuralink implant. “One of the main problems is privacy,” he opined. “So if we are exporting our brain activity… then we are kind of allowing access to not just what we do but potentially what we think, what we believe, and what we feel. Once you’ve got access to stuff inside your head, there really is no other barrier to personal privacy left.” (34) Would you let Elon Musk read your mind?

 

On March 7, 2025, Wired Magazine reported that Neuralink applied for a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The application, which is said to be for the company’s first brain-to-computer interface to be sold to consumers, is for a product called Telepathy. The application describes the product as “an implantable brain-to-computer interface for facilitating communication and control of software and hardware.” According to Wired, this description implies that the device could not only allow people to control a computer or smartphone with their minds, but also communicate telepathically with others who also have the same brain-to-computer interface. (35) These are the days when science fiction is rapidly becoming reality. Nevertheless, God is still on the throne, and Jesus Christ is still King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Whatever man's endeavors might be, they can only do what God allows. Although the world is rapidly changing, we serve a God who does not change. Hebrews 13:8 assures us of this fact, declaring, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” If you have not yet repented of your sins and dedicated your life to God, I urge you to do so now.

 

Thank you all for your kind support of this ministry. If you have any prayer needs, great or small, we invite you to send us your requests. We know that God hears the prayers of His people and nothing is too hard for Him. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

Samuel David Meyer

 

This newsletter is made possible by the kind donations of our supporters. If you would like to help us, you may send your contribution to our postal address or donate online at http://lasttrumpetnewsletter.org/donate.

 

References

 

01. The New York Times, January 28, 2025, By Luke Broadwater, nytimes.com.

02. The Federal Register, March 28, 2025, federalregister.gov.

03. Trump Golf Track, March 28, 2025, trumpgolftrack.com.

04. Reuters, March 10, 2025, By Lewis Krauskopf and Saqib Ahmed, reuters.com.

05. Ibid.

06. NBC News, March 7, 2025, By Shannon Pettypiece, nbcnews.com.

07. Ibid.

08. Ibid.

09. National Public Radio, March 9, 2025, By Luke Garrett, npr.org.

10. Reuters, March 12, 2025, By Tom Westbrook, reuters.com.

11. Newsweek, March 6, 2025, By Hugh Cameron, newsweek.com.

12. Ibid.

13. NBC News, March 24, 2025, By Jeff Cox, nbcnews.com.

14. US Bank, March 4, 2025, By US Bank, usbank.com.

15. Marketwatch, March 28, 2025, By Greg Robb, marketwatch.com.

16. Fortune, March 26, 2025, By Dave Smith, fortune.com.

17. The Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2024, By Tim Higgins, wsj.com.

18. People Magazine, March 3, 2025, By Skyler Caruso, people.com.

19. The Daily Beast, November 4, 2024, By Grace Harrington, dailybeast.com.

20. Business Insider, March 24, 2025, By Kwan Wei and Kevin Tan, businessinsider.com.

21. The Hill, July 15, 2024, By Julia Shapero and Rebecca Klar, thehill.com.

22. CNN, February 1, 2025, By David Wright and Alex Leeds-Matthews, cnn.com.

23. The New York Times, March 28, 2025, By Elena Shao and Ashley Wu, nytimes.com.

24. Fox Business, March 28, 2025, By Eric Revell, foxbusiness.com.

25. FiscalData, March 31, 2025, treasury.gov.

26. The New York Times, March 27, 2025, By Tony Romm, nytimes.com.

27. Reuters, March 27, 2025, By Nathan Layne and Costas Pitnas, reuters.com. 

28. The Washington Post, February 6, 2025, By Hannah Natanson, Gerrit De Vynck, Elizabeth Dwoskin, and Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, washingtonpost.com.

29. The Washington Post, February 8, 2025, By Jeff Stein, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Hannah Natanson, and Jonathan O’Connell, washingtonpost.com.

30. CNN, May 23, 2024, By Samantha Murphy Kelly, cnn.com.

31. India Today, October 11, 2024, By Nandini Yadav, indiatoday.in.

32. Quartz, October 29, 2024, By William Gavin, qz.com.

33. Associated Press, January 13, 2025, By Laura Ungar, apnews.com.

34.  BBC News, March 23, 2025, By Lara Lewington, Liv McMahon and Tom Gerken, bbc.com.

35. Wired Magazine, March 7, 2025, By Emily Mullin, wired.com.