Amplified Anxiety In This Modern Age

Volume XXXVIII Issue X October 2019

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

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

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

Genesis 1:31

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

II Timothy 3:13-15

In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will circumspectly consider our world which is now in a progressive state of destruction. According to God's Holy Word, we know that this world He created was very good when He made it. In Genesis 1:31 it tells us, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." By the third chapter of Genesis, sin had entered into the world, and the seemingly small act of Eve eating the forbidden fruit and giving it to her husband, Adam, set about a chain reaction that changed the world forever. Since that time, the impact of sin has only intensified, and the Apostle Paul promised that this trend would never stop even until "the last days." Prompted by the Holy Ghost, Paul wrote in II Timothy 3:13, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." Yet, despite the grim nature of this assertion, Paul presented the solution to the recipient of his letter, Timothy. In II Timothy 3:14-15, Paul admonishes, "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

Paul's advice is sound, and we know that when we feel distressed and discouraged by the terrible things happening in the world, we can turn to God's Word for comfort. However, those who do not know the Lord do not understand this privilege, and as the condition of our planet continues to deteriorate, the masses are beginning to panic. In the latter part of September 2019, it was reported that "millions" of people around the world have united in protest against what they view as inaction in the fight against climate change. (1) This includes throngs of schoolchildren who walked out of class on September 20, 2019, choosing rather to demonstrate in the streets. (2)

Speaking in New York City, 16-year-old Greta Thunberg of Sweden said, "Change is coming whether they like it or not." She was also quoted as saying, "We showed that we are united and that we, young people, are unstoppable." (3) Thunberg, who has become the face of these youth protests after she famously protested in front of the parliament building in Sweden on numerous occasions, was in New York to deliver an address at the United Nations. (4) While there, she also joined forces with fifteen other children to formally file a complaint at the UN against five countries - Germany, France, Brazil, Argentina, and Turkey - charging that these countries have not done enough to curb climate change. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words - and yet, I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering, people are dying," the young lady declared. (5) In total, 5,800 protests in 163 countries were planned for the month of September. (6)

Given the dour statements from celebrities, politicians, activists, and world leaders, it is no wonder that there is so much anxiety in this modern age. This includes United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. During a speech on September 21, 2019, a day which is designated as the "International Day of Peace," Guterres told his audience, "Today peace faces a new danger: the climate emergency, which threatens our security, our livelihood, and our lives." The UN leader further declared, "The global climate emergency is a threat to security and stability. As coastal areas and degraded inland areas are becoming uninhabitable, millions of people are being forced to seek safety and better lives elsewhere. With extreme weather events and disasters becoming more frequent and severe, disputes over dwindling resources risk fueling climate-related conflict." (7) Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the socialist Democrat representative from New York, suggested in a recent statement that the city of Miami, Florida, is in danger of "not existing in a few years." (8)

Clearly, anxiety levels are through the roof, and as a result, hundreds of young people and children have now taken a pledge to never have children of their own because of the changing climate. The pledge, which has been dubbed "No future, no children," was created by an 18-year-old girl from Canada who said, "I am giving up my chance of having a family because I will only have children if I know I can keep them safe. It breaks my heart, but I created this pledge because I know I am not alone." (9)

Since the day of their birth, young people of today have been told that the planet we occupy is dying. As a result, people are miserable, afraid, and without hope. Youth around the world are rising up, and I suspect in many cases, being coached on what to say. In effect, these young people have been weaponized and are being used to bring about global change by making others feel guilty. In similar fashion, NBC News has begun a new project it calls "Climate Confessions," which asks its users to confess their climate change sins. "Even those who care deeply about the planet's future can slip up now and then. Tell us: Where do you fall short in preventing climate change?" the news website demands. (10) Efforts to manipulate and condition the world's population are in full swing.

Will The Government Dictate What You Eat?

As climate change hysteria grows and people become increasingly desperate, new restrictions will likely be put in place. For example, we are already seeing calls by prominent figures for the world to drastically reduce its consumption of meat. This includes Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris who believes the American government needs to make it a priority to change the way people consume food. "As a nation, we actually have to have a real priority at the highest level of government around what we eat and in terms of healthy eating because we have a problem in America. But there has to be also what we do in terms of creating incentives that we will eat in a healthy way, that we will encourage moderation and that we will be educated about the effect of our eating habits on our environment," Harris said. (11) While I agree that many Americans certainly could eat healthier, what we choose to eat should not be mandated by the government. This is a notion that is entirely contrary to the concept of personal liberty. Yet, other presidential candidates have made similar statements. Democrat Andrew Yang claims he will "modify American diets over time" by gradually increasing the price of beef and consequently force Americans to eat less of it. Cory Booker, another Democrat who is running for president, stated that "the planet simply can't sustain" the consumption of meat. Socialist candidate Bernie Sanders and homosexual Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg have both expressed support for a meat tax. (12)

In the United Kingdom, one lawyer wants to ban the consumption of meat entirely and force British citizens to adopt a vegan diet. A report published by The Telegraph on September 23, 2019, quotes Queen's counsel barrister Michael Mansfield who declared, "I think when we look at the damage eating meat is doing to the planet it is not preposterous to think that one day it will become illegal. There are plenty of things that were once commonplace that are now illegal, such as smoking inside." Mansfield then went on to say, "We know that the top 3,000 companies in the world are responsible for more than 1.5 trillion pounds worth of damage to the environment with meat and dairy production high on the list. It is time for a new law on ecocide to go alongside genocide and the other crimes against humanity." (13) "Ecocide" is a rarely used word that is defined as "the destruction of large areas of the natural environment by such activity as nuclear warfare, overexploitation of resources, or dumping of harmful chemicals." (14) The aforementioned article is not the only recent media report suggesting that ecocide should be considered a "crime against humanity." An article from The Intercept that was published on September 24, 2019, states, "Activists are calling for ecocide to be recognized as an international crime, on a par with war crimes and genocide, prosecutable by the International Criminal Court." (15) Let us ponder the implication for a moment. Environmental extremists consider meat-eating to be "ecocide." They now want ecocide to not only be considered a crime but an infraction that would be tried in an international court. Thus, they envision a future where those who would dare eat a hamburger could be considered a criminal. More troubling, the term "ecocide" is rather broad and could include simple things like extracting natural resources on your property, if such extractions are deemed to be an "overexploitation of resources."

More Calls For Population Control

For many who are fearful of climate change, it seems that adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet for the good of the planet is a responsible thing to do. Ultimately, however, most people of such inclination would also say that refraining from the consumption of meat is not going far enough. Scholars and academics have long called for population control and restrictions on family size, too. Consider an article from The Washington Post published on March 10, 2014, which states, "Eating beans is definitely better than eating beef. Driving a Prius is better than driving a Hummer. But one decision trumps every other - potentially by orders of magnitude - and that's how many children you have. No amount of bean-eating or Prius-driving will compensate reproducing, and it's the childless, not the vegetarians, who are more likely to save the planet." (16) Oddly enough, if every couple decided not to have children, then there most assuredly would be no one left to enjoy the planet they are so desperately trying to save.

Another piece was published on September 10, 2019, which is entitled "The World and UN Must Reduce Population Growth." Signed by numerous academics, including Professor Frank Gotmark of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, the report calls upon the United Nations to add a new "sustainable development" goal to its 2030 Agenda: a goal to "dampen population growth." (17) In an attempt to justify their stance, the authors write, "The overall human impact on the global environment is the product of population size and average per capita consumption. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that population growth and economic (consumption) growth are the two main causes of global warming." (18) In similar fashion, an article published by Yale University on March 29, 2019, informs its readers that "a 2017 paper found that reducing family size was the most important lifestyle choice for reducing personal carbon emissions." (19)

Make no mistake, these reports that surface on a regular basis do have an impact on people, and they serve as a mechanism to reshape public opinion. This is evident in a question that was presented to presidential candidate Bernie Sanders by a schoolteacher during a climate change town hall meeting hosted by CNN in early September 2019. "Human population growth has more than doubled in the past 50 years. The planet cannot sustain this growth. I realize this is a poisonous topic for politicians, but it's crucial to face. Empowering women and educating everyone on the need to curb population growth seems a reasonable campaign to enact. Would you be courageous enough to discuss this issue and make it a key feature of a plan to address climate catastrophe?" the teacher asked. Thus we see a schoolteacher asking a presidential candidate if he supports population control, and he responded in the affirmative! "Well, Martha, the answer is yes. And the answer has everything to do with the fact that women in the United States of America, by the way, have a right to control their own bodies and make reproductive decisions," Sanders answered. (20) It should be noted that not only does Candidate Sanders support population control measures, but he believes abortion is one of the methods that should be used to control the population.

The ideas being promulgated by leftists to combat climate change are extreme. As such, it is tempting to assume that such ideas would never be implemented. Yet, when you have presidential candidates talking about these concepts and supporting them, it should be a cause for concern to everyone involved. There are forces at work who are radically trying to change the United States and the entire world. If they are successful in their endeavors, the world will not be a better place, but in reality, a far worse one. Thankfully, this planet we now occupy is not the only world we will ever know if we stay faithful to God. II Peter 3:13 tells us, "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

More Tension With Iran

For the majority of the twenty-first century, relations between the United States and the Middle Eastern world have been defined by war. Since 2001 the United States has fought in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and these wars have been costly both in terms of dollars and loss of human life. Conflict in Syria and Pakistan has also added to the cost. According to a report from CNBC dated November 14, 2018, the wars fought in these regions of the world have cost American taxpayers 5.9 trillion dollars. Sadly, more than 480,000 people have died in these conflicts since 2001, and over 244,000 of these casualties were civilians. (21)

Events that have taken place in recent months now threaten to pull the United States into another war, and this time it would be with Iran. In fact, the American military was on the brink of attacking Iran on June 20, 2019, after Iranian forces shot down an unmanned American drone. Plans were made, troops were mobilized, and fighter jets were in the air when President Donald Trump abruptly changed his mind about going through with the attack, much to the surprise of his advisors and his staff. Reports indicate that Trump's reversal came just ten minutes before the first airstrikes were set to take place. Trump later said that he reversed his decision to strike after being told an estimated 150 Iranians would be killed. (22)

Although conflict with Iran was narrowly avoided in June, the potential for war with Iran remains. On September 20, 2019, it was announced that the United States will deploy troops to Saudi Arabia after a sophisticated attack struck the Saudi oil production facilities. The attack was said to involve twenty-five unmanned drones and missiles, which demonstrates how much weaponry has changed in recent years. (23) Regarding these developments, United States Defense Secretary Mark Esper was quoted as saying, "In response to the kingdom's request, the president has approved the deployment of U.S. forces, which will be defensive in nature, and primarily focused on air and missile defense." He further went on to say, "We will also work to accelerate the delivery of military equipment to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE to enhance their ability to defend themselves." (24) Although the Iranian government refutes the claim that their country was responsible for the attack, United States officials say otherwise. "This was Iran true and true, and the United States will respond in a way that reflects that act of war by this Iranian revolutionary regime," said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (25)

As would be expected, Iran has said that they are ready for war and ready to repel any forces that would encroach on their territory. "Whoever wants their land to become the main battlefield, go ahead. We will never allow any war to encroach upon Iran's territory. We hope that they don't make a strategic mistake," said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Major General Hossein Salami. (26)

A war between the United States and Iran would not be a simple endeavor. Matters would be complicated further by the fact that Iran is on friendly terms with both China and Russia. In fact, Iran announced plans to hold a joint naval drill with both Russia and China, which they say will take place "soon." (27) A conflict with Iran could easily spiral out of control, especially since neither Russia nor China have any affection for the United States. In fact, China has been waging a cyberwar with the United States for years. Chinese hackers were even able to steal design plans for the United States' C-17 military transport aircraft, which was being built by Boeing. (28) Evidently, China regards the United States as an enemy despite the hundreds of billions of dollars conducted in trade between the two countries each year. The United States imported 557.9 billion dollars worth of goods and services from China in 2018. (29)

Perhaps we should ask ourselves why the United States is currently aligned with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is known to be responsible for many atrocities and is believed to be the perpetrators of the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi, who was a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, was killed in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, by a team believed to have been directed by the crown prince himself. (30) Saudi Arabia also stands accused of war crimes in Yemen. (31)

In any case, war is never a good thing, and with all of the chaos now happening internally in the United States, it would be an especially poor time to enter a conflict with Iran. Yet, we know that in these troubling times in which we live, there are always wars and rumors of wars. This will continue to be true even as we draw closer and closer to the end of time. However, we know that we can have peace even in a time of tribulation. Jesus tells us in John 16:33, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

The Impeachment Uproar

Since the very moment Donald Trump became President of the United States, his detractors have sought a way to remove him from office. It is an obsession that never waned all throughout the years 2017, 2018, and into 2019. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi had in previous days refused to start impeachment proceedings due to a lack of cause, but now everything has suddenly changed.

On September 24, 2019, Pelosi announced that she would launch impeachment proceedings against Trump, charging that he violated his duties as president when he asked Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to assist him in the investigation of presidential candidate Joe Biden's son Hunter. (32) Subsequently, a transcript was released by the White House of Trump's phone call to the Ukrainian president. The transcript does verify that Trump asked President Zelensky for his assistance in the matter, (33) though whether or not this activity should be considered an impeachable offense is heavily disputed. Pelosi was first made aware of the phone call by an anonymous whistleblower whose identity is still unknown. Reports do indicate, however, that the whistleblower had no firsthand knowledge of the phone call, but had rather heard everything secondhand. (34)

It remains to be seen exactly what will happen. If the House of Representatives vote to impeach Trump, which is highly likely, he would then be tried by the United States Senate to determine his guilt. Since the Republicans control a majority in the Senate, it is somewhat unlikely that Trump would be convicted of the charges against him. A report from Fox News, however, suggests that not all Republicans support the President. The report quotes former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, who is a Republican, as saying, "I heard someone say if there were a private vote, there would be 30 Republican votes. That's not true. There would be at least thirty-five." (35) If thirty-five Republican senators voted in favor of impeachment, it would be more than enough to remove Trump from office. Needless to say, the division caused by the forthcoming impeachment proceedings could plunge the United States into further chaos. According to a report by Marketwatch, employees at workplaces are already at odds with each other. "The division we already have in the workplace now has been multiplied," warned Johnny Taylor Jr. of the Society for Human Resource Management. He later went on to say, "It's like nothing we've seen. The level of toxicity in the environment is at an all-time high." (36) The report also states that one human resource hotline has already received 60,000 phone calls this year regarding how to handle political disputes in the workplace. (37)

As I always say, ultimately, it is God who is in control. If it is God's will that Donald Trump remain president, he will. If it is not God's will, he will not. Either way, controversy looms, and the United States could be facing great trouble in the coming days.

In closing, I urge every reader of this newsletter to put your hope and trust in God. If you have not yet repented of your sins and dedicated your life to God, I urge you to do so now. In so doing, you will find a peace that comes only from our Saviour. For as it tells us in Philippians 4:7, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

If you have any prayer requests, you are encouraged to send them our way. Our team of intercessors always give each request individual attention, and we know that our God hears our prayers, and He has no limitations. Thank you all for your kind support of this ministry. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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.

Acknowledgments

01. AFP, September 21, 2019, By Peter Hutchinson, http://news.yahoo.com.
02. Ibid.
03. Associated Press, September 21, 2019, By Seth Borenstein, http://apnews.com.
04. Ibid.
05. CNN, September 23, 2019, By Drew Kann, http://cnn.com.
06. AFP, September 21, 2019, By Peter Hutchinson, http://news.yahoo.com.
07. CNN, September 21, 2019, By Lauren M. Johnson, http://cnn.com.
08. Fox News, September 13, 2019, By Sam Dorman, http://foxnews.com.
09. USA Today, September 19, 2019, By John Bacon, http://usatoday.com.
10. Daily Caller, September 18, 2019, By Peter Hasson, http://dailycaller.com.
11. The Washington Free Beacon, September 21, 2019, By Cameron Cawthorne, http://freebeacon.com.
12. Ibid.
13. The Telegraph, September 23, 2019, By Michael Mansfield QC, http://thetelegraph.co.uk.
14. Dictionary.com, Ecocide, http://dictionary.com.
15. The Intercept, September 24, 2019, By Natasha Lennard, http://theintercept.com.
16. The Washington Post, March 10, 2014, By Tamar Haspel, http://washingtonpost.com.
17. Project Syndicate, September 10, 2019, By Frank Gotmark and Robin Maynard, http://project-syndicate.org.
18. Ibid.
19. Yale Climate Connection, March 29, 2019, By Craig K. Chandler, http://yaleclimateconnect.org.
20. The Washington Post, September 5, 2019, By Aaron Blake, http://washingtonpost.com.
21. CNBC, November 14, 2018, By Amanda Macias, http://cnbc.com.
22. The New York Times, September 21, 2019, By Peter Baker, Eric Schmitt, and Michael Crowley, http://nytimes.com.
23. Reuters News Service, September 20, 2019, By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali, http://reuters.com.
24. Ibid.
25. CBS News, September 22, 2019, By Camilo Montoya-Galvez, http://cbsnews.com.
26. AFP, September 21, 2019, By Amir Havasi, http://news.yahoo.com.
27. Bloomberg News, September 21, 2019, By Arsalan Shahla, http://bloomberg.com.
28. The Washington Times, September 3, 2019, By Bill Gertz, http://washingtontimes.com.
29. Office of the United States Trade Representative, http://ustr.gov.
30. The New York Times, September 27, 2019, By Ben Hubbard and Nick Cumming-Bruce, http://nytimes.com.
31. Ibid.
32. USA Today, September 25, 2019, By David Jackson and John Fritze, http://usatoday.com.
33. Ibid.
34. The Daily Caller, September 22, 2019, By David Krayden, http://dailycaller.com.
35. Fox News, September 26, 2019, By Joseph A. Wulfsohn, http://foxnews.com.
36. Marketwatch, September 27, 2019, By Andrew Keshner, http://marketwatch.com.
37. Ibid.


To learn more about the history of our ministry and our founder, Pastor David J. Meyer, please visit http://pastormeyer.org.

If you would like to submit a prayer request, you may send email to prayer@ltmmail.org or mail it to our postal address.

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