A Great Foreboding

Volume 43 Issue Six June 2024

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


A Great Foreboding

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

Matthew 24:29-30

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”

Revelation 1:7


I remember my father preaching many sermons about the last days and the end of the world when I was a young boy. Indeed, this was one of his chief concerns and is the reason he chose to call his ministry Last Trumpet Ministries. Our ministry’s name was inspired by I Corinthians 15:51-52, which tells us, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” These verses are clarified by Paul’s writings in I Thessalonians 4:16-17, which further exhorts, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” As such, the day when the last trump will sound has been a point of emphasis for this ministry for the last forty-three years.

Many of my father’s critics would deride him for his focus on the end times and scoff at the notion that the end is near. Yet, in recent years the attitudes of the people have changed. I believe this gradual transformation started in 2001 when the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City collapsed on September 11, 2001. The United States and much of the world would endure further trauma in 2008 with the devastating and demoralizing arrival of the Great Recession. The effects of this economic collapse would be felt for years. Then, just when it seemed as if the country had finally recovered from the recession, the world was blindsided by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. These world-changing events, along with the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, plus fears about climate change, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence, have made it socially acceptable to talk about the end of the world. Against the backdrop of so much calamity, it no longer seems far-fetched or difficult to imagine.

This change in attitude is highlighted in a fascinating piece published by Study Finds on May 3, 2024, which declares in its headline, “Apocalypse goes mainstream: The end of the world is becoming normal conversation.” (1) One of the findings of the report is that the use of the word “apocalypse” has become especially common. In fact, the researchers who wrote the piece carefully studied news reports published between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2023, by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Their research found that these three newspapers published articles about “apocalyptic concerns” 9,380 times within this time period. Interestingly enough, the research found that there are four prominent apocalyptic concerns commonly featured in mainstream news. These concerns are nuclear war, disease, climate change, and artificial intelligence, or AI. (2)

 
Without question, there is a great foreboding in the land. A recent survey of five thousand American citizens revealed that 48 percent of respondents said they believe the end of the world will come during their lifetime because of climate change. (3) In a similar study conducted by Pew Research in December 2022, thirty-nine percent of American respondents said they believe that we are living in the end times. (4) Thus, a large segment of the population, both those who identify as Christians and those who do not, believe the world is approaching its final day. The major difference, of course, is that God’s people have no need to fear the end because we have the promises of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who said in Matthew 28:20, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Thus, we have hope because even the end of the world is not the end of our relationship with our Saviour.

The Global Population Decline

Many faithful believers in the Lord Jesus Christ can sense that we are moving closer to the day of His glorious return. No one knows the day or the hour of the coming of the Lord, but we do know that if this world persists for another one hundred years, the people occupying this planet are going to face an enormous problem. Simply put, the global population, particularly in developed countries, has started to decline, and this decline is going to become even more pronounced in the coming decades.

As a rule, this topic has not garnered much attention in the press. Perhaps the incessant propaganda claiming that the world is overpopulated is the reason people have a hard time wrapping their heads around the truth. Yet, the fertility crisis is finally starting to receive attention in the media, and recent stories have produced some sobering facts. On March 21, 2024, The Telegraph revealed that a new study predicts that the world will soon experience its first global population decline since the 1300s when the Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, killed about fifty million people. (5)

When considering the fertility rates of countries or even the world as a whole, demographers will tell you that women must have an average of at least 2.1 children in their lifetime for the human population to achieve replacement level. As of 2021, the total fertility rate worldwide was only 2.23, which is just slightly enough to keep the global population growing. However, experts predict that the global fertility rate will drop to 1.83 by the year 2050 and further decline to an abysmal rate of 1.59 by the year 2100. (6) Put another way, 155 of the world’s 204 countries will have an inadequate fertility rate by 2050. By the year 2100, an astonishing 198 countries, or 97 percent of the world, will not be producing enough children to prevent a decline in population. (7)

Some countries have taken drastic measures to make it more appealing for women to have children. In Japan, for example, where the fertility rate was just 1.26 in 2022, having children comes with some generous perks. A new program instituted by Prime Minister Fumio Kishada provides a monthly allowance to all children under the age of 18, gives free college to any family with at least three children, and provides new parents with paid parental leave. Meanwhile, Hungary rolled out a program last year that grants personal income tax exemption for life to women under age thirty who have children. (8)

Even China, which restricted families to just one child for many years, is trying to convince women to have more babies. “We must tell good stories about family customs, guide women to play a unique role in promoting the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation… and create a new culture of family civilization,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2023. China began allowing women to have up to two children in 2016 and further increased the limit to three children per family in 2021. Some local governments are even offering cash bonuses and extended maternity leave to mothers who have a second or third child. (9) Thus far, these measures have been ineffective. China’s population fell for the second straight year in 2023. As a result, China, which had been the most populous country in the world for many years, slid to number two behind India last year. (10)

Fewer Children In America

What about the United States? According to The Wall Street Journal, the total fertility rate in the United States fell to a historic low in 2023. At 1.62 births per woman, this rate is the lowest ever recorded since records were first kept in the 1930s. (11) Numerous theories abound regarding why the fertility rate continues to fall, but many would agree that worry and anxiety are a big reason adults have fewer children or none at all in this modern age. “It’s hard to have children in the United States right now,” said Sarah Hayford, a professor of sociology at The Ohio State University. “People feel more worried about the future than they might have been several decades ago. They worry about the economy, child care, and whether they can afford to have children.” (12)

Parents and would-be parents no doubt feel like the deck is stacked against them. How much does it cost to have a child? According to Forbes, the average cost of giving birth in the United States is a whopping $18,865. If a Cesarean-section birth is required, the average cost for the procedure is $26,280. (13) After birth, someone will need to care for the child. Since it’s quite difficult for a family to make it on one income these days, many parents send their children to daycare while they are at work. According to a study published by Care.com in January 2024, the average cost to send one child to daycare is $321 per week. (14) Naturally, everyone has to eat. In this era of persistent inflation, the average cost of groceries for a family of three is $975 per month according to SoFi. (15) When we consider the high costs of housing, insurance, and higher education, raising a child today is an increasingly expensive endeavor.

It is truly remarkable how much everything has changed in recent decades. I grew up in a household of ten people consisting of two parents and eight children. I vividly remember my parents returning from the grocery store one day. Those of us who were around helped unload the many bags of groceries and piled them high on our long dining room table. My dad then commented, “Well, I just spent a hundred dollars.”

A Huge Problem For Society

Sadly, a growing number of Americans are choosing not to have kids. A recent Harris Poll conducted on behalf of NerdWallet found that only 27 percent of respondents under the age of 60 said they plan to have children. Conversely, 56 percent of respondents said they do not plan to have children, and 17 percent said they are undecided. The high cost of raising children is one of the most common reasons given for couples choosing to remain child-free. “The cost of having kids is so high that it can feel daunting or even impossible to people who would otherwise choose to have more children. Many people feel they simply cannot find a way to pay for child care on top of all the other essential expenses,” said Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert at NerdWallet. (16)

While some couples make the intentional decision not to have children, others are finding they can’t have kids even if they want to. In 2022, researchers revealed that male sperm counts had fallen by half over the course of the last fifty years. This startling revelation prompted Professor Hagai Levine of the Hadassah Braun School of Public Health in Jerusalem, Israel, to say, “We have a serious problem on our hands that, if not mitigated, could threaten mankind’s survival.” He later went on to say, “It looks like a pandemic. It’s everywhere. And some of the causes may stay with us for a very long time.” Richard Sharpe, who is a professor at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Reproductive Health in Scotland, also chimed in, stating, “These issues are not just a problem for couples trying to have kids, they are also a huge problem for society in the next 50 odd years, as less and less young people will be around to work and support the increasing bulge of elderly folk.” (17)

With younger generations producing fewer offspring, the United States is about to experience an unprecedented demographic shift. In an article published by Newsweek on May 11, 2024, it was revealed that older Americans will outnumber children in the United States for the first time in history by the year 2035. “The impending demographic shift, in which older adults in the U.S. will outnumber children for the first time in history, presents significant societal and economic challenges and opportunities,” opined Patrick Mish, the CEO of the firm known as SilverStay. “This shift, often called the ‘silver tsunami,’ is expected to impact multiple facets of society profoundly.” (18) Indeed, a slew of problems are on the horizon. If there are not enough young people, who will care for the elderly? If there aren’t enough workers paying into Social Security and Medicare, how will these programs survive? As more and more Baby Boomers retire, who will replace them in the workforce? The fertility crisis suggests that the United States has already or will soon enter a state of decline. This, however, is not just an American issue but, as the previous paragraphs demonstrate, a global problem. Signs are all around us that humanity’s days are numbered.

War In Space

In December 2019, former American President Donald Trump signed a National Defense Authorization Act that instituted the first new armed service in the United States since 1947. This new unit of the American military is known as the Space Force. “Space is the world's newest warfighting domain. Amid grave threats to our national security, American superiority in space is absolutely vital. We're leading, but we're not leading by enough, and very shortly, we'll be leading by a lot,” Trump said in 2019 as he signed the bill. (19)

At the time, I found this to be a rather curious development. Was it a gimmick to stir up patriotic fervor? Was the President inspired after watching Star Trek? Did our country’s leaders know something that we did not? As it turns out, recent reports indicate that countries such as Russia and China are actively developing space weapons.

On May 21, 2024, a representative from the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., announced that it is believed Russia just launched an anti-satellite weapon in space. “Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we assess is likely a counter space weapon,” said Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder. He then noted that Russia’s satellite was launched “into the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite.” (20) Satellites are a crucial part of the American communications networks and also play a vital role in military operations. If this is, in fact, an anti-satellite weapon, it could be one of many weapons that are launched in the coming years. Interestingly enough, both Russia and China have blocked the United Nations’ efforts to ban weapons in space in recent days. (21)

General Stephen Whiting, who is the head of the US Space Command, was quoted by The Telegraph in an April 2024 piece as saying, “Frankly, the People’s Republic of China is moving at breathtaking speed in space and they are rapidly developing a range of counter-space weapons to hold at risk our space capabilities.” General Whiting also noted that China has tripled its surveillance and reconnaissance satellites in orbit over the last six years. (22)

In recent days, American officials have expressed an urgent need for the United States to develop its own space weapons. “We must protect our space capabilities while also being able to deny an adversary the hostile use of its space capabilities. Because if we do not have space, we lose,” warned General Chance Saltzman, the chief of space operations at the Space Force. (23) In a similar fashion, US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall was quoted as saying, “China has fielded a number of space capabilities designed to target our forces. And we’re not going to be able to operate in the Western Pacific successfully unless we can defeat those.” (24)

Throughout history, humanity has experienced the devastating impact of war. Despite the notion that we are more civilized in this modern age, recent years have not been peaceful. In the twentieth century alone, wars resulted in 108 million deaths. (25) Sadly, our world is still mired in conflict today. The most notable wars being fought are those between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas. However, these are far from the only wars and conflicts at this present time. According to the Geneva Academy, there are more than 110 ongoing armed conflicts right now. These include more than 45 conflicts in the Middle East, more than 35 conflicts in Africa, 21 conflicts in Asia, 7 conflicts in Europe, and six conflicts in Latin America. (26) There’s been more than enough war on this planet. We don’t want war in space.

Nevertheless, the Holy Bible indicates that space will be a prominent part of end time events. In fact, the words of Jesus Christ found in Matthew 24 could even be describing war in space. In Matthew 24:29-30, Jesus Christ warns us, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Revelation 19:19 tells us that the armies of the world will gather together to try to stop the return of Jesus Christ. This verse declares, “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.”

I find it interesting that countries such as China, Russia, and even the United States are looking for ways to disrupt the orbit of satellites. When satellites are viewed by humans on earth, they often look like stars. In fact, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is responsible for the launch of Starlink satellites. When these satellites are launched into orbit, they resemble a string of stars. Thus, if countries begin attacking satellites, the battles being fought might give the appearance that stars are falling from the sky.

Whatever the plans of man may be, one fine day they will all be disrupted. Revelation 1:7 tells of our Saviour, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” 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 continued support of this ministry. It is our hope and prayer that God will bless each and every one of you. As usual, we invite you to send us your prayer requests. We know that God hears the prayers of His people, and we know that nothing is impossible with God. 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.


Acknowledgments

01. Study Finds, May 3, 2024, By Eric Bleich and Christopher Star, studyfinds.org.

02. Ibid.

03. Study Finds, May 21, 2024, By Chris Melore, studyfinds.org.

04. Pew Research Center, December 8, 2022, By Jeff Diamant, pewresearch.org.

05.The Telegraph, March 21, 2024, By Michael Searles, telegraph.co.uk.

06. Ibid.

07. Ibid.

08. The Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2024, By Greg Ip and Janet Adamy, wsj.com.

09. Associated Press, January 17, 2024, By Ken Moritsugu, apnews.com.

10. Ibid.

11. The Wall Street Journal. April 25, 2024, By Jennifer Calfas and Anthony DeBarros, wsj.com.

12. Carolina Population Center, January 12, 2024, cpc.unc.edu.

13. Forbes, January 3, 2024, By Elizabeth Rivelli, forbes.com.

14. Care.com, January 17, 2024, By Care.com Editorial Staff, care.com.

15. SoFi, April 11, 2024, By Sarah Li Cain, sofi.com.

16. NerdWallet, February 29, 2024, By Erin El Issa, nerdwallet.com.

17. EuroNews, November 15, 2024, By Natalie Huet, euronews.com.

18. Newsweek, May 11, 2024, By Aliss Higham, newsweek.com.

19. Defense Department News, December 20, 2019, By Jim Garamone, defense.gov.

20. Politico, May 22, 2024, By Joshua Posaner, politico.eu.

21. Ibid.

22. The Telegraph, April 24, 2024, By Danielle Sheridan, telegraph.co.uk.

23. The New York Times, May 17, 2024, By Eric Lipton, nytimes.com.

24. Ibid.

25. The New York Times, July 6, 2003, By Chris Hedges, nytimes.com.

26. Geneva Academy, geneva-academy.ch.


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