Volume 42 Issue Eleven November 2023
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
Is There Any Hope?
“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast....”
Hebrews 6:18-19
In the early days of the 2020s as the world grappled with a global pandemic and the spread of a virus that came to be known as COVID-19, a new word crept into the English language. The term “doomscrolling,” which refers to the practice of obsessively reading or watching bad news online, especially on smartphones, first appeared on social media and soon appeared in news stories, too. Eventually the word became so common that it was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in September 2023. (1) Over time, the obsession with the pandemic faded away only to be replaced with stories about economic woes, high inflation, failing banks, a war in Ukraine, the threat of nuclear war, wildfires, heatwaves, political scandals, climate change, climate change, and more climate change. For example, actor Morgan Freeman, appeared on ABC’s television program The View in October 2023 to warn viewers, “If we don't hurry up and change our ways, there's going to be a cataclysmic event that will wipe many of us off the face of the earth.” Freeman then attempted to offer a glimmer of hope, suggesting that the majority of the human race might be wiped out but “life” on earth would still continue without us. “How far back does life exist on this planet? And why does it still exist? It’s because life is tenacious. Life – we’re not talking about human beings here. We’re talking about the planet. She’ll stay.” (2) Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ does not agree with Freeman’s assessment. In Matthew 24:35 Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Indeed, the Scriptures indicate that God’s people will live on even after the planet we presently occupy expires and is replaced. II Peter 3:12-13 declares, “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
As would be expected, Freeman believes the cause of the “cataclysmic event” will be climate change. Truthfully though, the ultimate cause of the planet’s impending doom is global sinning, not global warming. Every calamitous event attributed to climate change is rooted in the fact that we live in a fallen world that is bending and breaking under the weight of sin.
In decades past, people would often get their news from nightly television broadcasts or from a daily newspaper. The broadcasts would end after a short time and you could finish an entire newspaper in one sitting. Today, we not only have unprecedented access to information, but we also have constant exposure to it. You could spend every waking moment of every day reading news reports or streaming news online from sources all over the world and still never run out of material. Yes, it is important to know what is happening in the world. However, we must ensure that the news we consume is properly balanced in light of God’s Word. As we navigate these days of unprecedented danger, you won’t find much hope in the bleak headlines of mainstream news, but you will find hope in the Scriptures. It is for this reason the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” The hope we find in Jesus Christ strengthens and anchors us. Hebrews 6:18-19 declares, “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast...
This newsletter often covers difficult subject matter. However, it is not my desire that our readers feel discouraged or overwhelmed by the contents of these pages. Even as we “watch and pray” according to the command of our Saviour, we also know from Scripture that no matter what happens in this world, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:37-39 proclaims, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If you have not yet repented of your sins and dedicated your life to God, I urge you to do so now.
