In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will examine the current events of our time in these last days and the reason things have happened in the way that they have happened. We will look at the root and the cause of all the pain, misery, strife, and sin we see slowly wearing away and eroding this world and the people who live in it. "How did things get this way?" you might wonder. Ultimately, every problem this world faces today is due to the effects of sin.
The very first sin was committed by Lucifer while he was still in heaven. He was a powerful angel and being lifted up with pride, he decided that he was going to be "like the most high." In essence, he wanted to overthrow God and take His place on the heavenly throne. God thrust Satan out of Heaven because of his horrific sin, along with some of the angels which had aligned themselves with Lucifer. While some angels were cast out of Heaven, others left voluntarily. In total, one third of the angels left Heaven and became what we now call "demons."
Of course, being cast out of heaven didn't damper Satan's lust for power. Since that time he has sought to take over and control God's creation as he wanders "to and fro in the earth." His goal has always been to control and enslave the population of the world, and to do that he would need a one world government. Satan has inspired many evil men throughout the ages to do his bidding. They were men such as Alexander the Great, the Caesars of ancient Rome, religious leaders such as the popes of Rome, Muhammad, and tyrants of more recent years, such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Numerous wicked men began to form clandestine orders and secret societies, some of which still exist today. Additionally, countless other men and women have been manipulated and used by Satan without them even realizing it.
The good news is that you do not have to be under the bondage of Satan. Through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we have victory over sin, death, and hell. I urge you to submit your heart to God while you still can. We don't know how much time we have left, but the hour is late, the days are evil, and the time is short. None of us are promised tomorrow. Call upon the Lord, repent of your sins, and He will deliver you.
Economic Bondage!
When we consider the economies of the United States and various countries around the world, things seem pretty bleak for most people. Sure, Barack Obama still insists that things are improving, but for most of us that improvement is happening at such a slow pace that we don't even notice it.
The cost of Obama's stimulus plan has been exponential, and many of the programs it funded have been failures. To date, we've seen little improvement in the unemployment rate, and the housing market lost all momentum after the first time home buyer's tax credit expired. We have to ask ourselves: was it really worth spending hundreds of billions on a stimulus package that so far has only yielded a very miniscule amount of economic growth? Furthermore, it's immoral to stimulate growth at the expense of our nation's future generations. All of the money Obama borrowed for the stimulus package and all of the other debt piled on top of that will eventually have to be paid by our children, our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren if this world should tarry that long. Our government is spending more money than we have and passing on the burden of repayment to Americans who haven't even been born yet!
The United States can only sustain these extreme levels of debt for so long. Eventually, there will be no recourse other than to raise taxes on Americans. David Stockman, former director of President Reagan's Office of Management & Budget, stated in an interview, "We are going to have to be honest with the American people and say we are, unfortunately, going to have to pay a lot more in taxes to fund the government." (1)
Simply raising taxes won't be enough, however. The government will also need to implement new taxes. One such tax is the upcoming requirement that all Americans purchase health insurance. Although Obama originally insisted that the new health insurance requirements were not a tax, his Administration is now claiming that it actually is a tax, and because it is an exercise of the government's "power to lay and collect taxes," the requirement is legal nationwide and not subject to regulations on interstate commerce. It was only last September when Obama stated, "For us to say that you've got to take responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase." (2) Clearly, it was always a tax. Why else would the IRS be the agency levying the monetary penalty if we refuse to buy insurance?
We are living in a time when we're beginning to see the very fabric of American society unravel. In areas of South Dakota, Michigan, Alabama, and Pennsylvania, local governments are so cash-strapped that they can no longer afford upkeep on some of their local roads. Their solution has been to convert paved roads to gravel. (3)
In Oakland, California, budget constraints have forced the police department to lay off eighty police officers. Because of this unfortunate decrease in law enforcement personnel, the Oakland Police department has created a list of forty-four crimes they are no longer able to respond to in person. These crimes include grand theft, burglary, vehicle collision, identity theft, and vandalism. Instead, victims are directed to report those crimes online. (4)
Over 120 schools in the United States have been forced to give their teachers involuntary furloughs in order to cut costs. This has reduced the school week to four days instead of five for many children. Other communities around the country have been forced to cut public transit services, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, has turned off one third of its 24,512 streetlights. (5)
It's a well-known reality that the cost of higher education has been soaring over the last few decades. In fact, the number of Americans still paying off more than $20,000 in student loans a decade after graduating has doubled since 1990. (6) The cost of college at public universities has spiked by 30% since 1980. (7) Now, because of these hard economic times, college graduates are having a difficult time finding employment, and 80% of them are moving back in with their parents after graduation. (8)
The unemployment rate currently sits at 9.6%. While Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke remains optimistic that the economy will continue to improve, economists at Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research are projecting an average economic growth of less than 2% in 2011. Many other economists seem pretty glum as well. Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS, Inc., said, "The economy is stagnating. Consumer spending isn't going anywhere. Unemployment is going to be very slow to come down, so we'll be stuck in the mid-9 percent range for a while." Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York had this to say, "The reason for the darker mood is there's a slowing in more than one area of the economy at the same time. Demand is not accelerating, and firms see the uneven recovery and all this uncertainty, so they're hesitant to invest and hire." (9)
A big part of the reason our unemployment is so high is because so many jobs formerly held by Americans have shifted to India, China, and elsewhere around the world. It's interesting to note that in a recent Fox News poll, 62% of respondents indicated that they feel the United States is on the decline. (10) Here let it be noted that China has now eclipsed Japan as the world's second-largest economy, and it's estimated that China will overtake the United States' slot as the world's largest economy within ten years. (11)
There is much more that could be said about the economy. I realize that reading these reports may make it difficult to maintain a positive outlook. However, we serve a mighty God, and He is able to supply our every need. Most of us will probably never be wealthy in this world. But as we work for God, we lay up treasures in heaven. No one can take these away, and the earthly governments of this world cannot tax them!
Islam - The False Religion Of "Peace"!
There's been a lot of controversy over the religion of Islam lately. Much of the recent outrage toward Islam has been spurred by plans to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque just a few blocks from Ground Zero in New York City where Muslim terrorists flew hijacked commercial flights into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Many prominent figures, including President Obama, have stepped forward to publically defend the construction of the new Islamic building. While it's true that from a legal standpoint the building has a right to exist, constructing it so close to Ground Zero feels much like an attempt to gloat over the attack perpetrated by Muslim extremists nine years ago.
The imam (Islamic teacher) behind the construction plans of the mosque near Ground Zero, Feisal Abdul Rauf, was sent on a "three-nation outreach" trip to the Middle East in August of 2010 by the U.S. State Department. This trip was all expenses paid, and the $16,000 tab was funded by American tax dollars. (12) I wonder if this U.S. State Department would also like to send Christian missionaries on a publically funded "outreach trip." After all, that would only be fair!
There are many people insisting that Islam is a peaceful religion. Barack Obama, despite his claims to be a Christian, seems particularly fond of Islam. During a speech delivered on June 4, 2009, Obama said, "America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings." Obama also stated in the same speech, "As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith." Obama also quoted from the Quran during that speech. (13)
If Islam is a religion of peace, why do their followers persecute Christians in nations that are predominantly Islamic? In Indonesia, Christian church services are often interrupted by Muslims chanting "infidels!" and "leave now!" Muslims have thrown shoes and water bottles at Christians, and on September 12, 2010, one Christian worshipper was stabbed and a minister was pounded on the head with a wooden plank. (14)
Why is it that if you draw a picture of Muhammad, Muslims will attempt to kill you? Why is it that if you threaten to burn a Quran, Muslims will chant "death to Christians!" These hardly seem like the reactions of a peaceful group of people. But if we really want to understand why they react in such a manner, we need to look no further than the Quran itself. The so-called "holy book" states, "And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution of [Muslims] is worse than slaughter of [of non-believers]... and fight them until persecution is no more and religion is for Allah." Another verse in the Quran reads as follows, "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them." (15) There are numerous other verses in the Quran along those same lines.
Barack Obama and several of the politicians in power will generally insist that the violent Muslims are just the "extremists." Actually, the "extremist" Muslims are the truest adherents of the religion as they follow the Quran more closely than their less zealous brethren. The majority of Muslims in the United States aren't terrorists and probably never will be. They have, for the most part, been Americanized. However, there are a large number of violent "extremist" Muslims all over the world, and some of them are most likely in America. One such example is Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist who shot and killed twelve people and wounded thirty-one more at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009. (16)
I believe it is part of Satan's plan to put Christendom and Islam against each other to the detriment and destruction of both religions. This would clear much of the playing field, so to speak, and make his goal of a one world government and a New World Order much easier to implement.
The False Religion Of Earth Worship!
Although there's often much talk of extremist Islam, there is another group of dangerous radical extremists which do not receive a lot of attention. These people worship "Mother Earth," and they believe that this planet is overpopulated and being destroyed by humans. Adherents of this religion consider human beings a "cancer to the earth" and believe that the population of the world must be drastically reduced.
One such extremist was the now deceased James J. Lee who stormed the headquarters of the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland, on September 1, 2010. Lee came in wielding a gun and carrying what he claimed were explosive devices. He took three employees of the Discovery Channel hostage and demanded that the channel and its affiliates cease what he deemed to be programming that endorsed human reproduction. Lee had previously written on his website, "Saving the planet means saving what's left of the non-human wildlife by decreasing the human population. That means stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies!" (17) Lee also referred to babies as "parasitic human infants" and said the Discovery Channel should air "programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility." (18) Police officers eventually shot and killed Lee after a nearly four hour standoff. (19)
While most people would agree that James J. Lee was a deranged madman, few people seem to realize that some of the world's most prominent billionaires share the same views on human population. They are men such as Bill Gates, Maurice Strong, and Ted Turner, who because of their vast wealth also wield a great deal of power and influence. It was Bill Gates who stated during a recent seminar, "The world today has 6.8 billion people. That's headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps ten or fifteen percent." (20) Maurice Strong is a powerful Canadian businessman and billionaire who is heavily involved with the United Nations. He once stated, "Licences to have babies incidentally is something that I got in trouble for some years ago, for suggesting even in Canada that this might be necessary at some point, at least some restriction on the right to have a child." (21) Maurice Strong has praised Ted Turner many times, and some theorize that it was actually Ted Turner who was responsible for erecting the Georgia Guidestones.
The Georgia Guidestones is a large granite monument located in Elbert County, Georgia, in the United States. There are ten guides inscribed on the structure in English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. The guides call for, among other things, the earth's population to be reduced and maintained to a level under 500 million as well as the establishment of a new one-world language and the formation of a world court in which to handle disputes. The final guide states, "Be not a cancer on the earth - leave room for nature - leave room for nature." (22) It's interesting to note that there are ten guides carved in stone, which basically outline Satan's plans for this world. This seems like a direct mockery of God's Ten Commandments, which were also originally carved in stone.
The Continued Erosion Of Privacy!
Every month I see news stories come across my desk that detail the continual and rapid erosion of privacy in the United States and the world. The federal government, state governments, municipal governments, and global corporations are growing ever bolder as they attempt to find new ways to intrude upon our lives. I'm sure if people from only a few generations ago could see what's happening these days they would look on in amazement and horror. If this world survives another fifty years, will we have any privacy left?
Last month, Time Magazine reported that it is now legal for government agents in nine states to sneak onto your property, attach a GPS device to the bottom of your car, and track you wherever you go. This was the technique used back in 2007 when DEA agents in Oregon snuck onto the property of Juan Pineda-Moreno, a man they suspected of growing marijuana. They attached a GPS device to his jeep while it was parked in his driveway and tracked him wherever he went. When Pineda-Moreno learned of their actions, he challenged the DEA in court. A three-judge panel ruled in January 2010 that this was an acceptable form of surveillance and the DEA's actions were perfectly legal. (23)
In July 2010, it was announced that Unilever had added GPS tracking devices to fifty packages of their Omo laundry detergent in Brazil. The GPS device activates when a customer removes the box of detergent from the store shelf. Agents of the company then use the device to track the customer to his or her home, and then they give them a pocket video camera as a prize. (24) Could this contest be a way to test technology for future use? Personally, I would be upset to learn that goods which I had purchased at the supermarket were used to track me to my home.
In Cleveland, Ohio, city officials are rolling out new high-tech trash and recycling carts embedded with radio frequency identification chips. (RFID) The chips are being implemented so city workers can track how often households put out their recycling carts. If records indicate that the recycling cart hasn't been brought to the curb for an extended period of time, city workers will then sort through the resident's trash. If there are more than 10% worth of recyclable material in the trash, the offending household could be fined $100. City officials from Alexandria, Virginia, announced plans earlier this year to implement similar trash tracking technology, and some cities in England have reportedly been using the same technology for quite some time. (25)
Several communities in Wisconsin, particularly around the Milwaukee area, have adopted new city ordinances which require stores that purchase used goods to take pictures of the merchandise they buy and pictures of the people from whom they purchase the items. They are then required to submit the photos they took to the local police department. While some communities have exemptions for clothing and bookstores, other communities are more strict, requiring every used book and clothing item be reported to the police. Stores are then required to hold the merchandise for a set period of time -- ten to thirty days -- before they can resell the items. Chuck Fletcher, a police detective in Greenfield, Wisconsin, stated, "If you take anything secondhand, you need to know the integrity of your customer. They say, '99% of my customers are honest' but what about the other 1%?" (26)
More Food Contamination!
In this modern era of mass-produced food and rapid nationwide transportation of goods, it's becoming increasingly difficult to prevent contamination in our food supply. Thus we've been seeing massive food recalls in greater frequency as the Food and Drug Administration struggles to maintain a safe food supply in the United States.
In August 2010 there was a massive egg recall in this country as more than 1,500 cases of salmonella food poisoning were reported after Americans consumed tainted eggs. The recall spanned 550 million eggs in over a dozen states, and it involved over twenty brands of eggs. (27)
But the food recalls didn't stop with just the eggs. A Buffalo, New York, based company called Zemco, which is a unit of Tyson Foods, recalled over 380,000 pounds of deli meat that had been distributed to Walmart stores because of a possible Listeria contamination. (28) Cargill Inc. has recalled over 8,500 pounds of ground beef after it was discovered to be tainted with a rare strain of E. coli. (29) Even pet food has been subject to recalls as Proctor and Gamble's Iams pet food brand was found to be potentially contaminated with salmonella. (30)
A Shaking, Quaking And Erupting Creation!
We continue to see significant natural disasters happening all over the globe in these last days. The American states of Tennessee, Arkansas, Iowa, and New Mexico; as well as the countries of Brazil, China, Pakistan, and various others have all seen significant flooding in 2010. There have also been wildfires, earthquakes, and even volcano eruptions in recent days.
The Mount Sinabung volcano in Indonesia erupted for the first time in four hundred years on August 29, 2010. The volcano erupted again on September 3, 2010, and shot ash more than a mile into the air while reportedly triggering over fifty earthquakes. (31) There was also a volcano eruption, which resulted in the evacuation of 8,000 people, in Colombia last month. (32) Earthquakes will continue to be a problem. AFP reported last month that researchers at University of California-Irvine and Arizona State University have discovered that earthquakes in California are more frequent than they had previously realized, and the "big one" could hit at any time along the San Andreas fault line. (33) As we watch natural disasters continuing to intensify, it should serve as a continual reminder that we need to look up, for our redemption draweth nigh!
In closing, I want to encourage you all to put your hope and trust in Jesus. It is getting ugly out in our world, so saturated with sin, and there are momentous things happening as we get ever closer to our Saviour's glorious return. As we watch and pray and see all that is happening, it becomes easier to see Satan's footprints all over this world while he wreaks havoc and turmoil at seemingly every turn. But there is nothing to be afraid of if we abide in the love of Christ, for as the disciple John wrote, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear." Thank you to all who support this ministry. If you have any prayer requests, do feel free to send them to us, and our teams of intercessors will give them each individual attention. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Samuel David Meyer
Acknowledgements
01. Bloomberg Businessweek, August 12, 2010, by Tom Keene, New York, NY.
02. New York Times, July 18, 2010, by Robert Pear, Washington, D.C.
03. The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2010, by Lauren Etter, Spiritwood, ND.
04. CBS 5 / KCBS / Associated Press, July 15, 2010. Oakland, CA.
05. New York Times, August 7, 2010, by Michael Cooper, New York, NY.
06. Financial Times, July 31, 2010, by Edward Luce.
07. Marketwatch, September 7, 2010, by Kurt Brouwer,
http://marketwatch.com.
08. The Baltimore Sun, June 20, 2010, by Jessica Anderson, Baltimore, MD.
09. Bloomberg News, September 11, 2010, by Shobhana Chandra and Alex Tanzi, Washington, D.C.
10. Fox News, July 30, 2010, by Dana Blanton,
http://foxnews.com.
11. Associated Press, August 17, 2010, by Joe McDonald, Beijing, China.
12. Associated Press, August 19, 2010, by Matthew Lee, Washington, D.C.
13. Huffington Post, June 4, 2009, by Jennifer Loven, Cairo, Egypt.
14. Associated Press, September 12, 2010, by Associated Press, Bekasi, Indonesia.
15. The Religion of Peace,
http://thereligionofpeace.com.
16. Fox News, November 6, 2009, by Michelle Maskaly,
http://foxnews.com.
17. Afro Briefs, September 4, 2010, by Afro Staff,
http://afro.com.
18. Los Angeles Times, September 2, 2010, by Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles, CA.
19. Afro Briefs, September 4, 2010, by Afro Staff,
http://afro.com.
20. YouTube Video, http://youtube.com/watch?=-0gvDkVcFkl.
21. BrainyQuote,
http://brainyquote.com.
22. Wikipedia,
http://wikipedia.org.
23. Time Magazine, August 25, 2010, by Adam Cohen.
24. AdvertisingAge, July 29, 2010, by Laurel Wentz, New York, NY.
http://adage.com.
25. Cleveland.com, August 20, 2010, by Mark Gillispie, Cleveland, OH.
26. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 8, 2010, by Doris Hajewski, Milwaukee, WI.
27. RightPundits, August 30, 2010, by Andrew Zarowny,
http://rightpundits.com.
28. Associated Press, August 24, 2010, by Associated Press, Buffalo, NY.
29. Associated Press, September 3, 2010, by Martiga Lohn, St. Paul, MN.
30. RightPundits, August 30, 2010, by Andrew Zarowny,
http://rightpundits.com.
31. World News Examiner, September 5, 2010, by Rebecca Kelley, Indonesia.
32. AFP, August 25, 2010, by AFP, Pasto, Colombia.
33. AFP, August 21, 2010, by AFP, Los Angeles, CA.
Special Note: A new tribute website for Pastor David J. Meyer can now be accessed at
http://pastormeyer.org.
http://lasttrumpetministries.org 
