Even So, Come Lord Jesus!
"And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city."
Genesis 11:5-8
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."
Revelation 22:13-15
"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
"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
Revelation 22:20
In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will once again examine the multitude of indicators that declare we are rapidly moving ever closer to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although most people have grown attached to this world and do not want to believe that it could ever end, we know that the situation on this planet continues to deteriorate and that our God has something far better prepared for His people.
As we progress through time, fewer and fewer people are still faithfully awaiting the return of Jesus Christ. The skeptics tell us we are foolish. After all, it has been over two thousand years since Jesus promised to return, and he still has not done so. However, it is important to remember that there were prophecies of Christ's first coming dating all the way back to the book of Genesis. By the time Jesus was finally born, very few people were still waiting for him to arrive. Perhaps this is the reason Jesus asked in Luke 18:8, "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
Yes, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is going to return, and I believe it will be very soon. The signs are all around us and the conditions of the end times which Jesus spoke of are coming to pass before our very eyes. As we watch and pray and see the circumstances of this world grow worse by the day, the cry of God's people is "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
The Rising One World Government!
Throughout the history of the world, there have been an uncountable number of wars and numerous disasters that have taken many lives. After a war or catastrophic event, there is often a call for the world to unite to prevent such disasters in the future. For example, after the first World War, the League of Nations was formed. After World War II, we saw the establishment of the United Nations. The first such call for world unity, however, is recorded in the book of Genesis.
Knowing full well that God had recently destroyed the entire earth with a flood, the population of the world banded together and began to build a city with a tower reaching unto the heavens. They reasoned amongst themselves that if God ever sent another flood, their tower would save them from being wiped out. When God saw what the people reasoned in their hearts to do, he was sorely displeased and confounded their languages. Since the people could no longer understand each other, they were unable to complete their Tower of Babel, and they were scattered all over the planet. The Bible also tells us that God divided the earth in the days of Peleg. Scientists would later refer to that event as the continental drift.
The Tower of Babel was the first ever attempt at a one world government. God put a stop to it because He understands that the hearts of men are evil by nature, and if the whole world was united together, it would only be a short amount of time before every man, woman, and child was under bondage and tyranny. It was the historian and writer Sir John Dalberg-Acton who said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." (1) Therein lies the reason why Satan wants a one world government, for if one were established, it would not be difficult for him to seize control.
The push for a global one world government continues to this day. In fact, the United Nations now claims 192 sovereign state nations as members of its organization. While the United Nations serves an umbrella group encompassing the entire world, there are other treaties and alliances being formed to unite countries in a closer tight-knit fashion. Europe has their European Union, which has united twenty-seven nations together. A recent report from Al Arabiya News indicates that Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria are planning to establish a common visa system. (2) A secret cable from the Ottawa Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, and dated January 28, 2005, discusses the possibility of a "North American Integration," which would bring together Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The recently leaked-out document states, "An incremental and pragmatic package of tasks for a new North American Initiative (NAI) will likely gain the most support among Canadian policymakers. Our research leads us to conclude that such a package should tackle both 'security' and 'prosperity goals.' This fits the recommendations of Canadian economists who have assessed the options for continental integration. While in principle many of them support more ambitious integration goals, like a custom union/single market and/or single currency, most believe the incremental approach is most appropriate at this time, and all agree that it helps pave the way to these goals if and when North Americans choose to pursue them." (3) In other words, they want to unite the North American nations gradually so that citizens of each nation will be more willing to accept an unified economy and currency.
As we watch countries around the world unite, I can't help but think back to my childhood when I would assemble jigsaw puzzles. I would put pieces together in clumps, and those clumps would get bigger and bigger as I went along. Finally, I would put all of the pieces together and the puzzle would be completed. We are seeing countries clumped together now. Eventually they will want to connect all of the pieces or clumps, and what they would hope to have at that point is a one world government.
The people who are working behind the scenes to establish a one world government include not only the United Nations, but groups such as the Council on Foreign Relations, or CFR. My father once stood outside their building located at 58 East 68th Street in New York City. Two women came out of the building under the guise of a smoking break, but undoubtedly they wanted to see what my parents and the people who were with them were up to. My father struck up a conversation with them and asked the question, "What is your agenda?" One of the women replied, "To ensure that the United States is not isolationist." What is isolationism? According to one dictionary definition, isolationism is "the policy or doctrine of isolating one's country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements, etc., seeking to devote the entire efforts of one's country to its own advancement and remain at peace by avoiding foreign entanglements and responsibilities." (4) If we read between the lines, it is easy to see that the Council on Foreign Relations exists to make sure that the United States takes its place in the one world government system, which they are attempting to install.
While most members of the organization are elitists not commonly known by the average person, some members of the group are quite famous. The official CFR roster includes names such as former president of the United States Bill Clinton, actress Angelina Jolie, actor Richard Dreyfuss, broadcast journalist Barbara Walters, and news anchor Tom Brokaw. (5)
In order to successfully bring forth a global one world government, you must indoctrinate children from a very young age on the virtues of such a system. It was Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Communist Party, who once said, "Give me just one generation of youth, and I'll transform the whole world." (6) When children go to school, their fertile young minds are often filled with globalist propaganda. In fact, one of the most bone-chilling quotes I've ever read came from a professor, known as Dr. Chester M. Pierce from Harvard University, who stated, "Every child in America entering school at the age of five is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It's up to you as teachers to make all these sick children well - by creating the international child of the future." (7)
The good news is that all efforts to set up a one world government will fail. Ultimately, the biggest obstacle preventing Satan's plans from reaching fruition is the existence of God's children who will always refuse to go along with Satan's evil system. In Daniel 2:44 we read, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever."
Did Obama Get Osama?
On the evening of May 1, 2011, Barack Obama announced that the infamous terrorist known as Osama bin Laden was shot and killed at a compound located in Abbottabad, Pakistan. According to the official story, bin Laden was killed by an elite team of Navy Seals known as Team Six. (8) They say they then quickly identified the body by a variety of means, including a DNA test. (9) After supposedly verifying the identity of the man they shot and killed, bin Laden was quickly given a water burial in the North Arabian Sea. (10)
The mission, which was code-named Operation Neptune Spear, seems to be covered in a shroud of secrecy. From the very outset, many of the details fed to the public by the government and the media were contradictory, and what really happened that evening in Abbottabad has been very difficult to ascertain.
While the United States' government claims that they quickly buried Osama bin Laden at sea because it is customary in Islam for a body to be buried within twenty-four hours of death, they seemed ignorant of the fact that Islam generally considers burial at sea to be a disgrace unless there are absolutely no other options. A cleric from Egypt, known as Ahmad al-Tayeb, claims that bin Laden's sea burial "runs contrary to the principles of Islamic laws, religious values, and humanitarian customs." (11) Why would the government bother to abide by one Islamic law while simultaneously violating another?
To date the Obama Administration has offered no evidence whatsoever that Osama bin Laden was actually killed when they said he was and in the manner that they claim. Many folks believe that bin Laden was already dead and had been dead for nearly a decade. I have a Fox News report in front of me, which is dated December 26, 2001, and it has the headline "Bin Laden Already Dead." The article, which cites a report from the Pakistan Observer, claims that Osama bin Laden died from a lung complication near the Tora Bora Mountains. (12)
An ABC News report, dated January 28, 2002 states, that on the night of September 10, 2001, bin Laden was at a hospital in Pakistan receiving dialysis. The report cites a hospital worker who claims they had a very unusual patient that night. "The military had him surrounded, and I saw the mysterious patient helped out of a car. I have seen many pictures of the man. He is the man we know as Osama bin Laden. I also heard two army officers talking to each other. They were saying that Osama bin Laden had to be watched carefully and looked after." (13)
A report from CNN, dated January 18, 2002, quotes Pakistan's former president, General Pervez Musharraf, as saying of bin Laden, "I think now, frankly, he is dead for the reason he is a kidney patient." Musharraf went on to say, "I don't know if he has been getting all that treatment in Afghanistan now. And the photographs that have been shown of him on television show him extremely weak. I would give the first priority that he is dead and the second priority that he is alive somewhere in Afghanistan." (14)
We may never know what really happened and how much of the official story is true. With today's modern technology, it is easy to fake pictures and videos. In fact, according to an article from the Washington Post, dated May 25, 2010, the CIA admits to faking at least one bin Laden video. (15) However, the majority of the American people will never question the official story because they desperately want it to be true. I personally cannot say for sure what happened because I wasn't there. However, in my personal opinion, I find the official story to be flimsy at best. It will be interesting to see if Barack Obama attempts to use this event as a way to bolster his chances of reelection.
Is The United States Becoming A Police State?
The United States of America is traditionally known as a "free country." In fact, the United States' Declaration of Independence refers to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as "unalienable rights." Yet, since September 11, 2001, we have seen the freedoms that American citizens traditionally enjoy become slowly and systematically stripped away. When the US Patriot Act was passed in October 2001, it gave the United States government an unprecedented amount of authority to watch, spy, and conduct surveillance on the American people. Agencies of the government, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, can now issue letters demanding the release of information regarding American citizens. These letters, which are known as National Security Letters, require no probable cause or judicial oversight. In the year 2010, the FBI issued 24,287 such letters and demanded information pertaining to 14,212 Americans. (16)
How bad could things get? Counter terrorism experts are now speculating that security measures may need to be increased at a variety of locations; including malls, shopping centers, stadiums, hotels, and even places of worship, due to concern of retaliatory terrorist attacks related to Osama bin Laden's death. According to security consultant David Boehm, in the future we could see security checkpoints at all such locations, which they refer to as "soft targets." (17) Will we someday be forced to suffer through an airport style security checkpoint just to go shopping at the local department store?
On May 4, 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, issued a press release announcing new policy changes, which will allow them to seize food and prevent it from being released to the marketplace for up to thirty days regardless of whether or not there is any evidence that the food may be unsafe for consumption. The press release states, "Previously, the FDA's ability to detain food products applied only when the agency had credible evidence that a food product presented was contaminated or mislabeled in a way that presented a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals." The new regulations, which are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act, will take effect in July 2011. (18)
Many news outlets have been publishing reports in recent days of Apple and Google's ability to collect data about its mobile phone users and to track their whereabouts everywhere they go. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, phones running on Google's Android operating system collect user location data every few seconds and transmit that data to Google several times an hour. Apple also collects location data of its iPhone users and receives transmission of that data every twelve hours. (19) It has now come to light that the Michigan State Police have been utilizing a device that can quickly copy all information from a person's mobile phone, and the equipment is sometimes being used even in cases of minor traffic violations. The device, which is known as the Physical Analyzer and is manufactured by a company known as CelleBrite, allows for the "complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags," according to the product brochure. (20)
Legislation has been drafted by Department of Transportation officials commissioning the creation of a Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office to conduct trials for a new mileage tax that would charge automobile drivers for every mile that they drive. The proposal is highly unpopular, and according to Geoffrey Styles, writer of the Energy Outlook blog, the potential invasion of privacy is a big reason many American drivers would balk at the implementation of the new tax. "The problem comes the minute you introduce a device in the vehicle. [People] do not want the government to know where they are and where they are going," Styles said. (21)
Promiscuous Behavior - Condoned By The Powers That Be!
In today's society, the population of the Western world is constantly bombarded with lust-instilling material from television, magazines, licentious musicians, provocative Hollywood stars, and especially the Internet. This constant exposure to unseemly material is wreaking havoc on the lives of not only the adult population, but also on the lives of the children.
The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ranks within the top ten for incidences of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. In fact, the occurrence of HIV in Philadelphia is five times the national average, and 25 percent of all new infections occur with youth ages thirteen to twenty-four. In an attempt to combat the spread of STDs, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health has been distributing free condoms throughout the city at more than one hundred sites, including community-based organizations, churches, corner stores, beauty salons, adult clubs, bookstores, bathhouses, and college health centers. However, the city of Philadelphia decided that wasn't enough, and they have now launched a new program known as "Take Control Philly." The website for the program, which is geared towards youth, includes instructional videos which explain how to use condoms, and it also features a form that children ranging from ages eleven to nineteen can fill out to request that condoms be delivered to their homes through the mail. (22)
As It Was In The Days Of Lot!
For those who have studied American history at any depth, it is quite apparent that mainstream culture in the United States has grown more permissive as the years have passed. We now see a whole slew of sins brought to the forefront of society and proudly paraded about while those responsible for the aberrant behavior are patted on the back and told that their lifestyles are acceptable. Yet, our Holy Bible tells us that our God is unchanging. If he disapproved of certain actions in the past, he still disapproves of them today, regardless of what politicians, activists, or preachers may have to say about it. In Malachi 3:6 it says, "For I am the LORD, I change not."
The Bible makes it very clear that God does not approve of homosexual behavior. However, the few Christians still willing to stand up in opposition to this perverse lifestyle find themselves in an increasingly precarious situation. Those who dare to speak out against homosexuality are ostracized and called bigots. It has become quite clear that homosexuals are determined to ram their way of life down our throats and force us to not only tolerate their behavior, but accept it.
Lawmakers in the state of California are now considering a bill known as the Fair Education Act, which would require schools to include the "achievements" of homosexuals in their history and social studies curriculum. State Senator Mark Leno, an openly gay Democrat from San Francisco, authored the bill. "It is apparent that we are censoring the history lessons of our students by denying them the facts of the struggle for equal civil rights for the LGBT community," Leno said. (23)
The United States Navy has announced they will now allow same-sex marriages to be performed in their chapels. "Consistent with the tenets of his or her religious organization, a chaplain may officiate a same-sex, civil marriage: if it is conducted in accordance with a state that permits same-sex marriage or union; and if that chaplain is, according to the applicable state and local laws, otherwise fully certified to officiate that state's marriages," said Rear Admiral Mark Tidd, the Navy's chief of chaplains. (24)
Despite being a predominantly Catholic nation, the South American country of Brazil has legalized same-sex unions. The decision by the Brazilian Supreme Court was unanimous with the vote being 10-0. (25) As the homosexual lifestyle becomes more prevalent and accepted all over the world, it becomes another sign that we are living in the end times. In Luke 17:28-30, the Scriptures tell us, " Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."
Record Breaking Deadly Weather!
April 2011 was a month of extreme weather in the United States. There were six states - Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia - that recorded their wettest April since 1895. Meanwhile, Texas suffered from a drought that covered 95% of this large state. To make matters worse, there were 305 tornadoes from April 25-28, which killed at least 309 people. The total amount of tornadoes in the United States for the entire month of April was an astounding 875. (26)
The recent wet weather in the United States has also caused catastrophic flooding in many areas along the Mississippi River. The flooding was so bad in some sections along the river that the Army Corp of Engineers was left with no other recourse but to destroy one levee and open floodgates in other areas, which has left millions of acres of land underwater. (27)
Weather Services International is predicting the formation of fifteen tropical storms this hurricane season. Eight of those storms are expected to be of hurricane strength with at least four of them being a category-3 strength hurricane or greater. Weather forecasters have warned Americans to "expect a much more impactful season along the US coastline." (28)
There certainly seems to be an increase in deadly weather, not just in the United States, but all over the world. As we see earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and other disasters occur, it serves as a reminder of how much we need God's protection in these tumultuous times.
A Stalling Economy!
As usual, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and his associates at the Federal Reserve are insisting that America is on the right track, and that the road to recovery is just around the bend. They keep telling us that things are getting better, but unemployment remains extremely high, the housing market is in rough shape, inflation is rising, gas prices are hovering around $4.00 per gallon, and the United States government is on the verge of defaulting on its debt if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling by August 2011.
How bad is the job market in the United States? McDonalds Corp, which is known for its cheap, unhealthy fast food, recently went on a job hiring spree and hired 62,000 new employees. The original plan called for the hire of only 50,000 employees, but what is truly shocking is the amount of people they had to turn away. Over one million people applied for jobs at McDonalds. (29)
A real estate research firm, known as Zillow, reported in May 2011 that 28.4 percent of all single-family home mortgages now have negative equity. Home loans in this condition are referred to as "underwater mortgages." (30) The city of Chicago is so desperate to get rid of their abandoned homes that they have now teamed up with Bank of America to simply donate some of the empty houses to nonprofit organizations. (31) Just think, the housing market is so bad in Chicago that they have decided to start giving homes away!
On May 16, 2011, the United States' government reached its debt ceiling of $14.29 trillion dollars. Although the country is at its debt limit, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress that the government will continue to be able to pay its debts until August 2, 2011, through the use of "extraordinary measures," such as borrowing money from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. (32) In all likelihood, the U.S. Congress will raise the debt ceiling before we reach August 2011. However, the reality remains that the United States of America is a country that can no longer function without borrowing money. The interest payments on U.S. debt in the year 2010 exceeded 413 billion dollars. (33)
In closing, I encourage all of you to keep seeking God in these troubling times. I know there are many things wrong in this world in which we live. However, we serve a great and merciful God who will watch over us and keep us safe if we abide in His will. If you have not yet given your heart to God, I encourage you to do so now. I know that without the Lord Jesus Christ in my life, I would feel hopeless. Our Saviour has promised that He will return, and I know that God always keeps His promises. The cry of my heart truly is, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
Thank you to all who support this ministry. It is your kindness and generosity that allows us at Last Trumpet Ministries to do what we do. We will endeavor to keep you all informed of the current events happening in these last days and strive to improve the quality and content of each new issue of this newsletter in the subsequent months. It has been one year since we published the final issue written by my father, Pastor David J. Meyer. I know that he cannot be replaced, but I thank God and all of our readers for this opportunity to serve in his absence and work for the Lord as we grow ever closer to the glorious return of our Saviour. If you have any prayer requests, small or great, feel welcomed to send them our way. Our intercessors will give each request individual attention. We also ask you to keep us in prayer concerning a new processing center that we would like to build on property adjoining our church that my father had purchased shortly before passing on. We seek God's wisdom, grace, and blessing as we attempt to work out all of the details regarding this project. I know that if it is the Lord's will, everything will work out. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Samuel David Meyer
Acknowledgements
01. Phrases.org.uk, http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely.html.
02. Al Arabiya News, May 1, 2011, By Dina Al-Shibeeb, http://english.alarabiya.net.
03. Wikileaks, April 28, 2011, Cable 05OTTAWA268, http://wikileaks.ch.
04. Dictionary.com, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/isolationism.
05. Official CFR Roster, http://cfr.org.
06. GoodReads.com, http://goodreads.com/quotes/show/106700
07. What Liberals Say, http://aim.org/wls/author/chester-m-pierce/.
08. The Week, May 3, 2011, By The Week, http://theweek.com.
09. USA Today, May 2, 2011, By Douglas Stanglin, http://usatoday.com.
10. USA Today, May 2, 2011, By Michael Winter, http://usatoday.com.
11. Christian Science Monitor, May 3, 2011, By Ariel Zirulnick, http://csmonitor.com.
12. Fox News, December 26, 2001, By Fox News, http://foxnews.com.
13. CBS News, January 28, 2002, By CBS News, http://cbsnews.com.
14. CNN, January 18, 2002, By CNN, http://cnn.com.
15. Washington Post, May 25, 2010, By Jeff Stein, http://washingtonpost.com.
16. Electronic Privacy Information Center, May 9, 2011, http://epic.org.
17. CBS New York, May 3, 2011, By CBS New York, New York, NY.
18. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Official Press Release, May 4, 2011, http://fda.gov.
19. The Wall Street Journal, April 22, 2011, By Julia Angwin and Jennifer Valentino-Devries, http://wsj.com.
20. The Newspaper, April 19, 2011, http://thenewspaper.com/news/34/3458.asp.
21. MSNBC, May 5, 2011, By Tom Curry, http://msnbc.com.
22. Rhrealitycheck.org, April 27, 2011, By Drew De Los Reyes.
23. The Sacramento Bee, May 7, 2011, By Diana Lambert, http://sacbee.com.
24. Time Magazine, May 10, 2011, By Mark Thompson, http://time.com.
25. The Christian Science Monitor, May 6, 2011, By Taylor Barnes, http://csmonitor.com.
26. Associated Press, May 10, 2011, By Beth Borenstein.
27. USA Today, May 18, 2011, By Thomas Frank, http://usatoday.com.
28. AFP, April 27, 2011, By AFP, Miami, FL.
29. Bloomberg News, April 28, 2011, By Leslie Patton, http://bloomberg.com.
30. Business Insider, May 9, 2011, By Business Insider, http://businessinsider.com.
31. Chicago Breaking Business News, May 11, 2011, By Mary Ellen Podmolik.
32. Huffington Post, May 18, 2011, By Elise Foley, http://huffingtonpost.com.
33. Treasury Direct, http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/ir/ir_expense.htm.Special Note: A new tribute website for Pastor David J. Meyer can now be accessed at http://pastormeyer.org.
Comments regarding this newsletter or topic suggestions may be submitted to editor@lasttrumpetnewsletter.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.
