The Trumpet Herald

Giving the trumpet a certain sound.

December 1997

The Trumpet Herald is a commentary on certain current events in the light of inspired prophecy.

One World, One Market


The recent roller-coaster ride on Wall Street brought a vivid reminder of just how interconnected the economy of the world truly is. This was perhaps best expressed in a series of articles in U.S. News & World Report, one of which was titled, "One World, One Market," (Nov. 10, 1997, pp. 40-43).

While world markets quickly recovered from the recent scare, men and women everywhere got a fleeting glimpse of the fragile state of global finance, and how panic in a distant region can produce collapse nearby. Future experiences with such panic will doubtless produce calls for greater control of the world economy—of the sort Bible prophecy describes.

Inspired commentary:

Revelation 13 speaks of how, at the close of time, the world economy will be harnessed against the people of God (verses 16-17). Ellen White speaks of how economic insecurity will exist in the last days:

    "There are not many, even among educators and statesmen, who comprehend the causes that underlie the present state of society. Those who hold the reins of government are not able to solve the problem of moral corruption, poverty, pauperism, and increasing crime. They are struggling in vain to place business operations on a more secure basis. If men would give more heed to the teaching of God's word, they would find a solution of the problems that perplex them" (Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 13).

While the final unity of church and state in our land will be hailed as the ultimate solution to such chaos, the inspired pen foretells what the true consequence will be:

    "When Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power to sustain a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution, then will the papal sabbath be enforced by the combined authority of church and state. There will be a national apostasy, which will end only in national ruin" (Evangelism, p. 235).

Religious Right Sweep In Virginia


For the first time since Reconstruction, the Republican Party swept all major statewide offices in Virginia during the recent off-year elections. And the Religious Right is taking the credit.

On November 5, the day after the election, CNN's "Inside Politics" reported that while the vote total between Virginia's two leading candidates for governor was virtually even among non-Religious Right voters, those placing themselves in the Religious Right camp voted Republican by over 80 percent! Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition, made it clear when interviewed for "Inside Politics" that his organization—and those of like mind—deserved the credit for delivering the state to the G.O.P. Most analysts seem to agree.

Inspired commentary:

The growing power of the Religious Right in America is a clear fulfillment of the following inspired prediction:

    "Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured" (The Great Controversy, p. 581).

In the end, this movement will become so powerful that political leaders will yield to its demands for Sunday legislation:

    "To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for a Sunday law" (Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 451).

Ghost Hunters' Convention


The rapid growth of spiritualism in our land was evidenced recently in an article in U.S. News & World Report, describing the first-ever ghost-hunters' conference held two months ago in Decatur, Illinois. The International Ghost Hunter's Society, sponsor of the meeting, offers one of 60 ghost-hunting Web sites currently on the Internet, up from only three last year (U.S. News, Nov. 3, 1997, p. 14).

David Oester, president of this Society, makes the following observation:

    "Ghosts have intelligence and emotions like they did when they were living. We all know people with attitude problems. Well, those are the kind of ghosts they'll be. We don't consider them to be evil or demonic, just because they have an attitude problem" (Ibid.).

Inspired commentary

The above statement is an incredible and blatant contradiction of God's Word:

    "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun" (Eccl. 9:5, 6).

Ellen White's predictions of visitation from presumably departed loved ones come quickly to mind:

    "Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions. We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils" (The Great Controversy, p. 560).

New Evidence of Killer Beef


The November 24, 1997 cover story of U.S. News & World Report carried the huge headline: "Outbreak: Danger in the Food Supply." The article detailed the nationwide spread of E. coli and salmonella to humans through cattle, chickens, cheese, and eggs (pp. 70-84). From the outbreak of salmonella DT-104 in England to the mysterious death of cattle in Vermont and the sale of contaminated cheese in Washington State, the epidemic is growing and grabbing the world's headlines. "There need to be studies on how these pathogens circulate on farms and how we can prevent their spread," says a representative of the Center of Disease Control. "Farmers ask scientists what to do, and we don't know" (p. 83).

ABC News reported November 17 the growing string of illnesses and even deaths from diseased ground beef, including a recent church dinner in Maryland where hundreds were sickened and two died from beef bacteria. Reporters from Channel 7 in Los Angeles recently purchased beef samples from a wide range of Southern California stores. Every sample purchased tested positive for E. coli and other dangerous bacterias. Like the U.S. News article, the report indicated that many of these diseases originate in cattle herds when still on the farm, long before they reach the slaughterhouse.

Inspired commentary

Long ago God's prophet observed:

    "Let the people be taught how to prepare food without the use of milk or butter. Tell them that the time will soon come when there will be no safety in using eggs, milk, cream, or butter, because disease in animals is increasing in proportion to the increase of wickedness among men. The time is near when, because of the iniquity of the fallen race, the whole animal creation will groan under the diseases that curse our earth." (Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 366).
    "Physicians who claim to understand the human organism ought not to encourage their patients to subsist on the flesh of dead animals. They should point out the increase of disease in the animal kingdom. The testimony of examiners is that very few animals are free from disease ..." (Ibid., p. 388).

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