Reflections on 2004

(Winter 2005)

As we enter a new year and reflect back on the old, a number of events deserve review. The November US presidential election, for example, was in my opinion the most important election of our lifetime.

It seems as if many Christians finally woke up last March when homosexuals were granted marriage rights in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Watching gays and lesbians on the evening news as they lined up in droves to be married showed Americans how far things had gone in their beloved country. Given a choice between George Bush, a professing born-again Evangelical, and John Kerry, whose record on social/moral issues was the most extreme of any presidential candidate in US history, most Christians voted with a sense of duty. U.S. News & World Report, citing the most recent survey by Pew Research, found that moral values were indeed the single biggest factor influencing the vote. Of those voting for George Bush, 44 percent indicated that moral values mattered the most, followed by 24 percent who said terrorism was the most important issue. On the other hand, of those who voted for Kerry, only 7 percent viewed morality as the most important issue; while 36 percent believed the economy mattered most.i

On a different note, a significant percentage of both Bush and Kerry supporters cited Iraq as being very important to them. The upcoming election in that country is critical. If insurgents succeed in significantly interrupting or stopping the election, they will declare victory and use this as a rallying point to recruit more terrorists. Regardless of where one stands on Iraq, there is no easy way out now. We must pray that God would grant our leaders exceptional wisdom in dealing with this situation.

Much of what happens in Iraq and in our own country regarding terrorism, I believe, depends on the degree of repenting our citizens do before a holy and just God. We should not expect His divine protection if we are not fully yielded to Him. I am encouraged by the fact that a growing percentage of Americans are beginning to take their faith seriously. But they still represent only a minority.

God declares to us, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). Even in our generation, he is still seeking to show his greatness to all who will believe and appropriate his power. “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). What God desires most is our repentance, obedience and trust.

Yushchenko in Ukraine

Another 2004 election of historical significance played out in Ukraine where a high stakes battle had been underway for some time. On one side was the Russian supported candidate, Victor Yanukovich, known for his thug-like behavior and criminal past. He was the hand-picked successor of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma who was widely considered corrupt and responsible for the murder of an opposition journalist, Georgy Gongadze. On the other side was reformist candidate Viktor Yushchenko, a proclaimed Christian with strong ties to the West. Yushchenko’s pro-democracy stance may stem in part from his marriage to an American citizen (from Chicago) who once worked in the Reagan White House.ii

Given the hard fought nature of this election and the criminal history of Yanukovich it should not have come as a surprise that an attempt was made on Yushchenko’s life. As most everyone now knows, Yushchenko was deliberately poisoned with dioxin earlier in the fall. He should have died but miraculously lived in spite of the fact that his body contained the highest level of dioxin ever recorded in a living person. Ironically, rather than dying and being buried within a few days before the visible effects of the poison manifested, Yushchenko survived the ordeal with physical evidence. His face had become severely disfigured from the poison, proving he had been the target of an attempted murder. This, together with his positive test results, which were announced to the world by prominent Austrian physicians, was all the evidence Ukrainians needed to put their feet down. When it became clear that their late November vote was riddled with fraud and illegal tactics by Yanukovich’s communist-allied party (which tried to hand him the victory), Ukrainians took to the streets. It seems they realized this might be their last chance to choose the future path of their nation.

A friend of ours, Renate Kurz, of Little Lambs Ministry was in Ukraine when all of this unfolded. She sent us an email after returning to the US in early December. Excerpts of her experience are worth sharing here. Some of this information went unreported by the Western media, perhaps not to offend or embarrass Vladimir Putin of Russia who had strongly backed Yanukovich. Renate reported:

I have just returned from Ukraine. It was amazing to be there for the elections but even more to be there and witness the “orange revolution.” Yes that is what they called it. As you have seen from the pictures on TV, all Yushchenko supporters have something orange on them. Hats, scarves, gloves, jackets or just an orange ribbon tied to their backpacks or purses….
What I want to share with you is the determination and the joy I saw in the Ukrainian people young and old that I have never seen before…[Then] we heard on Tuesday night the report of 7 planes with Special Forces were flown in from Moscow. What would you think they were coming for? The older generation remembers well what Russians did to the countries and people who demonstrated for freedom. On November 26, channel 5 news announced 5 or 6 times that the government could shut them down because they were the only channel reporting the truth about what was going on in Independence Plaza in Kiev. We stayed up till 2 AM watching that channel. As they showed tanks in Zaporozhye being loaded to a train cart headed for Kiev, we prayed in our apartment in Kiev for God to intervene and keep the bad forces away and for freedom to prevail. What a relief it was when we turned the TV on the next morning and channel 5 was still there and they showed the police department of Kiev joining the people on the streets. Later that day a big military group joined the protesters. Some of the foreign governments were speaking out about the illegality of the elections as well.
People were multiplying in Independence Plaza in Kiev. And it was cold, some nights it was even snowing. But it seems that as it got colder more people were on the streets. You could sense the infectious power that was spreading all over Kiev and the Ukraine….On my way to the plaza I was sitting next to a man on the metro with an orange ribbon and I asked him if he was going to Independence Plaza. He said he is a teacher and the 10th graders came in this morning, wrote YUSHCHENKO on the black board and said they are all going to Independence Plaza. He said he told the principal he was going too.
At Independence Plaza there were about 200 tents where people camped out all night. They had to stay there so the government would not close up the plaza at night and not let the people in the next morning. Many restaurants close by had free hot drinks for everyone. Some of them closed up in the afternoon to provide meals for the people. Others brought sandwiches and soup for people on the streets. I saw a van coming and opening the doors and the man screamed aloud, “Hot borsch for anyone who is cold!” Companies and businesses donated hats and gloves and boots to the people….
It was amazing to see how people were helping people and supporting the ones who were camping out on the streets. They were united in the fight for their freedom. Many were sacrificing their jobs, their degrees, their money, and their time because they want to be free and separate from Putin and Russia. Because they sacrificed so much and put everything on the line, I believe we will see a new Ukraine. People who paid the price for their freedom and who are proud to be a Ukrainian want to live in a free democratic country.
It was a big blow to Putin, who gave 3 million dollars to the Yanukovich campaign and visited him twice before the election. Putin is very controlling and with his former KGB knowledge does it in a very sneaky way. I am glad that most of the Ukrainian people want to be free from that.
As you heard, the new election is on December 26, 2004. Please pray and ask your church and friends to pray for the Ukrainian election, their new president and the people who so desperately want to be free. I think a new country was born this November.

We later discovered that a large percentage of the more than 300,000 peaceful protesters in Kiev opened and closed each day with 1 to 2 hours of prayer. These Christians realized what was at stake and pleaded with God for their freedom. Amazingly, Yushchenko went on to win the election with little interference, in spite of Russia’s displeasure. The Yushchenko poisoning incident had backfired on the perpetrators!

There is more to this story from a personal standpoint. I had been working on a special edition of my book En Route to Global Occupation for a Ukrainian publisher. This project had quietly been underway for nearly a year and was nearing completion. We only let a few people know about it so they could be praying for us. I was afraid that if too many people found out about what we were doing, it could somehow close the doors. Even now, I urge our readers to pray that God would see this project through. My book is scheduled to be released in two months in the Russian language and will, Lord willing, be made available to Russian-speaking people in Ukraine, Russia and other former East Bloc countries.

After learning that a re-vote had been granted and scheduled for December 26th, my goal was to get the completed manuscript into the hands of the publisher before that time, since no one knew what would happen after the election. God is so good! Friends of ours from church reminded my wife they were leaving for Ukraine on December 23rd. With God’s help, I burned the midnight oil and was able to get the completed pages and disks to our friends just before they left. They hand-delivered my manuscript to the designated party the day before elections. Throughout last year, from beginning to end, we witnessed God’s hand and timing at work in this project. Please pray that the Lord would use this humble work in a mighty way. We give Him the glory for any good that results!

The Great Tsunami

On December 26th, the same day as the Ukraine elections, another event took place halfway around the world – this one with cataclysmic results. The tsunami which originated from a powerful underwater earthquake off the coast of Sumatra produced the worst water-related catastrophe since the Great Flood. Prior to this tragedy, the largest post-Flood death toll ever recorded from a water disaster took place in the Mediterranean region around 1400 B.C. Although no one knows for certain how many perished in that incident, it is estimated the number ranged from 50,000 to 100,000 people. Contrast these numbers with those from the recent tsunami.

So far, an estimated 155,000 are dead with an additional 70,000 still missing or unaccounted for. More than 500,000 people have been injured; and up to 5 million have been left homeless in 12 different countries.

While Indonesia and Sri Lanka suffered the greatest loss of life, Thailand and India have also experienced tremendous devastation. As the reports came in we were immediately concerned for Pastor K. Paul and his family who live near the coast just a few hours north of Madras – one of the hardest hit parts of India. We have been in touch with K. Paul and fortunately everyone in his family and immediate circle are all right. However, Christians who they know along the coast have been impacted by the catastrophe.

This event, I’m sure, has been quite traumatic for K. Paul who is still recovering from recent open-heart surgery. His surgery had gone very well and he was gradually beginning to resume his ministry responsibilities when the tsunami hit. Pray that the Lord would give him wisdom and strength as he tries to oversee his ministry and any possible relief effort for people in the affected areas. A board member from Hope for the World International will be visiting Pastor Paul and Oasis Ministries in February to minister and to encourage his family and their efforts. We will know more about their circumstances following that trip.

This tsunami could be a sign of the times. In Luke 21:25-26 the Lord predicted that numerous cataclysmic events would occur shortly before His return:

…On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

This is not a sensationalized account of the future coming from a ratings-conscious news reporter; these are the words of Jesus Christ himself. Given this fact, I believe it is safe to say that we can expect more disasters on a similar scale in the near future.

In Matthew 24:7 Jesus warned specifically of earthquakes in various places. It is probably no coincidence that sizeable earthquakes have been occurring throughout the Pacific Rim nations on a regular basis since last summer – 3 of them in one area of Japan alone. In addition, long dormant volcanoes in Central America and the Pacific Northwest have become active once again. This may be just the beginning. I am thankful that I know Jesus as my personal savior. Only He can provide perfect peace during times like these.

Gorbachev’s Continued Pursuits

There is one final 2004 event which should be mentioned, especially since it received very little media coverage in the US. This significant event was called the Universal Forum of Cultures and took place from May 9 to September 26 in Barcelona, Spain. For nearly five months Barcelona became a hotbed of cultural activities and meetings advocating global citizenship, environmental action, and sustainable development initiatives. Forum participants also tackled issues on international governance, global justice, and economic globalization. The Forum's core principles directly mirrored United Nations empowerment goals. In fact, UNESCO was one of the chief organizers of this event.

On September 13th, Mikhail Gorbachev had the opportunity to address this large gathering of globalists. In his speech, which was titled "A New Glasnost for Our Future: The Right to Water and Dignified Life," he once again called for a New World Order – this time in the name of alleviating global poverty. To move his agenda forward he proposed a new international treaty dealing with the need for clean water. If approved, such a treaty would give a considerable amount of legal authority and control over the world's water supply to the UN, which is what he wants. Gorbachev elaborated:

Green Cross and its partners are proposing the negotiation and adoption of a Global Treaty on the Right to Water…And now with other international, national, regional and local organizations we are launching an international public campaign in order to convince national governments to start the negotiation of this Treaty. Citizens around the world will be encouraged to sign a global petition and become actively involved. Our target is to present the world with a petition of at least 10 million signatures at the MDG+5 Review in 2005. (See Exhibits A1 & A2. These represent 2 of 6 pages from Gorbachev's speech.)

After mentioning that Morocco had become the first government to support this Treaty Initiative, Gorbachev closed with an emphatic call to action:

We hope that many other governments, national and local, will soon be joining this essential movement for the survival of Humankind. I encourage and invite all of you to become Ambassadors for this global citizens initiative in your countries, your communities, your organizations.

In the months and years ahead I believe Gorbachev and his closest allies will continue to aggressively pursue their Earth Charter initiatives, particularly those relating to water and energy, which they hope will provide the legal infrastructure for their “global civilization.” Organizations are constantly being formed or restructured to carry out new and different objectives as part of this pursuit. This trend will continue until a world government is formed.

Even though the New World Order will be a reflection of communism or fascism once in place, global planners are generally acting in the name of democracy to implement their structure. (This is quite evident in the Calendar of Events which follows.) Therefore, we must exercise a high level of spiritual discernment in determining who is advocating true democratic reforms and who is merely pretending to promote freedom, while really aspiring to build an authoritarian order.

Today's headlines, especially from the Middle East, serve to remind us how far along this agenda is. Only the Lord himself knows when the Antichrist will assume power; but the latest wave of terrorist activities and the anticipation of larger, more devastating attacks in the near future cause us to wonder how much longer we have. Whether this Satanic global system and the subsequent return of Jesus are just around the corner or still years away, God is allowing us to see the birth pangs of things to come in order to bring us to full repentance and obedience to Him.