End times thoughts
Many of you fellow blogateers know that for the last couple of weeks I have been talking about the second coming of Christ in my Sunday morning sermons at Bethany. Yesterday I spoke concerning the nations that would be involved in specific roles as spelled out by Ezekiel 38. One of the nations I mentioned was Russia and how many believe it is Russia and many of the former republics that were aligned during the USSR days that are talked about in that passage.
In a way it saddens me to even read that passage because I have made so many trips to Russia and now have friends there and they have a special place in my heart.
However, it is very evident that things are changing in Russia. They are absolutely moving back to a dictator type state… but Putin is no dummy so he is going slowly and strategically. Anyway, with that in mind, I have since received a very interesting email from a good friend who ministers there often. In it he notes that according to the New York Times, Putin has declared the Orthodox Church as THE church in Russia (there has always been some political alignments).
This means that more and more pressure will be put on evangelicals and pentecostals in Russia. Also my friend noted that Pastor Philip (I can’t mention the last name over the web) has just been imprisoned for three years for possession of bullets for his hunting rifle - yeah, right).
Further, another Russian Pastor friend, has a connection in the government and has been informed there is a plan being formed to shut the doors on all outside Christian influence. He has said, “soon outsiders will not be allowed in for religious purposes.”. Bottom line is I have put this in my blog to ask you to pray for the situation in Russia - NOW. We can’t wait… time is of the essence. We are already quite limited on what our missionaries can do because of visa issues. Please pray for the doors to stay open and freedom for the churches that have been established to keep preaching the whole gospel.
