A Word to the Ukrainians and Belorussians - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - 1991

Rebuilding Russia: Reflections and Tentative Proposals by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has been called “Russia’s prophet” by many. His book, The Gulag Archipelago, as well as his Harvard Commenceme…

Questions and Answers About the Ukraine Crisis - March 7, 2022

Here are a series of questions answered by one of my good friends who lives few miles away from the rumble in Kiev. – Jay Rogers

St Andrew's Church is located at the top of the Andriyivskyy Descent in Kyiv.

KIEV, Ukraine (Forerunner) — I’ve been surprised so far to see so many people who agree we are not seeing the whole story from the western media. The solution to the Russia and Ukraine crisis has always been some simple concessions to Russia.

Recognize the sovereignty of three breakaway regions (Crimea, Lugansk and Donetsk).
Obtain a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO.
Agree to the demilitarization of regions surrounding Crimea and Donbass.
Make a legal declaration of Ukraine’s neutral status — possibly a constitutional amendment.

These seem to me to be reasonable demands. Former U.S. representative Tulsi Gabbard was criticized for saying that such concessions in 2021 could have avoided this horrific military conflict. Numerous other commentators have agreed that now this ought to be considered a good exit strategy. Instead we given the unending narrative that Putin wants to occupy Ukraine permanently and resurrect the Soviet Union. Yet we are told we cannot interfere with his nefarious plan. We cannot go to war with a nuclear superpower either. Instead, we are to arm Ukrainians for a long drawn out resistance that will kill many thousands on both sides and finally ruin Putin. That is the media narrative, but I believe that scenario to be absurd and cruel.

I asked the following questions of my friend.

What is really happening in Kiev, Ukraine

The following comes from a friend who was born and lives in Kiev, Ukraine. He has asked not to use his name because he could be at risk of attacks by Nazi radicals. This is the name used by Ukrainian Nationalist militias – “Nats” and “Natzis.” This is a real thing despite the incredulous reaction of our media to Putin’s goal of the de-Nazification of Ukraine. The following is shared to give accurate information for those who only hear the reports from CNN and FOX News. It is for the purpose of directing prevailing prayer, not saying which side within Ukraine is right. We should be praying for all involved. ~ Jay Rogers

The Forerunner: What’s your immediate view of everything so far?

A:- I see the agony of the Kiev regime and they care very little about our citizens. They distributed tens of thousands of AK, RPG and hand grenades among people who never touched firearms before, with no mind about criminals, drug addicts and alcoholics among them. All civilians killed within the city of Kiev are victims of “territorial defense” groups. We have information that these armed people are firing each other and at civilians who are suspicious in their opinion. So far, all you have heard about Russian saboteurs in Kiev is a lie. They shoot each other and later claim they neutralized Russian soldiers. Do not believe this baloney – when Russians capture Kiev, you will see and know the truth.

The Ukraine Crisis: Facts Versus Lies

Let’s look at the media lies and propaganda and contrast it with facts. I write from the worldview of an American Protestant who places his Christian religion above his nationalism.

Since the Soviet empire fell and the various satellite nations of the Eastern Bloc gained their independence, the present Russian Federation, created in 1991, has done nothing to threaten the United States or to compromise its borders. They have not planted military bases near the United States, nor have they posed any threat to our domestic economy. Yes, Russia is competing with the US to provide natural gas to Europe, but they are doing so—ahem—in a capitalist free-market manner. Their product is quicker and cheaper. Remember, it was Germany who asked Russia to build Nord Stream II.

If the question is formulated, “Was the Soviet Union an enemy of the US?” then the answer would be yes. But there is no more Soviet Union, which Reagan accurately labeled “the Evil Empire” with its expansionist military aggression.

Russian president Putin has come under tremendous criticism in his own country for being conciliatory to the US in his public addresses, referencing the US as “colleagues and partners.”

Putin, along with his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, has always resorted to dialogue and cooperation rather than coercive military action, “foreign aid” bribes, or meddling in the internal affairs of other nations. When dealing with NATO, the foreign policy of Russia toward Ukraine has been strictly defensive. Their time is running out. Just as the United States in the early ‘60s did not want Russian nukes in Cuba, so too Russia does not want NATO military bases and missiles in the Ukraine.

The Russia-Ukraine Conflict: One Ukrainian Christian's View

As a short term missionary who founded several media projects in Russia and Ukraine, I have spent a total of several months in both countries on 12 trips. A good friend of mine and co-worker who was born and lived in Kiev his entire life has written the following. ~ Jay Rogers

National Reserve of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Kiev, Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine – In my opinion, all Russia wants is to preserve the situation with its security on the same level as was guaranteed in the 1970s and 1980s. Namely, NATO nations and Russia will not place nuclear weapons near each other’s borders. Putin wants to reinstate the SALT I and II Agreements on short and mid-range missiles, counter-missile defense, and stop further NATO expansion into Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

In addition, something that might amaze Americans, is that Russia wants the Ukraine to be a truly independent and friendly neighbor country with strong trade ties – not a poor, hostile state at their fence – not a nation that is only alive because of constant IMF loans – not a nation that harbors 15 U.S. biological laboratories near Russia’s borders, which make (God knows what?) since 2003.

Americans ought to know that Ukraine is totally dependent on Russian coal (used locally to generate electricity) and direct electrical power from Belorussia and Russia. Ukraine imports near 40% of its gasoline and 70% of diesel fuel from Russia and Belarus (made of Russian oil), not to mention uranium for local nuclear power plants.

Russia wants Ukraine to be something like Mexico or Canada is to the United States, not an enemy allied with the Cold War organization NATO. It’s that simple. They also want the United States to stop fueling anti-Russian coups in Ukraine (such as the so-called “Maidan” movement here, although the west called the coup of 2014 the “Dignity Revolution”). Putin also demands some other concessions – nothing special or unreasonable.

History as Truth

If it is possible in a courtroom to judge a defendant guilty or innocent, or in a laboratory to discover the relationship between physical properties and phenomena, it must be possible to know the truth about history.

The word “history,” according to Webster, is related to the Greek historia, “a learning by inquiry.” The word “skeptic” also comes from the Greek skeptesthai, meaning to examine or consider. A true skeptic is a “considerer” who will not pass judgment before the evidence has been thoughtfully examined.

In a world of sunshine and rain and natural beauty beyond measure, who is so cynical as to refuse to examine available evidence of the work of a Creator God in the history of man? For the open minded scholar the possibility of God’s presence in history is not unthinkable.

Page Smith points out in his book, History and Historians, that the Jews discovered history. For them chronology was transcended by the relation of a people with their God. The meaning, purpose and direction of history was found in God’s will and their Messianic expectation.

Apocalyptic Pseudepigrapha

Editor’s note: I don’t agree with every point of Terry’s analysis, but this is overall an excellent primer on the pseudepigraphal works that influenced Jewish eschatology in the Maccabean and Roman periods. ~ JCR The Apocryphal Apocalypses By Milton S.…