Jaanus Karner is the Estonian pastor who is responsible for revival in Estonian churches and other parts of the Soviet Union. Jaanus shared some prophetic insights into the rise and fall of communism in the Eastern Bloc.
In the early 1900s, there were warnings to Estonia to repent or a curse was coming – a fire straight from hell that would rise up and consume them. In fact, Estonia was not alone – virtually every Eastern Bloc country from Armenia to Estonia had a vigorous Christian movement associated with the Pentecostal revival before communism swallowed these nations.
In these Eastern Bloc countries, there was a period of revival shortly before judgment fell. During this revival, God sent prophets with a clear message – “If you do not repent, your freedom will be short lived.” There was a positive side to this warning as well. God coupled this judgment warning with a message of hope and restoration.
Jaanus Karner believes that communism came on the Soviet Union as a result of a centuries old curse on the Russian people. “The Russian landlords were terrible. They cultivated a hatred of civilization and made the Russian people feel that they were lower than the rest of Europe.”
In ancient times, Russians were barbarian tribes that terrorized civilized societies. Their rulers held to the notion that they needed to be ruled with an iron fist or they would become uncontrollable. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had spread through Russia with some pacifying effect, but the society was very anti-semetic.
Uncontrollable, riotous mobs, called pogroms, would often erupt with the sole pupose of trying to kill communities of Jews. Later, the Czars emerged and ruled the Russian people by repressing all of the higher aspects of the human personality.
“There is a parallel between Czarist Russia and what is going on today,” explained Jaanus Karner. “By its roots, communism is as evil as it can be. There is an underlying feeling of anti-semitism. Russian nationalism is based on a hatred of the Jews.”
The Soviet Union has become a superpower but it is based on repressive force rather than the greatness of the spirit of the people. Rather than seeking the favor of God, Russian rulers have characteristically suppressed the worship of God in society, persecuted Jews and ethnic minorities and the nation has been led into darkness.
According to Lance Lambert, in The Battle for Israel, the Orthodox Church often became a refuge for Jews fleeing the pogrom. As persecuting mobs tried to kill a group of Jews, the would flee to the churches. On one occassion, there were some spirit-filled monks who prophesied to a group of Jews what would happen to Russia:
A black, blightish terror would overcome Russia. This would be a fire initiated abruptly from hell. The message also promised that this judgment would disappear just as suddenly as it came and that there would be a universal revival in the nation of Russia.
Viewing the recent events within the Soviet Union, one cannot dismiss the significance of these prophecies. The Soviet Union, along with many other Eastern European nations, is destined for a great move of God in the coming years.
