DO 2563 Comp.9/89

GORBACHEV & REFORMS IN THE U.S.S.R.

1. God bless Gorbachev, he has a good strong face, TTL!

2. I don't think anybody could've done what Gorbachev has done, making reforms and peace initiatives like he has, without being favoured of the Lord! There could be no other reason why Gorbachev has accomplished so much except that he's a son of God and he loves the Lord and God is helping him. It's a miracle! We had better help him, by praying for him‚ and the rest of the World had better help him too if they want to pull the Soviet Union out of the Middle Ages.

3. I think Gorbachev is happy to have the U.S. examining some of the Soviet military installations, as it helps him keep the military under control.

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4. Communism doesn't believe in democracy, but Gorbachev isn't really a Communist, he's an anti-Communist. He has to claim to officially be Communist just to keep his position.

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5. The Communists are blaming all their troubles on Gorbachev, when their troubles really should be blamed on themselves for accepting the Communist system! Gorbachev has been trying to save the country. All the troubles that the Soviet Union is having right now are not Gorbachev's fault, they're the fault of the System and his predecessors, such as Stalin and some of the rest of those monsters. It's ridiculous for the Soviet people to blame it all on Gorbachev!

6. Now God has given the Soviets a good leader, a Christian leader, and the Soviet people are themselves going to be made responsible for whatever happens and how they react! They won't be able to blame their leaders or the System any more because whatever happens is going to be their fault, and God is going to hold them responsible! God is giving them their last chance and putting the people on the spot! He's giving them one last chance to make the right choice!

7. (Maria: Gorbachev is a great man and is trying to change things drastically, but he is just one man and the whole System stands against him!) Well, one man and God can become a majority! God is going to let him go on far enough, and then he could very likely be martyred—probably by his own people or the System, maybe even by the Antichrist!

8. (Maria: They say things haven't changed much in Russia. Gorbachev wants to change things but he can't do it all alone.) That's the problem, the people won't change. I've read many articles that say Gorbachev's worst problem is that the people themselves refuse to change‚ they don't want to work! They can be lazy under Communism because everybody gets the same whether they produce or not! That's one of their big problems right now, their very poor production, one of the poorest in all of Europe. They just don't produce enough, they're just lazy!

9. Communism made'm lazy by saying, "You can have all you want, you can have everything and you don't even have to work for it! You can get free education, free this, free that."—All these benefits that make'm want to keep Communism but not work for it. Now Gorbachev has come along and said, "Listen, we've got to get to work and do something and produce and change things and charge the right prices, the way things ought to be. You people have got to change!"—And they don't want to change.

10. The people have become lazy under Communism and unproductive, and yet they get all these benefits‚ all these nice little gifties that Stalin and all of the rest of them promised them. But they don't have to really work for it, they don't have to do their share‚ they don't really have to produce, and that's why Russia is in such an absolute mess!

11. Now God is calling the shots and calling them on the carpet through Gorbachev and is pointing the finger at them: "It's your fault! Don't blame your leaders. You're not working! You're not producing! You're not doing what you ought to do! You're not making the real sacrifices that we need to have made to change Russia!"

12. They allowed Communism to arise, let's face it! They refused to reject it because Communism promised them the World with a string around it! They still get everything free. Now all they're doing is taking their new freedom and using it to complain and blame it all on the government and even on Gorbachev.

13. Gorbachev is having to suffer, not for his sins, but for the sins of his predecessors.

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14. Maybe Gorbachev is going slow at telling his people what the country is going to be like once his reforms are implemented. Right now they're not able to bear the great changes he hopes to bring. Russians have always been very slow to change. A lot of them aren't even sure they want to change!

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15. There is something really amusing about Gorbachev's wit: He shifted his chief conservative rival, this guy who was shaping Soviet ideology—in other words, what they're supposed to do and plan and believe and everything else—over to agriculture.—Ha! That's the sector that has had the worst reputation of all in Russia! (Maria: And the department that gets the most complaints too!) And now, unless it improves, he'll get the blame for it all! This guy has got to pull it out of the doldrums or else he—not Gorbachev—is going to be blamed!

GORBACHEV ADMIRED BY THE WORLD

(Commenting about Gorbachev's visit to the U.S. in 1988:)

16. I was thinking tonight about Gorbachev and how Reagan and most American leaders and television preachers have all been scandalised in some way recently. The West is becoming quite skeptical about their leaders—most of them supposed Christians—and they're discrediting them all. Yet here Gorbachev comes from a supposedly atheistic country and he's acting more like a Christian, more capable, sincere and heroic than any of them! The American people want to look up to somebody. They're now making an idol out of Gorbachev and admiring him more than their own leaders!

17. He's become the idol of the World, the ideal leader of the World! The Bible says the AC will be a man of fierce countenance though. (Dan.8:23) Maybe he's the one before the AC. There is a legend that Czar Michael the Marked would be assassinated, and he would be the last czar of Russia. If anybody ought to feel safer visiting in the USA than he does in his own country‚ Gorbachev should! There are so many people out to get him, all these Russian officials who are losing their exalted positions and their power and their horrible tyranny due to Gorbachev's reforms.

18. Just think, Khrushchev tried to do the same thing, institute reforms, and he only lasted 6 years. (Maria: How long has Gorbachev been in office?) About four years.

19. Lord, do bless Gorbachev and give him strength and wisdom and rest. It's been a hard ordeal for him, that visit. Help him to be patient with the boorish, brutish, discourteous American government officials who speak their doubt about everything he says. An Oriental wouldn't think of acting like that! The American leadership immediately criticises everything he says and voices their skepticism about him. They obviously don't believe him and openly insinuate that he's a liar, when he's trying to do his best to make peace.

20. The American leadership literally act like they don't want peace. The American people act more like they want peace, and they praise and shout and applaud Gorbachev, but the American leaders are jealous, I think they're really jealous of his popularity. All of a sudden this "stranger in their gates" is stealing the show, and they really act peeved and piqued that he's gotten to be more popular than they are! Virtually the whole World is now looking to him to solve their problems and bring peace. You certainly couldn't say that of the American leaders or any other World leaders. The whole World is looking to Gorbachev for leadership and to make peace, and he's about the only one who seems to have what it takes!

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21. The AC has got to step in there on the Soviet scene somewhere, some time, before the Communist Party is completely toppled.

GORBACHEV AGREEING TO U.S. ARMS CONDITIONS

22. The embarrassing thing about what the Soviet Union has been proposing in the way of arms reductions these past few months, is that these are the exact conditions that the U.S. proposed some years ago! It's just as though Gorbachev has acceded to what the U.S. was insisting on some time ago. But apparently the Americans didn't expect the Soviets to ever really accept it during the days of Brezhnev‚ when they made these offers. They thought they were safely asking for arms reductions because they never thought the Soviets would actually accede to it.

23. But now Gorbachev is agreeing to it all, and the Americans are caught in their own deceptive trap and everyone sees that it was just a ruse, that they were never really willing to reduce arms! The Americans are being exposed as deceivers, and as the real war mongers. Here's Gorbachev, showing himself to be the peacemaker, trying to get the Americans to agree to the very things that they themselves asked for some years ago! But the Americans are trying to pooh pooh it and saying‚ "Well‚ we don't believe he means it, so therefore we don't have to do it."

24. They're even saying now that Bush is more militant than Reagan! The media is saying that Reagan was fooled by Gorbachev's peace overtures, he believed him. But the Bush administration says, "We don't believe him." Think of that! The U.S. does not want to believe it, neither do they want to reduce arms because it would wreck their economy—their war–based economy, if they stopped manufacturing and selling all these weapons!

25. But Gorbachev sincerely wants to reduce arms now, to try to save the Soviet economy. He's finally waking up to the fact that the only way to save the economy is to reduce the military. But the U.S. has never realised that. They believe that the only way to save their economy is to keep on playing up the fear of the Soviets, so they can continue to manufacture arms‚ weapons and keep all those so-called "defense" jobs.

26. Germany wants to reduce their military, they believe the Soviets, but the U.S. and NATO are fighting it. The U.S. is trying to save the U.S. economy by not reducing the horrible cost of weapons.

WHITE RUSSIA: LATVIA, ESTONIA & LITHUANIA

27. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are the three richest regions in the Soviet Union outside of Moscow. They used to be called White Russia because they are of more pure European stock and had fairer skins than the Slavs. A lot of Russians are of Slavic origin.

28. At the time of the Russian Revolution (1917), Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania resisted the Red Army, and were known as the "White" Russians. The so-called White Russians were not only White—as opposed to Red—but they were actually more European than the Red Russians of the Revolution. They had much more in common with the rest of Europe than with the Reds. So it was through those three countries that some of the European and American expeditionary forces came through after the Russian Revolution and tried to help fight the Red Russians.

29. As a result, that part of Russia was spared from Communism for several years & survived as nominally independent republics until Hitler came along. Just before World War 2, Hitler made a deal with the Soviets whereby he would allow them to take over these three states, along with Finland & part of Poland, if the Soviets would remain neutral in the upcoming war. He did this so he wouldn't have to fight them on his back door and at the same time fight the Allies. Of course, Hitler later broke that treaty and so he ended up fighting the Soviets anyway.

30. But those republics had more or less managed to remain independent up until then‚ although it had been a hard struggle. I can remember it well. Almost all the anti-Communist Russians were based there in White Russia right on the border of the Soviet Union.

U.S. AID TO AFGHAN REBELS!

31. Russia could have controlled Afghanistan in nothing flat if it hadn't been for Pakistan and the U.S.' aid of money and arms. They're the ones who paid the rebels, supported them and gave them arms, even shoulder–carried Stinger missiles that could shoot down airplanes as never before! The U.S. had promised they would never sell the Stingers to any kind of rebels, or people that might put it in the hands of terrorists!—And here the U.S. themselves put it in the hands of one of the worst groups of terrorists in the World, the Muslim rebels of Afghanistan!

32. That turned the tide of the war! They began shooting down Russian planes and helicopters like crazy! (Maria: It's amazing that one man with one little instrument, one little weapon, could shoot down an entire airplane! What power to put in the hands of one man!)—And what power to put into the hands of a bunch of rabble rebels! Well, they're going to suffer for it one of these days! Those Stingers are going to come back home shooting down U.S. planes!

33. Now the legitimate government backed by Russia is showing that they can hold their own against the rebels. But does this awaken the U.S. that they've been backing the wrong side?—No! They're still sending millions and guns and armaments to the rebels—to their own embarrassment actually—because the rebels can't even get it together! They're divided into too many different factions.

34. Now we know what the Afghan rebels were fighting for—for personal power and gain and to see who is going to get to run Afghanistan! It wasn't for Islam, because they're all Islamic. The rebels are all fanatical Muslims. They formerly claimed that they were fighting for Islam, but it now shows that they're not just fighting for Islam or they'd get together. Now that the Russians are gone they're fighting with each other.

35. The stated purpose of the Islamic guerrillas in Afghanistan was to fight Soviet Communism, but now that the Soviets are gone they're still fighting!—So who are they fighting? What are they fighting for?—For power and control! Those Afghan guerrillas are Satanic!—And imagine‚ the U.S. supports them!

SPIES!

36. Let's face it, virtually every single Soviet citizen in the U.S. is a spy, just as every single American in Russia is a spy. They're mostly all spies, including the technicians, businessmen and especially journalists and reporters!

37. Both sides regularly discover spies. Whenever they catch one, that gives the other side an excuse to expel one of the other guy's spies. So it's nothing unusual.

38. I think God is throwing the fear of God into those people with the Jim Bakker trial! They're touching God's anointed!—Psa. 105:15. I'll tell you, if anybody deserved to receive some of the fruits of his labours it was certainly the husbandman, the one who sowed the seed and did all of the hard work!—2Tim.2:6.—Though he seems to have taken this to an extreme.

39. Apparently it was just some of his jealous underlings that sold him out!—People who aren't satisfied with what they've got but want to get to the top and have it all! It was his business manager who first squealed on him, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the ACs paid him to do it! He got eight years in prison and a big fine, but who knows if he'll ever actually serve it? They could suspend his sentence at any time and let him off for good behaviour, especially since he's the ACs' own witness! I'm telling you, people like Bakker sure need to keep the love of their underlings, because they can sure ruin them if they don't!

40. God bless Jimmy Bakker! He may have gotten a little bit too much into all that property and buildings, so the Lord is giving him a spanking, but I don't think He's going to allow him to be punished without it kicking back on his attackers! (Maria: It seems like he's gotten enough punishment. Losing his "PTL" work and all that disgrace and exposure has been a really big punishment!)

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41. It certainly showed a lot of grace for Jim Bakker to get down on his knees and pray for that guy who collapsed during the trial! (Maria: The article said it was "at the urging of his lawyer." Leave it to them to say that!) Yes‚ leave it to the ACs to twist things and use subtle innuendoes. In other words, like the lawyer was telling Jimmy Bakker, "Put on a show of praying for the guy. That'll make you look good."

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42. The ACs have got Jim Bakker in their clutches and are socking it to him every way they can! For him that's torture! They brought him back from the psychiatric exam in leg irons and handcuffs, when all he tried to do was help all those old people. Of the 60 witnesses who testified, not one of them testified that he had actively plotted to swindle them, he just sort of over-extended himself or over–booked.

43. Well‚ they're digging their own graves! The Lord says, "Touch not Mine anointed and do My Prophets no harm!"—Psa.105:15. Two witnesses against him collapsed, yet they never got the point and they went right ahead attacking him even worse! Those who turn back, I'll tell you, are really vicious!

44. It's coming soon where you can neither buy nor sell without the Mark of the Beast!—Rev.13:17. Cash is going to be illegal and you'll have to use your card for all transactions over $10. It's not on a worldwide scale yet, but cards are already used like that in Australia, and also widely used in both Japan and Europe. The U.S. has lagged far behind, probably because there are so many Evangelical Christians in the U.S. as compared to Europe, Australia and other places. So perhaps the Lord has let it lag behind for their sakes.

45. Change is difficult‚ but changing to the cashless society has tremendous advantages for the System! They say it will almost be impossible for criminals to operate because they won't be able to operate in secret cash. All transactions will be known and identified with their ID card etc.

46. Things like the illegal use of a stolen credit card will be impossible, because after the card is stolen and the credit center is notified, at the first illegal use of the card the credit center will send the message back to the cashier that this guy is the thief who stole it, and all they have to do is notify the police and grab him!