Recognising the Hand of Judgment. Ch.18

 

Russia, Lenin,

and Aristocoli’s prophecy to Valentina

 

     Many  different  influences were beginning to affect the world  in the latter years of the 19th century.  Truly there was a great wind  of change. It was as though "the four winds of heaven were striving on the great  sea",  and  certainly  some pretty nasty  beasts  were  arising out of the turbulent waters. Whether  they  were  the fulfilment  of  Daniel's  visions  and prophecies,  only  time  will tell,  because there is no  concensus  of opinion amongst Biblical scholars as to the interpretation of Daniel’s vision.  However,  in this historical survey it  has  been our intention to introduce factors which  don't  normally appear in the history books, and so we continue that process, this time within  that  great  eastern country of  Russia.  First  of all,  a  little background.

 

     Vladimir  Ilich Ulyanov was born in 1870 at Simbirsk,  and in  his early years he studied the works of Karl Marx. In 1887, when he was 21, his beloved elder brother Aleksandr, a student at the St. Petersburg University,  was  hanged for plotting with a revolutionary terrorist group to assassinate the Emperor Alexander III,  and this had a deep impact on his life and thinking.  In that year he entered the faculty of law in the imperial Kazan University, but within three months was expelled for participating in an illegal student assembly. Banished to his grandfather’s estate, and remaining idle for a year, he avidly read revolutionary literature, especially Karl Marx’s Das Kapital.  It was in 1889 that he became a Marxist. Later, in 1890,   he moved  to St. Petersburg where he began Socialist propaganda  work,  for which he was arrested and sent to eastern Siberia in 1897.  He married, and  spent  two  years studying and completing his work  entitled  "The Development  of Capitalism in Russia." The following year he  left  for Switzerland  and  founded a revolutionary journal for  distribution  in Russia.

 

     Ulyanov,  who  in 1901 wished to be called Nikolai  Lenin,  was  not inactive  in  the  years that followed,  but found little  opening  and opportunity  for  thrusting his ideas on his native  land.  The  Russo-Japanese  war  of 1904-1905 looked as though revolution  was  about  to break,  but it was suppressed. And so Lenin had to wait until the first world  war for his opportunity.  Learning of revolutionary disturbances in  February 1917,  he sought entry back into Russia,  and managed  via Germany  in  April  of that  year,  whereupon  he  immediately  assumed leadership  of  the  revolutionary  movement,  overthrew  the  moderate provisional government under Kerenski,  and declared that supreme power in  Russia was vested in the Soviets.  This was the Bolshevik  "October Revolution" which occurred in the early days of November,  but in those days Russia still used the old-style Julian Calendar.

 

     All  the above facts are recorded in any history book dealing with the time. But now we must look at some of the circumstances relating to an almost unknown figure who was alive during those turbulent years.

 

     Valentina  Nikolaevna Zeogkova was born in Moscow on  January  2nd 1889,  the  fourth child of very pious parents.  Her  father,  Nicholas Alexeevitch,  was chief director of one of the biggest banks in Russia, yet throughout his life he dedicated himself to defending the interests of the church and to serving its people.

 

     From her earliest years Valentina was surrounded by deep spiritual influences.  Her  family  was often visited by "Starets"  (holy  men), which caused her to desire a life of total devotion to God.

 

     The  Governor  of Moscow in those days was The Grand  Duke  Sergey Alexandrovitch.  His wife,  The Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorvna,  was much  loved by the Muscovites,  who looked upon her as their  "guardian angel." But in 1905 the Grand Duke was killed by a bomb in the Kremlin, and  events  began to change.  It was in that very year that the  Grand Duchess spotted Valentina at a school, and immediately said, "Valentina will be mine." An invitation was sent to her,  and as result, Valentina went to be with the Grand Duchess,  and worked alongside her in helping wounded soldiers.

 

     Throughout her early life Valentina had been greatly influenced by the  Starets  Aristocoli  from Mount Athos,  and it was just  ten  days before  his death in August 1918 that he spent some time in  discussion with Valentina,  outlining her own future and that of a Russia, now already under the revolutionary yoke.

 

     "You  have received the gift of speaking and writing about what is useful  for  the  soul,"  he  said,  "especially  in  our  times.  Your inclination  to monastic life will find its fulfillment,  but  far  from here.  You  will  live  in  one country,  then  will  go  further  - to Palestine, to Jerusalem, and you will live there for a long, long time. In  Jerusalem  much  work and activities exist.  You  will  live  under different  powers,  but do not fear anything.  You will always be under the protection of a right and just hierarchy.

 

     "Many sufferings will come to the world.  Many people will perish. But it is not yet the end of the world; the time and the hour are known only by God. God's army, the powers of angels, will battle with Satan's army.  In Russia people will suffer. It will be a worldwide sorrow from the  evil spirits who put to trial all believers in God.  Many will  be killed. God knows who He must take, and who to leave. But Russia's fate is in God's hands and she will rise again.  It will be a great  miracle of  renewal  after great sufferings,  sent to her with purifying  aims. Light  from  the  Orient will shine on the whole  world  and  God  will forgive in answer to suffering and repentance. This is very important - to have a conscience about one's sins; everyone and all are sinners and all must repent."

 

     In  1922  Valentina and her family were banished from  Russia  and finally  ended  up in Nice.  But some time afterwards she traveled  to Jerusalem,  and was met by Archbishop Anastasy,  and old friend of  the family,  and was installed in the Mount of Olives Convent. Subsequently she  was sent to the Russian Orthodox Church and Convent of the  Garden of  Gethsemane,  where she became the Abbess,  and resided there  until very recently, dying at a very great age.

 

     Bishop Aristocoli’s earlier word to Valentina (who is better known in  the Western world as “Mother Barbara”) was received by him in 1911, and was clearly prophetic:-

 

     “Tell  the  women they must belong absolutely to  God.  They  must believe in the great things that are happening and that God is doing on the  earth.  They must prepare their souls,  their children,  and their husbands.  And they will have very much work to do for God.  Oh, what a great work the women will have to do in the end time,  and the men will follow them.

 

     “Not  one country will be without trial – do not be frightened  of anything  you will hear.  An evil will shortly take Russia and wherever this  evil comes,  rivers of blood will flow.  This evil will take  the whole world and wherever it goes,  rivers of blood will flow because of it.  It is not the Russian soul, but an imposition on the Russian soul. It is not an ideology,  or a philosophy, but a spirit from hell. In the last days Germany will be divided in two.  France will be just nothing. Italy will be judged by natural disasters. Britain will lose her empire and  all her colonies and will come to almost total ruin,  but will  be saved  by praying women.  America will feed the world but will  finally collapse.  Russia and China will destroy each other.  [Should this have been  translated  “neutralise” rather than “destroy”?]  Finally  Russia will be free,  and from her, believers will go forth and turn many from the nations to God.”

 

     Turning to her,  he said,  “You will live to see Russia free,  but you will not live to see the Antichrist.”

 

     Mother Barbara lived almost to the time when the Berlin Wall  went down,   and   the  recent  dramatic  events  occurred  which  saw   the unbelievable  destruction of the Communist grip,  and the break up of the Soviet Union  into  States.  She lived to see Germany divided  into  two,  and Britain  lose  its empire,  and America feed the  world.  But  although Germany  is  now  one again,  and Russia  is  free,  Britain  is  still teetering  on the brink of total ruin.  And America is likewise on  the brink of financial collapse.  As yet we do not see Russian missionaries visiting  us,  but we deserve to,  because God has cleansed their  land through suffering,  whereas we in Britain have lived the soft life, and indulged ourselves as Christians, preferring the Laodicean lifestyle of “I am rich and have need of nothing.”

 

     Sadly,  Russia  has been inundated with westerners preaching  this type  of false gospel,  and it is causing a reaction in that land.  The following letter was received in this country from Peter Peters, (Head) and  Vasilij  Ryzhuk (Elder) of the Unregistered Union of  Churches  in Moscow.  It  was printed some years ago in an Education  Journal,  and  shows clearly the type of situation that is developing.

 

     “For  30  years  we have suffered  intense  persecution,  and  now freedom is bringing another great harm to our churches.  This damage is coming  from  the Christians of the West who are sending rock music and evangelists accompanied by rock bands.  Our young people do not  attend these  meetings  because  we have all committed not to  participate  in secular entertainments.

 

     “This  is a great burden on our hearts.  Many come with  Bible  in hand and rock music.  We are embarrassed by this image of Christianity. We  do not know what words to use in urging that this  be  stopped.  We abhor all Christian rock music coming to our country.

 

     “Rock  music  has nothing in common with ministry  or  service  to God.  - - We need spiritual bread, please give us true bread, not false cakes.  It is true that rock music attracts people to the churches, but not to Godly living.

 

     “We were in prison for 15 years,  and 11 years, for Christ’s sake. We were not allowed to have Christian music, but rock music was used as a  weapon against us day and night to destroy our souls.  We could only resist  with  much  prayer and fasting.  Now we have  a  time  of  more openness  and  we are no longer taken to prison.  However,  now  it  is Christians from the West who damage our souls.

 

     “We, the leadership and congregations of the Unregistered Union of Churches,  the  former Persecuted Church have made an agreement not  to allow  rock music in our churches.  We urge you to join with us and  we advise  you  to remove rock music from the West,  and certainly do  not bring it to our country.  Do not desecrate our teenagers with it.  Even the  believers realise it is unholy music and they cannot  understand how Western Christians can be so much like the world.

 

     “We call this music from hell.  We want only traditional Christian music  in  our  churches.  This is the unanimous decision  of  all  our leaders.”

 

     What an indictment on the West! How can we stand before a holy God after  hearing  such a plea from those who have suffered  so  much  for their faith?

 

     Returning  to  the 1911 prophecy,  we heard that Britain  will  be saved from almost total ruin by PRAYING WOMEN.  Bishop Aristocoli urged all  women  to  remain  very close to God and become  the  mainstay  of Christian homes, teaching their children piety, and consolidating their husbands in a time of great declension.  The role of women is a  factor we shall have to look at shortly.

 

     Two  other points arise from this prophecy.  France “becomes  just nothing”  and  “Italy  is judged by natural disasters.”  Why  do  these countries have no positive word for the future in this utterance? Is it because  of the anti-semitic influences of the Roman Catholic church in those lands?  We have seen how France behaved towards Dreyfus,  and how the  Pope spoke about Dr.Herzl’s proposals.  And the Bible declares  in many places that although the Jews have many unsavoury characteristics, those  who persecute them unjustly will find it boomerang on their  own heads.  Hear the words of the Lord in Zechariah 2:6-9.  “Flee from  the land of the north,  says the Lord;  for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, says the Lord. Escape to Zion, you who dwell with  the  daughter of Babylon.  For thus says the Lord of Hosts  after His glory sent me to the nations who plundered you,  for he who touches you  touches the apple of His eye.   Behold I will shake my  hand  over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them.”

 

     “Russia and China will destroy each other,” declared the prophecy, and clearly this did not happen.  The word looked as though there might have  been a nuclear holocaust,  but it was not to be so.  In fact  the word  that followed,  saying that Russia would be free,  precluded this interpretation of the Sino-Soviet demise.  Rather do we think that  the word suffered in translation at this point. Perhaps it should have read “Russia  and  China  will  neutralize each other.”  And  this  actually happened. Although each nation espoused Communist dogma, yet instead of joining  up  to  become  a huge  Communist  empire,  they  were  uneasy partners, and maintained their borders carefully.

 

     “America will finally collapse.” If in no other sense, America has already  collapsed  financially.  The U.S.  National Debt  was  already standing  at $2.3 trillion in April 1987,  but in July 1992 it stood at $4  trillion,  which  means that each American family  in  effect  owes something  like $50,000.  Just over 40% of all personal income tax goes into  servicing this gigantic debt.  America was once the  most stable country in the world.  Many are the present facets of its downward slide from rectitude and honour. “In God we trust” has become a mockery. We say this, not in any nationalistic sense of denigrating another nation. We love America and its people as we do our own, but we are both discarding the faith of our fathers, and from the historical point of view, Britain’s Christian heritage goes back 2,000 years as against America’s 200. We are therefore the more culpable.