There is something brewing in Russia.
The Electronic Telegraph (UK)
27 January 2002
Pro-Putin cult urges return to Soviet 'glory'
By Clem Cecil in Moscow
A SINISTER new organisation, backed by the Kremlin, is urging the Russian
people to reject pro-Western views and go back to the "glory" of Soviet
Russia.
The 50,000-strong group which calls itself "Walking Together" has strict
rules and indoctrination methods, but unlike the Chinese group it has the
support of the authorities.
"We want to create a new generation to help the president bring Russia out
of crisis," said its founder, Vasily Yakimenko.
The Kremlin's clear involvement can be traced back to the group's
beginnings. Mr Yakimenko left a job in the Kremlin administration, where he
was overseer of state-run charities, in May 2000 to create Walking Together.
The senior patron of the movement is Vladislav Surkov, the deputy head of
the presidential administration.
The group is vehemently pro-Putin and its first public action was a huge
rally in November 2000 to celebrate his presidency.
Wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Putin's face, thousands gathered near the
Kremlin and spoke of their love for the president. Mr Putin later received
the organisers of the rally in the Kremlin.
Russian liberals fear that the group is the embodiment of persistent
attempts by senior Kremlin officials to set up a new Soviet-style cult of
personality around the president: nationalism thinly veiled as patriotism
is a hallmark of Walking Together.
The group demands strict loyalty and discipline from its members, who are
handed a long checklist on joining which includes commands to "read at
least six Russian classics a year, whether you enjoy them or not, and visit
the site of a battle where the Russians were victorious".
Mr Yakimenko's latest attempt to indoctrinate members, aged mainly between
14 and 30, is a proposal to "purify Russian literature". Modern "liberal"
books, which depict the difficulties of modern Russian life, have been
damned by Walking Together.
The group has in turn published thousands of copies of a book of stories
recounting the Red Army's "glorious victories" during the Second World War.
These books were offered free in exchange for "corrupting" works.
Walking Together is secretly sponsored by two companies with close Kremlin
ties as well as Moscow city council.
Its outgoings are high: members are divided into groups of five called "red
stars", each led by a "foreman" who receives a free pager and £30 for his
services. Each of his five "soldiers" receives £1 as well as free T-Shirts.
Members are encouraged to recruit others with promises of rank and glory
reminiscent of Communist indoctrination methods. "Once you have a red star,
try to persuade another 50 to join.
"Give them a party if they show interest in the group. You must be able to
encourage and to punish, then you will become a commander of a division. If
you persuade another thousand to put their fate in your hands, you will be
a coordinator."
Contrary to Watchtower teachings the Bible links the antichrist with the actions of a leader who is supposed to appear on the world stage. You can't help but connect the behavior of the King of the North in Daniel, the revived 2-Horned beast in Revelation and the description of the "man of lawlessness" in 2Thess.
Dan 11:32 " And those who are acting wickedly against the covenant he will lead into apostasy by means of smooth words."
Dan 11:37 " to every other god he will give no consideration but over everyone he will magnify himself."
Rev 13:12 And it makes the earth and those who dwell in it worship the first wild beast, whose death-stroke got healed (USSR/RUSSIA)...it tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the wild beast that had the sword-stroke and yet REVIVED.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 "it will not come (the rapture;see 2Thess 2:1) unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. (4)...he lifts himself up over everyone who is called "god" or an object of reverence...publicly showing himself to be a god.
The confusion over this issue comes from a very depleted old Apostle -John. Apparently the Apostle John was a believer in the idea that he would not die before Jesus returned.
John 21:23 "...this saying went out among the brothers, that that disciple (John) would not die"
Poor John. He sounds like so many of those older JW's who in their old age wondered why the end didn't come yet.
It is a clear case of wishful thinking on John's part when he says:
1 John 2:18 "Young children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, EVEN NOW there have come to be many antichrists; from which fact we gain the knowledge that it is the last hour"
Do you feel his anguish? It clearly was NOT the last hour. John obviously misinterpreted the "fact" that HE was using to prove the end was near. "Hey look Jesus said the antichrist would come. You want anitchrists? I'll give you antichrists. Look they're everywhere." John's real reason for believing the end was near was that his death was near and if he wasn't going to die it had better happen pretty quick."
No, the antichrist that the bible refers to is not some collective CLASS (don't they love this gimmick?) of dissidents. It is clearly an individual who appears at the time of Christs return.
Don't underestimate Putin. He is clever. He has his finger on the nuclear button. Some even believe he authorized the bombing of apartment complexes in Moscow to justify the attack on Chechnya. And judging from the above quoted article he is encouraging a "cultish" following. We've seen this before with Hitlers brown shirts. Don't let this period of "friendship" between Bush and Putin lull you. The stern-faced king mentioned in Daniel 8:23-25 "brings many to ruin - during a freedom from care. By the way, the king at Daniel 8:23 becomes powerful but "not by his own power". Putin was positioned and appointed by Yeltsin. Putin came to power without a natural constituency.