By MariaMaria #520 CM/FM 3278 1/2000

1. Happy new year, dear Family! It's not only a new year but a new era of greater works for us, which we enter with a fresh new anointing. Praise the Lord! Peter and I love you and are so thankful for each of you. We're truly blessed to have such a wonderful, sweet, loving, hard-working Family!

2. This new year has brought about a new era for the world as well. In this GN we'll examine two great changes that took place as the new century dawned—the resignation of Boris Yeltsin of Russia, who was replaced by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin‚ and the effects of the millennium bug, which are somewhat different than we im­agined.

Checkmate for Yeltsin,

but the tournament continues!

3. First, here's some background information on Yeltsin's resignation and Putin's ascension to power.

Asking forgiveness for his mistakes, Boris Yeltsin stunned Russia by announcing his resignation on New Year's eve. Yeltsin said he was stepping down immediately because he wanted Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to succeed him. Putin immediately took control of the government and will serve as acting president until elections are held in March.

Looking pale and grim in a speech on national television, the 68-year-old Yeltsin said it was time for him to go. He asked Russians to forgive him for his mistakes and failing to realize their dreams after the fall of the Soviet Union.

"Today, on the last day of the outgoing century, I resign," said Yeltsin. "I am stepping down ahead of term. I understand that I must do it and Russia must enter the new millennium with new politicians, with new faces, with new intelligent, strong, energetic people, and we who have been in power for many years must go," Yeltsin said.

Yeltsin presided over Russia for eight years. Plagued for years by heart and other health problems, he was often ill and out of sight.

"I shouldn't be in the way of the natural course of history. To cling to power for another six months when the country has a strong person worthy of becoming president—why should I stand in his way? Why should I wait? It's not in my character," Yeltsin said. "I am leaving. I've done what I could," he added.

Trim, blue-eyed and balding, at 47 Mr. Putin is by all counts an extremely com­petent and intelligent man. Born in Lenin­grad [St. Petersburg], he graduated with honors in 1975 from Leningrad State Uni­versity's law department.

He did not become a lawyer. Instead‚ he joined the KGB's foreign intelligence arm and worked as a spy in Dresden, East Germany, from 1984 to 1990 after nine years as a KGB internal affairs officer in St. Peters­burg. He entered the political arena in the early 1990s as aide to St. Petersburg's mayor Anatoly Sobchak. In 1994 he became first deputy head of the city government.

Putin later moved to Moscow and ended up in charge of the Kremlin's relations with Russia's 89 regions, where he gained a reputation as a tough "imperialist" who resisted giving more powers to the country's independent-minded regional leaders.

In July 1998 Yeltsin named Putin head of the Federal Security Service, a succes­sor to the Soviet-era KGB. In March 1999 Putin also became secretary of Yelt­sin's secretive but powerful Security Council. In August he was appointed prime minister.

Putin has a black belt in judo and seems to revel in a tough-guy image. He has been dubbed the Bruce Willis of Russian politics after the Hollywood action star because of his hawkish stance on Chechnya. When he pointedly said last fall that he would wipe out Chechen rebels even if they were killed in their toilets—a vulgar piece of Russian army slang—he began to rocket upward in the polls.

He has turned into one of the most admired figures Russia has seen this dec­ade‚ with even his opponents singing his praises. "Putin has enchanted Russia," wrote Vyacheslav Kostikov, a former Kremlin spokesman and current board member of a media empire that has campaigned heavily against the government. "I honestly believe that Putin is capable of heroic deeds in the name of our humiliated ­Russia," Kostikov said.

As acting president‚ Putin assumes near–dictatorial powers in a country of more than 140 million people spanning 11 time zones. The president is the formal head of state and commander–in-chief of the armed forces, controls the government and has the right to dismiss it or bypass it with decrees, names most top officials, and has the last word in most state affairs. He can be legally ousted only with great difficulty.

(Compiled from articles by the Associated Press‚ Reuters, Agence France-Press, and the New York Times News Service.)

4. (Mama:) A few days after Yeltsin's resig­nation and Putin's ascension, we asked the Lord what significance these changes in Russia held. We thought this dramatic, unexpected change of world leaders right on the brink of the new year must have some meaning. Sure enough, it did‚ as our loving Husband revealed to us in the following message:

5. (Jesus speaking:) The Evil One wastes no time. He is on the attack every day, every hour, every moment. He knows that his time is short, so he does not tarry. As the new era dawns, Satan steps up his quest for world control. Thus I have said and thus it is‚ as you see before your very eyes, My children‚ for with this move he makes an advance.

6. Yeltsin's resignation and the appointment of a new president in Russia is but one of the many matches in progress in the Endtime tournament, which the Evil One seeks to win as he moves his chess pieces around the globe—queens and kings‚ rooks, bishops, knights and pawns. He holds so many pieces in his hands, in every land and in every segment of society. He moves them ever so wisely, strategically placing them according to his craft and devilish wisdom.

7. I ask you, My brides, to be not ignorant. You must not fall into thinking that the world slips relatively easily and problem-free into the new millennium. Think not that because many cannot see with the naked eye the bites and sores caused by the Y2K bug‚ that this varmint has not struck. Do not look on what appears to be, but look at what is. Keep your eyes fixed on Me, and your prayers aimed at that which goes on behind the scenes.

8. Though the Y2K bug bites are not yet seen outwardly, this does not mean that the world is free from its harmful poison. For this bug is as a mite which has burrowed deep within the global body politic, and it has potential to fester and grow and multiply and cause harm if left unchecked. And just as the Y2K bug is let loose, so does the Evil One make moves in the political arena at the same time, as he kicks off the new era with this major shift of his chess pieces. He is on the attack, making significant moves in world governments and wherever it suits his need.

9. He will take every advantage to advance when he can. He will waste no time. This move he has made in replacing Yeltsin with Putin is a crafty maneuver‚ carefully timed and orchestrated.

10. Satan is very agile, ready at all times to adapt his style to the situation, and now he is fine–tuning his strategy in order to take full advantage of the climate of the day which he himself has created in Russia. He has rallied his own among both the hierarchy as well as the common folk in this vast land, nurtured them along for this time when they are ripe and ready and in need of a leader such as Vladimir Putin—a man of action, a man of guts, one who is strong to lead.

11. Putin has been nurtured by Satan since childhood. He has been groomed for this hour. Every­thing in his life—his upbringing‚ his schooling, his career, his interactions with ­others, the choices he has made, the voices he has heard in the night seasons—has been preparing him for this day. The Evil One has been working on him. Satan hopes that through Putin he will have one who is open and yielded to his will and ways and whims, a perfect pawn in his hands, one who will choose to advance his cause.

12. Keep your eyes on this grand match featuring Putin and pray for My insight into the moves on the board, for they are of great significance to the world. One match is over as it is checkmate for this king, Yeltsin. Yet the tournament continues. With this move and strategy, Satan makes an advance in setting the stage to reveal the Antichrist. And this move is not just one step‚ but a giant leap toward this end.

13. I have called you, My children, to watch and pray. Be sober, be vigilant, be diligent in prayer. Everything you see and hear around you has significance‚ therefore you must discern. You must keep your eyes open, your ears attentive, your spirits pure and clean‚ your channels finely tuned to My direction if you are to not be ignorant of Satan's devices.

14. I call you to stand watch and pray, to work My works while you can, for the night is fast falling. (End of message from Jesus)

15. (Mama:) As the Lord said, this change of leaders in Russia is of great significance, and is a giant step toward the revelation of the Antichrist. In a message the Lord gave over 3 years ago, He said, "It is only Yeltsin that hinders the prophetic forces that work in Russia at this time. If he is taken out of the way, that shall be the finger removed from the dike" (ML #3086:75, Lifelines 23).

16. So watch and pray, listen and receive, so you'll know what's happening and what will happen next. Most of all, continue to do the Lord's work with all your heart and soul and mind, for the night is fast falling!

Y2K bug bites—changes in

people's attitudes and actions!

17. As you noticed in the message above, the Lord said the Y2K bug had struck‚ but that we couldn't see its effects with our eyes. We were certainly thankful when the new year dawned and we still had electricity and water, and we didn't see any major disruptions, even though we had been prepared.

18. On new year's day, one of our Home members asked the Lord why there hadn't been more visible effects from Y2K. In the original message the Lord gave us, He said that those behind the scenes could magnify the Y2K problem to horrific proportions to herald the Beast, who could then save the world. But in that same passage‚ the Lord said that those behind the scenes could also prevent full–blown chaos if the Beast wasn't yet ready to enter center stage. (See ML #3227:29, GN 829.) We wondered if that was what had happened and if it meant we had more time, or what effects Y2K might still have. Here's what the Lord said the real effects of the Y2K bug were.

19. (Jesus speaking:) Y2K has had an effect, and will continue to have an effect in the days to come. Though you may not have seen massive technological breakdowns, there will still be some glitches, some problems, some breakdowns here and there, where it serves the Enemy's purposes to create chaos and confusion.

20. But Y2K has had effects beyond the techno­logical; it has also changed people's attitudes and actions. For one thing, they now have more faith in their technology and their ability to overcome problems through it. They will therefore have more confidence in the works of their hands and will feel less need of Me, and less dependent on Me.

21. For another thing, they will now have less faith and trust in those who warned of coming disaster‚ those who preached gloom and doom. They will say, "Where is the destruction that was predicted? All things continue as they were, for our own arm has gotten us the victory."

22. This will cause them to lose faith in those of the churches, who sometimes preached their message of millennial disaster far and wide, as well as other dedicated Christians who predicted great problems. They will be less tolerant of their message of impending doom. And this will even cause a crisis of faith among some of My weaker children of the churches‚ as they wonder if these are indeed the Last Days, since so few problems have arisen.

23. This contributes to the great falling away from true faith which I predicted before My return, as the unbelievers mock those who believe and some of the believers lose faith and hope in My coming, for they did not see a sign. But the main sign I have promised is the same as I said of old—My warnings in My Word.

24. Y2K has now engendered a climate of distrust of those who await My soon coming with faith and hope. These little bands of believers are often called apocalyptic cults, deranged religious fanatics, crazies whose fan­tasies have not come to pass, and who may pose an actual danger to themselves or to ­others. Many nations of the world will now watch them closely, for they wonder if they will do something to fulfill their predictions—if they will try to cause problems so that they can say they were justified in their beliefs. Those who call themselves the cult watchers will encourage them in this surveillance, and they have friends in high places, for many of them hate those who preach the Endtime message. And they especially hate you, My children, for you have exposed their evil and their hypocrisy for years.

25. So you will see a surge in anti-cult propa­ganda. And if the Enemy leads those who he has duped into killing themselves or committing some act of terrorism, then you will see a new crackdown on believers like yourselves.

26. The Evil One would rejoice at such acts, for as governments crack down on those they consider terrorists or religious fanatics, they also limit freedom in other ways. They restrict civil liberties‚ they monitor communications more closely, they institute more surveillance, they pull back on freedom of the press when it contains "alarmist" messages‚ and all this paves the way for the Antichrist and his coming world order.

27. So you have not seen the end of the effects of Y2K. It will continue to reverberate around the world, though it seems to have passed over now. There is more to come, for these are the Last Days and I will fulfill My Word.

28. I will also fulfill My Word to you, My children, and will keep you and protect you in the days to come. As I have said‚ this is the dawning of a new era, and great works lie ahead of you. Be prepared in heart and spirit, for great works also require great yieldedness, faith, obedience and trust. But I am with you always, from now until the end of the world. I love you. (End of message from Jesus.)

29. (Mama:) Thank You‚ dear Husband, for Your marvelous insight! Isn't it wonderful that we can take our questions to Him, dear Family?

30. The Lord said that the main effects of the Y2K bug would be on people's attitudes and actions. They'll have more faith in their technology‚ less faith and dependence on the Lord, and will be less tolerant of those who preach the Endtime—especially those they consider cults.

31. The Lord also promised to keep us and protect us in the days ahead, and in fact until the end of the world, and beyond! Great works lie ahead of us, as long as we're prepared in spirit with great yielded­ness, faith‚ obedience and trust. Thank You Jesus!

32. Stay prepared physically as well by continuing to preach the Gospel, love the lost, win friends and supporters, sign up the sheep for the Activated program, and keep up your stocks of survival food and water. You may need all the friends you can get if there's a storm of controversy or persecution, and will certainly need your survival stocks if there's a storm or flood or other natural disaster.

33. In fact‚ the Lord emphasized the need for us to keep up with our survival supplies in a separate message He gave us while we were finalizing this GN. He sent Dad with a message on the importance of being faithful to check and rotate this food and water, reminding us that we shouldn't just let it slip away.

Be faithful with

your survival supplies!

34. (Dad speaking:) Thank the Lord He didn't allow the Y2K problem to reach the point of calamity and rioting‚ and that He didn't test you to see how you'd do if you had to live off your survival for a while and be without water and electricity. Thank the Lord for His mercy, that He used this situation to get the Family stirred up enough to do something about their survival, to get stocked up and prepared, but that He held back the floodgates so that you wouldn't need it this time.

35. But don't think that you'll never need it, because you will need it in the future. That's one reason the Lord had the whole world get stirred up, so that the Family and His other children and believers would do something about their reserves of food and water and other necessities.

36. So now that the big Y2K push is over and the danger isn't so imminent, be thankful and praise the Lord for His mercy, but don't let your survival slip away. Don't use it all up and not have any more on hand for future emergencies. The Lord has made it clear that we're now entering a new stage of the Endtime, so now is the time to be prepared and keep up your survival. You'll need it, so make sure you're faithful to rotate your food and water, to keep an eye on things, and to check things regularly for the day when you will use them.

37. The Lord allowed this Y2K situation to shake people up worldwide and get them stirred up before He let loose the floodgates of evil upon the Earth, so that His children would be prepared for the worst possible situations and be able to survive. So stay on guard and don't let all that hard work, time, energy and money that you've invested in your survival stocks just fall by the wayside. Be faithful stewards over it; make sure you keep things in good condition, and be faithful with what the Lord's given you. He gave it to you because you'll need it, not because you won't need it.

38. The Lord is a very wise businessman and He knows how to get the whole world on the ball and doing what they should be doing in preparation for the flood of iniquity that He has to allow to happen. Things have to get worse before they can get better, but if you're faithful with your survival it won't be as bad for you as for those who slacked off and weren't faithful.

39. So do your best, and the Lord will bless it and help you through any difficult times. He won't leave you comfortless or without your needs, but you have to do your part. Then He'll do the miracles to supply and fill in all the gaps and empties along the way. (End of message from Dad.)

40. (Mama: ) Thank you, Dad, for that good reminder, and thank the Lord for His supply of these different survival items. As the message said, even though we didn't need them this time, we will need them in the future‚ so we should take good care of them. Be sure to rotate your food and water as necessary; make sure any equipment, ranging from flashlights and radios all the way up to generators, remains in good working order; and remember to check these things regularly. By being good stewards, we'll continue to have good survival stocks.

41. What mercy the Lord has in allowing the whole world to get stirred up and, for those who took heed to His warnings, to get stocked up to face any possible calamities. You never know when disaster will strike, as it did in the recent earthquakes in Turkey‚ Taiwan and Greece, in the floods and mudslides in Vene­zuela, and in the storms that battered Europe. And you never know when political upheavals will strike either, such as the recent coup in the Ivory Coast. In each of these situations you'd be very thankful that you had food stored up if you couldn't go out and buy it, water available if the taps were dry or the water mains were broken, and a source of fuel or heat if the gas and electricity were off.

42. The Lord will keep us, of course, but like Dad said, He expects us to be prepared, especially after giving us so many warnings and such explicit counsel. As we do our part, then He does the necessary miracles, thank the Lord!

43. You're in His hands, and He loves you, and we do too! With much love and prayers for a happy new year and wonderful new era, Mama

Wars will come

44. P.S. As we were finalizing this GN, we were reminded of another article about Russia which we'd asked the Lord about a few weeks ago, relating to Russia's war on Chechnya. This message was given before Putin became president of Russia, but interestingly enough, he's the one who has been pushing the war in Chechnya and it has made him very popular with the Russian public.

Dark rumors from Russia

By J.R. Nyquist, WorldNetDaily. Oct.11‚ 1999

An American businessman in Moscow recently described conditions in the Russian capital. He said the city is heavily patrolled by police and army units. Vehicles are routinely searched, papers are inspected‚ civil rights are violated. But Moscow's police are not simply looking for terrorists. They are also looking for "military-aged individuals" and persons with medical experience. These are being taken for military training as part of a "general preparation for war."

The Russian military began to expand its manpower base in April, during the crisis in Kosovo. At that time nearly 170,000 new recruits were called up in a special Russian military draft. Throughout Russia‚ as well as other former Soviet republics, there have been rumors that hundreds of thousands of convicts have been offered amnesty in exchange for military service. If you examine the naval and marine exercises of the past six months (especially the mobilization of Russia's Black Sea Fleet), one cannot escape the suspicion that naval and marine reserves have also been mobilized.

What we have inklings of‚ and what we read about in the Russian press, suggests a large-scale military preparation. This preparation cannot be explained by the situation in Chechnya. After all, Chechnya is a small place, without a real army or air force.

It is remarkable, in this context, that we are constantly reading of the weakness of Russia's conventional armed forces. To give one example, we read in a Oct. 7 Reuters article by Martin Nesirky that "Russia now finds itself short of conventional weapons to fight Chechen guerrillas in its own backyard." Nesirky writes of a contrast between Russia's "creaking kit in the field and shining missiles in silos.…" But this is an incorrect characterization. It is untrue that Russia's conventional forces lack equipment.

In November of 1990 the Kremlin signed the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty (CFE). This treaty limited the Russians to deploying 20‚000 battle tanks, 20,000 artillery tubes, 6,800 combat aircraft, 30,000 other armored vehicles, and 2,000 attack helicopters west of the Urals. The number of 20,000 tanks is a gigantic figure. It is several times the number of tanks used by Hitler to invade Russia in 1941. The number of 6‚800 combat aircraft is also huge. We cannot say that Russia has an under-equipped army.

The military mobilization in Russia is real. Far more power is being mobilized than would be needed to crush tiny Chechnya. So what is up?

Members of an American church, who recently returned from mission work in one of Russia's largest cities, reported contacts with Russian soldiers. These soldiers were "very disturbed" because they believed the present Russian mobilization is aimed at the United States—not Chechnya. In a related report, a recent American visitor to Russia was privately informed by a Russian military officer that Russia had been preparing for war against America for the last 17 months.

Are these reports credible? We have to be careful about embracing stories that confirm our worst fears. But if we look at such reports in the context of other information‚ then we have to say that there is nothing inconsistent or surprising in the idea that Russia is preparing for war with the United States.

Russia's new ally China is also mobilizing. The Taiwan Straits crisis just happens to coincide with the Chechnya crisis. Therefore, the military mobilizations in both countries are supposedly justified.

Last summer Russia curtailed gasoline and diesel fuel exports, as well as exports of fuel oil. Almost a year ago Russia cut her oil exports by more than 25 percent, while increasing oil imports from Iraq. But Russia is supposedly broke! She desperately needs cash‚ and 45 percent of Russia's $80 billion in exports in 1997 came from fuel exports. Why is this being done?

The truth is, a force exceeding 20,000 tanks and 30,000 armored personnel carriers can suck a lot of fuel. Let me suggest that Russia has planned the current mobilization for many months. Let me also suggest that the Kremlin wants to be assured of its military supplies. What we are seeing is not a panicked reaction to a few Chechen rebels and terrorists. It is a carefully prepared and well-organized war mobilization, involving countrywide civil defense drills and a massive roundup of military-aged men and medical personnel.

45. (Jesus speaking: ) I have said in the Last Days you will hear of wars and rumors of war‚ and so it is. Yes, these of whom this article speaks are preparing for war, for they do not have My love in their hearts. There are those behind the scenes in this vast land of Russia who have war in their hearts. They dupe and use the innocent‚ and their intent is to wreak war and havoc among the nations.

46. They prepare, they plan, they scheme, they plot. They seek power and they seek to destroy. They are the bloodthirsty, the war­mongers. These are they which worship the Dragon and the Beast. Therefore they are moved toward the plan of the Beast—to wreak havoc, chaos, and destruction, and wage war.

47. Whether or not Russia will wage war outside her borders hinges on the choices and decisions of man. But whether such a war comes to pass or whether it comes to the brink in some trouble spot and then is averted, the Beast will use this opportunity and it will contribute to his rise to power. These are some of the rumors of war that are spoken of in My Word. Wars will come, as I have said through the mouth of My prophets.

48. But I say to you, My children, do not let your hearts be troubled, neither be afraid when you hear of wars and rumors of wars. Look up‚ for your redemption is nigh. All these things must come to pass. Let this comfort your hearts. Whether there be wars or famine or pestilence in these Last Days, no harm will come nigh you who put your trust in Me, who know Me and love Me and do My will. For I have promised‚ and I will fulfill My Word. So no evil will befall you who put your trust in Me, nor will any harm touch you, for I send My ­angels to surround you, to guard you and keep you in all your ways. (End of message from Jesus.)

49. (Mama: ) It seems this war in Chechnya has certainly contributed to Putin's rise to power. In the previous message the Lord called him "a man of action, a man of guts, one who is strong to lead‚" and that's just the type of person the Russians have been yearning for.

50. As far as whether this war will spread, the Lord said it hinges on the choices of men, but reminds us not to be troubled by these "wars and rumors of war." Wars will come, but He will keep us. His angels surround us even now to keep us in all our ways, thank the Lord!

51. So you can claim all His wonderful promises of safekeeping and protection as you watch these events unfold, pray for His leading and guidance, and do your part by being prepared both spiritually and physically for the days ahead. God bless and keep you! I love you!

Mama