Putin and Yarovaya’s Laws

By John Levi, friend of Southwest Prophecy Ministries

Back in August, I wrote an article titled: “Putin is Evil! Or is he?”  The article was summed up with the conclusion that rather than Putin as being the evil one, the present leaders in the West and, in particular, the Sunni Muslim now occupying the White House, are the evil ones with regards to foreign policy. It is still the firm belief of this author that Russia holds the high ground when their actions in the Crimea, the Donbass Region of the Ukraine and most of all Syria are weighed against those of the United States and its NeoCon allies in the E.U. Government. In fact, I will go even further, I believe God has used Russia to checkmate the United States’s, Great Britain’s and Europe’s military and industrial complex which is nothing more than the muscle of the New World Order which is just a political term for the foundation laying for the government to be ruled by the Anti-Christ.

In the irony of ironies, Russia in many ways was on its way to becoming the world leader for freedom as it was the only major power to actively fight against this complex’s proxy forces such as Isis in Syria. Another example is their supporting the Novorussians in Easter Ukraine as they have had to fight for the lives and homes against Viktor Poroshenko and his Ukrainian Nazis that are now in illegal control of the Ukraine after an illegal coup supported by the U.S. So, when I came across information that a representative and deputy leader of the Russian Duma, Irina Yarovaya pictured above, had co-authored four amendments to the Russian Constitution that basically spell the end of most religious freedom in Russia I was stunned. The four amendments were voted on June 24, 2016 by the Russian Duma and easily passed. The laws are supposedly to fight terrorism and extremism. Where have we seen this before, The Patriot Act for one and the National Defense Authorization Act would be another both of which make the United States’ Constitution null and void.

In September, local and Duma elections were held in Russia with the United Russia returning as the ruling party. The new amendments will now put all kinds of data storage requirements on Russian telecom companies and also requires them to give the Russian Security Forces, FSB, the ability to decipher all their encryption software. All of the major Russian telecom providers protested to President Putin to veto the law. It also makes it illegal for a Russian Citizen to not report a crime or terrorist act of any kind and anyone young as 14 can be prosecuted for this. But the real rub for Russian Christians who are non-Orthodox comes from the new restrictions the law places on evangelism and what is considered illegal evangelism and missionary activity. Basically, it is now illegal for anyone talk to someone else about their faith outside of a church. Of course, The Russian Orthodox Church has been very quick to defend the law because it greatly favors them. I myself have visited a Serbian Orthodox Church, and they really do believe that they are the true church and the only legitimate Christian Faith. I have studied their doctrine. They are far from the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 3:5 (KJV,throughout) 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. The Russian Orthodox Church and its grip over the Russian Government and the Russian People are now complete with the passage of this law.

Orthodox Christianity is not real. First, they baptize infants, which is not even biblical, just like a good many apostate Protestant denominations do, and they believe in the practice of confession. It shares many aspects with Roman Catholicism which is to be expected. However whereas by God’s grace there was the Protestant Reformation in the West there was no reformation in the Eastern Church. I might also say after having been in a good number of various synagogues, it sadly shares some of the customs of the false religion of Judaism. I quizzed a deacon of the local church I visited. When I challenged him with what the Lord Jesus Christ said in John 3:1-8 that a man must be born again, he became visibly uncomfortable. That right there told me all I need to know about Orthodox Christianity. So, sadly this fake religion, even though it has an outward appearance of godliness, is in fact just another satanic deception away from the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and now appears to have a strangle hold on Russia and its President, Putin.

Many Protestant Russian Pastors wrote protests to Putin back in July that he not to sign the law. Actually, Putin’s own Human Rights Counsellor urged him not to sign the law because he saw it as an end to Russians’ civil liberties because of the surveillance requirements and forcing Russians to “rat” on other citizens which is throwback to Soviet Times. All the petitions together that were sent to Putin contained over 600,000 signatures. This is where the real disappointment comes from me, the fact is that if Putin were the great defender of Christianity that many people in the West have wanted to believe he is, he would have vetoed the law and sent it back to the Duma for them to re-work after the September election and the new Duma was in session. He did not, Putin signed it on July 7th with no hesitation and there is a photo of him and Yarovaya shaking hands after he did so.

To his credit, Edward Snowden lambasted the Russian Government for doing such a thing. Although most Russians do not care that the law basically now discriminates against any religion other than the Orthodox Church, they are not too thrilled with the broad new powers given to the government over their everyday lives all in the name of keeping them safe. Where have we seen this before? Just wanted to give you a rhetorical question and the answer would be the U.S. and just about every other Western nation. I would encourage everyone reading this to pray for Russia. Russia over the past say 116 years have suffered so much, the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty, the suffering under its replacement, Communism, and then the fall of the Soviet Empire and the painful rebuilding that went on after its demise. Now that Donald Trump has been elected and a major war with Russia has been averted, normal relations with the Russian Federation can now be restored. It is important for the reader to understand that many Russians identify themselves as Orthodox Christians. They see Protestantism as an outsider or foreign. Also, many Russians look at the Sodom and Gomorrah – like state of the West and coupled with the fact that much of it use to be really Christian, and it probably alarms them to no end and rightfully so. That only reinforces the Russian Orthodox Church’s position false claim as being the true church and further enables them with this law to keep the Russian People and their President from the Truth. Pray for Russia that the Holy Spirit will move on President Putin and that he see the light of Christ and the error of this law. The answer for the Russian People, who as a nation have really committed some acts of national righteousness in fighting Neocon Imperialism, is not a form of godliness that denies the power thereof, but personal salvation that can only be found in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:16