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NO LAUGHING IN THE KREMLIN NOW

It's a phenomenon you really have to see to believe. When you hear the word "propaganda," you probably think of Hitler's PR specialist, Josef Goebbels, who helped mastermind political tactics like "Kristallnacht," the November 9, 1938 night of horror during the Nazi reign of terror. But during their own 70 years of a Cold War deep freeze, nobody controlled information like the former U.S.S.R.

Here at the Voice of Prophecy, we'd be rather interested in how they did it, because one of the Kremlin's favorite weapons was the one you're using right now: RADIO. Moscow was big into radio. And of course, as propaganda experts, they had two objectives: keeping out bad signals, and blanketing the nation with "(quote) good" ones."

So they did three things. First, they constructed HUGE radio towers throughout the entire empire, especially along the borders. These were mammoth edifices, capable of saturating the entire Communist world for thousands of miles in all directions. Secondly, they perfected the art of blocking Western signals: "jamming," as we all came to know the tactic. Voice of America and other sounds of freedom were meticulously stopped right at the hems of the Iron Curtain.

But here's the third thing Moscow did. In order for all of its citizens to receive the happy news about successes in the Worker's Paradise, the Communist system systematically placed radios in virtually every home throughout the U.S.S.R. I don't know if they were free, or if they were subsidized down to five kopeks, but this was the biggest media giveaway in history. EVERYBODY had a radio. AND . . . the station presets were already locked in place. You couldn't turn the dial and get Kasey Kasem's American Top 40. You got the news, weather, and sports that Leonid Brezhnev wanted you to get.

In fact, not only were radios handed out to every Boris and Natasha in the empire, but the city streets were hard-wired with radio speakers. Parks and recreation areas literally had speakers in all of the trees. The controlled "good news" came in on buses and streetcars.

In fact, some of our staff members were over in downtown Moscow for a religious crusade with our sister broadcast, the It Is Written TV program, and saw evidences of this system still in place even in 1993. There was more freedom now, with Gorbachev and Yeltsin relaxing the old rules, but the speakers in the trees were still there. One of our team actually heard them playing excerpts from the decadent Western album, Abbey Road, by the Beatles. So freedom truly HAD arrived!

Well, here's the interesting thing. The U.S.S.R. was also hugely concerned, naturally, about keeping out religion. They had to protect their atheistic system. But do you know what has happened? Once the Communist barriers came down about a decade ago, and the Berlin Wall cracked and tumbled, and all the rest, here's what resulted. All of those huge, towering radio transmitters were suddenly available for non-propaganda purposes. They were out there on the open market. Entrepreneurs began printing rate cards and selling airtime. And do you know what's beaming on those galactic systems today? That's right. The gospel of Jesus Christ. The very weapons the enemies of truth constructed to keep out truth are now being used to blanket the former Soviet Union with the REAL good news about a risen Savior named Jesus.

In fact, this very radio ministry, The Voice of Prophecy, has a sister broadcast over there in Moscow called the Voice of Hope. In recent years, it's been the number-one Christian media broadcast in the entire empire. And I heard a few years ago that the speaker at that time, a wonderful young believer named Peter Kulakov, had one of the most recognized voices in all of Russia. Every time they did a survey in Red Square, people would nod. "Oh, sure. Da. I've heard HIM."

What really helps the Christian cause along is the fact that every home, apartment, and dacha in the whole country already has a radio! Which is now guaranteed to be tuned in to programs like Voice of Hope and other great Christian broadcasts.

I guess the point is this . . . and you almost have to smile when you think about it. The enemy of this world, Lucifer, constructs his careful systems, his elaborate defenses. We've talked for three days about how the enemies of Jesus went to Pontius Pilate and begged him. "Please put a guard around that tomb. We don't want any nasty rumors starting up about a resurrection." And he gave them that immortal line: "Go ahead. Make it as secure as you can." Which they did. And of course, on Sunday morning Jesus came out of that tomb and broke through that defensive system as though it were nothing.

But now notice this wonderfully ironic result. Through Satan's working, there was a contingent there at the grave site of one hundred Roman soldiers. They were armed. They were ready to defend. They had instructions, on pain of death, to NOT fall asleep at the post. And you can read in Matthew chapter 28 how, when the resurrection earthquake hit, and the mighty angel of God came down, they were NOT asleep. They were wide awake, all right, but terrified out of their wits. They fell over, the Bible says, like dead men.

So what happens? These one hundred Roman soldiers, instead of protecting against a stealing-the-body-in-the-night scandal, or even against a Resurrection, turn into eyewitnesses. All one hundred Roman guards heard the trumpet blast. They all felt the earthquake. Every single one of them saw Jesus emerge in triumph from the grave.

What did this lead to? The Jewish authorities had to bribe the one hundred guards, and get them to claim that every single one of them went to sleep on the post. Which, since that was a lapse punishable by death, meant they had to bribe the Roman authorities as well. That was an expensive Sunday morning for sure.

And now, what are the mathematical odds that one hundred trained, hand-picked guards, who have been assigned to a post with the specific instructions of staying awake to prevent disciples from stealing the body, will ALL fall asleep, every single, solitary one of them, while the disciples walk in and do exactly that — steal the body? Friend, what are the odds?

We shared a wonderful quote the other day from the well-known classic book, The Desire of Ages, which explores the minute details surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. And the author, E. G. White, picked up immediately on the irony of this moment. Notice:
"So weak men counseled and planned," she writes. "Little did these murderers realize the uselessness of their efforts. But by their action GOD was glorified. The very efforts made to prevent Christ's resurrection are the most convincing arguments in its proof. The greater the number of soldiers placed around the tomb, the stronger would be the testimony that He had risen."

And you know, the Bible is just filled with these marvelous U-turns, where Satan steps on his own land mines. Remember the story of Joseph? Lucifer works things out so that this devout kid is sold as a slave. Then he's accused of rape and tossed into prison. Then when he has a chance to get out, Lucifer spins the dials again and keeps him in there for two more years. It's a perfect, diabolical, cruel plan. Except what happens as a result? Joseph gets out at the perfect moment and becomes prime minister of the entire Egyptian empire.

Right here at this ministry we've had many, many letters come in from people who have been incarcerated for serious crimes. And friend, Satan loves it when a hurting, confused man or woman is thrown in jail. He loves it when a person is locked up in the penitentiary, where there is anger and violence and an anti-God rage simmering all of the time. And yet . . . do you know what happens so often? These people FIND God there! I've seen it happen over and over. I've met some of these very people. We did a live TV downlink just a few months ago, where a newly converted Christian prisoner shared his story with our audience. These inmates hear our radio broadcast, or others like it. They sign up for our Discover Bible Course . . . and of course, in jail they've got "time on their hands," as the old saying goes. They can take the lessons three times as fast as anybody else on our mailing list. And Satan has this great trap, designed to defeat some poor soul, but he ends up getting his own tail caught in it instead.

You know, I think about those enormous radio transmitters in Russia, now beaming the message of John 3:16 to a newly liberated empire, and I almost want to laugh. Is it all right to laugh just a little bit? The Bible tells us that even God laughs as He sees Lucifer's sorry little schemes.

"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?"

This is from Psalms chapter two, and maybe you music aficionados have also heard it in Handel's Messiah.

"The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed."

They're so clever, these world leaders and Kremlin bosses and Sanhedrin rulers; they have these brilliant propaganda plans. They have their guards and their bit of red Roman wax with an invincible seal to guard the tomb of Jesus. But notice the last line:

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."

And of course, you know what they say about the One who laughs last.