A year has passed since the 44-Day War. What feelings do we have? What have we done during this time, and what are we going to do in the near and far future so that this would never repeat itself?
During this period, I spent a lot of time in Yerevan, I was in the regional centers and villages of Armenia, and also abroad. I spoke to many, both Armenians and foreigners, and listened to a variety of opinions and conclusions.
After the thousands killed in action and bitter defeat, the whole nation, apart from a handful of people, was in the sea of deep distress, mourning and disillusionment. Whether or not our families had a soldier who fell at the battlefield or was taken prisoner, was missing in action or survived a limb amputation, the whole nation was suffering; all of us were praying. Someone’s children were returned from the captivity, or a soldier opened his eyes after several months of being in coma, and we experienced happiness and wept again, but this time of joy.
Days and months went by – it is a year now. Someone lives with the pain in their hearts; someone simply exists; and surprisingly, there are people who live as if nothing has happened. However, the most terrible thing has happened, and if we do not wake up even this time, we will have new deaths; we will lose priceless people, our country and homeland; and will be dispersed among the nations, as it happened to the dispersed Armenians after the Genocide and is still happening to the descendants of our compatriots who live in foreign countries.
We live in terrible times. A war, thousands killed in action, the overwhelming majority of which were of the young generation. Along with that, the threat of compulsory vaccinations looming over the whole world, which is being interpreted in different ways. Some think that this is another pandemic, and compulsory vaccinations are normal, forgetting that in the recent past, it was compulsory to test the vaccines on animals… Others think that this is a business; as the people were oppressed by the hands of the governments in the past, so it is now, only this time, it is carried out at the level of the entire planet. More farsighted people talk about preparations for the coming of the false messiah or the antichrist, which would be presented as the coming of Jesus Christ, and yet others believe that the real Second Coming of the Savior is at hand. As different as the opinions are, it is obvious that the demonic world tries to rise again hoping that this time, it will manage to destroy mankind created in the image and likeness of God, deprive them of their reason and their God-given free will.
Armenia experienced chaotic times like this after the Genocide in 1915, the result of which was 1,5 million of victims, mass exodus of the Armenians from their homeland, the Western Armenia full of mourning people and orphans, and conquered lands, which we visit only as tourists today. The country was just about to recover; it had just restored the statehood, which had been lost for many centuries, when the invasion of the godless Communist regime took place. First of all, they closed all the churches, tried to remove the focus of the people from God and persuade through large-scale campaigning that salvation is in Grandpa Lenin… Whereas all the Armenians were to fix their eyes on the Lord in order to learn why the land given to them by the Lord had been trampled in such a way by the neighboring nations, why it had constantly been divided and losing the choice of its people. Of course, the godless Communist regime was not established in Armenia alone, in the same way as the epidemic with the vaccines is not just forced upon the people of Armenia; however, by a strange coincidence, both the Genocide and the 44-Day War (not only multiple victims, loss of the choice of the people, but also loss of the lands) was organized by the hands of Turks. In the demonic world, every step is calculated. Thus, let every country and every nation think about the calamity that befell them and humble themselves before the only Lord, Who created this universe and holds the eternity in His hands.
I want to focus on the nation of Armenia and the Land of Armenia. The sorrow of the 1,5 million victims, weeping for the lost lands, and the need to take care of the survived adults and orphaned children who escaped the slaughter did not allow Armenians to set their eyes on God, humble themselves before Him and finally understand: until when Armenia would remain a bone of contention in the hands of its neighbors and why it must always be in the role of the broken down and losing side? Some may want to remind me of the victories of our people. Of course, I know about them, and it is impossible to forget them. However, let us finally receive an answer from the Lord about why we are being killed and why we lose. After all, we are the first state that received Jesus the Savior as our God; we are a Christian country. And let us not expect the answer from the Lord while complaining and grumbling, but with a humble heart, ready to admit our error, repent and correct ourselves. We have the Bible – the Word of God, which clearly shows what the Lord tells us and to what extent He keeps His Word. He is love, and His mercy endures forever; however, it is also written, “To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd” (Ps. 18:26; 2 Sam. 22:27).
On the 27th of September, 2020, when the news of the war spread, I shuddered. The wounds of the Four-Day War of 2016 haven’t been healed yet, and now another war! I thought, as many did, I presume, that this war would last for several days as well. The wounds that were not healed yet and the pain of new losses led me into fasting and prayer to ask the Lord if this war would not be too much for this Christian country that had experienced so much pain.
I did not even imagine what calamity it would turn to be. I naively thought that we would have victory; I only mourned for new victims. With the Bible in my hand, I cried out to God, asking Him to give me a Scripture, to answer why this war started. In my cry to Him, there was no complaining; I simply wanted to know whether God, being patient, taught us patience. Or He might want us to learn how to destroy demonic plans from our lives. Or we made some mistakes and didn’t even realize it.
Already in the evening, I understood that my cry and lamentation would be continuous. We separated ourselves as a small group to humble ourselves before the Lord in fasting and supplications. While our self-proclaimed prophets, television and press, social networks and street banners proclaimed, “We will have victory,” the Lord showed the opposite and explained the reasons. On the very first day of the war, He gave me a Scripture from the Prophecy of Jeremiah. This Scripture is so horrific that I do not even want to add it here. It was about victims and defeat. I thought that my confusion and stress did not allow me to hear from the Lord. After I kept receiving Scriptures about defeat and multiple victims on the second and third days of the war, I called a friend of mine, one of the best ministers of the Lord. Without telling her about what we felt at the moment, I tried to learn whether God showed her something concerning our country or whether she had received any Scripture or vision in prayer. I was shocked when she told me that she received a Scripture from the Prophecy of Jeremiah and related a vision, which took place on the 9th of November.
The days of “sackcloth and ashes” began. I could not find rest. From time to time, I met my friends, God-fearing people, who excitedly exclaimed, “We will have victory!” No one wanted to listen to us. Several times, I summoned the Social Ministry team. I hoped that they would listen; I was their ministry leader, after all! It was very difficult for them to hear such bitter words from my mouth… everyone exclaimed that we would have victory, and I not only spoke about the defeat, but also about the reasons that lead our nation to destruction – a nation, which is considered Christian, but does not keep the commandments of Christ. Below I will relate what the Lord told and revealed to me during those days. Someone might ask, “Why then didn’t you speak about this during the days of the war?” I tried. I told the Social Ministry team about this; they can confirm it. I posted a Bible verse on Facebook, but “the wise and the prophets” neglected not only me, but also those who believed my words even a little. I consider it my duty to write about this, hoping that there are people who, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, will do the will of the Lord.
The spiritual wall of the Land of Armenia is ruined. This is why those bowing down to other gods, worshippers of the devil and witches have large scale activities in the Republic of Armenia, secretly or even explicitly. So explicitly that witches are given television programs and air time. And to secure more viewers, the guests of their programs are famous people – actors, singers… Worshippers of the devil, hiding behind patriotism and worship of their nation, lead their own country and nation to destruction.
Many Armenians, who consider themselves Christians, have never read the Bible and don’t know the Ten Commandments. Even if they know some of the Commandments, they still remain listeners and keep pursuing the desires of their hearts. Besides, I know many God-fearing and praying believers, who are convinced that they do their job wonderfully and are not to be blamed at all for the past and present deplorable state of Armenia. God is their Judge. Pastors and ministers of the churches of Laodicea, Ephesus and other Churches in Chapters 2 & 3 of the book of Revelation also thought that everything was wonderful in their churches, that they served God in the right way, but was it so? I do not neglect the great selfless work done by the church ministers; however, can we say that this is all the Lord expects from us? Don’t the words in Heb. 12:4 refer to us: “You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin”? Have we prayed for the leaders of Armenia according to the Word of God: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1-4)?
When the people, following Nehemiah’s exhortations, built the wall of Jerusalem, many of the nobility did not participate: “Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord” (Neh. 3:5). Nehemiah was at the right place and at the right time for the restoration of the wall – when the Temple in Jerusalem had already been built and when Ezra had already arrived, bringing with himself the vessels of the House of the Lord that were taken away by the enemies because of the sins of the Jewish nation. Knowing about the sins of the people, Ezra cried and repented, “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day” (Ez. 9:6-7).
Those who returned from the captivity also acknowledged their sins and repented. In order to show their repentance in practice, they set a special day: “Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter… let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times…” (Ez. 10:13, 14).
God Who searches the heart and the mind, seeing the hearts of the people and their true repentance, sent Nehemiah. Today, in order to see the wellbeing of the Land of Armenia, Armenian churches that accept Jesus Christ as their God have to review their work and be sincere before God. Do we truly fulfill the vision, which the Lord gave us, and do we fulfill it the way the Lord wants it?
Noah built the Ark according to the instructions of the Lord. Can you imagine what would happen if he, having received the order, would himself decide what type of Ark he was going to build and the way he was going to build it, especially taking into account that he had never seen rains or floods before? Some say that God spoke to Noah twice – the first time, when He ordered him to build the Ark, and the second time, when He told him to enter the Ark with all his family, taking with them a pair of each animal species. How naïve! God directed Noah in choosing each detail in the whole process of the construction of the Ark. This is an undeniable fact.
Not only the ministry teams of the churches in Armenia, but also all the Armenian churches outside Armenia must review their work and ways of fulfilling their visions, because this pertains to the people of Armenia and the Land of Armenia. How much longer can we move away from fulfilling the vision of the Lord the way He wants it? How much longer can we flatter sin and, out of humanism, neglect the commandment of the Word of God: “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned” (Tit. 3:10-11)? How much longer can we build our sermons based on what we see and hear, while the prophet writes about Jesus: “His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears” (Is. 11:3)?
There is another omission; there are quite a few churches that do not have a prayer ministry. Each person in church prays; but in the same way, that we have a worship ministry, a charity ministry, a children’s and youth ministry, etc., we must have a prayer ministry, in which true prophets will reveal God’s will and direct people to true prayers according to God’s heart and vision. Humble people, who have received proper training in a school of prayer and have experienced victories in the Lord, will serve there. There, they will test prophecies. I do not want to judge anyone and I do not have any right to do so, but have the “prophets” who promised victory in the war understood that they were not directed by the Holy Spirit? In case we do not make our errors right, nothing, of course, will change. There is a wise saying, “If today you are doing what you were doing yesterday, your life won’t change.” Revision and correction of all these are the integral part of the construction of the spiritual wall of our country.
When Nehemiah restored the wall of the city, not only the enemies hindered him, but there were also some Jews that came to dissuade the builders. The enemies joined forces with the intent to kill those who would dare to restore the wall. However, Nehemiah learned about it and ordered the builders to have weapons with them during their work, and once they heard the voice of the trumpet, to join the soldiers who protected the wall. They built day and night. They slept without taking their clothes off. Seeing their resolve and dedication to the construction of the wall, the Lord destroyed the plots of their enemies.
Having completed the construction of the wall, they proceeded to set up the gates. Again, the enemies came and started to slander and intimidate. They called Nehemiah to meet them, but Nehemiah refused saying that he was busy with a great work. He prayed to the Lord, “For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, ‘Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.’ Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands” (Neh. 6:9). After that, Noadiah the prophetess and other prophets tried to persuade Nehemiah to quit the work he started. Not only Nehemiah refused to listen to anyone, but, keeping his eyes on the Lord, faithfully fulfilled the vision received from Him. “So, the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God” (Neh. 6:15-16).
God was faithful to His Word. It was so important that Nehemiah and his people also stayed faithful to the Lord. Despite the difficulties, arrogant threats of bribed “prophets” and the perceived power of the enemy, they put their hope in the Lord and proved with their actions, that they believed in and trusted only the Heavenly King.
It is not enough to restore the wall. As they say, it is good to have a victory, but it is more important to keep and develop it. Ezra and Nehemiah summoned all the people to the city square and brought the Book of the Law: “…the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads. Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers… they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.” (Neh. 9:1-3). Ezra read the Law, and others were appointed who explained what was read and also taught how to know and do the will of the Lord. The people publicly confessed their sins and repented, showing their repentance through their works.
Nehemiah designed and implemented godly methods of government. When everything was settled, he travelled to the king, as he had promised. During his absence, the people started to violate the laws he established, and the rule of the country fell into decay. However, Nehemiah was back. The king appointed him the ruler over Israel. Through his example, Nehemiah showed what a God-pleasing life looks like.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are the proof of the fact that the basis of everything is repentance and the work of a church that completely fulfills the Word of God.