Trends: Rubles to Dollars - What is your money worth in the former USSR?
By Jay Rogers
THE EXCHANGE RATE OF RUBLES FOR DOLLARS has skyrocketed from 30 rubles to the dollar at the time of the August 1991 coup to now over 500! An inflation rate of 2% a day has made it difficult for the average worker to buy enough bread, milk and meat to feed his family. The dollar, too, is losing value, but at a much lower rate. It is still possible for the Russian entrepreneur, if he has access to hard currency, to make profitable deals during the "lag time" just after the official exchange rates are raised and before the inflation rate has a chance to catch up to the raised value of the dollar.
Many people in the West are understandably concerned about making an investment in business or supporting a ministry in the former Soviet Union. Are the communist hardliners going to reassert themselves? Will the iron curtain be raised once again? When is Russia going to close up again? - These are some of the questions people ask.
The consensus of the young people in the former communist bloc say: "There is no way; the changes are irreversible. Communism is too unpopular, and the Democrats have too much support from the people to go back now." Taken that these are the future leaders of this society, we can say that the long term changes are irreversible. In addition to this piece of evidence that communism is out for good, there have been several symbolic gestures on the parts former Soviet governments:
The endorsement on the ruble only one year ago proclaimed: "Legal Tender of the USSR." Today the ruble reads: "Bank of Russia." Even the ever-present bust portrait of Lenin has been removed from new 5000 ruble note.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine have declared complete independence from Moscow. Ukraine realigned their time zone to be one hour later than that of Moscow even though part of the country is on the same line of longitude. Ukraine, the Baltics and Belarus are now in the same time zone as the countries of eastern Europe. In essence, this gesture suggests that these nations consider themselves to be part of Europe and not of the Soviet bloc.
These nations display their own flag colors, have their own national anthems and have printed their own currency, (although inflation in the Ukraine has surpassed that of Russia).
Despite the symbolic gestures of freedom, life from a practical standpoint is getting worse for the common citizen. The average worker still makes between $20 - $30 a month. As government subsidies are lifted, the prices for commodities will inevitably come on line with prices in the West.
The time for Westerners take advantage of this situation is now. God himself has sovereignly created this setting so that Western Christians would be able to finance the evangelization of almost 300 million people.
The time of spiritual openness in the former Soviet Union is also short. While compared to the West there is a great hunger for Christian literature, in two or three years it will become more difficult to distribute a Christian publication among unconverted people. Two or three years ago, a Christian publication such as Predvestnik would have been a best-seller, but in a few years the novelty factor will will have all but disappeared.
The goal of a newly established Christian publishing house in Ukraine is to print and distribute at least 250,000 copies of Predvestnik in the next two years; and to translate and print 10 short paperback books (100-200 pages). In doing so, a network will be developed among Russian speaking people who will read Christian literature for many years to come. These people may be able to support the work of publishing in their own country if their economy improves. Then they will be able to support missionary efforts to surrounding nations such as the Muslim and Asian bloc.
The people in the former Soviet Union are still among the most spiritually open people in the world - especially the youth - but the time is short, we need to act in a more progressive manner to evangelize and disciple the people of the former Soviet Union through the printed word.
You may support the Russian language Forerunner and publishing books in the former Soviet Union by sending a tax-deductible donation to: The Forerunner, P.O. Box 1799, Gainesville, FL 32602
Up one level
Back to document index
The Real Jesus: Who is the Real Jesus? Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archaeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the "historical Jesus" -- a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin. Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archaeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regretably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.
|
This presentation explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views.
Presented in ten parts -- perfect for individual, family and classroom study -- viewers will be challenged to go deeper in their knowledge of Christ in order to be able to defend their faith and present the truth to a skeptical modern world – that the Jesus of the Gospels is the Jesus of history -- "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the real Jesus. Speakers include: George Grant, Ted Baehr, Stephen Mansfield, Raymond Ortlund, Phil Kayser, David Lutzweiler, Jay Grimstead, J.P. Holding, and Eric Holmberg. Ten parts, over two hours of instruction! Running Time: 130 minutes
|
| The Beast of Revelation: IDENTIFIED
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation? Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry's insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation -- and even more importantly -- amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview! Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue -- but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today. Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study -- for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John's famous letter "... to the seven churches which are in Asia." (Revelation 1:4) |
(Available in DVD only) $17.95 ORDER NOW!
|
INCLUDES A FREE Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misperceptions related to this volatile issue: Download the free |
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal
Bible study. Speakers include: George Grant, Howard Phillips,
R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, R.J. Rushdoony,
Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction! Watch over 60 streaming videos from God's Law and Society at:
Price reduced! |
| Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism
Over four hours of instruction! Just what is “Calvinism?” Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology? This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer. |
$19.95 ORDER NOW!
|
|
The Forerunner Forum is the discussion group for this web site. The purpose of the group is to engage in discussion about the articles on-line. If you want to discuss any article or video on this web site, visit The Forerunner Forum. |
| VIDEOS | WORDS | BLOG | DISCUSSION | WHAT'S NEW | ABOUT US | FEEDBACK | SEARCH | DONATE | JAY'S BIO | HOME |
For more information, contact:
| The Forerunner jrogers@forerunner.com |
|
P.O. Box 362173 Melbourne, FL 32936-2173 |
