Eastern Europe has generated most of the international headlines in 1992. The prime newsmaker has been Yugoslavia, which continues in the forefront of the news. Also prominent has been Czechoslovakia, with the pending breakup of the nation. Notable as well has been the reemergence of organized religion in the former Eastern block.
To the casual observer, it may seem merely coincidental that so much has been going on in several different countries in the same area. Upon further analysis, however, it becomes evident that a remarkable common element is present — a centuries-old religious conflict is troubling the region, a conflict that is highlighted in the prophetic scriptures. Eastern European countries were not only making news in 1992, they were also helping to fulfill God’s glorious plan and purpose.
Yugoslavia
This war is being fought in the name of religion. We hear the ethnic names being used, but each of the ethnic groups is religiously distinct from the others. On one side are the Catholic Croatians; on the other side are the Orthodox Serbians, and getting caught in the middle are the Bosnian Muslims.
The hatreds in this war run high. Major General Lewis MacKenzie, the officer in charge of the United Nations peace-keeping force was quoted as saying: “I have witnessed the PLO-Jewish confrontation; the North and South Vietnam war, the Contras versus the Sandinistas and Fascists against the Communists. But I have never experienced such hatred as exists today between the Serbians and the Croatians.”
As a consequence of such hatred, the world is witnessing some of the worst abuses since the end of the holocaust. As reported by the New York Times: “An exodus that gathered pace through the night reached full force after dawn, with mile after mile of muddy, weeping people pouring into Travnik along the road from Jajce” (Nov. 1, 1992). The figure of refugees given by the United Nations was 1.3 million homeless as of November 1, 1992 as a result of “ethnic cleansing.” In the week after the UN report was published, an additional 30,000 to 40,000 left their homes. It is expected that 400,000 will perish during the coming winter.
Czechoslovakia
On June 21, 1992, the British newspaper The Independent reported that, “Czechoslovakia is no more. Like its playwright-president, Vaclov Havel, Czechoslovakia stood for tolerance, humanity, humor, integrity , courage and the hope for a better future.” Today, the hope for a better future is gone. The president has been ousted and the current government is pressing to create two separate countries, Czech and Slovakia.
Although this separation is amicable, in contrast to that in neighboring areas, the religious similarities between Czechoslovakia and the former Yugoslavia are great. The demarcation line between Czech and Slovakia will result in Czech being about 90% Catholic and Slovakia about 80% Orthodox.
The same issue of The Independent noted that: “A serious problem looms in the shape of the 600,000 (predominantly Catholic) Hungarian minority, who fear discrimination in an independent Slovakia.”
They look at Yugoslavia and fear a similar “cleansing” process. They see the Orthodox Serbs setting on the Catholics and fear the Orthodox Slovakians will do the same to them.
Organized religion in former USSR
The Economist of April, 1992 reported that: “The death of communism has reanimated the centuries-old feud between Catholicism and Orthodoxy.” In the former USSR, the demarcation lines are beginning to appear between the western church controlled by Rome, and the eastern church controlled by Constantinople. The Orthodox church has dominance in the Russian federation. It has been helped by the presence of the Russian patriarch and the fact that President Boris Yelstin is a baptized member of the Orthodox church.
As the Orthodox church expands in Russia, the Catholic church is expanding its mandate for firm control in the Ukraine.
The Economist article continues: “Catholicism has a toehold in the Ukraine, where the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church was founded in 1596. Although the priests are allowed to marry, theologically and hierarchically it is subordinate to Rome. So far, 3,500 churches in the Ukraine have been turned over from the state and are all now controlled from Rome.”
Hostilities are at such a level between Orthodox Russia and the Catholic church that Pope John Paul II has been advised by the Kremlin not to make a visit to the former Soviet Union.
Daniel 2
Bible students readily agree that the image described in Daniel 2 depicts a continuous spectrum of history. Babylon is represented by the head, Medo-Persia by the chest, Greece by the belly and thighs and Rome by the legs. As we consider the two legs, which correspond with the great eastern vs. western division in the Roman Empire, we realize that the separation carries through to the feet, which depict conditions up until the return of Christ.
The legs were separated by a political-religious system with one leg being ruled from Rome and the other from Constantinople. The demarcation line that once separated the Catholic from the orthodox church is now being redrawn on the map of Europe. Ancient battlegrounds have become current ones: Ukraine vs. Russia; Czech vs. Slovakia; Croatia vs. Serbia.
Each foot will seek to dominate the other. Yet, as we know from the scriptures, neither foot will succeed to world domination. Instead, a stone cut with divine power will strike the nations and subject the world to the kingdom of our God and of His Christ (Dan. 2:34).
We look forward to that day and pray that it might come quickly. Then the horrors of human strife now experienced by so many will be over; war and famine will be things of the past; peace and righteousness will be the rule throughout all the earth.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One