Participants: Karen Pierson & Pierre Quinn (Host)
Series Code: SOR
Program Code: SOR000009A
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00:23 Hello, I'm Karen Pearson and I'm here again
00:26 with my co-host Pierre Quinn. Hi, Pierre. 00:27 Hi, Karen. 00:29 To bring you another episode of Stones of Remembrance, 00:32 the program where we visit with one of your favorite authors 00:35 and look at some of their life experiences 00:38 that helped shape them and the message found in their books. 00:42 So often as we pass through life's deep waters 00:44 just as Joshua did, we can meet some 00:47 unexpected blessings along the way that will determine 00:51 our future direction of our lives. 00:54 But before I introduce you to today's guest, 00:56 I'd like to share something from the word with you. 01:00 It's found in Hebrews 11:36-39. 01:05 "Some faced jeers and floggings, 01:08 while still others were chained and put in prison. 01:13 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, 01:16 and put to death by the sword. 01:18 They went about in sheepskins and in goatskins, 01:22 destitute and persecuted and mistreated. 01:27 The world was not worthy of them. 01:30 They wandered in deserts and in mountains, 01:34 and in caves and in holes in the ground. 01:37 These were commended for their faith." 01:42 These verses are hard to read. 01:44 Aren't they, Pierre? Those are challenge. 01:45 So hard to read but they're even harder to love I think. 01:49 But they're powerful reminder that if we're faithful, 01:53 we will know that it will have been worth it all 01:56 when we see Jesus. 01:59 I'd like to welcome you to our program today, 02:01 Dr. Michael Kulakov. 02:04 We're so pleased that you were able to join us. 02:06 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 02:08 I'm very glad to be here with you. 02:11 Thank you. 02:12 Michael, you are a professor 02:14 at Adventist Washington University 02:17 in Maryland, Takoma Park. 02:18 Yes. 02:20 Is there anything else you could tell us 02:21 briefly about yourself? 02:24 I am blessed to be a part 02:27 of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist church family. 02:32 I'm a fourth generation Adventist. 02:35 My great grandfather was one of the first Adventist in Russia, 02:40 in Czarist Russia, pre-revolutionary. 02:44 Oh, my. 02:45 Russia and I have a privilege to work with young people 02:51 every year at the university and this last five years, 02:57 I had a very, very special privilege to work 03:01 on the project of the translation of the Bible 03:05 into modern Russian language. 03:07 Yes, and we're going to talk about 03:10 that a little bit later. 03:12 Thank you, Mikhail. 03:13 Mikhail, you're the only one in this whole series 03:16 that we're having whose book we're not looking at, 03:20 we're actually looking at a book that your father co-wrote, 03:24 Though the Heavens Fall. 03:26 And I just, I want to just say to our audience 03:30 that this book is one of my very favorite books. 03:33 It is an incredible story of one family's faithfulness 03:37 to God in the most awful circumstances, 03:40 the most trying circumstances, but ultimately it's a story 03:46 about God's faithfulness and protection 03:49 to the children that He loves so much. 03:52 Mikhail, your father was born in Soviet Russia. 03:55 Yes. 03:56 Tell us what was the world like 03:58 that the world he was born into? 04:01 He was born in 1927 in Leningrad at the time 04:08 when Russia was under atheistic regimes, 04:14 Stalinist regime and that Christians, 04:19 not just Protestants, all, people of all faiths 04:24 have been persecuted and regarded as 04:28 the enemies of the Soviet State. 04:32 Religion was considered to be the opium of the masses 04:38 as Karl Marx taught and crutch for the weak, 04:44 and therefore Christian communities existed 04:49 in so called underground, and it cost you to be 04:57 a Christian and I was raised in a family 05:04 where persecution was central part of life. 05:12 My grandfather was sentenced to 10 years 05:15 of Stalin's labor camps for being a pastor 05:19 of a little church in the Moscow area. 05:24 My great uncle was sentenced to 25 years 05:29 in Stalin's labor camps for being the editor 05:33 of a Christian magazine that he published secretly, 05:40 illegally to at his own risk. 05:44 And my own father as he grew up, 05:50 he witnessed the life of his parents 05:59 that was very different from the lives of those 06:02 who embraced the communist system. 06:06 Yes. 06:08 His mom, my grandmother had to take my dad 06:12 when he was little to Siberia to live near 06:16 where the labor camp was where my grandpa was kept. 06:21 And she told us when we grew up that she would 06:26 feed the children with the leftovers 06:29 of what was left in the homes that she cleaned. 06:34 And she would late at night boil for herself potato peels 06:40 and eat the potato peels. 06:43 And she was a very peaceful person, 06:48 very serene person. 06:50 There was kind of strength 06:54 and steel in that serenity. 06:59 But she taught us that if you rely on God 07:06 and my grandpa and my dad and my mom, 07:10 you have nothing to fear. 07:13 Amen. Amen. You have nothing to fear. 07:16 At this time, I know that millions of Soviet people 07:21 died of hunger, of persecution. 07:26 There were very hard days in Russia and yet the home 07:30 that you grew up in was a happy home. 07:32 Yes. Yes. It was a happy home. 07:35 My parents managed in those circumstances 07:41 to create an atmosphere of security. 07:47 We had very, very little as kids. 07:52 And I remember on the greatest holidays, 07:56 if we could put a little bit of butter on the bread 08:00 and some sugar or honey and some nuts, 08:05 that was very, very special. 08:07 Yes. Very, very special. 08:08 So you got to live out where Paul declares, 08:11 he says in all thing I've learned to be content 08:15 in whatever condition of life. 08:16 Yes. 08:18 But our life was not different from the lives 08:20 of millions and millions of Christians 08:24 and just good citizens in Russia. 08:29 And it was in many ways better than the life 08:32 of those who rejected Christianity 08:36 or who out of fear of persecution gave up their 08:41 belief so they never experienced the love of God. 08:44 They had nothing to rely on in times of difficulty. 08:48 Something that struck me when I was reading the book. 08:53 Your grandfather in talking with your father said to him, 09:00 "You need to realize that you're probably 09:02 going to be arrested." 09:05 That is probably going to happen. 09:07 And it just, it struck me so much the way 09:09 that he prepared him. 09:13 And, you know, how do we do that as parents today 09:16 to make sometimes difficult aspects of what it means 09:20 to be a Christian, a reality to our children, 09:24 so that it helps him to be 09:25 better prepared to face those times. 09:30 Yeah. You know, what was most precious to us 09:34 and to me personally in our parents, 09:36 particularly when I was forced to go to two years 09:40 of military construction, hard labor camp. 09:47 At the age of 18 is the example 09:52 of our parents not faking it, 09:56 not being Christians out of fear 10:01 or out of a desire to get some rewards 10:06 but being Christians because they were Christians. 10:11 Because they loved people, they loved God. 10:15 You know, my mom in the middle of the night, 10:18 our home because our father was a leader 10:21 of the underground church. 10:22 Our home was the union headquarters. 10:25 It was the union cafeteria. It was the union guesthouse. 10:30 It was the union office. 10:33 It was everything, so in the middle of the night 10:35 when brothers would come for a secret night meeting 10:39 to avoid observation from the government officials. 10:44 My mom would come into the rooms and would wake us up, 10:47 quick, quick, quick, get into our bedroom. 10:50 Quick, I need to prepare the beds for the brethren. 10:53 You know, the brethren have come. 10:55 And in the morning she would wake us up quick, 10:58 help me to cook and help us to serve everyone 11:01 and then help to clean the rooms 11:03 and we saw that her heart was in it 11:06 or if we would open the study where my dad was working 11:11 and would find him on his knees praying. 11:15 That was a shock, you know, that it was serious for him. 11:21 It was his whole life and his dream. 11:24 When he in the middle of the night, you know, 11:27 use 12 copies of onion skin papers with carbon, 11:33 laid with carbon copies and was editing his journal 11:40 for ministries that was called 11:45 in Russian, "stremleniye," 11:48 you know, a dream, a desire, a hope. 11:53 And he would put the light on the floor 11:58 and would do it very, very quietly 12:02 and he would see us and he would say 12:04 quick, quick, go to sleep. 12:05 And we'd say, Dad, what are you doing? 12:07 What are you doing? 12:09 And he would say, I'll explain to you afterwards. 12:14 So that helped tremendously in our own challenges, 12:20 in difficulties to know that we have seen 12:24 the example of people who clearly stood 12:29 for what they believed. 12:31 They were not, you know, wishy and washy and they... 12:35 Though the heavens fall. Yes. They knew it. 12:39 We're going to take a break right now 12:40 and so it will give you a chance to find out 12:43 how you can get a copy of this incredible book, 12:46 Though the Heavens Fall. 12:48 Don't go away, we'll be right back. 12:49 Thank you. 12:52 It was a dangerous thing 12:53 to be a Christian in Soviet Russia. 12:55 It was even more dangerous to be a pastor. 12:58 As a third generation 12:59 Seventh-day Adventist Christian and pastor, 13:02 Mikhail Kulakov knew that it was only a matter of time 13:05 before he would be caught and exiled 13:07 to a Siberian labor camp in communist Russia 13:11 where millions of people died from hunger and persecution, 13:14 this gripping story of faithfulness 13:17 through persecution shows how God's love 13:20 and watch care covers and protects His children. 13:23 And now miraculously, the work of translating 13:26 the Bible into modern Russia that began in secret 13:29 has recently been completed by Mikhail's son, Michael. 13:33 To get your copy of Though the Heavens Fall, 13:36 call 1800-765-6955, 13:41 stop by your local Adventist book center 13:43 or order online at www.adventistbookcenter.com. 13:52 We're back speaking with Michael Kulakov. 13:55 And, Michael, one of the things that I love about your story 14:00 is really demonstrated in the whole story of Joshua, 14:04 taking the children of Israel across the Jordan. 14:07 He said that when you build the altar, 14:10 when your children come and ask you, what is that? 14:13 You can tell them, it will be as a remembrance, 14:17 as a memorial for them. 14:19 And as I look at your story and the lives of your 14:28 that they build that were a memorial 14:31 to the goodness of God and His leading, 14:34 and what an incredible testimony that is. 14:37 Yes. 14:39 One of the things that struck me as well 14:41 in your father's marvelous book is something your mother said. 14:47 Shortly after they were married, 14:49 she said, she told your father that 14:51 she felt that it was her calling and her mission in life 14:56 to be a good mother 14:57 and to raise her children in the fear of the Lord. 15:01 Absolutely. Yeah. 15:03 She would wake up very early in the morning 15:07 and she would cook breakfast for us 15:12 and she knew that we would face persecution, 15:16 ridicule at school and she would have her prayer with us 15:23 and would read a scripture to us. 15:27 And I remember one scripture that she loved very much 15:31 and that she read with a lot of strength and faith is 15:38 "Do not be deceived, God will not be mocked." 15:45 And she used to say that whatever they do to you, 15:50 God is standing next to you. 15:54 And He will not be mocked. 15:57 You will be mocked but He will not be mocked. 16:00 How amazing. How amazing. 16:03 What can sometimes happen in Christian families 16:06 or more specifically in pastoral families 16:09 is that sons and daughters will see the challenge 16:12 of being the pastoral family and say, you know, what, 16:16 I don't have anything to do with the ministry. 16:20 Seeing your father and your grandfather, 16:23 the men in your family go through 16:25 their trials for their faith. 16:28 Was there ever a time in the back of your head 16:29 where you thought, maybe I don't want to do this. 16:32 How were you able to develop the resolve 16:34 that you have in your faith now? 16:37 I remember when real persecution started in my life 16:42 when I was seven time zones away from my family in 1977 16:50 when I was drafted to two years of military service 16:54 and despite of my good grades, 16:56 I was sent not to the functioning unit 17:01 but to the unit for the scum of the earth 17:04 as they said with low intelligence, 17:09 mental issues, criminal records 17:12 and they all spoke the Russian language. 17:15 I did not recognized, dirty verbs, 17:19 dirty nouns, dirty adjectives. 17:23 And I remember in the barrack, I was trying to pray 17:27 to formulate a prayer, 17:30 I was in such a state of shock because I was hoping that, 17:34 that year I would get a permission to travel 17:37 to England and to embark 17:38 in the study of theology at new built college. 17:42 And I've learned English and I prayed to God and I said, 17:46 God, I've done my part. 17:48 Now You do Your part. 17:50 And you know, instead I received 17:52 that little card that said you're drafted 17:54 to years of military service. 17:57 And when I was on the bus, 17:58 transported to the military airport, 18:01 I felt like earth gave away and I was in a free fall 18:07 and I had a massive lump in my throat. 18:11 I felt that I was abandoned by God 18:14 and that everything is gone and all my support knocked off. 18:22 And those were the trials when as you said, 18:27 I rethought everything in my life. 18:31 And, you know, the bullies in the barrack would 18:35 come to me and would say, 18:36 "Why do you need to stick to your stupid religion." 18:39 You know, not working on Saturdays, 18:42 not eating pork and not-- 18:44 because everything was with pork and rotten cabbage there, 18:48 so there was nothing else to eat. 18:50 You know, why are you going hungry and, you know, 18:53 when you can lead a good life, you're such a tough guy, 18:57 you're not afraid of these dogs, 18:59 the officers they said to me 19:01 because those criminal young bullies, 19:04 they had, you know, despised for, 19:07 they were despising the officers, you know. 19:11 And they immediately respected me 19:14 for challenging the officials, you know, and they-- 19:18 you will be under our protection they said. 19:21 And I said, I don't need your protection, 19:23 I want God's protection. 19:26 And I thought and thought and as I was trying to 19:30 formulate prayers, you know, 19:32 dirty words were coming to my mouth instead of prayers 19:37 because I was so shocked from that language. 19:41 So profoundly exposed to that alterative reality 19:48 that was so alien to me in my home and in my childhood 19:53 where I was so secluded and sheltered and protected. 19:58 And I realized that I started asking myself, 20:03 do I really know some people 20:05 who stuck through everything, you know, win it. 20:10 Yeah. He said it's worth it. 20:13 And, you know, the first thing that came to my mind 20:16 was my grandpa, you know, 20:19 whose ears I love to touch when I was a little kid, you know, 20:24 whose hands I would feel and look. 20:27 You know, he went through the labor camps 20:30 and through almost being shot. 20:34 And he was such a serene and courageous person. 20:40 You know, he listened to Voice of America 20:43 in the morning and read the Bible 20:45 when he could be taken away again. 20:49 You know, he didn't care and he had 20:51 the Pravda and his Vesti on his table, 20:55 and he would read what the Soviet authorities said, 20:59 what the American authority said, 21:01 then he would open God's word and then he would say to me 21:04 and then I read what God says, you know. 21:07 And I don't care what they say, you know. 21:10 And I immediately thought of my mom, my dad and I thought, 21:16 they stuck with it. 21:18 And, you know, I thought my dad 21:21 is such an educated person. 21:23 He loves the Bible. 21:25 He loves the greatest world literature. 21:28 He loves the arts. He loves history. 21:32 He loves the intellectual heritage of humanity 21:37 and he is not afraid. 21:39 Yes. 21:41 There you go, you know, that voice said to me. 21:44 And that's where I had to really stand on my own faith, 21:50 on my own feet and no longer believe 21:53 with the faiths of my mom and my dad 21:56 and no longer kind of be a Christian because 21:59 they were Christians, that was the time 22:04 when the umbilical cord was cut 22:07 and God gave me a new lifeline, you know. 22:11 And He said, I'm here with you. 22:14 It kind of reminds you a little bit 22:15 of a story of Joseph. 22:17 Where on that travel to Egypt, he has to make 22:21 the determination, I'm gonna serve God 22:23 for myself and not for what my father wanted. 22:27 Right. 22:28 Your father, getting back to your father 22:30 was an intellectual, a brilliant man, a godly man. 22:34 He is an artist too, right? Yes. And an artist. 22:37 He also had a dream, a vision to give a gift 22:42 to the Russian people. 22:43 What was that, Michael? 22:45 To give them God's word 22:49 in the great Russian language 22:53 because in his youth when he was a teenager, 22:56 he learned German and then later in labor camps, 23:00 some intellectuals taught him English. 23:04 And some rabbis taught him biblical Hebrew 23:09 and he learned biblical Greek. 23:12 And he compared it to the Synodal translation 23:15 which he loved and revered 23:17 because that was the only Russian translation 23:19 but he could see comparing it with 23:22 Martin Luther's translation and with King James in English 23:27 that that was not an accurate, always accurate rendition. 23:32 For instance the place where the Bible says 23:34 and Enoch walked with God. 23:37 You know, the Russian Synodal translation 23:39 said and Enoch walked before God because 23:42 the Russian translators were scared to say walked with God. 23:47 They felt it was irreverent to say that 23:51 or and he had a dream that because he read 23:56 the greatest Russian literature which was permeated 24:01 with Christian ideals and was helping Russian people 24:06 during the atheistic time to have access 24:10 to Christian values 24:14 when they were deprived of the scriptures. 24:17 And his dream was to give the Russian people 24:21 the Bible as it is in the language of Pushkin 24:27 and Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. 24:29 Right. 24:30 And he didn't live to see 24:32 the completion of that work, did he? 24:33 No. 24:35 But this and this is where your story 24:36 is so compelling, Michael. 24:38 In many ways his mantle fell on your shoulders. 24:42 Yes, it was and it is a fearsome responsibility. 24:47 And you picked up the work 24:48 and have you completed the translation? 24:51 By God's grace with the help of myriads of God's children 24:56 within our denomination 24:59 outside of the boundaries... 25:02 You know, God showed to me during this time 25:04 that he has his faithful agents 25:09 in absolutely unexpected places who came 25:12 with reverence and said, we want to be of help, 25:16 we want to give our expertise, 25:19 our education to this God's cause. 25:23 Where can people learn more about that project, Michael? 25:27 You can go to www.russianbible.org 25:32 to become friends and supporters 25:34 because even though the Bible is completing, 25:37 we now have a new challenge. 25:39 While the layout is finished, 25:42 we need to share it with every Russian home. 25:47 Unfortunately we're out of time. 25:49 Michael, could you just give us in 30 seconds, 25:51 just look into the camera to the viewers 25:53 and in 30 seconds tell them how we can develop 25:56 the courage to stand up for our faith. 26:00 You are God's daughter, you are His son. 26:07 He loves you, He knows where you lay 26:10 your head on the pillow 26:12 and He knows when your pillow is wet of your tears. 26:17 He knows of your triumphs. 26:19 He believes in you. 26:21 He knows you with all of your weaknesses. 26:25 And he has a great dream for you. 26:29 You are His precious, precious child. 26:33 Michael, we thank you so much for sharing your story, 26:35 the story of your father, 26:37 the story of your family with us. 26:39 We've been here another episode of Stones of Remembrance. 26:43 And I don't know if you felt the passion of Michael 26:45 but we felt it here in the studio. 26:47 As a reminder that when you have those 26:49 challenging moments, mark them, God will restore 26:53 and He will let you know that He is there. 26:55 For Karen Pearson and myself Pierre Quinn, 26:58 we'll see you next time. 26:59 Take care. 27:29 As you read this book, be prepared for some 27:32 shocking surprises and straightforward answers 27:35 from beloved author and evangelist, Mark Finley. 27:38 This little books asks and answers questions 27:40 about the Bible Sabbath, its origins, its history, 27:43 and its relevance today. 27:45 In his easy-to-read conversational style 27:48 of writing, Elder Finley draws from his years of experience 27:52 in pastoral work to reach people from all walks of life. 27:56 When God said, Remember is the perfect book 27:59 to share with friends, family, colleagues, 28:02 and even strangers who want to know more about the Sabbath. 28:06 Quantity pricing is available. 28:09 To get your copy of When God Said Remember, 28:12 call 1-800-765-6955. 28:17 Stop by your local Adventist Book Center 28:20 or order online today at AdventistBookCenter.com. |
Revised 2015-11-16