“The death of His saints is precious in the sight of the Lord,” writes David. (Ps.15) The death of Michael Lokteff is precious in our eyes too, but our sadness is light, because we know how Michael lived on earth, how he loved the Lord, how he worked for Him and where he left us. “But his courageous death was remembered as a glorious example, not only by young people, but by entire nation as well” 2 Maccabeus 6:31. May the Lord comfort all those who mourn with His comfort.

Peace be multiplied unto you! Our dear brothers and sisters, our friends and co-workers of the Mission and our companions in the glory that will be revealed in us in the Kingdom of Love, Light and Joy in Heaven!

Many prayers to our Lord were given, dozens of options were reviewed, but, as it turned out, the Lord had already prepared a new name for us 20 years ago. Our dear brother Sergei Ivannikov, founder of the Russian-American Media Company, 20 years ago registered a name that perfectly reveals the essence of our ministry. The name is BLAGOVEST. (Good News) Shortly before the Easter holidays, Sergei said that God had set his heart to give this name to our Mission. This was the answer to all of our searches and prayers. Along with this, we are now actively working on our website’s content. We gave it a completely new face, thanks to our Board member Alex Bolyshkanov. Many thanks to Sergei Ivannikov, who has been in our Advisory Board for several years, for helping with completing the site. RAM Office staff professionally carry out this work. I sincerely thank the designers Sergei Yatsenko and Anastasia Tsiro for their willingness to respond and send their sketches for our new logo. May the Lord bless you according to the riches of His Grace. We whole heartily thank everyone who takes our Website to the next new level. We are very grateful for everyone who prays, visits and shares our Website page with friends. Actively, we’re filling up the site with new information. In our publications you will find spiritual bread for every day life. These are biblical narratives from a new angle; these are real-life stories; these are in-depth spiritual topics written in a simple, accessible language. Check out the short, spark-like articles in the Sparks of Theology section. Recommend our site to your friends, re-post articles that you like. It will be your real contribution to the Gospel. Encourage your friends to send the site address to their friends. Over the past month, the number of site visitors increased by 146 percent, and the number of page views increased by 269 percent. Thank God! We believe this is only the beginning. Together with Alex Bolyshkanov, a wonderful team of professionals from Sergei Ivannikov’s office does this blessed work, for His glory. We ask you, dear brothers and sisters, to pray for our ministry. Perhaps you or your loved ones have not been spared by this epidemic. May the Lord touch you with His healing hands and comfort you with His comfort. Perhaps you have lost your job, our prayer is for you, so that the Lord will meet this need. Your prayers and gifts of love help us continue our ministry. In these difficult days, we will pray to Him, who observes the whole earth and knows our needs before we open them to Him in prayer. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 The world is in dismay and confusion, but the Lord reassures us with His words: “ … I am with you always, even to the end of the age. ” Matthew 28:20

Completely unprecedented and tragic events have shaken our world from the beginning of 2020. The killing of an Iranian general in early January shocked the whole world and put the Middle East on the brink of war. Following, in China, a new type of Coronavirus was discovered, which quickly spread throughout the world. In addition to human casualties, the number of which has already gone into the thousands, this epidemic puts many countries on the brink of economic disaster. “The world will no longer be the same as before.” A well-known politician made this statement after the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred. Looking at the development of current events, we can repeat these words, with even greater confidence, in the present day. We suddenly started feeling that our world is incredibly fragile. Not long ago, it seemed that humanity could do everything, and anything, and we could handle any changes, but suddenly everything has changed. People stopped working, moving around, communicating, and they cannot visit and support their loved ones. When you lose something, you then understand the value of what you had and took for granted. We thought: church, communion, chorus singing, sermons, and fellowship - this will always be. “Well, I will skip this Sunday, it’s ok, next Sunday will come.” And now we can see how valuable was what we had before. It’s no secret that the Coronavirus epidemic began in China. Many of you probably still remember from our history textbooks that in ancient times China was named "Celestial Empire" (Heavenly Place). (Wikipedia: The term "Celestial Empire" has been used in China since ancient times to refer to the territory to which the power of the Chinese emperor extended.) The book of Isaiah has an amazing chapter in which the decisive actions of the Lord are described. This chapter is chapter 13. The first four verses of Isaiah 13 present the account of the Lord gathering an army. The fifth verse indicates from where this army will come: “They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land” (Isaiah 13:5). As we see, it will come precisely from there. From the Celestial Empire (end of heaven), this epidemic, which will crush the whole earth, will begin its deadly procession. You can’t say it more clearly than that. Next, we find a detailed description of the attacks, which will be inflicted from the Celestial Army of the Lord Almighty: “Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame” (Isaiah 13:8). We read above that the world is in fear and confusion. We see very clearly here, that the defeat of man will not be by swords and spears, but there are clear signs of a terrible disease of the internal organs (i.e. convulsions, pain, and torment). Flushed faces mean fever that is inherent with this epidemic. When a sick person is admitted to a hospital, the first thing that must be done is take that person’s temperature. A fever is the very first sign of sickness. In many cities around the world, even thermal imagers have been installed to measure people’s temperature from a distance. In verse 14, we find another example. “Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, they will all return to their own people, they will flee to their native land” (Isaiah 13:14). Doesn’t this remind you of something? In the history of the earth, there’s never been a time where such things could be said about the nations of the world. For many years, we have seen the opposite. People fleeing to other countries in search of a better life. During wars, revolutions, economic problems, religious persecutions, etc. people ran to America, Europe, Canada, England, Australia and other places. People that live in countries with problems would make every effort to move to other countries. But in this instance everyone will run to their own land and to their people. Today, this infection has caused countries to close their borders and send charter flights to bring back their own citizens, tourists and those who were working abroad. America, Russia, England, and many other countries have brought back their citizens to try and save them from this epidemic. “The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.” (Isaiah 13:10). This is a clear indication that there will be a complete inability of world leaders to control this situation. It’s what we are seeing everywhere. This chapter of Scripture testifies that the world has reached the limit of lawlessness (verse 11) and the time has come for reckoning for all the atrocities of the world. In the 26th chapter, Isaiah describes the situation when the Lord will punish the nations for their lawlessness. Interestingly, in this chapter, Isaiah even mentions the quarantine that we see today in many countries. “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:” Isaiah 26:20-21. The theme of the end of the world and the second coming of Christ, has always been a special topic, in which the question was: What will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age? (Matthew 24: 3). The question of the end of the generation worries people in the 21st century, as well as the Disciples of Christ. The current events, apparently, will be a serious shake-up for the whole world. The trouble came from where we were not expecting. People thought it would come in the form of another World War: Missiles, bombs, nuclear explosions, but the problem came from the other side. This tiny virus brought the entire world economy to its knees. It is time once again to carefully look at the words of Jesus, spoken by Him on the Mount of Olives. First: - find a starting point. Christ points his finger at it: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree… So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:32-34. The prophet Joel refers to Israel as a type of fig tree (Joel 1: 7). Thus, we must turn our eyes to Israel, which many theologians call the World Clock. Israel had been scattered for two thousand years and, as a perfect demographic miracle, in 1948, the state of Israel was established. (The fig tree turned green.) Further, the words of Christ - this generation will not pass, theologians explain that from the foundation of Israel, (this is the starting point) this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. The amount of years in a generation can be interpreted differently. We should take information exclusively from Scripture. The last number given for a generation, in Scripture is in 90th Psalm. “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years…” Psalm 90:10 If we add 70 years to 1948, we get 2018. In the 90th Psalm we see ten years as a variant of a generation. Consequently, all of the events of the end of the generation, we should expect between 2018 and 2028. We will not know the day or the hour. It is a fact. But we will see these days approaching. “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you; for you are all sons of light and sons of day.” 1 Thessalon. 5:2-5 What we see today gives us ground for serious thought. “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:28.