Aunque se desplomen los cielos

by Mikhail P. Kulakov Sr.

-¿qué hiciste, Kulakov, para que te tiren acá con nosotros? - preguntó uno de los prisioneros.
Hice una pausa.
-Soy un creyente cristiano - respondí, finalmente.
Fe, una fe sólida e inquebrantable, era todo lo que Mihail tenía. El gobierno soviético comunista ya le había quitado su trabajo, su familia y su libertad.
Lo encarcelaron, lo interrogaron, y lo sentenciaron... Soportó amargas dificultades, pensadas para deprimir el espíritu y quebrar la voluntad; y si sobrevivía, podía ser desterrado a una remota población al oeste de Siberia.
-Su Dios lo ha traicionado -le dijo el carcelero -. Durante los años que pasará en los campos de trabajo forzados, maldecirá a su madre por haberlo hecho cristiano.
No, señor - oró fervientemente-. De ninguna manera...
Ni aunque se desplomen los cielos.

MIKAHIL P. KULAKOV dedicó cincuenta años al trabajo pastoral y administrativo en la Unión Soviética. Fue bajo su liderazgo que se estableció la División Euroasiática de los Adventistas del Séptimo Día

224 pages

First published February 1, 2008

Reviews

[Marianela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sin dudas estos tipos de relatos nos ayudan a crecer en la fe. Desear tener una relación tal con nuestro Dios, cómo la que los protagonistas tienen. Podemos ver que Dios es fiel y que siempre protege a sus hijos.
¡Cuánto anhelaban la Biblia y la sed de la palabra de Dios que tenían, cuando estaba prohibida!
Me hace pensar en aquellos que vivimos en un país con libertad religiosa, y nuestra Biblia está en un rincón juntando polvo.
Gracias a estos testimonios mi fe creció un poquito más y fué un baño de agua fría para leer mi Biblia mucho más.

[Sverre · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who is not a member of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church it has been a privilege to get a peek into that church’s past hardships and struggles in the USSR until the collapse of its communist dictatorship in the 90s. The author, Michail P Kulakov, Sr, was instrumental in aiding SDA’s survival during the oppressive Stalin and Khrushchev years and its growth in the successive regimes. Both dictators had vowed to eradicate religions. Most clergy and many believers were imprisoned, or exiled interminably, in the most primitive and brutal circumstances and subjected to relentless inquisitions. They were charged with treasonous activities that were alleged to undermine the state’s authority. The justice system made its decisions based on predetermined dictated bias favoring the regime’s accusations, regardless of the true facts in each case.

Kulakov spent five years in ‘corrective’ labor camps followed by exile to the Siberian subarctic. He did survive incredible hardship, as did his father, but his brother succumbed to illness brought on by inhumane treatment. Remarkably, Kulakov, his wife and their children endured the oppression, the persecution and the poverty to triumph for their God and Savior. After the disintegration of the Eastern block—the Soviet empire—the SDA church, and many other Protestant denominations, experienced phenomenal growth. But this book is mostly about all the years of tyrannical impositions which somehow were endured by Adventists as well as other believers. They had no other choice but to endure, even in the most cruel and fearful situations.

This is very much about the face-to-face contest between two ideologies: One based on the Communist Manifesto which was intended to create a just and civil society based on equality—shared ownership and shared responsibility. The other was based on the infallibility of a book—the Holy Bible—and the good news of Jesus Christ who taught followers to love their fellow man and their God as much as, or more than themselves. The first became a system of government devoid of justice and fair play for the individual; the state and its vast autocratic machine became the ‘god’ everyone had to bow down to. Members of the other ideology survived and endured by faith in a just God and the promise of a Savior’s return to establish an earthly kingdom of righteousness.

As unlikely as it seemed at the outset, this book became at times a fascinating page-turner to follow the Kulakovs through a maze of difficulties as well as occasional (even miraculous) rewards. In the process it became a study in cohesive multi-generational family relationships. In our contemporary disjointed social fabric of serial divorces, uncommitted singles, dislocated children, narcissistic celebrity role models, substance addictions and moral relativism it is heartening to realize that many people can have stable, safe, loving, committed and responsible families because they adhere to sets of beliefs that are ‘grounded’ in ‘heavenly’ principles.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the Heavens Fall takes you into the life of Mikhail Kulakov who was a Christian in Russia when religions were still being persecuted and their believers were being sent to prison camps. The book focuses on the time period of the late 1940's through through the early 2000's; it chronicles the life of Mikhail and his family with short synopsis's on his grandparents, and parents and how they came to be involved in spreading the good news.

Mikhail was subjected to many nights of hunger and mental torture in 'prison work camps' by the Communist leaders; he was convicted of simply living his life as he believed God asked him too and spreading the gospel to those he came into contact with. One aspect of this story that I really enjoyed was that their were excerpts from different family members talking about their perspective on certain times and events in Mikhail's ministry and life. It was refreshing to see alternate voices in a book that still seemed to harmonize together in their main goal which was spreading the gospel.

The book is a little less than 200 pages long; its a quick read and if you're a Christian who is looking for spiritual inspiration I would definitely recommend it. While I personally would've liked more information on the storyline and a little less preaching throughout the book overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is as similar to and yet as different from "A Thousand Shall Fall" as it can get. Still a classic in the making. Inspirational story that is still changing my life and the way I see things.