The Time of Constantine
Seeds of the Protestant Reformation
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In the early 300s, during the time of the most severe persecution against all professing Christians, the Roman armies declared their favourite general, Constantine, to be Caesar. He had claimed victory after subduing the opposition in the Battle of Milvian Bridge outside Rome.
Prior to that battle, he was said to have had a vision of the first two letters of the name of Christ—chi (X) and rho (P) in Greek—and to have heard a voice say, “By this sign you will conquer.” Constantine believed that the meaning of the letters was symbolic of Christ and therefore felt indebted to Christianity for his victory, despite being a devout sun-worshipper.
One of Constantine’s first acts as emperor was to issue the Edict of Toleration in AD 311. It legalized Christianity in the empire, ending 10 years of severe persecution against the true Church. However, the edict sped up false Christianity’s rise to prominence.
The Roman leader saw this new religion as a potential means of unifying the empire. Yet its practice in the Western empire was quite different from that in the east and from other sects in North Africa. So Constantine took measures to standardize his newfound ally—counterfeit Christianity.
Constantine convened the ecumenical Council of Nicea in AD 325 to resolve doctrinal differences between various Christian divisions. Before this, again, as a former sun-worshipper, he had naturally already decreed that Sunday—the day of the sun—would be kept throughout the empire. The Council of Nicea went further, in effect outlawing the practice of true Christianity. But the unscriptural teachings of the emerging counterfeit church were now decreed as part of the new state religion. As its protector, Constantine forced everyone, pagan or Christian, into either conformity or exile.
Prior to Constantine, the professing Christian church—founded by Simon Magus—had suffered persecution by the state, alongside the small true Church. But now in their elevated position of power, the “persecuted” became the “persecutors.” This counterfeit false church’s goal had now been achieved, and it now vengefully pursued the true people of God.
Persecution Foretold
Jesus’ admonition of “then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted [tortured], and shall kill you” (Matt. 24:9) began very early (in type), with 11 of the 12 original apostles being martyred. But the book of Acts reports many others were included.
Daniel 7:1-28 gave a prophetic picture of one of the horns (the false church) of what you will recall is “the fourth beast” (the Roman Empire). We saw that this system “made war with the saints,” “prevailed against them,” “spoke great words against the Most High,” and was to “wear out the saints of the Most High.” This “little horn” is the same counterfeit movement whose rise to power we earlier summarized from Church history. As we proceed, it will become evident how deadly this “little horn speaking great things” would become regarding the true Church, and for the whole world.
A Killing Machine!
We saw Jesus declared, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). But when the universal church system—the Revelation 6:1-17 white horse and rider—asserts power, it has brought destruction and death!
Most have assumed that the counterfeit church, having developed into a large and powerful organization, has brought a stabilizing influence to the world. They have believed that this church has injected a sense of morality and responsibility into mankind’s collective consciousness.
But the rider of this white horse has called down numerous wars in the name of religion. History reveals that this church has been the chief cause of war within its jurisdiction, either indirectly or directly. It has inspired “conquering, and to conquer” (Rev. 6:2).
Let’s read a more extensive quote from history: “Now, this Ninus, or ‘Son,’ borne in the arms of the Babylonian Madonna, is so described as very clearly to identify him with Nimrod. ‘Ninus, king of the Assyrians,’ says Trogus Pompeius, epitomised by Justin, ‘first of all changed the contented moderation of the ancient manners, incited by a new passion, the desire of conquest. He was the first who carried on war against his neighbours, and he conquered all nations from Assyria to Lybia, as they were yet unacquainted with the arts of war.’ This account points directly to Nimrod, and can apply to no other” (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, p. 23).
And also, “…‘Ninus, the most ancient of the Assyrian kings mentioned in history, performed great actions. Being naturally of a warlike disposition, and ambitious of glory that results from valour, he armed a considerable number of young men that were brave and vigorous like himself, trained them up a long time in laborious exercises and hardships, and by that means accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war, and to face dangers with intrepidity’”
(ibid.). How obvious the connection of an ancient system and its first leader to its modern descendant.
Consider a few more examples of the merciless approach this horrific system has taken through the centuries, beginning with God’s Church. Not content with merely driving God’s servants into the wilderness, armies controlled by the counterfeit church pursued them, intending to wipe them out completely.
Accounts speak of how in AD 1290, in the town of Beziers, Crusaders entered churches and butchered refugees hiding inside. The bodies of slaughtered thousands—men, women and children, including babies—were stacked like cordwood. (I have personally read such accounts.) Now another. Nearby, in Montsegur, 200 accused “heretics” were seized, pulled outside the city and thrown onto a giant funeral pyre where they were incinerated alive.
Here is an account of what happened next: “This done…the Bishop, together with the monks and their attendants, returned to the refectory and, after giving thanks to God and St. Dominic, fell cheerfully upon the food set before them” (Massacre at Montsegur, p. 291).
Now consider this chilling description as witnesses saw the flames: “The people shout their approval; the inquisitors sit, hands folded, deeply shocked by all the wickedness in the world, serene in their own virtue, in bringing about justice, so clever that—although they have brought those groaning, fainting men and women to this horror—because they abandoned them in time to the secular arm [the civil government], there is no blood on their hands…” (Jean Plaidy, The Rise of the Spanish Inquisition, p. 158). The same author adds, “The long ceremony, the chanting of monks, the tolling of bells, the smell of incense, the holiness of the proceedings has a comforting effect. All has been sanctified by these things.”
Could anything be more abominable than such officially sanctioned evil?
The leadership of this church believed it held limitless power over human lives, and much more. The next quote by Dr. Henry Halley shows how particular popes literally elevated their position above that of God Himself. It may be the single most revealing quote about the nature of the thinking at the top of this system (capitalization for emphasis is always Halley’s):
“Innocent III (1198-1216). Most Powerful of all the Popes. Claimed to be ‘Vicar of Christ,’ ‘Vicar of God,’ ‘Supreme Sovereign over the Church and the World.’ Claimed the right to Depose Kings and Princes; and that ‘All things on earth and in heaven and in hell are subject to the Vicar of Christ.’
“He brought the Church into Supreme Control of the State. The Kings of Germany, France, England, and practically all the Monarchs of Europe obeyed his will. He even brought the Byzantine Empire under his control. Never in history has any one man exerted more power” (Halley’s Bible Handbook, pp. 776-777).
In light of the title taken by Innocent III, consider all the titles held by the pope today before continuing with Dr. Halley’s quote: “[His Holiness Pope (name)], Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Rome, Sovereign of the State of Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God” (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The title of “Patriarch of the West” has been dropped by the current pope.
It should go without saying that none of these titles—or anything like them—are found anywhere in God’s Word!
Now continuing Dr. Halley’s quote about popes attached to the Inquisition: “The Inquisition, called the ‘Holy Office,’ was instituted by Pope Innocent III, and perfected under the second following Pope, Gregory IX. It was the Church Court for Detection and Punishment of Heretics. Under it everyone was required to inform against Heretics. Anyone suspected was liable to Torture, without knowing the name of his accuser. The proceedings were secret. The Inquisitor pronounced sentence, and the victim was turned over to Civil Authorities to be Imprisoned for Life, or to be Burned. The victim’s property was confiscated, and divided between the Church and the State” (ibid.).
Finally, Halley summarizes the dark time of the Inquisition: “In the period immediately following Pope Innocent III the Inquisition did its most deadly work against the Albigenses [a name given to the true Church in northern Italy and southern France]…but also claimed vast multitudes of victims in Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
“Later on the Inquisition was the main agency in the Papacy’s effort to Crush the Reformation. It is stated that in [just] the 30 years between 1540 and 1570 no fewer than 900,000…were put to death in the Pope’s war…”
“Think of Monks and Priests, in holy garments, directing, with Heartless Cruelty and Inhuman Brutality, the work of Torturing and Burning alive Innocent Men and Women, and doing it in the Name of Christ, by the direct order of the ‘Vicar of Christ.’
“The Inquisition was the Most Infamous and Devilish Thing in Human History. It was devised by Popes, and used by them for 500 years, to Maintain their Power” (ibid., p. 777).
Can you imagine a church, professing to represent Jesus Christ and His government on Earth, maintaining control through this kind of reign of terror? Such is the counterfeit rider of the white horse, with his hunting bow of slaughter in hand!
Seeds of the Protestant Reformation