Participants: Doug Batchelor
Series Code: AFP
Program Code: AFP500001
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00:03 AMAZING FACTS MINISTRY. >>FOR LIFE-CHANGING CHRISTIAN
00:08 RESOURCES VISIT 'AFBOOKSTORE.COM' 00:14 (WIND BLOWING) (MUSIC) 01:54 >>"NOW A GREAT SIGN APPEARED IN HEAVEN: A WOMAN 01:56 CLOTHED WITH THE SUN, WITH THE MOON UNDER HER FEET, AND ON HER 02:02 HEAD A GARLAND OF TWELVE STARS. THEN BEING WITH CHILD, 02:15 SHE CRIED OUT IN LABOR AND IN PAIN TO GIVE 02:17 BIRTH...AND ANOTHER SIGN APPEARED IN HEAVEN. 02:26 BEHOLD, A GREAT FIERY RED DRAGON. AND THE DRAGON STOOD 02:30 BEFORE THE WOMAN WHO WAS READY TO GIVE BIRTH, 02:33 TO DEVOUR HER CHILD AS SOON AS IT WAS BORN." 03:09 >>A WOMAN, A CHILD, AND A DRAGON. 03:13 AT FIRST GLANCE THIS MIGHT SOUND LIKE THE INGREDIENTS FOR A 03:16 FRIGHTENING FAIRY TALE. IN FACT, THE TROUBLING SCENES 03:22 THAT YOU JUST WITNESSED ARE PART OF A TRUE AND POWERFUL PROPHECY 03:26 GIVEN TO THE APOSTLE JOHN NEARLY 2,000 YEARS AGO. 03:30 WHAT DOES THIS PROPHECY, FOUND IN REVELATION 12 TELL US? 03:33 DOES IT POINT TO SOME EVENT THAT HAPPENED THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO 03:37 OR DOES IT DESCRIBE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE PLACE IN THE 03:40 NEAR FUTURE? AND WHO DO THE WOMAN, THE 03:43 DRAGON, AND THE CHILD REPRESENT? JOIN US NOW AS WE JOURNEY DEEP 03:48 INTO A WORLD THAT FEW HAVE EVER SEEN, BUT ALL ARE A PART OF. 03:53 REVELATION: THE BRIDE, THE BEAST, AND BABYLON. 03:58 (MUSIC) >>IN THE LAST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, 04:09 REVELATION, THE APOSTLE JOHN WAS SHOWN A VISION OF A GREAT 04:13 STRUGGLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL, A PROPHECY OF A BATTLE 04:17 THAT HAS BEEN RAGING BEHIND THE SCENES SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME. 04:22 THE SECRETS BEHIND THIS PROPHECY HAVE BEEN SHROUDED IN MYSTERY 04:25 FOR CENTURIES, UNTIL NOW. 04:28 FROM THE KINGDOMS AND THE RULERS THAT HAVE FALLEN AROUND THE 04:31 WORLD TO THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT STOOD UP TO FIGHT FOR WHAT THEY 04:34 BELIEVED IN, THIS IS THE STORY OF CHRISTIANITY, THE SEARCH FOR 04:39 TRUTH, AND THE FOUNDATION FOR THE FAITH OF BILLIONS. 04:44 >>"NOW A GREAT SIGN APPEARED IN HEAVEN: A WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE 04:48 SUN, WITH THE MOON UNDER HER FEET, AND ON HER HEAD A GARLAND 04:52 OF TWELVE STARS...THEN BEING WITH CHILD, SHE CRIED OUT IN 04:56 LABOR AND IN PAIN TO GIVE BIRTH...AND THE DRAGON STOOD 05:00 BEFORE THE WOMAN WHO WAS READY TO GIVE BIRTH, 05:03 TO DEVOUR HER CHILD AS SOON AS IT WAS BORN." 05:07 >>MANY BIBLE SCHOLARS AND HISTORIANS HAVE STUDIED THIS 05:09 PROPHECY OVER THE YEARS AND AGREE THAT THE PROPHECY OF 05:14 REVELATION 12 POINTS TO AN EVENT KNOWN AS "THE MASSACRE OF THE 05:18 INNOCENTS" WHICH OCCURRED IN FIRST CENTURY JUDEA. 05:22 >>IN THE DECADES LEADING UP TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, THE ROMAN 05:25 EMPIRE HAD CONQUERED THE WHOLE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD, INCLUDING 05:28 JUDEA, AND AT VARIOUS POINTS IN THAT HISTORY THEY HAD DIFFERENT 05:32 PEOPLE RULING OVER IT. TWENTY YEARS BEFORE JESUS WAS 05:36 BORN YOU HAVE KING HEROD, A CLIENT KING FOR ROME. 05:41 YOU KNOW, WE HAVE DOCUMENTS ABOUT HIM OUTSIDE THE BIBLE 05:43 THAT TELL US THAT HE WAS VERY CRUEL. 05:46 HE WAS CAPABLE OF KILLING HIS OWN SONS. 05:48 HE WAS RUTHLESS AND YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO GET ON HIS BAD SIDE. 05:54 >>HEROD WAS VERY ANXIOUS WHEN A SMALL DELEGATION OF WISE MEN 05:57 FROM THE EAST CAME TO JERUSALEM ANNOUNCING THEIR SEARCH 06:01 FOR THE NEWBORN KING OF THE JEWS. 06:04 >>WHY WOULD HEROD BE UPSET ABOUT THAT? 06:06 BECAUSE THAT WAS HEROD'S TITLE AS BESTOWED UPON HIM BY THE 06:09 ROMAN EMPIRE: "KING OF THE JEWS." 06:11 >>AND HE ASKS HIS ASTROLOGERS 'HOW LONG IS IT POSSIBLE THAT 06:15 THIS CHILD COULD HAVE BEEN BORN AGO? 06:17 AND THEY DETERMINE IT'S PROBABLY BEEN TWO YEARS, AT MOST, 06:21 SINCE THE CHILD WAS BORN, MAYBE LESS. 06:23 >>HE FINDS OUT FROM THE PHARISEES AND THE SADDUCEES 06:28 EXACTLY WHERE THIS CHILD IS TO BE BORN AND HE FINDS OUT IT'S 06:32 BETHLEHEM. AND HE WORRIED ABOUT LOSING HIS 06:35 THRONE AND HE HAS SUCH ANGER AGAINST THIS CHILD HE SENDS IN 06:39 THE SOLDIERS TO TRY AND KILL JESUS. 06:45 (MUSIC) >>THE BIBLE TELLS US THIS 07:55 BARBARIC ACT WAS INSPIRED BY MORE THAN JUST THE 07:58 TYRANNICAL JEALOUSY OF AN OLD KING. 08:01 MANY BIBLE SCHOLARS BELIEVE THAT IT'S PART OF A MUCH BIGGER 08:04 STRUGGLE THAT HAS SPANNED THE AGES AND IS STILL HAPPENING 08:08 TODAY. TO UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THIS 08:11 PROPHECY WE'RE GOING TO FIRST NEED TO IDENTIFY THE MAIN 08:14 CHARACTERS: THE WOMAN, THE CHILD, AND THE DRAGON. 08:20 >>HE SAYS, 'THEN I SAW ANOTHER SIGN, A WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE 08:24 SUN WITH THE MOON UNDER HER FEET, AND ON HER HEAD 08:27 A CROWN OF TWELVE STARS. 08:30 >>LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE WOMAN. WE KNOW THAT SHE'S 08:33 A SYMBOL OF SOMEONE OR SOMETHING. 08:38 DOES THE BIBLE TELL US WHAT THIS WOMAN REPRESENTS? 08:45 >>"HUSBANDS LOVE YOUR WIVES, JUST AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH 08:49 AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR HER." 08:53 >>WE GATHER FROM THIS THAT THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST. 08:56 NOT ONLY IS SHE THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, BUT IN A CERTAIN 08:59 SENSE, SINCE NO MAN HATES HIS OWN 09:01 FLESH, THE CHURCH IS JESUS' BODY. 09:05 >>VERY CLEARLY A WOMAN, IN SCRIPTURE, REPRESENTS THE 09:08 CHURCH. YOU HAVE A WOMAN AS REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD'S PEOPLE. 09:13 WE SEE THIS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, WE SEE IT IN THE NEW 09:15 TESTAMENT. JESUS COMES FROM THE PEOPLE OF 09:18 ISRAEL AND THEN THE CHURCH GROWS UP AS SOMETHING JESUS DEVELOPS. 09:24 >>MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS WOMAN IS ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH TO A 09:28 SPECIAL MALE CHILD. WHO IS THE CHILD? 09:32 >>WE HAVE A COUPLE OF INDICATIONS: 09:33 1) HE RULES WITH A ROD OF IRON OVER THE NATIONS. 09:37 THAT'S IN REFERENCE TO THE OLD TESTAMENT WHERE, CLEARLY, GOD IS 09:41 THE ONE RULING OVER THE NATIONS WITH A ROD OF IRON. 09:44 AND THEN IT SAYS HE'S CAUGHT UP INTO HEAVEN - 09:47 AND WHO IS CAUGHT UP INTO HEAVEN? 09:49 >>JESUS CHRIST, RIGHT? HE'S KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 09:52 >>SO THESE TWO INDICATIONS PRETTY DEFINITIVELY TELL US 09:55 THAT THIS IS JESUS. 09:57 >>NOW LET'S CONSIDER THE ARCH VILLAIN IN THIS IMPORTANT 10:00 PROPHECY: THE DRAGON. 10:04 >>"AND ANOTHER SIGN APPEARED IN HEAVEN: BEHOLD, 10:07 A GREAT, FIERY RED DRAGON..." 10:12 >>YOU KNOW, I WISH I COULD JUST GIVE YOU A FANCIFUL THEORY HERE, 10:15 BUT THE BIBLE TELLS US WHO THE DRAGON IS. 10:18 THE DRAGON IS THE DEVIL. 10:20 >>BOTH THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE NEW TESTAMENT WHO TRIES TO 10:22 DESTROY? THAT IS SATAN, YOU KNOW, THE 10:24 ANGEL - THE DEVIL - AND SO HE ATTACKS AS SOON AS CHRIST COMES 10:28 UPON THE FACE OF THE EARTH - THE ATTACK IS THERE. 10:33 >>"SO THE GREAT DRAGON WAS CAST OUT. 10:36 THAT SERPENT OF OLD, CALLED THE DEVIL AND SATAN, WHO DECEIVES 10:40 THE WHOLE WORLD; HE WAS CAST TO THE EARTH, AND HIS ANGELS WERE 10:44 CAST OUT WITH HIM." 10:48 >>WHAT WE SEE HERE, IN THE FIRST PART OF REVELATION 12 10:51 IS A SYMBOLIC PORTRAYAL OF THE AGE-OLD CONFLICT 10:55 BETWEEN CHRIST AND SATAN. 10:58 >>ALL THROUGH THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF CHRIST SATAN TRIED 11:01 TO DISRUPT JESUS' PLANS TO PROVIDE SALVATION FOR HUMANITY. 11:08 >>"BUT HE WAS WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, HE WAS BRUISED 11:11 FOR OUR INIQUITIES; THE CHASTISEMENT FOR OUR PEACE WAS 11:15 UPON HIM, AND BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED." 11:21 >>AT VARIOUS POINTS THEY KICKED HIM OUT OF SYNAGOGUES 11:23 AND WANTED TO PUSH HIM OFF A CLIFF. 11:26 >>THEY TRIED TO SILENCE HIM. 11:27 THEY TORTURED HIM TO DEATH PUBLICLY. 11:30 >>SATAN'S SCHEME TO DERAIL THE PLAN OF SALVATION WAS UTTERLY 11:34 SHATTERED WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD. 11:40 >>"AND HER CHILD WAS CAUGHT UP TO GOD AND HIS THRONE." 11:45 >>WITH THE SON OF GOD NOW PHYSICALLY BEYOND HIS REACH, THE 11:48 DEVIL DIRECTED ALL OF HIS FURY AT THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS, 11:52 THE NEW CHRISTIANS. HE DID MUCH OF THIS THROUGH 11:56 THE CRUEL POWER OF IMPERIAL ROME. 12:00 >>"NOW WHEN THE DRAGON SAW THAT HE HAD BEEN CAST TO THE EARTH, 12:04 HE PERSECUTED THE WOMAN WHO GAVE BIRTH TO THE MALE CHILD." 12:08 >>CHRISTIANITY WAS A STRUGGLING, SMALL, PERSECUTED MINORITY THAT 12:12 DIDN'T HAVE OFFICIAL STATUS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THERE WERE 12:16 A SERIES OF PERSECUTIONS, SOME OF WHICH WERE QUITE SEVERE. 12:20 >>ONE OF THE ROLES OF RELIGION IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE WAS TO 12:23 ENSURE THE WELL-BEING OF THE STATE. 12:25 THE IDEA WAS THAT IF THE GODS WERE WORSHIPED PROPERLY THEN 12:27 THEY WOULD FAVOR THE EMPIRE AND IF THEY WERE WORSHIPED 12:30 IMPROPERLY THEN THEY WOULD - YOU KNOW, BAD THINGS 12:33 WOULD HAPPEN TO THE EMPIRE AS THE RESULT OF DIVINE WRATH. 12:36 >>THEY DO NOT WANT TO SACRIFICE TO THE GODS AND THE GODS, 12:42 AT THAT POINT, INCLUDE THE EMPEROR. 12:44 >>SO IT'S EASY TO CONSIDER THESE PEOPLE RELIGIOUS SCAPEGOATS. 12:47 BASICALLY, IF SOMETHING'S GOING WRONG, PROBABLY IT'S BECAUSE 12:50 THERE ARE CHRISTIANS AROUND WHO ARE REFUSING TO GIVE THE GODS 12:53 THEIR PROPER DUE. 12:54 >>WELL, OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO PUNISH THEM AND PUNISHMENT 12:56 MEANT, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE TIME, DEATH. 12:59 >>WHAT PEOPLE THOUGH WAS THAT CHRISTIANS GATHER TOGETHER, ALSO 13:05 SEEMED TO MAKE LOVE WITH THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 13:08 >>BECAUSE THERE WERE RUMORS ABOUT THEM THAT THEY COMMIT 13:11 INCEST BECAUSE THE CHRISTIANS USED TO CALL THEMSELVES BROTHER 13:14 AND SISTER AND THEY USED TO EAT THE FLESH OF CHRIST. 13:18 >>PEOPLE HEARD, APPARENTLY, THAT CHRISTIANS WERE EATING CHILDREN. 13:24 >>SO WHEN PAGANS HEARD ABOUT THIS THEY THOUGHT THE WORST, 13:26 RIGHT? THEY ASSUMED THE WORST. 13:27 >>CHRISTIANS ARE PROGRESSIVELY STRIPPED OF THEIR CIVIL OFFICES, 13:31 THEIR MILITARY OFFICES, THEIR BOOKS ARE CONFISCATED, THEIR 13:34 CHURCHES ARE DESTROYED, THEY'RE FORBIDDEN TO MEET, AND SO ON. 13:37 ALL BECAUSE THERE'S AN ANXIETY THAT THIS IS REALLY 13:39 UNDERMINING THE WELFARE OF THE EMPIRE. 13:44 >>AS THE EARLY CHURCH SUFFERED UNDER THIS WITHERING PERSECUTION 13:47 OF ROME, THEIR LIVES BECAME A POWERFUL TESTIMONY FOR TRUTH. 13:53 WHILE THE PAGANS LIVED IN CONSTANT SUPERSTITIOUS FEAR, 13:56 THESE CHRISTIANS FACED TORTURE AND DEATH WITH 13:59 A SUPERNATURAL PEACE. 14:01 >>BASICALLY, WHAT NERO DID WAS HE FED THEM TO THE LIONS. 14:04 HE HAD THEM TIED TO PILLARS, HE PUT PITCH ON THEM, AND THEN HE 14:09 SET THEM ON FIRE AS HUMAN TORCHES SO THEY COULD HAVE THE 14:12 FESTIVITIES CONTINUE ON INTO THE NIGHT. 14:14 >>YOU KNOW, BEING STRETCHED, PULLED INTO TWO, YOU KNOW, 14:18 BEING KILLED BY GLADIATORS. 14:20 >>JUST ABOUT EVERY CREATIVE WAY THAT YOU CAN DISPOSE OF 14:25 CHRISTIANS. 14:27 >>WHEN FACING THE PAINFUL END OF THEIR LIVES THEY OFTEN SANG AND 14:30 REJOICED. 14:32 AS THOUSANDS OF CHRISTIANS PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR THEIR 14:35 FAITH, THEIR DYING PRAYERS AND BLOOD ESSENTIALLY BECAME SEED 14:40 FOR THE NEW CHURCH. 14:41 >>PEOPLE ARE SO ENTHRALLED BY HOW THESE CHRISTIANS ARE DYING, 14:48 THAT IMMEDIATELY THE REACTION IS, 'SIGN ME UP.' 14:53 >>AND SO THE CHRISTIANS SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE. THE MORE YOU 14:56 KILLED THEM THE MORE THEY STOOD FOR THEIR FAITH. 14:59 >>NOW, IT IS TRUE, AND I THINK IT HAS TO BE EMPHASIZED, THAT 15:01 THE EARLY CHURCH SPREADS DESPITE THE VERY CONCERTED ATTEMPTS AT 15:06 REPRESSION OF EXTREMELY AUTOCRATIC AND POWERFUL EMPERORS 15:12 WHO SET THEMSELVES VERY FIRMLY AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS 15:14 AND YET THE EARLY CHURCH SURVIVES. 15:16 >>TERTULLIAN ARGUES WHENEVER SOMETHING GOES WRONG - WHENEVER 15:19 THERE'S A FAMINE OR WHENEVER THERE'S AN ILLNESS - A 15:22 PESTILENCE THAT SWEEPS THROUGH, EVERYBODY SAYS, 'THE CHRISTIANS 15:25 TO THE LIONS' AND THEN HE SAYS SNIDELY, 'AS IF SO MANY COULD BE 15:31 FED TO SO FEW.' AND HIS POINT IS THAT YOU CAN'T DESTROY US ALL. 15:36 >>DURING THIS TIME OF EXPONENTIAL GROWTH, CHRISTIANS 15:39 ALL ACROSS THE ROMAN EMPIRE, QUITE LITERALLY, 15:42 WENT UNDERGROUND. THIS LABYRINTH OF TUNNELS AND CHAMBERS 15:48 BENEATH THE ROMAN CITIES BECAME KNOWN AS 'THE CATACOMBS.' 15:53 >>NOW, THE CATACOMBS ARE IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND. 15:58 FIRST, MANY PEOPLE IMAGINE THAT THERE ARE CAVES NATURALLY UNDER 16:01 ROME AND THAT CHRISTIANS SIMPLY WENT INTO THEM. 16:04 THE CATACOMBS, ALMOST WITHOUT EXCEPTION, ARE NOT NATURAL 16:07 CAVES. THEY WERE EXCAVATED BY THE CHRISTIANS. 16:11 >>AND SO THE CHRISTIANS MADE A WHOLE LABYRINTH UNDERGROUND. 16:15 >>SOMETIMES SERVICES WOULD BE HELD THERE IN THE VERY 16:19 TOMBS OF THE MARTYRS. 16:22 >>THE SECOND POINT IS THE VERY ACT OF BURYING YOUR DEAD IS 16:27 HUGELY SIGNIFICANT. 16:28 CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN A RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 16:32 NOW, OF COURSE, THAT BELIEF HAS SHIFTED AND CHANGED OVER THE 16:35 CENTURIES, BUT FROM ALL WE UNDERSTAND, EARLY CHRISTIANS 16:38 BELIEVED THAT THEY WOULD BE RESURRECTED IN THAT ACTUAL 16:41 BODILY FORM AND, THEREFORE, THEY CHOSE TO BURY THEIR DEAD, 16:46 NOT TO CREMATE THEM. 16:48 THEREFORE, IF YOU ARE SEEN TO BE BURYING YOUR DEAD, ESPECIALLY AT 16:50 TIMES WHEN THERE ARE INTENSE WAVES OF PERSECUTION, YOU'RE 16:55 MORE OR LESS SAYING TO THE POLICE, 'COME INVESTIGATE ME. 16:58 I MAY WELL BE A CHRISTIAN.' >>IN A.D. 306 A NEW ROMAN 17:04 EMPEROR CAME INTO POWER AND THINGS BEGAN TO RAPIDLY CHANGE. 17:09 CONSTANTINE THE GREAT WAS A CAPABLE MILITARY LEADER AND A 17:13 SHREWD POLITICIAN. 17:15 >>SO CONSTANTINE HAD TO FIGHT A SERIES OF CIVIL WARS IN ORDER TO 17:18 ACHIEVE HIS POLITICAL AIM OF BECOMING EMPEROR. 17:21 AND THAT'S HIS OWN PERSONAL AND POLITICAL AIM, IT'S GOT NOTHING 17:23 TO DO WITH CHRISTIANITY. HE GOES DOWN FROM GAUL - 17:26 MODERN-DAY FRANCE - WHERE HIS POWER BASE WAS, TO CONFRONT HIS 17:28 RIVAL, MAXENTIUS, IN ITALY. 17:31 >>CONSTANTINE MOVES DOWN FROM THE NORTH AND YOU THINK OF 17:35 ITALY, THERE'S THIS LONG STRETCH AND HE WINS ONE BATTLE AFTER 17:40 ANOTHER. 17:41 >>AS HE WAS MARCHING WITH HIS ARMY HE HAD A DREAM ONE NIGHT, 17:44 WHERE GOD CAME TO HIM AND TOLD HIM "YOU WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN 17:48 AND PUT THIS SIGN ON YOUR SHIELD AND YOU WILL CONQUER." 17:53 SHORTLY AFTER THAT HE ACTUALLY HAD A VISION, WHICH HISTORY 17:56 TELLS US WAS SEEN BY HIS ARMY AS WELL AS BY CONSTANTINE HIMSELF. 18:00 >>HE LOOKED UP TO THE SUN AND HE SAW A CROSS OF LIGHT ABOVE IT 18:03 AND THE GREEK WORDS EN TOUTO NIKA - BY THIS CONQUER. 18:10 >>THE STORY THAT HE HAD HAD THIS DREAM DOES APPEAR AT A 18:13 RELATIVELY EARLY STAGE. IT'S DESCRIBED BY EUSEBIUS. 18:16 THERE ARE DIFFERENT SOURCES. 18:18 THERE ARE DIFFERENT VERSIONS, BUT IT DOES SEEM THAT 18:20 CONSTANTINE DOES SAY, 'I'VE HAD THIS DIVINE ENCOUNTER AND AN 18:25 ANGEL HAS TOLD ME THAT IN THE SIGN OF THE CROSS I WILL 18:27 CONQUER.' >>CONSTANTINE COMMANDED HIS 18:31 TROOPS TO ADORN THEIR SHIELDS WITH THE CHRISTIAN SYMBOL. 18:40 >>HIS OPPONENT THEN MOVES OUT OF THE CITY TO FACE THE ONCOMING 18:43 CONSTANTINE WITH HIS ARMY, WHICH HAS NOW BEEN TRAINED QUITE A BIT 18:46 BECAUSE THEY'VE ALREADY WON SEVERAL VICTORIES ON THE WAY 18:49 DOWN FROM THE NORTH - FROM MILAN DOWN. 18:52 HIS OPPONENT MOVES ACROSS THE RIVER AT THE MUNION BRIDGE - HAS 18:58 CONSTANTINE AND HIS ARMY IN FRONT OF HIM, THE RIVER AND THE 19:02 CITY BEHIND HIM. NOT A GREAT SITUATION TO BE IN. 19:06 SO IF YOU DO NOT BEAT THE ONCOMING ARMY, 19:08 YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO RETREAT. SO HE LOSES. 19:11 >>SO FOR CONSTANTINE, WHO IS CERTAINLY NOT YET A CHRISTIAN, 19:14 THIS IS A POWERFUL THING BECAUSE HE, HIMSELF, BELIEVES 'THE 19:18 CHRISTIAN GOD HAS GIVEN ME VICTORY. THE CHRISTIAN GOD 19:21 IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THESE OTHER DEITIES. 19:23 >>I MEAN, IT IS CLEAR THAT CONSTANTINE MADE THE SYMBOL OF 19:28 CHRISTIANITY PART OF THE IMPERIAL STANDARDS AND THAT HE 19:30 FOUGHT UNDER THAT SYMBOL AND HE WON. AND SO, BEING A GOOD 19:33 ROMAN EMPEROR HE WOULD THEN THINK, 19:37 'YEAH, I GOT THE SIGN. I'M ON THE RIGHT PATH.' 19:42 >>SO IF YOU'RE A PAGAN OR JUST SOMEBODY WHO'S CONFUSED ABOUT 19:46 RELIGION, YOU'VE HAD HERE THIS CLASH OF DEITIES AND WHO'S 19:52 EMERGED ON TOP? THE CHRISTIAN GOD. 19:55 YOU CAN DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS. 19:57 >>GRADUALLY THE NATIONAL SENTIMENT AGAINST CHRISTIANITY 20:01 BEGAN REVERSING. DURING CONSTANTINE'S REIGN, CHRISTIANS 20:05 WENT FROM BEING A PERSECUTED SECT TO OPENLY HOLDING 20:09 POSITIONS OF INFLUENCE IN THE COURTS AND PALACES OF KINGS 20:12 AND GOVERNORS. 20:13 >>SO A LARGE PART OF THE ELITES USED TO RUNNING THE SHOW 20:18 AUTOMATICALLY THEN BECOME ALSO THE LOCAL BISHOPS, ETC. 20:24 YOU KNOW, BECOME CHRISTIAN - IT WASN'T SUCH A BIG LEAP BECAUSE 20:27 MOST OF THEM ANYWAY BELIEVED IN ONE SUPREME DIVINE BEING 20:30 WHICH HAD DIFFERENT REPRESENTATIONS. 20:33 >>IF YOU WANT TO ADVANCE IN THE ARMY OR IN THE IMPERIAL CIVIL 20:37 SERVICE, THERE'S EVERY INCENTIVE TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN BECAUSE 20:41 ALL THE PEOPLE AT THE TOP ARE CHRISTIANS. SO IF YOU WANT TO 20:45 ADVANCE IN THE HIERARCHY, WHETHER IT'S MILITARY, 20:48 CIVIL SERVICE, OR JUST AT COURT, PEOPLE BECOME CHRISTIANS. 20:53 >>IT BECOMES VERY ATTRACTIVE BECAUSE CONSTANTINE'S EDICT OF 20:57 TOLERATION MAKES IT SO. 20:59 >>"CONSTANTINE CAN RIGHTFULLY CLAIM THE TITLE OF GREAT, FOR HE 21:03 TURNED THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD INTO A NEW COURSE AND MADE 21:06 CHRISTIANITY, WHICH UNTIL THEN HAD SUFFERED BLOODY PERSECUTION, 21:11 THE RELIGION OF THE STATE." 21:13 >>AND SO, AS PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE ROMAN EMPIRE ENTERED THE 21:16 CHRISTIAN CHURCH, THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM MANY OF THEIR FORMER 21:19 PAGAN BELIEFS AND PRACTICES. 21:22 >>NOW THAT CHRISTIANITY HAS BEEN GIVEN THE STATUS AS A FULL LEGAL 21:25 RELIGION, THEN IT BECOMES ATTRACTIVE SUBSEQUENTLY IN THE 21:30 NEXT GENERATIONS FOR A BROAD NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THIS UPPER 21:34 ELITE. NOW THE PERCENTAGE OF CHRISTIANS 21:38 IN THIS TOP TEN, FIFTEEN, TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT, INCREASES 21:43 AND IT INCREASES DRAMATICALLY IN THE TOP ONE TO TWO PERCENT. 21:46 THAT'S THE REAL CHANGE. THAT IS WHEN CHRISTIANITY REALLY 21:50 BECOMES THE CHRISTIANITY IT IS TODAY. BECAUSE NOW THE PEOPLE 21:54 WHO'VE BEEN RUNNING THE SHOW, THEY ARE NOW CHRISTIAN. 21:58 >>OVER TIME, CHURCH LEADERS BEGAN TO EMBRACE THE REGAL ROBES 22:02 AND FLAMBOYANT CEREMONY THAT WAS PART OF THE PAGAN RELIGIONS 22:06 AND IN PLACE OF THE SIMPLE COMMANDS OF GOD, THEY BEGAN TO 22:10 TEACH SUPERSTITIONS AND MAN-MADE TRADITIONS. 22:13 NOW, INSTEAD OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONVERTING THE HEATHEN 22:17 WORLD, THE PAGANS WERE CONVERTING THE CHURCH. 22:21 >>THERE'S A TRAIN COMING OUT OF THE FIRST CENTURY REPRESENTED BY 22:24 DOCUMENTS WE HAVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT THAT DEMONSTRATE, KIND 22:28 OF, THE SHAPE OF THE CHURCH THERE, GOING INTO THIS LONG DARK 22:33 TUNNEL OF THE SECOND THROUGH FOURTH CENTURIES AND THEN COMING 22:36 OUT IN THE FOURTH CENTURY, OF THIS LONG DARK TUNNEL, AND THE 22:39 TRAIN OF THE CHURCH THAT COMES OUT IS SO DIFFERENT THAN THE 22:43 TRAIN OF THE CHURCH THAT GOES IN, YOU SAY, 'WHAT HAPPENED?' 22:47 >>IN A.D. 391, BY THE ORDER OF EMPEROR THEODOCIOUS THE FIRST, 22:54 CHRISTIANITY BECAME THE OFFICIAL STATE RELIGION OF ROME. 22:57 WORSHIP AT PAGAN TEMPLES WAS OUTLAWED AND ALL OTHER RELIGIOUS 23:01 PRACTICES CEASED. 23:03 >>YOU'RE TRYING TO CHRISTIANIZE AN EMPIRE. 23:05 YOU'RE TRYING TO CHRISTIANIZE A PAGAN CULTURE. 23:11 THE OLD BASILLICAS WERE BASICALLY PAGAN TEMPLES - 23:16 PUT A CROSS OVER IT. PUT IN PAINTINGS OF BIBLICAL 23:19 SCENES, PUT IN BIBLICAL HEROES AND SAINTS AND MARTYRS. 23:24 >>CHRISTIANS ARE VERY PURPOSEFUL AND INTENTIONAL ABOUT TAKING 23:28 OVER PAGAN TEMPLES AND THERE'S A NOTABLE CHURCH LEADER WHO 23:32 ACTUALLY WRITES, IN A TREATISE THAT SURVIVES, HE WRITES A 23:36 REBUTTAL OF PAGAN ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANITY. 23:40 PART OF HIS EVIDENCE IS, HE SAYS, 'YOUR VERY OWN PLACES OF 23:43 WORSHIP ARE NOW CHRISTIAN PLACES OF WORSHIP. 23:45 WE HAVE TAKEN THEM OVER. WE HAVE CLEANSED OUT THE IDOLATRY. 23:48 WE HAVE SANCTIFIED THEM AND WE HAVE MADE THEM PLACES WHERE THE 23:50 ONE TRUE GOD IS WORSHIPED. WHAT CLEARER EVIDENCE COULD YOU 23:53 WISH THAT YOUR WHOLE SYSTEM OF BELIEF IS FALSE? 23:56 WHERE ARE YOU GODS THAT THEY'RE ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN?' 23:59 SO CHRISTIANS, ACTUALLY DELIBERATELY, AT TIMES, AND 24:02 PURPOSEFULLY AS A STRATEGY, TAKE PAGAN, NOT ONLY PLACES, BUT 24:07 RITUALS OR IDEAS AND, AS THEY THINK, SUBVERT THEM TO ADVANCE 24:12 THE CAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, SPREADING CHRISTIANITY. 24:16 WHAT WE DON'T KNOW IS THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY THINK THIS THROUGH 24:19 AND SAY, 'WELL, AT WHAT POINT IS IT LEGITIMATE TO DO THIS AND AT 24:22 WHAT POINT DO WE, PERHAPS, BEGIN TO BE TAKING ON OTHER IDEAS?' 24:27 >>THE SPEED WITH WHICH THE EARLY CHURCH TOBOGGANED INTO APOSTASY 24:31 WILL TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY. 24:37 >>THE STORY ISN'T OVER. 24:39 FOR MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS THE PAGAN APOSTASY WITHIN THE 24:42 CHURCH WOULD LEAD TO DECEPTION, PERSECUTION, TORTURE, AND MASS 24:47 DEATH ACROSS EUROPE AND IT WOULD ALL BUT EXTINGUISH 24:51 THE FLAME OF HOPE. 24:53 BUT THE LIGHT WOULD NOT GO OUT AND THE REVOLUTION OF FAITH 24:56 WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY FOREVER. 24:59 WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? AND WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN TO YOU TODAY? 25:03 FIND OUT IN THE FULL-LENGTH 90-MINUTE DOCUMENTARY 25:06 'REVELATION: THE BRIDE, THE BEAST, AND BABYLON' 25:10 NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD AND STREAMING. 25:12 GET THE FULL STORY TODAY BY VISITING 'AFBOOKSTORE.COM' 25:17 OR DOWNLOAD ON ITUNES OR CALL 1-800-538-7275. 25:27 >>AMAZING FACTS OFFERS SOME OF THE BEST CHRISTIAN RESOURCES FOR 25:29 ALL AGES. WE HOPE OUR PRODUCTS WILL ENRICH YOUR LIFE AND YOUR 25:33 WALK WITH THE LORD. '365 AMAZING ANSWERS TO BIG BIBLE QUESTIONS' 25:39 IS PASTOR DOUG'S BRAND-NEW DAILY DEVOTIONAL. EACH DAY'S READING 25:42 IS DESIGNED TO BRING YOU CLOSER TO JESUS AND HELP YOU DISCOVER 25:45 THE BIG ANSWERS IN YOUR LIFE. >>GET YOURS TODAY BY CALLING 25:49 800-538-7275 OR VISIT 'AFBOOKSTORE.COM'. 25:55 >>IN 3-2-1 ACTION! 26:07 >>THIS DOCUMENTARY COVERS A SPAN FROM THE FIRST COMING OF 26:12 JESUS AND WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE 26:14 CHURCH UP UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS. IT 26:19 SHOWS THE GREAT APOSTASY THAT CREPT 26:23 INTO THE CHURCH AND THEN, ULTIMATELY, THE GREAT REVIVAL 26:27 THROUGH THE GREAT REFORMATION. THIS IS A 26:31 LIFE AND DEATH BATTLE. IT'S NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT IS 26:34 HAPPENING IN HALLUCINATIONS OF A PROPHET. 26:38 THOSE THINGS ARE PLAYED OUT IN REAL HISTORY. 26:52 >>THIS SCENE THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO SHOOT IS 26:53 'THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS'. IT IS A BETHLEHEM 26:57 LOCATION AND, AS YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME, 27:00 WE HAVE THE FAUX WALLS THAT ARE UP. 27:02 WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME GREEN SCREEN THAT GIVES THE EXTENSION 27:05 OR THE ILLUSION THAT BETHLEHEM GOES ON FOR A GOOD DISTANCE, SO 27:09 IT'S A BIGGER CITY THAN WHAT YOU SEE BEHIND ME. 27:11 THIS HISTORIC EVENT IS CALLED 'THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS' 27:14 AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SHOOTING TONIGHT AND SO WE'RE HOPING THAT 27:16 WE'RE ABLE TO PULL IT OFF IN SUCH A WAY THAT BRINGS TO LIFE 27:19 THE EVENT BUT ALSO DOES IT IN A TASTEFUL WAY BECAUSE THAT EVENT, 27:23 OBVIOUSLY, WAS - IT WAS PRETTY GRUESOME AND WE'RE HOPING TO 27:26 KEEP THAT OUT OF THE SHOT BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, GIVE THE 27:30 ILLUSION THAT WE'RE HERE IN BETHLEHEM AND WE ARE AT THIS 27:34 HORRIFIC EVENT. 27:44 >>DID YOU KNOW THAT NOAH WAS PRESENT AT THE BIRTH OF ABRAHAM? 27:47 OKAY, MAYBE HE WASN'T IN THE ROOM, BUT HE WAS ALIVE AND 27:51 PROBABLY TELLING STORIES ABOUT HIS FLOATING ZOO. FROM THE 27:55 CREATION OF THE WORLD TO THE LAST DAY EVENTS OF REVELATION, 27:59 'BIBLEHISTORY.COM' IS A FREE RESOURCE WHERE YOU CAN EXPLORE 28:02 MAJOR BIBLE EVENTS AND CHARACTERS. ENHANCE YOUR 28:05 KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE AND DRAW CLOSER TO GOD'S WORD. GO DEEPER. 28:10 VISIT THE AMAZING BIBLE TIMELINE AT 'BIBLEHISTORY.COM'. 28:16 >>FOR LIFE-CHANGING CHRISTIAN RESOURCES, VISIT 28:19 'AFBOOKSTORE.COM' >>THIS PRESENTATION WAS BROUGHT 28:25 TO YOU BY THE FRIENDS OF THE AMAZING FACTS MINISTRY. |
Revised 2015-07-16