male announcer: The
world, forever changed.
00:00:01.26\00:00:04.70
His legacy, an empire
reaching across centuries.
00:00:04.73\00:00:08.34
His name...
00:00:08.37\00:00:11.14
Constantine.
00:00:11.17\00:00:15.78
"Shadow Empire."
00:00:15.81\00:00:18.91
¤¤¤
00:00:19.31\00:00:24.05
Shawn Boonstra: The
world knows him as Constantine,
00:00:33.96\00:00:35.73
the great conqueror who managed
to unite the Roman Empire
00:00:35.76\00:00:39.23
and the man who
turned the religion of Rome
00:00:39.27\00:00:41.54
completely on its head.
00:00:41.57\00:00:43.57
He propelled an obscure Jewish
sect into the global religion
00:00:43.61\00:00:46.74
we know as Christianity but what
most people don't know is how
00:00:46.78\00:00:51.75
this incredible man got his
start, and how profoundly his
00:00:51.78\00:00:56.28
roots shaped his
thinking, and how he changed
00:00:56.32\00:00:59.29
the thinking of the whole world.
00:00:59.32\00:01:02.26
He was born to a peasant
girl who had to prove that her
00:01:02.29\00:01:04.63
son's father was the
governor of Dalmatia,
00:01:04.66\00:01:07.40
a powerful and influential
man named Flavius Constantius.
00:01:07.46\00:01:12.43
But once that happened, once
she produced indisputable proof,
00:01:12.47\00:01:16.47
it started a chain of events
that rocked the whole planet.
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Shawn: There's a passage in
the last book of the Bible that
00:01:25.78\00:01:28.82
makes reference to 10
days of fierce persecution
00:01:28.85\00:01:32.42
that the followers
of Jesus would suffer.
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It's found in the seven
letters to the seven churches
00:01:34.89\00:01:37.26
of Asia Minor in
the Book of Revelation.
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They were seven letters from
Jesus to a region of the earth
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that eventually
became the headquarters for
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the whole Roman Empire.
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Most people naturally think of
the city of Rome as the capital
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because it was
known as the eternal city,
00:01:52.57\00:01:55.41
the birthplace of the empire.
00:01:55.44\00:01:57.15
It was the home of
Romulus and Remus but while Rome
00:01:57.18\00:02:01.68
was always important
to the Romans, over time,
00:02:01.72\00:02:04.69
the center of power
actually moved to the east.
00:02:04.72\00:02:08.66
And some of the
Christians moved here too,
00:02:11.43\00:02:13.93
even though their
roots were in Jerusalem.
00:02:13.96\00:02:16.73
By the time John
writes the Book of Revelation
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toward the end
of the 1st century,
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he's a prisoner on
the island of Patmos,
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a Roman penal colony
way out in the Aegean Sea,
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some 40 miles off of the coast.
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Tradition has it that
he was actually the pastor
00:02:29.61\00:02:32.01
of the church in Ephesus,
which is one of the seven cities
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mentioned in the
Book of Revelation.
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Over the years, Bible students
have found an interesting
00:02:42.46\00:02:45.29
pattern in the first
three chapters of Revelation.
00:02:45.33\00:02:48.06
The seven letters were written
to very real churches that
00:02:48.10\00:02:51.33
existed right here in Asia
Minor back in the 1st century,
00:02:51.37\00:02:54.37
but the astonishing thing
about those letters is the way
00:02:54.40\00:02:58.54
they also seemed to track the
entire history of Christianity.
00:02:58.57\00:03:03.14
It's as if each letter
actually predicts some phase
00:03:03.18\00:03:05.98
of the development of
Christianity far in advance.
00:03:06.01\00:03:10.59
The first letter is addressed
to the church in Ephesus
00:03:10.62\00:03:12.69
and it seems to clearly point
to 1st century Christianity,
00:03:12.72\00:03:16.73
a time when the church
was still being led by people
00:03:16.76\00:03:19.36
who knew Jesus personally.
00:03:19.39\00:03:22.26
The second letter is addressed
to the people of Smyrna,
00:03:22.30\00:03:25.33
a city whose very name
implies something being crushed.
00:03:25.37\00:03:31.01
Smyrna, you see, is virtually
synonymous with the word "myrrh"
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which you probably know as
one of the gifts the wise men
00:03:34.71\00:03:37.75
brought to baby Jesus.
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Remember, gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
00:03:39.31\00:03:42.95
Myrrh was a sweet-smelling
fragrance you obtained
00:03:42.98\00:03:45.69
by crushing the myrrh plant.
00:03:45.72\00:03:47.76
You had to brutally destroy
it to bring out the nice scent.
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And oddly enough,
that's exactly what happened to
00:03:52.63\00:03:55.70
the Christian church
as the Roman Empire became
00:03:55.73\00:03:57.63
more and more aware
of its presence as they
00:03:57.67\00:04:01.54
began to consider it a
threat to Roman stability.
00:04:01.57\00:04:04.97
Christians worshiped a king who
said he would cleanse the earth
00:04:05.01\00:04:08.61
by fire one day and
establish his own kingdom.
00:04:08.64\00:04:12.75
And, of course, that
started Roman tongues wagging
00:04:12.78\00:04:16.42
and people started telling
the most outrageous stories
00:04:16.45\00:04:19.75
about Christ's followers.
00:04:19.79\00:04:23.02
Shawn: It was a very
unhappy time for the Christians,
00:04:27.50\00:04:30.10
to say the least, and most
Bible students believed there's
00:04:30.13\00:04:33.50
a special message from Jesus
to those suffering Christians,
00:04:33.54\00:04:37.04
a message encoded in
the letter to Smyrna.
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"Do not fear any of those things
which you are about to suffer.
00:04:40.98\00:04:44.01
Indeed, the devil is about to
throw some of you into prison,
00:04:44.05\00:04:47.08
that you may be tested, and you
will have tribulation ten days.
00:04:47.12\00:04:50.72
Be faithful until
death, and I will give you
00:04:50.75\00:04:53.56
the crown of life."
00:04:53.59\00:04:55.39
It fits perfectly.
00:04:55.42\00:04:57.96
By the end of the 1st century,
the Christians started to feel
00:04:57.99\00:05:00.53
the wrath of the Roman Empire.
00:05:00.56\00:05:02.50
For the most part, the Romans
were actually pretty tolerant.
00:05:02.53\00:05:06.37
They allowed you to practice
any religion you wanted,
00:05:06.40\00:05:08.97
that is, until they perceived
that you might be a threat
00:05:09.00\00:05:13.01
to the unity of the empire.
00:05:13.04\00:05:14.98
Roman culture loved a scapegoat.
00:05:15.01\00:05:17.68
They loved to blame someone
when the favor of the Roman gods
00:05:17.71\00:05:20.58
no longer seemed
to be falling on them.
00:05:20.62\00:05:23.12
By the end of the 1st
century, the Christians were it.
00:05:23.15\00:05:26.86
They were the scapegoat.
00:05:26.89\00:05:30.06
At one point, there was a
fire here in the city of Rome
00:05:33.86\00:05:36.93
and something like 70% of
the city burned to the ground.
00:05:36.97\00:05:40.80
According to the Roman
historian, Tacitus, Nero blamed
00:05:40.84\00:05:43.84
the Christians because
after all, they were the ones
00:05:43.87\00:05:46.91
talking about the end
of the world with fire.
00:05:46.94\00:05:50.35
This is the moment that
Christians started meeting
00:05:50.38\00:05:52.05
with all those
cruel and painful deaths.
00:05:52.08\00:05:54.88
This is the moment they
took Paul outside the city
00:05:54.92\00:05:57.85
and beheaded him.
00:05:57.89\00:05:59.42
And it was at this time that
they took Peter and locked him
00:05:59.45\00:06:02.46
up in a dark, musty cell here at
the bottom of Mamertine Prison.
00:06:02.49\00:06:06.76
It was the beginning of
the persecution mentioned
00:06:06.80\00:06:08.93
in the letter to Smyrna.
00:06:08.96\00:06:11.00
That persecution
would come to a head.
00:06:11.03\00:06:13.74
It would reach its absolute
apex for a period of 10 days,
00:06:13.77\00:06:17.64
that's what the letter said.
00:06:17.67\00:06:20.34
And this is the point
where the stories of Jesus
00:06:20.38\00:06:23.48
and Constantine
actually begin to merge.
00:06:23.51\00:06:28.42
¤¤¤
00:06:28.85\00:06:38.13
Shawn: Several
centuries after its birth,
00:06:38.59\00:06:40.66
the Roman Empire
00:06:40.70\00:06:42.06
became a little unstable
and out on the battlefields
00:06:42.10\00:06:44.80
of the empire,
something incredible took place.
00:06:44.83\00:06:48.27
In 284 A.D., right here
near the modern day city
00:06:48.30\00:06:51.84
of Ismet, Turkey, the commander
of the imperial bodyguard
00:06:51.87\00:06:55.44
was suddenly declared the
Roman emperor by his troops.
00:06:55.48\00:06:59.55
His name was Diocletian and his
rise to power was very unusual.
00:06:59.58\00:07:05.32
One year before he came
to power, the Emperor Carus
00:07:05.35\00:07:08.82
suddenly died while
fighting the Persians.
00:07:08.86\00:07:11.53
We think he
actually had a heart attack.
00:07:11.56\00:07:13.93
And just before his death, his
two sons had been made caesars,
00:07:13.96\00:07:17.77
which was kind of
like a vice emperor.
00:07:17.80\00:07:20.84
He was trying to
build a family dynasty.
00:07:20.87\00:07:23.61
Now, after Carus died, one son
was given control of the west,
00:07:23.64\00:07:27.61
and the other song was
given control of the east.
00:07:27.64\00:07:30.58
The son who got the west, his
name was Carinus and he was such
00:07:30.61\00:07:34.32
a brutal man that eventually one
of his own soldiers stabbed him
00:07:34.35\00:07:38.02
in the back for raping his wife.
00:07:38.05\00:07:40.52
The other son, the one who got
control of the east, his name
00:07:40.56\00:07:44.33
was Numerian and we think
somebody murdered him too.
00:07:44.36\00:07:48.20
And some historians
think that Diocletian
00:07:48.23\00:07:51.10
actually had him killed.
00:07:51.13\00:07:54.20
Here's what we know, they said
Numerian had an eye infection
00:07:54.24\00:07:59.31
so he had to spend all
day every day riding inside
00:07:59.34\00:08:01.64
a litter, a hand
carried carriage.
00:08:01.68\00:08:04.51
He had to be in there
to keep the dust and light
00:08:04.55\00:08:06.28
out of his eye.
00:08:06.31\00:08:07.85
But after a number of days
when a slave opened the door,
00:08:07.88\00:08:11.09
there he was, the emperor's
son dead as a doorpost.
00:08:11.12\00:08:16.02
Now, that was a real
problem for Diocletian
00:08:16.06\00:08:19.83
because he was responsible
for the emperor's safety.
00:08:19.86\00:08:24.20
So, what did he do?
00:08:24.23\00:08:26.03
He found a scapegoat, he
blamed Numerian's father-in-law,
00:08:26.07\00:08:30.01
a guy by the
name of Lucius Aper.
00:08:30.04\00:08:32.57
In the middle of the
night, he went into Lucius' tent
00:08:32.61\00:08:35.18
and had him arrested and then he
gathered his legion commanders
00:08:35.21\00:08:38.51
all around the tent and dumped
the badly decomposing body
00:08:38.55\00:08:41.98
of Numerian on the ground.
00:08:42.02\00:08:43.89
"You did this," he said.
00:08:43.92\00:08:45.85
And, of course, Lucius
denied it so they had a trial
00:08:45.89\00:08:48.66
just 3 miles from here.
00:08:48.69\00:08:51.73
male: In the name of Rome!
00:08:51.76\00:08:53.33
Shawn: Diocletian made a speech
00:08:53.36\00:08:54.63
in front of all the soldiers.
00:08:54.66\00:08:56.33
"For the past 4 days," he said,
"legion commanders have been
00:08:56.36\00:08:58.87
asking Lucius to arrange
a meeting with the emperor,
00:08:58.90\00:09:02.04
and their requests were denied.
00:09:02.07\00:09:04.34
I, the commander of the
Protectores asked Lucius
00:09:04.37\00:09:07.54
about the emperor's health
and I was told he was suffering
00:09:07.58\00:09:10.21
from an eye ailment.
00:09:10.25\00:09:12.28
I didn't become suspicious until
a faithful soldier reported that
00:09:12.31\00:09:16.35
for days the emperor
hadn't even left the litter
00:09:16.38\00:09:19.19
to relieve himself."
00:09:19.22\00:09:21.69
At the end of the speech,
he pointed straight at Lucius,
00:09:21.72\00:09:24.19
"He is the murderer."
00:09:24.23\00:09:25.96
Of course, Lucius blew a gasket.
00:09:25.99\00:09:28.70
"He's the murderer,
not me," he responded.
00:09:28.73\00:09:31.20
"Are you going to
believe the words of a plotter,
00:09:31.23\00:09:33.44
the words of a
filthy son of a slave?"
00:09:33.47\00:09:37.01
That was the last
straw for Diocletian.
00:09:37.04\00:09:40.34
He pulled out a knife and
stabbed Lucius on the spot.
00:09:40.38\00:09:43.95
Then his men unanimously
declared him the new emperor.
00:09:43.98\00:09:48.88
[crowd cheering]
00:09:48.92\00:09:53.39
But emperor was a big job.
00:09:53.99\00:09:56.42
The Roman territories were
huge and hard to control so
00:09:56.46\00:10:00.16
Diocletian did something pretty
smart, he divided responsibility
00:10:00.20\00:10:03.50
amongst four men with
two halves of the empire.
00:10:03.53\00:10:07.90
In the east, we would have
two emperors, a senior known
00:10:07.94\00:10:11.01
as an Augustus and a
junior known as a Caesar.
00:10:11.04\00:10:15.38
The same was true for the other
half of the empire in the west.
00:10:15.41\00:10:18.65
So, in the east you
had Diocletian himself,
00:10:18.68\00:10:21.58
the number-one emperor,
and his assistant, a Caesar
00:10:21.62\00:10:24.62
by the name of Galerius.
00:10:24.65\00:10:26.65
Over in the west,
Maximian was appointed Augustus,
00:10:26.69\00:10:30.13
the senior emperor, and his
junior, the Caesar, was a guy by
00:10:30.16\00:10:34.56
the name of Flavius Constantius,
Constantine's father.
00:10:34.56\00:10:40.14
Now, as soon as Constantine's
father got the appointment,
00:10:40.17\00:10:43.34
he moved his family to the city
of Arelate in modern day France.
00:10:43.37\00:10:48.08
So, what does that have to
do with 10 days of persecution?
00:10:48.11\00:10:52.51
Well, follow me
carefully because this is
00:10:52.55\00:10:54.62
really pretty amazing.
00:10:54.65\00:10:56.72
When Flavius Constantius
became the junior emperor,
00:10:56.75\00:10:59.92
or the Caesar in the west,
he suddenly divorces Helena,
00:10:59.95\00:11:03.69
the mother of Constantine
because she was a commoner,
00:11:03.73\00:11:06.56
just a concubine.
00:11:06.59\00:11:08.13
And, of course, a Caesar can't
have a village girl for a wife.
00:11:08.16\00:11:12.47
And besides, he now had
the opportunity to marry his
00:11:12.50\00:11:15.30
senior emperor's daughter, a
girl by the name of Theodora.
00:11:15.34\00:11:19.01
Now, it's at this point
during the bitter disappointment
00:11:19.04\00:11:21.91
of divorce that many historians
think Constantine's mother,
00:11:21.94\00:11:25.78
Helena, became a
Christ follower, a Christian.
00:11:25.81\00:11:29.65
Now, think about that,
Constantine's mother belongs
00:11:29.68\00:11:32.35
to one of the highest ranking
families in the Roman Empire,
00:11:32.39\00:11:35.02
an empire that hates
Christianity and suddenly,
00:11:35.06\00:11:38.29
she turns to Jesus.
00:11:38.33\00:11:41.80
¤¤¤
00:11:41.90\00:11:46.07
Shawn: But the boy Constantine,
00:11:46.17\00:11:47.54
well, he didn't
turn to Christianity.
00:11:47.57\00:11:49.67
History suggests that he
reacted a little differently.
00:11:49.70\00:11:52.91
He got bitter and angry.
00:11:52.94\00:11:54.71
Now, of course, we
don't know that for sure
00:11:54.74\00:11:56.51
but the circumstantial
evidence suggests it.
00:11:56.54\00:11:59.55
What we do know is that he's
all grown up now and that he
00:11:59.58\00:12:02.02
gets sent to go work
for the Emperor Diocletian.
00:12:02.05\00:12:04.42
He becomes a
centurion in the Imperial Guard,
00:12:04.45\00:12:07.32
and he works with Diocletian
for something like 11 years,
00:12:07.36\00:12:11.13
that's a long time.
00:12:11.16\00:12:12.96
You can't work with a guy
like Diocletian for that long
00:12:12.99\00:12:15.33
and not have
something rub off on you.
00:12:15.36\00:12:17.30
Historians suggest that
Constantine learned much of his
00:12:17.33\00:12:20.44
own management style from one
of the most notorious emperors
00:12:20.47\00:12:23.24
in all of history.
00:12:23.27\00:12:27.28
Across the ocean down in Egypt,
Diocletian was suddenly faced
00:12:29.71\00:12:32.58
with a big
problem, a group of Gnostics
00:12:32.61\00:12:35.85
known as the Manicheans.
00:12:35.88\00:12:37.92
Now, the Manicheans were a
religious movement started by
00:12:37.95\00:12:40.76
a Persian prophet by the name of
Mani and he taught that you can
00:12:40.79\00:12:44.76
find salvation through
education and fasting by living
00:12:44.79\00:12:48.76
an ascetic, self-denying life.
00:12:48.80\00:12:51.60
Unfortunately for
the Christians, while
00:12:51.63\00:12:53.64
Mani the prophet was not
a Christian, he did borrow
00:12:53.67\00:12:57.51
some of his teachings
from the Christian faith.
00:12:57.54\00:13:00.54
In fact, he declared
himself to be an apostle.
00:13:00.58\00:13:04.15
Most Christians weren't too keen
on that because Mani also taught
00:13:04.18\00:13:07.75
stuff that was completely
at odds with Christianity
00:13:07.78\00:13:11.25
like reincarnation.
00:13:11.29\00:13:13.89
Mani was also a fan of
Buddha, Zoroaster, and Krishna.
00:13:13.92\00:13:18.43
Manichaeism had some of
the trappings of Christianity
00:13:18.46\00:13:22.10
but they were not Christians,
but that didn't matter
00:13:22.13\00:13:27.10
to the Romans because they
didn't care what you believed
00:13:27.14\00:13:29.57
as long as you weren't
a threat to the empire.
00:13:29.60\00:13:33.01
By all means, go
ahead, become a Manichean.
00:13:33.04\00:13:35.51
The emperor will not care unless
you do what the Manicheans did.
00:13:35.54\00:13:41.38
They staged a revolt
and that was a problem.
00:13:41.42\00:13:48.09
Diocletian had no
choice but to take action.
00:14:02.50\00:14:05.37
He suddenly marched into Egypt
to put an end to the rebellion.
00:14:05.41\00:14:09.41
He believed that the Manicheans
were planted in Egypt by
00:14:09.44\00:14:13.11
the Persian king, spies
sent into Roman territory
00:14:13.15\00:14:17.12
to destabilize it.
00:14:17.15\00:14:18.89
So, Diocletian brutally
squashed their movement.
00:14:18.92\00:14:22.56
He literally sent the Manicheans
to the salt mines and,
00:14:22.59\00:14:25.99
of course, Constantine,
who is now 25 years old,
00:14:26.03\00:14:29.33
was there for the whole thing.
00:14:29.36\00:14:32.03
The Roman persecution
of the Manicheans gives us
00:14:32.07\00:14:34.70
a great example of what
would happen if you threaten
00:14:34.74\00:14:37.77
the stability of the
empire or if you even appeared
00:14:37.81\00:14:40.88
to be a threat.
00:14:40.91\00:14:42.68
And the crushing of
the Manichean revolt was
00:14:42.71\00:14:44.78
a disturbing foreshadow of
what was just about to happen
00:14:44.81\00:14:48.32
to the Christians.
00:14:48.35\00:14:52.29
As far as the Romans
were concerned, there
00:14:54.02\00:14:56.16
was a crucial link between the
Manicheans and the Christians.
00:14:56.19\00:15:00.10
Roman religion, with all its
pagan gods, really didn't offer
00:15:00.13\00:15:03.70
an after life or any
kind of eternal reward.
00:15:03.73\00:15:06.77
It also didn't offer any
kind of redemption from sin,
00:15:06.80\00:15:11.51
but the Prophet Mani did offer
that stuff and so did Jesus.
00:15:11.54\00:15:16.34
As far as the Romans
were concerned, they were both
00:15:16.38\00:15:18.48
mystery religions because
both groups seemed to offer
00:15:18.51\00:15:21.82
secret knowledge,
this secret path to heaven.
00:15:21.85\00:15:25.79
Now, in reality, that wasn't
actually true of the Christians
00:15:25.82\00:15:28.66
but there was another group
that latched on to Christian
00:15:28.69\00:15:31.79
thinking, a group known as the
Gnostics and they believed that
00:15:31.83\00:15:36.36
their followers had
secret sacred knowledge.
00:15:36.40\00:15:39.27
In fact, that's
where they got their name.
00:15:39.30\00:15:41.34
Gnostics are named for the Greek
word "gnosis" or "knowledge."
00:15:41.37\00:15:46.71
But the Christians, well, they
did have a mystery, the mystery
00:15:46.74\00:15:50.58
of the gospel, as Paul put it,
but they were willing to share
00:15:50.61\00:15:53.58
that mystery with anybody
who was willing to listen.
00:15:53.62\00:15:58.72
Shawn: For the most
part, however, Diocletian
00:16:00.89\00:16:02.62
didn't really care what
the Christians believed.
00:16:02.66\00:16:05.53
He did care about the
Manicheans because they were
00:16:05.56\00:16:08.30
a political threat
but the Christians, well,
00:16:08.33\00:16:11.63
they actually even had a church
right in Nicomedia, proof that
00:16:11.67\00:16:15.34
they were still relatively
free in the early years
00:16:15.37\00:16:18.04
of Diocletian's reign.
00:16:18.07\00:16:20.38
Diocletian didn't really have
a problem with these people,
00:16:20.41\00:16:23.95
but the junior
emperor in the east,
00:16:23.98\00:16:25.91
Diocletian's right hand man,
00:16:25.95\00:16:28.08
the Caesar, he did have
a problem with Christians.
00:16:28.12\00:16:33.96
His name was
Galerius and in the year 302,
00:16:35.86\00:16:38.93
he started to complain
that the Christians in Nicomedia
00:16:38.96\00:16:41.73
were offending the
Romans by disregarding
00:16:41.76\00:16:43.83
the traditional Roman gods.
00:16:43.87\00:16:47.47
And I guess to some extent,
that was probably true, not that
00:16:47.50\00:16:51.67
the Christians were trying
to disrespect the emperor, but
00:16:51.71\00:16:55.04
as some of them started to
rise up through Roman society,
00:16:55.08\00:16:57.75
they became more
exposed to Rome's religion.
00:16:57.78\00:17:01.15
And the emperor was considered
to be the son of a god
00:17:01.18\00:17:04.12
or even one of the gods.
00:17:04.15\00:17:06.12
And if you disrespected
the gods, you were also
00:17:06.15\00:17:09.19
disrespecting the divine
authority of the emperor.
00:17:09.22\00:17:12.99
Now, Galerius, the
second in command, the Caesar,
00:17:13.03\00:17:16.36
he had a mother named
Romula who came to this city
00:17:16.40\00:17:18.97
from modern day Bulgaria.
00:17:19.00\00:17:21.14
She was a pagan priestess
who worshiped the ancient gods
00:17:21.17\00:17:24.24
of the mountains and when
she discovered that Christians
00:17:24.27\00:17:26.84
were not interested in her
pagan rituals, she got angry.
00:17:26.88\00:17:30.35
She hated them and, of course,
her son Galerius had the ear
00:17:30.38\00:17:34.52
of the emperor Diocletian.
00:17:34.55\00:17:38.25
Shawn: Now, at about the
same time, a pagan philosopher
00:17:41.72\00:17:46.26
by the name of Porphyry started
writing these vitriolic hit
00:17:46.29\00:17:50.30
pieces against the
Christians and his writings were
00:17:50.33\00:17:52.83
so influential
that even after he died,
00:17:52.87\00:17:56.60
Christians still felt the
need to answer his charges.
00:17:56.64\00:18:00.51
When you combine that
with the hatred of Galerius
00:18:00.54\00:18:03.65
and his mother, you suddenly
had this renewed discomfort
00:18:03.68\00:18:06.92
with the Christian religion.
00:18:06.95\00:18:08.85
They had a pretty good
life for almost 50 years,
00:18:08.88\00:18:11.85
no real persecution.
00:18:11.89\00:18:13.89
But now the heat was rising
again and with a junior emperor
00:18:13.92\00:18:18.26
eager to get rid of
the followers of Jesus,
00:18:18.29\00:18:20.56
something had to give.
00:18:20.60\00:18:23.26
For the first 17
years of Diocletian's reign,
00:18:23.30\00:18:26.60
he was so busy securing
his empire that he never
00:18:26.63\00:18:29.70
really thought
about the Christians.
00:18:29.74\00:18:32.24
Of course, he knew they
existed, but the only thing
00:18:32.27\00:18:35.01
he really knew about them was
that Christian soldiers obeyed
00:18:35.04\00:18:38.08
his orders just
like everybody else.
00:18:38.11\00:18:41.22
But after the Manichean revolt
and the complaints of Galerius,
00:18:41.25\00:18:45.22
he started to suspect that
maybe Christians were a problem.
00:18:45.25\00:18:51.06
¤¤¤
00:18:51.39\00:18:59.63
Shawn: In September of 302,
Diocletian went to visit some
00:19:02.07\00:19:04.91
of his frontier
garrisons in the Balkans
00:19:04.94\00:19:07.94
and because of
Galerius' insistence
00:19:07.98\00:19:10.11
that the Christians were
no good, he started to ask
00:19:10.15\00:19:12.81
questions and
everybody he asked--commanders,
00:19:12.85\00:19:16.99
civilian administrators,
the locals--they all told him
00:19:17.02\00:19:19.65
the same thing.
00:19:19.69\00:19:21.12
Christians were good
citizens and faithful soldiers.
00:19:21.16\00:19:24.69
But they did have one complaint,
the Christians would not
00:19:24.73\00:19:28.56
participate in public sacrifices
and the army was worried that
00:19:28.60\00:19:33.07
eventually the Roman
gods would get offended
00:19:33.10\00:19:36.17
and quit helping
them on the battlefield.
00:19:36.20\00:19:40.88
"Their numbers are growing,"
someone said to the emperor.
00:19:44.51\00:19:47.08
"The army is full
of these Christians
00:19:47.12\00:19:49.48
and so is the civil list.
00:19:49.52\00:19:51.55
Their first loyalty is
to a crucified Jew they call
00:19:51.59\00:19:54.82
Dominus, and they claim
that Jesus is Lord and Savior."
00:19:54.86\00:19:59.96
Now, that's the part that
really bothered Diocletian.
00:20:00.00\00:20:04.20
Here he was doing his very
best to unify a massive empire
00:20:04.23\00:20:09.10
and the Christians
were loyal to someone else.
00:20:09.14\00:20:12.64
In October of 302,
he called a meeting
00:20:12.67\00:20:15.58
of high-ranking officials
and he got more disturbing news.
00:20:15.61\00:20:20.18
A man by the name of Heracles,
the governor of Bithynia said,
00:20:20.22\00:20:24.05
"Don't you think this cult
is like the cult of Mithras.
00:20:24.09\00:20:28.12
The followers of Mithras never
spoke against the Roman gods,
00:20:28.16\00:20:31.76
but the Christians
consider our gods to be demons,
00:20:31.79\00:20:35.73
unholy spirits, and they
claim that the Hebrew rebel
00:20:35.76\00:20:40.77
they worship is
the only true God."
00:20:40.80\00:20:45.17
¤¤¤
00:20:45.37\00:20:50.45
Shawn: That bothered
Diocletian, but he was still
00:20:51.75\00:20:53.92
reluctant to use violence
against the Christians because,
00:20:53.95\00:20:56.92
well, violence doesn't
tend to create loyalty.
00:20:56.95\00:21:00.82
And he knew from history that if
he tried to kill the Christians,
00:21:00.86\00:21:04.03
they would just voluntarily
march to their deaths,
00:21:04.06\00:21:06.80
glad to be martyrs and that
would only attract more people
00:21:06.83\00:21:10.97
to the movement.
00:21:11.00\00:21:12.33
So, Diocletian
started with civil penalties.
00:21:12.37\00:21:15.54
He just dismissed all
the Christians from the army
00:21:15.57\00:21:18.01
and he fired all the
Christians in his palace.
00:21:18.04\00:21:21.08
And to make sure he
was doing the right thing,
00:21:21.11\00:21:23.78
he sent a messenger to
the famous oracle at Didyma
00:21:23.81\00:21:26.48
to ask Apollo what he thought
and Apollo told the emperor,
00:21:26.51\00:21:30.99
through the oracle, of course,
that Christians were the reason
00:21:31.02\00:21:33.99
he had no message for the king.
00:21:34.02\00:21:37.23
The presence of Christians
was keeping the Roman gods
00:21:37.26\00:21:40.36
from speaking.
00:21:40.40\00:21:42.93
¤¤¤
00:21:43.37\00:21:53.38
Shawn: That was the last straw.
00:21:56.01\00:21:58.08
On February 23 of 303,
soldiers suddenly stormed
00:21:58.11\00:22:01.68
the Christian
church here in Nicomedia.
00:22:01.72\00:22:03.89
They knocked down the
building with a battering ram
00:22:03.92\00:22:06.42
and they burned all the books.
00:22:06.45\00:22:09.42
Galerius actually wanted to burn
the church but Diocletian said,
00:22:09.46\00:22:12.73
"No, that would endanger
the whole city so we'll just use
00:22:12.76\00:22:16.06
a battering ram."
00:22:16.10\00:22:18.03
The next day, they posted a
public edict against Christians.
00:22:18.07\00:22:22.44
They no longer had a right
to worship and to make matters
00:22:22.47\00:22:25.04
worse, if you attacked
a Christian or robbed him,
00:22:25.07\00:22:28.94
you could do it with absolute
impunity because they no longer
00:22:28.98\00:22:32.05
had access to the Roman courts.
00:22:32.08\00:22:35.05
Then a few months later,
the leaders of the church
00:22:35.08\00:22:37.59
were rounded up and told that
if they did not offer sacrifices
00:22:37.62\00:22:40.96
to the emperor, they
would be put to death.
00:22:40.99\00:22:46.03
The same day they posted the
edict, a Christian by the name
00:22:46.06\00:22:48.36
of Eustathius unfortunately lost
his temper and ripped it down.
00:22:48.40\00:22:53.60
He stomped on it and shouted
insults against the emperor,
00:22:53.64\00:22:56.54
a direct
challenge to Diocletian.
00:22:56.57\00:22:59.11
So, he was immediate arrested
and taken before a judge.
00:22:59.14\00:23:03.21
In the courtroom, the guards
described what he had done
00:23:03.24\00:23:06.25
and the judge asked
him, "Is that true?"
00:23:06.28\00:23:09.42
"Yes, it is."
00:23:09.45\00:23:11.49
"So, you admit that you
insulted the sacred person
00:23:11.52\00:23:13.96
of the Augustus?"
00:23:13.99\00:23:15.86
"For me," Eustathius said, "only
the person of Christ is sacred."
00:23:15.89\00:23:20.96
Now, pay attention to
what the judge said next
00:23:21.00\00:23:23.67
because it's important.
00:23:23.70\00:23:25.33
"If I condemn you, it
will not be for your religion,
00:23:25.37\00:23:29.00
but for your insolent
act against the emperor."
00:23:29.04\00:23:31.57
The judge was trying to defend
religious liberty because,
00:23:31.61\00:23:35.61
remember, the Romans
didn't actually care about your
00:23:35.64\00:23:37.98
religion, what they cared
about was political stability,
00:23:38.01\00:23:41.78
that's the reason they
allowed Jesus to be crucified.
00:23:41.82\00:23:44.99
They didn't care what he taught.
00:23:45.02\00:23:46.86
They didn't care
what he believed.
00:23:46.89\00:23:48.22
They only cared that he
was perceived as a threat
00:23:48.26\00:23:51.33
to political stability.
00:23:51.36\00:23:53.29
Eustathius answered the
judge, "I insulted the emperor
00:23:53.33\00:23:57.07
only because he
insulted my Lord and Savior.
00:23:57.10\00:24:00.14
If you kill me, you will not
give me death, but life eternal.
00:24:00.17\00:24:04.57
I pity you."
00:24:04.61\00:24:06.68
"You are an idiot," the judge
said, "but the law does not
00:24:06.71\00:24:09.94
exempt idiots
from just punishment.
00:24:09.98\00:24:12.15
Take him away.
00:24:12.18\00:24:13.92
Torture him, and then
burn him on the stake."
00:24:13.95\00:24:18.92
That's precisely what they did.
00:24:23.49\00:24:25.76
They hung him on an iron hook
and whipped him all night long.
00:24:25.79\00:24:29.50
And when the sun rose in
the morning, they tied him
00:24:29.53\00:24:32.20
to a stake and
burned him to death.
00:24:32.23\00:24:35.47
Eustathius was the first victim
of the Diocletian persecution.
00:24:35.50\00:24:39.04
It might have been the
last except for something that
00:24:39.07\00:24:42.54
happened just a few weeks later,
a fire in Diocletian's palace.
00:24:42.58\00:24:48.22
It started on the ground
floor near the slave quarters
00:24:48.25\00:24:51.05
and today, some historians
believe that Galerius actually
00:24:51.09\00:24:54.42
started the fire himself
trying to frame the Christians.
00:24:54.46\00:24:58.99
It was the same thing Nero
did almost 250 years earlier,
00:24:59.03\00:25:02.83
he burned the city of
Rome and blamed the Christians.
00:25:02.86\00:25:08.87
So, how did Galerius
blame the Christians?
00:25:08.90\00:25:12.41
He planned a public ceremony to
thank the Roman gods for saving
00:25:12.44\00:25:15.78
the emperor's family
who survived the fire
00:25:15.81\00:25:18.81
and he knew the Christians
would not participate.
00:25:18.85\00:25:22.52
"Anybody who doesn't
participate," he said,
00:25:22.55\00:25:25.09
"must not be glad that
we survived and those people
00:25:25.12\00:25:28.79
are obviously
party to this crime."
00:25:28.82\00:25:31.73
Now, Diocletian loved
the plan, so he called for
00:25:31.76\00:25:34.10
the priest of Jupiter and
organized a public sacrifice.
00:25:34.13\00:25:37.90
Everybody had to walk
past the fire and toss in
00:25:37.93\00:25:41.60
just a pinch of incense.
00:25:41.64\00:25:44.37
Two people refused to do
it, both of them lifelong
00:25:44.41\00:25:47.11
secretaries in the
service of Diocletian.
00:25:47.14\00:25:50.21
They were
people Diocletian loved
00:25:50.25\00:25:52.75
and he tried to save them.
00:25:52.78\00:25:54.15
"Just one
little pinch," he said.
00:25:54.18\00:25:56.52
But one of those Christians
answered, "Domine, I have served
00:25:56.55\00:26:01.29
you faithfully for many years.
00:26:01.32\00:26:03.56
I would give my earthly life
for you, but you are asking me
00:26:03.59\00:26:07.30
to forfeit my eternal life.
00:26:07.36\00:26:09.10
This, I cannot do."
00:26:09.13\00:26:13.70
Diocletian had no choice.
00:26:13.74\00:26:15.97
He had the man
tortured and beheaded.
00:26:16.00\00:26:18.44
Two weeks later, there was
another fire in the palace,
00:26:18.47\00:26:21.34
one that started
during a lightning storm
00:26:21.38\00:26:23.41
so there is a pretty good chance
it was actually accidental
00:26:23.45\00:26:26.92
but still, the
Christians got the blame.
00:26:26.95\00:26:30.29
Persecution put down deep roots
00:26:30.32\00:26:32.99
and the persecution
lasted exactly 10 years.
00:26:33.02\00:26:37.56
"You will have
tribulation ten days,"
00:26:37.59\00:26:39.43
the Book of Revelation
said, and in Bible prophesy,
00:26:39.46\00:26:41.76
a day which is often
used to represent a year.
00:26:41.80\00:26:45.80
It seems that even before the
Diocletian persecution began,
00:26:45.83\00:26:49.04
the Christians
knew it was coming.
00:26:49.07\00:26:51.74
The God they worshiped,
the humble carpenter's son
00:26:51.77\00:26:53.94
from Nazareth, was able to warn
them centuries in advance that
00:26:53.98\00:26:57.91
the church would experience some
incredible hardship as they took
00:26:57.95\00:27:01.72
the gospel to the world.
00:27:01.75\00:27:03.59
That message, Revelation's
letter to Smyrna, was a message
00:27:03.62\00:27:07.99
from someone who knew a
thing or two about death.
00:27:08.02\00:27:10.99
It's a letter from someone who
identifies himself as the first
00:27:11.03\00:27:14.60
and the last, someone who
was dead and came back to life.
00:27:14.63\00:27:19.77
Now, why were
the early Christians
00:27:19.80\00:27:22.04
so willing to
die for their faith?
00:27:22.07\00:27:24.67
It was because the God they
worshiped had already conquered
00:27:24.71\00:27:27.81
the grave and shortly
before the persecution started,
00:27:27.84\00:27:31.38
he had also conquered the
heart of one humble woman,
00:27:31.41\00:27:34.35
a girl named Helena.
00:27:34.38\00:27:36.22
And Helena's son
had a front row seat
00:27:36.25\00:27:39.02
to the Diocletian persecutions.
00:27:39.05\00:27:41.36
Constantine was also the man who
finally brought that persecution
00:27:41.39\00:27:45.09
to an end
exactly 10 years later.
00:27:45.13\00:27:49.73
¤¤¤
00:27:50.13\00:28:00.21
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