[soft music]
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- [Announcer] The world,
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forever changed.
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[dramatic music]
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His legacy, an empire
reaching across centuries.
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His name,
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[dramatic music continues]
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Constantine.
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"Shadow Empire."
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[dramatic music continues]
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[soft music]
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- When you hear
the word basilica,
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most people
typically think of a church
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and that's because, for
the last 1,700 years or so,
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that's the way
we've used the word.
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And not just any
church is a basilica,
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it's gotta be a church
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that has been granted
special ceremonial rights
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or privileges by
the Bishop of Rome.
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But a basilica was not
originally a Christian building.
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In fact, a basilica wasn't
even a religious building.
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It was a public
court, like this one,
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used by the
pseudo emperor Maxentius
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and then Constantine after the
Battle of the Milvian Bridge.
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And just up the road behind
me is another famous basilica,
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one of the most
famous in the world.
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And that basilica represents
the merging of two empires,
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the Kingdom of Heaven
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and another shadow empire
that ran parallel beside it.
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[soft music]
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[wind whooshes] [fire crackles]
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This is the Basilica
of Saint John Lateran,
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one of the most
famous churches in the world.
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Structurally, it resembles
Ancient Roman basilicas.
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You've got a big open space
in the middle called the nave
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and there are aisles
running along the outside.
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When you look at the
interior of Saint John Lateran,
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or other famous basilicas,
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and you go back and
compare it to Roman basilicas,
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it becomes obvious
that after Constantine
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the Christian church was
no longer a fringe group,
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an outside
religion forced to survive
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in spite of the empire.
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Now, it was part of the empire.
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In fact, in Constantine's mind,
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Christianity would be the glue
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that held his
new empire together.
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[soft music]
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Now remember, under Diocletian,
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the unity of the
empire was all-important
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and Diocletian
achieved stability
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by establishing a tetrarchy,
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four emperors who
controlled the eastern
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and western
halves of the territory.
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But Constantine
changed all that.
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Not long after he
defeated Maxentius,
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he also conquered
the rest of the empire,
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which made him the only ruler.
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Rome was back to just one guy.
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But Constantine knew full-well
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he was going to have find some
way to keep it all together,
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some way to achieve harmony,
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and that's where he saw
value in the Christian religion.
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To his way of thinking,
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Christians were a
perfectly unified people.
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He'd seen the way
they stood together
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against Roman persecution
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and it looked like they
were so perfectly united,
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so perfectly in agreement
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that nothing would
ever make them fall.
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Now, that's what he
wanted for his empire.
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He wanted to transplant
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the Christian dedication and
unity he saw into his kingdom.
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[soft music continues]
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[water rushing]
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Now, tradition tells us
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that Constantine
underwent a radical conversion
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the day before he won
the Battle of Milvian Bridge.
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But if that's true,
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if he really became
a Christian that day,
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then he was
remarkably silent about it.
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If he really did
see a cross in the sky,
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if he really did
hear a voice telling him,
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"Go conquer in this sign,"
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then you'd expect those details
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to show up in the
original telling of the story.
00:04:01.87\00:04:05.17
But why didn't
Constantine tell that story
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the day he marched into Rome?
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Why doesn't it show
up anywhere on his arch?
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Why don't we have
any record of it anywhere
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until 10 years later
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when he suddenly tells
it to a church historian?
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And if Constantine really did
convert to Christian that day,
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I mean, if he
really did submit himself
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to the Prince of Peace,
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then why did he go on
killing his relatives,
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the ones he considered
to be political threats?
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And why did he
actually put off his own baptism
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until he was
practically on his deathbed?
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[soft music]
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[water rippling]
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[water rushing]
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There are just too
many holes in the story.
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Enough to make me personally
doubt Constantine's conversion.
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What seems more likely
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is that Constantine
embellished the story over time
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and the Chi-Rho symbol he
painted on his men's shields
00:05:02.26\00:05:05.40
slowly morphed
into the vision story
00:05:05.40\00:05:07.94
over the span of 10 years.
00:05:07.94\00:05:10.41
Here's what probably happened.
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Constantine gave credit to the
Christian god for his victory
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and he began to think
that the Christian god
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was the best way to
hold his kingdom together.
00:05:19.31\00:05:22.18
The tenacity of
Christians impressed him
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and he thought people
who would die for Jesus
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might also be
willing to die for him.
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He thought Christians
would be loyal to Rome
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if he could merge the
empire and the church.
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So one of the first
things Constantine did
00:05:37.57\00:05:39.90
was give this
palace, the Lateran Palace,
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to a guy by the
name of Miltiades.
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He was the Bishop of Rome
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and he was really
needed a place to live.
00:05:47.08\00:05:49.58
Because up to this point
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the Bishop of Rome
basically lived in a shack
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over on the other
side of the Tiber River.
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What was left of
the original Lateran
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was ripped down
in the late 1500s
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and this one was
built in its place.
00:06:00.99\00:06:04.23
Today, it's home to
the Vicar General of Rome,
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a representative of the pope,
00:06:07.23\00:06:08.90
who handles all his
business inside the city.
00:06:08.90\00:06:12.83
But the reason this is a
Christian building at all
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is because Constantine
gave it to the church.
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It was a clear signal,
00:06:19.24\00:06:21.51
Constantine had refused to
thank Jupiter for his victory
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and now he'd given
the Christian bishop
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one of the most prestigious
pieces of real estate
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in the entire city.
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And to top it off, he
built a massive basilica,
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the original Saint Peter's,
over on Vatican mountain.
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Christianity had now
come to Rome for good.
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But then something
else amazing happened.
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In the year 313,
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Constantine
unwittingly fulfilled a prophecy
00:06:47.70\00:06:50.47
from the Book of Revelation.
00:06:50.47\00:06:52.51
He traveled up the
city of Milan for a wedding
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and while he was
there he did something
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that completely
reversed Diocletian's policy
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of persecuting Christians.
00:07:01.05\00:07:02.75
Constantine felt
like the Persecution
00:07:02.75\00:07:04.72
was destabilizing the empire.
00:07:04.72\00:07:07.22
It was making people
distrust the Roman government.
00:07:07.22\00:07:10.39
So he convinced
other dignitaries
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that they should
stop killing Christians.
00:07:12.73\00:07:16.20
This all resulted
in the Edict of Milan,
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a document which suddenly
put an end to persecution
00:07:19.07\00:07:22.87
and elevated the Christian faith
00:07:22.87\00:07:25.27
to a position of prominence.
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[soft music continues]
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Constantine
returned the property
00:07:31.21\00:07:33.08
that had been confiscated
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during the
10-year reign of terror.
00:07:34.32\00:07:36.48
And if you found yourself
in the unfortunate position
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of owning
confiscated Christian property,
00:07:39.42\00:07:42.46
you could actually ask
Constantine's government
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for compensation.
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The church was no
longer a fringe group.
00:07:46.39\00:07:49.20
It was considered a
legitimate corporation,
00:07:49.20\00:07:51.77
a legitimate part
of the Roman empire.
00:07:51.77\00:07:54.80
And most importantly,
00:07:54.80\00:07:56.57
Constantine
introduced the concept
00:07:56.57\00:07:58.27
of full religious liberty.
00:07:58.27\00:08:00.38
In the words of the Milan Edict,
00:08:00.38\00:08:02.34
Constantine said, "We
should give Christians
00:08:02.34\00:08:04.85
and everyone else freedom
00:08:04.85\00:08:06.11
to follow the
religion each may want
00:08:06.11\00:08:08.62
so that whatever divinity
may exist in the heavens
00:08:08.62\00:08:11.22
will be willing to
show benevolence to us
00:08:11.22\00:08:14.29
and all those who
live under our authority."
00:08:14.29\00:08:17.39
[soft music]
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So how does that
fulfill Bible prophecy?
00:08:19.33\00:08:23.30
Well, if you remember
from a previous episode,
00:08:23.30\00:08:26.17
when John wrote seven letters
00:08:26.17\00:08:28.00
to the Seven
Churches of Asia Minor
00:08:28.00\00:08:30.14
in the Book of Revelation,
00:08:30.14\00:08:32.01
there was a direct
reference to severe persecution
00:08:32.01\00:08:34.98
in his letter to Smyrna.
00:08:34.98\00:08:37.31
Now, Smyrna was the
crushed or persecuted church.
00:08:37.31\00:08:41.62
For centuries, sincere
Bible students have recognized
00:08:41.62\00:08:44.79
that those seven
letters predicted
00:08:44.79\00:08:46.35
the entire span
of Christian history
00:08:46.35\00:08:49.39
and the letter to Smyrna
00:08:49.39\00:08:50.99
fits persecuted
Christianity exactly.
00:08:50.99\00:08:54.83
In Bible prophecy, a
day is generally used
00:08:54.83\00:08:57.43
to represent a year,
00:08:57.43\00:08:58.93
so 10 days of persecution
would actually be 10 years.
00:08:58.93\00:09:03.51
The prophecy fits
what Diocletian did to the
00:09:05.01\00:09:07.71
Christians. It
says in Revelation 2:10,
00:09:07.71\00:09:10.35
"Do not fear any of those things
00:09:10.35\00:09:12.55
which you are about to suffer.
00:09:12.55\00:09:14.58
Indeed, the devil is about to
throw some of you into prison,
00:09:14.58\00:09:17.85
that you may be tested,
00:09:17.85\00:09:19.52
and you will have
tribulation 10 days.
00:09:19.52\00:09:23.09
Be faithful until death,
00:09:23.09\00:09:25.09
and I will give
you the crown of life."
00:09:25.09\00:09:28.10
The Diocletian Persecution
began with the Edict of 303
00:09:28.10\00:09:32.57
and it came to an abrupt
end exactly 10 years later
00:09:32.57\00:09:36.60
when Constantine
issued the Edict of Milan.
00:09:36.60\00:09:39.67
[soft music]
00:09:39.67\00:09:42.24
Now, that should be
the end of the story,
00:09:44.28\00:09:46.72
and from this point on
00:09:46.72\00:09:47.95
the church should have
lived happily ever after
00:09:47.95\00:09:50.72
because they were now
the emperor's favorite.
00:09:50.72\00:09:53.79
Nobody could touch them.
00:09:53.79\00:09:56.06
Now, the Edict of Milan
didn't establish Christianity
00:09:56.06\00:09:58.86
as the official
religion of the empire
00:09:58.86\00:10:01.36
but it did establish Christians
00:10:01.36\00:10:02.90
as a real reason
for religious liberty
00:10:02.90\00:10:05.60
and there was no
question that Christians
00:10:05.60\00:10:08.00
had suddenly moved from underdog
to a position of privilege,
00:10:08.00\00:10:12.01
a position they would hold
for many centuries to come.
00:10:12.01\00:10:15.21
But there was a big problem.
00:10:16.01\00:10:18.18
It turns out that Christianity
was nowhere near as unified
00:10:18.18\00:10:21.72
as Constantine hoped.
00:10:21.72\00:10:23.69
Within months of his victory,
00:10:23.69\00:10:25.02
he made an unsettling discovery
00:10:25.02\00:10:27.39
and
unfortunately it's a discovery
00:10:27.39\00:10:29.89
a lot of people still make
00:10:29.89\00:10:31.36
when they get to know
the Christian community.
00:10:31.36\00:10:34.00
Christians can be
anything but united.
00:10:34.00\00:10:37.83
I mean, sure on the big
stuff they all get along,
00:10:37.83\00:10:40.60
but on the day-to-day things,
00:10:40.60\00:10:42.34
well, Christians
are still human beings,
00:10:42.34\00:10:44.74
imperfect sinners in
need of a perfect God.
00:10:44.74\00:10:48.18
And Christians know how to
argue just like everybody else.
00:10:48.18\00:10:52.05
[soft music]
00:10:52.05\00:10:55.02
Within months of
Constantine's victory,
00:10:55.02\00:10:57.39
a controversy erupted on
the other of the Mediterranean,
00:10:57.39\00:11:00.42
over in Egypt.
00:11:00.42\00:11:02.42
You see, during the
Diocletian Persecution,
00:11:02.42\00:11:05.26
a lot of Christian leaders
had caved in under pressure
00:11:05.26\00:11:08.30
when the Romans came to
confiscate their Christian
00:11:08.30\00:11:11.90
books. They turned in
their Bibles. They caved.
00:11:11.90\00:11:14.97
They left the Christian church.
00:11:14.97\00:11:17.07
And then when the
Persecution ended,
00:11:17.07\00:11:19.14
they suddenly wanted back in
00:11:19.14\00:11:20.84
because now it was
easy to be a Christian.
00:11:20.84\00:11:24.08
But as you can imagine,
those who stayed the course,
00:11:24.08\00:11:27.02
those who were in the church
during all those dark years,
00:11:27.02\00:11:30.79
were completely unimpressed.
00:11:30.79\00:11:32.82
They called the people
00:11:32.82\00:11:34.02
who had abandoned
the church traditores,
00:11:34.02\00:11:36.49
it's where we
get the word traitor,
00:11:36.49\00:11:38.86
and they didn't
think those people
00:11:38.86\00:11:40.83
should be allowed back in,
00:11:40.83\00:11:42.63
and if they did come back in
00:11:42.63\00:11:44.43
they certainly
couldn't hold church office.
00:11:44.43\00:11:47.40
And if you'd been
baptized by a traditore,
00:11:47.40\00:11:50.34
someone who left
during the Persecution,
00:11:50.34\00:11:52.91
well, they considered your whole
baptism completely invalid.
00:11:52.91\00:11:56.31
[soft music continues]
00:11:56.31\00:11:59.11
The people who wanted to keep
the traitors out of the church
00:11:59.11\00:12:02.05
had a leader by the
name of Donatus Magnus,
00:12:02.05\00:12:05.19
and they were called Donatists.
00:12:05.19\00:12:07.69
They wanted Donatus
00:12:07.69\00:12:09.19
to become the Bishop of
Carthage in North Africa.
00:12:09.19\00:12:11.89
But there was a problem.
00:12:11.89\00:12:13.23
There was already
a Bishop of Carthage,
00:12:13.23\00:12:15.00
a guy by the name of Caecilian,
00:12:15.00\00:12:17.30
and he was in favor
00:12:17.30\00:12:19.07
of bringing the
traitors back into the church.
00:12:19.07\00:12:21.87
So there was this
really heated controversy
00:12:21.87\00:12:24.57
right in the beginning
of Constantine's reign,
00:12:24.57\00:12:27.38
and when Christians couldn't
settle the matter themselves,
00:12:27.38\00:12:31.35
they made a direct
appeal to the emperor.
00:12:31.35\00:12:34.08
They wanted the state's
help to resolve a dispute.
00:12:34.08\00:12:38.35
[waves crashing]
00:12:38.35\00:12:41.66
That
represented a radical change
00:12:41.66\00:12:44.33
in the way that Christians
handled their internal disputes.
00:12:44.33\00:12:47.60
Centuries earlier,
00:12:47.60\00:12:49.13
the Apostle Paul wrote to
the Corinthian Christians,
00:12:49.13\00:12:51.47
telling them not to
drag their disagreements
00:12:51.47\00:12:54.30
into public court.
00:12:54.30\00:12:55.24
[soft music]
00:12:55.24\00:12:56.81
According to Paul, Christians
served a king whose kingdom
00:12:56.81\00:12:58.87
was not of this
world and because of that,
00:12:58.87\00:13:02.21
worldly courts had
no place in the church.
00:13:02.21\00:13:05.31
Now, you'll notice the
Bible still anticipates
00:13:05.31\00:13:07.72
that Christians
would have disputes
00:13:07.72\00:13:09.72
because they are,
after all, human beings.
00:13:09.72\00:13:12.99
But the place for
arbitration is the church,
00:13:12.99\00:13:16.56
not the courthouse.
00:13:16.56\00:13:17.99
[soft music continues]
00:13:17.99\00:13:20.76
But under
Constantine, that all changed.
00:13:20.76\00:13:23.70
The Donatists, no longer
fearing any kind of persecution,
00:13:23.70\00:13:26.87
thought it would be a good idea
00:13:26.87\00:13:28.54
to let the state
decide their case.
00:13:28.54\00:13:31.37
So Constantine
asked the Bishop of Rome
00:13:31.37\00:13:33.78
to preside over a panel
00:13:33.78\00:13:35.21
that would make a
decision one way or another.
00:13:35.21\00:13:38.15
Should traditores be
readmitted to the church?
00:13:38.15\00:13:41.72
Should they be
allowed to hold office
00:13:41.72\00:13:43.39
and perform the rites
and rituals of Christianity?
00:13:43.39\00:13:46.96
Well, that panel
decided against the Donatists
00:13:46.96\00:13:50.16
and the Donatists were furious,
00:13:50.16\00:13:51.76
so they appealed the case,
00:13:51.76\00:13:53.50
saying their side had not
been given a full hearing.
00:13:53.50\00:13:56.30
They said the Bishop of Rome
00:13:56.30\00:13:58.03
had stacked the
meeting against them.
00:13:58.03\00:14:00.34
So Constantine
ordered another meeting
00:14:00.34\00:14:03.47
in another city in 314 AD.
00:14:03.47\00:14:06.61
This time, he called
bishops from all over the empire
00:14:06.61\00:14:09.38
to come and decide the matter,
00:14:09.38\00:14:11.01
and once again they
ruled against the Donatists.
00:14:11.01\00:14:14.45
And, once again, the
Donatists were not happy.
00:14:14.45\00:14:18.05
[tense music]
00:14:19.45\00:14:22.02
[tense string music]
00:14:23.89\00:14:25.69
It was becoming
obvious to Constantine
00:14:25.69\00:14:27.76
that the glue for his new
empire, the Christian church,
00:14:27.76\00:14:30.77
might not be as
strong as he thought.
00:14:30.77\00:14:33.17
At one point, he
got really irritated
00:14:33.17\00:14:35.27
and he wrote this letter.
00:14:35.27\00:14:37.11
[air whooshes]
00:14:37.11\00:14:38.04
"So great a madness persists,"
00:14:38.04\00:14:40.38
and he's
speaking to the Donatists,
00:14:40.38\00:14:42.11
"that with incredible arrogance
00:14:42.11\00:14:43.81
they repudiate the equitable
judgment that has been given,
00:14:43.81\00:14:46.68
so that, by the will of heaven,
00:14:46.68\00:14:48.32
I have learnt that
they demand my own judgment.
00:14:48.32\00:14:51.39
They demand my judgment
00:14:51.39\00:14:53.29
when I myself await
the judgment of Christ."
00:14:53.29\00:14:56.19
[air whooshes]
00:14:56.19\00:14:57.29
Constantine believed
00:14:57.29\00:14:58.73
that if he could not bring
unity to the Christian church,
00:14:58.73\00:15:01.66
God would stop favoring him
00:15:01.66\00:15:03.67
and he would never be
able to unite the whole empire.
00:15:03.67\00:15:06.84
So he got angry.
00:15:06.84\00:15:08.00
He told the African church
00:15:08.00\00:15:09.40
if they didn't
get their act together
00:15:09.40\00:15:11.21
he was coming down in person
00:15:11.21\00:15:13.27
to show them
how to run a church.
00:15:13.27\00:15:15.71
And if anybody didn't like that,
well, to quote Constantine,
00:15:15.71\00:15:18.85
[air whooshes]
00:15:18.85\00:15:20.08
"These without doubt
I shall cause to suffer
00:15:20.08\00:15:22.68
the due
penalties of their madness
00:15:22.68\00:15:24.62
and their reckless obstinacy."
00:15:24.62\00:15:27.19
Basically, what happened
is that Constantine resorted
00:15:27.19\00:15:29.86
to the one thing he
knew as a Roman soldier,
00:15:29.86\00:15:32.79
he resorted to force.
00:15:32.79\00:15:34.46
[air whooshes]
00:15:34.46\00:15:35.36
He began mixing church and state
00:15:35.36\00:15:37.70
in a way that had never happened
00:15:37.70\00:15:39.67
in the first 300
years of Christianity.
00:15:39.67\00:15:41.87
He blended the
interests of the empire
00:15:41.87\00:15:44.24
with the life of the church
00:15:44.24\00:15:45.77
and he even
threatened the death penalty
00:15:45.77\00:15:48.44
for people who
didn't tow the line.
00:15:48.44\00:15:50.51
Some historical records
even indicate that Caecilian,
00:15:50.51\00:15:53.35
the bishop who won
the Donatists' dispute,
00:15:53.35\00:15:55.92
actually rounded
up his opponents,
00:15:55.92\00:15:57.52
with the help of
the Roman authorities,
00:15:57.52\00:15:59.45
and had them put to death.
00:15:59.45\00:16:01.42
The Roman emperor had
now become the de facto head
00:16:01.42\00:16:05.29
of the Christian church.
00:16:05.29\00:16:06.59
[tense music]
00:16:06.59\00:16:09.13
That became even more obvious
00:16:13.00\00:16:14.84
in the next dispute that erupted
00:16:14.84\00:16:16.40
in the brave new world of
state-sponsored Christianity.
00:16:16.40\00:16:20.58
A priest by the name of Aerius,
00:16:20.58\00:16:22.34
also from North Africa,
00:16:22.34\00:16:24.28
began to question
the divinity of Christ
00:16:24.28\00:16:26.95
and that created
a massive uproar.
00:16:26.95\00:16:29.95
This wasn't a
matter of church politics,
00:16:29.95\00:16:31.95
like the Donatist controversy.
00:16:31.95\00:16:34.16
This was doctrinal.
00:16:34.16\00:16:36.16
It touched on a key
teaching of the Christian faith:
00:16:36.16\00:16:39.33
Jesus, the god-man, the
second person of the godhead,
00:16:39.33\00:16:42.90
God in human flesh.
00:16:42.90\00:16:45.13
Now, without getting
into the technical details,
00:16:45.13\00:16:47.30
the heretic priest
Aerius was teaching
00:16:47.30\00:16:49.97
that Jesus was not
equal to the Father,
00:16:49.97\00:16:53.14
that he held a lesser position.
00:16:53.14\00:16:55.58
Aerius was teaching that
Jesus proceeded from the Father
00:16:55.58\00:16:59.58
at some point way
back in ancient history.
00:16:59.58\00:17:02.65
Now, to solve the dispute,
00:17:02.65\00:17:04.09
Constantine called a meeting
in the ancient city of Antioch,
00:17:04.09\00:17:07.26
which was one of the
key centers of Christianity.
00:17:07.26\00:17:09.82
And the reason
Constantine called that meeting
00:17:09.82\00:17:12.83
was because he
now considered himself
00:17:12.83\00:17:14.86
the head of the church.
00:17:14.86\00:17:16.33
[gentle music]
00:17:16.33\00:17:19.00
[gentle music continues]
00:17:26.37\00:17:29.84
The meeting in
Antioch was a bust,
00:17:31.58\00:17:34.25
so Constantine
called another one,
00:17:34.25\00:17:36.02
one of the most famous church
councils in Christian history,
00:17:36.02\00:17:39.49
and he called it in what
today is the city of 0znik
00:17:39.49\00:17:42.66
but back then
was known as Nicaea.
00:17:42.66\00:17:45.19
Delegates from all over
the empire went to Nicaea
00:17:45.19\00:17:47.60
and history tells us
that every single one of them
00:17:47.60\00:17:50.87
actually had scars from
the 10-year Persecution.
00:17:50.87\00:17:54.17
Some were blind, some
were missing their limbs,
00:17:54.17\00:17:56.97
some had burns
all over their bodies.
00:17:56.97\00:17:59.54
Every one of them
00:17:59.54\00:18:01.04
had survived
Diocletian's 10 years of terror.
00:18:01.04\00:18:04.38
At the Council of Nicaea,
00:18:04.38\00:18:05.88
the delegates confirmed what
Christians had always believed,
00:18:05.88\00:18:09.58
Jesus was fully god,
co-eternal with the Father.
00:18:09.58\00:18:13.15
Some people you'll hear say,
00:18:13.15\00:18:14.96
"Constantine invented
the divinity of Christ
00:18:14.96\00:18:17.79
and he used the
Council of Nicaea to do it."
00:18:17.79\00:18:20.43
It's a popular theory
with lots of modern skeptics.
00:18:20.43\00:18:23.47
[gentle music continues]
00:18:23.47\00:18:25.37
But honestly, how do I put this?
00:18:25.37\00:18:28.64
Well, it's nonsense,
historically speaking.
00:18:28.64\00:18:30.54
That is not what happened
here in the city of Nicaea.
00:18:30.54\00:18:33.64
Go back through the
writings of the Roman pagans
00:18:33.64\00:18:35.71
in the first years
of the Christian church
00:18:35.71\00:18:37.98
and one of the key objections
00:18:37.98\00:18:39.65
the pagan philosophers
had to the Christian faith
00:18:39.65\00:18:42.78
was the fact that they
were actually worshiping Jesus.
00:18:42.78\00:18:46.72
So it wasn't the Christians
00:18:46.72\00:18:48.39
who questioned the divinity
of Christ, it was the Romans,
00:18:48.39\00:18:52.09
and while the Council of Nicaea
00:18:52.09\00:18:53.73
absolutely did
affirm Jesus' divinity,
00:18:53.73\00:18:56.73
it didn't invent it,
00:18:56.73\00:18:58.77
and neither did Constantine.
00:18:58.77\00:19:00.80
[soft music]
00:19:00.80\00:19:03.27
[air whooshes]
00:19:06.88\00:19:07.78
[soft music continues]
00:19:07.78\00:19:11.11
The other thing that some people
say happened here in Nicaea
00:19:17.82\00:19:21.19
is that the council essentially
invented our New Testament.
00:19:21.19\00:19:24.49
Now, I've heard that
a lot in recent years.
00:19:24.49\00:19:26.90
You'll have people
arguing that before 325 AD
00:19:26.90\00:19:30.13
there may be hundreds of books
00:19:30.13\00:19:32.37
that Christians
were considering sacred
00:19:32.37\00:19:34.00
and maybe dozens
and dozens of gospels.
00:19:34.00\00:19:37.01
But here in Nicaea, they say,
00:19:37.01\00:19:38.61
Constantine only
allowed the books
00:19:38.61\00:19:40.61
and the gospels
into the New Testament
00:19:40.61\00:19:42.34
that agreed with his ideas
00:19:42.34\00:19:44.45
and he rejected the books
00:19:44.45\00:19:46.11
that didn't teach
the divinity of Christ.
00:19:46.11\00:19:49.28
Now, again, it's
more historical nonsense.
00:19:49.28\00:19:52.85
The early church
fathers made clear reference
00:19:52.85\00:19:55.12
to the books of
the New Testament
00:19:55.12\00:19:56.29
already back in
the second century,
00:19:56.29\00:19:58.56
100 years before the
council met here in Nicaea.
00:19:58.56\00:20:02.63
In the year 180, for example,
00:20:02.63\00:20:04.80
an early church father
00:20:04.80\00:20:06.10
by the name of Irenaeus
referred to four gospels
00:20:06.10\00:20:09.80
and he argued four
is the perfect number
00:20:09.80\00:20:11.81
for how many
gospels there would be.
00:20:11.81\00:20:13.38
You'd expect God
to choose that many.
00:20:13.38\00:20:15.68
Now, if Constantine
picked our four gospels
00:20:15.68\00:20:18.45
and put them in
the New Testament,
00:20:18.45\00:20:20.12
how in the world did Irenaeus
know 150 years before that
00:20:20.12\00:20:24.95
how many there would be?
00:20:24.95\00:20:26.55
[gentle music]
00:20:30.69\00:20:31.96
The truth is
that the New Testament
00:20:31.96\00:20:33.86
was already
very well established
00:20:33.86\00:20:35.93
by the time we had
the Council of Nicaea
00:20:35.93\00:20:38.53
and Christ's
divinity was well understood
00:20:38.53\00:20:40.47
the very day the
Christian church started.
00:20:40.47\00:20:43.20
That was something
Jesus taught to his Disciples.
00:20:43.20\00:20:46.61
As much as the critics
want the Christian church
00:20:46.61\00:20:48.61
to be an invention of
Constantine, it's just not true.
00:20:48.61\00:20:52.71
The church was established
long before he was even born.
00:20:52.71\00:20:57.02
But of course that doesn't mean
00:20:57.02\00:20:58.29
that Constantine
didn't change something.
00:20:58.29\00:21:00.89
At the Council of Nicaea,
00:21:00.89\00:21:02.46
he underscored
the emperor's new role
00:21:02.46\00:21:04.96
as the head of the church.
00:21:04.96\00:21:06.80
He actually came in person
00:21:06.80\00:21:08.10
and presided over a
lot of the discussions.
00:21:08.10\00:21:11.37
And it's at
this point in history
00:21:11.37\00:21:12.77
that the state takes
charge of determining
00:21:12.77\00:21:15.54
what is orthodox belief.
00:21:15.54\00:21:17.91
It started deciding
cases for the church.
00:21:17.91\00:21:21.44
Now, fortunately,
00:21:21.44\00:21:22.71
the state mostly
came to the right decision
00:21:22.71\00:21:24.58
on that occasion,
00:21:24.58\00:21:25.68
regarding the teachings,
00:21:25.68\00:21:27.55
but they had the
wrong person presiding.
00:21:27.55\00:21:29.38
It should not have
been a Roman emperor.
00:21:29.38\00:21:32.55
In the New Testament,
00:21:32.55\00:21:34.02
Paul writes that the scriptures
are the standard of truth,
00:21:34.02\00:21:36.86
not the emperor or his
state-appointed councils.
00:21:36.86\00:21:40.03
[gentle music continues]
00:21:40.03\00:21:43.50
The Christians had everything
they needed to run the church
00:21:49.60\00:21:52.51
and make decisions
about what they would
00:21:52.51\00:21:54.18
and would not believe
because they had the Bible.
00:21:54.18\00:21:58.18
They didn't need the
empire to run the church.
00:21:58.18\00:22:00.45
Jesus was clear, "My
kingdom is not of this world."
00:22:00.45\00:22:04.09
But starting in
the fourth century,
00:22:04.09\00:22:05.65
when the favor of the emperor
suddenly fell on the church,
00:22:05.65\00:22:08.92
our Christian ancestors
00:22:08.92\00:22:10.16
launched something
of a shadow empire.
00:22:10.16\00:22:12.76
It looked like Christianity,
it sounded like Christianity,
00:22:12.76\00:22:16.13
but it had some problems.
00:22:16.13\00:22:17.90
The life of the church
was now about the Roman empire
00:22:17.90\00:22:20.84
and not really about
the gospel commission.
00:22:20.84\00:22:23.57
Over the years,
00:22:23.57\00:22:25.01
it became more about
Rome's European successors
00:22:25.01\00:22:27.58
than the coming
kingdom of Christ.
00:22:27.58\00:22:29.91
We stopped
preaching the words of Jesus,
00:22:29.91\00:22:32.35
you know, "Render onto Caesar
the things that are Caesar's
00:22:32.35\00:22:35.42
and onto God the
things that are God's."
00:22:35.42\00:22:37.82
Instead, what we did
00:22:37.82\00:22:39.02
is we started
blending the things of God
00:22:39.02\00:22:40.99
with the things of Caesar
00:22:40.99\00:22:42.49
and history has proven that
was not a healthy development.
00:22:42.49\00:22:47.20
The state tragically started
using force to run the church,
00:22:47.20\00:22:50.60
to the point where
Constantine even passed
00:22:50.60\00:22:53.07
one of the very first blue laws,
00:22:53.07\00:22:55.27
a law forbidding work on
Sunday in the city of Rome.
00:22:55.27\00:22:58.91
What was really
strange about that
00:22:58.91\00:23:00.34
is that most Christians
weren't even observing Sunday
00:23:00.34\00:23:02.31
in the early fourth century,
00:23:02.31\00:23:03.85
but the first day of the
week was sacred to the Romans
00:23:03.85\00:23:06.68
and it was a key
part of Roman life,
00:23:06.68\00:23:08.18
so it became part of the
church not through the Bible,
00:23:08.18\00:23:12.49
but through the emperor.
00:23:12.49\00:23:13.76
[soft music]
00:23:14.52\00:23:16.49
Constantine gave us the
marriage of church and state,
00:23:16.49\00:23:20.03
a marriage that continued
00:23:20.03\00:23:21.33
well into the
history of medieval Europe.
00:23:21.33\00:23:23.83
He created an
environment where eventually
00:23:23.83\00:23:26.17
it was not just the
state running the church,
00:23:26.17\00:23:29.64
it was also the
church running the state.
00:23:29.64\00:23:32.54
It was a shadow empire.
00:23:32.54\00:23:34.41
Not the kingdom
that Jesus intended,
00:23:34.41\00:23:37.08
but a shadowy substitute.
00:23:37.08\00:23:39.31
And it was not
good for Christianity.
00:23:39.31\00:23:41.98
I mean, sure, in the very
early years under Constantine,
00:23:41.98\00:23:45.69
just getting rid of Persecution
brought a lot of relief
00:23:45.69\00:23:48.72
and freedom was a
breath of fresh air.
00:23:48.72\00:23:51.83
But honestly, we
really lost something
00:23:51.83\00:23:54.63
when our faith became easy.
00:23:54.63\00:23:57.53
Once we blurred the line
between Caesar and Christ,
00:23:57.53\00:24:00.94
between church and state,
00:24:00.94\00:24:03.27
Christians became
a tool of the state
00:24:03.27\00:24:05.74
and the state became
a tool of the church.
00:24:05.74\00:24:08.94
The Roman basilica
became a Christian basilica
00:24:08.94\00:24:12.58
and eventually, when the
Roman emperors all moved east
00:24:12.58\00:24:15.22
to Constantinople,
00:24:15.22\00:24:16.72
the church actually became
the de facto Caesar in the west.
00:24:16.72\00:24:21.66
Suddenly, it wasn't Diocletian
persecuting Christians
00:24:22.92\00:24:25.26
for their beliefs,
00:24:25.26\00:24:26.83
Christians actually
started persecuting each other.
00:24:26.83\00:24:30.90
We started running the church
00:24:30.90\00:24:32.27
like the Romans
ran their empire.
00:24:32.27\00:24:34.40
If someone didn't tow the line,
00:24:34.40\00:24:36.30
we brought them
to a torture chamber
00:24:36.30\00:24:38.74
or maybe even tied them
to a stake and burned them.
00:24:38.74\00:24:42.94
Now, let me ask you,
00:24:42.94\00:24:44.98
where did we get
those kinds of ideas?
00:24:44.98\00:24:48.22
You can search a
Bible from cover to cover
00:24:48.22\00:24:50.39
and you will not
find Jesus telling anybody
00:24:50.39\00:24:53.05
to burn the heretics.
00:24:53.05\00:24:54.82
That was a tactic we
learned from the Romans.
00:24:54.82\00:24:58.29
And today, the
world looks on Christians
00:24:58.29\00:25:00.40
with a great deal of skepticism,
00:25:00.40\00:25:02.60
and, to be honest,
we've kind of earned it.
00:25:02.60\00:25:05.43
For hundreds of years,
00:25:05.43\00:25:06.70
we lived in the
shadow empire of Constantine
00:25:06.70\00:25:10.21
instead of the
biblical kingdom of Christ.
00:25:10.21\00:25:13.34
We started to build a so-called
Kingdom of God on Earth
00:25:13.34\00:25:16.31
using human government,
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but the Bible teaches
that human governments
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are standing in the
way of God's will on Earth.
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[soft music]
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Ancient biblical
prophets, like Daniel,
00:25:30.33\00:25:32.73
actually predicted the
development of human kingdoms
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hundreds of years in advance.
00:25:35.33\00:25:38.27
He managed to predict
the empires of Babylon,
00:25:38.27\00:25:40.37
Persia, Greece, and Rome.
00:25:40.37\00:25:42.00
He even named names long
before any of it existed.
00:25:42.00\00:25:46.78
But Daniel's point
was essentially this,
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all those kingdoms would pass
away the day Messiah came back
00:25:49.21\00:25:52.68
and set up his own
everlasting empire.
00:25:52.68\00:25:56.72
Now, today you
and I are lucky enough
00:25:56.72\00:25:58.52
to live in the freest society
00:25:58.52\00:25:59.89
in the history
of the whole world.
00:25:59.89\00:26:02.36
We have what the early
Christians really never had.
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In the words of
Thomas Jefferson,
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we have a wall of separation
between church and state
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and that wall gives us the
freedom to worship as we please,
00:26:12.50\00:26:17.17
to live freely as
the followers of Christ.
00:26:17.17\00:26:20.91
But in the 1980s,
00:26:20.91\00:26:22.41
in the face of rapid
moral decay in North America,
00:26:22.41\00:26:25.25
we started to question
that all-important wall.
00:26:25.25\00:26:28.75
We started to say
that maybe some atheists,
00:26:28.75\00:26:31.09
maybe even the Soviet Union,
00:26:31.09\00:26:33.19
came up with the idea of
separation of church and state
00:26:33.19\00:26:35.69
to undermine
the Christian faith.
00:26:35.69\00:26:38.56
We started to think
00:26:38.56\00:26:39.76
that maybe the best
way to secure our future
00:26:39.76\00:26:42.00
was to win with
Christianity at the ballot box,
00:26:42.00\00:26:44.57
to just take over
the reins of government
00:26:44.57\00:26:46.77
and make Christianity
the official state religion.
00:26:46.77\00:26:50.54
At this juncture in history,
00:26:51.34\00:26:52.67
it's very important
that we realize what happens
00:26:52.67\00:26:55.51
when Christians
build a shadow empire.
00:26:55.51\00:26:58.85
When we recreate Christianity
in the image of Rome,
00:26:58.85\00:27:02.52
we end up with something
00:27:02.52\00:27:03.79
that kind of
looks like Christianity,
00:27:03.79\00:27:05.95
it has all the same trappings,
all the same language,
00:27:05.95\00:27:09.79
but it has a
completely different objective.
00:27:09.79\00:27:12.26
It no longer
represents the humble teachings
00:27:12.26\00:27:15.10
of the carpenter from Nazareth.
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[gentle music]
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[soft music]
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And that means
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that you and I have a
decision we have to make.
00:27:29.01\00:27:32.31
Will it be Caesar or Jesus?
00:27:32.31\00:27:35.92
By all means,
live in this world,
00:27:35.92\00:27:38.49
be an active
part of the community,
00:27:38.49\00:27:40.42
obey the powers that
be, be a good citizen.
00:27:40.42\00:27:43.49
All of that is your
God given biblical duty.
00:27:43.49\00:27:46.33
But at the same time, you have
to know who the real king is
00:27:46.33\00:27:50.33
and never lose
sight of the real kingdom.
00:27:50.33\00:27:53.94
And when there is a
discrepancy between Caesar
00:27:53.94\00:27:57.27
and the King of Kings,
00:27:57.27\00:27:58.84
there is no
choice for the Christian
00:27:58.84\00:28:01.31
but to cast his lot with Jesus.
00:28:01.31\00:28:04.05
[soft music continues]
00:28:04.05\00:28:07.35
- [Announcer] This
has been a broadcast
00:28:11.99\00:28:13.52
of the Voice of Prophecy.
00:28:13.52\00:28:15.39
To learn more about
how you can get a DVD copy
00:28:15.39\00:28:18.26
of "Shadow Empire" for yourself,
00:28:18.26\00:28:20.60
please visit ShadowEmpireDVD.com
00:28:20.60\00:28:24.30
or call toll-free, 844-822-2943.
00:28:24.30\00:28:28.64
[soft music continues]
00:28:29.50\00:28:31.54