Which version Is The Bible? Page 65

paganism. Every Roman emperor belonged to this cult. Everyone of means - the upper class - was an initiate. It was the "country club" to which to belong, much as is Freemasonry in many parts of the world today.¹

BACK TO CONSTANTINE²

So when Constantine told his troops that he had seen the sign of the cross, the Christians thought he was speaking of the "Christian" cross. The pagans perceived it to be the symbol of Tammuz or Nimrod. It united them together for the battle. Actually, there is little reason to consider this vision as authentic, especially since it has no real historical basis. The only authority from whom the story has been gathered by historians is Eusebius, who confessedly was prone to edification and was accused as a "falsifier of history." Another account, supposedly given by Lactantius - the tutor of Constantine's son Crispus - speaks only of a dream in which the emperor was directed to stamp on the shields of his soldiers "the heavenly sign of God" and thus go forth to battle.³ That the Lord would command a pagan emperor to make a military banner with the cross emblazoned upon it and to go forth conquering and killing under that sign is altogether inconsistent with the general teaching of the Bible and with the spirit of true Christianity. It is more the spirit of the Crusades, which was not of the Spirit of God.

Further, the Roman Empire of which Constantine was the head had been described in the Scriptures by the prophet Daniel as a "Beast" that was so terrible in the eyes of God that it could not be compared to any earthly beast (Dan.7:1-8). Are we to believe that the Lord Jesus would become the leader of this beast system or that He would give a sun-worshipping emperor a vision, telling him to kill and enter into battle as His representative? We trow not!

Constantine never believed that Jesus was Deity - that He was God with a capital "G". The entire time he professed Christianity he was, as emperor, the high priest or Pontifix Maximus of the mystery cult in Rome.⁴ Moreover, after his supposed conversion, he committed several murders - including those of his wife and son!⁵ Constantine died the high priest of the worshipers of the sun and at the same time claimed to be the "pope" of the church of God on this earth! When Constantine dedicated Constantinople (Istanbul), he used both pagan and Christian rites in the ceremony. His determination to mix together both paganism and Christianity is also witnessed on the coins which he had made.⁶ He had a cross placed on them (especially to please the professing Christians) along with representations of Mars or Apollo (Nimrod). At the same time he continued to believe in pagan magic formulas for the protection of crops and the healing of disease.

Why then, if he were not truly a Christian, did he show numerous favors toward the Christian faith? Constantine was a consummate politician. He had seen that years of severe and brutal persecutions had not destroyed the Christian faith. His position was being challenged by a rival Emperor (Maxentius) and as he was in dire need for support from every section of the populace, he thus turned to the Christians in order to unite his divided empire. This was fairly easy to do for by

1 The Lodge drew all of its basic teachings from various "denominations" within this mystery religion. The major writers within Freemasonry freely confess this, but almost no one reads these works to so learn.

2 Ralph Woodrow, Babylon Mystery Religion: Ancient and Modern, (Riverside, CA: Ralph Woodrow Evangelistic Asso., Inc., 1981), pp. 55-59; much of the data under this heading has been derived from Woodrow's excellent study.

3 Interestingly, Constantine was not "baptized" until 337 A.D. after he fell sick unto death, some 25 years after his "vision". Some investagators have suspected that he had already expired prior to the baptism. Regardless, the officiating Bishop was Eusebius of Nicomedia, the champion of the Arian party (Moyer, Who Was Who in Church History, op. cit., p. 137).

4 Woodrow, Babylon Mystery Religion: Ancient and Modern, op. cit., p. 58.

5 Ibid., p. 56.

6 Ibid., p. 58.

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