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Deception Of Great Magnitude
The essence of Christianity was changed in the year 312AD. They followed
Jesus because they knew He was the Son of God, and perhaps the Christ
[anointed one], which was the popular, and then unpopular notion by most.
The teachers of the law [Hebrews] used the Romans to crucify Him because
they wanted Jesus to be the anointed one, but saying He was the Son of
God nullified that notion in their minds. However, the numbers of
followers flourished because Jesus’ message found a place within their
hearts, and they expected the messiah’s or Christ’s [anointed one’s]
appearance to be eminent.
The crucifixion was extreme punishment, and a similar punishment
continued, attempting to dissuade Jesus’ followers from professing their
deep faith. Yet, they could not be turned even under the pain of death. The
politicians were losing the battle so to speak; Roman soldiers and politicians
began to secretly gather with those they once called Christians. In a good
sense, the name “Christian” was attributed to the deep belief in the Messiah
or deliverer, which is the essence of the word’s meaning.
However, the Roman persecutions ceased. Constantine, who ultimately
became the new Roman emperor, claimed to have a vision. He said he had
a vision in the sky and a dream during the night before a battle. It is
commonly stated that on the evening of October 27, with the armies
preparing for battle, Constantine had a vision, which led him to fight under
the protection of the Christian God. The details of that vision, however,
differ between the sources reporting it. It is believed that the sign of the
cross appeared, and Constantine heard, “In this sign, you shall conquer.”
In
this supposed dream he saw the '
Chi-Ro
', the symbol of Christ, shining
above the sun. Seeing this as a Divine sign, it is said that Constantine had
his soldiers paint the symbol on their shields. Following this, Constantine
went on to defeat the numerically stronger army of Maxentius at the Battle
at the Milvian Bridge [Oct AD 312]. Maxentius, together with thousands of
his soldiers, drowned as the bridge they constructed of boats collapsed; his
force retreated. Constantine saw this victory as directly related to the
supposed vision he had the night before.
Henceforth, Constantine saw himself as an emperor of the Christian
people. Whether this supposed vision and victory made him a Christian is
the subject of some debate. Constantine, who accepted baptism only on his
deathbed, is generally understood as the first Christian emperor of the