Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001288A
|
00:01 [Dramatic Theme] >:
00:07 It has stood the test of time. 00:13 God's book, the Bible; 00:17 still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe. 00:36 [sound of thunder] 00:43 [Foreboding Drone] 00:52 JB: This is It Is Written. 00:53 I'm John Bradshaw. 00:54 Thanks for joining me today. 00:56 It's one of the most historic cities on the planet. 00:59 Colorful figures, incredible architecture, 01:03 outrageous scandal and gripping drama. 01:08 Rome. 01:09 No other city in the history of the world has affected or 01:13 affects the world quite like the city of Rome has and does. 01:18 Behind me is a monument to one of Rome's most influential 01:23 leaders. 01:24 This is the Arch of Constantine, and it was during Constantine's 01:29 reign that change happened, that we still experience 01:33 and feel today. 01:39 During the reign of Constantine, paganism was losing its grip, 01:43 its power, over the Roman empire. 01:45 And it seemed possible that Christ would finally 01:48 conquer Caesar. 01:50 You know, there's an old saying that says, 01:52 if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. 01:54 And that's the policy Constantine adopted: 01:57 years of persecution had failed to destroy 02:00 the Christian Church. 02:02 So, Constantine decided it was time to make a deal. 02:09 Three centuries before, Jesus had warned His followers against 02:13 the use of force as a means of establishing His authority. 02:18 Remember, that was the kind of Savior the religious leaders in 02:21 Jesus' time were looking for: a political Messiah who would 02:25 establish an earthly kingdom and overthrow the nation's enemies. 02:30 Many of Jesus' disciples had a difficult time understanding 02:34 this, especially Peter. 02:37 So when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, 02:40 Peter tried to defend him with a sword, whacking off the ear 02:43 of one of those who was taking Jesus captive. 02:47 Jesus quickly healed the man's ear, 02:49 and then turned to his overzealous disciple with words 02:52 many Christians through the ages have conveniently forgotten: 02:58 "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword 03:03 will perish by the sword," Matthew 26:52. 03:09 Early the next morning, Jesus found Himself in the 03:11 presence of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. 03:15 Those opposing Jesus were accusing Him of rebellion 03:18 against the Roman government, and that's what caught the 03:21 attention of Pontius Pilate. 03:23 Any theological dispute that Jesus might have had with Jewish 03:26 leaders wouldn't have interested a man like 03:29 Pilate one little bit. 03:30 But rebellion against Rome, now that was a different story. 03:36 "We found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to pay 03:39 taxes to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a king," 03:44 Luke 23:2. 03:47 So Pilate takes Jesus aside and asks Him about this, and Jesus 03:51 answers him, using words that too many of Jesus' followers 03:55 down through time have ignored. 03:58 "My kingdom is not of this world. 04:01 If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight 04:06 so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. 04:09 But now my kingdom is not from here," John 18:36. 04:14 So long as Christians were a persecuted minority, it was easy 04:18 for them to honor this teaching of their Lord. 04:21 But when Constantine became Rome's emperor and the lure of 04:25 temporal power was offered to the Church, this teaching was 04:29 set aside and the coming centuries were destined to 04:33 witness the disaster that followed as a result. 04:37 The last great persecution of the Christian Church was 04:40 instigated by the emperor, Diocletian, in the year 303 A.D. 04:46 These barbs are the primary monument found in Rome to 04:50 Diocletian's reign. 04:51 During his reign the empire had faced dramatic challenges: 04:55 internal chaos, military invasion and economic crisis had 05:00 convulsed Rome's possessions. 05:03 Through herculean efforts, Diocletian had brought order out 05:06 of this confusion and had brought stability to the empire. 05:10 [Foreboding Drone] But one problem remained, 05:17 one glaring challenge to the emperor's authority and the 05:20 unity of culture he sought within his realm. 05:23 And that was the Christian Church. 05:26 It was more powerful than ever, deeply entrenched 05:29 in Roman society, even in the upper classes. 05:33 But just as Diocletian had faced down the worst of internal and 05:37 external threats, he was now determined to face this one 05:40 as well. 05:42 And so began the most ruthless persecution of the Church 05:46 since Pentecost, a reign of terror 05:49 that would last 10 full years. 05:52 But the Church was just too strong. 05:55 Local governors, members of the Roman senate, 05:58 patricians of high rank, many of these now 06:01 professed the Christian faith and the more powerful they were, 06:06 the more likely they could protect themselves 06:08 and their fellow believers. 06:10 The empire was still traumatized by decades of civil strife and 06:14 the ceaseless wars on the frontiers. 06:16 It was just too much for Rome to handle all at once. 06:20 It became so stressful for Diocletian himself that he 06:24 resigned the throne in the year 305 A.D., 06:28 the first ancient monarch known to do such a thing. 06:33 But now another leader emerged on the Roman stage. 06:36 Once a minor official in Diocletian's court, he now stood 06:41 poised to take the empire in his grasp. 06:45 I'll have more in just a moment. 06:50 [Hopeful Melody] >: You are watching the weekly 06:52 It Is Written program with Pastor John Bradshaw, but did 06:55 you know that there's a daily program, too? 06:58 "Every Word" is a one-minute, Bible-based daily devotional 07:02 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially 07:05 for busy people like you. 07:07 Look for "Every Word" on selected networks, or watch it 07:10 online every day on our website, ItIsWritten.com. 07:14 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 07:16 Watch "Every Word." 07:17 You'll be glad you did. 07:21 [Rythmic Melody] 07:28 JB: It's a funny thing. 07:30 Well, more a tragic thing, really, that there's a growing 07:33 tendency to treat the Bible as less than what it is. 07:35 You've probably heard, just like I have, where some so-called 07:38 Bible scholars pronounced that these miracles didn't happen or 07:41 creation didn't happen or this part of the Bible isn't to be 07:44 taken too seriously. 07:45 Something King Jehoshaphat said should clear things up a bit 07:47 for us. 07:48 When the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom were going up against 07:51 the king of Moab, who was flexing his muscles, they looked 07:54 for guidance from God and a servant suggested they speak 07:57 with the prophet Elisha. 07:59 In 2 Kings 3:12 we read, "And Jehoshaphat said, 'the word of 08:04 the Lord is with him him.'" The prophets spoke the word 08:07 of the Lord. 08:08 What they said then is still the word of the Lord today. 08:11 We don't need to criticize it, but trust it and believe it. 08:14 You know why? 08:15 Because God's Word is certain. 08:17 I'm John Bradshaw. 08:18 Let's live today by every word. 08:22 [Ominous Melody] 08:35 JB: This is It Is Written. 08:36 I'm John Bradshaw. 08:37 Thanks for joining me. 08:39 You're joining me here at ponte Milvio, 08:42 the Milvian Bridge in Rome, the site of one of the 08:44 most famous battles in all of Roman history. 08:47 The truth is, it's a battle that changed the world. 08:51 After Diocletian resigned from being the emperor of Rome, 08:55 the empire was plunged into some confusion. 08:58 Who would be his successor? 09:00 The race was on. 09:02 The favorite was a young man named Maxentius. 09:04 Maxentius was the son of Maximian. 09:07 Maximian was Diocletian's associate emperor. 09:11 The associate emperor's son seemed to be a natural choice. 09:15 But Constantine had other ideas. 09:18 He assembled an army and won two victories against Maxentius in 09:22 northern Italy, and then he marched on Rome, determined to 09:27 take the city and the throne. 09:31 On the evening before the famous battle fought right here, 09:35 the story goes that Constantine had a dream 09:38 in which he saw a vision of the cross, 09:43 and he heard a voice say, "By this sign you will conquer." 09:48 Well, the next day, what do you know. 09:50 Constantine was victorious. 09:53 His rival was defeated and drowned here in the Tiber River. 09:59 Constantine marched on to Rome and he was accepted in scenes of 10:02 wild jubilation. 10:05 Events were now set in motion that wouldn't cease until 10:09 Christianity had become the state religion 10:12 of the Roman empire. 10:14 Constantine and his successors used the power of imperial Rome 10:19 to spread the Christian message and to resolve the Church's 10:23 internal conflicts. 10:24 But what happened was this: Pagan beliefs were blended with 10:30 Christian faith. 10:31 Pagan practices were baptized, as it were, and given a 10:35 Christian connotation. 10:37 Here's what one author said, commenting on this development: 10:42 "As seen in Constantine's originating piety, that supreme 10:46 Deity would have been associated with the sun, and pagans would 10:50 have recognized, with reason, their own solar cult in such 10:54 Christian practices as orienting churches to the east, 10:58 worshiping on Sunday, and celebrating the birth of 11:02 the deity at the winter solstice." 11:05 Jesus warned the religious leaders of His day of the great 11:08 danger of giving human ideas and human traditions the same 11:14 authority as that which is found in the Bible. 11:17 He said this in Matthew 15 in verse 9: 11:20 "And in vain they worshiped me, teaching as doctrines 11:24 the commandments of men." 11:27 But in Constantine's day, the Church seems 11:30 to have forgotten these very clear words. 11:34 So they started making sacred what Jesus had not made sacred, 11:38 and before long they were forbidding what God had 11:41 commanded. 11:44 But the Roman empire was on its last legs, and as the fourth 11:47 century unfolded this became clear for all to see. 11:52 The Germanic tribes beyond the Rhine and Danube, often called 11:55 Barbarians, poured across the empire's northern frontier 11:59 in increasing numbers. 12:01 By the end of the fourth century many within the Roman army 12:05 itself were German, and refused increasingly to 12:08 fight against their own people. 12:10 One vast invasion followed another, like sledgehammer blows 12:14 on a crumbling brick fence. 12:17 Finally, in 476 A.D., the last emperor, 12:21 a child named Romulus Augustus, was deposed by a Barbarian 12:26 chieftain, bringing an end to an empire that had lasted 12:31 for over 1,000 years. 12:34 The collapse of the Roman empire brought chaos to western Europe. 12:38 Crime was rampant, piracy ruled the sea, 12:42 the economy was in tatters. 12:43 There was no longer any real civil authority left. 12:47 But there was one mechanism remaining from the old Roman 12:50 system, and historians tell us what it was. 12:54 With the breakup of the Roman bureaucracy, the structure of 12:58 daily life was threatened with disintegration. 13:01 The only trace left of the Roman organism 13:04 was the Catholic church, and the only men with 13:08 administrative experience were the bishops. 13:13 When Christianity conquered Rome, the ecclesiastical 13:16 structure of the pagan church, the title and vestments of the 13:21 Pontifex Maximus, the worship of the great Mother 13:25 and the multitude of comforting divinities, 13:27 the sense of supersensible presences everywhere, 13:31 the joy or solemnity of old festivals, and the 13:34 pageantry of immemorial ceremony, passed like maternal 13:39 blood into the new religion, and captive Rome 13:43 captured her conqueror. 13:47 The reins and skills of government were handed down by a 13:50 dying empire to a virile papacy. 13:54 The lost power of the broken sword was re-won by the magic 13:58 of the consoling word. 13:59 The armies of the state were replaced by the missionaries 14:02 of the church, moving in all directions 14:04 along the Roman roads. 14:06 And the revolted provinces accepting Christianity again 14:11 acknowledged the sovereignty of Rome. 14:16 Catherine Sherman writes, "The church, 14:19 with the shadow of the ancient authority behind it, 14:22 was the only symbol left of imperial Rome, 14:26 and its bishop, the pope, was the city's only recourse for 14:30 leadership and protection." 14:32 The Roman empire in Europe would be replaced by the spiritual 14:36 empire, which came to be temporal as well, whose reigning 14:40 signore was the bishop of Rome. 14:45 In a moment, Rome rises again. 14:47 I'll be right back. 14:51 ♪ [Dramatic Music] ♪ JB: I hope you'll get 14:53 the book I'm offering you this week. 14:55 It's called "Revelation Today." 14:57 It unfolds the end times scenario presented in the book 15:01 of Reveltion. 15:02 This little book is going to help you understand what the 15:05 book of Revelation is really all about. 15:07 It untangles the end time prophetic scenario to let you 15:11 see how the battle between good and evil ultimately plays out. 15:15 Just call or write and I'll send you "Revelation Today." 15:18 There's no cost, no obligation, it's absolutely free. 15:22 All you need to do is call 1 (800) 253-3000 and ask for 15:27 "Revelation Today." 15:28 You can call 24 hours a day. 15:30 If the line's busy, please just keep on trying. 15:34 You can also request your free copy of "Revelation Today" 15:37 by writing to It Is Written, P.O. Box 6, 15:40 Chattanooga, TN 37401, and we'll mail you a copy to 15:45 your address in North America. 15:47 To get it right away you can download a free electronic 15:50 version of the book "Revelation Today" 15:52 from our website ItIsWritten.com. 15:56 Now, It Is Written is a faith-based ministry made 15:58 possible by viewers like you. 16:00 Thank you so much for you kind support. 16:03 Your help makes it possible for us to share God's good news 16:06 with the world. 16:08 Your tax deductible gift can be sent to the address on your 16:10 screen, or you can support us online at ItIsWritten.com. 16:15 Thank you for your continued gracious support. 16:18 Our toll-free number is 1 (800) 253-3000, 16:23 and our web address is ItIsWritten.com. 16:33 ♪ [Thoughful Piano Melody] ♪ 16:46 JB: I'm John Bradshaw. 16:47 This is It Is Written. 16:49 Thanks for joining me. 16:51 St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican City, 16:57 a magnificent building. 16:58 One of the most magnificent buildings on the entire planet. 17:03 Now, it's interesting how the construction of this building 17:05 was funded. 17:08 Some hundreds of years ago emissaries from the Vatican 17:10 would travel throughout Vatican territory, selling indulgences. 17:15 At the time, among other things they were selling the 17:17 forgiveness of sins. 17:19 Men like Johann Tetzel, who aroused Martin Luther to action, 17:23 traveled through places such as Germany, declaring to the 17:26 ignorant masses that when they put their coins into the box 17:30 that people like Tetzel were carrying about, their sins, 17:34 past, present and future, would all be forgiven 17:38 before the coin even clinked into the bottom of the chest. 17:43 And unsurprisingly, that fund-raising venture 17:47 was very successful. 17:56 Temporal power, like financial wealth, 17:59 often comes at a price; and the price paid by the 18:03 medieval Church was the sacrifice of individual liberty. 18:07 The Church, just like the old pagan 18:10 empire had done, started to dictate to people 18:13 just what it was that they should and should not believe. 18:18 And theology was created to justify this. 18:21 Writing in his book "The City of God," 18:24 St. Augustine wrote how the Church was God's earthly 18:28 means of dictating his will to the secular powers. 18:33 One historian wrote about it in these words: 18:37 "The Church would later accept this identification of itself 18:41 with the city of God as an ideological weapon of 18:44 politics and would logically deduce from Augustine's 18:47 philosophy the doctrine of a theocratic state in which the 18:51 secular powers derived from men would be subordinate to the 18:56 spiritual powers held by the Church and derived from God." 19:02 Jesus warned His disciples, in John 16, verse 2, 19:06 that the time is coming that whoever kills you will think 19:10 that he's doing God's service. 19:12 Now, with the thinking of people like Augustine and the medieval 19:15 Church, it isn't hard to see how that state of thinking might 19:20 actually be put into practice. 19:22 You see, the Church believed that humanity was incurably 19:27 depraved beyond even the power of God's Holy Spirit 19:30 to fully restore. 19:31 And so, that being the thinking, they believed it was perfectly 19:34 acceptable to compel people, even by physical force, 19:39 to believe that which the Church thought was accurate 19:42 and to reject that which the Church taught was error. 19:47 That being so, it isn't a long way from there to the horrors of 19:51 the Inquisition with the racks and other torture devices that 19:56 were used. 19:59 But the Church wasn't only content with harnessing 20:02 civil power. 20:03 It had to exercise power over the souls of its members 20:07 as well. 20:08 In time, its leaders came to the conclusion that they were the 20:12 sole path to forgiveness before God and eternal salvation for 20:17 the human family. 20:19 Innocent the Third, the most powerful of the medieval popes, 20:22 who reigned from 1198 to 1216, made this declaration: 20:28 "The successor of Peter is the Vicar of Christ. 20:31 He has been established as a mediator between God and man, 20:35 below God but beyond man. 20:38 Less than God, but more than man, 20:41 who shall judge all and be judged by no one." 20:48 It's interesting that any Christian leader could even 20:50 think of making such a statement. 20:53 The Apostle Paul declares, "For there is one God and one 20:56 mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." 21:02 The apostle states in another passage, "For we must all appear 21:06 before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive 21:09 the things done in the body according to what he has done, 21:13 whether good or bad." 21:15 Now that Bible verse is so clear, 21:17 it's hard to imagine how anybody could allow themselves 21:20 to get to the place where they believed that there were 21:23 unaccountable to God in His final judgment. 21:26 But that's how the medieval Church ended up seeing itself. 21:30 And that kind of thinking led to a period of persecution 21:34 far worse than anything that had happened 21:37 under old pagan Rome. 21:39 Again, here's what the historian had to say: 21:42 "Compared with the persecution of heresy in Europe 21:45 from 1227 to 1492, the persecution of Christians 21:50 by Romans in the first three centuries after Christ was a 21:53 mild and humane procedure. 21:56 Making every allowance required of an historian and permitted to 21:59 a Christian, we must rank the Inquisition, along with the wars 22:03 and persecutions of our time, as among the darkest blocks 22:07 on the record of mankind, revealing a ferocity 22:11 unknown in any beast." 22:15 It's well known that the Church of Rome claims to have the 22:17 authority and the power to be able to forgive human sin. 22:23 In 1984, an article ran in the Los Angeles Times 22:27 under the headline "No forgiveness directly 22:30 from God, says Pope." 22:32 Listen to how the late Pope John Paul II was quoted 22:35 in this L.A. Times article: 22:38 "Rebutting a belief widely shared by Protestants 22:42 and a growing number of Roman Catholics, Pope John Paul II on 22:45 Tuesday dismissed the widespread idea that one can obtain 22:50 forgiveness directly from God and exhorted Catholics to 22:54 confess more often to their priests." 22:58 And it wasn't too long ago that we saw this headline, also in 23:01 the Los Angeles Times: "Vatican declares Catholicism 23:06 sole path to salvation." 23:10 Which is really what has to happen, when the quest for power 23:13 takes precedence over the quest for faithfulness to 23:16 the Word of God. 23:17 At the end of the day, we're going to be the servants 23:19 of somebody; we're going to follow somebody. 23:22 And when we allow somebody's word, anybody's word, to take 23:25 the place of God's Word in our lives, we in effect become the 23:29 servant of that person or that organization, and that person or 23:34 thing ends up becoming God in our lives. 23:38 [Pompous Theme] 23:42 It isn't uncommon at all for religious people, 23:44 certainly for many Christians, to seek temporal power 23:49 to advance what they believe to be the cause of God 23:51 in this world. 23:53 But if there's at least one big problem with that. 23:55 No dictate of a pope, no law passed by the president, 24:00 no decision made by the Supreme Court, 24:03 can ever get to the heart of the matter. 24:06 They simply can't change the human heart. 24:09 The only thing that can restore purity and wholeness in a 24:12 person's life and mind and heart is the power of the transforming 24:16 grace of Almighty God. 24:19 That's the only thing that can do it. 24:21 The Apostle Paul wrote this in 2 Corinthians, chapter 6: 24:26 "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, 24:31 for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? 24:35 And what communion hath light with darkness? 24:38 And what accord has Christ with Belial? 24:42 Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 24:46 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? 24:49 For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said: 24:54 'I will dwell in them, and walk among them. 24:57 I will be their God and they shall be my people. 25:02 Therefore, come out from among them and be separate,' 25:05 says the Lord. 25:06 'Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.'" 25:11 2 Corinthians 6:14-17. 25:16 You know, I like those words very much, when God says, 25:19 "I will receive you." 25:21 And that's the assurance we need. 25:24 True faith in God is a matter of a heart connecting with a heart. 25:28 You know, the great God of heaven, the One the Bible says 25:30 the heaven of heavens cannot contain is a God who wants for 25:34 His heart to merge and blend together with your heart. 25:38 Now, nobody can force you to do that--not a law, not a mandate, 25:42 not a fiat, not me or anybody else-- 25:45 that's a personal decision. 25:47 And I wonder if you've made that decision: the decision that no 25:50 one can make for you. 25:52 It's not a good situation when there are those in the world 25:55 wanting to force you or anybody else to do what they think you 25:59 should do with regard to your spiritual life, 26:03 your relationship with God. 26:05 The decision maker is you. 26:08 What's your decision today, friend? 26:10 It seems to me there's only one decision a person can make, 26:12 for there's only One who died for you, 26:14 One who rose from the dead for you, and One who ascended to 26:17 heaven for you where He intercedes for you 26:20 at God's right hand. 26:21 He'll be your best Friend today, your Savior, your Lord, 26:25 your Guide, your All and in all. 26:29 If you accept Jesus today, if you commit your life 26:31 to Christ today, if you make a decision to 26:33 stand on the Bible today, you've got a future that's worth 26:39 looking forward to. 26:40 An eternity spent with God in the presence of His Son, Jesus. 26:45 You don't want to miss that for anything. 26:47 Let me pray with you now, would you? 26:49 Let's pray together. 26:50 Our Father in heaven, I thank You today that You love us 26:53 enough to give us the freedom to choose for you according to the 26:57 way we see You leading us. 26:59 Dear Lord, I pray that we all, we each, would make a decision 27:04 for You based on that which You have revealed about Yourself, 27:07 that you are a God who is good, a God who is love. 27:11 I thank You that the one being in this universe would could 27:15 force our will, does not. 27:18 And while You give us this freedom to choose, I pray that 27:20 we would exercise that well and wisely. 27:24 Soon Jesus will return. 27:25 Lord, give us grace to be ready for that great day. 27:29 I thank You and I pray in Jesus' name. 27:32 Amen. 27:34 ♪ [music rings out] ♪ ♪ [Peaceful Melody] ♪ 27:51 JB: Thanks for joining me today. 27:52 I look forward to seeing you again next time. 27:54 Until then, remember, It is written, 27:57 man shall not live by bread alone, 27:59 but by every word that proceeds 28:02 from the mouth of God. 28:04 [It Is Written Theme] |
Revised 2015-06-18