Participants:
Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ003128S
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00:47 He merged them into an empire that lasted for centuries.
00:55 [Battle Sounds] 01:02 This is his story, a story of romance, intrigue, power, 01:09 and conquest. 01:22 Constantine the Great, Caesar, Emperor of Rome. 01:26 The illegitimate peasant boy who rises to become the most 01:31 powerful man on earth, he rules the greatest empire 01:34 the world has ever seen. 01:37 An empire that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean 01:40 to the Euphrates River, from Britain to Africa. 01:44 But how can he hold this great far-flung empire together? 01:49 Well, he comes up with an engineers plan 01:51 he unites his empire under one great system 01:55 one that combines church and state, 01:57 that combines all religions including Christianity 02:01 and paganism, he creates a substitute a counterfeit empire. 02:06 And so now in a sense, there are two empires 02:11 Caesars and Christ's, Rome and Christianity. 02:16 A counterfeit empire and the true empire, 02:19 there's a clash of empires and it seems as if the imposter 02:24 a counterfeit empire with all its power wealth and control 02:28 will triumph. 02:29 But now the empire, the true empire strikes back. 02:34 Not with swords, spears, and shields, but with the Word, 02:39 the way, the truth, and the life. 02:41 Let's follow and watch as the battle unfolds 02:45 as the empire strikes back. 03:00 Incredible as it may seem much of the history of the world 03:04 has been shaped inside the borders of the tiny country 03:07 of Israel. This land has great significance 03:12 to Jews, Christians, and Muslims and is referred to by many 03:16 as the Holy Land. 03:18 It was here that Solomon built his temple, 03:21 Jesus Christ was born, lived and died and Mahammad 03:25 descended to heaven. 03:27 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three great 03:31 Monotheistic Religions share Jerusalem as a Holy City 03:36 it's the most sacred city in the whole world 03:39 and the most important one in Bible History. 03:42 It has a special significance to Christians 03:45 because it was here that Jesus was tried 03:48 crucified, buried, and He rose again. 03:51 With such importance it's not surprising 03:54 that Jerusalem played a major role in the establishment 03:58 of the counterfeit empire, here's what happened. 04:04 Constantine was born around 272 A.D. in Nisus 04:10 now the city of Nis in Southern Serbia. 04:12 Through a series of amazing coincidences and astonishing 04:17 achievements, Constantine is crowned Augustus 04:21 Ruler of the Western Empire in York Britain 04:25 on the death of his father, but he wants more 04:29 he has ambitions to rule the entire empire 04:33 and so marches on Rome itself. 04:37 On the way, he sees a fiery cross of light superimposed 04:42 on the sun and attached to it in Greek were the words: 04:50 Now, Constantine himself a pagan sun worshiper 04:54 converts and embraces Christianity 04:58 and with his army and the new symbol the Chiaro 05:02 emblazoned on their shields is victorious that the famous 05:06 Battle of the Milvian Bridge and now the entire empire is his. 05:13 Constantine, the illegitimate child of a peasant girl 05:17 is now the most powerful man on earth, the Emperor of Rome. 05:23 He credited the Christian God with being responsible 05:26 for his victory and rise to power, in return 05:31 Constantine pulled Christianity out of the shadows 05:34 and made it the premier religion of the Roman Empire. 05:38 But there's a lot of controversy over the 05:41 relationship between Constantine and Christianity 05:45 because you see, there's no historical evidence 05:48 that Constantine was truly converted to Christianity. 05:53 he never completely left his pagan roots 05:56 and continued many pagan practices including 06:00 the veneration of the sun. 06:02 So the evidence suggests rather that he was an opportunist 06:07 who used Christianity for political gain. 06:10 Constantine knew that he was going to have to find 06:14 some way to keep the vast empire together, 06:17 some way to achieve harmony and that's where he needed 06:22 Christianity. His strategy was clear and simple 06:26 Constantine would try to hold the empire together 06:30 by uniting pagan and Christians in one great system 06:34 of religion. He would create a substitute a divergent 06:38 empire, a counterfeit empire. 06:41 Constantine believed that if he could merge 06:45 the Christian church with Rome, 06:47 then this would be the recipe to long-term political stability 06:50 so he became actively involved in church affairs 06:55 and administration. 06:57 The end result was unification of church and state 07:01 Constantine organized and attended the great church 07:05 councils and played a major role in the decisions of 07:09 doctrine and teaching. 07:11 Early Christians had always determined their beliefs 07:15 based on what the Bible taught but now a change 07:18 began to take place. 07:20 The state and outside influences rather than the Bible 07:24 began to interfere and determine what the church 07:28 believed. The Bible was no longer the final authority 07:32 in religious matters, the emperor himself had a say 07:36 and played a major role. 07:38 That's clearly seen at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. 07:45 one of the most important church councils in church history. 07:49 It established a unified definition of what Christians 07:53 believe. Constantine played a leading role emphasizing 07:58 his new position as the defacto head of the church. 08:02 As well as presiding over the Council of Nicaea 08:06 Constantine embarked on a church building program 08:10 that included building the first basilica dedicated 08:14 to Peter in Rome. 08:16 Then a year after the council he commissioned his mother 08:20 Helena to travel to Jerusalem to re-discover the sites 08:25 associated with notable events in Jesus' life. 08:28 with the intention to build great churches at these sites 08:33 as well. She would also search for relics, items belonging 08:39 to Jesus or people associated with Him. 08:42 Constantine's imitative paved the way for the transformation 08:46 of Jerusalem into the Holy City of Christianity 08:50 and changed the fate of Jerusalem forever. 08:55 Although his mother Helena arrived in Jerusalem about 08:59 300 years after the time of Jesus during which time 09:04 the city was totally destroyed on at least two occasions 09:07 she claimed to locate the exact places associated 09:11 with important events in Jesus live. 09:15 She allegedly found the very spot where Jesus was born, 09:19 the field where the shepherd saw the angel, 09:22 the place where Joseph's carpentry shop stood, 09:25 the location where Jesus was baptized, the spot near Galilee, 09:30 where the miracle of fish and loaves occurred 09:33 the place where Jesus stood when He gave the 09:36 Sermon on the Mount. She spotted the room 09:39 where Jesus turned water into wine, the spot where Judas 09:43 betrayed Jesus with a kiss, the actual path Jesus took 09:48 on His way to the cross, the Via Dela Rosa, 09:51 she found where He was crucified, buried, and 09:55 resurrected and where he ascended to heaven, 09:58 she claimed to find them all. 10:01 But that's not all, she found more, she allegedly found 10:08 the very items used by Jesus and associated 10:12 with His crucifixion. 10:13 She claimed to find the true cross, the title of the cross, 10:17 the nails of the crucifixion, the crown of thorns, 10:21 Jesus tunic, the sponge, the spear, and the burial clothes. 10:26 Other relics included the bones and positions of the apostles 10:32 and people associated with Jesus. 10:35 These so-called discoveries here in Jerusalem 10:39 and the Holy Land brought about a radical change in 10:43 Christianity and the church. 10:45 Until this time, no one had really concentrated 10:49 on the sites of Jesus homeland and where He had presumably 10:54 walked and worked. 10:55 But now everything changed, some of Christianity's 11:00 greatest and most sacred churches were built on these 11:04 sites and they developed a pilgrimage trail 11:07 for those who wished to visit all the gospel sites. 11:10 Christian visitors started arriving in vast numbers. 11:15 Jerusalem was no longer an outpost on the edge of 11:19 Rome's territory, now it was a vital even central part 11:24 of the new empire and the relics, these objects supposedly 11:30 associated with Jesus or those close to Him including the 11:34 bones, teeth, hair, and possessions of the apostles 11:38 and saints were taken back to Rome by Helena 11:41 and there they started a craze, a veneration of sacred objects 11:46 the people of Western Europe became obsessed with relics. 11:51 And before long it seemed that every church in Europe 11:56 either had or wanted some sort of relic to attract visitors 12:01 and grow their congregation. 12:03 Relics were put on display or placed on the altar or 12:08 housed in special tombs people believed that relics 12:12 could heal the sick, extinguish fires, protect villages 12:17 and defeat armies. All of this fueled the demand 12:21 for relics and a very lucrative market developed around relics. 12:26 So for religious economic and even political reasons 12:31 the number of relics gradually grew until there were literally 12:35 thousands in existence. 12:37 Relics became a massive profiteering scam 12:42 and there was a lot of fraud involved, for example 12:45 it's been said that you can build a large ship from 12:49 from all the pieces of wood claimed to be from Jesus cross 12:52 and there are more than a thousand nails said to have been 12:56 used at His crucifixion. 12:58 There are several heads said to belong to John the Baptist 13:02 and there are at least 28 tools of the apostles 13:06 when Jesus only had 12 of them. 13:09 So, it's obvious that religious relics are often fraudulent 13:14 but the real problem went much deeper than that. 13:18 You see, the first followers of Jesus and the early 13:22 Christians based all their beliefs on the pure teachings 13:26 of Jesus and His Word, the Bible. 13:29 Salvation and holiness came through belief and faith 13:33 in Jesus alone, but now all that changed, 13:38 instead of putting their faith in Jesus, people started 13:42 venerating relics, these relics objects of devotion. 13:47 People believed by getting close to objects associated 13:52 with some holy person or saint that person's holiness was 13:57 in some way shared with them or transferred to them. 14:01 They believe that's how you got holy, that's how you obtain 14:06 salvation. Relics, pilgrimages and images became central 14:12 to Christianity. Access to Jesus and salvation 14:16 was no longer through faith and belief but through 14:19 images and objects of devotion. 14:22 And so, the concept of relics of holy stuff subtly 14:27 undermined the central message of Christianity 14:31 the message of Jesus and the Bible 14:33 sadly the church had adopted the beliefs and practices 14:38 of paganism. 14:40 Christianity became popular so much so that pagans 14:46 were baptized into the church, now these pagans 14:50 joined the church but they also brought many of their 14:53 pagan images, objects, beliefs and practices with them. 14:57 The reverence of relics, veneration of saints, 15:01 the use of temples and candles, Holy Water, Holy Days and 15:06 seasons all had their origins in paganism and many were 15:10 approved and accepted into the church during the 15:14 fourth century, the time of Constantine. 15:17 He radically changed the church and its beliefs 15:21 aside from Christ and the Bible writers, 15:24 no one has exerted more influence on the 15:27 Christian church than Constantine. 15:29 He was a game-changer, in fact his mark remains with us 15:35 to this day and it's deeply imbedded in the structure 15:39 and function in much of Christianity. 15:42 Here's what one historian writes: 16:02 The church, the fortress of truth that Jesus and the 16:05 apostles built was weakened and changed 16:08 by the insidious introduction and spread of relics, 16:13 pagan objects, beliefs, and practices, Christianity 16:18 was corrupted. 16:19 And by accommodating paganism and compromising with the state 16:23 what our Christian ancestors did was to launch what we might call 16:28 a substitute, a counterfeit empire. 16:32 It looked like Christianity, it sounded like Christianity, 16:36 but it had some real problems, it was an imposter 16:41 a counterfeit empire. 16:43 But now the empire, the true empire strikes back. 16:50 not with swords, spears and shields, but with The Word, 16:54 The Way, the Truth, and the Life. 16:57 You see, God was not caught unawares or unprepared 17:02 God launches the ultimate counter- attack based on Jesus Christ 17:08 and His Word. Yes, God had a plan, a strategy, 17:13 He would keep the flame of truth alive through 17:17 faithful followers, His witnesses who refused to accept 17:21 the false teaching and pagan practices that had 17:24 infiltrated the church, they remain faithful to the pure 17:28 teachings of Jesus and His Word, the Bible. 17:32 Groups such as the Waldenses who lived high up in the 17:36 Piedmont Valleys of Northern Italy, nestled below the 17:40 spectacular Alps, they obtained a translation of the Bible 17:43 and so possessed Bible truth in its pure form. 17:46 They rejected the imposter, the counterfeit empire 17:50 and its corrupted form of Christianity, 17:53 they remained faithful to the Bible and kept alive the 17:57 pure teachings of Jesus and the apostles. 18:00 They taught the young people the great truths of the Bible 18:05 and trained them for the service of God, these young people 18:09 then went down into the villages and cities of Italy and beyond. 18:13 They explained that God is a God of love and mercy 18:17 who accepts people on the basis of their faith, 18:20 their belief in Him and they shared this powerful message 18:24 from the Word of God. 18:36 That's how we are saved, only by believing in Jesus. 18:42 So the empire, the true empire strikes back. 18:46 Through His followers who are faithful to God and His Word 18:50 the empire, Christ's Empire responds. 18:54 God in His mercy sends messengers to reform the church 19:02 virtually all of these great reformers came from within the 19:07 established church itself. 19:08 Most of them are priests, they passionately desire 19:13 that the church reform and correct the abuses and paganism 19:17 that had crept in. 19:19 One of the first and most influential of these men 19:23 was John Wycliffe often called the Morning Star 19:28 of the Reformation. He was an English priest and 19:31 the leading philosopher of the 14th century who spent 19:35 most of his career as a scholar and professor at 19:37 Oxford University. 19:39 He began to study the Bible in-depth as he prepared 19:45 for his classes and discovered 19:46 that the church was teaching doctrines and practices 19:49 that he just couldn't find anywhere in the Bible. 19:52 This greatly troubled him, Wycliffe began to preach against 19:58 the false teachings of the church and also against 20:01 its corruption and abuses. 20:03 This resulted in a clash of empires, 20:06 it brought the wroth of the church against him. 20:09 He was banished from his post at Oxford and sent his pastor 20:14 to the church at Lutterworth, here he undertook the 20:19 monumental task of translating all of the Bible into English 20:23 for the common people so that they could have access to 20:26 God's Word. 20:28 But the clash of empires raged, Wycliffe was condemned by the 20:33 established church and died of a stroke in 1384. 20:38 But that wasn't the end of his message and influence, 20:42 Bohemian students who studied under Wycliffe at Oxford 20:46 carried his writings and teachings back to Prague 20:49 where they influenced Jan Huss a bright young priest 20:54 and influencer and lecturer at the University of Prague. 20:57 As Huss studied the Bible He became convinced 21:01 that John Wycliffe was correct and the church had indeed 21:06 wandered from the pure teaching of Jesus and the Bible 21:09 and desperately needed reforming. 21:13 Jan Huss began speaking out boldly against the 21:16 false teachings and the corruption of the church. 21:19 The teachings of Huss challenged the great medieval 21:23 church and the counterfeit empire, he could only meet 21:27 trouble for his beliefs. 21:30 In 1415, he was summoned to the city of Constance 21:34 on the Swiss, German border to defend his teachings. 21:38 Thereafter a mockery of trial, he was condemned to death 21:43 and burned at the stake and his ashes thrown into the 21:47 Rhine River. He was a courageous reformer 21:50 but he wasn't alone, in his design to see the church reform 21:55 and return to the pure teachings of Jesus as found in the Bible. 22:00 Other's began echoing Huss's call for the church to reform 22:04 and return to the Bible. 22:06 They understood the clash of empires that was taking place, 22:10 they realized what was at stake and for them 22:14 the principles of God's Word were not only something 22:18 to live for, but something to die for. 22:21 Sadly, the church rejected their call for reform 22:25 and either attacked or executed them. 22:28 However, their efforts were not in vain because their work 22:33 vision and sacrifice laid the groundwork for the next 22:37 great battle as the empire strikes back. 22:41 Other reformers were beginning to question if it would ever 22:46 be possible to reform the established church. 22:50 And it was this realization that led the Augustinian monk 22:55 Martin Luther to nail his 95 theses to the Wittenberg 22:59 Cathedral door and launch the reformation 23:02 a significant even in this clash of empires. 23:07 It began with Luther's desperate desire to find peace of mind 23:11 and the assurance of salvation. He believed that the only way 23:16 to do this was to become holy, to rid himself from sin 23:20 and save his soul by his own good works. 23:23 When the Augustinian Monastery selected him to head 23:27 a delegation to Rome in 1510, Luther was overjoyed 23:33 here was his opportunity to use the traditional remedies 23:37 provided by the church to find forgiveness and peace 23:40 and become holy. 23:42 But the trip was a disaster, even though he visited 23:47 as many holy relics as he could, he felt no closer to God 23:52 and returned to the monastery more troubled and disillusioned 23:56 than ever. In desperation, he began his Bible 24:01 as never before, to his surprise as he studied God's Word 24:06 he found no teaching about venerating relics or making 24:11 yourself holy, of earning God's acceptance or buying forgiveness. 24:15 As he studied the Bible book of Romans, he made a discovery 24:20 that would forever bring peace to his troubled heart. 24:26 Luther finally grasped the truth that salvation comes 24:32 by faith, by believing in Jesus Christ. 24:35 He understood that relics, sacred places and objects 24:40 did nothing for his salvation, the Christian God is a God of 24:45 love and mercy who accepts people just as they are 24:49 on the basis of their faith in Him. 24:51 Luther vigorously and loudly proclaimed the Bible truth, 24:56 salvation is free, there's nothing you can do to earn it, 25:01 salvation is a gift. Luther could hardly believe this 25:05 good news despite the mistakes he had made in his life 25:09 despite his guiltiness, he could be credited with holiness 25:13 because Jesus who really is holy suffered his penalty 25:18 on the cross. So now people can be forgiven freely 25:23 forgiven in the Lord Jesus Christ. 25:26 This Bible message the gospel struck a major blow for 25:32 God's Empire, it soon spread all over Europe 25:35 across to America, down to Australia, and New Zealand 25:39 and on around the world. 25:41 This Good News, the gospel changes people's lives 25:46 and brings them inner peace and happiness and eternal life. 25:50 It really makes a difference and it's the major difference 25:54 between the two empires, in fact, it's still the primary 25:59 battle ground between the two empires. You see, the battle 26:04 is not over, the clash of empires continues. 26:08 There are two competing empires in our world, God's empire 26:13 based on Jesus and His Word and the counterfeit based on 26:18 tradition. Both are vying for our allegiance, 26:21 the choice is yours. 26:24 If you'd like to be a part of God's Empire and honor His Word 26:29 in your life by accepting Jesus and following Him 26:33 and if you would like to dig deeper into these important 26:36 questions, then I'd like to recommend a free gift we have 26:40 for all our Incredible Journey viewers today. 26:44 It's the enduring classic The Great Controversy. 26:48 This book is our gift to you and is absolutely FREE, 26:53 there are no costs or obligations whatsoever 26:56 thousands have been blessed and inspired by this book 27:00 The Great Controversy. 27:02 Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to receive the gift 27:06 we have for you today... 27:09 Phone or text us at 0436.333.555 in Australia, or 020.422.2042 27:19 in New Zealand, or visit our website at TiJ.tv to request 27:24 to request today's free offer and we'll send it to you 27:27 totally FREE of charge and with no obligation. 27:30 Write to us at GPO Box274, Sydney NSW 2001, Australia 27:37 or PO Box 76673 Manikau, Auckland 2241, New Zealand 27:44 don't delay, call or text us now. 27:47 Be sure to join us again next week.. 27:50 Until then, May God Bless you and keep you faithful 27:55 to Him. Let's pray. 27:57 Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for your word 28:01 the Bible, our ultimate authority in life 28:04 and a powerful weapon in the clash of empires. 28:07 And thank you for Jesus our Lord and Saviour, 28:10 He's coming back soon to establish your everlasting 28:13 kingdom. We all want to be citizens in your kingdom 28:17 help us to be faithful to you... 28:19 In Jesus name we pray, Amen. |
Revised 2022-02-22