Emperor Constantine’s 6 Major Changes to Christianity

Technological change that advances the human race is GREAT . . . but changing and falsify historical events is just plain lying.

Constantine knew from experience that the great power of the Christian message came from the preaching of the Resurrection of Christ. Immediately upon assuming the purple, he set about to insidiously undermine and then eliminate this cardinal doctrine.

Emperor Constantine changed the PLACE of the Resurrection of Christ!!

1. Constantine changed the place of the Resurrection of Christ.
2. Constantine changed the time of the Resurrection of Christ.
3. Constantine changed the time of the birth of Christ.
4. Constantine changed the Scriptural method of becoming a Christian.
5. Constantine changed the relationship of Christianity to the state.
6. Constantine changed the headquarters from Jerusalem to Rome or Constantinople.

For 300 years, the Christians were accustomed to visit the empty tomb on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and they came back home filled with zeal for their Risen Lord.

They also saw the total ruins of the Temple in exact fulfillment of the words of Jesus. This made them invincible to all the threats and arguments of the pagans. Constantine set about to change this:

Believers in Jesus all congregate from all parts of the world….that they may worship at the MOUNT OF OLIVES opposite the city….TO THE CAVE that is shown there. (Eusebius, Proof of the Gospel, Bk. VI. ch. 18).
Calvary on the Mount of Olives
Calvary was located on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem:

And when they were come to the place, which is called CALVARY, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. (Luke 23:33).

Calvary on the Mount of Olives is located on the eastern side of Jerusalem.
Calvary was the site of the death of Christ and the EMPTY TOMB was located nearby.

The Resurrection of Christ is the great central Doctrine of Christianity. It is the ROCK and pillar that supports the entire structure. St. Paul said:

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. (I Cor. 15:14).

And again:

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead, For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (I Cor. 15:20-22).

In the year 326, Constantine sent his mother Helena to Jerusalem to discover the spot that he had foreseen as the place of Jesus’ Resurrection. This was the site of the temple of Venus on the western side of Jerusalem. He ordered the temple torn down and a church constructed on the site. This is called the church of the “Holy” Sepulchre to this day.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, former site of the Temple of Venus.

Christian historian Eusebius said that the “Holy” Sepulchre was built on the site of the Temple of Venus.

When the Romans finally conquered Jerusalem in 135 A.D., as an insult to the Jews, they built a Temple of Venus over a monument to a Jewish freedom fighter named John Hyrcanus.

This “gloomy shrine of lifeless idols” was the site which Constantine later chose to built his Church of the “Holy” Sepulchre:

This sacred cave, then, certain impious and godless persons had though to remove entirely from the eyes of men, supposing in their folly that thus they should be able effectually to obscure the truth. Accordingly they brought a quantity of earth from a distance with much labor, and covered the entire spot; then, having raised this to a moderate height, they paved it with stone, concealing the holy cave beneath this massive mound. Then, as though their purpose had been effectually accomplished, they prepare on this foundation a truly dreadful sepulchre of souls, by building a gloomy shrine of lifeless idols to the impure spirit whom they call Venus, and offering detestable oblations therein on profane and accursed altars. For they supposed that their object could not otherwise be fully attained, than by thus burying the sacred cave beneath these foul pollutions. (Life of Constantine, chapter 26).

Emperor Constantine’s mother Helena discovered this site after finding 3 crosses that had not rotted after 3 hundred years!!

If Constantine said the site was at the North Pole it would have been accepted because nobody questioned the Emperor.

Both Latins and Orthodox share this site.

This is the WRONG location because it was located within the city of Jerusalem and Jesus died outside the city walls.

While not even a baptized Christian, Constantine was relying on his dreams and vision to locate the holy places. His biographer, Eusebius of Caesarea, dared not question Constantine about the veracity of his visions, because that would mean the destruction of all his writings, and his banishment, or even death:

You will, it may be, also detail to us those particulars of his favor which are secret to us, but known to you alone and treasured in your royal memory as in secret storehouses. Such, doubtless, are the reasons, and such the convincing proofs of your Saviour’s power, which caused you to raise that sacred edifice which presents to all, believers and unbelievers alike, a trophy of his victory over death, a holy temple of the holy God: to consecrate those noble and splendid monuments of immortal life and his heavenly kingdom: to offer memorials of our Almighty Saviour’s conquest which well become the imperial dignity of him by whom they are bestowed. With such memorials have you adorned that edifice which witnesses of eternal life: thus, as it were in imperial characters, ascribing victory and triumph to the heavenly Word of God: thus proclaiming to all nations, with clear and unmistakable voice, in deed and word, your own devout and pious confession of his name. (The Oration of Eusebius, chapter 18).

Never once in the Bible do we find the Lord ever flattering or lauding any person….The writings of Eusebius about Constantine are filled with hyperbole or veiled sarcasm, in order to hide the real character of the Emperor, and thus save his writings for posterity.

Constantine changed the TIME of the Resurrection of the Lord!!

The Christians remembered the Lord’s Resurrection every Sabbath or Lord’s Day. In addition there was the big yearly week long celebration of the Resurrection held 14 days after the first new moon following the spring equinox. It always coincided with the yearly Jewish Passover.

In 325, Constantine presided over the Council of Nicaea which changed the time of the Lord’s Resurrection to the first Sunday (or Lord’s Day) following the spring equinox.

JEHOVAH’s new year begins at the new moon following the spring equinox

Here is the dictionary definition of the word EQUINOX:

Either of the two times during a year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and when the length of day and night are approximately equal; the vernal equinox or the autumnal equinox. (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary).

As you can see from this correct definition, the idea that the earth does the moving—and not the sun—is sheer LUNACY!!

The feast of the Passover and Resurrection was celebrated every year by the Christians on the 14th of the month following the new moon, following the equinox….It was the most important holiday on their calendar. Here is a quote from one of the Early Congregation Fathers named Saint Anatolius of Laodicea:

. . .Following their example up to the present time all the bishops of Asia—as themselves also receiving the rule from an unimpeachable authority, to wit, the evangelist John, who leant on the Lord’s breast, and drank in instructions spiritual without doubt — were in the way of celebrating the Paschal feast, without question, every year, whenever the fourteenth day of the moon had come, and the lamb was sacrificed by the Jews after the equinox was past. (Saint Anatolius of Laodicea).

Constantine changed the TIME of our Saviour’s birth to December 25

Besides the Mount of Olives, another great destination for the Christian pilgrims was the town of Bethlehem where Jesus was born in the springtime:

They (prophets) foretold the wondrous fashion of his birth from a Virgin, and—strangest of all—they did not omit to name Bethlehem the place of his birth, which is today so famous that men still hasten from the ends of the earth to see it, but shouted it out with the greatest clearness. (Eusebius, The Proof of the Gospel, Bk. 1, p. 2).

The Latins celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25, while the Orthodox follow the Julian calendar which is 13 days behind the Latin Gregorian.

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is the spot where Jesus was born.

It is owned by the Orthodox Church who celebrate His birthday on Jan. 7.

Jesus was born in the springtime so both churches have the wrong date.

The first month of the Jewish year is the equivalent of our March/April. 6 months later would be equivalent to our August/September. According to the Bible, Mary conceived in the 6th month:

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke I:26-27).

Nine months later would take us to April/May of the Jewish year and the correct time for the birth of Jesus.

Lambing season is also in the springtime when the shepherds would be outdoors watching their sheep.

After the winter solstice, the pagans saw the days getting longer, so they rejoiced as the SUN was reborn, and they called this festival Dies Natalis Invicti or The Birthday of the Unconquered SUN.

Constantine changed the Scriptural method of becoming a Christian

Prior to the time of Constantine, a person became a Christian through conversion or the new birth….It was the BLOOD of Jesus that washed away sins . . . of which water was just a TYPE or SYMBOL in the Old Testament.

Baptism by triune immersion in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit followed conversion.

Constantine waited until just before his death to be baptized, because he believed that baptism washes away sins, and makes one a Christian. This was a typical pagan belief found throughout the Old World and the New:

For washing is the channel through which they are initiated into some sacred rites— of some notorious Isis or Mithras. The gods themselves likewise they honour by washings. Moreover, by carrying water around, and sprinkling it, they everywhere expiate country-seats, houses, temples, and whole cities: at all events, at the Apollinarian and Eleusinian games they are baptized; and they presume that the effect of their doing that is their regeneration and the remission of the penalties due to their perjuries. Among the ancients, again, whoever had defiled himself with murder, was wont to go in quest of purifying waters. (Tertullian, On Baptism, Anti-Nicene Christian Library, vol. II, chap. 5).

Constantine murdered his wife and son, so like a typical pagan, he believed that baptism would wash away the guilt of his crimes.

He delayed baptism until just before he died, because he believed that baptism alone would cleanse him from guilt—and make him a citizen of the New Jerusalem:

The time is arrived which I have long hoped for, with an earnest desire and prayer that I might obtain the salvation of God. The hour is come in which I too may have the blessing of that seal which confers immortality. I had thought to do this in the waters of the river Jordan, wherein our Saviour, for our example, is recorded to have been baptized: but God, who knows what is expedient for us, is pleased that I should receive this blessing here. Be it so, then, without delay: for should it be his will who is Lord of life and death, that my existence here should be prolonged, and should I be destined henceforth to associate with the people of God, and unite with them in prayer as a member of his Church, I will prescribe to myself from this time such a course of life as befits his service. After he had thus spoken, the prelates performed the sacred ceremonies in the usual manner, and, having given him the necessary instructions, made him a partaker of the mystic ordinance. Thus was Constantine the first of all sovereigns who was regenerated and perfected in a church dedicated to the martyrs of Christ; thus gifted with the Divine seal of baptism, he rejoiced in spirit, was renewed, and filled with heavenly light his soul was gladdened by reason of the fervency of his faith, and astonished at the manifestation of the power of God. At the conclusion of the ceremony he arrayed himself in shining imperial vestments, brilliant as the light, and reclined on a couch of the purest white, refusing to clothe himself with the purple any more. (Eusebius, The Life of Constantine, chapter 62).

To this very day, all of his followers have used that same door:

Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1997, Part Two, Article 1).

One of the most infamous heresiarch that ever lived was Simon Magus or Simon the Sorcerer. Simon was baptized by none other than one of the 12 apostles of Jesus:

But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. (Acts 8 :12-13).

Constantine believed like Simon and was baptized, but that did absolutely nothing to change him inwardly.

Unlike previous Roman Emperors, Constantine shunned pagan CREAMATION and was BURIED in the city of Constantinople, in the Church of the Holy Apostles.

The Turks completely destroyed the burial place of Emperor Constantine.
He shunned Roman pagan cremation and was buried surrounded by images of the 12 apostles.

Even though he repudiated the pagan Roman gods and founded a rival capital for the Empire, there was profound mourning for Constantine at Rome. Obviously they did not believe that he went to a better place:

On the arrival of the news of the emperor’s death in the imperial city, the Roman senate and people felt the announcement as the heaviest and most afflictive of all calamities, and gave themselves up to an excess of grief. The baths and markets were closed, the public spectacles, and all other recreations in which men of leisure are accustomed to indulge, were interrupted. Those who had erewhile lived in luxurious ease, now walked the streets in gloomy sadness, while all united in blessing the name of the deceased, as the one who was dear to God, and truly worthy of the imperial dignity. Nor was their sorrow expressed only in words: they proceeded also to honor him, by the dedication of paintings to his memory, with the same respect as before his death. The design of these pictures embodied a representation of heaven itself, and depicted the emperor reposing in an ethereal mansion above the celestial vault. They too declared his sons alone to be emperors and Augusti, and begged with earnest entreaty that they might be permitted to receive the body of their emperor, and perform his obsequies in the imperial city. (Life of Constantine, chapter 69).

Jesus spelt out the relationship of Christianity to the state very clearly when he said:

And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s. (Luke 20:25).

In other words, the government was to take care of the material needs of the people, and the kingdom of Christ the spiritual.

The Western LEG of the Roman Empire completely ignored this plain teaching of the Scriptures, and sought to unite Christianity and the state, with the Popes completely dominating both.

Here is a quote from the Syllabus of Errors of Pope Pius IX:

55. The Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church. —Allocution “Acerbissimum,” Sept. 27, 1852. (Condemned as error).

The Eastern Emperors did not claim to take the place of God Almighty on earth, and totally dominate the state as the Western Emperors or Popes.

Constantine changed the headquarters from Jerusalem to Rome or Constantinople

For the 3 centuries prior to Constantine, Christians traveled from the end of the earth to Jerusalem, to view the empty tomb on the Mount of Olives:

Believers in Jesus all congregate from all parts of the world….that they may worship at the MOUNT OF OLIVES opposite the city….TO THE CAVE that is shown there. (Eusebius, Proof of the Gospel, Bk. VI. ch. 18).

Constantine set up 2 rival centers and Jerusalem was eventually relegated to a backwater.

In the Old Testament Book of Kings, Jeroboam set up 2 golden calves: one at Dan in the north and another at Bethel in the south in order to keep the people from going to Jerusalem to worship:

Whereupon the king took council, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Dan and the other in Bethel. (I Kings 12:28-29)
Dan and Bethel became the 2 new rival centers to Jerusalem.
One was located in Dan in the North, and the other was located in Bethel in the South.
Both became bitter rivals.

References:
Alföldi, Andreas (Andrew). The Conversion of Constantine and Pagan Rome. Oxford, 1948 and 1969.

Eusebius Pamphili, (260 – 340), Preparation for the Gospel, Proof of the Gospel, Ecclesiastical History, Life of Constantine, Oration to Constantine, etc., etc. Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1981.

Baynes, Norman, H. Constantine the Great and the Christian Church. London, 1934.

Burckhardt, Jacob. The Age of Constantine the Great. Pantheon Books Inc., New York, 1949.

Halsberghe, Gaston, H.The Cult of Sol Invictus. E.J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands, 1972.

Kee, Alistair. Constantine Versus Christ: The Triumph of Ideology. SCM Press, London, 1982.

Martin, E. L. Secrets of Golgatha. ASK Publications, Portland, Oregon, 2000.

MacMullen, Ramsey. Constantine. The Dial Press, New York, 1969.

Roberts, Alexander and James Donaldson, eds. Anti-Nicene Christian Library. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1872, 24 volumes.

 
 
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