Mystery Babylon: The Church Moves From Persecuted To Persecutor. Series

The representative of Babylon places himself at the head of the church and calls for a council. His purpose is to end all the factions of Christianity. And as in our day, there are many variations on the theme "Christian."

The Roman way is the "Pax Romana," the enforced peace, visibly uniting all diversity, allowing for no dissident voices. What is good for the Empire will be good for the church. There are to be no factions. Period.

The subsequent meetings of the Council of Nicaea cannot be written off totally because of Constantine's usurpation. We can believe that the voice of the Holy Spirit was echoed in many true followers of Christ. But the false was there also. The true and the false are here forced into union, and have remained in the harlot religion from that day to this.

Halley, in his Bible Handbook, a Christian classic, mentions that certain false teachings, such as Arianism, are condemned at this Council, and that the bishops of Alexandria and Antioch are given full jurisdiction over their provinces, as Roman bishops over Rome. (No hint in this meeting that the various provinces are subject to the Roman Church.)

But what is a Roman Emperor doing at the head of this Council? And from whose urgings is the church made to "agree."?

March, 321 A.D., Constantine orders the "venerable day of the sun" (we call it Sun-day, too), to be celebrated as a day of rest. The Christians comply since Christ has been raised on that day, and it seems the "right thing to do." Here, though, is one of those weddings of true and false.

Constantine then allows the construction of "church buildings." Reminiscent of the Jewish synagogues, and pagan temples, Christians begin to enjoy making these visible expressions of their inward faith. But whence the directions from God on this matter?

One wonders, as we digress a moment, just how far the church would have advanced throughout the world if more congregations had been visiting houses instead of building them, if more church leaders had been on the street instead of at the building site. What if all the dollars put into ornate "centers of worship" had been given to the preaching of the Gospel in unreached lands?

One just wonders, of course. But it does seem proper to suggest that the concept of a temple of worship where people go to find God is strictly Babylonian, supported by Pagan Rome and her descendants. The Jewish temple was built to picture the true, which true Christians recognize to be the people of God, and our own bodies, both houses of the Holy Presence of God. These are the only hallowed structures God honors. Why did we ever think otherwise? Part of the answer is found in studying this Constantine "thing."

The good Emperor begins to favor Christians in every way. Halley (p. 759) says he

"filled chief offices with them, exempted Christian ministers from taxes and military service...made Christianity the religion of the court..."

Sounds so wonderful! But what has become of the cross, the shame related to knowing and following Christ, the warning, "beware when all men speak well of you"?