The Cross in the Sky
Posted by Blake Bradley on 9th Sep 2015
The Cross In The Sky
Constantine The Great
Rome's First Christian Emperor
The Christian church went through an incredible amount of persecution from the Roman empire during the first three centuries. Most of the punishment was handed down by the local Roman authority. The first Emperor to actually target Christians as a whole was the Emperor Nero.
In the summer of 64, Rome suffered a terrible fire that burned for six days and seven nights consuming almost three quarters of the city. The towns people accused the Emperor Nero for the devastation claiming he set the fire for his own amusement. In order to deflect these accusations and pacify the people, Nero laid blame for the fire on the Christians. Nero considered being a Christian an act of treason and punishable by execution. Peter and Paul the Apostles were martyred in Rome during Nero's reign.
In the spring of 312 AD, Constantine The Great was leading his men in route to Milvian Bridge outside of Rome where a battle would take place the next day. That evening, Constantine had a vision of a cross in the sky above the sun. He stated "I saw a trophy of a cross in light in the heavens bearing the inscription; Conquer By This!". He and his men were struck with amazement and his whole army reportedly saw this sign as well. He then directed his men to mark their shields with the letter X with a perpendicular line drawn through it and turned round at the top, being a symbol of Christ (XP). X-chi and the P -Rho. (The X and P were Greek letters).
The following day, Constantine's outnumbered forces were victorious in battle and he rode into Rome and now hailed as the new emperor at the age of 24.
Constantine then began major changes in Rome. He established Christianity as the new state religion for the entire Roman Empire. Even Christians in other countries would now be seen as allies, a gesture never before offered to opposing forces even though up to 2/3 of his top government officials at the time were non-Christian. Constantine's laws enforced and reflected his Christian reforms. The following changes were made under his rule:
*Crucifixion was banned
*On March 7, 321, which was a Sunday - declared an official day of rest.
*A prisoner was no longer to be kept in total darkness but must be given outdoors and daylight.
*Gladiator games were abolished by 325 AD
*In 325, Constantine oversaw a compromise called "The Nicene Creed" in which he said that Jesus was of the same substance as God.
*Constantine saw himself as an "Emperor of the Christian people"
*Vowed to never again worship any other than the one true Christ.
By the end of his reign, he had ordered that the pagan Roman temples to be torn down. Constantine decided to become baptized shortly before his death in 337 AD.
I am in no way saying that Constantine The Great was admirable in every way. The Roman empire still continued to rule in ways that by today's standards would be considered barbaric. He was however the first Roman emperor to give praise to Christ and openly worship Him by name. This was the motivating factor for writing this blog.
Rome had a total of 147 Emperors. The first Roman Emperor was named Augustus and his rule began in 63 B.C. until the empire's final decline in 476 AD under the rule of Romulus Augustulus. The primary reason for the empire's demise was the division of Rome into two quadrants; East and West. As the conquered land became further away from Rome the resupply of troops became a difficult task as well as complete disorder within the government.
To continue the subject of crosses, please take a moment to see some of the new cross items from Shields of Strength.
Men's Stainless Steel Cross
with Proverbs 30:5 on the reverse
This beautiful cross displays the stars and stripes on the front with the inspiring scripture Proverbs 30:5 on the reverse.
$49.99 ea.
Stainless Steel Thin cross - $49.99
Put God's Words in your heart with this verse from John 19:30 "It Is Finished"
Mini Stainless Steel Heart Bracelet - This elegant bracelet is made from high quality 316 stainless steel.
The heart has the verse from Psalm 28:7 and the cross has John 19:30 "It Is Finished" inscribed on it.
$79.99
As always we truly appreciate your support of Shields of Strength. Please always feel welcome to reach out to us with any questions that you may have. We love hearing from you! Please follow us on our social media sites: Instagram and Facebook @shieldsofstrength as well as our non-profit which benefits U.S. soldiers around the world. www.point27.org
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Verses for Bible study:
Psalm 18:2 Jeremiah 10:10 Matthew 5:44
May God bless you and have a great week! Stay strong in Christ everyone!
Blake and the Team at Shields of Strength
***Much of the content of this BLOG is from two websites.