A MONTHLY TEACHING LETTER
Letter
#15
This
is the fifteenth in a series of teaching letters. In the last two letters (#13
and #14), I have been bringing you the much neglected story of the Zerah branch
of Judah. You will need these back issues to go along with this one. As a matter
of fact, you will need all of the issues from #1 to #14, if you don�t already
have copies of them. This story of Judah is very complicated, and requires much
study and research to comprehend. In the last fourteen issues, I feel I have
only scratched the surface of what should be known of the Judah and Tamar story.
It is important to include Tamar, for if there had not been a Tamar, there never
would have been a Tribe of Judah, and thus a Redeemer for Israel! We came within
one woman (Tamar) of not having our redemption. It is so sad to think that many
only consider her a common street whore. That is because they really don�t
know the full story. This proves how shallow some people�s understanding is,
and that includes a lot of professional men of the cloth. Learning the truth
might not be very popular, as some may considered it to be on the lunatic
fringe.
Once
again, I want to thank everyone of you who are helping with the expenses of this
ministry. I have tried to make this monthly letter something different and
beyond the average run-of-the-mill teaching instrument. I am persuaded you will
have to concede that I am getting into areas of study and research which many
others have not brought forth, nor care to touch. I know that I am quoting
extensively from various sources, but I am trying to condense the most important
facts and arrange them in an understandable order. My major concern is � there
are many fast talking so-called teachers and preachers out there doing
incomprehensible damage faster than I can make repairs. The only way I know to
fight this kind of error is with truth, more truth, and still more truth; but
truth is not popular. It isn�t now nor ever was. Many people feel more
comfortable with something less than the truth.
Now
Continuing The Topic:
JUST
WHO IS THIS PATRIARCH, JUDAH? (Part 15)
There
may be some of you wondering when I am going to change the subject from Judah to
something else. I feel it is imperative that we know the entire story of Judah,
or we will not understand the Redeemer Himself. If we don�t know the Judah
story, we can have no idea who the true church is. Almost everyone is under the
impression that somehow the true church came through the Roman Catholic Church,
and this is entirely false. With this lesson, we will continue the history of
the British Celtic church. In order to get started, I will go back to about 60
A.D. and pick up some of the story from there. We are going to consider one of
the brilliant lady military leaders of that time. Her name was Boadicea. I will
quote from two different books in order to cover the story. I will first quote
from Father Abraham�s Children, by
Perry Edwards Powell, Ph. D., pages 108-109:
The last phase of this War of Independence is called the
Boadicean War. The Iceni and Coranidae as allies of Rome had as yet been
peaceful. King Prasutagus had borrowed two million pounds sterling of Seneca,
Nero�s minister, and had given all his public buildings as security. He
died at the commencement of the war and made Nero heir with his two daughters.
Caius Decius was ordered to collect and he did so with a ferocity and a
barbarity, levying on the noble�s palaces as well as the royal properties,
that he inflamed the whole island. He seized Queen Boadicea and her daughters
and among [his] outrageous acts lashed the bare back of the Queen. Now no Cymro
will stand for that. When she made her appeal to the men and pulled her long
tresses apart and showed her welted back all the men asked to march behind her.
The army began with 120,000 men and at its height numbered 230,000. Eighty
thousand Romans perished. The Roman army advanced not a step. No quarter was
asked or given. Forty thousand Romans were slaughtered in London. In the midst
of the conflict Boadicea died, according to Tacitus, of poison. She had earned
her name, Victoria. Her successors
as generals were Arviragus, Venusius, and Gwallog of Galgacus. The power of the
whole Empire of Rome was paralyzed.
I
find it quite interesting this person Seneca lending the equivalent of �two
million pounds sterling to King Prasutagus.� You can find information on
Seneca in most any general history book or encyclopedia. I tried to find out if
he had any �Jewish� background, but was unable to connect him with the
serpent descendants of Cain. Seneca, though, had three marks of a �Jew�, (1)
he was a money lender. (2) he was a playwright. (3) he was a political adviser
to one high in position, Emperor Nero. I know this is not enough proof, but I am
highly suspicious of him. I will now quote this same story from Celt,
Druid and Culdee, by Isabel Hill Elder, pages 39-41:
Having
effected a landing (and the testimony of their own historians is that never was
country more dearly purchased nor held with greater difficulty) the Romans
proceeded with their policy of destruction for which they had become notorious
on the continent of Europe.
One
notable instance has come down to us of the Roman spirit of cruel indifference
to human feelings and sufferings. The immensely wealthy Prasutagus, King of the
Iceni, apprehensive, in the event of his death, of the Roman brutality likely to
be experienced by his queen, Boadicea, and his two daughters, left one half of
his fortune to the Emperor Nero, endeavouring thus to secure for them a measure
of protection. When, however, his death took place in A.D. 60, the Roman praefect,
Caius Decius, seized the royal hoard on the pretext that it came under the
denomination (sic. possibly domination) of public property. Resistance being
made, the legionaries stormed the palace and carried the treasures off to the
Castra. The story of the barbarous treatment meted out to its inmates need not
be repeated here, nor of Boadicea, stung to frenzy by these atrocities, bravely
taking to the field in defence of her family and her people, the Roman praefect having, in direct
violation of the Claudian treaty, also confiscated the estates of the Icenic
nobility.
Seneca,
the usurious, millionaire philosopher, advanced to the Iceni, on the security of
their public buildings, a sum of money �
about two million pounds sterling in modern currency, at ruinous rates; this
loan, suddenly and violently called in, was the indirect cause of the Boadicean
war. It was a disgrace for a Roman to lend to a Roman for interest; they were
permitted, however, to lend to a foreigner.
The
territories of the Iceni were rich in lead-mines, some of which were known to
have been worked in times of even greater antiquity; the Romans seized these
mines soon after their arrival in Britain, thus cutting off an important source
of the wealth of the Icenic people and obliging them to borrow money from Seneca
for the maintenance of their state.
Boadicea,
before leading her people and the tribe of the Trinobantes who joined them, to
war, to redress her wrongs, ascended the �generals� � tribunal and
addressed her army of 120,000 in these words: �I rule not like Nitocris, over
beast of burden, as are the effeminate nations of the East, nor like Semiramis,
over tradesmen and traffickers, nor like the man-woman, Nero, over slaves and
eunuchs �
such is the precious knowledge such foreigners introduce amongst us �
but I rule over Britons, little versed, indeed in craft and diplomacy, but born
and trained to the game of war; men who in the cause of liberty stake down their
lives, the lives of their wives and children, their lands and property �
Queen of such a race, I implore your aid for freedom, for victory over enemies
infamous for the wantonness of the wrongs they inflict, for their perversion of
justice, for their insatiable greed; a people that revel in unmanly pleasures,
whose affections are more to be dreaded and abhorred than their enmity. Never
let a foreigner bear rule over me or over my countrymen; never let slavery reign
in this island.�
What
do you think of this tremendously great lady, Boadicea? After all, she was a
great-granddaughter (after several generations) of Tamar! This shows the kind of
spirit and material of which Tamar and her descendants were, and are made of.
Maybe, you too, are a descendant of Tamar and Boadicea. What does this have to
do with Judah? IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO
WITH JUDAH! If you don�t know the entire story of Judah and Tamar, then,
you cannot understand the actions and character of a lady like Boadicea! Her
father, though, should have told Seneca to keep his filthy money with its
obscene interest.
PAUL
AND PUDENS
We
return now to another subject which I presented in lesson #13 about Pudens,
Linus and Claudia of II Timothy 4:21. As you will remember, Linus and Claudia
were children of Caractacus (Caradoc called King Arviragus). There is really
more to this story than I rendered in that lesson. To understand more about
these personages, I will quote from, The
Drama of the Lost Disciples, by George F. Jowett, pages 122-125:
...
This fact supports the statement of the contemporary writers who state that St.
Paul had his abode with the Pudens. There is a special and particular reason as
to why he would prefer to reside with the Pudens at the British Palace, apart
from its Christian environment.
Startling
as it may be to the reader, facts will prove that living with the Pudens family
was the mother of St. Paul and that Claudia Britannica was the sister-in-law of
the Apostle to the Gentiles (nations).
St.
Paul, writing in his Epistles to those at Rome prior to his coming says (Romans
16:13), �Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.�
Some
have sought to suggest that the woman was St. Paul�s spiritual mother. This is
entirely outruled by the facts. A spiritual mother or father, was one who had
converted another. As we all know, Christ had converted Paul on the road to
Damascus, and Paul had not been to Rome since before the Judean persecution of
Christ�s followers, A.D. 33. Thus, twenty-five years had elapsed before his
arrival at Rome as an Apostle of Christ. By deduction, Pudens must have been in
his late twenties when he married the seventeen-year-old British princess, and
at the time of St. Paul�s salutation he must have been near his mid-thirties,
which shows a long separation between �his mother and mine.�
Pudens
was born on the family estate at Umbri, a Roman state. His father was a Roman
senator, of a long illustrious ancestry. Paul, in describing his Roman
citizenship, states (Romans 11:1) that he was a Jew (Benjamite) by race;
therefore his parents must have been Jewish [Judean] Benjamites. From
this it is obvious that his mother was probably married a second time, and to a
Roman of distinguished birth. Rufus Pudens was born of this marriage. His mother
was not a Roman consort as Pudens inherited his father�s estates as the
legitimate son. If he had been an illegitimate son, born of a consort, the
licentious pens of the time, ever ready to declare such an incident, would have
said so. On the contrary, Pudens senior and his family are written of in high
esteem. Therefore all facts point to a legal marriage, with Rufus as legal
offspring. If it had been otherwise, Paul would not have addressed his mother
and Rufus with the affection he did.
At
that time Pudens donated the ground in Britain for the erection of the temple of
Neptune and Minerva at Chichester, he was pagan, following his inherited family
religion subject to the Roman gods. This does not prove that his Jewish
[Judean] mother was a pagan worshipper. Born in the Judean faith she may have
remained neutral or indifferent. However, it is certain, between the year A.D.
50 and the nuptial year A.D. 53, that both mother and son must have been
converted, for we find Priscilla, his mother, a member of the British
household, directly following the marriage of Rufus Pudens to Claudia. On the
other hand, Paul would not have sought association with his mother and Rufus if
he knew they had remained pagan. His salutation proves that Paul knew beforehand
that both were then confirmed Christians. He salutes Pudens, �chosen in the
Lord�, This is further supported by the Roman writers of that time who attest
that �all� of the Pudens household at the Palatium Britannicum were
Christian.
From
all this we realize that St. Paul and Rufus Pudens Pudentius were half-brothers,
each having the same mother. In turn this made
the British Princess Gladys the Emperor Claudius�s adopted daughter, now known
as Claudia Britannica Rufina Pudens Pudentius, sister-in-law to the Apostle of
the Gentiles (nations)! ... This substantiates other important facts cited in
the Roman Martyrologies
that, �The children of Claudia were brought up at the knee of St. Paul.�
...
From the swiftness of the events that followed it is seen
that St. Paul lost no time in putting into action his bold plan to erect at
Rome, on an indestructible foundation, the first Christian Church among Gentiles
(nations) above ground. This was the first need and was made possible by a bold
act of the British royal family, Claudia and Pudens, in donating their home, the
Palace of the British, to be openly declared to be the established Christian
Church at Rome. ... This was the birth of the first Church of Christ above
ground at Rome. ...
Linus,
the son of Caractacus, who had remained at Rome, had long before been baptized
and confirmed by St. Joseph of Arimathea in Britain. He was a priestly
instructor. It was Linus whom St. Paul chose and personally consecrated to be
the First Bishop of the Christian Church at Rome. A Prince of the royal blood of
Britain, he is the same Linus whom St. Paul addressed in his Epistles. ... St.
Peter affirms the fact. He says: �The First Christian Church above ground in
Rome, was the Palace of the British. The First Christian Bishop was a Briton,
Linus, son of a Royal King, personally appointed by St. Paul, A.D. 58.�
The
church still stands and can be seen in what was once the palatial grounds of the
Palatium Britannicum, a memorial to the Christianizing endeavors of St. Paul and
the expatriate (exiled) royal British family at Rome with Rufus Pudens. The
church is recorded in Roman history under four different names: 1. Palatium
Britannicum; 2. Titulus; 3. Hospitium Apostolorum; 4. Lastly, as St. Pudentiana
in honour and memory of the martyred daughter of Claudia Pudens, by which name
it is known to this day.
Don�t
you find this situation to be outstandingly interesting? I have another good
reference to Paul�s being a half-brother to Pudens. It is found in the book, Dedicated
Disciples, by Henry W. Stough, pages 158-159:
The
Apostle Paul was aware of many things that are not recorded in the Scriptures.
For one thing, Paul knew that there was a church in the city of Rome, and he
knew that this church had been started by some British people who were
Christians. They had been captured by the Romans and taken to Rome where they
had started a little church. Paul�s mother and his half-brother were living
in Rome. Paul�s half-brother, named Rufus Pudens, had married a beautiful
young British woman named Gladys. Gladys, who was a princess and a daughter
of the British King Caractacus, was living in Rome with her father. ...
Paul�s
mother Prassede (Priscilla), who was a devout Christian, had no doubt told him
about these things, and Paul felt that someone should go there and strengthen
them in the faith. So, Paul sent Aristobulus to Rome to help them, and to tell
them more about Jesus. Paul had probably given him letters of introduction, not
only to his mother and brother Rufus, but also to the Royal Family of Siluria, as
Paul was indirectly connected with them, because Rufus had married a princess
(Gladys) of the Royal Family.
Now
that we know the Apostle Paul and Rufus Pudens were half-brothers by their
mother Priscilla, and Claudia�s children were Paul�s nieces and nephews,
making the British Royal Family of Caractacus Paul�s in-laws, this should add
a whole new dimension to our understanding of New Testament Scripture. When we
add in the fact that the members of this British Royal Family are Tamar�s
children by descent, it should be even more interesting! To understand more
about the importance of Tamar, you will need my Watchman�s Teaching Letters #2
and #3. We will now move on to the next phase of the story which will be about
the Good King Lucius (also a descendant of Tamar) and how he made Christianity
the British national faith.
GOOD
KING LUCIUS NATIONALIZES THE FAITH
With
this next phase of the story, you will notice it is again the British church
from Rome which initiates the progress of action. It is the same group we have
just been talking about. This British church in Rome has no connection
whatsoever with what would later be called the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman
Catholic Church was and is a total misfit. To get started on this subject of
King Lucius, I will quote excerpts from, The
Drama of the Lost Disciples, by George F. Jowett, pages 200-204:
In
the year A.D. 137 St. Timotheus, son of Claudia Pudens, had journeyed from Rome
to baptize his nephew King Lucius at Winton (Winchester), at the same time
consecrating him, Defender of the Faith, as legal, royal successor to his
ancestor, Arviragus, upon whom Joseph had confirmed the original honour. This
began a new wave of evangelism in Britain which, it is said, had somewhat
waned since the death of Joseph. To a certain extent this can be understood:
rarely do we find the successor of a strong vigorous founding leader equally as
dominant; nevertheless, as one reads the long list of teachers that continued to
pour from Avalon and Cor Eurgain, filling new Bishoprics at home and abroad,
there appeared to be little flickering of the light.
However,
there is no doubt that the enthusiastic religious zeal that Lucius now supplied
infused a vigour more akin to the energy that inspired the founders of the
Josephian Mission at Avalon and the Pauline Mission in Cambria, particularly
knowing that he was a direct descendant of the royal Silurian kingdoms of
Cornwall and Cambria.
According
to his genealogy Lucius was son of Coel, son of St. Cyllinus, son of Caractacus,
son of Bran, son of Llyr. By intermarriage he was also directly descended from
Arviragus, of the Cornish-Devon Silures. This made Lucius the great-grandson of
both Caractacus and Arviragus, truly a majestic heritage. ...
His
native name was Lleurug Mawr. Because of his exemplary religious life and his
outstanding achievements in church and state, he was termed in Celtic Lleuver
Mawr, meaning the �Great Light.� However, the name by which he is best known
is the Latin interpretation Lucius. The Romans latinized his name to Lucius from
the Latin �Lux�, which carries the same implication as the Celtic to the
Roman, the �Great Luminary.� ...
The most notable event in the meritorious reign of King
Lucius was performed in the year A.D. 156 when, at the National Council at
Winchester, he established Christianity as the National Faith of Britain. By
this act he solemnly declared to the world that Britain was officially a
Christian nation by Act of Parliament. This act is described in the British
Triads as follows: �King Lucius was the first in the Isle of Britain who
bestowed the privilege of country and nation and judgment and validity of oath
upon those who should be of the faith of Christ.
...
The great British Edict was joyously welcomed by Christians in other lands.
Sabellius, A.D. 250, shows this national establishment was acknowledged
elsewhere beyond the confines of Britain. He writes: �Christianity was
privately confessed elsewhere, but the first nation that proclaimed it as their
religion, and called itself Christian, after the name of Christ, was Britain.�
Genebrand declares: �The glory of Britain consists not only in this, that she
was the first country which in a national capacity publicly professed herself
Christian, but that she made this confession when the Roman Empire itself was
pagan and a cruel persecutor of Christianity.� (This
reference to Sabellius and Genebrand can also be found in the book, Celt,
Druid and Culdee, by Isabel Hill Elder, page 99.) ...
All
British and Roman records attest to the fact that Lucius was confirmed and
baptized in the faith by his uncle, St. Timotheus, as stated before. He was
baptized in the famous Chalice Well, at the foot of the Tor at Avalon, May 28,
A.D. 137. In the Year A.D. 167 he commemorated the event by building St.
Michael�s on the summit of the Tor, which was the largest Druidic Gorsedd in
Britain. This memorial was destroyed in the earthquake that shook Glastonbury,
A.D. 1275. ... In the year A.D. 170 Lucius founded the majestic church at
Winchester, now known as Winchester Cathedral, and familiar to thousands of
Canadian soldiers in World War II garrisoned at Winchester as the Battle Abbey
of the British Empire.
Again,
on page 80, George F. Jowett says in his book, The Drama of the Lost Disciples:
The
founding of Christianity in Britain by the Josephian Mission was truly the
beginning of the British national Church. Conversion spread rapidly through the
Isles. It is recorded, A.D. 48, that Conor Macnessa, King of Ulster, sent his
priests to Avalon to commit the Christian law and its teachings into writing,
which they named �The Celestial Judgments.� However, it was not until A.D.
156 that Britain, by the royal edict of King Lucius, officially proclaimed the
Christian Church to be the national Church of Britain, at Winchester, then the
royal capital of Britain.
Isabel
Hill Elder, in her book, Celt, Druid and
Culdee, says this of King Lucius on pages 95-96:
The
Christian king Lucius, third in descent from Caradoc and grandson of Pudens and
Claudia, built the first minster (British word for church) on the site of a
Druidic Cor at Winchester, and at a National Council held there in A.D. 156
established Christianity the national religion as the natural successor to
Druidism, when the Christian ministry was inducted into all the rights of the
Druidic hierarchy, tithes included.
In
the book, St. Joseph Of Arimathea At
Glastonbury, by Lionel Smithett Lewis, says this of King Lucius, page 35:
St.
Joseph�s little circle of twelve disciples was kept going by anchorites
(hermits) �
as one died another was appointed; but in [the] course of time a certain
slackness seems to have come over them. William of Malmesbury tells us that the
holy spot at length became a covert of wild beasts. Then in the days of Good
King Lucius aforesaid came a revival. Llewrug Mawr, Llewrug the Great (grandson
of Saint Cyllinus and great-grandson of Caractacus), nicknamed Lleiver Mawr or
the great luminary (hence his Latinized name of Lux or Lucius), was king of
Britain in the middle and towards the end of the 2nd century. He
increased the Light that the first missionaries, the disciples of Christ, had
brought, by sending emissaries to Eleutherius, Bishop of Rome, requesting him to
send missionaries to Britain. The Welsh Triads tell us that Eleutherius, in
response, sent Dyfan and Fagan, Medwy and Elfan, all of them British names in
A.D. 167.
For
a last quote concerning the Good King Lucius, I will use the book, The
Origin and Early History of Christianity In Britain, by Andrew Gray, D.D.,
pages 38-39:
We
find (A.D. 167) a British ruler not only professing the Christian religion
himself, but becoming �a nursing father� to the infant Church. This
illustrious prince was Lucius,
who, in the zeal for the conversion of all his subjects, sent two of his learned
men (Elvanus and Medvinus) to Rome for the purpose of consulting Elutherius,
then Bishop of Rome, as to the best measures to adopt for that purpose. The
Bishop received the messengers gladly, instructed them more perfectly in the
Christian religion,
and sent them back to Lucius (together with two of his own trusted messengers)
with a present of �bothe the Oulde and Newe Testaments�, and also a letter
containing these remarkable words: �You have received in the kingdom of
Britain, by God�s mercy, both the law and faith of Christ. You have both the
Old and New Testament. Out of the same, through God�s grace, by the advice of
your realme, take a law, and by the same, through God�s sufferance, rule you your kingdom of Britain, for in that
kingdom you are God�s vicar.�
I suppose one of the most important considerations we
should take into account about Good King Lucius (and good is spelled with a
capital �G�), is the fact that he was of the Tribe of Judah! This, for him,
made all the difference in the world. After presenting all these references on
King Lucius, you should never forget his tremendously important place in
history. Until King Lucius came along, the teachings of the Nazarene were
standing still, almost dying out. But with Lucius, the Gospel burst forth to
spread all over Britain, and then the continent. Judah owned the sceptre; Lucius
knew how to use it! � as the king, so his royal kinsman subjects. Lucius was
the right man in the right place at the right time! Just like Tamar (his several
times great-grandmother) was the right woman in the right place at the right
time! I will say it again, without Tamar, there would have been no Tribe of
Judah, and thus no Redeemer for Israel! The way back to Yahweh would have been
blocked forever! The true teaching of Redemption is something that is seldom
taught in its proper perspective today. The teaching of salvation has been substituted for the doctrine of
Redemption. Redemption correctly implies kinsman-ship, while the teaching of
salvation incorrectly insinuates universalism.
From
the time of Lucius there was a general peace over Britain, though Rome still
retained an occupation force in the area until and through the time of
Diocletian. We are talking generally about a period from approximately 150 A.D.
to 300 A.D., or about 150 years. As I have already discoursed on the Diocletian
persecution, I will not reintroduce it at this point, except to make a small
quote from the book, St. Joseph Of
Arimathea At Glastonbury, by Lionel Snithett Lewis, page 17:
The
Venerable Bede, writing about A.D. 740, says: �The Britons preserved the Faith
which they had received under King Lucius uncorrupted, and continued in peace
and tranquillity until the time of the Emperor Diocletian.�
The
next major event in the history of the British church, after the Diocletian
persecution, was the coming of Constantine the Great. I looked up the subject of
Constantine the Great in the World Book Encyclopedia, and I can tell you that
the history, as told by many sources, of this man is grossly misrepresented.
Although I do have a few history books that do some justice to the story of
Constantine the Great. Even so, very few will tell you that Constantine the
Great was related to the British of the royal line, especially through his
mother.
CONSTANTINE
THE GREAT
Because
much of the history of Constantine is not told in the usual history books, I
will start this untold story by quoting excerpts from, The Drama of the Lost Disciples, by George F. Jowett, pages 211-214:
The
great peace which had settled over the Island, beginning with the Treaty of
Agricola, A.D. 86, continued for a period of two hundred years. During these two
centuries there is no mention of any British-Roman conflict. Historians are
silent, leaping the two-hundred-year gap as though nothing had occurred in the
tight little island of Britain; then they take up the record in the year A.D.
287, to recite the usurpage of the Roman Emperor�s crown when Carausius. a
Menapian by birth, who was then the Admiral of the Roman fleet, landed in North
Britain, marching to York, where he had himself proclaimed Emperor.
Since
the fall of London, under the arms of Queen Boadicea, the city of York had become
a popular resort of the Romans. From this ancient British city, first
known as Caer Evroc, several Roman Emperors had functioned, probably deeming it
a safer haven to rule from than the city of Rome, rife with jealousy, intrigue
and assassination. Several Roman Emperors are buried within the walls of
this age-old citadel of the Brigantes. ...
Briefly, profane history tells us that Carausius reigned
as Emperor from York for seven years and was then assassinated by Allectus, his
minister, A.D. 294. The assassin reigned for two years and then fell in battle
against the forces of Constantius Chlorus, who succeeded Allectus as
Emperor. He also ruled his Empire from York for ten years. With him began
one of the most momentous chapters in Christian history, beginning in a
maelstrom of persecution and slaughter exceeding the brutal Menaii bloodbath of
the Christians by Suetonius Paulinus and the Boadicean atrocities under the
malignant direction of Catus Decianus, A.D. 60 to A.D. 62. Actually the
stupendous events that began to be enacted with the reign of the Emperor
Constantius Chlorus had their start in the lovely city of Colchester,
thirty-one years before Constantius assumed the Roman purple. ...
In
the year A.D. 265 a daughter was born to King Coel
in his castle at Colchester, who was to become world renowned as Empress
Helen of the Cross. Helen was the Graeco-Roman interpretation of the
British name Elaine. As the Empress-Auguste Helena, she is best
known and so recorded in the brightest annals of Roman history. This beautiful,
accomplished woman was a noble counterpart of her famous predecessors, the Princess
St. Eurgain and the beloved Claudia (Gladys) Pudens (daughters of Caractacus).
Raised in a Christian household and educated in its religious principles, her
natural talents were developed to a high degree by the best scholars and
administrators in the land. Steeped in the traditions of the faith, she espoused
all that is Christian with intelligence and with courage. Helen possessed one
attribute greater than either of her famous royal female predecessors, her
capacity for political administration. While her regal husband and son stood
out eminently in the art of diplomacy, all facts and records prove that her
capacity in this direction played a prominent part in their imperial destiny.
The Christianizing of the Roman empire would undoubtedly have been delayed
centuries but for her energy and devotional support.
As usual, profane history merely describes Helen in her
role as Empress. No mention is given of her ancestry and brilliant heritage.
To all Roman historical records the Empress Helen is made to appear as a
Roman native, wife of a Roman, and the mother of the illustrious Roman son, none
of which is true. They were British to the core. ...
The
Empress Helen is given credit for founding the first cathedral at Tr�ves, after
the elevation of her husband to be Emperor of Rome. It became her favorite
continental residence and. because of her manifold gifts to the city, she was
held in the highest esteem and made the patroness of Tr�ves. The former British
princess became titled �Helen of the Cross�, due to the claim that she found
the cross of Christ buried near Jerusalem, A.D. 326. ... Due to her
association with Tr�ves, and that of her Emperor husband Constantius and their
noble son Constantine (to become Constantine the Great), this city had
closer contact with the early British monarchs than any other on the continent.
From
all of this, we can see clearly who the father and mother of Constantine the
Great were. Did you notice, how the Roman emperors were using Britain as a base
of operations, as they felt safer there than in their own country? There is no
doubt, Constantine�s mother, Helen, was from the royal family of Caractacus,
but Jowett does not go into detail on Constantine�s father�s side of the
house. For this I am going to refer to The
Encyclopedia Britannica, Ninth Editon (1894), volume VI., page 275:
CONSTANTIUS,
Flavius Valerius, commonly called Constantius
Chlorus, or the Pale (an epithet first applied by the Byzantine
historians, though with doubtful accuracy, for there is evidence to show that he
was, like his son, ruddy), Roman emperor and father of Constantine the Great,
was born of noble Dalmatian family about 250 A.D. Having distinguished
himself by his military ability and his able and gentle rule of Dalmatia, he
was, in March, 292, adopted and appointed C�sar by Maximian, whose daughter
Theodosia he was obliged to marry after renouncing his wife Helena. By Helena he
became the father of Constantine. He obtained the title Augustus in 305, and
died the following year.
Dalmatia
is probably ancient Illyria ,which may also be connected historically with
ancient Troy. If this is so, then Constantius Chlorus, and his son Constantine
the Great, are probably also of Zareh-Judah as much as Constantine�s mother
Helen. From this point, I will skip forward in time to about the year 300 A.D.,
and pick up the story from, The Drama of
the Lost Disciples, by George F. Jowett,
pages 216-217:
The
Emperor (Diocletian) poured a huge army into Britain, while Maximian carried on
his destructive course on the continent. Constantius Chlorus had already been
proclaimed Emperor of Rome at York. The British kingdoms were better united. As
one they responded to the battle call of Constantius. Previously the British had
fought years in deciding each Roman conflict, with victory swaying from one side
to the other. Yet, within one year, Constantius terminated the Diocletian
persecution in Britain, inflicting staggering defeats on the Roman arms, driving
them back to the continent, A.D. 302. ...
Following
the expulsion of the Romans, we are told that the Emperor Constantius and his
Queen Empress diligently began to restore the destroyed churches. It was a
titanic task, speaking highly for the Christian devotion of this royal family
who poured their personal fortune into the restoration. During this process of
rehabilitation the Emperor Constantius Chlorus died at York, A.D. 306, and there
he was laid to rest. Immediately, his son Constantine assumed the purple and at
York declared himself Emperor of the Roman Empire. For the next six years
Constantine remained in Britain, building many new churches and institutions of
learning after he had completed restoration of those destroyed. During this
time Diocletian, and particularly Maximian, continued their destruction of
Christian lives on the continent.
Peace
restored in Britain, Constantine, the famed son of famous royal Christian
parents, began to prepare to cross the seas to the continent where his dramatic
destiny was to unfold. He massed a powerful army in Britain, composed wholly of
British warriors. With them he sailed, landing in what today is Germany. The two
armies clashed together on the banks of the Tiber where the British, under the
generalship of the Emperor Constantine, won an overwhelming victory, Maximian
was completely routed and persecution ended. Constantine, with the British
warriors, marched victoriously on to Rome, where he met with an uproarious
welcome. Amid great rejoicing he ascended the Imperial throne, officially
acclaimed by the Senate and the populace of Rome as Emperor. ...
His
first act as Emperor of Rome was to declare Rome Christian, ending for ever
Christian persecution within the Empire, circa,
A.D. 312. Henceforth Rome began her history as a Christian nation. In
nationalizing the faith, Constantine had done for Rome what King Lucius had done
for Britain one hundred and fifty years earlier. In the great Christianizing
work that followed, the gracious Helen, his mother, stood by his side and, as
Severus said, reigned with her son as Empress.
In
the next lesson, I will explore further this interesting and complex story of
Constantine. You can already see, by the preceding evidence, how Constantine who
helped in the restoration of damaged churches, and then built new ones in
Britain after the Diocletian persecution, which proves he was highly motivated
toward Christianity. If he had been still pagan, why would he have done all this
for the cause of the teachings of the Nazarene in Britain? The story that he was
converted on his death bed, under these circumstances, just doesn�t make
sense. I will try to sort out all of the facts, and find out what kind of a
person this man was. I believe there have been a lot of biased writings about
Constantine the Great.
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