PSALM 33:11 “The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”
When we discuss the decline and fall of the Roman Empire many people think of Rome as being Europe. This is often the case in Christianity because of the discussion of the beast rising out of the ocean, in Revelation thirteen, with seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads being the city of Rome on seven hills and the ten horns are ten kings of the revived Roman Empire or the European Union as we know it today.
It is thought Christianity alone brought down Western Rome. It seems more likely that tribalism caused the Western Empire to break up into the country groupings that we see today. France was peopled by the Franks and the Gallic peoples some of whom were a branch of the Celts and may have included migrants from Galatia in Asia Minor. The Huns were a Germanic tribe who invaded Rome and formed the Kingdom of the Ostrogoth's while Spain was inhabited by the Visigoths, Seuvi and Basques.
Thus the Western Empire was divided in to separate entities and other influences like the use of mercenaries in the army. Government corruption and insufficient military resources to control Roman interests in Western Europe. This coupled with an over reliance on slave labour the decline of overt paganism inserting different values all combined into a perfect storm that dissolved the political Western Empire in A.D. 479.
However, not many people realise that while we are speaking about the Western Empire and that the Emperor Constantine was instrumental in initiating the transference of the political power of Western Rome into the Church State of the Holy Roman Empire. There is an essay in discussing the evolution of the Western Empire in itself. However, I want to discuss something else which I didn’t really know much about until recently. The continued dominance of the Eastern Empire in the region.
The Eastern Empire continued on after the changes in Western Rome and remained a dominant power until it was finally invaded by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 A.D.. The Eastern Empire was directed by the Emperor based the in the capital city of Constantinople (Modern Istanbul). I was surprised that it continued after the decline of Western Rome for nearly a millennium (1000 years). I had heard that Roman Triremes patrolled the Mediterranean until the end of the ninth century from the Eastern Empire. But the empire actually persisted for another 453 years beyond that.
From a purely Christian point of view God seems to have used the Eastern Empire to protect his people and the word of God from the attack of the enemy through the period of the Dark Ages and up until the end of the Medieval period. Without the Eastern Empire it is doubtful that Christianity would have the had the Received Text and therefore many versions of the bible based on it like the King James Version of 1611 A.D.. It is also likely that Christianity would have been all but snuffed out. For nearly a thousand years the Byzantine Empire provided a relative safe haven against the activities of the Roman Catholic Church (Pagan Rome) and the rise of the newly formed and militant religion of Islam.
The bible speaks of the Mystery of Iniquity which Paul says was active in his time of the first century A.D.. This is the active work of Satan that I believe is called by the Apostle John in the book of Revelation Mystery Babylon. It was established at the fall of the Tower of Babel and has worked insidiously for evil ever since. This organisation has sort to corrupt the minds of the wicked and the wealthy to garner power so as to attack and thwart the plans of the Almighty Yahweh Elohim. In short, during the last two thousand years, to counteract and if possible stop the spread of Christianity by killing Christians and destroying the Church.
Many believe Paganism was defeated by Constantine as he set about Christianising Rome. However I believe that this was far from the truth. Paganism continued (over the last fifteen centuries), to powerfully insinuate itself into the priestly culture. It then moved into every form of government while consolidating a strangle hold on the Christian Church in Europe and then to all levels of government in the countries of Europe, the United States of America and then onto most the rest of the World in the current era.
Well known organistions that are purveyors of Paganism in recent centuries are the Illuminati, Bilderburgers, Free Masons, Rosicrucian's, Jesuits, Theosophical Society, Communism and there are many others. The main vehicle for furthering the cause of Paganism and countering Christianity has been to unite the values of socialism with science to create secular atheism. This has been used to discredit Christianity as myth and legend while replacing Christian moral values with a secular rights based inclusivism. This has seen the rise of a secular agenda aimed exclusively at Christianity and pushing forth a manifesto of paganism including the promotion of homosexuality and abortion. The emphasis on alternate sexuality and the sacrifice of children were strongly integrated into the practices of various pagan religions in the past.
It could be said that the Eastern Roman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church mitigated the impact of Western (Pagan), Rome and the Bishop of Rome on the bible believing Church by purifying Christianity and stopping the worship of saints. The Byzantine Empire also fought the good fight until it’s demise in 1453 A.D., against Mohammad and the newly rising crescent of Islam.
Islam was founded the seventh century in the area of the Arabian desert south of Mesopotamia in the towns known in the current era as Mecca and Medina by Mohammad. The military expansion of Islam was almost immediate with Jerusalem, Damascus, Alexandria and Byzantine Cairo falling under Islamic control soon after the founding of the religion in the seventh century. Obviously this had a profound impact on Christianity as these were some of the most important cities to the theological and political basis of the faith at the time.
This had an effect on the bible with the Syrian Text being sent to the Byzantine Empire for safe keeping and becoming the Received Text. It is believed the Vaudois Church kept the Received Text safe after the eventual demise of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. This occurred when the Turkish Muslim group who were descendants of Othman conquered Constantinople after which it became a central hub in the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire ruled the region until it’s gradual demise after WWI. I believe many Christians were gladdened to see the crescent of Islam on the wain and that bought about the possibility of the formation of the nation of Israel in 1948 A.D.. In the last seventy years we have seen secularism rise into dominance in the West. The USSR fell and the walls separating Western and Eastern Europe fell at the same time. I think many saw this as a victory to Capitalism but in reality it was a victory to liberalism. The values of socialism had become equally those of the West and there was no longer a need for a wall.
By making war on the Middle East with it’s ally Saudi Arabia the United States has created the perfect environment to allow Islam to spread across the West and via the restraint and manipulation of secularism has allowed Islam to begin to supplant Christianity. There can be little doubt that this is a ploy of paganism reborn and the rise of the New World Church. It will enable a rapid movement to more totalitarian style government and the support of all of the pagan and anti-christian religions while attempting to root out Christianity at last.
And so the Age of Grace will have come to an end at the conclusion of the second millennia after Christ. The Eastern Empire played it’s part with the saints in the battle against pagan Rome and Islam and fought the good fight during its season of endurance until it’s end in 1453 A.D.. The final period of seven years known as the Tribulation will soon be upon us and so as we witness the beginning of the final act before the return of the Son of God Jesus Christ our own final act must be to spread the word of his salvation to as many as can be reached in his name.
JOHN 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
JOHN 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Reference List.
Brown D.L. EARLY WITNESSES TO THE
RECEIVED TEXT. http://www.logosresourcepages.org/Versions/received.htm 21.04.19
Revelation of Jesus. https://revelationofjesus.net/en/important-questions/revelation-13-beast-with-seven-heads-and-ten-horns/ 21.04.19
The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire. http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/The-Ottomans.php 21.04.19
Where did the Gaels Originate. https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/289/where-did-the-gaels-originate 21.04.19
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