Rise of Imperial “Christian” Rome

“The great dragon was hurled down –– that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him” (Revelation 12:9 NIV).

— Keith Belhumeur

he fall of the Pagan Roman Empire was a process that occurred over several hundred years, culminating in the 4th century, when Christianity became the official religion of the empire. Thus, the pagan empire transitioned to an Imperial Christian Empire.

The Woman and the Red Dragon

Revelation 12:1-6 provides an overview of then-future Gospel Age events to unfold beyond 100 AD, when John penned his revelations. It introduces the vision of a queenly woman in heaven, clothed as the sun (truth and glory); the moon (Law Covenant) under her feet as foundational; a crown of 12 stars upon her head representing victory, wisdom,¹ and apostolic influence.

Who is this woman? Some view her as Abraham’s seed (natural Israel),² others the Sarah (Grace) feature of the Abrahamic Covenant. Micah 5:3 speaks of the time when “she who is in labor bears a son,” whose context implies the Christ (head and body). Isaiah 66:7-14 pictures a woman giving birth to a son (verse 7) and other children (verse 8). However, in that picture the birth oddly comes before any pain, whereas, in Revelation 12:2 there is pain before birth, so the pictures appear to be different events.

The first two views both seem to picture the birth of the Christ (head and body), whereas in Revelation 12, the woman appears to represent the Church itself. (It is questionable to this author that the Sarah Covenant would stand upon the Law Covenant, since it precedes it and is everlasting [Genesis 17:19] –– each must reckon this individually.) The stars of the crown could represent the twelve apostles (Matthew 19:28; Revelation 21:14), the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 37:9), or twelve tribes of 12,000 each (12 times 12,000, 144,000) representing the Church itself (Revelation 7:4-8).

Acknowledging and respecting that there are multiple views, for the purposes of this article, the woman appears to represent the Church and the 12 stars the influence and light of the Apostles.

The Dragon symbolizes Pagan Rome as Satan’s tool, which held religious authority during the time of John’s visions. This Dragon is linked to the beast of Daniel 7:7 because both have 10 horns. The Dragon’s seven heads are the sum of all four beasts’ heads in Daniel, suggesting it embodies elements from each. The Dragon appears in the heavens, indicating a spiritual or religious context. The heavens pictured in Chapter 12 are the religious heavens of nominal Christendom.

Revelation 12:5 declares the man-child “was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.” This attribute is usually ascribed only to Jesus.³ However, the Church did not beget Jesus. He as the second Adam would spawn the second Eve, the Church as his Bride. Therefore, this child, who would unlawfully rule with a rod of iron, is a false seed or usurper system –– the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3), who would later claim to represent Jesus as God on his earthly throne (Revelation 13:5). Since the average gestation of a child is 280 days, the birth of this apostate system would be due about 280 years from 33 AD, or around 313.

(1) See Proverbs 4:7-9.
(2) See Ezekiel 16:9-12, Isaiah 54:5-7, Hosea 2:19-20.
(3) See Psalm 2:9, Revelation 2:27, 12:5, 19:5.

Historical Context

Religious conflicts developed within Christendom from the early third century up to and following the Council at Nicaea in 325 AD, maturing around 380. The third part of the stars cast down by the Dragon’s tail (political power) were likely those falling from prevailing Christian favor after that momentous gathering. Three main factions had developed in Christendom: “the Athanasian or extreme orthodox party, the Eusebians or middle party, and the Arians or party deemed heretical.”4

(4) Frank Shallieu, The Keys of Revelation, page 293, Revelation Research Foundation, 1993.

The Arians are likely the third part that fell from the Christian heavens during the transition from Pagan Rome to the Imperial Christian Empire. The Dragon stood ready to appropriate this child (verse 5) but it was taken into heaven unto God and His throne, seemingly to mature and develop into this unsanctioned future spiritual ruler of nations.

The Pagan Roman Empire faced significant challenges of internal power struggles, social and political unrest, and religious pressures spurred by Christianity’s rise. In approximately 293, Emperor Diocletian instituted the Tetrarchy system, which divided administrative responsibilities between two senior emperors known as augusti and established a structured succession system through appointed caesares. Emperor Diocletian ruled the eastern provinces with Maximian as his caesar in 285.

The following year he elevated him to coaugustus of the western provinces. In 293, he appointed Galerius and Constantius as replacement caesares. Diocletian perceived Christianity as a threat and initiated a severe persecution in 303 which persisted for ten years until Jesus references this in his letter to the Smyrna Church (Revelation 2:10), situating the context to the very end of the second Gospel age period. Both Diocletian and Maximian abruptly retired in 305. They were succeeded by Galerius (in the east) and Constantius (in the west). Valerius Severus (E) and Maximinus Daza (W) were selected as caesares.

Following the death of Constantius in 306, the Tetrarchy system was disrupted. His army named his son, Constantine, as both Augustus and Caesar of the west, usurping Daza. In the east, Maxentius, son of Maximian, challenged Severus’ claim and declared himself princeps invictus (the first or foremost). Severus relinquished his title to Maxentius in 307. Subsequently, Galerius appointed Licinius as ruler of the east in 308 and Daza as ruler of the west in 310.

War in Heaven

After a failed alliance, claim to the western empire came to a head in 312. Constantine had an army of about 40,000 soldiers, whereas Maxentius had 100,000. Constantine was a deist with an academic interest in Christianity. He included Christian advisors on his staff such as Bishop Hosius of Cordova. He knew he was out-matched in numbers and had been praying to the Sol Invictus –– unconquered sun. “One day, it is told, while on the march toward Rome, Constantine and his soldiers saw a flaming cross in the sky and the words Toutonika: By this, conquer. The following night he had a dream in which Jesus Christ appeared, showed him the sign of the Cross, and told him to inscribe a specific labarum on his soldiers’ standards.”⁵

(5) Richard E. Rubenstein, When Jesus Became God, page 44, Harcourt Publishing, 1999.

Following the advice of Bishop Hosius, Constantine instructed his soldiers to display the labarum –– a Christogram made of the first two Greek letters of Christ’s name, Chi (X) and Rho (P) –– on their standards and shields. Constantine approached Rome expecting a prolonged siege because the city’s walls had never been breached in battle. Amid extreme civil unrest, Maxentius consulted pagan oracles who predicted that “the enemy of the Romans would die that day.” Interpreting this as favorable, Maxentius moved his superior forces outside the city walls, crossing a temporary bridge to confront Constantine at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. During the battle, Constantine’s forces pushed Maxentius’ forces back into the Tiber River, where Maxentius ultimately drowned.

Constantine took Rome and assumed full control of the western empire. Upon the death of Maximinus Daza, Licinius was left in control of the Eastern Empire. Licinius had allowed Christian persecution to continue. Constantine had developed a curiosity with Christianity, albeit mostly for political and social purposes. The two met in Milan in 313 and issued a joint document known as the Edict of Milan. This ended the Christian persecution initiated by Diocletian, guaranteed religious freedom for all, and required restitution of all property taken from Christians.

In 316, both emperors accused the other of a coup attempt to murder and seize the throne, which sparked a war (verse 7). To many Christians, Constantine was falsely personified as Michael-like, leading a holy war for Christianity and gaining a “reputation as Christ’s general” (Rubenstein, page 45). After losing the Battle of Chrysopolis in 324, Licinius resigned as Augustus, leaving Constantine in control of the entire empire. Pagan Rome was being cast down (verse 10), so Satan started to pursue_⁶ the woman’s seed (true Church) in earnest (verse 13). He did so by infiltrating and perverting pure apostolic doctrines with pagan influences and mimicking pagan priesthood practices.

Constantine sought to settle fractured Christian doctrinal debates and consolidate his religious control. In 325, he directed the first ecumenical council in Nicaea and facilitated church leaders to settle doctrinal differences. Famously, the factions debated the “substance” of Jesus. The majority consensus was that Jesus was equal to and of one substance with the Father. Therefore, they surmised Jesus was also God. This led Constantine to enforce these conclusions through the Creed of Nicaea to consolidate and settle orthodox Christian beliefs. All who disagreed were considered anathema and excommunicated, persecuted, or killed (as was Arius).

(6) The Greek dioko, often translated “persecute,” can also mean to pursue with intent to harm.

The Red Dragon Cast Down

The conflict in the heavens showed the emerging apostate Christian system, indulged and empowered by emperors from Constantine to Justinian; it would ultimately become Papacy. Satan continued to instigate conditions within the empire and church orthodoxy to consolidate religious, political, economic, and social power (verse 15). In 380, Constantine’s successors, Theodosius I (East) and Gratian (West), declared Christian orthodoxy “as defined by the Council of Nicaea” the official state religion of the empire in the Edict of Thessalonica. Thus, the Dragon (Pagan Rome) was effectively thrown down to the earth giving rise to Imperial Christian Rome. In verse 12, Jesus warns his Church that Satan will still influence Christendom, even though Pagan Rome morphs to something else. Influential church leaders were enticed with power and wealth, while Gnosticism and other pagan notions influenced the post-apostolic church.

Satan continued his efforts by issuing a flood of false truth and doctrines (verse 15). The very next year, Bishops and leaders acceptable to the realm, conducted the First Council of Constantinople and expanded upon the Creed of Nicaea. They declared that the holy Spirit also is a personage of the essence of God. This solidified the doctrine of the trinity and other modifications, which became known as the Nicene Creed in 381. The Dragon continued to pursue the faithful seed of the woman, while it caught and appropriated the apostate seed until a new beastly and dangerous amalgamation of prior empires rose from the peoples (sea) under Imperial Christendom (Revelation 13:1). The Dragon gave “his power and his throne and great authority” to this beast (verse 2), as explained elsewhere in this issue.