The First Seal
The Laurel Crown of the Conqueror
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat
on him had a bow; and a crown Rev 6:2
Nerva’s chosen successor Trajan was an able
ruler
whose primary interest was in the welfare of his
people and the expansion of the empire. He initiated
a brilliant series of
campaigns which pushed the borders of the
empire to
their greatest extent. Trajan’s
110 foot column still stands in Rome as memorial to
this unparalleled era of
military victory which continued until Marcus Aurelius.
Many consider Trajan the greatest Roman
Emperor
after Augustus. Nerva made a wise choice
indeed.
A Laurel Crown not a Diadem
The Greek word Stephanos is Appropriate
E.B. Elliott found splendid coins in the British
museum
of Trajan crowned triumphing. The crown awarded to
the victorious emperors in this era was the laurel
crown as opposed to the diadem which was the
crown of barbarous kings. Hence it is appropriate that
the Greek word stephanos (4735) was used
here for
crown as opposed to diadema (1238).
The laurel
crown continued to be worn by emperors until the
time of Diocletian when the diadem came into
use.
Elliott notes that the beast of Revelation 12 (Rome)
has seven diadems.
The five good emperors were all students of
stoicism. The last of the five, Marcus Aurelius
was a major Stoic philosopher.
It is said that "almost every great character,
almost every effort in the cause of liberty emenated
from the ranks of Stoicism." Lecky (see link.)
