vision2
March 2007
 
 
The Vision of the Sixth Seal
Constantine Becomes the First Crusader

constantine

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. Rev. 6:15

Emperors War Against the Cross
Invoke the pagan gods in a Religious War
Diocletian had created a tetrarchy (four emperors). Therefore the expression "kings" of the earth is singularly appropriate for the unique situation that existed at the time of Constantine's vision.

The other three emperors declared a holy war against the Christian's god in response to Constantine's conversion. Maximin swore to Jupiter that if he defeated Licinius he would extirpate the Christians. Licinius before battling Constantine ridiculed the cross. Maxentius consulted his oracles. Maximian fashioned a coin like Diocletian where he was Hercules waging war against the Christian hydra.

But when Constantine achieved victory after victory and his troops were emboldened by the banner of the cross, fear swept the pagan legions. Raphael captured the look of consternatioin on the faces of the soldiers fleeing Constantine in his painting of the rout at Milvan Bridge.

Pagans Flee Persecution
Pagans sought refuge in remote "Pagi"
chirho The pagan religion was driven from the seat of power into the remote villages just as the Christians had hidden from state persecution. Villages were called "pagi" and from that time they were referred to as pagans.

Was Constantine Christian or Pagan?
The Controversy Continues Even Today
Constantine's vision and conversion are a subject of great controversy. Some argue his actions were mere political expediency. Clearly many of his actions after his conversion contradicted his testimony.

  • Changed Christ's birthday to the winter solstice
  • Changed the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday
  • Minted coins with pagan deities on the reverse.
  • Put Sol Invictus on top of his famous arch
  • Delayed baptism until his deathbed
  • Did not purge paganism from the empire
  • Introduced the doctrine of the trinity
  • Murdered family members after conversion
  • Continued as Pontifex Maximus

His conversion was the best thing and the worst thing that ever happened to Christianity. And whatever his motives, mixing Christianity and Paganism gradually evolved into an institution more pagan than Christian.

The Figurative Language of the Prophecy
Drawn from Old Testament Prophets
Sadly, most expositors today interpret the the sixth seal literally. But historicists interpret this verse as all others in Revelation figuratively. This is consistent with the prophetic language of the Old Testament. For instance, Hosea used a similar expression to signify the coming fall of Northern Israel to Assyria.

The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us. Hosea 10:8

Jesus uses a similar figurative expression to refer to the call by men to hide from the judgment to come on Jerusalem.

But Jesus turning unto them said, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed [are] the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. Luke 23:28-30

In the book of Samuel the same expression "to hide" is used of Israelites hiding from Philistines in rocky caverns in the time of Saul.

When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. I Samuel 13:6

The sixth seal is the key to understanding the seventh seal earthquake (Armageddon).