This Falling Away of 2 Thessalonians 2 study will focus on the fall of the Roman Empire, which led to Satan creating the Roman Catholic Church.
During the first few centuries after our Messiah founded His Church, Satan tried to destroy the Early Church by using the Roman Empire to kill 10 million Christians.
The most intense persecution period was from 303-312 A.D., as Emperor Diocletian tried to wipe out Christianity.
But the saints kept laying down their lives for their Messiah, and the Church just grew faster, so Satan changed his strategy and sought to destroy it from within.
He caused Emperor Constantine to see a vision in which he was told, “In this sign thou shall conquer” and it was the sign of the cross. Constantine went on to take control of the Roman Empire, and he ended the persecution of Christians in 313 A.D.
The ‘conquering’ in the sign of the cross was not just against other leaders or countries; but primarily against the followers of Christ.
Constantine supposedly became a Christian, but the fruit of his life told a different story, as he continued to worship the Sun. He feigned belief to carry out his mission of subverting the Church of Christ.
Satan was creating a new ‘christian’ religion, that of the Roman Catholic Church, which would pervert the commands of God.
Constantine was the founder of what is called “christianity,” and that includes the Christianity of the Roman Catholic Church, the Christian Orthodox Churches and today’s Protestant Churches.
During the 1st – 3rd centuries, the Roman Bishops were working to establish themselves in the Roman Empire, fulfilling, “for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.”
And now they had opportunity to influence the commands of Emperor Constantine, as he created Roman Christianity, which would pervert the teachings of the Holy Scripture, under the guise of Christianity.
Constantine combined the pagan Babylonian and Roman worship of false gods with Christian names, to create a Universal religion, to draw the world under his power.
This is why the Harlot of Revelation 17, the Roman Church, is called Mystery Babylon, for her religion is that of the Babylonians, under the guise of Christianity.
The Father hates the ways of the pagan gods, and He hates it when His people follow after the traditions of the pagan gods.
Bill Cooper tells the truth about the Falling Away of 2 Thessalonians 2, when Emperor Constantine created the Roman religion of Christianity.
Next Study: Son Of Perdition In The Temple Of God
Everything in this article is correct. If I had written it I would have started with the Emperor Hadrian. It was during his reign that the paganization of Christianity began: approximately 200 years before Constantine. And yes, when Constantine came on the scene he made this “new” pagan religion an official religion of the Roman Empire.
Thank you for sharing your insight Paul! I’m writing a series of books about the fulfillment of Revelation, and there’s a chapter about the ‘mystery of iniquity’ which started in the first century, with Simon the Sorcerer who tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit; and after he was rebuked by Peter, went to Rome to start Roman Christianity. It seems that he is the Simon/Peter who was the first pope, not Simon the Apostle, as the harlot Roman Catholic Church proclaims.
As you noted, Emperor Hadrian and the Roman Bishops were active in the creation of Roman christianity.
Keep learning and growing in The Way!
David