Watchman's Teaching Letter #15 July 1999

This is the fifteenth in a series of teaching letters. In the last two letters (#13 and #14), I have been bringing you the much neglected story of the Zerah branch of Judah. You will need these back issues to go along with this one. As a matter of fact, you will need all of the issues from #1 to #14, if you don’t already have copies of them. This story of Judah is very complicated, and requires much study and research to comprehend. In the last fourteen issues, I feel I have only scratched the surface of what should be known of the Judah and Tamar story. It is important to include Tamar, for if there had not been a Tamar, there never would have been a Tribe of Judah, and thus a Redeemer for Israel! We came within one woman (Tamar) of not having our redemption. It is so sad to think that many only consider her a common street whore. That is because they really don’t know the full story. This proves how shallow some people’s understanding is, and that includes a lot of professional men of the cloth. Learning the truth might not be very popular, as some may considered it to be on the lunatic fringe.

Once again, I want to thank everyone of you who are helping with the expenses of this ministry. I have tried to make this monthly letter something different and beyond the average run-of-the-mill teaching instrument. I am persuaded you will have to concede that I am getting into areas of study and research which many others have not brought forth, nor care to touch. I know that I am quoting extensively from various sources, but I am trying to condense the most important facts and arrange them in an understandable order. My major concern is — there are many fast talking so-called teachers and preachers out there doing incomprehensible damage faster than I can make repairs. The only way I know to fight this kind of error is with truth, more truth, and still more truth; but truth is not popular. It isn’t now nor ever was. Many people feel more comfortable with something less than the truth. 

Now Continuing The Topic:   

JUST WHO IS THIS PATRIARCH, JUDAH? (Part 15) 

There may be some of you wondering when I am going to change the subject from Judah to something else. I feel it is imperative that we know the entire story of Judah, or we will not understand the Redeemer Himself. If we don’t know the Judah story, we can have no idea who the true church is. Almost everyone is under the impression that somehow the true church came through the Roman Catholic Church, and this is entirely false. With this lesson, we will continue the history of the British Celtic church. In order to get started, I will go back to about 60 A.D. and pick up some of the story from there. We are going to consider one of the brilliant lady military leaders of that time. Her name was Boadicea. I will quote from two different books in order to cover the story. I will first quote from Father Abraham’s Children, by Perry Edwards Powell, Ph. D., pages 108-109:

“ The last phase of this War of Independence is called the Boadicean War. The Iceni and Coranidae as allies of Rome had as yet been peaceful. King Prasutagus had borrowed two million pounds sterling of Seneca, Nero’s minister, and had given all his public buildings as security. He died at the commencement of the war and made Nero heir with his two daughters. Caius Decius was ordered to collect and he did so with a ferocity and a barbarity, levying on the noble’s palaces as well as the royal properties, that he inflamed the whole island. He seized Queen Boadicea and her daughters and among [his] outrageous acts lashed the bare back of the Queen. Now no Cymro will stand for that. When she made her appeal to the men and pulled her long tresses apart and showed her welted back all the men asked to march behind her. The army began with 120,000 men and at its height numbered 230,000. Eighty thousand Romans perished. The Roman army advanced not a step. No quarter was asked or given. Forty thousand Romans were slaughtered in London. In the midst of the conflict Boadicea died, according to Tacitus, of poison. She had earned her name, Victoria.  Her successors as generals were Arviragus, Venusius, and Gwallog of Galgacus. The power of the whole Empire of Rome was paralyzed.”

I find it quite interesting this person Seneca lending the equivalent of “two million pounds sterling to King Prasutagus.” You can find information on Seneca in most any general history book or encyclopedia. I tried to find out if he had any “Jewish” background, but was unable to connect him with the serpent descendants of Cain. Seneca, though, had three marks of a “Jew”, (1) he was a money lender. (2) he was a playwright. (3) he was a political adviser to one high in position, Em Name=false falseMedium Shading 1 Accent 1falsefalse/w:LsdExceptionw:LsdException Locked=61Medium Grid 2 Accent 6Intense Emphasis; mso-style-unhide:no; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:DefaultText2 style=,peror Nero. I know this is not enough proof, but I am highly suspicious of him. I will now quote this same story from Celt, Druid and Culdee, by Isabel Hill Elder, pages 39-41:

“ Having effected a landing (and the testimony of their own historians is that never was country more dearly purchased nor held with greater difficulty) the Romans proceeded with their policy of destruction for which they had become notorious on the continent of Europe.

“ One notable instance has come down to us of the Roman spirit of cruel indifference to human feelings and sufferings. The immensely wealthy Prasutagus, King of the Iceni, apprehensive, in the event of his death, of the Roman brutality likely to be experienced by his queen, Boadicea, and his two daughters, left one half of his fortune to the Emperor Nero, endeavouring thus to secure for them a measure of protection. When, however, his death took place in A.D. 60, the Roman praefect, Caius Decius, seized the royal hoard on the pretext that it came under the denomination (sic. possibly domination) of public property. Resistance being made, the legionaries stormed the palace and carried the treasures off to the Castra. The story of the barbarous treatment meted out to its inmates need not be repeated here, nor of Boadicea, stung to frenzy by these atrocities, bravely taking to the field in defence of her family and her people, the Roman praefect having, in direct violation of the Claudian treaty, also confiscated the estates of the Icenic nobility.

“ Seneca, the usurious, millionaire philosopher, advanced to the Iceni, on the security of their public buildings, a sum of money  — about two million pounds sterling in modern currency, at ruinous rates; this loan, suddenly and violently called in, was the indirect cause of the Boadicean war. It was a disgrace for a Roman to lend to a Roman for interest; they were permitted, however, to lend to a foreigner.

“ The territories of the Iceni were rich in lead-mines, some of which were known to have been worked in times of even greater antiquity; the Romans seized these mines soon after their arrival in Britain, thus cutting off an important source of the wealth of the Icenic people and obliging them to borrow money from Seneca for the maintenance of their state.

“ Boadicea, before leading her people and the tribe of the Trinobantes who joined them, to war, to redress her wrongs, ascended the ‘generals’ tribunal and addressed her army of 120,000 in these words: ‘I rule not like Nitocris, over beast of burden, as are the effeminate nations of the East, nor like Semiramis, over tradesmen and traffickers, nor like the man-woman, Nero, over slaves and eunuchs — such is the precious knowledge such foreigners introduce amongst us — but I rule over Britons, little versed, indeed in craft and diplomacy, but born and trained to the game of war; men who in the cause of liberty stake down their lives, the lives of their wives and children, their lands and property — Queen of such a race, I implore your aid for freedom, for victory over enemies infamous for the wantonness of the wrongs they inflict, for their perversion of justice, for their insatiable greed; a people that revel in unmanly pleasures, whose affections are more to be dreaded and abhorred than their enmity. Never let a foreigner bear rule over me or over my countrymen; never let slavery reign in this island’.”

What do you think of this tremendously great lady, Boadicea? After all, she was a great-granddaughter (after several generations) of Tamar! This shows the kind of spirit and material of which Tamar and her descendants were, and are made of. Maybe, you too, are a descendant of Tamar and Boadicea. What does this have to do with Judah? IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH JUDAH! If you don’t know the entire story of Judah and Tamar, then, you cannot understand the actions and character of a lady like Boadicea! Her father, though, should have told Seneca to keep his filthy money with its obscene interest.

PAUL AND PUDENS

We return now to another subject which I presented in lesson #13 about Pudens, Linus and Claudia of II Timothy 4:21. As you will remember, Linus and Claudia were children of Caractacus (Caradoc called King Arviragus). There is really more to this story than I rendered in that lesson. To understand more about these personages, I will quote from, The Drama of the Lost Disciples, by George F. Jowett, pages 122-125:

“ ... This fact supports the statement of the contemporary writers who state that St. Paul had his abode with the Pudens. There is a special and particular reason as to why he would prefer to reside with the Pudens at the British Palace, apart from its Christian environment.

“ Startling as it may be to the reader, facts will prove that living with the Pudens family was the mother of St. Paul and that Claudia Britannica was the sister-in-law of the Apostle to the Gentiles (nations).

“ St. Paul, writing in his Epistles to those at Rome prior to his coming says (Romans 16:13), ‘Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.’

“ Some have sought to suggest that the woman was St. Paul’s spiritual mother. This is entirely outruled by the facts. A spiritual mother or father, was one who had converted another. As we all know, Christ had converted Paul on the road to Damascus, and Paul had not been to Rome since before the Judean persecution of Christ’s followers, A.D. 33. Thus, twenty-five years had elapsed before his arrival at Rome as an Apostle of Christ. By deduction, Pudens must have been in his late twenties when he married the seventeen-year-old British princess, and at the time of St. Paul’s salutation he must have been near his mid-thirties, which shows a long separation between ‘his mother and mine.’

“ Pudens was born on the family estate at Umbri, a Roman state. His father was a Roman senator, of a long illustrious ancestry. Paul, in describing his Roman citizenship, states (Romans 11:1) that he was a Jew (Benjamite) by race; therefore his parents must have been Jewish [Judean] Benjamites. From this it is obvious that his mother was probably married a second time, and to a Roman of distinguished birth. Rufus Pudens was born of this marriage. His mother was not a Roman consort as Pudens inherited his father’s estates as the legitimate son. If he had been an illegitimate son, born of a consort, the licentious pens of the time, ever ready to declare such an incident, would have said so. On the contrary, Pudens senior and his family are written of in high esteem. Therefore all facts point to a legal marriage, with Rufus as legal offspring. If it had been otherwise, Paul would not have addressed his mother and Rufus with the affection he did.

“ At that time Pudens donated the ground in Britain for the erection of the temple of Neptune and Minerva at Chichester, he was pagan, following his inherited family religion subject to the Roman gods. This does not prove that his Jewish [Judean] mother was a pagan worshipper. Born in the Judean faith she may have remained neutral or indifferent. However, it is certain, between the year A.D. 50 and the nuptial year A.D. 53, that both mother and son must have been converted, for we find Priscilla, his mother, a member of the British household, directly following the marriage of Rufus Pudens to Claudia. On the other hand, Paul would not have sought association with his mother and Rufus if he knew they had remained pagan. His salutation proves that Paul knew beforehand that both were then confirmed Christians. He salutes Pudens, ‘chosen in the Lord’, This is further supported by the Roman writers of that time who attest that ‘all’ of the Pudens household at the Palatium Britannicum were Christian.

“ From all this we realize that St. Paul and Rufus Pudens Pudentius were half-brothers, each having the same mother. In turn this made the British Princess Gladys the Emperor Claudius’s adopted daughter, now known as Claudia Britannica Rufina Pudens Pudentius, sister-in-law to the Apostle of the Gentiles (nations)! ... This substantiates other important facts cited in the Roman Martyrologies that, ‘The children of Claudia were brought up at the knee of St. Paul.’ ...

“ From the swiftness of the events that followed it is seen that St. Paul lost no time in putting into action his bold plan to erect at Rome, on an indestructible foundation, the first Christian Church among Gentiles (nations) above ground. This was the first need and was made possible by a bold act of the British royal family, Claudia and Pudens, in donating their home, the Palace of the British, to be openly declared to be the established Christian Church at Rome. ... This was the birth of the first Church of Christ above ground at Rome. ...

“ Linus, the son of Caractacus, who had remained at Rome, had long before been baptized and confirmed by St. Joseph of Arimathea in Britain. He was a priestly instructor. It was Linus whom St. Paul chose and personally consecrated to be the First Bishop of the Christian Church at Rome. A Prince of the royal blood of Britain, he is the same Linus whom St. Paul addressed in his Epistles. ... St. Peter affirms the fact. He says: ‘The First Christian Church above ground in Rome, was the Palace of the British. The First Christian Bishop was a Briton, Linus, son of a Royal King, personally appointed by St. Paul, A.D. 58.’

“ The church still stands and can be seen in what was once the palatial grounds of the Palatium Britannicum, a memorial to the Christianizing endeavors of St. Paul and the expatriate (exiled) royal British family at Rome with Rufus Pudens. The church is recorded in Roman history under four different names: 1. Palatium Britannicum; 2. Titulus; 3. Hospitium Apostolorum; 4. Lastly, as St. Pudentiana in honour and memory of the martyred daughter of Claudia Pudens, by which name it is known to this day.”

Don’t you find this situation to be outstandingly interesting? I have another good reference to Paul’s being a half-brother to Pudens. It is found in the book, Dedicated Disciples, by Henry W. Stough, pages 158-159:

“ The Apostle Paul was aware of many things that are not recorded in the Scriptures. For one thing, Paul knew that there was a church in the city of Rome, and he knew that this church had been started by some British people who were Christians. They had been captured by the Romans and taken to Rome where they had started a little church. Paul’s mother and his half-brother were living in Rome. Paul’s half-brother, named Rufus Pudens, had married a beautiful young British woman named Gladys. Gladys, who was a princess and a daughter of the British King Caractacus, was living in Rome with her father. ...

“ Paul’s mother Prassede (Priscilla), who was a devout Christian, had no doubt told him about these things, and Paul felt that someone should go there and strengthen them in the faith. So, Paul sent Aristobulus to Rome to help them, and to tell them more about Jesus. Paul had probably given him letters of introduction, not only to his mother and brother Rufus, but also to the Royal Family of Siluria, as Paul was indirectly connected with them, because Rufus had married a princess (Gladys) of the Royal Family.”

Now that we know the Apostle Paul and Rufus Pudens were half-brothers by their mother Priscilla, and Claudia’s children were Paul’s nieces and nephews, making the British Royal Family of Caractacus Paul’s in-laws, this should add a whole new dimension to our understanding of New Testament Scripture. When we add in the fact that the members of this British Royal Family are Tamar’s children by descent, it should be even more interesting! To understand more about the importance of Tamar, you will need my Watchman’s Teaching Letters #2 and #3. We will now move on to the next phase of the story which will be about the Good King Lucius (also a descendant of Tamar) and how he made Christianity the British national faith.

GOOD KING LUCIUS NATIONALIZES THE FAITH

With this next phase of the story, you will notice it is again the British church from Rome which initiates the progress of action. It is the same group we have just been talking about. This British church in Rome has no connection whatsoever with what would later be called the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church was and is a total misfit. To get started on this subject of King Lucius, I will quote excerpts from, The Drama of the Lost Disciples, by George F. Jowett, pages 200-204:

“ In the year A.D. 137 St. Timotheus, son of Claudia Pudens, had journeyed from Rome to baptize his nephew King Lucius at Winton (Winchester), at the same time consecrating him, Defender of the Faith, as legal, royal successor to his ancestor, Arviragus, upon whom Joseph had confirmed the original honour. This began a new wave of evangelism in Britain which, it is said, had somewhat waned since the death of Joseph. To a certain extent this can be understood: rarely do we find the successor of a strong vigorous founding leader equally as dominant; nevertheless, as one reads the long list of teachers that continued to pour from Avalon and Cor Eurgain, filling new Bishoprics at home and abroad, there appeared to be little flickering of the light.

“ However, there is no doubt that the enthusiastic religious zeal that Lucius now supplied infused a vigour more akin to the energy that inspired the founders of the Josephian Mission at Avalon and the Pauline Mission in Cambria, particularly knowing that he was a direct descendant of the royal Silurian kingdoms of Cornwall and Cambria.

“ According to his genealogy Lucius was son of Coel, son of St. Cyllinus, son of Caractacus, son of Bran, son of Llyr. By intermarriage he was also directly descended from Arviragus, of the Cornish-Devon Silures. This made Lucius the great-grandson of both Caractacus and Arviragus, truly a majestic heritage. ...

“ His native name was Lleurug Mawr. Because of his exemplary religious life and his outstanding achievements in church and state, he was termed in Celtic Lleuver Mawr, meaning the ‘ Great Light.’ However, the name by which he is best known is the Latin interpretation Lucius. The Romans latinized his name to Lucius from the Latin ‘ Lux ’, which carries the same implication as the Celtic to the Roman, the ‘Great Luminary.’ ...

“ The most notable event in the meritorious reign of King Lucius was performed in the year A.D. 156 when, at the National Council at Winchester, he established Christianity as the National Faith of Britain. By this act he solemnly declared to the world that Britain was officially a Christian nation by Act of Parliament. This act is described in the British Triads as follows: ‘King Lucius was the first in the Isle of Britain who bestowed the privilege of country and nation and judgment and validity of oath upon those who should be of the faith of Christ.

“ ... The great British Edict was joyously welcomed by Christians in other lands. Sabellius, A.D. 250, shows this national establishment was acknowledged elsewhere beyond the confines of Britain. He writes: ‘Christianity was privately confessed elsewhere, but the first nation that proclaimed it as their religion, and called itself Christian, after the name of Christ, was Britain.’ Genebrand declares: ‘The glory of Britain consists not only in this, that she was the first country which in a national capacity publicly professed herself Christian, but that she made this confession when the Roman Empire itself was pagan and a cruel persecutor of Christianity.’ (This reference to Sabellius and Genebrand can also be found in the book, Celt, Druid and Culdee, by Isabel Hill Elder, page 99.) ...

“ All British and Roman records attest to the fact that Lucius was confirmed and baptized in the faith by his uncle, St. Timotheus, as stated before. He was baptized in the famous Chalice Well, at the foot of the Tor at Avalon, May 28, A.D. 137. In the Year A.D. 167 he commemorated the event by building St. Michael’s on the summit of the Tor, which was the largest Druidic Gorsedd in Britain. This memorial was destroyed in the earthquake that shook Glastonbury, A.D. 1275. ... In the year A.D. 170 Lucius founded the majestic church at Winchester, now known as Winchester Cathedral, and familiar to thousands of Canadian soldiers in World War II garrisoned at Winchester as the Battle Abbey of the British Empire.”

Again, on page 80, George F. Jowett says in his book, The Drama of the Lost Disciples:

“ The founding of Christianity in Britain by the Josephian Mission was truly the beginning of the British national Church. Conversion spread rapidly through the Isles. It is recorded, A.D. 48, that Conor Macnessa, King of Ulster, sent his priests to Avalon to commit the Christian law and its teachings into writing, which they named ‘The Celestial Judgments.’ However, it was not until A.D. 156 that Britain, by the royal edict of King Lucius, officially proclaimed the Christian Church to be the national Church of Britain, at Winchester, then the royal capital of Britain.”

Isabel Hill Elder, in her book, Celt, Druid and Culdee, says this of King Lucius on pages 95-96:

“ The Christian king Lucius, third in descent from Caradoc and grandson of Pudens and Claudia, built the first minster (British word for church) on the site of a Druidic Cor at Winchester, and at a National Council held there in A.D. 156 established Christianity the national religion as the natural successor to Druidism, when the Christian ministry was inducted into all the rights of the Druidic hierarchy, tithes included.”

In the book, St. Joseph Of Arimathea At Glastonbury, by Lionel Smithett Lewis, says this of King Lucius, page 35:

“ St. Joseph’s little circle of twelve disciples was kept going by anchorites (hermits) — as one died another was appointed; but in [the] course of time a certain slackness seems to have come over them. William of Malmesbury tells us that the holy spot at length became a covert of wild beasts. Then in the days of Good King Lucius aforesaid came a revival. Llewrug Mawr, Llewrug the Great (grandson of Saint Cyllinus and great-grandson of Caractacus), nicknamed Lleiver Mawr or the great luminary (hence his Latinized name of Lux or Lucius), was king of Britain in the middle and towards the end of the 2^nd century. He increased the Light that the first missionaries, the disciples of Christ, had brought, by sending emissaries to Eleutherius, Bishop of Rome, requesting him to send missionaries to Britain. The Welsh Triads tell us that Eleutherius, in response, sent Dyfan and Fagan, Medwy and Elfan, all of them British names in A.D. 167.”

For a last quote concerning the Good King Lucius, I will use the book, The Origin and Early History of Christianity In Britain, by Andrew Gray, D.D., pages 38-39:

“ We find (A.D. 167) a British ruler not only professing the Christian religion himself, but becoming ‘a nursing father’ to the infant Church. This illustrious prince was Lucius, who, in the zeal for the conversion of all his subjects, sent two of his learned men (Elvanus and Medvinus) to Rome for the purpose of consulting Elutherius, then Bishop of Rome, as to the best measures to adopt for that purpose. The Bishop received the messengers gladly, instructed them more perfectly in the Christian religion, and sent them back to Lucius (together with two of his own trusted messengers) with a present of ‘ bothe the Oulde and Newe Testaments’, and also a letter containing these remarkable words: ‘ You have received in the kingdom of Britain, by God’s mercy, both the law and faith of Christ. You have both the Old and New Testament. Out of the same, through God’s grace, by the advice of your realme, take a law, and by the same, through God’s sufferance, rule you your kingdom of Britain, for in that kingdom you are God’s vicar’.”

I suppose one of the most important considerations we should take into account about Good King Lucius (and good is spelled with a capital “ G ”), is the fact that he was of the Tribe of Judah! This, for him, made all the difference in the world. After presenting all these references on King Lucius, you should never forget his tremendously important place in history. Until King Lucius came along, the teachings of the Nazarene were standing still, almost dying out. But with Lucius, the Gospel burst forth to spread all over Britain, and then the continent. Judah owned the sceptre; Lucius knew how to use it! — as the king, so his royal kinsman subjects. Lucius was the right man in the right place at the right time! Just like Tamar (his several times great-grandmother) was the right woman in the right place at the right time! I will say it again, without Tamar, there would have been no Tribe of Judah, and thus no Redeemer for Israel! The way back to Yahweh would have been blocked forever! The true teaching of Redemption is something that is seldom taught in its proper perspective today. The teaching of salvation has been substituted for the doctrine of Redemption. Redemption correctly implies kinsman-ship, while the teaching of salvation incorrectly insinuates universalism.

From the time of Lucius there was a general peace over Britain, though Rome still retained an occupation force in the area until and through the time of Diocletian. We are talking generally about a period from approximately 150 A.D. to 300 A.D., or about 150 years. As I have already discoursed on the Diocletian persecution, I will not reintroduce it at this point, except to make a small quote from the book, St. Joseph Of Arimathea At Glastonbury, by Lionel Snithett Lewis, page 17:

“ The Venerable Bede, writing about A.D. 740, says: ‘The Britons preserved the Faith which they had received under King Lucius uncorrupted, and continued in peace and tranquillity until the time of the Emperor Diocletian.’”

The next major event in the history of the British church, after the Diocletian persecution, was the coming of Constantine the Great. I looked up the subject of Constantine the Great in the World Book Encyclopedia, and I can tell you that the history, as told by many sources, of this man is grossly misrepresented. Although I do have a few history books that do some justice to the story of Constantine the Great. Even so, very few will tell you that Constantine the Great was related to the British of the royal line, especially through his mother.

CONSTANTINE THE GREAT

Because much of the history of Constantine is not told in the usual history books, I will start this untold story by quoting excerpts from, The Drama of the Lost Disciples, by George F. Jowett, pages 211-214:

“ The great peace which had settled over the Island, beginning with the Treaty of Agricola, A.D. 86, continued for a period of two hundred years. During these two centuries there is no mention of any British-Roman conflict. Historians are silent, leaping the two-hundred-year gap as though nothing had occurred in the tight little island of Britain; then they take up the record in the year A.D. 287, to recite the usurpage of the Roman Emperor’s crown when Carausius. a Menapian by birth, who was then the Admiral of the Roman fleet, landed in North Britain, marching to York, where he had himself proclaimed Emperor.

“ Since the fall of London, under the arms of Queen Boadicea, the city of York had become a popular resort of the Romans. From this ancient British city, first known as Caer Evroc, several Roman Emperors had functioned, probably deeming it a safer haven to rule from than the city of Rome, rife with jealousy, intrigue and assassination. Several Roman Emperors are buried within the walls of this age-old citadel of the Brigantes. ...

“ Briefly, profane history tells us that Carausius reigned as Emperor from York for seven years and was then assassinated by Allectus, his minister, A.D. 294. The assassin reigned for two years and then fell in battle against the forces of Constantius Chlorus, who succeeded Allectus as Emperor. He also ruled his Empire from York for ten years. With him began one of the most momentous chapters in Christian history, beginning in a maelstrom of persecution and slaughter exceeding the brutal Menaii bloodbath of the Christians by Suetonius Paulinus and the Boadicean atrocities under the malignant direction of Catus Decianus, A.D. 60 to A.D. 62. Actually the stupendous events that began to be enacted with the reign of the Emperor Constantius Chlorus had their start in the lovely city of Colchester, thirty-one years before Constantius assumed the Roman purple. ...

“ In the year A.D. 265 a daughter was born to King Coel in his castle at Colchester, who was to become world renowned as Empress Helen of the Cross. Helen was the Graeco-Roman interpretation of the British name Elaine. As the Empress-Augu/spanste Helena, she is best known and so recorded in the brightest annals of Roman history. This beautiful, accomplished woman was a noble counterpart of her famous predecessors, the Princess St. Eurgain and the beloved Claudia (Gladys) Pudens (daughters of Caractacus). Raised in a Christian household and educated in its religious principles, her natural talents were developed to a high degree by the best scholars and administrators in the land. Steeped in the traditions of the faith, she espoused all that is Christian with intelligence and with courage. Helen possessed one attribute greater than either of her famous royal female predecessors, her capacity for political administration. While her regal husband and son stood out eminently in the art of diplomacy, all facts and records prove that her capacity in this direction played a prominent part in their imperial destiny. The Christianizing of the Roman empire would undoubtedly have been delayed centuries but for her energy and devotional support.

“ As usual, profane history merely describes Helen in her role as Empress. No mention is given of her ancestry and brilliant heritage. To all Roman historical records the Empress Helen is made to appear as a Roman native, wife of a Roman, and the mother of the illustrious Roman son, none of which is true. They were British to the core. ...

“ The Empress Helen is given credit for founding the first cathedral at Tréves, after the elevation of her husband to be Emperor of Rome. It became her favorite continental residence and. because of her manifold gifts to the city, she was held in the highest esteem and made the patroness of Tréves. The former British princess became titled ‘Helen of the Cross’, due to the claim that she found the cross of Christ buried near Jerusalem, A.D. 326. ... Due to her association with Tréves, and that of her Emperor husband Constantius and their noble son Constantine (to become Constantine the Great), this city had closer contact with the early British monarchs than any other on the continent.”

From all of this, we can see clearly who the father and mother of Constantine the Great were. Did you notice, how the Roman emperors were using Britain as a base of operations, as they felt safer there than in their own country? There is no doubt, Constantine’s mother, Helen, was from the royal family of Caractacus, but Jowett does not go into detail on Constantine’s father’s side of the house. For this I am going to refer to The Encyclopedia Britannica, Ninth Editon (1894), volume VI., page 275:

“ CONSTANTIUS, Flavius Valerius, commonly called Constantius Chlorus, or the Pale (an epithet first applied by the Byzantine historians, though with doubtful accuracy, for there is evidence to show that he was, like his son, ruddy), Roman emperor and father of Constantine the Great, was born of noble Dalmatian family about 250 A.D. Having distinguished himself by his military ability and his able and gentle rule of Dalmatia, he was, in March, 292, adopted and appointed Cæsar by Maximian, whose daughter Theodosia he was obliged to marry after renouncing his wife Helena. By Helena he became the father of Constantine. He obtained the title Augustus in 305, and died the following year.”

Dalmatia is probably ancient Illyria ,which may also be connected historically with ancient Troy. If this is so, then Constantius Chlorus, and his son Constantine the Great, are probably also of Zareh-Judah as much as Constantine’s mother Helen. From this point, I will skip forward in time to about the year 300 A.D., and pick up the story from, The Drama of the Lost Disciples, by George F. Jowett, pages 216-217:

“ The Emperor (Diocletian) poured a huge army into Britain, while Maximian carried on his destructive course on the continent. Constantius Chlorus had already been proclaimed Emperor of Rome at York. The British kingdoms were better united. As one they responded to the battle call of Constantius. Previously the British had fought years in deciding each Roman conflict, with victory swaying from one side to the other. Yet, within one year, Constantius terminated the Diocletian persecution in Britain, inflicting staggering defeats on the Roman arms, driving them back to the continent, A.D. 302. ...

“ Following the expulsion of the Romans, we are told that the Emperor Constantius and his Queen Empress diligently began to restore the destroyed churches. It was a titanic task, speaking highly for the Christian devotion of this royal family who poured their personal fortune into the restoration. During this process of rehabilitation the Emperor Constantius Chlorus died at York, A.D. 306, and there he was laid to rest. Immediately, his son Constantine assumed the purple and at York declared himself Emperor of the Roman Empire. For the next six years Constantine remained in Britain, building many new churches and institutions of learning after he had completed restoration of those destroyed. During this time Diocletian, and particularly Maximian, continued their destruction of Christian lives on the continent.

“ Peace restored in Britain, Constantine, the famed son of famous royal Christian parents, began to prepare to cross the seas to the continent where his dramatic destiny was to unfold. He massed a powerful army in Britain, composed wholly of British warriors. With them he sailed, landing in what today is Germany. The two armies clashed together on the banks of the Tiber where the British, under the generalship of the Emperor Constantine, won an overwhelming victory, Maximian was completely routed and persecution ended. Constantine, with the British warriors, marched victoriously on to Rome, where he met with an uproarious welcome. Amid great rejoicing he ascended the Imperial throne, officially acclaimed by the Senate and the populace of Rome as Emperor. ...

“ His first act as Emperor of Rome was to declare Rome Christian, ending for ever Christian persecution within the Empire, circa, A.D. 312. Henceforth Rome began her history as a Christian nation. In nationalizing the faith, Constantine had done for Rome what King Lucius had done for Britain one hundred and fifty years earlier. In the great Christianizing work that followed, the gracious Helen, his mother, stood by his side and, as Severus said, reigned with her son as Empress.

In the next lesson, I will explore further this interesting and complex story of Constantine. You can already see, by the preceding evidence, how Constantine who helped in the restoration of damaged churches, and then built new ones in Britain after the Diocletian persecution, which proves he was highly motivated toward Christianity. If he had been still pagan, why would he have done all this for the cause of the teachings of the Nazarene in Britain? The story that he was converted on his death bed, under these circumstances, just doesn’t make sense. I will try to sort out all of the facts, and find out what kind of a person this man was. I believe there have been a lot of biased writings about Constantine the Great.