God raises men to do His Will on a grand scale. Catholics connect the dots: Cyrus. Caesar. Constantine. Charlemagne.
2 Chronicles 36:22-23: “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:
“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you belongs to His people, may the LORD his God be with him.’”
Ezra 1:1-2, Jeremiah 25:11-12, and Isaiah 45:1 and 45:13 reinforce God’s use of Cyrus with passages like: “I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild My city and set My exiles free, but not for payment or reward,” says the LORD of Hosts.“
Julius Caesar didn’t know that he served God. He made God an empire that stretched from the Euphrates to England. The Apostles walked the same roads and used the same ports as the Roman Legions. God used Caesar to provide The Empire fifty years before Jesus. Without Caesar, Jesus would not have been crucified and The Only Church He Founded would not have been able to grow.
Then, Constantine! As The Early Catholic Church established Dioceses throughout Europe, it was viciously persecuted by every pagan religion. Constantine came out of Illyria, became Emperor of The West, and took over the entire Empire. He made it legal to be Catholic with The Edict of Milan in 313 AD. At the end of his life, he had himself Baptized in The Catholic Church.
500 years later, God raised Charlemagne. He understood the reason for politics!
“Our task is externally, with God’s help, to defend with our arms the holy Church of Christ against attacks by the heathen from any side and against devastation by the infidels and, internally, to strengthen the Church by the recognition of the Catholic faith. Your share, Most Holy Father, is to support our army with hands upraised to God, as did Moses in ancient days, so that the … name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified throughout the world.”
Catholics Connect the dots: Cyrus. Caesar. Constantine. Charlemagne. The next one will arrive on time!
