The Plagues of Justinian

As WE LEAVE the time of Jesus and enter the A.D. years, history becomes firmer and personalities come into better focus. Documentation is better. Even so, the same historical patterns we have studied continue undiminished. To those who find what we have looked at thus far completely unbelievable, I can only share that feeling with full empathy. The view of history I am presenting seems to demand an understanding that the factors which lie at the bottom of human turmoil may be extremely bizarre factors, and perhaps that is why they have never been resolved. After the lifetime of Jesus, the Christian church grew rapidly. In its early years, Christianity attracted a large number of genuine humanitarians who were enthused by the message Jesus tried to put forth. Early Christian leaders, despite the Essene influence, were able to promote a rather benign religion with many benefits. Jesus had not failed entirely. Early Christians gave people the hope that they could achieve spiritual salvation by acquiring knowledge, by engaging in ethical conduct, by unburdening themselves through confession of wrongdoing, and by making amends for those transgressions that caused a person to suffer guilt. Given the benign character of the early Christian church, it did not need a harsh code of ethics. The severest punishment a person could suffer in most Christian sects at that time was excommunication, i.e., being kicked out. That was considered a very severe punishment, however (equivalent to our modern death penalty), because an individual was considered doomed to eternal spiritual deterioration if he or she was excommunicated. A priest was obliged to do everything he could to appeal to a person's reason before excommunicating him. The primary cause for excommunication was criminal or grossly immoral behavior. For about the first three hundred years of its existence, Christianity remained an unofficial religion and was often persecuted. A number of political leaders eventually became converts and, under them, Christianity began to change. The humanitarian foundation created by Jesus eroded as Christianity became more political. The political transformation of Christianity got its first big push in the West Roman Empire with the Christian conversion of its ruler, Constantine I the Great.* A number of historians believe that Constantine was already leaning in the direction of becoming a Christian because his father was a monotheist. Contemporaries of Constantine have noted, however, that Constantine's true conversion came as the result of a reported vision he had in 312 A.D. Several different accounts have been recorded of that vision. According to Socrates, who wrote about it in the fifth century A.D.: ... as he was marching at the head of his troops, a praeternatural vision transcending all description 

* In the late 3rd century A.D., Roman emperor Diocletian appointed three additional Caesars (emperors) to help him govern the Roman empire. The empire was split into eastern and western divisions for administrative con- venience, each with a separate emperor. From 324 to 337 A.D., however, Constantine ruled both the East and West Roman Empire as sole emperor. 

appeared to him. In fact, at about that time of the day when the sun, having passed the meridian, began to decline towards the West, he saw a pillar of light in the form of a cross on which was inscribed "in this conquer." The appearance of the sign struck him with amazement, and doubting his own eyes, he asked those around him if they could see what he did, and, as they unanimously declared that they could, the emperor's mind was strengthened by this divine and miraculous apparition. On the following night, while he slept, he saw Christ, who directed him to make a standard [flag] according to the pattern he had been shown, and to use it against his enemies as a guarantee of victory. Obedient to the divine command, he had a standard made in the form of a cross, which is preserved in the palace until this day.. . .

1 The truth of Constantine's vision is disputed by those who would attribute it to mere legend-making. Others might view the aerial cross as an unusual reflection of the setting sun, followed by a dream. Some theorists might even argue that it was another manifestation of the UFO phenomenon with its continuing links to apocalyptic religion. Whatever the truth of the story is, Constantine's purported vision of a bright light in the sky followed by the appearance of "Jesus" the next night is stated to be the event which pushed Constantine into the arms of apocalyptic Christianity. He issued the famous "Edict of Milan" one year later. The Edict officially granted tolerance to the Christian religion within the Roman Empire, ending almost three centuries of  Roman persecution. Constantine was responsible for other significant changes to Christianity. It was he who convened, and often attended, the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. At that time, many Christians, such as the Gnostics, strongly resisted efforts by Constantine and others to deify Jesus. The Gnostics simply saw Jesus as an honest spiritual teacher. The Nicene Council met in large part to put an end to such resistance and to create a divine image of Jesus. With this purpose in mind, the Council created the famous Nicene Creed which made belief in Jesus as "the Son of God" a cornerstone of Christian faith. To enforce these often unpopular tenets, Constantine put the power of the state at the disposal of the newly "Romanized" Christian church. Constantine's reign was notable for another achievement. It marked the beginning of the European Middle Ages. Constantine is credited with laying the foundation for medieval serfdom and feudalism. As in the Hindu caste system, Constantine made most occupations hereditary. He decreed that the "coloni" (a class of tenant fanners) were to be permanently attached to the soil on which they lived. Constantine's "Romanized" Christianity (which came to be known as Roman Catholicism) and his oppressive feudalism caused Christianity to move sharply away from the surviving maverick teachings of Jesus into a nearly complete Custodial system. As time progressed and official changes to Christian doctrine continued to be made, two new crimes emerged: "heresy" (speaking out against established dogma) and "paganism" (not adhering to Christianity at all). In the earliest days of the Church, Christian leaders felt that people could only be made Christians by appealing to their reason, and that no one could be, or should be, forced. After Constantine, leaders of the new Roman orthodoxies took an entirely different view. They demanded obedience as a matter of law, and belief on the basis of faith alone rather than reason. With those changes came new punishments. No longer was excommunication the severest penalty of the Church, although it was still practiced. Physical and economic sanctions were also applied. Many devoted Christians became victimized by the new laws when they would not agree to the new Roman orthodoxies. Those victims correctly saw that the Church was moving away from Jesus's true teachings. The new Christian teachings were given a great boost at the end of the fourth century A.D. by East Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Theodosius issued at least eighteen laws aimed at punishing those people who rejected the doctrines established by the Nicene Council. He made Christianity the official state religion and closed down many pagan temples by force. He ordered Christian armies to burn down the famous Alexandrian Library, which was a world book depository and center of learning. The Alexandrian Library contained priceless historical, scientific, and literary records from all over the world-gathered over a period of seven hundred years. Although some of the library had already been ravaged by earlier wars, the destruction by Theodosius's army obliterated what remained. Because most of the documents were one-of-a-kind, a great deal of recorded history and learning was lost. Matters continued to worsen. By the middle of the sixth century A.D., the death penalty came into use against heretics and pagans. A campaign of genocide was ordered by East Roman emperor, Justinian, to more quickly establish the Christian orthodoxies. In Byzantine alone, an estimated 100,000 people were murdered. Under Justinian, the hunting of heretics became a frequent activity and the practice of burning heretics at the stake began. Justinian also introduced more changes to Christian doctrine. He convened the Second Synod of Constantinople in 553 A.D. The Synod was neither attended nor, apparently, sanctioned by the Pope in Rome. At that time, in fact, many of the changes to Christian doctrine in the eastern Roman empire had not yet reached the Papacy, although they eventually would. The Second Synod issued a decree banning the doctrine of "past lifetimes," or "reincarnation," even though the doctrine was an important one to Jesus. The Synod decreed: If anyone assert the fabulous pre-existence of souls and shall submit to the monstrous doctrine that follows from it, let him be anathema [excommunicated].

2 In deference to that decree, all but very veiled references to "pre-existence" were taken out of the Bible. Belief in preexistence was declared heresy. This suppression was enforced throughout the western Christian world and in its sciences. The idea of personal pre-existence still remains, .to a very large degree, a Western religious and scientific heresy. Christianity was shaped into a powerful institution under the East Roman emperors. True to the pattern of history, "Romanized" Christianity was another Brotherhood faction that could be counted on to do battle with other Brotherhood factions, thereby helping to generate nonstop warfare between human beings. The new orthodox Christianity was placed in opposition to all other religions, including the East Roman Mystery Schools, which Justinian banned. We have just observed a snowballing of historical events triggered by Constantine's vision. This period marked one of mankind's "End of the World" episodes, highlighted by religious "visions," cataclysmic genocides, and the creation of a new world social order promising, but not delivering, Utopia. Another important "End of the World" element was also present. A massive plague struck, accompanied by reports of unusual aerial phenomena. Between 540 A.D. and 592 A.D., when Justinian was carrying out his Christian "reforms," a bubonic plague engulfed the East Roman Empire and spread to Europe. The epidemic began inside Justinian's realm, and so it was named "Justinian's Plague." Justinian's Plague was one of the most devastating plagues of history and many people at the time believed it to be a punishment from God. In fact, the word "plague" comes from the Latin word for "blow" or "wound." Plague has been nicknamed "God's Disease," i.e., a blow or wound from God. One reason people thought plague to be from God was the frequent appearance of unusual aerial phenomena in conjunction with outbreaks of the plague. One chronicler of Justinian's Plague was the famous historian, Gregory of Tours, who documented a number of unusual events from the plague years. Gregory reports that just before Justinian's Plague invaded the Auvergne region of France in 567 A.D., three or four brilliant lights appeared around the sun and the heavens appeared to be on fire. This may have been a natural "sun dog" effect; however, other unusual celestial phenomena were also seen in the area. Another historian reported a similar event twenty-three years later in another part of France: Avignon. "Strange sights" were reported in the sky and the ground was sometimes as brightly illuminated at night as in the day. Shortly thereafter, a disastrous outbreak of the plague occurred there. Gregory reported a sighting in Rome consisting of an immense "dragon" which floated through the city and down to the sea, followed by a severe outbreak of the plague immediately thereafter. Such reports chillingly suggest the unthinkable: that Justinian's Plague was caused by biological warfare agents spread by Custodial aircraft. It would be a repetition of similar plagues reported in the Bible and ancient Mesopotamian texts. By the time of Justinian's Plague, however, the Custodians were "invisible." They were hidden behind Brotherhood secrecy and veils of religious myth, yet they were apparently no less concerned about keeping their slave race oppressed. We will see a great deal more evidence of UFO activity associated with plagues in the upcoming chapter on the Black Death. According to apocalyptic prophecy, an event like Justinian's Plague is supposed to herald the coming of a new "Messiah" or messenger from "God." Sure enough, such a figure did arrive. His name was Mohammed. He was born during Justinian's reign at a time when the Plague was still raging. Proclaimed in adulthood as the new "saviour," Mohammed became the leader of a new monotheistic apocalyptic religion: Islam. Like Moses and Jesus before him, Mohammed appears to have been a sincere man, but his new religion nevertheless became a faction which created new religious "issues" for people to endlessly fight over. Like Moses and Jesus, Mohammed was supported by the corrupted Brotherhood.