more than conquerors

"By this sign, conquer."

"See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered."

These two statements, representing two visions, formed the heart of our exploration at Bethany Bible School on the topic of the History of Christianity.

The first vision, seen by Constantine on the eve of the battle by which he would take control of the Roman Empire, forever muddied, in the course of Christian history, the clarion call of the second vision--that seen by John, a prisoner of the empire--some 200 years earlier.

Constantine's vision of a fiery cross in the sky, accompanied by the words "by this sign, conquer", captivated the students at BBS. I had used the story--from the year 312--as part of my telling of the change of meaning of Christian faith initiated by Constantine's patronage. Now legal, and increasingly privileged, by will of the Emperor, the Christian religion soon became coterminous with power conceived as violence.

The original Christian vision, however, shows power in a different light.

John, greatly weeping because no one was found worthy to open the book and break its seals, hears that a Lion--of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David--has conquered. When John actually looks, however, he sees not a Lion but a Lamb--"standing as if it had been slaughtered." Already identified according to the flesh--as Judah's descendant and David's heir to the throne--the King's true identity, according to the Spirit, is now revealed: not slayer but slain; prey, not predator; not conqueror, but conquered.

Except that the King has conquered, and precisely because of his playing the Lamb. "Worthy are you," sings the heavenly choir, "because you were slaughtered."

"So," I asked. "Are these two visions--Constantine's and John's--the same vision? Or are they different?"

"I think they are different," said Pastor Mgodeli. "Constantine was told to conquer; the Lamb already has conquered."

I was looking for something even more explicit, that is, how the Lamb conquered: by giving his own life rather than taking the lives of his enemies (I did, in fact, add this point). Yet Pastor Mgodeli's answer, while implying mine, also ensures that the text's pitch of hope remains high, thereby empowering our perseverance in love in the face of evil. Because our Lamb has already conquered, we don't have to.

"We are", in fact, "more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Rom 8:37).