REDEDICATE 250 #20: DOMINATION Theology (PART 2) THE CONSTANTINIAN SHIFT & The "ORIGeN" of Dominion

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:18]Hi everybody. Welcome to Pellegrino Walk. My name is Kevin Cy. Thank you for joining me today as we are discussing domination theology. Well, that's a term that seems a maybe a little excessive.

[00:00:33]I don't think so. So, we're going to dig into that. Uh, in in part one of this, we we started talking about the the doctrine of discovery and we more or less introduced that and how that's filtered into some of what we've been seeing in these noble lies coming from the platform of freedom to 50. We indicated that we're going to pause for a second uh maybe on the individual videos instead of going one by one by one by one with those presenters. We're uh we're kind of talking about history here a little bit. We're going to go back into history. So, we're going to do a little bit of this and then we're going to do some of the presenters and then go from from there. But with this idea of dominion theology or domination, Christian domination, we're going to go back and look at the es and flows of this throughout Christian history. And as we do this, I I think it's really important that you have in the back of your head the idea that there are noble lies, there are exaggerations, there are embellishments that are going on. There are also just complete lies that are happening too that history happened a certain way or an individual was a certain kind of Christian when he when he just simply wasn't. So there's that sort of thing going on as well. But have that in the back of your head as we're discussing the history and where this all came from because it's in front of us right now. But where did it come from? So think of that. Think of dominion theology and then think of domination in terms of rededicate 250 uh the NR that is out there the new apostolic reformation that basically wants to take over politically. They want to be both priests and kings. now priests in the sense of apostles and prophets but kings in terms of kinging the earth and taking over uh the earth for Jesus somehow.

[00:02:52]So I think it's important uh to talk about those two words. So I've called it domination theology. Is that a bit too much? Well let's look at the difference between the two words. First, let's start in Genesis 1:26.

[00:03:09]And that gives humanity dominion over the entire earth and all its living creatures. Uh, it doesn't give man dominion over other men. This is where the dominion mandate from guys like C.

[00:03:24]Peter Wagner, the NR proper, uh, reconstructionism, Christian reconstructionism under Russ's Rush Doney that really came out of the the reformed, uh, camp. All of that is uh, dominion mandate over mankind. We're going to trace that all the way back for you. So, what does Genesis 1:26 give humanity?

[00:03:51]Well, it gives you dominion over the fish of the sea. the birds of the air, the cattle or the livestock and all the earth. Uh not all the earth with man or mankind, all the earth in terms of resources, mining and then stewardship.

[00:04:09]It gives us the responsibility as mankind to steward the land, which frankly we've done a terrible job at.

[00:04:19]And it also gives us uh dominion over every creeping thing that crawls on the ground. Now these two words uh while they both relate to control and power dominion itself implies responsible stewardship. So that's what I was talking about over the mining over the resources over the forests over ways in which we pollute the landscape and need to do a better job. We should be stewarding the land properly. That's what Genesis 1:26 says. Whereas that word domination refers to forceful control, coercion or subjugation. So let's think about that for a second. So what are we actually seeing when we look at the N? When we look at the one new man that we've been emphasizing lately, do we see dominion? So, do we see responsible stewardship, authority, and care, or are we seeing something that's more like forceful control, coercion, manipulation, kinging the earth, folks, what we're seeing is all out domination by these movements, uh, apostles and prophets who are saying just follow me and submit. admit to me this is not responsible stewardship.

[00:05:50]This is domination.

[00:05:52]This is supremacy at the highest levels.

[00:05:55]So when we're seeing this kind of domination from the NR um it really is about power. It's about conquest. It's about empire building frequently resulting in harsh subjugation. And so where do you find domination in the Bible? Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Well, I can assure you folks, it's not a good thing.

[00:06:23]It is mostly descriptive of things that were pretty bad in Israel's history.

[00:06:29]Let's look at the first one, which is Egyptian domination. The Pharaohs dominated the Israelites, placing them under brutal slavery and forcing them to make bricks and labor in the fields.

[00:06:43]That's Exodus 113-14.

[00:06:46]But Egypt dominated the land of Israel for approximately 350 years.

[00:06:53]completely shaped the geopolitical and cultural landscape of the region, significantly influencing the later history, culture, biblical traditions of the ancient Israelites. Even the synretatization of some of the Egyptian religions and gods into Israel had a an incredible impact on Israel. That's one example of domination and it's certainly not from the Lord. The second one is the Philistine domination. Because of Israel's unfaithfulness, God allowed the Philistines to conquer and dominate them for 40 years. This is during the time of Samson struggling against uh Philistine control. The third one and the of course another big one is the Babylonian domination. This is under King Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian Empire, as you know, dominated Judah, uh, destroying Jerusalem and exiling its people to a foreign land. 2 Kings 25 is an example of that, but but basically, um, setting up even an end time scenario that we're looking forward to. This was so significant in Israel's history, but it's all domination. And who's it being done by? the oppressors from the outside. This is not for the church.

[00:08:21]This is not for believers. Well, we've been reiterating that the dominion mandate of taking dominion over man is not found in the Bible. That's domination.

[00:08:32]Yet, it is the all in all to the new apostolic reformation and the guys from the one new man that's rising. It's a belief that Christians are divinely mandated to reclaim dominion over the earth, taking control of even secular institutions and culture to establish God's kingdom on earth before Jesus returns. Once again, it's all about us.

[00:08:59]This is how we know it's it's wrong.

[00:09:02]This is what Barb and I have been fighting biblically and we've been in these movements and we've seen all this up close. Um, it's been thrust upon the nation with rededicate 250. These are the noble lies that are being told.

[00:09:16]Dominion, dominion, dominion. We're going to take over the earth. The earth is going to be restored. Mankind's going to be restored.

[00:09:26]Same thing that the uh new age and the es esoteric streams are saying. So uh why? I'd ask the question why. You should ask the question why on that as well. But these noble lives are being told to keep you in your place. They have an end in mind and their end is keeping you in your place to embrace number one a false history but in the end a false Christ that serves the purposes of the elite Christian supremacists that are basically lining that platform at uh freedom 250. So we're not approaching this topic at this time from a theological perspective but a historical one. I want to go back and look at it. We've approached the theological argument before only to determine there's no biblical basis for dominion theology or dominating society.

[00:10:24]So now we're going to go back and look at it from a historical perspective to understand where it originated because history often informs at least in my research our theology. This is not going to be a super deep dive, maybe about three or four episodes, something like that, depending upon how long I talk about this stuff. Uh to determine what kind of Christianity or church or secular culture was it was it formed in, what were they thinking? Um how did it how did it happen? Christian domination or taking dominion over man was in existence far before the doctrine of Christian discovery that we clearly heard from the platform at rededicate 250. And let me reiterate the statement from the platform. This was the original proclamation. The Congress, therefore, considering the war-like preparations of the British Ministry to subvert our invaluable rights and privileges, and to reduce us by fire and sword by the savages of the wilderness, referring to the natives, the indigenous population of America at the time. and uh certainly brought all of that into rededicate 250 by even mentioning this. And this idea of savages that this is still in the language just says to me that the doctrine of discovery is still alive and well in the hearts and the minds of the presenters at freedom 250. So, I said this before. Let's do a quick overview of the origins of Christian domination or dominion theology and then we're going to trace it. It's got a Catholic lineage and then it has a Protestant lineage goes through the Reformation right into your churches right into your living rooms uh with Rededicate 250. So, we're going to shift all the way back to the time of Constantine. Christianity as a whole back then was reinterpreted and transformed during the time of Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century. The religion transitioned from a persecuted marginalized sect into a favored imperialbacked institution.

[00:12:55]Notice that this is under Constantine.

[00:12:58]This was called the Constantinian shift.

[00:13:01]It shifted from Christianity being persecuted and folks being on the run to an imperialbacked institution.

[00:13:12]Wow, did things change back then. But right before this, Oraijen, one of the church fathers, uh about 185 to 253 AD, he was widely recognized by church historians as the first major church father to spiritualize the second coming of Jesus. So notice again, this is before the 4th century, but Orajen tried to shift things a little bit as well.

[00:13:40]Let's spiritualize all the prophetic about Jesus coming back because we need to change a little bit. We we need to make Christianity more palatable. We need to make it to where it can actually exist in a government or a culture. And this was happening way back when.

[00:14:02]Clearly, the early church broadly expected a literal bodily return of Jesus Christ. But Ryan used an allegorical interpretation to propose that Christ's return happens continually within the hearts of believers. He taught that the second coming signifies Christ revealing his divine nature to the soul, bringing spiritual enlightenment to those who seek a deeper truth beyond the literal text. Some of this is still alive and well in a millennial circles in our in our denominations.

[00:14:40]So under Constantine following the edict of Milan in 313 AD um the faith shifted. It was marginalized. It was grassroots and all of a sudden now it's an imperial institution.

[00:14:57]This permanently altered its structure, theology and even cultural understanding.

[00:15:04]This particular transformation happened across three major pillars. Number one was legalization and imperial favor.

[00:15:14]Number two was theological standardization and number three was structural and aesthetic changes. Starting with legalization and imperial favor after the edict of Milan, Constantine decriminalized Christianity and actively patronized the church. Folks, he funded the construction of massive basilas after this uh pumped money into the church, created situations where uh the marginalized who were persecuted could now become bishops in the church. What an amazing thing. just come over to our side, turn and sell out. And sell out they did. But theological standardization as well. Prior to Constantine, the early church was highly decentralized.

[00:16:04]But to unify the empire, Constantine convened the council of Nya 325 AD.

[00:16:10]council established the Nyian creed, Orthodox beliefs uh trinity um uh deity of of Christ and uh came against Aryanism and of course Aryanism was the belief that Jesus Christ was a created human being distinct from God the father not co-eternal with him and pretty much survives today in some u unitarian universal Christians so to and the Jehovah's Witnesses. And as we're speaking of all this, I want you to think, okay, this was history. Things were changing where the Catholic Church is going to come out of some of these changes. How did Christianity go from this persecuted uh sect of of weakness before God and meekness and gentleness and go into taking over the world? Well, here's where the shift was made. The third pillar, structural and aesthetic changes. So the church began to mirror this administrative structure of the Roman Empire. This is church and state mixing just like we're seeing today.

[00:17:24]Clergy again took on elevated roles similar to Roman magistrates. And here's an interesting point. uh the imagery used to depict Jesus began to change, often portraying him more like a triumphant Roman emperor or conquering hero than the suffering servant. So, isn't that interesting? Reconfiguring Jesus and who he was. He goes from the suffering servant to a conquering hero.

[00:17:58]Well, this is where we get some of this language, folks. And this has been threaded through all the way from Constantine. In fact, from Oryen earlier than Constantine.

[00:18:10]Um he provided that road. He softened up the road for these changes to actually be made to go from the idea of a literal text of a suffering servant to whatever we want to reconfigure Jesus to. And man, did they reconfigure them after this. So again, a brief overview, but on the next episode, we're going to move to the Crusades, which are more around the 11th century. And this time between the 4th century and the 11th century, so much happened obviously the Catholic Church, right? But we're not going to get into the details of that because what we're trying to do is talk about dominion and domination. And not that dominion or domination didn't happen during those years, but it was more localized. We want to talk about the times when domination became the goal of the popes for world conquest. So that's where we're headed to next under the crusades and giving you a little bit more of the backdrop and the background for where the doctrine of discovery actually came from. Well, I hope that was helpful because what we're talking about, folks, is domination. Whether it's today or whether it was back in the 3rd, fourth century, it's still changing Christianity or the biblical language, making it an allegory or typological so that we can get to our ends. Well, what are our ends? Our ends are dominion or domination of society.

[00:19:50]And man needs to get there. He needs to get there at any cost. So, we're seeing the same thing today in rededicate 250.

[00:20:00]They want you to think that this is a Christian nation. They want you to think that this is going to be a good thing.

[00:20:06]That joining church and state together is a good thing. Even though most of our founders would have disagreed with that, but they want to paint on this grand canvas in front of you that the founders actually believed in church and state that the founders were actually Christians.

[00:20:26]And that would be the worst thing for us because one of the reasons why we're going back like this is to look at the atrocities that have been done when church and state have come together.

[00:20:41]Folks, if you're in these movements that are combining church and state and and and slapping Jesus on top of it and uh telling you that this is Christianity and this is what God wants, this is going to lead to a false Christ and an ending of epic proportions that you want to stay away from. Come out of these and come come to the Jesus of the Bible. He's kind. He's loving. He just wants you to repent and uh he wants you to be reconciled with him. Okay. Well, I think that does it for this episode. So, next episode uh part three of this particular sub series is going to be about the Crusades. God bless you.