Chapter 8

X Marks the Spot

There are at least two testimonies relating to this incident in the life of
Constantine. The first comes from a man accompanying his army. According to
this witness,

ìÖthe vision was of the sun godñthe deity worshipped by

certain individuals under the name ëSol Invictusí, [meaning the

invincible Sun].î 1

Accordingly, this vision also took place near the Temple of Apollo. 2

There is also evidence to support the claim that just before Constantine saw
the vision, he was initiated into a particular sect of sun god worship called ìSol
Invictusî (The Invincible Sun), or a perhaps a higher level of Mithraism at the
Temple of Apollo. 3

The next comes from a man named Lactantius. He was the tutor of
Constantineís son Crispus, and is the earliest known author to pen what took
place. 4 According to Lactantius, what Constantine had seen in the sky was an
ìXî. This was supposed to be ìthe celestial sign of Godî.

ìConstantine was warned in a dream to make the celestial

sign of God upon his soldiersí shieldsÖî 5

It is claimed that this ìXî was a letter from the Greek alphabet, which is
equivalent to the English ìchî sound. This would have been the first initial of
the name Christ. But was this the celestial sign of Jehovah, the most High
God? That is highly unlikely. Constantine was a shrewd politician that needed
the Pagans and the Christians that were in his army and the sign of the ìXî
was the perfect tool because it could have a dual meaning. To the Christians it
could be said to mean Christ, but to the Pagans it meant something altogether
different.

ìIt is certain that the X was the symbol of the god Ham in

Egypt, and as such was exhibited on the breast of his

image.î 6

This takes on more relevance when you take into account that the common
abbreviation for Christmas in our day is XMAS.

Because the ìSignî was so vague in its meaning, He could tell the Christians
that it was to honor the One that they followed, and keep his allegiance to the
followers of the sun god.

This next version of the tale is the most widely accepted.