It Is Written Script: 1250 The Man Who Fought Prophecy
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The Man Who Fought Prophecy Program No. 1250 SPEAKER: JOHN BRADSHAW
Leaders come and leaders go from the world stage. Some of them are little remembered, while others are never to be forgotten. One of the most significant figures of world history is a man whose exploits saw him actually become a man of prophetic significance. No, his name is not mentioned in the Bible, but his deeds and his conquests and ultimately his defeat saw him fit into one of the most important prophecies in the entire Bible. Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most significant figures in the history of France, and few leaders in recent history have impacted the world in as big a way as he did. Today he rests here—at Les Invalides. The complex is a collection of buildings relating to France’s military history. Originally, it was a hospital and retirement home for war veterans, but now there are museums and monuments—as well as this being the burial place for many of France’s war heroes—including Napoleon. His ashes are kept in an incredibly impressive tomb. It’s one of the most remarkable structures you’ll ever see. This great honor was given to Napoleon because he was—in many minds—one of the greatest military commanders in all of history. He came to power as the emperor of France not long after the French Revolution, and his aim was the unite Europe under the leadership of France. And he very nearly succeeded. But one thing was against Napoleon. Prophecy. The Word of God said Napoleon couldn’t possibly be victorious. But Napoleon either didn’t know what the Bible said, or didn’t care. Napoleon’s history demonstrates that what God says comes to pass. No matter what any person might try to do, what God says is going to happen is going to happen. The Word of God doesn’t fail. It could be said of the Bible, as Isaiah said, “No weapon formed against thee shall prosper.” Napoleon defeated much of Europe, but he couldn’t defeat the Word of God.
It Is Written Script: 1250 The Man Who Fought Prophecy
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So what was this prophecy that doomed the great military leader Napoleon to ultimate defeat? We’re going to take a look at that prophecy right now. We find it in Daniel chapter 2. The chapter begins with another great military leader, a man named Nebuchadnezzar, who was the king of Babylon. Babylon was a very powerful kingdom, based in what today we would call Iraq. One night, the king of Babylon had a dream, and it was so profound a dream, so impressive a dream, that it caused Nebuchadnezzar to wake up out of his sleep. When he woke up, he tried to recall his dream, but he couldn’t remember what he had dreamed and, therefore, he couldn’t possibly know what the dream meant. Maybe you’ve had a dream like that. You wake up in the morning and you say, “Well, that was interesting.” And you reach for your dream, you try to remember what it was, but it just seems to slip away. Maybe it was something like that for King Nebuchadnezzar. Now, before I tell you about the dream, I want to tell you that the dream itself is a remarkable thing. What you’re about to see is one of the greatest evidences in the Bible for the reliability and the trustworthiness of the Word of God. This dream given many years ago by God to a heathen King has made believers out of a lot of skeptics—so get ready to be challenged if you do not think that the Bible is God’s communication to humankind. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that night, an impressive multi-metal image stood before him. This image had a head made of gold, a chest and arms of silver, loins of brass and legs of iron. Its feet were a mixture of iron and ceramic clay. Then to the king’s dismay, he watched a boulder strike the image on its feet and knock it down. And if that weren’t enough, the rock ground the entire image to dust. As he watched, the rock then grew bigger and bigger until it encompassed the whole earth. Now keep in mind, Nebuchadnezzar was an idol worshipper. Idols were his gods. So when he has a dream about a great big idol that is being destroyed, he is alarmed. A god being destroyed? What would the implications be for Nebuchadnezzar and for his kingdom? So Nebuchadnezzar called his wise men together and he said, “I’ve had a dream. It seems to me that the gods are speaking to me, and so I need to know what the dream was and what it meant. Tell me both things: what I dreamed and what the dream meant.”
It Is Written Script: 1250 The Man Who Fought Prophecy
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Now, that wasn’t an unreasonable request at all. If these wise men were as close to the world of the gods as they claimed to be, this shouldn’t be any problem for them at all. They responded (Daniel 2:10, 11): “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” Because they were unable to live up to their reputation, because they couldn’t interpret for the king what his dream was and what it meant, the king ordered them to be executed. This was especially bad news for a young man named Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Because of their exemplary character, they had been included in the group of the king’s wise men. So when the king said that the wise men were to be executed, that included Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Daniel asked for a little bit of time. He and his friends got together and earnestly prayed that God would show them the dream and its meaning. And God did. And so now, Daniel is ushered into the presence of the king. Here is what happened (Daniel 2:26): “The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?’” Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said (Daniel 2:27, 28): “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.” The king listened intently as he heard Daniel describing his dream. He knew this was exactly what he had dreamed the night before. And then Daniel told him the king the meaning of the dream (Daniel 2:37, 38): “You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold.” Nebuchadnezzar was like France’s Napoleon, the French emperor—eager to be the head, wanting to be a great leader.
It Is Written Script: 1250 The Man Who Fought Prophecy
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According to God’s plan, Babylon was to be the first in a line of world empires. This did not appeal to the king at all. He had great plans to make Babylon an enduring kingdom. Bricks excavated in the ruins of old Babylon were stamped with an inscription in which Nebuchadnezzar announced that he built the city to last forever. Here was the king of the first world empire confronted by the plans of the King of Kings. How would he respond? He could surrender his plans and accept the plan of God. Or he could reject God’s plans and push his own agenda. You know, it’s entirely appropriate that I’m telling you this story from France—from Paris—the final resting place of Napoleon. Like Nebuchadnezzar, Napoleon had ideas about great dominion. And just like Nebuchadnezzar, Napoleon’s ideas and God’s ideas didn’t mesh. Listen on, and you’ll see how this prophecy in Daniel 2 guaranteed Napoleon couldn’t succeed in bringing Europe into one dominion. With Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, much was at stake. The real issue was this: Who was going to control human history: God or man? Every succeeding king had to answer the same question. Would they let God be God, or would they try to play God instead? God emphatically told Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:39): “But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours...” In answer, Nebuchadnezzar said, “No, I reject God’s plan.” You see in Daniel 3 just how Nebuchadnezzar responded. He had his own image built that was made entirely out of gold. Nebuchadnezzar was saying, “Instead of Babylon being the head of the image, Babylon will be the entire image.” In other words, he’s saying, “Babylon won’t only be the first kingdom; Babylon will be the only kingdom.” Before we consider this prophecy any further, we really ought to take a look at a very important word, and that’s that word “inferior.” God said to Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom would be dominated by an “inferior” kingdom, which humanly speaking, doesn’t make a lot of sense. Normally, you would expect that the superior would dominate the inferior. But that’s not what God said happened. Here we see a progression. The gold was conquered by the silver, the silver by the bronze, and the bronze by the iron. Each time, the conquering metal was inferior to the superior.
It Is Written Script: 1250 The Man Who Fought Prophecy
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But God is driving home a point here. If human beings were in charge, then you might expect that the superior would dominate the inferior. But God is saying that human beings are not in charge. The fact that the inferior conquers the superior shows us that there is something supernatural taking place here. God is in charge of human history. BIBLE QUESTION Time for today’s Bible question. Here it is. “I’ve been having some real struggles in my life that I hardly know what to do about. I have prayed for a solution but I see no way out. I want to end my life, but I don’t want to go to hell. Is suicide the unpardonable sin?” Let me tell you this: Suicide is not the way out for you, or for anybody. Let me tell you why. There are several reasons. One, you’re going to cause many people terrible pain. There are many people who love you deeply, and they’re going to be devastated should you do such a thing. Two, you’re going to cause God a lot of pain. God hurts when you hurt, and it will cause Him huge pain to see you do something like that to yourself. Is suicide sin? Yes it is. (Now I know you might be able to say, “But what about...?” but we’re not going there right now.) Murder is sin, and suicide is self-murder. Not good. Suicide represents a complete loss of faith in God. You’re saying, “I’m in a place too dark and too deep for God to get me out of.” And that’s not true. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” If you are struggling, go to God and tell Him all about it. He will help you. And He will help you to see that there is hope. One other thing. If you’re experiencing these thoughts, see somebody. Talk to a professional. Speak with a pastor or minister if you can. See a doctor. Call the suicide prevention line in your area. You want to take this seriously, and know that there are many people who are there to help you.
It Is Written Script: 1250 The Man Who Fought Prophecy
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©2012 It Is Written International Television. All Rights Reserved.
If you have a question you’d like answered, go to our website, www.itiswritten.com, and click on the Questions button. Submit your question, and in a future program we might be able to answer your question. If you have a Bible question for Pastor John Bradshaw, please write to It Is Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359. RETURN TO PROGRAM The Medo-Persian kingdom conquered Babylon in a remarkable way. You can read about that in Daniel chapter 5. Just as God’s plan indicated, Babylon went down and another kingdom dominated the landscape. While interpreting the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel said (Daniel 2:39): “Then [there will be] another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.” The bronze midsection of the image represented empire of Greece. At the battle of Issus in 333 BC, the Greek army under the generalship of Alexander the Great defeated the Medo-Persians, who were under the direct command of King Darius III. Ancient sources tell us that the Greeks were vastly outnumbered. It seems the MedoPersian army was made up of 400,000 soldiers while the Greek army may have had as few as 40,000. That is a ratio of 10 to 1. However, it was a decisive victory for the Macedonians. As the Persians fled, great numbers of them were massacred by the Greeks. It was the first time ever that the Medo-Persians had been defeated with their king present. The kingdom of Greece now had its place in the sun. This was a vast empire stretching from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. But according to God’s plan, it too would make way for the rise of a fourth world-ruling power. Here’s what Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:40): “And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.” The legs of iron represented the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire lasted more than half a millennium. But now notice: it was never conquered by another single nation. Rome marked the end of the line of the four world empires that God predicted would dominate the world. There would never be another. The Roman Empire was simply absorbed by the nations of Europe and ceased to exist. Amazing! But then God makes another startling announcement (Daniel 2:41-43):
It Is Written Script: 1250 The Man Who Fought Prophecy
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“Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.” The next dominant force on the world scene was to be the nations of Europe. It’s interesting that these things unfolded just as God said they would. And remember, God had said that these nations would never unite again under one empire. Well, what do you think man’s response was? Man’s response was, “We don’t like it. We will unite these nations. We will bring these nations together again because we will be in charge, and not God.” You know, the history of Europe is really the story of mankind’s futile attempt to try to prove God wrong. God had said these nations would never unite, but some of the greatest generals in history marshaled some of history’s greatest armies in an attempt to conquer and unite Europe. But they tried and they failed. Charlemagne tried and failed. It could be said Louis the XIV tried and failed. And others did exactly the same. They tried and failed. Mankind was wrong; God was right. That brings us back to Napoleon. At one stage he dominated much of Europe. The Arc de Triomphe celebrates his brilliant military achievements. Under his leadership, France probably stood taller in Europe than it did at any other time. England and Russia were still in his crosshairs. But the Russian campaign turned into a disaster for Napoleon. Knowingly or unknowingly, Napoleon was fighting against the dictates of the King of Kings. Just like Nebuchadnezzar, he said, “I will control history, not God.” Just two days before the Battle of Waterloo at the Battle of Ligny, Napoleon defeated the Prussian army under Field Marshal Blucher. Then torrential rains came and flooded the area. This caused Napoleon to actually delay the start of the Battle of Waterloo ever so slightly. When the battle began, 68,000 British were under the direction of the Duke of Wellington. The French army numbered 72,000. But the Prussians sent a support force of 50,000 to aid the British. As the battle unfolded, Napoleon was actually gaining the upper hand. But then he needed to reposition his artillery, and when he did, those heavy grounds made it very, very difficult for him to do so. By the time the Prussians arrived, the die was cast.
It Is Written Script: 1250 The Man Who Fought Prophecy
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Could it be that it was not the Prussians and the British that defeated Napoleon? Could it be that God sent those torrential rains to do what man could not do? I believe that could be the case. You see, God had spoken. In the book of Daniel, God said, “They shall not cleave one to another even as iron is not mixed with miry clay.” On Sunday, June 15, 1815, a brilliant career ended at the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium. It’s interesting. The Arc de Triomphe glorifies Napoleon’s many campaigns and victories. But there’s no mention of Waterloo on the Arc de Triomphe. It was his downfall. God knew best. Napoleon was fighting against Providence. God had—and God has—a plan for this world. It’s fascinating that Napoleon was like Nebuchadnezzar in many ways. A great leader. A great strategist. A great military man. But like Nebuchadnezzar, he sought to fight against the Word of God. That can never work. But he was like Nebuchadnezzar in another way, too. If you’re familiar with the book of Daniel, you know that Nebuchadnezzar came to the place where he accepted the true God into his life. Now, I don’t know if we can go so far as to say Napoleon did that, but it’s true that while he was in exile on Saint Helena in the last years of his life—a lot like Nebuchadnezzar’s seven years in the wilderness—Napoleon recognized that what Jesus accomplished through Divine love was much greater than the genius and military power of any general. He said, “Why should we not recognize in this miracle of love the eternal Word which created the world? The other founders of religions had not the least conception of this mystic love which forms the essence of Christianity.” Napoleon made the ultimate discovery: Jesus and His inexhaustible love for the human family. It makes you wonder if Napoleon ever surrendered his heart to Jesus Christ. What we do know is this: That God has a plan for the kingdoms and the nations of the world. And if there’s a plan for nations and kingdoms, then there’s little doubt that God has a plan for your life as well. Now, if the greatest armies in the world could not frustrate the plans of God, why would you fight against God’s plan for your life? One thing is different though. You do have a very real choice: whether to say “yes” to God and let God lead your life, or to say like some of these others did, “No, God. I’m going to go my way.” On whose side will you stand? Will you stand with Napoleon, Alexander the Great and Nebuchadnezzar and say, “I’m going to do my own thing?” Or will you make a decision to let God’s plans be the plans for your life?
It Is Written Script: 1250 The Man Who Fought Prophecy
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In the days of these kings (the kingdoms of Europe), God will set up His Kingdom that will never pass away, and He wants you to be a part of that Kingdom. He loves you. He died for you. In Heaven now, God is doing everything He can to prepare you for eternity. He invites you today to surrender your life to Him. Thanks for joining me today. Let’s pray together. PRAYER Father in Heaven, thank you for this wonderful prophecy in Daniel chapter 2. And thank you for showing us again that just as you have a plan for the world, you have a plan for each one of us. Give us grace, Lord, to be surrendered to you so your plans for our lives can be the plans that are carried out in our lives. Keep us, please, we pray. Take our hearts and make them yours. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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