It Is Written

The Man Who Fought Prophecy

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001342


00:07 It has stood the test of time, God's book,
00:11 the Bible.
00:16 Still relevant in today's complex world.
00:22 It Is Written ...
00:24 sharing hope around the globe.
00:36 Leaders come and leaders go from the world stage.
00:40 Some of them are little remembered, while others
00:43 are never to be forgotten.
00:44 One of the most significant figures of world history
00:48 is a man whose exploits see him actually become a man
00:52 of prophetic significance.
00:54 No, his name is not mentioned in the Bible, but his deeds
00:57 and his conquests and ultimately his
01:00 defeat see him fit into one of the most
01:03 important prophecies in the entire Bible.
01:07 [Music]
01:11 Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most significant
01:13 figures in the history of France,
01:16 and few leaders in recent history have impacted
01:18 the world in as big a way as he did.
01:22 Today he rests here - at Les Invalides.
01:28 The complex is a collection of buildings relating
01:30 to France's military history.
01:33 Originally it was a hospital and retirement home for war
01:36 veterans, but now there are museums and monuments -
01:39 as well as this being the burial place for many
01:42 of France's war heroes - including Napoleon.
01:48 His ashes are kept in an incredibly impressive tomb.
01:51 It's one of the most remarkable structures you'll ever see.
01:58 This great honor was given to Napoleon because he was
02:01 - in many minds - one of the greatest military commanders
02:05 in all of history.
02:08 He came to power as the Emperor of France not long
02:11 after the French Revolution, and his aim was the unite
02:15 Europe under the leadership of France.
02:18 And he very nearly succeeded.
02:26 But one thing was against Napoleon.
02:29 Prophecy.
02:32 The word of God said Napoleon couldn't possibly
02:35 be victorious.
02:36 But Napoleon either didn't know what the Bible said,
02:40 or didn't care.
02:42 Napoleon's history demonstrates that what God
02:45 says comes to pass.
02:51 No matter what any person might try to do, what God says
02:56 is going to happen is going to happen.
02:58 The word of God doesn't fail.
02:59 It could be said of the Bible, as f Isaiah said, "No weapon
03:04 formed against thee shall prosper." Napoleon defeated
03:08 much of Europe, but he couldn't defeat
03:12 the word of God.
03:16 So what was this prophecy that doomed the great military
03:19 leader Napoleon to ultimate defeat?
03:22 We're going to take a look at that prophecy right now.
03:25 We find it in Daniel, Chapter 2.
03:28 The chapter begins with another great military leader,
03:32 a man named Nebuchadnezzar, who was the king of Babylon.
03:35 Babylon was a very powerful kingdom, based in what today
03:38 we would call Iraq.
03:41 One night, the king of Babylon had a dream and it was
03:44 so profound a dream, so impressive a dream,
03:47 it caused Nebuchadnezzar to wake up out of his sleep.
03:50 When he woke up, he tried to recall his dream but he
03:54 couldn't remember what he had dreamed and, therefore,
03:56 he couldn't possibly know what the dream meant.
03:59 Maybe you've had a dream like that.
04:02 You wake up in the morning and you say, well, that was
04:04 interesting.
04:05 And you reach for your dream, you try to remember
04:07 what it was but it just seems to slip away.
04:13 Maybe it was something like that for king Nebuchadnezzar.
04:20 Now before I tell you about the dream, I want to tell you
04:23 that the dream itself is a remarkable thing.
04:27 What you're about to see is one of the greatest
04:28 evidences in the Bible for the reliability
04:31 and the trustworthiness of the word of God.
04:35 This dream given many years ago by God to a heathen King
04:39 has made believers out of a lot of skeptics
04:42 - so get ready to be challenged if you do not
04:45 think that the Bible is God's communication to humankind.
04:52 In Nebuchadnezzar's dream that night he saw an impressive
04:55 multi-metal image stood before him.
04:58 This image had a head made of gold, a chest and arms
05:02 of silver, its loins were of brass and its legs
05:06 were made from iron.
05:08 Its feet were a mixture of iron and ceramic clay.
05:12 Then to the King's dismay he watched a bolder strike
05:15 the image on its feet and knock it down.
05:18 And if that was not enough, the rock ground the entire
05:23 image to dust.
05:24 As he watched, the rock then grew bigger and bigger until
05:29 it encompassed the whole earth.
05:38 Now keep in mind, Nebuchadnezzar was
05:40 an idol worshipper.
05:41 Idols were his gods.
05:43 So when he has a dream about a great big idol that is being
05:45 destroyed, he is alarmed.
05:47 A god being destroyed?
05:50 What would the implications be for Nebuchadnezzar
05:52 and for his kingdom?
05:54 So Nebuchadnezzar called his wise men together and he said,
05:58 "I've had a dream..
05:59 It seems to me that the gods are speaking to me and so
06:03 I need to know what the dream was and what it meant.
06:06 Tell me, both things, what I dreamed and what
06:09 the dream meant."
06:10 Now, that wasn't an unreasonable request at all.
06:13 If these wise men were as close to the world of the gods
06:16 as they claimed to be, this shouldn't be any
06:19 problem for them at all.
06:23 They responded: "There is not a man on earth who can tell
06:27 the king's matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has
06:32 ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer,
06:35 or Chaldean.
06:36 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there
06:39 is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods,
06:43 whose dwelling is not with flesh" (Dan 2:10, 11).
06:48 Because they were unable to live up to their reputation,
06:50 because they couldn't interpret for the king what
06:54 his dream was and what it meant, the king ordered
06:56 them to be executed.
06:57 Now this was especially bad news for a young man named
07:00 Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach
07:03 and Abednego.
07:04 Because of their exemplary character, they had been
07:06 included in the group of the king's wise men.
07:08 So when the king said that the wise men
07:10 were to be executed, that included Daniel and his
07:13 friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
07:16 Daniel asked for a little bit of time.
07:19 He and his friends got together and earnestly prayed
07:21 that God would show them the dream and its meaning.
07:24 And God did.
07:26 And so now, Daniel is ushered into the presence of the king.
07:30 Here is what happened.
07:32 "The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was
07:37 Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream
07:40 which I have seen, and its interpretation?"
07:43 Daniel answered in the presence of the king,
07:46 and said, "The secret which the king has demanded,
07:49 the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians,
07:51 and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.
07:56 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets,
08:00 and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar
08:02 what will be in the latter days.".
08:09 The king listened intently as he heard Daniel
08:13 describing his dream.
08:14 He knew this was exactly what he had dreamed
08:17 the night before.
08:18 And then Daniel told the king the meaning
08:21 of the dream.
08:23 "You, O king, are a king of kings.
08:26 For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power,
08:29 strength, and glory; ...you are this head of gold."
08:34 Nebuchadnezzar was like France's Napoleon,
08:40 the French Emperor - eager to be the head,
08:44 wanting to be a great leader.
08:49 According to God's plan, Babylon was to be the first
08:53 in a line of world empires.
08:56 This did not appeal to the king at all.
08:59 He had great plans to make Babylon an enduring kingdom.
09:05 Bricks excavated in the ruins of old Babylon were stamped
09:08 with an inscription in which Nebuchadnezzar announced that
09:10 he built the city to last forever.
09:14 Here was the king of the first world empire confronted by the
09:17 plans of the King of Kings.
09:20 How would he respond?
09:21 He could surrender his plans and accept the plan of God.
09:26 Or he could reject God's plans and push his own agenda.
09:34 You know - it's entirely appropriate that I'm telling
09:36 you this story from France - from Paris, the final resting
09:40 place of the Emperor Napoleon.
09:41 Like Nebuchadnezzar, Napoleon had ideas about great dominion.
09:47 And just like Nebuchadnezzar, Napoleon's ideas and God's
09:51 ideas didn't mesh.
09:53 Listen on, and you'll see how this prophecy in Daniel 2
09:57 guaranteed Napoleon couldn't succeed in bringing Europe
10:02 into one dominion.
10:04 [Music]
10:11 With Nebuchadnezzar's dream, much was at stake.
10:13 The real issue was this: Who was going to control
10:17 human history, God or man?
10:20 Every succeeding king had to answer the same question.
10:24 Would they let God be God or would they try to
10:28 play God instead?
10:32 God emphatically told Nebuchadnezzar - "But after
10:34 you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours."
10:37 In answer, Nebuchadnezzar said; "No, I reject
10:42 God's plan." You see in Daniel 3 just how
10:46 Nebuchadnezzar responded.
10:47 He had his own image built that was made entirely
10:51 out of gold.
10:52 You see, Nebuchadnezzar was saying, instead of Babylon
10:55 being the head of the image, Babylon will be the entire
10:59 image.
11:00 Babylon won't only be the first kingdom, Babylon will be
11:05 the only kingdom.
11:10 Now before we consider this prophecy any further, we
11:12 really ought to take a look at a very important word
11:15 and that's that word "inferior."
11:18 God said to Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom would be
11:20 dominated by an "inferior" kingdom, which humanly
11:24 speaking, doesn't make a lot of sense.
11:27 Normally, you would expect that the superior would
11:30 dominate the inferior.
11:32 But that's not what God said happened.
11:34 Here, we see a progression.
11:36 The gold was conquered by the silver,
11:39 the silver by the bronze, the bronze by the iron,
11:42 each time the conquering@ met God is driving
11:51 home a point here.
11:52 If human beings were in charge, then you might expect
11:55 that the superior would dominate the inferior.
11:58 But God is saying human beings are not in charge.
12:04 The fact that the inferior conquers the superior shows us
12:08 that there is something supernatural taking
12:11 place here.
12:13 God is in charge of human history.
12:17 [Music] In Matthew 4:4 the Word
12:20 of God says "It is written 'Man shall not live by bread
12:23 alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth
12:26 of God'." Every Word is a one minute
12:29 Bible-based daily devotional presented by Pastor John
12:32 Bradshaw and designed especially for busy people
12:35 like you.
12:36 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch
12:39 it on-line everyday on our website itiswritten.com.
12:43 Receive a daily spiritual boost.
12:46 Watch Every Word.
12:47 You'll be glad you did.
12:49 Here's a sample.
12:59 One of the great themes in the Bible is the Second
13:02 Coming of Jesus and again and again the Bible urges us
13:05 to be ready for that day.
13:06 But notice what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:2.
13:10 He said, "For yourselves know perfectly that the day
13:13 of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
13:16 Thieves come unexpectedly.
13:17 Usually, when people are not anticipating them and most
13:19 often when people are not ready for them.
13:22 Paul says that for those who are not ready, the return
13:24 of Jesus will come as a surprise, something
13:27 for which they are not prepared, like a thief in the night.
13:30 The whole purpose of this life is to get ready for the life
13:33 to come.
13:34 What are you spending your time on or devoting your energies to.
13:38 Don't let the return of Jesus catch you unawares.
13:44 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written.
13:46 Let's live today by Every Word.
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15:12 CA 91359, or visit itiswritten.com.
15:20 [Music] The Medo-Persian
15:24 kingdom conquered Babylon in a remarkable way.
15:26 You can read about that in Daniel chapter 5.
15:29 Just as God's plan indicated, Babylon went down and another
15:35 kingdom dominated the landscape.
15:38 While interpreting the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel
15:41 said: "then (there will be) another, a third kingdom of
15:45 bronze, which shall rule over all the earth" (Daniel 2:39).
15:53 The bronze midsection of the image represented Empire of
15:57 Greece.
15:58 At the battle of Issus in 333 BC the Greek army under
16:03 the generalship of Alexander the Great defeated the Medo
16:06 Persians who were under the direct command of king
16:10 Darius the 3rd.
16:12 Ancient sources tell us that the Greeks were vastly
16:14 outnumbered.
16:15 It seems the Medo Persian army was made up of 400,000
16:19 soldiers while the Greek Army may have had as few as 40,000.
16:23 That is a ratio of 10 to 1.
16:27 However, it was a decisive victory for the Macedonians.
16:31 The Persians were turned to flight and as they fled,
16:34 great numbers of them were massacred by the Greeks.
16:38 It was the first time ever that the Medo Persians had
16:41 been defeated with their king present.
16:48 The kingdom of Greece now had its place in the sun.
16:50 This was a vast empire stretching from the Adriatic
16:54 Sea to the Indus River.
16:56 But according to God's plan, it too would make way for the
17:00 rise of a fourth world ruling power.
17:05 Here's what Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar: "
17:23 The legs of iron represented the Roman Empire.
17:26 The Roman Empire lasted more than half a millennium.
17:30 But now notice; it was never conquered by another single
17:34 nation.
17:35 Rome marked the end of the line of the four world empires
17:40 that God predicted would dominate the world.
17:42 There would never be another.
17:46 The Roman Empire was simply absorbed by the nations of
17:49 Europe and ceased to exist.
17:52 Amazing!
17:53 But then God makes another startling announcement.
18:16 The next dominant force on the world scene was to be
18:18 the nations of Europe.
18:20 You it's interesting that these things unfolded just as
18:22 God said they would.
18:24 And remember, God had said that these nations would never
18:27 unite again under one empire.
18:30 Well, what do you think man's response was?
18:32 Man's response was "We don't like it.
18:35 We will unite these nations.
18:37 We will bring these nations together again because we will
18:40 be in charge, and not God."
18:44 You know, the history of Europe is really the story
18:47 of mankind's futile attempt to try to prove God wrong.
18:52 God had said these nations would never unite but some
18:55 of the greatest generals in history marshaled some of
18:57 history's greatest armies in an attempt to conquer
19:01 and unite Europe.
19:02 But they tried and they failed.
19:05 Charlemagne tried and failed.
19:07 It could be said Louis the XIV tried and failed.
19:09 And others did exactly the same.
19:11 They tried and failed.
19:13 Mankind was wrong; God was right.
19:17 [Music÷
19:25 That brings us back to Napoleon.
19:27 At one stage he dominated much of Europe.
19:30 The Arc de Triomphe celebrates his brilliant military
19:33 achievements.
19:36 [Music] Under his leadership
19:37 France probably stood taller in Europe than it did at any
19:41 other time.
19:42 England and Russia were still in his cross hairs.
19:45 But the Russian campaign turned into a disaster
19:48 for Napoleon.
19:50 Knowingly or unknowingly Napoleon was fighting against
19:53 the dictates of the King of Kings.
19:56 Just like Nebuchadnezzar, he said, I will
19:59 control history, not God.
20:03 Just two days before the battle of Waterloo at the
20:05 battle of Ligny, Napoleon defeated the Prussian army
20:09 under Field Marshal Blucher.
20:10 Then torrential rains came and flooded the area.
20:14 This caused Napoleon to actually delay the start
20:17 of the battle of Waterloo ever so slightly.
20:19 .When the battle began, 68,000 British were under
20:23 the direction of the Duke of Wellington.
20:25 The French army numbered 72,000.
20:27 But the Prussians sent a support force of 50,000
20:30 to aid the British.
20:32 As the battle unfolded, Napoleon was actually gaining
20:35 the upper hand.
20:36 But then he needed to reposition his artillery
20:40 and when he did, those heavy grounds made it very, very
20:44 difficult for him to do so.
20:45 By the time the Prussians arrived, the die was cast.
20:51 Could it be that it was not the Prussians and the British
20:53 that defeated Napoleon?
20:55 Could it be that God sent those torrential rains to do
21:00 what man could not do?
21:03 I believe that could be the case.
21:05 You see, God had spoken.
21:06 In the book of Daniel, God said they shall not cleave one
21:10 to another even as iron is not mixed with miry clay.
21:14 On Sunday, June 15, 1815 a brilliant career ended
21:18 at the Battle of Waterloo, in Belgium.
21:23 It's interesting.
21:24 The Arc de Triomphe glorifies Napoleon's many campaigns
21:28 and victories.
21:29 But there's no mention on the Arc de Triomphe of Waterloo.
21:33 It was his downfall.
21:35 God knew best.
21:36 Napoleon was fighting against Providence.
21:39 God had - and God has - a plan for this world.
21:47 It's fascinating that Napoleon was like Nebuchadnezzar
21:50 in many ways.
21:51 A great leader.
21:53 A great strategist.
21:55 A great military man.
21:57 But like Nebuchadnezzar, he sought to fight against
22:01 the word of God.
22:02 That can never work.
22:05 But he was like Nebuchadnezzar in another way, too.
22:08 If you're familiar with the book of Daniel you'll know
22:10 that Nebuchadnezzar came to the place where he accepted
22:14 the true God into his life.
22:16 Now, I don't know if we can go so far as to say Napoleon did
22:19 that, but it's true that while he was in exile on St Helena,
22:23 in the last years of his life - a lot like Nebuchadnezzar's
22:26 7 years in the wilderness - Napoleon recognized that what
22:30 Jesus accomplished through Divine love was much greater
22:35 than the genius and military power of any general.
22:40 He said, "
22:58 Napoleon made the ultimate discovery, Jesus
23:05 and His inexhaustible love for the human family.
23:09 Makes you wonder if Napoleon ever surrendered his heart to
23:11 Jesus Christ but I guess that is something that we will just
23:15 never know?
23:16 What we do know is this.
23:18 That is that God has a plan for the kingdoms and the
23:20 nations of the world.
23:21 And if there's a plan for nations and kingdoms, then
23:25 there's little doubt that God has a plan for your life as
23:28 well.
23:29 Now, if the greatest armies in the world could not frustrate
23:32 the plans of God, why would you fight against God's plan
23:37 for your life?
23:38 One thing is different though.
23:40 You do have a very real choice, whether to say "yes"
23:43 to God and let God lead your life, or to say like some of
23:47 these others did, "No, God, I'm going to go my way."
23:52 On whose side will you stand?
23:54 Will you stand with Napoleon, Alexander the Great,
23:58 and Nebuchadnezzar and say "I'm going to do my own thing?
24:01 Or will you make a decision to let God's plans be the plans
24:06 for your life?
24:08 In the days of these kings (the kingdoms of Europe) God
24:13 will set up His kingdom that will never pass away and he
24:17 wants you to be a part of that kingdom.
24:19 He loves you.
24:20 He died for you.
24:22 In heaven now, God is doing everything he can to prepare
24:27 you for eternity.
24:29 He invites you today to surrender your life to him.
24:38 The prophecies of the Bible, inspired by God to help us
24:41 understand the past and the future.
24:44 To help us see that the Bible can be trusted and to
24:47 encourage us to face the future with confidence.
24:51 I want you to have this eye opening Bible-study guide
24:53 about your future.
24:55 You'll understand Bible Prophecy and you'll see how
24:57 you can read the prophecies of the Bible for yourself
25:01 and know what God is saying in these important
25:04 passages of the Bible.
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27:02 Thanks for joining me today.
27:03 Let's pray together.
27:05 Father in heaven, thank you for this wonderful prophecy in
27:08 Daniel, Chapter 2.
27:09 And thank you for showing us again that just as you have
27:12 a plan for the world, you have a plan
27:14 for each one of us.
27:15 Give us grace, Lord, to be surrendered to you so your
27:17 plans for our lives can be the plans that are carried out in
27:22 our lives.
27:24 Keep us, please, we pray.
27:25 Take our hearts and make them yours.
27:28 I ask in Jesus' name, amen.
27:34 [Music]
27:49 I look forward to seeing you next time.
27:51 Until then, please remember It is written,
27:54 man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
27:57 word that proceeds from the mouth of God.


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Revised 2015-02-05