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When Gods prophecy almost failed

“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.”

Daniel 2:43

Two days before my wedding, I found myself staring at a monument that honors one of the biggest battles in history.

My groomsmen and I were taking a walk through Leipzig, Germany, and I had no idea that this 300-foot-tall structure of stone and brick would one day strengthen my faith.

That thing is called the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. It was built to remind us of Napoleon’s biggest defeat ever. In 1813, he lost to a coalition of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden. After this, his control over Europe basically unraveled.

Why is this important?

Like Adolf Hitler, Wilhelm II, and Philip II of Spain, Napoleon sought to unite Europe under a single empire. But 2,400 years before, God had declared that after the fall of Rome, no world empire would ever take its place. Europe would be divided into many nations—and they would never unite again.

Humans have tried it for hundreds of years. But God’s Word has never been broken.

Napoleon lost that battle of Leipzig. A year later, Paris fell, and then, he was defeated at Waterloo for the final time.

Here is the most remarkable part: The general who unknowingly fulfilled Bible prophecy by taking the pope captive in 1798 died mysteriously just seventeen days before Napoleon’s final defeat. Napoleon later wrote, “Had Berthier been with me, I would probably have won that battle.” But he wasn’t there. God had used an atheist general to fulfill one prophecy, and when another prophecy stood on the line, that general was suddenly gone.

The devil and Napoleon

Just like Napoleon was about to break Daniel’s prophecy in 1813, the devil tempts us to lose faith in God’s word every day. 
 
What plans does God have for your life? Are you confident He will keep His word? 
 
We’re tempted to question previous decisions.
We’re tempted to generalize God’s promises. 
We’re tempted to look for fulfillment in other things. 
We’re tempted to think we won’t overcome that sin. 
 
But God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20). He will finish what He has started (Philippians 1:6), He is “able to keep you from stumbling” (Jude 24), and He gives you one victory after another to live “righteously and godly in this present age” (Titus 2:12). Don’t listen to the enemy when he tells you these words are not for you. They were written for you personally! 
 
When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, one of them contained the entire book of Isaiah. Scholars carefully unrolled the ancient manuscript—over 24 feet long and more than 2,000 years old — and found, almost at the very center, this famous message: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Dust could not silence it. 2,000 years could not erase it. Napoleon couldn’t prove it wrong. God’s word still stands.

“Let us have more confidence in our Redeemer. Turn not from the waters of Lebanon to seek refreshment at broken cisterns, which can hold no water. Have faith in God. Trustful dependence on Jesus makes victory not only possible, but certain. Though multitudes are pressing on in the wrong way, though the outlook be ever so discouraging, yet we may have full assurance in our Leader; for ‘I am God,’ he declares, ‘and there is none else.’ He is infinite in power, and able to save all who come to him. There is no other in whom we can safely trust.”

The Watchman (Review & Herald), April 28, 1908

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