Continued from previous post
Verses 41- 43: "He shall enter also into the glorious land [Palestine], and many shall fall: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab, and the principality of the children of Ammon. [Napoleon kept to the coast, and did not enter but passed by these lands.] He shall stretch forth his hand upon the countries, and Egypt shall not escape. And he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians will follow at his steps."
Verses 44 and 45: "And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace [his palatial tents] between the [two] seas [the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee], in the glorious holy mountain [Mount Tabor]." This statement might refer to either of two mountains--Mt. Tabor or Mt. Sinai--both of which might be called glorious and holy. On Mt. Tabor, glorious and holy as the place of our Lord's transfiguration, and called by Peter "the holy mount," Napoleon's tents were pitched, one of his most important battles being fought there. Mt. Sinai, holy and glorious as being the place where the Law Covenant between God and Israel was ratified, was visited by Napoleon and his "scientific corps" and select guard.
"But tidings [or rumors] out of the East and out of the North [France] shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many [nations]. Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."
While in Egypt tidings of fresh alliance against France reached Napoleon, and he at once set out for France. With reference to this history says, "Intelligence from Europe now induced him to abandon Egypt; and, leaving his army under Kleber, he returned to France with secrecy and dispatch…A reverse of fortune had taken place in French affairs; a second coalition had formed against France, composed of England, Russia, Naples, the Ottoman Porte and Austria."
Compare these words of history with those of prophecy: "But tidings out of the East and out of the North shall trouble him; therefore shall he go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many [nations]." Napoleon's great fury, and his attempted destruction of all the nations of Europe, is too well known to require repetition here. He almost succeeded in his ambitious designs; yet, as predicted by the Prophet, in a few years this most notable man of his day died an exile, forsaken by all.”(C 45, 46)
“Eventually he conducted a campaign to Russia, conquering all others as he went along. However, with the severity of the winter in Russia, he lost almost his entire army and barely escaped back to France with his life…The account about Napoleon is not always sequential. It tells of various things he did and even repeats. Enough information however is presented to pin down Napoleon as the character being described… After losing the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon died in exile on an island in the Mediterranean. It is felt that he was poisoned.
We will conclude our study of Chapter 11 of Daniel in our next post.
