SUPREMACY OF GOD ALMIGHTY

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Alexander the Great was a typical example, of Almighty God’s providence and intervention in human affairs. He showed Prophet Daniel the exploits of this great ruler and warrior, Alexander the Great in conquering nations, centuries before it occurred. History marched revelations of this young man; as well as accounts of event of other empires: like Babylonian and Persian Empires. God the creator of the whole universe, can use anybody He wants to accomplish His purpose; no matter how highly or lowly placed the person may be.

Alexander was the son of Philip II of Macedonia. He had the zeal to fight battles, and to conquer territories, right from his childhood. He was born in 356 B.C. in Pelia. At the age of eighteen years, he was already holding commanding position in Macedonian Army.

Philip, the great Macedonian conqueror later died, the man who liberated his own country and brought if from the edge of the abyss into a world power. His dream of conquering the Persian Empire now lays on his successor, his son king Alexander III. As soon as he restored Macedonian rule in northern Greece, Alexander marched into southern Greece. His speed surprised the Greeks; and by the end of the summer 336 BC, they had no other choice but to acknowledge his authority.

Before his death, his father Philip encouraged him to be strong and courageous to conquer nations. He said, “My son Macedonia is too small for you.” Alexander the Great moved swiftly like a leopard, conquering countries with ease. Little did he know it wasn’t actually by his military might. God had predestined him to defeat and subdue many nations, long before he was born, in order to fit into God’s master plan for the world. The young man captured Babylon, and occupied the imperial capital Susa, as well as Persian capital Perepila, and proclaimed himself King of Asia. He met very little resistance in all the countries he defeated. Prophet Daniel, in his revelation, referred to Alexander the Great as the “he goat that broke the horns of the ram. The ram signified King of Persian Empire.

“And as I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven”—Daniel 8: 5-8. History had it that when Alexander died in his prime, his kingdom was split among his four Army commanders.

Historians said that when Alexander defeated Persia (Iran), King Darius fled abandoning his mother, wife, and children. He took good care of them out consideration for their royalty. Though Dairus Army highly outnumbered the Macedonian, Alexander defeated him. Alexander had the instinct of divine assistance in his overrunning of countries. However, he had no clear knowledge of God’s intervention in his life. Similar thing happened to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This was reflected in his resolve not to destroy temples. At one time, he went into a temple of God. There, the priest gave him a scroll containing all that was written about him hundreds of years ago; how he would conquer countries swiftly. After reading through it, he knelt down and worshiped God.

He was severely wounded in Indian battle. But he didn’t die of the wound. He was rescued by his soldiers in a narrow escape. Shortly he contracted high fever. As time went on, the fever became worse with each passing day; until he was unable to move or speak. He finally died of illness on June 7, 323 B.C. without appointing a successor to the Macedonian Empire. He died at the age of 33 years- in his prime. God did not allow him to die in the battle field.

God Almighty showed Daniel that the man would be cut off when young; and his kingdom would be broken into four parts of the world. And it happened. Macedonian Empire was split into four main kingdoms. Seleucus was in charge of Asia. Ptolemy was in Egypt; Lysimachus was in charge of Thrace, while Antipater’s son Cassander was ruling over Macedonia as well as Greece.

Alexander the Great came, saw and conquered. He fulfilled God’s purpose for his life; planned long before he was born. When he had virtually subdued the strong nations, he discovered he wasn’t facing serious challenges again. He went to his tent, wept and said, “There is no more territory to conquer.”

God the creator of the whole universe has allowed a number of empires and kingdoms to rule the world, beginning with Babylonian Empire. Each being deposed in succession, by another empire at God’s appointed time. Eventually, the Lord Almighty, will establish His perfect kingdom that can never be overthrown. It shall endure for ever and ever.

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever”—Daniel 2:44. All those worthy to be in the kingdom shall heave a sigh of relief; that at last the best and peaceful kingdom; the people are yearning for has finally come.

Evangelist Joseph U. Afurobi

God also predestined Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to rule over the earth at one time. He said, “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed good to me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, said the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand”—Jeremiah 27:5-8.

Nebuchadnezzar turned to animal temporarily by God

The reign of Nebuchadnezzar is another example of God’s sovereignty over men; and the truth that the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hands of the Lord. He turns it which ever way he wants. History shows that King Nebuchadnezzar was a son and successor of King Naboplassar of Chaldea; who delivered Babylon from its dependence on Assyria. He laid Nineveh in ruins.

Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from about 605 to 562 B.C, when he eventually died. He departed from this world at about the age of 84 years. His son and grandson sat on his throne in succession, according to God’s word, until the Persian and Mede Empire took over. God Almighty wrought signs and wonders during Babylonian empire; and later Persian/Mede Empire. He miraculously saved three Hebrew men – Meshack, Shedrack and Abednego, from being burnt to death in fiery furnace. They were thrown into the fiery furnace to die, for refusing to bow and worship an image set up by the king. They vowed to worship the only true God, who created the whole universe.

The fire had no effect on them. In fact, instead of three men, the people saw four men strolling leisurely in the midst of the fire. “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said unto his counselors, did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire”—Daniel 3:24-26.

When Nebuchadnezzar became too proud, God pronounced judgement upon him. He vanquished his pride. He gave him a heart of an animal. And he was with other animals in the bush for seven years. After that, He allowed him to return to his throne. Then, he realized that God reigns in the kingdoms of men. History had it that Nebuchadnezzar erected a hanging garden, to please his queen, Amytia.

Babylonia is the present Iraq territory. Iraqis are Babylonians!  Saddam Hussein, the former ruler of the country. He tried to imitate his ancestor Nebuchadnezzar, when he occupied and annexed Kuwait, as one of Iraq provinces in 1990. Nebuchadnezzar was also one of the past rulers of that ancient country with the original name of Babylonia. Little did Saddam know that God Almighty wasn’t in it.
He declared “mother of all battles,” against Allied forces, led by United States of America; and refused to withdraw from Kuwait. The Allied forces dealt a devastating blow on him and his country. Of course, they liberated Kuwait from his clutches. He ran for cover among the populace. The  Allied forces spared him, as it wasn’t in their plan to kill or get him overthrown.
But in the second war that followed years later, the Allied forces came searching for Saddam. When the battle became too fierce for him, he ran helter skelter for safety like a rabbit. He went and hid himself inside a specially dug bunker. He was  captured with a sack of US Dollars beside him. He allowed his face to be overgrown with bears and mustache, like a field overtaken by weeds. He disguised himself and looked unkempt like a madman. He couldn’t fight like and conquer as his ancestor as well as, Nebuchadnezzar, who conquered and subdued nations of the world. God was not in support of what he tried to do.

The Lord God used King Nebuchadnezzar to conquer and subdue nations of the earth. The latter humbled himself to worship the true God at the later part of his life. God is greater than all, and only Him should be worshipped. He vanquished the Egyptian gods, when Pharaoh refused to let the Jews leave his territory. He turned rivers in Egypt to blood; brought the plagues of frogs, swarms of flies, locusts and so on. He brought hail and fire upon the land. The Lord brought thick darkness upon Egypt for three days. The Egyptian deities or gods couldn’t rescue them from the hands of Almighty God. History confirmed the events.

The Lord is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscience. He fills the whole universe. He spoke the world and living things into existence. He created the planets, stars, sun, galaxies, etc. Even scientists agree there must be someone responsible for the orderliness of the universe. For instance, the earth stands on nothing being held by the awesome power of the Almighty.

You cannot conceive God as a physical structure confined to a place. He is everywhere. He is a spirit. They that worship him, should worship Him in spirit and in truth. They that come to God should acknowledge that he exists; and a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him.

When a believer is filled and baptized in the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost), there is mighty power inside him. He has power and dominion over evil men that go about with charms, amulets, talisman, and other demonic powers. He will begin to see them as nonentities. The Holy Ghost is like a dynamite that brakes the rocks to pieces. He (the Holy Spirit), that is in you is greater than he (the devil), that is in the world.

You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you—Acts 1:8. They that trust in charms shall be disappointed and ashamed. At God’s appointed time, He will knock off their diabolical powers. Then, they will become disappointed and ashamed. God’s eyes go to and fro the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect towards Him.

Lucifer, now Satan, was once an anointed cherub, a worship angel unto God until when he rebelled against his creator. God said to Satan, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?”—Isaiah 14:12-17. God has passed judgement of everlasting fire for Satan and other rebellious angels now devils.

Our God is mighty in power. He has no beginning ending. It is a mystery. All who to worship Him in spirit and in truth will also have no ending. That is to say, they will inherit everlasting life. He said behold I make everything new. This present earth for instance, will pass away with great noise; to give way for the new earth at the appointed time. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The new earth will be a very blissful place for those worthy to be there. “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever” – Revelation 22: 1-3 & 5.

The Lamb signifies the son of David, who will be the physical ruler of that final empire which is in the new earth. His kingdom and dominion shall never be overthrown. He will reign for ever in the kingdom of God. The Lord shall wipe away tears from the eyes of His faithful. Sickness and disease will be taken care of. They shall hunger no more.

This world we are living in, is just a testing or trying ground. The Lord has numbered our years in this present earth, in order to try us, and see if we will be obedient to Him. He wants us to amend our ways before Him. Only Him knows how long we are going to stay here. He can take away anybody at any time, at whatever age. Remember, He took Alexander the Great at the young age of 33 years.

God shows Himself strong to those whose hearts are perfect before Him. “Thus said the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that will glory, glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, said the LORD.

He has ways of reaching out or making Himself known to those who trust in Him. You can have personal encounter with God: so that your knowledge of Him won’t depend only o n what you read or hear about Him. He doesn’t change; the same God you have been hearing of that wrought signs and wonders in the past. He knows the number of hairs on your head. Of course, He is bigger than your problems.

It is much better to trust in Almighty God than to trust in idols or charms. Those objects will fail you. But God will never fail or disappoint you. He said, “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shall glorify me” –Psalms 50:15.