In 1815, the legendary Battle of Waterloo was fought in Belgium between the British and the French. The Duke of Wellington led the British, while Napoleon Bonaparte led the French. After a stunning victory by Wellington and the British, the news of the Battle of Waterloo to England was signaled by a ship in the English Channel to a man on shore, who relayed the word to another on a hill, and so on across Britain. The process was a slow one and the messages had to be signaled one word at a time.
The first word, Wellington, was signaled. The next word was defeated. Then a fog closed in, and the message halted.
Across England people wept over the message. “Wellington defeated.” Then the fog lifted. The communication continued with two additional words: “the enemy.” Englishmen celebrated the victory.
There was great sorrow when the body of Jesus was carried from the cross to the tomb. The signal seemed to say, “Jesus Christ defeated.” But three days later the fog lifted and the angel announced, “Jesus Christ defeated the enemy.”