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mounted his offensive under those
conditions would have spelled dis–
aster.
Then, suddenly, the weather ex–
perts predicted a lull in the storm -
a short one, to be sure, but long
enough to permit a Channel cross–
ing. So General Eisenhower made
his "final and irrevocable decision"
to proceed with the invasion early
the next morning - Tuesday,
June 6.
Shielded by low clouds, the in–
vasion fleet took the Germans by
surprise. Furthermore, because of
the storm, the German coastal
guards had relaxed their vigilance.
The weather, in all respects, had al–
lied itself with the Allies!
Reminiscing about the critica!
period just prior to the D-Day in–
vasion, General Eisenhower noted
years later: "If there were nothing
else in my life to prove the existence
of an almighty and merciful God,
the events of the next 24 hours did
it. ... The greatest break in a ter–
rible outlay of weather occurred the
next day and allowed that great in–
vasion to proceed, with losses far
below those we had anticipated"
(Time,
June 16, 1952).
• The Battle of Tours, fought in
central France in October, A.D. 732,
was described by nineteenth-cen–
tury German historian Leopold von
Ranke as "one of the most impor–
tant epochs in the history of the
world." The great victory of Charles
Martel and the Franks over the in–
vading Saracens halted forever
Moslem expansion into Europe.
The turning point in the fierce
day-long battle carne when a false
34
rumor of unknown ongm spread
through the Moslem ranks just as
the Moslem cavalry was finally be–
ginning to break through the close–
knit ranks ofFrankish infantry.
The unfounded rumor was that
sorne of the Franks were plundering
the Moslem camp, where much
spoil was stored in the tents. Fearful
of losing their valuable booty, sev–
era! squadrons of Moslem horsemen
galloped off to protect it. Their fel–
low Moslems, however, thought the
horsemen were fleeing from the
Franks, and the whole Moslem host
fell into confusion. As Abd-er-Rah–
man, the Saracen leader, strove to
lead his men back into battle, the
Franks succeeded in surrounding
and spearing him to death. Lead–
erless, the Moslem host fted in de–
feat.
The fate of Europe hung on that
day. Had an unknown Moslem war–
rior not been struck by a false and
unfounded notion, the future of all
Europe might have taken a radically
different path.
Space does not permit the re–
counting of sirnilarly unusual cir–
cumstances at many other critical
junctures in history. But the hand of
God is clearly in evidence in world
affairs through the centuries.
The Unseen Hand
Whether or not miraculous circum–
stances are readily apparent at all
crucial turning points in history, the
Bible nevertheless repeatedly as–
sures us that God is in complete
control of events.
The prophet Daniel declares that
"God removes kings and sets up
kings" (Daniel 2:21, RSV). To King
Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Baby–
Ion, Daniel affirmed that
"the God
of heaven
hath given thee a king–
dom, power, and strength, and
glory" (Daniel 2:37). The seven
years' punishment of Nebuchadnez–
zar (Daniel 4) was. for the purpose
"that all the world may understand
that the Most High dominates the
kingdoms of the world, and gives
them to anyone he wants to, even
the lowliest of men" (Dan. 4: 17,
The
Living Bible).
The prophet lsaiah says it is God
who "bringeth the princes to noth–
ing" (lsaiah 40:23). King David of
ancient Israel declares that "God is
the judge; he putteth down one, and
setteth up another" (Psalm 75 :7).
It
is important to understand,
moreover, that God's intervention
in events is not of a capricious,
"play-it-by-ear" nature. Millennia
ago, God - who knows the end
from the beginning (lsaiah 46: lO) -
set forth a definite scheme of his–
tory, as revealed in the ancient
prophecies of the Bible. At certain
times, it has been necessary for God
to directly intervene to influence
events to conform with the time–
table of that overall master plan.
In this regard, Víctor Hugo -
writing with unusual insight in his
description of Napoleon's defeat at
Waterloo - declared:
"ll
was
time
for this vast man to fall...."
Fulfllled Prophecy
Few realize that the Bible is nearly
one-third prophecy. Prophecy is
simply history told in advance.
James A. Garfield, 20th Presiden! of
The
PLAIN TRUTH January 1977