Bumper Harvests
It takes good weather to produce abundant harvest. In 1942, England was blessed with bountiful harvests which were direly needed. The Minister of Agriculture made this comment on the B.B.C.'s 9 o'clock news broadcast: "Some Power has wrought a miracle in the English harvest fields this summer, for in this, our year of greatest need, the land has given us bread in greater abundance than we have ever known before."
The capture of Casablanca in Morocco was aided by good weather conditions. The Allied General Staff had been warned by weather experts that after October 1 the Atlantic swell off the coast of Morocco would probably be too high for landing purposes. But at midnight on November 6-7, Admiral Hewitt decided to risk the weather and go for Casablanca. The weather favored him. The sea went down, and on November 7, his large collection of ships was approaching the coast in fair weather with a northeasterly wind and a smooth sea (A Sailor's Odyssey by Admiral Cunningham, p 491).
The Invasion of Sicily
The weather was again a vital factor during the invasion of Sicily. How the weather aided the Allied invasion was related by Commander Anthony Kimmins:
"Beyond the horizon there were other forces, some even larger than our own, approaching Sicily to arrive with us dead on zero hour. But although we could not see them, we knew that there was one thing which was worrying them just as much as us — the weather.
"By all the rules' one expects fine weather and a calm sea in the Mediterranean at this time of the year, but now it suddenly started to blow, a real blow, Force 6, half a gale, from the northwest. This meant that it would be blowing down the coast and that many of the beaches would have little lee. The surf would be terrific, and it would be almost impossible for our landing craft to force their way through and land their precious cargoes intact.
"We hoped and prayed that with sunset the wind would drop, but as the sun dipped over the horizon, the wind, if anything, seemed to grow stronger. It was strange and, to me anyhow, a terrifying feeling. In spite of everything that man's ingenuity could do to produce the most modern and up-to-date ships and landing craft; in spite of all the elaborate preparations: here we were, in the long run, at the mercy of the elements.
"The memory of how a gale had sealed the fate of the Spanish Armada sent a nasty chill down one's spine. Foul weather: the eternal enemy of the sailor. But there was nothing to be done about it, and the ships ploughed on with many of the smaller craft taking it over green as they wallowed in the high seas, "But there was no turning back now, and as the darkness closed down and the ships ploughed on, I couldn't help thinking of some of the MIRACLES OF WEATHER which had already favored us in this war: Dunkirk; North Africa. Perhaps three times was too much to expect. Perhaps . . . and then it happened.
"With barely an hour and a half to go before zero hour, the wind suddenly dropped, the white horses disappeared, and the swell went down quicker than I have ever seen it do before. It was so sudden that it was almost miraculous, as if . . . well, put it this way, many a silent prayer of thanks was offered up" (The Listener, July 2, 1943).
The earlier unfavorable weather was actually a blessing in disguise. The enemy garrisons on the Sicilian coast had been on the alert for weeks. But the garrisons were lulled into a sense of security by the wild weather as they believed no one would attempt a landing in such conditions. They allowed their vigilance to relax, confined their small craft to harbor and themselves to bed.
The successful campaign in Sicily was soon followed by the invasion of the mainland of Italy and Mussolini's dramatic downfall. It marked, as President Roosevelt declared, "the beginning of the end."
D-Day Weather
Of all the miracles that took place during World War II, none would probably compare with the miracle of D-Day in 1944 when Allied troops landed in France to open the last campaign against Germany during that war.
Every hazard that could be eliminated had been eliminated. Every foreseeable risk had been covered, and then came that weather. The official story of the invasion weather forecast was reported in The Times:
"For months the meteorological section at Supreme Headquarters had been studying the relative advantages of May, June and July for weather. Using statistics, they found that the chances were about 50 to 1 against weather, tide, and moon being favorable for all services, land, sea and air . . .
"On the morning of the assault the wind had moderated, and the cloud was not only well broken, but its base was at least 4,000 feet high, ideally suited for the large-scale airborne operations. In the hour preceding the landings, when perfect conditions for pinpoint bombings were so essential, there were large areas of temporarily clear sky, and throughout the critical time medium and light bombers were unhampered" (September 9, 1944).
The invasion had been delayed for 24 hours because of bad weather. General Eisenhower made the "final and irrevocable decision" to proceed with the invasion on Tuesday, June 6. The importance of this decision was later revealed by the General when speaking in his home town:
"This day eight years ago, I made the most agonizing decision of my life. I had to decide to postpone by at least twenty-four hours the most formidable array of fighting ships and of fighting men that was ever launched across the sea against a hostile shore. The consequences of that decision at that moment could not have been foreseen by anyone. If there were nothing else in my life to prove the existence of an almighty and merciful God, the events of the next twenty-four hours did it . . . The greatest break in a terrible outlay of weather occurred the next day and allowed that great invasion to proceed, with losses far below those we had anticipated . . ." (Time, June 16, 1952).
What seemed to be an obstacle at the time to the Allies, was actually a blessing in many ways. The weather bluffed the enemy completely. "The German commanders were advised by their meteorological service that there could be no invasion in the period including June 6 because of continuous stormy weather. That is why D-Day forces, landing during a brief break in the windiest month in Normandy for at least 20 years, found so many German troops without officers, and why other enemy coastal units were having exercises at the time of the landings" (The Times, September 11, 1944).
"Preserved for Some Purpose"
The weather was favorable to the Allies in the last war because it was God's purpose for Germany to lose that war. The Air Minister of England, Sir Archibald Sinclair, summed up the matter when he addressed the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland:
"We have been most miraculously preserved. We must have been PRESERVED FOR SOME PURPOSE, and we must seek humbly to discover what that purpose is and be faithful to it . . . I feel sure that we must strive for the utmost for victory, and when we get victory it will solve none of the great problems which are troubling our hearts and minds, but it will give us opportunity.
"Then the question will come: what use . . . shall we make of that opportunity. The thing that seems clear to me is that we shall not succeed in making the most of that opportunity IF WE FORSAKE THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD" (Evening Standard, May 21, 1943).
God allowed the Allies to win World War II in order for this work of the WORLD TOMORROW broadcast and PLAIN TRUTH magazine to have an opportunity to carry the Gospel of God's coming Kingdom to the world before the end comes (Matt. 24:14).
The WEATHER is an instrument in the hands of God through which He worked to bring victory to the Allies in the last war in the same way that He gave victory to the Israelites in their battle with the Philistines (I Sam. 7: 10) .
But the Israelitish nations of today Great Britain, United States and northwestern Europe — have forsaken God and His commandments. The world has forgotten that GOD CONTROLS THE WEATHER —"the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind (hurricane or tornado) and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers" (Nahum 1:3,4). Also read Matt. 8:24; Psalm 107:25 and 135:6,7.
God uses the weather to either bless or curse a nation (Job 36:27-31 and 37:1-13). Why is our nation suffering from bad weather conditions? It is because of SIN — transgressing the commandments and laws of God! (Lev. 26 and Deut. 28).
God is now punishing the nations of Great Britain and the United States. We can no longer expect favorable weather conditions. Russia, Germany and Europe, instead, will probably receive the good weather.
MORE CHAOTIC WEATHER IS COMING! — So says Bible prophecy (Rev. 8:5-12; 11:6; 16:21). There will be more drought (Amos 4:7-8), more rampaging floods, more violent storms, and MORE devastating hurricanes and tornadoes!
But you can be protected — IF you will REPENT now (Acts 2:38) and turn to God for His divine protection that He will give to those who are obeying and serving Him (Nahum 1:7).
Watch world events and PRAY that you will be accounted worthy to escape catastrophic weather YET TO COME!