D-Day occurred on June 6th 1944 and was considered to be the major turning point of World War II in which the Allied forces took the upper hand over the Axis powers. In the Presidents Code, World War II portrayed the struggle between Moses and Pharaoh. This concept can be seen in the etymology of the two sides engaged in the war.
The origin of the word Axis, as in the enemy Axis Powers, comes from the Hebrew word ציר 'tsiyr' which means a strong pressing as in the weight of a door resting on a hinge. The word in Hebrew for Egypt is מצרים 'mitsrayim' which comes from this same word ציר 'tsiyr.'
The etymology of the Allied Powers comes from the word 'ally' which means to join or be united such as a family or those in covenant. This points to Israel, the covenant people of God (Exodus 2:24). Here we see a direct connection between the Axis Powers and Egypt versus the Allied Powers representing Moses and Israel and all the mixed multitude that joined with them.
Just as Pharaoh was able to rise to power during the days of Israel in Egypt, so too it was through the world wide depression that Adolf Hitler was given the ability to rise to his position of power. He used government to improve the infrastructure of Germany and prepare for war, giving millions of Germans jobs during this world wide Depression.
Scripture defines Pharaoh as the beast from the sea (Ezekiel 27:1; 29:3; 32:2), a picture of satan on earth (Revelation 12:1-17; 13:1).
Adolf Hitler personified this beast during his time in power. He wished to rule the world in a 1,000 year Reich, a counterfeit of the Kingdom of Heaven in which Messiah Jesus will rule for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4). Hitler wished to raise up a society of 'Ubermensch,' which means supermen or 'god-men,' a counterfeit of the Sons of God who will rule the earth with Messiah (Daniel 7:18, 27; Romans 8:13-39).
Franklin Roosevelt saw the war against Hitler as a struggle between Democracy and Totalitarianism. D-Day was the embodiment of this struggle. The D-Day onslaught on mainland Europe was described as a 'struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization. To set free a suffering humanity.'
Supreme Allied Commander
Dwight Eisenhower said in his D-Day Orders:
"You are about to embark upon a great crusade...The eyes of the world are upon you.
The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you...
You will bring about...the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe...
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely...
And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."
Roosevelt led the nation in prayer that evening which was originally entitled 'Let Our Hearts Be Stout.'
"Everywhere in the world there are men of stout heart and firm faith now engaged in a great spiritual struggle to test whether that ancient wisdom is to endure, or whether it must give way to the older, discarded doctrine that some few men shall dominate multitudes of others and dictate to them their thinking, their religion, their living. This conflict has found its most terrible expression in a war which has now engulfed a large portion of humanity. In its more peaceful aspects, the same struggle also pervades all efforts of men of good will who are seeking through democracy the way to the world to come.
"In teaching this democratic faith to American children, we need the sustaining, buttressing aid of those great ethical religious teachings which are the heritage of our modern civilization. For "not upon strength nor upon power, but upon the spirit of God" shall our democracy be founded." {Franklin D. Roosevelt - letter to Samuel I. Rosenman on Religion in Democracy, 16 December 1940}
This portion of Scripture which FDR references comes from Zechariah 4 which is speaking of the two anointed ones which stand by the Lord of the whole earth. This is a picture of the redeemed saints who will rule and reign with Messiah in His kingdom. They are redeemed and given victory by His power, not their own.
Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
This is echoed in Psalm 44 where the Psalmist is speaking of the fathers passing down to their children how God had delivered them in days of old. It was not by their own power, but by His arm, the Light of His Countenance. His Right Hand/Arm and the Light of His Countenance is speaking of the Messiah (Hebrews 1:3; Isaiah 52:10; 63:8-9; John 8:12; 2 Corinthians 4:6). It is only through faith in Him that believers can be delivered from their enemies. This salvation was foreshadowed in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. This was culminated at the Red Sea when Israel's enemies were destroyed and they saw the salvation of God (Exodus 14:13). The Hebrew word for salvation in this verse is ישועה 'yeshuah' which is the source of
the name Jesus.
The freedom upon which the government of the United States rests, is based upon the Spirit of the Lord.
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Further displaying this need for reliance upon God is FDR's second Inaugural address:
"In taking again the oath of office as President of the United States, I assume the solemn obligation of leading the American people forward along the road over which they have chosen to advance. While this duty rests upon me I shall do my utmost to speak their purpose and to do their will, seeking Divine guidance to help us each and every one to give light to them that sit in darkness and to guide our feet into the way of peace."
Here we see Roosevelt drawing from the Scriptures in the phrase 'give light to them that sit in darkness and to guide our feet in the way of peace.' This is specifically referring to the Messiah (Isaiah 42:1-7; Luke 1:79) who delivers mankind from sin and death inherited in the Garden of Eden. This was foreshadowed in Israel going down to Egypt during the famine and the Lord delivering Israel out of Egypt by His mighty Right Arm (Psalm 107:9-10; Exodus 15:1-6).
In Roosevelt's third Inaugural address he reminded and rededicated the country to her duty of preserving the Democratic-Republican form of government which is designed to preserve the unalienable rights which man is given by his Creator.
"ON each national day of inauguration since 1789, the people have renewed their sense of dedication to the United States.
In Washington's day the task of the people was to create and weld together a nation.
In Lincoln's day the task of the people was to preserve that Nation from disruption from within.
In this day the task of the people is to save that Nation and its institutions from disruption from without."
"And yet we all understand what it is—the spirit—the faith of America. It is the product of centuries. It was born in the multitudes of those who came from many lands—some of high degree, but mostly plain people, who sought here, early and late, to find freedom more freely.
The democratic aspiration is no mere recent phase in human history. It is human history. It permeated the ancient life of early peoples. It blazed anew in the middle ages. It was written in Magna Charta.
In the Americas its impact has been irresistible. America has been the New World in all tongues, to all peoples, not because this continent was a new-found land, but because all those who came here believed they could create upon this continent a new life—a life that should be new in freedom.
Its vitality was written into our own Mayflower Compact, into the Declaration of Independence, into the Constitution of the United States, into the Gettysburg Address.
Those who first came here to carry out the longings of their spirit, and the millions who followed, and the stock that sprang from them—all have moved forward constantly and consistently toward an ideal which in itself has gained stature and clarity with each generation.
The destiny of America was proclaimed in words of prophecy spoken by our first President in his first inaugural in 1789—words almost directed, it would seem, to this year of 1941: 'The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered ... deeply,... finally, staked on the experiment intrusted to the hands of the American people.'
If we lose that sacred fire—if we let it be smothered with doubt and fear—then we shall reject the destiny which Washington strove so valiantly and so triumphantly to establish. The preservation of the spirit and faith of the Nation does, and will, furnish the highest justification for every sacrifice that we may make in the cause of national defense.
In the face of great perils never before encountered, our strong purpose is to protect and to perpetuate the integrity of democracy.
For this we muster the spirit of America, and the faith of America.
We do not retreat. We are not content to stand still. As Americans, we go forward, in the service of our country, by the will of God.”
Here we see that Roosevelt believed that World War II was not merely a war between nations but a struggle between the age old conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Freedom vs. slavery. In order to better understand what Roosevelt was alluding to when he speaks of the spirit of America, we must look to the foundational concepts of government based upon the rights of man given by their Creator as defined by the Founders of this country.
The basis of the government upon which the United States is founded is the Word of God. Our government begins with the Declaration of Independence which declares that all men are given by their Creator the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are based upon the concept of Natural law, or the Law of Reason spoken of by John Locke. The men who framed the government of the United States relied heavily upon his writings.
“Locke, in particular, was the authority to whom the Patriots paid greatest deference.” {C. Edward Mosheim – A History of American Political Theories}
Locke defined the Natural law, or the Law of Reason as the Will of God. Recall that FDR says that the service of Americans is to walk in His Will.
“…And Reason, which is that Law, teaches all Mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions…Thus the Law of Nature stands as an Eternal Rule to all Men, Legislators as well as others. The Rules that they make for other Men’s Actions, must, as well as their own, and other Men’s Actions, be conformable to the Law of Nature, i.e. to the Will of God, of which that is a Declaration, and the fundamental Law of Nature being the preservation of Mankind, no Human Sanction can be good, or valid against it.” {John Locke – Of Civil Government}
Locke wrote that all men are naturally in a ‘state of perfect freedom’ and ‘a State also of Equality.’ He defined this liberty by the ‘Golden Rule of ‘do unto others as ye would have them do unto you' spoken of by the Lord Jesus during the 'Sermon on the Mount' (Matthew 7:12). As all men are equal and in a state of liberty, so we must treat one another with love if we wish to receive the same.
Samuel Adams spoke of the rights mentioned in the Declaration of Independence as being distinctly Christian in nature.
“…The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty…’The Rights of the Colonists as Christians’…may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutes of the great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.” {Samuel Adams – Rights of the Colonists}
"The Declaration embodied the doctrine of the fundamental equality of the race, and thus clothed abstract truth with vitalizing power. Its mighty sentences aver as self-evident 'that all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it and institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as shall to them seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.'
"This American theory, expressed, 'in words the memory of which can never die.' It includes far more than it expresses; for by recognizing human equality and brotherhood, and the individual as the unit of society, it accepts the Christian idea of man as the basis of political institutions." {The Rise of the Republic - Richard Frothingham}
John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress said:
“The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.”
"The highest glory of the American Revolution, said
John Quincy Adams, was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity..." {The Pulpit of the American Revolution - J. Wingate Thornton}
In FDR's Inaugural address he speaks of the spirit of America tracing back to the Magna Charta. The Magna Charta was written in 1215 which declared the liberties of England and led to the English Bill of Rights of 1689. The Magna Charta traces back to the law of Alfred the Great which was his interpretation of how to implement the law of God in the lives of the people of that time. Samuel Adams rightly stated that the Magna Charta was based on the law of nature where no man could be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.
Roosevelt mentioned the spirit of America being revealed in the Mayflower Compact. This document was based upon Christianity. The Mayflower Compact was for the 'glorie of God, and advancement of ye Christian faith.'
"The Pilgrim wanted liberty for himself and his wife and little ones, and for his brethren, to walk with God in a Christian life as the rules and motives of such a life were revealed to him from God's Word." {Pilgrim Republic - John Goodwin}
"And so it was that out of rare public virtue grew our great republican government...It was said to a people trained under Christian influences, who habitually looked upward in every form of supplication, that the spirit which actuated the United Colonies 'was as much from God as the descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, and was introductory to something great and good to mankind.'" {Richard Frothingham - The Rise of the Republic}
A Republic where the government is by the people and for the people is based upon the principles of Christianity. This phrase, made famous by Abraham Lincoln was taken from the words of John Wycliffe, the first man to translate the Bible into the English language.
“This Bible is for the government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
“Whence, then, did the ideas basic to American government originally emanate, and to what source must we look for a simple clarification of its original purpose? To ask these questions should be to answer them. The New Testament is the wellspring from which our political thought derives and the idealistic goal of that thinking was a political and social system actively conductive to Christian practise. As the contemporary historian of Plymouth Plantation wrote, the motive of those who sailed on the Mayflower was their ‘great hope and inward zeal…for propagating and advancing the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world.’” {The Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America – Verna M. Hall pg VIII}
In 1820 at a discourse delivered at Plymouth, Daniel Webster further solidified the concept that the American form of government is based upon the dictates of the Bible.
"...a government and a country were to commence, with the very first foundations laid under the divine light of the Christian religion...Lastly, our ancestors established their system of government on morality and religious sentiment...Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.."
John Quincy Adams expressed similar sentiments.
"When our fathers abjured the name of Britons, and 'assumed among the nations of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitled them..they announced themselves as reformers of the institutions of civil society. They spoke of the law of nature, and in the name of nature's God; and by that sacred adjuration they pledged us, their children, to labor with united and concerted energy, from the cradle to the grave, to purge the earth of all slavery; to restore the peace of man to full enjoyment of those rights which the God of nature had bestowed upon him at his birth; to disenthrall his limbs from chains, to break the fetters from his feet and the manacles from his hands, and to set him free for the use of all his physical powers for the improvement of his own condition."
"The God in whose name they spoke had taught them, in the revelation of the Gospel, that the only way in which man can discharge his duty to Him is by loving his neighbor as himself, and doing with him as he would be done by; respecting his rights while enjoying his own, and applying all his emancipated powers of body and of mind to self-improvement and the improvement of his race."
This is not an antiquated concept. In 1983 the U.S. government further declared that this Nation was founded upon the Bible.
"This Nation was settled by immigrants seeking religious freedom. Our Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution of the United States embraced concepts of civil government inspired by the Holy Scriptures. As a nation we have been led by great leaders—among them Presidents Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Wilson—who personally knew and paid tribute to the surpassing influence that the Bible is, in the words of the President Jackson, “the rock on which our Republic rests.” {Joint Congressional Resolutions Declaring 1983 as the Year of the Bible; Public Law 97-280 - October 4, 1982}
In FDR's fourth Inaugural address he spoke of the age old conflict between men who wished to live according to a republican government founded upon the principles of the Word, versus power greedy men who wish to rule over others by force.
"Our enemies are guided by brutal cynicism, by unholy contempt for the human race. We are inspired by a faith that goes back through all the years to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis: 'God created man in his own image.' We on our side are striving to be true to that divine heritage. We are fighting, as our fathers have fought, to uphold the doctrine that all men are equal in the sight of God."
This struggle between a republican form of government versus a dictatorship is seen throughout history and is especially displayed in the Biblical account of Israel being enslaved by Pharaoh, a dictatorship, and then delivered unto freedom to serve God as their King (Deuteronomy 33:5; 1 Samuel 8:7).
A truly free people will be servants one to another with God as their King.
Matthew 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
This struggle between a Republic and Totalitarianism was seen in the days of the Founders and embodied by the Declaration of Independence.
“We have this day restored the Sovereign, to Whom alone men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting sun, may His Kingdom come.” {Samuel Adams speaking to the Continental Congress 7/4/1776}
“In declaring their independence from earthly power and authority, our Founding Fathers declared their dependence upon Almighty God: ‘with firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.” Like the Pilgrims before them, they fully expected God to keep His side of the covenant as they obeyed His Word and followed His Spirit.” {Under God – Toby Mac and Michael Tait pg 18}
The conflict between these two ideologies continued in World War II. The United States did not officially get into World War II until the sneak attack of the Japanese upon Pearl Harbor. The name Pearl Harbor comes from the word 'Pu'uloa' which means 'long hill.' In the Presidents Code, this phrase 'long hill' is used in reference to the division between Eden and the land of Adam's exile. Eden represents freedom and a liberty, whereas the exile out of Eden represents slavery. This is an interesting parable as the struggle between the United States and Japan/Germany represents these two ideas. A government which is to be based upon freedom versus a government based upon despotic rule.
During FDR's Presidency, this struggle is embodied by D-Day. The D-Day onslaught on mainland Europe was described as a 'struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization. To set free a suffering humanity.' As mentioned before, Roosevelt led the nation in prayer that evening which was originally entitled 'Let Our Hearts Be Stout.' Here is the prayer in full:
"My Fellow Americans:
Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.
And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:
Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.
Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.
They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest -- until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.
For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.
Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.
And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them -- help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.
Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.
And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.
And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keeness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment -- let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.
With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace -- a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen."
littleguyintheeye@gmail.com
