A nearby ship whose duty it was to listen to distress signals failed to do so. Likewise, since the ship was unsinkable, no one even dreamed that it was truly sinking. The passengers were some of the wealthiest people from Great Britain, Ireland and the Scandinavian Countries. Surely, fate would not threaten those invincible because of their wealth and power! Passengers partied on board while the boat was going down. Drinking, dancing and partying to their own demise!
You should at this point in the metaphor be seeing some parallels, but maybe not because we too are invincible! We cannot be defeated! Why worry about tomorrow when we can enjoy life today? It has been said that "Life is short, but death is sure.", but the living seem to believe "My life is eternal and death is for others!" (And I'm speaking of this earthly life).
Let's examine ourselves in the light of the Titanic. It was unsinkable. It was believed that all is well and life continues. Luxury and partying were the priorities!
2 Corinthians 4:18 "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
What we see and do in life are temporal (for a short time), but the important things, those we cannot see, are for eternity. As we now think that partying, booze, drugs and so-called friends are fun, it will all sink soon! Before we die this type of living will sink with our age, then like a flash of light, "now" will succumb to "eternal". "Oh!" I scream! "I wish I had my priorities in line!" However, it's too late. Just as those who were freezing in the cold Arctic waters were thinking "I wish I could do it over... I would have listened!" You may be thinking on that icy cold death bed "Oh, Lord! If I wish I had listened!"
The Titanic was the house of those dying. It was their home at the time. This verse applied to the rebellious house of the Jews, but ca be equally applied to man in this day:
Ezekiel 12:2 "Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house."
Those partying on board heard the crush of the iceberg. They heard the screams of fellow passengers and the clanging of the warning bell, but they partied on! They had ears to hear and eyes to see, but saw not and heard not! Likewise, at the present time, our ship is sinking. A "Titan" is a giant, a behemoth, a monster if you will. The name "Titanic" aptly applied to the ship, but also to our nation, even our world. What we know today is monstrous. We have returned to the days of Noah. God drowned that monster and baptized it with water. He cleansed it from sin. That will happen again, but next time earth will be baptized with fire. The earth as we know it will be destroyed, likely by nuclear war or energy gone awry! Yes, the earth will be cleansed again!
The Titanic hit an iceberg. Typically one sees only about 1/3 or less of the iceberg, the majority lying beneath murky waters. The ship hit what was not seen. The unseen sunk the ship and destroyed the passengers. The great Titanic, the invincible, succumbed to a cold grave where it still lies! Likewise the nation, even the world is being destroyed by the unseen!
Here's what's going on behind the scenes:
Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places"
Principalities are superpowers at war with God. They are evil spirits... fallen angels. They are "supramundane", being outside what we can prove exists! They want you. They want your soul! Principalities guide and direct leaders: recreational, civil and spiritual; to befuddle you... to have you minimize the things of God and substitute anything else in his place. They're deceitful in their actions and the misled leaders and our mentors here on earth aren't discerning enough to know that they are tools of evil! These evil forces are the part of the "iceberg" which we can't see, but know they're there! (There is no formal conspiracy except for Satan against God. All others are, but tools to this end!)
As the Titanic hit the unseen portion of the iceberg, the one which knocked holes, in it's self-protection, it happened speedily and without warning! "Surprise, everyone! We're sinking!" But people were too self-absorbed to know that they were in dire trouble. That's just as our own lives will be!
The "Day of the Lord" (end of time) will come the same way!
1 Thessalonians 5:2 "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."
How does a thief come? When you're consumed with other thoughts. When you least expect it. Concealed with a mask, disguise or in the darkness of night. When you least expect Jesus, he will be here! "Surely he comes quickly!" (Revelation 22:20). Likewise, Jesus will come in the same manner. But, what if he doesn't come before you die? In death you may be forewarned, but most often, death comes when least expected as well!
Ecclesiastes 7:17 (ESV) "Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? "
When is your time? When you are old? If you're wicked you just may die before your time. You die in God's time, not your own! It maybe in twenty years, it may be be next year or it may be today or tomorrow. You may be standing on the deck of death vulnerable to the icy cold licking waters, and when that strong wave leaps forth, you may be completely unprepared. The icy waters patiently wait... patiently as a thief in the night!
1 Timothy 5:6 (KJV) 6" But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth."
If you're living for pleasure, you're already dead! From a Scriptural standpoint you're a zombie! Why? Pleasure is rebellion against God. We are to live for joy! Joy is from God. Pleasure is from the Principalities! Are you boozing, frolicking, swearing, lusting, and partying without a care? If so, then you're a child of Satan and pleasure is the "band" you enjoy... just as those partying and frolicking on the Titanic died dancing to their favorite music from whatever band which so engulfed them!
Do you enjoy gambling? Those who planned the Titanic voyage were "betting" that not many would need a lifeboat. They intentionally didn't have enough to save every passenger! Why? They weren't facing reality! God is real? Death is certain! Make sure you are planning your own lifeboat. That lifeboat is already afloat and ready for you to embark! Hope floats! Jesus is our Hope! Embark with him before the principalities sail. Jesus offers hope. The Titanic offers death.
Since the Titanic there have been processes put in place to monitor ships, their locations and routes; all put into place so as to prevent ships from sinking due to icebergs or other natural causes. People trust those processes and travel without worry. However, it requires much faith in systems and processes, and I have little faith in them! Using 6-Sigma limits for safety we would be 99.93 % certain that a plane won't crash we're riding in! Do you feel safe? Chicago O'Hare Airport has an average of 2409 flights a day. Using Six-sigma that means that the probability exists that 2-3 flights each day will crash! If each plane has 200 passengers then the possibility exists that 478 people each day has a chance of dying from an airplane crash at O'Hare Airport!
Well, the Titanic is not O'Hare, but you get the point: Depending on others to save you requires a leap of faith! Many people leaped (in faith) off the deck of the Titanic still hoping that they would be saved. Many weren't. Those with false hope died of drowning or hypothermia. Where's your hope? Is it in science and technology? Are you waiting for cancer to be cured or death delayed by wonder-drugs? Do you avoid death by avoiding thoughts of death? Any of these require faith... faith with no hope. Faith in Jesus is the only hope! Everything else is counterfeit!
There are only so many lifeboats to save you. The lifeboats are for the Christians. Those who are waiting another day don't qualify for a lifeboat! Those who try to swim it on their own don't have a lifeboat! The lifeboats are for those who have faith in Jesus and Jesus is their Captain!
In their frenzy to save their own skins many missed the chance to get on the lifeboat. They just waited to long, were not sincere in their search and missed the mark.
Matthew 7:14 "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
The gate to life was boarding that lifeboat. Many wandered to and fro, attempting to board one, but failed. Those prepared for an emergency went straight to the gate... the gate leading to the lifeboats. They were prepared. They had listened to the Captain's instructions! They listened to and obeyed the Captain and secured life... they made the lifeboat! Few listened and even fewer obeyed. They were destroyed by their own carelessness. They didn't care enough for their own safety to prepare the way to save their own life! Pleasure was the anchor which drowned them, just as pleasure is the weight which will sink you to to the depths of hell.
There is a choice.
Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
There is hope! You must listen. There comes a knock. It may be when you're not ready, but the knock will come. There is a lifeboat for you! Are you ready to take it? Open the door where the lifeboats are; there will be someone there to board you on the lifeboat, give you living water and bread to nourish you and to take you to safety... to a room within a mansion; your home for eternity; a home which will make the luxury ship Titanic pale in its place!
Put aside pleasures of this world. You must listen to hear that gentle knock, but it's clearly a knock. Open that door and board that lifeboat! Take the narrow way. Whereas, many sink on their own, go with the Captain. He will save you! Read the instruction manual and be familiar with it. That manual is the word of the Captain and is done for your safety because he loves you!
The Capt. of the Titanic, Edward Smith, died with its sinking. So did its creator, Thomas Andrews. They gave their lives for the ship! In fact each of them could probably have saved themselves, but that would have cost the lives of others. I guess you could say that they died for some of the passengers, or at least died in their place! However, my Captain died for everyone whether they grabbed a lifeboat or not. Some just refused to listen to my Captain and they deserve death. They will reap their reward. My Captain had already paid your fare to board the lifeboat and since you're all paid up, all you have to do is board. Boarding will require you to leave non-essentials behind. I'd take nothing aboard which hinders your hope! All that's required is you!
Are you sinking with the Titanic or are you alive because of a lifeboat? Are pleasures your anchor or are you in the crows-nest looking off into the horizon for what will save you? Obey the Captain now. He wants to save you, but he needs you to listen and obey!
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