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"Twelve months later, as King Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said Is not this the great Babylon I have built as my royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" - Daniel 4:29
The following chronology constitutes a short summary of the main highlights of the story of the R.M.S Titanic in the British Inquiry into the disaster in 1912.
1898 - American author Morgan Robertson publishes the novel "Futility" in which a British passenger liner "Titan" hits an iceberg and sinks on her maiden voyage without enough lifeboats in the month of April in the North Atlantic. Titanic was yet to be conceived.
1907 - At a dinner party, Titanic is conceived by J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of White Star Line in William Pirrie's London Mansion. Ismay discusses the construction to compete with luxury, size, and speed of rival lines.
19011- May,31: Titanic hull successfully launched, witnessed by more than 100,000 people. At the time, she is the largest man-made object ever made.
1912- April 5, Good Friday: The Titanic is "dressed" in panoply of flags and pennants for a salute to the people of Southampton. Only occasion she is ever dressed.
- April 10, Wednesday: Sailing Day. Estimated total number on board is 2,227.
- April 14: Iceberg warning received via the Baltic. Message delivered to Captain Edward Smith. Smith later gives it to J. Bruce Ismay, who puts it in his pocket.
- 9:40pm: Iceberg warning received from the Messaba. Message overlooked.
- 11:40pm: The Titanic moving at 20 1/2 knots. Suddenly, lookout see iceberg dead ahead. But the iceberg strikes the ship. it begins to founder. The Ship is doomed.
- April 15:2:18 am: Many survivors witness the ship break into two. The bow half sinks.
-2:20am: The Titanic slowly sinks into the sea. Over 1500 souls are lost in the "greatest maritime disaster in history" with only 705 survivors.
1985- September 1: Dr. Robert D. Ballard finally recovers the wreck of Titanic after nearly 73 years in the ocean floor.
Titanic 109 years on. The story brings sorrow, grief, and a lot of emotions which doesn't seem to go away. The unsinkable ship made her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York but got hit by an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sinks. This was not the first maritime ship wreck, but this was a special wreck. We've heard from survivors, scientists, government officials, Hollywood etc but the "what if's' leger on.
There is something unique about this ship. The Titanic has made headlines since 1911. Why does it stirs our hearts? Why does she exert such a powerful spell over so many?
"But long ago, the Titanic had ceased to be just another shipwreck."- Dr. Robert D. Ballard, author, The Discovery of the Titanic.
"Is it the element of Greek tragedy that runs through the story - if only she had heeded the warnings ;if only there had been enough lifeboats; if only...if only. Is it the built-in sermon, the irresistible reminder that "pride goeth before a fall"? - Walter Lord, author, A Night to Remember
The built-in sermon is the cause of the downfall of the ship. In the Bible, we read about the rise and fall of the Tower of Babel, Pharaoh of Egypt, and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Men sought to do great things without depending or glorifying God. He often teaches us how weak, and frail we really are. God sunk the Titanic for the same reasons He destroyed the great empires of old.
The sin of the Titanic:
"Not even God himself could sink this ship" - Employee of the White Star Line at the launch of the Titanic, May 31, 1911
" We place absolute confidence in the Titanic. We believe that the boat is unsinkable." - Philip Franklin, Vice President, White Star Line.
The owners of the Titanic, White Star Line were determined to boast about the construction of the ship. J. Bruce Ismay, Captain Edward Smith, crew members, rich and poor passengers all believed that the ship was unsinkable. In fact, tickets were sold out before the completion of the ship. God was displeased with such arrogant statements and He sent an angel of death to struck the Titanic. Like Pharaoh, God hardened the heart of Captain Smith, making him ignored all 30 warnings he received.
When asked about the Titanic, Captain Edward Smith said, "I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern ship building has gone beyond that."
Proverbs 18:12 says, "Before destruction the heart of man is haughty."
Benjamin Hart, a builder from Essex, England, was emigrating to Winnipeg, Canada, with his wife, Esther, and his seven-year old daughter, Eva. Esther thought the idea of the Titanic being "unsinkable" was "flying in the face of God", and tried to persuade her husband to change ships. Convinced that disaster would overcome them all, she slept during the day and kept watch at night.
BECAUSE WE ARE SO SURE. IT SEEMED UNBELIEVABLE!
Sometimes the most ordinary circumstances end in the most extraordinary discoveries. There were no coincident in the events of April 14, 1912. The natural elements points to the fact that there was a Divine involvement in the fate of the Titanic. Let us examine these facts;
1. With 40 years experience at sea, Captain Edward Smith mysteriously ignored all warnings of Icebergs in the North Atlantic.
2. The Iceberg was blue, the most difficult kind to see.
3. The night was moonless- no light to show the iceberg.
4. The sea was unusually calm that night.
5. The Captain of the Californian, a streamer nearby was too tired and asleep to be bored by rockets shots and distress calls for help.
6. J. Bruce Ismay had ordered the number of lifeboats to be reduced from 48 to 16.
7. The hymn "Nearer to God to thee" was the last song sung in the Titanic.
8. The Titanic wreck was buried for 73 years, enough time for bodies and bones to decay.
"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of Heaven, because everything He does is right and all His ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble."-Daniel 4:37
By : Samuel Mantey
Email: samuelmantey@gmail.com
Twitter: @samuelmantey
