Prophetic headlines & the sinking of the TITAN

GOD IS SPEAKING THROUGH EVERYTHING GOING ON AROUND YOU!

 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, – Romans 1:20 

What if I told you God was prophetically speaking to each generation through the pop culture of all we as a society engage in?

Yes, He is. Furthermore, He always has. 

If you know anything about the book of Revelation, you know what Jesus said to the church of Laodicea. The message Jesus had for the church in Laodicea is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. 

Did you know that Jesus was prophetically interpreting an event in their local “headlines”? 

GOD IS SPEAKING THROUGH THE HEADLINES 

Apparently the church had grown “lukewarm” in their faith and zeal for Jesus. To drive the point home, Jesus used a word-picture the local citizens understood well from a current event in their cultural headlines. 

GOD IS SPEAKING THROUGH THE HEADLINES 

 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” – Revelation 3:15-16

In the day Jesus spoke these words to the church, Ancient Laodicea was marketed to the Roman Empire as the new vacation spot and the first city in the world to boast of hot and cold running water. 

A brilliant Roman aqueduct system piped in hot spring water 5 miles from the south and cold spring water from nearby Colossae, the opposite direction. 

On what you and I might refer to as “ribbon cutting day,” a high Roman official arrived and took his first ceremonial drink with all the pomp and pageant you would expect. 

To the shame of everyone in charge and the citizens who had moved there, he dramatically spit it out and declared it made him want to throw up!

Again it was moved by water bridges because pipes wouldn’t be around for hundreds of years. By the time the water got there, it was the same temperature as the air. 

Here we have an easy to identify biblical record of Jesus using the top story of the news feed as a prophetic picture to the church in that era. The Word Jesus spoke to that church 2,000 years ago still speaks to the church today. Do you know why? Because we are a part of the same Church those people were part of 2,000 years ago. 

You and I together, no matter our denomination, race or geographical location are a part of the same church that Peter, James and John were a part of. The Word is good for all of us.

God is revealing deep revelation knowledge through the common cultural events of every society on earth.

God is an effective speaker. He knows how to get his point across.  

GOD DOES CONVEY SPIRITUAL TRUTHS IN EVERYDAY TERMS WHICH WE ARE FAMILIAR WITH. And when He does, the interpretation of that word through those events follows under a prophetic category.  

 

“TO INTERPRET CURRENT EVENTS IN THE LIGHT OF DIVINE PURPOSE IS A PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE PROPHETS. THEY MUST SEE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EVENTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH GOD’S WORKS AND HIS WORD. GOD’S PROPHETS DO NOT JUST FORETELL OR PREDICT. MUCH OF THE MINISTRY OF PROPHECY IS DEVOTED TO THE EXPLANATION OF CURRENT SIGNS AND MESSAGES. THERE ARE EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS TAKING PLACE TODAY WHICH DO HAVE A MESSAGE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE AN EAR TO HEAR.” – RICK JOYNER, “THE HARVEST”

This past week, the wreckage of the Titanic and the sinking of the Titan were the front headlines and I’ll tell you, God was speaking. 

Two Major Prophetic Warnings in the Picture of this Event. 

The assassination of President Lincoln and the tragedy of the sinking of the Titanic are connected through the same date 47 years apart. President Lincoln was shot April 14th and died on April 15th. The Titanic struck the iceberg on April 14th and sank two hours and 40 minutes (a total of 160 minutes) later on April 15th.

The first step Titanic took to bring disaster upon itself and advance God’s judgment is they did not glorify God. They only sought glory for themselves, their name, and the accomplishment of man.  

1. When God is not glorified, you invite disaster.

So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. – Matthew 20:16

The first of her voyages was the last of her voyages. Titanic is the picture of what happens when you glorify yourself. Remember, on the day Titanic left South Hampton, people stood all along the coast, it was said “to get a glimpse of the proudest accomplishment of man the world had ever seen.” 

Not only did they not glorify God, they rubbed their own glory in God’s face believing there were no consequences for doing so. They actually said “God Himself could not sink this ship,” or so they thought. 

 

…as they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. – Hosea 4:7  

…so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, – Romans 1:20-22

 (The whore of Babylon)

Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously,

– Revelation 18:6-7 (KJV)

The Titanic is a prophetic symbol of a people, a nation, a generation, or even a church that is so big, modern, cutting-edge, and luxurious, it boasts of its own glory and downgrades–even ignores or refuses–God’s glory. 

The primary purpose of why God created us is to give Him glory. How awesome we are should prove how awesome God is. If our glory only boasts of how big and grand we are, no matter what we advertise, we will soon find out we are not unsinkable. Each of us, as pictured in the Titanic, have fallen short of the glory of God and our humility to God is paramount. 

 

The prophetic picture here is that when something boasts of its own beauty and power against God, He will cause those things to become a slogan, or byword, of the exact opposite. He will give it a completely different branding strategy and one it will not like.

In the case of the Titanic, the byword is straight out of Mark 9:35 where Jesus says, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” The first voyage of Titanic was indeed her last because she was Titanic and not small in her own sight. 

The voice of God is described as “still” and “small” in 1 Kings 19:12. The year 1912 is exactly when this event took place. What is the prophetic word here? 

If we are too big and too busy, we will miss God’s voice altogether and run straight into a monstrous disaster. 

The second major prophetic warning looks like this: 

2. The practical reason they sank is they didn’t heed the warning to stop and change course. 

On April 14, 1912,  the Titanic radio room crew received several messages warning them of the danger ahead. There is a prophetic message in the names of the ships which tried to get the Titanic to change course.

The Corona: name meaning “crown”  

The Dutch liner Nordom: name meaning “expert explorer”

The Baltic: name meaning “white water” or “belt” 

A German liner called “The Amerika” sent a message warning of a monster iceberg that would be hard to see in the moonless night. Amerika means “home ruler.” 

At 7:30 p.m., another three messages from the USS Californian were intercepted, warning of ice only 50 miles ahead. California means “hot furnace” or “mythical land.” Because they kept the furnace hot as they sped across the Atlantic in great haste to break the time set by the White Star line’s sister ship, the Olympic, the Titanic became literal mythos for generations to come. Then, at 9:40 p.m., they get another warning from the SS Mesaba. Mesaba is a Hebrew word that means “turn around.”

The millionaire captain of the Titanic didn’t heed the warning because he thought he was the exception to the rule. It could happen to everybody else, but it won’t happen to him. He was commanding the Titanic. He went full steam ahead on a moonless night when the sea was lake glass so there was no way they could possibly see an iceberg. There was no light. There were no waves from the iceberg. 

The radio men halted the transmissions and warnings coming into them because they interfered with their ability to send post cards from the first class passengers to their friends and family on land. These transmissions would become haunting reminders of “vanity fair” before impending demise. 

Men by the name of Bride and Phillips were in charge of the radio room. They ignored all warnings because they were too concerned with sending the messages from their rich and famous passengers. In their minds, Titanic was too big for it to hit anything and the radio room was too busy to heed the red flags being sent to it. 

This just advances the picture of judgment from Zechariah 1:15: 

(“I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped—but with evil intent.”)

 

At 10:55, just some 10 to 20 miles away, the Californian sent the most critical warning. Commanded by Captain named Stanley Lord, the California warned it was stopped in ice. Lord sent a warning and officer Bride received it. Frustrated at the interference of the incoming message as he was trying to send a stack of “wish you were here” telegraphs, Bride rebuked the Californian with this infamous reply and insult:               

“Keep out. Shut up. You’re jamming my signal!”

When the Bride of Christ, which is the church, turns to the LORD Jesus and says, “Keep out. Shut up. You’re jamming my signal,” there’s a monster mountain out there with her name written all over it–an unavoidable disaster. 

Because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed his covenant, …and would not hear them, nor do them. – 2 Kings 18:12  

 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. – Jeremiah 6:19 

…to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent them…

– Jeremiah 29:18-19

AND WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE CAPTAIN OF THE CALIFORNIAN? STANEY LORD 

Unable to save the Titanic, Captain Lord, shuts down his radios, turns off the lights, and orders his crew to go to sleep until sunrise. 

Something in the Dark–Unimaginable and Invisible

Again, there was no moon that night and not a ripple on the sea. The only light was coming from the Titanic itself, which made it very difficult for the lookout men to see past the bow of that lit up ship. A party was in full swing. The professional music from the world-famous orchestra and the laughter of guests must have bounced off the still water and amplified back to the enjoyment of the men on watch.

There, in the dark directly in front of them, the yellow glow from the liner began to light up a literal mountain of ice, much higher than the top deck of the ship itself. I can’t imagine how terrifying that must have been to finally see that the deck had been stacked against the Titanic all along.

It was an unthinkable ship-killer. A rare lunar event had caused the highest tides in 1,400 years. It dislodge millions of tons of ice from the shallow waters of Newfoundland, sending it all south into the shipping lanes. 

(Source: Astronomers from Texas State University-San Marcos examination “How a rare lunar event stacked the deck against the Titanic.”)

The odds of such a thing were literally astronomical. The moon being at its closest proximity to the earth in 14 centuries, in tandem with the closest approach to the sun for the entire year, guaranteed a fixed glacier could actually be free floating. 

Because the moon had not risen and there were no winds to splash on this glacial killer, it was invisible until there were only 37 seconds to impact. Even though it was directly in front of them.

Had they hit it dead on, it is believed the boat would never have sunk. In trying to avoid it, the monster mass of ice ripped though six of the “air tight” compartments. Had they not passed by it, it is possible they could have used the frigid mountain itself to shelter people while they waited for rescue. 

So, the collision only caused a thud while the Titanic, at full steam ahead, continued into the dark. Most were convinced it was a near-miss and many didn’t even realize anything major had happened. 

The Party Continues

Amazingly, when the Titanic hit the iceberg, a bunch of snow fell off onto the main deck. Again, try to imagine how huge this iceberg must have been. People came outside, picked up the snow and had a snowball fight with it never realizing they were on a doomed ship heading straight for the ultimate judgment. 

They couldn’t see the rip in the hull beneath the water. They were bleeding to death and had no idea that one way or another, they would soon be in the 28 degree ocean, in the pitch dark with almost 13,000 feet of water below them. Bride had already assured that nobody was coming to help them.

The men working the radio room understood what the passengers did not and quickly changed their insults to S.O.S. signals. 

A Deaf Ear Will Get You a Deaf Ear 

Immediately, Bride and Phillips began to reach out to all those who had been reaching out them just hours earlier. 

The Californian was just a few miles away. Some say as few as ten; others as many as 16. Captain Smith ordered bright colored flairs to be sent up to signal for aid. At first, passengers came out with their martinis to awe at the festive rockets. They were soon ordered to put on life jackets and the narrative began to change. The party was abruptly over. Captain Lord did not hear their cries nor see their bright signals for help in the otherwise completely dark night. He had turned off his radio and turned in to bed at the insulting rebuke of Bride. 

…for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.

– Jeremiah 11:14

Bride kept banging his finger on the telegraph hoping to be interrupted by an incoming response.

“We’re sinking fast. Cannot last much longer. Need help immediately.” 

Proverbially, even prophetically, his transmissions fell on deaf ears. 

You Are on Your Own

In that last hour, Captain Smith went to his crew and declared, “You’ve done your duty. It’s every man for himself now.”

Though this may seem noble, it also prophetically terrifying. In the hour that you hit that unavoidable mountain in your path, the devil you trusted–who told you to ignore all the warnings–will abandon you to the coming terror. The very one you trusted to lead you will thank you for your service and leave you to face the dark, cold water by yourself. 

When Judas went to the religious leaders of his day and asked for help because he had sold out an innocent man in Jesus, they told him the same thing: you are on your own. 

…saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” 

And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”

– Matthew 27:4 

In other words, “You deal with it.” Ultimate doom is hard to imagine when things look great and are working right. It is also difficult to visualize the terror that comes with this kind of disaster. If you won’t glorify God and won’t heed His warnings, you’re going to find the disaster God was talking about is far worse than you ever imagined, and you have nobody to blame but yourself for the horrifying outcome. 

The Comfort Zone

Do you remember what I told you above about Zechariah 1:15 where God says He is sorely displeased at the heathen who were at ease? Why did the Lord bring that up? Because He can’t deal with people who value their comfort more than anything else. When the word got out that they were sinking, the crew didn’t even fill the life boats to capacity because they didn’t want to put the first class guests in any kind of discomfort. Hundreds more could have been saved had they not placed their comfort first. Comfort is an ultimately selfish agenda and selfishness reeks in the nostrils of God, who is anything but self-centered. 

It’s All Over With But the Shouting

A man named Thayer recorded that the anguish in the cries of the people suffering the frigid water “became a long continuous wailing chant.” The imagery of wailing and gnashing of teeth is exactly the prophetic picture of the darkness Jesus describes as the fate of those who have rejected the voice of the King: 

...then the king said to the attendants, ‘bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

– Matthew 22:13

Summary of the Prophetic Parable of the Titanic 

The RMS Titanic was the largest, most luxurious, and technologically advanced cruise ship in the White Star line. The Bible calls Jesus Christ “the bright and morning star.” While this achievement was meant to bring glory to God, it instead was used to glorify the strength and brilliance of man. 

It was prophesied in print 28 years prior to the actual event by W.T Stead, the father of sensational headlines, tabloid journalism and investigative journalism. He was famous for writing “The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon” and “How the Mail Steamer Went Down in the Mid-Atlantic” which did not have enough lifeboats. He died on the maiden voyage of the RHS Titanic, which was woefully short of lifeboats. 

The sinking of the world’s most glorious cruise ship was prophesied in print 14 years before the actual event in a short book originally called “The Wreck of the Titan: Or, Futility.” Written by Morgan Robertson, it was published under the title “Futility” in 1898. In this work of fiction, the name of the ship that struck an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic on a cold April night was “The Titan.”  

“By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.”

– 2 Corinthians 13:1

Like I said before, the assassination of President Lincoln and the sinking of the Titanic are connected through the same dates 47 years apart. President Lincoln was shot April the 14th and died on April 15th. The Titanic struck the iceberg on April 14th and sank two hours and 40 minutes later on April 15th. 

This event took place in the year 1912. The voice of God is described as still and as small in 1 Kings 19:12. 

The Titanic was too big and the radio room was too busy to hear the still, small voice of God.

When God is not glorified you invite a disaster. The first of her voyages was the last of her voyages. Titanic is the picture of what happens when you glorify yourself.

The practical reason it sank is because those who were trusted didn’t heed the warning to stop their course. 

On April 14, they received multiple warning from six different ships: 




The Corona meaning “crown”  

The Nordom meaning “expert explorer” 

The Baltic meaning “white dangerous water” 

The Amerika meaning “home ruler” 

The Mesaba meaning “turn around” 

The Californian meaning  “hot furnace” 




From a prophetic perspective, these names could be translated into something like this: Your King (Corona) The One who goes before you (Nordom), warns you of dangerous water ahead (Baltic). I’m the boss (Amerika). So turn around (Mesaba) or face judgment (Californian) in the hell you are bringing upon yourselves. 

The last and most important warning comes from the Californian commanded by a Captain named Stanley Lord, who was stopped in the ice. Captain Lord sent a warning and officer Bride received it in the Titanic radio room. Bride’s rebuke and insult was “Shut up. Keep out. You’re jamming my signal.” When the Bride of Christ, which is the church, turns to the LORD Jesus and says, “Keep out. Shut up. You’re jamming my signal,” it is not unsinkable. It is actually unsavable.

Captain Lord turned off his radio at the insulting rebuke of Bride and never heard the Titanic’s cries for help. 

The people went into the water where there was wailing and gnashing of teeth in the very frigid water. Titanic sank to the bottom of the sea and 1,517 people died.




The 1517th verse in the Bible is Genesis 50:10 

…and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation…

 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame

– Hosea 4:7 

And so it is with the historical event of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. A word for all of us today.  

It was 47 years from the day that Lincoln was shot that Titanic hit the iceberg and 47 years to the day that Lincoln died that Titanic sank. 

47 on the atomic scale the number for silver which means a work of the redeemer and this speaks of judgment in this case. Isaiah 47 is the prophetic promise of the fall of Babylon. 

THE FALL AND HUMILIATION OF BABYLON 

Isaiah 47 

“Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no more be called
Tender and delicate.

3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
Yes, your shame will be seen;
I will take vengeance,
And I will not arbitrate with a man.”

4 As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.

5 “Sit in silence, and go into darkness,




Last week we were looking at the wreckage of the Titanic. 

Director of the movie “Titanic,” James Cameron said that deep submergence is a “mature art” and that all submersibles “except this one” undergo certification protocols to make sure the vessels are safe for passengers.

Cameron said that there have never been any fatalities in this type of underwater exploration in the past and that the Titan imploded because it was made out of carbon fiber, which is stronger and lighter than steel or aluminum but has “no strength in compression.”

“I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field.”

– James Cameron, Director of “Titanic”

“Now there’s one wreck lying next to the other wreck. For the same damn reason,” he added. 

It’s all in the family. 

Wendy Rush is a great-great-granddaughter of the retailing magnate Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida–two of the wealthiest people to die aboard the ocean liner.

Wendy Rush, wife of Stockton Rush, the OceanGate chief executive who was piloting the submersible that disappeared Sunday during a dive to the Titanic wreckage, is a descendant of two first-class passengers who died when the Titanic sank in 1912, archival records show.

 

The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. 

Numbers 14:18

Like the Titanic, The Titan was warned over and over again that this vessel was headed for disaster. 

Like the Titanic, this was the first and only exploration for the year. 

Like the Titanic, ticket price for the this first-class trip was around $200,000.

Like the Titanic, a breach in its integrity caused it to sink. 

The captain of the Titanic was a millionaire. The captain of the Titan was a billionaire. 

And now, in the same debris field at near nearly 13,000 feet, they sit side by side. Instead of being celebrated for its monumental achievement, we look in horror at such a tragedy. 

As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame

– Hosea 4:7 

There are lots of people on something called 

“The just missed it club”

Humble yourself. Stop your busyness. Hear God’s still, small voice and make sure you are savable. Join the real “just missed it club” through crying out to King Jesus and asking Him to save you and yours before you further the disaster. 

 

 

 

Another Prophetic Declaration in Print Before the Headline 

Fourteen years before the Titanic disaster, “The Wreck of the Titan: Or, Futility” was a short book written by Morgan Robertson and published as “Futility.” 

It features a fictional British ocean liner prophetically called Titan that sinks in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg on a cold April night.

The story’s main focus is a Titan naval officer who finds God, gets the love of his life back and fights alcoholism after the Titan’s sinking. Comparisons between the historic record of the Titanic and Roberston’s fictional work is nothing short of remarkable. 

Both were the world’s biggest steam ships. Both were called unsinkable and “the greatest works of mankind.” Both the real Titanic and the fictional Titan collided with an iceberg on an April night and only had the minimal number of lifeboats the law required. 

Job 15:31

Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself, For futility will be his reward.

Though He does not cause these tragedies to happen, God does employ them to speak to each generation. How and what does it mean? Why would there be prophetic pointers in print before the headlines actually happened? To establish the fact that there is a prophetic word in the event of the Titanic. 

“By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.”

– 2 Corinthians 13:1