FALL OF THE “TITANIC” (E-BOOK EXTRACT)

FALL OF THE  “TITANIC”
“Pride goes before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall”.
A large crowd of adulterous, and ungodly people, decided to come together for an amorous expedition across the ocean. They were over one thousand five hundred persons in number. They entered a specially prepared, jumbo-sized ship called “titanic.” Little did they know, it would end up in disaster.

The ship of unusual size, was over eight hundred feet long. It had all kinds of facilities in it including: swimming pools, restaurants, and brothels. Many entered the ship with their concubines. They were eating, drinking, and engaging in sexual immoralities.

They forgot about God, the Creator of the whole world. Actually, they relegated Him to the background. They thought life was all about living in iniquities, and depravity, like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah; until the time destruction suddenly came upon them.
The constant warning by the navigator of approaching iceberg was disregarded by them. He wanted to steer back the ill-fated ship from danger. But he was urged to go on by the fun-loving crowd. They said nothing could destroy the titanic, not even God.

Then came the wreckage. The ship hit the gigantic iceberg, and the former began to disintegrate. Initially, most of the occupants couldn’t believe what they saw. There was limited number of life-boats in the ship. The persons that were sober, began to escape through the life-boats. They were in tiny minority. The rest of them remain adamant and proud; and continued to indulge in their sinful pleasures.
Eventually, titanic was destroyed; and over one thousand occupants were drowned in the ocean. They perished like people in the time of Noah.

“They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered unto the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of  Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed”-Luke 17:27-30.

When Apostle Paul suffered shipwreck en-route to Rome, the occupants humbled themselves before Almighty God, and were eventually saved.

Initially, the Centurion, leader of soldiers guarding the prisoners in the ship, and the sailor, didn’t heed the counsel of Apostle Paul, concerning the impending wreckage of the ship. After fasting and praying, for days, Paul advised them not to sail from Crete. It would be disastrous. They were not convinced, and ignored him. Therefore, the ship suffered damages.

However, he told them an angel of God appeared to him, in the night and assured him of their safety among other things. They believed God. He said ‘not a hair will fall from the head of any of you”—Acts 27:34. When the ship was destroyed by the violent waves, all the two hundred and seventy-six occupants were saved.

Those who could swim, had to jump overboard and swam safely to the land. As God would have it, the broken parts of the ship served as “life-buoys”, they held unto which took them individually to places of safety. They humbled themselves before Almighty God, and were saved from disaster.

I remember an incidence that occurred sometime ago. A young man was full of himself. He had everything he wanted in life: money, house, car, lucrative business, name them. He began to live without God in the world. He looked at himself, he had no problem. He thought only those who had problem were serving Almighty God. He thought his main aim of coming into the world, was to acquire wealth and use it the way he liked. But one day, something unpleasant happened to him.

He organized a party, and invited his promiscuous friends and their girlfriends. This young man prepared very well. He cooked food, bought assorted drinks, crates of eggs, etc, and parked them inside the butt of his car. And his friends entered into his big vehicle. He was about to start the engine and drive to the venue of the party, so that after eating and drinking, they would begin to live in immorality. Then, the mother walked to his side of the vehicle, and admonished him. She advised him to always invite God, to be with him wherever he wanted to go. The mother appealed to him to repent and worship God Almighty wholly; for the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. The young man and other occupants in the car listened attentively.

When she finished speaking, he told the mother he had heard her. He arrogantly said to her, “Mum, if you look very well, you will discover all the seats are filled to capacity. There is no chance for God inside this vehicle; unless in the butt.” As he was saying it, he was smiling. All other occupants kept quiet, There was conspiracy of silence. They all seemed to be in a hurry to move to the venue of the party. And they saw the woman as unnecessary distraction and delay. She felt very sad and disappointed, and worked away dejected.

Then, the ‘prodigal son’ drove off. But, he didn’t go far. As he was driving, he came face-face contact with a big truck that failed break. The two vehicles rammed at each other, and there was a fatal accident. Everybody in the car, including himself died on the spot, and was mangled. The car itself was squeezed beyond repairs. The villagers nearby ran out and began to shout and cry, that a vehicle had accident, and everybody inside was killed. There was pandemonium.

When one of the sympathizers, opened the butt of the car, they were astonished at what they saw. Everything inside it was intact: the crates of eggs and bottles of drinks. Even the food items were not spilled, despite the much squeezing of the motor. It was a great wonder to all and sundry. When the mother came to the scene and saw the butt, she was equally surprised. She remembered what the son told her: that there was no chance for God inside the motor except inside the butt. Therefore, what God did was to go and protect the area they gave Him chance, inside the butt; and the rest of them perished in the accident. She wept bitterly for her arrogant and disobedient son.

I want you give God a chance in your life. He said, behold I stand at the door and knock. If you will open, I will come and sup with you, and you will sup with me.
Belshazzar the King (grandson of Nebuchadnezzar), was a typical example of a proud and ungodly person. He made a feast for a thousand of his lords, their wives and concubines. They ate, drank, and praised their gods. Then, came a handwriting on the wall. And a message from God came to him, while with his concubines and others.
“And you have lifted yourself up against the LORD of Heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know: and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.

Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; You have been weighed in the balance, and found wanting.
PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. That very night Belshazzar King of the Chaldeans, was slain”—Daniel 5:23-28 & 30.

It happened I repented in October 1970. That   was  about  ten   months   after   the Nigerian   civil   war.   As   time   went   on,  I became   ill.  The  illness  lasted  for nearly  a year.  I  was   taken   to  various   clinics   and hospitals, within and  outside my   community Avu,   in   Owerri   West   Local   Government Area of  Imo State. There  was  no  cure. The doctors could not diagnose my illness. I was therefore  returned to  my  parents’ house to wait for death to come. My situation   was   getting   worse  each passing week. I knew  I   would  die. I told my parents about  it.  I  later  realized  that like Lazarus in the  bible,  the  sickness  was  for the glory of God; that  the Son of God  might  be  glorified thereby (John 11:4). And on  Friday  evening, 11th  of  May, 1973, it happened. I  was twenty-three  years   old   then. In  a  twinkling of an eye,  I found myself in a very peculiar environment.  Are   there  two  worlds? I  wondered. This   must  be    paradise  I  have heard  and  read   of   in   the   bible,  I   said   to   myself.
Paradise is a place of fascinating beauty and comfort. Words  are  not  enough  to describe  its scenery. This is because there  is  nothing  in  this  world,  to  compare  with  anything  in paradise. The  sun, moon, and  stars  do  not shine on the place. The glory of God illuminates,  and  sparkles  in  the  beautiful  city. The  ground glitters like precious  stones.  Nobody  who  has  been  there,  would  ever  want   to come back to earth.

In  paradise,  one  can see and hear from  people about 5,000 miles away, as clearly  as  they  could  be  seen  and  heard,  100  yards  away  on  earth. In  other  words,  the  human  eyes  and  ears, see  and hear much  further,  or have much longer reach in  paradise,  than  on   earth.  Multitude  of people  from  various    nations  are  in paradise.

I  saw the saints and holy prophets there.  The  atmosphere  there is that of friendliness.  Anybody   you    see,    appear   familiar   and   friendly to you. Of course, there is no fighting or quarreling there.

I  saw people  moving  around   and   enjoying  themselves.  Paradise  is  a  place  of rest for  souls   of   the  righteous;  pending when   they  will  be   clothed   with   immortal bodies. I   looked  afar off, and saw people in hell. Hell  looks reddish,  because of the flames of fire  there.  People in that mournful place, are about   ten    times  the  number  of   those  in paradise.   Billions   of   people   are   in  hell, including   many  who  were  ministers  of the gospel,  when   on   earth.  I   was   made   to understand  they  were   religious  hypocrites.

God   said   further,  “some  of them were womanizers,   drunkards,   and  drug addicts. They  committed  grievous  sins,  despite  my constant   warnings   to   them.”  Finally,  God told  me  not  to  mention  their  names, when He   would   eventually  send  me back to the world, for a mission.

Unknown   to me,  some   believers   and gospel   ministers   held    night   vigil,  in  the room  where  my  body  was laid. They were singing  praises   to    God,    and   praying fervently for  my  coming back from the dead.
I am   the   only   son   of   my   parents.  My relatives   planned   to   bury   my   body   the following   day,  as   there  was  not  mortuary service   around,  to   preserve   my  body  for days or weeks.

Suddenly,  I  found myself  in my room on earth.  When   I  sat  on the bed I was laid on, pandemonium  broke  loose. Most  of  the mourners  who  gathered  in  our  compound, fled in panic. My mother  ran  away.  But,  my father    stood    behind.  He  was   a   church catechist  when alive.  Of  course,  he  was  a ”rural”  preacher   of   the  gospel. They  were amazed.  I   calmed   them   down,  and   told them my  story. I  explained  to  them   about life   in   the   great  beyond. Gradually,  other sympathizers   came   back    to   hear   more from me. They  were   jubilant   to   see  back from  the dead. I learnt I left the body (was dead),  for  about  nine  hours:  from  dust  till dawn.  But,  it  was as  if  I  spent  more  than sixty years in paradise.
Meanwhile, unbelieving  mourner gathered   outside,  and      curiously throughout the night, for what  would happen
………….To be continued.