This is the True Story of Reverend John Harper
It was a night for heroes!
It was a night for heroes and Reverend John Harper met that need. Indeed he was a hero that night. The night was April 14, 1912, it was a night for heroes, and a night for fear.
Some Feared!
Some feared, some shook, yet there were among them those that were heroes. A hero is not someone who is unafraid but rather someone who meets this fear and does what must be done.
It seems as if fate, or the hand of God was preparing John Harper for this particular reason!
It was written of Reverend John Harper; “While the flames of other ambitions flickered and died, John Harper’s burned ever brighter as he sank into a watery grave. When death forced others to face the folly of their life’s pursuits, John Harper’s goal of winning men to Jesus Christ became more vital as he breathed his final breaths.”
Two years old!
At two years of age John Harper nearly drowned when he fell into a well, had it not been for his brother who screamed for help, and for his mother who held him upside down, after pulling him from the well he would surely not have survived.
At Twenty-Six
At 26 years of age after being caught by a riptide and nearly pulled out to sea with his brother, it was by the awesome hand of God, he and his brother managed to make it safely to shore.
At Thirty-Two
At 32 years of age John Harper nearly drowned when on board a ship in the Mediterranean, which sprang a leak, they were in danger of losing their life for several hours until they were rescued. “Reverend Harper said; “The fear of death did not for one moment disturb me. I believed that a sudden death would be a sudden glory…”
Partial preparation for Rev. Harper came from his father who was a great admirer of C. H. Spurgeon. His father would read to his children Spurgeon’s sermons, which they had to listen to, and as well as other family devotions.
1522 Souls
There were a lot of Heroes that night when 1522 souls went into eternity. The Catholic priest giving the last rights till the very end. The band playing to the very end. The men standing back letting the woman and children board the lifeboats to the very end.
Heroes All!
But this one special. Second Class Passenger Reverend John Harper, a Scottish Baptist Minister on his way to Chicago to preach at Moody Memorial Church.
Reverend Harper thought he would take the Lusitania but changed his mind and decided to take the Titanic. One of his parishioners overheard him say he was taking the Titanic, and after praying about it told Rev. Harper <> “I have an ominous feeling about that ship. If you will take the Lusitania, I’ll pay for your ticket.”
Rev. Harper said; “The Apostle Paul wouldn’t run away from danger, if anything happens I’m ready.”
The Titanic was going down!
And it happened! When the Titanic started to go down Reverend Harper’s faith was tested. Rev. Harper ran around the deck shouting “Women and children and unsaved people get aboard the life boats” He even took off his life vest and gave it to a man that was not a believer in Jesus Christ.
His sister-in-law and daughter, Nana, were standing next to him. They both survived. His sister-in-law over heard him when he gave the life vest to the unsaved man, he said: “Take this…I don’t need it…I’m not going down, I’m going up.”
In the water now with no life vest. It is said that you would last for 10 to 40 minutes depending on your will to live and how much body weight you have. But all the screams and cries ended after 40 minutes. They did not drown, THEY FROZE TO DEATH!
The Water 28 degrees!
The water is 28 degrees and Rev. Harper is in the water without a life vest. Salt water takes longer to freeze. Water this cold is painful and feels like a thousand knives stabbing you.
A man drifted by on a piece of wood. Rev. Harper shouted to the man, IS YOUR SOUL SAVED? “The man said, “NO.”
Reverend Harper shouted, BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED.”
The man drifted off into the dark and later the current drew him back. Rev. Harper shouted again, “ARE YOU SAVED YET?” The man said “I CAN’T HONESTLY SAY THAT I AM” Rev. Harper shouted one more time, “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED.” And with that the Reverend slipped under the water to that frozen. Watery…grave.
Twelve pulled from the Water!
There were 12 people pulled from the water that night, six of them lived and that man was one of them. The story was told a few weeks later in Hamilton, Ontario by that same man who said, “I LISTENED TO REVEREND HARPER’S LAST MESSAGE AND BECAME A BELIEVER IN JESUS CHRIST WITH TWO MILES OF WATER BENEATH ME.”
Pastor Hugh Gunn, John Street Baptist Church, Glasgow said of Rev. Harper, “Would he not in the midst of that sweltering mass of drowning men, women and children be pointing them to the Cross, and thus as he lived, he died with that one name upon his lips–
Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!!”
His brother, Pastor George Harper said of him.
“My beloved brother was a man mighty in prayer. He was a master in this holy art. “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever” “Daniel 12:3)
