Torrential rain fell on this otherwise quiet Friday, May 31, 1889. Several inches fell in the past twenty-four-hour period. It had rained heavily in the western Pennsylvania area of Johnstown.
Unfortunately, the South Fork Dam was fourteen miles upstream and had been constructed insufficiently. At approximately 3:10 p.m. the dam was breached, sending a sixty-foot-high wall of water, 20,000,000 tons (3,600,000,000 gallons) rushing down on the unsuspecting inhabitants of the valley. It moved at an estimated forty miles per hour.
No one could outrun this deadly flow of crushing debris! Floating remains of destroyed homes overtook some victims. Many were entangled in barbed wire when the factory upstream was destroyed.
More than 2,200 souls perished that day. There were false alarms in the past. Warnings that flood waters breached the dam were not taken seriously. Why not pass it on?
Similar circumstances may have occurred on the night of April 14, 1912. At 11:40 p.m. the Titanic struck an iceberg. More than 1,500 souls went to their watery graves. Delayed warnings hindered the rescue response and led to a higher loss of life. Why not pass it on?
Your Bible has recorded a few messages of warning – and of hope.
Paul said, “For Christ’s love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all...And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14). Did you ever pass on such an important message? See the hope?
During the ark’s construction, Noah was warning his family, friends, and neighbors about the coming annihilation (2 Peter 2:5). Most didn’t listen and perished in the flood (1 Peter 3:29-21)! Why not pass it on?
Warnings today include these: “Don’t Drink (Text) And Drive”; 'Smoking Is Known to Cause Cancer In Humans”; “Do Not Attempt To Drive Across Tracks When Train Is Approaching.” If you had the chance to pass on an important message, what might it be?
Jesus said, “For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:38-39). This warning has eternal consequences; the vital message must be passed on!