02.47. The Shipwreck of Act_27:1-44

The Shipwreck of Acts 27:1-44

It is not without significance that the book of Acts, which begins with the formation of the Church on the day of Pentecost and continues with the narration of its early days of power and progress, should close with details of a voyage to Rome which ends in a shipwreck and in the imprisonment of the apostle Paul at Rome. We believe that the detailed description of this voyage, shipwreck, and imprisonment of Paul, who was the special apostle to the Church, gives us a symbolic picture of the journey of the professing Church from its apostolic glory and power to its last days of ruin, shipwreck, and enslavement by papal Rome. Surely the Spirit of God would not record for us all the details of this journey and shipwreck if they were only of historical value. He would have us gather spiritual instruction there from as well as facts, for "Every scripture (is) divinely inspired, and profitable for teaching" (2 Timothy 3:16, New Trans.). Our purpose is not to point out all the symbolical details of this journey which find their counterpart in the history of the professing Church, but to obtain encouragement and guidance therefrom for our pathway in the day of the Church’s ruin and approaching shipwreck. We will, however, first notice a few things which give us a typical picture of the downward journey of the Church.

Steps Toward Shipwreck

Here, as elsewhere in the Word, the meaning of names unlocks for us spiritual instruction. The name of the town from which the journey was started was "Adramyttium," which means "not in the race." Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us of the race we are to run to the heavenly goal. It is evident, then, that when the Church ceased to run in the heavenly race, but settled down on earth instead, it began the journey which ends in shipwreck. In Acts 27:2 we read of one Aristarchus being in the company on board ship. His name means "the best ruler," but we hear no more of him throughout the journey. Surely the best ruler for the Church is the Holy Spirit, but His rule and guidance were soon set aside by the professing Church and human organization and rule substituted. Sidon and Cyprus, places touched in the journey, mean "taking the prey" and "blossom," which suggests how the Church settled down in the world, seeking possessions, and became occupied with nature, the old creation, instead of realizing the new creation in Christ Jesus. The second ship of Alexandria, in which the journey is resumed, is from Egypt and speaks of this world in its independence of God. We know that the Church soon joined hands with the world and adopted its principles instead of walking in separation from it. This ship is the one which is completely broken to pieces later on. During the voyage the apostle Paul admonished them and warned of coming disaster, but his advice was not heeded. So too, the Church has had the warnings of apostles, which are recorded for us in the Scriptures, but they have been unheeded and the professing Church goes on to ruin and shipwreck. No Hope of Recovery

Next we read of the tempestuous wind that arose and of the efforts put forth to preserve the ship. This tempest may speak of Satan’s opposition which the Church encounters. "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away" (v. 20). Everything was dark and hopeless and such is the outlook of the professing Church today. The darkness of evil teaching, apostacy, and moral ruin increases and there is no hope of recovery. The prophetic Scriptures point us to such a scene of darkness and evil in the last days of Christendom.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, 2 Timothy 3:1-17, 2 Peter 2:1-22, and the Epistle of Jude all describe these days of darkness, increasing evil, and hopeless conditions.

Encouragement and Testimony of Paul But amidst the darkness there is cheer and encouragement for those who truly belong to the Lord. During the storm the angel of God appeared to Paul telling him to fear not, that he would be brought before Caesar and that God had given him all that were sailing with him (Acts 27:22-25). Thus we see again that the Lord never forsakes His own, but encourages them in the dark days of ruin and despair. So in our day of the Church’s ruin and darkness we are to realize the Lord’s presence with us and to be of good cheer.

Himself encouraged and strengthened by the Lord’s presence and message of cheer and assurance, Paul exhorted his shipmates to be of good cheer and testified to them of the Lord. "There stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve." He stated clearly to whom he belonged and whom he served. So should every believer testify for the Lord to his associates and tell them of salvation, safety, and cheer in Christ. Paul further testified, "for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me." He definitely declared his faith in the word of the Lord. Amidst the unbelief and apostacy of our day we, too, should tell men and women "I believe God. It shall be even as the Scriptures tell us." Whether people believe the Bible or not, we should state unequivocally, "I believe God," and warn them of coming judgment.

There was also encouragement for Paul in the assurance that God had given him all that sailed with him. Applying this spiritually to our present day we need not stand alone and despair, but should faithfully testify of the Lord and count upon God to give us souls to sail with us to the port of heaven. We are not to be occupied with the declension, darkness, and ruin of the Church and to be despondent, but are to walk with the Lord giving out the message of cheer and salvation in Christ and looking for souls to be saved and to journey with us. The ship was to perish, as Paul was told, but there would be no loss of life. So the professing Church as a vessel of testimony will end in shipwreck, but the Lord will take out of it unto Himself in glory every true believer. All that sail with Paul, those who belong to Christ and believe God as he did, will safely reach Immanuel’s land.

Four Anchors

"Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day" (Acts 27:29). Thereby they were kept safely from the rocks and shipwreck during the night. Here we have an important example and illustration of the way of safety for us in our day amidst the storms of Satan’s opposition. There are many rocks about us which will make shipwreck of our faith if we fall upon them. Writing to Timothy, Paul charged him to maintain "faith and a good conscience; which (last) some, having put away, have made shipwreck as to faith" (1 Timothy 1:19, New Trans.). In order to be kept and preserved during the dark night of apostacy, we likewise need to have four anchors and to have our souls firmly anchored by them. We believe that the Epistle of Jude, which pictures the darkness of the last days of Christendom, gives us that which answers to the four anchors of Acts 27:29.

After speaking of the awful apostacy and evil, Jude turns to the believers and tells them to do four things. "But ye, beloved, (1) building up yourselves on your most holy faith, (2) praying in the Holy Ghost. (3) Keep yourselves in the love of God, (4) looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life" (Acts 27:20). These are four necessary things for the evil day; they are strong, practical exercises of soul which will keep us from the rocks of evil about and from making shipwreck of faith.

First of all, we must build up ourselves on our most holy faith. We need to cleave to the truth in all its sanctifying and preserving power and not to lower the standard of truth one particle. To the Ephesian elders Paul said, "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance" (Acts 20:32). It is the Word of God that builds up and makes us strong and firm. We must feed upon it, act upon it, and build up ourselves with it upon the ground of our most holy faith. This is a real anchor for our souls.

Secondly, we need the anchor of "praying in the Holy Ghost." This is the most important spiritual action that could be in any believer. Prayer in the Spirit is the necessary balance to feeding on the Word and keeps the soul fresh before God and in communion with Him. For prayer in the Spirit there must be a walk in the Spirit and self-judgment exercised. Prayer is the Christian’s resource and source of power at all times; it is a special stay of support and means of encouragement in dark days of ruin and disorder.

Thirdly, we need to keep ourselves in the love of God. In doing so, we will have a real anchor for our souls in the day of Satan’s power and activity of evil. It is not that we are to love God, which we surely should, but we are to keep our souls in the enjoyment of His love. It is like keeping ourselves in the sunshine; it is healthy and provides warmth and cheer. This means that we must always have confidence in God and never doubt His love, no matter what the circumstances or trials may be. Nothing can altar His love towards us, not even our own failures, though for the enjoyment of His love we must walk in the Spirit so that there will be the conscious realization of it in our souls. Satan ever seeks to get us to doubt God’s love and to come between our souls and His love. But keeping ourselves submerged in the unfailing and unchangeable love of God will anchor our souls firmly against every wind and wave of Satan and preserve us from shipwreck. As a fourth anchor we are exhorted to be "looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." This is the bright outlook-the mercy of the Lord all along the way to the very end, His coming for us, which will bring us into the fulness of eternal life. Because of the great need of the evil day, because of the distress, weakness, and everything that would cause one to be downcast, the mercy of the Lord is that which we are exhorted to look for. His coming will be a merciful deliverance for His own from all the ruin of the Church an also from the surrounding evil. Thus the hope of the mercy of the Lord, especially at His coming, is a real anchor for the believer. Notice that in Acts 27:29 they cast out the four anchors and wished for the day. The day of His coming is the hope and bright prospect of the true Church. The foregoing four anchors will keep us unmoved by every stormy wind during the night of Christ’s absence. Added to these, we have the anchor of Hebrews 6:19-20 "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus." This anchor is fastened to our Savior Jesus in the sanctuary of heaven.

Returning to Acts 27:1-44, we notice that while the ship was anchored it was preserved, but that the next day when they cast off the anchors into the sea and fell into a place where two seas met the ship was wrecked. This illustrates for us the importance of being anchored and shows how soon shipwreck follows when the anchors are cast aside. If we as individuals give up one or all of these anchors provided for us it will mean disaster for us, spiritually. Christendom is already casting away these anchors of Jude 1:20. The Bible is no longer believed to be the infallible Word of God; the faith is departed from, prayer is given up, the love of God is unknown, and the hope of the Lord’s coming is not believed or looked for. Soon shipwreck will come upon it and God will completely disown it.

All in the ship got safely to land on boards, etc., and after three months a third ship is entered which has the sign of "Castor and Pollux," sons of Jupiter and guardians of navigation according to heathen mythology. In this ship the journey is made to Rome where Paul is kept a prisoner. This may symbolize that which is taught else where in the New Testament, how the apostate Church will end up in the heathen idolatry of Babylon the great and of the antichrist and all Pauline truth will be imprisoned by Rome (Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 17:1-18; Revelation 18:1-24). May we who know the Lord witness faithfully for Him amidst the apostacy and ruin of Christendom, look for souls to sail with us, hold fast to the anchors, and look for the day of His coming again.