JOHN BAPTIST—ELIJAH—ALEXANDER DOWIE!
By J. B. Cogswell
Universal Cure-All—Self-Appointed Government Destroyer and Establisher of Everlasting Kingdoms! Usurper of the Prerogatives of the Most High and Blasphemer Extraordinary to the Devil! THE above announcement in flaming posters on the bill-boards of Chicago, some beautiful morning, might cause a great stir in the city, and immense crowds probably would gather before the boards and discuss this most unusual and unseemly form of advertising. Indeed many would condemn—and rightly too—this ultra method of proclaiming one’s pretensions, and intentions; some would wonder undoubtedly if a waggishly inclined lunatic had not escaped from Dunning just long enough to perpetrate this upon the people. Others would treat the whole thing as a huge joke. But extraordinary, unusual, and extravagant as this presentation may appear at first glance, it really says no more, claims no more, neither does it pretend nor mean any more, than the words actually spoken by Mr. Dowie himself before thousands of presumably sentient, intelligent, human beings, created in the image of their Maker and walking upright; and yet it is said that thousands arose to their feet as one man and applauded the utterance. Nevertheless it is no joke. It should not cause even a smile, much less levity; for it is one of the most portentous signs of the very near coming of the Lord, and that awful “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation,” that is coming on the earth. Matt. 24:24; Dan. 12:1. In matters of religious belief, political opinions, or social relations, one individual has no right to judge another within the boundary of private rights; for each one stands before God on equal ground, to be judged by Him of their individual character. But when any one gives public expression to their opinions, beliefs, or desires, those expressions are of more or less public interest and concern; consequently they may be reviewed, criticised, approved, rebuked, or condemned—as the case may be—according to any ethical standard. So by the truth of the Gospel, we will proceed to consider Mr. Dowie’s recent philippic. Here are his words:— I am Elijah the Prophet, who appeared first as Elijah himself, second as John the Baptist, and who now comes in ME, the “Restorer of all things.” Elijah was a prophet, John was a preacher, but I combine in myself the attributes of prophet, priest, and ruler over men. GAZE ON ME. . . . I am he that is the Living Physician. . . . I will take no counsel in my methods of government. . . . I have come to proclaim the government of God. . . . I will never rest till all other forms of government have been driven from the earth. Nothing has been omitted in these quotations, that would in any way change the real meaning of the language used, except perhaps to intensify its extreme egotism. I will give another quotation of almost equal egotism and blaspheming assumption, considering the difference in the “dignities”:— “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; . . . I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” Isa. 14:13, 14. This language discloses a trifling difference in the aims, but the intents and purposes are identical. Dowie is not so modest and retiring in his methods as he was a few years ago. Then he disclaimed mercenary motives, and gave God a modicum of the glory. Now he takes all the cash he can get, and all the glory he can hypnotize people into according him. But God says: “I will not give My glory unto another. . . . I am He, I am the First, I also am the Last.” Isa. 48:11, 12. God only is the “I am He,” and Christ is the only Living Physician. Matt. 9:12. Mal. 4:2. Dowie lays claim to a glory that belongs only to God and His Son Jesus Christ, the title and office of the Great Physician, and one of the chief appellatives and functions of omnipotence. “I am the ruler of men,” says Dowie. But God says: “The living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” Dan. 4:17. Usurper Dowie says he will drive every government off the earth, and set up “God’s government.” Let us see how this talk tallies with what God says: “And in the days of these kings (or kingdoms) shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:44. This is the kingdom that is soon to be established in the earth to the exclusion of all others. And, while this pseudo-Elijah is tearing around like a madman trying to drive Democrats, Republicans, and Roman Catholics off the earth, the “God of Heaven” will set up “His kingdom.” Then Mr. Dowie’s occupation will be gone. He and his followers will escape much of trouble, and avoid a deep and humiliating disappointment if they will give heed to the following: “Behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him; His4dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Dan. 7:13, 14; Isa. 9:7. But if they persist in yielding to the alluring suggestions of Lucifer, that prince of hypnotists, they will surely go down with him in that sure destruction “reserved” for those “which kept not their first estate,” who “despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities,” and make “hard speeches” “against him.” Jude 6–16; Rev. 20:10; Eze. 28:19. “For the ancient and honorable He is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of these people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.” Isa. 9:15, 16. We may not impugn one’s honest sincerity, but we may know if they are truly sincere; for, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Matt. 7:16. And Paul tells how we may show our sincerity: “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world [the devil] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Cor. 4:1–5. Notwithstanding these simple soul-inspiring words, Mr. Dowie says to his poor deluded dupes of Satan, “GAZE ON ME.” Nevertheless the true disciples of Christ, those in whose hearts the “Day Star” has risen will lift their eyes to the “Holy One of Israel,” because they believe God and love to obey Him. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” Isa. 45:22. Mr. Dowie claims to be the reincarnation of a great prophet; who was literally, and physically translated; “restored” to that perfectness of physical and spiritual life and character, that man enjoyed before sin entered, and Eve became the first victim of the serpent’s hypnotic power. Of course Dowie heals. My own family can vouch for the truth of this statement. We were residents of Chicago, and knew him and his healings. He also claims to heal by direct divine intervention; but the Lord describes his kind so well in Matt. 7:20–23 that we will let it rest there. “O, well,” says one, “Dowie is a believer in God and His Christ.” But this is no evidence; for the devil acknowledged the divinity of Christ almost two thousand years before Dowie’s alleged re-incarnation. Luke 8:28. The devil recognizes an inevitable truth, which many moderns do not. Eze. 28:12; James 2:19; Rev. 20:10; 12:12. While Lucifer sealed “up the sum of wisdom,” he has no creative power outside of the monopoly on lies, and they are perversions of truth; so his miracle-working is somewhat circumscribed. But owing to the mental and spiritual strabismus of his victims, he can palm almost any kind of a counterfeit upon them. This is a most deplorable fact. It is so much easier to obtain the genuine; only believe. “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:23. “And these signs shall follow them that believe.” Mark 16:17. Thus was the promise of Christ’s miracle power conditional to believers. But the devil does not require one to believe in God or in him in order that he may heal. In regard to Mr. Dowie being the “restorer of all things” we will consider his claims in the light of prophecy. In Isa. 40:3 we read, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Undoubtedly John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy literally. Matt. 3:1–3. Prophecy also points to another messenger that is to go forth in the “spirit and power of Elijah” immediately preceding the second coming of the Lord. Isa. 58:12; Mal. 4:4–6. These people are to build up the “waste places,” “raise up foundations” that have been broken down for “many generations,” and they are to be called “repairer of the breach,” “the restorer of paths to dwell in.” Both prophecies refer specially to broken laws, apostacies from paths of virtue and truth, and from duty to God and to parents and to each other. The Gospel in its primal purity and beauty has become “old waste places” from disuse; and the foundations of our faith have been broken and undermined and well nigh destroyed for “many generations.” These are to be raised up to their original position and soundness. These prophecies are now in process of fulfilment, for there is a people raising foundations, building up waste places, repairing the breach in the law, restoring paths, and turning fathers’ hearts to their children and children’s hearts to their fathers, and giving the last message to the world in the “spirit and power of Elijah.” Now to find out what sort of a spirit ruled in Elijah’s character, we must study his manner of life; and in that study we find that Elijah believed God implicitly, acted without question or hesitation upon His Word, and consecrated himself entirely to God’s will. And Elijah’s “power” was his ultimate, absolute faith in God and His ability to perform all that He has promised or spoken (Jer. 11:5; 1:12; Rom. 4:21); absolute fearlessness, free from presumption; and his spirit of consecration. His faith consummated in his translation. So will it be with those who have gone forth in his “spirit and power,” and the hand of the Lord is upon them as it was upon him. 1 Kings 18:46. So John, tho he came in the “spirit and power of Elijah,” was not Elijah, and plainly said so. John 1:21. But he was the herald of Christ’s first coming as these are the heralds of His second coming. So Dowie is not entitled to the title of “restorer of all things,” in fact, he is opposed to one of the great laws of God. But let us turn with joy and gladness to the Gospel of Christ, the “faith that was once delivered unto the saints,” searching diligently “Moses and the prophets” which contain the “truths of the Gospel;” the eternal law of God. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures, is very soon coming again, “without sin unto salvation.” And “every eye shall see Him;” and “they also which pierced Him.”
Kenmare, N. D. J. B. COGSWELL.