The Aquarian Gospel (Part 4)
Having highlighted many of the errors found in The Aquarian Gospel (first published in 1908), this series concludes with a few more various flaws. The information presented in it was written by Levi Dowling, who claimed to have received it through meditation from the Akashic Record (an alleged account of everything in the universe that has occurred—or will). Specifically, Dowling records what Jesus did from the age of 12 until age 30. Although some good precepts are taught, he denies that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, or that He should be worshiped. The “gospel” contains several other contradictions of the Scriptures.
The Sounds of Silence?
Jesus never taught that there is “a Silence where the soul may meet its God” (98). This Silence is said to be “the house of God” and is “within the soul” (99). The Scriptures teach that the house of God is “the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). None of the gospel writers record Jesus teaching anything about silence.
As one is seeking this “Silence,” he is to envision the “arc of God,” covered by the Mercy Seat. In your mind, lift “the sacred board,” under which “the Tables of the Law are concealed.” Read them carefully because “they contain all precepts and commands that men will ever need” (100). Really? Does he refer to the Ten Commandments? They are not all that men will ever need. They do not include the two greatest commandments, which come from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Furthermore, they would not contain any commandments from the new covenant, such as repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). If the Ten Commandments were all that mankind needed, the Bible could have been a lot shorter book. Come to think of it, Dowling's would be much shorter, also.
Jesus travels to Assyria, Ur, Babylon, and finally returns to Nazareth for a brief visit. Here we discover that Mary had a sister named Miriam (113). The New Testament does not mention this name anywhere. Mary makes a great feast for Jesus, but his brothers do not attend. Allegedly, they did not think He merited such attention. They regarded Him as an indolent, ambitious, and vain adventurer (113). It rather reminds one of the reaction of the older brother in the illustration of the prodigal son.
Greece and the Oracle at Delphi
How could Jesus possibly avoid Greece, home of some of the great philosophers? And what kind of reception will He receive there? Remarkably, the Athenians had heard of Him and were glad to hear Him speak (116). After bestowing on them a copious amount of compliments, He begins teaching them some strange theology which they think is the bee's knees.
He tells them of the spirit within each man, but it is asleep. It cannot be awakened until the Holy Breath knocks at the door of the soul, but He cannot enter in “until the will of man throws wide the door” (119). Is this a rip-off of Revelation 3:20? Presumably, the Holy Breath refers to the Holy Spirit.
Another “borrowing” is based on what John the Baptizer would later say. Jesus and Apollo (one of the masters of the Greeks and Defender of the Oracle) travel to Delphi. Once they arrive, the Oracle of Delphi speaks:
The Delphic Age had been an age of glory and renown; the gods have spoken to the sons of men through oracles of wood, and gold, and precious stone. The Delphic sun has set; the Oracle will go into decline. The time is near when men will hear its voice no more. …the Logos from on high has come. From henceforth will decrease my wisdom and power; from henceforth will increase the wisdom and power of him, Immanuel (121).
Does anyone recall John saying: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30)? A further anachronism is the idea that before Jesus even begins His public ministry, He would be referred to as the Logos, which is found in John 1:1 and 14, which is usually dated about 60 years after Jesus' death. But the reader might wonder, “Who or what is the Oracle of Delphi? Is it from God, or is it part of Greek mythology?”
According to the Internet: “The Oracle of Delphi was a renowned ancient Greek sanctuary where the god Apollo was believed to give prophecies through a priestess called the Pythia.” Okay, so it is Greek mythology. No, says The Aquarian Gospel. Apollo asks Jesus about it: “Pray tell me what is it that speaks. Is it an angel, man, or living god?” Jesus replies that it is none of those—but “the matchless wisdom of the master minds of Greece, united in a master mind” (122).
One might envision an amalgamation of accumulated wisdom, but who is doing the speaking? The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, was published in 1911. It contains a wealth of knowledge, but it doesn't speak! A storm struck the sea, and Athenians went to their idol to pray—instead of rescuing the perishing. Jesus taught a lesson on the futility of idols, and then departed from Greece (124-27).
Egypt
As if things have not been weird enough, Jesus is now invited to take “the vow of secret brotherhood” (132). (No, your congenial editor is not making this stuff up. His imagination is not that inventive.) Jesus becomes known as the Logos-Circle-Seven. The Logos is the perfect word; the circle symbolizes the perfect man, as does the number 7.
Believe it or not, Jesus is the perfect man and the Logos, but He must go search for Himself. He is told: “No man can enter into light till he has found himself” (133). Can a man be perfect without entering into light? Can He be the Logos yet still be in darkness? This does not even make good nonsense.
Jesus is taken to a room where He will be by Himself for many days. On the walls are mystic signs, sacred texts, and hieroglyphs (134). Suddenly, He gets a revelation and got “acquainted with His soul” (134). What malarkey! Jesus was acquainted with His soul before He left Heaven (Phil. 2:5-8). Jesus knew Who He was and that the Father had sent Him; He learned nothing from Egyptian mysticism.
Jesus undergoes seven tests from this point on and passes them all. On one occasion, Jesus is told that darkness is “but the absence of the light.” And what is light? “'Tis but the breath of God vibrating in the rhythm of rapid thought” (150). Does anyone desire to explain this further? Theoretically, Jesus “stirred the ethers up, and their vibrations reached the plane of light, and there was light” (150).
The sixth test involved a maiden of entrancing beauty. She sang the songs of Israel with “such music he [sic] had never heard” (153). He greatly desired her companionship but then realized that this too was a test which He had to overcome. He suppresses the love-flame that had been kindled in His soul and focused again on His mission (154).
The seventh test involves a widow who has lost her son. Of course, in Luke 7:12ff, Jesus confronts such a circumstance and heals the widow's son—but not in The Aquarian Gospel. Jesus tells the woman not to grieve; it will only make her sorrows worse (158). While one needs to get past grieving, we all know it is normal to do so. Dowling makes Jesus look insensitive. And then there is this phony explanation for why the son died:
He had a task assigned to do in the garb of flesh; he came; he did his work, and then he laid the flesh aside; he did not need it more.
Beyond our human sight he has another work to do, and he will do it well, and then pass on to other tasks, and, by and by, he will attain the crown of perfect life (258).
What meaneth this gibberish? Is he referring to re-incarnation? But that wouldn't be out of human sight. Is he referring to the man as living on Mars (or some other planet) amongst non-human creatures? Or has he moved on to some spiritual realm that lies neither on earth nor in heaven? If so, where and what is it? No Scripture either in the Old or New Testament describes such a habitation. Instead, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). There is no other world (physical or spiritual) where anyone goes to complete additional tasks. One does not labor to receive a crown after he has died.
The Council of the Seven Sages
The Aquarian Gospel closes with a meeting of the wisest men on earth. Allegedly, the earth always has seven sages upon it (166). Some of the seven have been previously mentioned in the book. Here they all meet in Alexandria (Egypt) at the home of Philo, who is said to be “the chief of Hebrew thought” (167). Actually, he made several historic events into allegories.
After seven days of silence, Meng-ste (from China) stated that the wheel of time had turned once more and that humankind was now on a higher plane of thought” (167). Is this another concession to evolution? Some said people were willing to give up idolatry for justice, mercy, righteousness, and love (167). Hmm. Didn't God tell Israel to give up idolatry (in the Ten Commandments) about 1500 years before Jesus? The prophet Amos, about 750 years before Jesus (and this council of “sages”), recorded God as saying: “But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24). These concepts were known before the first century A.D. Mercy is emphasized in Micah 6:8, written 500 years before Christ. Love was emphasized in the time of Moses—both for God (Deut. 6:5) and one's neighbor (Lev. 19:18).
One of the most dangerous doctrines in this “gospel” is the assertion that “the devil is…a myth” (168). Really? Adam and Eve were seduced by a myth? Jesus overcame a myth in the wilderness? And these are the wisest men (sages) in the world?
Another seven days of silence elapses. Maybe more time would have helped—because they are still not very wise. Meng-ste affirms that man “is not far enough advanced to live by faith” (173). Abraham did it 2,000 years earlier. The Age of Faith then would be yet future; this current age is only preparatory. Each sage would contribute one temporary postulate.
The first is: “God is Thought, and Thought is God” (175). This is too painful to think about. The second is even worse: “Eternal Thought is one; in essence it is two—Intelligence and Force. And when they breathe, a child is born; this child is Love. And thus the Triune God stands forth, whom men call Father-Mother-Child. This Triune God is one; but like the one of light. In essence he is seven” 175). One, two, three, seven—is anyone confused? Is Intelligence the father and Force the mother? And together they produce Love?
The third postulate is that “Man was a thought of God, formed in the image of the Septonate, clothed in the substances of the soul” (176). No one knows what that means. The fourth is equally unintelligible (176-77). The fifth? You had to ask. “The soul is drawn to perfect light by four white steeds, and these are Will, and Faith, and Helpfulness and Love.” Sixth involves the way Christ lives in the heart—so that “man and God are one” (179). Seventh: “…man is made a perfect God” (179). Jesus approved the message: the Universal Church shall stand on these “seven sure foundation stones” (181).
The final chapter (60) of the Aquarian Gospel concludes with a number of alleged comments of Jesus. He heads back to Israel from this conference “to speak and act by the Holy Breath” (181). Man cannot currently comprehend the Universal Church; “so the work that God has given me to do is not the building of the church” (182). This flatly contradicts Matthew 16:18-19—not to mention all the preparatory work of John the Baptizer (Matt. 3:2). Yet Dowling also has Jesus say that He will select twelve men of low estate who represent the twelve immortal thoughts; and these will be the Model Church” (182). He also predicts being slain on the cross—a fact only divulged to His apostles after His promise to build the church (Matt. 16:21). One can tell the Aquarian Gospel was written by a man rather than God, since it contradicts the Word. It is far safer to stick with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.