He stripped off first one robe of honor and then another until, naked, He was fastened to the cross. There He emptied His inmost self, pouring out His lifeblood, giving Himself for all of us. Finally, they laid Him in a borrowed grave. How low was our dear Redeemer brought! How then, can we be proud? Stand at the foot of the cross and count the scarlet drops by which you have been cleansed. See the thorny crown and His scourged shoulders still gushing with the crimson flow of blood. See His hands and feet given up to the rough iron, and His whole self mocked and scorned. See the bitterness, the pangs, and the throes of inward grief show themselves in His outward frame. Hear the chilling shriek, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). If you are not humbled in the presence of Jesus, you do not know Him. You were so lost that nothing could save you but the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son. As Jesus stooped for you, bow in humility at His feet. A realization of Christ’s amazing love has a greater tendency to humble us than even a consciousness of our own guilt. Pride cannot live beneath the cross. Let us sit there and learn our lesson. Then let us rise and carry it into practice.
C.H. Spurgeon

The Aquarian Gospel

The Aquarian Gospel

THE AQUARIAN GOSPEL A Summary of a Contemporary Pseudo-Scripture by M. Kurt Goedelman

The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ contains a variety of New Age thought disguised as an updated Christian Gospel. This “gospel” begins with the birth and early life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and concludes with the events surrounding Pentecost. In between is, among other things, “a complete record of the ‘lost’ 18 years [of Jesus] so strangely silent in the New Testament.”

The purported author of this work is Levi H. Dowling. However, a publisher’s note in the book says “the book was transcribed between the early morning hours of two and six,” indicating spirit-induced automatic writing or, as described in the book’s introduction, “wireless telegraphy” (pg. 17). The introduction tells the reader that Dowling’s commission was to “take up your pen and write,” a command he “received from Visel, the Goddess of Wisdom or the Holy Breath.” (pp. 14-15)

Dowling, who preferred to be addressed as “Levi,” was born in 1844. He was the son of a Disciples of Christ preacher. However, it appears he strayed from Christian belief early. It is claimed that at age 13, Levi debated a Presbyterian elder on the issue of everlasting punishment for the wicked. It also is claimed that young Levi became a student of world religions and “entered into a deeper study of etheric vibration, determined to solve the great mysteries of the heavens.”

Perhaps Dowling’s motivation in life came from a vision he is said to have experienced. Three times he was told to “build a white city.” After 40 years of “study and silent meditation,” Dowling is said to have “reached a state of spiritual consciousness that permitted him to enter the domain of these superfine ethers and interpret their mysteries.” Thus he was able to build his “white city,” The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ.

First published in 1907, four years prior to Dowling’s death, The Aquarian Gospel claims as its source the Akashic records. These are said to be the “imperishable records of life … [which] are wholly in the domain of Supreme Intelligence, or Universal Mind.” Dowling is purported to have contacted, under the Spirit of Supreme Intelligence’s direction, the tones and rhythms of such biblical figures as Enoch, Melchizedek and Jesus of Nazareth. The volume further says all of Dowling’s “transcriptions are true to the letter.” (Introduction, pg. 17)

The Aquarian Gospel gets its name from astrology. During the rise of the Roman Empire and Jesus’ earthly ministry, the sun ð3Ð/