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Sixty-Six Nations Represented
John Alexander Dowie
John Alexander Dowie (1847–1907). Born on May 25, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland, to John Murray Dowie, a tailor and lay preacher, and Ann Macfarlan, John Alexander Dowie became a controversial evangelist and faith healer who founded the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church and Zion, Illinois. His childhood was marked by poverty and illness, but he showed early piety, reading the Bible cover-to-cover by age six and converting at seven after hearing a street preacher. In 1860, his family migrated to Adelaide, Australia, where Dowie worked in his uncle’s shoe business and later as a clerk, rising to a firm handling $2 million annually. At 21, he returned to Edinburgh to study theology, ordained as a Congregational minister in 1872, pastoring at Alma, Australia. His outspoken style led to conflicts, prompting resignations from churches in Manly (1873) and Newtown (1875). By 1878, he left Congregationalism, embracing divine healing after witnessing recoveries during a plague, founding the International Divine Healing Association in 1886. Moving to the U.S. in 1888, he built a following in San Francisco before settling in Chicago in 1890, capitalizing on the 1893 World’s Fair to grow his ministry. In 1896, he established the Christian Catholic Church, emphasizing healing, and in 1901, founded Zion, a theocratic community banning alcohol, tobacco, and medicine. Proclaiming himself “Elijah the Restorer” in 1901, he ruled Zion autocratically, amassing wealth but facing legal battles, including fraud suits he overcame. His books, like Zion’s Conflict with Methodist Apostasy (1900), and Leaves of Healing magazine spread his teachings. Married to cousin Jane Dowie in 1876, he had three children—Gladstone, Jeanie (died 1885), and Esther (died 1902). Extravagant campaigns, like a failed 1903 New York crusade, and financial mismanagement led to his 1906 deposition by deputy Wilbur Voliva after a stroke. Dowie died on March 9, 1907, in Zion, saying, “The time has come when I must obey God rather than man.”
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Sermon Summary
John Alexander Dowie emphasizes the unifying power of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion, which gathers representatives from sixty-six nations under the banner of Zion. He celebrates the global reach of this assembly, highlighting the joy of being spiritually present among thousands of witnesses who uphold the everlasting gospel of salvation, healing, and holiness through faith in Jesus. Dowie reflects on a decade of ministry in Chicago, affirming the church's commitment to the new covenant that offers redemption in spirit, soul, and body from the enemy's power.
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The Christian Catholic Church in Zion, observing the commands of God in this wonderful prophecy for the latter days, is gathering all nations together under the banner of Zion. In this assembly of God's people, it is probable that more than fifty nations are represented. On a recent occasion in the city of Zion, I found there were sixty-six nations represented. The banner of Zion now floats over many gatherings throughout the continents of America, Asia, Africa, Australasia, Europe, and many of the islands of the sea. It is a joyful privilege which permits my voice to be heard in this assembly, and, although invisible in body, to be present with you in spirit and to utter my testimony among the many thousands of God's witnesses in Zion today. Month after month and year after year for ten years in this city of Chicago, we have brought forth our witnesses and justified our teaching and our practice as believers in the everlasting gospel of salvation, healing, and holiness through faith in Jesus and in that new covenant which God our Father has made by the Spirit through his Son, which brings redemption to his people in spirit, soul, and body, here and now, from all the power of the enemy.
Sixty-Six Nations Represented
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John Alexander Dowie (1847–1907). Born on May 25, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland, to John Murray Dowie, a tailor and lay preacher, and Ann Macfarlan, John Alexander Dowie became a controversial evangelist and faith healer who founded the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church and Zion, Illinois. His childhood was marked by poverty and illness, but he showed early piety, reading the Bible cover-to-cover by age six and converting at seven after hearing a street preacher. In 1860, his family migrated to Adelaide, Australia, where Dowie worked in his uncle’s shoe business and later as a clerk, rising to a firm handling $2 million annually. At 21, he returned to Edinburgh to study theology, ordained as a Congregational minister in 1872, pastoring at Alma, Australia. His outspoken style led to conflicts, prompting resignations from churches in Manly (1873) and Newtown (1875). By 1878, he left Congregationalism, embracing divine healing after witnessing recoveries during a plague, founding the International Divine Healing Association in 1886. Moving to the U.S. in 1888, he built a following in San Francisco before settling in Chicago in 1890, capitalizing on the 1893 World’s Fair to grow his ministry. In 1896, he established the Christian Catholic Church, emphasizing healing, and in 1901, founded Zion, a theocratic community banning alcohol, tobacco, and medicine. Proclaiming himself “Elijah the Restorer” in 1901, he ruled Zion autocratically, amassing wealth but facing legal battles, including fraud suits he overcame. His books, like Zion’s Conflict with Methodist Apostasy (1900), and Leaves of Healing magazine spread his teachings. Married to cousin Jane Dowie in 1876, he had three children—Gladstone, Jeanie (died 1885), and Esther (died 1902). Extravagant campaigns, like a failed 1903 New York crusade, and financial mismanagement led to his 1906 deposition by deputy Wilbur Voliva after a stroke. Dowie died on March 9, 1907, in Zion, saying, “The time has come when I must obey God rather than man.”