Fulfilment of a Grand Prophecy - Hazrat Ahmad’s Challenge to John Alexander Dowie — Page 17
Vol. VI. Fulfillment of a Grand Prophecy 17. CHAPTER 2. THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS. APRIL, 1907. NO. 4. Divine Judgment in Dowie's Death. . Fulfillment of a Grand Prophecy. . We have often called the attention of all seekers after truth to the wonderful prophecies of the Promised Messiahs whose fulfillment carries conviction to every heart that ponders over them on account of the clearness of their proof, but we are sorry to note that no one has hitherto started an earnest enquiry into them. Indeed when we witness the attention, which is given to most trivialities, the indifference of the West to religious truth becomes the more striking. We do not mean to say that any one should blindly accept the truth of the prophecies, but we urge the necessity of a searching enquiry into them. We also make an allowance for the distance, which separates India from the Western countries, for we know that distance of place like distance of time divests an event of much of its reality. But the example of the fulfillment of a prophecy to which we desire to call the attention of the English and the American public through these pages is one in which the element of remoteness is not present. It is a prophecy which was not only published by us in England and the United States of America by the wide circulation of thousands of printed notices, but which was far more widely published through the columns of English and. American newspapers. The object of the prophecy. was moreover a person who had earned a great notoriety in both the continents and had thousands of followers in America and other Christian countries. Hence we place these facts before the seekers and lovers of truth in the West so that after a careful consideration of this testimony they may be able to form an opinion as to the truth of the prophecy. We are confident that there are many in the West who for the sake of truth can overcome all barriers of racial and religious prejudice, and who can show the moral courage to declare the truth in the face of all opposition. In fact, love of truth is innate in human nature and though it may be suppressed for a while by prejudice, it ultimately breaks all barriers. Not long ago when a Hindu leader of great fame died in accordance with a prophecy of the Promised. Messiahas published several years before, many men belonging to the Hindu community had the moral courage to declare openly that the prophecy was fulfilled and that it no doubt proceeded from a Divine source. As the spirit of enquiry is freer in the West, it is no delusion to hope that lovers of truth in those countries will, after a careful consideration of these facts, testify to the truth of the prophecy and the efficacy of the Promised. Messiah's prayer relating to Dowie. . Before referring to the facts of the fulfillment of the prophecy it is, however, necessary to inform the reader that we do it solely out of a desire to further the cause of truth and to enable our fellow-beings to see and realize the truth for themselves. The fulfillment of the prophecy affords such a clear and conclusive proof of the existence of an Omnipotent and Omniscient God