Chapter 7: Appendix A – Extensive Dake Quotes on Omnipresence

⚠️ CRITICAL NOTE ON THESE QUOTES

The following quotes represent serious theological errors that contradict orthodox Christian doctrine. They are presented here for documentation and refutation purposes. These teachings reduce God to a finite, limited being and destroy the biblical doctrine of divine omnipresence.

1. DAKE’S FUNDAMENTAL DENIAL OF TRUE OMNIPRESENCE

“God is omni-present but not omni-body, that is, His presence can be felt by moral agents who are everywhere, but His body cannot be seen by them every place at the same time. God has a body and goes from place to place like anybody else.”

2. GOD’S PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS

“God goes from place to place in a body just like anyone else (Gen. 3:8; 11:5; 18:1-22, 33; 19:24; 32:24-32; 35:13; Zech. 14:5; Tit. 2:13). He is omni-present, but not omni-body, that is, His presence can be felt everywhere but His body cannot, as seen in Point 9 below.”

3. PRESENCE GOVERNED BY RELATIONSHIP

“Presence is governed by relationship, not bodily sight. When the body of anyone is not literally present, one cannot say that it is present. The presence of two persons may be felt though thousands of miles may separate them bodily. In such a case, presence consists of union, relationship, memory, acquaintance, and association to the same end in life.”

4. DAKE’S WIFE AND CHILDREN ANALOGY

“While I write I feel the presence of my wife and children who are hundreds of miles away at this time. They are in my thoughts, my plans, my life, and all that I do. I do nothing without them, yet they are far away. I am building a home for them to move into. I plan for them. I see them in the new home. I experience the thrill of having them with me. They are here in spirit and presence, planning with me, and we are working together to the same end in life. This presence is constant, though distance separates bodily at times. I don’t feel the presence of other families I have never met and to which there is no union whatsoever.”

5. GOD DWELLING IN HEAVEN, NOT EVERYWHERE

“God personally dwells in Heaven, not everywhere. Jesus addressed His Father and referred to Him as being in Heaven. Eighteen times He said, ‘Father which is in heaven’ (Matt. 5:16, 45, 48; 6:1,9; 7:11,21, etc.). Shall we conclude that Jesus did not know what He was talking about? Not one time does one Scripture refer to God as being bodily everywhere.”

6. GOD’S MATERIAL ACTIVITIES

“He wears clothes (Dan. 7:9-14; 10:5-19); eats (Gen. 18:1-22; Exodus 24:11); rests, not because he gets tired, but because he ceases activity or completes a work (Gen. 2:1-4; Heb. 4:4); dwells in a mansion and in a city located on a material planet called Heaven (John 14:1-3; Heb. 11:10-16; 13:14; Rev. 3:12; 21:1-27); sits on a throne (Isa. 6; Rev. 4:1-5; 22:3-5); walks (Gen. 3:8; 18:1-22, 33); rides upon cherubs, the wind, clouds, and chariots drawn by cherubims (Ps. 18:10; 68:17; 104:2; Ezek. 1:1-28); and does do and can do anything that any other person can do bodily that is right and good.”

7. HEAVEN AS A MATERIAL PLANET

“Heaven itself is a material planet (Gen. 1:1; Heb. 11:10-16), having cities, mansions, furniture, inhabitants, living conditions, etc.”

8. SPIRIT BEINGS CANNOT BE OMNIPRESENT IN BODY

“Spirit beings, including God, Himself, cannot be omnipresent in body, for their bodies are of ordinary size and must be at one place at a time, in the same way that bodies of men are always localized, being in one place at a time. God, angels, and other spirit beings go from place to place bodily as men do; but their presence can be any place in the universe—wherever there are other persons who also have the sense of presence enough to feel the presence of others regardless of bodily distance between them.”

9. DAKE’S LIMITED OMNISCIENCE TEACHING

“The question of the omniscience of God is also much misunderstood. The Bible makes many simple statements that limit God’s knowledge. There would be no sense to such passages if we do not believe them literally… God gets to know things concerning the free moral actions of men as others do… God sends messengers throughout the Earth who report to Him of all that they find in the Earth that goes on… God does not take care of every detail of His vast business in all the kingdoms of the universe. His agents help Him and they are found in every part of the universe on missions for God.”

10. EVENTS THAT DID NOT COME INTO GOD’S MIND

“Several times God, Himself said of certain events that they did not come into His mind (Jer. 19:5; 32:35; 44:21). God did not know beforehand that men would become so wicked (Gen. 6:5-7); that they would plan Babel (Gen. 11:5-7); that Sodom would be so wicked (Gen. 18:21, 26, 28-32); that Abraham would actually proceed to offer up Isaac (Gen. 22:12).”

11. MAN’S ORIGINAL DOMINION OVER STARS

“Man was originally given dominion over the sun, moon, and stars and would have had to have access to them in order to rule them (Ps. 8:3-6). Man in the eternal future will become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ and will be able to be with God and Christ where they are in all eternity.”

12. FLESH AND BLOOD CAN ENTER HEAVEN

“The old theory that flesh and blood cannot enter Heaven is not biblical, for while it says ‘flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,’ it does not say man cannot enter it… Enoch has been in Heaven over 5,185 years and Elijah has been there over 2,600 years and yet neither of them have died.”

13. EACH MEMBER OF THE TRINITY HAS A BODY

“Each member of the Divine Trinity has His own personal spirit body, His own soul with all the soul feelings of other beings, and His own personal spirit with all the spirit attributes and powers that other spirits of persons have… Angels and all other kinds of spirits have also been seen with the natural eyes of men; and the many hundreds of facts about them… prove that all spirit beings have bodies, souls, and spirits, as men have.”

14. GOD’S BODY LIKE A MAN’S

“God’s body is like that of a man, for man was created in His likeness and His image bodily (Gen. 1:26, notes; also note r, Jn. 4:24)… He is omnipresent, but not omnibody.”

15. GOD CANNOT BE OMNIPRESENT IN BODY

“God is not a universal nothingness floating around in nowhere. He is not impersonal, immaterial, intangible—an unreal person. He is not a universal mind, soul, spirit, conscience, goodness, principle—an abstract power or force filling the whole of space and solid matter, as false cults teach. He is not omni-body; that is, His body is not everywhere at all places at the same time.”

16. CHRIST’S EXAMPLE OF LIMITED OMNIPRESENCE

“Christ is a true example of what we mean by omnipresence. He said, ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matt. 18:20). In what sense is He in the midst of so many gatherings? This could not mean that He is bodily present, for His body is in heaven seated at the right hand of God, as 24 scriptures declare.”

17. MEN WHO DON’T KNOW GOD DON’T FEEL HIS PRESENCE

“Men who do not know God seldom, if ever, feel His presence. They never do except as their creative spirit begins to think of where they came from, why they are here, and where they are going… They do not really realize and feel His presence, though, until they get to know about Him and begin to conform to His will. Then the presence of God becomes a reality and they can feel Him everywhere they go.”

18. DAKE’S ANNOTATED BIBLE ON OMNIPRESENCE

“Omnipresent (not omnibody, 1 Ki. 8:27; Ps. 139:7-12). Presence is not governed by bodily contact, but by knowledge and relationship (Mt. 18:20; 28:20. Cp. 1 Cor. 5:3-4). God’s body is not omnipresent, for it is only at one place at one time like others (Gen. 3:8; 11:5; 18:1-8,33; 19:24; 32:24-32), but His presence can be realized any place where men know Him and seek Him (Mt 18:20).”

19. GOD AS A PERSON WITH BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT

“He is a person with a personal spirit body, a personal soul, and a personal spirit, like that of angels, and like that of man except His body is of spirit substance instead of flesh and bones (Job 13:8; Heb. 1:3).”

20. GOD’S NEED FOR MESSENGERS

“God sends messengers throughout the whole of His vast creations to find out for Him what He wants to know, the same as the head of any other business would be likely to do, so that plans may be made and actions taken accordingly.”

📋 SUMMARY OF DAKE’S TEACHING

These quotes clearly demonstrate Dake’s comprehensive denial of God’s true omnipresence. His teaching reduces God to:

• A finite being with a physical body limited to one location
• Someone who must travel from place to place
• A being whose “presence” is merely psychological, not ontological
• Someone who needs messengers to report what’s happening
• A God who doesn’t know things until He finds them out
• A deity no different from Greek or Roman gods in His limitations

⚠️ THEOLOGICAL WARNING

These teachings represent a radical departure from historic Christian orthodoxy and should be rejected by all Bible-believing Christians. They destroy the biblical doctrine of God and reduce Him to a super-powered but ultimately limited being, more akin to pagan deities than the infinite God of Scripture.