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ALIANNE OUSSAMEUR (Alianne)
Starlite Member
Username: Alianne
| | Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2005 - 08:28 pm: | 
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THAT IS SO FALSE MIKEY: READ THE BIBLE... JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD AND HE WILL JUDGE AND RULE THE EARTH FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE TURNING IT BACK TO HIS FATHER WHEN ALL CREATION HAS REACHED PERFECTION UNDER HIS KINGDOM POWER. THEN JESUS WILL SUBJECT HIMSELF TO THE FATHER. THIS ASSIGNMENT THAT IS GIVEN TO JESUS IN RECOMPENSE FOR HIS LOYALTY AND INTEGRITY DOES NOT MAKE HIM GOD "YHWH" ALMIGHTY AND NEVER HAS JESUS SAID THAT HE IS GOD. GET OVER IT AND EDUCATE YOURSELF IN THE SCRIPTURES AND STOP REPEATING THINGS THAT YOU HAVE HEARD THAT ARE FALSE. INSTEAD READ THE BIBLE.
Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 04:56 am: --------------------------------------------------------------------
He Claimed to be God, the judge of all mankind: |
Michael .P (Mik3y)
Starlite Member
Username: Mik3y
| | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 04:57 am: |
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Alas while scripture and Doctrine hold its place in Religion nothing is far better then a mans own testimony to God. I could give my testimony if you'd like.. But this is quite enough to mastecate with already.
Michael william James
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Michael .P (Mik3y)
Starlite Member
Username: Mik3y
| | Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 - 04:56 am: |
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He Claimed to be God, the judge of all mankind:
"When the Son of Man comes in his Glory, and all the angels with Him...before Him will be gathered all nations, and He will seperate them one from another" [Matt 25:31-46]
Is is only God who can speak of Himself thus. It is only God who can read the hearts of the countless millions of mankind, and apportion to each individual his deserts.
In the continuation of the same passage, He says that He, "the King", will tell the wicked that in neglecting the needy they were neglecting Him. He identifies Himself, therefore, with God, whom good men please and wicked men displease. He calls Himself, "the Son of Man", a Messianic title[Daniel 7:13-14].
He claimed to be God the Lawgiver; The Pharisees accused the disciples of Jesus of having violated the Sabbath. Jesus replied that "the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath". [matthew 12:8]
That is to say, the Sabbath observance may be set aside by Him, viz., God, who instituted it. He said, in the Sermon on the Mount: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill'...But i say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgement"[Matt 5:21-22; cf. vv. 28, 32, 34, 39, 44]. And throughout the discourse, He returns repeatedly to the same emphatic decleration: "You have heard...But i say to you".
Had he claimed to be no more than a merely human envoy of God, He would never have spoken thus: to do so would have been the vilest b;asphemy and arrogance. He would instead have adhered with the strictest reverance and humility to the formula: "But God now bids me to say to you."
The words he actually spoke show Him as claiming to enlarge and re-interpret the Ten Commandments on His own personal authority. But such authority can be possessed by God alone, the giver of the Law on Sinai.
He claimed to be Omnipotent. He claimed to be a Divine Person, God the Son, equal in power to the Father.
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me."[Matt 28:18]
"All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father; or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."[Luke 10:22] He claimed to possess a power which only God could possess, power over the angels and all creatures, whether in heaven or on earth. But while making this claim, He stated clearly that He was not the only person In God. He spoke of Himself as the Son who had received all things from the Father to whom He was mysteriously united in mutual knowledge, and whom He alone at His pleasure could make known to men.
He claimed to be God the Son, one in nature with the Father.
(A) One day, near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus "asked His disciples, 'Who do men say that the Son of Man is?'.... And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.'
He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'
Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." [Matt16:13-17; cf. Luke 10:22; Matt 11:27]
St Peter had learned the truth about Christ, not from his merely natural powers ["flesh and blood"], but from the revelation given to him by the Father through the Son. ..Christ has already shown in many ways that he was a Divine PErson, God the Son. The expression "Son of God" is used sometimes in the scriptures in the figurative meaning of "Friend" or "Servant of God." Here, However, there can be no question of such figurative sonship. In this sense, John the Baptist, Elijah and the prophets were "sons of God." Besides, had St Peter used the words in this weaker meaning, he would not have required a revelation from God the Father.
(b) In hearing of the priests and scribes, Christ spoke a parable to the people. He told how a man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants, how he sent servant after servant to them to collect his share of the fruit, how the tenants beat them and drove them away empty handed, and how at last "the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall i do? I will send my beloved son; ["Beloved Son" in the scriptures means "True and only son". cf.Matt 3:17.] it may be that they respect him.' But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' And they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others" [Luke 20:13-16]. ..The people caught his meaning. They saw that his parable foretold that the jews who had slain prophet after prophet, would at the last slay the beloved Son of God himself, and so accomplish their own destruction. They cried out: "God forbid!"
And the priests and scribes, were it not for the many friends about Him, would have seized Him that instant. They saw themselves in the parable as the slayers of the true Son of God.
(C) When Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin on Good Friday morning, "the High Priest asked Him, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed?' And Jesus said, 'I am; and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and comming with the clouds of heaven.' And the High Priest tore his mantle, and said, 'Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?' And they all condemned Him as deserving death" (Mark 14:61-64; cf. Matt 26:63-66).
What is the Blasphemy? IT was the claim of Jesus to be the true Son of God, one in nature with the Father. It was for that blasphemy they condemned Him to death.
The Gospel of St John Testifies that Jesus claimed to be God!!
He claimed divine prerogatives. The Jews said to Him: "You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, i say to you, before Abraham was, I am.'"(John 8:57-58)".
"The Father...has given all judgement to the Son, that all may honour the Father" (John 5:22-23). To Nicodemus He said: "He who does not believe[in the Son] is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God"(John 3:18). He speaks of Himself as "the door"(John 10:9) through which men enter life. He is "the true vine"(John 15:1), we are the branches. He is "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life"(John 14:6).
Before He suffered, He prayed to His heavenly Father; "Father, Glorify Thou Me in Thy own presence, with the glory which I had Thee before the world was made. ... All mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine" (John 17:5,10,19). Many more texts of like purport from St John and the other Evangelists might be quoted(When Christ says[John 14: 28], "the Father is greater than I", He means, "the Father is greater than I am as man." Or it is a mode of saying, "The Father is my origin"].
The Jews knew he claimed to be God!!
Jesus said to the Jews: "I and the Father are one". They were about to stone Him for these words, "because", they said, "You ebing a man, make yourself God[John 10:30-33]. Jesus, replying to the Jews who were offended because He had cured a sick man on the Sabbath day, said "My Father is working still, and I am working." Whereupon they "sought all the more to kill Him because He... called God His Father, making Himself equal with God." Jesus, far from saying that they had misunderstood Him, answered: "...for whatever[the Father] does, that the Son does likewise... For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will(John 5:17-21). When Pilate tried to acquit Jesus, the Jews cried out: "We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He has made Himself the Son of God(John 19:7).
(C) The Acts of Jesus that He claimed to be God
Jesus performed His many miracles, not merely as the ambassador of God, but as God Himself:
"even though you do not believe Me, believe the works", i.e.,the miracles, "that you may know and understand the Father as in Me and I am in the Father"(John 10:38).
He allowed men to adore Him as God. When He had given sight to the man born blind, "He said 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?' He answered, 'And who is He, sir, that I may believe in Him?' Jesus said to him'...it is He who speaks to you.' He said, 'Lord i believe'; and he worshipped Him" (John 9:35-38; cf. Matt 14:33; 15:25; 17:14). He forgave sin as of His own independant power. "My son, your sins are forgiven", He said to the man sick of the palsy. When the scribes ask themselves indignantly, "who can forgive sins but God alone?", He does not deny the assertion implied in their question, viz.., "it is only God who can forgive sin", but goes on to reaffirm the claim He has already made. "But that you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' He said to the paralytic' I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.' And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all" (Mark 2:5-12). To Magdalen, who had kissed His feet and bathed them with her tears, He said, "your sins are forgiven." And to those who sat at table with Him on the same occasion, He said "her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much"(Luke 7:47-8). It is only through love of God that sins are forgiven. Christ, therefore, asserts that love of Him is love of God. In other words, He claims to be God.
(D) The Apostles and Disciples knew that Christ claimed to be God!!
No one denies that after the death of Christ, His followers, both Jews and Gentiles, preached His Divinity, and that they suffered and died in Testimony thereof [Acts 3:14-15; 5:41; 7:55-58; 15:26.), facts which can be explained only by their knowledge that He Himself had claimed to be the Son of God.
From amoung all founders of religion, Jesus was the only one who claimed to be Divine.
Jesus claim of Divinity was not false: He was neither lying nor out of His mind. Thus it makes immensely more sense to believe that His claim of Divinity was True. We can safely believe in Him who claimed to be-and is- the way, the Truth and the Life.
I ask that you read this carefuly before making such vulgar comments disgracing God and His divinity. One in being with the Father from the very beginning. Jesus also brings a new covenant to man in the new testament; his Second comming. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy spirit as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end, Amen.}
Michael william James
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Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 02:22 pm: |
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Jesus set us the example in using that spiritual sword, God's Word.
When the Devil put him to the test in the wilderness, Jesus parried every stroke of the Devil's suggestions with the sword of God's Word, saying, "It is written."
And when the Devil and all his organized demons attacked Jesus through their wicked visible organization and assailed his message and his course of action, he met their assaults with a thrust of the spiritual sword, quoting the written Word of God.
"It is written" killed or stopped cold the traditional arguments and worldly philosophies or unscriptural reasonings of the religious dupes of the demons.
But along with his expert use of this sword from God Jesus prayed.
He prayed regularly and sincerely and in full accord with God's purpose set out in his recorded Word.
So his prayers were heard. |
Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 02:06 pm: |
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"Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought. Does the Christ exist divided?"-1 Cor. 1:10, 13, NW. |
Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 02:00 pm: |
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Is Jesus Christ actually God?
John 17:3, RS: "[Jesus prayed to his Father:]
This is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God ...
["who alone art truly God," NE], and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."
(Notice that Jesus referred not to himself but to his Father in heaven as "the only true God.")
John 20:17, RS: "Jesus said to her [Mary Magdalene],
'Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, ...
I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
(So to the resurrected Jesus, the Father was God, just as the Father was God to Mary Magdalene.
Interestingly, not once in Scripture do we find the Father addressing the Son as "my God.") |
Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 01:55 pm: |
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1 Pet. 1:3, RS: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!"
(Repeatedly, even following Jesus' ascension to heaven, the Scriptures refer to the Father as "the God" of Jesus Christ.
Mik3y,
At John 20:17, following Jesus' resurrection, he himself spoke of the Father as "my God."
Later, when in heaven, as recorded at Revelation 3:12, he again used the same expression.
But never in the Bible is the Father reported to refer to the Son as "my God," nor does either the Father or the Son refer to the holy spirit as "my God.") |
Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 01:50 pm: |
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1 Cor. 8:5, 6, RS: "Although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth-as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords'-yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."
(This presents the Father as the "one God" of Christians and as being in a class distinct from Jesus Christ.) |
Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 01:48 pm: |
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Does the Bible teach that each of those said to be part of the Trinity is God?
Jesus said in prayer: "Father, . . .
this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."
(John 17:1-3, RS; italics added.)
(Most translations here use the expression "the only true God" with reference to the Father.
NE reads "who alone art truly God."
He cannot be "the only true God,"
the one "who alone [is] truly God," if there are two others who are God to the same degree as he is, can he?
Any others referred to as "gods" must be either false or merely a reflection of the true God.) |
Michael .P (Mik3y)
Starlite Member
Username: Mik3y
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 11:46 am: |
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Ahh But the catholic Church never says there are not 3 persons. But that they are One God in unity. There are many verses in the Bible that give insight to the trinitys teaching.
Michael william James
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Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 09:43 am: |
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Does the Bible agree with those who teach that the Father and the Son are not separate and distinct individuals?
Matt. 26:39, RS: "Going a little farther he [Jesus Christ] fell on his face and prayed,
'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.'"
(If the Father and the Son were not distinct individuals, such a prayer would have been meaningless.
Jesus would have been praying to himself, and his will would of necessity have been the Father's will.)
John 8:17, 18, RS: "[Jesus answered the Jewish Pharisees:]
In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true; I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me."
(So, Jesus definitely spoke of himself as being an individual separate and distinct from the Father.) |
Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 09:40 am: |
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John L. McKenzie, S.J., in his Dictionary of the Bible, says:
"The trinity of persons within the unity of nature is defined in terms of 'person' and 'nature' which are G[ree]k philosophical terms; actually the terms do not appear in the Bible.
The trinitarian definitions arose as the result of long controversies in which these terms
and others such as 'essence' and 'substance' were erroneously applied to God by some theologians."-
(New York, 1965), p. 899. |
Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 09:38 am: |
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The New Catholic Encyclopedia states:
"The formulation 'one God in three Persons' was not solidly established,
certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century.
But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title the Trinitarian dogma.
Among the Apostolic Fathers,
there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective."-(1967),
Vol. XIV, p. 299. |
Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 09:36 am: |
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What is the origin of the Trinity doctrine?
The New Encyclopedia Britannica says:
"Neither the word Trinity,
nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament,
nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament:
'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord' (Deut. 6:4). . . .
The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. . . .
By the end of the 4th century . . .
the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since."-(1976),
Micropedia, Vol. X, p. 126. |
Jasmine Andrea Snow (Snowprincess)
Starlite Member
Username: Snowprincess
| | Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 09:30 am: |
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Hello Mik3y,
Questions to ask one self,
What is Trinity?
Where did its teachings originate?
Is Trinity truly a Bible Teaching?
Your Answers,
Trinity- Definition: The central doctrine of religions of Christendom.
According to the Athanasian Creed, there are three divine Persons (the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost), each said to be eternal, each said to be almighty, none greater or less than another,
each said to be God, and yet together being but one God.
Other statements of the dogma emphasize that these three “Persons” are not separate and distinct individuals but are three modes in which the divine essence exists.
Thus some Trinitarians emphasize their belief that Jesus Christ is God, or that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are Jehovah.
((((TRINITY-Not a BIBLE TEACHING.)))
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ALIANNE OUSSAMEUR (Alianne)
Starlite Member
Username: Alianne
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 10:45 am: |
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MICHAEL:Jesus condemmed the religious leaders of GOD'S chosen people- the Jews- and they were replaced because of their false teachings and not accepting Jesus as the promised Messiah. Similarly the Catholic Churc is considered for destruction due to her many lies. She actually denies the teachings of Christ. Check it out for yourself...it may be a rude awakening for you. Jesus said there is only one you must worship and that is the Father. |
Michael .P (Mik3y)
Starlite Member
Username: Mik3y
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 08:14 am: |
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The church has been handed down the Authority of God on such things Catholics must obey. Apart from that the teaching of understanding the Holy trinity was taken from the Bible.
Michael william James
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ALIANNE OUSSAMEUR (Alianne)
Starlite Member
Username: Alianne
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 07:35 am: |
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MICHAEL:Catholics believe in the Trinity and this is not a teaching from the Bible. Jesus never taught this doctrine and it was added to the Catholic Church through the Council of Nicea. Check out the Bible and the Encyclopidias if you don't beleive me. I can get you further info on this subject. |
Michael .P (Mik3y)
Starlite Member
Username: Mik3y
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 02:37 am: |
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The Father, The son, The Holy spirit. One God! I can't speak for all christians but as a Catholic we believe in One God.
Michael william James
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ALIANNE OUSSAMEUR (Alianne)
Starlite Member
Username: Alianne
| | Posted on Friday, July 22, 2005 - 07:42 pm: |
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ZAHEER, iN RESPONSE TO THESE WORDS OF YOURS: "Anways The Bible confirms that Jesus is not the unique son of God." The way I understood Miss Snow is that she was not contradicting your words above but was saying that the Bible says God has many sons. However what she was saying is that Jesus is the only "begotten son of god". No where in the Bible will you find God giving this title "my only begotten son" to any other person but Jesus. Why???? Because Jesus was the first of God's creations. God created Jesus by Himself. The Bible says that Jesus created the other things with the help of God's Holy Spirit. God made Jesus" his master worker" (Proverb 8:22) Some of the creations that Jesus did with the help of his Father were the angels (the reason that Jesus is known as the Archangel), Adam and Eve, the earth and all its aspects. All of this is plainly stated in the Bible, God's word of truth. I sometime's wonder if Muslims listen to Muhammed instead of the philosophies of men |
zaheer - uddin (Zaheer)
Starlite Member
Username: Zaheer
| | Posted on Saturday, July 16, 2005 - 09:43 am: |
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for the interest of readers only the relevant topic may be discussed. |
zaheer - uddin (Zaheer)
Starlite Member
Username: Zaheer
| | Posted on Saturday, July 16, 2005 - 09:41 am: |
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The prophet of Arabia
The Prophet Of Arabia As Spoken Of In The Bible 'The Burden Upon Arabia' - Isaiah xxi. 13.
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We read the following words in the Book of Deuteronomy chapter xviii. verse 18: 'I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth.' If these words do not apply to Prophet Muhammad, they still remain unfulfilled. Prophet Jesus himself never claimed to be the Prophet alluded to. Even his disciples were of the same opinion: they looked to the second coming of Jesus for the fulfillment of the prophecy. So far it is undisputed that the first coming of Jesus was not the advent of the 'prophet like unto thee,' and his second advent can hardly fulfill the words. Jesus, as is believed by his Church, will appear as a Judge and not as a law-giver; but the promised one has to come with a 'fiery law' in 'his right hand.'
In ascertaining the personality of the promised prophet the other prophecy of Moses is, however, very helpful where it speaks of the shining forth of God from Paran, the mountain of Mecca. The words in the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter xxxiii. verse 2, run as follows: 'The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints; from his right hand went a fiery law for them.'
In these words the Lord has been compared with the sun. He comes from Sinai, he rises from Seir, but he shines in his full glory from Paran, where he had to appear with ten thousands of saints with a fiery law in his right hand. None of the Israelites, including Jesus, had anything to do with Paran. Hagar, with her son Ishmael, wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, who afterwards dwelt in the wilder- ness of Paran (Gen. xxi. 21). He married an Egyptian woman, and through his first-born, Kedar, gave descent to the Arabs who from that time till now are the dwellers of the wilderness of Paran. And if Prophet Muhammad admittedly on all hands traces his descent to Ishmael through Kedar and he appeared as a prophet in the wilderness of Paran and re- entered Mecca with ten thousand saints and gave a fiery law to his people, is not the prophecy above-mentioned fulfilled to its very letter?
The words of the prophecy in Habakkuk are especially noteworthy. His (the Holy One from Paran) glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of his praise. The word 'praise' is very significant, as the very name Muhammad literally means 'the praised one.' Besides the Arabs, the inhabitants of the wilderness of Paran had also been promised a Revelation: 'Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare His praise in the islands. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war, he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies' (Isaiah).
In connection with it there are two other prophecies worthy of note where references have been made to Kedar. The one runs thus in chapter 1x. of Isaiah: 'Arise, shine for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee ... The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come.. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory' (1-7). The other prophecy is again in Isaiah 'The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim. The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished' Read these prophecies in Isaiah in the light of one in Deutero- nomy which speaks of the shining forth of God from Paran. If Ishmael inhabited the wilderness of Paran, where he gave birth to Kedar, who is the ancestor of the Arabs; and if the sons of Kedar had to receive revelation from God; if the flocks of Kedar had to come up with acceptance to a Divine altar to glorify 'the house of my glory' where the darkness had to cover the earth for some centuries, and then that very land had to receive light from God; and if all the glory of Kedar had to fail and the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, had to diminish within a year after the one fled from the swords and from the bent bows - the Holy One from Paran (Habakkuk iii 3 ) is no one else than Prophet Muhammad. Prophet Muhammad is the holy offspring of Ishmael through Kedar, who settled in the wilderness of Paran. Muhammad is the only Prophet through whom the Arabs received revelation at the time when the darkness had covered the earth. Through him God shone from Paran, and Mecca is the only place where the House of God is glorified and the flocks of Kedar come with acceptance on its altar. Prophet Muhammad was persecuted by his people and had to leave Mecca. He was thirsty and fled from the drawn sword and the bent bow, and within a year after his flight the descen- dants of Kedar meet him at Badr, the place of the first battle between the Meccans and the Prophet, the children of Kedar and their number of archers diminish and all the glory of Kedar fails. If the Holy Prophet is not to be accepted as the fulfillment of all these prophecies they will still remain unfulfilled. 'The house of my glory' referred to in Isaiah lX is the house of God in Mecca and not the Church of Christ as thought by Christian commentators. The flocks of Kedar, as mentioned in verse 7, have never come to the Church of Christ; and it is a fact that the villages of Kedar and their inhabitants are the only people in the whole world who have remained impenetrable to any influence of the Church of Christ. Again, the mention of 10,000 saints in Deutero- nomy xxx 3 is very significant. He (God) shined forth from Paran, and he came with 10,000 of saints. Read the whole history of the wilderness of Paran and you will find no other event but when Mecca was conquered by the Prophet. He comes with 10,000 followers from Medina and re-enters 'the house of my glory.' He gives the fiery law to the world, which reduced to ashes all other laws. The Comforter - the Spirit of Truth - spoken of by Prophet Jesus was no other than Prophet Muhammad himself. It cannot be taken as the Holy Ghost, as the Church theology says. 'It is expe- dient for you that I go away,' says Jesus, 'for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart I will send him unto you.' The words clearly show that the Comforter had to come after the departure of Jesus, and was not with him when he uttered these words. Are we to pre- sume that Jesus was devoid of the Holy Ghost if his coming was conditional on the going of Jesus: besides, the way in which Jesus describes him makes him a human being, not a ghost. 'He shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that he shall speak.' Should we presume that the Holy Ghost and God are two distinct entities and that the Holy Ghost speaks of himself and also what he hears from God? The words of Jesus clearly refer to some messenger from God. He calls him the Spirit of Truth, and so the Qur'an speaks of Prophet Muhammad, 'No, indeed, he has brought the truth, and confirmed the Messengers.' Ch.37:37
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zaheer - uddin (Zaheer)
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Username: Zaheer
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What Does the Bible Say about Muhammad?
By Ahmad Deedat
Say: 'Do you see whether this message be from Allah (God Almighty), and yet you reject it, and a witness from among the Children of Israel bore witness of one like him.' ' (the Holy Quran 46:10)
As a young man, about 30 years ago, I attended a series of religious lectures by a Christian theologian, a certain Rev. Hiten, at the 'Theater Royal', Durban in South Africa.
his Reverend gentleman was expounding Biblical prophecies. He went on to prove that the Christian Bible foretold the rise of Soviet Russia, and the Last Days. At one stage he went to the extent of proving that his Holy Book did not leave even the Pope out of its predictions. He expatiated vigorously in order to convince his audience that the Beast 666 mentioned in The Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, was the Pope, who was the Vicar of Christ on earth.
. Rev. Hiten's lectures led me to ask that if the Bible foretold so many things - not even excluding the 'Pope' and 'Israel', - then surely it must have something to say about the greatest benefactor of mankind, prophet Muhammed, may the peace of Allah be upon him.
As a youngster I set out to search for an answer. I met priest after priest, attended lectures, and read everything that I could lay my hands relating to the fields of Bible prophecies. Tonight I'm going to narrate to you one of these interviews with a Dominee of the Dutch Reformed Church.
The thirteenth call brought me pleasure and relief. A Dominee Van Heerden ('Dominee' is the Afrikaans equivalent of 'priest') agreed to meet me at his home on the Saturday afternoon that I was to leave for Transvaal.
Why Nothing?
I posed the question: 'What does the Bible say about Muhammed?' Without hesitation he answered: 'Nothing!' I asked: 'Why nothing? According to your interpretation the Bible has so many things to say about the rise of Soviet Russia and about the Last Days and even about the Pope of the Roman Catholics?' He said: 'Yes, but there was nothing about Muhammed!' I asked again: 'Why nothing? Surely this man Muhammed who had been responsible for the bringing into being a world-wide community of millions of believers who, on his authority, believe in:
the miraculous birth of Jesus,
that Jesus is the Messiah,
that he gave life to the dead by God's permission, and that he healed those born blind and the lepers by God's permission.
Surely this book (the Bible) must have something to say about this great leader of men who spoke so well of Jesus and his mother Mary?'
The old man from the Free State replied: 'My son, I have been reading the Bible for the past 50 years, and if there was any mention of him, I would have known it.'
Not One by Name!
I inquired: 'According to you, are there not hundreds of prophecies regarding the coming of Jesus in the Old Testament.' The Dominee interjected: 'Not hundreds, but thousands!' I said: 'I am not going to dispute the thousand and one prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the coming of Jesus Christ, because the whole Muslim world has already accepted him without the testimony of any Biblical prophecy. Muslims have accepted the de facto Jesus on the authority of Muhammed alone, and there are in the world today no less than 900,000,000 followers of Muhammed, who love, respect, and revere Jesus Christ as a great Messenger of God without having the Christians to convince them by means of Biblical dialectics.
Out of the 'thousands' of prophecies referred to, can you please give me just one single prophecy where Jesus is mentioned by name? The term Messiah, translated as Christ, is not a name but a title. Is there a single prophecy where it says that the name of the Messiah will be Jesus, and that his mother's name will be Mary, that his supposed father will be Joseph the Carpenter; that he will be born in the reign of Herod the King, etc? No! There are no such details! Then how can you conclude that those 'Thousand' prophecies refer to Jesus, peace be upon him?'
What is Prophecy?
The Dominee replies: 'You see, prophecies are word pictures of something that is going to happen in the future. When that thing actually comes to pass, we see vividly in these prophecies the fulfillment of what had been predicted in the past.' I said: 'What you actually do is that you deduce, you reason, you put two and two together.' He said: 'Yes.' I said: 'If this is what you have to do with a 'thousand' prophecies to justify your claim with regards to the genuineness of Jesus, why should we not adopt the very same system for Muhammed?' The Dominee agreed that it was a fair proposition, a reasonable way of dealing with the problem.
I asked him to open up Deuteronomy, chapter 18, verse 18, which he did. I read from memory
'I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.' (Deut 18:18)
Prophet Like Moses
Having recited the verse in Afrikaans, I apologized for my uncertain pronunciation; the Dominee assured me that I was doing fine. I inquired: 'To whom does this prophecy refer?' Without the slightest hesitation he answered: 'Jesus!' I asked: 'Why Jesus? his name is not mentioned here' The Dominee replied: 'Since prophecies are word pictures of something that is going to happen in the future, we find that the wordings of this verse adequately describe him. You see, the most important words of this prophecy are 'soos jy is', 'like unto thee', or 'like you' - like Moses; and Jesus is like Moses.'
I asked the Dominee: 'In which way is Jesus like Moses?' The answer was: 'In the first place Moses was a Jew and Jesus was also a Jew; secondly, Moses was a Prophet and Jesus was also a Prophet - therefor Jesus is like Moses and that is exactly what God had foretold Moses -
'Can you think of any other similarities between Moses and Jesus?' I asked. The Dominee said that he could not think of any. I replied: 'If these are the only two criteria for discovering a candidate for this prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:18, then in that case the criteria could fit any one of the following Biblical personages after Moses:- Solomon, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Malachi, John the Baptist etc., because they were also all Jews as well as Prophets. Why should we not apply this prophecy to any one of these prophets, and why only to Jesus?' The Dominee had no reply. I continued: 'You see, my conclusions are that Jesus is most unlike Moses, and if I am wrong I would like you to correct me.'
Three Unlike
So staying, I reasoned with him: 'In the first place Jesus is not like Moses, because, according to you, Jesus is God, but Moses is not God, is this true?' He said: 'Yes.' I said: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses!'. 'Secondly, according to you, Jesus died for the sins of the world, but Moses did not have to die for the sins of the world. Is this true?' He again said: 'Yes.' I said: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses!'. 'Thirdly, according to you, Jesus went to Hell for three days, but Moses did not have to go there. Is this true?' He answered meekly: 'Y-e-s!' I concluded: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses!'. 'But Dominee,..' I continued: '..these are not hard, solid facts, they are mere matters of belief over which the little ones can stumble and fall. Let us discuss something very simple, very easy that if the little ones are called in to hear the discussion, would have no difficulty following it, shall we?' The Dominee was quiet happy at the suggestion.
Father and Mother
'Moses had a father and a mother. Muhammed also had a father and a mother. But Jesus had only a mother, and no human father. Is this true?' He said: 'Yes.' I said: 'Daarom is Jesus nie soos Moses nie, maar Muhammed is soos Moses!' Meaning: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhammed is like Moses!' (By now the reader will realize that I was using the Afrikaans language only for practice purposes. I shall discontinue its use in this narration).
Miraculous Birth
'Moses and Muhammed were born in the normal, natural course, i.e. the physical association of man and woman; but Jesus was created by a special miracle. You will recall that we are told in the Gospel of St. Matthew 1:18 '..before they came together, (Joseph the Carpenter and Mary) she was found with child by the Holy Ghost.' And St. Luke tells us that when the good news of the birth of a holy son was announced to her, Mary reasoned: 'How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee'(Luke 1:35).
The Holy Quran confirms the miraculous birth of Jesus, in nobler and sublimer terms. In answer to her logical question:
'O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?' The angel says in reply: 'Even so, Allah createth what He willeth: when He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it 'Be', and it is' (the Holy Quran, 3:47).
It is not necessary for God to plant a seed in man or animal. He merely wills it and it comes into being. This is the Muslim conception of the of birth of Jesus. (When I compared the Quran and the Biblical versions of the birth of Jesus to the head of the Bible Society in our largest city, and when I inquired: 'Which version would you prefer to give your daughter, the Quranic version or the Biblical version?' The man bowed his head and answered: 'The Quranic.')(see Christ in Islam for the author).
In short, I said to the Dominee: 'Is it true that Jesus was born miraculously as against the natural birth of Moses and Muhammed?' He replied proudly: 'Yes!' I said: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhammed is like Moses. And God says to Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy 18:18 'Like unto thee', 'Like You', like Moses and Muhammed is like Moses.'
Marriage Ties
'Moses and Muhammed married and had children, but Jesus remained a bachelor all his life. Is this true?' The Dominee said: 'Yes.' I said: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhammed is like Moses.'
Jesus Rejected by his People
'Moses and Muhammed were accepted as prophets by their people in their very lifetime. No doubt the Jews gave endless trouble to Moses and they murmured in the wilderness, but as a nation, they acknowledged that Moses was a Messenger of God sent to them. The Arabs too made Mohammad's life impossible. He suffered very badly at their hands. After 13 years of preaching in Mecca, he had to emigrate from the city of his birth. But before his demise, the Arab nation as a whole accepted him as the Messenger of Allah. But according to the Bible, 'He (Jesus) Came unto his own, but his own revived him not'(John 1:11). And even today, after two thousand years, his people, the Jews, as a whole, have rejected him. Is this true?' The Dominee said: 'Yes.' I said: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhammed is like Moses.'
'Other Worldly' Kingdom
'Moses and Muhammed were prophets as well as kings. A prophet means a man who receives Divine Revelation for the Guidance of man and this Guidance he conveys to God's creatures as received without any addition or deletion. A king is a person who has the power of life and death over his people. It is immaterial whether the person wears a crown or not, or whether he was ever addressed as king or monarch: if the man has the prerogative of inflicting capital punishment, he is a king. Moses possessed such a power. Do you remember the Israelite who was found picking up firewood on Sabbath Day, and Moses had him stoned to death? (Numbers 15:13). There are other crimes also mentioned in the Bible for which capital punishment was inflicted on the Jews at the behest of Moses. Muhammed too, had the power of life and death over his people.
There are instances in the Bible of persons who were given gift of prophecy only, but they were not in a position to implement their directives. Some of these holy men of God who were helpless in the face of stubborn rejection of their message, were the prophets Lot, Jonah, Daniel, Ezra, and John the Baptist. They could only deliver the message, but could not enforce the Law. Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, also belonged to this category.
The Christian Gospel clearly confirms this. When Jesus was dragged before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, charged for sedition, Jesus made a convincing point in his defense to refute the false charge: Jesus answered: 'My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my Kingdom not from hence'(John 18:36).
This convinced Pilate (a pagan) that though Jesus might not be in full possession of his mental faculty, he did not strike him as being a danger to his rule. Jesus claimed a spiritual Kingdom only; in other words he only claimed to be a prophet. Is this true?' The Dominee answered: 'Yes.' I said: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses but Muhammed is like Moses.'
No New Laws
'Moses and Muhammed brought new laws and new regulations for their people. Moses not only gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, but a very comprehensive ceremonial law for the guidance of his people. Muhammed comes to a people steeped in ignorance. They married their step-mothers and buried their daughters alive; drunkenness, idolatry, and gambling were the order of the day. There was hardly anything to distinguish between the 'man' and the 'animal' of the time. From this abject ignorance, Muhammed elevated the Arabs, in the words of Thomas Carlysle, 'Into torch-bearers of light and learning. To the Arab nation it was as a birth from darkness into light. Arabia first became alive by means of it. A poor shepherd people, roaming unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the world. See, the unnoticed becomes world notable, the small has grown world-great. Within one century afterwards Arabia was at Granada on one hand and at Delhi on the other. Glancing in valor and splendor, and the light of Genius, Arabia shines over section of the world..'.
The fact is that Muhammed gave his people a Law and Order they never had before. As regards Jesus, when the Jews felt suspicious of him that he might be an impostor with designs to pervert their teachings. Jesus took pains to assure them that he had not come with a new religion - no new laws and no new regulations. I quote his own words: 'Think not that I am come to destroy the law of the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot of one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.'(Mathew 5:17-18).
In other words he had not come with any new laws or regulation he came only to fulfill the old law. This what he gave the Jews to understand unless he was speaking with the tongue in his cheek trying to bluff the Jews into accepting him as a man of God and by subterfuge trying to ram a new religion down their throats. No! This Messenger of God would never resort to such foul means to subvert the Religion of God. He himself fulfilled the laws. He observed the commandments of Moses, and he respected the Sabbath. At no time did a single Jew point a finger at him to say: ''Why don't you fast' or 'why don't you wash your hands before you break bread', which charges they always levied against his disciples, but never against Jesus. This is because as a good Jew he honored the laws of the prophets who preceded him. In short, he had created no new religion and had brought no new law like Moses and Muhammed.'
'Isn't this true?' I asked the Dominee, and he answered: 'Yes.' I said: 'Therefore, Jesus is not like Moses but Muhammed is like Moses.'
How they Departed
'Both Moses and Muhammed died natural deaths, but according to Christianity, Jesus was killed on the cross. Is this true?' The Dominee said: 'Yes.' I averred: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses but Muhammed is like Moses.'
Heavenly Abode
'Moses and Muhammed both lie buried in earth, but according to you, Jesus is in heaven. Is this true? The Dominee agreed. I said: 'Therefore Jesus is not like Moses but Muhammed is like Moses.'
Ishmael the First Born
Since the Dominee was helplessly agreeing with every point, I said: 'Dominee, so far what I have done is to prove only one point out of the whole prophecy - that is proving the phrase 'Like unto thee' - 'Like You', like Moses'. The Prophecy is much more than this single phrase which reads as follows:
'I will raise them up a prophet from among their bretheren like unto thee..'
The emphasis is on the words 'From among their brethren.' Moses and his people, the Jews, are here addressed as a racial entity, as a whole, and as such their brethren would undoubtedly be the Arabs.
Abraham had two wives, Sarah and Hagar. Hagar bore Abraham a son, his first born, '..and Abraham called his son's name, which Hagar bare Ishmael.' (Genesis 16:15). 'And Abraham took Ishmael his son..' (Genesis 17:23). 'And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.' (Genesis 17:25).
Up to the age of thirteen Ishmael was the only son of Abraham, then God grants him another son through Sarah, named Isaac, who was very much the junior to his brother Ishmael.
Arabs and Jews
If Ishmael and Isaac are the sons of the same father Abraham, then they are brothers. And so the children of the one are the bretheren of the children of the other. The children of Isaac are the Jews and the children of Ishmael are the Arabs - so they are bretheren to one another. The Bible affirms: 'And he (Ishmael) shall dwell in the presence of all his bretheren.' (Genesis 16:12). 'And he (Ishmael) died in the presence of all his bretheren.' (Genesis 25:18). The children of Isaac are the brethren of the Ishmaelites. In like manner Muhammed is from among the brethren of the Israelites because he was a descendant of Ishmael the son of Abraham. This exactly as the prophecy has it - 'From among their bretheren' (Deut.18:18).
There the prophecy distinctly mentions that the coming prophet who would be like Moses, must arise not from the Children of Israel nor from among themselves, but from among their brethren. Muhammed therefore was among their bretheren!
Words in the Mouth
The prophecy proceeds further: '..And I will put my words into his mouth..' What does it mean when it is said 'I will put my words in your mouth'? You see, when I asked you (the Dominee) to open Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 18, at the beginning, and if I had asked you to read, and if you had read, would I be putting my words into your mouth? The Dominee answered: 'No.' But, I continued: 'If I were to teach you a language like Arabic, about which you have no knowledge, and if I asked you to read or repeat after me what I utter i.e. 'Say: 'He is Allah the One and Only; Allah, the eternal absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him.' (the Holy Quran 112:1-4) (I read them in Arabic). Would I not be putting these unheard words of a foreign tongue which you utter, into your mouth?' The Dominee agreed that it was indeed so. 'In an identical manner', I said: 'The words of the Holy Quran, the Revelation vouchsafed by the Almighty God to Muhammed, were revealed.
History tells us that when Muhammed was forty years of age he was in a cave some three miles north of the City of Mecca. In the cave the Archangel Gabriel commands him in his mother tongue: 'Eqra!', which means 'Read!', or 'Recite!' Muhammed was terrified, and in his bewilderment replied that he was not learned!. The angel commands him a second time with the same result. For the third time the angel continues. Now Muhammed, grasps that what was required of him was to repeat! to rehearse! And he repeats the words as they were put into his mouth:
'Read! In the Name of the Lord and Charisher, Who Created. Created man from a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Read! and thy Lord is the Most Bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the pen, taught man that which he new not'. (the Holy Quran 96:1-5).
These are the first five verses which were revealed to Muhammed, which now occupy the beginning of the 96th chapter of the Holy Quran.
The Faithful Witness
When the angel departed, Muhammed rushed to his home. Terrified and sweating all over he asked his wife Khadija to 'cover-him up!' He lay down, and she watched by him. When he had regained his composure, he explained to her what he had seen and heard. She assured him of her faith in him and that Allah would not allow any terrible thing to happen to him. Are these the confessions of an impostor? Would impostors confess that when an angel of the Lord confronts them with a Message from on High, they get fear-stricken, terrified, and sweating all over, run home to their wives? Any critic can see that his reactions and confessions are that of an honest, sincere man.
During the next twenty three years of his life, words were 'put into his mouth', and he uttered them. They made an indelible impression on his heart and mind; and as the volume of the Sacred Scripture, the Holy Quran, grew, they were recorded on palm-leaf libre, on skins; and in the hearts of his devoted disciples. Before his demise these words were arranged according to his instructions in the order in which we find them today in the Holy Quran.
The words (revelation) were actually put into his mouth, exactly as foretold in the prophecy under discussion: 'And I will put my words in his mouth.' (Deut 18:18).
Unlettered Prophet
Mohammad's experience in the Cave of Hira, and his response to that first Revelation is the exact fulfillment of another Biblical Prophecy. In the Book of Isaiah, chapter 29, verse 12, we read: 'And the Book is delivered to him that is not learned' (Isaiah 29:12). 'The Unlettered prophet' (the Holy Quran 7:158). And the Biblical verse continues: 'Saying, read this, I pray thee:' 'And he saith, I am not learned.'. 'I am not learned.' is the exact translation of the Arabic words which Muhammed uttered twice to the Holy Spirit, the Archangel Gabriel, when he was commanded: 'Read!').
Let me quote the verse in full without a break as found in the King James Version, or the Authorized Version as it is more popularly know: 'And the Book is delivered to him that is no learned, saying: 'Read this I pray thee'. And he saith: 'I am not learned.' ' (Isaiah 29:12).
Important note : It may be noted that there were no Arabic Bibles in existence in the 6th century of the Christian Era when Muhammed lived and preached. Besides, he was absolutely unlettered and unlearned. He never knew how to read and write Arabic, his own language, let alone knowing a completely different one.
'He does not speak (aught) of (his own) desire: It is no less than inspiration sent down to him. He was taught by One Mighty in Power' (the Holy Quran 53:3-5).
Without any human learning, 'he put to shame the wisdom of the learned'.
Grave Warning
'See!' I told the Dominee, 'how the prophecies fit Muhammed like a glove. We do not have to stretch prophecies to justify their fulfillment in Muhammed.' The Dominee replied, 'All your expositions sound very well, but they are of no real consequence, because we Christians have Jesus Christ the incarnate God, who has redeemed us from the Bondage of Sin!' I asked: 'Not important? God didn't think so! He had His warnings recorded in the scriptures. God knew that there would be people like you who will light-heartedly discount His words, so He followed up Deuteronomy 18:18 with a dare warning:
'And it shall come to pass (it is going to happen), that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My Name, I will require if of him.'
(In the Catholic Bible the ending words are 'I will be the revenger', 'I will take revenge!'). 'Does not this terrify you? God Almighty is threatening revenge! We shake in our pants if some hoodlum threatens us, yet you have no fear of God's warning?'
Miracle of Miracles! in the verse 19 of Deuteronomy chapter 18, we have a further fulfillment of the prophecy in Muhammed! Note the words '..My words which he shall speak in My Name'. In whose name is Muhammed speaking?' I opened Yusuf Ali's translation of the Holy Quran, at chapter 114, Surat An-Nas, or The Chapter of Mankind, the last chapter of the Quran, and showed him the formula at the head of the chapter, and the meaning:
'In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful'.
And the heading of chapter 113, and the meaning: 'In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful'. And every chapter downwards 112, 111, 110,..was the same formula and the same meaning on every page, because the end surahs (chapters) are short and take about a page each. And what did the prophecy demand? '..Which he shall speak in My Name'; and in whose name does Muhammed speak? In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
The Prophecy is being fulfilled in Muhammed to the letter; every chapter of the Holy Quran except the 9th begin with the formula: 'In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful'. The Muslim begins his every lawful act with the Holy formula. But the Christian begins: 'In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.'
Concerning Deuteronomy chapter eighteen, I have given you more than 15 reasons as to how this prophecy refers to Muhammed and not to Jesus.
Baptist Contradicts Jesus
In New Testament times, we find that the Jews were still expecting the fulfillment of the prophecy of One like Moses, refer John 1:19-25.
When Jesus claimed to be the Messiah of the Jews, the Jews began to esquire as to where was Elias? The Jews had a parallel prophecy that before the coming of the Messiah, Elias must come first in his second coming. Jesus confirms this Jewish belief:
'Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias is come already, and they knew him not,.. then the Disciples understood that he spoke unto them of John the Baptist.' (Mathew 17:11-13).
According to the New Testament the Jews were not the ones to swallow the words of any would-be Messiah. In their investigations they underwent intense difficulties in order to find their true Messiah. And this the Gospel of John confirms: 'And this is the record of John (the Baptist), when the Jews sent priests and levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who art thou?', and he confessed and denied not; but confessed, 'I am not the Christ' ' (This was only natural because there can't be two Messiahs at the same time. If Jesus was the Christ then John couldn't be the Christ!) 'And they asked him: 'What then? Art thou Elias?' And he saith: 'I am not' ' Here John the Baptist contradicts Jesus! Jesus says that John is Elias and John denies that he is what Jesus ascribes him to be. One of the two (Jesus or John), God forbid!, is definitely not speaking the truth!
On the testimony of Jesus himself, John the Baptist was the greatest of the Israelite prophets: 'Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist' (Matthew 11:11).
We Muslims know John the Baptist as Yahya. We revere him as a true prophet of Allah. The Holy Prophet Jesus known to us as Eesa, is also esteemed as one of the mightiest messenger of the Almighty. How can we Muslims impute lies to either of them? We leave this problem between Jesus and John for the Christians to solve, for their 'Sacred Scriptures abound in discrepancies which they have been glossing over as the 'dark sayings of Jesus' ' (See the Times Magazine December 30th, 1974, article How true is the Bible?).
We Muslims are really interested in the last questions posed to John the Baptist by the Jewish elite - Art thou that prophet? And he answered, 'No.'(John 1:21).
Three Questions!
Please note that three different and distinct questions were posed to John the Baptist, and to which he gave three emphatic No's as answers. To recapitulate:
'Art thou the Christ?'
'Art thou Elias ?'
'Art thou that Prophet?'
But the learned men of Christendom somehow only see two questions implied here. To make doubly clear that the Jews definitely had three separate prophecies in their minds when they were interrogating John the Baptist. Let us read the remonstrance of the Jews in the verses following:
'And they asked him, and said unto him: 'Why baptizest thou then, if
thou be not that Christ..
nor Elias..
neither that Prophet ?' '
(John 1:25).
The Jews were waiting for the fulfillment of three distinct prophecies: a. the coming of Christ. b. the coming of Elias, and c. the coming of that Prophet.
'That Prophet'
If we look up any Bible which has a concordance or cross-references, then we will find in the marginal note where the words the Prophet, or that Prophet occur in John 1:25, that these words refer to the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18. And that that Prophet - the Prophet like Moses - 'Like unto thee', we have proved through overwhelming evidence that he was Muhammed and not Jesus!
Muslims are not denying that Jesus was the Messiah, which word is translated as Christ. We are not contesting the Thousand and One Prophecies which the Christians claim abound in the Old Testament foretelling the coming of the Messiah. What we say is that Deuteronomy 18:18 does not refer to Jesus Christ but it is an explicit prophecy about the prophet Muhammed!.'
The Dominee, very politely parted with me by saying that it was a very interesting discussion and he would like me very much to come one day and address his congregation on the subject. A decade and half has passed since then but I am still awaiting that privilege.
I believe the Dominee was sincere when he made the offer, but prejudices die hard, and who would like to loose his sheep?
The Acid Test
To the Lambs of Christ I say, why not apply that acid test which the Master himself wanted you to apply to any would be claimant to prophethood? He had said:
'By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes from the thorns, of figs from the thistles? Every good tree will bear good fruit and every evil tree will bear evil fruit... By their fruits ye shall know them'. (Mathew 7:16-20).
Why are you afraid to apply this test to the teachings of Muhammed? You will find in the Last Testament of God, the Holy Quran, the true fulfillment of the teachings of Moses and Jesus which will bring to the world the much needed peace and happiness. George Bernard Shaw was quoted as saying:
'If a man like Muhammed were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness.'
The weekly news magazine Time dated July 15, 1974, carried a selection of opinions by various historians, writers, military men, businessmen an others on the subject: 'Who were History's Great Leaders?' Some said that it was Hitler; others said Gandhi, Buddha, Lincoln and the like. But Jules Masserman, a United States psychoanalyst, put the standards straight by giving the correct criteria wherewith to judge. He said: 'Leaders must fulfill three functions:
Provide for the well-being of the led,
Provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure, and
Provide them with one set of beliefs.'
With the above three criteria he searches history and analyses Hitler, Pasteur, Gaesar, Moses, Confucius and the lot, and ultimately concludes: 'People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Ghandi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander, Caesar, and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second, and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Muhammed, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same.'
According to the objective standards set by the professor of the Chicago University, Jesus and Buddha are nowhere in the picture of the 'Great Leaders of Mankind', but by a queer coincidence groups Moses and Muhammed together, thus adding further weight to the argument that Jesus is not like Moses, but Muhammed is like Moses. Deut 18:18 'Like unto thee', like Moses!
In conclusion, I end with a quotation of a Christian Reverend the commentator of the Bible, followed by that of his Master:
'The ultimate criterion of a true prophet is the moral character of his teaching.' (Prof. Dummelow).
'By their fruits ye shall know them.' (Jesus Christ)
A concluding suggestion : come let us reason together!
'Say: 'O People of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but Allah (God); that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, lords and patrons other than Allah (God)'. If then they turn back, say: 'Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (Bowing to God's Will).' ' (the Holy Quran 3:64)
People of the Book is the respectful title given to the Jews and the Christians in the Holy Quran. The Muslims are here commanded to invite, O People of the Book!, O Learned People!, O People who claim to be the recipients of Divine Revelation, of a Holy Scripture; let us gather together onto a common platform, 'that we worship none but Allah (God)', because none but God is worthy of worship, not because 'The Lord thy God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me.' (Exodus 20:25). But because He is our Lord and Cherisher, our Sustainer and Evolver, worthy of all praise, prayer and devotion.
In the abstract the Jews and the Christians would agree to all the three propositions contained in this Quranic verse. In practice they fail. Apart from doctrinal lapses from the unity of the One True God, Allah, may He be praised, there is the question of a consecrated Priesthood (among the Jews it was hereditary also), as if a mere human being - Cohen or Pope, or Priest, or Brahuman, - could claim superiority apart from his learning and the purity of his life, or could stand between man and God in some special sense. Islam does not recognize priesthood!.
The Creed of Islam is given to us here in a nutshell from Holy Quran:
'Say ye: 'We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes (of the Children of Israel), And that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (in Islam).' ' (the Holy Quran 2:136).
The Muslim position is clear. The Muslim does not claim to have a religion peculiar to himself. Islam is not a sect or an ethnic religion. In its view all religion is one, for the Truth is one:
'It was the same religion preached by all the earlier prophets.' (the Holy Quran 42:13).
It was the truth taught by all the inspired Books. In essence it amounts to a consciousness of the Will and Plan of God and a joyful submission to that Will and Plan. If anyone wants a religion other than that, he is false to his own nature, as he is false to God's Will and Plan. Such a one cannot expect guidance, for he has deliberately renounced guidance.
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