Sharing the Gospel with a Muslim

How do you share the gospel with a Muslim? 

To share the gospel, I tell my Muslim friend: 1. God is transcendent but personal, 2. Sin separates us from God, 3. Our sin must be atoned for, 4. Jesus is our sacrificial lamb, and 5. Through Jesus, God gives us new life, a new heart and new desires.

A good place with sharing the gospel is the Garden of Eden in the first book of the Torah, the book of Genesis. I will explain.

1. God is Transcendent but Personal

In Islam, God is distant and transcendent.  He is high above us and far beyond our understanding and human experience.  Allah is so far beyond understanding, he is unknowable.

Our God is transcendent but imminent.  He is far more than we can imagine, but wants relationship with us.  He made himself known and wants to be known by us:  

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. John 1:18

In Islam, only in heaven can you see God.  In Islamic heaven (called Jannah), it is written in a hadith that you will see God as you see the moon:

Narrated Jarir:

We were sitting with the Prophet (ﷺ) and he looked at the moon on the night of the full-moon and said, "You people will see your Lord as you see this full moon, and you will have no trouble in seeing Him, so if you can avoid missing (through sleep or business, etc.) a prayer before sunrise (Fajr) and a prayer before sunset (`Asr) you must do so." (See Hadith No. 529, Vol. 1)

Sahih al-Bukhari 7434, Book 97, Hadith 61

Allah will be clearly visible, but far far away.  

In Genesis, our God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the afternoon:

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8

The God of the Bible walks with you, talks with you.  He draws close to you in times of trouble.  God created us to have relationship with him.  

This concept is foreign to Muslims.  Their Allah is majestic but distant.  He is unwilling to forego his majesty and reduce himself to our level.  He is unwilling to get alongside us and relate with us personally.  

After God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He gave them a temple system.  In this system, sacrifices would be performed.  God would abide with his people, in what is known as the tabernacle:

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  Exodus 40:34

The root of the word “tabernacle” is the Hebrew word “mishkan” which means “dwelling place”.

God's plan is for us to abide with him again, in heaven.  His desire is for us to worship him there, enjoying him forever:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:3

2. Sin Separates Us from God

Why don’t we see God abiding with us today?  Sin.  God is holy, perfect and righteous.  The sinful can’t be in God’s presence.  

In Arabic, the word for sin is "zhanb”.  In Somali, it is "dhenbi".  Muslims are familiar with this term but don’t understand the seriousness of sin.  Islam teaches there are major sins and minor sins.  Minor sins are not really a problem to the Allah of the Quran:

If you avoid the major sins forbidden to you, We will absolve you of your ˹lesser˺ misdeeds and admit you into a place of honour. Quran 4:31, Clear Quran

Like the Bible, the Quran teaches the prophets did wrong things.  For example, Moses killed a man. Muslims today believe that prophets didn’t sin, they only made “mistake”.  But that is not what the Islamic scriptures teach.  Even Islam's prophet Muhammad sinned (Quran 48:1-2, 47:19, Sahih Bukhari 8.75.407).

God takes sin seriously.  Even just one sin is intolerable to God (Isaiah 59:2, Habakkuk 1:13).  Even in the Quran, Adam and Eve were kicked out of heaven for just one sin.  Their sin, disobeying Allah by eating from the tree (Quran 2:35-38).

Sin is a condition of the heart.  Jesus said, that if you hate your brother, it is as if you have murdered your brother in your heart.  Even if you look at a woman lustfully, it is as if you have committed adultery in your heart.  We have all lusted and hated. No one can say they are without sin. God takes even our sinful thoughts seriously!

The Bible teaches that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  Death is wages.  It is payment for our sin.  That payment is death!

3. Our Sin Must be Atoned For

Important Biblical theology is conspicuously missing from the Islamic scriptures. Islam has no temple, no priest, and no sacrifice of atonement.   These things are present all through the Bible and Muslims need to know it.

It is worthwhile going back to the Old Testament.  Muslims say they believe in the Torah and the Gospel.  Muslims believe that the Torah was revealed to the Jews and the Gospel to the Christians.  We need to tell them that we read all the books that came before.  We read the Torah, we read the Zabur (Psalms) and all the Prophets.  

A just God is going to have to judge our sin.  To escape judgment, our sin must be atoned for. In the Jewish temple system sin was atoned for with blood:

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.  Leviticus 17:11

Sin must be payed for with blood.  Without this, we stand condemned. 

For the Israelites, a lamb or ram without blemish had to die for their sin.  The temple high priest would take two goats.  One goat would be killed for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:16).  The priest would lay their hands on the other goat, confessing all the sins of the people of Israel, and set it free into the wilderness.  The laying on of hands would signify the transfer of sin from the people of Israel to the goat.  The goat being set free would signify the people being removed from their sin (Leviticus 16:21).

4. Jesus is our Sacrificial Lamb

John the Baptist is called “Yahyah” in the Quran.  John said: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). 

In Jesus, God came to earth to abide with us.  God entered his creation. He entered this world as a man, in the person of Jesus, and revealed his glory:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

He lived, he taught, he healed and he raised people from the dead. 

And Jesus died on that cross.  Muslims object here, saying Jesus didn’t die on the cross.  But the Quran says that it actually appeared for Jesus to die:

and for boasting, “We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so. Even those who argue for this ˹crucifixion˺ are in doubt. They have no knowledge whatsoever—only making assumptions. They certainly did not kill him. Quran 4:157, Clear Quran

Quran 4:157 says people saw Jesus put to death by the Jews.  It makes a denial, using the words “only made to appear so”.  But if you read the verse carefully, it is not actually clear what is being denied.  Is it that “Jesus died”?  Is it that “the Jews killed Jesus”?  There is ambiguity.  The Quran is not clear here.

Jesus bore the sin of the world.  Your sin and mine.  Quran 6:164 says “no soul burdened with sin will bear the burden of another”.  We can agree with this verse.  A sinful man is not qualified to take our sin.  Only a sinless man is able to do it.  Jesus had no sin (Quran 19:19), so he is qualified to bear our sin. 

Jesus suffered a horrific death on our behalf, but by it we are forgiven.  This was prophesied multiple times by the prophets of the Old Testament.  E.g., Seven hundred years before his death, the prophet Isaiah wrote of the suffering servant:

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

    and with his wounds we are healed.  Isaiah 53:5

Isaiah then says that the suffering servant was “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7).

God first foreshadows the Jesus death in the Torah.  Here, God commanded Abraham to offer his only son.  Yet, at the final moments, God provided a ram to redeem him:

He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”  And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.  Genesis 22:12-13

The Quran has a basic skeleton of the same story. The key verse is:

“And We ransomed his son with a great sacrifice” Quran 37:107

A ransom is a payment for someone's life.  Jesus became the ransom for our lives, saving us from death and judgment.  God used the story of Abraham to show us his rescue plan.  God rescued Abraham’s son from death with a ransom, a ram.  Likewise, God rescues us from death with a ransom, Jesus the Lamb of God.

5. New Life, a New Heart and New Desires

Jesus rose from the dead. Death has been conquered.  In Jesus, we have new life, eternal life and life to the full.  We have assurance of salvation.  We know we will be with God in heaven.  This is made possible by accepting Jesus’ free gift.

Salvation is not a free pass to sin. We are called to follow Jesus.  Jesus says, “If you love me, follow my commandments” (John 14:15). 

God empowers us here.  God gives us a new heart and new desires to live for him:

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26-27

God gives you a new life with good works for you to do, to bless others:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:10

Our new life with God starts now.  We don't have to live in fear of hellfire.  We can know that we are forgiven:

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, Ephesians 1:7

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved  Romans 10:9

This is how I share the gospel with a Muslim.  

If you share the gospel with a Muslim, you are going to hit a list of objections.  In my above presentation, I addressed some of them.

It is worthwhile to learn answers to common objections.  The five most common objections are: 1. How can God have a Son?, 2. Is Jesus God?, 3. Does the Trinity make sense?, 4. Has the Bible been corrupted? and 5. Did Jesus die on the cross?.  But this is a topic for another time.

Solomon’s Flying Carpet

From "King Solomon and the Castle"

Who has control over the forces of nature?  Can a man have such power?  If you found a man with such supernatural powers, what would you think of him?

According to the Quran, Allah gave King Solomon power over the wind.  He gave him the ability to use wind to travel:

And to Sulaiman (Solomon) (We subjected) the wind strongly raging, running by his command towards the land which We had blessed. And of everything We are the All-Knower. Quran 21:81, Hilali-Khan

With this power Solomon could do a whole month's journey in a single morning: 

And to Solomon (We subjected) the wind, its morning (stride from sunrise till midnoon) was a month's (journey), and its afternoon (stride from the midday decline of the sun to sunset) was a month's (journey i.e. in one day he could travel two months' journey). ... Quran 34:12, Hilali-Khan

Apparently Solomon could do a day trip from Jerusalem to Istakhr in Iran and back, according to commentary Ibn Abbas.  This is 1920-miles-long journey:

And unto Solomon (We gave) the wind) and We made the wind subservient to Solomon, (whereof the morning course was a month's journey) He would go in the morning from Jerusalem to Istakhr, which was a month's journey (and the evening course a month's journey) and come back in the evening from Istakhr to Jerusalem which was another month's journey,... Ibn Abbas on Quran 34:12

(Similar is said in Ibn Kathir on 34:12.)  The Quran also elaborates that Solomon could use his power to go anywhere he wants:

So, We subjected to him the wind, it blew gently to his order whithersoever he willed, Quran 38:36, Hilali-Khan

Commentary Ibn Kathir says that Solomon would use his powers to propel a magic carpet.  A magic carpet so large and heavy that it could carry a large army complete with cavalry:

He had a mat made of wood on which he would place all the equipment of his kingship; horses, camels, tents and troops, then he would command the wind to carry it, and he would go underneath it and it would carry him aloft, shading him and protecting him from the heat, until it reached wherever he wanted to go in the land. Then it would come down and deposit his equipment and entourage.  Ibn Kathir on Quran 21:81

Can we believe this account?  No man in history has ever had such command of the laws of nature. This sounds like a folk tale.   

Lets talk about another man, one who is said to have calmed the raging sea. Not by the authority imparted by another, but by his own authority. That man is Jesus. 

Jesus stilled the storm simply with the words "peace be still". Quoting the gospel of Mark:

‬And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  ‭Mark 4:39 ESV

Who do we know has authority over the laws of nature?  God.  God created the universe and forged the laws of nature.  Of him it is written:

‬He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. ‭Psalm 107:29 ESV

If Jesus can calm the storm, he was no mere man. He carries the attributes of God. 

When the disciples saw what Jesus could do, they marveled at who he was. For he wielded a power that no mere man could ever wield:

And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:41 ESV

They were coming to realize Jesus is God.

This God who calms the storm is also the God who rescues and redeems:

‬Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble. ‭Psalm 107:2 ESV

He delivers from the waves and the storm:

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  Psalm 107:28 ESV

God is offering us deliverance today. We each are in slavery to sin.  We need rescue. That redemption is found in Jesus.

Was Muhammad sent to all people?

Our Muslim friends say that their message is for all people, that their Quran was meant to be universal, but is this really true? If we focus in on the Quran, that answer seems to be no! The Quran was sent to a specific people group and in Arabic specifically so that they receive a revelation in a language they understand. In fact, the hadith teaches it was revealed in seven Arabic dialects (which we would more correctly call "textual variants") to make sure the original recipients of the revelation, the Quraish, could understand it.

This is a far cry what we see today, with Muslims being required to pray and memorize the Quran in Arabic, a language that they don't typically understand. Was this the original purpose of sending the message in Arabic?

Quran Was only sent to Arabs in Arabic, so that They Might Understand

If the Quran was meant for all people, why was it sent down in the obscure language of Arabic?

“Thus We have sent it down, being a command in Arabic. And if you follow their desires, after the knowledge that has come to you, there shall be neither a friend for you against Allah, nor a savior.“  Quran 13:37, Usmani

Why does it have to be in Arabic?  The answer apparently is so that the people that spoke Arabic so that Allah would send a message that the people would understand:

“We have sent it down, as an Arabic Qur’an, so that you may understand.” Quran 12:2, Usmani

“By the manifest Book, We have made it an Arabic Qur’ān, so that you may understand.”  Quran 43:2-3, Usmani

But this doesn't really make sense. Is Arabic a universal language?  Only about 16% of Muslims speak Arabic.  Who is able to understand (in another translation “learn wisdom”) without knowing Arabic?   For, the Quran was meant to be sent down in Arabic, in order to make the revelation clear:

“And in this way We have sent it down to you as an Arabic Qur’ān, and have detailed in it some warnings in various ways, so that they may fear, or it may produce a lesson for them.”  Quran 20:113, Usmani

For whom will such a revelation be clear?  Only for the Arabs.  

Muhammad was Sent only to the Arabs

Muhammad was sent to his own people.  Muhammad was specifically sent as a warner to the town of Mecca and the towns around it:

“This is indeed a Blessed Book We have sent down, confirming what was (revealed) before it, so that you may warn the town which is the Mother of All Towns, (i.e. Makkah) and those around it. …” Quran 6:92a, Usmani

According to the Quran, Allah’s messengers are ALWAYS sent to speak the language of their people:

“We did not send any messenger but (speaking) in the language of his people, so that he might clearly convey the message to them. So, Allah lets go astray whom He wills and lets find guidance whom He wills. ...”  Quran 14:4a, Usmani

For clear conveyance of the message, Muhammad was sent to his own people from his people.  That is, according to the Quran, the messenger to the Arabs had to be from the people of the Arabs.  So Muhammad was the messenger only for the Arabs.

Was Muhammad Really Sent to All People?

These verses create a clear contradiction to the common Muslim narrative that Muhammad’s message is universal.  But is this narrative even true?

In the following verses, Muhammad is purportedly “a mercy for all creatures” and he was sent to all mankind:

“And We have sent you (O Muhammad SAW) not but as a mercy for the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).”  Quran 21:107, Muhsin Khan

“We did not send you (O prophet,) but to the entire mankind, as a bearer of good news and as a warner, but most people do not know.” Quran 34:28, Usmani

There are many verses, e.g. Quran 4:79, where it says in the Quran translations that Muhammad is a messenger to all mankind.  In Quran 34:28 the term “lilnnāsi” (لِلنَّاسِ) for mankind also translates to “for people”.  It is translated this way by Usmani, Hareem and Khattab in 4:79.   Similarly, “l-nāsu” (لِلنَّاسِ) that has been translated “mankind” in 7:158 and many other verses, literally translates to “the people”.  This term may only be referring to the people of Mecca.

The Quran Was Revealed to be Easy to Understand, If You Read Arabic!

Allah has provided the Quran in different Arabic dialects or “ahruf” (the meaning of this term is unclear; it may be closer to “textual variants” and not actually dialects).  This was to make reciting it easy on the people receiving the Quran (i.e. Muhammad’s people, the Arabs) to recite and understand it.  In fact, after the requests of Muhammad, Allah permitted the Quran to be recited in seven textual variants:

“Ubayy b. Ka'b reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was near the tank of Banu Ghifar that Gabriel came to him and said:

Allah has commanded you to recite to your people the Qur'an in one dialect. Upon this he said: I ask from Allah pardon and forgiveness. My people are not capable of doing it. He then came for the second time and said: Allah has commanded you that you should recite the Qur'an to your people in two dialects. Upon this he (the Holy prophet) again said: I seek pardon and forgiveness from Allah, my people would not be able to do so. He (Gabriel) came for the third time and said: Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in three dialects. Upon this he said: I ask pardon and forgiveness from Allah. My people would not be able to do it. He then came to him for the fourth time and said: Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in seven dialects, and in whichever dialect they would recite, they would be right.”  Sahih Muslim 821 a

Islam today expects Muslims to read the Quran and pray in Arabic.  How can Allah expect this of Muslims today while at the same time making pains to ensure that the Quran was easy to understand for its original recipients?  If Allah revealed the Quran in seven different Quraishi dialects, why couldn’t he reveal the Quran in, for example, just one Indonesians language?

Islam gives no coherent teaching on why Muslims have to pray/read scriptures in Arabic.  By contrast, the message of the Bible and communicable in any language, was intended to be communicated in different languages (c.f. Pentecost) and shared with all nations (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15).

(The original message was taken from the Christian Prince talk “Is the Quran the book of contradiction or perfection? #1 Islam is universal or local?”  More information on this topic is at answering-islam.org: https://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Incoherence/messenger_language.html)

Jesus is The First and The Last

 

A central question in discussions with Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Muslims is whether Jesus is God.  Here is some evidence that he is.

JESUS IS THE FIRST AND THE LAST

In the book of Isaiah, Yahweh/Jehovah says he is "the First and the Last":

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel

and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

“I AM THE FIRST and I AM THE LAST;

besides me there is no god. 

Isaiah 44:6

Christ says the same of himself:

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am THE FIRST and THE LAST, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 

Revelation 1:17-18

(See also Revelation 2:8, 22:12-16.)

The person here speaking is Jesus. The speaker say he was dead and is alive forevermore.  Now, though some have been raised from the dead, Jesus is the ONLY ONE who was raised and is alive FOREVERMORE.  

Another way we know it is Jesus talking here, is in Revelation 1:12-16.  Here, as John turns around to see who is speaking, he sees the "Son of Man".  Jesus identifies as the Son of Man all throughout the gospels. E.g. in Mark 13:26 and Mark 14:62, where Jesus identifies as the one spoken of in Daniel 7:13-14.

(Note: God's name is not "Jehovah God" as the Jehovah's Witnesses like to insist but Yahweh.  "Jehovah" is an imperfect anglicization.)

THERE IS ONLY ONE "FIRST AND THE LAST"

Since "the First and the Last" is the LORD himself, there is only one such being.   God does not share his glory with anybody:

I am the Lord; that is my name;

MY GLORY I GIVE TO NO OTHER,

nor my praise to carved idols. 

Isaiah 42:8

If Jesus is this "First and the Last", he can be no other than God himself.  

THE FIRST AND THE LAST IS CREATOR

Some claim that Jesus is only the first of creation.  Is it possible for the term "the First and the Last" in Revelation 1 to refer to a creation?   No.  The term means that none is formed before Him nor none exist after Him:

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“and my servant whom I have chosen,

that you may know and believe me

and understand that I am he.

BEFORE ME NO GOD WAS FORMED,

NORE SHALL THERE BE ANY AFTER ME.

11 I, I am the Lord,

and besides me there is no savior. 

Isaiah 43:10-11

Isaiah 41:4 explains further who "the First and the Last" is:

Who has performed and done this,

calling the generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, THE FIRST,

and with THE LAST; I am he. 

Isaiah 41:4

The LORD called the first of generations, and he will be there until the last of generations.  He must have pre-existed the first of generations in order to be able to call them.  

Nowhere in scripture is the title bearer of "the First and the Last" a creation.  Instead, the title bearer is uncreated.  He is the creator, the being who created the heavens and the earth:

“Listen to me, O Jacob,

and Israel, whom I called!

I am he; I AM THE FIRST,

and I AM THE LAST.

13 My hand LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,

and my right hand SPREAD OUT THE HEAVENS;

when I call to them,

they stand forth together. 

Isaiah 48:12-13

Sometimes in the Bible, demons or angels are referred to as gods.  E.g. Satan is the god of this world.  The above verses make it clear that we are talking about not a god but God the creator.

JESUS IS MIGHTY GOD AND ETERNAL FATHER

In the famous prophecy of Jesus' birth, Isaiah 9:6 uses the Hebrew El Gibor for Mighty God.  Is this the Almighty God, or just a mighty God?:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Isaiah 9:6

That the term Mighty God refers to Yahweh is seen in the next chapter of Isaiah.  Here it says Yahweh is the Mighty God, using the same term El Gibor in the Hebrew.  That the one that a remnant of Israel will lean on is the one that they will return to:

In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on THE LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the MIGHTY GOD. 

Isaiah 10:20-21

"Eternal Father" is a divine title; it is a reference to our Eternal Father.  Wonderful Counsellor is another divine title in Isaiah 9:6, for only God is called Wonderful.

JESUS IS GOD REVEALED

God revealed himself in the Old Testament through theophanies.   

Now, 1 Timothy 1:17 says God is invisible.   John 4:24 says that God is Spirit; spirit is invisible.  Exodus 33:20 says you cannot see God and live.  But God has revealed himself to man in a human way.  Examples:

• Genesis 17:1 says God showed himself to Abraham.  
• Genesis 18:1 says Yahweh appeared to Abraham, as three men (c.f. Genesis 18:1-4).  Jacob bowed before them and referred to them as My Lord ("Adon" in the Hebrew).
• In Genesis 32:24, God wrestled with Jacob as a man.  
• In Genesis 32:30, Jacob saw God face-to-face.
• In Exodus 34, Yahweh came down in the cloud.  

The most significant theophany is Jesus.  In John 1:18 it says, "No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known".

JESUS IS THE "I AM"

Jesus declared himself as God, in a way that was very clear to the Jews.

In John 8:56, "Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. HE SAW IT AND WAS GLAD." Abraham saw Jesus.  In John 8:58, Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM" (in the Greek, "eigo eimi"), identifying himself in the way God revealed himself in Exodus 3:13-14.  Jesus identified himself as God title "I am" and the Jews went to stone him.  

(Jehovah's Witnesses might not see the clear identification as God here. Their New World Translation obscures it; it says instead "I Will Become What I Choose to Become".)

IS THE FATHER GREATER THAN THE SON?

In John 5:22-23, 27, the Father judges no-one but has given all judgment to the Son.  A Jehovah's Witness might say that since the Father had the authority originally, he is greater.  The Father IS greater than the Son, though not in essence but in rank or position.  

This point can be illustrated by the example of marriage.  Here, husband and wife are equal in value and essence.  However in 1 Corinthians 11:3 and Ephesians 5:23, the husband is the head of the wife.  In a Christian marriage, one is leader, the other a follower.  One has greater authority in a Christian marriage.  The Father is equal in essence to the Son but greater in authority.

TRINITY IS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: THE WORD OF THE LORD

John 1:1 has been famously mis-translated in the Jehovah's Witness New World translation.  Their translation does not say "the Word was God" but "the Word was a God".  The indefinite article "a" has been artificially added.  The Greek here says "theos en ho logos" (literally, God was the Word).  This can even be seen in the Interlinear on the Jehovah's Witnesses website HERE.  

Jesus is identified as the Word in John 1:14.

The Word or Logos is not a Greek New Testament innovation.  All over the Old Testament, the word of the Lord is mentioned.  It refers to Yahweh.  In Genesis 15:1-3, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision.  (That is, Abram saw the word of the LORD.)  In verses 4-7, the word of the LORD identifies as the LORD.  The word of the Lord and the Lord are used interchangeably.  Other examples:

• 1 Samuel 3:1-7, the word of the Lord was revealed to Samuel; the word of the Lord not yet revealed to Him before this time
• 1 Samuel 3:10, the Lord came and stood in front of Samuel
• 1 Samuel 3:21, "The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word."
• In 2 Samuel 12:9, "Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?".
• In 1 Kings 13:9, "For I was commanded by the word of the Lord".
• In Jeremiah 1:4-7, "The word of the Lord came to him".  
• In Jeremiah 1:9, "the Lord reached out his hand and touched [Jeremiah's] mouth".
• In the same chapter, "The word of the Lord came to me" is mentioned twice (in Jeremiah 1:11,13).

The Word becoming flesh is such an important theophany.  It is an appearing of Yahweh as God the Son, our Savior who bled for us.

(The above teaching is based on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJPxuEXvkmk)

Harut and Marut: Good Angels or Really Bad?

Harut and Marut in Their Forever Well (1703)

Do you think black magic is good?  In the Quran, two angels, Hārūt and Mārūt, used to teach black magic, to people in Babylon. They would teach magic spells intended to break up peoples' marriages.  The angels learned this magic from devils:

They followed what the devils used to recite in the reign of Sulaimān (Solomon); and it was not Sulaimān who became an infidel, but the devils did become infidels, teaching people magic, and what had been sent down to the two angels, Hārūt and Mārūt, in Babylon. And these two did not teach anyone without first having said (to him), “We are but a trial, so do not go infidel.” Then, they used to learn from them that with which they could cause separation between a man and his wife. But they were not to bring harm through it to anyone without the will of Allah. They used to learn what harmed them and did no good to them; and they certainly knew that he who buys it has no share in the Hereafter. And, indeed, vile is the thing for which they sold themselves away. If only they knew!

Quran 2:102, Usmani 

According to the Quran, these beings were angels [1]. Angels in Islam are beings who act in total obedience to Allah. They have no free will:

O you who believe, save yourselves and your families from a fire, the fuel of which is human beings and stones, appointed on which are angels, stern and severe, who do not disobey Allah in what He orders them, and do whatever they are ordered to do. Quran 66:6

Of the type of magic, Tafsir al Qurtubi says that, “People learned from the angels how to separate a man and his wife”.  The teaching of black magic was apparently meant to be a "test":

… They taught not any man without them saying by way of counsel ‘We are but a temptation a trial from God for people so that He may test them when they are taught it whoever learns it is a disbeliever but whoever renounces it he is a believer; do not disbelieve’ by learning it; if this person refused and insisted on learning it they would teach him. 

Tafsif al-Jalalayn on Quran 2:102

This Quran story has serious problems with it. In Islam, sorcery is serious sin.  Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 2:102 says that learning magic is kufr (unbelief), citing this authentic hadith that Abu Bakr Al-Bazzar recorded from `Abdullah:

Whoever came to a soothsayer or a sorcerer and believed in what he said, will have disbelieved in what Allah revealed to Muhammad.

Sahih al-Bukhari 6857, Book 86, Hadith 79 classes sorcery as one of the “seven great destructive sins”.  Practicing magic was punished with death:

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sad ibn Zurara that he had heard that Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, killed one of her slave-girls who had used sorcery against her. She was a mudabbara. Hafsa gave the order, and she was killed. …

Book 43, Hadith 14 

The two angels were leading people into disbelief by tempting them into using black magic.  By learning black magic, people would become unbelievers. This is a bad look for Allah’s angels.

Ibn Kathir tries to cover for the Quran here. It claim that the angels didn't actually teach the magic.  The angels instead instructed prospective magicians to go to a separate place where the magic was being taught, by Satan.  But the Quran does not say this. 

It makes no sense for good angels to teach black magic. Is it good to teach others how to sin, how to do evil, how to disobey God? (For all sin is disobedience to God.) Is it good to teach someone how to rob a bank? No.

Hārūt and Mārūt's "test" was leading people astray. These angels were not good. They were at best "fallen angels". Another word for such creatures is demons. The Quran's angels are demons.

In the true scriptures, angels bring blessings and peace. When the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary, he said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God." (Luke 1:30). To Mary, this angel says:

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:31-33

The angels revealed the Son of God, the one who would reign forever, even one who would "save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).

Muslim friends, come something better. In the true scriptures, it is written that "there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). Come to a God whose angels do not lead people astray. Come to a God whose angels rejoice when sinner turn to Him. Come to Jesus.

[1] In commentary Tafsif al Jalalayn of Quran 2:102, one account claims that these were merely men, but another account say they were angels. Tafsir al Qurtubi specifically says the claim that the sorcerers refer to "two kings" is weak. 

King Solomon: A Likely Story?

King Solomon and his Djinn

Let me tell you for a moment a story about my grandfather:

My grandfather had a field of workers.  One thing that grandpa loved to do was lean on his staff and watch over his workers as they worked in the field.  Sadly, one day while grandpa was leaning on his staff, he died.  

Grandpa died in an unlikely way.  Instead of falling over, he died fixed in a standing position leaning on his staff.  Because of this unlikely pose, his workers failed to notice that he died.  Days passed.  Grandpa’s body started to decompose and smell bad.  Yet nobody noticed.  Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months.  Still, nobody noticed.

Seeing grandpa still leaning on his staff, his workers kept working in the field.  Day and night, they kept working.  Frantically so.  No one would even take a break.  It was a torment for the workers.  

One day, a termite started eating through his staff.  Finally, after a year of grandpa’s dead corpse being propped up by his staff, the staff broke and the corpse fell to the ground.  

Grandpa's workers immediately noticed that grandpa was gone.  They could finally stop working and end their painful torment.  Had only they learned of his passing earlier, they would certainly have not suffered like this.

What do you think of this story?  I have to tell you something. This is not actually a story about my grandfather. This is a story about King Solomon.  The workers aren’t ordinary workers. They are djinn (i.e. genies). Solomon had apparently enslaved them, having had forced them to do his bidding using the magical ring that he wore.  

This story is in the Quran:

Then, when We decreed (Solomon's) death, nothing showed them of his death except a little work of the earth, which kept (slowly) gnawing at his staff: so when he fell down, the Jinns saw plainly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have tarried in the humiliating Penalty (of their Task). Quran 34:14, Yusuf Ali

The Islamic commentary of Tafsir Jalalayn on Quran 34:14 supplies the details to the story:

And when We decreed for him, for Solomon, death, in other words, [when] he died — he remained supported against his staff an entire year, while the jinn continued to toil in hard labour as was customary, unaware of his death, until [finally] when a termite ate through his staff, he fell to the ground [and was seen to be] dead — nothing indicated to them that he had died except a termite (al-ard is the verbal noun from uridat al-khashaba, passive verbal form, in other words, ‘it [the piece of wood] was eaten away by a termite [al-arada]’) that gnawed away at his staff (read minsa’atahu or minsātahu, replacing the hamza with an alif, meaning a ‘staff’, so called because [when describing it one would say] yunsa’u bihā, to mean it is used to repel or drive away [creatures]’). And when he fell down, dead, the jinn realised, it became apparent to them, that (an, is softened, in other words, annahum) had they known the Unseen — comprising what was hidden from them in the way of Solomon being dead — they would not have continued in the humiliating chastisement, [in] that hard labour of theirs, [in which they continued] as they supposed him to be alive, ... Tafsir al-Jalalayn on 34:14

These details are corroborated by Islamic commentary of Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 34:14.

Could you really believe that, for about a year, no-one noticed that Solomon had died standing? None of his family members or servants or Solomon's officials? No-one in Solomon's kingdom noticed? Do you think that no one approached King Solomon to speak with him? If the Quran were the words of God, do you think it would contain such a folk tale?

This story is not in the Bible. In fact, the Bible has nothing to do with magic rings, magic staffs, armies of birds, angels who teaching black magic, or talking ants. All of these made it into the Quran, though. Please Muslim friends, come to the Bible. Come and read about what is real. The real Jesus, of whom it is said:

Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life." John 6:68