All posts by Alastair Tucker

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

THE BLOTTING OUT OF SINS

1). INTRODUCTION [all quotes are from NKJV]

Since there is no atonement and no vicarious sacrifice as the basis for forgiveness in Islam, the Muslim will try to find an alternative basis for Allah to show mercy. They claim he can just “blot out” sins as if they never existed [1] ignoring the fact that there is a tension between mercy and justice. Showing mercy at the expense of retributive justice is not the hallmark of a perfectly just God. As William Lane Craig argues: “A Judge in a criminal case “has an obligation to do justice—which means, at a minimum, an obligation to uphold the rule of law. Thus if he is moved, even by love or compassion, to act contrary to the rule of law—to the rules of justice—he acts wrongly.”

In order to sustain their position, Muslims are quite content to reach for the Bible where they think it assists them, and will cherrypick isolated verses such as those below which speak of God “blotting out sins” as the likeness to Allah’s approach to forgiveness:

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted. Your first father sinned, And your mediators have transgressed against Me. Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; I will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches.” (Isaiah 43:25-28)

“Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” (Isaiah 44:21-22)

2). ARE OUR SINS ERASED ONCE WE ARE FORGIVEN?

Are our sins blotted out when we come before God in repentance, and ask Him to forgive us? God’s word answers No! David knew that his sins were not blotted out at the time he repented of them. Even after he had repented of his sins, he still prayed for God to blot them out, because his sins were ever before him. David knew from where his sin truly needed to be blotted out: from his heart, mind, and character—his innermost being! And this is exactly what God did for David; He created a new heart and right spirit within David and erased the sinfulness from David’s character. History did not get erased, as evidenced by the Bible and its ongoing record of David’s sin that we are all still reading about today.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your loving kindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And MY SIN IS ALWAYS BEFORE ME. BEHOLD, I WAS BROUGHT FORTH IN INIQUITY, AND IN SIN MY MOTHER CONCEIVED ME. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.” (Psalms 51:1-3, 5, 9-10, 14)

The fact is even after we are forgiven we remain scarred by sins for life. We remain guilty sinners throughout our lives on earth. The difference being that once we have forgiveness based upon the shed blood of Jesus which washes us clean, it allows us to live with that past and not feel condemned by it, and have the peace of knowing that God already treats us as righteous; it gives us a fresh start a lifelong process of sanctification and renewal. We have the promise of an unmerited divine pardon even when we remain guilty and even when our sins are not yet erased.

Elsewhere, God says that our sins are still marked before Him – therefore He has not yet blotted them out, because He has promised that when He does blot them out, He will not bring them to remembrance.

“For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord God.” (Jeremiah 2:22)

The prophet Isaiah knew that his sins, and the sins of Israel, had not been blotted out, even though they had been repented of and confessed. He knew that all their sins were still multiplied before God.

“We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.” (Isaiah 59:11-12)

How did God respond? He saw there was neither justice nor an intercessor, so He took the initiative that brings salvation. In this same chapter of Isaiah we find the promise of the Messiah who alone is our Redeemer:

“Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. “The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the Lord.” (Isaiah 59:15-16, 20)

From the New Testament we can learn much from how Paul reconciled himself to his sinful past.

First he considered himself a serious sinner:

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (I Timothy 1:15)

Secondly, he needed to recognise the point of sorrow leading to repentance and move on from it:

“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”(2 Corinthians 7:9-10)

Thirdly, Paul strove to put the past behind him.

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

3). THE ERRONEOUS LEGALISTIC VIEW

By the school of legalism, preachers will teach that when we confess our sins, God goes to the “heavenly books” with the blood of Jesus and apply it to our record, thus removing the paper trail of our sins. This process is vital to our salvation, because, they claim, these books will be opened in the final judgment, and if there are any sins that have not been erased, we will not only be excluded from heaven, but God will use His power to punish us for the unconfessed sins remaining in the books.

It’s no surprise that such a teaching incites a fear of, and not a love for God in people’s lives. Instead of fixating on the Remedy, people become fixated on their sins and their fears of punishment: Is there something I haven’t confessed? What if I don’t remember my sins from years ago and they are still on the books?

This teaching also causes people to form belief systems that function to hide or protect them from God, rather than reconcile us to Him. Instead of saying God is the solution to our sin problem, this understanding says He is the problem we must address. It’s similar to the idea that being covered by the robe of Christ’s righteousness means that the perfect life of Jesus obscures our histories from the Father’s awareness and, thus, in the judgment, the Father doesn’t see our histories of sin; instead, He sees only the perfect life of His Son. This is necessary, it is claimed, because if the Father saw even one sin not hidden by Jesus, then God would strike out and destroy us.

Exodus 32:33 is another Bible text used to support this claim.

The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.”

Once again, this is taken to mean that “we either get our sins blotted out of the books of heaven or we get ourselves blotted out of the books of heaven.”

Viewing the Bible through the imposed-law lens and taking illustrations and metaphors “as they read,” the legalist must conclude that the “blotting out of sin” is the literal blotting out of historical deeds from the books in heaven, in order to hide our misconduct from God.

Such an unbalanced view is not the reality of God’s word.

4). THE REALITY OF FORGIVENESS

If we can say that the heavenly records are not a long list of historical deeds that need to be erased, then what is recorded there and what is being erased? Revelation reveals the answer:

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Revelation 3:5)

Now we have a clue to what is the truth—the reality—behind the metaphor of “blotting out”? Where does sin happen? In record books or in the hearts and minds of people? From where does God want to erase our sin? From recorded history or from the minds, hearts, and characters of His people?

The following is what happens when we confess our sins in the daily Christian experience: Jesus forgives us, and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. He places upon us His robe of righteousness, and He writes Pardon against our names in the Books of Record in Heaven. But He does not, at that same time, blot out our sins. The record remains, to be dealt with in the Final Atonement.

William Lane Craig gives us his balanced summary:

“The object of divine forgiveness is just as often said to be of sins as sinners. Not only are people forgiven for their sins, but their sins are forgiven. God is said to “take away” (aphaireō) our sins (Romans 11.27). This fact makes it evident that divine forgiveness is not (merely) a change of attitude on God’s part toward sinners. Divine forgiveness has as its effect, not (merely) God’s laying aside His wrath, but rather the removal of the liability to punishment that attends sin. As a result of divine forgiveness, a person who formerly deserved punishment now no longer does so. Because of the forgiveness that is to be found in Christ, one is no longer held accountable for one’s sins. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8.1). On the contrary, they are now reckoned by God to be righteous in His sight (Romans 4.5-8). The biblical concept of forgiveness thus entails God’s pardoning people for their sins, freeing them of liability to punishment and constituting them righteous before God.”

In 1 John we find more about the ongoing dependence and need to know forgiveness. This is not a one off event. It’s a walk with God. And it’s only by His grace.

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (I John 1:7-10)

Isaiah saw God’s righteousness adorning him like a garment. Notice WHO is doing the clothing, it is from God not of ourselves:

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord , My soul shall be joyful in my God; For HE HAS CLOTHED ME WITH THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION, HE HAS COVERED ME WITH THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God WILL CAUSE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PRAISE TO SPRING FORTH BEFORE ALL NATIONS.” (Isaiah 61:10-11)

The writer of Hebrews makes clear when God will remember sins no more:

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord : I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” (Hebrews 8:10-12)

“For they shall all know me” is a clear reference to the Millennial rule after Christ’s return.

Peter also made it very clear in the Book of Acts as to when the sins of God’s people are going to be blotted out:

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:19-21)

5). THE TWO JUDGEMENTS (FOR THE INDIVIDUAL)

Many Bible interpreters assume there is only one judgment at the end of the age, a judgment that separates believers from unbelievers. This causes major problems in harmonizing some Scriptures. For example, in John 5:24 Jesus says that anyone who believes in Him “shall not come into judgment,” but in 2 Corinthians 5:10 Paul says of believers, “. . . we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” If these speak of the same judgment, they would be in contradiction. How should we view these coming judgments? Distinguishing between the two judgments

All people individually face a judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The Bible speaks of two great coming judgments, and both judgments involve people’s works. (These are not to be confused with the separate judgment of the Jewish and Gentile Nations during the Tribulation, described by Jesus in Matthew 25:31- 46). See this link for an outline of the different judgments:

www.google.com/amp/s/www.gotquestions.org/amp/all-the-judgments.html

The first judgment is a final judgment of condemnation for only unbelievers. John 5:24 relates to those who believe in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life. They will not have to face the final judgment of Revelation 20:11-15, a judgment of unbelievers after Christ’s return to earth as King. Works are mentioned there as evidence that their condemnation and suffering is deserved.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.” (Revelation 20:12-13)

The Bible also speaks clearly about a judgment facing only believers, called the Judgment Seat of Christ (Greek, bema). In this judgment, believers will not be judged for their faith in Christ as Savior, but for their faithfulness in following Christ as Lord. There, believers will have to give an account for how they used their lives. One’s works determines whether one is rewarded or denied rewards.

These two judgments can be compared in the chart below. See also footnote [2] for the difference it makes.

6). CONCLUSIONS

Sinfulness—not sins—is what is being blotted out of the hearts, minds, and characters of God’s people. And in its place, God writes in His perfection. And because the records in heaven are the perfect record of each of our characters, the sinfulness that used to be in our characters, and thus in the records of heaven, is removed both from our characters and, subsequently, the record of our character in heaven. In other words, the only way to have sin removed from your record in heaven is to trust God, to open your heart to His Remedy, and to have sinfulness removed from your character here on earth.

Those who refuse to allow God into their hearts to remove sinfulness and write in His righteousness will, instead of having their sins blotted out of their hearts, and therefore their records, have themselves blotted out of existence; thus, they will be removed from the heavenly records. This is precisely what is meant by the Exodus 32 passage quoted “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.”

Finally, for those who think the actual memory of our sins will be erased from our minds and those of others, during this life, consider Jesus’ response to those who criticized the woman who anointed His feet with expensive oil: “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47).

This is what Jesus is saying in Luke 7:47: If we don’t remember from what Jesus has delivered us, we will appreciate Him and love Him little. This is why Revelation tells us that the 144,000 sing a song only they will be able to sing—no others in all the universe will be able to sing this song (Revelation 14:3). Why? Is it because no one else has the musical skill? Is it because God forbids others to sing it? No! It is because it is a song of their experience, and only those who have the experience can sing of the experience. And the only way they can sing of their experience is if they remember their experience.

So, don’t fall for the legal lie—which is the model of the Muslim idea that sins are merely bad deeds that require erasure from record books. Such heresy only instills within us the belief that sin is mostly a behavioral problem, rather than a heart problem; it also says God is the One we must fear, because He will punish us for any unconfessed sin, instead of fearing sin itself and what it will do to us if we don’t take the Remedy that is found only in Christ and the healing power of the Cross.

Muslims and other unbelievers, embrace the truth that God wants to erase all sin, all defects, and all deviations from His design from you and restore you to His ideal! And He will do it if you trust Him! It’s all about what He has done to clothe us in His righteousness and about renewing our hearts and minds. Amen.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Not only does Allah show gratuitous mercy without retributive justice, according to Surah 25 he can even transform (in other words falsify) the record of sins into good deeds! Imagine an earthly judge acting in such a way?

In Surah 25 we find this:

“And those who invoke not any other ilah (god) along with Allah, nor kill such life as Allah has forbidden, except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive the punishment. The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein in disgrace; Except those who repent and believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do righteous deeds, for those, Allah will CHANGE THEIR SINS INTO GOOD DEEDS, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And whosoever repents and does righteous good deeds, then verily, he repents towards Allah with true repentance.” (Surah 25:68-71)

Astonishingly, this passage doesn’t only say that Allah forgives but that he also actually changes a person’s sins into good deeds, i.e. Allah will reckon every transgression committed by an individual as a good deed. This means that Allah will actually reward a person for all the crimes s/he has committed!

The hadiths substantiate this fact:

2594. Anas narrated that the Prophet said: “Allah will say: ‘Remove from the Fire whoever remembered Me one day, or feared Me while in a state of sinning.’” (Hasan)

[Abu ‘Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib Sahih.

Comments:

Remembering Allah and fearing Him is the sign of one’s faith. The Hadith confirms that even those persons who have no good in their Register of Deeds expect the weakest form of faith (iman) will ultimately get deliverance from Fire through Allah’s benevolence and mercy. (English Translation of Jami‘ At-Tirmidhi, Compiled by Imam Hafiz ‘Eisa Mohammad Ibn ‘Eisa At-Tirmidhi, From Hadith no. 1897 to 2605, translated by Abu Khalil (USA), Ahadith edited and referenced by Hafiz Abu Tahir Zubair ‘Ali Za’i, final review by Islamic Research Section Darussalam [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, First Edition: November 2007], Volume 4, Chapter 9. What Has Been Related About ‘The Fire Has Two Breaths,’ And What Has Been Mentioned About Those Who Will Exit The Fire From The People of Tawhid, p. 572; underline emphasis ours)

And:

2596. Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “I know that the last of the people of the Fire depart from the Fire and the last of the people of Paradise to enter Paradise. A man will be brought forth and He will say: ‘Ask about his small sins and hide his large sins.’ So it will be said to him: ‘Did you do this and that on such and such a day, did you do this and that on such-and-such a day?’” He said: “Then it will be said to him: ‘FOR EACH OF YOUR SINS YOU SHALL HAVE A REWARD.’” He said: “So he will say: ‘O Lord! I have done things that I do not see here.’” He (Abu Dharr) said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah laugh until his molars were visible.” (Sahih)

Abu ‘Eisa said: This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.

Allah’s benevolence and mercy are boundless. NO RULES OR LAWS CAN BIND HIM, since He is for Whom it is said in the Qur’an: He cannot be questioned as to what He does. (21:23) HE WILL, THEREFORE, CHANGE THE SINS INTO VIRTUOUS DEEDS FOR WHOMEVER HE WILLS. (Ibid., Chapter 10. Something Else Regarding The Story Of The Last Of The People Of The Fire To Leave it, pp. 573-574; capitals for emphasis)

These narrations speak of Allah actually giving people who have done no good whatsoever a reward for every sin they have committed!

Talk about a travesty of justice! Not only does Allah not punish the wicked he actually rewards them for their wickedness! As the commentator stated, Allah is not bound by anything and is therefore a capricious being who can pervert justice. Clearly, Muhammad’s god is not simply an amoral being, one who is morally neutral, he is actually immoral and unholy who promotes wickedness and is the cause of outright injustice.

It is one thing to forgive an evil deed, it is altogether something else to “turn sins into good deeds”, i.e. reward them as if they had been good deeds. It makes Allah unjust, morally reprehensible, for rewarding people for evil deeds.

[2] The difference it makes

If the two coming judgments are confused into one general judgment, then good works become necessary for salvation, because works play a role in both judgments. Of course, this would contradict clear statements of Scripture such as Romans 3:19-4:5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9, and Titus 3:5. It would be impossible to say that we are saved by grace as a free gift from God. Works are mentioned in both judgments, but never as the basis or condition for salvation.

This would also radically change the motivation for godly conduct. External good works would be sought as evidence of salvation, or conversely, the fear of insufficient works would leave many in doubt of their salvation and in fear of eternal condemnation. The focus on outward conduct can be deceptive and detract from true inner godliness. Living in doubt and fear about one’s salvation is never a good basis for growing in grace.

Confusion of the two judgments would also undermine the accountability of Christians as a motivation for godly conduct. Believers who do not fear condemnation find the freedom to live their lives in light of their final evaluation at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Having their eternal salvation secure should motivate believers to serve God and live godly lives, because of love and gratitude toward God. The fear factor is removed, as far as eternal salvation is concerned.

The two great coming judgments are different for believers and unbelievers respectively. Those who have believed in Jesus Christ as Savior will not come under judgment for their salvation, but will escape condemnation. However, they will have to give an account for how they lived as Christians. Those who have rejected Jesus Christ as Savior face only a judgment of condemnation ending in the Lake of Fire. Appropriately, the Bible ends with both a reminder of rewards for believers, “And behold, I [Jesus] am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”(Revelation 22:12), as well as an invitation to unbelievers:

“And the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17).

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The Universal Gospel

The Universal Gospel

SALVATION IS FROM THE JEWS, FIRST TO THE JEWS THEMSELVES AND THEN TO THE GENTILES.

To set the scene, here are two verses you will never see any Muslim quote:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

1). INTRODUCTION

After His resurrection, Jesus gave the order of priority and sequence for preaching the Gospel – Jerusalem first, then all Judea and Samaria, from there to all the world. Paul elaborates on and follows this road map.

Paul has just used that wonderful inclusive word “everyone” in Romans 1:16, “The gospel is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes.” Oh what a reassuring word to anyone who feels that there is something about them that rules them out! Wrong family, wrong background, wrong education, wrong language, wrong race, wrong culture, wrong gender orientation, wrong moral track record. Then to hear the word, “Everyone who believes.” No distinction here just inclusivity.

There is only one thing that can rule you out: unbelief — ie not trusting in who Jesus is and what He did for us all. But nothing else has to. The good news that Christ died for our sins, and that He rose from the dead to open eternal life, and that salvation is by grace through faith — to all – that is for everyone who believes. Not just Jews and not just Gentiles and no one race or social class or culture, but everyone who believes.

So having established that fundamental truth, to understand the rest of verse 16 we need to understand what is the reason for the Jews having priority. That is the focus of this Post.

2). HOW DO JEWS HAVE PRIORITY?

Why does Paul follow this exhilarating word “everyone” with a word that seems to give priority to Jews? ” … it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”

This verse raises a number of questions. How do the Jews have priority? What does he mean, “to the Jew first”? What kind of priority, what kind of “firstness” do they have? And why does he say this? What effect does he want this to have on us?

The Bible shows us six ways by which the Jews are first in experiencing the salvation of God. And to complete the picture we can identify some ways in which they are not first.

3). THE JEWS HAVE PRIORITY AS GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE.

How do they have priority over Gentiles? In Genesis 12, God chooses Abraham and his descendants freely from all the peoples of the world to bless with his covenant and promise. Nehemiah 9:7 says, “God . . . chose Abram, and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldeans.” Then Deuteronomy 14:2 says about the whole Jewish people, “The Lord has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” And Amos 3:2 says, “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth.” And here in Romans 11:28–32 Paul says:

“Regarding the gospel, they [the Jews] are enemies for your [the Gentiles] advantage, but regarding election, they are loved because of the patriarchs, [29] since God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable. [30] As you once disobeyed God, but now have received mercy through their disobedience, [31] so they too have now disobeyed, resulting in mercy to you, so that they also now may receive mercy. [32] For God has imprisoned all in disobedience, so that He may have mercy on all” (Romans 11:28-32).

Put simply, Salvation comes to Gentiles from the root of God’s covenant with the Jews. And this is no New Testament novelty. From His earliest Covenant promises to Abraham, God had a world view, as the following exemplary verses demonstrate:

“I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).

“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations will bow down before You, [28] for kingship belongs to the Lord; He rules over the nations” (Psalms 22:27-28).

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord minister to Him, love the name of Yahweh and become His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold firmly to My covenant — [7] I will bring them to My holy mountain and let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:6-7).

“He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14).

The Jews have a priority over Greeks (that is, all Gentiles, by implication) because of their special role as God’s elect or chosen people. He set His favor on them and set them apart from all the peoples. Freely! Not because of any virtue or special alue in them, but simply on the basis of His sovereign choice:

“The Lord was devoted to you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. [8] But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).

4). THE JEWS HAVE PRIORITY AS CUSTODIANS OF GOD’S WORD

In Romans 3:1, Paul asks: “What advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?” And he answers his own question in verse 2: “Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the spoken words [oracles – KJV] of God.” In other words, God gave His special revelation and promises to Israel by Moses and the prophets.

Romans 9:4 puts it like this: “[They] are Israelites to whom belong . . . the covenants and the giving of the Law . . . and the promises.” All the great expressions, the types and shadows of the gospel of salvation were given to the Jews in the word of God, the Old Testament. Thus the Jews had priority in having the Scriptures with all its prophetic content and meaning and not least because it sets out God’s laws and covenant promises.

5). THE JEWS HAVE PRIORITY IN THAT THE MESSIAH HIMSELF CAME FIRST, AS A JEW TO THE JEWS.

In Romans 9:5, Paul brings his list of privileges to a climax with these words: “From [the Jews] is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” The Messiah, Jesus, was a Jew, a Son of David (Romans 1:3). And He focused His earthly ministry on the Jews. They had a priority in His work, and were the first witnesses of His teaching and His signs.

In Matthew 10:5–6, Jesus said to the twelve apostles as He sent them out during His ministry, “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” And in Matthew 15:24, Jesus said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” So during his earthly life, Jesus was focused on the Jews. They had priority in his ministry. Even then it was not exclusive, and contained many suggestions it would have a universal application. And after His death and resurrection, Israel was to lose its exclusive claim to Jesus message. And they were given fair warning: “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruit.” (Matthew 21:43)

6). THE JEWS HAVE PRIORITY IN THAT SALVATION IS FROM THE JEWS.

These are the very words of Jesus in John 4:22. Jesus says to the Samaritan woman at the well, “You worship what you do not know; we [Jews] worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” This simply sums up all that we have seen so far. They are the chosen nation; the nation with God’s special revelation; and the nation with the Messiah, the Savior. So, clearly, salvation is “from the Jews.”

Another way to see that salvation is from the Jews is found in Romans 11:17–24 where Paul compares the Jewish nation to an olive tree. He says that natural branches are broken off and unnatural branches were grafted in, meaning that Jews by birth were unbelieving and so cut off from the covenant of promise; and Gentiles who were believing were grafted in and saved by the covenant of promise. Verses 17–18 are crucial for us:

If some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, [then] do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.

In other words, salvation comes to us Gentiles from the root of God’s covenant with the Jews. We are simply grafted in like wild olive branches that have no historical claim at all on being God’s people. And God saves us by reckoning us children of Abraham by faith, as Paul says in Galatians 3:7, “It is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.”

So Jews have priority because “salvation is from the Jews.” All salvation is salvation which is rooted in God’s covenant with Abraham.

7). THE JEWS HAVE PRIORITY IN THAT PAUL EVANGELIZED JEWS FIRST WHEN HE BROUGHT THE GOSPEL TO A NEW PLACE.

For example, in Acts 13:46, Paul and Barnabas are preaching in Antioch of Pisidia, and the Jews will not listen to the gospel, so they say, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”

In other words, just as God chose Israel and revealed himself to Israel and sent the Messiah and Savior to Israel so that salvation is from Israel, it is fitting that in the spread of the gospel to new places, the Jews hear first of their Messiah and the good news of his salvation.

So Jews have a priority in the order of frontier missions when the gospel comes to a new place.

8). THE JEWS HAVE PRIORITY IN FINAL JUDGMENT AND FINAL BLESSING.

In Romans 2:9-10, Paul says, amazingly, “There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

In other words, the priority that the Jews have, if it is rejected and squandered will result in a priority in judgment. And if they are grateful for their priority and trust in the mercy of their Messiah, then they will go first into the final blessing of God. There are definite dangers in having this priority. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required” (Luke 12:48).

□ SUMMARY

When Paul says in Romans 1:16, “.. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek,” we should call to mind these six ways that the Jews have a priority over the Gentiles.

▪︎ They are the historic chosen people of God.

▪︎ They are the guardians of God’s special revelation, the Old Testament Scriptures.

▪︎ The Messiah and Savior, Jesus, comes to the world as a Jew to His own people the Jews.

▪︎ Salvation is from the Jews, since everyone who is saved is saved by being connected to the covenant with Abraham by faith.

▪︎ The Jews are to be evangelized first when the gospel penetrates a new region.

▪︎ The Jews will enter first into final judgment and final blessing.

9). HOW DO JEWS NOT HAVE PRIORITY?
THEY DO NOT HAVE PRIORITY IN RIGHTEOUSNESS OR MERIT.

Nor do Gentiles. Now we are on equal footing. That is one of the main points of the first two chapters of Romans. Paul concludes in Romans 3:9–10, “What then? Are we [Jews] better than they [Gentiles]? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one.’” He makes the same point in Romans 3:22–23, “There is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Paul gives a further reason to explain why the Gentiles had also to receive the message after the Jews had refused it;

“I ask, then, have they stumbled in order to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their stumbling, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. [12] Now if their stumbling brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full number bring! [13] Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. In view of the fact that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, [14] if I can somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them.”
(Romans 11:11-14)

10). THE JEWS DO NOT HAVE PRIORITY IN HOW THEY ARE SAVED.

They are saved exactly the way Gentiles are. This is clear from Romans 3:29–30: “Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also . . . God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”

And from Romans 10:12: “There is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on him; for ‘whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” So neither Jews nor Gentiles have priority in how they are saved: both are saved by faith in Christ, not in any ethnic or religious distinctives.

11). THE JEWS DO NOT HAVE PRIORITY IN PARTICIPATION IN GOD’S COVENANT BLESSINGS.

The mystery of the gospel that Paul preaches, he says, is that Gentiles now are full partners in the blessings of Jewish salvation. Listen to Ephesians 2:12–13 and 18–19:

“At that time you [Gentiles] were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah … For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household,” (Ephesians 2:12-13 & 18-19).

Again in Ephesians 3:4–6: “By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

So Jews do not have priority in participation in God’s covenant blessings. Gentiles are full fellow heirs of all the promises of God.

12). WHY DID PAUL MENTION THE PRIORITY OF THE JEWS?

With the above in mind we can ponder the question: Why did Paul mention this priority of the Jews in Romans 1:16? “… it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.” What effect should it have?

Being influenced by Romans 11:17–32, I think the answer is that Paul wants to humble both Jew and Greek and make them deeply aware that they depend entirely on mercy, not on themselves or privilege, or their tradition or ethnic connections. To borrow an expression of Paul, its “So that none shall boast”. To the Gentiles he says, in essence, salvation is of the Jews. You are not being saved by your Greek culture — or any other culture. You are being saved by a salvation that comes through the despised Semitic people called the Jews. “You do not support the root [of the Abrahamic covenant], the root supports you.” So do not boast over the branches (Romans 11:18).

In short, ethnicity is not decisive for salvation. There is no merit or relative advantage. We are all sinners.

We Gentiles are saved by becoming, as it were, spiritual Jews (Romans 2:28–29). This should humble us and strip us of any arrogance and boasting in any presumed ethnic superiority. It also should vanquish anti-Semitism and fill us with zeal for evangelism to Jews.

Similarly, Paul says to the Jews, your salvation is not your own. It is God’s and He gives it to whom He pleases. He can raise up from stones — even Gentile stones(!) — children to Abraham (Matthew 3:9). The words “also to the Greek” in Romans 1:16 would have been as offensive to the Jews as the words “to the Jew first” were to the Gentiles. What they thought were Jewish prerogatives are, in fact, shared by the lowliest Gentiles who believe. Both groups are being humbled. We Gentiles must humble ourselves to be saved through a Jewish Messiah and a Jewish covenant. Jews must humble themselves to receive unclean Gentiles into full covenant membership and share all the blessings of the promise of Abraham.

This is yet another reason why the wannabe Islamic god who is so full of emnity and hatred for both Christians and Jews, is no God at all. For the whole point of this teaching is that while God chose the Jews, who are the apple of His eye, when it comes to salvation He makes no distinction. As we shall see next, Jesus said:

“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:16)

13). PAUL FOLLOWED JESUS’S LEAD AND DIRECTIONS

Before anything else, Jesus’ mission was first to the people of the covenant, i.e., the Jews, who were awaiting the Messiah. Technically, the mission to the Gentiles was not granted until the Ascension, when Our Lord said, “Go out and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:18-20).

To understand who the “other sheep” from John 10:16 are, we must begin with the context of the verse and examine the whole passage. We know from many Bible passages that sheep are a symbol of true believers who follow Christ, their true Shepherd. And that shepherding role is rooted in Old Testament prophecy such as:

“See, the Lord God comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him. [11] He protects His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing.” (Isaiah 40:10-11)

His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. If He says that there are “other” sheep, then we must identify the original sheep that the “others” are different from.

Beginning in chapter 9 of John, we find Jesus discoursing at great length with the Pharisees after He healed a man who was born blind. He compares the man’s simple faith with the unbelief of the Pharisees and condemns them for their wilful spiritual blindness. He begins by denouncing the false shepherds of Israel—the blind, self-appointed leaders who drew the people away from the true knowledge and kingdom of their Messiah (John 9:39-41). Then in chapter 10, He explains at great length the nature of true sheep, those who follow the Good Shepherd, sent and appointed by God. True sheep are those who listen to the voice of the Shepherd (v. 3) and follow Him (v. 4) and know Him (v. 14). He can only be speaking here of the true sheep of Israel because, up to that point, His ministry was confined to the sheep of Israel.

In verse 16, Jesus refers to the “other sheep,” and those can only be sheep that are outside of Israel, in other words, Gentiles. But the Gentiles who would follow Him are no less sheep than the true sheep of Israel. In fact, Jesus makes it clear that the Gentile sheep would also hear His voice and follow Him, and, eventually, there would be only one flock and one Shepherd. This is the mystery of the universal body of Christ, the church, which Paul refers to in Ephesians 3:6 quoted above. A mystery in Scripture is usually something not revealed previously, and this mystery—one universal church with both Jews and Gentiles brought together in one body in the Messiah—was so shocking to the Pharisees that they accused Jesus of being a demon-possessed lunatic (John 10:20-21).

Paul’s commission from Christ was to “preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 6:8) because the Gentiles, the “other sheep,” needed to be brought into the fold of the true Shepherd.

And we know that Paul was personally commissioned by Jesus Himself as the doyen of apostles to the Gentiles because we have Jesus exact words, firstly as spoken to Ananias “But the Lord said to him, “Go! For this man is My chosen instrument to take My name to Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites.” (Acts 9:15). This command was repeated by Jesus to Paul, “After I came back to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple complex, I went into a visionary state [18] and saw Him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me!’ [21] “Then He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” (Acts 22:17-18, 21), a command repeated again in the next chapter: “The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome” (Acts 23:11).

14). THE GENTILES ARE GRAFTED IN TO ISRAEL

Paul explains in Romans 11:16-36 the mystery of the church by using the imagery of a branch (the Gentiles) being grafted into the tree (Israel). Israel has been temporarily set aside until the “full number of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25). This is occurring now in the Church Age, but eventually both Jews and Gentiles will live in glorious harmony in the Millennial Kingdom and then in eternity when all true sheep will follow their Shepherd forever as one body.

□ CONCLUSIONS

“So that you will not be conceited, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery: A partial hardening has come to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. [26] And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Liberator will come from Zion; He will turn away godlessness from Jacob. [27] And this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins” (Romans 11:25-27).

Verse 25 refers to bringing the Gentiles to Salvation. Jesus mission while he was on earth was the Jews. They had first refusal and were privileged to be witnessing the great signs, the parables and prophetic fulfilment, and yet still they mostly rejected Him. After his resurrection His focus was bringing the Gentiles to Salvation. This work was carried out by the disciples and the apostle Paul.

The whole point is that God is the One who has mercy. Ethnicity is not decisive here. And it is surely no grounds for conceitedness. There is none who deserves merit with Him. We are all sinners.

The real emphasis returns full circle to that wonderful word “everyone” that we began with:

“The gospel is the power of God to everyone who believes”.

So, whether Jew or Gentile, Muslim, Buddhist or atheist believe! And receive the power of God to save you from your sins and guilt and death and judgment and hell, and bring you home to ever-increasing joy in his presence forever and ever. Amen.

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If the Quran is true, then Islam is false

If the Quran is true, then Islam is false

If the Quran is true, then Islam is false. Why? Because the Quran says to trust the Gospels and the four Gospels contradict the Quran. This means the Quran can’t be true if it says the gospel message is also true. In order to show this, I will quote several verses from the Quran. The more important ones are bolded for easy reference later.

None can change Allah’s words
6:34, “Rejected were the messengers before thee: with patience and constancy they bore their rejection and their wrongs, until Our aid did reach them: there is none that can alter the words (and decrees) of Allah. Already hast thou received some account of those messengers.”
6:115, “The word of thy Lord doth find its fulfilment in truth and in justice: None can change His words: for He is the one who heareth and knoweth all.”
18:27, “And recite (and teach) what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord: none can change His Words, and none wilt thou find as a refuge other than Him.”
Moses was given the Torah
2:87, “We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of messengers; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you a messenger with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!
3:3, “It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong).”
David was given the Psalms
4:163, “We have sent thee inspiration, as We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him: we sent inspiration to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the Psalms.”
Jesus was given the gospel
57:27, “Then, in their wake, We followed them up with (others of) Our messengers: We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Gospel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him Compassion and Mercy. But the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them: (We commanded) only the seeking for the Good Pleasure of Allah; but that they did not foster as they should have done. Yet We bestowed, on those among them who believed, their (due) reward, but many of them are rebellious transgressors.
Christians should judge by what is in the Gospel
5:47, “Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel.”
The Quran confirms the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospels and guards them
5:48 To thee [the people of the gospel] We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;
Ask Christians about spiritual things
10.94, “If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.”
Curse on those who say God has a son
9:30, “The Jews call ‘Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!
Jesus not crucified
4:157, “That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.”
Alright, so we see that…

None can change Allah’s words (6:34; 6:115; 18:27).
Jesus was given the gospel by Allah (57:27).
The Quran confirms the Gospels (5:48)
The Gospels contradict the Quran
So, if the Quran confirms the Gospels which says that Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27:26″31; Mark 15:15″20; Luke 23:32″34; John 19:17-18) and the Quran says Jesus was not crucified (Surah 4:157), then the Quran is false. But if it says the Gospels are false, then the Quran denies its own teaching and Islam is false.

Not the Religion of Peace

Not the Religion of Peace

NOT THE RELIGION OF PEACE: THE QURAN SANCTIONS ALL JIHADIST ACTS OF TERROR
■ THE PURPOSE OF JIHAD
There is only one religion which makes it an article of faith to wage war on unbelievers.
Muslims often say “Islamic Law forbids aggressive warfare”. There is no truth in that claim:
1). The purpose or goal of Jihad. The Quran is the ultimate source for later legal opinions. It is considered completely reliable and inerrant. What does it say about jihad:- Surah 9:33 “It is He Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth, to make it superior over all religions, though the Mushrikûn (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) hate (it)”. This verse is repeated two more times, word for word, in Suras 61:9 and 48:28.
The Arabic word for “to make it superior” comes from the root z-h-r, which means “to become distinct, obvious, conspicuous, or manifest; to ascend or to mount; to have the upper hand.” It can also mean “triumph” or “victorious” or “prevail.” That alone gives justification for violent Jihad as prescribed in over 100 verses of the Quran.
2). Rules for Jihad.
(i). Conquered women and children may be enslaved (Surah 33.25-26)
(ii). Women captives may be forced to marry their Muslim masters, regardless of the marital status of the women. That is, the masters are allowed to have sex with the enslaved sex objects. (Surah 4.24)
(iii). A captured enemy may be killed, ransomed by money or by an exchange, enslaved, or released freely. (Surah 47.4)
(iv). 4. The conquered are allowed (or forced) to convert. (Surah 8.70)
(v). Old men and Christian monks may be killed. (Surah 9.29 and 9.33)
(vi). Property may be stolen. (Surah 8.7 and 33.27).
(vii). Property – including homes and fruit trees may be destroyed. (Surah 59.2 and 59.5)
(viii). Ultimatum imposed on the enemy – basically 3 choices: (1) Fight and die; (2) convert; (3) keep their religion, but pay a tax, the jizyah. (Surah 9.29)
■ LEGAL OPINION
Al-Misri (d. 1368), ‘Reliance of the Traveler: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law’, (rev. ed., trans. Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Beltsville, Maryland: Amana, 1994), summarizes rulings in the Shafi school of fiqh. says that jihad establishes the religion of Islam. “. . Jihad means to war against non-Muslims and is etymologically derived from the mujahada, signifying warfare to establish religion.” (p. 599, o9.0)
So in light of the above, Muslims claim that Islamic law forbids aggressive warfare is frankly tosh.
By comparison and in total contrast there is not a single verse from the New Testament (which is what governs Christian behaviour) that advocates violence not even in self defence. The sword belongs to the State: “For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.” (Romans 13:4 HCSB)
It is arguable from a Biblical perspective that even individuals carrying a sword is for purely deterrence value only. But that is not a subject for this Post or discussion thread.
Nevertheless it is not uncommon to hear Muslims claiming that the Bible is more violent than the Quran. Really? Then, how do we explain all the violence committed day after day by Muslims all over the world? Where does their incentive to kill come from? It is incredible how Muslims can even come up with such an absurd allegation. What is even more bizarre than this outrageous lie is the number of Westerners who are taken in by this deception. It is really mind-boggling how people can allow themselves to become blinded so easily. Many of my generation who lived during the early sixties are familiar with a well-known Bob Dylan song, “Blowing in the Wind.” A couple of verses in the song read: “How many times can a man turn his head pretending he just doesn’t see? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.”
Yes, the answer is blowing in the wind. It is blowing all over the world where Muslims routinely murder innocent people on a daily basis in the name of Allah. Nigeria sees it on a daily basis. Burkina Faso is showing a similar emerging pattern of terror and violence against individuals and institutions. Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda have suffered Islamic insurgency. And many are turning their heads pretending not to see the connection between the teachings of Allah in the Quran and the violence perpetrated by Muslims. And they deliberately ignore the fact that Islam is directly responsible for much of the violence that we are now experiencing around the globe. Comedian Richard Pryor once told the story about how his wife caught him red-handed in bed with another woman. He denied everything and then asked his wife: “Whom are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?” This is exactly how Muslims argue – along with the politicians and the mainstream media – and they seriously expect to fool the rest of us. They want us to turn a blind eye to the reality. And they think that by repeatedly proclaiming the lie that “Islam means peace” we will somehow become oblivious to all the violent acts committed right before our eyes in the name of Islam.
Both Muslims and Christians are on the world stage. It does not take much looking around to see which group is bombing churches, looting and pillaging whole villages, killing, raping, torturing and beheading in the name of its religion. If you put 100 Christians of different denominations in a room, you will find them arguing over virtually every aspect of their faith. But, you would not find them debating whether they’re supposed to be out killing cartoonists, shooting up schools, murdering some neighbors, beheading fellow-workers, taking hostages at a café, or blowing themselves up in crowded markets. Only one religion inspires such heinous acts.
There are criminals in every society. Criminals carry out their evil crimes by submitting to their own evil desires and acting on those cravings. Anyone claiming to do it in the name of Christianity is acting in total violation of its values, and such cases can NEVER justify any supposedly copycat behaviour. However, in Islam it is different. Muslims carry out their violent crimes in the name of Allah. They use the Quran not the Bible as their justification and their inspiration. Every beheading, every attack by suicide bombers, and every violent act that is religiously sanctioned in Islam is carried out to the accompaniment of the blood-thirsty cries of “Allahu Akbar” – the war cry of Islam. And jihadists often quote passages from the Quran before executing their victims. The evil crimes of the Muslims originate with Allah. The seeds of terror and the violence that we are now witnessing worldwide are sown in the Quran. To those who disagree that the Quran encourages violence, we would like them to examine the facts. Can Muslims honestly say that the Quran promotes peace when it teaches the followimg:
○ Muslims are to slay those who leave Islam?
Surah 4:89: “If they turn back, seize them and kill them wherever you may find them; and take no friend or helper from among them. (W. Khan)
○ Sanctions rape of the women captives of war–even married ones?
Surah 4:24: “Also forbidden are married women unless they are captives of war. Such is the decree of God.” (Ahmed Ali)
○ Commands the violent elimination of adherents to all other religions?
Surah 2:193: “And fight with them until there is no persecution and religion should be only for Allah.” (Shakir)
○ Authorizes the complete extermination of those who do not submit to the teachings of Islam?
Surah 8:7: “But Allah wished to confirm the truth by His words, and wipe the unbelievers out to the last.” (Samira)
Surah 2:191: “And kill them wherever you find them.” (Shakir)
○ Commands Muslims to “murder and crucify” those who “make mischief” in the land?
Surah 5:33: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides…” (Shakir)
The open license that Surah 5:33 gives Muslims is shocking. It opens a flood-gate of reasons for Muslims to simply kill and crucify all those whom they perceive as opposing the “religion of peace”. Simply questioning the teachings of Islam or Muhammad can be construed as an act of “mischief.” Yes! What about all these verses in the Quran? The objective of Islam is crystal clear. It is to subjugate by force and threat of force, and if that fails the to kill all those who do not accept Allah as their God or Muhammad as their Prophet! Read carefully the unambiguous warning of Muhammad:
Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 31: “It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: I have been commanded to fight against people, till they testify to the fact that there is no god but Allah, and believe in me that I am the messenger (from the Lord) and in all that I have brought. And when they do it, their blood and riches are guaranteed protection on my behalf except where it is justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.”
Only by submitting to Islam are “blood and riches are guaranteed protection.” The Quran contains more than a hundred verses that call for the Muslims to wage war against the infidels.
○ Hypocrites also become the enemy ripe for slaughter.
Muslims who do not join the fight against the non-Muslims are branded as “Hypocrites” in the Quran. And these “Hypocrites” will also be targeted for slaughter if they do not share in the killings of the non-Muslims. Therefore, if you are a peaceful non-violent Muslim, you are a “Hypocrite” according to the Quran:
Surah 3:167: “And the Hypocrites also. These were told: “Come, fight in the way of Allah, or (at least) drive the foe from your city.” They said: “Had we known how to fight, we should certainly have followed you.” They were that day nearer to Unbelief than to Faith, saying with their lips what was not in their hearts but Allah hath full knowledge of all they conceal.” (Yusuf Ali)
○ Open ended subjugation of unbelievers.
The Quranic verses calling for the violent subjugation of non-Muslims are open-ended. This means that they are not restrained or limited by time or circumstance. In other words, they are part of the eternal, unchanging word of Allah. Therefore, the call for warfare against the non-Muslims is just as relevant today as it was in Muhammad’s time:
Surah 8:65: “O Prophet! Rouse the Believers to the fight. If there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, they will vanquish a thousand of the Unbelievers: for these are a people without understanding.” (Yusuf Ali)
Islam is not a religion of peace, and it has never been. The following are direct quotes from the Quran. According to the Quran not only is warfare “ordained” for the Muslims but Allah also states that “warfare” is “good” for them:
Surah 2:216: “Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, you know not.” (Pickthall)
To deceive us, Muslim scholars deceitfully claim that Islamic wars are defensive in nature. The following Quranic verse belies their claim:
Surah 9:29: “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” (Yusuf Ali)
Carefully study the commandment of Allah in the above Quranic verse. It does not say that Muslims should only fight against those who attack them. The Quran clearly commands Muslims to fight all those “who believe not in Allah” nor “acknowledge the religion of Truth.” And this means every one of us who are not Muslims.
As we can clearly see, the commandment in Surah 9:29 does not restrict the Muslims to fight only in self-defense as Islamic scholars deceitfully claim. It is an unmistakable commandment to wage offensive warfare against all those who do not recognize Islam as the religion of Truth. Therefore, doing anything which is forbidden in the Quran by Allah means that you have signed your own death warrant when Islam reigns supreme. The only reason why Muslims are not exterminating us today on a global scale is because of the prevailing strength of the infidels. It may not remain this way forever. But there is more to Surah 9:29.
■ MUSLIMS AS THE VICTIMS: THE BASIS FOR THE EXTORTION OF JIZYA.
While Surah 9:29 commands Muslims to wage warfare against the non-Muslims, this Quranic verse specifically singles out the “People of the Book.” The term, “People of the Book” refers to the Jews and the Christians. Muslims were commanded to fight the Jews and the Christians “until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” It is important to understand the reason for Allah’s commandment to fight against the Jews and the Christians in spite of their pacifism. Not only is it not because they were attacking or even planning to attack the Muslims. There is a more sinister aspect to it. It may shock you to learn that it was simply because the Muslims feared poverty. A new situation developed during the early days of Islam, resulting in the sudden loss of trade for the Muslims. This was because Allah decided to prohibit the pagans from entering the sacred Mosque in Mecca. It had unintended consequences, by resulting in financial loss for the Muslims. Thus the Muslim victim mentality was spawned.
What was Allah’s solution for the financial reversal of the Muslims? Simply attack the Jews and the Christians and let them compensate for the loss of trade. This is made clear in Surah 9:28 – the verse preceding Surah 9:29. We will now consider both these verses together so as to understand how the Jews and the Christians were forced to compensate for the loss of trade of the Muslims:
Surah 9:28-29: “O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque. And if you fear poverty, soon will Allah enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for Allah is All-knowing, All-wise. Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” (Yusuf Ali)
Just like a common criminal, Allah is willing to murder for money (bounty and extortion) The Tafsir (Commentary) by the renowned Muslim scholar, Ibn Kathir, provides the historical context for the purpose of revealing Surah 9:28-29.
Ibn Kathir, “The Battles of the Prophet,” pp. 183-4:
“Allah, Most High, ordered the believers to prohibit the disbelievers from entering or coming near the sacred Mosque. On that, Quraish thought that this would reduce their profits from trade. Therefore, Allah, Most High, compensated them and ordered them to fight the people of the Book until they embrace Islam or pay the Jizyah.
Allah says, “O ye who believe! Truly the pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty, soon will Allah enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” (Surah 9:28-29)
Therefore, the Messenger of Allah decided to fight the Romans in order to call them to Islam.” (End of Quote)
As we have learned, the Messenger of Allah waged warfare against the Jews and the Christians not because they were attacking or planning to attack the Muslims but simply because of Allah’s commandment in Surah 9:29. Muslims are clearly authorized to wage unilateral wars against the Jews and the Christians. It was Allah’s easy solution to reimburse the Muslims. Christians who refused to convert to Islam have to pay a hefty sum as compensation for their lives. And this is not a one-off thing. The monetary compensation has to be paid on a regular basis as long as they live under the Muslim yoke. Hence, the only reason the Christians were not killed is because the Muslims needed a steady flow of cash to make up for the loss of their income. Dead Christians cannot be extorted on a regular basis. And Allah knew that. Therefore, it would be a lie to conclude that Allah was more merciful towards the Christians as Muslim apologists deceitfully claim.
This form of protection money that Allah shamelessly extorts from the Christians is known as the “Jizya” in Islam. Christians who fail to pay the “Jizya” will be put to death. Allah knew that most Christians would rather pay than convert to Islam. Thus, like a common gangster, Allah enriched the Muslims through extortion.
#Make_No_Mistake: Allah is an extortioner.
■ THE BIBLICAL STANDARD FOR TREATING FOREIGNERS
Compare the wicked attitude of Allah with the compassion of Yahweh. See how the laws that Yahweh gave to the ancient nation of Israel demonstrate his loving concern even for the foreigners who were living in their midst. The Israelites were commanded to love these foreigners as themselves. Instead of extorting, they were commanded to provide for the needs of these strangers. Please read the following verses carefully:
Deuteronomy 10:17-19: “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. [18] He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. [19] You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.” (HCSB)
Leviticus 19:9-10: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. [10] You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident; I am Yahweh your God.” (HCSB)
Leviticus 19:33-34: “When a foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. [34] You must regard the foreigner who lives with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.” (HCSB)
Unlike Allah, Yahweh does not command his worshippers to extort for their livelihood. Instead, he commanded them to love the foreigners even to the extent of providing for them. These are the hallmarks of a true Creator. It is obvious that Islam cannot be the religion of the true God. Islam’s origin began on the foundation of violence. Yes, the reason Muslims kill with an untroubled conscience is because they reflect the same murderous spirit as the deity they worship. If you think Islamic terrorism is a new phenomenon, think again. The success of Islam came through terrorism. We are not the ones saying this. The prophet of Islam himself boastfully admitted to this fact.
Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220:
“I have been made victorious with terror.”
■ LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
Terror was Muhammad’s weapon of choice. In opposition to the murderous spirit of Islam, Christians are commanded to love their enemies:
Matthew 5:44-45: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (HCSB)
This is some of the most profound teaching in the entire Bible. Jesus taught His followers to love their enemies. He taught them that by loving their enemies, Christians will be imitating the loving nature of their heavenly Father. In contrast, Allah made a bargain with the Muslims. He commanded Muslims to murder their enemies and promised them Paradise if they “slay and are slain” for his cause. To entice Muslims to kill, Allah also assured them that their past sins will be forgiven and they will be delivered from the “grievous suffering” of “Hell-fire.” The only definite way for a Muslim to gain salvation is through murder:
Surah 9:111: “Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs in return is the garden of Paradise: they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur’an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme.” (Yusuf Ali)
Surah 61:10-13: “O you who have attained to faith! Shall I point out to you a bargain that will save you from grievous suffering? You are to believe in God and His Apostle, and to strive hard in God’s cause with your possessions and your lives: this is for your own good – if you but knew it! He will forgive you your sins, and will admit you into gardens through which running waters flow, and into goodly mansions in gardens of perpetual bliss: that will be the Supreme Triumph! And [withal, He will grant you] yet another thing that you dearly love: succor from God and a victory soon to come.” (Muhammad Asad)
According to Islamic theology, all Muslims will descend into the “Islamic-Hell” immediately upon their death. (Surah 19:70-72) And they will remain there until the Day of Resurrection. Thus, Allah made a bargain with the Muslims. Allah told them if they die fighting for his cause, he will save them from the “grievous suffering” of Hell-fire. In other words, they will be spared from the fires of the “Islamic-Hell” which all Muslims are destined to suffer until their deliverance on the Day of Resurrection. Paradise will be instant for the murdering martyrs.
Until today, Muslim suicide-killers are motivated by this murderous bargain of Allah. Allah’s bargain is still in force in the Quran. And the assurance of Paradise for those who die murdering in the name of Allah is still the standing order in the Book of Hate. The shortest route to the Islamic Paradise is through the sword:
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 73:
“Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Abi Aufa: Allah’s Apostle said, “Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords.”
■ THE QURAN’S MURDEROUS RITE OF PASSAGE
If you have read this far and still believe that the Quran promotes peace, please let the following Quranic verse sink in:
Surah 8:67: “It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land.” (Pickthall)
Ibn Ishaq, who was one of the earliest biographers of Muhammad, clarified the meaning behind the chilling words of Allah in the above Quran verse.
Ibn Ishaq: 327: “Allah said, “A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.”
“Allah desires killing to manifest the religion.” Do we need to say more? Muslim terrorists are passionately satisfying the sadistic desires of Allah. Even though mankind have long transcended the primitive age of barbarism, we still find acts of barbarism in Islam. Muslim terrorists execute hundreds of their captives by beheading them without mercy. It seems to be their favorite form of execution. Are their acts of beheading a misrepresentation of Islam? Is it un-Islamic? To the contrary, the cruel practice of beheading is sanctioned by Allah in the Quran. And the ritual beheading of the enemies has a long precedent in the history and theology of Islam.
Surah 8:12: “When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” (Shakir)
Surah 47:4: “When you encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads, until you have made a great slaughter among them.” (Sale)
Compare the teaching of Allah in the Quran with the teaching of Yahweh in the Bible:
1 John 3:10-12: “This is how God’s children — and the Devil’s children — are made evident. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother. [11] For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, [12] unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.” (HCSB)
John 8:44: “You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars.” (HCSB)
■ WIFE BEATING THE ISLAMIC NORM
What is absolutely important for readers to understand is the fact that violence is an integral part Islam. In Islam, violence is fostered at the very place where love should reign supreme. It begins within the family unit of the Muslims. Shamelessly, Allah authorizes wife-beating in the Quran. While wife-beating is considered a serious problem by civilized societies, the opposite is true in Islam. In Islam, it is considered as a solution, a process to administer “discipline” in matrimonial disputes. Since wife-beating is divinely ordained and justified in the Quran, Muslims cannot see it as a problem. They simply cannot see it as an act of gross violence against and violation of human sanctity:
Surah 4:34: “Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and as to those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.” (Shakir)
In contrast, Christian husbands are given the following commandment in the Bible:
Ephesians 5:25-30: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her [26] to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. [27] He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. [28] In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. [29] For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, [30] since we are members of His body.” (HCSB)
The Bible does not authorize a Christian husband to beat his wife. Just as he will not entertain self harm or hurt himself, a Christian husband does not have the authority to hurt his wife. This is the kind of love that is required in a Christian marriage. This is the kind of love that a Christian husband is commanded to demonstrate towards his wife. Wife-beating is not an option in Christianity. It is forbidden. The laws of Yaweh are the laws of a loving Creator. The kind of love that is commanded to be demonstrated within the institution of a Christian marriage is too profound for Islam to understand.
Colossians 3:19: “Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them.” (HCSB)
If it is even forbidden for a Christian husband to be bitterly angry with his wife, would he then be permitted to beat her? We can go on citing many more examples to show the contrast between the teachings of the Bible and the Quran. But we believe the above references are sufficient to help you to arrive at the right conclusion. Jesus Christ stated a vital principle in the Bible:
Matthew 7:16-18: “You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? [17] In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. [18] A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.” (HCSB)
■ CONCLUSIONS
Accordingly, we can determine the true nature of Islam by observing its fruitage – by observing the kind of people it produces. We need to focus primarily on those who strictly follow the teachings of Allah in the Quran. And the fruits of Islam are violently evil. All the Islamic terror groups around the world have but one common denominator. They are all fruits of the same tree. And that tree is Islam. Moreover, Jesus taught his followers to live by the Golden Rule:
Matthew 7:12: “Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them — this is the Law and the Prophets.” (HCSB)
In contrast, the Quran states:
Surah 48:29: “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves.” (Pickthall)
The entire Quran is a violation of the Matthew 7:12 Golden Rule. Islam calls upon Muslims to do evil to others simply because they are not Muslims. The Quran has turned men into cold-blooded murderers, rapists, bandits, and terrorists. Muslims commit the most evil crimes with an untroubled conscience because these violent criminal acts are sanctioned in the Quran. The inspiration to murder comes directly from the teachings of Allah in the Quran. Islam is a culture of death and destruction. Just look at the evidence.
Look around at all the acts of violence committed by Muslims in the name of Allah inspired by the Quran and the plethora of terror groups it spawns: ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, its affiliate group Al-Nusra Front, the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Sunni Hezbollah in Turkey (unrelated to the Shia Hezbollah in Lebanon); the Salafist Islamic Group Ansar Al-Iskam in Iraq and Syria, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA), Somali group l-Itihad al-Islami (AIAI), the Somali based Wahhabi Al Shabbab group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Ansarullah Bangla, both in Bangladesh; Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Al Badr & Hizbul Mujahideen are militant groups seeking accession of Kashmir to Pakistan from India, the National Thowheeth Jama’ath in Sri Lanka, which carried out the 2019 Easter bombings and openly acknowledged Zakir Naik as their inspiration; the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
April 2018, the EU anti-terror coordinator estimated there to be 50,000 radicalized Muslims living in Europe.
Does not this teach you something about this religion? Islam is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Do not be misled by the deception of the Muslims when the truth about Islam is crying out on the streets.
Muslim challenge arising:
A proof of the Islamic position can be shown by issuing the following simple challenge to Muslims:
1). Produce a single verse from the Quran that preaches Allah’s love for unbelievers, which Muslims are to practice.
2). Produce a single verse from the New Testament that preaches hate for, or violence towards, unbelievers or any ethnic minority.
Another proof is to compare the behaviour and lifestyle of Muhammad as held up as “model behaviour” by Islam with the pacifism of Jesus and Christian scripture. Remember it is the attitude of the founders of faith and their Scriptures that is the ultimate test of comparison.

An all loving God and hell

An all loving God and hell

By Aalstair Tucker

QURAN AND BIBLE CONTRASTS (REVISITED): HOW CAN AN ALL LOVING GOD SEND PEOPLE TO HELL?
1). INTRODUCTION
# PROPOSITION: ALLAH PREDESTINES MEN FOR HELL; YHWH WILLS ALL TO BE SAVED.
When the Quran and Bible are compared so many doctrinal differences, anomalies and contradictions are evident that it’s obvious they cannot be from the same source. Nowhere is this more evident than in how the WILL of God is portrayed towards their creature men and women.
On the one hand the god of Islam is capricious and sadistic; appearing to derive pleasure in causing humanity to stray, purposefully filling Hell with those Jinns and men he predestined to perish. Moreover he gives people no clue and no certainty as to their destiny. Without atonement nor can he exercise mercy except at the expense of justice.
On the other hand, the Biblical God has ONE will and purpose – that NONE SHOULD PERISH, has provided the means that ALL should be saved, and Hell is reserved only for the devil and his fallen angels and those who fully deserve to be there.
The contrast is stark. The following references show there is only one God who respects free will and takes no pleasure in anyone perishing. Above all the Christian God is uniquely able to show mercy AND preserve justice because of atonement.
(My caps for emphasis)
□ THE QURAN
“Whomsoever Allah guides, he is the one who follows the right way; and whomsoever HE CAUSES TO ERR, THESE ARE THE LOSERS.” (Surah 7:178)
“And certainly, WE HAVE CREATED FOR HELL MANY OF THE JINN AND THE MEN; they have hearts, with which they do not understand, and they have eyes, with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are as cattle, nay, they are in worse errors; these are the heedless ones.” (Surah 7:179)
“And it is not for a soul to believe except by Allah’s permission; and HE CASTS UNCLEANNESS ON THOSE WHO WILL NOT UNDERSTAND.” (Surah 10:100)
“If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true guidance: but the Word from Me will come true, “I WILL FILL HELL WITH JINNS AND MEN ALL TOGETHER.” (Surah 32:13)
■ THE BIBLE
“Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” This is the declaration of the Lord God . “Instead, don’t I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives?” (Ezekiel 18:23 HCSB)
“Tell them: As I live” — the declaration of the Lord God — “I TAKE NO PLEASURE IN THE DEATH OF THE WICKED, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11 HCSB)
“For the Son of Man has come to save the lost. What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the 99 on the hillside and go and search for the stray? And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep more than over the 99 that did not go astray. In the same way, IT IS NOT THE WILL OF YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN THAT ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES PERISH.” (Matthew 18:11‭-‬14 HCSB)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJV)
“[1]. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men; [2]. For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. [3]. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; [4]. WHO WILL HAVE [NKJV – “DESIRES”; HCSB – “WANTS”] ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. [5]. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6]. Who gave himself a ransom FOR ALL, to be testified in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:1-6 KJV)
“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.” (Romans 10:12-13 KJV)
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that all should come to repentance.” (2. Peter 3:9 KJV)
2). DISCUSSION
The background to this post is a debate on my assertion on another thread under this Post
m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158813519528275&id=726018274
that
(i). God in the Bible is love and His love is unconditional – in contrast to the Islamic god whose love is contingent, conditional and only reciprocating (he does not initiate love).
and
(ii). That God desires that NONE shall perish, where Allah boasts that he makes people to fill hell.
A Muslim has no problem admitting:
“Of course it is unconditional love – it’s not dependent on whether the object of your affection loves you back. Unconditional means I love you with no “ifs, ands or buts.”
It’s a promising start because such a definition is not how Islam’s god expresses love. In Islamic doctrine God only loves those who first love and obey him. His love is conditional, it’s reciprocating and it’s partial. But the bigger problem comes when the Muslim is faced with the consequences of his freely made decision to respond. (As if he/she cannot cope with exercise of free will). A Muslim will dispute the concept as follows:
“because you are saying rejecting the gift [of eternal life through the cross of Jesus] has negative consequences and that’s not unconditional love, that’s blackmail and coercion. To be unconditional love literally means you can accept or reject it without consequences – not “if you reject the gift you are going to a horrible place.”
The problem here with this objection is its stopped being a free gift, something freely given and freely accepted. Because it demands acceptance it’s now an imposition, involving coercion. It’s immediately removed the right of the individual to accept or reject it. God would have to override His making mankind as free moral agents and He would be violating His sovereign justice by such an imposition.
A good place to get to the heart of the philosophical issues as to “how can an all loving God send people to an eternal hell of torture” is this debate between Dr William Lane Craig (WLC) and the atheist Dr Ray Bradley to be found here on the Reasonable Faith website. I urge all readers and apologists of whatever persuasion to read it.
www.reasonablefaith.org/media/debates/can-a-loving-god-send-people-to-hell-the-craig-bradley-debate/
WLC in his conclusions hits the nail on the head when he says:
“This problem of the doctrine of hell isn’t really for most people an intellectual problem at all. And I think that in many of the comments Dr. Bradley just made in that last speech we saw that. It’s an emotional problem. And I think that this is easily proven. How many people do you know who reject God or Christianity because of the question: “How could an all-holy and just God send people to heaven?” As a purely intellectual problem that is every bit as difficult as how an all-loving God could send people to hell. But how many people reject God or Christ because they just can’t figure out how an all-holy, all-just God could permit people to go to heaven? Nobody, right?
I think this shows that the problem is primarily emotional, not intellectual. People just don’t like the idea of a God who might send them to hell, and so they choose not to believe in Him. But that kind of attitude is just suicidal. Imagine you’re standing in the middle of the street, and suddenly a friend on the curb says, “Look out! Here comes a car!” Now what do you do? Do you stand there and close your eyes real tight and say, “anybody who would run over me can’t be a very nice person! If I don’t believe in him, then it won’t affect me! I just won’t believe that he exists!” And then it is too late. A lot of people look at God that way. They think that just because they don’t like the idea of God sending them to hell, if they close their eyes real tight and pretend that He doesn’t exist, then it doesn’t affect them. And that kind of attitude is just fatal.”
What bothers Muslims is they want to have their cake and eat it. More than that they all want to “play God”. They accuse and deny God of being able to become incarnate, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. All Muslims boast of wanting to be able to freely reject the “door of Christ” to heaven and find the door of his own self righteousness. They forget or deny the reason why Christ is the only door in the first place. That an all loving and holy God of perfect justice, who cannot compromise His own nature, NECESSARILY must admit only those washed clean in His sight, whose sins have been paid for and God’s wrath and justice satisfied. Hence why the doctrine of atonement (totally absent in the Quran), is an ever present theme throughout the Bible. As WLC said, God’s perfect justice, His being all loving AND HIS wrath against sin came together and collided on the cross. Christ vanquished sin death and eternal separation from God. In essence LOVE CONQUERED DEATH.
That #FACT alone demolishes the intellectual basis to reject the proposition of an all loving God and eternal hell for those who reject Him, as being mutually incompatible propositions.
Another answer WLC gives in the Q&A session is on point:
“God does it for the greater good, which is to achieve this multitude of persons who come to know and experience His love and forgiveness. And what I’m saying is the fact that some people freely would choose to reject it shouldn’t be allowed to blackmail God into not being free to create a world. They shouldn’t have a veto power over what God wants to do, so long as God gives them sufficient grace to be saved as well. Their loss is the result of their own free will.”
He elaborates in another answer:
“[The theological issue is] whether a divine pardon must be accepted in order to be efficacious. Given my commitment to human freedom of the will, I think that it must. Obviously, God is not constrained by some higher law, but He is constrained by human freedom. Theologians have differed on whether God’s grace is intrinsically efficacious and so irresistible by Him upon whom it is bestowed or whether grace is extrinsically efficacious and so requires the free consent of the creaturely will in order to produce its effect. I take the latter view. God treats us as significant moral agents who make free moral choices. He would violate His own essential justice if He forced a pardon upon us.
By contrast, on the Muslim view God’s omnipotence trumps God’s justice. He can treat human beings, not as significant moral agents whose choices He respects, but as mere puppets to be manipulated by Him, and who’s destiny is predetermined by him. Here again we see the theological superiority of the Christian conception of God to the Muslim understanding.”
Because it is Christ the sinless and not we the sinner who has discharged the sentence for our sins, our redemption is not accomplished unless and until we freely receive God’s pardon. It requires of us repentance, (recognising our need for a pardon which we are powerless to earn for ourselves), and then receiving it. In contrast to the criminal who has been pardoned after fully serving his sentence, we remain in our state of judicial condemnation until we accept the pardon offered us by God. If anyone refuses the pardon offered by God, then Christ’s sacrifice avails him nothing, for he has rejected the satisfaction of God’s justice wrought by Christ. Thus, “those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ” (Romans 5.17).
A Muslim trying to argue that, by not accepting His gift of eternal life means the consequence of eternal hell is effectively “blackmail” and “coercion” in other words “you are free to choose to accept my gift but woe to you if you refuse it”, is effectively refuted by turning the argument around and correctly labelling the detractors as the blackmailers. Why should my acceptance of what a loving God chose to do for me be denied to me because some very selfish people chose not to accept it? Worse still they then have the nerve to complain at the unfair punishment they have brought upon themselves! How can they attack God after what He did to send Jesus to die the death we deserve? Yet that is effectively what all Muslims are trying to do 24/7. They mock and sneer and make excuses and pretend a God of justice can simply forgive without retribution. Muslims make God into an appeaser where there is no retribution or consequences for sin and where mercy can be exercised without any regard for justice. In other words they are recasting God in their image and that is idolatry.
3). CONCLUSIONS
No case has been shown that an all loving God and the doctrine of hell are mutually exclusive, contradictory or incompatible. God foreknew who would choose to accept His gift of eternal life and who would reject it but He desires that none shall perish (unlike the God of Islam who made men to fill hell). God in His infinite wisdom elected to make this world anyway because Jesus was always central to God’s purposes to be our salvation from eternity. (1 Peter 1:18-20; Revelation 13:8)
God knew about Satan and He made the world anyway. He made provision for Satan’s defeat and the termination of his tenure and demise are imminent. Love conquered death on the cross. Satan is defeated. Sadly many people have been blinded by him and don’t recognise his defeat, using another emotional response as an excuse that is the evil and suffering in the world.
God cannot be accused or mocked. No one who finds themselves in hell will have anyone else to blame, and those headed there in anticipation who squeal ‘it’s not fair and God cannot be all loving if He permits people to spend eternity in hell’, have no right of veto over those who make the wise choice and respond in love to our God of love. The Muslim loss, as a result of their being prisoners blinded to the consequences of exercising free will, cannot deny or be allowed to deny the rest of us who did the right thing. The only blackmail is with them not with God.
The bottom line is that God cannot compromise His nature and He cannot act contrary to His nature. Remember God is perfect love, holiness, justice and wrath (against sin and all that dishonours Him). Whether we escape His wrath is entirely up to us individually (and that means it’s not for us to concern ourselves with who goes to hell which is none of our business). Leave that to God knowing His justice is PERFECT. Amen.
God’s wrath is the obverse, converse, or reverse side of his love. Wrath is but love spurned. As Brunner puts it, “the wrath of God under which the idolatrous, sinfully perverted man stands is simply the divine love, which has become a force opposed to him who has turned against God. The wrath of God is the love of God, in the form in which the man who has turned away from God and turned against God, experiences it, as indeed, thanks to the holiness of God, he must and ought to experience it.”
Judgment is according to one’s response to the love of God in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-21, 36). But why is this? It might appear that God’s judgment is no more than the macabre revenge of a jilted suitor. If wrath is nothing more than rejected love, God is open to the following charge: “Why does he get so angry, then, when we just want to be left alone?” But there is more to the story than simply jilted love. We are God’s creatures and owe him our love and obedience. We are sinful people who have been “bought at a price” (l Corinthians 6:20). We are not autonomous beings receiving overtures of love from a neo-Marcionite God who has no more claims upon us than the romantic affections of a stranger. The love that is being spurned is the love of Creator for creature, of the One who has redeemed us at great cost. To reject such love is to turn one’s back upon one’s only hope and to consign oneself to wrath and judgment.
The bottom line is that God loves righteousness because righteousness is the very essence of God. We can NEVER attain that for ourselves.
Don’t be surprised therefore when you discover that having spurned His unconditional love to redeem you at such a heavy price you become the object of His divine wrath.
The worst words anyone can ever hear are these of Jesus who is our Lord and Judge: “away from me I never knew you” for the righteous judgment of a wrathful God is all they have left to receive, and is all they can have any right to expect.

Contradictions

God Will By No Means Leave The Guilty Unpunished: The Apparent Contradiction Of Exodus 34:7

1). INTRODUCTION

The issue this post seeks to clarify is simply this:

What does it mean when God says He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished? (KJV “by no means clear the guilty”)

In considering the encouraging topic of God’s forgiveness, we read one verse that is both important and puzzling (caps for emphasis):

“[5] The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name Yahweh. [6] Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: Yahweh — Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, [7] maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But HE WILL NOT LEAVE THE GUILTY UNPUNISHED, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:5‭-‬7 HCSB)

For the record in passing, note the LORD (in the HCSB given His correct name Yahweh), is NOT Allah and there is no linguistic contortion any Muslim can make that equates them, but that is not our focus here.

2). FORGIVENESS OR CONDEMNATION?

On the one hand, God emphasizes that it is His nature to forgive. And then He immediately follows that by saying He “will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” Hmmm…which is it? Does God forgive, or does he refuse to clear the guilty?

A puzzling verse of apparent contradiction can sometimes best be explained with a paraphrase. God is saying: ‘I forgive the iniquity and transgression and sin of those who come to me in faith and repentance. But, toward those who refuse to repent and continue stubbornly in their sin, I will be perfectly just and will by no means clear them of guilt. In fact my justice is so thorough that I will visit the iniquity of stubborn, unrepentant sinners not only on them but also on their descendants who walk in the ways of their sinful fathers and likewise stubbornly disobey me.’

How can this interpretation be reached?

3). SCRIPTURE INTERPRETS SCRIPTURE

After the rule “Scripture must harmonise”, there is another golden rule of hermeneutics “Scripture interprets Scripture” which Muslims also ignore at their peril. A further rule, ‘context is king’ in other words ‘a verse without a context is a pretext’ is also ignored by the Muslim fraternity. All three rules once followed, allow for correct interpretation of Scripture and understanding that God is indeed not a god of confusion (such as plagues the Quran).

The Bible is its own interpreter. We don’t need any other sources to glean its truth. We don’t need a degree in Hebrew or special historical knowledge. We don’t need to know about other faiths, and we sure don’t need the Quran. We only need the Holy Spirit to convict us.

People of every race culture and creed can understand Biblical truth. We don’t need any special knowledge to understand sin, grace, forgiveness, and salvation. These are universal concepts. As the subject of this post is exemplary proof.

The best commentary on any one verse is the rest of the Scriptures. The Bible is unified truth that is ultimately from one author—God himself—and He does not contradict Himself. His revelation of His will unfolds and develops over time as a sequential narrative, and within the context of that story He does not contradict Himself (that is to say, God dealt differently with people at different points in the story of redemption).

We interpret a verse within the context of its biblical book, such is the case here in Exodus; then within the wider context of all that the human author of the book has written in the Bible, such as in this case all the writings of Moses; then within the context of the Old or New Testament story of redemption, such as in this case the Old Testament; then within the context of the entire Bible, with the New Testament being God’s final revelation of His will and ways.

4). THE TWO GROUPS: THE FORGIVEN AND THE GUILTY

So, what does the rest of the Bible teach about forgiveness? Verse 7 itself unmistakably teaches that God forgives sinners and emphasizes that by saying He forgives “iniquity and transgression and sin.” That is, He forgives everything that needs forgiving!

And God repeatedly promises forgiveness of sins under the Old Covenant to those who fulfill its obligations by confessing their sins and offering blood sacrifices at the tabernacle/temple, as taught by Moses in the Book of Leviticus. David writes in Psalm 103:2–3, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity.”

But forgiveness in the Old Testament is provisional, contingent and incomplete.

Muslims and other sceptics often argue: “Well, didn’t He forgive the Israelites before the cross?” The answer is: Yes, but only superficially and contingently.

The New Testament consistently teaches that OT forgiveness was not the same as the forgiveness that came through the Cross:

“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1-4)

Instead of the eradication of sin, the Old Testament forgiveness merely covered over sin:

“[Jesus] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” (Romans 3:25)

Because Israel’s sins were merely “passed over,” Jesus’ atonement had to work retroactively to cleanse the sins of the OT saints:

“For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.” (Hebrews 9:13-15)

It is only through Christ that our sins are cleansed and purified so that we can confidently enter into the presence of God (Hebrews 10:19-22). Instead, OT forgiveness was only a matter of God passing over sins, not purifying them:

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” (Psalm 32:1;)

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?” (Micah 7:18)

The OT saints would only experience a “passing over transgression,” but they were also promised a New Covenant through which God would “remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

Because their sins hadn’t been eradicated, even the deceased OT saints could not come into the presence of a God whose righteousness had not yet been satisfied by the Cross:

“And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40)

Consequently, after Jesus proclaimed that “It is finished” and the veil of the Temple was torn in two, symbolizing the fact that the way into presence of God was now opened, there was a great earthquake to reinforce this lesson:

“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:51-53)

The New Testament promises forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ. At the Last Supper, Jesus offered the cup to the disciples and said, “this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

From beginning to end in the Bible, God forgives the sins of those who confess and repent and put their faith in the shed blood offered in sacrifice, the blood of animals prior to the revelation of Jesus, and then the blood of Jesus after his sacrifice on the cross. It is no coincidence that the destruction of the temple in 70 AD brought the curtain down on temple sacrifices.

So, when Exodus 34:7 says, “He will by no means clear the guilty,” it cannot possibly mean that He forgives sinners but doesn’t “clear” them. Rather, it must mean that “the guilty” are a different group of people who have not been forgiven of “iniquity and transgression and sin.” They are “guilty” because they have not done what is necessary to be forgiven.

5). NOT LEAVING THE GUILTY UNPUNISHED/NOT CLEARING THE GUILTY

This interpretation agrees with how the word/phrase “clear the guilty” (these three words translate the one Hebrew word ‘naqah’) is used in another Old Testament passage. Nahum 1:3 says:

“The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.” (Nahum 1:3 HCSB)

The Book of Nahum is a prophecy against the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. God had used the wicked nation of Assyria to punish His people Judah for their long-term disobedience. Assyria had conquered Judah and taken its people into exile. But soon God would deal with idolatrous Assyria differently from those in Judah who remained faithful to Him. God would forgive those in Judah who returned to Him in repentance, but He would by no means clear the guilty nation of Assyria, for they followed idols and cruelly oppressed other nations.

This contrast between how God would deal with Judah versus how He would deal with Assyria illustrates the meaning of Exodus 34:7—“forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means leave the guilty unpunished/clear the guilty.”

6). OUR WAY AND GOD’S WAY

■ Our way (eg Islam): Fallen people presume that God will overlook their sins, that He can be appeased by an unholy combination of good deeds and shedding blood for His cause and they will escape judgment. They do not think God will really condemn people for even one sin. Or they give the shrug of fatalism “Allah knows best.” This is the casual way of Islam, where sins are mere mistakes which can be outweighed by good deeds and even magically transformed into good deeds! (Surah 25:68-71) Allah just shows mercy and forgives at his whim, but always without retribution and at the expense of justice.

Since there is no atonement and no vicarious sacrifice as the basis for forgiveness in Islam, the Muslim will try to find an alternative basis for Allah to show mercy. They claim he can just “blot out” sins as if they never existed, ignoring the fact that there is a tension between mercy and justice. Showing mercy at the expense of retributive justice is not the hallmark of a perfectly just God. As William Lane Craig argues: “A Judge in a criminal case “has an obligation to do justice—which means, at a minimum, an obligation to uphold the rule of law. Thus if he is moved, even by love or compassion, to act contrary to the rule of law—to the rules of justice—he acts wrongly.” That Islam’s god is morally deficient is alone enough to destroy Islam as a way to reach God.

■ God’s way (ie the Cross of Christ): God is perfectly just. He punishes all sin. He cannot overlook sins, still less just brush small sins under the rug as Allah claims to. We have the binary choice of whether our sins are punished by the death of Jesus on the Cross or by our eternal condemnation. Those who do not have their guilt removed through the blood of Jesus Christ will not be cleared by God of condemnation.

7). CONCLUSIONS

From the Old through the New Testament, God requires justice and accountability. Blood atonement has ALWAYS been the means for forgiveness. And whereas Old Testament sacrifices enabled the passing over of sins, the superior once and for all perfect sacrifice of Jesus is the only way to be permanently CLEANSED from sin and have Christ’s righteousness imputed to us.

Hebrews chapter 9 bears repeating; it sums it up perfectly:

“For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.” (Hebrews 9:13-15)

An infinitely just and holy God cannot allow unjust and unholy people like you and me to go unpunished, still less into His presence. His plan of redemption from eternity, was simple: He punished Himself in our place. He’s the ransom. He has to judge sinners, just like a judge in a courtroom. He has to punish people that have broken the law. That is a fundamental paradigm which everyone should be able to understand, but which Islam completely ignores. Atonement in Islam is non existent and there is nothing offered in its place. Muslims have no protection from God’s wrath. Good deeds can never save you. Fasting, pilgrimages, 5x a day prayer-times observed cannot save you. They are all useless. Only the blood of Jesus saves. It’s all about what He did in love for us, it has nothing to do with our efforts.

Life principle: God will be perfectly just with you and your sins. He will either condemn you for your sins or punish Jesus for your sins. Your choice. Repent and follow Jesus and receive forgiveness; or reject Christ, die in your sins, and stand at the Judgment seat of Christ someday to give account for every wrong you have ever committed.

Bottom line: Muslims you need to act now before its too late. Thank me later.

Make No Mistake: #HisWrathFallsOnTheUnsaved #JesusBloodAtones

Messianic prophecies Comments

Messianic prophecies Comments

Manus Lia “proskuneo” worshipped.

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’ … But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, Hebrews 1:6, 8-9

In the earliest citations of the Septuagint , Justin Martyr, writing around 155-160 AD, quoted it as:
“Rejoice, O heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him. Rejoice, O nations, with his people, let all the angels of God prevail for him,

In Isaiah 9:1-6 there is a messianic prophecy which certainly does point toward the Messiah being more than just a prophet and great spiritual leader. This prophecy is that the Messiah would come from the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. It just so happens that Nazareth is right on the border between the regions given to Zebulun and Naphtali.
The prophecy continues to identify the Messiah as a child who is born who will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.”

The Hebrew words:
What makes this rather intriguing is that all of these words are used in relation to the worship, service, and bowing that believers are to render to God.
According to the following Psalm all the nations will worship and serve God’s Messianic King:
“All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.” Psalm 72:9-11

Hebrew “Kara”
“When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven.” 1 Kings 8:54
“All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive.” Psalm 22:29

Hebrew “Shachah”
“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,” Psalm 22:27
“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” Psalm 86:9
“Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:9
“All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols — worship him, all you gods!” Psalm 97:7

Hebrew”Avad”
“Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.” Psalm 2:11
“Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.” Psalm 22:30
“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:2

Some of these terms even appear together in connection with the worship given to YHWH.
For instance, here are a couple of texts where believers are forbidden from rendering “shachah” and “avad” to any other god besides the one true God:
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,” Exodus 20:3-5
“When the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: ‘Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them.’” 2 Kings 17:35

As renowned Messianic Jewish scholar Dr. Michael L. Brown put it:
… Many times in the psalms, the Lord and His anointed king are described in equally exalted terms, and similar reverence is required for both. Consider these following clear parallels (which I have translated for greater clarity): In Psalm 83:18, God is “the Most High over all the earth,” while in Psalm 89:28, it is the Davidic king, designated significantly as “firstborn,” who has been appointed “the most h…
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Manus Lia Is Jesus the Creator?

The New Testament

Genesis 1:1 says that “God created the heavens and the earth.” Then, Colossians 1:16 gives the added detail that God created “all things” through Jesus Christ. The plain teaching of Scripture, therefore, is that Jesus is the Creator of the universe.

For by Him [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).
Paul reveals several important things in this passage:

  1. Jesus is the exact image of God
  2. Jesus is the “first-born” of creation
  3. Jesus created everything
  4. Jesus is the reason for creation
  5. Jesus existed before everything
  6. Jesus holds creation together

There’s one God three persons and Jesus is the second member of the Trinity that created all things. For him and by him.

Hebrews 1:2 says, “In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” Christ is the agent of God’s creation.

All things were made through [Jesus], and without [Jesus] was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3)

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6).
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word (Jesus) was God” (John 1:1).

Hebrews indicates that God the father calls Jesus, the Son, God:
But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions” (Hebrews 1:8–9).

The Old Testament

This is what the Lord, the Creator and Holy One of Israel says…I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the millions of stars are at my command….I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken!” (Isaiah 45:11a, 12, 13b)

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6).

Source:
²F. F. Bruce, The Deity of Christ (Manchester, England: Wright’s [Sandbach] Ltd., 1964

Death Could Not Stop Them

Death Could Not Stop Them

In chapter 5 of Acts, we find a Pharisee named Gamaliel rather presciently predicting the rise of Christianity when he convinced his fellow Pharisees to leave Peter and the other apostles alone at one point.

But first to set the scene, earlier in Acts chapter 5 we read how the Apostles had been jailed (v 18) for doing nothing more than healing “multitudes” from within Jerusalem (v14) and “a multitude” brought from surrounding cities (v16). But an angel of the Lord had sprung the Apostles from prison (v19) and commanded them to “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.” (v20) Having found them still “standing in the temple teaching the people”, they were again arrested and brought back before the high priest. (v26-27) He charged them: “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” (v28)

But Peter (the same Peter who had fled the scene of Jesus arrest), and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” (v29‭-‬32)

At the point where the high priest and council are plotting to kill the Apostles (v33) is where Gamaliel intervenes:

“And he [Gamaliel] said, “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:35-39).

Fast forwarding some 300 years later, by 313 AD, when Constantine legalized Christianity, the number of Christians was already between five and six million (Wawro, 2008). This in spite of massive persecution and two centuries of killing of Christians in Rome from the great fire in 64 AD under Nero to the empire wide persecution of 250 AD under Decius.

□ More on early Christian persecution under Roman rule.

For almost three hundred years, Christianity grew in soil that was wet with the blood of the martyrs.

Until the Emperor Trajan (about AD 98), persecution was permitted but not legal. From Trajan to Decius (about AD 250), persecution was legal. From Decius, who hated the Christians and feared their impact on his reforms, until the first edict of toleration in 311, the persecution was not only legal but widespread and general.

One writer described the situation in this third period:

“Horror spread everywhere through the congregations; and the number of lapsi [the ones who renounced their faith when threatened] . . . was enormous. There was no lack, however, of such as remained firm, and suffered martyrdom rather than yielding; and, as the persecution grew wider and more intense, the enthusiasm of the Christians and their power of resistance grew stronger and stronger.

So, for three hundred years, to be a Christian was an act of immense risk to your life and possessions and family. It was a test of what you loved more. And at the extremity of that test was martyrdom.

And above that martyrdom was a sovereign God who said there is an appointed number of martyrs. They have a special role to play in planting and empowering the church. They have a special role to play in shutting the mouth of Satan, who constantly says that the people of God serve him only because life goes better. That’s the point of Job 1:9–11.

Martyrdom is not something accidental. It is not taking God off guard. It is not unexpected. And it is emphatically not a strategic defeat for the cause of Christ.

It may look like defeat. But it is part of a plan in heaven that no human strategist would ever conceive or could ever design. And this plan will triumph for all those who endure to the end by faith in God’s all-sufficient grace.”
(From “The Desk Desiring God” ~ John Piper)

Stopping the clock right there in 313 AD would our Muslim friends agree with Gamaliel, that trying to stop the preaching of the Gospel had proved futile because as he rightly observed, if they were from God, it would indeed be fighting “against God”? By the time Muhammad appeared on the scene, a few hundred years further on still, Christianity was already an unstoppable movement. It is a pity that Muhammad did not take the same advice given by Gamaliel, when he declared war on Jews and Christians.

Because Christianity is from God, it is unstoppable. In spite of 1300 centuries of persecution and Islamic inspired defamation it remains the world’s largest faith and has adherents in every country of the world. It is not geographically limited to a single region or a few regions of the world as is the case with many other faiths. It is not based on the words of a single man from a single generation as Islam is.

The Bible remains unscathed and inviolable; the word of God has been translated into more languages and sold more copies than any other book in history. (At 5 billion copies, more than 6 times as many Bibles than its nearest challenger the Quran at circa 800 million). Written by forty authors, many of whom were martyred for their beliefs, it was compiled over a period of fifteen hundred years and across three continents. Only God could inspire and administer such a mammoth task. No one was able to stop the Apostles and early Christian disciples, despite cutting short their lives and their messages by martyring them. No one was able to stop their leader, Jesus, despite cutting his life short via the crucifixion. No one was able to thwart His multiply predicted resurrection in spite of the best laid plan to secure the tomb. Having failed in that, no one was able to stop the spread of the story of the resurrection and empty tomb in spite of a botched attempt to bribe the guards with the widely reported story that the disciples stole the body. And to this day in spite of millions of Christians suffering persecution, no one will ever be able to take the glory of the Lord away from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

“I have told you these things, so that in me, you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Muslims should take note: as the wise Pharisee Gamaliel warned: what is from God can never be stopped and trying to do so is indeed fighting against God Himself.

Atonement Of Sins Through Blood

Atonement Of Sins Through Blood

An Islamist made this comment: “……show me a single unambiguous verse in the complete Bible where God says that Jesus Christ pbuh will die on the cross for your sins…….”

OUR RESPONSE:

Luke 24:44-47 “Then he told them, “These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you”that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds so that they might understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is how it is written: the Messiah was to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and then repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

Matthew 20:18-19 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the gentiles to be mocked, whipped, and crucified, but on the third day he will be raised.”

Matthew 26:28 “this is my blood, which seals God’s covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Atonement by Blood & Significance Of Blood In Atonement Of Sins

Exodus 24: 5 Then he sent young men, and they burned sacrifices to the LORD and sacrificed some cattle as fellowship offerings. 6 Moses took half of the blood of the animals and put it in bowls; and the other half he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the book of the covenant, in which the LORD’s commands were written, and read it aloud to the people. They said, “We will obey the LORD and do everything that he has commanded.” 8 Then Moses took the blood in the
bowls and threw it on the people. He said, “THIS IS THE BLOOD THAT SEALS THE COVENANT which the LORD made with you when he gave all these commands.”

Exodus 30: 10 Once a year Aaron is to perform the ritual for purifying the altar by putting on its four projections the blood of the animal sacrificed for sin. This is to be done every year for all time to come. This altar is to be completely holy, dedicated to me, the LORD.”

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

CASE CLOSED!

Using Logic To Prove That God Is Triune

Using Logic To Prove That God Is Triune

One of the 24 rules of correct Bible interpretation is called the ‘rule of necessary inference’. Some things in the Bible are not directly stated in the words we might wish or choose to use to express the truth it reveals, but by necessary inference, we can legitimately derive such truths from what is said.

Careful study of Scripture demonstrates that all three (and only these three and no others), that is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are persons of the Godhead, who are associated on an equality of being, and possess the attributes and prerogatives of Deity.

Consider these facts stated in the Bible:

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost, KJV) are each called God.

1.1. The Father is called God:

“Is this how you repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Isn’t He your Father and Creator? Didn’t He make you and sustain you? Remember the days of old; consider the years long past. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will teach you.”
(Deuteronomy 32:6‭-‬7)

“Yet You are our Father, even though Abraham does not know us and Israel doesn’t recognize us. You, Yahweh, are our Father; from ancient times, Your name is our Redeemer.” (Isaiah 63:16)

“Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him.” (John 6:27)

[See also: Galatians 1:1, 3; Ephesians 6:23; Philippians 2:11; Colossians 2:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; 2 Peter 1:17; Jude 1:1. These are some of the very passages that Muslims often cite when claiming Jesus is not God.]

1.2. The Son is called God:

“Thomas responded to Him, “My Lord and my God! ” (John 20:28)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

“The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

“The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Messiah, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen.” (Romans 9:5)

“while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)

“but to the Son: Your throne, God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.” (Hebrews 1:8)

“Simeon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have obtained a faith of equal privilege with ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:1)

1.3. The Holy Spirit is called God:

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2)

“Then Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds from the field? Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God! ”
(Acts 5:3‭-‬4)

“because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21)

2). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called Lord:

2.1. The Father is called Lord:

“For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe.” (Deuteronomy 10:17)

“for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on Him.” (Romans 10:12)

2.2. The Son is called Lord:

“Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.” (Luke 2:11)

“Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46)

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord! ’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
(Matthew 7:21)

“When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His robe, He reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord. This is well said, for I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:12‭-‬14)

“For some men, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into promiscuity and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.” (Jude 1:4)

2.3. The Holy Spirit is called Lord:

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17‭-‬18)

3). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called or said to be everlasting:

3.1. The Father is called everlasting:

“Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalms 90:2)

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:28)

“but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith” .. (Romans 16:26)

“And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life.” (Revelation 21:6)

3.2. The Son is called everlasting:

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)

“Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)

“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5)

“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24)

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last,”
(Revelation 1:17)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Revelation 22:13)

3.3. The Holy Spirit may be said to be eternal or everlasting:

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.” (John 14:16)

“how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14)

4). God the Father, as well as Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit are each Omniscient

4.1. The Father is omniscient:

“No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.” (Hebrews 4:13)

4.2. The (Risen) Son is omniscient:

“He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me? ” Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you love Me? ” He said, “Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You.” “Feed My sheep,” Jesus said.” (John 21:17)

[This is asserted or demonstrated further in a number of passages of Scripture: John 2:24-25; John 4:16; John 5:6; John 5:42; John 6:61, 64; John 11:14 (Jesus knew days before he arrived that Lazarus was dead); Matthew 17:24-27, and many more passages. At a topical level Jesus predicted His betrayal trial death and resurrection, often in chilling detail, at least 2 dozen times:
http://www.o-bible.com/BiblicalInformation/index.html#!JESUS-PREDICTS-HIS-OWN-DEATH-AND-RESURRECTION

See also this post which established that Jesus omniscient attributes overwhelmingly established His deity:

https://apologetics.stevenson.cc/trinity/proofs-of-jesus-divinity-omniscience-trinity/proofs-of-jesus-divinity-omniscience-3/

4.3. The Holy Spirit is omniscient:

“Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10)

CONCLUSIONS

Only God is omniscient. Since Jesus Christ is both declared and demonstrated to be omniscient, by the rule of necessary inference, Jesus Christ must be God, that is, He always has been divine, or deity, in His eternal position as God the Son.

And again since all the attributes shared as set out above are features of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, again by the same rule we have established that God is triune.

God desires that we use our intellects to logically reason, discern and establish with the teaching of the Holy Spirit the truth of His word.

May this post help to convict sceptics, especially those that are unreasonably prejudiced against a triune God and above all may it glorify His name. Amen.