By COGwriter
Many who do not live in Islamic countries know little about Islam and even less about how Muslims view the West and what they see of those who profess Christianity.
There are now claimed to be over 2 billion Muslims in the world today.
Since they are part of "all the world," according to the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:14 and Matthew 28:19-20, Philadelphian Christians would want to strive to give them at least a witness.
Back in 1980, the old Worldwide Church of God published an article by Keith Stump titled Seeing the World Through Islamic Eyes (Stump K. Seeing the World Through Islamic Eyes. Plain Truth, December 1980). It even reprinted it years later (Stump K. Seeing the World Through Islamic Eyes. Plain Truth, June 1983).
After putting together the first draft of a new book titled, Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century, I not only planned to do a series of sermons on it, it occurred to me to incorporate parts of that book along with the old WCG article to bring out points many have not considered.
Hence this article is titled Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes.
Here is a link to a related sermon: Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes.
The original article Seeing the World Through Islamic Eyes started off with the following:
The Middle East is in ferment. At the center is Islam. It is time to dispel widespread myths and misconceptions about this important religion, and to see what the Bible says about Islam and the world's future!
NOT SINCE the days of the Crusades has religion played such a crucial role in world affairs.
From Morocco to Indonesia, Islam is reemerging as a political and religious force that cannot be ignored, Moslems are reasserting their faith — culturally, spiritually and politically.
"God may be dead in the West," one observer has commented, "but He is very much alive in the Middle East!"
Since that came out, religion in the West has continued to become less and less relevant with a major drop happening in the USA. In Europe, religion by non-Muslims is not observed by much of the population.
Muslims I have spoken with say that even the religious in the West seem to relatively little about their religion or its history. Muslims do not respect such ignorance about something as important as one's religion.
Continuing with the article:
Westerners Confused
Few topics have created as much misunderstanding in the Western world as that of Islam. Most Westerners do not begin to comprehend the religion and culture of that important faith.
Yet few topics are as vital to understand during this momentous last quarter of the 20th century!
Moslems are well aware of how Western cartoonists depict them, how Hollywood portrays them; how Westerners write about them. The exaggerated and misleading stereotype of the robed, hook-nosed camel driver is well known — and widely resented — throughout the Middle East.
To fill this void we publish this article for our readers.
Events in the Moslem world are too often interpreted through Western eyes. Western observers often impose their own preconceived notions onto events there and interpret them according to Western criteria. They see religion from the vantage point of their own limited experience.
Here lies the root of the West's gross misunderstanding of the Moslem world.
Proper "Camera Setting"
To properly comprehend the Moslem world, it is necessary to put oneself into Moslem shoes, to think in Moslem terms, to see the world through Moslem eyes. From that perspective one can begin to acquire a deeper insight into Islam and its role in world events today.
A century ago, when Britain was wrestling with troublesome problems in Egypt and the Sudan, Prime Minister Gladstone thought it wise to study the Koran, Islam's Holy Book. Only that way, he asserted, could he really come to know the people and the faith with which he was contending.
Despite the questionable results of his Middle Eastern policies, Gladstone had at least understood in principle the importance of viewing the Moslem world from the proper vantage point, the proper "camera setting."
It is also time to understand what the Bible says about the Moslem faith and about the significance of events in the Moslem world — now, and in the tumultuous years just ahead!
In my own case, I have read many parts of the Quran, met with Muslim leaders, plus looked into the hadiths and other writings related to Islam. And my wife and I been to several Muslim nations such as Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, and the United Arab Emirates.
Now, back to the article:
Islam is the youngest of the world's major religions, founded six centuries after Jesus and nearly 12 centuries after Buddha. It is also one of the world's most popular religions, ...
It is important to understand, too, that not all Arabs are Moslems (some 10 percent are 'Christian'), nor are all Moslems Arabs. Introduced among the Arabs in the seventh century, Islam spread swiftly throughout the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Multiple millions of non-Arabs were added to the fold of Islam. Within a century Islam controlled an empire more vast than that of Rome or Alexander the Great.
Submission to Allah
Islam means many things to many Moslems. Literally, Islam means "submission to Allah." A Moslem is "one who submits." Moslems, however, have differing ideas of their faith according to their social class, education, political leanings and cultural background.
Like other religions, Islam has become fragmented over the — centuries by theological feuds and disagreements. Today, Islam is split into two main branches, the Sunni and Shiite groups. These two branches resulted from a major schism over the issue of who should succeed to Moslem leadership following the death of the Prophet Mohammed, the religion's founder, in A.D. 632.
Mainstream Sunni Islam — accounting for nearly 90 percent of all Moslems — is divided into four "schools" of interpretation. By contrast, the 10 percent of all Moslems who are Shiites — located primarily in Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Oman — are split into dozens of sects, subsects and offshoots, some of which are considered heretical by Sunni Moslems. ...
Nevertheless, all Moslems share certain basic beliefs and outlooks. First and foremost is their one-sentence creed, called the shahadah: "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is His Prophet." A solemn recitation of this confession — of faith is just eight words in Arabic) is the only requirement for becoming a Moslem.
According to Moslem belief, an archangel -- Gabriel -- descended to Mohammed, first in A.D. 610, and imparted to him the wisdom of the Koran. At first, Mohammed was afraid he was going insane or was possessed by an evil spirit. But he soon became convinced that his calling was truly from God.
Moslem Holy Book
Moslems consider the Koran's 114 suras or chapters as the literal word of God, superseding all previous revelations (including the Bible) and correcting the alleged "errors" that had crept into Christianity and Judaism. In length, the Koran is somewhat shorter than the New Testament.
Mohammed contended that Jews and Christians had been worshiping Allah all along, but under a different name. The Koran recognizes Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other biblical personalities as genuine prophets through whom God spoke. Mohammed's family lineage is traced to Abraham through the patriarch's grandson Kedar, son of Ishmael (Genesis 25: 13).
There is division in Islam, but the view of the importance of Muhammad and the Quran is shared by all believing Muslims.
Back to the article:
Way of Life
To see the world through Moslem eyes, it is necessary to understand that to the vast majority of Moslems, Islam is a way of life.
Many Westerners — to whom religion means merely attending church services for an hour or two on Sunday — simply cannot comprehend the all-pervasive nature of the Islamic faith in the lives of its followers. Most Westerners have long abandoned the challenge of actually living their professed faith.
Islam, however, is central to every aspect of a Moslem's life. It is far from a Friday-go-to-mosque kind of religion. The average Moslem takes the Koran seriously. He strives diligently to obey its precepts. Islam guides thought and action to a degree virtually without parallel in the West. Religion and life are inseparable.
Western visitors to Islamic countries often make the mistake of assuming that because many upper class Moslems speak European languages, dress like Westerners and may have been educated in the West, that they also have adopted Western attitudes toward religion.
Not so.
The overwhelming majority of Moslems of all classes and stations diligently pray towards the holy city of Mecca five times each day. On Friday, Moslems observe a special day of public prayer in the mosque.
During the entire holy month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Moslem year, Moslems refrain from food and drink from dawn ("as soon as you can discern a white thread from a black one") to dusk.
Moslems are also expected to make a hajj or pilgrimage to sacred Mecca at least once in their lifetime if financially and physically able. Almsgiving to the poor, aged and orphans is also an obligation to Moslems. An annual 2.5 percent zakat tax is levied against one's total assets.
In addition, to these major directives, the Koran forbids the eating of pork, the drinking of alcohol and gambling. In more liberal Moslem circles, however, these particular observances are often relaxed.
Yes, while in places like the United Arab Emirates somethings have been relaxed, Muslims, overall, are more devout to their faith that the bulk of Greco-Roman Catholics and Protestants are. And Muslims tend to see what they think is Christianity as false and not serious.
Now, let's consider issues of prophecy.
Here is information in the draft of the Forward of the book, Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century (NOTE that the book has many references and those other than scriptural, Quranic, or hadith-related ones are not shown with numbers in this article but are shown numerically in the actual online book):
Forward: Why Pay Any Attention to Religious Prophecies?
You may or may not be religious, so you might wonder why you would want to pay any attention to religious prophecies.
Well as it turns out, about 84% of the world’s population identifies with some religious group. And the bulk of the those in a religious group are in groups that profess belief in some type of prophecies.
While this author has been writing books relating to prophecies of numerous groups, including biblical, Hindu, Buddhist, Tao, New Age, Freemason, and Native American ones, this book is focused on biblical prophecies as well as Islamic ones, plus some Greco-Roman Catholic ones.
A Pew Research study found that 31.7% of the world’s population are part of a religion that uses the Bible (including Jews, real Christians, and professing Christians) with an additional 23.2% as part of Islam (which, to a degree, also uses the Bible).
That means that most people in the world (54.9%) are, to some degree, somehow aligned with teachings from the Bible and/or from Islam. World Population Review asserts that there are over 2 billion Muslims currently on the earth.
It has been stated that, “Islam maintains that humanity stands in need of Divine Guidance in order to attain true prosperity in this life and the next.” Most who claim Christianity and Judaism would agree with that statement.
Many in the Jewish, Greco-Roman Catholic, Christian, Protestant, Mormon, and Islamic world believe that we are in the “end times” and often will point to various prophecies by their writers and seers as proof of this as well as to state what they think will happen.
And beyond that, there are people in many religious groups who believe it is their duty to take steps to enable the fulfillment of various predictions. Therefore, even if ALL prophecies are false, the fact that perhaps billions are in groups that believe in them means that you and your family will be affected by them.
Furthermore, since all prophecies are NOT false, if you live long enough, the fulfillment of some of them will impact you as well.
This book is mainly focused on those prophecies related to the Bible, Islam, lands that are dominated by Islam, as well as some of the ramifications of them on other lands.
The Global Religious Landscape A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Major Religious Groups as of 2010. Pew Research Center, 2012, p. 9
Now, let's look at a draft of the first chapter of the book, Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century (NOTE that the book has many references and those other than scriptural, Quranic, or hadith-related ones are not shown with numbers in this article but are shown numerically in the actual online book):
1. The Bible, Quran, Islam, and the People of the Book
Islam considers that the biblically-faithful leaders long practiced the Islamic faith.
As far as prophecies go, various Islamic ones are similar to certain ones in the Bible.
Now regarding the Bible, it was written in the over the course of nearly 1600 years. Biblical literalists (including this author) point to its first writer as Moses (with Genesis as his first book, 15th century B.C./B.C.E.) and the last writer as being the Apostle John (with Revelation as his last book). About forty men were directly involved in actually writing the Bible. The last book of the Bible was written c. 95 A.D./C.E.
The Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek by various prophets and biblical figures. The Hebrew and Aramaic scriptures are considered God’s word by Orthodox Jews. Christians accept those writings and normally refer to them as the Old Testament. Christians also accept the Greek texts, known as the New Testament, as the word of God. Jews do not accept the New Testament as scripture, whereas Christians and Muslims consider the Old and New Testaments to be scripture, in part of what is commonly called the Bible.
(As far as how we got the Bible, that is covered in our free online book, available at ccog.org, titled Who Gave the World the Bible?)
Islam, the Quran, and People of the Book
Islam was formally started in the 7th century A.D./C.E. by one known as Muhammad in Medina and Mecca. Islam was a movement claiming to return to the original faith of biblically-listed persons such as Abraham, Noah, Moses, King Solomon, John the Baptist, Mary, and Jesus.
Its holy book, the Quran, was written in Arabic. The Quran consists of 114 chapters, called suras (or surahs). Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to their prophet, Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel (often spelled Jibreel by Muslims). Muslims believe this happened incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on Laylat Al Qadr, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death at age 61–62. According to Islamic tradition, several of Muhammad's companions served as scribes, recording the revelations from Gabriel (the Mormons also claim that an angel gave them their Book of Mormon—the Bible warns against accepting a different gospel even if it comes from “an angel in heaven” in Galatians 1:8). Shortly after Muhammad’s death, the Quran was compiled by the companions, who had written down or memorized parts of it.
Muslims consider that the Quran is the very word of God, and anything in it that may contradict the Bible either 1) supersedes the Bible or 2) the contradictory portion of the Bible was not in the original text as it was allegedly altered by the Jews and/or the Greco-Romans and/or Christians. But it should be pointed out that the latter (2 above) is mainly a later Muslim tradition. The Quran itself does NOT say that the Bible was altered, but instead it states that many people have distorted its meaning (Sura 3:78; 2:75-79; 5:12-13), which, of course, is true.
Similar to the Talmud in Judaism, Muslims have hadiths, which provide interpretative explanations of the Quran and contain statements attributed to Muhammad. While hadiths serve as supplementary texts to the Quran, they are not considered more authoritative than the Quran itself, but rather offer guidance on understanding and applying Quranic teachings in various contexts. Numerous hadiths are cited in this book to show and provide support for Muslim claimed positions on various topics.
The Quran claims that Muslims worship the same God as the Jews (e.g. Sura 29:26). Muhammad asserts the Quran is a confirmation of the scriptures that God gave to the children of Israel (Sura 2:41), not that the scriptures in the Bible are not valid.
That said, Islam claims to be older than Mosaic Judaism or Christianity because it claims to represent the true faith of Abraham (Sura 2:135).
Muslims properly lament that many humans have used various idols as part of their worship to supposedly get closer to the true God (Sura 39:3).
Some Muslims believe that Muhammad was the prophesied ‘Comforter’ of John 15:23, the ‘Prophet’ of John 1:25, as well as the ‘watchman’ of Isaiah 21:6-9, whereas others believe that the Jews and Christians changed the Bible to remove its supposed references to Muhammad --though that is not something that the Quran actually teaches. Some Muslims also claim that Hindu prophecies predicted Muhammad, whom they say is referred to as Ahmad.
Muslims denounce the trinity that Emperor Theodosius’ Council of Constantinople endorsed in 381 A.D. And the Quran warns of punishment for those who push trinitarian assertions (Sura 5:73).
Notice something else from the Quran related to believers:
Indeed, the believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabians—whoever ˹truly˺ believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good will have their reward with their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve. (Sura 2:62)
People of the Book … Some of them are faithful, but most are rebellious. They can never inflict harm on you, except a little annoyance. But if they meet you in battle, they will flee and they will have no helpers. …
Yet they are not all alike: there are some among the People of the Book who are upright, … They believe in Allah and the Last Day, encourage good and forbid evil, and race with one another in doing good. They are ˹truly˺ among the righteous. They will never be denied the reward for any good they have done. (Sura 3:110-115)
The ”People of the Book” is a reference to Jews and professing Christians, whether or not they are faithful. Notice that the Quran says that the faithful ones do not inflict harm, do not fight in battles, believe in God, believe in the Last Day, encourage good, forbid evil, and are considered among the righteous. The Sabians were a group who lived mainly in Iraq and believed in a Supreme Being, and may have considered that their teachings came from Adam, his son Seth, Noah, his son Shem, Moses, and others including John the Baptist.
Muslims believe that following the teachings of the prophets, regardless of their specific faith tradition, is essential for salvation. Sincere Jews, Christians, and followers of other Abrahamic faiths who adhere to the teachings of their respective prophets may find salvation according to Islamic beliefs (cf. also Surah 2:177). This was also confirmed with me by a Muslim on May 30, 2024. Islam, however, sees few in such groups as sincere.
Muslims have noted that after Roman Emperors got involved, some of those emperors tried to get Christians to accept their preferred changed version of the faith—which Muslims see as a departure from the teachings of the prophets—this caused difficulties for those who would not change to the imperial sect, so the faithful had to relocate to avoid persecution.
The Quran, itself, refers to two distinct groups of Christians with one group it suggests was/is faithful and the larger group that was/is not (e.g. Sura: 2:137).
Let it be noted here that scholars realize that early Christians were NOT militaristic, hence they did not inflict harm. It was basically only after Emperor Constantine that the majority of those who claimed Christianity became militaristic. No Christian, faithful to the original Christian teachings and practices, has harmed Muslims, other than perhaps being, as the Quran claims, occasionally some type of “little annoyance” (Sura 3:111). Instead of sometimes being considered by Islam as a “little annoyance,” faithful Christians are to live the way that Jesus endorsed and let their lights shine so others will glorify God (Matthew 5:14-16). Their teachings should provide hope to all, including all Muslims, which is part of why this particular book was written.
Muslims would not consider that Continuing Church of God (CCOG) Christians were idolators the way they have tended to consider the Greco-Roman professors of Christ. Let it also be noted that those who held to the original faith did not become “Crusaders.” Furthermore, original Christians did not use nor venerate crosses nor accept the adoption of the Greco-Roman trinity (for references on that, see also the free book, online at ccog.org, titled: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?). The truly faithful remain that way, as well as being pacifists, to this day. We also observe a Holy Day (Leviticus 23:36b) commonly called ‘the Last Great Day’ (cf. John 7:37) which helps remind us of God’s plan for the ‘Last Day.’
As most scholars realize, original Christians would not eat pork. According to the Roman Catholic Liber Pontificalis, it was a Bishop of Rome named Eleutherius that declared that his followers could eat biblically unclean meats c. 180 A.D. Those faithful in the Church of God did not accept that declaration. Like Muslims, the faithful have avoided pork consumption throughout the entire church age, even though Emperor Constantine once ordered the death penalty for Christians in Jerusalem who refused to eat pork.
Some believe that “Nontrinitarianist” “Judeao-Christians” (who would have tended to have original Christian Church of God practices) directly influenced Islam in Muhammad’s formative years. As “… it is possible to recognize in the Qur’an some theologoumena that are like those attributed to ‘Judaeo-Christian’ doctrines or practices ”though some scholars think the similarities are “little more than phenomenological coincidences.” The Judeao-Christians “early in the seventh century” sometimes called “Nazarenes were still fairly numerous” in Arabia and Persia.
Another source stated, related to “premillennial” end-time prophecies, “it is nearly impossible to conceive of the Muslim concept being developed independently of the Jewish and Christian traditions.” That same source mentioned that since the Greco-Roman Churches had done away with many original prophetic beliefs by the time of Muhammad, that perhaps Muhammad came in contact with Christians who held the original prophetic views.
Those, then, could have been passed on to him by the “Judeao-Christians” who continued with the original beliefs.
As Islam claims to be the faith of Abraham, that would tend to make it closer to that of Judeao—Christians than that of the Greco-Roman faiths. Such claimed ties to Abraham could account for some of the similarities of Islam to the CCOG. The original “Judeao—Christian” faith seems to be the one which professes Christ that the Quran is more favorable towards.
Allah
In Arabic, the word Islam means “submission to God.” The Bible teaches:
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
"God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
7 Therefore submit to God. (James 4:6-7)
All who are faithful need to be humble enough and truly submit to God.
Related to Islam, the late Church of God leader, Herbert W. Armstrong stated to then Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who concurred with him:
‘The God. We call him God.’ And I said, ‘I believe you call him, Allah.’
Herbert W. Armstrong also stated that like the Book of Genesis (Genesis 1:26) the Quran refers to the Creator of humans in the plural (Suras 7:11; 23:12).
Related to the name plurality and the name Allah, the old Radio Church of God taught:
Daniel and Ezra TRANSLATED the Hebrew names for God into the Aramaic word ELAH! … El is perhaps the primary Hebrew word used to express the attribute of the divine all-ruling Creator. It is a root common to most of the Semitic languages, found in Babylonian and Ugaritic literature and appearing in Arabic as Allah. Eloah seems to be a variant form of El though the singular is not used frequently. However, the plural is one of the most frequently used words in the Bible.
Elohim is the second-most-used word (after YHWH) for the Divinity in the Old Testament. … Elohim serves very well to express the idea of the divine Family. It can apply to every member or to one member without changing form. For example, the plural verb in Gen.1:26 obviously takes more than one person.
El … “a father is El.” … El is perhaps the most primary form used to express the attribute of the divine all-ruling Creator. It is a root … appearing in Arabic as Allah.
So, Allah is an Arabic translation from what is in the Old Testament. And grammatical terms in the Old Testament point to a plurality in the Godhead. Plus, we see the name of God is related to “Father” is used extensively in the New Testament.
Back to the Quran
Related to parables, the Quran, itself, also gives a more scriptural reason for why the Lord spoke in parables than many who claim Christianity have taught:
As for the believers, they know that it is the truth from their Lord. And as for the disbelievers, they argue, “What does Allah mean by such a parable?” Through this ˹test˺, He leaves many to stray, and guides many. And He leaves none to stray except the rebellious—those who violate Allah’s covenant after it has been affirmed, break whatever ˹ties˺ Allah has ordered to be maintained, and spread corruption in the land. It is they who are the ˹true˺ losers. (Sura 2:26-27)
Jesus stated He spoke in parables so most would not understand, other than those God calls (e.g. Matthew 13:13-17). Yet, many corruptly teach that the reason was to make the understanding easier (cf. Jude 4,16). The Apostle John also warned about such people (1 John 2:19).
The Quran also teaches that real believers in Jesus will be superior to non-believers after the resurrection:
˹Remember˺ when Allah said, “O Jesus! I will take you and raise you up to Myself. I will deliver you from those who disbelieve, and elevate your followers above the disbelievers until the Day of Judgment. (Sura 3:55)
According to the Bible, true believers have God’s Spirit (Romans 8:9) and that the Holy Spirit is only given to those who obey God (Acts 5:32)—it is only they who attain salvation through Jesus (cf. Hebrews 5:9; see also the free book, online at ccog.org, titled: Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism).
Nasoraia B. Sacred Text and Esoteric Praxis in Sabian Mandaean Religion. ISBN: 978-605-89744-4-9 copyright by Sultanbeyli Belediyesi, 2012, p. 45
Liber Pontificalis 2nd edition. Translation by Raymond Davis. Liverpool University Press - Translated Texts for Historians, Liverpool, 2001, p.17
Bagatti, Bellarmino. Translated by Eugene Hoade. The Church from the Circumcision. Nihil obstat: Marcus Adinolfi, 13 Maii 1970. Imprimi potest: Herminius Roncari, 14 Junii 1970. Imprimatur: +Albertus Gori, die 26 Junii 1970. Franciscan Printing Press, Jerusalem, 1971, pp. 13-14
del Río Snchez, Francisco. 2021. The Deadlocked Debateabout the Role of the JewishChristians at the Birth of Islam. Religions 12: 789; Schonfield H. The History of Jewish Christiantiy. 1936, 2nd edition 2009, p. 86
From the view of Islam most Christians are rebellious and warring idolators.
And despite what Muhammad originally taught, few Muslims realize that there can actually be faithful, practicing Christians today, that even Muhammad seemed to have respect for.
That said, many in Islam claim that the Bible prophesied Muhammad coming to the rescue of the world as well as some other things that Christians do not believe that the Bible points to.
Islam, to a significant degree, considers itself a prophetic religion. Taken a step further, many have claimed “Islam is the religion of all Prophets,” (A Beneficial Summary of Rulings for New Muslim”, translated by Shaikh Muhammed Daniel and published by The Ministry of Endowments & Islamic Affairs, Kuwait- 2nd Edition 1436/2015, p. 14).
That said, let's look at the second chapter of the book, Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century (NOTE that the book has many references and those other than scriptural, Quranic, or hadith-related ones are not shown with numbers in this article but are shown numerically in the actual online book):
2. Prophets, Signs, and Prophecy
Muslims generally refer to Jesus and Muhammad as prophets with Jesus also considered to be ‘the Messiah’ (e.g. Sura 3:45), but Muhammed considered as ‘the Prophet.’
Christians, Jews, and other non-Muslims may wonder why many Muslims are so devout and attached to their faith. Well, one reason appears to be that they are convinced that Muhammad gave forth numerous prophecies that were fulfilled during his lifetime as well as miracles that happened related to him. Also, they believe that numerous predictions by Muhammad were later confirmed after his death by historical events, hence they believe he was a true prophet of God. Another reason for their devoutness is they see outward signs of paganism in the Greco-Roman-Protestant faiths as well as the rising immorality in the West.
Thus, Muslims see those as proof their faith is the correct one.
That said, many Greco-Roman Catholics assert that apparitions, bleeding eucharists, stigmatics, incorruptibles (the dead whose bodies do not decompose), predictions by certain seers (called private prophecies), and other wonders basically are signs that help prove their faith is the correct one.
Now it should be pointed out that Muslims also have stigmatics (instead of the claimed wounds of Jesus, Muslim stigmatics claim to have “wounds suffered by Muhammad during his efforts to spread Islam” ). As far as incorruptibles go, Buddhists also have them, and several Muslims reportedly are incorruptibles as well, but some Muslims do not believe that such signs are divine proof.
Anyway, like the Muslims, the Greco-Roman Catholics hold that theirs is the original faith—despite changes their scholars will admit they made.
Interestingly, Roman Catholic scholars have concluded that Muhammad was some type of prophet, have written that he helped eliminate polytheism in the Arabic world, and that he had certain positive impacts.
Muslims, themselves, believe that Muhammad was the LAST of the prophets (called “the seal of the prophets” in Sura 33:40). Muhammad, himself, reportedly (there is some controversies associated with hadiths) stated, “And there is no Prophet after me” (Hadith from Abu Hurayrah ). This differs from the Bible which tells of prophets in the last days (Acts 2:17-18), including the ‘two witnesses’ who in the end times are to be given power and the ability to prophesy for 1260 days as well as perform various miracles (Revelation 11:3).
Related to end times and prophecy, notice the following published by HarperCollins:
While Muslim apocalyptic thought is diverse and complex, most narratives contain some elements that would be easily recognized by Christians and Jews: at an undetermined time in the future the world will end, a messianic figure will return to the earth, and God will pass judgment on all people,
For one example, Christians (Acts 1:9-11) and Muslims believe that Jesus ascended into heaven and that He will return. For another, both also believe that Jesus was a prophet who performed miracles and will defeat one called the Beast that rises from the sea in Revelation 13:1-10 as well as the Beast from the earth of Revelation 13:11-17. That first Beast, which many Protestants (and some Roman Catholics) tend to call the Antichrist, is often called the Dajjal in Islamic writings.
The Arabic word Dajjal, itself, literally means deceiver. But generally, the use of Dajjal in Islam is a considered to be a reference to al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl essentially meaning “the Messiah of Mixed Deception.” The Dajjāl is expected to mix truth with error. Because most people seem to be quite comfortable with that, as they have insufficient love of the truth (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:12), that will be one of the reasons Islam believes the Dajjāl will be successful for a time.
The one called al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl shares some traits like the biblical Beast who will exalt himself as God (cf. Daniel 11:36-37; 2 Thessalonians 2:4) as the Dajjal is expected by Muslims to claim to be God.
Muslims also claim the Dajjal will be a Jew. The 3rd century Roman Catholic bishop Hippolytus pointed to the Beast (who he said is not the False Prophet of Revelation 16:13) as being from the Israelite tribe of Dan.
Getting back to scripture, the patriarch Jacob was renamed ‘Israel’ by God (Genesis 32:28) and was the father of the Jews as well as those of the tribe of Dan. But the Bible, itself, does not state that the Beast or final Antichrist will be a Jew or a descendant of the tribe of Dan.
Some Christians have pointed to the Hapsburg/Habsburg line as connected to the Beast of Revelation 13. While there is currently no conclusive proof any of the main Habsburg line has Jewish blood, at least one living Habsburg descendant (from his mother’s side) has the name Jacob as part of his string of names. And that is: Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg.
That said, since billions of people are connected to religions with prophetic beliefs, we can understand that signs and prophecies for even opposing religions sometimes point to similar conclusions.
The Bible points to false prophets with deceptive signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) as well as true ones (Acts 2:17-18; Revelation 11:3-6), in the last days.
It is important to know the difference.
Burns, C.P.E. (2010). Stigmata. In: Leeming, D.A., Madden, K., Marlan, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA, 2010, pp. 874-876
Thiel B. Fatima Shock! What the Vatican Does Not Want You to Know About Fatima, Dogmas of Mary, and Future Apparitions, 3rd ed. Nazarene Books, 2017
He is asking about the significance of incorruptibility of the body after death of the followers of some religions. Islam Question & Answer, 05-01-2017. https://islamqa.info/en/answers/248220/he-is-asking-about-the-significance-of-incorruptibility-of-the-body-after-death-of-the-followers-of-some-religions accessed 12/13/23.
Many details are documented in Thiel B. Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church. Nazarene Books, 2022; available free online at ccog.org
The Bible teaches:
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12)
While we have seen signs and lying wonders throughout history, this will intensify in the future.
So much so, that I am convinced that many in Islam will temporarily accept the coming European Beast power consistent with what 2 Thessalonians 2 teaches, but only for a short time as scriptures such as Daniel 11:40-43 suggest.
As far as how Muslims view the West, here is what Pew Research reported:
Many in the West see Muslims as fanatical, violent, and as lacking tolerance. Meanwhile, Muslims in the Middle East and Asia generally see Westerners as selfish, immoral and greedy – as well as violent and fanatical.
A rare point of agreement between Westerners and Muslims is that both believe that Muslim nations should be more economically prosperous than they are today. But they gauge the problem quite differently. Muslim publics have an aggrieved view of the West – they are much more likely than Americans or Western Europeans to blame Western policies for their own lack of prosperity. For their part, Western publics instead point to government corruption, lack of education and Islamic fundamentalism as the biggest obstacles to Muslim prosperity.
Nothing highlights the divide between Muslims and the West more clearly than their responses to the uproar this past winter over cartoon depictions of Muhammad. Most people in Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey blame the controversy on Western nations’ disrespect for the Islamic religion. In contrast, majorities of Americans and Western Europeans who have heard of the controversy say Muslims’ intolerance to different points of view is more to blame.
The chasm between Muslims and the West is also seen in judgments about how the other civilization treats women. Western publics, by lopsided margins, do not think of Muslims as “respectful of women.” But half or more in four of the five Muslim publics surveyed say the same thing about people in the West. https://pewresearch.org/global/2006/06/22/the-great-divide-how-westerners-and-muslims-view-each-other/
Well, Islam sees women in the West exploited as sex objects. And that even girls are pressured to look and dress like harlots. Muslim parents, even if they sometimes have issues about female dress in Islamic countries, do not approve of how parents in the West allow their daughters to dress and show so much of their skin in public. They do not understand how people who claim to believe the Bible can condone such dress.
And, of course, they are right about that.
The Apostle Paul taught:
8 I desire therefore ... 9 ... that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, (1 Timothy 2:8-9)
Islam sees hypocrisy in Western religions that supposedly believe that dressing as many Western women do.
Jesus taught:
27 You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)
In Islam, women are not to publicly attempt to induce lust. Yet in the West, advertising and entertainment often does try to promote such lust.
The article Seeing the World Through Islamic Eyes had the following related to women:
Role of Women
Another sore point to Moslems is the West's concept of the role of women in Islamic society. Many Westerners know, for example, that women in ultra orthodox Saudi Arabia do not drive cars. They also know about the much-publicized veil and of the chador, the head-to-toe black garment worn by women in Iran.
What Moslems wish Westerners would also realize is that the traditions or customs in one Middle Eastern country are not necessarily representative of all Moslem women or necessarily a part of Islam.
As Islam spread from its birthplace in the Arabian Peninsula, the customs of conquered or converted peoples often became entwined with the practices laid down in the Koran. The chador, for example, is a traditional Iranian dress, not specifically required by the Koran. The Koran specifies only modesty, which can be interpreted in many ways. Many Iranian women actually prefer to wear the chador.
The veil, too, is not required by the Koran. It was introduced during the period of Ottoman Turkish domination of the Middle East, beginning in the 15th century A.D. — more than 800 years after Mohammed.
Increasing numbers of young women throughout the Middle East are donning the veil and covering themselves up with traditional floor-length robes — to the dismay of many of their progressive mothers who fought for freedom to wear short skirts. To many of these young women it represents a rejection of Western concepts of femininity and is not based on religion at all.
Mohammed actually advanced the status of women significantly, affording them greater honor than most societies of his time. "O men, respect women who have borne you," the Koran admonishes. Moslem women were given civil and property rights — a revolutionary step in the Arab world. Men, however, are still considered "a degree above" women.
Finally, the practice of polygamy has not been as general as is commonly thought by the West. Few Moslems have more than one wife, despite the fact that the Koran allows four — if the husband can afford them and treat them without partiality.
Despite veils and certain other items not being required by Muhammad, in Iran and certain others areas dominated by Islam, veils and other dress rules are enforced by the power of law.
Now back to the article:
Moslems Look at the Judeo-Christian World
It is important, too, to understand how Moslems see Christianity and Judaism. Moslems have many misconceptions about these two faiths. In one respect, however, it is not the Moslems who are to be blamed.
Moslems, for example, see the virtual "acceptance" by Western nations of porno movies, alcohol, drugs, illicit sex, acid rock, growing crime and so on. Yet these are supposedly Christian societies!
To a Moslem, who views religion as a way of life, this is indeed a paradox. How are these rampant evils, he asks, to be reconciled with the teachings of Christ?
The simple answer, of course, IS that they cannot be reconciled, for they represent out-and-out rejection of Christ's teachings! Many Moslems simply do not realize that most Western "Christians" only profess that faith, not practice it. Other Moslems regard Westerners as a species of "pagan."
When it comes to doctrinal questions, Moslems are especially dismayed over the Christian worship of "the triple God." This is a reference to the "Trinity," which Moslems view as bordering on polytheism and sacrilege. The Catholic veneration' of Mary is also conceived as idolatry by Moslems.
Here Moslems make the same mistake that Westerners do when they view the veil as a Koranic requirement. Having generally never read the New Testament for themselves, Moslems fail to realize that the Trinity doctrine was never taught by Christ or the apostles, that it is nowhere to be found in the Bible, that it actually has its roots in ancient paganism, which was later absorbed into professing Christianity! ...
Moslems, for the most part, have never encountered the true Christianity of the Bible!
In general, however, the Moslem attitude towards Christianity and Judaism is not inherently hostile. Mohammed called Christians and Jews "the People of the Book," and accorded them special status and treatment. Islam also permits marriage with Christians and Jews.
It is true that most Muslims have not encountered a true Christian --at least not long enough to know how or why someone is a true Christian. This leads them to conclude that most who profess Jesus are hypocritical, miltaristic, frauds.
How do Muslims view Jesus?
Here is information from chapter 7 of the book Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century (NOTE that the book has many references and those other than scriptural, Quranic, or hadith-related ones are not shown with numbers in this article but are shown numerically in the actual online book):
7. Jesus (Isa) is the Messiah and Will Return
The Bible teaches:
10 Jesus Christ of Nazareth, …, whom God raised from the dead, … 11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12)
Muslims accept that God sent Jesus, but do not view Him as Christians do. Nor do they believe that God raised Him from the dead.
Perhaps it should be mentioned that the Quran tends to call Jesus the “son of Miriam” or Isa.
Why Isa?
Well, the actual Greek word for the Messiah’s name in the New Testament is Ίησοû or Ίησοûς. Transliterated into English, it would be something like Ieesoú or Ieesoús. There was no “J” sound associated with it until the English language changed a few centuries ago. Hence, the Islamic “Isa” is probably a closer approximation than Jesus as far as the Greek is concerned.
Many people do not realize that most Muslims, whether they are Shia or Sunni, expect Jesus to return at the time of judgment. Notice what the Quran) teaches:
043.057
YUSUFALI: When (Jesus) the son of Mary is held up as an example, behold, thy people raise a clamour threat (in ridicule)!
043.061
YUSUFALI: And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow ye Me: this is a Straight Way.
My hope and prayer related to the above is that when Muslims do see Jesus return, they hopefully will accept the truth of His coming after He explains who He is.
Muslims teach that they will follow Jesus when He returns. Some basically also teach that the “People of the Book” will only follow Jesus if they accepted the Imam. Scripture does point to a coming “King of the South,” and while true Christians will not accept him as their religious leader, he could be considered in an Imam role.
Jesus is the Messiah
Jesus is considered to have been one of the prophets by Muslims:
And We sent Noah, and Abraham, and We appointed the Prophecy and the Book to be among their seed; and some of them are guided, and many of them are ungodly.
Then We sent, following in their footsteps, Our Messengers; and We sent, following, Jesus son of Mary, and gave unto him the Gospel.
And We set in the hearts of those who followed him tenderness and mercy. (Sura 57:27-28)
But, do Muslims believe Jesus was the Messiah?
Yes, but not the same way Christians do.
As originally written, the Quran itself uses the term al-Masih, the Arabic term for Messiah (Christ):
When the angels said, “Mary, God gives thee good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; high honoured shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to men in the cradle, and of age, and righteous he shall be.” (Sura 3:41)
Muslims also believe in Jesus’ virgin birth, but do not consider that He was the Son of God, but the son of Mary.
Consider:
The Quran refers to Jesus 35 times as “Isa ibn Maryam” (Jesus, son of Mary), a phrase occurring only once in the New Testament (Mark 6:3). The fact that he is not called the son of Joseph underscores Islamic agreement with Christians that Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus.
Here is one example:
That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him! (Sura 19:35, as shown in The Koran Interpreted: A Translation by A. J. Arberry. Touchstone, NY, 1955)
Of course, God did not “take a son,” from among men to adopt. Instead, He sent His Holy Spirit to Mary, who bore a son.
Notice that the Quran also teaches:
Mary wondered, “My Lord! How can I have a child when no man has ever touched me?” An angel replied, “So will it be. Allah creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He simply tells it, ‘Be!’ And it is! (Sura 3:47)
A Christian would tend to interpret the above to mean that God is the Father of Jesus since He willed Jesus’ conception without a human male being involved.
Related to the virgin birth, the following are also from The Koran Interpreted a translation by A. J. Arberry (Sura chapters are correct, but verses are estimates as they were not completely delineated in the text used):
And mention in the Book Mary when she withdrew from her people to an eastern place, and she took a veil apart from them; then We sent unto her Our Spirit that presented himself to her a man without fault. She said, “I take refuge in the All-merciful from thee!
If thou fearest God. . . He said, “I am but a messenger come from thy Lord, to give thee a boy most pure.
She said, “How shall I have a son whom no mortal has touched, neither have I been unchaste?” He said, “Even so thy Lord has said: “Easy is that for Me; and that We may appoint him a sign unto men and a mercy from Us; it is a thing decreed.’“
So she conceived him, and withdrew with him to a distant place. And the birthpangs surprised her by the trunk of the palm-tree. (Sura 19:18-21)
And she who guarded her virginity, so We breathed into her of Our spirit and appointed her and her son to be a sign unto all beings. (Sura 21:91)
The context (which I have read) makes it clear that this was a reference to Mary and Jesus. At risk of repeat, yes, Islam accepts the virgin birth, God willed Jesus' conception, and the fact that Jesus performed miracles.
Islam Claims Jesus Did Not Die
Although the New Testament is repeatedly clear that Jesus would and did die (cf. Mark 14:44; Luke 24:46; John 2:22, 18:32, 20:9, 21:19; Acts 2:24, 3:15, 4:2, 4:10, 5:36, 10:41, 13:30, 13:34, 17:3, 26:23; Romans 1:4, 4:24, 5:6, 5:10, 6:3, 6:4, 6:5, 6:9, 6:10, 8:11, 8:34, 10:7, 10:9, 10:39, 14:9, 14:15; 1 Corinthians 8:11, 15:3, 15:12, 15:21; 2 Corinthians 15:3, 15:14, 15:15; Galatians 1:1, 2:21; Ephesians 1:20; Philippians 2:8; Colossians 1:22, 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 2:15, 4:14, 5:10; 2 Timothy 2:8; Hebrews 2:9, 2:14, 13:20; 1 Peter 1:3, 1:21; Revelation 1:5, 1:18, 2:8, 5:9), the bulk of Islam does not accept those accounts as accurate.
But could this be based on a misunderstanding of the Quran? It states:
boasting, “We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so. Even those who argue for this are in doubt. They have no knowledge whatsoever—only making assumptions. They certainly did not kill him. Rather, Allah raised him up to Himself. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. Every one of the People of the Book will definitely believe in him before his death. And on the Day of Judgment Jesus will be a witness against them. (Sura 4:157-159)
What if the meaning of the first part above is that no human could kill Jesus? And, yes, Christians accept the fact that God raised Him up to Himself. And yes, the faithful “People of the Book” most certainly do believe in Him.
The Bible shows that Jesus could only die because He gave up His life and that God the Father raised Him up:
17 Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down … (John 10:17-18)
1 … Jesus Christ … God the Father … raised Him from the dead (Galatians 1:1)
Now, let’s look at something from the Shakir translation of the Quran:
Isa son of Marium {Jesus son of Mary} … he will say: Glory be to Thee … I was a witness of them so long as I was among them, but when Thou didst cause me to die, Thou wert the watcher over them, and Thou art witness of all things. (Surah 5:116-117)
Notice the Quran shows that Jesus said He did die and that God raised Him up. That is also what Christians believe. Muslims should as well.
Now, for Muslims who want to claim this is mistranslated, here is the most relevant line in Arabic from Quran.com:
مَّا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِى كُنتَ أَنتَ ٱلرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ
This is how Google Translate translated the above line on June 24, 2024:
As long as I was among them, and when you caused me to die, you were the watcher over them.
Note, on the same day, both Microsoft Bing and Translator.com both also came up with Jesus saying, “when I died.”
If Muslims really believe the Quran as written, they can see that it does teach that Jesus died and was raised by God.
Sadly, instead, many Muslims believe that Jesus did not die. Yet, Muslims do believe that Jesus is alive awaiting the time Allah will send Him back to the earth to kill enemies like the Dajjal.
The Bible teaches Jesus was raised from the dead (e.g. Acts 13:28-30), is sitting next to God, (Hebrews 10:12) will return to eliminate enemies (Hebrews 10:13), and will have the Beast and False Prophet (the final Antichrist) tossed into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:11-20).
The Bible says Jesus is the one mediator/intercessor between God the Father and humanity in 1 Timothy 2:5.
Notice a hadith:
“They will go to “Isa and say, “O “Isa! You are the Messenger of Allah and His Word which He cast to Maryam and a spirit from Him. You spoke to people while in the cradle. Intercede with your Lord on our behalf. Do you not see what we are suffering?” (Bukhari, Book of Tafsir, 4435)
So, Muslim believe that Jesus was God’s messenger and His Word, plus is to be our intercessor—that is consistent with what the New Testament teaches (John 1:1-2; 1 Timothy 2:5). They also teach that Jesus was the LAST one anointed by God. However, the New Testament teaches that true Christians have anointing from God in 1 John 2:20.
Getting back to the Quran, it teaches:
Those who say, “Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary,” have certainly fallen into disbelief. The Messiah ˹himself˺ said, “O Children of Israel! Worship Allah—my Lord and your Lord.” Whoever associates others with Allah ˹in worship˺ will surely be forbidden Paradise by Allah.
Their home will be the Fire. And the wrongdoers will have no helpers.
Those who say, “Allah is one in a Trinity,” have certainly fallen into disbelief. There is only One God. If they do not stop saying this, those who disbelieve among them will be afflicted with a painful punishment.
Will they not turn to Allah in repentance and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Sura 5:72-74)
Muslims believe that Jesus was the Messiah, yet do not understand that He is the Son of God. Now, presuming we equate the Arabic word Allah with God the Father, truly we in the CCOG concur that the Father was not the Messiah, Jesus is (cf. John 4:25-26). God is one family (Genesis 1:26; Ephesians 3:14-15) and is not the Greco-Roman trinity.
But yes, God is merciful and will forgive trinitarians who truly repent.
Yes, Jesus Will Return
That being said, Sunni Muslims do believe that Jesus will return and usher in a glorious era:
The Sunni believe that after the al-Mahdi comes, Jesus will return to earth to fight the forces of evil led by al-Dajjal, the Great Charlatan or Antichrist. The forces of good will prevail, and Jesus will rule the world for an undisclosed period of time, after which he will die and be buried alongside Muhammad in Medina.
The Bible tells of a leader from the predominantly Islamic lands, called the King of the South (Daniel 11:40) in North Africa and the Middle East rising up. After what looks to be the start (Daniel 11:39) of the “Great Tribulation” (Matthew 24:21), this King of the South will fight against the “King of the North” (Daniel 11:40-43) called the “Beast” in Revelation 13. The King of the North will win, but this Beast will be destroyed when Jesus returns (Revelation 19:16-20). Jesus will then return to establish the millennial kingdom and reign for 1000 years (Revelation 20:6).
Islam agrees with most of this (though the time period is not as defined, though with Jesus only reigning 40 years per Sunan Abi Dawud 4324: Book 39, Hadith 34), but believes that Islam will then reign supreme.
Christians believe that Islam will essentially be gone by then (1 Corinthians 15:25; cf. Philippians 3:18).
Muslims believe that Jesus will return and kill the Antichrist which they call the ad-dajjal. Notice the following:
He will break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizyah. Allah will perish all religions except Islam. He will destroy the Antichrist and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. (Sunan Abi Dawud 4324: Book 39, Hadith 34)
Surely, Jesus the son of Mary will soon descend among you and will judge mankind justly; he will break the cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya. (Sahih al-Bukhari 4.55.657)
The Jizya is a tax that non-Muslims can be forced to pay in Muslim territories. Some Muslims believe by killing pigs, that is symbolic and serves as a practical way to forbid people from eating and trading pork —which early Christians did not do.
That said, why do Muslims generally NOT accept the deity of Jesus, etc.?
Muslims believe that Christians and Jews distorted the divine message given to Moses and Jesus and that today’s Hebrew scriptures and Christian Bible are flawed, unlike the Quran (Morgan, p. xvi)
However, Muhammad did NOT teach that the Bible was distorted, but should be believed (Sura 2:41, 136, 5:66, 6:115).
Hopefully those Muslims willing to look at the evidence will realize that the scriptures were not corrupted (admittedly there were parts of two verses added to the New Testament, around 1000 A.D. that most scholars, and those in the Continuing Church of God, do not accept as genuine, there are sometimes issues with the translations), but the original biblical texts can be relied on to accept Jesus’ divinity.
Here is a little more from chapter 7:
An Islamic Misunderstanding About Jesus
While the group that called itself the Islamic State does not represent most of Islam, notice something it had in a magazine article titled Why We Hate You & Why We Fight You:
We hate you, first and foremost, because you are disbelievers; you reject the oneness of Allah – whether you realize it or not – by making partners for Him in worship, you blaspheme against Him, claiming that He has a son, you fabricate lies against His prophets and messengers, and you indulge in all manner of devilish practices.
Getting past the hate comments, the reality is that the prophets DID teach that God would have a son. Notice what the prophet Isaiah was inspired to write:
5 For a child has been born to us, A son has been given us. And authority has settled on his shoulders. He has been named The Mighty God is planning grace; (Isaiah 9:5ab, Jewish Publication Society 1985—this is Isaiah 9:6ab in most other translations)
Notice what the Psalmist prophesied:
6 ‘Truly it is I that have established My king Upon Zion, My holy mountain.’ 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said unto me: ‘Thou art My son, This day have I begotten thee. (Psalm 2:6-7, Jewish Publication Society 1917)
So, the Hebrew scriptures (even with Jewish translations) clearly prophesied that God would beget a Son.
Jesus was begotten to be the Christ:
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Muslims are supposed to believe the Old and New Testaments–though many claim that they were altered. Yet, there would be no reason to accept that the Jews would have altered a prophecy in Isaiah to point to a Son being born who is called the “Mighty God” as that would support views of Christians. Nor would they have altered the Psalms for the same basic reason.
And getting back to Isaiah, The Great Isaiah Scroll was one of the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls found by Muslim shepherds in 1946. That scroll has been dated to be between 1900 to 2300 years old. Here is a translation of the relevant part of Isaiah 9 in The Great Isaiah Scroll by Professors Petwer W. Finch and Eugene Ulrich (italics added by them as they were not in The Great Isaiah Scroll):
For a child is born to us, a son is given us. The government will be on his shoulders. He is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6ab)
So, The Great Isaiah Scroll also shows that a son was to be born who would be God.
Now, here is a translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls (3Q2 Psalms) of the following:
6 “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.” 7 I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father. (Psalm 2:6-7)
Yes, God has a son and yes, He is the Father.
The Islamic State was wrong: it is NOT a lie to point to Jesus as the Son of God, and His arrival was prophesied. More on that can be found in the free book, available online at ccog.org, titled: Proof Jesus is the Messiah.
Now, let's look at part of chapter 8:
The Word of God Can Be Trusted
The Quran teaches:
The Word of your Lord has been perfected in truth and justice. None can change His Words. And He is the All-Hearing, All- Knowing. (Sura 6:115)
The Word of the Lord was the scriptures known as the Bible. None, even according to the Quran, “can change His Words.”
As mentioned before the Quran, itself, does NOT teach that the Bible was corrupted, just that many have corrupted its teachings (Sura 3:78; 2:75-79; 5:12-13).
Consider the following:
Right now there is a huge inconsistency in the teachings of the imams and the real foundation of Islam. Mohammed {said he} didn’t start a new religion, … Sura. 3:3, Al-Hilali & Khan. …
But what if Abraham, Moses and Jesus now contradict the teachings of many imams? Then how would it all harmonise?
“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.” Surah 10:94, Yusuf Ali. …
dead sea scrolls… Many imams and their traditions teach that the Bible has been altered since then – but the discoveries made by the shepherd boys testify that this is not true. Subsequently more scrolls were discovered by other Muslim Bedouins, which proved to date from the 1st century, the time Muslim tradition says they weren’t corrupted – and the scrolls proved the Bible hasn’t changed. You must remember that when the Qur’an refers to “The Book” there was no Qur’an.
Yes, the Quran supports the view that the faithful should believe the Bible. History proves it was not corrupted.
Sadly, various imams and other Islamic scholars have taught the opposite for so long that many associated with Islam do not trust the Word of God.
The Bible, itself, teaches:
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
The Bible is complete and profitable to assist all who will truly submit to God. God’s plan of salvation is real.
Jesus condemned Jewish religious leaders who accepted and taught traditions of men that were in conflict with the word of God (Matthew 15:3-9).
Sadly, many who profess Christianity today as well as within Islam hold to traditions that are in conflict with the Bible. That should never be the case.
Remember, all true believers should:
4 Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. (Romans 3:4)
29 … We ought to obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)
We should not allow traditions, including from family members, keep us for obeying God and His word (Matthew 10:37).
More on why Muslims and others should accept accept Jesus as the Bible teaches is in the free online book: Proof Jesus is the Messiah.
Islam thinks that it holds to the original faith of Abraham.
It believes that while Jesus worked to improved matters, God needed to send an angel to tell Muhammad how to restore the original faith.
Muhammad seemed to be influenced, to a degree, by some faithful Christians, hence we see some similarities between Islam and original Christianity when it comes to matters such as the non-observance of pagan holidays, avoidance of pork, not using crosses as a symbol of faith, and even some prophetic views.
What most Muslims think of when they witness the world's claimed Christianity is hypocrisy, decadence, laxness, and immorality. They do not believe that most who claim to be Christian properly submit to God.
Here is information from chapter 9 of the book Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century (NOTE that the book has many references and those other than scriptural, Quranic, or hadith-related ones are not shown with numbers in this article but are shown numerically in the actual online book):
Modern Muslims are Not Familiar with Original Christianity
The Apostle Jude told Christians “to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
Muslims condemn people they consider Christians as idolaters—and the Quran tells them they should have believed the Bible:
Early Christians did NOT have idols or icons. Even the Church of Rome was opposed to them for quite some time. Actually, the Eastern Orthodox call their Seventh Ecumenical Council of 843 A.D. the “Triumph of Orthodoxy.” because they got the Church of Rome to agree with them on idols and icons. But, this is something that Church of God Christians did not accept then, and the CCOG does not accept now.Say: “People of the Book, do you blame us for any other cause than that we believe in God, and what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down before, and that most of you are ungodly?”
Say: “Shall I tell you of a recompense with God, worse than that? Whomsoever God has cursed, and with whom He is wroth, and made some of them apes and swine, and worshippers of idols — they are worse situated, and have gone further astray from the right way.
And had they observed the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to them from their Lord, they would have been overwhelmed with provisions from above and below. Some among them are upright, yet many do nothing but evil. (Sura 5:64-66)
What most people, including Muslims, have seen claiming to be Christianity is a far cry from original, biblical Christianity.
Because of the use of crosses and the Crusades, Muslims, even in the 21st century, sometimes refer to the Greco-Roman Catholics (as well as Protestants) as crusaders.
Yet, original Christians did not use crosses.
Furthermore, original Christians were not militaristic and do not kill for the military. This is clearly documented in the first two centuries of the church era (see also the free book, online at ccog.org, Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?).
After the sun-god worshiping Emperor Constantine claimed to see an apparition with a cross as well as to have a dream, he ordered his soldiers to paint crosses on their shields for the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 A.D. After his side won, many who were militaristic claimed Christianity and many who claimed Christianity accepted militarization.
But that was NEVER PART OF THE ORIGINAL CHRISTIAN FAITH, nor was it endorsed by real Christians in the Church of God. To this day, the Continuing Church of God is not militaristic. Also, what we tend to see today as Greco-Roman priests were also not part of the original faith. Even Greco-Roman Catholic sources admit that the garb, etc. their priests publicly wear did not come into “Catholic” use before the time of Constantine. Church of God leaders have never dressed like the Greco-Roman priests nor approved of their dress as Christian. Islam itself has condemnation for the greedy behavior of the Greco-Roman priests (Sura 9:32-34).
As far as the Greco-Roman trinity goes, it was formally accepted at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. The Church of God was not part of that council nor did it endorse its conclusions, but instead held to the biblical position (Genesis 1:26; Ephesians 3:14-15; John 1:1,14).
Now according to Roman Catholic sources, no Bishop of Rome took the title “Pontifex Maximus” until the latter part of the 4th century A.D. This had previously been a title for pagan emperors who endorsed sun-god worship, hence it was not recognized as proper by the Church of God.
While the Bible does endorse the observance of various religious (cf. Leviticus 23) and secular holidays (John 10:22-23), early Christians did not observe days that came from paganism such as Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Christmas, and Easter Sunday. Those were added by Greco-Romans later and never endorsed by Church of God Christians.
Like early Christians, and the Continuing Church of God, Islam does not celebrate birthdays.
While the CCOG does not observe Ramadan, it along with the Bible (Isaiah 58:6-7), agrees with Muslims who believe that one of the outcomes of fasting should be sharing food with the hungry.
In summary, Muslims who have been turned off by what is commonly called Christianity, before completely discarding it, should consider from the beginning that real Christians:
- Were not militaristic.
- Did not have pagan idols or icons.
- Did not use crosses as a religious symbol or on military shields.
- Held the biblical position on the Godhead.
- Did not eat biblically-unclean meat.
- Did not pray to Mary or statues of her.
- Never have accepted that a Christian leader is a Pontifex Maximus.
- Observed the seventh-day Sabbath.
- Had not accepted holidays such as Valentines, Easter, or Christmas.
- Believed they must submit to God (James 4:6-7)
- Never accepted improper additions to the Bible (like 1 John 5:7b-8a).
- Never truly had the type of priests that the Greco-Roman Catholics have.
- Believed the prophets in the Book of Genesis through to Jesus and also the apostolic ones.
- Never engaged in military battles with Islam.
- Believed that God’s plan of salvation included those who were not Christians in this age (cf. Matthew 10:15, 12:32; Romans 11:32; Ephesians 4:7; Psalm 65:2, 66:4; Luke 3:6).
- Also condemned the immorality of the West (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 1:4).
- Believed in helping the poor (e.g. Galatians 2:9-10) and hungry (cf. James 2:15-19).
The Continuing Church of God still holds to those original beliefs (though we consider Jesus our High Priest, Hebrews 3:1, He dressed like the public; otherwise we do not have men dressed as “priests,” but we do have pastors and elders).
We also hold a few prophetic beliefs that have similarities to those held by Islam. Yet, presuming the differences turn out more like the CCOG teaches them than many in Islam currently believe, hopefully those in error will reconsider their beliefs.
God does have a plan for Muslims. And it is discussed in the free online book Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century, but also, and with more scriptures in the free online book: Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation.
Many Muslims will be converted during the millennial reign of Jesus.
Furthermore, no later than after the second resurrection, the eyes of those who claimed Islam will truly be able to see genuine Christianity as well as God's loving plan as revealed through the scriptures. True Christianity will make more sense to them than what has passed for 'Christianity' by the world. Muslims will be converted in massive numbers when their eyes see real Christianity and the fulfillment of more biblical prophecies.
God's loving plan will be accomplished for the Muslims and others.
Here is a link to a related sermon: Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes.
Here is a link to a related free online book: Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century.
Thiel B. Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes. COGwriter (c) 2024 0624 https://www.cogwriter.com/islamic-eyes-christianity.htm