Continues From Pt. 4/I
The Divine Son of Man
Isaiah wasn’t the only prophet who spoke of another Person ruling
alongside Yahweh since the prophet Daniel did as well. According to Daniel
there is actually more than one throne in heaven, one of which is occupied by a
Being whom all the nations are required to worship and serve as he rules over
them forever. Moreover, this specific Person has the appearance of a human
being:
“As I looked, THRONES were set in
place, and the Ancient of Days took his SEAT. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like
wool. His THRONE was flaming with fire, and ITS wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands
upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated, and the books were opened… In my vision at night I
looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the
clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led INTO
HIS PRESENCE. He was given authority, glory and sovereign
power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is
one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Notice how Daniel sees thrones being set in place even though the
Ancient of Days (who is obviously God) occupies only one of them. It is clear from the context that the One whom
Daniel describes as a Son of Man occupies the other throne since Daniel
expressly says that this specific individual reigns forever.
Furthermore, the phrase Son of Man implies that this particular figure whom
Daniel saw coming with the clouds of heaven had a human appearance. This means that Daniel actually saw a Man in his vision, One whom all
human beings are required to worship and serve forever.
Moreover, it is certain that this human figure was more than a man, even
more than an angel, since he rides the clouds like God does, reigns forever like
God does, and is worshiped in the same way that God is.
For example, according to the OT it is Yahweh who
rides the clouds,
“An oracle concerning Egypt: See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.” Isaiah 19:1
“The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave
the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,and
clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3 – cf. Exodus 13:21-22;
14:24; 24:9-18; 33:7-11; 40:34-38; Numbers 10:34; Psalm 68:33-34; 104:3
The Hebrew Bible also teaches that Yahweh is the King of heaven who has his
throne there:
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of
heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just.
And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” Daniel 4:37
“The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.” Psalm 11:4
“I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.”
Psalm 123:1
The inspired prophets further bore witness to the fact that Yahweh is
eternally exalted as King over all the nations and that these nations are
required to worship and serve him:
“Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole
heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His
kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey
him.” Daniel 7:27 – cf. 2:44-45; 3:16-18, 28; 4:34-35; 6:16, 20, 26
“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. For the
kingdom is the LORD'S And He rules over the nations.” Psalm
22:27-28
“Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make
his praise glorious! Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your
power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.’ Selah” Psalm 66:1-4
“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you,
O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” Psalm 86:9
“But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.” Psalm 92:8
“Thus says the LORD, ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My
footstool Where then is a house you could build for Me?… And it shall be from
new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow
down before Me,’ says the LORD. Isaiah 66:1, 23
“I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and
reverence the God of Daniel. ‘For he is the living God and he endures
forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.’”
Daniel 6:26
“Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole
heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His
kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey
him.” Daniel 7:27 – cf. 3:16-18, 28; 6:16, 20
“I will make the lame a remnant And the outcasts a strong nation, And the
LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever.”
Micah 4:7
“Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked
Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of
hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples
of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of
hosts, they will have no rain.” Zechariah 14:16-17
In fact, just as we saw in our discussion of Isaiah, the Scriptures testify
that only Yahweh is exalted as King over the entire creation:
“How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
… For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of
praise. God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.
The princes of the people have assembled themselves as the people of the God of
Abraham, For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.”
Psalm 47:2, 7-9
“Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD—that you ALONE
are the Most High over all the earth.” Psalm 83:18
“For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.”
Psalm 95:3
“For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you
are exalted far above all gods.” Psalm 97:9
“The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon
the cherubim; let the earth quake! The LORD is great in Zion; he is
exalted (we’ram) over all the peoples.” Psalm 99:1-2
“The LORD is high (ram) above all nations; His glory is
above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high
(hammagebihi), Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in
heaven and in the earth?” Psalm 113:4-6
Thus, if Yahweh is exalted over all created reality as sovereign King
this means that there is no one who is as highly exalted as he. However,
Isaiah’s Suffering Servant and Daniel’s Son of Man share in Yahweh’s exaltation
over all creation.
Here is a brief summary of Daniel’s testimony in light of the overall
teachings of the inspired OT writings:
- Yahweh is the king of heaven.
- Yahweh’s throne is in heaven.
- Yahweh is exalted above all creation as king.
- Yahweh is exalted as ruler forever.
- Yahweh rides the clouds.
- All the nations that Yahweh has made shall worship and serve him.
- At the same time there is another throne in heaven which the Son of Man
occupies.
- This Son of Man reigns forever.
- This Son of Man rides the clouds.
- All the nations shall worship and serve this Son of Man.
- Therefore, according to the inspired testimony of Daniel, Yahweh (whom
the prophet identifies as the Ancient of Days/Most High) and the Son of Man are
both God.
Concluding Remarks
It is evident from our discussion and examination
of the OT writings that the inspired prophets did not view God as a singular
Person. God’s emissaries believed and taught that the God of Israel is a
singular Being who is multi-personal in nature.
According to the prophetic writings there are at least two distinct Persons
who are God. For instance, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the Mighty God being
born as a Child in order to reign on David’s throne forever.
This Child is also said to be the Root of Jesse and the Servant of Yahweh
upon whom Yahweh places his Spirit.
This is the Servant who offers his life as a
sacrifice for the sins of God’s people.
After laying his life down as a guilt offering Yahweh exalts the Servant to
share in Yahweh’s exalted status and rule over all creation.
David refers to his Lord being enthroned at Yahweh’s right hand.
David’s Lord is also an eternal priest in the order of Melchizedek.
One of the functions of a priest is to offer
sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins.
Daniel sees a fully Divine figure with a human appearance that all the
nations worship and serve forever since he is their King.
By piecing all of these passages together it seems reasonably certain that
David’s Lord is the Divine Son of Man who is the Child that is born as a human
being to reign over David’s throne as the Mighty God forever and who also
shares in Yahweh’s own unique rule over all creation.
We also briefly saw how the NT writings confirm the binitarian nature of
God since they take OT texts which speak of Yahweh coming to dwell with his
people and apply them to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In doing this the
inspired NT writers affirm that Jesus is God even though they also maintain
that Christ is personally distinct from God the Father. Since both the Father
and the Son are God according to the inspired Christian Greek Scriptures this
means that the NT authors believed that the Godhead consists of at least two
Divine Persons thereby perfectly comporting with the witness of the OT
prophets.
However, there is a lot more evidence from the NT which we have to
examine. Lord willing, that will come in the next installments which will be
appearing soon.
Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/binity_shema4.html
IHS
Muhammad and Islam in Sirat Ibn Hesham: Muhammad in
the Gospel of John
(I rely on “The Prophet’s Biography of Ibn Hesham” translated by
Mohammad Mahdi al-Shariff, published in Lebanon by Dar Al-kotob Al-Ilmiyah in
2006 – 2nd edition. Page numbers references used refer to
this edition of the book)
Muhammad was foretold in the gospel of John
On page 39 of Sirat Ibn Hesham, Ibn Ishaq is claimed to have said that
Muhammad had been found in the gospel according to John:
“ … ; but, when the Moonhamena (The Syriac citation form of the Arabic
Mohammad and the Latin Barkalitus) comes to existence as sent from God, he will
be a witness on me and you;..” (page 39)
This claim is parroted and expanded by “Answering Christianity” Team:
In the Bible we can find the following four passages wherein Jesus (peace
be upon him) predicts a great event:
John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”
John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from
the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of me”
John 14:26 “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
John 16:7-14 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you
that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but
if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they
believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me
no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet
many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he
will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of
mine, and shall shew [it] unto you.”
In these four verses, the word “comforter” is translated from the
word “Paraclete” (“Ho Parakletos” in Greek). Parakletos in Greek is interpreted
as “an advocate”, one who pleads the cause of another, one who councils or
advises another from deep concern for the other’s welfare (Beacon Bible
commentary volume VII, p.168). In these verses we are told that once Jesus
(peace be upon him) departs, a Paraclete will come. He will glorify Jesus
(peace be upon him), and he will guide mankind into all truth. This “Paraclete”
is identified in John 14:26 as the Holy Ghost. (http://www.answering-christianity.com/prediction.htm)
Now, when I read the gospel of John, and the reader is invited to read
it, I see no prophecy about Muhammad. In addition, the above claims are
mere lies. Below, I provide quotes from the “Answering Islam” team to show that
the above claims are bogus:
Since a quick reading of the Gospel does not reveal such a prophecy in
any obvious form, a more detailed search has continued over the years; and many
Muslims now claim that Jesus’ promise of the Counselor or Paraclete in John 14
is that very prophecy. Professor Katkat claims this in an article on the
subject in Manr Al-Islm, and Yusuf Ali expresses the same idea in the following
note on Sura 61:6,
“Ahmad”, or “Muhammad”, the Praised one, is almost a translation of the
Greek word periclytos. In the present Gospel of John, 14:16, 15:26, and
16:7, the word “Comforter” in the English version is for the Greek word “Paracletos“…Our
doctors contend that Paracletos is a corrupt reading for Periclytos, and that
in the original saying of Jesus there was a prophecy of our holy Prophet Ahmad
by name.
The first thing to be understood is that in Greek, unlike Arabic, the vowels are written into the text.
Thus to change from pErIclYtos to pArAclEtos
would require the alteration of three written letters.
Secondly there is absolutely
no textual evidence for such a reading. Not one copy of the Gospel of
John, from the oldest Greek copy of 200 AD until now shows periclytos in
place of paracletos. Photograph 7 of Papyrus p75 from 200 AD shows John
14:9-26a. The last word on the page clearly shows “PARACLETOS” from verse 26.
Verse 16 has been partly destroyed, but in the middle of the line marked by the
two arrows one can still see “PARACL – N” for paracleton. (“ON” signifies a
direct object.) In the first case the whole word is visible and in the second,
two of the three letters under discussion can be clearly seen.
Also,
Thirdly, although periclytos, which means famous or renowned, was used by
Homer when he wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey in the classical Greek of the
10th century B.C., there is not one instance where this word, or any of the
other members of its word group, are used in the Koine Greek of the New
Testament or the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament.
Thus there is neither textual or linguistic support for “periclytos“.
(http://www.answering-islam.org/Campbell/s6c1.html#paraclete)
For a more thorough analysis of this matter, the reader is advised to go to
“Answering Islam” site. The claim that Muhammad was mentioned in the
Bible is a mirage. Christians are the people we need to ask when we want to
understand their holy book. They certainly don’t go around claiming that a
desert thief is foretold in their book.
Why should we believe Muslims’ claims about a book that is not theirs to
start with?
Source: http://www.faithfreedom.org/wordpress/?p=9451
IHS
Sam
Shamoun
We resume our
discussion regarding the Biblical witness to the binitarian
nature of the Shema, the monotheistic creed of Judaism found in
Deuteronomy 6:4, which says,
“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God (Eloheinu), the Lord is one (echad)!”
We noted in the first part of our discussion that Eloheinu is the 1st
person plural declension of Elohim and can therefore be translated as “our
Gods.” We further stated that the Hebrew word echad can refer to a
complex or compound unity.
We have argued that this creed actually supports and comports better
with the belief that Israel’s God is a singular Being who is multi-Personal in
nature. In light of this we proposed translating the Shema in such a way
as to bring out its implicit witness to Yahweh’s uni-plurality in the same way
that the following scholar did:
“… An accurate and literal translation is, ‘Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our
Gods is Jehovah a unity.’…” (David Cooper, Thm, PhD, The Messiah: His
Redemptive Career, [Biblical Research Society, 1935], p. 68)
We then provided evidence from the Hebrew Scriptures to establish that
the inspired prophets testified that there are at least two distinct Persons
who are God. In this part we will produce further data from the inspired Hebrew
Scriptures to confirm this point.
The Lord Yahweh has come!
The prophet Isaiah foretold that a time would come when the Lord God
would send a herald to announce the appearing of Yahweh to all mankind who
would behold his glory:
“A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for Yahweh; make
straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised
up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the
rugged places a plain. And the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and
all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of Yahweh
has spoken.’ … You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You
who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it
up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’ See,
the Lord (Adonai) Yahweh comes with power, and his arm rules for
him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends
his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them
close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Isaiah 40:3-5, 9-11
According to another inspired prophet the Lord will send a messenger ahead
of him to prepare for his coming to his own temple:
“I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed,
the Lord (ha Adon) you are seeking will suddenly come to HIS temple,
and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,”
says the Lord who rules over all.” Malachi 3:1
The phrase ha Adon occurs a total eight of times in the Hebrew
Bible, and in every single instance it refers to the one true God Yahweh (cf.
Exodus 23:17; 34:23; Isaiah 1:24; 3:1; 10:16, 33; 19:4; Micah 4:13). This
confirms that it is the Lord God himself who is coming to Jerusalem.
In fact, according to the prophetic writings the temple was built for
Yahweh and therefore belongs to him:
“Tell him this is what the LORD of hosts says: ‘Here is the man whose name
is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and buildthe temple
of the LORD. It is he who will build the temple of the LORD,
and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he
will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ The
crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah as a
memorial in the temple of the LORD. Those who are far away will
come and help to build the temple of the LORD, and you will know
that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently
obey the LORD your God.” Zechariah 6:12-15
It is thus clear from both of these OT texts that the Lord (Adonai, ha
Adon) Yahweh would visit his temple and appear to his people.
According to the NT this was fulfilled when John the Baptist was sent to
prepare the people for the appearance of Yahweh God:
“When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to
ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’
Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind
receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the
man who does not fall away on account of me.’ As John's disciples were leaving,
Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: ‘What did you go out into the
desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A
man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’
palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you,
and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “I
will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”’”
Matthew 11:2-10 – cf. Luke 7:18-28 NIV
However, the Lord whom the Baptist came to prepare the way for was none
other than our Lord Jesus Christ!
“The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is
written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way’ — ‘a voice of one calling in the
desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”’
And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside
and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they
were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel's
hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
And this was his message: ‘After me will come one more powerful than I,
the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I
baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’”
Mark 1:1-8
And:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen
his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out,
saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me
because he was before me.”’ … John replied in the words of Isaiah the
prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the desert, “Make straight the way
for the Lord.” … I baptize with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you
stands one you do not know.He is the one who comes after me, the thongs
of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ … The next day John saw
Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, “A man who comes after
me has surpassed me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but
the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to
Israel.’ Then John gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven
as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one
who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the
Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.”
I
have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.’ The next day John was
there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said,
‘Look, the Lamb of God!’ John 1:14-15, 23, 26-27, 29-36
By identifying Jesus as the Lord Yahweh whom the prophets Isaiah and
Malachi said is coming to visit his people the NT is once again affirming the
binitarian nature of Yahweh. According to these inspired Christian Scriptures
both the Father and Jesus Christ his beloved Son are Yahweh God.
To summarize the NT application of Isaiah 40 and Malachi 3,
- According to the inspired NT documents, specifically the Gospels, the
Baptist was the voice of Isaiah 40 and the messenger of Malachi 3 who came to
prepare the way for the visible appearing of Yahweh God.
- The Baptist testified that God sent him to prepare the people for the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Therefore, Jesus is Yahweh himself and the very Lord (Adonai, ha
Adon) whom the prophets predicted would come to his temple to purify and
save his people.
- At the same time, the Christian Scriptures attest that Jesus is
personally distinguished from God the Father.
- Therefore, both the Father and the Son are Yahweh God and the Lord (Adonai,
ha Adon) according to the testimony of the NT.
We now come to our next section.
The Mighty God who rules from on high
Isaiah also predicted the birth of a Child who would be the Mighty God
himself coming to rule on David’s throne forever:
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God (el gibbor), Eternal Father,
Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of
peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and
to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore.
The
zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7
What makes this prophecy rather amazing is that this same prophet testifies
that not only is Yahweh the Mighty God but that he is actually the only God
that exists!
“Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who
have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly
rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, the remnant of
Jacob, to the Mighty God (el gibbor).” Isaiah 10:20-21
“‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD, and my servant whom I have
chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before
me no god (el) was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I,
am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.” Isaiah 43:10-11
“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God (el), and
there is no other; I am God (elohim), and there is none like me. I make
known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I
say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I
summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I
have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.”
Isaiah 46:9-11 – cf. 44:6-8; 45:5-6, 21
But there is more to the picture. The Child who reigns on David’s throne
is said to be the Root of Jesse, the father of king David, and that he shall be
given the Spirit of Yahweh in order to accomplish Yahweh’s purpose:
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his ROOTS a
Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the
Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the
Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD, and he will delight in the
fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by
what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge
the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of
the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath
of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and
faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the
lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the
yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with
the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like
the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child
put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all
my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as
the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a
banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest
will be glorious.” Isaiah 11:1-10
It is evident from the above passage that the Child that shall be born
to rule on David’s throne is personally distinct from Yahweh God, that he and
Yahweh are two distinct Persons. And yet Isaiah identifies this same Child as
the Mighty God which, as we saw earlier, is a Divine title given to Yahweh
himself. This means that the Child must also be Yahweh God even though he is
personally distinct from Yahweh!
Thus, according to the prophet Isaiah there are two distinct Persons who
are God, namely Yahweh and the Child who reigns on the throne of David who is
also called the Root of Jesse.
To sum up what we have learned from the inspired book of Isaiah thus far:
- A Child shall be born to reign on David’s throne who shall be the Mighty
God.
- Not only is Yahweh expressly called the Mighty God but he is the only God
that exists according to the inspired prophet.
- Therefore, this Child must be Yahweh God.
- At the same time however, the inspired prophet distinguishes this Child
from Yahweh God.
- This means that there are at least two distinct Persons who are Yahweh
God, which means that Isaiah was another prophet who knew and wrote of the
binitarian nature of God.
The Exalted Servant from Jesse’s Roots
We are not done yet. There is evidence that this same Root spoken of in
Isaiah 11 is the same Person whom Isaiah later identifies as the Servant of
Yahweh, the One who shall be highly exalted after offering his life as a
sacrifice for the sins of God’s people in order to bring God’s salvation to the
ends of the earth. In fact, according to Isaiah this is the only One whom
Yahweh will share his glory with:
“Here is my Servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I
will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He
will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not
break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he
will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he
establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope. This
is what God the LORD says—he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its
people, and life to those who walk on it: ‘I, the LORD, have called you in
righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to
open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the
dungeon those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD; that is my name! I will
not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.’” Isaiah
42:1-8
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a ROOT out of
dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing
in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by
men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide
their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up
our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken
by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our
transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought
us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like
sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the
LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and
afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his
mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his
descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the
transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave
with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no
violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD's will to crush
him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt
offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will
of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will
see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous
Servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore
I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with
the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered
with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for
the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:1-12
Like the Root of Jesse, Yahweh’s Servant is also called a Root which
comes out of dry ground. And like Jesse’s Root, this Servant is empowered by
Yahweh’s Spirit to judge righteously and to bring salvation to the nations who
rally to him. In light of these considerations it seems reasonably certain that
the Root of Jesse and Yahweh’s Servant are one and the same individual.
What makes this particular Servant so amazing is that Isaiah speaks of his
exaltation in the same way that the prophet describes Yahweh’s exalted status
and throne:
“Behold, My Servant will prosper, He will be high and
lifted up (yarum wa nissa) and greatly exalted (we-gabah
me’od). Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His
appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.
Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of
Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard
they will understand.” Isaiah 52:13-15
Now compare this with the following verses:
“In the year that King Uzzi'ah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up (ram wa nissa); and his train filled the
temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered
his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one
called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts; the whole
earth is full of his glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the
voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe
is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst
of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of hosts!’”
Isaiah 6:1-5
“Yahweh is exalted, for he dwells on high (marom); he
will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.” Isaiah 33:5
“For thus says the high and lofty One (ram wa-nissa) who
inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:‘I dwell in the high (marom) and
holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite/crushed and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”
Isaiah 57:15
Astonishingly, according to the inspired prophet Yahweh alone will be
exalted whereas everyone else will be humbled:
“The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall
be humbled; and Yahweh ALONE will be exalted in that day. For
Yahweh of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty (ram),
against all that is lifted up (nissa) and high; against all the
cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up (ha ramim wa ha nissa’im)…
And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the pride of men shall be
brought low; and Yahweh ALONE will be exalted in that day.”
Isaiah 2:11-13, 17
Thus, by using the same language to describe the exaltation of Yahweh’s
Servant Isaiah is emphatically testifying that the Servant will be exalted to
sit on Yahweh’s own throne so as to share in Yahweh’s unique rule over all
creation!
Here we will quote the renowned Messianic Jewish scholar Dr. Michael L.
Brown who helps us to see how some of the traditional Jewish sources
interpreted Isaiah 52:13:
“Because this traditional literature is so vast – it is rightly called the
sea of the Talmud – and because it is possible to find a totally obscure,
almost unknown text to support virtually any position, we will focus instead on
one widely quoted Rabbinic tradition, namely, the midrash to Isaiah 52:13… This
is explained in the midrash as follows:
Who art thou, o great mountain? (Zech. iv. 7). This refers to the
King Messiah. And why does he call him ‘the great mountain’ because he is
greater than the patriarchs as it is said, ‘My servant shall be high and lifted
up, and lofty exceedingly’ – he will be higher than Abraham, who says, ‘I raise
high my hands unto the Lord’ (Gen. xiv. 22); lifted up above Moses, to
whom it is said, ‘Lifted itup into thy bosom’ (Num. xi. 12); loftier
than the ministering angels, of whom it is written, ‘Their wheels were lofty
and terrible’ (Ez. i. 18). And out of whom does he come forth? Out of David
(Yalqut Shim‘oni 2:571).
“Why did the midrash attribute such prominence to the Messiah, based on
Isaiah 52:13? It could be that elsewhere in Isaiah such terms of exaltation
(raised, lifted up, highly exalted) were rightly applied only to God. In fact,
you could argue that nowhere in the entire Book of Isaiah is anyone – including
the Lord himself – described in such exalted terms, and so it was only
natural that this would catch the attention of the midrashic preachers and
writers. What is more interesting than this is the commentary on this
midrash by leading traditional scholars. Rabbi Don Yitshaq Abravanel, the
illustrious Spanish Bible commentator and philosopher, helps put this in
context. Noting that the midrash explains Isaiah 52:13 with reference to ‘the King
Messiah,’ Abravanel states:
It is extremely difficult to understand how any child of man can be exalted
above Moses, of whom the Law bears witness, saying, ‘No prophet ever arose in
Israel like him’ (Deut. xxxiv. 10); still more so, then, how any one ‘born of
woman’ can assume a position higher than the angels, whose substance admits of
nothing above it except the substance of the First Cause: from the latter
expression, in fact, Christian teachers have attempted to establish their
doctrine of the Divinity of the Messiah…
“But it is not just ‘the heretics’ who have interpreted this midrash
with regard to the Messiah’s exalted nature. Some traditional Jewish
commentators have not been far behind. Just look at what Rabbi Ibn Crispin
(fourteenth century) wrote about the Messiah’s exaltation above the angels.
Exceedingly above the ministering angels, because that same
comprehensive intelligence will approach [God] more nearly than theirs. For
it is an exceedingly high privilege, that one whose nature is compound and
material should attain to a grade of intelligence more nearly Divine than that
which belongs to the incorporeal; and so it is said of him that ‘his
strength is greater than that of the ministering angels,’ because these have no
impediment in the exercise of their intellect, whereas that which is compound
is continually impeded in consequence of material element in its nature.
Accordingly the grade of his intelligence being such as this, he is said to be
‘lofty exceedingly,’ and his strength to be ‘greater than the angels.’
… And when this ‘servant of the Lord’ is born, from the day when he comes
to years of discretion, he will continue to be marked by the possession of
intelligence enabling him to acquire from God what it is impossible for any
to acquire until he reaches the height whither none of the sons of men, except
him, have ever ascended.
“When you couple descriptions such as these with other traditions that
speak of the Messiah’s preexistence (or the preexistence of his name; see Pesahim
54a; Nedarim 39b) or his coming in the clouds of heaven (b. Sanhedrin 96b-97a),
it is easy to see that there are, in fact, Jewish traditions that recognize the
exalted, superhuman, and even semi-divine stature of the Messiah…” (Brown, Answering
Jewish Objections to Jesus [Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 2000], Volume
Two. Theological Objections, 3.22. Jews don’t believe in a divine Messiah,
pp. 214-216; bold emphasis ours)
A truly amazing Servant indeed!
To summarize Isaiah’s inspired witness to God’s uni-plurality:
- The Mighty God will be born as a Child in order to reign on David’s
throne forever.
- Yahweh is said to be the Mighty God and the only God who exists.
- Therefore, the Child who is born is none other than Yahweh himself.
- At the same time this Child is said to be the Root of Jesse and Yahweh’s
Servant who is exalted to share in Yahweh’s own rule over all creation.
- The Child must therefore be personally distinct from Yahweh.
- This means that there are at least two distinct Divine Persons of God.
Continues on Pt. 4/II
Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/binity_shema4.html
IHS
Continues from Part I
Jesus Christ – The Rab of all Creation
The Arabic Bible further testifies that Jesus Christ is the Rab or
Lord of all creation:
“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good
news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all (hatha huwa Rabu
al-kulli).” Acts 10:36
As the Lord of all Jesus sovereignly rules over both the living and the
dead:
“For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be
the Lord of both the living and the dead (likay yasouda ala
al-ahya' wal-amwat).” Romans 14:9
The same Arabic translation also says that a person must confess Jesus as
his Rab and believe that God has raised him from the dead in order to be
saved:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus (b’al-Rabi
Yasu’a) and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
However, the only way one can truly confess that Jesus is Rab is if
the Holy Spirit enables him/her to do so:
“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God
says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by
the Holy Spirit (Yasu’a Rabun illa b'al-Ruhi al-Qudusi).” 1 Corinthians
12:3
In fact, according to Jesus the prophet David himself was inspired by the
Holy Spirit to confess that the Christ was his Rab:
“While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, ‘How is it that
the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself,
speaking by the Holy Spirit (al-Ruh al-Qudus), declared: “The
Lord said to my Lord (Qala al-Rabu li-Rabi): “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet.’” David himself calls him “Lord
(Raban).” How then can he be his son?’ The large crowd listened to him
with delight.” Mark 12:36-37
Jesus was quoting the following Psalm:
“The LORD says to my Lord (Qala al-Rabu li-Rabi): ‘Sit at my
right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Psalm 110:1
One of Jesus’ disciples also quoted this Psalm to prove that Christ is Rab:
“Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both
died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a
prophet, and knowing that God (Allaha) had sworn with an oath to
him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and
spoke of the resurrection of the Christ (al-Masiha), that he was
not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus
(Yasu’a) God (Allahu) raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being
therefore exalted at the right hand of God (Allahi), and having received from
the Father (al-Abi) the promise of the Holy Spirit (al-Ruhi al-Qudusi), he has
poured out this which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into
the heavens; but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord (Qala al-Rabu
li-Rabi), Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy
feet.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God
(Allaha) has made him both Lord and Christ (Raban wa Masihan), this Jesus
(Yasu’a) whom you crucified.’” Acts 2:33-36
Not only is Jesus the Rab of all he is also the Ilah (God)
and Heir who rules forever and who created and sustains all things:
“Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God (Rabi wa
Ilahi)!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have
believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Jesus did
many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not
recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God (Yasu’a huwa al-Masih ibn Allah), and
that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:28-31
And:
“In the past God (Allahu) poke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has
spoken to us by his Son (ibnihi), whom he appointed heir of all things
(ja‘alaho warithan likuli shai’in), and through whom he made the universe. The
Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided
purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven…
But about the Son (al-ibn) he [the Father] says, ‘Your throne, O
God (Ya Allahu), will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be
the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God (Allahu Ilahuka), has set you above your
companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.’ He also says, ‘In the
beginning, O Lord (Ya Rabu), you laid the foundations of the
earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you
remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a
robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.’” Hebrews 1:1-3, 8-12
Muhammad, on the other hand, taught that his god is the only Rab and
that Allah would never allow any person to take a prophet or angel as a Rab
in place of him:
Say (O Muhammad): “O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to
a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah, and
that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take
others as lords (arbaban) besides Allah.” Then, if they turn away,
say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims.” S. 3:64 Hilali-Khan
Nor would he order you to take angels and Prophets for lords (arbaban)
(gods). Would he order you to disbelieve after you have submitted to
Allah's Will? (Tafsir At-Tabari). S. 3:80 Hilali-Khan
This next passage has been traditionally interpreted to mean that Allah has
even forbidden people from taking Jesus as one’s Rab:
They have taken as lords (arbaban) beside Allah their rabbis and their monks
and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One
God. There is no God save Him. Be He Glorified from all that they ascribe as
partner (unto Him)! S. 9:31 Pickthall
We say traditionally since the grammar and structure actually imply that
Jesus is supposed to be taken as Lord alongside Allah. For the details please
consult the following articles:
http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Incoherence/many_gods.htm
http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/jesus_lord.html
Moreover, according to Muslim scholars Rab is actually the greatest
name of Allah:
The Meaning of Ar-Rabb, the Lord
Ar-Rabb is the owner who has full authority over his property. Ar-Rabb,
linguistically means, the master or the one who has the authority to lead. All
of these meanings are correct for Allah. When it is alone, the word Rabb
is used ONLY for Allah. As for other than Allah, it can be used to say
Rabb Ad-Dar, the master of such and such object. Further, it was
reported that Ar-Rabb is Allah's Greatest Name. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 1:2;
capital and underline emphasis ours)
Muhammad also taught that Allah is the one who inherits all things:
But as for those who are niggardly with the bounty Allah has given them,
let them not suppose it is better for them; nay, it is worse for them; that
they were niggardly with they shall have hung about their necks on the
Resurrection Day; and to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and
earth (wa lillahi meerathu al-samawati wa al-ardi); and Allah is aware
of the things you do. S. 3:180
And certainly We! We it is Who give life, and cause death and We are
the Inheritors (wa nahnu al-warithoona). S. 15:23
Verily! We will inherit (nahnu narithu) the earth and whatsoever is
thereon. And to Us they all shall be returned, S. 19:40
Again, do these Muslims want us to seriously believe that their Allah is
the same Allah worshiped by Arabic speaking Christians? Do they really want us
to accept that the Allah spoken of in the Arabic Bible is the same Allah
worshiped by Muhammad when the Arabic Bible teaches the following?
Allah is the Father and the Son.
Allah so loved the world that he sent his only Son to save it by dying on
the cross and rising from the dead.
Jesus is the Rab or Lord of all creation and the Heir of all things.
A person must confess that Jesus is Rab and that God raised him from the dead in order to be saved.
It is the Holy Spirit who enables a person to confess Jesus as Rab.
The Holy Spirit even inspired the prophet David to worship and confess
Jesus the Messiah as his Rab.
Since Islam clearly denies all of these Biblical truths how can these
dawagandists use the Arabic Bible to prove that Muhammad's god cannot be a
false god or even Satan himself since the word Allah is used in the Arabic
translation of the inspired Scriptures?
Many False Prophets and Antichrists have Gone into the World
These Muslim propagandists are apparently unaware of the fact that
according to the Holy Bible Muhammad is a false prophet and an antichrist which
means that his god who inspired him is actually the spirit of antichrist.
The Scriptures plainly speak of false apostles who are/will be deceived and
inspired by Satan to mislead people by proclaiming another Jesus and/or
preaching a different Gospel:
“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one
husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I
am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds
may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For
if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached,
or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different
gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough… I will keep on doing what I
am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to
be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such men are
false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no
wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then,
if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their
end will be what their actions deserve.” 2 Corinthians 11:2-4, 12-15
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a
gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a
gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” Galatians
1:8-9
The Holy Bible also warns of antichrists that will come denying the Father
and the Son:
“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the
antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is
the last hour. … Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the
Christ. Such a man is THE ANTICHRIST—he denies the Father and the Son.
No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the
Father also.” 1 John 2:18, 22-23
Muhammad denied that Allah is the Father and that Jesus is his Son. He also
refused to believe that Jesus is Allah and our Rab. As if that wasn’t
bad enough Muhammad further rejected Jesus’ vicarious death on the cross and
subsequent resurrection. Muhammad is therefore one of those antichrists and
false apostles which the Bible warns of, and therefore could not have been
inspired by the true God. Muhammad was clearly influenced and taught by an
evil, wicked spirit, even Satan himself.
In fact, what makes this rather interesting is that Muhammad himself
initially thought that the spirit being who came to him and physically
manhandled him was an evil spirit. Moreover, after his first encounter with
this spirit Muhammad actually feared that he was demon-possessed and had gone
mad and wanted to commit suicide because of it:
I. The beginning of the revelation to the Messenger of Allah was the true dream
6581. 'Urwa related that 'A'isha said, "The beginning [of the
revelation] to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
took the form of the true dream in sleep. Whenever he had a dream, it was clear
like the break of day. He used to go to Hira' and there he devoted himself to
worship for a number of nights. He took provisions with him for that. Then he
would return to Khadija and take provisions for the like of that again. This
continued until the Truth came to him suddenly while he was in the Cave of
Hira'. The angel came to him in it and said, 'Read!'
"The Prophet said, 'I said, "I do not read." He seized me
and squeezed me until all the strength went out of me and then released me
and said, "Read!" I said, "I do not read." Then he
seized me and squeezed me a second time until all the strength when out of me
and then released me and said, "Read!" I said, "I do not
read." Then he seized me and squeezed me a third time and then released
me, and then he said, "Read in the name of your Lord who created
man from a blood clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous. He Who taught
the use of the Pen" and the ayats up to "Taught man
which he knew not." (96:1-5)'
"He returned with that and his heart was quaking. He went to
Khadija and said, 'Wrap me up! Wrap me up!' They wrapped him up until the state
of terror had left him and then he said to Khadija, 'What is wrong with
me?" He told her what had happened and said, 'I am afraid for myself.'
She said, 'No, it is good news. By Allah, Allah would never bring disgrace upon
you. You maintain ties of kinship, speak the truth, bear people's burdens, give
hospitality to your guests and help those who have been afflicted by
calamities.'
"Then Khadija then went with him to Waraqa ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn
'Abdu'l-'Uzza ibn Qusayy, Khadija's cousin (the son of her father's brother),
who had become Christian during the Jahiliyya. He could write in Arabic
and wrote as much of the Gospel in Arabic as Allah willed. He was an old man
who had gone blind. Khadija said to him, 'Cousin! Listen to your nephew.'
Waraqa asked him, 'Nephew, what have you seen?' The Messenger of Allah told him
what he had seen. Waraqa said to him, 'This is the Namus [Jibril] which Allah
sent to Musa. I wish that I were still young. I wish I might still be alive
when your people drive you out!' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, 'Will they drive me out?' Waraqa said, 'Yes, no man
has brought anything similar to what you have brought without being treated
with hostility. If I am still alive on that day, I will give you my strong
support.'
"Shortly after that, Waraqa died and there was a pause in the
revelation until the Prophet became so sad that we heard that his sorrow
several times made him want to throw himself off the tops of the mountains.
Whenever he reached the peak of a mountain, Jibril would appear to him and
say, 'Muhammad, you are truly the Messenger of Allah.' So his agitation was
stilled by that and he would be at peace and then would return home. When
the gap in the revelation was long for him, and he was moved to act as before.
When he reached the peak of he mountain. Jibril would appear before him and
say the like of that to him."
Ibn 'Abbas said that "(faliq al-isbagh) It is He Who splits the sky
at dawn," (6:96) is the light of the sun in the day and the light of
the moon at night. (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, 95.
Book of Dream Interpretation; underline emphasis ours)
And:
So I read it, and he departed from me. And I awoke from my sleep, and it
was though these words were written on my heart. (Tabari: Now none of God's
creatures was more hateful to me than an (ecstatic) poet or a man possessed: I
could not even look at them. I thought, Woe is me POET OR POSSESSED -
Never shall Quraysh say this of me! I will go to the top of the mountain and
throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest. So I went forth to
do so and then) when I was midway on the mountain, I heard a voice from heaven
saying ‘O Muhammad! thou are the apostle of God and I am Gabriel.’ (The Life
of Muhammad – A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasulallah, with
introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume translation [Oxford University
Press, Karachi, Tenth Impression 1995], p. 106; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Finally:
Then he went to Khadijah and said, “Khadijah, I think that I have gone
mad.” “No, by God,” she said, “Your Lord would never do that to you. You have
never committed a wicked act.” Khadijah went to Waraqa b. Nawful and told him
what had happened. He said, “If what you say is true, your husband is a
prophet. He will meet adversity from his people. If I live long enough, I shall
believe in him.”
After this, Gabriel did not come to him for a while, and Khadijah said to
him, “I think that your Lord MUST HAVE COME TO HATE YOU.” Then God
revealed to him:
By the forenoon, and by the night, when it is still, your Lord has not
forsaken you, nor does he hate you.
… I recited it, and then he desisted and departed I woke up, and it was as
though these words had been written on my heart. There was no one of God’s
creation more hateful to me than a poet or a madman; I could not bear to look
at either of them. I said to myself, “Your humble servant (meaning himself) is either a
poet or a madman, but Quraysh shall never say this of me. I shall take myself to a
mountain crag, hurl myself down from it, kill myself, and find relief in that
way.” (The History of al-Tabari: Muhammad at Mecca, translated and
annotated by W. Montgomery Watt & M.V. McDonald [State University of New
York Press (SUNY), Albany 1988], Volume VI, pp. 70-71; bold and capital
emphasis ours)
Even Waraqa ibn Nawful, the Christian monk that Muhammad consulted after
his encounter with the demon, initially suspected that the spirit who appeared
to Muhammad may have been a devil masquerading as Gabriel:
“Waraqa was dumbfounded at this, and said, ‘If Gabriel has actually
placed his feet upon the earth, he has done so for the best of people
thereupon. And he never came down for anyone except a prophet. For he is the companion of
all the prophets and messengers, the one whom God sends down to them. I believe
what you tell me of him. Send for ‘Abd Allah’s son, so that I may question him,
hear what he says and talk to him. I am afraid it may be someone other than
Gabriel, for certain devils imitate him and by so doing can mislead and corrupt
some men. This can result in a man becoming confused and even crazy whereas
before he had been of sound mind.’” (Ibn Kathir,The Life of the Prophet
Muhammad (Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya), Volume I, pp. 296-297; bold emphasis ours)
As far as the evidence from the Holy Bible is concerned both Waraqa and
Muhammad were correct in fearing that the being who came to Muhammad was
actually an evil spirit.
Two Can Play that Game!
Since Muslims are fond of appealing to the Arabic translation of the Holy
Bible to prove their case we have decided to turn to the Greek translation of
the Quran to see what happens when we apply the Muslim logic against Islam.
We will be quoting from the Greek version of the Quran that is found here.
What makes this translation unique is that the translators have kept the
Arabic word Allah by transliterating it as Allach (alpha-lambda-lambda-chi),
as opposed to simply translating it by its Greek equivalent, i.e. ho theos
(“the God”). This indicates that the translators did not view Allah as a
generic noun but as the actual proper name of the Islamic deity, much like
Yahweh is the name of the true God revealed in the Holy Bible.
Be that as it may, this version does use the Greek word theos whenever
it refers to Allah as the only God:
Your God (ho theos) is One God (henas theos); there is no God
(theos) save Him, the Beneficent, the Merciful. S. 2:163
Allah bears witness that there is no God (theos) but He --
and the angels, and men possessed of knowledge -- upholding justice; there is
no god but He, the All-mighty, the All-wise. S. 3:18
He is Allah, the God (ho theos) in the heavens and in the earth. He
knoweth both your secret and your utterance, and He knoweth what ye earn. S.
6:3
Lo! I, even I, am Allah (Ego eimai ho Allach), There is no God
(theos) save Me. So serve Me and establish worship for My remembrance. S.
20:14
And He it is Who is God (ho theos), in heaven and God on earth; and
He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge. S. 43:84
And one of them who should say: Lo! I am a god (theos) beside Him,
that one We should repay with hell. Thus We Repay wrong-doers. S. 21:29
Hence, according to the Greek Quran Allah is the only ho theos or theos
since no other ho theos or theos exists.
Now if we were to apply the exact same method employed by these Muslim
dawagandists we would have to conclude that Allah is the pagan god Zeus since
according to Greek mythology Zeus was called ho theos or theos.
Note the logic here:
- According to the Greek Quran Allah is ho theos.
- In Greek mythology Zeus was called ho theos.
- Therefore, Allah is actually the pagan god Zeus.
We could even use this to prove that Muhammad’s Allah is actually the
Father and Jesus Christ his Son since the Greek NT calls both of them ho
theos and theos:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (ton
theon), and the Word was God (theos). He was in the beginning withGod
(ton theon).” John 1:1-2
“For God (ho theos) so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life.” John 3:16
“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos
mou)!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed;
blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” John 20:28-29
“while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros
hemon ‘Iesou Christou), who gave himself for us to redeem us from all
wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to
do what is good.” Titus 2:13
“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through
the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon
kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou) have received a faith as precious as ours:” 2
Peter 1:1
“For he received honor and glory from God the Father (theou patros) when
the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I
love; with him I am well pleased.’” 2 Peter 1:17
Once again, if the Muslim logic were applied consistently then this means
that the Father and the Son are Allah, the God of Muhammad!
- According to the Greek Quran Allah is called theos with or without
the article.
- In the New Testament both the Father and the Son are called ho theos
or simply theos.
- Therefore, Muhammad’s Allah is a multi-personal being who simultaneously
exists as both the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.
We are pretty certain that these Islamic dawagandists would reject our
logic on the grounds that the Quran wasn’t written in Greek but in Arabic. We
are sure that they would argue that just because individuals use the same words
for their G/god(s) this doesn’t mean that they are necessarily worshiping the
same G/god. Thus, just because the Greeks called Zeus ho theos this
doesn’t mean that Greek speaking Muslims are worshiping Zeus since they also
call Allah ho theos. Nor would this imply that Greek speaking Muslims
are worshiping the Father and Jesus Christ the Son as Allah despite the fact
that both the Greek New Testament and the Greek translation of the Quran use
the same words to describe them all.
In the same exact way, just because an Arabic translation of the Holy Bible
uses the word Allah this doesn’t mean that Christians and Muslims are
worshiping the same God. Nor does this disprove that Islam derived its god from
paganism and that the pagan Allah is actually Satan masquerading as God. The
Biblical data is clear that the Allah of Islam is the spirit of the antichrist
and that Muhammad was one of those antichrists whom the true Apostles of God
said would come to deceive people away from the truth of the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
As such, the Arabic version of the Holy Bible does not help Islam or
confirm Muhammad's claims, and Muslims need to therefore stop using it to prove
their case.
Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/allah_bible.html
IHS
Sam Shamoun
The pagan origins of the Islamic god
It is no secret to those who have studied the history and origins of
Islam that Muhammad was born to a pagan tribe who worshiped a host of gods and
goddesses, the chief of whom was Allah. For example, the hadith literature
states that the pagans had 360 idols placed around the Kabah which Muhammad
subsequently destroyed when he conquered Mecca:
Narrated Abdullah: When the Prophet entered Mecca on the day of the
Conquest, there were 360 idols around the Ka'ba. The Prophet started
striking them with a stick he had in his hand and was saying, "Truth has
come and Falsehood will neither start nor will it reappear.” (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 583)
Muhammad’s pagan tribe further believed that their god Allah had at least
three daughters whom they worshiped as goddesses. The names of Allah’s
daughters were Allat, al-Uzza and Manat.
Moreover, according to the Islamic sources Muhammad’s father’s name was
Abdullah, which means “slave of Allah.” However, despite his name being “slave
of Allah” Muhammad’s father still went to hell according to Muhammad since he
was a pagan:
Chapter 86: HE WHO DIED WITH UNBELIEF WOULD BE (THROWN) INTO THE FIRE,
INTERCESSION WOULD BE OF NO AVAIL TO HIM AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF HIS FAVOURITES
WOULD NOT BENEFIT HIM
Anas reported: Verily, a person said: Messenger of Allah, where is my
father? He said: (He) is in the Fire. When he turned away, he (the Holy
Prophet) called him and said: Verily my father and your father are
in the Fire. (Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0398)
In light of the fact that Muhammad’s family and his tribe were pagans it is
reasonably certain that the Allah whom the Meccans worshiped was nothing more
than a pagan god whom Muhammad took and sought to transform into the one true
universal God worshiped by the prophets of the Holy Bible.
Moreover, the Holy Bible indicates that idolatry is clearly satanic and
that there are demons associated with idols:
“They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable
idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not God — gods they had not
known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear.”
Deuteronomy 32:16-17
“Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to
sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of
thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ?
And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake
of the one loaf. Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices
participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an
idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the
sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you
to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and
the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and
the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are
we stronger than he?” 1 Corinthians 10:19-21
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness
and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have
with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?
What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What
agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we
are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and
walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
In this last passage idols are connected with Belial the prince of demons
and contrasted with God’s temple.
Thus, since Muhammad’s tribe was pagans who worshiped idols this means
that their beliefs were satanic in origin. This also means that the Allah which
these pagans worshiped was not the one true God of the Holy Bible but a pagan
deity used by Satan to lead them away from the true God.
The Arabic Bible to the rescue?
It is not uncommon to find Muslim dawagandists appealing to the Arabic
translation of the Holy Bible in order to prove that the Allah worshiped by the
pre-Islamic pagans of Mecca was not a false god and/or Satan himself. The
following articles are representative of this fact:
http://www.mostmerciful.com/moongod.htm
http://www.answering-christianity.com/allah.htm
One Muslim dawagandist in particular referred to the Arabic translation
of John 3:16 and to the Aramaic
translation of John 1:1-4 to prove that Christians
also worship the Muslim god! He then reasons that if the Islamic Allah which
was derived from pagan beliefs is actually Satan then this proves that the God
of the Bible is the Devil as well since he is called Allah in the Arabic Bible!
At this point the Muslims are guilty of committing several logical
fallacies, most notably the fallacies of equivocation and false analogy. It also attacks straw man
and brings up a red herring.
The following Christian apologist explains it best:
3. False Analogy: Comparing two things as if they are parallel when they are
not really the same at all.
Examples:
#1 Many Muslims erroneously assume that Muslims and Christians share the
same concepts of God, revelation, inspiration, textual preservation, the Bible,
prophethood, biblical history, conversion, etc...
#2 Because a false analogy is drawn between Islam and
Christianity, some Muslims think that any argument which refutes the Qur'an
will likewise refute the Bible; any argument which refutes Muhammad will also
refute Jesus Christ, etc...
#3 For example, many Muslims claim that Muhammad and all prophets were
sinless. They even deny that Abraham was an idol worshipper. Thus when a
Christian points out all the wicked things that Muhammad did (mass murder,
child abuse, lying, etc.), the Muslims will say,
"If you are right, then you must also reject your biblical prophets
for doing wicked things as well."
What he is really saying is, "If you reject my prophet, then you
must reject your prophets as well. If Muhammad was a false prophet, then your
prophets are false as well."
The root problem is that the Muslim concept of prophethood is not the same as
the Christian concept of prophethood. We teach that prophets sin like anyone
else. Thus while Islam is refuted by the sins of Muhammad, Christianity is not
jeopardized at all. The Muslim is guilty of setting up a
"false analogy."
Whenever a Muslim responds to a Christian attack on the Qur'an, Muhammad,
or Allah by flipping the argument around and applying it to the Bible, Jesus or
the Trinity as if Islam and Christianity either stand or fall together, he is guilty of the fallacy of false analogy.
Islam
can be false and Christianity be true at the same time.
4.
The Fallacy of Irrelevance: When you introduce issues which have no logical
bearing on the subject under discussion, you are using irrelevant arguments…
#5 The present meaning of a word is irrelevant to what it meant in
ancient times. The word "Allah" is a good example. When
confronted by the historical evidence that the word was used by pagan Arabs in
pre-Islamic times to refer to a high god who was married to the sun-goddess and
had three daughters, some Muslims will quote dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.
to prove (sic) that "Allah means God." They are thus using modern
definitions to define what the word meant over a thousand years ago! What
"Allah" means now has no bearing on what it meant before
Muhammad.
5. The Fallacy of Equivocation: If we assume that everyone
has the same definition of such words as God, Jesus, revelation, inspiration,
prophet, miracle, etc., we are committing a very simple logical fallacy…
#4 When a Muslims tells you that the word "Allah" has only one
meaning: "the one, true, universal God," he is assuming a fallacy. The word
"allah" has many different meanings.
a. It can be used as a generic term like the English word
"God." Thus it can be applied to any god or goddess regardless if a true or
false god is in view. (ex. The "Allahs" of Hinduism.)
b. The Nation of Islam uses it to refer to Wallace Dodd Ford, Elijah
Muhammad, and Louis Farrakhan as "Allah" and teaches that all black
people are "Allahs."
c. It has been used by some Christians in Arabic speaking countries as a
generic name for the Holy Trinity.
d. It was used in pre-Islamic times by pagan Arabs to refer to the moon-god
who was the father of al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat.
e. It is used by Muslims to refer to their god.
Islam and Christianity do not worship the same God. The Christian worships
the Holy Trinity while the Muslim worships a unitarian deity. (Dr. Robert A.
Morey, Common
Logical Fallacies Made By Muslims)
Moreover, in their haste to prove that Muhammad’s god is the one true God
worshiped by the Biblical prophets these dawagandists overlooked the fact that
their objection is based entirely on A TRANSLATION of the Holy Bible! The
inspired Scriptures were not written in Arabic but in Hebrew and Greek, with parts
of the OT being written in Aramaic. As such, it is utterly fallacious to appeal
to what some translators decided to use or do when translating God's inspired
Word in another language. In fact, we will see what happens when we apply this
same method to a Greek translation of the Quran.
To make matters worse the Muslim argument presupposes that the Allah
mentioned in the Arabic Bible is actually the same as the Islamic Allah or the
Allah worshiped by the pagans. This erroneously assumes that just because
Arabic speaking Christians, Jews, Muslims etc. use the word Allah this somehow
proves that they are all worshiping one and the same Being. However, such is
not the case since the Muslims are worshiping a false god as our examination
here will prove.
The Arabic Bible on the multi-personal nature of Allah
The Arabic Bible not only identifies the Father as Allah it also claims
that Jesus Christ is Allah as well. The Arabic Bible further teaches that Jesus
Christ is the beloved Son of Allah and his eternal Word who became flesh:
“In the beginning was the Word (al-Kalima), and the Word was
with God (Allahi), and the Word was God (wa kana al-Kalima Allaha).
He was in the beginning with God (Allahi); all things were made
through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him
was life (al-hayatu), and the life (al-hayatu) was the light of men (noora
al-nasi). The light (al-nooru) shines in the darkness, and the darkness
has not overcome it… The true light (al-nuru al-haqqiqu) that
enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world,
and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not… And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have
beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father (majdan kama
li-wahidin min al-Abi).” John 1:1-5, 9-10, 14
In this passage Jesus is identified as the Word that became flesh who
exists with Allah and who is Allah! As the Word Jesus is also said to be the
Life and the true Light, statements which he himself makes all throughout the
Gospel:
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the Light of
the world (ana huwa noor al-alam). Whoever follows me will never walk
in darkness, but will have the light of life (noor al-hayat).’” John 8:12
“As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no
one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world (ana
huwa noor al-alam).” John 9:4-5
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life (ana huwa
al-qiyamatu wal-hayatu). He who believes in me will live, even though
he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe
this?’” John 11:25-26
“I have come into the world as Light (noor), so that no one
who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:46
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the Way and the Truth and the Life (ana huwa
al-tariqu wal-haqqu wal-hayatu). No one comes to the Father
except through me.’” John 14:6
What makes Jesus’ statements rather remarkable is that according to the
Quran these are some of the very names and attributes which belong exclusively
to Allah!
That is because Allah, He is the Truth (Allahu huwa
al-haqqu), and it is He Who gives life to the dead, and it is He Who is
Able to do all things. S. 22:6 Hilali-Khan
Allah
is the Light of the heavens and the earth (Allahu nooru al-samawati wa’al-ardi). The similitude of His
light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as
it were a shining star. (This lamp is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive
neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of
itself) though no fire touched it. Light upon light. Allah guideth unto His
light whom He will. And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories, for Allah is Knower of all
things. S. 24:35
Look, therefore, at the prints of Allah's mercy (in creation): how He
quickeneth the earth after her death. Lo! He verily is the Quickener of
the Dead, and He is Able to do all things. S. 30:50
He is the Living (One) (Huwa al-hayyu): There is no god but He: Call
upon Him, giving Him sincere devotion. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!
… It is He Who gives Life and Death; and when He decides upon an
affair, He says to it, "Be", and it is. S. 40:65, 68
Islamic theology teaches that Allah’s unique names and characteristics
cannot be ascribed to any creature, no matter how exalted. In light of this it
is apparent that Jesus Christ was making himself out to be God by claiming some
of the very unique and exclusive names which the Quran itself testifies belong
only to Deity!
For more on this topic please consult the following articles:
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/unique.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/jesus_divine_functions_quran.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Ataie/divine_attributes.htm
http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zaatari/miracles_divine.html
http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/jesus_tauhid.html
Here are some additional statements from the Arabic Bible where
Jesus is expressly said to be the Son of Allah:
“In the sixth month, God (Allahi) sent the angel Gabriel
to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man
named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went
to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord
(al-Rabu) is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and
wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do
not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God (Allahi). You
will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus
(Yasu’a). He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most
High (ibn al-‘Ali). The Lord God (al-Rabu al-Ilah)
will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house
of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’ ‘How will this be,’ Mary asked
the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit
(al-Ruhu al-Qudusu) will come upon you, and the power of the Most High
will overshadow you. So the Holy One (al-Qudusu) to be born will
be called the Son of God (ibn Allahi).” Luke 1:26-35
In fact, the Arabic Bible claims that Allah loved the world so much that he
sent Jesus Christ his only Son to save it:
“For God (Allahu) so loved the world that he gave his
only Son (ibnahu al-wahida), that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life. For God (Allahu) sent
the Son (ibnahu) into the world, not to condemn the world, but
that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not
condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because
he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (ibni Allahi al-wahidi).”
John 3:16-18
Any person who is even remotely familiar with the teachings of the Quran
can easily see the problem at this point. The Allah that Muhammad worshiped is
not the Father nor is Jesus Christ his beloved Son:
And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The
Messiah is the son of Allah (ibnu Allahi). That is their saying with
their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah
(Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they! S. 9:30
“And they say, 'The All-merciful has taken unto Himself a son. You have
indeed advanced something hideous! The heavens are well-nigh rent of it and the
earth split asunder, and the mountains well-nigh fall down crashing for that
they have attributed to the All-merciful a son; and it behoves not the
All-merciful to take a son. None is there in the heavens and earth but he comes
to the All-merciful as a servant;” S. 19:88-93
The Quran also says that anyone who claims that Allah is Jesus the Son of
Mary is a disbeliever who will go to hell:
They indeed have disbelieved who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son
of Mary. Say: Who then can do aught against Allah, if He had willed to destroy
the Messiah son of Mary, and his mother and everyone on earth? Allah's is the Sovereignty
of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. He createth what He
will. And Allah is Able to do all things. S. 5:17
Indeed, they are disbelievers who say, `Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary,'
whereas the Messiah himself said, `O Children of Israel, orship Allah who is my Lord and your Lord.'
Surely, whoso associates partners with Allah, him has Allah forbidden
Paradise, and the Fire will be his resort. And the wrongdoers shall
have no helpers. S. 5:72
Now this leaves these Islamic propagandists in an awkward position. By
appealing to the Arabic Bible to prove their case they will now have to admit
that the Quran is wrong for denying that Allah is the Father or that he is
Jesus Christ. Or, even worse, they will have to accept the possibility that the
Islamic scripture has been corrupted and doesn’t reflect the original teachings
of Muhammad. After all, if Muhammad believed in the same Allah that the Arabic
Bible mentions then he must have believed that both the Father and the Son are
Allah. And since there are passages in the Quran which deny that the Father and
the Son are both Allah these texts must have therefore been added sometime
after Muhammad’s death.
There’s more to the story.
The Aramaic Bible and Allah
Seeing that one of the dawagandists that we mentioned earlier appealed to
the Aramaic Bible in one of his videos to prove that God is called Allah we
have decided to quote from the very link which he used in order to show how
this actually backfires against him.
The following is the Assyrian translation of John 1:1-4 written in Roman
script with the English translation provided right underneath.
B'rašit itwa milta,
In the beginning was the Word (milta),
u'aw milta lkis Alaha wa,
and this Word was with God (Alaha)
u'Alaha wa aw milta.
And this Word was God (Alaha).
Aha b'rašit lkis Alaha wa.
This one was in the beginning with God (Alaha).
Kulle mindiyanÿ biyÿ pišlun widÿ.
All things were made by him.
D'la diyÿ up xa mindi la wily
Without him not one thing was made
min ani d'pišÿ na biryÿ.
From the things which were made.
Biyÿ xayyÿ wa,
By/from him was life,
u'annÿ xayyÿ bara wa l'bnenaša.
And that life was the light of mankind.
According to the Aramaic Bible both the Father and Jesus Christ the eternal
Word who created all things are identified as Alaha, the Aramaic word for God,
which the Arabic translates as Allah. Hence, the Aramaic Bible completely
agrees with the Greek of John’s Gospel since it states that the Word was with
God (Alaha) and WAS God (Alaha).
Again, do these Islamic propagandists really want us to believe that the
Allah of the Quran is the same as the Allah of the Arabic Bible? If so are they
willing to accept that both the Father and the Son are Allah? Are they also
willing to admit that the Quran is mistaken or has been corrupted since it
denies that Allah is the Father and Jesus Christ?
It gets even worse for these dawagandists.
Continues on Part II
Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/allah_bible.html
IHS
