According to Islam Allah sent 124,000 prophets, we do not know who these prophets are because the Qur’an only mentions those which are mentioned in the Bible. The Qur’an says each prophet came with the same message in the language of his (the particular prophet) language.
And here’s the interpretation from the Islamic scholar al-Jalalayn who agrees with the above statement.
And We have not sent any Messenger except with the tongue with the language of his people that he might make the Message clear to them that he might make them understand what he brings to them; God then sends astray whomever He will and He guides whomever He will; and He is the Mighty in His kingdom the Wise in His actions.
These are not Christian interpretations this is straight from Muslim sources, we’re building our case for the main topic at hand. Here’s another interpretation from Ibn-Abbas the cousin of Muhammad, if anyone would understand the Qur’an he certainly should be qualified to give the interpretation. It’s funny because if the Qur’an is “clear” or “easy to understand”[1][54:17]why do they have all these interpretations?
(And We never sent a messenger save with the language of his folk, that he might make (the message) clear for them) in their own language what they have been commanded with and prohibited from; it is also said that this means: in a language through which it is possible for them to learn. (Then Allah sendeth whom He will astray) from His religion, (and guideth) to His religion (whom He will) whoever deserves to be guided. (He is the Mighty) in His kingdom and sovereignty; it is also said that this means: the Mighty in His retribution against those who do not believe, (the Wise) in His command and decree; it is also said that this means: the Wise in guiding some and misguiding others.
Isa the prophet of Allah was given the Injil, follow the logic here. Isa was sent to the children of Israel.[2] Then why did Allah give Isa the wrong book as the word Injil derives from the Greek language? Shouldn’t Allah have given Isa a book that was in the language of the Jews, namely Hebrew or Aramaic for the time of Jesus?
This means the Injil is a Greek book, which Allah gave Isa to take to the Jews. Arthur Jeffery holds a theological degree from the University of Melbourne and advanced degrees from the University of Edinburgh. He chaired the Department of Near and Middle East Languages at Columbia and contributed to the field of Qurānic studies. In his book The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur’ān he says:
“Gospel. It is used always of the Christian revelation, is particularly associated with Jesus, and occurs only in Madinan passages. Some of the early authorities tried to find an Arabic origin for it, making it a form, but this theory is rejected with some contempt by the commentators Zam. and Baid. both on general grounds, and because of al-Hasan’s reading, which clearly is not an Arabic form. So also the Lexicons LA , xiv, 171; TA , viii, 128; and al-Jawālīqī, 17 (al-Khafājī, 11), give it as a foreign word derived from either Hebrew or Syriac (cf. Ibn al-Athīr, Nihāya , iv, 136). Obviously, it is the Gk. ἐυαγγέλιον, and both Marracci and Fraenkel have thought that it came directly into Arabic from the Greek.”
Jeffery, Arthur. The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur’ān, BRILL, 2007
If Allah gave Isa a Greek book to bring to guide the Jews this would mean Allah cannot be God, he should have known that the language of the Jews was Hebrew or Aramaic, not Greek! Injil or Injeel has Greek etymological roots.[3]
“The word Injil is generally held by non-Muslim historians to be an abbreviation of the Greek word Ευαγγέλιον”
Notice T.M. Guiapar just as most Muslims, even if you provide solid evidence which goes against the Islamic belief they will deflect and change the topic. In the green, he resorts to “do you know Arabic” as if he does which he doesn’t, and then he says the Injil was written in Arabic without a lick of evidence.
Highlighted words in red is where he deflects and instead of giving evidence that the Injil was written in Arabic, he asks if Jesus preached from the Gospels of the New Testament. The Gospels were written after the Lord Jesus Christ entered heaven, so this wouldn’t make sense. The Gospel writers are telling us about Jesus Christ and what He has spoken, Christians never claimed Jesus had a book given to Him, that’s an Islamic belief and has no roots in Christianity.
To answer the Abdoools question did Jesus Christ and His disciples know Greek, the answer is an emphatic yes! The Jews in Jerusalem were submerged in a multilingual culture, there were Romans, Greeks and Jews living in close quarters. Christ spoke with Greeks as they came to see Him (John 12:20). Many verses recorded that Christ spoke with Pontius Pilate, a Roman and Pilot who spoke to a crowd of Jews (Matthew 27:13, Matthew 27:17, 22).
We also know there were 3 languages written on the cross of Jesus Christ, Hebrew, Latin and Greek (Luke 23:38, John 19:20). This signifies that people in Jerusalem spoke different languages proving they were able to communicate with each other. To think Jesus only spoke Aramaic is absurd!
Conclusion
It’s painfully obvious that Allah gave the Islamic Jesus (Isa) the wrong book to bring to the Jews, just as the Qur’an says in 14:4 that each prophet would come in the language of the people so that they would be able to easily understand the message. Muslims run away fast from the false prophet Muhammad who’s leading them down the wrong path to hell. There’s no hope in Islam, without lies Islam dies and that’s a fact!
Footnotes
[1]54:17And We have indeed made the Quran easy to understand and remember, then is there any that will remember (or receive admonition)?
[2] ‘Isa ibn Maryam is the slave of Allah and His messenger. Allah sent him to guide the Children of Israel and to call them to worship Allah Alone, as Allah says to the Jews and Christians IsalamQA (2001, February 22). Jesus in Islam. Retrieved from https://islamqa.info/en/answers/10277/jesus-in-islam
[3] Etymology Definition: the history of a linguistic form (such as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language “Etymology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/etymology
Abdools love twisting the words of God to deceive people into thinking the Bible has contradictions, if you earnestly study the word of God deeply you’ll realise there are no contradictions. Unlike the Qur’ān which has many contradictions, a Christian lady with some rather strange doctrine was engaged in a discussion with a Muslim and while she held her own she was not prepared to get them busted.
Before we get into it the reason why I say the lady had strange doctrine is that she said a few things that caught my attention.
She seems to deny the name Jesus and would rather use the name Yeshua.
The woman said the Pentecostals are wrong because they are speaking in tongues and these are demons. I can partially agree and say there are no tongues today according to 1 Corinthians 13:8. In the book of Acts they spoke in tongues because God was getting the message of salvation out to people of different languages. It was not a made-up mumbo jumbo talk in which they are not saying anything. She should have been more clear about that.
She denies that Christ died on a cross, her argument was in Greek the word (σταυρός / stauros) means upright stake.[1] The word doesn’t mean that it was not a cross, a cross is also an upright stake just with a crossbeam. Also by examining the scriptures we see it had to be a cross because the sign which said “This is Jesus the King of the Jews” was “set up over his head” (ἐπάνω / epanō) according to Matthew. Luke also says “a superscription also was written over him” (ἐπί / epi). If Jesus was on a stake like the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim it should say over his hands, because his hands would have to be above his head. But she denies the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
She also said the Old Testament is no good anymore, this is untrue, while as Christians we’re no longer under the Law (Old Testament) but we are under Grace (New Testament).
The Old Testament is still very much relevant, the Law is a schoolmaster to bring sinners to Christ.[2]
This cannot be stressed too much, it’s of high importance that Christians learn what Muslims believe by doing so you’ll be in a better position to engage with Muslims. Learn from their own sources, preferably from Muhammad himself for who better knows Islam than their own prophet. Additionally, Muslims cannot go against what Muhammad taught.
Unfortunately besides some of the strange doctrines, this woman held she was on constant defence (apologetics) against what the Muslim was asking. Christians are very much used to apologetics as our faith has been on constant attack ever since the beginning, therefore, we’ve become well versed in defending/providing answers (ἀπολογία / apologia) for our faith (1 Peter 3:15).
Islam has always been polemical against the Christian faith, therefore, when Muslims engage with Christians they want to ensure they stay in the drivers sit asking questions. This gives them leverage in the conversation to attack the beliefs of the Christian. This is why I stress that Christians should flip the tables on them by being polemical and keeping the Muslim on the defensive.
Muslims don’t believe in the Bible this is why it’s more effective to use their Qur’ān and Hadith’s against them before bringing them into the scriptures of the Holy Bible.
An Asian Muslim from Medina Van claimed there were contradictions in the Bible and brought up 2 arguments frequently used by Muslims.
1. How did Judas die?
The Muslim thinks there’s a contradiction between the 2 accounts found in Matthew and the book of Acts concerning Judas’ death. In Matthew we’re told that Judas came to the Pharisees after being convicted of the great sin he committed in handing Jesus over to them. In his great sorrow and condemnation, he tossed the 30 pieces of silver down and went out and hanged himself.
In the book of Acts Peter is recounting the story saying Judas was a disciple but betrayed the Lord Jesus. Peter says that Judas purchased the field of blood otherwise known as Ἀκελδαμά / akeldama.
These two accounts don’t contradict themselves because the money which Judas accepted from the Pharisees was initially in the possession of Judas, and he tossed the money down, this was the same money the Pharisees used to buy the field of blood because it was not lawful for them to keep the money as it was blood money. Therefore it was as if Judas bought the field himself even though it was the priest who physically purchased the field.[3]
In the Bible there’s both literal and figurative speech, let’s also not forget that all 4 Gospel writers wrote the same account, while one author choose to focus on a specific detail another rather emphasised another detail. If all 4 writers wrote every detail verbatim then there would be no need for 4 Gospels, it would be redundant. But God in all His wisdom and glory had it to be this way because these 4 accounts are witnesses to each other.
Unlike the Qur’ān in which one book has no witness because it’s anonymous, how do we know for certain Muhammad received revelation from Allah? The Muslim would point to the Qur’ān as his evidence which is circular argumentation, but no one was there to witness it.
Who wrote the Qur’ān?
This question was asked on Islam.qa and they didn’t give an answer but like many Muslims gave a speech and never answered the question. If you ask a Muslim they will say Allah is the author of the Qur’ān but why didn’t this Muslim website say that? In fact, it says that Muhammad prohibited the writing down of the Qur’ān.[4]
The prohibition to write anything other than the Qur’ān At first the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade the writing of anything other than the Qur’ān, and he forbade them to write down his words for a while, so that the Sahabah would focus on memorizing the Qur’ān and writing it down, and so that the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would not be confused with the words of Allah, and so the Qur’ān was protected from anything being added or taken away.
But they gave zero references saying that at some point it was fine to write the Qur’ān. In the Hadith is says that Muhammad was against writing the Qur’ān, it also says that Allah opened the chest of Abu Bakr is the Hadith suggesting that Abu Bakr is also a prophet as well?
A typical Muslim argument is they try to paint a picture of a violent Jesus in the New Testament because Muhammad was obviously a crazy man who killed men, women and children. Therefore, when Abdools are cornered they say Jesus came with a sword, and they mean this to be literal.
If you read the verses in their context Christ is not speaking of killing anyone, He’s speaking of believers who because of their faith in Jesus will go through rough times. Notice in v35 it says those who will be against the believer will be his own family.[5] This is confirmed in the next verse as it says the man’s enemies will be the people of his household.
The cost of following Jesus Christ is a big cost and is not to be taken lightly.[6] Never did Jesus Christ advocate violence He even told Peter to put away His sword when he wanted to defend Christ by violence.
According to this ayat if a Muslim wants to ensure they will get to Paradise they are ordered to kill and die for the sake of Islam. Ibn Abbas in his tafsir confirms this speaking of how Muslims are to “slay the enemy.”
This is a “bargain” according to Abbas or as the Qur’ān says a covenant between Allah and the Muslim. How is this the “religion of peace” as Abdools claim?
The woman who was talking with this Muslim started to fumble as she was constantly defending the Bible, and most Christians don’t know much about Islam unfortunately. Therefore, when they speak with a Muslim who is pressing them with questions, they find they are on their heels. Christians need to turn those questions back on them and have the Muslim answer questions.
In the discussion, the topic of John 1:1 was brought up and she said something horribly incorrect, she said Jesus is “a” god. Reminiscent of the Jehovah’s Witness argument, when studying Greek one of the beginning fundamentals is that the definite article also known as “the” in English is written in different ways as it follows a declension as Greek is a highly inflected language.
Also, and this is of high importance in Greek there’s no such thing as an indefinite article (“a/an”) in Greek this doesn’t exist. We do have this in the English language but not in Greek, there’s only one has only one article.
The Greek article changes spelling to match the noun it modifies (ὁ, ἡ, τό) each one represents a different gender, when I mention gender I’m not speaking of natural genders such as between men and woman, Greek words display a multitude of information depending on its case.
Masculine: ὁ Feminine: ἡ Neuter: τό
The 3 articles listed are only for the nominative singular forms of the respective genders. Not to get too deep into the Greek construction but just know that when someone says “a god” this doesn’t exist in Greek.[7] Unfortunately, the woman who was speaking with the Muslim was really misinformed calling Yeshua “a god” falling into error. We only believe in 1 God, not 2 or 3.
In Islam, they actually believe in polytheism as Allah is god who can create life, but Jibril also created life when he blew into Islamic Mary’s private part and made Isa. Then Isa is also attributed with creating life as he fashion clay birds and blew life into them bringing them to life.
Here in 21:91, Jibril is the one doing the creating, not to mention that Muslims try to focus on Allah giving Jibril the ability to do this, but that doesn’t take away the fact that Jibril is a creator like Allah.
In the Bible, we only have 1 Creator that’s the LORD all 3 Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are the one God who created all things, as they are of the one essence. Even Isa (Islamic Jesus) is a creator according to the Qur’ān as he has the ability to create life-like Jibril.
But in the Qur’ān you have “god” otherwise known as “Allah” giving others the ability to create life? This is why Allah confesses that there are other Creators (gods) besides himself in Al-Mu’minun 23:12-14.[8] It doesn’t matter if Jibril and Isa were given the ability by Allah, the point is that they are capable of creating like Allah and, therefore, they are other creators along with Allah.
4. No one is good but the Father?
In the synoptic Gospels, there’s another verse Muslims absolutely love, it’s the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus looking for eternal life found in Matthew 19:16–22; Mark 10:17–22; Luke 18:18–23 . The lady said something wrong when this verse came up, she commented that Jesus claimed only the Father was good. This is not true as the word Father is not mentioned in the text, I challenge any Abdool to find the word Father in the verse.
The Greek word Θεός means God, not Father, Christians need to be careful when reading such passages. The Lord Jesus never said He’s not good, in fact, Christ was giving the rich young ruler an opportunity to confess that he’s calling Jesus God by calling Him good.[9] The woman also said Jesus never said He’s the Almighty and once again she’s incorrect. In the book of Revelation Jesus Christ is the speaker and specifically says He’s the Almighty (ὁ παντοκράτωρ / pantokratōr).
My hope is twofold in this article the first is that Muslims are severely lost, they think they know what they are talking about but they truly don’t. They have been taught to regurgitate the same lame arguments over and over, to distort scriptures by wrenching them out of their context. Here on this blog, they can’t get away with that, those tricks only work with people who are ignorant of what the scriptures teach. The second is I hope all believers in Jesus Christ will realise the importance of knowing the Bible and how to defend it and simultaneously putting Muslims on the defensive by asking them pressing questions about the Qur’ān.
Let’s pray that Muslims will come to know the real Jesus Christ, and also that the lady who was engaging with this Muslim comes out of her erroneous doctrines. We’re calling all Muslims to come to Jesus for salvation.
To view how Christians shouldn’t respond to Muslims you can view the video on the Madina Van channel:
Footnotes
[1]σταυρόςstaurós, stow-ros’; from the base of G2476; a stake or post (as set upright), i.e. (specially), a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment); figuratively, exposure to death, i.e. self-denial; by implication, the atonement of Christ:—cross.
[2]Galatians 3:24-25 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
[3] All this gives Luke an opportunity to explain to the reader what happened to Judas. Acts 1:18-19 are thus correctly put in parentheses in most recent translations as comments of the author and not part of Peter’s speech, as the KJV might suggest. The details here differ somewhat from those given in Matthew 27:5-7. They can be reconciled, however, by remembering that it was Judas’s money that was used to buy the field, and he can be said, as here in Acts (1:18), to have bought the field. Then it is possible that he fastened a rope around his neck, as in Matthew, before he fell and burst open, as here in Luke’s account. This is an explanation first made by Augustine of Hippo and found in the Latin Vulgate of ancient times. Faw, C. E. (1993). Acts (Ser. Believers church bible commentary). Herald Press. Retrieved July 10, 2022, p
[4]Definition of prohibition: 1. the act of prohibiting by authority 2. an order to restrain or stop Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Prohibition. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prohibition
[5] The kingdom brought by Jesus, the kingdom that the disciples are charged to preach, has come near; it is the kingdom that is the alternative to all the kingdoms created by death. Jesus tells his disciples that, just as Mic. 7:6– 7 predicted, brother will kill brother, fathers will betray children, and children will seek to destroy their parents; and all those so captured by the kingdom of death will hate the disciples who witness to the name of Jesus. These are quite extraordinary results for preaching the kingdom of God, but Jesus instructs the disciples to expect such a response. Hauerwas, S. (2006). Matthew (Ser. Brazos theological commentary on the bible). Brazos Press. p192
[6] The Cost of Discipleship: Luke 14:25-33 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
[7] A good illustration of this is John 1:1c. The English versions typically have, “and the Word was God.” But in Greek, the word order has been reversed. It reads, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος “and God was the Word.” We know that “the Word” is the subject because it has the article, and we translate it accordingly: “and the Word was God.” Two questions, both of theological import, should come to mind: (1) Why was θεός thrown forward? and (2) why does it lack the article? In brief, its emphatic position stresses its essence or quality: “What God was, the Word was” is how one translation brings out this force. Its lack of the article keeps us from identifying the person of the Word (Jesus Christ) with the person of “God” (the Father). That is to say, the word order tells us that Jesus Christ has all the divine attributes that the Father has; lack of the article tells us that Jesus Christ is not the Father. John’s wording here is beautifully compact! It is, in fact, one of the most elegantly terse theological statements one could ever find. As Martin Luther said, the lack of the article is against Sabellianism; the word order is against Arianism. keeps us from identifying the person of the Word (Jesus Christ) with the person of “God” (the Father). That is to say, the word order tells us that Jesus Christ has all the divine attributes that the Father has; lack of the article tells us that Jesus Christ is not the Father. John’s wording here is beautifully compact! It is, in fact, one of the most elegantly terse theological statements one could ever find. As Martin Luther said, the lack of the article is against Sabellianism; the word order is against Arianism.
καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν ὁ θεός “and the Word was the God” (i.e., the Father; Sabellianism)
καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν θεός “and the Word was a god” (Arianism)
καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος “and the Word was God” (orthodoxy).
Jesus Christ is God and has all the attributes that the Father has. But he is not the first person of the Trinity. All this is concisely affirmed in καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος . Daniel B. Wallace Mounce, W. D. (2019). Basics of biblical greek grammar : Fourth edition. HarperCollins Christian Publishing.
[8] Chapter (23) sūrat l-mu’minūn (The Believers) 23:14 Pickthall: Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!
Chapter (23) sūrat l-mu’minūn (The Believers) 23:14
[9] Jesus, as often, tries to draw from the man the full implications of his own words. He had come to a teacher for help and recognized him as good : but had he yet realized what was involved at the deepest level in such an attribution? Had he yet made the identification of Jesus with God that would enable him to recognize the true nature of this good teacher, as Peter had in 8:29? For only such a divine Messiah could give him that eternal life which confessedly he desired to have but had not. Schweizer well says that this is not merely the search for a well adjusted happy life, but for something which is far deeper: this man was in earnest, and his quest was right. But his basic error was far more fundamental than a failure to recognize Jesus as Messiah, although it would have been an error shared by most in Judaism (Schweizer compares Ps.15 and Ps.24). He still saw salvation as something to be attained by his own efforts. Until he was ready to receive it by faith as something completely undeserved, of which he was not worthy, he could not enjoy it. Cole, R. A. (2008). Mark. InterVarsity Press.pp 237, 238
Muslims in their weak attempt at discrediting the Bible stoop very low unknowingly calling their own prophet a liar. Their prophet Muhammad said he believes in the Torah saying “I believe in thee and in him who revealed thee.”[1]
Muslims are willingly denying their prophet who believes in the Bible (Injil) revealed from Allah, which is “guidance and light”. The Qur’ān says it confirms the scriptures which came before the Qur’ān, but Abdools are forced to deny the truth because the Qur’ān contradicts the Bible.
In Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:43-47 Allah says the Jews have the Torah, and to use it for judgement, as the Torah was sent down from Allah which is guidance and light. Allah also gave Jesus the Gospel which is guidance and light confirming the Torah and that the Christians are to judge by what Allah revealed.[2]
It’s funny we have articles from Abdools lying and denying what the Bible contains thereby inadvertently admitting their prophet and god are false. Here’s such an article from quranandbibleblogWas Jesus “Worshiped” in the Gospels?
“While it can be reasonably argued that the gospel of John presents a higher Christology than the Synoptic gospels, wherein Jesus is made to be a “divine” being of some sort, it is much more difficult to prove that he was “equal” to the Father. However, that is the subject of a separate article. In this article, we will analyze some verses in the Synoptic gospels where Jesus was allegedly “worshiped” by his followers, or so the Christians have claimed.” — quranandbibleblog
It’s not hard Abdools to prove Jesus is equal to the Father. Verses which say Jesus is equal to God (John 5:18, Philippians 2:6), but before we get off track let’s get back to the topic. Our task is to provide evidence Jesus Christ was worshipped. We’ve established Muhammad believes in the Torah, and Allah sent down the Gospel, the same one in which Jesus Christ is worshipped.
Their argument “While this list seems to show an impressive amount of evidence that Jesus was “worshiped”, it is actually misleading. Note that most of the verses are found in the Gospel of Matthew, but more importantly, despite all of these verses using the same Greek word, προσκυνέω (proskyneō)”. — quranandbibleblog
The Lord Jesus when He was tempted in the wilderness by Satan Christ said “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Matthew 4:10 I’m sure Muslims would agree that Jesus is telling Satan to worship God, the word used is προσκυνήσεις (proskyníseis) Future Active Indicative. The object in this context is worship to God, notice Jesus didn’t say “worship the Father” even though the Father should indeed receive worship. Jesus said “worship God”, the context determines the meaning of how proskyneō is being used.
In the book of Hebrews chapter 1 the context is the comparison of Jesus Christ against angels, how Christ “being so much better than the angels” Hebrews 1:4. As the Father commands the angels to worship the Son (Jesus Christ) saying “And let all the angels of God worship him” Hebrews 1:6 προσκυνησάτωσαν (proskynisátosan) Aorist Active Imperative. We learn here that Jesus is superior to the angels and they are to worship Him.
What’s really troubling for Muslims is the book of Revelation in which the Lamb of God is worshipped. Who is the Lamb of God? We’re told in John 1:29 and John 1:36 that it’s Jesus Christ. In Revelation, we have a vision in heaven God the Father is sitting on the throne the question is asked “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” Revelation 5:2. None “in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth” Revelation 5:3 was worthy to open the book. Only the Lamb was worthy to open the book Revelation 5:6-7.
At this point, Jesus Christ who is the Lamb receives universal worship from all of creation. Notice this worship which all of creation is taking part is directed to “him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:13. Here the word used is προσεκύνησαν (prosekýnisan) Aorist Active Indicative, only God alone deserves this kind of worship and Christ is receiving this worship.
Early Years Of The Messiah-King (2:1-12)
Each Gospel focuses on a theme, Matthew places attention on the Kingship of Jesus Christ the Messiah,Mark showcases Christ as God’s Perfect Servant,Luke is about the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man the Perfect Man, and John focuses on the divinity of Christ as God.
The Abdools are wrong in saying all of the verses use the same word προσκυνέω (proskyneō). Matthew 2:2 uses the word προσκυνῆσαι which is an Aorist Active Infinitive derived from the root word προσκυνέω. It’s important to know how these words are used in multiple ways in Greek, it can refer to a singular or plural expression, the object involved, the tense and mood.
προσκυνῆσαι is a word which expresses continuous activity and the tense refers to action in the present or future. The tense locates the action of a verb in time, relative to the time of the speaker. Greek is a precise language and provides ample evidence that the Magi worshipped (continuous action) Christ as God.
The context of Matthew tells us the Magi came from the East due to seeing a star “For we saw his star in the east (ειδομεν γαρ αυτου τον αστερα εν τη ανατολη).” It’s possible the Magi were familiar with the Messianic prophecies such as Numbers 24:17 “Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel”[3]
As well as the 70 weeks foretelling the first coming of Christ in Daniel 9:24-25 “to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,…that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks”.[4]
Let’s not overlook the powerful statement the Magi made in saying “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?”[5] Every king in this world is made king, but Jesus Christ is born King.
Matthew 2:8 recalls the account of when Herod was informed of the birth of the King of the Jews but the word used here is different from the above verse. Matthew 2:8 uses a different word προσκυνήσω (proskyníso), this word is an Aorist Active Subjunctive, in Greek, there are different moods the indicative, infinitive, imperative and subjunctive. Why is this important? We’ll get to that in a moment.
Our friends at quranandbibleblog said “So, it appears that the word simply means to “bow down” or to “worship”. However, notice that the Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament states that this “worship” or “veneration” could also be directed “toward human beings”, and it gives the examples of Revelation 3:9 and 13:4. This is where Christians get into some serious trouble. While Revelation 13:4 is not problematic as it refers to the false worship of the “dragon” and “beast” in the end times, Revelation 3:9 is very problematic and exposes the inconsistencies of the Christians.”
In the following verse king Herod tells the Magi “Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also”.[6] Herod had no intention of worshipping Christ he just wanted to locate Him in order to kill Him because Jesus Christ was a threat to Herod’s kingship.
The word προσκυνήσω (proskyníso) is hypothetical, the subjunctive mood primarily can be actions in the present or future. All at the same time covered by the primary tenses of verbs. There are 3 tenses for a subjunctive expressing aspect, not time. These are present: ongoing aspect, aorist: simple aspect and perfect: completed aspect.
To Philadelphia (3:7-13)
This is seen also in the book of Revelation, the same book quranandbibleblog claimed “Revelation 3:9 is very problematic and exposes the inconsistencies of the Christians.” if Abdools took time to read they would’ve seen Revelation 3:9 uses the word προσκυνήσωσιν.
Providing both the English translation Greek we see that this word is different, Revelation 3:9 uses a Subjunctive which is speaking hypothetically, the context determines the meaning of the verse in question.
The Christians at Philadelphia were being persecuted by those who called themselves Jews (the synagogue) but were not true Jews. These Jews claimed the name but they were not true Jews, they had no spiritual connection to the people of faith who had the faith of Abraham.
Because of their faithfulness to the Lord Jesus, they would be vindicated from this particular group saying “I will make them come and worship before your feet”,[7] Christ would ensure that their persecutors recognized they were wrong, and the Lord Jesus and His followers were right.
In regards to Revelation 3:9, they said: “Christians will get into some serious theological trouble, as it would mean that humans can rightly be “worshiped” as well” — quranandbibleblog
The surrounding context of the verses that follow determine that this is speaking of the Christians enduring persecution, Jesus is not making those persecutors worship the Christians, but that those persecutors would acknowledge God seeing that the followers of Christ were right in their worship of Jesus.
If Strangers Enter A Meeting (14:24-25)
This concept is seen in the epistle written to the Corinthians, the context is of an unbeliever in the midst of Christians (worship service) and coming to the understanding God is real. As his heart is exposed before God he falls down and worships making a profession of faith.
This solidifies that it wasn’t Christians who were being worshipped by this unbeliever, but God was worshipped in the presence of Christians. Quranandbibleblog wrenched verses out of their context not understanding these verses.
This presents a problem for Muslims because Jesus Christ was worshipped yet Muslims are worshipping a pagan god called Lah. These verses use specific words in Greek giving us context and meaning of how to render those words.
Wise Men Come to Worship The Messiah King (2:1-12)
Matthew 2:11 προσεκύνησαν (prosekýnisan), Aorist Active Indicative. When they entered the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother. They fell down and worshipped Him, offering costly gifts consisting of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Notice that the Magi saw Jesus with His mother. Normally the mention of the mother would come first and then the child, but this Child was anything but ordinary for He must be given the preeminence (vv. 13, 14, 20, 21).
The Magi worshipped Him, not Mary or Joseph. The gifts they brought are a testament to who Christ is. Gold signifies the deity of Christ and His glory. Frankincense speaking to the sinless perfection of the Lord Jesus. And Myrrh is a bitter herb which speaks to the sufferings He would endure bearing the sins of the world on the cross. Woefully Muhammad was never born king.
The power of the Lord Jesus over Leprosy (8:1-4)
Matthew 8:2 προσεκύνει (prosekýnei), Imperfect Active Indicative. In Greek, the imperfect tense is fundamentally the present tense transferred back into the past. The imperfect is a state of existence or action that’s still going on in the past.
Matthew 8:2 proves the power of the Lord Jesus over Leprosy (8:1-4), the teaching of Christ had a drawing power to the point that great multitudes followed Him. Truth verifies itself and though people may not like it, they’ll never forget it. A leper approaches Jesus with a desperate appeal to be healed from his leprosy.
The leper’s had faith that Christ could cure him, and he was indeed healed by the touch of Christ. Leprosy is an appropriate picture of sin due to it being loathsome, destructive and infectious.
Lepers were untouchables physical contact with them might expose a person to infection, but this was not the case with Jesus Christ as He can never be infected because He’s God. In the OT a person with leprosy was unfit to worship with the congregation of Israel, and Christ healed him of this disease. Muhammad, unfortunately, had no ability to heal anyone.
Jesus has the power to heal the incurable and raise the dead (9:18-26)
Matthew 9:18 προσεκύνει (prosekýnei), which is an Imperfect Active Indicative. Matthew 9:18 Jesus gives a discourse on the change of dispensations and was interrupted by a worried ruler whose daughter just died. The ruler knelt before the Lord and requested for Him to come and restore his daughter’s life. Jesus honoured the ruler’s faith. The Lord Jesus took her by the hand, and then she rose from the dead. Sadly, Muhammad never brought anyone back from the dead.
Jesus walks on the Sea (14:22-33)
Matthew 14:33 προσεκύνησαν (prosekýnisan), Aorist Active Indicative. The previous verses of Matthew 14 are proof that Christ did miracles assuring His disciples they followed the One who could abundantly provide, now they learn that Christ is the One who can protect and empower them also.
In verses 22-28 we read how the disciples were a ship, the disciples find themselves in the midst of a storm, the sea tossed them and waves were crashing down. Jesus comes to them walking on the sea. When they saw Him they thought Jesus was a spirit, but Christ says “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”[8]
Peter asked to come on the water with Him and the Lord Jesus says “Come”, Peter starts to walk on the water to Christ but then becomes afraid because of the storm. Peter begins to sink crying Lord save me. Jesus Christ saves him by taking his hand. When they came into the boat all His disciples worshipped Him. Unfortunately, Muhammad had no power to control nature.
Concerning Position in The Kingdom (20:20-28)
Matthew 20:20 προσκυνοῦσα (proskynoúsa), Present Active Participle. We have the mother of James and John approaching the Lord asking that her 2 sons could sit on either side of Him in his kingdom. She didn’t understand the principles upon which honour is given in the kingdom.
The sons of Zebedee and their mother knew who Christ is as they knew He was the ruler of the kingdom, therefore, they did that which was appropriate for them to do and worshipped Him. Regrettably, Muhammad is not in the kingdom and has no place in it.
The King’s Triumph (28:1-10)
Matthew 28:9 προσεκύνησαν (prosekýnisan), Aorist Active Indicative. Chapter 28 the burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, how He’s victorious over the grave. The women at the sepulchre were told by the angel to go quickly and announce the glorious news to His disciples.
Christ rose from the dead! After they told His disciples about the empty tomb Jesus appeared to them and greeted them saying “hail”, they responded by falling to His feet and worshipping Him.[9]When Muhammad died he didn’t come back from the dead, in fact when he died he was stinking and farting according to the Islamic sources.
The Great Commission (28:16-20)
Matthew 28:17 προσεκύνησαν (prosekýnisan), Aorist Active Indicative. In Galilee Christ Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, this is the same appearance in Mark 16:15-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:6. The Lord was triumphant over death as He rose from the dead just as He prophesied He would and because He lives those in Christ live as well.
He stood before His disciples in His glorified body. They worshipped Him as the everlasting living God. Then Christ said that all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. While He always had all authority as God, here He was speaking of authority as Head of all creation. Muhammad never had authority over creation.
The Gadarene Demoniac Healed (5:1-20)
Mark 5:6 προσεκύνησεν (prosekynisan), Aorist Active Indicative. The Gadarenes was located on the east side of Galilee. It was in this place Christ met a demon-possessed man, this violent individual frightened the locals. They tried everything to restrain him but nothing worked, the man lived in the mountains and would cut himself.
When the demoniac man saw Jesus he ran to him and worshipped Him. Verse 7 is telling at this point it was not the man speaking but the demon. The demon responds in a loud voice “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.”[10]
This demon knew who Jesus was and what He was capable of doing, he even calls Him the Son of God, this proves that Jesus Christ existed before His birth. The Lord Jesus commands the demon to come out of him and to reveal himself, he responded by saying his name is Legion. Signifying the man was possessed with many demons. Then Jesus sends the demons out of the man with authority and power. Embarrassingly for a prophet of god Muhammad had no miracles.
The Son of Man’s Ascension (24:50-53)
Luke 24:52 προσκυνήσαντες (proskynísantes), Aorist Active Participle. The Ascension of Christ happened 40 days after His resurrection. He lead His disciples to Bethany by the Mount of Olives, He then lifted up His hands and blessed them. More proof that Jesus is God as the source of all blessings only come from God. If we as a human were to bless someone we ask for God to bless them, all blessings flow from the greater (God) to the lesser (the individual being blessed). But Christ blessed them directly and only God can do this.
Christ didn’t ask for the Father to bless them, Jesus did the blessing Himself. Hebrews 7:7 “And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.”[11] Then Jesus was taken up into heaven, as the disciples looked upon Him they worshipped Him
To close out this article I thought it necessary to point out something very significant. Muslims accuse Christians of worshipping a man, what they don’t understand is that we worship God who BECAME a real Man. But here’s the hypocrisy their god Allah was the first to commit shirk as he commanded the angels to worship a man. Let’s look at some of those ayats which prove the Qur’an is a false book from Satan.
Well isn’t that something, we’re told that Islam is a pure monotheistic religion yet their god is commanding worship to Adam. Christians worship Jesus Christ because He’s God who came down from heaven, took upon Himself human flesh and walked among us, but Adam is a creation he’s just a man who’s receiving worship because Allah told the angels to worship him. This is sufficient evidence proving Islam is a pagan cult, nothing about it is monotheistic.
Conclusion
We brought evidence that Muhammad believed in the Torah and Bible (Injil), that Jesus Christ is worshipped as God. Here at Whatsoeverthingsaretrue we take hold of the Muslim lies and make mashed potatoes. Our Muslim friends will have to try harder. We don’t hate Muslims but love them enough to tell them the truth, that they need Jesus Christ for salvation.
Footnotes
[1] Sunan Abi Dawud 4449 In-book reference: Book 40, Hadith 99 English translation: Book 39, Hadith 4434
The Greek Septuagint named for the 70 Jewish men who translated the Hebrew Old Testament scriptures into Greek around 300-200 BC was written for Hellenistic Jews living outside of Jerusalem in parts of Greece. This Greek translation was produced because many Jews dispersed throughout the empire were beginning to lose their Hebrew beliefs. These Jews who were living among Gentiles were accustomed to reading in the Greek tongue and it was important for the men who wrote the Septuagint that it would be understandable to those Jews living abroad.
Additionally, the Greek Septuagint gave Gentiles insight into the beliefs of Judaism being that it was written in their own language. The Septuagint was also a source of the Old Testament for early Christians during the first few centuries AD. Many Christians at that time spoke and read Greek, thus they relied on the Septuagint translation for a majority of their understanding of the Old Testament scriptures.
The New Testament writers also relied on the Septuagint, as a majority of Old Testament quotes are cited in the New Testament and are quoted directly from the Septuagint. When it came to referencing God the Septuagint writers took the name κύριος (kyrios) which is only reserved in praise and worship of God Almighty translating it to LORD.
The New Testament writers understood the Old Testament scriptures very well, remember in the time when Jesus Christ walked with His disciples they didn’t have any of the New Testament writings yet. For Christ was not yet ascended, after His ascension is when the New Testament was composed by the apostles.
Saul of Tarsus started as a pharisee before he was converted and became the apostle Paul. He would have known the Old Testament scriptures very well yet when Paul wrote his epistles he took the phrase “called upon the name of the LORD” and applied this same phrase to the Lord Jesus.
This is just more strong evidence for the deity of Jesus Christ as being the Almighty God who created all things (John 1:3; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16-17; Revelation 4:11). If you don’t know Jesus Christ as you’re Lord and Saviour then you’re without life as Jesus is the source of life. Jesus said speaking of Himself.
Sin separates us from God and we’re told in God’s word that if we die in our sins we will be lost for all eternity, all unbelievers will be cast into the Lake of Fire the Bible says; which is the second death. We all sinned against God but not all of us will end up in hell because we’ve trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Will you do the same?
In the book of John it says that if you receive the Lord Jesus then you can become a son or child of God. You’ll be adopted into the family of God and will be given eternal life.
You’ll be born again and God will dwell in you making you a new creature, at this time you’ll begin to love the things of God, and you’ll love people by sharing the truth of what Jesus Christ came to do and that’s to save sinners. As the apostle Peter said you’ll have a “lively hope”.
Whatsoever Things Are True 