After Watching Joshua Evans’ Testimony...
Dear Muslim Brother:
I really thank God the intention and willingness He has placed in your heart to look for explanations and reasons to make us understand really what the truth about God is all about. I thank you for sharing with me the story of Joshua Evans. His testimony is obviously edifying and a blessing for those who sincerely look for God.
I’m afraid to say that Joshua’s didn’t clarify the main reason for my quest: Why would God send a new word after his initial revelation, if the second revelation contradicts the first one. Joshua’s arguments are not new for me, for The Lord has placed the desire in my heart, the circumstances and people like you to encourage me to deeply study the evidences of the different revelations different people has claimed to be His.
There are many difficulties in the Bible presented by Joshua, and believe me, I do know exactly where the explanations to his arguments are. He talks about the ungodliness behavior of some of the Prophets, he talked about people following religion simply as tradition, he talks about people not reading the word of God, he talks about textual criticism, he talks of not knowing the authors of the books make them untrustworthy, and he talks about people simply putting faith in their minds as the explanation to believe in what you believe. I was challenged in the past by these arguments and believe me The Lord has shown me the explanation to these difficulties. I don’t think it’s urgent to discuss about it now, as it would add to the confusion. But there was one argument, which I believe was the main reason why Joshua was disappointed with the revelation in the Bible.
If you recall, he emphasizes that according to his readings (and I should highlight he confesses he did it quickly and he only did it twice) of the Bible, he found 3 different and contradictory messages.
1. First, in the Old Testament (what in Noble Al-Qur’an is called Al-Taurat and Zabur) God gives the Laws to the Israelites, for them to remember that he is a Jealous God who will not accept anyone even thinking that he is more than one. This is correct, yes, but not this is only the first line of a much more complex message.
2. In the Gospels (which in Noble Al-Qur’an is called Injil) he said he understood Jesus only claimed to fulfill the Law and that God is one. However according to his experience in Christianity (his Methodist church and family I suppose) he claims that he was taught about the trinity, but he didn’t really read it. So it’s True that Jesus claimed that he came to fulfill the Law (Al-Taurat) and he also claimed that not even a dot or a comma of the law would stop to apply until the end of times (I’m paraphrasing verse 8 of chapter 5 of the Gospel according to Matthew)
3. In the New Testament epistles, that is the books that the first followers of Jesus, Paul came with something completely new, contradicting (according to Joshua’s speech) the law and simply abolishing it. In his view, it would make sense.
Something that I have to admit offended me was that Joshua claimed that Christians can’t question the beliefs and the revelation of God. This offends me because this is who I am, someone truly looking for God, who claims to be the Truth, the life and the way. But I apologize for that. If God is like this, God should allow us to test his revelation and determine what truth is or not. In fact the first epistle of Peter, Chapter 3, verse 15 says “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”. The Noble Qur’an also tells us that the word of God can be tested. Sura 2, Alat 23 says “If you have any doubt regarding what we revealed to our servant, then produce one sura like these, and call upon your own witnesses against GOD, if you are truthful.” . Also Sura 2:170 tells us “[…]they say, "We follow only what we found our parents doing." What if their parents did not understand, and were not guided?”.
I want you to know I’m convinced you are helpers of God, and I thank Him to opening your hearts to help me with my struggle. But I have not told you what my struggle is. It’s the results of years and years of a hot desire of coming to the feet of Our Lord. It’s the results of seeing his wonderful works in my life, his wonderful counseling while on prayer, His wonderful answers to my needs. I’m struggling because I have also obediently gone through find the “reason of the hope” I have. And unlike the experience of Joshua Evans, after really studying the contents of the Bible, I see continuity of God message and plan. I’ll explain it in the simplest manner (I’m not usually good at that). It’s obviously more complex than how I will explain it, but I pray God that you understand what I’m going through.
Summary of the relationship between God and Human beings in the Bible
According to the Bible, this is the story. God created man and women. Genesis (the first book of the Bible, which means “In the Beginning”) 1:26 says: “Then God, said: Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us”. Like this God created Adam and later on Eve. To make the story short, Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the knowledge, which made them aware of what is good and what is bad, following a deception of Satan (Iblis) who convinced them to do it. Being aware of Good and Evil meant that Adam and Eve (and after them all humanity) became accountable for their actions. What this means is that in the beginning humans beings were innocents in the eyes of God (like little children, let’s say) who don’t know what they do. After knowing good and evil, we humans are responsible for our acts and deeds in the eyes of God. God loves human beings, we are his creation. He wanted us to be the masters of everything in the world. But the awareness of Good and Evil created a separation between God and Humans. Think about this, God is Holy and he cannot forgive (without a penalty) someone who does evil, if this person is aware of what is evil. Well, God had a plan from the beginning. He, in his infinite wisdom thought of a plan. He needed first to find a price to atone (forgive) for the bad deeds (sins) that humans could do, without compromising His infinite Justice and Righteousness. If God simply forgives the sins of men without a penalty, he would have to forgive all sins without exception, and He would fail to be Righteous and fair. He is a perfect God, as the Bible and The Qur’an say. So what’s the penalty for atonement that God planned?
The Bible tells us that blood is the price for sin. It’s either the blood of the sinner (dead and eternal separation from God) or the blood of an offering to God. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God it is mentioned that they realized that they were naked. The word in Hebrew for naked is rooted on craftiness, Adam and Eve realized they were crafty. They decided to build clothes to cover their craftiness (nakedness) using fig leaves. Fig leaves did not cover them all. We read that God gave them clothing made of skin. But this clothes (neged in Hebrew) are actually covering the whole body, the whole nakedness. So we see that a sacrifice and blood shed was required to make the clothes to cover the craftiness of Adam and Eve.
Does the Bible present a clearer picture of the requirement of animal sacrifices to atone (pay) for the sins of men? Yes. God made several promises to People who followed Him with their hearts. According to the Bible God made covenants (agreements which contain promises of blessings) with Noah (Nabi Nuh saw), Abraham (Nabi Ibrahim saw) and Isaac (Nabi Ishac saw). But he needed to provide clearer instructions to His creation. It’s for this reason that God gave the Law (The Torah or Al-Taurat) to Moses (Nabi Musa saw, descendant from Nabi Ishac saw and Nabi Ibrahim saw).
The law provided a group of laws with two purposes:
1. Define the standard of holiness that is required to reach God. Very strict rules, because God is extremely Holy. If anyone wants to be close to Him, that person needs to be as Holy as Him.
2. Provide an alternative exit for men.
God knows that men cannot fully comply with all of his commandments and laws. Because God knows men are limited creation, even though we were created to his likeliness. This exit is a covenant (agreement) of blood. A blood sacrifice is required for that person who has sinned to atone (pay) for their wrong deeds (acts) and to receive the pardon of God without compromising God’s Holiness, Righteousness and Justice. This is related in the second book of the Bible (Al-Taurat), Exodus 24:3-8: When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
Leviticus 1, the 3rd book in the Torah (Al-Taurat) complements it saying: “He (the sinner making the offering) is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement (payment) for him” (BOLD AND INSERTIONS IN BRACKETS ARE MINE, not in the original text)
But even so, God knew that this was a temporary solution. Also, God knew that some of The Children of Israel would do all what is written except loving Him and loving the Torah. As such, some of the Children of Israel still lived with bitterness in their hearts. And bitterness of the heart still renders (limits or blocks) the relationship with God, it’s a sin that common man may not see and that usually would not make offering for. Man cannot be Holy if their heart is not holy.
For this reason from the beginning God had already a plan for salvation. This plan of salvation was revealed to the Children of Israel (even from the time of Moses), to many different authors, and as such in many different points of time in history. God told the Children of Israel how He had planned to fully reestablish the bridge which had been broken by the sin of men. He promised an anointed one (Messiah or Al-Masih) who would create a new Covenant, a covenant that would be complete and a Covenant that would:
1. Fulfill the requirements of God to be sufficient pay (ransom) for the sins of men, and would bring men into his standard of holiness.
2. Write the Law of God in the hearts of people. That is, people would not be bitter anymore, because this New Covenant provided a full change of the persons who would partake of it.
I want to present to you two Major Prophets of God, two of those who was revealed the news about the New Covenant God had planned from the beginning: Isaiah and Daniel. There are many other prophets to who was revealed tenths of prophecies that would help men to identify who this Messiah will be. Isaiah lived around year 700 Before the Current Era (BCE).To Isaiah was also revealed what the Messiah would do for us (Isaiah 53): Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He (The Messiah) 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 (overwhelmed) by God, smitten (severely injured) 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] (resurrect) 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.(BOLD AND INSERTIONS IN BRACKETS ARE MINE, not in the original text)
To Prophet Daniel, in confirmation to what was revealed to all the prophets before him, Our Lord revealed when would the Messiah come, and when would he pay for the atonement of our sins (Daniel 9:24): “Seventy ‘sevens’ (490 years) are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy” .(BOLD AND INSERTIONS IN BRACKETS ARE MINE, not in the original text)
Verses 25 to 29 continue to provide with more details of this prophecy. I have another study on it, it’s around 3 pages, I will post it separately for you to read if you want. But basically this prophecy tells us that The Messiah would seal up the vision and prophesy in year 33CE (Current Era), year when Jesus was crucified. Copies of both books of Isaiah and Daniel were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which archaeologists date from 150BCE or earlier. Prophecy fulfillment is undeniable proof of Truth, and of what is and what is not the word of Our God.
So far we have seen the message of the Old Testament (what the Jews call Tanakh or Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings), which would be to what Noble Al-Qur’an refers to Al-Taurat and Zabur). What is the Message of the New Testament (which means the New Covenant) or Gospels (Injil or The Good News)?
The message contained in the Gospels can be divided in 2 main parts: 4 books relating the story of Jesus –Yeshua or Isa Al-Massih-on Earth, and a group of Letters written by the early followers of Isa. In the gospel of John (the apostle), Yahya (John The Baptist) said to the people when he saw Jesus (John 1:29-31) The next day John (Yahya) 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.” (BOLD AND INSERTIONS IN BRACKETS ARE MINE, not in the original text)
Jesus did miracles, forgave sins and was sinless. Yet, the Israelites and Romans crucified him on the night of the Passover, because the Jews thought Jesus was simply a magician. The Talmud, a Jewish non Christian book, from the second century CE relates that: “It is taught: On the eve of Passover they hung Yeshu and the crier went forth for forty days beforehand declaring that "[Yeshu] is going to be stoned for practicing witchcraft, for enticing and leading Israel astray. Anyone who knows something to clear him should come forth and exonerate him." But no one had anything exonerating for him and they hung him on the eve of Passover." (BOLD AND INSERTIONS IN BRACKETS ARE MINE, not in the original text)
I must highlight that Yeshu is a very offensive name in Hebrew. It highlights the hatred the early Orthodox Jews had for Yeshua (Jesus). Again, the Talmud tells the story from the point of view of the Pharisees, hence why they call him Yeshu and sorcerer instead of Yeshua the Messiah. Noble Qur’an confirms so in Sura 5:110: [5:110] GOD will say, "O Jesus, son of Mary, remember My blessings upon you and your mother. I supported you with the Holy Spirit, to enable you to speak to the people from the crib, as well as an adult. I taught you the scripture, wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel. Recall that you created from clay the shape of a bird by My leave, then blew into it, and it became a live bird by My leave. You healed the blind and the leprous by My leave, and revived the dead by My leave. Recall that I protected you from the Children of Israel who wanted to hurt you, despite the profound miracles you had shown them. The disbelievers among them said, `This is obviously magic.'
But the story does not end up there, like it was revealed to Isaiah, the Messiah would see the light (resurrect), as mentioned in the four gospels. The messiah appeared in bones and flesh to his disciples after the crucifixion, and to many others before been lifted up to heavens. Even Noble Qur’an makes a reference to it in Surah 4:155 to 157, when talking to The Jews: [4:155] (They incurred condemnation) for violating their covenant, rejecting GOD's revelations, killing the prophets unjustly, and for saying, "Our minds are made up!" In fact, GOD is the One who sealed their minds, due to their disbelief, and this is why they fail to believe, except rarely. [4:156] (They are condemned) for disbelieving and uttering about Mary a gross lie. [4:157] And for claiming that they killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of GOD. In fact, they never killed him, they never crucified him - they were made to think that they did. All factions who are disputing in this matter are full of doubt concerning this issue. They possess no knowledge; they only conjecture. For certain, they never killed him. [4:158] Instead, GOD raised him to Him; GOD is Almighty, Most Wise. The line, “they were made to think that they crucified him” can only have two explanations: That Jesus was not the one they crucified, which is what some people believe, or that simply he died but rose after death. And if you think about it, the sacrifice of “The Lamb Of God” was necessary for the atonement (payment) of sins.
Joshua Evans condemns Paul (The author of most of the epistles of the New testament) because Paul preaches what is known the Gospel (Good News) of Grace, a message were the most highlighted deed is not following strictly the Statements of The Law, rather letting the Holy Spirit change the hearts of men, so that they can really live and fulfill the Law. The Law cannot condemn those who believe in the New Covenant, because the sacrifice was promised to bring “everlasting righteousness” and a salvation that “will last forever”, because the “righteousness (of God) will never fail”. Not only Paul proclaimed this message, all other authors in the New Testament did. For Example, the Apostle Peter said (1 Peter 1:7-11) These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Here is what I Struggle with, please think about this! Noble Qur’an claims to be the perfected revelation in confirmation of what was previously revealed (Sura 2:41). If God tells me in the Bible that he brings everlasting Salvation, but a later book contradicts the initial revelation saying that:
1. We should try to gain salvation through Good Deeds vs Bad Deeds. However, no one would know whether God would allow id to live in the Gardens.
2. Continuously and in several times contradicts the stories and the basic principles of the Previous revelation. Salvation was never a matter of Good deeds vs Bad deeds in the story of God.
3. Hate people who don’t believe in The Prophet and Al-Qur’an, when God tells us in the Bible to love all people without distinction.
4. Resign any hopes of salvation, if one can’t believe in the revelation of Noble Qur’an.
According to Sura 6:25 “Some of them listen to you, but we place veils on their hearts to prevent them from understanding, and deafness in their ears. Thus, no matter what kind of proof they see, they cannot believe. Thus, when they come to argue with you, the disbelievers say, "These are tales from the past." Wouldn’t it be unfair of God to blind my eyes and still ask me to believe in two different revelations? Wouldn’t that jeopardize His Holiness, His Fairness and His Righteousness?
Besides this, The Noble Qur’an present several “difficult” Suras which really confuse me, for example:
a. [10.94] But if you are in doubt (Nabi Mohammed) as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you (Christian and Jews); certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers. [10.95] And you should not be of those who reject the communications of Allah, (for) then you should be one of the losers. Versus [4.136] O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before (Tora and Injil). And whoever disbelieves in Allah , His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.
b. [5.82&5.83] You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant.
c. [2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. Versus [2:105] Neither the disbelievers among the followers of the scripture(Jews and Christians), nor the idol worshipers, wish to see any blessings come down to you from your Lord. However, GOD showers His blessings upon whomever He chooses. GOD possesses infinite grace. [2:161] Those who disbelieve and die as disbelievers, have incurred the condemnation of GOD, the angels, and all the people.
Dear Muslim Brother Please Think about This! Why would GOD change his plan of salvation for us in year 600 if from the beginning of creation he already had a plan fulfilled in the Sacrifice of The Lamb of God??? What am I missing???? What would you do if today someone comes telling that he has received a revelation confirming what was given to us in the Bible and The Noble Qur’an, but tell us something that completely contradicts the previous revelations? (By the way, it already has happened…) That person could claim that in the original revelation it was all like that, but the Jews and the Christians changed the interpretation of the word and the Muslims captured a wrong copy when Uthman came with the unified version of Al-Qur’an. What would you do?
I really thank God the intention and willingness He has placed in your heart to look for explanations and reasons to make us understand really what the truth about God is all about. I thank you for sharing with me the story of Joshua Evans. His testimony is obviously edifying and a blessing for those who sincerely look for God.
I’m afraid to say that Joshua’s didn’t clarify the main reason for my quest: Why would God send a new word after his initial revelation, if the second revelation contradicts the first one. Joshua’s arguments are not new for me, for The Lord has placed the desire in my heart, the circumstances and people like you to encourage me to deeply study the evidences of the different revelations different people has claimed to be His.
There are many difficulties in the Bible presented by Joshua, and believe me, I do know exactly where the explanations to his arguments are. He talks about the ungodliness behavior of some of the Prophets, he talked about people following religion simply as tradition, he talks about people not reading the word of God, he talks about textual criticism, he talks of not knowing the authors of the books make them untrustworthy, and he talks about people simply putting faith in their minds as the explanation to believe in what you believe. I was challenged in the past by these arguments and believe me The Lord has shown me the explanation to these difficulties. I don’t think it’s urgent to discuss about it now, as it would add to the confusion. But there was one argument, which I believe was the main reason why Joshua was disappointed with the revelation in the Bible.
If you recall, he emphasizes that according to his readings (and I should highlight he confesses he did it quickly and he only did it twice) of the Bible, he found 3 different and contradictory messages.
1. First, in the Old Testament (what in Noble Al-Qur’an is called Al-Taurat and Zabur) God gives the Laws to the Israelites, for them to remember that he is a Jealous God who will not accept anyone even thinking that he is more than one. This is correct, yes, but not this is only the first line of a much more complex message.
2. In the Gospels (which in Noble Al-Qur’an is called Injil) he said he understood Jesus only claimed to fulfill the Law and that God is one. However according to his experience in Christianity (his Methodist church and family I suppose) he claims that he was taught about the trinity, but he didn’t really read it. So it’s True that Jesus claimed that he came to fulfill the Law (Al-Taurat) and he also claimed that not even a dot or a comma of the law would stop to apply until the end of times (I’m paraphrasing verse 8 of chapter 5 of the Gospel according to Matthew)
3. In the New Testament epistles, that is the books that the first followers of Jesus, Paul came with something completely new, contradicting (according to Joshua’s speech) the law and simply abolishing it. In his view, it would make sense.
Something that I have to admit offended me was that Joshua claimed that Christians can’t question the beliefs and the revelation of God. This offends me because this is who I am, someone truly looking for God, who claims to be the Truth, the life and the way. But I apologize for that. If God is like this, God should allow us to test his revelation and determine what truth is or not. In fact the first epistle of Peter, Chapter 3, verse 15 says “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”. The Noble Qur’an also tells us that the word of God can be tested. Sura 2, Alat 23 says “If you have any doubt regarding what we revealed to our servant, then produce one sura like these, and call upon your own witnesses against GOD, if you are truthful.” . Also Sura 2:170 tells us “[…]they say, "We follow only what we found our parents doing." What if their parents did not understand, and were not guided?”.
I want you to know I’m convinced you are helpers of God, and I thank Him to opening your hearts to help me with my struggle. But I have not told you what my struggle is. It’s the results of years and years of a hot desire of coming to the feet of Our Lord. It’s the results of seeing his wonderful works in my life, his wonderful counseling while on prayer, His wonderful answers to my needs. I’m struggling because I have also obediently gone through find the “reason of the hope” I have. And unlike the experience of Joshua Evans, after really studying the contents of the Bible, I see continuity of God message and plan. I’ll explain it in the simplest manner (I’m not usually good at that). It’s obviously more complex than how I will explain it, but I pray God that you understand what I’m going through.
Summary of the relationship between God and Human beings in the Bible
According to the Bible, this is the story. God created man and women. Genesis (the first book of the Bible, which means “In the Beginning”) 1:26 says: “Then God, said: Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us”. Like this God created Adam and later on Eve. To make the story short, Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the knowledge, which made them aware of what is good and what is bad, following a deception of Satan (Iblis) who convinced them to do it. Being aware of Good and Evil meant that Adam and Eve (and after them all humanity) became accountable for their actions. What this means is that in the beginning humans beings were innocents in the eyes of God (like little children, let’s say) who don’t know what they do. After knowing good and evil, we humans are responsible for our acts and deeds in the eyes of God. God loves human beings, we are his creation. He wanted us to be the masters of everything in the world. But the awareness of Good and Evil created a separation between God and Humans. Think about this, God is Holy and he cannot forgive (without a penalty) someone who does evil, if this person is aware of what is evil. Well, God had a plan from the beginning. He, in his infinite wisdom thought of a plan. He needed first to find a price to atone (forgive) for the bad deeds (sins) that humans could do, without compromising His infinite Justice and Righteousness. If God simply forgives the sins of men without a penalty, he would have to forgive all sins without exception, and He would fail to be Righteous and fair. He is a perfect God, as the Bible and The Qur’an say. So what’s the penalty for atonement that God planned?
The Bible tells us that blood is the price for sin. It’s either the blood of the sinner (dead and eternal separation from God) or the blood of an offering to God. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God it is mentioned that they realized that they were naked. The word in Hebrew for naked is rooted on craftiness, Adam and Eve realized they were crafty. They decided to build clothes to cover their craftiness (nakedness) using fig leaves. Fig leaves did not cover them all. We read that God gave them clothing made of skin. But this clothes (neged in Hebrew) are actually covering the whole body, the whole nakedness. So we see that a sacrifice and blood shed was required to make the clothes to cover the craftiness of Adam and Eve.
Does the Bible present a clearer picture of the requirement of animal sacrifices to atone (pay) for the sins of men? Yes. God made several promises to People who followed Him with their hearts. According to the Bible God made covenants (agreements which contain promises of blessings) with Noah (Nabi Nuh saw), Abraham (Nabi Ibrahim saw) and Isaac (Nabi Ishac saw). But he needed to provide clearer instructions to His creation. It’s for this reason that God gave the Law (The Torah or Al-Taurat) to Moses (Nabi Musa saw, descendant from Nabi Ishac saw and Nabi Ibrahim saw).
The law provided a group of laws with two purposes:
1. Define the standard of holiness that is required to reach God. Very strict rules, because God is extremely Holy. If anyone wants to be close to Him, that person needs to be as Holy as Him.
2. Provide an alternative exit for men.
God knows that men cannot fully comply with all of his commandments and laws. Because God knows men are limited creation, even though we were created to his likeliness. This exit is a covenant (agreement) of blood. A blood sacrifice is required for that person who has sinned to atone (pay) for their wrong deeds (acts) and to receive the pardon of God without compromising God’s Holiness, Righteousness and Justice. This is related in the second book of the Bible (Al-Taurat), Exodus 24:3-8: When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
Leviticus 1, the 3rd book in the Torah (Al-Taurat) complements it saying: “He (the sinner making the offering) is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement (payment) for him” (BOLD AND INSERTIONS IN BRACKETS ARE MINE, not in the original text)
But even so, God knew that this was a temporary solution. Also, God knew that some of The Children of Israel would do all what is written except loving Him and loving the Torah. As such, some of the Children of Israel still lived with bitterness in their hearts. And bitterness of the heart still renders (limits or blocks) the relationship with God, it’s a sin that common man may not see and that usually would not make offering for. Man cannot be Holy if their heart is not holy.
For this reason from the beginning God had already a plan for salvation. This plan of salvation was revealed to the Children of Israel (even from the time of Moses), to many different authors, and as such in many different points of time in history. God told the Children of Israel how He had planned to fully reestablish the bridge which had been broken by the sin of men. He promised an anointed one (Messiah or Al-Masih) who would create a new Covenant, a covenant that would be complete and a Covenant that would:
1. Fulfill the requirements of God to be sufficient pay (ransom) for the sins of men, and would bring men into his standard of holiness.
2. Write the Law of God in the hearts of people. That is, people would not be bitter anymore, because this New Covenant provided a full change of the persons who would partake of it.
I want to present to you two Major Prophets of God, two of those who was revealed the news about the New Covenant God had planned from the beginning: Isaiah and Daniel. There are many other prophets to who was revealed tenths of prophecies that would help men to identify who this Messiah will be. Isaiah lived around year 700 Before the Current Era (BCE).
To Prophet Daniel, in confirmation to what was revealed to all the prophets before him, Our Lord revealed when would the Messiah come, and when would he pay for the atonement of our sins (Daniel 9:24): “Seventy ‘sevens’ (490 years) are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy” .(BOLD AND INSERTIONS IN BRACKETS ARE MINE, not in the original text)
Verses 25 to 29 continue to provide with more details of this prophecy. I have another study on it, it’s around 3 pages, I will post it separately for you to read if you want. But basically this prophecy tells us that The Messiah would seal up the vision and prophesy in year 33CE (Current Era), year when Jesus was crucified. Copies of both books of Isaiah and Daniel were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which archaeologists date from 150BCE or earlier. Prophecy fulfillment is undeniable proof of Truth, and of what is and what is not the word of Our God.
So far we have seen the message of the Old Testament (what the Jews call Tanakh or Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings), which would be to what Noble Al-Qur’an refers to Al-Taurat and Zabur). What is the Message of the New Testament (which means the New Covenant) or Gospels (Injil or The Good News)?
The message contained in the Gospels can be divided in 2 main parts: 4 books relating the story of Jesus –Yeshua or Isa Al-Massih-on Earth, and a group of Letters written by the early followers of Isa. In the gospel of John (the apostle), Yahya (John The Baptist) said to the people when he saw Jesus (John 1:29-31) The next day John (Yahya) 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.” (BOLD AND INSERTIONS IN BRACKETS ARE MINE, not in the original text)
Jesus did miracles, forgave sins and was sinless. Yet, the Israelites and Romans crucified him on the night of the Passover, because the Jews thought Jesus was simply a magician. The Talmud, a Jewish non Christian book, from the second century CE relates that: “It is taught: On the eve of Passover they hung Yeshu and the crier went forth for forty days beforehand declaring that "[Yeshu] is going to be stoned for practicing witchcraft, for enticing and leading Israel astray. Anyone who knows something to clear him should come forth and exonerate him." But no one had anything exonerating for him and they hung him on the eve of Passover." (BOLD AND INSERTIONS IN BRACKETS ARE MINE, not in the original text)
I must highlight that Yeshu is a very offensive name in Hebrew. It highlights the hatred the early Orthodox Jews had for Yeshua (Jesus). Again, the Talmud tells the story from the point of view of the Pharisees, hence why they call him Yeshu and sorcerer instead of Yeshua the Messiah. Noble Qur’an confirms so in Sura 5:110: [5:110] GOD will say, "O Jesus, son of Mary, remember My blessings upon you and your mother. I supported you with the Holy Spirit, to enable you to speak to the people from the crib, as well as an adult. I taught you the scripture, wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel. Recall that you created from clay the shape of a bird by My leave, then blew into it, and it became a live bird by My leave. You healed the blind and the leprous by My leave, and revived the dead by My leave. Recall that I protected you from the Children of Israel who wanted to hurt you, despite the profound miracles you had shown them. The disbelievers among them said, `This is obviously magic.'
But the story does not end up there, like it was revealed to Isaiah, the Messiah would see the light (resurrect), as mentioned in the four gospels. The messiah appeared in bones and flesh to his disciples after the crucifixion, and to many others before been lifted up to heavens. Even Noble Qur’an makes a reference to it in Surah 4:155 to 157, when talking to The Jews: [4:155] (They incurred condemnation) for violating their covenant, rejecting GOD's revelations, killing the prophets unjustly, and for saying, "Our minds are made up!" In fact, GOD is the One who sealed their minds, due to their disbelief, and this is why they fail to believe, except rarely. [4:156] (They are condemned) for disbelieving and uttering about Mary a gross lie. [4:157] And for claiming that they killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of GOD. In fact, they never killed him, they never crucified him - they were made to think that they did. All factions who are disputing in this matter are full of doubt concerning this issue. They possess no knowledge; they only conjecture. For certain, they never killed him. [4:158] Instead, GOD raised him to Him; GOD is Almighty, Most Wise. The line, “they were made to think that they crucified him” can only have two explanations: That Jesus was not the one they crucified, which is what some people believe, or that simply he died but rose after death. And if you think about it, the sacrifice of “The Lamb Of God” was necessary for the atonement (payment) of sins.
Joshua Evans condemns Paul (The author of most of the epistles of the New testament) because Paul preaches what is known the Gospel (Good News) of Grace, a message were the most highlighted deed is not following strictly the Statements of The Law, rather letting the Holy Spirit change the hearts of men, so that they can really live and fulfill the Law. The Law cannot condemn those who believe in the New Covenant, because the sacrifice was promised to bring “everlasting righteousness” and a salvation that “will last forever”, because the “righteousness (of God) will never fail”. Not only Paul proclaimed this message, all other authors in the New Testament did. For Example, the Apostle Peter said (1 Peter 1:7-11) These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Here is what I Struggle with, please think about this! Noble Qur’an claims to be the perfected revelation in confirmation of what was previously revealed (Sura 2:41). If God tells me in the Bible that he brings everlasting Salvation, but a later book contradicts the initial revelation saying that:
1. We should try to gain salvation through Good Deeds vs Bad Deeds. However, no one would know whether God would allow id to live in the Gardens.
2. Continuously and in several times contradicts the stories and the basic principles of the Previous revelation. Salvation was never a matter of Good deeds vs Bad deeds in the story of God.
3. Hate people who don’t believe in The Prophet and Al-Qur’an, when God tells us in the Bible to love all people without distinction.
4. Resign any hopes of salvation, if one can’t believe in the revelation of Noble Qur’an.
According to Sura 6:25 “Some of them listen to you, but we place veils on their hearts to prevent them from understanding, and deafness in their ears. Thus, no matter what kind of proof they see, they cannot believe. Thus, when they come to argue with you, the disbelievers say, "These are tales from the past." Wouldn’t it be unfair of God to blind my eyes and still ask me to believe in two different revelations? Wouldn’t that jeopardize His Holiness, His Fairness and His Righteousness?
Besides this, The Noble Qur’an present several “difficult” Suras which really confuse me, for example:
a. [10.94] But if you are in doubt (Nabi Mohammed) as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you (Christian and Jews); certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers. [10.95] And you should not be of those who reject the communications of Allah, (for) then you should be one of the losers. Versus [4.136] O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before (Tora and Injil). And whoever disbelieves in Allah , His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.
b. [5.82&5.83] You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant.
c. [2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. Versus [2:105] Neither the disbelievers among the followers of the scripture(Jews and Christians), nor the idol worshipers, wish to see any blessings come down to you from your Lord. However, GOD showers His blessings upon whomever He chooses. GOD possesses infinite grace. [2:161] Those who disbelieve and die as disbelievers, have incurred the condemnation of GOD, the angels, and all the people.
Dear Muslim Brother Please Think about This! Why would GOD change his plan of salvation for us in year 600 if from the beginning of creation he already had a plan fulfilled in the Sacrifice of The Lamb of God??? What am I missing???? What would you do if today someone comes telling that he has received a revelation confirming what was given to us in the Bible and The Noble Qur’an, but tell us something that completely contradicts the previous revelations? (By the way, it already has happened…) That person could claim that in the original revelation it was all like that, but the Jews and the Christians changed the interpretation of the word and the Muslims captured a wrong copy when Uthman came with the unified version of Al-Qur’an. What would you do?
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