A Sincere Letter To A Muslim Friend: a Proof on why the Bible is not Corrupted

According to Islam, to Judaism and to Christianity only God can forbid sins. Forbidding our sins is needed for God to allow us in His presence. In Islam forgiveness of Sins is achieved by submission to God, submission to do what is in the Qur’an and the Hadiths, believing that He is merciful and capable to forgive. 

  In the view of Judaism and Christianity sins have a price which must be paid; there is a debt associated with sins, and the price is death. Hence the need of atonement, a payment to bring justice. The understanding of Jews is that atonement for a while was achieved by sacrificing animals. Today some of them claim that because God allowed the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, the atonement is achieved by repentance. This would mean that God changed His word, to atone sins with sacrifices first and after with repentance. This means there's no payment of sins with death.

  However, in the Hebrew version of the Taurat, the one used by the Jews today it’s mentioned that God can’t let sin be unpunished and that God is the bearer of the payment for sin (Exodus 34:6-7). 

  In the view of true Christianity the word of God has not changed at all. Isa Al-Masih (pbuh) claimed that The Word of God is eternal. It is written in the Christian Gospel that Nabi Isa said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the (Taurat) or the Prophets (Zabur and other books); I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Taurat until everything is accomplished". (Matthew 5:17, 18 NIV).

  It is important to highlight that the Jews have been through history the zealous guardians of the Taurat, the Zabur and other books that they consider prophetic and historical, those books that Nabi Isa said he came to fulfill. I know you don’t believe this, but they claim to keep faithful copies of the originals. They call the group of these books "Tanakh" and the Christians call it "Old Testament".

  Also, Orthodox Jews have been very contemptuous towards Christianity and vice-versa. This type of Jews believe that Nabi Isa (pbuh) is a damnation for humanity, same as Nabi Muhammad(pbuh).  Since the Orthodox Jews are the ones who have  jealously kept the Old Testament in Hebrew (Taurat, Zabur and other prophetic books),  there is no way that Christians could corrupt or change the contents of the Old Testament (Tanakh) to favor the Christian claims. Correct?

  I therefore decided to study the Jewish version in Hebrew of the Taurat and The Old Testament, the version jealously guarded by the Jews. I did this because it's claimed to be faithful copies of the original words revealed to the prophets, and to check if it contradicts what Christianity claims.

   The following are some of the basic beliefs I learnt growing as a Christian:

·         Isa Al Masih is the promised Messiah. As The Messiah, He is the Savior of humanity because He paid for the sins of humanity.

·         He did so by dying on the cross for later be raised.

·         Isa Al Masih is God incarnated, for only God can pay the price for sin.

  Most of these claims are refuted by the glorious Qur'an and denied by most Jews.  The orthodox Jews believe that he died on the cross, however for blasphemy. Islam only agrees that Isa is the Messiah. All other Christian beliefs mentioned above according to Islam and Orthodox Jews are false.

  Let's talk about the first book of the Taurat. In Hebrew, it's called B'rishit, which means "In the beginning", The Book of Genesis. For this conversation, let's focus on chapter 49, there is a reason why picking this chapter.  Genesis 49 relates the story of when Yaqub (pbuh) (the son of Ishaq and grandson of Ibrahim (pbut)) called his children, the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel and blessed them. 

  However, the Hebrew language is extremely rich. God used common history and real situations to prophesy what His plan of salvation was and is. After long prayers, I was lead to look at the meaning of the names of the characters in this story: Ya'akov and each of their sons. I did then realize that there is a parallel message conveyed with this story. Following this, I did a transliteration of the names and each of the words of the masoretic Hebrew text of Genesis 49, the Jewish version of today. I was so impressed, that I decided to learn Hebrew with a reputable Jewish University.

  For your understanding, in Hebrew some words may have dual meanings. I'm sure there are similar cases in Arabic. For example, the word מִשְׁכָּב (mishkab) which literally is a wooden place to rest can mean bed, coffin, or bier. Also, the names of people have a meaning: For example, Ibrahim (Av'raham) means Father of Multitude.  

  I’ve created a document with the transliteration and a worksheet table compiling the traditional English version, the Hebrew Masoretic text word by word, the parallel translation  found and the Christian New Testament references presenting fulfillment of each prophesy. I'm attaching these for your reference. I hope you can study it deeply.

  Now, as you will read in my next post "Christ Prophecy in Genesis 49", this text is a prophecy. A prophecy which coincides with many of the Christian theological claims about who God is and His way to pay for our sins. We read in the parallel translation of Genesis 49 about The Son who is equal to The Father God, The Son who died on a wooden object, suffering to carry the burdens, to suffer punishment for the sake of the people. The son who was raised. The Son who brought rest and comfort. The Son who died and paid for sins. The Son who is raised after death. The Son who is God.

  As you see this text goes in opposite way to what the Qur'an denies, and what The Jews say about Nabi Isa. Why Would the Jews then write this? Why would they favor the Christians? People may say this is a hoax, or a lie or a trick of Christians. I invite you to check it for yourself. I haven't found or met anyone who has used this chapter this way to preach what Christianity claims. Only God can do something like this.

  This book was written almost 2000 years before when Nabi Isa lived in the flesh on earth. The Oldest copy in our hands of this book was also found among the Dead Sea scrolls, and these copies are estimated to have been written at least 200 to 300 years before Nabi Isa's days. That is proof of the prophetic value of the Taurat, and that the word of God overcame the attempts of anyone to corrupt it.

 

  But more importantly, this message confirms Christianity has been hidden to the naked eye of the Jews, who don't believe Nabi Isa is the Messiah. Why would the Orthodox Jews guard over centuries something which contradicts their beliefs? Only God can do it, and He did it to show that His word cannot be corrupted. He himself protects His Word.