Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Mohammed is mentioned in the Bible

"And the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) differed not until after there came to them clear evidence. (i.e. Prophet Muhammad and whatever was revealed to him)." Qur'an, Surah 98:4

The Gospel According to John 1:19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ 20He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ 21And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ 22Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’

A Muslim recently told me that in the above verses in John the Jews name three people they were expecting:
1) The Messiah
2) Elijah, and lastly
3) The prophet

This third figure, the prophet, is presumed to be Mohammed.
The really funny thing is that, while Mohammed is not in fact the prophet, he is mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.

Yes, three people, but "the prophet" is found in Deuteronomy 18, where Moses says:
17“The LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19‘It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. 20‘But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21“You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ 22“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Thing is, Mohammed is the 2nd prophet mentioned in this passage. He is the one who speaks a word presumptuously in God's name that which God did not command him to speak.

And Mohammed did die, and God's justice has been poured out on him. And correspondingly to Deut 18:22, I am not afraid of him (though I maintain a healthy suspicion of his followers who are still alive).

No comments: