Was Muhammad a Real or False Prophet?

Since Christ was more than a mere prophet, though he did hold that office, was Muhammad also God's prophet? Some Christians might be convinced of that but the Bible makes it clear who is and isn't a prophet which he had sent.

First of all, God sent prophets from Israel to the Israelites. As the scriptures in Deuteronomy 13:1-3 state, "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, 'Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;' Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

And as I pointed out before, the Israelites came through the line of Isaac, the child of promise.

Additionally, God gave his prophets the power to do miracles. We see the works of Elijah, Elicia, Moses, and others which verify that those men were speaking for God.

But some spoke from their own notions, as Jeremiah 23:21 (KJV) shows. "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied."

Notice too that when angels appeared to people, they always began by saying, "Fear not." But Muhammad claimed to have seen the angel Gabriel while he was in a cave. According to him, Gabriel never said "fear not," but he pushed him down and said, "Recite."

Additionally, all the prophets sent by God agree regarding what he spoke. Luke 24:25 (KJV) shows just how the message given to them was consistent. As Jesus told two of his followers, "Then he said unto them, 'O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:" Then he explained to them how the Christ had to suffer, die, and rise again.

Since Muhammad was a self-proclaimed prophet with no miracles to his credit, I'll write more about that in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? God never contradicts himself and neither do his messengers contradict what he spoke.

On Thursday, I'll show that it's Islam which is the misogynistic belief system, not Christianity as some feminists assert.

Saturday Song: Badfinger, "Dennis"

Parental love is so special. No matter how bratty a child can get, parents still put up with them and correct them. I remember when I pulled stunts like walking all the way to my dad's workplace, he assured me that he still loved me as my behind ached from the spanking.

Badfinger recorded a charming and touching song about a boy named Dennis and his parent's reassurances to him. I think it's one of their finest compositions.

Listen to the song here.

Sometimes our heavenly Father has to spank us when we stray. Proverbs 3:11 (KJV) reads, "My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:"

But God doesn't chastise us because he's mean. Look at what Hebrews 12:11 (KJV) says. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

And as Jesus said in Revelation 3:19 (KJV), "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

Furthermore, God is like the ultimate father who provides what his children need. Luke 12:30 (KJV) says, "For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things."

So, what do you think of this song and the wonderful things our Father in heaven does for us? Let me know in the space below.

By the way, I'll be posting on Monday about Muhammad and if he was or wasn't a genuine messenger from God.

Did Christ Say He Was God?

Continuing along in my examination of differences between God and Allah, Was Christ really divine? Muslims assert that he was a great prophet but not the son of God. The Quran says in sura 2:22, THE HEIFER, "He who made the earth a habitat for you, and the sky a structure, and sends water down from the sky, and brings out fruits thereby, as a sustenance for you. Therefore, do not assign rivals to Allah while you know."

In Islam, joining or assigning partners to Allah is the unforgivable sin of shirk. This is so reprehensible to them that they are commanded to deal harshly with any "disbeliever" who teaches the doctrine of the Trinity. As it says in sura 3:151, FAMILY OF IMRAN, "We will throw terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they attribute to Allah partners for which He revealed no  sanction. Their lodging is the Fire. Miserable is the lodging of the evildoers."

This sura contradicts what God said to Jesus and those watching his baptism in Luke 3:22 (KJV). "And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, 'Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.'" Notice that the Holy Spirit was also present, nullifying any argument against a triune God.

Furthermore, God called Christ his beloved son when he was transfigured, showing his pre-incarnate glory. Mark 9:7 (KJV) says, "And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my beloved Son: hear him'."

But did Jesus actually say he was God? He didn't say those exact words but it's clear from the scriptures that he knew he was divine. In John 8:58 (KJV), Jesus answered the Pharisees question about how he could have known Abraham and yet he wasn't even fifty years old. "Jesus said unto them, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.'"

That wasn't a poor grammatical choice on Christ's part. He spoke the holy name of God. Exodus 3:14 (KJV) shows that's what God called himself.  "And God said unto Moses, 'I AM THAT I AM:' and he said, 'Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, "I AM hath sent me unto you."'"

Because the divinity of Christ is crucial to our salvation, I'll stress its importance in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? If Jesus were a mere prophet, he couldn't atone for the sins of all who trust in him for forgiveness of sins. But since it's through him that we obtain salvation, we must believe he's divine and therefore able to pay our debt to God.

On Saturday, I hope to post about a touching song about a father's love for his rascal son.

Who Was the Child of Promise, Isaac or Ishmael?

Muslims believe that they descended from Ishmael, the son born to Abraham's concubine. But as the Bible says many times, Isaac was the promised heir. Quite naturally, Muslims think they're right and that our scriptures were tampered with. I'll address that topic another time but for now, I need to show how Isaac was the one promised to Abraham.

Now it is true that Ishmael was born first but he wasn't the child God promised to give Sarah. We can see that in Genesis 16:3 (KJV) where it says, "And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife."

But we see who the child of promise was in Genesis 17:19 (KJV), "And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him."

Since the word "seed" is singular, we know it means Christ. He was promised from the beginning to be the saviour of humanity. As Galatians 4:28 (KJV) explains, "Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise." All who belong to Christ are counted as children of promise.

We also can tell that Ishmael had a different temperament than Isaac. Genesis 16:12 (KJV) describes him this way. "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."

We who believe in Christ need to know the truth but we also must reject error. That's why I'm writing my book You Think You're Going to Heaven? Just as bank tellers can recognize a counterfeit bill, so we need to be so familiar with the truth that any lie will become blatant and obvious to us.

Saturday Song: Klaatu, "Hope"

Did you know that there are two kinds of hope? The first is a wish for something good. The second is an assurance of good things from God Almighty. The first is based on wishful thinking but the second is based on the Lord's faithfulness.

A Canadian band called Klaatu wrote a song about hope. It's part of a concept album about a lighthouse keeper on a devastated planet. The last of his kind, this alien spent the last day of his life coming up with a universal prayer. Hope was the only idea which fit his criteria.

Listen to Klaatu's song here.

The Bible has much to say about both kinds of hope. One example of the first kind of hope, or the lack of it, is Job 7:6 (KJV). "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope."

But we have the experiences of thousands of years of faithful believers that the trials of our lives aren't in vain. Psalms 31:24 (KJV) reminds us, "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD."

Our hope is an abiding trust in our heavenly Father and his good plan for us. Psalms 38:15 (KJV) expresses this well. "For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God."

And like the psalmist wrote in Psalms 42:5 (KJV), our hope in our heavenly Father can lift us out of even the deepest depression. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance."

The Apostle Paul, persecuted and on trial, held onto the hope promised to Israel and all who would believe in the Saviour. Acts 26:7 (KJV) says, "Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews."

This hope is more than a wish, it's a work of sanctification. As 1 Peter 3:15 (KJV) reminds us, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

So, what do you think of Klaatu's "hope" and what I've written? Please feel free to comment.

On Monday, I'll be posting about who the real child of promise was.

Was Muhammad the Prophet Like Unto Moses?

As I wrote before, Islam and Christianity aren't compatible. Neither does the Qu'ran agree with Holy Scripture on many crucial points.

This prophet, which Moses said would come, is a case in point. Look at what Deuteronomy 18:15 (KJV) has to say. "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;"

Moses clarified the point in Deuteronomy 18:18  (BBE) when he said, "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him."

Notice that in these scriptures, Moses added "from among their brethren" to his prophecy. Those brethren he spoke of were the Israelites.

But Muhammad was an Arab. How could an Arab be part of the Israelite line? He also lived more than two thousand years later and in a completely different land than Israel.

Muhammad never claimed to be the Son of God but Christ did. As Jesus said in John 15:24 (KJV), "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father."

Additionally, Muhammad did no miracles but Christ performed many. Jesus also fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies but Muhammad never did. Neither did Muhammad have a unique conception as Jesus did. And the body of Muhammad is still on the earth but Jesus rose bodily into heaven.

I could find many more examples of their differences but I'm sure you see my point. I hope the readers of my upcoming You Think You're Going to Heaven? book do too. Since Muhammad isn't the prophet like unto Moses, we can safely discard his commandments.

On Saturday, I'll be posting a blog post about one of my favourite songs by the Canadian band, Klaatu. Stay tuned for that.

Are God and Allah the Same Person?

This month, I want to deal with the subject of Islam. Certain people teach that we worship the same deity as the Muslims. They reason that since both religions claim Abraham as their father, it must mean we worship the same creator. This is obviously false.

If God and Allah were the same deity, the Bible and the Quran would agree with each other. After all, the Old Testament and the New Testament agree. Neither contradicts the other.

But the Quran gainsays Holy Scripture in many places. It denies the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and many other tenets of Christianity. And as I pointed out before, it calls Jews and Christians "apes" and "pigs."

Why would God suddenly change from being the heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to being a single entity? Did he forget or lie when he said in Malachi 3:6 (KJV), "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."

Jesus also said in Revelation 22:13 (KJV) that, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." How could he say that if he were a mere prophet as the Quran claims?

Furthermore, how could the Holy Spirit be a mere angel when Peter accused Ananias of lying to the Lord about the sale price of some land? Acts 5:3 and 4 (BBE) reads, "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has the Evil One put it into your heart to be false to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While you had it, was it not your property? and after you had given it in exchange, was it not still in your power? how has this purpose come into your mind? you have been false, not to men, but to God.'"

This shows without doubt that God and Allah aren't the same entity. Just as two people can have the same name and yet be totally different, so we can see by these verses and other statements in Holy Scripture that the god of the Muslims is not God at all.

I'll be covering more of this topic in my upcoming book, You Think You're Going to Heaven? A god by any other name can't save people. Only the one who sent his son to die for the sins of sinful humanity can save us.

On Thursday, I'll post about the false claim that Muhammad was the prophet like unto Moses. Muslims think this is true but it obviously isn't.