Know Your Bible

VOL. 13 December 6, 2015 NO. 38

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IS ISLAM COMPATIBLE WITH CHRISTIANITY? 8

In my last article I gave a brief summary of what the Muslims are taught to believe from the Koran (Qur’am). This just touched the hem of the garment for what is found in their holy book which few Muslims actually read. I closed the article quoting a Muslim from Turkey who summed up the fact, that most Muslims do not really read the Koran (Qur’am). They rely on their Mullahs and Clerics to tell them what is in the Koran and what they are to believe. In many respects the same thing could be said of many who claim to be Christians. They say they believe the Bible, but few actually take the time, or expend the effort, to read it carefully. They may have read parts of it from time to time, but what they actually believe is based more on what they have been taught by their preachers and teachers, rather than what they have actually studied for themselves. Let me encourage you to please take time to read 2 Tim. 2:15; Acts 17:11-12.

The word Qur’am means “the reading” or “the book” and is divided into 114 “Surahs” or chapters, series which contain 6,225 verses. These surahs are generally divided or arranged by length from longest to shortest. For anyone who takes the time to read (it will be tedious) will find the Koran full of fabrications, many taken from myths, fables and fairy tales, thoroughly mixed with various world religions. Muhammad was an illiterate man, so all the revelations he claimed to have received over a 20 year period of time, were spoken from his recollection of things, rather than being written down. After his death, his aide, Zayd Ibn Thabit, collected the various fragments he had used to record Muhammad’s words. He had written on such things as parchment, smooth stones, palm leaves, and other objects. Twenty five years later he was given the task of bringing all these fragments together and producing an authoritative, universal version known today as the Koran (Qur’am).

Even though the Koran has since been translated into various languages, the only one accepted as true is in Arabic. All translations in other languages are suspect. If one points out a discrepancy or contradiction in the Koran using these versions it is discarded by the Muslims as a faulty translation. This is almost laughable since most of the clerics who teach the Koran here in America do not know Arabic themselves and have to rely on English versions of the Koran for what they teach.

Muslims claim that everything in the Koran is taught in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. From the Gainesville Sun, Gainesville FL, 2-25-11, in a speech by Ahmed El-Mahawy. “There is not a single thing that you will find in the Koran that is not in the Old Testament or the New Testament.” But in an examination of the Koran this is a lie.

The book contains elements of paganism (2:142, 158, 196; 3:97; 8:34; 22:26; 106:3), things that were already being practiced in the Arabian culture years before Muhammad was even born. Islam would like you to believe otherwise, but the rituals taught and practiced in Islam are of earthly and devilish, not heavenly, origin. Middle Eastern scholars have proven beyond all doubt that the rituals taught in the Koran can be traced back to pre-Islamic days, thus it was not something new.

The Koran also includes elements of Judaism. Muhammad took some of his teachings from the Jewish Talmud, the Midrash and other Jewish apocryphal works that were available to him and made them into confusing narratives by blending various stories together without regard to context.

As one reads the Koran one will find some elements from the “Christian” Gnostic gospels which were available to Muhammad through the apocryphal and heretical sources of that day. Along with these things one will also find some elements of the Eastern religions such as Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. Many of the sayings attributed to Muhammad were previously known stories of these Eastern religions.

We also find some elements of the Sabean religion mixed in with other pagan rituals. Muhammad adopted the pagan ritual of worship at the Ka’aba, praying five times toward Mecca, and fasting for part of a day for an entire month from the Sabean religion. These elements existed before Muhammad. Along with adopting things from the Sabean religion, Muhammad also included such elements of apostate Catholicism as the perversion of Jesus’ Sonship (6:101) and the worship of Mary (5:116).

And we find many elements of fleshly sensuality. They practice polygamy, allowing up to 4 wives (4:3), easy divorce for any cause (2:229-232), paradise with virgin maidens (44:54) like as is promised to those who commit holy jihad (holy war or acts of terrorism), able to drink alcoholic beverages without fear of a hangover (56:18-19). Along with the above mentioned things it has come to light that a man can marry and have sex with a girl as young as 9 years old. They can also practice pedophilia. These things have been recently revealed in present day writings and speeches of Muslim clerics. I do not have those verses from the Koran, but much of it comes from the Hadith, a book they hold almost as sacred as the Koran. Much of these teachings comes from the clerics in the Mosques, established in many of our major cities.

(I plan to write one more article in this series that should appear next week.)

—Tommy Thornhill

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ARMAGEDDON AT HAND?

Many so-called ‘prophecy experts’ are convinced that political developments in the world today are indicators that the great Battle of Armageddon is about to take place. Armageddon, of course, is described in the Book of Revelation. Many think the description there is of a literal battle between the forces of evil and good. Their thinking is that it will usher in the millennial kingdom of Christ. This is becoming an increasingly popular view.

What about Armageddon? The only place the word is found in the Bible is in Revelation 16:16. It refers to Megiddo, a large hill near the plain of Jezreel. It was well known to inhabitants of the region because of the many battles that had been fought there throughout history. The context has absolutely no reference to an actual future assembly of nations or armies to fight a literal war.

Is the end near? Those who are making predictions about the return of Christ and the end of the world are doing so in direct contradiction to what the Bible says. The Scriptures teach that "the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night" (2 Pet. 3:10), implying that there will be no sign or advanced warning.

What should we do? Considering the present political turmoil in the world, Paul's instructions seem appropriate: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" (1 Tim. 2:1,2). And, of course, constant and faithful service to the Lord is essential so that, whenever the Lord returns, “that day should (not) overtake you as a thief” (1 Thess. 5:4).

—Greg Gwin

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