Over the last two millennia, through the eyes of the world, the authenticity of Jesus Christ has become opaque, distant and distorted in a multitude of ideologies that reflect philosophical and cultural beliefs. There are many who view Jesus simply as a man, a good teacher, a prophet or even as God’s Son but stop short of the reality of His divine identity. Only the Bible reveals the true and real Jesus and any other portrayal of Him constitutes identity theft.
Muslims say they believe in Jesus, however the Jesus depicted in the Quran is different from the biblical Jesus. Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet, a messenger and the Messiah, however, not the Son of God or God incarnate. For the last fourteen hundred years this “Jesus” has been promoted by a religion that claims common roots with the “people of the book” whom they believe received revelation from God before the time of Muhammed.
Muslims consider the Quran the only uncorrupted book in the world and that it has been perfectly preserved. They claim that they recognize the Bible as “The Books of God” and the Quran speaks highly of the Torah, Psalms and Gospels as Scriptures given to Moses, David and Jesus, while at the same time they assert that the Bible has become so corrupted by translating and copying, that the original Scriptures must be considered “lost.”
JESUS AS GOD
Islam teaches that Christians turned the prophet Jesus into a God and so blasphemed Allah, so Allah sent Muhammed and Islam as the final message for mankind. To accept Jesus as God would be the assurance of condemnation to hell for Muslims.
Most Muslims believe Jesus was spared the cross. They teach that Allah put Jesus’ face on Judas, and it was Judas who was crucified. Jesus then travelled to India where He died at an old age. They rely on Bible scriptures where Jesus is called Son of man as opposed to Son of God, or, the Father is greater than I, to refute the Christian belief that Jesus is God. The truth is, the title Son of Man (Mark 14:62) refers to Christ’s divinity by referencing Daniel 7:13-14 (https://www.partneredwithchrist.com/the-son-of-man/).
Jesus makes it clear that, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). Christ would have never had said this if another prophet was to come after him that would be greater than him or would provide a different salvation other than that of the gospel.
Furthermore, Jesus said “I and the Father are one” and “before Abraham was born “I AM,” the Pharisees understood this to be blasphemy and immediately made plans to kill him. If Jesus never claimed to be God, He never would have been crucified. Perhaps this is why Muslims claim He never was.
NO WRITTEN DOCUMENTS
Unlike the Bible, which has over 5500 ancient transcripts (with most of the New Testament being written within a few decades of the crucifixion), plus non-Biblical historical documents for cross referencing, there are no concrete historical writings to verify the authenticity of what is written about Muhammed. Not much is said in the Quran about his life and the author of his biography, Ibn Hisham, explains in his introduction that he altered “things which it is disgraceful to discuss, matters which would distress certain people, and such reports he could not accept as trustworthy – all these things I have omitted.” (Seeking Allah Finding Jesus, Nabeel Qureshi, page 215). This biography (Seerah) wasn’t written until two hundred years after Muhammed died. In fact, there are no written documents dating back to Muhammed’s lifetime.
When we examine Muslim claims that the Quran has never been corrupted and has been perfectly preserved, what we find is, Muhammed was inconsistent in dictating it orally and more than one version existed even in his time (Volume 6 of Sahih Bukhari Book 61). Verses were inscribed on various parchment, animal bones and palm leaves and not compiled into one document. He settled disputes when different renditions of the same verse caused contention. Arab script was unknown in Muhammed’s time and early Quranic Arabic was written in a “rasm” which lacked precision.
After Muhammed’s death, fighting broke out over different interpretations and finally Abu Bakr ordered all written verses of the Quran be collected. He then pieced together what he thought the Quran should be and this copy was saved while all other copies were burned. However, parts of the oral tradition and some written verses were left out and people often recited verses not found in the written copy and refused to stop claiming Muhammed himself taught them the verses. These differences in content and the destruction of variant copies are defended by the promise that Allah intended that the lost sections be lost. He intended the variants to be destroyed and he intended the saved copy to be saved. In the words of Nabeel Qureshi, “the doctrine of the Quran’s perfect preservation, far from defending the faith, needed to be defended by faith.”
Recent contemporary scholars have scrutinized the early history of Islam and have raised doubts about the historical existence of a prophet named Muhammed. In 2009 Muhammed Kalisch (a Muslim himself), professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Munster in Germany asserted that the historical existence of Muhammed can neither be proven or disproven and that he leaned toward the position of non-existence.
THE SECULAR WORLD CHOOSES TO REMAIN NAIVE
Today, radical Muslims focus on the verses in the Quran that highlight Jihad and promote and authorize the open killing of infidels, slavery, rape and torture of women with the goal of converting the entire world to Islam. In the name of political correctness, much of the secular world chooses to remain naive on the pretext of tolerance, openness and acceptance and anyone or any group opposed are labeled as racist or Islamophobic, and presumed guilty of hate speech. Muslim extremists have taken great honor in discriminating against Christians while the world turns a blind eye. Christians need to stand strong in their faith and pray that God’s will be done in the face of Christian persecution at the hands of Muslims.
While God is sovereign, all-powerful and able to save whoever he wants, however he wants, God is also perfect and would never lead anyone down the path of Jihad or terrorism. The apostle Paul elaborates on walking in the Spirit in Galatians 5 and lists the fruits of the Spirit. Jihad and killing infidels are not among them. God does not change (Malachi 3:6) and Jesus does not change (Hebrews 13:8). And in Ephesians 2:10 Paul writes, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The attributes of Allah are not the attributes of God and Islam proves itself to be a counterfeit religion(https://www.partneredwithchrist.com/is-allah-god/). The Quran itself testifies against Islam and illustrates that Allah and God are not the same at all. They are simply not interchangeable. Surah 2:191 states, “Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.” And Surah 8:12 says of those who disbelieve, “Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” Also, Surah 9:5 stipulates, “Kill the polytheists wherever you find them.”
These precepts are in sharp contrast to the teachings of Jesus, who said “You have heard it said, ‘eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” (Matthew 5:38-41).
BY THEIR FRUIT YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THEM
Jesus warned, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15-16a). Muhammed claimed the angel Gabriel revealed the Quran to him. He lacked the discernment to test the spirits and therefore was led astray by a demon who claimed to be Gabriel. “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Muhammed was a false prophet if he ever lived at all.
Islam teaches that Allah is gender neutral which contradicts the teachings of Jesus who called God “Father” throughout the gospels. The Bible says those who teach a different gospel than that of Jesus are false teachers, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we peached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” (Galatians 1:8).
The Quran states that Allah forbids Muslims from having Jews and Christians as their allies (friends) because Christians and Jews are enemies of Islam and its people (Surah 5:51). If Islam is anti-Christian then it is anti-Christ. It is a religion of antichrist with doctrine similar to the antichrist of Revelation 13. 1 John 2:22-23 declares, “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist – denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Muslims believe in a historical Jesus but not the real Jesus. They see Him as nothing more than a prophet and deny His divinity.
Acts 4:12 proclaims of Jesus, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Today, many people are being healed miraculously in the name of Jesus, not in the name of Muhammed. This is because Jesus lives! He is appearing to Muslims and many are believing and converting to Christianity. The fastest growing church today is in Iran, where millions are coming to faith in Jesus.
Christ Himself warned us of false Messiahs. He said, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5). If the Jesus we believe in isn’t the biblical Jesus, He is ultimately something less, and cannot be the same Jesus. If we espouse a different version of Jesus, we then will be worshiping something other than the Jesus who is God incarnate, and thus a different God, which is idolatry.
Don’t allow time to abate the historical Jesus and belie the true Savior of humanity. I implore you to be completely and unashamedly biblical in the Jesus you worship. To embrace the absolute, unadulterated, biblical Jesus Christ. The real Jesus. Not only the Jesus of the gospels but the Jesus of Genesis and Revelation. Not just the Jesus that saves but the Jesus that judges. The Jesus who created the heavens and the earth and possesses all authority and power. The First and the Last of Revelation 1:18; the Alpha and the Omega of Revelation 22:13; the “one who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8).
