Did Jesus foretell of Muhammad in the Bible
"That Prophet?" Did
Jesus foretell of Muhammad in the Bible?
Yusuf Estes
"Are you THAT Prophet?"
[Bible - John 1:20]
"The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, whom the Father will send in
my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all that I said unto you."
[Bible - John 14:26]
{Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "A
messenger will come after me,named Ahmad} [Quran
61:6].
The chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist, "If you are
not the Christ (Messiah), and not Elijah - are you THAT
Prophet?"
[John 1:20]
When the chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist who he
was, they asked him in a very strange way. First the questioned him
as to whether or not he was the anticipated "Messiah" [Christ in
Koine Greek]. He was not the "Messiah" that had hoped for. Next
they asked if he was the prophet Elijah and again he tells them,
"No." Now comes the really strange part. Finally, they asked him if
he is "That Prophet?"
1. Are you Christ? - [No]
2. Are you Elijah? - [No]
3. Are you THAT Prophet? - [No]
What did they mean by "That
Prophet?" We of course, know who the "Christ" is. After all,
Christians should know that "Christ" is merely a shortened form of
the Koine Greek word "christos," intended to mean the Hebrew word
"Messiah."
The Jews of two thousand years ago were definitely looking for the
Messiah, who it was foretold in their books, would come and lead
them to victory over their oppressors and thus gain for them
mastery over this world. They were very oppressed under Roman
domination and even their own Jewish kings were seen as nothing
more than puppets or agents for the disbelievers. Certainly, they
would have been most happy to see someone come on the scene who
would defeat their Roman masters and slave drivers.
Then the priests and Levites asked John the Baptist if he might be
the prophet Elijah, returning back after hundreds of years being
away. There was the notion amongst them that Elijah would come
back. But again, John the Baptist is denying he is Elijah.
Then, who is he? They wonder at this man living out in the desert
and forsaking wealth and luxury and fasting, avoiding the material
attractions of life.
Again, they ask John the Baptist who he is. "Are you THAT Prophet?"
And one more time he denies being "THAT Prophet," but then he does
tell them about someone who will come after him soon, whom he
claims he is not worthy to even unlace his shoes.
However, this does not answer the question, "Who were they
expecting besides the Messiah?" Could it be they were looking for
someone like Muhammad? (Could be)
Who is THAT Prophet? -
Keep reading and learn who "That Prophet" is and what other proofs
can be discovered within the Holy texts to support this idea.
____________________
For centuries Muslims have believed Jesus, peace be upon him, was
"THAT Prophet" mentioned in these words of the Gospel of John. The
Quran states one of the important features of Jesus' mission was to
give the "bashir" or 'glad tidings' of the coming of the Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him. During his short missionary career
that lasted not more than three years, and which was overshadowed
by the hostile attitude of his own people, Jesus gave them the good
news of Ahmad, (one of the forms of "Muhammad") the last messenger
of God, who would perfect the divine teaching both in theory and in
practice. The Quran mentions that, Jesus says:
{O Children of Israel! I am the
messenger of Allah {Almighty God} (sent) to you, confirming the Law
(Torah or Old Testament) before me, and giving glad tidings of a
messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad}
[Surah 61:6]
The Quran gives the name as Ahmad, one of several ways to say
Muhammad's name. Just as we have in English the name Joseph, and
often use a shorter form such as "Joe" or the familiar form,
"Joey," and other names like "Jonathan" which becomes "John";
"Jack" or "Johnny", so in the same way we find Arabic has similar
forms for a name. Muhammad, Ahmad and Hamad are a few of the names
originating from the root word, "hamd" (meaning 'praise) in Arabic,
and can be understood as "The one who praises (God)"; "the praised
one"; "praising"; etc.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his translation of the meanings of the Quran
to English, he states, "Ahmad or Muhammad, the Praised One is a
translation of the Koine Greek word Periclytos. In the present
gospel of John 14:16, 15:26 and 16:7, the Greek word Paracletos is
translated in the NIV as Comforter. Paracletos can mean an
Advocate, or "one called to the help of another", "a kind friend."
Muhammad, peace be upon him, was known from birth as one who
brought comfort and reconciliation to family, friends and strangers
alike, especially in bringing together the ties of kinship and
brotherly love.
Another nick name of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,
mentioned in the Bible (or at least what is left of it in the
English language) is "The Spirit of Truth." As-Saddiq means exactly
that and it is was another name given to Muhammad, peace be upon
him, by those who knew his proclivity for honesty and
integrity.
The New Testament Gospel according to John, Jesus, peace be upon
him, promises them the Paracletos will come four times (John 14:16;
14:26; 15:26; 16:7). Naturally, Jesus, peace be upon him, did not
return in their lifetime nor did any other prophet for that matter,
so later thinkers came up with the notion that it was not Jesus "in
person" but rather, Jesus coming back in "spirit form." This led
some Christians to assert, this was to be the Holy Spirit, who
would descend upon the disciples on the Day of the Pentecost (Acts
2), to witness Christ and lead them into the whole truth and to be
with the believers forever, and they would not die (John 3:16), but
have everlasting life. Also, some added verses later (see footnotes
to Revised Standard Version of the Bible) to the very last chapter
of Mark (16), wherein, they have the Spirit coming upon them in
such a way they imagined themselves going to be able to speak with
new languages; pick up snakes, lay hands on the sick to cure them
and even drink poison and nothing would hurt them. [Luke
23:17-18]
Another point is, the Paracletos, comforter or the Spirit of truth,
was going to dwell with us from now on. Certainly anyone could see
Muhammad's influence and his message of worshipping only One God
without any partners has prevailed long after his earthly
life.
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