The Return of Jesus (part 1 of 5)
- Categories: Comparative Religion -
Description: Similarities and differences about the second
coming of Jesus between Christians and Muslims. The Messiah at the
end of times according to Judaism.
By Jeremy Boulter (© 2006
IslamReligion.com) - Published on 12 Jun 2006 - Last modified on 01
Apr 2008
Both Islam and Christianity expect the return of Jesus at the end
of times, and both expect trials and tribulations to occur at the
time. Many of the themes of these trials are similar, but they are
also very different in detail and definition. Both religions expect
the nation of believers to be the final victors, but the Christian
believes that these are defined as the believers in the Gospel of
the New Testament and in Christ as 'the Savior' and 'the
Incarnation' of God, whilst the Muslim knows that it refers to
those who believe in the pure monotheism entailed in submission to
the One and Only True God.
The return of Jesus is preceded in both religions by signs, again
similar in general description, but subtly different in detail.
Both religions teach that the return of Jesus will be preceded by a
great and powerful figure of falsehood and temptation, called the
Maseeh ad-Dajjal (The False Messiah) by the Muslims and the
Anti-Christ by the Christians. Before this event other signs that
agree with each other include a general increase in immorality and
fornication, murder and crime, and general lawlessness, debauchery
and falling away from religion and true knowledge. Accompanying
these signs of civil malaise will be internecine[1] wars, and
natural disasters following closely one upon the other. The details
and timings of these, however, are substantially different, even
within particular faiths. How the Christian faith regards the
second coming depends on the doctrinal view held. Four broad views
are prominent: Historical and Dispensational Ante-millennialism,
and Preterist Post and A-millennialism.[2]
Ante-millennialism, has two branches of
interpretation. Both postulate that Jesus will come and then, after
defeating the Anti-Christ, will rule the earth with the 'elect' for
1000 years before the evil souls are resurrected, and Satan is
unbound in the resurrected Anti-Christ[4]. They differ
significantly concerning the events around this second
coming.
While both agree that it will occur during a seven year period of
Tribulation when the Anti-Christ reigns, one places the return of
the Jews to Israel and the rebuilding of the temple during this
seven year period, while the other holds that Jesus will
re-establish Jerusalem as his Capital, rebuilding of the temple
during his reign. The former determines that the past elect of
Church will be raised to life before the tribulation starts, and
then chosen to rule with the descended Jesus, while the righteous
Jews will be resurrected along with heroes who stood against the
Anti-Christ and died at the end of the tribulation, heralding his
reign of peace and plenty. The latter holds that the 'rapture' of
all the elect, these being all the dead saints of Christianity and
the righteous of Judaism before the advent of Christ, will be at
the second coming of Jesus, and will thereafter constitute, with
their offspring, the deserving citizens of the millennium rule.
When Satan is finally loosed in the resurrected Anti-Christ, a
great battle will be fought with the minions of Satan and Satan,
the false prophet, will be defeated and hurled into Hell, ushering
in the end of the world. Here, again, the two branches differ. The
Historicist sees Gog and Magog as the nations Satan leads in
rebellion when he is loosed, while the Dispensationalist, although
he agrees Satan will lead an army of deceived nations, does not
place The Gog and Magog as being among them.[5]
After the defeat of the forces of evil, mountains will crumble, the
earth will become a flat plain and Judgment will be instituted on
the people of earth. The true believers in Christ will be rewarded
with heaven and eternal communion with God, and the disbelievers
and unrepentant sinners will be consigned to hell and eternal
separation from God.
Preterism is the general name for the viewpoint
found in both the views that oppose Ante-millennialism. It sees the
return of Jesus as having already happened at the time of the
destruction of the temple Jerusalem, at least in terms of judgment.
That is, they see people as judged when they die. Hence it sees the
earth itself as everlasting, and that perfecting our faith and the
truth about God is a never ending task set us by God.[6] Among the
partial Preterists, the moment of perfection is the second physical
coming of Jesus, who will then reign forever over those who have
achieved salvation.
Post-millennialism sees the 1000 year reign of
Jesus as more figurative than literal, and that it has already
begun. Jesus is literally the king of earth right now, judging the
dead as they die, and the Christian church is in the process of
perfecting belief in him and defeating Satan. Then Jesus will
return to vanquish the Anti-Christ, heralding the end of the world,
and establish the Church to rule with him.
A-millennialism[7] also sees the 1000 year reign
as figurative and already established, but, like
ante-millennialism, it envisages Judgment Day as the day of sorting
out the good from the bad and eternally consigning them to their
respective destinations.
These viewpoints often overlap, so one is not sure where one
doctrine leaves off and the other starts. None of them, however,
conform to the Islamic view of the reign of Jesus and his role in
the second coming.
Islam sees Jesus' return as a completion of his life and work,
which he left incomplete.[8] As the true Messiah, he alone has the
power granted to him by God to defeat the false Messiah at the end
of time. His rule will witness the invasion of the Gog and Magog,
whom not even he will be able to defeat. Rather, he will pray to
God who will then destroy them Himself. The end of the Gog and
Magog will herald the beginning of a world hegemony in which every
one will believe, or at least submit to, his reign as God's
representative. He will rule by God's Law as taught by Muhammad
(i.e. Islam), may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, until
he dies at the age of about 70 or 75. In this period of time there
will be plenty for all, and peace throughout the world. Then, some
time after he dies and is buried, all the Muslims will be caught up
by a breeze and wafted into the hereafter. The remaining people on
earth will be unbelievers, and they alone will witness the final
chapter of earth.
Many of these events described in Islam echo the concept of the
Messiah at the end of times conceived of in Judaism, although they
believe the Law with which he will reign will be the Law of Moses,
rather than Muhammad, may God praise them both. Both Islam and
Judaism regard the coming of the Messiah as essentially uniting,
gathering believers together from the ends of the earth. Both see
his rule as returning to the fundamentals of faith and Law. Both
see his role as that of a leader who will fight God's war against
the forces of evil, and that this war will be followed by a
peaceful hegemony in which God's Law will prevail throughout the
world.
Where they differ is in who this end of time figure represents. To
the Jews, the Messiah necessarily will be a Jewish leader who
re-establishes Israel and the temple and all its rites in
Jerusalem. To the Muslim, he represents the championing of pure
Islam, sorting hypocrites from true believers.
All three visions of the Messiah at the end of time hold something
in common. In the next four articles, however, we will expound the
Muslim picture of the future, which is envisioned to be just around
the corner. This vision is very clear and subject to little
doctrinal variation, unlike both Jewish and Christian viewpoints.
It is up to you to draw the parallels that are apparent and reject
that which does not reflect the truth represented herein.
___________________________________
Footnotes:
[1] Of mutual slaughter and
destruction
[2] The four views are
represented in most of the different denominations of Christianity.
However, one can broadly divide the Ante-millennial view into
Catholic Dispensationalism v Protestant Historicism, and the
Preterist view into Catholic Post-millennialism v Protestant
A-millennialism.
[4] The False Prophet is often
envisaged as the resurrected Anti-Christ, possessed or influenced
by Satan, but not always. Other interpretations see him as
essentially independent; neither possessed nor resurrected nor the
Anti-Christ.
[5] It is not clear in either
case how the 'wicked nations' survived the Millennium, whether or
not they are constituted of the Gog and Magog.
[6] THE PAROUSIA: A Careful
Look At The New Testament Doctrine Of The Lord's Second Coming, by
James Stuart Russell, (1878).
[7] See: AMILLENNIALISM, or
The truth of the Return of the Lord Jesus, by Rev. D. H.
Kuiper
[8] This does not refer to
the mission given to him by God until his ascension. As Jesus did
not die, and eventually must, his life is not over, nor is the
remainder of the works that constitute the complement of his life
undertaken yet. In John 16:12, Jesus may have been alluding to this
when he said, "I still have much to tell you, but you cannot bear
it now," just prior to the retreat to Gethsemane.
Next: The Return of Jesus (part 2 of 5)
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