BEHOLD THE BEAST
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Islam Reviewed
19 - MUHAMMED OR JESUS FOR SALVATIONMuhammad's daughter, Fatima, was perhaps gripped with the reality of
the hereafter when she asked her father what her fate would be on the
day of judgement. Listen to the "revelation" handed down to Muhammad
to give his daughter:
"Say: I am no bringer of newfangled doctrine among the
apostles, nor do I know what will be done with me or you. I
follow but that which is revealed to me by inspiration; I am but
a warner open and clear." (Sura 46, Al-Ahqaf, Verse 9).
Can you imagine? Muslims claim Muhammad to be the "seal" and
"greatest" of the prophets, yet he wasn't sure of going to heaven himself,
nor could he offer that assurance to his own daughter. If that is what he
believed, why follow him? A religion that cannot grant assurance of
salvation to its own prophet will certainly disappoint its lesser adherents
in the last day. This uncertainty has characterized the lives of all
professing Muslims down through the ages, and it serves as a prelude to
their impending doom. But you need not go the uncertain way of
Muhammad and Fatima. There is a way out for you. Jesus Christ had a
much better answer when Thomas asked Him a similar question:
Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know
the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the father but by me. (John 14:5,6).
This declaration of Jesus does away with the need for all other religions.
If you accept Christ, you are not accepting a religion, but a living Savior.
He alone can give you the assurance of your salvation:
But this man [Jesus] because he continueth ever, hath an
unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:24, 25).
Islam and the Hope of Muslims
The Koran makes an incredible but true statement concerning their fate
that should make every Muslim break out into a cold sweat. The Koran
teaches plainly that both "unbelievers" and Muslims will go to Hell-fire.
The Koran declares that Muslims will eventually be rescued, but
unbelievers (kafir) will remain there. Sura 19, Maryam, verses 67-68, 71-
72:
"But does not man call to mind that we created him before out
of nothing? So by thy Lord, without doubt, we shall gather them
together, and [also] the evil ones [with them]; then shall we
bring them forth on their knees round about hell;
Not one of you but will pass over it [hell]: this is with thy Lord,
a decree which must be accomplished. But we shall save those
who guarded against evil, and we shall leave the wrong doers
therein, [humbled] to their knees."
These statements are so explicit that Islamic scholars cannot explain
them away. All they can say is that they all will first enter Hell before
being saved according to their works. The number of years they will
spend in Hell before help arrives is not specified in the Koran.
I do not have a different interpretation of these Koranic verses than
the Islamic scholars do. All I can say to my Muslim friends is that Hell is
a place of no return. Once you are in there, you are in forever (Sura
6:128; 11:107 cf.. Mark 9:43; Rev.20:10). Even if it were possible to
pluck you out of Hell, the promised Islamic paradise is still a sort of Hell
since the thrice holy God will have nothing to do with a city full of wine
bibbing, adulterous and whoring people.
That an Islamic paradise would not be sin-free is clear from the
"balancing theory" that those whose good deeds outweigh their sins will
enter paradise. It is a false hope. One sin disqualifies you from heaven as
in the case of Adam and Eve. It takes complete holiness to enter the real
heaven (Revelation 21:27; Hebrews 12:14). Our God is so pure that He
cannot tolerate even the smallest sin (if there is such a thing as a small
sin, Habakkuk 1:13).
If Allah's words are to be believed, then it is totally impossible for a
Muslim to escape Hell-fire. In yet another sura of the Koran, Allah
emphatically declares that he has ordained all Muslims and jinns to end
up in Hell:
"If we had so willed, we could certainly have brought every
souls its true guidance: but the word from me will come true. I
will fill hell with jinns and men all together." (Sura 32:13; cf.
again, Sura 19:71).
There is just no way this sura can be twisted to yield a meaning other
than that Muslims along with jinns shall be in Hell-fire. The sura is so
plain that any counter interpretation is impossible.
If Muhammad's words have any meaning for you, they mean that as
long as you are under Allah and in Islam, it is his will to fill Hell with you
and jinns. If you remain a Muslim, that will surely come to pass just as
Allah has said. So that you may be assured that Allah means business, his
intent to jampack you and all other Muslims into Hell-fire is reinforced
by Sura 11:118, 119.
But the true Bible God has an entirely different message, and a
totally different plan. He is not willing that you should go to Hell, but
that you should come to repentance and be saved.
The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1).
From the teaching of Jesus we understand that the Bible God did not
prepare Hell for mankind, but for Satan and his rebellious angels
(Matthew 25:41). You will only end up there if you join Satan in
rebellion against God by rejecting the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Though you have belonged to a religion that has killed millions of
God's people, torn down His altar, sponsored demons to fight against
Him, even if you have personally shed Christian blood, or supported
those who have - whatever you may have done - God really loves you,
and always has. If you truly want to be forgiven, Jesus is stretching forth
His hands of love to receive you; for He also said:
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden [i.e.
burdened with sins and guilt], and I will give you rest. (Matthew
11:28).
The fact that Jesus prayed for His killers is all the reason you need to
believe in Him. He will have mercy on you if you humble yourself and
repent. Do not harden your heart by saying you believe in Jesus already.
You have not believed until you recognize that Jesus is the Son of God,
and accept the truth of His atoning death and resurrection. As a Hell-
bound sinner, nothing short of the shed blood of Jesus can save you:
The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:7-9).