More About Prayer

    Have you ever asked someone to pray for you before? If you have done that, were you worshiping that person when you asked for his or her prayers, and why did you not go straight to God the Father through Jesus His Son? I was a Protestant many years ago. I, like a lot of Protestants, used to use these types of arguments to discourage someone from asking for the prayers of the Saints. Necromancy is what Protestants think that is. However, that is not true.
    We are supposed to have faith in God that He will answer our prayers which we pray in accordance with His will. Nevertheless, it is also possible to get some needs of our met by God through the faith of others. An example of this can be found in St. Matthew’s Gospel.
    Someone was sick and needed to be healed. He was a servant of a centurion. The centurion went to Jesus and asked for Jesus’ help.

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. (Matthew 8:5,6, KJV)

Jesus offered to go to his servant and heal him.

And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. (Matthew 8:7, KJV)

The centurion told him merely to speak the word to heal him and not bother to come to his house.

The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. (Matthew 8:8,9, KJV)

Notice that the centurion is a man possessing authority over others, but before Jesus he is humble. He says that he is “not worthy.” We read further about Jesus’ statement regarding this centurion.

When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. (Matthew 8:10, KJV)

The centurion was not even a Jew. Jesus had not found “so great faith” in Israel. Jesus continues to talk about life after the general resurrection of the dead on the Last Day.

And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:11,12, KJV)

The children of the kingdom are the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah and nominal Christians, that is, Christians who profess faith but do not actively follow Christ. Then we read further and see that it was because of the man’s faith that the servant was healed.

And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. (Matthew 8:13, KJV)

The servant was healed by Jesus through the faith of his master.
    Now, let us look at some other verses of Scripture. In Baruch, it says:

O Lord Almighty, Thou God of Israel, hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites, and of their children, which have sinned before Thee, and not hearkened unto the voice of Thee their God: for the which cause these plagues cleave unto us. (Baruch 3:4, KJV)

Dead people pray. Baruch asked God to hear the prayers of the dead Israelites and their children. We can see that dead people pray in this passage from the New Testament, too.

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? (Revelation 6:9,10, KJV)

    In some mysterious way, those who are in heaven know what happens here on earth. We can see this to be true in the following passages of Scripture. When Herod was killing the infants in Bethlehem, Jacob’s wife Rachel was weeping for them.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. (Matthew 2:16-18, KJV)

Rachel was dead. (Genesis 35:19) She was aware of what was happening to the infants in Bethlehem many years later. Several Old Testament Saints are mentioned in the 11th chapter of Hebrews: Abel (Hebrews 11:4), Enoch (Hebrews 11:5), Noah (Hebrews 11:7), Abraham (Hebrews 11:8-10, 17-19), Sarah (11:11,12), Isaac (Hebrews 11:18-20), Jacob (Hebrews 11:20,21), Joseph (Hebrews 11:22), Moses (Hebrews 11:23-29), the Israelites under Joshua (Hebrews 11:30), Rahab (Hebrews 11:31), Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtha, David, Samuel, the rest of the prophets (Hebrews 11:32), and several others (Hebrews 11:35-40). In the first two verses of the following chapter, St. Paul calls those Old Testament Saints “a great cloud of witnesses.” They compass us. In some mysterious way, they know what we are doing, but they are not omnipresent.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1,2, KJV)

Later in the same chapter, St. Paul says that we have come to an innumerable company of angels and the spirits of just men made perfect. Although the angels and the spirits of just men are not omnipresent, we can still be in their presence through some mysterious means established by God who is omnipresent.

But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24, KJV)

In St. Luke’s Gospel, we can see that those in heaven know what happens on earth, too.

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. (Luke 15:7, KJV)

Those in heaven are not omnipresent. Even angels are aware of what happens on earth.

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke 15:10, KJV)

    In some mysterious way, angels in heaven know what we are doing here on earth. They know when sinners repent. Angels are not omnipresent. Only God is omnipresent.
    So then, if we were to say something to someone in heaven, they would hear us.
    In St. Paul’s epistles, we can see that St. Paul asked others to pray for him.

Brethren, pray for us. (I Thessalonians 5:25, KJV)

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. (II Thessalonians 3:1,2, KJV)

Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. (Hebrews 13:18, KJV)

Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6) St. Paul said that there is “one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5, NKJV) So, if these things are true, was St. Paul trying to get to God the Father by bypassing Jesus? Was St. Paul worshiping those people when he asked for their prayers?

    Of course not. Those passages of Scripture do not forbid anyone for praying for someone else. St. Paul even told people to pray for others.

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. (I Timothy 2:1,2, KJV)

Jesus is the only Mediator between God and men because He is both God and Man. As Man, He can sympathize with us. He knows what it is like to be tired, hungry, and thirsty. He knows what it is like to suffer and experience death. As God, He knows what it is like to be hated by one’s own creatures.
    As for going to the Father through Jesus, that is how we approach the Father. However, it is possible for someone to go to the Father through the Son in prayer and not even be aware that that is how his prayers reach the Father. An example of such an instance is Cornelius before his conversion. In Acts it says:

There was a certain man in Cæsarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. (Acts 10:1-4, KJV)

Cornelius was not even tacking on the words, “in Jesus’ name,” to his prayers and they were being answered. He was not even praying “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” His prayers had gone up for a memorial before God. Later in this same chapter we read that Cornelius and his household were converted to Christianity and were baptized. (Acts 10:25-48)
    So then, someone could be praying to the Father through the Son, be heard by God, and not be familiar with the theology of prayer.
    God is omniscient. Each Person of the Trinity is omniscient. So, if someone who is not a Christian prays, is God unaware of that person’s prayer? Of course not. God’s mercy extends even to those who live in ignorance, but if they are exposed to the truth, then they must respond appropriately by accepting the truth and amending their lives in accordance with their new insight into what God wants them to do.
    You can see now, I hope, how people misinterpret those verses (John 14:6 and I Timothy 2:5).
    Now, I am will resume my discourse on the intercession of the Saints. In St. James’ Epistle it says:

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias [Elijah] was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. (James 5:16-18, KJV)

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. If that is the case, then the prayers of all of those righteous men and women in heaven should be quite effective in getting one’s requests from God. If it is something good and in accordance with God’s will, there should be no problem getting one’s prayers answered through such effective intercessors.
    The intercession of the Saints is effective. I leave you all with this one caveat. If you do not get what you ask, maybe you are asking for the wrong things or with the wrong motives. If you ask God for billions of dollars, then are you really serving God or money? (Matthew 6:24) God does not help people sin. Also, if you do not get your petitions filled, maybe God in His infinite wisdom sees something better for you in the bigger picture. Problems and difficulties are part of the lives of believers.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal. (II Corinthians 4:16-18, KJV)

These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33, KJV)

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (II Timothy 3:12, KJV)

Not everyone will prevented from dying through the prayers of the Saints. It is God’s will for everyone to die someday.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27, KJV)

People can postpone death, but no one can completely avoid it. When it is God’s time for someone to die, that person is going to die.
    It is perfectly acceptable to ask someone else to pray for you. When you do that, you are not bypassing Jesus to get to God the Father. If that were true, St. Paul would not have asked others to pray for him and his colleagues, but St. Paul did request prayers from the churches to whom he wrote. He acknowledged that Jesus is the Mediator between God and men. That means that, as God and Man, Jesus is the only Person who can adequately fill that role. People can obtain answers to prayers without understanding the theology of prayer like Cornelius did before his conversion. The Saints are, in some mysterious way, aware of what we do here on earth. Therefore, it is possible to ask for their prayers. Asking for their prayers is not bypassing Jesus to get to God the Father, nor does it constitute worshiping the Saints. It is possible to obtain help from God through someone else’s faith — including the faith of a Saint. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16) Try asking for the help of the Saints when you pray. “God is wondrous in His Saints.”

Some Principles of Prayer

   I want to post here some basic principles of prayer. People pray and do not always see their prayers come to fruition. Of course, God is not under any obligation to grant us anything that we seek from Him in prayer. However, He does provide us with some principles of effective prayer in His Word.

Faith in Him

The first principle is to believe that God exists and that He will one day in the afterlife reward those who diligently seek Him. This principle is in the 11th chapter of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6, KJV)

Someone who doubts the existence of God is not likely to obtain anything in prayer from Him. If he does, God is being merciful to the doubter. An atheist will never discover that God truly exists because faith in His existence is a prerequisite for drawing near to Him.

  People discover God through prayer not through science of philosophy. It is impossible to find God through empirical scientific methods because the substance of which God exists is unknowable. God created us so that we can never perceive through our senses or the extension of our senses the divine essence, that is, the substance of which He consists. Philosophical arguments might point toward the existence of God, but it is only through prayer that we connect with Him.

  The second prerequisite in the verse from Hebrews is belief that God will reward those who diligently seek  Him on the day of judgment at the end of this present age. It is a dogma in traditional Christianity that there will be a resurrection of the bodies of those who have died. Some will receive lavish rewards for what they have done in their mortal lifetimes. Others will receive shame and contempt for their evil deeds. It is necessary to believe this dogma in order to draw near to God.

   People’s deeds often reflect their beliefs. If someone believes that cats attract evil spirits, he will not own a cat. If someone believes that he can safely fly in a plane to another city, he will have no trouble boarding the plane and traveling there. If someone believes that God will reward him well in the afterlife for all the good that he does in this life, he will try to do as much good as he can while he is alive. Genuine faith is always manifested in actions which demonstrate the genuineness of the faith of the person who believes.

The Self-Sufficiency of God

  The next principle is realizing that God really does not need our prayers. Jesus said:

Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him. (Matthew 6:8, KJV)

God already knows what we need before we ask Him. God is all-knowing. He knows what we will do before we do it. He knows what will happen two weeks from now, two months from now, even two centuries from now.

  Prayer is for our own spiritual benefit. Prayer does not benefit God. It benefits us in our own spiritual growth. Through prayer we are able to see how magnificent God is as He answers our prayers. When He does not give us what we ask from Him, we can start looking introspectively at ourselves to see if there are any faults we need to correct in ourselves. We can try to see what is the bigger picture that God sees but what we do not see. We must always believe that God is wiser than we are and like a father who sees harm that could come to his small child if he is allowed to have his way, God prevents us from having some things that He sees are not in our best interest to have.

  Whenever you pray, always remember that you are not telling God anything He does not already know.

Pray in Secret

  If at all possible, one should pray in secret. People who turn prayer into some way to show off to others how “righteous and holy” they are do not find favor with God. Jesus said:

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:6, KJV)

  There is such a thing as corporate prayer in church. Private prayer, however, should be done in secret and not for the purpose of attracting attention to oneself. Whenever you pray for someone, let God be the only one who knows that you are praying for that person.

Persistence

  The next principle is persistence. Jesus said:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him? (Matthew 7:7-11, KJV)

The verbs translated as “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” in this passage should be more accurately translated as “keep on asking,” “keep on seeking,” and “keep on knocking.” Although God already knows what we need before we ask, He still wants us to persistently ask Him for some things. I have seen prayers get answered the next day or even within a few hours. I have also seen prayers answered after praying for some things for three, four, and even five years. Not all prayers get answered instantaneously.

  There is a passage in St. Luke’s Gospel which parallels the one just quoted from St. Matthew’s Gospel. This passage contains similar teachings and was delivered by Jesus at a different time during His ministry.

And He said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if [he ask] a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? (Luke 11:5-13, KJV)

Jesus emphasizes here the necessity to be persistent in prayer. God does not need our prayers but for our own spiritual benefit He demands that we persist in prayer and not fall into despair when we do not immediately see our prayers being answered.

  Another time during His ministry, Jesus told this parable.

And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1-8, KJV)

Once again, Jesus encourages us to be persistent in prayer.

In Sirach it says:

Be not fainthearted when thou makest thy prayer, and neglect not to give alms. (Sirach 7:10, KJV)

One can see in this verse from Sirach that the teaching regarding persistence in prayer is an Old Testament teaching as well. We should not grow fainthearted when we pray and abandon prayer when we do  not see the realization of that for which we seek from God.

  St. Paul told us to pray without ceasing. (I Thessalonians 5:17) Be persistent in prayer and never abandon God. God will reward those who diligently seek Him.

Replace Anxiety with Prayer

  The next principle is to replace anxiety with prayer. Instead of being anxious, let God know about your problems. Actually, God already knows about them. You are just making Him aware that you are aware of these problems and are imploring Him for assistance. Prayer is really for our own spiritual benefit. In Philippians it says:

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7, KJV)

After you see God granting your requests, be sure to thank Him.

Ask in Faith

  The next principle is to believe that God will grant you your legitimate requests. In St. James’ Epistle, it says:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8, KJV)

Avoid Making Illegitimate Requests

 God does not grant all petitions to everyone. If you want God to make you a billionaire, He most probably will not grant you your request. If you want God to help you start up a financially successful prostitution ring, He will not help you. The demons will help you do that, but God will not. St. James said:

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. (James 4:3, KJV)

Pray according to God’s Will

  Instead of illegitimate requests, we should present before God legitimate ones. In St. John’s First Epistle it says:

And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. (I John 5:14,15, KJV)

If we are praying for God to help us keep His commandments, He will help us to do that. God wants His Church to grow and flourish. So, if we are praying for more people to come to Christ and become united to His Church, God will help us evangelize and build the Church. Just search the Bible for God’s commandments and ask God to help you keep them. If you do that, you will be praying according to His will.

The Effect of Obedience and Disobedience in Prayer

 Keeping God’s commandments is necessary in order to maintain a relationship with God. We cannot earn God’s love and mercy, but we must still continue to strive to obey Him if we want to remain in a covenant relationship with Him.

  In Sirach it says:

Whoso honoureth his father shall have joy of his own children; and when he maketh his prayer, he shall be heard. (Sirach 3:5, KJV)

Honoring one’s parents is essential in effective prayer. If we dishonor our parents, God may withhold His blessings from us. Our prayers may not get answered.

He that forsaketh his father is as a blasphemer; and he that angereth his mother is cursed of God. (Sirach 3:16, KJV)

  Married men should maintain good relationships with their wives. Abusive husbands lose their ability to obtain their requests from God. In St. Peter’s First Epistle, it says:

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. (I Peter 3:7, KJV)

Whenever I think about harmony in marriage, I am reminded by this verse from the Quran.

And of His signs is this: He created for you helpmeets from yourselves that ye might find rest in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy. Lo! Herein indeed are portents for folk who reflect. (Quran 30:21, Pickthall)

I do not believe that this verse has been abrogated by other verses in the Quran. Anyone who thinks that it is abrogated has missed the whole point of the Quranic message. That is a subject for a later blog post.

  Men should show love and mercy toward their wives. Women should show love and mercy toward their husbands. I think that this is a Biblical teaching as well as a Quranic one.

  Whenever we see bad things happen to our enemies, we should not rejoice. In Sirach it says:

Rejoice not over thy greatest enemy being dead, but remember that we die all. (Sirach 8:7, KJV)

In Proverbs it says:

If thine enemy should fall, rejoice not over him, neither be elated at his overthrow. For the Lord will see it, and it will not please Him, and He will turn away his wrath from him. (Proverbs 24:17,18, LXX)

Jesus told us to love our enemies. (Matthew 5:44) If you are praying for God to help you love your enemies, you are praying a prayer in accordance with His will. If you pray that prayer in faith, perhaps you will experience the answer to that prayer. You will love those who do not love you.

The Quran says that the first followers of Muhammad are the best community raised up for mankind. (Quran 3:110) It also says that they loved those who did not love them. (Quran 3:119) Loving one’s enemies is exemplary behavior. Hating them and fighting against them is not exemplary.

  In St. John’s First Epistle, it says;

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. (I John 3:22, KJV)

In Sirach it says:

To depart from wickedness is a thing pleasing to the Lord; and to forsake unrighteousness is a propitiation. (Sirach 35:3, KJV)

Abandoning sin and obeying God pleases Him. When we are living a life that pleases Him we are within that covenant relationship with Him and we can see our prayers prayed in accordance with His will answered.

  Those who believe that they have a relationship with God, but do not strive to obey His commandments are only deceiving themselves. They really do not know God at all. St. John the Theologian wrote:

He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:4, KJV)

  Those who curse others will not receive answers to their prayers. In Sirach

When one prayeth, and another curseth, whose voice will the Lord hear? (Sirach 34:24, KJV)

St. Paul said to bless and curse not. (Romans 12:14) When one curses others, he is not living his life in a covenant relationship with God.

  When we turn from our sins through fasting and repentance, we should not go back to practicing our sins again. Otherwise, our fasting is unprofitable. Returning to one’s old sinful practices can prevent one from receiving answers to prayer from God.

He that washeth himself after the touching of a dead body, if he touch it again, what availeth his washing? So is it with a man that fasteth for his sins, and goeth again, and doeth the same: who will hear his prayer? Or what doth his humbling profit him? (Sirach 34:25,26, KJV)

Service and Humility

   The last principle that I will mention here is to serve God and be humble towards Him. In Sirach it says:

He that serveth the Lord shall be accepted with favour, and his prayer shall reach unto the clouds. (Sirach 34:16, KJV)

We serve God by worshiping Him. We also serve Him when we help others. Those who serve God faithfully have powerful prayer lives.

  Humility toward God is also necessary. God exalts the humble. He debases the proud. One should glory in God and not in oneself.

But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. (II Corinthians 10:17, KJV)

In Sirach it says:

The prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds: and till it come nigh, he will not be comforted; and will not depart, till the Most High shall behold to judge righteously, and execute judgment. (Sirach 35:17, KJV)

St. Peter wrote:

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. (I Peter 5:6,7, KJV)

Always remember that God loves us and cares for us. Reflect on His greatness and your dependency on Him and humility will come. God exalts the humble and answers their prayers.

  These principles if implemented will improve the effectiveness of one’s prayers. Pray prayers in accordance with God’s will in faith. Trust God and thank Him when you get your requests from Him. Live your life in obedience to Him and in humility toward Him as much as possible. Do not revert back to your old sinful practices after repenting. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls into adverse circumstances. Spouses live in harmony with each other. Honor your parents. Remember that prayer is ultimately for our own spiritual benefit. Be persistent in prayer and never doubt God’s mercy. As the Quran says, He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy. (Quran 7:151; 12:64,92; 21:83,109,118)

Islamophobia or Not?

I just want to give some of my thoughts here on the subject of Islamophobia. I have seen those who speak out against Islamophobia — the fear of Islam and Muslims and I have seen those who want to put all Muslims in the same box with the same label on them. In all fairness we need to look at this subject realistically.

First of all, we need to define Islam. Islam means in Arabic — submission, that is, submission to God. The Bible teaches that we should submit to God.

Now do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. (II Chronicles 30:8, NKJV)

Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? (Hebrews 12:9, NKJV)

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7, NKJV)

So, there is nothing wrong from both a Jewish standpoint and a Christian one about the concept of submitting to God. Both Testaments of the Bible teach that.

The problem lies in what exactly constitutes this submission to God. What are the commandments of God that we are supposed to keep? Muslims are not unanimous on this subject. There are those who think like Anjem Choudary. There are those who think like DAESH (also called ISIL, ISIS, and the Islamic State group). There are those who think like other terrorist groups (Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Hezbollah, for example). The religions that these various groups practice are to them Islam. There are those who do not think those “radical Islamists.”

One can label these groups as non-Islamic, Pseudo-Islamic, or call their versions of Islam radical Islam. However, one labels them does not matter. They still exist.

Then, there is the subject of sharia. This word means different things to different Muslims because there is more than one version of sharia. To many Muslims, sharia is nothing more than an ethical code. All it is is rules concerning fasting and prayer, and how one should treat one’s fellow man. Many Muslims believe that whenever a traveler enters a predominantly Muslim country, he or she comes under the protection of the Muslims, even if that person is “an infidel.” Many Muslims believe that whenever they enter another country they come under a covenant with that country to obey its laws. (This is sharia, believe it or not.) Many Muslims believe that they should love for their neighbor what they love for themselves. (This is an Islamic version of the Golden Rule.) In contrast to these Muslims, there are still those who believe that they should try to implement their extreme version of Islam into society. They believe that the hadd punishments — the cutting off of hands, floggings, etc. — should be inflicted upon “sinners” by the state. So, they want to change the society in which they live so that these hadd punishments become the law of the land. There are verses in the Koran which say to cut off the hand of a thief and to flog fornicators and adulterers. (Koran 5:33,38; 24:2) Not all Muslims, however, interpret those verses the same way. Some interpret Koran 5:38, for example, figuratively. They think that it means to obstruct the power and resources of a thief, not to cut off his hand. So, it is not fair to say that all Muslims believe that one should cut off the hand of a thief or flog someone for fornication. There are those Muslims who believe that adulterers should be stoned to death. This belief is derived from the Sunnah — a collection of alleged sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad which were written down over 200 years after he had died. (There is no death penalty for adultery or fornication in the Koran.) There are Muslims who accept all of the hadiths (those alleged sayings and deeds of Muhammad) which are graded by the compilers as sahih (authentic). There are other Muslims who do not accept all of the sahih hadiths. They accept only the ones which do not contradict the teachings of the Koran. The Hanafi Muslims are like that. Most of the Pakistani Muslims are Hanafi Muslims. There are other Muslims who reject all of the hadiths and accept only the Koran. Those Muslims are called Koranists (or Quranists).

What I am basically trying to say here is that there is more than one version of Islam. Anyone who claims to give the Muslim interpretation of the Koran and says that all Muslims interpret the Koran that way does not know what he is talking about. Anyone who quotes from a hadith book a sahih hadith and thinks that all Muslims accept that hadith does not know what he is talking about. Still, there are those Muslims who really do accept those barbaric sahih hadiths and think that they should practice them. (I’m  not talking about the good, positive ones.)  For example, there is a sahih hadith that says that Muhammad said, “Whoever changes his religion, kill him.” They use this hadith to justify killing apostates from Islam. (There is no death penalty for apostasy in the Koran, by the way.) Then, there are all of those crazy ones about drinking camel urine as a medicine and other such things. (Maybe someone invented that hadith in order to promote his business of selling camel urine. To me, those hadiths are nothing more than hearsay and fabrications.)

To some Muslims, Islam means fasting, praying, helping others, doing good deeds, and giving to the poor. All of the “radical” stuff they reject.

I remember going to see some Muslims in their apartment once. I was trying to convert one of them to Christianity. This happened during my college days. The Muslims were from Turkey. I got nowhere with any of them. They did not believe the Bible. They kept telling me that the priests had corrupted it. (I think they are in error on that subject.) As I was leaving, I asked one of them, “Don’t y’all believe that you must cut off the heads of those who refuse to convert to Islam?” He said to me, “There is no compulsion in religion.” Another Muslim has told me the same thing on another occasion. When I started reading the Koran, I found out that the Koran actually does say that. (Koran 2:256)

Then, there is the issue of abrogation. Muslims do not agree on which verses in the Koran have been abrogated. There are some Muslims who believe that Koran 2:256 which says that “there is no compulsion in religion” has been abrogated by some later verses spoken by Muhammad while he was in Medina. Some Muslims believe that there are hadiths that abrogate verses in the Koran. Other Muslims do not believe that Koran 2:256 has been abrogated at all. There are Muslims who believe that the hadiths cannot abrogate the Koran because the Koran is the supreme standard by which everything else must be judged. The Koran, in their view, is the revelation. The hadiths are not. So, they reject hadiths that contradict the Koran and accept the ones which they think help them better get at the true meaning of the Koran.

So, the point I want to make here is that there is more than one version of Islam. Whenever someone accuses someone else of being an Islamophobe, I must question which version of Islam they are referring to. There are some versions of Islam that I think any sane Western person should fear. There are other versions that no one should fear. If someone is talking about the type of Islam that involves praying, fasting, reading the Koran, and helping the poor but none of the so-called “radical” stuff like the hadd punishments, then no one should fear that kind of Islam. On the other hand, if one is talking about the type of Islam that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi practiced or the kind practiced by the Taliban, then people should fear that kind of Islam.

What about Koranophobia? I am not Koranophobic. The Koran contains a lot of good teachings in it that we Christians would agree on. “God will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Koran 13:11) God is “the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.” (Koran 7:151; 12:64, 92; 21:83) As for the verses that people like David Wood and Robert Spencer quote (Koran 3:28,85; 5:51; 9:5,29,73,111,123; 98:6), it all boils down to interpretation. Not all Muslims interpret those verses the way they do. Some Muslims unfortunately do, however.

Likewise, not all Christians interpret the Bible the same way.

So, should Western non-Muslims be Islamophobic? Well, it all depends on what you mean when you say Islam. Some versions of Islam we should fear. Other versions we should not fear. In some instances there should be Islamophobia. In other instances there should be no Islamophobia at all. That is the correct answer to this question, in my opinion.

The Prophet Adam

The majority of Muslims believe that the first man was a prophet although the Koran really does not clearly say that he was a prophet. There are some Muslims who say that he was not a prophet. I will talk about the prophethood of Adam from a Koranic perspective here.

One of the verses which is used to support the position that Adam was a prophet is taken from the Second Surah:

Mankind was [of] one religion [before their deviation]; then Allah sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed. (Koran 2:213, Sahih International)

The word translated from Arabic into English as “religion” is ummatan. This word is translated as community or nation in other translations of the Koran.

Mankind were one community, and Allah sent (unto them) prophets as bearers of good tidings and as warners, and revealed therewith the Scripture with the truth that it might judge between mankind concerning that wherein they differed. (Koran 2:213, Pickthall)

Mankind was one single nation, and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed. (Koran 2:213, Yusuf Ali)

So, this verse cannot be interpreted to mean that there was only one religion on earth and the first man was a practitioner of that religion without the use of other verses which would support that view.

In another place in the Second Surah it says:

Then Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He relented toward him. Lo! He is the relenting, the Merciful. (Koran 2:37, Pickthall)

The words in parentheses are an addition by the translator. However, if Adam received any words from God then that would be a revelation from Him. So, those words would be words of revelation.

The next verse says:

We said: Go down, all of you, from hence; but verily there cometh unto you from Me a guidance; and whoso followeth My guidance, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. (Koran 2:38, Pickthall)

Incidentally, this is one of many verses in the Koran, which in my opinion, teach the doctrine of the Trinity. God uses “We” indicating a plurality of Persons (namely, Three) and “Me” and “My” indicating that all Three Persons are one and the same God.

This verse says that Adam received guidance from God. This verse might be talking about a guidance coming from Adam and Eve’s offspring. In other words, one of their progeny is the guidance.

That would agree with the Bible which the Koran says to believe.

Believers, have faith in God and His Messenger, the Book which is revealed to him, and the Bible which has been revealed before. Whoever refuses to believe in God, His angels, Books, Messengers and the Day of Judgment, has gone far away from the right path. (Koran 4:136, Muhammad Sarwar)

If it is words given to them by God, these words were given to them after they were expelled from the garden. In verse 36 of this surah it says:

But Satan caused them to deflect therefrom and expelled them from the (happy) state in which they were; and We said: Fall down, one of you a foe unto the other! There shall be for you on earth a habitation and provision for a time. (Koran 2:36, Pickthall)

The words that God gave the Serpent are the words that Adam passed onto his posterity and are probably what the Koran is referring to. In Genesis 3, it says:

So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:14,15, NKJV)

These verses are interpreted by Christians to be a prophecy of Christ. The woman is a prophetic reference to Mary the mother of Jesus. Her Seed is a prophetic reference to Jesus Christ. The Serpent is Satan. Satan bruised Jesus’ heel when He was crucified. The idolatrous Roman soldiers were servants of Satan since they were idolaters. (See I Corinthians 10:20.) Jesus said the night before His crucifixion:

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. (John 14:30. NKJV)

The “ruler of this world” is Satan. The Jews who came to get Jesus and try Him were also servants of Satan. Jesus told the Jews who did not believe in Him that their father is the devil. (See John 8:44.)

He had also said that “the ruler of this world” would be cast out.

Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die. (John 12:30-33, NKJV)

He was talking about His crucifixion in this context. St. John the Theologian said that Jesus “was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (I John 3:8) He did this by not just being a sacrifice for sins, but also by destroying death by His death. (John 10:17,18; Acts 2:24; II Timothy 1:10)

Koran 2:38 says: “whoso followeth My guidance, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.” The guidance is to be followed by Adam’s posterity. Since a prophecy of Christ was given to Adam in Genesis 3. (His wife and he heard the words God said to the serpent.) Then the guidance is a reference to Jesus Christ in this verse from the Koran. Jesus said:

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6, NKJV)

Historically, the words of Christ, “I am the Way,” have been interpreted to mean that Jesus is our guide, teacher, and example. (I know that that is not how these words are interpreted by many in our modern times, but the Church Fathers interpreted these words that way.) If we are following Jesus’ teachings and example, then we are walking in the light and not in darkness. (See John 8:12.)

There are other words that Adam received from God before the expulsion from the Garden. In Genesis 2, God said:

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18, NKJV)

St. Paul based his teaching concerning women on this verse.

For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. (I Corinthians 11:8,9, NKJV)

Further on in Genesis 2, we read:

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:21-24, NKJV)

St. Paul bases his teachings concerning marriage and the relationship between Christ and the Church on this passage.

So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:28-33, NKJV)

Another text from the Koran that is used to say that Adam is a prophet of God is in the Third Surah.

Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of ‘Imran over the worlds. (Koran 3:33, Sahih International)

The family of Imran is the family of Joachim. According to Church tradition, Mary’s father’s name was Joachim and her mother was Anna. Both genealogies of Christ that appear in the Gospels are Joseph’s genealogies, not Mary’s. [See The Epistle to Aristides, by Julius Africanus (200-245).] Imran, according to the commentary section of The Study Quran, comes from an Arabic root which means to “erect,” “build,” or “set up.” The name, Joachim, means “He whom Yahweh set up.” (See page 141 of The Study Quran.) So, according to this verse from the Quran, God (Allah) chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of Joachim. According to Church tradition, Joachim and Anna had only one child, Mary, and Mary had only one Child, Jesus. (I know Protestants will disagree with me about Mary having only one Child, but that is a subject for another blog post.)

God chose them over the worlds. In other words, Adam, Noah, Abraham and his family, Joachim, Anna, Mary, and Jesus are the most important people in the entire universe. Christians, by the way, become part of Abraham’s family through their faith in Christ. (See Galatians 3:26.)

Back to the subject at hand. Not everyone in Abraham’s family was a prophet. He had children by Keturah who were not prophets. (See Genesis 25:1-4.) Joachim and Anna were not prophets. However, we did get some words of Scripture from Mary. (See Luke 1:46-55.)

One can build arguments from the Koran which say that Adam was a prophet. These Muslims believe that Adam was a prophet: https://islam.stackexchange.com/questions/31053/is-adam-a-s-considered-a-rasul and http://www.therevival.co.uk/adam-eve-quran. It is also possible to refute these arguments. This Muslim does not believe that Adam was a prophet: https://submission.org/friday_who_is_Adam.html. The Koran, as I have already pointed out, says to believe the Bible. (Koran 4:136) I think that when we look at the Bible we can see that the issue of Adam’s prophethood is clearly resolved.

Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.” (Luke 1:67-75, NKJV)

Adam was the first man who existed in the initial period of the world’s history. The Prophet Zacharias says that there have been prophets since the world began. Therefore, he was a prophet. Yes, he messed up, like a lot of prophets did, but that does not nullify his prophethood. (See Romans 11:29.)

The prophecies that they relate to us say “that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” (Luke 1:71) From Adam, we get God’s words to the Serpent. (Genesis 3:14,15) That is a prophecy of Christ defeating the Devil — mankind’s greatest enemy. From Adam, we also get words which allegorically speak of Christ’s relationship to His Church. (Genesis 2:21-24) So, yes, those Muslims who say that Adam was a prophet are quite correct.

 

 

From Polytheism to Monotheism: Abraham and His Father

One of the things that I have found to be interesting is how someone from a polytheistic background can convert to monotheism. It is interesting to note that Abraham’ father, according to both the Bible and the Koran, was a polytheist.

In the Book of Joshua, it says:

And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac.” (Joshua 24:2,3, NKJV)

Abraham and his brother, Nahor, became monotheists. Their father, Terah, was a polytheist.

In Genesis, Laban, who is Nahor’s son (See Genesis 24:15,29.), said to Jacob:

The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us. (Genesis 31:53, NKJV)

Here, God is the God of Abraham, Nahor, and “their father.” Their father is probably an ancestor of Abraham and Nahor, like Noah, for example, and not Terah. It was customary to refer to one’s male ancestors as one’s fathers. (See John 4:12, for example. The Samaritan woman called Jacob her father. Also, See John 8:39. The Jews called Abraham their father. In Deuteronomy 6:10, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are called the Israelites’ fathers.)

In the Koran, there is similar testimony to the polytheism of Terah. Only Terah is called Azar in the Koran. The Koran often uses names which differ from those which appear in the Bible, like calling Enoch Idris, for example. The Arabic word “Azar” was simply substituted for the Hebrew word, “Terah.”

Remember when Abraham said to Azar, his father: “Why do you take idols for God? I certainly find you and your people in error.” (Koran 6:74, Ahmed Ali)

He (the father) said: “Do you reject my gods, O Ibrahim (Abraham)? If you stop not (this), I will indeed stone you. So get away from me safely before I punish you.” (Koran 19:46, Hilali & Khan)

Behold! Abraham said to his father and his people: “I do indeed clear myself of what ye worship.” (Koran 43:26, Yusuf Ali)

Terah, Abraham, and Lot journeyed to the land of Canaan, but they settled in Haran and not Canaan. Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:31,32)

When Abraham’s servant left Abraham to find a wife for Isaac, he went to the City of Nahor in Mesopotamia. (Genesis 24:10) The city was apparently named after either Abraham’s brother, Nahor, or his grandfather, Nahor. (See Genesis 11:24,25.) Mesopotamia is the land of the Chaldeans. Today, it is called Iraq. It was also called Babylon in ancient times. The Babylonians and the Sumerians, who lived in the same region, were polytheists.

In the 60th Surah, it says:

Abraham and those with him are the best examples for you to follow. They told the people, “We have nothing to do with you and with those whom you worship besides God. We have rejected you. Enmity and hatred will separate us forever unless you believe in One God.” Abraham told his father, “I shall ask forgiveness for you only, but I shall not be of the least help to you before God.” (Koran 60:4, Sarwar)

The enmity and hatred are generated by the polytheists and not by the monotheists. In the Third Surah, it says:

Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors… Ah! ye are those who love them, but they love you not, — though ye believe in the whole of the Book. (Koran 3:110, 119, Yusuf Ali)

Those who believe in God love those who do not love them. When you look at all of the context in which these verses occur, it becomes clear that the people who did not love the monotheist Muslims were the Muslims’ enemies. The Muslims loved their enemies like Christ commanded, although their enemies did not love them. (Matthew 5:44)

The Koran teaches that God guides people into ways of peace.

Whereby God guides whosoever follows His good pleasure in the ways of peace, and brings them forth from the shadows into the light by His leave; and He guides them to a straight path. (Koran 5:16, Arberry)

There are only three reasons for war in the Koran: to exercise self-defense (Koran 2:190; 9:13), to end religious persecution (Koran 2:193; 9:12), and to liberate the oppressed (Koran 4:75). People who start wars are causing corruption on the earth. (Koran 5:64) The Koran forbids people to cause corruption of the earth. (Koran 2:11; 7:56)

Satan is the one who sows enmity among mankind.

Tell My servants, (O Muhammad), to say always that which is best. Verily it is Satan who sows discord among people. Satan indeed is an open enemy to mankind. (Koran 17:53, Maududi)

The Koran teaches us not to follow the footsteps of Satan. In this instance, do not sow discord and enmity among people like the devil does.

O believers, come to full submission to God. Do not follow in the footsteps of Satan your acknowledged foe. (Koran 2:208, Ahmed Ali)

So, Abraham, Nahor, Lot, and those with them did not exhibit enmity and hatred toward the polytheists among their people. The polytheists generated enmity and hatred toward the monotheists.

Being a monotheist involves more than simply acknowledging the existence of one God. The demons believe that there is one God. (James 2:19) Practicing righteousness and loving others is part of the practice of monotheism. In the Bible, it says:

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26, NKJV)

He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:4, NKJV)

Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (I John 3:13-15, NKJV)

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (I John 4:8, NKJV)

In the Koran, the practice of righteousness and faith are joined together.

Surely this Koran guides to the way that is straightest and gives good tidings to the believers who do deeds of righteousness, that theirs shall be a great wage. (Koran 17:9, Arberry)

Except those who repent and believe, and work righteousness. Such will enter Paradise and they will not be wronged in aught. (Koran 19:60, Mubarakpuri)

Verily, those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, the Most Gracious will bestow love for them. (Koran 19:96, Mubarakpuri)

But whoso cometh unto Him a believer, having done good works, for such are the high stations; Gardens of Eden underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide for ever. That is the reward of him who groweth. (Koran 20:75,76, Pickthall)

Those who practice transgressing God’s commandments are not like the believers who practice keeping God’s commandments.

Is one who is a believer like one who is a transgressor? No, they are not alike. (Koran 32:18, Ahmed Ali)

In other words, those who do not practice righteousness are not believers. They do not know God. (I John 2:4; 4:8)

Those who commit evil deeds should not think that they will receive the same rewards from God as the believers.

Do those who commit evil deeds think that We will make them (equal) to the believers who do good works, so that in life and death they shall be alike? How evil they judge! (Koran 45:21, Qaribullah & Darwish)

We demonstrate our faith by our works. Abraham did this. (Hebrews 11:8,9; James 2:21-23)

The lesson to be learned in regards to Abraham and his father is that we should not allow our own family to separate us from our faith in God. If our own family members do not believe, we should not follow their example of disbelief. Christ quoted the Prophet Micah, saying that a man’s enemies would be those of his own household. (Matthew 10:34-37; Micah 7:6) Muhammad, likewise, told his followers that their own family members would be against them.

Believers! [Even] among your wives and your children you have enemies: so beware of them. But if you overlook their offences and forgive and pardon them, then surely, God is most forgiving and merciful. (Koran 64:14, Wahiddudin Khan)

Jesus said to love your enemies. (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27) This was the practice of Muhammad’s followers. (Koran 3:110,119) Both Jesus and Muhammad said to forgive them. (Matthew 6:14,15; Mark 11:25,26; Luke 6:37; Koran 2:109; 3:134; 24:22; 45:14; 64:14) According to the Koran, Abraham practiced peace and forgiveness towards his idolatrous father.

And mention in the Book Abraham; surely he was a true man, a Prophet. When he said to his father, ‘Father, why worshippest thou that which neither hears nor sees, nor avails thee anything? Father, there has come to me knowledge such as came not to thee; so follow me, and I will guide thee on a level path. Father, serve not Satan; surely Satan is a rebel against the All-merciful. Father, I fear that some chastisement from the All-merciful will smite thee, so that thou becomest a friend to Satan. Said he, ‘What, art thou shrinking from my gods, Abraham? Surely, if thou givest not over, I shall stone thee; so forsake me now for some while.’ He said, ‘Peace be upon thee! I will ask my Lord to forgive thee; surely He is ever gracious to me. Now I will go apart from you and that you call upon, apart from God; I will call upon my Lord, and haply I shall not be, in calling upon my Lord, unprosperous. So, when he went apart from them and that they were serving, apart from God, We gave him Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a Prophet; and We gave them of Our mercy, and We appointed unto them a tongue of truthfulness, sublime. (Koran 19:41-50, Arberry)

The continual move away from polytheism to Abrahamic monotheism will eventually result in peace among mankind.

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. (Micah 4:1-3, NKJV)

It is amazing how God can bring monotheism out of a polytheistic society. How can this happen? Through divine revelation to someone chosen to be His prophet.

Koran 4:24 and the Treatment of Female War Captives

There is a verse in the Koran which is frequently cited by critics of the Koran. It is also, in my opinion, misinterpreted by Islamic scholars, especially by the so-called “extremists.” When one reads it, one would immediately think that this verse is giving men permission to marry another man’s wife who has been captured in war without her having obtained a divorce and without her permission. In other words, it appears to be teaching sex slavery. I do not think that is the case. When one looks at the bigger picture and looks at what the Bible teaches and what the Koran teaches in other places, one can get a better understanding of this verse.

Before looking at the verse in its context in the Koran, I think that it would be a good idea to look at some passages in the Bible. The first passage I want to show is in the Book of Numbers.

And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive? Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately.” (Numbers 31:15-18, NKJV)

According to the teaching of the Torah, married idolatrous women were killed during war. Only the young virgin women were allowed to live. The Israelite men were commanded to keep them alive for themselves. So, if a married idolatrous woman is allowed to be a war captive, that is a step up in showing mercy. Jesus said:

Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. (Luke 6:36, NKJV)

In the Catholic Epistle of St. James, it says:

For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13, NKJV)

In the text from the Book of Numbers, it says: “And Moses said to them.” In the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, Jesus quoted from the Torah, and then gave other commands to replace the former ones in the Old Testament. (See Matthew 5:21-48.) So, “Moses said,” but Jesus said something else later which replaced Moses’ commandment.

This is the principle of abrogation.

None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power over all things? (Koran 2:106, Yusuf Ali)

The replacing revelation is always better than or similar to the replaced revelation. If a revelation is not better than or similar to a previous one, then it is not an abrogating revelation. It is time-specific. It pertains to circumstances in a particular time and place.

Allowing married idolatrous women to live instead of being killed during war is an act of mercy.

In the Old Testament, a slave woman could be forced to have sex with her master and bear his children. Sarai (Sarah) compelled Hagar to have sex with her husband Abraham. (Genesis 16) Rachel compelled her slave woman, Bilhah, to have sex with Jacob and bear his children. (Genesis 30:1-8) Leah compelled her slave woman, Zilpah, to have sex with Jacob and bear children for him, too. (Genesis 30:9-13) Hagar, Bilhah, and Zilpah did not have a choice respecting marriage and sex. Their mistresses had already made those choices for them.

In Deuteronomy, it says:

When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive, and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your wife, then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her. (Deuteronomy 21:10-14, NKJV)

The Torah allowed the Israelite men to marry young virgin idolatrous women after having killed her parents in war. She had no choice. She had to marry her captor and have sex with him. She was given one month to mourn the deaths of her parents before becoming the man’s wife.

This is basically the only instance in which an Israelite would be allowed to marry an idolatress. If the woman is a virgin, her parents are dead, and she is a war captive, then he could coerce her into becoming his wife. Otherwise, marriage to an idolatress was forbidden.

When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire. (Deuteronomy 7:1-5, NKJV)

The practice of monogamy and the clear cut prohibition against marrying unbelievers in the New Testament abrogated this Old Testament practice of forced marriage. The New Testament teaches monogamy in these passages.

Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. (I Corinthians 7:2, NKJV)

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:31-33, NKJV)

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach (I Timothy 3:2, NKJV)

Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. (I Timothy 3:12, NKJV)

These passages forbid believers from marrying unbelievers.

A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. (I Corinthians 7:39, NKJV)

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (II Corinthians 6:14-18, NKJV)

So, a Christian man can have only one wife and he can marry only a believer.

The Koran forbids Muslims from marrying idolaters, too.

Do not marry pagan women unless they believe in God. A believing slave girl is better than an idolater, even though the idolaters may attract you. Do not marry pagan men unless they believe in God. A believing slave is better than an idolater, even though the idolater may attract you. The pagans invite you to the fire, but God invites you to Paradise and forgiveness through His will. God shows His evidence to people so that they may take heed. (Koran 2:221, Muhammad Sarwar)

Slavery existed in ancient times, but now is prohibited by international law. The New Testament taught that slaves and their masters are equal before God.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28, NKJV)

Jesus taught the Golden Rule.

And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. (Luke 6:31, NKJV)

A master should treat his slave girl as he would want to be treated. If he wants to have the freedom to marry whomever he chooses without be coerced to do so, then he should allow his slave the girl the choice to marry whomever she pleases. He should not coerce her into marry him against her will.

The Koran forbids Muslim men from coercing their slave girls to have sex with them.

And let those who cannot find a match keep chaste till Allah give them independence by His grace. And such of your slaves as seek a writing (of emancipation), write it for them if ye are aware of aught of good in them, and bestow upon them of the wealth of Allah which He hath bestowed upon you. Force not your slave-girls to whoredom that ye may seek enjoyment of the life of the world, if they would preserve their chastity. And if one force them, then (unto them), after their compulsion, lo! Allah will be Forgiving, Merciful. (Koran 24:33, Pickthall)

If a slave girl wants to remain chaste (that is, not have sex), a Muslim man cannot force her to have sex with him or anyone else for that matter. If he has sex with her against her will and he has not married her, then he will be guilty of committing zina, that is, sex outside of wedlock. In such an instance, this would be called fornication. Since it was against her will, it is rape. God forgives the rape victim (It is really not her fault.), but the rapist could end up in Hell.

And those who cry not unto any other god along with Allah, nor take the life which Allah hath forbidden save in (course of) justice, nor commit adultery — and whoso doeth this shall pay the penalty; the doom will be doubled for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein disdained for ever; save him who repenteth and believeth and doth righteous work; as for such, Allah will change their evil deeds to good deeds. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. (Koran 25:68-70, Pickthall)

The Arabic verb translated “commit adultery” could also be translated “commit fornication.”

Fornicators and adulterers are destined for Hell. The Bible teaches the same thing. (I Corinthians 6:9,10; Galatians 5:19-21; Hebrews 13:4)

The Koran, like the Bible, forbids adultery and fornication.

And come not near unto adultery. Lo! it is an abomination and an evil way. (Koran 17:32, Pickthall)

The Arabic word translated “adultery” has a broader meaning. It includes in its meaning all kinds of sexual immorality. So, fornication is forbidden in this verse as well as adultery.

Having sex with a slave girl who wants to preserve her chastity is rape and also fornication. Having sex with a woman who is married to another man is adultery. God does not take pleasure in wickedness. (Psalm 5:4) God does not command people to commit immoral acts.

And when they commit an immorality, they say, “We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has ordered us to do it.” Say, “Indeed, Allah does not order immorality. Do you say about Allah that which you do not know?” (Koran 7:28, Sahih International)

In order for a Muslim man to have sex with another man’s wife who is an idolater, the woman must first divorce her husband and convert to monotheism.

Whenever we read ancient texts like the Bible and the Koran, we often try to impose our culture on the text. When we think of divorce, we think of going to court and suing for divorce. However, in ancient times, divorce was much simpler. One could divorce his wife just by giving her a bill of divorcement and sending her out of his house. (Deuteronomy 24:1) In the case of the war captive who became a man’s slave wife (i.e., concubine), she was given her freedom and sent out of his home. (Deuteronomy 21:14)

There are two grounds for divorce in the New Testament: adultery and desertion. Jesus permitted divorce on the grounds of adultery.

And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery. (Matthew 19:9, NKJV)

St. Paul mentions desertion by an unbelieving spouse as grounds for divorce.

But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. (I Corinthians 7:12-15, NKJV)

The Koran, like the Bible, permits divorce on the grounds of adultery.

O Prophet! When ye do divorce women, divorce them at their prescribed periods, and count (accurately), their prescribed periods: and fear Allah your Lord: and turn them not out of their houses, nor shall they (themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of some open lewdness, those are limits set by Allah: and any who transgresses the limits of Allah, does verily wrong his (own) soul: thou knowest not if perchance Allah will bring about thereafter some new situation. (Koran 65:1, Yusuf Ali)

Now, let us look at Koran 4:24 in context.

Forbidden unto you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your sisters, and your father’s sisters, and your mother’s sisters, and your brother’s daughters and your sister’s daughters, and your foster-mothers, and your foster-sisters, and your mothers-in-law, and your step-daughters who are under your protection (born) of your women unto whom ye have gone in – but if ye have not gone in unto them, then it is no sin for you (to marry their daughters) – and the wives of your sons who (spring) from your own loins. And (it is forbidden unto you) that ye should have two sisters together, except what hath already happened (of that nature) in the past. Lo! Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you. Lawful unto you are all beyond those mentioned, so that ye seek them with your wealth in honest wedlock, not debauchery. And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the duty (hath been done). Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise. And whoso is not able to afford to marry free, believing women, let them marry from the believing maids whom your right hands possess. Allah knoweth best (concerning) your faith. Ye (proceed) one from another; so wed them by permission of their folk, and give unto them their portions in kindness, they being honest, not debauched nor of loose conduct. And if when they are honourably married they commit lewdness they shall incur the half of the punishment (prescribed) for free women (in that case). This is for him among you who feareth to commit sin. But to have patience would be better for you. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (Koran 4:23-25, Pickthall)

If a Muslim man captures another man’s wife in war in the 7th century (not the 21st century), he can marry her, but first she must convert to monotheism if she is not a monotheist (Koran 2:221), she must divorce her husband on legitimate grounds like adultery or desertion, a much simpler process in ancient times than it is today, and she must be willing to marry her master (Koran 24:33). If she were a polytheistic idolater and she converted to monotheism, it is quite likely that she would want to leave her husband since he would have become her enemy. The polytheists attacked the Muslims because of their monotheistic religion. To the polytheists, the monotheists were their enemies. They did not like being told to abandon polytheism and worship one God. Also, her husband would probably want to desert her since she had adopted his enemies’ religion. So, divorce in this instance is most likely on the grounds of desertion. (I Corinthians 7:15)

After getting divorced from her husband (a much simpler process back then), her only other logical alternative for having a husband would be to marry her Muslim captor or else stay celibate. If he set her free, she could not go get a job at the convenience store located at Main Street and Fourth Avenue. Remember that this is all happening in 7th century Arabia. A lot of women back then had to resort to prostitution if they had no husband or no means of support. Of course, the Koran commands Muslims to help the poor. (Koran 2:215, for example) So, if she converted to Islam and her master set her free the Muslim community would have a Koranic obligation to help her by making sure she has food to eat and the other necessities of life.

Koran 4:25 in this passage sheds some light on this verse.

And whoso is not able to afford to marry free, believing women, let them marry from the believing maids whom your right hands possess. (Koran 4:25, Pickthall)

The married woman mentioned in verse 24 of this chapter is a believer, and if she is a believer, she is not a transgressor.

Is one who is a believer like one who is a transgressor? No, they are not alike. (Koran 32:18, Ahmed Ali)

That means she is not an adulteress. If she marries her captor, she does that after divorcing her husband on legitimate grounds. She can initiate the divorce, because women have rights similar to those of men.

And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in kindness, and men are a degree above them. Allah is Mighty, Wise. (Koran 2:228, Pickthall)

I am using the Bible to help interpret this verse. The Bible gives light and guidance. That is what the Koran teaches.

And if they deny you, those before them also denied. Their Messengers came to them with clear signs, and with the Scriptures, and with the Book giving light. (Koran 35:25, Mubarakpuri)

Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light. (Koran 5:44, Pickthall)

And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus Son of Mary, confirming the Torah before Him and We gave to Him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and light, and confirming the Torah before it, as a guidance and an admonition unto the godfearing. (Koran 5:46, Arberry)

Say, “Who revealed the Scripture which Moses brought — a light and guidance for humanity?” (Koran 6:91, ITANI)

The Koran says to believe the Bible. In chapter 2 of the Koran, it says:

This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah; who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them; and who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) [the Koran] and that which was revealed before thee [the Bible], and are certain of the Hereafter. (Koran 2:2-4, Yusuf Ali)

The disbelievers “believe not.”

As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not. Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur). (Koran 2:6,7, Yusuf Ali)

The do not believe in the Unseen, the Koran, and the Bible.

In the fourth chapter, it says:

Believers, have faith in God and His Messenger, the Book which is revealed to him, and the Bible which has been revealed before. Whoever refuses to believe in God, His angels, Books, Messengers and the Day of Judgment, has gone far away from the right path. (Koran 4:136, Muhammad Sarwar)

If I do not believe the Bible, then I have “gone far away from the right path.” By using the Bible, I am not one of those who disputes about God without “a Scripture giving light.”

And among mankind is he who disputeth concerning Allah without knowledge or guidance or a Scripture giving light. (Koran 22:8, Pickthall)

So, the Bible is a great aid in understanding the Koran.

To summarize, the married woman that the Muslim is allowed to marry in Koran 4:24 is one who became divorced on legitimate grounds and became a believer. He does not force her to become his wife. She voluntarily agrees to do so. Sex slavery is forbidden in the Koran. (Koran 24:33) The Bible is very useful in helping one understand this Koranic verse.

 

Will There Be Hedonism in Paradise?

Hedonism is a philosophy that teaches that the supreme goal in life is the experience of physical pleasure. The hedonist devotes his life to experiencing various physical pleasures. One of the sins that God saves people from is idolatry. Idolatry exists in many forms. It is unreasonable to believe that those whom God has saved from idolatry will spend an entire eternity in Paradise practicing this sin. One can make carnal pleasures into a god. So, will people who live in Paradise indulge themselves in carnal pleasures? Will hedonists inhabit Paradise? I do not think so.

First of all, it is important to see that everything that God has created is good. So, God’s creation is not the problem. The Bible says:

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. (Genesis 1:31, NKJV)

For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving. (I Timothy 4:4, NKJV)

The Koran confirms the teachings of the Bible regarding the goodness of creation in these verses from the 32nd Surah.

Such is the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, the Mighty, the Merciful, who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay. (Koran 32:6,7, Pickthall)

So, the Paradise spoken of in the Bible and in the Koran is good since it is part of  God’s creation. Not only is it good, but we may enjoy it. St. Paul in his First Epistle to Timothy wrote:

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. (I Timothy 6:17, NKJV)

Food, recreational activities, and all sorts of things which are part of God’s creation are here for our enjoyment. Conjugal love between a man and his wife is also acceptable with God. The Bible does not condemn it. It says that it is honorable and undefiled.

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4, NKJV)

Even in Isaiah, it says that we will enjoy God’s creation.

They shall no means build, and others inhabit; and they shall no means plant, and others eat: for as the days of the Tree of Life shall be the days of My people, they shall long enjoy the fruits of their labours. My chosen shall not toil in vain, neither shall they beget children to be cursed; for they are a seed blessed of God, and their offspring with them. (Isaiah 65:22,23, LXX)

In Isaiah, it says that we will be at peace with all of God’s creatures.

And the wolf shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the young calf and bull and lion shall feed together; and a little child shall lead them. And the ox and bear shall feed together; and their young shall be together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And an infant shall put his hand on the holes of asps, and on the nest of young asps. And they shall not hurt, nor shall they at all be able to destroy any one on My holy mountain: for the whole world is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas. (Isaiah 11:6-9, LXX)

The Koran, likewise, speaks of the bliss of the afterlife for the righteous. In the Second  Surah, it says:

Give the good news to those who believe and do good works, that they will have Gardens through which rivers flow: whenever they are given fruit to eat they will say, “This is what we were provided with before,” because they were given similar things. And there will be pure spouses for them, and they will abide there forever. (Koran 2:25, Wahiduddin Khan)

In the 52nd Surah, there is more detail about the bliss the immortal righteous will enjoy.

Truly, the God-fearing will dwell [on that Day] in gardens and in bliss, rejoicing in whatever their Lord has given them. Their Lord has saved them from the torment of the Fire, “Eat and drink with good cheer as a reward for your good deeds,” reclining on couches arranged in rows. And We shall wed them to fair maidens with large beautiful eyes. To those who have attained to faith We shall unite their offspring who have also followed them in faith, and We shall not let any of their good deeds go unrewarded; every human being is a pledge for whatever he has earned. We shall provide them in abundance with such fruit and meat as they desire. There, they shall pass from hand to hand a cup which does not lead to any idle talk or sin. They will be waited upon by immortal youths, like pearls hidden in their shells. They will converse with one another, putting questions to each other, “Before this, when we were among our families, we were full of fear of God’s displeasure — God has been gracious to us and has saved us from the torment of Hell’s intense heat — before this, we used to pray to Him. Surely, He is the Beneficent, the Merciful.” (Koran 52:17-28, Wahiduddin Khan)

Both Scriptures mention the enjoyment of carnal pleasures in the afterlife. However, one needs to temper all of these physical pleasures with spiritual ones. If we are destined to go somewhere, where we can indulge our carnal appetites, and our carnal appetites then become our new god, then God’s work of salvation has been done in vain. I do not think that God’s work of rescuing humans from sin is in vain.

Both, the Bible and the Koran, teach that one’s carnal desires can become one’s god. St. Paul said that a covetous person is an idolater.

For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (Ephesians 5:5,6, NKJV)

St. Paul says that some people’s bellies are their god.

For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who set their mind on earthly things. (Philippians 3:18,19, NKJV)

St. Peter says that whatever overcomes us, becomes our master.

While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. (II Peter 2:19, NKJV)

So, if we are addicted to various carnal pleasures (sex, eating, etc.), then those carnal pleasures have become our masters. Jesus said that no one can serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24) Therefore, it is not possible for us to serve carnal pleasures and God.

St. Paul, in his Epistle to Titus, says that, prior to becoming Christians, St. Titus, other Christians, and he used to serve various lusts and pleasures.

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. (Titus 3:3,NKJV)

St. Paul gives this description of people who will live in the last days prior to Jesus’ Second Coming.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (II Timothy 3:1-5, NKJV)

Such people lived in the first century and St. Paul told St. Timothy to turn away from them. One of the characteristics of these people is that they are “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Such people will end up in Gehenna unless they repent. It does not make much sense to think that people who love pleasure more than God will inhabit both abodes: Gehenna and Paradise. Those who love God more than pleasure will get Paradise. Those who love pleasure more than God will go inhabit Gehenna.

Even the Koran speaks about one’s carnal desires becoming one’s god.

Hast thou seen him who chooseth for his god his own lust? Wouldst thou then be guardian over him? (Koran 25:43, Pickthall)

Have you considered him who has taken his desire for his god? God has knowingly led him astray, and has sealed his hearing and his heart, and has placed a veil over his vision. Who will guide him after God? Will you not reflect? (Koran 45:23, ITANI)

Those who have adopted carnal pleasures as their god will be excluded from Paradise.

Verily whoso associates with God anything, God shall prohibit him entrance to Paradise, and his refuge shall be the Fire. (Koran 5:72, Arberry)

Both the Bible and the Koran teach that spiritual pleasures are better than carnal ones. In the Psalms, King David, who was one of God’s prophets, said:

One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. (Psalm 27:4, NKJV)

His greatest desire was a close relationship with God. Asaph wrote in one of the Psalms that God is his supreme desire.

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. (Psalm 73:25, NKJV)

Both King David and Asaph exemplify the type of lives we should strive to live — lives that put God first. We should desire nearness to God.

The Koran, like the Bible, teaches that we should desire God more than the things of this world.

The satisfaction of worldly desires through women, and children, and heaped-up treasures of gold and silver, and pedigreed horses, and cattle and lands is attractive to people. All this is the provision of the worldly life; but the most excellent abode is with God. (Koran 3:14, Wahiduddin Khan)

But if you desire God and His Messenger and the Last Abode, surely God has prepared for those amongst you such as do good a mighty wage. (Koran 33:29, Arberry)

The Koran speaks of the spiritual blessings of enjoying God and His mercy in the afterlife in these verses.

The people whose faces have become white will enjoy the mercy of God with which they will live forever. (Koran 3:107, Sarwar)

Say: Shall I inform you of something better than that? For those who keep from evil, with their Lord, are Gardens underneath which rivers flow wherein they will abide, and pure companions, and contentment from Allah. Allah is Seer of His bondmen. (Koran 3:15, Pickthall)

God has promised the believing men and the believing women Gardens with rivers running below, to abide therein, and goodly dwellings in the Gardens of Eden. But Contentment from God is greater; that is the great triumph! (Koran 9:72, The Study Quran)

The Arabic words translated “contentment from Allah” and “contentment from God” in verses 3:15 and 9:72 of the Koran can be translated “pleasure of God.” Pleasure of God is greater than the carnal pleasures one will experience in Paradise.

Both the Koran and the Bible teach that there will be physical pleasures in the afterlife. Both also teach that the spiritual pleasures that come from knowing God will be superior to the physical ones. So, although we who attain to Paradise will get to enjoy food, various activities, and various other physical pleasures, we, like Asaph, will say, “There is none upon earth that I desire besides You.”

Creation in Six Days in the Koran

In both the Bible and the Koran, it says that God created the heavens and the earth (i.e., the entire universe) in six days. It is interesting to note that the Koran states that God did this in six different places and God says that He did it once.

Here are the six places where it says that God created the heavens and the earth in six days.

Surely your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six days — then sat Himself upon the Throne, covering the day with the night it pursues urgently — and the sun, and the moon, and the stars subservient, by His command. Verily, His are the creation and the command. Blessed be God, the Lord of all Being. (Koran 7:54. Arberry)

Surely your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then sat Himself upon the Throne, directing the affair. Intercessor there is none, save after His leave that then is God, your Lord; so serve Him. Will you not remember? (Koran 10:3, Arberry)

And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and His Throne was upon the waters — that He might try you, which one of you is fairer in works. And if thou sayest, ‘you shall surely be raised up after death,’ the unbelievers will say, ‘This is naught but a manifest sorcery.’ (Koran 11:7, Arberry)

Put thy trust in the Living God, the Undying, and proclaim His praise. Sufficiently is He aware of His servants’ sins who created the heavens and the earth, and what between them is, in six days, then sat Himself upon the Throne, the All-compassionate: ask any informed of Him! (Koran 25:58,59, Arberry)

God is He that created the heavens and the earth, and what between them is, in six days, then seated Himself upon the Throne. Apart from Him, you have no protector neither mediator; will you not remember? (Koran 32:4, Arberry)

It is He that created the heavens and the earth in six days then seated Himself upon the Throne. He knows what penetrates into the earth, and what comes forth from it, — what comes down from heaven, and what goes up unto it. He is with you wherever you are; and God sees the things you do. (Koran 57:4, Arberry)

Here is the only place where God Himself says He created the heavens and the earth in six days.

We created the heavens and the earth, and what between them is, in six days, and no weariness touched Us. (Koran 50:38, Arberry)

The mathematical coincidence is with the phrase “six days.” The Koran says that God created the heavens and the earth in six days in six different places. God, in the Koran, says that He created the heavens and the earth in six days once. When God speaks He uses the first person plural pronouns, “We” and “Us,” because He is tripersonal. Look at this verse from the Septuagint version of the Psalms.

By the Word [Greek, Logos] of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the host of them by the Spirit [Greek, Pneuma] of His [the Father’s] mouth. (Psalm 32:6, LXX; corresponds with Psalm 33:6 in the Hebrew)

In the Greek New Testament Jesus is called the Logos and the Holy Spirit is the Pneuma of God. This verse from the Psalms teaches the same thing that the Koran teaches. The Holy Trinity created the heavens and the earth.

We know from the Books of Moses that God created the heavens and the earth in six days. (Genesis 1; Exodus 20:11; 31:17) God rested on the seventh day although no weariness touched Him. (Genesis 2:2; Koran 50:38)

Of course, God does not literally need to rest nor did He literally rest like humans do. The language used in Genesis is figurative.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. (Isaiah 40:28, NKJV)

The six day creation is not a literal six 24 hour period of time event. This language is also figurative or symbolic. There are ancient Church Fathers who did not interpret Genesis chapter 1 as teaching that the universe was literally created by God in 144 hours (6 x 24).

144 is 12 times 12. 3 times 4 is 12. 3 plus 4 is 7. God rested on the seventh day. 7 symbolizes perfection. Do you see the symbolism? God created everything perfect.

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31, NKJV)

Such is the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, the Mighty, the Merciful, who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay. (Koran 32:6,7, Pickthall)

He blessed His creation. Then, we made wrong choices and messed things up.

Surely, God does not wrong people at all, but people wrong themselves. (Koran 10:44, Wahiduddin Khan)

So, even those verses from the Koran which speak of a six day creation should not be interpreted as a literal six day history. (See Koran 3:7.) The creation of the heavens and the earth by God, however, is history.  The length of time He spent creating is, according to science, about 14 billion years.

 

 

I do not think that one should use the Bible and the Koran as scientific textbooks, although these Scriptures may agree with science in certain places. These are books about theology, morality, spirituality, and prophecy. The purpose of the books is not to provide scientific knowledge.

The interesting detail I wished to point out is that the Koran says that God created the heavens and the earth in six days. There are six places in the Koran where it says this. In another place in the Koran, God says that He created the heavens and the earth in six days. He used the first person plural pronouns, thus indicating that He is tripersonal. Both the Bible and the Koran teach that God, the Holy Trinity, created the heavens and the earth in six days and He created everything good, indeed very good!

Science and Sacred Books

If all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea [were] ink, with seven [more] seas added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for, truly, God is Almighty and Wise. (Koran 31:27, Wahiduddin Khan)

It is interesting how people can find verses from their sacred books which indicate to them that their books agree with science. People have done this with the Koran and also with the Bible. I have discovered a Youtube channel where there are uploaded videos demonstrating from the Koran that there are scientific facts in them that could not have been known 1400 years ago. Christians have also uploaded videos on Youtube showing that there are scientific facts in the Bible that could not have been known when the books that make up it were being written. Perhaps God has left some scientific markers in these sacred books to show that they come from Him.

Here are some videos about scientific facts in the Koran. The first video is about the seriousness of accepting the message of the Koran. The woman in the video, Clare Forstier, cites these verses from the Koran:

We will show them Our Signs in the universe, and in their ownselves, until it becomes manifest to them that this (the Quran) is the truth. Is it not sufficient in regard to your Lord that He is a Witness over all things? (Koran 41:53, Hilali & Khan)

And these similitudes We put forward for mankind, but none will understand them except those who have knowledge. (Koran 29:43, Hilali & Khan)

And if you are in doubt concerning what We have sent down to Our servant, then bring a surah like it, and invoke your helpers besides Allah, if you are truthful. (Koran 2:23, Qarai)

She also cites these verses, but her translation does not agree completely with how many translators have translated it.

By the sky which returns [rain] and [by] the earth which cracks open, indeed, the Qur’an is a decisive statement, and it is not amusement. (Koran 86:11-14, Sahih International)

Here is the video.

 

 

Many tranlators or interpreters of those verses from the 86th Surah think that the verses are talking about the sky returning with rain and the vegetation cracking the earth open when plants sprout. The word she interprets as bounce is a genitive case noun that is usually translated into English as return. The commentaries mention nothing about quantum physics. Maybe the commentators and translators were not knowledgeable about that branch of science. A physicist would bring his background to the text and see physics in the text.

The Bible records an incident where the earth cracked long before the cracking of the earth that happened in Arizona in the 20th century. (Numbers 16:31,32)

The next video is about the theory of relativity in the Koran. She cites these verses, but from another similar translation.

Do you not see how your Lord extends the shadow? Had He willed, He could have made it still. And We made the sun a pointer to it. Then We withdraw it towards Us gradually. (Koran 25:45,46, ITANI)

 

 

The pronoun it  in these verses is a masculine pronoun in Arabic. So, it refers to a masculine noun. The sun (Arabic, al-shamsa), is feminine. The shadow (Arabic, al-ẓila) is masculine. A pointer (Arabic, dalīlan) is also masculine. So, the pronoun it in the sentence, “Then We withdraw it towards Us gradually,” could refer to the shadow or the pointer (i.e., the sun).

Here is another translation of  these verses.

Have you not seen how your Lord lengthens out the shadow? Had He willed, He would have made it constant, but We have made the sun its pilot; then (as the sun climbs up), We roll it up little by little towards Ourselves. (Koran 25:45,46, Maududi)

These verses might just be talking about a common everyday phenomenon that people witness daily. The shadows are long in the morning and shorten as the sun approaches its zenith in the sky. As for the shadow being constant, that would occur if the sun “stood still” as it did in the miracle in the Bible. (Joshua 10:12,13)

Incidentally, I see the Trinity in these verses. “Your Lord” and the pronouns, “He,” indicate that God is one. The pronouns, “We” and “Us” (or “Ourselves”), indicate that God is tripersonal.

So, when Muhammad told the People of the Book (the Christians), “Our God and your God is one” (Koran 29:46), he was telling them that he was a Trinitarian, too.

In the next video, Clare Forestier cites this verse from a similar translation.

God is the light of the heavens and the earth. His light may be compared to a niche containing a lamp, the lamp inside a crystal of star-like brilliance lit from a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west. The [luminous] oil is as if ready to burn without even touching it. Light upon light; God guides to His light whom He will. God draws such comparisons for mankind; God has full knowledge of everything. (Koran 24:35, Wahiduddin Khan)

 

 

This video is particularly interesting and there may be some unknown scientific knowledge regarding light that God may have actually revealed to Muhammad in this verse.

In the next video, she cites this verse from the Koran to demonstrate that God had revealed to Muhammad some knowledge about mountains that would not have been discovered until modern times.

And among His Signs are the ships, in the sea, like mountains. (Koran 42:32, Hilali & Khan)

Here is the video.

 

 

Of course, the verse might be simply referring to the size of the ships as being like mountains. Ships are not as large as mountains, but a figure of speech called hyperbole could be used here. The Koran often contains poetic language. It even says that one should not always interpret it literally. (Koran 3:7) Then, on the other hand, perhaps God did reveal some scientific knowledge to Muhammad in this verse and in some others. Like the prophets who prophesied about Jesus and did not know all the details regarding His Advent into this world, Muhammad may have been at the time he was receiving the revelations unaware of the scientific knowledge contained in the verses.

Regarding science and the Bible, I will say, first of all, that I am familiar with one verse in the Book of Job which does contain scientific truth in it. It is in the 26th chapter.

He hangs the earth on nothing. (Job 26:7)

The earth is in space revolving around the sun. So, it hangs on nothing. There are other verses that Christians cite in these videos which, in their opinion, contain scientific knowledge or are based on science. You can be the judge of them here.

 

 

 

 

I believe the Bible, not because of scientific evidence that supports what it teaches about certain things, but because of the prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament. That is the convincing proof for me. St. Paul always used the Old Testament to convince others that Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 17:2,3; 26:27,28)

The Koran claims to confirm the Bible (Koran 2:41,89,91,97,101; 3:3,4; 4:47; 5:48; 6:92; 35:31; 46:12) The Koran tells me to believe the Bible. (Koran 2:2-5; 4:136,137,150-152; 5:68) Muhammad received no new revelations and was not an innovator among the prophets. (Koran 41:43; 46:9) He claimed to worship the same God that I worship and accepted the Bible. (Koran 29:46; 42:15) I, therefore, understand the Koran in the light of the Bible and the Church Fathers. (The Bible is of no private interpretation. — II Peter 1:20 See also Koran 10:94.)

There are mathematical coincidences in the Koran. Those mathematical coincidences point to the book as being a work of divine providence.

Should I “convert to Islam?” What I see as being “Islam” is very unkoranic in my opinion.  The Koran already teaches my faith and contains no new revelations. It is only a confirming revelation of previous revelations. It teaches Trinitarian theology and rejects the heretical Christian doctrines of the Sabellians, Nestorians, Paulinianists, Arians, Maryamites, Bitheists, and Tritheists. So, there is no need for me to convert to anything.

As for science and these Sacred Scriptures, I say that none of these books are scientific textbooks. They are books about theology, prophecy, morality, and spirituality. Figurative language frequently occurs in such books. To me, the science and Koran videos and the science and the Bible videos are interesting, but I do not think that they are necessary for me to “have faith.”

Another Popular Heresy: Premillenialism

There is another heresy which I wish to write about now and that is the heresy of premillenialism. This is one of the heresies rejected by the Second Ecumenical Council of the Church in 381 A.D.

It is the heresy that teaches that Jesus’ Second Coming will precede 1000 years of peace during which He will reign. At His Second Coming, the righteous will be resurrected. The immortal righteous will reign with Christ over the mortals for a thousand years. At the end of this 1000 year reign of Christ, Satan will be released and deceive the nations. Christ will then defeat Satan and there will be a second resurrection of the dead. After the second resurrection there will be the Last Judgment.

There are  many different versions of this heresy. There is pre-tribulation premilleniallism, mid-tribulation premillenialism, and post-tribulation premillenialism. There is also covenant premillenialism.

Some of the early Church Fathers were premillenialists. Examples of such are St. Justin the Martyr, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, and St. Hippolytus of Rome. None of them held beliefs that many Protestant premillenialists hold today.

There were others among the early Church Fathers who were not premillienialists. St. Dionysius of Alexandria is one such example. St. Justin the Martyr even acknowledged that during his day (the second century) there were many who did hold to the premillenial theory regarding Christ’s Second Coming.

For those who are not premillenialists, there are two other options held out: amillenialism and postmillenialism. Amillenialists say there is no millenium. They say that the souls of the righteous dead reign with Christ now in heaven. The postmillenialists say that the righteous reign with Christ now and that we are already in the millenium.

Both amillenialists and postmillenialists believe that there will be a general resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous at Christ’s Second Coming. There will not, according to them, be two separate resurrections separated from each other by 1000 years.

Augustinian postmillenialism is the view of the Orthodox Church. I asked a priest about the Church’s views on eschatology. He told me it is Blessed Augustine’s view without the predestination.

The premillenial heresy finds its support from this passage in the Book of Revelation.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:1-10, NKJV)

Now, I will demonstrate from the Bible the correct understanding of this text.

It says that an angel bound Satan for a thousand years. This binding of Satan refers to restriction of his power. He can not prevent Christ from plundering his kingdom.

In the Gospels, we read about Christ casting out demons and some Jews accusing Him of casting out devils by Beelzebub. Jesus asked them if Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? He also pointed out that one must first bind a strong man before one can plunder his house.

Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. (Matthew 12:29, NKJV)

In some sense, Satan was bound while Christ was casting out demons. Now, he is bound in some sense, too. He can not prevent people from coming to Christ.

In Colossians it says:

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. (Colossians 1:13, NKJV)

Satan is bound in the sense that he can not prevent God from delivering people from the power of darkness.

The number 1000 is a symbolic number. It represents an indefinite period of time in this passage from Revelation 20. The Book of Revelation is full of symbolism and apocalyptic imagery. The number 1000 should not be interpreted literally in this passage.

The thousand years is the period of time between the resurrection of Christ (the first resurrection) and the Unleashing of Satan three and a half years before Christ’s Second Coming. Three and a half years before the Second Coming, Satan will deceive the nations. It will be much more difficult during this time for someone who is not a Christian to become a Christian because the deception will be so strong.

We take part in the first resurrection when we are baptized. St. Paul said in Romans:

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. (Romans 6:3-6, NKJV)

When we are baptized, we are buried with Christ into His death.

In Colossians, it says:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4, NKJV)

The Colossian Christians were “raised with Christ.” This is what Blessed Augustine calls the spiritual resurrection.

In Ephesians, it says:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7, NKJV)

St. Paul says that God has “made us alive together with Christ.” This is another reference to the spiritual resurrection. The spiritual resurrection is regeneration.

I can demonstrate from the writings of ancient Christian writers and Church Fathers that the doctrine that has always been taught since antiquity is that regeneration occurs in baptism, but I do not want to address that subject in detail here. I will say this much, though. Regeneration is not conversion. People often confuse the two terms. After someone has been converted one will say that he got “born again.” No, that person was converted. He becomes born again when he is baptized.

The first resurrection is the resurrection of Christ. Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead.”

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18, NKJV)

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 1:5a, NKJV)

We take part in the resurrection of Christ when we are baptized.

It says in the passage from Revelation 20 that “they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6)

These words do not refer to some future age. They refer to the present one. In Romans it says:

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17, NKJV)

Christians are “reigning in life” now. Of course, they encounter problems, but still in some sense they reign with Christ. Further evidence, that Christians are “priests and kings” to God can be found in the Book of Revelation itself.

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5b,6, NKJV)

In St. Peter’s first Catholic Epistle it says:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (I Peter 2:9, NKJV)

St. Peter calls Christians “a royal priesthood.” Royalty signifies the kingship of believers. Priesthood signifies that believes are priests to God.

Old Testament believers were “a kingdom of priests.”

And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:6, NKJV)

There was a priesthood within the priesthood. The Levitical priesthood was that priesthood within the priesthood of believers. Now, the Melchizedek priesthood has replaced the Levitical priesthood. (Read Hebrews 7-10.) As priests, every Christian offers up spiritual sacrifices to God.

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15, NKJV)

Only that priesthood within the priesthood of believers can legitimately handle the Holy Mysteries (the Sacraments). (I Corinthians 4:1)

In this passage from Revelation 20, it says that the souls of those who were martyred reign with Christ a thousand years. Christians continue to reign with Christ in heaven after they die.

Several places exist in the Bible indicating that the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous will occur simultaneously at Christ’s Second Coming. In Daniel, it says:

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2, NKJV)

Notice that there is no mention of a thousand year gap between the two resurrections in this verse. In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus said:

Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:28,29, NKJV)

There is no thousand year gap in this passage from St. John’s Gospel. The resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the unrighteous occur at the same time.

In St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said:

And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:11,12, NKJV)

The sons of the kingdom in this passage are the first century Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah. After the general resurrection of the dead, the unrighteous will be cast out “into outer darkness.” The righteous will inherit the earth. (Psalm 36:29, LXX; Psalm 37:29, Hebrew; Matthew 5:5)

Then, there is the Parable of the Tares and the Wheat.

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” …He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43, NKJV)

Jesus is the one who sows the good seed in this parable. The field is the world or the universe. (The Greek word, kosmos, can mean universe.) The harvest of the wheat is the end of this age. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom — that is, those who practice righteousness. The tares are the sons of the devil. The reapers are the angels. At the end of this age the angels will gather the righteous together so that they can inherit the kingdom of God. They will gather the unrighteous together and cast them into the furnace of fire, that is, Gehenna. There is no thousand year gap between these two events.

The same lesson is taught in the Parable of the Dragnet.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50, NKJV)

At the end of the age there will be the Last Judgment. The angels will separate the wicked from the just. They will cast the wicked into Gehenna, the furnace of fire. No thousand year gap exists between these two events.

To sum up, premillenialism is a popular heresy. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Church rejected this heresy in 381 A.D. Satan is now bound in the sense that he can not prevent his kingdom from being plundered. (See Matthew 12:29.) The first resurrection is the resurrection of Christ. We partake of the first resurrection when we are baptized. The thousand year period mentioned in Revelation 20 is this present age. It is not a literal 1000 years. It is an indefinite period of time. At the end of this period of time, Satan’s power will no longer be restricted. He will deceive the nations with a great deception for three and a half years. Then, Christ will return and defeat Satan definitively. There will be a general resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous at the Second Coming of Christ. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell therein forever. (Psalm 36:29, LXX; Psalm 37:29, Hebrew) The angels will cast the unrighteous into Gehenna, the furnace of fire. “I believe in one God the Father Almighty… and in one Lord Jesus Christ… whose kingdom shall have no end.” (Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed)