Bible = Genesis 17:18,19 “And Abraham said unto God, O that
Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a
son indeed; and thou shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my
covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him”.
Koran = 19:54 “Also mention in the Book [the story of] Ishmael: He was
[strictly] true to what he promised, and he was a messenger [and] a prophet”.
Bible = Genesis 16:12 “And he will be a wild man; his hand will be
against every man, and every man’s hand against him”.
The Bible called Ishmael a wild man;
the Koran called him messenger and a prophet.
Jews, Christians and Moslems follow the
steps of Abraham as a father of faith. Abraham was the first human being who
was so much in love of God that he was called “the friend of God” (James 2:23).
He had such faith and trust in God that he became the first person with whom
God make an everlasting covenant; as it is written, “I will establish my
covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for
an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee” (Genesis 17:7).
Sarah also received the blessing and
the promise along with her husband; as it is written, “And I will bless her,
and give thee a son also of her [Isaac]: yea, I will bless her, and she shall
be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her” (Genesis 17:16).
Because Sarah was old and had no
children, “Abraham said to God, Shall a child be born unto him that is a
hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham
said unto God, O that Ishmael [the son of the slave Hagar] might live before
thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shall
call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an
everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him” (Genesis 17:18,19)
Jews and Christians
believe according to the scriptures that the promise was given to Isaac who
became the father of the Israelites, father of Moses who received the Torah,
father of king David who ruled in righteousness upon God’s people and who also
received the promise that from his descendents would come the king who would
rule the world for ever and ever (Psalm 89:29) As it is written concerning
Jesus Christ, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he
shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be
no end” (Luke 1:32).
The Koran believes
that Ishmael received the promise and the blessings, yet the Bible believes
that Isaac was the one who received it. Some people would say, “Well, it
doesn't matter who received it as long the person is the child of Abraham and
believes in God.” But according to the Bible this is very important, and one of
the foundational beliefs of the Bible is:
For
it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid [Ishmael], the
other by a freewoman [Isaac]. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after
the flesh [Ishmael]; but he of the freewoman was by promise [Isaac]. Which
things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount
Sinai, which genders to bondage, which is Hagar [Ishmael-Moham-mad], for this
Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to Jerusalem which now is, and is
in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is
the mother of us all [Isaac-Christ]… Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the
children of promise [Bible-Christianity]. But as then he that was born after
the flesh [Koran-Islam] persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so
it is now. (Galatians 4:22-29)
Christians and Moslems do not simply have two
different fathers (Isaac and Ishmael) and two different books (Bible-Koran),
but they have two completely different spirits: one brings freedom, the other
brings bondage; one leads to life, the other leads to death.
In the Bible we see
that God wants us to make the choice (freedom). “I have set before you life and
death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants
may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). But according to the Koran, Allah chooses the
way for us (bondage). “This day I have perfected your religion for you and
completed my favour unto you, and have chosen for you as your religion Islam”
(Surah 5:3).
Christianity has
spread because Christ died to His own desires and in the end gave His life for
us. Islam, on the other hand, has spread because Mohammed lived for his own
desires and killed everyone who tried to stand in his way. We can see this very
clearly in our generation, where countries are opening the door for the gospel
of Jesus Christ. With the establishment of
democracies, nations
have the freedom to choose life or death, Bible or Koran, because God set
before us life and death, blessing and curse (Deuteronomy 30:19). And we have
to make our own choice, even if it is the wrong choice; this is freedom. But in
every nation where the law of Islam rules or even when most of the nation's
people are Moslems, we see that there is no democracy, no human rights, no
freedom to choose their own religion, because they say God has “perfected their
religion for them, and ha[s] chosen for them their religion Islam” (Surah 5:3).
A choice was made for them before they were born; this is slavery.
Christianity has
spread because the true followers of Jesus Christ have left their nations,
families and friends, and have given their life just to tell someone about the
love of God which has been revealed through Jesus Christ, following the
principles of their master by denying their own desires and own lives.
Islam has spread because the true
followers of Moham-mad have taken possession of other nations, families and
properties by taking lives, “fight[ing] those who believe not in Allah and… not
forbid[ding] what God and His Messenger have forbidden, such men as practice
not the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book ¥ until
they pay the tribute out of hand and have been humbled” (Repentance, 9:25),
following their master's principles which he received from Allah “O Prophet
(Muham-mad) Urge the believers to fight” (Surah 8:65) .
One day we all of us will stand before the seat of judgment. As it
is written in, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). I understand that it is difficult for those who are
living under the slavery of Islam to reject the faith of their fathers in
choosing Christ, but it is better to die for choosing the truth than blinding my eyes
even though I can see, but I still believe that those who are living in the
western society will receive a greater judgment for having had the freedom to
live for the truth and choosing their own desires instead. Jesus said, “For
what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
It is better for me to live according
to this law, “For whether I live, I live unto the Lord; and whether I die, I
die unto the Lord: whether I live therefore, or die, I belong to the Lord”
(Romans 14:8); “for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians
1:21).
I am sad when I think about the
political situation of my Holy Land were the sons of Isaac and Ismael according
to the flesh are still in total disagreement, but that’s the way it was and it
will remain the same. This is the curse of Ismael as it is written “He will be
a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand
against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers (Genesis
16:12).
Koran- “I will instill terror into the
hearts of the unbelievers, smite ye above their necks and smite all their
finger-tips off them” (Surah 8:12)
Bible-“Nevertheless what saith the
scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman
shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman” (Galatians 4:30)
Dear reader, I hope I have made my
words clear in this article, that you have to make the choice for yourselves.
Even though I am an Arab the son of Ishmael, according to the flesh I am
thankful for Christ who by his death has given me a new nature and new spirit
which freely follow and desire him every day. He gave this gift to every man;
as it is written, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus, and
if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the
promise” (Galatians 4:28,29).
By receiving Christ as your own
personal Saviour you will be set free from sins, sickness, demons and death.
God our father had mercy upon Isaac but “Spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all” (Romans 8:32) “that through (His) death he might destroy him
that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through
fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrew 2:14).
We all have to make our own choice to
believe the Bible or the Koran, to choose between freedom or slavery to receive
Jesus as Lord and Savior or Moham-mad as a prophet.
By Permission
Max Shimba
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