Monday, March 18, 2019
THE GOSPEL OF BARNABAS IS A FORGERY
This is a great tragedy for Muslims
A Deceptive Net That Pulls Muslims into the Pit of Perdition
The Islamic world, as usual, makes tremendous efforts to discredit Christianity so that it may continue to hold on to its followers—and, where possible, to deceive uninformed Christians who know neither Christianity nor Islam.
There are two major things that have always puzzled me regarding spiritual matters.
First, how Catholic Church leaders spend years studying religion and the Bible, only to end up teaching things that are not in the Bible! For example, they tell their believers that the dead intercede for us in heaven, or that by performing a mass on earth for a relative who died rejecting salvation, that person’s sins will be forgiven and God will admit them into heaven!
The second thing that amazes me is how Islam and Muslims use lies so extensively to defend their religion and to keep their followers within it.
If a religion cannot defend itself by the truth of its own message but must be upheld by lies—why defend it at all? And why believe in it?
I do not wonder about those who are ignorant, but I am astonished at those who knowingly say, “Here, I must lie to defend Allah!” Meaning, they deliberately lie to protect a god who is supposedly all-powerful!
Indeed, there are strange things in this world!
Now, back to today’s topic. One of the great weapons of deception used by Muslims to promote their religion is the so-called “Gospel of Barnabas.”
What is the Gospel of Barnabas?
It is a large book (almost as long as all four Biblical Gospels combined, having 222 chapters). This book narrates the life of Jesus and claims to have been written by one of His apostles, Barnabas.
The oldest known manuscripts of this book are only two—one in Italian and the other in Spanish. Both date from the 15th or 16th century A.D.
Why is the Gospel of Barnabas fake?
When you read it, you immediately realize it is a forgery, for many reasons. Some are obvious; others require closer examination.
Here are some of them:
1. At the beginning of the gospel, Jesus is called Christ:
“Dearly beloved, the great and wonderful God hath during these past days visited us by his prophet Jesus Christ…”
But later, Jesus denies being the Messiah:
“Jesus confessed, and said the truth: ‘I am not the Messiah.’” (chapter 42)
Yet the term “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. Therefore, Christ and Messiah mean exactly the same thing.
Since Jews had long awaited the Messiah, the writer’s confusion clearly shows he didn’t know Greek or Hebrew—languages Barnabas himself knew well. This proves the author of the Gospel of Barnabas was not the biblical Barnabas.
2. The Qur’an itself calls Jesus the Messiah (Surah 3:45). The Bible also calls Him the Messiah.
So, if Muslims believe the Qur’an is true, why believe in the Gospel of Barnabas, which denies that Jesus is the Messiah, while rejecting the Bible, which agrees with the Qur’an?
3. Chapter 3 of the Gospel of Barnabas claims that Herod and Pilate ruled Judea when Jesus was born.
But historically, Herod the Great ruled between 37–4 B.C., and Pontius Pilate ruled from A.D. 26–36.
That’s a difference of about 30 years!
No one who lived in Jesus’ time could have made such a historical blunder.
4. Chapter 20 says Jesus traveled by ship across the Sea of Galilee to Nazareth.
But Nazareth is about 14 kilometers inland from the Sea of Galilee!
No boat could possibly sail there.
This reveals that the author knew nothing about the geography of the Holy Land.
5. The Bible (Leviticus 25:10–11) says the Year of Jubilee occurs every 50 years.
In A.D. 1300, Pope Boniface VIII mistakenly declared it should be celebrated every 100 years.
Later, in 1350, Pope Clement VI corrected it back to every 50 years.
But in chapter 82, the Gospel of Barnabas quotes Jesus saying:
“The year of jubilee, which now comes every hundred years…”
How could Jesus, who lived in the 1st century, refer to an event that began in A.D. 1300?
That’s like seeing a 1910 movie showing the Tanzanian flag—something that didn’t exist until 1964.
This is clear evidence that the Gospel of Barnabas was written after A.D. 1300.
6. Chapter 178 says there are nine heavens, and Paradise is above them all.
This concept first appears in the writings of Dante Alighieri, the 14th-century Italian poet who wrote The Divine Comedy.
The Italian manuscript of the Gospel of Barnabas emerged around the same century—showing it was written during or after Dante’s time.
7. In chapter 193, Jesus predicts He will die and rise again.
But in chapters 216–217, the book claims God secretly took Jesus to heaven and transformed Judas’ face to look like Jesus, so Judas was crucified instead.
This contradicts Jesus’ own supposed prophecy earlier in the same book!
A self-refuting story.
8. Chapter 54 says Pharisees existed during the prophet Elijah’s time.
But history proves the Pharisees arose seven centuries later (2nd century B.C.), while Elijah lived in the 9th century B.C.
Another impossible anachronism.
9. Chapter 80 claims Daniel was taken to Babylon as a two-year-old.
But according to the Bible (Daniel 2), Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and was made ruler over Babylon.
Would a three-year-old child become governor? Absurd!
10. Finally, Jesus never had an apostle named Barnabas.
The twelve apostles are listed in Matthew 10:2–4 and Luke 6:13–14.
Barnabas appears only later in the Book of Acts (Acts 4:33–37) as a believer from Cyprus who joined the apostles after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.
Therefore, Barnabas was not one of the original apostles.
After all this evidence (and much more not listed here), do you still believe the Gospel of Barnabas is authentic?
Who really wrote it?
If you have read it, what could possibly convince you otherwise, except that it was authored by a Muslim living in Italy between the 14th and 16th centuries, attempting to validate Muhammad—since the book openly praises him?
As the Swahili proverb says:
“He who has eyes needs no one to tell him to look,”
and
“A dead ear hears no medicine.”
Are your eyes open—or is your ear dead?
Heal yourself.
How long will you be deceived?
Reflect.
Question things.
Take action.
© Max Shimba Ministries Org
March 18, 2019
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