Meherally claims :
God makes one significantly important promise to Abraham:
This portentous favor bestowed upon Abraham and his One Son, happens to be the key that unlocks the mystery of God's Master Plan. This eternal Divine Blessing for all the nations of the earth was through a seed of the son of Abraham, who had accompanied his father and passed God's test of Supreme Sacrifice. The event thus become a pivotal part of the human history for Jews, Christians and Muslims. The details of this exceptional Blessing were recorded in the Bible as under:
And said, By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only {son}: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which {is} upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My Voice. Gen. 22:16/18
The Divine Blessing will come through Isaac (the child of promise), not Ishmael (the child of the flesh).
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only {son} _________, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of . Gen. 22:2
There happens to be an unresolved debate as to who accompanied the prophet Abraham and submitted himself to the will of God - the first born - Ishmael - the progenitor of the prophet Muhammad, or the second born - Isaac - the progenitor of Jesus Christ? The Bible writers had placed the name of Isaac in the blank space above. Muslims believe Ishmael was the one that was taken by Abraham for the `Supreme Sacrifice'.
The Qur'an DOES NOT say that Abraham was told to sacrifice Ishmael.
Does it really? In fact, most of the early Muslims believed that Isaac was the son of sacrifice.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say "and to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is Christ. What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on Law, it is no longer based on promise; but God had granted it to Abraham by means of a promise. Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made. Galatians 3:16-19
Paul's teachings are perfectly consistent with the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the Old Testament.
David said in Psalm 143:2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
Luke said in Acts 13:38-39: Be it known unto you therefore, men [and] brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
The short answer, according to Mr. Meherally, is that Muhammad can save us from the teachings of Paul.
I {am} the Lord: that {is} my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and the new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. `Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth'. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voices, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare His praise in the inlands." Isaiah 42:8-12.
Mr. Meherally did a bit of editing to avoid an important point:
Reading the unedited verses, we find that the settlements of Kedar AND the people of Sela are mentioned. This passage DOES NOT say that any revelations would come from the people of Kedar or the people of Sela. These people, along with the rest of the world, would rejoice at the new song.
This verse says a "new song", not a new revelation. The Hebrew word in this verse is "shiyr". This term is used 90 times in the Old Testament and, in every case, it means song - not revelation. This passage DOES NOT say that the "new song" will be in the language of the Kedarites or the langauge of Sela and DOES NOT say that a Prophet will arise from Kedar.
In the Old Testament, the God often speaks "I" will do this, or "I" have done this, whereas, "He has chosen human beings to do these jobs on his behalf." (e.g. 2 Samuel 12:7-12). Prophet Muhammad did go forth as a mighty prophet of Allah, did stir up jealousy among the most influential and dominating tribe of the pagan Arabs in Arabia. Finally with a war cry and roar, Muhammad did prevail upon the enemies of Lord - the idolaters.
WRONG! Verse 13 says that the LORD (not Muhammad) shall go forth. The Hebrew text calls the LORD Jehovah - or God in this verse
History also tells us that Muhammad, while in Medina, ordered his followers to pray facing the Ka'bah while it contained these idols! History also tells us that Muhammad sent his followers into Mecca on a pilgrimage to the Ka'bah it was a Pagan shrine.
Christianity is not "plummeting". In fact, according to Ted Haggard (Focus on the Family), Christianity (globally) is growing at approximately 9% while Islam is growing at 2.7%. In fact, more people have come to Jesus Christ between 1988 and 1998, than the entire time interval since the birth of Jesus to 1987! Many churches in the west (especially Europe and, to a somewhat lesser extent, America) have allowed modernism to destroy, or weaken, many of the orthodox beliefs of Christianity, and these churches have lost millions of members. However, there are many Bible centered churches and they are growing rapidly.
Mr. Meherally has completely distorted the Bible! The Paraclete in the Gospel of John is the Holy Spirit, as Jesus said, and not Muhammad. Please read about the Paraclete!
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