Before we get to far into Islam’s Gog and Magog, I wanted to put this up. The following posts are from 2 Muslim websites, the links are below. To my Muslim readers, there will be some posts where I will ask you to comment on whether the information is widely accepted and how much is or is not. In addition, some of what I am putting up, may seem offensive to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, it is not meant to be. I am merely putting up what each text/site/person believes, so take it for that.
I found this post to be interesting and refreshing, as I hear so much against the Jews in particular.
Don’t Blame The Jews
Another disturbing trend that is heavily propagated by extremists and accepted by many naive Arabs and Muslims is the blaming of all Muslim problems on the Jews. There are numerous examples for this but most recently news broadcasts out of Iraq quoted Iraqi victims of violence who blamed the bombings on Jews or a Jewish conspiracy.Many Arabs and Muslims still blame the 9-11 attacks on a Jewish conspiracy that was allegedly perpetrated to demonize Arabs and Muslims in the eyes of the world.
One of the most recent and tragic examples of unjustified hate towards Jews was the brutal murder of Daniel Pearl. Daniel Pearl was a journalist murdered by Islamic extremists in Pakistan who had never met a Jew, and the only knowledge they had about Jews was the tireless propaganda from Muslim extremists throughout the world blaming Jews for all of the world’s problems. The extremists targeted and murdered Daniel Pearl because he was a Jew.
Our research indicates that one of the modern origins of this trend is the mutual demonization by Israelis and Arabs of each other to gain global support for each other’s causes. This pattern includes the Arab media’s ceaseless reference to the falsified document, the Protocols of Zion. The Coalition strongly urges Muslims and Arabs to refrain from demonizing Jews and stop blaming Jews for all of the world’s problems. The Coalition also urges Israelis to stop demonizing Arabs and Muslims who peacefully advocate for the rights of Palestinians. http://pressthat.wordpress.com/2007/10/02/dont-blame-the-jews/
I showed in my post ‘Israel, Prophecy, and The End Times’, that some Muslims have no problem with Israel. I wanted to show this post before putting up the next one, to remind you that not every Muslim is against Israel or the Jews, and the same can be said about Christians. Not every Christian is for Israel or Jews, (in this I believe Christians are wrong and not following the Word).
Here is some interesting stuff but it is considered unorthodox and infamous amongst Muslim scholars for its number 19 theory. Still, it shows the differing views of different Muslims. And I can’t say that everything he has to say is wrong in the main Islamic belief, because I have seen some of his views on other websites, which we will be getting too.
Who Are Gog And Magog
The Quran refers to Gog & Magog twice in Quran, in 18:94 & 21:96. It is a great blessing upon us that we have some additional information about Gog & Magog through Dr. Rashad Khalifa, God’s Messenger of the Covenant. Below are the relevant verses for this topic taken from Dr. Khalifa’s English translation of Quran.
[18:93] When he reached the valley between two palisades, he found people whose language was barely understandable.[18:94] They said, “O Zul-Qarnain, Gog and Magog are corruptors of the earth. Can we pay you to create a barrier between us and them?”[18:95] He said, “My Lord has given me great bounties. If you cooperate with me, I will build a dam between you and them.[18:96] “Bring to me masses of iron.” Once he filled the gap between the two palisades, he said, “Blow.” Once it was red hot, he said, “Help me pour tar on top of it.”[18:97] Thus, they could not climb it, nor could they bore holes in it.[18:98] He said, “This is mercy from my Lord. When the prophecy of my Lord comes to pass, He will cause the dam to crumble. The prophecy of my Lord is truth.”[18:99] At that time, we will let them invade with one another, then the horn will be blown, and we will summon them all together.
Footnote for 18:94-98: One of my duties as God’s Messenger of the Covenant is to state that Gog and Magog, the final sign before the end of the world, will reappear in 2270 AD (1700 AH), just 10 years before the end. Note that Gog and Magog occur in Suras 18 and 21, precisely 17 verses before the end of each sura, representing 17 lunar centuries (see 72:27 and Appendix 25).
[21:95] It is forbidden for any community we had annihilated to return.[21:96] Not until Gog and Magog reappear, will they then return - they will come from every direction.[21:97] That is when the inevitable prophecy will come to pass, and the disbelievers will stare in horror: “Woe to us; we have been oblivious. Indeed, we have been wicked.”
Footnote for 21:96: By the year 2270 AD, thanks to God’s mathematical miracle in the Quran (Appendix 1), America will be the heart of Islam, and billions around the globe will have believed in the Quran (9:33, 41:53, 48:28, 61:9). Gog and Magog (allegorical names of villainous communities), will be the only bastions of heathenism, and they will attack the submitters. That is when the world will end (15:87, 18:94, Appendix 25). Gog and Magog are mentioned in 18:94 & 21:96, 17 verses before the end of each sura; this may indicate the time of their appearance.
One of the things I have noticed is that this person believes that anyone using the Hadiths and Sunnah’s are wrong and that the Quran spoke against it. He uses scripture that I thought was suppose to refer to non-Muslims. At least that is the way it was told to me, but it was told to me by Islamists so who knows. Some of his explanations on why he only uses the Quran seem to make sense. I also know that there are many different sects in Islam, and many different views as you will see. Suffice to say, he is not alone in his interpretations, there are others who use only the Quran. We will get into his number theory in the future.
This guy sees that all religion should be allowed to be freely worshiped, others obviously do not. And one in particular feels that everyone who isn’t Muslim is possibly Gog and Magog, we will be getting to his stuff.
The person who wrote this also said; “USA as a society and as a nation practices God’s laws as laid out in the Quran, more so, than any other nation in the world. He follows that comment with those great words from the pledge, One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty And Justice For All. So you see, as I have said over and over, not all Muslims think alike. Anyway, moving on to the next concept of Gog Magog. Too bad more don’t think like these 2.
One more thing, I want to set the record straight on a couple of things.
#1 Christians are NOT polytheist which is the standard theme in Islam.
#2 I really want Muslims to understand one simple fact, just because the west is considered Christian, does not mean that all Westerners are Christian.
In Muslim nations the majority of people are Muslim, their nation revolves around the religion for the most part. Most people attend mosque, most people pray 5 times a day, most people follow the pillars. So, because of that, most Muslims who live in Muslim nations seem to think that Christian nations do the same thing in regards to Christianity…THEY DON’T. There are a number of Christians for sure, but not all are devout or follow the same beliefs as the other. Please keep this in mind before you lump all Westerners in the same basket!! And the same goes for Westerners.
http://www.submission.org/suras/app25.html
http://www.submission.org/miracle/
http://www.submission.org/islam/usa.html
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Gog and Magog and The Differing Views Amongst Muslims
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Gog and Magog In Christianity 1
This post is long, but please take the time to read it all. Some of it you may know, some you may not, but considering the signs of the times, we can all use a reminder.
Both Islam and Christianity have a “Gog and Magog” in this post, I will explain what the Christian faith says about it. I will put up Islam’s Gog and Magog in the next post. There may be things that you think I have left out, trust me, I won’t leave anything out, just give me time to get everything in.
As we discussed yesterday, Ezekiel 36-37 predicts a gathering of the Jews to the nation of Israel, which will be followed by this massive invasion. For 19 centuries the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world, and until May 14, 1948 there was no nation of Israel to invade. With the nation of Israel now a reality, the stage seems set for the war that will usher in the tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist; a war that will end with the destruction of Israel’s enemies by God Himself, and lead to the signing of a peace treaty with the Antichrist.
* The rebirth of the State of Israel in the end times (both chapters)
* The return of the Jews to the Holy Land after centuries in exile (36:10-11, 36:24, 36:37-38, 37:12, 37:21)
* The rebuilding of the ancient ruins in Israel (36:36)
* The re-blossoming of desolate, desert lands to produce abundant food, fruit and foliage (36:8-9 and 36:30-35)
* The creation of an “exceedingly great army” (37:11)Such prophecies began to be fulfilled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, accelerated in 1948 and 1967, and continue to come to pass to this day.
This, of course, raises an intriguing question: If Ezekiel 36 and 37 have largely come true in our lifetime, isn’t it possible that Ezekiel 38 and 39 will soon come true as well??
Everyone should read Ezekiel chapters 38-39 in the Christian Bible, for a indept look at the Christian prophecy of Gog and Magog. Ezekiel 38 through 39 tells of a future invasion of Israel by a vast coalition of nations that surround it. I will post some of it here, but it would be too long to copy both chapters here. For those of you who are unfamiler with the Christian Bible, Ezekiel was a major prophet in the Old Testiment.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts [of armour, even] a great company [with] bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: [and] many people with thee. Ezekiel 38:1-6
The NIV translation, of the same verse’s: The word of the Lord came to me; Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army - your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops - the many nations with you.’
What do those names mean/what country’s are they?? There are many theory’s, and I will be going over some of them here. I will also go over the main theory, or thought on who they are. Later (in future post), I will go over why it is important and what is going on in the world that points to it now.
Most of you know that Persia, is Iran, and what is the retoric going on by its President today (don’t jump the gun, I promise I will get to that). If you want me to go into more detail about why these names are the names below, just say the word and I will. But it may come later in the series as I want to get the main stuff out first.
* Gog is described as being “of the land of Magog” and as the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. Most Bible scholars believe Gog is not a name but a title, like Pharoah or Czar. He is a dictator who will hatch an “evil plan” (38:10).
* Magog = Leading Bible scholars say this is Russia and republics of the former Soviet Union. The first century Roman historian Josephus said the “Magogites” were the peoples whom the Greeks called “Scythians.” Scythians were a fierce, blood-thirsty civilization that settled north of the Baltic Sea in what is now Russia and the European republics of the former USSR.
* Rosh = Russia* Meshech = Some Bible scholars say this is Moscow, others believe it refers to Turkey
* Tubal = Some Bible scholars say this refers to the city/region of Tobolsk in Russia along the Tobol River;
others say it refers to a section of modern-day Turkey. (Interestingly, in 1964, massive reserves of oil and gas were discovered in the Tobolsk region of Siberia and people now refer to the region as the “energy center of Russia.”)
* Persia = This was the official name of Iran until 1935
* Cush = Sudan and Ethiopia
* Put = Libya, and possibly Algeria and Tunisia
* Gomer = Turkey, but also possibly Germany and Austria
* Beth-togarmah = Armenia and the Turkic-speaking peoples of Central Asia
* “Many peoples with you” who will attack along “the mountains of Israel” =
Other countries will be involved in the coalition as well, notably countries that border the mountains of Israel. This includes Lebanon, Syria and possibly Jordan.
Before puting these names off countries up, I researched it out and found that this was the overwhelming view, though there are some who disagree on one or more of the countries involved. I may get into that, given time, but right now I want to stick to the basic’s.
WHAT
Gogs Plan
38:7 Gog will build a military coalition and be prepared” to strike38:8 Gog will deploy the coalition against Israel39:9 Gog will use overwhelming force against Israel; he and his coalition will come like a storm….like a cloud covering the land
Gods Plan
38:2 The Lord God will bring judgment upon the enemies of Israel, beginning with Gog, the dictator of Russia
38:20 The Lord will trigger a massive earthquake in which all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence
38:21 The Lord will turn Gogs forces against one another
38:22 The Lord will subject Gogs coalition forces to:
* pestilence
* blood
* torrential rains
* hailstones
* fire from heaven
39:6 The Lord will send fire upon Magog itself and others
39:9 Israel will capture her enemies weapons and burn them for 7 years
39:12 It will taken 7 full months to bury all the bodies of Israel’s slain enemies
39:17-20 Birds and beast will feast on the bodies of Israel’s slain enemies
WHEN
38:8 Israel will be a country again and Jews will be regathered to the Holy Land
38:11, 14 My people Israel are living securely before the “War of Gog and Magog”
38:12-13 Israel will have economic prosperity
38:16 It will come about in the last days (before the return of Christ)
WHY
39:21 I shall set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment
39:22 the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God
39:29 I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel
These events will not only be a judgment of Israel’s enemies in keeping with Genesis 12:1-3, in which God says those who bless Israel
He will bless, and those who curse Israel He will curse. The events will also be the beginning of a great spiritual awakening. God will literally and metaphorically shake people out of spiritual apathy and lethargy to realize there is a God in heaven. He will also shake people who are following false religions and turn them to Himself. Moreover, He will shake those who are followers of Christ but not serious about their faith. It should be noted that ours is the first generation in human history in which all the nations on earth will be able to watch the “War of Gog and Magog” unfold because of the emergence of television and satellite technology.** Note: All verses are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Verse 8 proclaims that these nations will “invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate.” The land that is invaded can only appear to be Israel, a nation whose people have been gathering from all over the world for 50 years.
God has intended this invasion however. In vs. 16 he declares, “In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy though you before their eyes.” Verses 17-23 describe the exact catastrophes that will befall the invading nations. They are supernaturally destroyed and no harm is done to Israel. God will not let his people be harmed. The miraculous Six Day War of 1967 should have taught everyone that, but the world has turned a blind eye.
Ezekiel 39:9 begins the description of the aftermath. It is gruesome but also amazing in its detail when looked at in comparison to today. “Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up – the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. This statement is remarkable for two reasons.
First is the nature of the weapons. In the time that Ezekiel wrote this, burning weapons made perfect sense because they were made of wood. What of today’s weapons however? How do you burn warplanes and other metals? Amazingly, Russia has been using Lignostone in the production of its weapons. Lignostone “is a special kind of wood used for ‘coke breakers.’ It is stronger than steel, is very elastic… and it burns better than coal.” (90 LaHaye Are We Living in the End Times?) You can read more about Lignostone on its website at http://www.lignostone.com/.
The second important part of this passage is the fact that it will take seven years to burn all the weapons. The tribulation will be seven years, so this gives us some sort of timeline with which to place this event. This event would either have to come at the very beginning of the tribulation or before to allow seven full years.
However, this event cannot happen at the beginning of the tribulation because the tribulation begins with the antichrist signing a peace treaty with Israel. This treaty is not going to immediately be broken with this battle. It won’t be until 3 ½ years that the treaty is broken.
This means that this battle occurs before the tribulation. While it is purely speculation on my part, I believe that this is the final straw that leaves everyone crying out for peace and the perfect setting for the antichrist to step in and give it to the nations.
Chapter 39 continues with the clean up of these armies that are supernaturally destroyed. Verse 12 says that for seven months people will work nonstop to cleanse the land. This isn’t hard to imagine after seeing the devastation caused by the destruction of the World Trade Center. The cleanup took longer than half a year with crews working around the clock and the best equipment available. Imagine such destruction spread over forty miles, or an area the size of New Jersey .
Even after the seven month period, there will be people employed full time in cleaning up the land. Every bone will be marked and carried to the Valley of Hamon Gog, a mass grave for all the invaders. The name simply means hordes of Gog.
The reason for all of this destruction is for God to be glorified. In verses 21-22 he says, “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God.”
After these events, the Israelites return to their native land in force. Verse 25, “The Sovereign Lord says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.”
Even in such destruction, God has a purpose. The nations will fear Him and Israel will return to Him and their homeland. All of this could happen soon. The world situation is one where any number of Middle Eastern nations could easily lead a coalition against Israel . Israel has nothing to fear from their enemies though, because they are protected by the Lord of Hosts.
So the main thing we see here is that several nations will come against Israel and when they do, God will defend Israel. Pretty powerful stuff when you think about it. We have covered the who, what and where, but we will cover much, much, more in coming posts.
There is another mention of Gog and Magog in Revelations, which is the battle of Armageddon. I don’t believe it is ‘that’ battle, many scholars feel the same way. I totally agree with the above statement, I think that the war of Gog and Magog will cause people to be fed up, I think it will be at this time that we will see the 7 year treaty with Israel. I will get into this in more detail later. By understanding the pre-tribulation stuff, you will be able to identify what is playing out around you. We will also go over the ‘Rapture’, I know that not all Christians believe in the Rapture, but I will go over it anyway. That way, should it occur, everyone will know what it is/was.
There is more on this subject that I will be getting to, as I have already said. We will also go over the Gog and Magog in Islam, or, Yajuj wa Ma’juj. There is so much information, and how to write it, and keep it is some kind of order is difficult. I want to encourage you to let me know if there are things you want me to go over in more detail, but also keep in mind that I have left some stuff out on purpose and will address later.
http://joelrosenberg.blogspot.com/2005/05/war-of-gog-and-magog-understanding.html
http://www.spreadinglight.com/prophecy/gog.html
Israel, Prophecy, and The End Times 1
Time to delve into some of the bigger issues. From here on, it is very important that you read each post. They won’t always be in order, as I will have to go back and forth, trying to keep it in some order without giving it away to soon. I won’t be leaving anything out, so as before, give me time to get it in first. Also, understand that everyone doesn’t believe the same way and I will be going over some of that as well.
When you talk about the End Times and prophecy, there is one prophecy that can’t be left out. We have already talked about a lot and we have lots more to go over but for today we will look at just one. The State of Israel. I know that most, if not all Christians know of this prophecy but for the benefit of those that don’t, and in addition to what the Bible says about Israel, I have put up some of what the Quran says. There will be more on this subject in future posts, as Israel is a prominent player in all Abrahamic faiths.
And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him], if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, [even] in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God [is] a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. Deuteronomy 4:27-31
And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:11-12
For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. Jeremiah 30:3
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Joel 3:1-3
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: Amos 9:11
For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause [you] to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities [are become] fenced, [and] are inhabited. Ezekiel 36:24,33-35
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: [but] they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto [that] shame; and [their] abominations were according as they loved. Hosea 9:10
One basket [had] very good figs, [even] like the figs [that are] first ripe: and the other basket [had] very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for [their] good. Jeremiah 24:2-5
The fig tree is used by Hosea and Jeremiah to refer to the Jewish people.
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Matthew 24:32-34
Israel the fig tree has put forth its leaves and been reborn as a nation therefore the coming of Christ draws near. Luke 21:32 also states that a generation would not pass. A generation is between 70-100 years, Israel was established again on May 15, 1948. Jews are still immigrating back to Israel from nations far and wide, just like the Bible said they would. Now lets look at what the Quran has to say about Israel.
2:47 Children of Israel! call to mind the favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all other nations. 2:122 O Children of Israel! call to mind the favor which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all other nations. 7:137 And We made the children of Israel, who were considered weak (and of no account), inheritors of lands in both east and west, - lands whereon We sent down Our blessings. The fair promise of thy Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because they had patience and constancy, and We leveled to the ground the great works and finebuildings which Pharaoh and his people erected (with such pride). 17:104 And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, “Dwell securely in the land of promise”:10:93 We settled the Children of Israel in a beautiful dwelling-place, and provided for them sustenance of the best: it was after knowledge had been granted to them.
20:80 O ye Children of Israel! We delivered you from your enemy, and We made a Covenant with you to give you the right side (the blessed side) of Mount Sinai, and We sent down to you Manna (special food) and quails.
26:59 Thus it was, but We made the Children of Israel inheritors of such things (the promised land)
45:16 We did aforetime grant to the Children of Israel the Book the Power of Command, and Prophet hood; We gave them, for Sustenance, things good and pure; and We favored them above all other nations.
44: 32 And We have chosen them (the Children of Israel) above the ‘Alamîn (mankind, and jinns) and our choice was based on a deep knowledge.
32.23] And certainly We gave the Book to Moses, so be not in doubt concerning the receiving of it, and We made it a guide for the children of Israel.[32.24] And We made of them Guiding Lights and leaders to guide by Our command as they were patient, and they were certain of Our communications.
[17:100-104]”To Moses We [Allah] gave nine clear signs. Ask the Israelites how he [Moses] first appeared amongst them. Pharoah said to him: ‘Moses, I can see that you are bewitched.’ ‘You know full well,’ he [Moses] replied, ‘that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has revealed these visible signs. Pharoah, you are doomed.’” “Pharoah sought to scare them [the Israelites] out of the land [of Israel]: but We [Allah] drowned him [Pharoah] together with all who were with him. Then We [Allah] said to the Israelites: ‘Dwell in this land [the Land of Israel]. When the promise of the hereafter [End of Days] comes to be fulfilled, We [Allah] shall assemble you [the Israelites] all together [in the Land of Israel].”“We [Allah] have revealed the Qur’an with the truth, and with the truth it has come down. We have sent you [Muhammed] forth only to proclaim good news and to give warning.”
Ha, bet you didn’t know that the Quran also prophesied that the Jews would return to Israel in the last days too, did ya . Sometimes I really wonder about what people like Bin Lyin, who professes to be so pious, and yet would like nothing more than to kill every Jew in Israel. I wonder how he gets around the fact that Allah said that the Jews were suppose to re-control Israel. No doubt he probably thinks that the reason the Jews were brought back to Israel was so that they were centrally located so they can be killed . I’m sure that this one little paragraph will be enough to cause me all kinds of grief . If I was smart, I would erase it… be gentle with me please .
There are Muslims who have no problem with Israel, probably because of what the Quran says. There are others, which we will be getting to, who feel otherwise. There is also more on Israel that we will be getting to, so no worries, I haven’t forgotten anything…yet. I’m sure you’ll let me know if I do. One more thing, can any of my Muslim readers tell me who the ‘We’ is, in your scripture?? When referring to Allah, it says ‘we’ a lot, and I was just wondering who the ‘we’ is. Is it trying to say that Allah has a wife?? I firmly believe time is short and am trying to get this stuff out as fast as I can, as it is extremely important for all faiths and non-faiths to see.
http://www.templemount.org/quranland.html
Muslim Signs Of The End Times
Time for some of the Muslim signs of the End Times. I hope I can do it justice, since I am not as familiar with Muslim signs as Christian signs. As before, some things will be left out to be given their own post in order to compare text better. Which is the purpose of this series.
When Muslim speak of the End Times, they use the word Qiyamah which means “Day of the Resurrection” which is the last judgment in Islam. Belief in Qiyamah is part of the creed or Aqidah, and is a fundamental tenet of faith in Islam. The trials and tribulation associated with it are detailed in both the Quran and the Hadith, as well as in the commentaries of the Islamic expositors and scholarly authorities, who explain them in detail. Every human, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, is held accountable for his or her deeds and are judged by Allah according to the Quran 74.38. Al-Qiyamah is the 75th sura of the Quran.
Basically some of the premise is the same, they believe in a final judgment. We will be going over some of the difference in more detail in future posts.In my research I have found many links to one person, so I will use his stuff as well.
Islam has both minor and major signs of the Qiymah/End Times, I will start with the minor signs. We will look at some of these more closely in future posts. As you can already tell it is a very involved process. I had wanted to prepare the series in advance but that was not practical, so I am doing it as we move along, and trying to keep it in some order.
1.The dark of night will not be deemed necessary for the commitment of sins.
2.Extravagant mansions will be constructed.
3.Singers will be considered respectable.
4.War shall be prevalent.
5.Gambling will be prevalent.
6.People will fear living in their own houses.
7.Dajjal shall come and shall have one eye (anti-Christ) (we will get into this later)
8.Land shall be turned into deserts
9.Earthquakes and Volcano’s and other natural disasters shall be common.
10.Good deeds will be few and far between.
11.False guides will mislead the multitudes.
12.Posts will be many, but practical teachers a few.
13.Mosques will be decorated profusely but urge towards adoration will be absent.
14.The rate of accidental deaths will be on the rise.
15.The rich will become godless and the devout will become sinful.
16.Leaders of opinion will be corrupt and overbearing.
17.False witnesses will be accepted and true ones rejected
18.The Quran will be considered as an old ancient book
19.A person spending money on sinful purposes will not be criticized.
20.People will thrust their personal opinions in the religion.
21.Usury (Interest) will be considered lawful.
22.The virtuous will be despised for their faith in God.
23.Human beings will be followers of selfish desires.
24.Pride will be taken for oppressive tendencies.
25.Good people will observe silence due to fear of wicked persons foul speech.
26.Tale bearing and backbiting will be considered as good and will be prevalent.
27.A wealthy person will command more respect then a pious person.
28.Children will curse their parents and will pray for their early death.
29.Payments will be taken for rendering religious services in Mosques.
30.There will be two eclipses in the Month of Ramadan.
31.Recitation of the Holy Quran will be considered as a burden
32.Homosexuality will be prevalent
33.The land will crumble and sink thrice in the East, the west and Arabian peninsula
- These are some of the signs.
- Most of these signs have occurred, some did not occur, and some are occurring
- May Allah protect us from hell fire.
- Please pray for the hastening of the reappearance of Imam.
Hassan Tabatabai
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Minor Signs of Qiymah by Mohammed Ali Ibn Zubair Ali (try saying that 5 times real fast)
“Qiyamah will come…
When it will be regarded as a shame to act on Quranic injunctions.
When untrustworthy people will be regarded as trustworthy and the trustworthy will be regarded as untrustworthy.
When it will be hot in winter and vice versa.
When the length of days is stretched, i.e. a journey of a few days is covered in a matter hours.
When orators and lecturers lie openly.
When people dispute over petty issues.
When women with children come displeased on account of them bearing offspring, and barren women remain happy on account of having no responsibility of offspring.
When oppression, jealousy, and greed become the order of the day.
When people blatantly follow their passions and whims.
When lies prevail over truth. When violence, bloodshed and anarchy become common.
When immorality overtakes shamelessness and is perpetrated publicly.
When legislation matters pertaining to Deen is handed over to the worst elements of the Ummat, and if people accept them and are satisfied with their findings, then such persons will not smell the fragrance of Jannat.
When the offspring become a cause of grief and anger for their parents.
The following is part of a lengthy Hadith narrated by Hadhrat Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood (R.A.) I would like to ask my Muslim readers what the R.A. stands for.
Music and musical instruments will be found in every home.
People will indulge in homosexuality.
There will be an abundance of illegitimate children.
There will be an abundance of critics, tale-carriers, back-biters and taunters in society.
People will establish ties with strangers and sever relations with their near and dear ones.
Hypocrites will be in control of the affairs of the community and evil, immoral people will be at the helm of business establishments.
The Masjid will be decorated, but the hearts of the people will be devoid of guidance.
The courtyards of Masjids will be built beautifully and high mimbars (pulpits) will be erected.
Gangsters and evil people will prevail.
Various wines will be consumed excessively.
Auf bin Malik (R.A.) says: I came to Rasulullah while he was in his skin tent during the Tabuk expedition. He said to me, “Count six things before the advent of Qiyamah:
1 My death
2 The conquest of Jerusalem
3 Mass deaths amongst yu people, just as when sheep die in large numbers during an epidemic
4 Abundance of wealth to such an extent tht if a person were to be given a hundred Dinars he will still not be satisfied
5 General anarchy and bloodshed, that no Arab household will be spared from it
6 Then a life of peace as a result of a peace agreement between you and the Banil Asfaar (Romans) which they will break and attack you with a force consisting of eighty flags and under each flag will be an army of twelve thousand men.” (Hadith: Sahih Bukhari)
Iraq and Syria
Abu Nadhrah says: “We were sitting in the company of Jabir bin Abdullah (R.A) when he said: ‘Soon the people of Iraq will neither receive any food nor any money.’ We asked, Why would such a thing happen? He replied, ‘Because of the non-Arabs.’ (i.e. they will prevent food from going into Iraq, in the form of ’sanctions’ to this day.) He then said: ‘Soon the people of Shaam (Syria) will neither receive any money nor grain.’ We asked as to why this would happen. He replied: ‘Because of the Romans (Christians)’.
Conceited people:
Hadhrat Abbas (R.A.) narrates that Rasulallah has said, ‘Islam will spread far and wide, across the seas. Horses will cross the land and seas in the cause of Jihaad. Then a time will come wherein a group of people will emerge which recites the Quran.
They will claim,We have recited the Quran and is there anyone who understands the Quran better than us? There is NO ONE more proficient than us in the study of the Quran.
Then Rasulallah asked the Sahaba, ‘Do you see any good in their claims?’ The Sahaba replied, ‘No’. Rasulallah said, ‘But these conceited claimants will be from my Ummah and will be the fuel of the Fire.’
From “Signs of Qiyamah” By Mohammaed Ali lbn Zubair Ali
http://www.islam.tc/prophecies/qiyaam2.html
Take some time and see how many you can find that match up to Christian signs. Monday, we will get into some of the prophecy’s I have left out.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Christian Signs Of The End Times 2
Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?
OK, time for part 2 of Christian signs. Again, they are not in any order and are not complete. The ones omitted here will be added later.
False Christs, Prophets, and their cultic groups: The Falling Away
And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here [is] Christ; or, lo, [he is] there; believe [him] not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect. Mark 13:21-22 You can also find it in Matthew 24: 4-5 and Luke 21:8
How many false Christ’s or Prophets have we seen of late?? There was ‘Heavens Gate’ where they were convinced that if they killed themselves they could catch a ride on a space ship that was behind a comet. You have to wonder why anyone would believe that. There was Jim Jones who got more than 900 people to kill themselves and others for him. There was David Koresh of the Branch Davidian’s who led almost 80 of his followers to their death. Koresh thought of himself as a angel and an agent of God. These are just 3 men who caused untold heartache to the families of the dead. And only in the US.
Not that long ago there was a cult up in Canada where they committed suicide together, sorry I can’t think of the name right now. There was the cult in Japan that set off gas canisters in the subway making many sick and killing some.
The bottom line is this, any religion or religious leader who wants you to kill yourself or others in the name of that religion, should be considered suspect. Actually you should RUN as fast as you can, away from it!! I have already made my opinion clear on this subject, I don’t think that God wants us killing in His name.
There was a cult up in the Washington State area who poisoned salad stations in area restaurants, in order to have the population out sick on election day. Thus giving themselves the majority (saw it on court TV). And how could this section be complete without mentioning the so called Rev. Sun Myung Moon. What is up with this article?? And please don’t tell me you visit people like this. This is concerning as well, and this especially is. I could go on and on for days or weeks. But the main purpose is to point out the obvious, that we are moving rapidly towards the end. This small list shows exactly what was spoken of in the Bible, at least that is the way I see it.
The Falling Away: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” 1 Timothy 4:1 In Europe today very few go to church, and in America millions are forsaking their church’s or wandering after men who conform to this world rather than to the will of God.
Oh boy here’s some good ones .
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:1-5
Here is the NIV version:
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
Outbreak of demonic and occultic activity:
How many of us teach our children that this is good?? From TV to books to movies, all of a sudden its hip to be a Witch. Speaking of Harry Potter, I wish I could find the story now, but I did hear that the number one requested book at Guantanamo is Harry Potter. What about this, who ever heard of a Pagan pride parade?? Leave it to San Francisco. I would be very careful dealing with this kind of stuff. You may just end up channeling the devil himself, and he may decide to stay. Parents remember what the Bible said about training up your child in the way he should go, and in the end he will not depart from it. What are you training your child to be??
Here is what can happen if you immerse yourself in the occult. The Columbine High School massacre was committed by two teenager’s who were heavily involved in occult practices and Satan worship. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold professed faith in Satan and Nazism frequently and were not taken seriously – that is until after their killing spree. Hal Lindsey, who wrote ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’, said “Satan never wanted a world that did not believe in the supernatural. He wants a religious world that will believe in Him. And for this He will supply all kinds of supernatural experiences to lure in those who reject God’s truth.” I have to say, I agree with him.
Tribulation and Persecution of Christians: Matthew 24:8-9
Christians are under attack throughout the world today. In the United States Christians still enjoy freedom to worship God without suffering much more than ridicule, hatred, or discrimination at work and school. However in many other countries such as China, Sudan, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Russia, and many Muslim nations, Christian suffer much greater persecution and often times death for their faith. During the tribulation this suffering will be worldwide and will continue even to the point of martyrdom. There are some today calling for doing away with all religion because it is, in their eyes, the root of all fighting in the world.
I will go over it more in the future, when we get to that part of the series.
We have covered a lot of bad stuff in regards to the Christian signs, but there is also some good, so lets get some of that now.
The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit and The Gospel Preached Through out the World
And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. Joel 2:28-29
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14 also Mark 13:10 says: And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
This isn’t new, its been going on for quite some time. And it has done great in keeping our kids interested in God and Church. It seems to me that the youth movement in the Christian faith has really taken off some years ago, an appears to be continuing today. When I was a kid, it wasn’t nearly as big, there wasn’t much in the way of others to socialize with at school.
Everyone knows how huge peer pressure is, so the fact that our youth today have so many of their peers to look up to is great. Some communities even have Churches geared towards youth alone. I would encourage them to go to Church with their parents, but if not, then by all means, go to the youth Church.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14
This prophecy has already been fulfilled through television, radio, missionaries, the translation of the Bible into many languages, and the Internet. People all over the world now hear the message of Christ from missionaries who have the means to travel the globe, and via technology that allows us to communicate with people on the other side of the world right from our own homes, churches and offices.
Increase of Knowledge - The Prophet Daniel was instructed that in the last days knowledge and travel would greatly increase: “Be thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4) It is evident that in the past century both education and travel have exponentially accelerated. In 1991 Knowledge doubled every 10 years. It now doubles every 22 months.
Billy Graham was quoted as saying, “ninety percent of all the engineers and scientists who have ever lived are alive today.” Air travel, space travel, DNA research and human cloning are all examples of the rapid increase in knowledge in our generation.
OK, so far we have covered the following: 1) Wars and Rumors of War; 2) Famine; 3) Pestilence/Plague; 4) Earthquakes; 5) 2 Tim 3:1-5 which is a whole list of stuff; 6) Fearful and Great signs and sights from the heavens; 7) The Falling Away; 8) False Christs Prophets, and their cultic ways; 9) 1Tim 4:1-5, another list; 10) Outbreak of demonic and occult activity; 11) Persecution of Christians; 12) The Out pouring of the Holy Spirit; 13) The Gospel preached through out the world; 14) Increase of knowledge;
Please let me know if you want me to go further on any of these subjects. I’m saving some of the best for latter.
My next post I will write some on Islam’s signs of the end times. Then we will start on the good stuff.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Christian Signs Of The End Times 1
My plan was to put up in one post what both Christianity and Islam say are the signs of the approaching End Times. It appears however that it may be too much information to put all in one post so I will split it up into 2-4 posts. I will also mark each sign in bold. In case the links don’t show up where I placed them, you will find them in order on the bottom of the post.
For those of you who may not be real familiar with Christian text, when I am writing about the signs of the End Times, I am talking about what the Bible says that we may know that the time is upon us. Not the things in Revelations which is much more involved, but we may get to that. My primary goal at first will be leading up to that point.
Since I am more familiar with the Christian stuff, I will start with that. The next post will have Islam’s signs. Also, my Christian friends will notice I have left some out, don’t worry, I know what I left out and will get to it soon. In addition to that, these will not be in the right order, because some will be given posts to themselves.
Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?
The above scripture will top all posts when I write about the Christian signs.
Jesus said, that we would hear of wars and rumors of wars. That nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom (Mat 24:6-7).
It doesn’t take much to see this is in fact the case. America, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, North Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan, are the major players. You can mix and match in a variety of ways these nations and the rumors of war. Since 1914 there have been two world wars, and how many others between nations and within nations. Jesus also said: See that ye not be troubled; for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet. So watch, but don’t fret.
There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginnings of sorrows. Mat. 24:7-8
Famine: We have heard and seen plenty about famine in Africa and North Korea. Also parts of China and other countries, where you wouldn’t think there would be famine problems. At least I didn’t, Guatemalans for instance. I also read that in the Ukraine 15 million died from starvation, but I am not for sure when this took place. In the 2003 Europa World reported that 20 million were in danger of starvation in Africa. With the increase of population worldwide, it is easy to see how it wouldn’t take much to cause a worldwide famine.
Pestilence/Plague:
Aids; Venereal diseases; STD; Anthrax; Biological warfare; bird flu; SARS; etc.
According to UNAIDS at least 30 million have died from Aids. Also T.B. has made a comeback which is now antibiotic resistance, in other words, if you get it, you can very well die from it and that is in modern country’s. We have all heard about the threat of Bird Flu, with the rate of world travel, it could spread worldwide within a week. We also have heard about SARS, West Nile, The Hanta Virus, drug resistant Staph infection, Ebola, Dengue fever, Measles, just to name a few.
The bottom line is germs have a tendency to change their genes, so our efforts to fight them aren’t always successful. You’ve heard all the warnings about the over use of antibiotics. Plus we have to worry about the fact that terrorists could use germ warfare as well. Some of these have been in places other than where you normally would associate them. Dengue hemorrhagic fever in El Salvador for instance. And a Measles outbreak in Italy in 2002. Surely Italy is a modern state.
Earthquakes: According to the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center, earthquakes are increasing at an alarming rate, from 16,612 in 1990, to 27,456 in 2002. And of those some have been HUGE, with great loss of life. One only needs to think of the Earthquake off of Indonesia with the accompanying tsunami, which affected so many nations and had a incredible death toll. After that earthquake and tsunami there were documentaries on T.V. on how something bigger could hit the East Coast of the U.S. where the population is so big, that evacuating in time, will not be possible. We have been blessed here in the U.S. to not have some of the major loss of life that countries like Mexico, Iran, Turkey, China, and Pakistan have. That does not mean that we are exempt.
In 2001 stats from the National Earthquake center showed the following statistic’s regarding earthquakes of 5.5 or higher on the Richter scale: 1800-1900 = 645 earthquakes in 100 years..to be fair, I am not sure of the type of reporting we had prior to 1900. 1900-1994 = 1845 earthquakes in 94 years and increase of 2.8%. 1994-2000 = 1163 earthquakes in 7 years which is a increase of 175.2% of 1800-1900. Amazing isn’t it. I don’t know if there has been any explanation as to why the numbers are so much higher now, by the scientific community. They are not likely to say; ‘It’s because Jesus said it would be so’, are they .
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For Men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boaster, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; From such turn away. 2 Tim 3:1-5
That was the King James version, the NIV version is here: But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV).
Sounds different doesn’t it. You may not get exactly what is being said under the King James translation, but the NIV leaves no doubt. Personally I have read and studied the King James version my whole life and love it, but it never hurts to see other views, especially if you don’t understand the thee’s and thou’s of the King James version. When you read the above verses, it sounds pretty much where we are.
Things in the U.S. took a dramatic turn during the 1960’s, and personally I haven’t seen much in improvement since then. How many parents are busy with work, so much so, that they have no clue what is going on in their kids lives. We turn on the ‘babysitter box’ and put our kids in front of it. And then we wonder why so many kids seem to have Attention Deficit Disorder. For those of you who may not know, TV has been associated with increasing the disorder when children spend too much time in front of it as infants and children.
We as a nation, used to spend our family time differently than we do now. Instead of talking with one another or even eating a meal together in the dining room, we park ourselves in front of the television set. The only conversation is what to watch on TV for the night. TV is alright some of the time, the same way the computer is. But at what cost to our family, to the health of our children. I saw a news story this week that Nickelodeon TV went dark for 3 hrs. Saturday, just to encourage kids to go out and play. I have some dear friends who didn’t have a TV, and spent at least one night a week as family night, where the whole family played board games together, regardless of age.
I want to add a personal story here, when my son was in the 3rd grade, I found out that he had been molested by the husband of my babysitter. My son had been 4, 5, and 6 years old at the time. I had enough schooling in criminal justice to know what that all entailed, I had just completed a course on child porn and the US Postal Service. The course itself made me sick to my stomach. Within 2 weeks of completing it, I found out what happened to my son. I can’t express my feelings at the time, suffice to say, they were raw. Kind of like ripping my heart out through my throat. My first response was to want to kill him, but had I done that, what would it teach my son.
Through the coarse of preparing my son for court, one day he said to me…”I’m going to be waiting for him when he gets out of jail” I thought, I bet you will, to kill him. Then this 8 year old kid said, “he needs help, he needs someone to tell him that what he did was wrong”.
That one little statement changed my view, if my son could forgive this monster, I had to do the same. I knew what the Bible said about forgiving, but when it concerns your child, that is something which is hard to come by. There was a reason why Jesus said to bring the little children to Him, their spirit is pure. They don’t question, they just accept. Jesus said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 18:3-4
If you find your self not forgiving someone you should, think about this. “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:25-26 A little off track here, but some lessons we can all use.
Have you found yourself falling into any of the things mentioned in the verse (2 Timothy 3:1-5) above??
How many examples can you find of lawlessness, violence, immorality, greed, selfishness, hedonism, rebellion and despair??
Fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heavens Luke 21:11. I’m not sure about this one, whether it means leading up to the tribulation or the tribulation itself (which we will also be getting to). But we can point to a few strange things such as Is the earth preparing to flip? Or all the ’sky is falling’ cries over global warming. Or the closeness of this asteroid. Real science is predicting the next/current sun cycle to be the worst in 50 years. The first two sunspot’s of 2006 are moving in reverse direction. Also, here is a solar storm warning. In Dec. of 2012 we will see a Galactic Alignment which only happens every 26,000 years. Which also happens to align with the Mayans end date on their calendar.
I’m not sure what to make of this… you have to be careful of what/who you listen too (not meant as a joke). It could fall under fearful and great signs. Or it could fall under false prophets.
I think this post is long enough for now. I will be adding to this within the next couple of days. Please remember what I said at the beginning of this post, I know they are not in order, or complete, they will be by the time this series is over.
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15818/story.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2889127.stm
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/03/19/asteroid.blindside/index.html
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/15aug_backwards.htm
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10mar_stormwarning.htm
http://www.alignment2012.com/whatisGA.htm
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,915125,00.html
New Series
I am going to start on my next series of posts. There is so much to say on the matter, I don’t even know where to begin. Hopefully I will do this in a concise manner so it flows and you understand what I am saying. But who knows, so far that hasn’t always been the case.
I have had some people on my other blog who thinks I should write this way or that way and even what topics I should write about. Sounds weird doesn’t it, who would have the gall to tell a blogger how to write their own blog. Unless it was a English teacher, which I will admit, I could use some guidance …no? Not doing it for you?? Well pardon me for trying to be funny. You know you’ve lost it when you start having imaginary joke critics.
First, let me tell you WHAT I am going to be writing about and HOW I plan on doing it. OK here goes nothing, the topic for the next series of posts will be “The End Times”. All Abrahamic faiths have some belief in the ‘End Times’. There are differences however.
Now the HOW, what I will be doing is showing what each text says. I will also show what different people say. At the very end, I may give my personal two cents worth, or maybe not. I haven’t decided yet. I would like you to read them even if you, yourself don’t believe in scripture. If you really don’t want to, and would like for me to email you when I am done with the topic, let me know. I don’t have a problem with doing that for you. But personally I think you would be missing out.
Until a few months back, I didn’t realize that Islam had its own belief of the End Times. So maybe some of you didn’t know either. I am hoping that we will all learn something new with this series of posts. If you have something to say about it, feel free, but please be respectful of other people’s beliefs. Do unto others what you would want done unto you. Sound simple enough?? Regardless of which faith you have, or don’t have, try and be open minded.
I really debated whether to do this now or not, I have been so busy, I haven’t been able to line everything up the way I want it yet. But I finally decided that I might as well just do it. I’ll line it out as I go along. Just remember, if I don’t get everything in one post, there will be more. Entire books have been written and rewritten on the subject of the End Times, I am going to attempt to show the differences but I’m sure I will miss something. If you have anything you want me to add, please email me and let me know. Do you think if I blither on a little bit more, I will have enough script for one post?? OK, lets jump in.
First lets start with a word, isra’iliyyat. I think it is Arabic, basically the principle is, when it comes to the Jewish or Christian faith, anything that doesn’t jive with the Quran, is wrong. Actually I will copy what I read the word to mean.
I will let my Muslim readers correct me if I am wrong on my first sentence regarding the meaning of the word. Some how when you see that written out, it doesn’t look very nice. I would hope that this will not keep Muslims from reading the posts on this subject. I will want you to confirm if I get it right or not in regards to what Islam teaches about the End Times.
For the purpose of this series I will be showing the difference’s between Christian and Islam in End Time beliefs. For the first post we will look at what each test says about the ’signs’ that the End Time is near I was going to start it here, but it can be long so I will wait.
The bottom line is, if you are a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, or a Hindu, all have beliefs about the End Times. Even the Mayans had something to say about it and went as far as giving a date. As it stands, just trying to compare Christian and Islam is going to be hard enough for me, so I will leave it at that. I would ask that not everyone jump down my throat at once, as some on my other blog have a tendency to do. You may want me to condemn this or that, but I am NOT going to do it. As I said, this is to compare, not to criticize, you can save the jumping till I put my two cents worth in. Primarily because I will be doing this as I go along. I don’t have everything pre-set.
It is my understanding that in Islam there in nothing in the Quran itself about the coming of the Islamic Messiah, known as, The 12th Imam, or The Mahdi. Rather it comes from supposed sayings of Mohammed and his followers soon after the Quran was complete. Thus, not all Muslims share the same beliefs. We will be going over what Ahmadnutjob thinks about the coming Mahdi, as he is one person who for sure wants to speed the process.
I know there are Pastor’s and Imam’s out there that can do a much better job at this than I can, but I don’t know if anybody has compared the two texts, or if the readers have had a chance to read them. When it comes to Christian stuff, then I will ask my Christian friends to let me know if I missed something. When it comes to Muslim stuff, all the more, from my Muslim friends.
I may not get a post out every day so bare with me, pray for me, and hopefully I will get it all right. Till the next post, thanks for reading and have a Blessed day!!
Rush Limbaugh
Politically Correct???
This article was brought to my attention. I will comment on it below.
OAK LAWN School district considers banning traditions seen as offensive to Muslims
September 28, 2007
BY ANGELA CAPUTO Daily Southtown
So long, Halloween parade. Farewell, Santa’s gift shop.
The holiday traditions are facing elimination in some Oak Lawn schools this year after complaints that the activities are offensive, particularly to Muslim students.
Final decisions on which of the festivities will be axed will fall to the principals at each of Ridgeland School District 122’s five schools, Supt. Tom Smyth said.
Parents expect that the announcement is going to add to the tension that has been building since officials agreed earlier this month to change the lunch menu to exclude items containing pork to accommodate Muslim students. News that Jell-O was struck from the menu caused such a stir that officials have agreed to bring it back. Gelatin is often made with tissue or bones of pigs or other animals.
That controversy now appears to have been been dwarfed by the holiday debate, which became so acrimonious Wednesday that police were called to Columbus Manor School to intervene in a shouting match among parents.
“It’s difficult when you change the school’s culture,” said Columbus Manor Principal Sandy Robertson.
Elizabeth Zahdan, a mother of three District 122 students, says she took her concerns to the school board this month, not because she wanted to do away with the traditions, but rather to make them more inclusive. “I only wanted them modified to represent everyone,” she said.
Nixing them isn’t the response she was looking for. “Now the kids are not being educated about other people,” she said.
There’s just not time in the six-hour school day to celebrate every holiday, said Smyth, who sent the message to principals that they need to “tone down” the activities that he sees as eating too much into instructional time. “We have to think about our purpose,” Smyth said. “Are we about teaching reading, writing and math or for parties or fund-raising during the day?”
Robertson is hoping to strike compromises that will keep traditions alive and be culturally acceptable to all students — nearly half of whom are of Arab descent at Columbus Manor, she says. Fewer than a third of students district wide are of Arab descent, according to Smyth.
Following the example of Lieb Elementary School, Columbus Manor School will exchange the annual Halloween parade for a fall festival next month. The holiday gift bazaars at both schools also will remain, but they’ll likely be moved to the PTA-sponsored after-school winter festival. And Santa’s annual visit probably will be on a Saturday.
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I have seen some really stupid things going on in our public schools of late, and I am getting really sick of it. For instance, doing away with kick ball, we can’t have any of our kids getting hurt now can we.
First let me say, I think that different religions should be accommodated to a certain degree. There should be options in food choice for Jewish and Muslim students. The same way that peanuts have been removed in order to keep allergic students safe. But, you can’t discriminate against other students either. If the school in question can’t provide different food choices, then students with special food requirements can bring a bag lunch.
We have seen all kinds of things REMOVED, from the public square because of the ACLU’s war on Christmas. God forbid we have a nativity scene ANYWHERE. But it’s alright to have Muslim stuff or Jewish stuff. How is that any different than Christian stuff??
In my humble opinion, it should be all inclusive or nothing. It seems we have gone with a knee-jerk reaction. We are so concerned with showing understanding to one religion that we have omitted every other religion and I don’t think its right.
And to my Muslim readers, before you jump down my throat, you know I have done my best to be inclusive here. And to show that all Muslims do not believe in the terrorist ideology.
We, or they, (the schools amongst others), have gone so politically correct, that it has become ridiculous. A lot of Christian parents don’t like Halloween, but never tried to change the schools decoration or celebration. Same with the Easter bunny, which has absolutely nothing to do with Easter, I have no clue where it even came from.
I can tell you this…Many Christian parents have decided to either home school or place their kids in private Christian schools. INSTEAD, of calling on every school to meet their needs in regards to their religion. Some are trying to revisit prayer in school. Many see the failure of our kids, to be directly associated with removing prayer from school. And as far as what I believe, I have to agree.
There are many other things that have been removed from school which I find beyond explanation. When I was a kid we said the pledge of allegiance everyday. We were taught many patriotic songs that we sang on a daily basis. Patriotism was a big thing. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think that is something that is being taught in our schools anymore.
What is wrong with teaching our kids to be proud of their country?? What is wrong with teaching our children the 10 Commandments?? What is wrong with teaching our children the reason for the season??
We should be sensitive to other people’s religion and needs, but not at the cost of everyone else. If we can’t include every religion, we shouldn’t be including any. It’s the basic principle of fair play.
I’m sure that there will be people who are not understanding what I am trying to say here. It has been my experience so far, that everyone reads with their own personal beliefs in mind, then they see something different than what I am saying.
This country was founded and developed under Judeo/Christian beliefs. I’m sure you have heard that plenty, especially around Christmas. If you pay attention to the news, you can plainly see that there IS a war on Christmas. Based on the fact that we were/are a Christian/Judeo nation…that should be consideration when it comes to Christmas. I for one, am really sick of ‘politically correct’.
It is things like the article above that makes people prejudiced against Islam in general. And you can see what I think of it. When you look at nations that were/are based on being founded and developed under Islam, its plain to see how they base their schools and holidays. Even though we are America and based on freedom and freedom of religion. Why do we need to change what our country was based on, when Muslim country’s don’t??
I would like to ask our Muslim Americans their opinion on this.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
A Question Of Righteousness
I want to share some word for word communication I have had recently with a jihadist website. And I would really like it if the Muslims here would read it. I think you might find it enlightening. When I copy/paste the comments from Muslims I have talked too, I will merely refer to them as “Muslim” instead of their user name. Its a little long but worth the read.
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My comment,
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It may be that Allah will grant affection (and friendship) between you and those whom ye (now) hold as enemies. For Allah has power (over all things), and Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful.-AL-MUMTAHANA The WOMAN TO BE EXAMINED - SURAH LX:7
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See, that’s exactly how I see the One, I worship, He has power over all things, and is forgiving and merciful. And I love Him because He love me, better yet, I feel the same way that Job did when he said, “though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”.
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I have seen in other posts that you feel that others won’t accept you until you believe as they do.
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“And the Jews and Christians will never be pleased with you until you follow their way…” [al-Baqarah; 120]
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I can tell you and anyone who reads this, that statement is NOT true.
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I don’t care who you worship, and I know that most others, feel the same way. I would NEVER support anyone or anything that would cause one to change their faith by force, or to discriminate against someone because of their faith. It appears to me that you really don’t have a true understanding of how we, as Christians think.
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I believe that faith, is a personal journey, that we should all be free to take, or not, if that is someones wish. That is why God has given us free will.
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Reject hate, embrace love. Bring out the best in Islam by showing your compassion, gratitude and forgiveness. This is the best way to bring other to wanting to participate in any religion. Personally, I became a Christian based on the joy I saw in other peoples lives, I wanted that joy.
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Response from Muslim:
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This verse is not a commandment (Amr) in any way, shape or form. In fact, you need to look at verse 4 of the same Chapter to understand the verse you quoted above. It says,
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Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people: “Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred forever until you believe in Allah alone…”
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So the meaning of the verse you quoted is, “You continue to show them open disavowal, and know that Allah can guide them to Islam through your exposing of their falsehood (since this is a part of showing open disavowal) and they will be your friends.”
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[ I just have to interject here, and point out the difference between, how a Christian trys to bring someone into the faith, through genuine love and friendship. And how these Muslims do, which appears to be with contempt ]
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You wrote: “I have seen in other post that you feel that others won’t accept you until you believe as they do. “And the Jews and Christians will never be pleased with you until you follow their way…
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No, the verse is true. Here, let me ask you a simple question. Do you support the Mujaahideen against your own people and do you wish for their victory?
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In any case, the Arabic word in this verse is “Millah” meaning “path, way of life, lifestyle etc” So the ending part of the verse is, “until you follow their way of life.”
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If you were to meet someone like me, you would either hate me and respect me at the same time, or hate me and wouldn’t respect me. Why? Because I will show open disavowal to you and will continue to do so, even if you are annoyed by it, until you become Muslim.
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Also, I don’t act like a disbeliever, talk like a disbeliever, walk like a disbeliever, dress like a disbeliever and so on. Many people hate that, but I love it because I live for Allah and I will continue to make sure that the disbelievers who know or see me don’t accept me.
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This verse you quoted has nothing to do with the actual Religion. In other words, it is not strictly saying, “until you follow their Religion” since Allah would have used the appropriate term for Religion which is Madhab. Instead, He wisely chose the word “Millah” since its all-encompassing of the lifestyle, path, etc. of disbelievers.
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Eagle’s response:
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It still appears to me that you really don’t have a true understanding of how we, as Christians, think.
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You said: “If you were someone like me, you would either hate me and respect me at the same time, or hate me and wouldn’t respect me. Why? Because I will show open disavowal to you and will continue to do so, even if you are annoyed by it, until you become Muslim.
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A true Christian, hate sin, but loves the sinner. Which means, what it says. A Christian should always speak with love, (though I have trouble with that myself sometimes), regardless of what is spoken too them. Most true Christians, know this and try to live by the words of Christ, we are not perfect, we are forgiven.
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So, I don’t hate you, or disrespect you. I understand that you think your way is the only way. I feel the same way about Christ. I think one of the main differences, between you and I, are how we choose to share our faith. And I stand by what I said above. Tell me why you think that is wrong. BTW, I am not claiming to be an expert on Islam, I am merely trying to understand.
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You asked if I supported the Mujaahideen against my own people, and do I wish for the Mujaahideen’s victory? I already answered that….
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I would NEVER support anyone or anything that would cause one to change their faith by force, or to discriminate against someone because of their faith. That includes, anyone who tried to force YOU to change your faith, or discriminated against you because of it.
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As far as “Millah” There are many different ways of life, and most of them, I don’t subscribe to either. As any person of faith, we lead our life based on our understanding of the scripture. But we don’t force our belief on others, or hate them if they don’t walk and talk the way we do. (see statement above)
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I believe that faith, is a personal journey, that we should all be free to take, or not, if that is someones wish, that is why God has given us free will.
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I think God wants us to come to Him out of love, not out of fear. Do you believe this??
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Reject hate, embrace love. Bring out the best in Islam by showing your compassion, gratitude and forgiveness. What do you see in this statement that is wrong??
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This is the best way to bring others to wanting to participate in any religion. Personally, I became a Christian based on the joy I saw in others lives, I wanted that joy.
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Why do you share your faith?? Is it out of love?? Do you share your faith based on the fact that you love the person you are sharing with, and want them to go to Heaven with you?? Do you believe, that God is longsuffering, not wishing that any should perish??
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Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you. Do you believe this statement??
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(after post was erased 3 times, I re-posted the entire comment and added the following)
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If you feel that I have disrespected you in anyway, please forgive me, that is not my intent. I have read everything you have written in an attempt to understand your point of view and in an attempt for you to see mine. Is that not the reason you have comment sections?? I really do want you to answer my questions sincerely. Please don’t just erase it.
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Muslim response:
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Look eagle,
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You are wasting your time. The simple answer to your above statements is:
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We will continue to show open disavowal and enmity to you and your people until you become Muslim because we believe that you, the disbeliever, are the people of hellfire (unless if you become Muslim) and so we will treat you like such. And if you become Muslim, then you will become one of us and we will show mercy, compassion, and love for you and you will be a part of the universal brotherhood.
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If you are inquiring as to us dealing justly with you, the answer is yes and we will deal with you justly.
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If you are inquiring as to us being nice with you, the answer is we are not forbidden from acting nice with you, and nor are we forbidden from acting harsh with you. You are a disbeliever and we actually believe it. That’s the difference between us and you. You people don’t follow your Religion whereas we try to follow it to the teeth. A disbeliever has an evil presence because of their disbelief.
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Your “Millah” is what you follow and whatever it is that you follow, we reject it because it is not Islam.
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You didn’t answer my question about the Mujaahideen. Do you support them? If not, then stop wasting your time because we support them, even if you hate it.
You wrote,
“I think God wants us to come to Him out of love, not out of fear. Do you believe this??”
Allah will accept their Islam as long as he/she accepts Islam. It doesn’t matter if they were brought into Islam harshly or softly. As long as they accept it by the heart, Allah accepts it.
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And nobody is forcing you to change your faith. But we do have a concern regarding your disbelief and that is why we expose it. And blasphemy only deserves harshness.
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You wrote,
“Reject hate, embrace love. Bring out the best in Islam by showing your compassion, gratitude and forgiveness. What do you see in this statement that is wrong??”
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It is wrong because Islam is balanced with hatred and love whereas you people rejected hatred. Since you rejected hatred, then it means you people love what your god hates; and what does your god hate?
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I wonder if you’ll even admit if he hates anything.
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If not, then we’ll assume that he loves prostitution, adultery, rape, alcohol, pornography, murder, oppression, cheating, stealing, and arrogance.
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And we are assuming that your god doesn’t reject this (since he has no hatred for this evil) because “Christianity is all about love,” right?
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That’s why your religion has no balance. You people are too afraid to speak about hatred. You people can’t even hate what god hates because your cowardice has taken over your steadfastness. You are not ready to face trials and tribulations for loving what god loves and hating what god hates, and showing it openly. This goes for the vast majority of Christians.
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You wrote,
“Why do you share your faith?? Is it out of love?? Do you share your faith based on the fact that you love the person you are sharing with and want them to go to Heaven with you?? Do you believe, that God is longsuffering, not wishing that any should perish??”
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We share our faith not to convert people like your missionaries. Rather, we share our faith to inform the people of the only truth. And not only do we simply just tell them what Islam is, but we establish it in their locality so they can see the truth working in front of their eyes.
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Indeed, we do have a concern for all disbelievers because when they die upon their disbelief, we see it as a tragedy (except in the battlefield) since their soul would be lost in the punishment of the hellfire and we might have had the ability of telling them about Islam. Even at their very last breaths, we wish to tell them: “Say, “There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is His final Messenger.”
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You wrote,
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you. Do you believe this statement??”
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No because Allah will never forgive Shirk as long as one is practicing it, and therefore, we will never forgive them nor show them a soft heart. And by the way, Allah forgives all other sins (such as adultery, theft, murder, oppression etc.) but He will never forgive Shirk as long as one dies upon it. Muse over this.
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The real discussion here is why aren’t you Muslim?
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My response to him:
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You said,:
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“What does your god hate?I wonder if you’ll even admit if he hates anything.If not, then we’ll assume that he loves prostitution, adultery, rape, alcohol, pornography, murder, oppression, cheating, stealing, and arrogance.’
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The God I worship, hates sin, and probably it is the same sin that your God hates. The main difference is that we try to live by the words of Christ and it is not our place to judge.
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There is a story in the Bible about a woman who was about to be stoned for adultery. Jesus said to the people that were about to do the stoning, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” The people left. Jesus said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
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Although we have our sins forgiven, it does not mean that we are allowed to go out and keep doing the things we were doing before we were saved. The Bible speaks against this.
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Jesus said,: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
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We believe,
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JUDGE not, that you be not judged.“For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
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You should learn more about what Christians believe, I am trying to learn more of what Muslims believe. You might find that in some areas we are a lot alike. We like you, have a lot of people who claim to be Christians, but do not act like one.
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We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done..For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
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Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.
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Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith..Faith eliminates the pride of human effort, because faith is not a work that we do. Faith exalts what God has done, not what people do. Faith admits that we cannot keep the Law, or measure up to God’s standard–we need help. Faith is based on our relationship with God, not our performance for God.
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Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
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Paul said, (1 Cor. 4: 3-5) ” I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself..My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”
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(vs12) We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. Therefore I urge you to imitate me.”
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What a better example to follow?? And as I have already said, Jesus spoke on how to treat people who persecute us because of our faith. You asked me why aren’t I a Muslim. You have not shown me a reason to become a Muslim. I want joy in my life, peace and love and to be able to sing and raise my hands in praise and joy when worshiping God.
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I worship a God that I KNOW loves me. I share my faith because I want others to feel the joy that I feel. When I see Muslims worshiping in the Mosques, I never see them joyfully praising God, or singing to the Lord. Maybe I missed something. Please tell me if I have. Do you sing praises to the Lord? I never see anyone smiling while worshiping.
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You keep asking about the Mujaahideen. And if I support them and I keep answering… I would NEVER support anyone or anything that would cause one to change their faith by force, or to discriminate against someone because of their faith. That includes, anyone who tried to force YOU to change your faith, OR discriminated against you because of it.
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It is just as wrong when you try and do that to Christians, as if Christians did that to you. How is it that you ignore this fact?? I may not agree with you in what, or how you worship. But it is not my place to force you to change.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but as I understand it, you want to create a Taliban style government world wide. Is that true?? If so, how is that any different than if we tried to force our views on you??
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(end of comments)
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These comments were continually erased, no matter how many times I posted them (thank goodness for the copy/paste option. I saved everything into a draft file in my email, in case you are wondering, because they have erased my comments before).
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If you are righteous in your thoughts and writings then you should not fear what the kufar has to say. If a person is not using foul language, then why would you erase what they had to say?? Are you afraid that they might influence a Muslim coming to your website?? Surely you don’t think that your opinion is so weak that it cannot stand up to remarks by someone with a differing view.
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Since you keep erasing my comments, I am left with only one thought. You are afraid of others seeing my response. You are afraid that my words might influence another Muslim. You are not as righteous as you would have others believe. Your words are false. You lie not only to yourself but to others. If this was not true, you wouldn’t be afraid of my comments.
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You are afraid, even in this old post that nobody comes too any more. What is it that causes you to erase my post?? Please answer that for me. (end of comment)
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If you are a Muslim, Ask yourself a question, Why erase those comments?? So you tell me, IF they are so righteous, why erase my comments?? That question goes out to the radicals as well.
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Tell me if you see anything offensive in those comments.
