Sunday, August 24, 2008

Shining God’s Light on the Koran: Abraham’s Seed

Sam continues his on-going series which contrasts the Judeo-Christian Bible with the Islamic Koran on a variety of topics. He aims the beam of the Biblical laser on the Koran to expose, to reveal what it really says. See his previous articles here.


The Seed of Abraham

The word seed is used in reference to the source, origin, or beginning of something. It can refer to the descendants or posterity of a person. Seed can also mean sperm or semen which would be produced by the male (1). I think that the egg would also qualify as seed since it is produced by the female. The Koran makes no reference to the seed of Abraham in that term as Scripture does, but it does refer to Abraham’s descendants. Scripture also refers to one person in particular as Abraham’s seed.

THE KORANIC ACCOUNT


Those that have faith and do not taint their faith with wrongdoing shall surely earn salvation, while they follow the right path.

Such was the argument with which We furnished Abraham against his people. We raise whom We will to an exalted rank. Your Lord is wise and all-knowing.
We gave him Isaac and Jacob and guided both as We had guided Noah before them. Among his descendants were David and Solomon, Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron (thus do we reward the righteous); Zacharias and John, Jesus and Elias (all were upright men); and Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah and Lot (2).

Praise be to God who has given me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age! All prayers are heard by Him (3).

When his Lord put Abraham to the proof by enjoying on him certain commandments and Abraham fulfilled them, He said: I have appointed you a leader of mankind. And what of my descendants? Asked Abraham. My covenant, said he, does not apply to the evil-doers (4).

COMMENTARY ON THE KORANIC ACCOUNT

In this list of descendants Job, and Lot are not descendants of Abraham. Job is a contemporary of Abraham (5) and Lot is Abraham’s nephew (6). Isaac, Ishmael, and Jesus are correctly identified as descending from Abraham. With the statement, “We gave him Isaac and Jacob,” one could incorrectly think Isaac and Jacob were brothers; contemporary sons of Abraham, while in reality they were father and son (7). No one is called the seed of Abraham in the Koran.

THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT

And I (God) will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the women, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel (8).

And Abram said, Lord God, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, ‘Behold, to me you have given no seed: and, one born in my house is mine heir.’ And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, ‘This shall not be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own bowels shall be your heir (9).’

And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac (10).

Ammon, Moab, and others and people from beyond the sea came to Judah to do battle, a great multitude. Jehoshaphat prays to God for deliverance. Part of his prayer is as follows, ‘…Art not you our God, who did drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and gave it to the seed of Abraham your friend for ever (11)…’ God defended Judah and had the enemies of Judah destroy each other so that none escaped. Judah spent several days collecting the spoils from the dead enemy. Their neighbors were then afraid of Judah. You can read about it in II Chronicles 20:1-30.

But you, Israel, are my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend (12).

Behold, all they that were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with you shall perish (13).

Fear not, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will help you, saith the Lord, and your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel (14).

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is Christ (15).

For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise (16).

For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond or free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (17).

COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT

We see in scripture that Isaac was the seed of Abraham, as well as Israel and his decedents. Jesus in particular is the seed of Israel and those who believe in Jesus for salvation become the seed of Abraham. The Abrahamic covenant extends to all people regardless of ancestry through faith in Jesus.

The God of Abraham helps the seed of Abraham. Today the descendants of Israel are in the land of Israel and the Muslims want to destroy them totally. God has promised to help Israel and destroy those nations which are against them. That would include Russia and China. The United States of America has been against Israel ever since Jimmy Carter became President of the United States. Land for peace brings God’s judgment on this nation and certainly a Palestine state will bring more of God’s judgment on this nation.

In the United States of America there are many people who are the seed of Abraham by faith in Jesus Christ. If America is strong in faith, God will help America against its enemies. Ironically the greatest enemies of America are within the nation itself seeking its destruction because they hate God and follow Satan. Notice the praise given to tyrant leaders of nations. Notice that many members in the United States House of Representatives and Senate praise the enemies of the United States of America , they also condemn or troops who are fighting to protect us from these same enemies. It was Congress who caused America to lose the Vietnam War and caused the death of many thousands of Vietnamese when the Communists took over. The last time I was on guard duty in Vietnam it was with a Mountain Tribes Soldier and we sung hymns together. It was his people who were killed by the North Vietnamese. Those protesting the war did not care for they love evil and hate good. America is in a spiritual cultural war for its very survival. Have you noticed? Do you care?

‘Baptize into Christ’ does not mean water baptism. The word ‘baptize’ means to immerse. Upon salvation one is immersed into the body of Christ with Jesus as the head. The many who are born again are then one in Christ. In the same way the three persons of the God Head are one.

COMPARING & CONTRASTING THE KORAN WITH SCRIPTURE

In the Koran Abraham asks the god of the Koran about his descendants. Abraham is told that his covenant does not extend to evil-doers. Is it possible that this is true in scripture as well? The answer is yes and no.

Yes, in that Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why is this so? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone; As it is written, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed (18).’

No, whoever curses Israel is cursed by God, even if Israel has no faith and acts wickedly. They still inhabit the gates of their enemies. God still blesses those who bless Israel.

CONCLUSION

Islam has stumbled over the same stumbling stone as Israel without the law of righteousness. What the Koran calls belief is really unbelief. An ‘evil-doer’ is one who lives without faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus is to believe that He is the Son of God as well as the Son of Man, that He lived a sinless life and was without any sin, and that He took the sins of the whole world in his own body on the cross and received the wrath of God for those sins and died and shed his blood for you. Faith in Jesus is to believe is that Jesus rose from the dead the third day and today is seated at the right hand of God the Father and that you are a sinner and in need of a savior.

If you want to be of the seed of Abraham you need to repent of your sins by confessing to God that you are a sinner and invite Jesus into your heart. A sample prayer is, “Lord Jesus Christ forgive me of my sin and come into my heart.”

REFERENCES

1. Webster’s New World College Dictionary Fourth Edition, Page 1298
2. The Koran, Page 100 Paragraph 6:83,84,85
3. The Koran, Page 182 Paragraph 14:40
4. The Koran, Page 22 Paragraph 2:123,124
5. The Liberty Annotated Study Bible, Page 818
6. The Holy Bible, Genesis 14:12
7. The Holy Bible, Genesis 25:19-26
8. The Holy Bible, Genesis 3:15
9. The Holy Bible, Genesis 15:2-4
10. The Holy Bible, Genesis 21:1-3
11. The Holy Bible, II Chronicles 20:7
12. The Holy Bible, Isaiah 41:8
13. The Holy Bible, Isaiah 41:10
14. The Holy Bible, Isaiah 41:14
15. The Holy Bible, Galatians 3:16
16. The Holy Bible, Galatians 3:18
17. The Holy Bible, Galatians 3:26-29
18. The Holy Bible, Romans 9:31-33

2 comments:

  1. First all the Hebrew word for seed is always singular in reference to Abraham's seed so this is ALWAYS refering to Jesus and those in him. It does NOT include literal descendants of Abraham unless they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Modern translators sometimes translate the Hebrew word as "descendents" or "offspring". This is misleading because the Hebrew word is singular. This is one of the reasons why the KING JAMES VERSION is the best translation of the Bible. Even the New King James gets it wrong. Paul even warns about this in passage you quoted (15). If you say that Abraham’s seed includes all of his literal descendents, you then must include the Arabs and Bedouin tribes.

    99% of the Israeli population rejects Jesus Christ as their Savior. When we (the federal gov't) give foreign aid and support to Israel, we are funding liars and antichrists (I John 2:22).

    You said, “The United States of America has been against Israel ever since Jimmy Carter became President of the United States.” I agree that it is wrong to federally fund the enemies of Israel, who are also antichrists. You can read more about in this old post.

    Congress caused the deaths many thousands of Vietnamese by getting us involved in that war in the first place. The Vietnamese people had never done anything to us. Some war protestors said some things that they shouldn’t have said, but the fact remains that it was an unjust and unconstitutional war. I don’t blame the soldiers for this mistake, but I see them as victims of this corrupt political system and the industrial-war complex.

    You are right in saying that baptism is immersion. But there is not “water baptism” and “baptism into Christ” separately. There is but one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. Ephesians 4:5.

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  2. The "old post" I was refering to in reference to the funding of Israel's enemies is this:

    http://agoodchoice.blogspot.com/2007/07/should-us-fund-moderate-terrorism.html

    ReplyDelete