PREDICTIONS IN THE QURAN
A book
called "The Prophecies of the
Holy Qur'an," written by Q.I. Hingora, deals with a number of predictions in the
Quran --and generally, among Quranic scholars, there
are said to be 22 predictive prophecies in the Quran.
Ø
Sura (chapter) 2:23-24 states: "And if ye are in doubt as to
what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If
there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true. But if ye cannot -and
of a surety ye cannot- then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones,
-which is prepared for those who reject Faith."
Ø
the
Bible also has a good number of verses which are predictive in a similar way,
such as the passage in Matthew 13:41-42 in which Jesus says, "The
Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom
all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them
into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth."
o
Both of the above passages are
predictive,
however, neither of them can be used today to determine whether either the
Bible or the Quran are authored by God, because the fulfillment would occur at the time of the great
judgment at the end of the age. ----
o
It does not qualify as fulfilled
predictive prophecy
which would indicate that the Quran is truly inspired words from God, because
it is a declaration of what Allah will ultimately do to people after
they die, or after the end of world history, and it is not now verifiable from facts of history
available today.
Ø
Similar to the above
passages
from Sura 2 and Matthew 13, out of the 22 Quranic predictions cited
above, most of them declare the final destiny of non-believers (judgment
and punishment) and/or the destiny of Muslim believers (reward and
blessing) in the end...
o
to be specific:
Of the 22 predictions cited, the not-yet-fulfilled Quranic predictions of judgment and blessing in the end
(which therefore do not qualify as specifically fulfilled predictive
prophecy) are found in Sura’s. --In like manner, there are similar
predictions from the Bible (concerning not-yet-fulfilled judgment and
blessing) which also do not qualify as currently fulfilled predictive
prophecy.
Ø
The problem is: None of these passages are any more
adequate than the passages cited from Matthew 13 and Sura
2, because they are not yet fulfilled.
o
Even
if they supposedly will be true, the fulfillment is
future to us today, and therefore, they do not (yet) verify the divine origin of the book they are in
--either the Bible or the Quran.
o
Such verses (from both the Bible and the Quran)
are inadequate for the purpose of
proving authorship by God. They do not (yet) demonstrate the working of
divine power to predict events ahead of time, so as to indicate a divine
origin for the book they are in.
Some people have said
that predictive prophecy is found in:
Ø
Sura 5:70, which states: "We took the covenant of the Children of Israel and
sent them apostles, every time, there came to them an apostle with what they
themselves desired not - some (of these) they called impostors, and some they
(go so far as to) slay." ---
o
The problem is: there is not even a
future-tense verb in this sentence. It must be considered history,
there is no prediction in it. ---
o
This
passage is very similar to Matt. 24:37, where Jesus said: "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." This Bible verse is
also history, without prediction in it. ---
Ø Sura 15:9 says, "We have,
without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will
assuredly guard it (from corruption)." –
o
So, here we find a promise to guard the message of the
Quran.
o
This verse is fairly similar to the declaration of Jesus in
Mat. 24:35, when he said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my
words will never pass away."
o
Despite the admittedly predictive nature of both of these
passages, neither one can be said to be
truly and completely fulfilled, since we have not yet reached the final consumation of human history, where God finally
confirms the eternal nature of his word –
Ø Sura 41:42, Similarly makes a statement about
the Quran saying: "No falsehood can approach it from before or behind
it: It is sent down by One Full of Wisdom, Worthy of all Praise."
o
This statement is also not fulfilled
predictive prophecy,
but rather it is an assertion of supposed fact --and many such
similar assertions are found in the Bible as well.
Ø Sura 15:96 is a warning against adopting
another god besides Allah, which stands to reason (assuming Allah is true),
o
however
the Bible has exactly such statements about YHWH, and neither of them
are predictive prophecy
Ø Sura 24:55 says that Allah has promised to
bless (with land and inheritance) those who believe, and to establish
the authority of their religion and give them security and peace. –
o
This promise is quite general, since it does not specifically name the person(s) who will
be blessed, so therefore, it also does not qualify as predictive prophecy
which is specific enough that we can
confirm it from history.
Ø Sura 110:1-2 similarly promises help and
victory from Allah. –
o
And
again, this promise is quite general
because it does not name specific people or nations or time-frames.
Of the 22
predictions presented for acceptance, we are left with one last Quranic passage, Sura
30:2-4, which says:
o
"The
o
Now, of all the proffered predictions from the Quran, this
one from Sura 30 comes the closest to being a
specific prediction which names the
people involved (the "Roman Empire"), and what will happen (they will be victorious), and when ("within a few years").
o
This passage refers to the time when the
Persians (under Khusran Parvis)
defeated the Byzantines in
However, there are a couple of severe problems which disqualify
this passage as a significant predictive prophecy:
First: It is a safe bet that in "a few" years,
a combatant or competitor will attain some degree of being
"victorious" which could be claimed as coming true.
o
The problem is: it is very much like
saying that the
Second: History records
that after hearing this prediction, a man named Abu-Bakr
made a bet with Ubai-ibn-Khalaf that this prediction would
be fulfilled within three years (which was the usual way which most people
take the meaning of "a few" years),
o
However Mohammed himself
stated that what was meant by the
"small number" of "a few years" is between three and
nine years (according to Al-Baizawi in his
commentary). –
o
However, in the events of history, we find that the
Byzantines defeated
This inaccuracy of the prediction in Sura 30:2-4 is quite significant, and it is
evidence which disqualifies Mohammed as a true prophet of God.
o
This is glaringly exhibited when one compares it to
something like the amazing accuracy of the predictive prophecy of Jeremiah cited above concerning the 70-year
captivity of
It is the Bible which stands forth as truly
originating from God, and it is YHWH of the Bible
(and not the Quran's Allah) who distinguishes
himself as being the true and living Almighty God!
The Quran does accept the Bible as revelation from
God (and so it should), however, the Bible's standard rejects the Quran as revelation from God because
the predictive power of God is not present there
The Bible gives a more objectively measurable
criterion by which to compare the Quran and
the Bible, which is: Observe whether
prophetic predictions of future deeds of people are fulfilled or
not. Deuteronomy 18:22 says, "If what a prophet proclaims in the name
of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has
not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of
him."
o
So,
if the predictions of any supposed
"prophet" did not occur and come true, that man's words would
then be rejected as not coming from God or having God's authority --and
the man who merely spoke on his own,
would be rejected as a prophet.
Mohammed seems to be such a false
prophet. The Bible's standard rejects the Quran as revelation from God because the predictive power of
God is not present there.
Jehovah’s Witnesses: The Watchtower
Bible & Tract Society
The largest publisher in the
Free World. In one year printed
over 44 million books & over 550 million magazines. 14 million copies of the Watchtower magazine
are published every two weeks in 108 languages of the world. They have mapped out the entire
Out
of sheer grueling persistence they have
been able to harvest many people who have not been grounded in God’s Word & were easily led astray by this counterfeit religion.
Major Heresies: Jesus is
Michael the
Sacred writings: Charles Russell,
founding father, didn’t like certain teachings of the Bible and developed his
own theology published in a series of volumes called Studies in Scripture.
Ø
Produced their own translation of the Bible called The New World Translation. (attempting
to make the Bible fit preconceived Witness theology it is filled with gross
errors in the translations)
Ø
Produced the Watchtower & Awake magazine
Prophets
& Prophecies:
Ø
Russell calculated
when Jesus Christ was going to return visibly to earth - in 1874.
o
When Christ
didn’t show up he prophesied his return to be in 1914. When He didn’t show up he redefined the 2nd
coming of Christ to mean that Jesus had returned invisibly as an
invisible spirit, a ghost, in 1914 to help set up his organization
o
Russell died in
1916 having been proven a false prophet.
Ø Joseph Franklin Rutherford took over in 1917 & built the Watchtower to the
giant we know today.
o
He prophesied that Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob would
return visibly to this earth to help
promote the
o
But they never
showed up and
o
Proven a false
prophet.
Ø
Nathan H. Knorr took over
in 1942.
o
In 1966 he began
to prophesy in the Watchtower & Awake magazines.
o
His first major prophecy was that in 1975 it
would be the end of the age and that Armageddon
would occur at that time.
o
Armageddon did
not occur and it was too big a lie
to weave a new tale around
o
Many Jehovah’s Witnesses understood the test of a
prophet God gave in Deut. 18:20-22
and in 1976-77 over a million Jehovah’s Witnesses left the Watchtower, deeply
disillusioned with the organization that claimed to be the voice of God on
earth, but had proven again and again to be a false prophet.
o
Knorr, proven to be a false prophet, died in 1977.
o
The current
leader is 74 yr. old Milton G. Henschel.
Mormonism: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints
Mormonism is a religion whose presence is felt worldwide. Few
homes in the
Mormons expect to spend over 100 million dollars in annual advertising cost in the 1990’s to get multiple messages of their faith into every North American home.
Major heresies: Believe God was once a man, and we can all become gods. Jesus isn’t the way to salvation pointed the way. Jesus had to earn his own spiritual salvation through works in the flesh, just like we must. They believe there are many millions of gods.
Founder: Joseph Smith/prophet. Already involved in the occult, Joseph was asking God to reveal to him what is the true religion to worship. He claimed a powerful being seized him and thick darkness gathered around him. He said these beings appeared in a pillar of light and told him not to join any of them, that all the Christian churches were wrong and the teachings of Christianity were an abomination. (Meaning that the deity of Christ, the blood atonement and salvation by faith in Jesus were an abomination.) (ref. 2 Corth. 11:2-5, 13-15)
Prophecies:
I. God is the Source of Revelation (Heb. 1:1-2)
(v. 1) In the past: 400
yrs. Since the last
prophet prophesied
HOW He chose to communicate:
o
A new age of revelation
began with the coming of the
Messiah
o
God spoke
in a final & complete manner with Jesus’ arrival
o
Jesus is the ultimate Communication of God
o
This is why John described Jesus as the
Word of God (Jn 1:1, 14)
o
The first came by men; the final would come by God Himself.
o
Jesus
is the ultimate source of revealed truth given that we might know Him & His will for us.
Summary: The prophets were not simply recording their
thoughts & interpretations of events; but stating what God chose to reveal through them & Jesus, God
Himself reveling His truths to us.
II. The Superiority of the Written Word (2 Pet.
Peter wrote this 2nd letter to warn believers about false teachers.
Ø
His role in ministry was to help them remember truths that can easily be forgotten
Ø
Established – to turn
resolutely (steadily, faithfully) in a certain
direction,
o
Jesus used the same word in Luke 22:32, “strengthen your brothers."
Ø
Refresh – “to rouse, stir up, awaken from sleep”
o
Peter
was determined to help believers stay alert.
Ø
How would he stir them up?
This letter, a document still
refreshing the memory of believers hundreds of yrs. After Peter’s death.
Peter wrote two facts
that make the Bible superior:
1.
They
were eyewitness to these
events; not cleverly invented stories
a.
Peter: chosen first
by Jesus, with Jesus throughout His ministry, was part of the “inner
circle” that had the most intimate relationship with Jesus. Saw Jesus on the
i.
He said “we heard that voice from heaven”
ii.
We have seen his glory (Jn.
iii.
Peter
was a witness to these facts (Acts
iv.
Over 500 people were eyewitness to his resurrection
v.
To be an apostle you must have witnessed his life & resurrection (Acts
b.
Peter is saying, Recognize my authority & listen to me because I speak from firsthand
experience.
2.
Fulfilled prophecy: The word of the prophets (the O.T.) Jesus life fulfilled everything they predicted
about the Messiah.
a.
You better
pay attention to it. They are like a light in a dark path.
b.
Until the day dawns – can be referring to
Christ’s return.
Summary: What makes the word of God superior? Eyewitness testimony & fulfilled prophecy.
III. The Divine Origin of the Scriptures (2 Pet.
This v. and 2
Tim.
Ø
Above all – Means “know this first”. The most
important truth!
o
If you don’t have a clear understanding of the authority of Scripture, nothing you read will matter.
o
Everything
rests on the fact that these
are the Words of God.
Ø
No prophecy came by the prophets own interpretation:
o
Interpretation: literally means an a private “explanation or solution”
o
No
prophet gave his own explanation of happenings or of God’s message; he simply declared the truth
as God revealed it to him.
Ø
Prophecy never had its origin in the
will (choice/
desire)of man
o
The Bible is
not the product of human design.
Ø
How did this literary masterpiece
come about?
o
Answer:
Men spoke from God as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit.
o
Moved = phero, propelled by the H.S.
power, not acting according to their own wills, or simply expressing their own
thoughts, but expressing the mind of God in words provided and ministered by
Him.
o
God gave the message of truth and used men to communicate it in words.
The Bible is literally God’s special unique revelation
to us.
o
The proof is in the fulfillment of prophecy. God’s
test of authenticity & eyewitness testimonies.
o
No other material begins to compare to the Bible
o
He originated it, completed it, and
preserves it.
o
That makes it:
totally true, completely reliable, without error & trustworthy