the earth again. He is a Prophet born by a miracle of God without a
father; he invited the Children of Israel to follow the true path and
showed them many miracles. He is the Messiah and, as the Qur'an says,
he is the"word of God" (Qur'an, 4:171). Together with his return to
earth, the lack of understanding between Christians and Muslims who
believe in the same God, share the same moral values and, as the
Qur'an says, are closer to one another in love than all other people
(Qur'an, 5:82) will be repaired, and these two greatest of the world's
religious communities will be united. The members of the world's third
monotheistic religion, the Jews, will also accept Jesus as their true
Messiah and find their way to the true religion (Qur'an, 4:159). So
the three monotheistic religions will unite, therewill be one single
religion on earth based on faith in God and obedience to Jesus, His
Prophet. This religion will defeat the atheistic philosophies and
pagan beliefs with intellectual means; thus, the world will be saved
from wars, conflicts, racial and ethnic hostility, cruelty and
injustice. Humanity will enter a "Golden Age"of peace, happiness and
well-being.
Certainly, this will be the greatest event in the history of the
world. In this situation in which the three monotheistic religions
will unite, the whole American continent, Europe, the Islamic world,
Russia and Israel will be allied on the basis of a shared faith, and
no such unity has ever occurred before.The peace, well-being,
stability and happiness tobe established in the world by this union
has never been known in anyprevious period; its likeness has never
been seen.
And, when Jesus returns to earth, it will beone of the greatest
wonders in the history of the world.
Those prophets whom Allah has chosen performvarious miracles by His
will. The miracles performed by Jesus in Palestine 2000 years ago were
such marvels as raising the dead, healing the blind and lepers, and
giving life to inanimate substances. (Qur'an, 5: 11)
The return of Jesus to theearth after 2000 years and the beginning of
his new life in his mature years without a mother and father will be a
greatwonder. And he will show people new miracles. As a result,
materialist philosophy, which has already collapsed on the levels of
science and philosophy, will suffer irrevocable ruin for all the world
to see, and people will witness the clear proofs for the existence and
power of God.
So, in the light of the signs in the Qur'an, the sayings of our
Prophet and the interpretations of leading scholars in Islam, we
believe that this blessed period is very near. As Muslims, weare very
excited about the imminent return of Jesus and are doing all we can to
prepare ourselves and the world to receive this blessed guest.
We call on Christians to be as sensitive, aware and eager as possible
about this.
Is the Christian World Ready for Jesus?
The love of Jesus has given to Christians throughout history a proper
morality. In the Qur'an, God describes Christians as"most affectionate
to those who believe"and says that"That is because some of them are
priests and monks and because they are not arrogant." (Qur'an, 5:82)
In another verse, Christians' positive morality is mentioned:
Then We sent Our Messengers following in their footsteps and sent
Jesus son of Mary after them, giving him the Gospel. We put compassion
and mercy inthe hearts of those who followed him. (Qur'an, 57:27)
Because of their faith in God, Christians throughout history have
endured all kinds of cruelty, chosen to forgo the pleasures of life
and live with suffering and performed deeds of great self-sacrifice.
Theseare indications of a deep sincerity. But in this age when the
return of Jesus is near, this sincerity must be stronger, and service
to Jesus' religion must be performed more effectively.
- According to Christian scriptures Jesus will return to earth.
It is stated several times in the New Testament that Jesus will return
to earth."So Christ . . . will appear a second time . . . to bring
salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Heb. 9: 28)In many other
passages in the New Testament it is announced that Jesus will return.
Seeing that this promise will most certainly come true, all Christians
must make thisthe basis of their worldview, constantly expect this
Second Coming and to influence the world accordingly.
- According to Christian scriptures, the return of Jesus is near.
Many Christians believe that the Second Coming is near. This is
because almost all the announcements in both the New and Old
Testaments regarding the return of the Messiah have been fulfilled.
The spread of religious morality all over the world, the beginning of
the collapse of atheist philosophies and the return to faith in God
areimportant signs and under these circumstances, Christian should not
remain indifferent about the Second Coming.
- According to Christian scriptures, the return of Jesus will be the
greatest event in history.
Since Christian scriptures say that the Second Coming is definitely
near,this ought to be the mostimportant item on the agenda of the
Christian world. Since Jesus, a blessed Prophet whom Allah chose, will
come soon again to the world, preparations for his arrival should be
kept continually in view.
- Seeing that Jesus will bring all people togetherwhen he comes,
Christians should leave aside their differences, arguments and
hostilitiesthat will soon have no significance anyway.
- Since Christians and Muslims who believe in Jesus will be united in
a common faith when he comes, both communitiesmust try from this
moment to overcome theprejudice and distrust between them.
In the "Book of Revelation," the last bookin the New Testament, it
says:"The kingdom of theworld has become the kingdom of our Lord andof
his Messiah and he willreign for ever and ever." (Rev. 11:15)
All Christians should be eager, excited, aware and filled with love as
they await this blessed event. And we, as Muslims who have this
eagerness, excitement, awareness and love, say to Christians:
Come, let us prepare together for the coming return of Jesus.Let us
have respect for one another's differences in belief knowing that
Jesuswill teach us the truth anyway. Let us strive to fill the world
with peace, brotherhood, mercy and love as he wants to see it.Let us
struggle together in word and deed against philosophies and ideologies
that are hostile to him and reject God.
Let us wait together for one of the greatest glad tidings and the
miracles in the world history.
No comments:
Post a Comment