the overlooked prophecy told by Jesus (عليه السلام) in the Bible.
To understand this will not take a huge intellectual.
Jesus [ᴘᴇᴀᴄᴇ ʙᴇ ᴜᴘᴏɴ ʜɪᴍ] healed the blind & the leprous;
he was endowed with many miracles by the Most Gracious;
he brought the dead back from the grave.
But the disbelievers asked more from Allah's righteous slave. ¹
What is the significance of the miracle Jesus (عليه السلام) gave?
"Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." —(Matthew 12:38)
Out of many miracles he did by Allah's permission, ²
Jesus gave Jonah's miracle as the only exception:
"Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign;
but the only sign will give them is the sign of Prophet Jonah.
For as Jonah was 3 days & 3 nights in the belly of a huge fish,
so the Son of Man will be 3 days & 3 nights in the heart of the earth."
—(Matthew 12:39-40)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2012:39-40&version=NLT
So what's happened?
✔ They asked Jesus for a miracle & he gave them a miracle.
✔ Jonah's miracle was as Jesus' miracle.
What was so miraculous about Jonah's encounter with the Whale?
─────▀▄▀─────▄───▄
──▄███████▄──▀██▄██▀ "The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.
▄█████▀█████▄──▄█ Jonah was in the belly of the fish 3 days & 3 nights."
███████▀████████▀ —(Jonah 1:17)
─▄▄▄▄▄▄███████▀
"The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.
Jonah was in the belly of the fish 3 days & 3 nights." —(Jonah 1:17)
▷ Commentary of the Bible, Pastor Albert Barnes (theologian) writes:
"It was no greater Miracle to create a fish which should swallow Jonah,
than to preserve him alive...Jonah, by Miracle, was not consumed;
by Miracle, breathed; by Miracle, retained his senses in that fetid place."
http://barnes.biblecommenter.com/jonah/1.htm
▷ Commentary of the Bible, Pastor John Gill (biblical scholar) concedes:
"Jonah was so miraculously preserved; an a miracle it was that he
should not in this time be digested in the stomach of the creature;
that he was not suffocated in it, but breathed and lived."
http://gill.biblecommenter.com/jonah/1.htm
Suffocation, digestion and death - from all these he managed to survive.
Retaining his senses and breathing all signify that he was still alive!
Jonah prayed in the belly of the whale, do the dead pray? ³ ૅ.ે
The miracle of Jonah (عليه السلام) was that he was alive we must say!
Was Jonah dead or alive when he was thrown into the raging sea?
We get a unanimous reply — that he was ALIVE!
A fish comes and swallows him. Was Jonah dead or alive?
And again everyone says ALIVE!
From the fishes belly he prays to God for help. Do dead men pray? "No!"
So he was ALIVE!
On the third day the fish vomits him onto the seashore — dead or alive?
And the reply again is ALIVE!
It is a miracle of miracles!
The Jews say that he was ALIVE!
The Christians say that he was ALIVE!
And the Muslims say that he was ALIVE!
Little wonder that Jesus chose the sign / miracle of Jonah as his only sign;
it's something on which the followers of three major religions agree.
and this is the sign or miracle that Jesus (عليه السلام) proposes to emulate.
1. When you throw a man into a raging sea, he ought to die. Because Jonah did not die, therefore, it is a miracle.
2. A fish comes and gobbles the man; he ought to die. He did not die. It is now therefore, a double miracle.
3. Because of heat and suffocation in the whale's belly for 3 days and 3 nights, he ought to die. He did not die, therefore, it is now a miracle of miracles!
When you expect a man to die, and he does not die, only then is it a miracle.
Jesus too, after the ordeal he is supposed to have gone through, ought to die. If he died it would be no miracle.
..../..ᴏxғᴏʀᴅ../_ Resurrection means « coming back to life after being dead »
.../...ᴅɪᴄᴛɪᴏ-../ / as is stated in the Oxford Dictionary.
../....ɴᴀʀʏ.../ / If Jesus was crucified & resurrected, dying was compulsory.
((________| / So the death of Jesus was a necessity.
. `"""""""""`
"For as Jonah was 3 days & 3 nights in the belly of a huge fish,
so the Son of Man will be 3 days & 3 nights in the heart of the earth." —(Matthew 12:39-40)
The miracle of Jesus is parallel to or resembles the miracle of Jonah.
╔═(ℚ١)════════════╗
║ғᴏʀ ૩ᴅᴀʏs & ૩ɴɪɢʜᴛs ᴡᴀs
║ᴊᴏɴᴀʜ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ?
║ ☑ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ
║ ☐ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ
║ᴊᴏɴᴀʜ ᴡᴀs...ＡＬＩＶＥ!
╚════════════════╝Jonah's miracle was that he was alive
╔═(ℚՁ)════════════╗so Jesus' miracle must be he was alive!
║ғᴏʀ ૩ᴅᴀʏs & ૩ɴɪɢʜᴛs ᴡᴀs
║ᴊᴇsᴜs ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ?
║ ☑ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ
║ ☐ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ
║ᴊᴇsᴜs ᴡᴀs ᴅ̶ᴇ̶ᴀ̶ᴅ̶ ...ＡＬＩＶＥ!
╚════════════════╝
When asking a Christian,
"How was Jesus according to you? Dead or Alive?"
All of them say he was DEAD.
Jonah was alive but Jesus was dead?
So was Jesus like or unlike Jonah?
According to their answer Jesus was unlike Jonah
and this means Jesus does not fulfill the prophecy he gave.
How was Jonah in the whale's belly for 3 days and 3 nights — Dead or Alive?
Jews, Christians and Muslims all say he was ALIVE.
How was Jesus in the tomb, for the same period of time — Dead or Alive?
Over a thousand million Christians, of every church or Denomination give a unanimous verdict of DEAD.
Jesus said that he would be "LIKE JONAH" but they're insisting that he was "UNLIKE JONAH"!
Jonah [peace be upon him] prayed in need:
"In my distress I called to the Lord & he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry." —(Jonah 2:2-3)
Jesus, with prayers & petitions to God, began to plead:
"If it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as You will." —(Matthew 26:39)
▷ Commentary of the Bible, Pastor John Gill (biblical scholar) explains:
"When he (Jesus) prays that this cup might pass from him,
his meaning is, that he be excused (from) the sufferings of death."
http://gill.biblecommenter.com/matthew/26.htm
Jesus (عليه السلام) prayed so this cup [of death] is removed from him.
In other words, Jesus prayed in extreme need to survive death:
"Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was
as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." —(Luke 22:44)
"His supplication was with "strong crying" to be saved from this fearful death.
These cries reached the hearing of the disciples.
The petition was thrice repeated." —(Matthew 26:36-44)
http://ibiblestudies.com/auth/macdonald/the_agony_in_the_garden.htm
Priest Dean Stanley said: "The cup did not pass from him." ^( '-' )^
http://ibiblestudies.com/auth/stanley/divine_sorrow.htm
But Jesus [peace be upon him] said: "I knew that You always listen to me." —(John 11:42)
Allah says: "I answer the prayer of every suppliant when he cries to Me." —(Quran 2:186)
If we were to believe Jesus had died on the cross,
then many blunders or difficulties reside.
[E.g. 1] The last words of Jesus (on the cross) before he's said to have died:
« Jesus called out with a loud voice:
"Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit."
When he said this, he breathed his last. » —(Luke 23:46)
And where did this spirit go?
"The spirit returns to God who gave it." —(Ecclesiastes 12:7)
But 3 days after the alleged crucifixion event, Jesus had said:
"I have NOT YET ascended to the Father.
I am ascending to my God & your God." —(John 20:17)
[E.g. 2] In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke,
Jesus [peace be upon him] was being taken away for crucifixion and a man named Simon of Cyrene carried the cross, as you can see from the following 3 verses:
1. "As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross." —(Matthew 27:32)
2. "A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross." —(Mark 15:21)
3. "As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus." —(Luke 23:26)
But the Gospel of John says, in contradiction, that Jesus carried the cross himself:
"Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha)." —(John 19:17)
[E.g. 3] Regarding Jesus' so-called death on the cross, in Mark 15:33-41 we read:
"And
when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the
ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi,
Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said,
Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and
put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether
Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave
up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the
bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so
cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. There
were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; (Who also, when he was
in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which
came up with him unto Jerusalem."
Whereas in Matthew 27:45-56, we read:
"Now
from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of
them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar,
and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see
whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus,
when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold,
the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the
earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many
bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his
resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when
the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake,
and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was
the Son of God. And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed
Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and
Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children."
Note the
major difference. In Matthew's version we see that after Jesus dies a major
earthquake happens, and that the saints rise from the dead and start walking
through Jerusalem!!!!! This is an obvious evolution in the text,and the writer is trying to make things seem better and more dramatic.
[E.g. 4] The
criminals beside Jesus on the Cross, one of the most apparent contradictions.
When we read
the crucifixion story, we read that there were two other men to be crucified
along Jesus as well, they were theives and were being punished for their crimes.
However this is one of the best examples of how this simple fact was modified
into something very special and lovely.
In Mark, the two thieves were reviling and disbelieved in Jesus:
"And
it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his
accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with him they crucify
two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the
scripture was fulfilled,
which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. And they that passed
by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the
temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the
cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the
scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel
descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were
crucified with him reviled him." —(Mark 15:25-32)
And in Matthew, we read the same:
"And
when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a
skull, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted
thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments,
casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They
parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And
sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation
written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves
crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they
that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that
destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be
the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests
mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he
cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross,
and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will
have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were
crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth." —(Matthew 27:33-44)
We do not
see anything special happening with the thieves who were to also be crucified,
in fact Matthew shows that they too also disbelieved In Jesus.
Whereas in Luke's Gospel, we find an interesting turn of events:
"And
there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And
when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified
him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they
parted his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the
rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save
himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also
mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the
king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over
him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be
Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying,
Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed
justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done
nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into
thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou
be with me in paradise." —(Luke 23:32-43)
So now in
Luke's version we see that one of the criminals began to believe in Jesus and there's mention of Paradise for him as well. Luke
obviously modified the story from the two earlier accounts of Mark and Matthew,
and wanted to make it seem as a great lovely moment. [End of mentioning 4 evolutionary examples and contradictions in the Gospels about the crucifixion].
when you expect them to be dead but they miraculously survive,
that is the miracle the Most Gracious, Allah, willed;
and the miraculous sign (prophecy) Jesus told was fulfilled.
O how they mocked & ridiculed! —(Mark 15:16-20)
When they plotted to have Jesus [ᴘᴇᴀᴄᴇ ʙᴇ ᴜᴘᴏɴ ʜɪᴍ] killed!
But Allah is the best of planners, truly their plot had failed! ⁴
It was not crucifixion but a cruci-FICTION.
“They said (in boast): "We killed the Messiah,⁵ Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah" -
but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared to them so,
& those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge,
but only conjecture to follow. For surely they killed him not.
But Allah raised him (Jesus) up unto Himself & Allah is The Powerful, The Wise." —(Quran 4:157-158)
Source(s):
¹ Jesus is the slave & messenger of Allah:
"I bear witness that there is no god except Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave & messenger.
I bear witness that Jesus is His slave & messenger." [Bukhari 4:55:644]
"Never would the Messiah (Jesus) disdain to be a slave of Allah." —(Quran 4:172)
² Prophet's of Allah do miracles by Allah's permission. Jesus said:
"It is by the power of God I drive out demons." —(Luke 11:20)
"I can do nothing on my own initiative." —(John 5:30)
"Jesus was a man accredited by God to you by miracles which God did through him." —(Acts 2:22)
"I heal those born blind & the lepers & I bring the dead to life by Allah's permission." —(Quran 3:49)
³ Jonah prayed in the belly of the whale: —(Jonah 2:1) —(Quran 21:87)
⁴ The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus:
"The leading priests & teachers of the law were trying to find a way to arrest Jesus without the people seeing it. Then they could kill him." —(Mark 14:1)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2014:1-2&version=ERV
"And (the unbelievers) plotted and planned [against Jesus]; and Allah too planned, and the best of planners is Allah." —(Quran 3:54)
⁵ The disbelievers called Jesus "Messiah" as a form of mockery, they said:
« "Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see & believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. » —(Mark 15:32)
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