Al-Quran, the Muslim holy book, contains the revelations of God to Muhammad. But besides that, the Qur'an also mention a lot about Jesus. The Qur'an mentions the miraculous birth of Jesus (Sura 3 verse 42-47), about the miracles of Jesus (Sura 3 verse 49), about his work as a messenger of Allah. But at the same time, the Qur'an also narrowed the scope of the ministry of Jesus: He was sent only to the Children of Israel only, not for all humanity (Sura 3 verse 48-49).
We can see about it that the Qur'an sees Jesus in two patterns, positive and negative. On the one hand, the Qur'an had great respect for Jesus to call Him in a few names: Kalimatullah (Sura 4 verse 171), the Spirit of God (Sura 19 verse 17, Sura 21 verse 91), and several other names, which suggests a form of homage to Jesus. On the other hand, the Qur'an rejected Jesus in some respects that it is fundamental to the Christian faith, such as: He is the Son of God, Jesus' death on the cross. The identity of Jesus became a big question mark in the Qur'an. If at first glance, Jesus seems to be glorified among the other prophets by some an honorary degree, the miracle of birth and the miracles he did, but if it is seen more in depth, then all the honors for Jesus as Messiah, God's Word, the Spirit of God has no function as the meaning of these titles. The titles are pinned on Jesus merely honorary title only, honoris causa. Similarly with the miraculous birth and his miracles nor is it something special in the Qur'an. The Qur'an denies that Jesus was born without a father, more special than the other prophets because if Jesus was the only without a father to be special, how about Adam, who was born without a father and mother, Adam's definitely more special than Jesus. Likewise, the miracles of Jesus, not Moses also perform miracles greater than Jesus, that is by splitting the sea?
In Islamic eschatology, the role of Jesus does not stand out when compared with the role of Muhammad himself. Jesus is mentioned as a figure who will come again before the Day of Judgement and kill the Dajjal, but Jesus comes again will only confirm the teachings of Muhammad, to destroy the cross, kill swine, and so on. Jesus would also have a wife and son, reigned for 40 years, then died and was buried in Medina, near the tomb of Muhammad. The role of Jesus in Islamic eschatology is very small even none at all, because he can not provide intercession to save people from punishment (punishment of hell fire), even Jesus himself was tried and examined by God, to account for the deeds of his flock, which has deify Him and His Mother (Sura 5 verse 116.117).
Showing posts with label eschatology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eschatology. Show all posts
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Eschatology in the New Testament
In the New Testament eschatology, Jesus had a very important and prominent. Jesus is not just one sign of the coming end of time (as understood by Muslims), but by and in him that the end times happen. Talk of NT eschatology in general is associated with the second coming of Jesus, commonly called the parousia.
Excessive emphasis on the events of Jesus' second coming times, often bringing Christians to a tendency to count and determine when exactly the incident. From the very beginning there are some groups of Christians who try to give the exact date on the day of the second coming of Jesus. Early example of this trend is Montanism movement in Asia Minor, in the second century. Montanus, with two of his female followers: Priscilla and Maximilla, stating that the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus has come in them. To assure this, they began to speak in tongues, even ecstasy. This movement demanded that his followers do the holy life, abstain from worldly pleasures, for Jesus' second coming is near.
In subsequent periods, groups emerged, which emphasizes Jesus' parousia to extremes, such as the Adventist group. The founder of this sect, namely William Miller predicted the second coming of Jesus will occur in 1843, after researching the Book of Daniel and Revelation. What happened was the disappointment of his followers because there is no any event in that year. Similarly, in groups of Pentecost, the tendency to match the events that occurred in the present with biblical prophecy about Jesus' parousia, as practiced by Gordon Lindsay. There are other groups similar, also do the same thing that is predicted the coming of Jesus' second coming, as recently happened.
Human efforts to calculate exactly when Jesus returns the second time, in any form will also end in failure, because contrary to the mandate of the Bible itself, αυτοι γαρ ακριβως οιδατε οτι η ημερα κυριου ως κλεπτης εν νυκτι ουτως ερχεται for you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (1 Thessalonians 5:2) περι δε της ημερας εκεινης και ωρας ουδεις οιδεν ουδε οι αγγελοι των ουρανων ουδε ο υιος ει μη ο πατηρ μονος "No one knows when that day or hour will come-not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Mat 24:36)
Excessive emphasis on the events of Jesus' second coming times, often bringing Christians to a tendency to count and determine when exactly the incident. From the very beginning there are some groups of Christians who try to give the exact date on the day of the second coming of Jesus. Early example of this trend is Montanism movement in Asia Minor, in the second century. Montanus, with two of his female followers: Priscilla and Maximilla, stating that the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus has come in them. To assure this, they began to speak in tongues, even ecstasy. This movement demanded that his followers do the holy life, abstain from worldly pleasures, for Jesus' second coming is near.
In subsequent periods, groups emerged, which emphasizes Jesus' parousia to extremes, such as the Adventist group. The founder of this sect, namely William Miller predicted the second coming of Jesus will occur in 1843, after researching the Book of Daniel and Revelation. What happened was the disappointment of his followers because there is no any event in that year. Similarly, in groups of Pentecost, the tendency to match the events that occurred in the present with biblical prophecy about Jesus' parousia, as practiced by Gordon Lindsay. There are other groups similar, also do the same thing that is predicted the coming of Jesus' second coming, as recently happened.
Human efforts to calculate exactly when Jesus returns the second time, in any form will also end in failure, because contrary to the mandate of the Bible itself, αυτοι γαρ ακριβως οιδατε οτι η ημερα κυριου ως κλεπτης εν νυκτι ουτως ερχεται for you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (1 Thessalonians 5:2) περι δε της ημερας εκεινης και ωρας ουδεις οιδεν ουδε οι αγγελοι των ουρανων ουδε ο υιος ει μη ο πατηρ μονος "No one knows when that day or hour will come-not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Mat 24:36)
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