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JESUS' RETURN ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE
We have remarked in the previous
chapters that Jesus' return is very important
to Christians. The reason for this is that the
Bible, which comprises the Old Testament (the
Torah [its first five books] and other Jewish
writings) and the New Testament (the Four Gospels,
various letters and accounts of leading early
Christians, and the Revelation of St. John), contains
many revelations about the End Times. Jesus' second
coming figures prominently in the New Testament.
The Old Testament and the New
Testament provide various explanations about future
events. As we know, while the Old Testament does
not mention Jesus by name, it reveals the coming
of a savior from David's lineage. Some chapters
of the Old Testament mention, to a certain extent,
the End Time events. The New Testament, however,
is full of revelations concerning Jesus' second
coming, the accompanying signs, and the End Times.
The Qur'an reveals that both
the Torah and the Gospel have been tampered with
over time and that, as a result, they contain
false beliefs. While some parts may have remained
true to their original form, other parts have
been modified, altered, and added to by various
people. Given this, we can rely only on their
revelations insofar as they are compatible with
the Qur'an and the hadiths. As the following examples
will demonstrate, there is a great deal of similarity
between the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sources
on Jesus' second coming and the EndTimes. However,
the majority of Jews did not accept Jesus as the
Messiah; rather, they persecuted him as they had
done in the past to some of the other Prophets
sent to them.
God says in the Qur'an that:
We gave Moses
the Book and sent a succession of Messengers after
him. We gave Jesus, son of Mary, the Clear Signs
and reinforced him with the Purest Spirit. Why
then, whenever a Messenger came to you with something
that your lower selves did not desire, did you
grow arrogant and deny some of them and murder
others? (Qur'an, 2:87)
The Jews, who did not acknowledge
Jesus as the Messiah, are still waiting for the
"true" Messiah.
As the Christians consider their
holy book (the Bible) to consist of both the Old
Testament and the New Testament, they interpret
the relevant subjects in light of these two books.
When we examine the Bible, we see that Jesus'
second coming is a central theme. The revelations
here relate the natural phenomena and social events
that will take place before and after his return.
When we look at the Prophet's (may God bless him
and grant him peace) hadiths relating these events,
we notice that the signs of the End Times appear
to be more imminent than they were in the past.
(For detailed information, see Harun Yahya, Signs
of the Last Day, Global Publishing, Istanbul,
2003) Interestingly, almost all of signs heralding
the advent of the Last Day have appeared in our
time. Therefore, we can say that given the information
in the Islamic sources, as well as in the Old
and New Testaments, the End Times have arrived.
The Messiah,
as Promised by the Old Testament
The Messiah promised and explained
by the Old Testament is, as the Qur'an states,
Jesus. These sources also use the following words
to designate this person: King, Lord (master/educator),
and Menahem.
When the Old Testament speaks
of the Messiah's coming, it also makes quite a
few statements about the rule that he will establish.
That he will rule nations, be a descendent of
David (David too ruled the lands within his reach),
and be of similar appearance is central. However,
Jesus did not make war in his previous existence;
rather, he proclaimed that he was God's Messenger,
performed miracles, and conveyed God's revelations.
Therefore, we can say that some of the statements
in the Old Testament relate to his second coming.
As regards the Messiah, the Old
Testament (Torah and other scriptures) provide
the following information, some of which are quoted
here to clarify the point:
... The Lord will
judge the ends of Earth. He will give strength
to His king and exalt the horn of His anointed.
(1 Samuel 2:10)
"In the time of
those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom
that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left
to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms
and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure
forever." (Daniel 2:44)
"Here is my servant,
whom I uphold ... I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations. He will
not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the
streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and
a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness
he will bring forth justice; he will not falter
or be discouraged till he establishes justice
on Earth. In his law the islands will put their
hope." . . . "I, the Lord, have called you in
righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you, and will make you to be a covenant
for the people and a light for the Gentiles to
open eyes that are blind, to free captives from
prison, and to release from the dungeon those
who sit in darkness." (Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7)
From these narratives, it becomes
apparent that the Messiah will overcome all of
the regimes that oppose him. At the end of his
struggle, he will lead humanity out of its current
state, which is described as oppressed, blind,
in prison, in the dungeon, and so on, to enlightenment.
His other qualities are described,
as follows:
And he will delight in the fear
of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees
with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with
his ears; but with righteousness he will judge
the needy, and with justice he will give decisions
for the poor of the earth. (Isaiah 11:3-4)
The descriptions of Jesus' rule
in his second coming are compatible with the Qur'an's
description of Prophets: Jesus will be a just,
right-thinking, well-speaking, and wise leader
who is loyal only to God. God will deliver peace
and happiness to humanity by the hands of a superior
leader.
The Old Testament relates the
following about the dominance of faith in God's
existence and unity:
On that day there will be no
light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day,
without daytime or nighttime-a day known to the
Lord. When evening comes, there will be light.
On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem,
half to the eastern sea and half to the western
sea, in summer and in winter. The Lord will be
king over the whole Earth. On that day there will
be one Lord, and His name the only name. (Zechariah
14:6-9)
After Jesus kills the Dajjal,
all ideologies contesting God will disappear.
This is clearly stated in the Old Testament, for
"the Lord will be king over the whole Earth."
Many other analogies also explain the prevailing
conditions of those times:
The wolf will
live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down
with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling
together; and a little child will lead them. The
cow will feed with the bear, their young will
lie down together, and the lion will eat straw
like the ox. The infant will play near the hole
of the cobra, and the young child will put his
hand into the viper's nest. They will neither
harm nor destroy on all of My holy mountain, for
the earth will be full of the knowledge of the
Lord, just as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah
11:6-9)
These accounts
are reminiscent of the golden age described in
the hadiths. (For detailed information, see Harun
Yahya, The Golden Age, A.S. Noordeen, Kuala Lumpur,
2003.)
The New
Testament's Account of Jesus' Second Coming
Out of the New Testament's 259
chapters, 210 of them contain 318 references about
Jesus' second coming. Clear statements are given
below on Jesus' ascent to God's presence and his
return to Earth, as follows:
"... I am going
there to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come back
and take you to be with me, [so] that you also
may be where I am." (John 14:2-3)
"So if anyone
tells you: 'There he [the Messiah] is, out in
the desert,' do not go out; or: 'Here he is, in
the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning
that comes from the east is visible even in the
west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."
(Matthew 24:26-27)
So you also must
be ready, because the Son of Man will come at
an hour when you do not expect him. (Matthew 24:44)
... The appearing
of our teacher Jesus, which God will bring about
in His own time-God, the blessed and only Ruler,
the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone
is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light,
whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor
and might forever. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:15-16)
Now there is in
store for me the crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me
on that day-and not only to me, but also to all
who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy
4:8)
And this gospel
of the kingdom will be preached in all the world
as a testimony to all the nations, and then the
end will come. (Matthew 24:14)
"At that time,
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the
sky and all the nations of Earth will mourn. They
will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of
the sky, with power and great glory." (Matthew
24:30)
"Men of Galilee,"
they [angels] said, "why do you stand here looking
into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken
from you into Heaven, will come back in the same
way you have seen him go into Heaven." (Acts 1:11)
"For our citizenship
is in Heaven, from which we also eagerly wait
for ... the teacher Jesus Christ." (Philippians
3:20)
"Look, he is coming
with the clouds, and every eye will see him."
(Revelation 1:7)
I do not want you
to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that
you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced
a hardening in part until the full number of the
Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be
saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come
from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from
[the line of] Jacob. (Romans 11:25-26)
Now learn this
lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs
get tender and its leaves come out, you know that
summer is near. Even so, when you see all these
things, you know that it [the coming of Jesus]
is near, right at the door. (Matthew 24:32-33)
When the Son of
Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with
him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
(Matthew 25:31)
As stated earlier,
Jesus will inauguate an era of justice, wealth,
and virtue upon his second coming. As the New
Testament says:
Blessed are the
meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew
5:5)
This, then, is
how you should pray: ... Your kingdom come ...
(Matthew 6:9-10)
People will come
from the east and the west, and [from] the north
and the south, and will take their places at the
feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed, there are
those who are last who will be first, and first
who will be last. (Luke 13:29-30)
Clearly, there are striking similarities
between the accounts of Islam, Christianity, and
Judaism concerning Jesus' second coming and the
global rule of religious morality. This harmony
has engendered a great anticipation in all three
religions. The era in which we live is probably
the one in which the anticipation of this miracle
has reached its apex and is also near to be fulfilled.
This is a great news that helps the believers
retain their high morale.
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