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How to Explain Psalm 22 and the Book of Revelation?

19 October, 2018
Q “On my way to Islam, I am having several doubts, and I would like to clarify them if possible.

-How to explain the entire content of Psalm 22? -How to explain the Book of Revelation, where Jesus says he was dead and holds the key of death and Hades, as well as he is Alpha and Omega?

I thank you in advance, hope my questions are going to be answered, and I’ll become a true Muslim.”

Answer

Short Answer: Psalm 22 is the 22nd chapter of the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible as well as the Christian Old Testament. Here we read about a person complaining to God why He forsook him in times of severe persecution and torments by his enemies. The Jewish interpretation of this book is not acceptable to Christians and we need to consider here only the Christian interpretation. The point of your question as I understand it is that there was a prophecy in that book that centuries later Jesus (i.e God the Son, who is none other than God Himself) would ask God the Father – i.e the same God (?) why He forsook Himself! 

First you need to know that several denominations and reputed scholars of Christendom do not consider the Book of Revelation as canonical or authentic scripture to be included in the Bible. Its authorship and date of composition are controversial. It would be enlightening to read a recent book on the Revelation before we accept its problematic prophecies and pronouncements. I mean the work by Fred Harding published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing, entitled: The Apocalypse Deception: The Book of Revelation is not what it claims to be (October 19, 2016).

………….

Peace be with you brother,

Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

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The Jewish Bible, the Christian Bible and the Quran share a large number of basic concepts that form the foundation of the Religion of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Muslims (literally “those who submit to the Will of God”) believe that the above-mentioned scriptures were revealed to mankind by the One and Only God of the universe, called Yahweh in the Bible and Allah in the Quran. To them believing in the One God and in all the scriptures revealed by the same One God – Allah, as well as in all the prophets sent by Him is a fundamental duty.

Thus Muslims accept Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and all other prophets mentioned in the Bible as God’s own prophets; and they consider Muhammad as the Last of the Prophets in this line. All these prophets gave their respective peoples basically the same divine message and taught the same religion of God. Whatever differences that exist among these religions today are owing to bad preservation of the earlier scriptures, errant translations, priestly interpolations, exegetical differences, and deliberate distortions by selfish handlers and custodians of the older scriptures. But God Himself has guaranteed us that the Final and the Complete Scripture will be protected from all kinds of interpolations and errors. For that reason, the Quran is the only pure and perfect Book of God existing in the world.

God has decreed that the Quran will be the final Criterion of Truth, on the basis of which all doubts about religion and spirituality could be cleared and all points of difference settled.

Let us come specifically to the questions you have raised:

Psalm 22

-How do we explain Psalm 22?

Answer: Psalm 22 is the 22nd chapter of the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible as well as the Christian Old Testament. Here we read about a person complaining to God why He forsook him in times of severe persecution and torments by his enemies. The Jewish interpretation of this book is not acceptable to Christians and we need to consider here only the Christian interpretation. The point of your question as I understand it is that there was a prophecy in that book that centuries later Jesus (i.e God the Son, who is none other than God Himself) would ask God the Father – i.e the same God (?) why He forsook Himself!

First of all, I urge you to believe in the First Commandment of Yahweh:

Hear,O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.…” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2-3)

Jesus reiterates the same commandment in the New Testament:

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Mark 12:29)

Now my question is: How can you believe in another god (Jesus) without violating the First Commandment? Or conversely, if you accept the First Commandment, how can you call Jesus God?

Do you mean to say that the one who cries out: ‘My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?’ is the same God – Yahweh – Who gave the First Commandment? It would be ridiculous to say “Yes”. And if you say “No”, you break the First Commandment and believe in a “god other than” the one Lord our God!

Think: this is a Christian dilemma; and not a Muslim problem.  

The Muslims do not believe that the whole of the Bible is a purely divine book. Neither is it the learned opinion of the Christian scholars. It is true that Muslims must believe in the Torah and the Gospel (i.e the Injil). But no Muslim believes that any one of the several versions of the Bible contains the Torah or the Injil in their original purity. One may ask why God didn’t protect those scriptures from corruption.

The reason is as follows: God’s plan was to progressively reveal and complete His Guidance to mankind in accordance with the progress of humanity over time. So the earlier scriptures, except for the basic creeds or concepts, contained rules and regulations relevant to their respective times, which were to be amended and supplemented by the later ones in tune with the changing times. And when the time is ripe, a Final Prophet was to come with a Perfect Book of Guidance meant for all time. Muhammad (peace be upon him) was that Prophet and the Complete Book of Guidance revealed to him was the Quran.

The Book of Revelation

-How to explain the book of Revelations, where Jesus says he was dead and holds the key of death and Hades, as well as he is Alpha and Omega?

Answer: First you need to know that several denominations and reputed scholars of Christendom do not consider the Book of Revelation as canonical or authentic scripture to be included in the Bible. Its authorship and date of composition are controversial. It would be enlightening to read a recent book on the Revelation before we accept its problematic prophecies and pronouncements. I mean the work by Fred Harding published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing, entitled: The Apocalypse Deception: The Book of Revelation is not what it claims to be (October 19, 2016).

Here is an introduction to it:

“THE INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY THAT THE BOOK OF REVELATION HAS BEEN A MONSTROUS DECEPTION WHICH HAS FOOLED CHRISTIANS FOR ALMOST 2000 YEARS:

The Apocalypse, also known as the Book of Revelation is the last book of the New Testament. It begins with these words: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” (Revelation. 1:1) 

Those words are not those of Jesus Christ, contrary to the claims of its author. Transmitted through an unnamed angel, they are part of a monstrous deception that has plagued Christianity ever since they were first penned. Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, the Apocalypse was not written by John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee nor is it.

Who then wrote the Apocalypse? He is the same person that John the Elder confronted in the Roman Baths of Ephesus and called “the enemy of the Truth”. If as I will show, that the Book of Revelation was written by this person, then clearly, he is an enemy of the Truth, the Apocalypse cannot be included the Christian Canon of the New Testament…” (Emphasis added)

The foregoing means that we cannot accept the Book of Revelation as divinely inspired, let alone the words you quoted.

Dear Brother, our request to you is to prayerfully think over the Christian creeds and the Muslim creeds, examine the sources of those creeds and come to a conclusion. Pray to the One and Only God Who created us to guide you to the Truth. And insha Allah (God willing) you will be a good Muslim.

And Allah knows best.

I hope this helps.

Salam and please keep in touch.

Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:

5 Things I Learned in Christianity I Found in Islam

Questions on the Road to Islam: God’s Prophets?

The Holy Spirit in Islam and Christianity

 

About Professor Shahul Hameed
Professor Shahul Hameed is an Islamic consultant. He also held the position of the President of the Kerala Islamic Mission, Calicut, India. He is the author of three books on Islam published in the Malayalam language. His books are on comparative religion, the status of women, and science and human values.