Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 83
83 Verily I say unto you, That ye which have follow me, in this regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 12 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commended them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 13 I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 14 Thus Jesus explicitly stated that his goal was to uphold, fulfill, and restore the original Law of Moses that had been significantly altered by the Jews. He was to achieve this goal by preaching only to the followers of the Mosaic Law, i. e. the Jews who were represented by the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus first proclaimed himself to be the Messiah when he, according to the New Testament, was about 30 years old. Again, according to the New Testament, he was sentenced to death by crucifixion when he was about 33 years old. Thus the New Testament records general events of the last 2-3 years of Jesus' life in Judea and spends an extraordinary time on the events that occurred during the last week before his supposed death by crucifixion. A review of Biblical evidence both immediately prior to and preceding Jesus’ crucifixion is extremely helpful in fully understanding this event. Two books of the New Testament record Jesus’ prophecy about his triumphant return from the capital punishment pronounced on him by the Romans at the behest of the Jews. In response to his followers’ questions, Jesus made the following prophecy regarding his crucifixion: Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign of thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 15 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: They seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas, the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall the son of man be to this generation. 16 There are two critical aspects in the above prophecy regarding the eventual outcome of this event: 1. That Jesus would stay alive throughout his ordeal on the cross as Jonah did while in the fish’s belly. The Bible records that Jonah entered the belly of the whale alive, and remained therein alive, and came out thereof alive. Thus Jesus prophesied that he would enter the heart of the earth alive, would remain there alive and would come out thereof alive. This meant that the designs of his enemies would be frustrated and that they would not succeed in putting him to death on the cross. 2. After successfully surviving that terrible experience, Jesus would be accepted by his people (the Jews) as the Ninevites accepted Jonah. The Bible again confirms that after coming out of the whale's belly, Jonah went to the Ninevites and they accepted his message. 17 Jonah