Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 72
72 Thus Jesus' prophecy about the advent of Islam and its Holy Prophet leave no doubt that in the divine scheme, the advent of Jesus was not to mark the final stage of human spiritual advancement. This stage was to be marked by the advent of one coming in the name of the Lord. It cannot be said that after him Jesus is to come again, so Jesus will still mark the last stage in spiritual advancement. The point has been clarified by Jesus himself and is recorded in the Bible: 100 Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Thus according to Jesus' message, only those people will be eligible to receive and acknowledge Jesus on his second coming who would first have accepted and acknowledged the advent of the like of Moses. Accordingly, a denier of the like of Moses will not be able to recognize Jesus during his second advent. And why not? The reason is simple. Jesus, when he comes again, will be found among the followers of the like of Moses. Only those people will be qualified to believe in Jesus' second coming who would first have believed in the like of Moses. Jesus, therefore, will not be an independent teacher during his second advent. He will be a strict follower of and an image of the like of Moses. The like of Moses , therefore, will only mark the last stage of human spiritual advancement. The New Testament provides additional evidence in support of the above interpretation. According to John, when people inquired of John the Baptist if he were the Christ of the prophecy, he responded in the negative. 101 The Bible records John the Baptist's denial that he was either Elias or the prophet whose advent had already been foretold: 102 Then they "asked him, what then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not". Then they asked him: "Art thou that prophet ' And he answered, No". And then they said: Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?. It is evident from the above that three prophecies were current in the time of Jesus namely, the second coming of Elias, the birth of Christ and the coming of that Prophet, that is, the Promised One of the prophecy in Deuteronomy. Moreover, the three were also believed to be separate persons. The Bible also confirms that Jesus had himself declared that the advent of John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the second coming of Elias. Thus according to the Bible, the second coming of Elijah in the person of John the Baptist was a spiritual occurrence rather than a physical one. Biblical confirmation of this fact is to be found in Matthew, Luke and Mark: 103, 104, 105 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 103 According to Luke, John's father, Zacharias, had the following revelation before John's birth: 104 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias.