Did Jesus Redeem Mankind? — Page 75
75 exalted prophet of God. It holds good also in the case of. Isaac (peace be on him), another exalted prophet of God. It equally applies to Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David and Zacharias (peace be on them). Prophecies of some other prophets no doubt speak of a Messiah but there is a world of difference between a prophecy about the advent of a person and a prophecy about the appearance of a Son of God who would atone for the sins of others but through whom there would be no salvation. The advent of almost all coming prophets has been foretold by the predecessor-prophets. The advent of. John had been foretold and so had been the coming of David and similarly of Jesus (peace be on them). But this hardly argues in favour of the suggestion that their advent was foretold in the terms that salvation was contingent on faith in their atonement. . WAS MESSIAH OF ABRAM'S PROGENY ?. However, even if it is conceded that the prophecy made by Abram (peace be on him) about his progeny implied that there would be a son born to him in the distant future who would be the cause of the salvation of man, it would not apply to the Messiah (peace be on him), for his whole claim rests on the assertion that he is the Son of God. Christianity condemns the generation of Adam as sinful and one sinner cannot carry the burden of the other. It is, therefore, necessary to find some one outside the generation of Adam (peace be on him). . It, therefore, puts forth the claim that God the Almighty sent Jesus Messiah, His only Son, so that he may atone for the sins of mankind. If Messiah was the Son of God, he could not be the son of Abram (peace be on him). If he was a son of Abram (peace be on him) he could not be the medium of atonement, for he was not the Son of God. An attempt