The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 181
The Messiah and his Second Coming 181 made public, many a hostile pen shall come alive and there will be a public outcry full of horror and rejection. . . . . There are two Prophets concerning whom it has been supposed, on the basis of the Bible, Aḥādīth and some scriptures, that they were raised bodily to heaven; one was John, whose name is also Elia or Elias, and the other is Jesus, son of Mary. Some of the books of the Old and. New Testaments state, with regard to both of them, that they were raised bodily to heaven and will at some time be seen descending upon the earth. Some of the Aḥādīth also use similar expressions with reference to them. With regard to Elias, the Gospels state that the prophecy concerning his descent was fulfilled in the advent of John the son of Zachariah. Jesus clearly said: John is Elias who was to come. Let him, who will, accept. Thus the controversy regarding the physical ascent to heaven of one of them and his descent at some later time, was settled by a. Prophet, namely Jesus, and his second coming was thus explained. The agreed Christian doctrine, in accordance with the Bible, is that Elias descended from heaven in the time of Jesus, when one possessing his power and spirit was born to Zechariah as his son and was named John. . But the Jews still await his descent. They believe that he will descend physically from heaven. . . . In any event, Jesus furnished the true interpretation of the expression 'descent from heaven' and the manner of the descent of. Elias was settled. But with regard to Jesus, it is still asserted emphatically that he will descend physically from heaven wearing luxurious robes and in the company of angels. Christians and Muslims do not agree on the place of the descent, whether he will descend in Mecca, or in some church in London or the Imperial Cathedral in