Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 126
126 1. The New Testament establishes the "second coming of Jesus" and describes the signs before his advent namely "the sun and moon will loose their light. " 2. The Quran supports the concept of a divinely inspired teacher, or Mahdi or Messiah for the Muslims, like Jesus was the Messiah to the Israelites after Moses. 3. The traditions of the Holy Prophet overwhelmingly support the concept and also define the conditions and signs before his advent. Interestingly, the most important sign about lunar and solar eclipses before Messiah's advent in Islam is consistent with Jesus' prophecy about his second coming in the New Testament. 4. The timing for the Promised Mahdi-Messiah was ripe in the late 1800's or early 1900's according to both Christian and Muslim sources. According to both beliefs, his second coming is imminent. 5. The string of reformers (mujadids) in Islam, which was to continue till the end of time, has been discontinued? It follows from the above that the rejuvenation of Islam, after the disappearance of true knowledge and true religion from among its followers, is God's solemn promise. It is therefore necessary that he who claims the office of the Promised Messiah should re-establish the true teaching of Islam and present to the world the true meaning of the Holy Quran. If he fails in this, he can not be the Promised Messiah. If, on the other hand, in the difficult days of which the Holy Prophet warned us, he manages to save Islam from the distortions introduced by ignorant followers, then he is the Promised Messiah. He and his followers answer to the description contained in the Holy Prophet's prophecy "those who follow my example and the example of my companions". It follows that in the rejuvenation of Islam, a very important criterion exists for testing the truth of anyone who claims to be the Messiah. It has to be established whether Islam, as understood and practiced today, has deviated far from its authentic form. Having done this one has to see whether a given claimant to the office of Messiah has or has not restored Islam to its original form. The fact that current Islam has deviated far from its original message is widely accepted by all thoughtful persons. Anyone denying this fact must be oblivious to practical realities. The Islam practiced today does not produce the old results. Islam as understood today fails to satisfy the conscience even of the Muslims. These things prove that Islam of today is very different from what it used to be. In spite of overwhelming evidence from the Bible, the Quran, history and literature which is presented earlier in this book, Christians and Muslims denominations do not fully comprehend the concept of spiritual second coming; a precedence of which has already been established in the Bible. The Christians denial of this concept is based on the fact that the entire foundation of modern day Christianity is based on Jesus' death on the cross and his physical ascension. The inaccuracy of this concept has been reviewed in detail in an earlier chapter. Thus accepting this fact is suicidal for the current version of Christianity. Conversely, denying this fact is tantamount to refuting Jesus' own teachings. Some Muslim denominations also deny this concept of spiritual second coming