Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 96
96 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. The existence of the twelve tribes of Israel is a historical fact, which is also corroborated by the Bible and is shown in Figure 1. Likewise, it is also a historical fact that of these twelve tribes, only two were left in Judea when Jesus was born and where he spent most of his life up to the event of his crucifixion. The other ten tribes, according to Biblical and historical records, had been taken prisoners by the invading Babylonians prior to Jesus' birth and were forcibly transported east of the Euphrates by their captors. 19 They were never allowed to return to their native land. 18 Thus, based on Biblical and historical records, up to the event of his crucifixion, Jesus had fulfilled only a fraction of his stated mission. He had himself indicated that he still had to convey his message to the other tribes of Israel: 90 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Hence according to his own testimony as recorded in the Bible, a major portion of Jesus' stated mission would have remained unfulfilled if his life on earth had come to an end a few days after the event of his crucifixion. It was therefore, incumbent upon him to journey to the lands in which the lost tribes of Israel had been scattered at the end of their Babylonian captivity. Jesus was sure that they would hear his voice; that is to say, they would accept him, thus fulfilling his prophecy about the sign of Jonah in its entirety. The lands inhabited by the ten lost tribes of Israel were situated in the northeastern sector of Asia extending from Syria, through Iran and Afghanistan into Kashmir (India) and possibly Tibet. A detailed account of the lost tribes is presented elsewhere. 19, 46, 47 The above Biblical accounts overwhelmingly suggest that Jesus did not die on the cross as Jews and Christians believe today. Had he died at that time, his mission would have remained incomplete, which would have defeated the very purpose of his coming. There are many other strong indications in the Bible, which reveal that Jesus could not possibly have died on the cross. Some of these indications are presented below. It was necessary that Jesus should escape death on the cross, for the Bible states that whoever was hanged and died on the wood was accursed. The Jews wanted to prove this very point and hence, had Jesus condemned to death by crucifixion. The Arabic and Hebrew equivalents of the word cursed have extremely derogatory connotations; 91 their attribution to an eminent person like Jesus, the Messiah, is nothing short of cruel and unjust blasphemy. The Arabic equivalent of curse is la'nat which in its real sense refers to the state of one's heart. A person would be said to be accursed when his heart, i. e. his way of thinking, has become totally estranged from God. In this state, God also rejects this person and deprives them of His mercy and love. The person thus becomes absolutely devoid of His knowledge and guidance and is blinded like the devil. Consequently, the individual is filled with the poison of disbelief and even the last ray of Divine love and knowledge is withdrawn from this person. It is in this state that the bond of loyalty between God and the individual is broken and replaced with hatred, contempt, spite and hostility to the extent that God and the individual become mutual enemies. It is only at this stage that God and