need we say anymore when the facts speak for themselves? 

again, let it be known that the jehovah's witnesses have knowing ignored this issue altogether. in other words, they have failed to ADDRESS THIS BASIC ISSUE, which for all practical purposes, binds all the monotheistic faiths of abraham together namely, judaism, christianity and islam. 

therefore, how could any of the other branches of 'the abrahamaic faith' be considered as historical when the 'main religion' [Galatians 4:22 (KJV)] had been consigned to 'mythology' by them? 

"ENHANCING PLURALISM"

I HOPE THAT MY REMARKS MIGHT 
RELEASE SOME MORE BUZZING, BECAUSE THE ESSENCE OF WHAT I WILL SAY THIS EVENING REFERS TO "ENHANCING PLURALISM".

 

 

 

'to be a God unto thee, and to thy s_e_e_d after thee -- and I will be T_H_E_I_R_ _G_O_D'

Numbers 27:16 (KJV) Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Numbers 16:22 (KJV) And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? Genesis 17:5 (KJV) Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a  father of _m_a_n_y_ _n_a_t_i_o_n_s  have I made thee.  Genesis 17:7 (KJV) And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and  thy s_e_e_d  after thee in T_H_E_I_R_ _G_E_N_E_R_A_T_I_O_N_S for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy s_e_e_d  after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy s_e_e_d after thee, and I will be T_H_E_I_R_ _G_O_D 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy s_e_e_d after thee in T_H_E_I_R_ _G_E_N_E_R_A_T_I_O_N_S.

42: 7. Thus have We sent by inspiration to thee an Arabic Qur'an: that thou mayest warn the Mother of Cities and all around her,- and warn (them) of the Day of Assembly, of which there is no doubt: (when) some will be in the Garden, and some in the Blazing Fire. 42:11. The Creator of the heavens and the earth. He hath made for you pairs of yourselves, and of the cattle also pairs, whereby He multiplieth you. Naught is as His likeness; and He is the Hearer, the Seer. 42:13. He hath ordained for you that religion which He commended unto Noah, and that which We inspire in thee (Muhammad), and that which We commended unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus, saying: Establish the religion, and be not divided therein. Dreadful for the idolaters is that unto which thou callest them. Allah chooseth for Him whom He will, and guideth unto Him him who turneth (toward Him).

42. 13: C4541. Allah's Religion is the same in essence, whether given, for example, to Noah, Abraham, Moses, or Jesus, or to our holy Prophet. The source of unity is the revelation from Allah. In Islam it is "established" as an institution, and does not remain merely a vague suggestion.Yusuf Ali's Commentary from QuranTrans

regardless, how true was the above quoted claim by jehovah's witness re: the historical jesus christ and, christianity that was founded in his name?

here's a non-muslim response to this question, upon which we will build further.

    The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

The genealogy of Jesus is shown in 2 places in the gospels. One has 15 more names than the other but that can perhaps be explained in that some of the names have been left out. There are still two MAJOR problems to consider.

1. the genealogies don't match - after David - 25 of the names differ - therefore they cannot be two versions of the same genealogy

[see details below]

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WAS jesus christ, the son of david?

Romans 1:3 (KJV) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of THE SEED OF DAVID according to the flesh;

Romans 15:12 (KJV) And again, ESAIAS SAITH, THERE SHALL BE A ROOT OF JESSE, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

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LION OF TRIBE OF JUDA, THE ROOT OF DAVID,

Revelation 5:5 (KJV) And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the LION OF the TRIBE OF JUDA, THE ROOT OF DAVID, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. Revelation 22:16 (KJV) I JESUS have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I AM THE ROOT AND THE OFFSPRING OF DAVID, [and] the bright and morning star.

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    Behold the LION OF the tribe of Judah. This undoubtedly refers to the LORD JESUS; and the points needful to be explained are, why he is called a Lion, and why he is spoken of as the LION OF THE TRIBE of Judah.

(a) As to the first: This appellation is not elsewhere given to the Messiah,

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The Root of David. Not the Root of David in the sense that David sprung from him as a tree does from a root,

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{a} "Lion" Ge 49:9-10; Nu 24:9; Heb 7:14

"Lion" (lº"…n) n. See Leo.

"Lion"  (lº"…n) n. 1. A large, carnivorous, feline mammal (Panthera leo) of Africa and northwest India, having a short tawny coat, a tufted tail, and, in the male, a long heavy mane around the neck and shoulders. 2. Any of several large wildcats related to or resembling the lion. 3.a. A very brave person. b. A person regarded as fierce or ferocious. c. An eminent person; a celebrity: a literary lion.

{b} "Root" Re 22:16; Isa 11:1,10

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CONTRADICTION

is this the same lord--adonay [jesus christ] who had gone to yhwh for help?  severed all blood ties with david and did not use his sword ever?

irreconcilable biblical facts speak for themselves

'adonay' asked for help	severed all blood ties with david	'the son of man' NEVER USED his sword
Psalms 110:1 (KJV) Ps 110:1 ¶ A Psalm of David  The LORD <Y@hovah> said <n@'um> unto my Lord <'adown>, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.	Matthew 22:43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 IF DAVID THEN CALL HIM LORD, HOW IS HE HIS SON?	Revelation 1:13 (KJV) And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. Revelation 1:16 (KJV) And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.

I am meek and lowly

meek (m¶k) adj. meek·er, meek·est. 1. Showing patience and humility; gentle. 2. Easily imposed on; submissive. 

Matthew 12:17 (KJV) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. Matthew 11:29 (KJV) Take my [JESUS] yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 21:1 (KJV) And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Matthew 21:5 (KJV) Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

Luke 3:22 (KJV) And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.  Lu 3:22 Verse 22. In a bodily shape. This was a real visible appearance, and was doubtless seen by the people. The dove is an emblem of purity and harmlessness, and the form of the dove was assumed on this  occasion to signify, probably, that the spirit with which Jesus would be endowed would be one of purity and innocence

Acts 13:22 (KJV) And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I HAVE FOUND DAVID THE [SON] OF JESSE, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

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QUESTION

how true was the above matthean [matthew 1:1] claim?  here's the quote in question.

BLOODLINE

1.    Matthew 1:1 (KJV) The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 

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QUESTION

•     first of, did moses ever say that either LEVI and/or judah was a DESCENDANT, one of the other or whatever?
•     or more importantly, which biblical scripture says that both aaron and moses were lineal DESCENDANTS of judah?

the new testament paints a diametrically opposite picture.

Matthew 1:3 (KJV) And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;  Hebrews 7:14 (KJV) For [it is] evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

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     Heb 7:14
Verse 14. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah. It is well known; it cannot be a matter of dispute. About the fact that the Lord Jesus was of the tribe of Judah there could be no doubt. Comp. Mt 1:3. But probably the apostle means here to refer to more than that simple fact. It was a doctrine of the Old Testament, and was admitted by the Jews, that the Messiah was to be of that tribe. See Ge 49:10; Isa 11:1; Mic 5:2; Mt 11:6, 

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•     second, that said, did not the old testament say in more than four different places that both LEVI and judah were sons of jacob-israel?
•     third, if the above is true then how did these 2 BROTHERS become lineal DESCENDANTS of each other or one of the other? you pick the order.
•     fourth, did jesus himself descend from judah and david, respectively as claimed?
•     fifth, was he the 'son of david' as claimed?
•     sixth, was jesus REALLY the 'expected messiah' as claimed?

irreconcilable differences

THE DAUGHTERS OF AARON

Luke 1:34 (KJV) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, THE HOLY GHOST SHALL COME UPON THEE, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: THEREFORE ALSO THAT HOLY THING WHICH SHALL BE BORN OF THEE shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, BEHOLD, THY COUSIN ELISABETH, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. Luke 1:5 (KJV) There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, A CERTAIN PRIEST NAMED Zacharias, of the course of Abia: AND HIS WIFE [WAS] OF THE DAUGHTERS OF AARON, and her name [was] Elisabeth.

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the lucan scripture just cited shows that  mary also DESCENDED from aaron's priestly family. meaning: she could NOT have descended from either judah's or david's side at the same time. it had to be one or the other only.

 PARAN

PARAN, was the wilderness where Ishmael had grown - 
'and the God was with the lad.' Kedar was Ishmael's son and
Abraham's grandson. Moses, Isaiah and Habakkuk prophesied God's
advent in the land of Ishmael/Kedar/Arabs. THAT IS WHY THE HOLY QUR'AN
WAS REVEALED IN ARABIC. MUHAMMAD, ALI AND HIS DESCENDANTS, THE
IMAMS WERE/ARE ALL ARABS - BY BIRTH OR DESCENT.
 

I        I                              I                       I
I        Aaron - the Priest-            I                       I
I        Kohen-IMAM                     I                       I
I        I                              I                       I
I        I                              I                       I

David - In Judah is God known, In SALEM  -  [SALEM means PEACE] I
        ALSO is his tabernacle Ps.76:1,2  -   [MSB - pp. 2148]  I
        ...O Lord of hosts, my King,          [Hebrews 7:1-3]   I
        and my God. Blessed are they who  - [Islam means Peace] I
        dwell in thy house: - who have set                      I
        set their hearts on PILGRIMAGE -                        I
        who passing through the VALLEY OF  [Bacca was the 1st]  I
        BACA make it a well - Ps. 84:3-6. [Sanctuary appointed] I
I             I                         I     [for mankind]     I
I             I                         I     [HQ. 3:95-97]     I
              I                         I                       I
              I                         I                       I
        Melchizedek was king of SALEM                           I
        the PRIEST-KOHEN-IMAM of God Most                       I
        High. He met Abraham returning                          I
        .... and blessed him and                                I
        Abraham gave tenth of every-                            I
        thing. First, his name means                            I
        'King of Righteousness'; then                           I
        also 'King of SALEM' means                              I
        'King of PEACE.' Without father                         I
        or mother, without descent,  -   [Islam means Peace]    I
        having neither beginning of                             I
        days nor end of life; .....                             I
        abides a PRIEST-KOHEN-IMAM                              I
        CONTINUALLY Hebrews 7:1-3       I                       I
              I                         I                       I
              I                         I                       I

THE KINGDOM OF GOD SHALL BE TAKEN FROM YOU, AND GIVEN TO
        A NATION BRINGING FORTH THE FRUITS THEREOF		I

        'Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the        I
        scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected,      I
        the same is become the head of the corner, and it is    I
        marvellous in our eyes. Therefore say I unto you, The   I
        kingdom of God shall be taken from you, AND GIVEN TO    I
        A NATION BRINGING FORTH THE FRUITS THEREOF' Matthew     I
        21:42,43; Mark 12:10,11.        I                       I
             I                          I                       I
             I                          I                       I
        'For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one  I
        by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. ..... Which    I
        things are AN ALLEGORY: FOR THESE ARE THE 2-TWO COVENANTS;
        the one from mount Sinai which gendereth to bondage,    I
        WHICH IS AGAR, FOR THIS AGAR IS MOUNT SINAI IN ARABIA'  I
        - Galatians 4:22-25.            I                       I
             I                          I                       I
             I                          I                       I
 
Muhammad was not only a descendant of Ishmael but he was also the
prophesied 'Prophet like unto Moses' that God promised to raise for
them (Israelites) from their brethren (ISHMAELITES) - Deut. 18:18,
19 & John 14:16's 'Another Paraclete,' who shall abide with you for
ever. In fulfillment of this prophecy Allah concluded His Prophethood
and, started the Institution of Imaamah-Supreme Priesthood or Spiritual
Guidance in His Seed. It is also identical to the Aaronic Priesthood.
 

                                  ABRAHAM
-------------------------------------I-------------------------
I                                    I                       I
Isaac                                I                    ISHMAEL
I                                    I                       I
Jacob/Israel                         I                       I
     I                               I                       I
I-------------I                      I                       I
Judah         Levi                   I                       I
I             I                      I                       I
I             Amran                  I                       I
I             I                      I                       I
I      Aaron--Moses-Miriam           I                       I
I       Imam--Prophet-sister         I                       I
I       83yrs--80yrs-                I                       I
I        I                           I                       I
David    I                           I                       I
I        I                           I                       I
Solomon  I                           I                       I
I        I                           I                       I
I      Elizabeth--Mary               I                       I
I        I         I                 I                       I
     I         I                 I                       I
   John       Jesus              I                       I
                                     Muhammad-Prophet/Messenger
                                     Fatima   +  Ali - Kohen-Imam
                                     Hassan       &      Hussain
                                                             I
                                                             I
                                        The Shia Holy Imams  I
                                                             I
                                               ISMAIL        I
                                                             I
                                                NIZAR        I
                                                             I
                                                             I

  His Highness Prince Aga Khan the 49th Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.  BORN : DECEMBER 13, 1936
 IMAM : JULY 11, 1957 -

     Unto Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that
          is in the earth. Wa Huwal ALIYYUL Aziim--And He is the
          Most High, the Tremendous : 2:255
 
          He hath ordained for you that RELIGION which He hath
          commended unto Noah, and that which We inspire in thee
          (Muhammad), and that which We commended  unto Abraham,
          and Moses and Jesus, [saying] ESTABLISH THE RELIGION,
          and be not divided therein. Dreadful for the idolaters
          is that unto which thou callest  them. Allah chooseth
          for Him whom He will, and guideth unto Him him who
          turneth. And it was not (vouchsafed) to
          any mortal that Allah should speak to him unless (it be)
          by revelation or from behind a veil or (that) He sendeth
          a messenger to reveal what He will by His leave.
 
                      Innahuu *ALIYYUN* Hakiim --
                 Verily! He is the *Most High*, Wise'
                              HQ. 42:4,13,51.
 
        And Melchizedek king of SALEM .....and he was the KOHEN-
        PRIEST-IMAM of the *Most High God-El-Elyon [Al-Aliyyun*
        HQ.4:34; 42:4,52].
 
        'It is the law of Allah which hath taken course aforetime.
         Thou wilt not find for the law of Allah aught of power to
                change'  HQ. 48:23; 17:77; 33:62, 35:43.
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HIS FATHER

  The One who begat Jesus in the womb of Mary was the Holy Ghost:

    Nothing could be clearer. Three times in Scripture the Holy Ghost is declared to be the Father of Jesus.

HIS FATHER: THE HOLY GHOST		JESUS SEVERED BLOOD TIES WITH DAVID
Matthew 1:1 (KJV) The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, THE SON OF DAVID, the son of Abraham. Matthew 1:18 (KJV) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 1:20 (KJV) But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: FOR THAT WHICH IS CONCEIVED IN HER IS OF THE HOLY GHOST. {conceived: Gr. begotten} Luke 1:35 (KJV) And the angel answered and said unto her [mary], The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born <gennao> of <ek> thee <sou> shall be C_A_L_L_E_D_ <K_A_L_E_O> the Son of God.		Matthew 22:41 (KJV) While the Pharisees were gathered together, JESUS ASKED THEM, 42 SAYING, WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? WHOSE SON IS HE? They say unto him, [The Son] of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 IF DAVID THEN CALL HIM LORD, HOW IS HE HIS SON? Matthew 22:46 (KJV) AND NO MAN WAS ABLE TO ANSWER HIM A WORD, neither durst any [man] from that day forth ask him any more [questions].

    2564. <K_A_L_E_O>
Search for G2564 in KJVSL
kalew kaleo kal-eh'-o
akin to the base of 2753; to "call" (properly, aloud, but 
used in a variety of applications, directly or otherwise):--
bid, call (forth), (whose, whose sur-)name (was (called)).
See Greek 2753 
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please note, 'that holy thing which shall be born <gennao> of <ek> thee <sou> shall be C_A_L_L_E_D_ <K_A_L_E_O>'  --  meaning: jesus was NOT the literal  'BEGOTTEN SON' of god. he was only known or addressed as such. 

and moreover, jesus himself openly severed all blood ties with david - and no one dared to question him thereafter. if so why should we? and that's not all.

the above raises two main issues at this time.

• if jesus was the literal 'BEGOTTEN' son of god as a result of this immaculate conception -- then the archangel gabriel would have said so.
• instead, he only said, 'that holy thing which shall be born <gennao> of <ek> thee <sou> shall be C_A_L_L_E_D_ <K_A_L_E_O>.'
• further, for the prophecies to be fulfilled in jesus christ -- it was absolutely necessary for him to be a descendant of david, which he was not.
• jesus himself severed all blood ties with david and only maintained a higher spiritual relationship with him.

with the above biblical facts in mind, let us proceed with the next section.

how were the following messianic prophecies fulfilled in jesus christ, the so-called 'son of david and judah,' respectively?

 

'U_N_T_I_L -  SHILOH - COME'

CONTRADICTION

irreconcilable differences

THE DAUGHTERS OF AARON

Luke 1:34 (KJV) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, THE HOLY GHOST SHALL COME UPON THEE, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: THEREFORE ALSO THAT HOLY THING WHICH SHALL BE BORN OF THEE shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, BEHOLD, THY COUSIN ELISABETH, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. Luke 1:5 (KJV) There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, A CERTAIN PRIEST NAMED Zacharias, of the course of Abia: AND HIS WIFE [WAS] OF THE DAUGHTERS OF AARON, and her name [was] Elisabeth.

                                  ABRAHAM
-------------------------------------I-------------------------
I                                    I                       I
Isaac                                I                    ISHMAEL
I                                    I                       I
Jacob/Israel                         I                       I
     I                               I                       I
I-------------I                      I                       I
Judah         Levi                   I                       I
I             I                      I                       I
I             Amran                  I                       I
I             I                      I                       I
I      Aaron--Moses-Miriam           I                       I
I       Imam--Prophet-sister         I                       I
I       83yrs--80yrs-                I                       I
I        I                           I                       I
David    I                           I                       I
I        I                           I                       I
Solomon  I                           I                       I
I        I                           I                       I
I      Elizabeth--Mary               I                       I
I        I         I                 I                       I
I        I         I                 I                       I
       John       Jesus              I                       I

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the new testament paints another diametrically opposite picture as well.

Matthew 1:3 (KJV) And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;  Hebrews 7:14 (KJV) For [it is] evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

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meaning: a descendant of levi & aaron -- also descended from judah and david. 

but this is next to impossible BECAUSE LEVI AND JUDAH WERE ONLY BROTHERS. see the above flow chart.

ADDITIONAL PROOF

Genesis 35:23 (KJV) The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: Exodus 1:1 (KJ2000) Now these are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 1 Chronicles 2:1 (KJV) These [are] the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, {Israel: or, Jacob}

U_N_T_I_L SHILOH COME	The LORD -- he shined forth from mount Paran
Genesis 49:1 (KJV) And Jacob called UNTO HIS SONS, 2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, YE SONS OF JACOB; and hearken unto ISRAEL YOUR FATHER.     3 Reuben, thou [art] my firstborn,      5 SIMEON AND LEVI [ARE] BROTHERS;      8 JUDAH, THOU [ART HE]      WHOM THY BRETHREN SHALL PRAISE:  Genesis 49:8 (KJV) Judah, thou [art he] whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand [shall be] in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.  Genesis 49:9 (KJV) Judah [is] a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, U_N_T_I_L SHILOH COME; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be].	Deuteronomy 33:1 (KJ2000) And this is the blessing, with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. 4 Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. 6 Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few. 7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah,  8 And of Levi he said, Let your Thummim and your Urim be with your holy one,
U_N_T_I_L SHILOH COME	The LORD -- he shined forth from mount Paran

so according to the bible per se -- jesus had to be a descendant of david in order to inherit his throne and messiahship AT THE SAME TIME. 

no one ever BOWED to judah. on the contrary, he did evil in god's sight. he committed incest with his own daughter in law.

  IMPURE BLOODLINE

Genesis 38:6 (KJV) And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name [was] Tamar.  Genesis 38:15 (KJV) When Judah saw her--Tamar, he thought her [to be] an harlot; because she had covered her face. Genesis Genesis 38:16 (KJV) And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she [was] his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? 38:24 (KJV) And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she [is] with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. Genesis 38:26 (KJV) And Judah acknowledged [them], and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

Matthew 1:1 (KJV) The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; Matthew 1:3 (KJV) And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;  Hebrews 7:14 (KJV) For [it is] evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

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and that's not all. the 'son of god' also had to descend from david's family.

Luke 1:32 (KJV) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

    The throne. The kingdom; or shall appoint him as the lineal 
successor of David in the kingdom.
His father David. David is called his father because Jesus was 
lineally descended from him. Mt 1:1. The promise to David was, that 
there should not fail a man to sit on his throne, or that his throne 
should be perpetual, and the promise was fulfilled by exalting Jesus 
to be a Prince and a Saviour, and the perpetual King of his people.

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no comment.

Acts 1:6 (KJV) When they therefore were come together, they asked of him [jesus], saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

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the above speaks for itself.

BLOODLINE

1.    Matthew 1:1 (KJV) The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 

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IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

2.    Matthew 1:18 (KJV) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

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and since jesus was not a descendant of judah and david, etc., as just seen, none of the earlier scripture prophecies were fulfilled in him.

    Ge 49:10
The septre; an emblem of power and authority.
Shiloh; the Messiah, Prince of peace, sent as a Saviour. Isa 7:14; 
9:6-7; 11:1-10; Jer 23:5-6; Da 9:25-27; Mt 1:21-23.
To him; to Shiloh.
The gathering of the people; or, the obedience of the people. See 
De 18:18-19. They shall accept him as their King, and he shall reign 
over them.
The fact that the sceptre has long ago departed from the tribe of 
Judah, who have ceased to govern Israel, shows that the Messiah 
has come, and that the expectation of a future Messiah is vain.

    i.     Which is Christ the Messiah, the giver of prosperity who will call the Gentiles to salvation.

    Nativity of Christ
The birth of our Lord took place at the time and place predicted by the prophets (Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 7:14; Jeremiah 31:15; Micah 5:2; Haggai 2:6-9; Daniel 9:24,25). Joseph and Mary were providentially led to go up to Bethlehem at this period, and there Christ was born (Matthew 2:1,6; Luke 2:1,7). The exact year or month or day of his birth cannot, however, now be exactly ascertained. We know, however, that it took place in the "fulness of the time" (Galatians 4:4), i.e., at the fittest time in the world's history. Chronologists are now generally agreed that the year 4 before the Christian era was the year of Christ's nativity, and consequently that he was about four years old in the year 1 A.D.

    Sceptre
(Heb. shebet = Gr. skeptron), properly a staff or rod. As a symbol of authority, the use of the sceptre originated in the idea that the ruler was as a shepherd of his people (Genesis 49:10; Numbers 24:17; Psalms 45:6; Isaiah 14:5). There is no example on record of a sceptre having ever been actually handled by a Jewish king.

 

    Shiloh
generally understood as denoting the Messiah, "the peaceful one," as the word signifies (Genesis 49:10). The Vulgate Version translates the word, "he who is to be sent," in allusion to the Messiah; the Revised Version, margin, "till he come to Shiloh;" and the LXX., "until that which is his shall come to Shiloh." It is most simple and natural to render the expression, as in the Authorized Version, "till Shiloh come," interpreting it as a proper name (Compare Isaiah 9:6).

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Revelation 22:16 (KJV) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.

Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a 
rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: Isaiah  11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.  

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    isaiah 11:1 - T reads, 'and there will go forth a king from the sons of jesse, and from the sons of his sons THE MESSIAH [CHRIST] himself will be brought up.' [new world translation of the holy scriptures, with references, pp. 870]

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Romans 15:12 (KJV) And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

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    THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUE GOD

1 Corinthians 8:5 For even though there are those who are called "gods" whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many "gods" and many "lords," 1 Corinthians 8:6 there is actually to us one God the Father, out of whom all things are, and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are, and we through him. Exodus 6:2-3 And God went on to speak to Moses and to say to him: "I am Jehovah. And I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but as respects my name Jehovah I did not make myself known to them. Psalms 83:18 That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] ; [email protected]

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    What leading Greek scholars say about the NWT:

Dr. Bruce M. Metzger, professor of New Testament at Princeton University, calls the NWT "a frightful mistranslation," "Erroneous" and "pernicious" "reprehensible" "If the Jehovah's Witnesses take this translation seriously, they are polytheists." (Professor of New Testament Language and Literature)
Dr. William Barclay, a leading Greek scholar, said "it is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest."
British scholar H.H. Rowley stated, "From beginning to end this volume is a shining example of how the Bible should not be translated."
"Well, as a backdrop, I was disturbed because they (Watchtower) had misquoted me in support of their translation." (These words were excerpted from the tape, "Martin and Julius Mantey on The New World Translation", Mantey is quoted on pages 1158-1159 of the Kingdom interlinear Translation)
Dr. Julius Mantey , author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, calls the NWT "a shocking mistranslation." "Obsolete and incorrect." "It is neither scholarly nor reasonable to translate John 1:1 'The Word was a god.'"
"I have never read any New Testament so badly translated as The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of The Greek Scriptures.... it is a distortion of the New Testament. The translators used what J.B. Rotherham had translated in 1893, in modern speech, and changed the readings in scores of passages to state what Jehovah's Witnesses believe and teach. That is a distortion not a translation." (Julius Mantey , Depth Exploration in The New Testament (N.Y.: Vantage Pres, 1980), pp.136-137)
the translators of the NWT are "diabolical deceivers." (Julius Mantey in discussion with Walter Martin)
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    The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

The genealogy of Jesus is shown in 2 places in the gospels. One has 15 more names than the other but that can perhaps be explained in that some of the names have been left out. There are still two MAJOR problems to consider.

1. the genealogies don't match - after David - 25 of the names differ - therefore they cannot be two versions of the same genealogy

2. the genealogies both contain the same two individuals (Shealtiel & Zerubbabel) - two differing genealgies cannot contain the same individuals while diverging before and after their inclusion in the genealogy - therefore they cannot be the two differing genealogies of Joseph and Mary.

3. conclusion? - one or both of the genealogies are fictitious.

continued:

These could not be two complimentary genealogies showing the paternal and maternal genealogical lines of Jesus. Two differing ancestral lines cannot claim the same two sets of ancestors as their own. It is obvious that it is the same Zerubbabel referred to in both genealogies they both have the same father. However Shealitel has two different fathers. It is assumed by apologists that it was actually Matthew and Luke who wrote these gospels - that is an assumption. Just the fact that the gospels contain so many glaring contradictions and chronological mixups should prove to anyone with with an open mind that the gospels were put together like a patchwork quilt. If these were really eyewitnesses accounts there is no way they could contain such numerous errors.

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Abraham, ISHMAEL, HAGAR - mount sinai and the two <duo> covenants <diatheke>

Galatians 4:22 (KJV) For it is written, that Abraham had two <duo> sons <huios>, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.  24 Which things are an allegory <allegoreo>: for <gar> these <houtos> are <eisi> the two <duo> covenants <diatheke>; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. {covenants: or, testaments} {Sinai: Gr. Sina} 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. {answereth to: or, is in the same rank with}

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excerpts

  THE DESTINY OF ISHMAEL AND ISAAC
By David Demian

Knowing God's Heart

One of the deepest journeys in my heart has been the revelation of God's heart for the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac.

I have discovered that most people who have a heart for the descendants of Isaac, do not have the same heart for the descendants of Ishmael and vice versa. It is not important who you are for or against, rather, there is something in God's Heart that He wants to impart to us, something far deeper than simply understanding.

Likewise, we too, are faced with the question, "Is God for Isaac or for Ishmael?"

The Destiny of Ishmael

It is crucial to know about the destiny of Ishmael in these End Times.

Ishmael's mother, Hagar, was an Egyptian. We know the history of Hagar and how she was forced to leave. When she ran away an angel appeared to her and she was given a promise in Gen. 16:9, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count." Then the Lord named her child Ishmael, which means "God hears." God saw and heard Hagar's desperation. In her son's name was the promise that the Lord would always hear her cry. Today the Lord has not closed His ears to that cry, because He is continually reminded of the name, "Ishmael."

Did you know that there are 99 names for God in Islam,

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Daily Bible Study

  Ishmael

Ishmael, from the Hebrew word meaning God hears, was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian maid of his wife Sarah. When Sarah had found herself not having children, she arranged to have a child with Abraham by Hagar acting as a surrogate mother (Genesis 16:1-4), even though God had specifically stated that a child would be born to Sarah in due time (see Isaac). The result was bitter conflict between Ishmael and Isaac, and their descendants, that has gone on right to the present day.

Ishmael was born at Mamre, when Abraham was 86, 11 years after Abraham's arrival in what would become the land of Israel (Genesis 16:3). He grew up to be a man of the desert wilderness, with a wild and hostile attitude toward people, exactly as God described him to his mother before he was born:

"Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son; you shall call his name Ishmael; because The Lord has given heed to your affliction. He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen." (Genesis 16:11-12 RSV).

When a feast was held to celebrate the weaning of Isaac, who was born 13 years later, Ishmael caused trouble by insulting and mocking his little brother (Genesis 21:8-9). After Sarah, who by then had come to dislike both Hagar and Ishmael, saw what he was doing, she said to Abraham "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac." (Genesis 21:10 RSV)

Abraham at first resisted Sarah's demand - despite Ishmael's difficult personality, Abraham loved him and did not want to see him go. God however settled the matter:

"But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your descendants be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring." (Genesis 21:12-13 RSV)

  Hagar and Ishmael were sent away, but they were not abandoned. God appeared and spoke to Hagar, assuring her that He would watch over them and see them prosper (Genesis 21:17-19). "And God was with the lad, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt" (Genesis 21:20-21 RSV).

Isaac and Ishmael apparently did not meet again until Abraham died: "Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, the field which Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife" (Genesis 25:9-10 RSV). The place today is known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, where the conflict for control of it still rages between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael.

Ishmael lived 137 years (Genesis 25:17). He had 12 sons, who became the founders of Ishmaelite tribes that spread from Egypt to what is today Iraq. Many of the modern-day Arab peoples correctly recognize that they are the descendants of Ishmael, while the Jews, and the rest of the Israelites, are descendants of Isaac - but all are descended from Abraham.

  Fact Finder: Did the apostle Paul use the history of Isaac and Ishmael to illustrate the two covenants?
Galatians 4:21-31

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    Back to Abraham
Mark Morrison-Reed
June 2, 2002

With permission excerpts from 
We Have To Go Back to Abraham
By Marlin Lavanhar, 
All Souls Unitarian Church Tulsa, OK
From Quest Vol. LVIII No. 5 May 2002

There are still other misconceptions. What many westerners forget (or were never taught) is that while Christian Europe was in the throes of the dark ages, when Christian leaders were burning books and denouncing science … it was the Muslim world that preserved the great libraries and the Greek heritage. They continued the advances of science and academics. They brought forth leaps in medicine, chemistry, physics, astronomy, philosophy and mathematics (algebra is actually an Arabic word and it was invented by Muslims). It's difficult for those of us raised with such a Euro centric education to realize that from at least the eighth through the thirteenth centuries, Islam was culturally, politically and militarily superior to Europe. The influence of Islamic culture and history on the west is significant. It seems biased to Muslims that western civilization is referred to as having grown out of the Judeo-Christian heritage, when in fact, it's the Judeo-Christian-Islamic heritage that's responsible for much of western civilization. [Lavanhar]

Abraham's first son was Ishmael. Ishmael was born to Abraham by Hagar, who was Sarah's slave. Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham as a wife once she realized that she could not bear children herself. The Bible tells that for thirteen years, until Jacob was born to Sarah, Ishmael was Abraham's only son. Ishmael was his first born son, and in Genesis [17:20-21], God promised: As for Ishmael…I will bless him and make him exceedingly numerous; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make of him a great nation. It is believed by both Arabs and Jews that the Arab people are the offspring of Ishmael. So, the Arabs and the Jews are half brothers, both sons of Abraham. [Lavanhar]

Doesn't that seem strange, that God would say, take your only son Isaac…? Muslims have contended for centuries, the only time when Abraham had only one son was during the thirteen years before Isaac was born and that son was Ishmael. Therefore, Muslims claim… that it was not Isaac that God asked Abraham to sacrifice, but rather it was Ishmael, his first and oldest son…

Muslims believe that Isaac's name was deliberately inserted in order to deny the Arabs God's promise to Abraham's descendants. In Genesis 17:8 God says to Abraham: I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now alien, all the land of Canaan, as your perpetual possession; and I will be their God. Of course, this promise of the land contributes to the complexity of the Palestinian issue. If God promised the land to Abraham's descendants, one would think that would include Ishmaels as well as Isaac's offspring. [Lavanhar]

Such are the vagaries and conflicts embedded in basing a land claim upon mythic narrative. Take it as the literal truth and some will argue Ishmael was the son of a slave who Abraham took later as his wife. Therefore, the blessings and other promises would not go through her son; they would only go through the offspring that came from Abraham's first wife Sarah. But others will say it's not so because if we look at the twelve tribes of Israel, they come from Jacob's twelve children. And, we know, four of those children were born to maidservants given to Jacob as wives by his wives… just as Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham. And none of these sons were denied the blessings and covenant and land because their mothers were maidservants. [Lavanhar]

Muslims point to this double standard within the Hebrew Scriptures regarding Ishmael. In other words, there's no reason why God would deny Ishmael, by calling Isaac Abraham's only son. It seems clear to the Muslims that God was referring to Ishmael, and it is Kurban Bayani called Eid Al-Adhha elsewhere in the Islamic world that commemorates the obedience of Abraham to God when he went to the mountain to sacrifice his first-born son Ishmael. In this seemingly simple story, we find the roots of some of the animosity between Arabs and Jews, and the guidebooks version of the story is yet another indication that we Westerners simply don't understand what we are witnessing.

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    Converts

            Why are so many people embracing Islam ?

            Former Christian Priests and Missionaries who have Embraced Islam

    Raphael - Former Jehovah's Witness minister (Source: The Islamic Bulletin, San Francisco, CA 94141-0186)

A forty-two-year-old Latino, Raphael, is a Los Angeles-based comic and lecturer. He was born in Texas where he attended his first Jehovah's Witness meeting at age six. He gave his first Bible sermon at eight, tended his own congregation at twenty, and was headed for a position of leadership among the 904,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States. But he traded in his Bible for a Qur'an after having braved a visit to a local mosque.

On November 1, 1991, he embraced Islam, bringing to the Muslim community the organizational and speaking skills he developed among Jehovah's Witnesses. He speaks with the urgency of a new convert, but one who can make immigrant Muslims laugh at themselves.

He told his story mimicking a cast of characters.

I remember vividly being in a discussion where we were all sitting in my parents' living room and there were some other Jehovah's Witnesses there. They were talking about: "It's Armageddon! The time of the end! And Christ is coming! And you know the hailstones are going to be out here as big as cars! God is going to use all kinds of things to destroy this wicked system and remove the governments! And the Bible talks about the earth opening up! It's going to swallow whole city blocks!"

I'm scared to death! And then my mother turned around: "See what's going to happen to you if you don't get baptized, and if you don't do God's will? The earth is going to swallow you up, or one of these huge hailstones is going to hit you on the head [klonk], knock you out, and you will not exist ever again. I'll have to make another child."

I wasn't going to take a chance of being hit by one of those big hailstones. So I got baptized. And of course Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe in the sprinkling of the water. They submerge you completely, hold you there for a second, and then bring you back up.

I did that at the age of thirteen, September 7, 1963, in Pasadena, California, at the Rose Bowl. It was a big international assembly. We had 100,000 people. We drove all the way from Lubbock, Texas.

Eventually I started giving bigger talks - ten minutes in front of the congregation. And a circuit servant recommended me to give the hour lectures that are done on Sunday when they invite the general public. They usually reserved those [sermons] for the elders of the congregation.

[In an authoritarian voice:] "Sure he's young. But he can handle it. He's a good Christian boy. He has no vices, and he's obedient to his parents and seems to have pretty good Bible knowledge."

So at the age of sixteen I started giving hour lectures in front of whole congregations. I was assigned first to a group in Sweetwater, Texas, and then, eventually, in Brownfield, Texas, I got my first congregation. At age twenty, I had become what they call a pioneer minister.

Jehovah's Witnesses have a very sophisticated training program, and they also have kind of a quota system. You have to devote ten to twelve hours a month to door-to-door preaching. It's like sales management. IBM has nothing on these guys.

So when I became a pioneer minister, I devoted most of my full time to doing the door-to-door ministry. I had to do like 100 hours a month, and I had to have seven Bible studies. I started lecturing other congregations. I began to get a lot of responsibility, and I was accepted at a school in Brooklyn, New York, a very elite school that Jehovah's Witnesses have for the crème de la crème, the top one percent. But I didn't go.

A few things no longer made sense to me. For example, the quota system. It seemed like every time I wanted to turn a corner and get into another position of responsibility, I had to do these secular material things to prove my godliness. It's like if you meet your quotas this month, God loves you. If you don't meet your quotas next month, God doesn't love you. That didn't make very much sense. One month God loves me and one month He doesn't?

The other thing I started noticing is tunnel vision. Jehovah's Witnesses are the only ones who are going to be saved in God's new order, nobody else, because all of them are practicing false religions. Well, I thought, Mother Teresa's a Catholic. That's our dire enemy. So I said, Wait a minute, Mother Teresa has spent her entire life doing things that Jesus said: take care of the poor, the sick, the orphans. But she's not going to have God's favor because she's a Catholic?

We criticized the Catholic Church because they had a man, a priest, to whom they had to confess. And we'd say, "You shouldn't have to go to a man to confess your sins! Your sin is against God!" And yet we went to a Body of Elders. You confessed your sins to them, and they put you on hold, and said [Elder as telephone operator:] "Hold on just a minute . . . What do you think, Lord? No? . . . Okay, I'm sorry, we tried our best but you're not repentant enough. Your sin is too big, so you either lose your fellowship in the church or you're going to be on probation."

If the sin is against God, shouldn't I directly go to God and beg for mercy?

Probably the nail that hit the coffin was that I noticed that they started reading their Bible less. Jehovah's Witnesses have books for everything that are put out by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. The only people on the entire planet who know how to interpret Bible Scripture correctly are that group of men, that committee in Brooklyn, who tell Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide how to dress, how to talk, what to say, what not to say, how to apply Scripture and what the future is going to be like. God told them, so they can tell us. I appreciated the books. But if the Bible is the book of knowledge and if it's God's instructions, well, shouldn't we get our answers out of the Bible? Paul himself said find out for yourself what is a true and acceptable word of God. Don't let men tickle your ears.

I started saying, "Don't worry so much about what the Watchtower says - read the Bible for yourself." Ears started to prick up.

[Old Southerner's drawl:] "I think we got us an apostate here, Judge. Yup. I think this old boy's one taco short of something."

Even my father said, "You better watch it, young man, that's the demons talking right there. That's the demons trying to get in and cause division."

I said, "Dad, it's not the demons. People don't need to read so much of these other publications. They can find their answers with prayer and in the Bible."

Spiritually I no longer felt at ease. So in 1979, knowing that I could not make headway, I left, disgruntled and with a bad taste in my mouth, because all my life I had put my soul, my heart, my mind into the church. That was the problem. I didn't put it in God. I put it in a man-made organization.

I can't go to other religions. As a Jehovah's Witness, I had been trained, through the Scriptures, to show that they are all wrong. That idolatry is bad. Trinity doesn't exist.

I'm like a man without a religion. I was not a man without a God. But where could I go?

In 1985, I decided to come to Los Angeles and get on the Johnny Carson show and make my mark as a great comedian and actor. I have always felt like I was born for something. I didn't know whether it was going to be finding the cure to cancer or becoming an actor. I kept praying and it got frustrating after a while.

So I just went to the Catholic church close to my house, and I tried it. I remember on Ash Wednesday I had that ash cross on my forehead. I was trying anything I could. I went for about two or three months, and I just couldn't do it anymore, man. It was:

Stand up. Sit down.
Stand up. Sit down.
Okay, stick your tongue out.
You got a lot of exercise. I think I lost about five pounds. But that's about it. So now I'm more lost than ever.
But it never passed through my mind that there is not a Creator. I have His phone number, but the line's always busy. I'm doing my little movie shots. A film called Deadly Intent. A telephone commercial in Chicago. An Exxon commercial. A couple of bank commercials. In the meantime I'm doing construction work on the side.

We're working on this mall. It's the holiday season, and they put these extra booths in the hallways. There was a gal at one, and we had to pass right in front of her. I'd say, "Good morning, how are you?" If she said anything, it was "Hi." And that was it.

Finally, I said, "Miss, you never say anything. I just wanted to apologize if there was something I said wrong."

She said, "No, you see, I'm a Muslim."

"You're what?"

"I'm a Muslim, and Muslim women, we don't talk to men unless we have something specific to talk about; otherwise we don't have anything to do with men."

"Ohhhhh. Muslim."

She said, "Yes, we practice the religion of Islam."

"Islam - how do you spell that?"

"I-s-l-a-m."

At the time, I knew that Muslims were all terrorists. She doesn't even have a beard. How could she possibly be Muslim?

"How did this religion get started?"

"Well, there was a prophet."

"A prophet?"

"Muhammad."

I started some research. But I just came from one religion. I had no intention of becoming Muslim.

The holidays are over. The booth moves. She's gone.

I continued to pray, and asked why my prayers weren't being answered. In November of 1991, I was going to bring my uncle Rockie home from the hospital. I started to empty his drawers to pack his stuff and there was a Gideon Bible. I said, God has answered my prayers. This Gideon Bible. (Of course, they put it in every hotel room.) This is a sign from God that He's ready to teach me. So I stole the Bible.

I went home and I started praying: O God, teach me to be a Christian. Don't teach me the Jehovah's Witness way. Don't teach me the Catholic way. Teach me Your way! You would not have made this Bible so hard that ordinary people sincere in prayer could not understand it.

I got all the way through the New Testament. I started the Old Testament. Well, eventually there's a part in the Bible about the prophets.

Bing!

I said, Wait a minute, that Muslim lady said they had a prophet. How come he's not in here?

I started thinking, Muslims - one billion in the world. Man, one out of every five people on the street theoretically could be a Muslim. And I thought: One billion people! C'mon now, Satan is good. But he's not that good.

So then I said, I'll read their book, the Qur'an, and I'll see what kind of pack of lies this thing is. It probably has an illustration on how to dissemble an AK-47. So I went to an Arabic bookstore.

They asked, "What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for a Qur'an."

"Okay, we have some over here."

They had some very nice ones - thirty dollars, forty dollars."

"Look, I just want to read it, I don't want to become one, okay?"

"Okay, we have this little five-dollar paperback edition."

I went home, and started reading my Qur'an from the beginning, with Al-Fatihah. And I could not get my eyes off of it.

Hey, look at this. It talks about a Noah in here. We have Noah in our Bible too. Hey, it talks about Lot and Abraham. I can't believe it. I never knew Satan's name was Iblis. Hey, how about that.

When you get that picture on your TV set and it's got a little bit of static and you push that button [klop] - fine tune. That's exactly what happened with the Qur'an.

I went through the whole thing. So I said, Okay, I've done this, now what's the next thing you got to do? Well, you gotta go to their meeting place. I looked in the yellow pages, and I finally found it: Islamic Center of Southern California, on Vermont. I called and they said, "Come on Friday."

Now I really start getting nervous, `cause now I know I'm going to have to confront Habib and his AK-47.

I want people to understand what it's like for an American Christian coming into Islam. I'm kidding about the AK-47, but I don't know if these guys have daggers under their coats, you know. So I come up to the front, and sure enough, there's this six-foot-three, 240-pound brother, beard and everything, and I'm just in awe.

I walked up and said, "Excuse me, sir."

[Arabic accent:] "Go to the back!"

He thought I was already a brother.

I said, "Yessir, yessir" [meekly].

I didn't know what I was going back for, but I went back anyway. They had the tent and the rugs were out. I'm standing there, kind of shy, and people are sitting down listening to the lecture. And people are saying, Go ahead, brother, sit down. And I'm going, No, thanks, no, thanks, I'm just visiting.

So finally the lecture's over. They're all lined up for prayer and they go into sajdah. I was really taken aback.

It started making sense intellectually, in my muscles, in my bones, in my heart and my soul.

So prayers are over. I say, hey, who's going to recognize me? So I start to mingle like I'm one of the brothers, and I'm walking into the mosque and a brother says, "Assalaamu alaikum." And I thought, Did he say "salt and bacon"?

"Assalaamu alaikum."

There's another guy who said "salt and bacon" to me.

I didn't know what in the world they were saying, but they all smiled.

Before one of these guys noticed that I was not supposed to be there and took me to the torture chamber, or beheaded me, I wanted to see as much as I could. So eventually I went to the library, and there was a young Egyptian brother; his name was Omar. God sent him to me.

Omar comes up to me, and he says, "Excuse me. This is your first time here?" He has a real strong accent.

And I said, Yeah, it is.

"Oh, very good. You are Muslim?"

"No, I'm just reading a little."

"Oh, you are studying? This is your first visit to a mosque?"

"Yes."

"Come, let me show you around." And he grabs me by the hand, and I'm walking with another man - holding hands. I said, These Muslims are friendly.

So he shows me around.

"First of all, this is our prayer hall, and you take your shoes off right here."

"What are these things?"

"These are little cubicles. That's where you put your shoes."

"Why?"

"Well, because you're approaching the prayer area, and it's very holy. You don't go in there with your shoes on; it's kept real clean."

So he takes me to the men's room.

"And right here, this is where we do wudu."

"Voodoo! I didn't read anything about voodoo!"

"No, not voodoo. Wudu!"

"Okay, because I saw that stuff with the dolls and the pins, and I'm just not ready for that kind of commitment yet."

He says, "No, wudu, that's when we clean ourselves."

"Why do you do that?"

"Well, when you pray to God, you have to be clean, so we wash our hands and feet."

So I learned all these things. He let me go, and said, Come back again.

I went back and asked the librarian for a booklet on prayer, and I went home and practiced. I felt that if I was trying to do it right, God would accept it. I just continued to read and read and visit the mosque.

I had a commitment to go on a tour of the Midwest on a comedy circuit. Well, I took a prayer rug with me. I knew that I was supposed to pray at certain times, but there are certain places where you are not supposed to pray, one of which is in the bathroom. I went into a men's room on a tourist stop and I laid out my carpet and I started doing my prayers.

I came back, and when Ramadan was over, I started getting calls from different parts of the country to go and lecture as a Jehovah's Witness minister who embraced Islam. People find me a novelty.

[Two immigrants converse:]

"This guy like apple pie and he drives a Chevy truck. He is a red-blooded American boy. He was a Jehovah's Witness."

"Those people that come in the morning?"

"Yeah, those."

"That never let us sleep on Sundays?"

"Yeah, this guy was one of them. Now he's one of us."

Eventually somebody would come up to me and say [Pakistani accent], "Oh, brother, your talk was so good. But you know, in the Shafi'i school of thought.."

The only thing I could do was turn to them and say, "Gee, brother, I'm so sorry, I wish I knew about that, but I don't know anything about Islam except what's in the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Some of them are taken aback and say, "Ha-ha! Poor brother. He doesn't know anything. He only knows the Qur'an."

Well, that's what I'm supposed to know. And it's been a very loving protection. I think it's all in Allah's hands."

 

(Back to Top)

•     Dr. Jerald F. Dirks - Former minister (deacon) of the United Methodist Church. He holds a Master's degree in Divinity from Harvard University and a Doctorate in Psychology from the University of Denver. Author of The Cross and the Crescent: An Interfaith Dialogue between Christianity and Islam (ISBN 1-59008-002-5 - Amana Publications, 2001). He has published over 60 articles in the field of clinical psychology, and over 150 articles on Arabian horses
• 
  •     Jerald F. Dirks, The Cross & The Crescent -- A former ordained minister in the United Methodist Church draws parallels between Christianity and Islam which, often known by clergy and church leaders, seldom find their way to the laity. [ORDER]
•     Abdullah al-Faruq - Formerly Kenneth L. Jenkins, minister and elder of the Pentecostal Church
•     Viacheslav Polosin - Former Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church
•     Anselm Tormeeda - 14th century CE scholar and priest
•     Khadijah 'Sue' Watson - Former pastor, missionary, professor. Master's degree in Divinity
•     Ibrahim Khalil - Former Egyptian Coptic priest
•     Anonymous Female Missionary - Former Catholic missionary
•     Martin John Mwaipopo - Former Lutheran Archbishop
•     Raphael - Former Jehovah's Witness minister
•     George Anthony - Former Catholic priest
•     Dr. Gary Miller (Abdul-Ahad Omar) - Former missionary

 

==

        003.095 Say: Allah speaketh truth. 
So follow the religion of Abraham [imam],

Lakum Diinukum--Unto you your Religion 
WA LIYA DIIN--AND UNTO ME MY RELIGION 
Kaafiruun--Disbelievers - Surah 109:6

 

shalom, salaam:peace

navali
nusrat_navali.htm ;  shroud_resurrect.htm ; melchizedek ;
amdistortions.htm ;  yalimadad.html; YA ALI MADAD ;

  shams vellani ;  birthdaygift ; the divine prophecy fulfilled ;
  shroud_resurrect5.htm ; section 1 ; section 1a ; section 1b ; 

section 2_i_pi ; section 2_i_pii ; section 2_i_piii

frnds_israel_larry_pg_1; CLEARING CERTAIN BIBLICAL MISCONCEPTIONS; foundation destroyed; salem; another_911; salem act_2a; salem act_2b

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

     THE AGA  KHAN IV 

 

 

navali

 

 

 

 

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CC.     Steve Van Nattan -- look forward to your reply, mr.  jackass

larry mitchell, The Ministry of, Christian Friends of Israel, calgary, alberta, canada ; Chuck Cohen -- the King Of Kings Assembly in Jerusalem kokaradio ; Wayne Hilsden - Senior Pastor of King of Kings Assembly, Jerusalem ; Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis ;  FOI Gospel Ministry Inc ; The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry ; The Friends of Israel
Institute of Jewish; Herb O Hirtr 

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