Islam is a false religion, if it is a religion at all. Mohammed was not a prophet of the one true God, the God of Abraham, because he denied Jesus, the Messiah, the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that in his "Seed" all nations on the earth would be blessed. Mohammed was a false prophet who made false claims about visions and the "religion" he founded was and is a masquerade for his political campaign to conquer the world, supposedly for "Allah." "Jihad" is not a principle adopted by extremists within the Muslim community, but a command found in their "holy book." That some Muslims currently live peaceful lives does not change the clear teaching of the Koran that they should not consider Jews or Christians as their friends. Rather, they are commanded to claim the ground they walk on for Allah and to do what is necessary to promote the laws of Islam, if necessary, by force. Islam is not a "religion" of peace, but has been, from its beginning, an excuse for war and oppression.
History proves these things for any who want to take an honest look at the past. For those who foolishly and ignorantly compare the Crusades to what Muslims are doing today in the name of their "god," the Crusades, first of all, were led by the Popes to recapture the Holy Lands from the Muslims who had killed and massacred thousands to capture them in the first place. But that didn't make them right. While God commanded Israel in the Old Testament to destroy the nations that were living in the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when they came out of Egypt, it was because of their sinful rebellion and idolatry. God would later judge Israel and the Jews as well, pointing to the truth that ALL mankind needs a Savior ... one who would bear God's wrath in our place ... the Messiah, the Christ ... Jesus, the eternal Son of God.
According to God's plan, Jesus fulfilled God's promises to send a Savior. There is nothing in the Gospels or the New Testament that tells the followers of Jesus to kill anyone. The Crusades were a response to the Muslim's desire to rule the world. The Muslims, even then, wanted to kill everyone who wasn't Muslim. Even though the Crusades could never be condoned as honoring to Christ and were certainly misguided, the intention was to remove the Muslims from Jerusalem. Some sixty years after the death of Mohammed the Dome of the Rock mosque was built on the Temple Mount in order to desecrate what was a sacred place to the Jews and to prevent the temple from being rebuilt. Islam is not, nor ever has been, a religion that wanted or desired or promoted peace, love, tolerance, compassion or order. Today Shiites and Sunnis disagree on what will bring about the "end of the world" and the coming of the final leader of Islam ... so they fight against each other.
Look at Muslim nations ... is there peace and tranquility? Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. ... Muslim nations in Africa??? They abuse women, kill their enemies and thrive on war and mayhem. People need to be aware of the truth. Christians need to study history and stop acting as though we have to be ashamed of the Crusades and not speak out against Islam because Christians did the same thing. Some in the Crusades undoubtedly did horrible, despicable things in the name of Christ. They were wrong. They were NOT doing what Christ taught. The Crusades were used by popes to gain territory. The popes were corrupt and were themselves not true Christians. Again, Christians need to be students of history to see what took place before the Reformation. Then we need to know what Jesus said and what the Bible teaches. Ignorance leads to a false sense of a common unity among mankind that simply does not exist. EVIL exists in the world and Islam is evil!!
Anything and anyone that denies the one true God who sent His Son Jesus Christ is of Satan, being born of deception and rebellion and idolatry. As followers of Jesus we are called to offer salvation to all people by calling them to confess their sin, to repent (to turn) and to believe in Jesus. Only those who are born again by His Spirit will do so. Meanwhile, we are called to expose evil. Those who are called Muslim "extremists" are actually doing what the Koran tells them to do. It IS their "religion" and it gives them their marching orders. Yesterday Duke University stated that they were going to allow the Muslim call to prayer to be sounded from their bell-tower in order to promote religious pluralism. After some protested, they thought better of their decision and reversed it ... for now. The fact that they were going to do it reveals that they have swallowed the deception that Islam is a religion and that it is a religion of peace. They are not alone. Our President and other leaders seem to believe the same thing. Even many in the church are being taught that we need to respect the teaching of all religions and engage in what is being called "principled pluralism," for the common good and the welfare of mankind. All of this will lead, of course, to the rise of a world leader who will be the Antichrist foretold in the Bible. He will offer peace, but will be bent on conquest. Only the return of Jesus will destroy him and the armies of the nations who march against Israel and Jerusalem.
Jesus Christ said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). Christians, it is time to educate yourselves by studying God's Word and studying history. We are called to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). God has given to the state the right to bear the sword (Romans 13). As followers of Jesus we are called to be citizens of His kingdom. As citizens of the United States or another nation that defends freedom for all people, we may be called to engage in battle and may at times need to defend ourselves and others from evil. This we know: there will not be true peace on earth until Jesus returns and defeats His enemies and ours. Islam's desire is to rule the world. Terrorism today is the result of the teachings of Islam and of those who worship no god but themselves.
Much, much more could be said and I will gladly entertain questions. Send your comments and/or questions to pastorsteve@lighthouse-ministries.org. To those Muslims who may read these words, I share with you the words of Jesus: "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God" (John 3:16-21).
There is a better way than living under the law and trying to earn your salvation. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. The Father sent His Son to become man that He might suffer God's wrath for sin and so save all who believe in Him. Through faith in Jesus you can know that Jesus took your sin upon Himself and that His perfect righteousness is now credited to your account. That's GRACE - undeserved favor. This is what makes Christianity different than any other religion in the world. The Bible reveals God's plan of salvation ... pointing out man's sin and revealing the ONLY way to be reconciled to God (II Corinthians 5:16-21, 6:2). You, too, can turn from sin and idolatry and worship the one true God, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord. He alone is God.
Now you have heard the truth and Jesus said the truth will set you free!!
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