View Full Version : The Dead Sea scrolls - The Unrevealed
Salaam brothers and sister and greetings to the non-muslims,
Yesterday I was reading a book telling about the Death See scrolls and how its content would impact the christianity. Many scholars who had analysed the scrolls found out that christians were fooled for centuries long and the majority of the most learned and respected conservative Christians do not worship Jesus(pbuh) as God anymore !
In the British newspaper the "Daily News" 25/6/84 under the heading "Shock survey of Anglican Bishops" We read:
"More than half of England's Anglican Bishops say that Christians are not obliged to believe that Jesus Christ was God, according to a survey published today. The pole of 31 of England's 39 bishops shows that many of them think that Christ's miracles, the virgin birth and the resurrection might not have happened exactly as described in the Bible. Only 11 of the bishops insisted that Christians must regard Christ as both God and man, while 19 said it was sufficient to regard Jesus as 'God's supreme agent'"
This is a shocking news indeed, seeing many christians still continuing (in fact) with blind faith and blaspemy and even dont take the pains to study more what the results were of these scholars.
These words may sound offensive but many writers who wrote books about the dead see scrolls use the same words. (I call the titles of some dutch books:
-De Dode-Zeerollen en Jezus: een achtergehouden waarheid.
-The Death Sea scrolls and Jesus: a witholded truth.
-Jesjoea, Paulus en de macht : over de oorsprong van het christendom en de betekenis van de Dode-Zeerollen
-Jesjoea, Paulus and the power: about the origin of the christianity and the meaning of the dead sea scrolls.)
In the dead see scrolls many bible verses, who are actually wrong interpreted by the most christains nowadays, become very clear. Just as the topic which I had posted some days ago says ("A good article"), I quote:
"...we intend to clarify vagueness, supply neglected information, and finish incomplete thoughts found in the usual presentation of the Christian missionary."
And the writer gives good examples of some verses which are left vague, neglected or twice sold.
So my advise to the christians here is, first find out what the exactly meaning of the verses are, I see some of them still quoting verses with wrong interpretations. To help you on your way...I have a found good article which explains on basis of the dead sea scrolls the true teaching of Jesus(pbuh) with the correct way of interpreting the bible verses.
Please take the time to read it, because it will open the eyes by most of you !
Wassalamu Alaikum.
Chapter 7: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gospel of Barn p1
Many of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity which have been for many centuries accepted on blind faith (those which differ from the beliefs of Muslims) are now beginning to be challenged by some of the foremost scholars and religious leaders of Christianity today.
*
As we have previously seen in section 1.2.3.1, only one of the most glaring example of this can be found in the British newspaper the "Daily News" 25/6/84 under the heading "Shock survey of Anglican Bishops" We read that a British television pole of 31 of the 39 Anglican Bishops in England found 19 to believe that it is not necessary for Christians to believe that Jesus (pbuh) is God, but only "His supreme agent" (his messenger)
*
Indeed, this was testified to by Jesus in John 17:3
"And this is life eternal, that they might know YOU the ONLY true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
With every passing day, the learned among Christendom are drawing ever closer to Islam
"I shall turn away from my signs those who are arrogant in the earth unjustifiably, and if they see all the signs (in creation) they believe them not, and if they see the path of righteousness they do not take it as (their) path, and if they see the path of misguidance they take it as (their) path. That is because they deny our signs and are used to disregarding them"
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]The noble Qur’an, Al-Aaraf(7):146.
"They are not all alike. Of the people of the book are a portion whom stand (for that which is right), who recite the revelations of Allah throughout the night while prostrate (before Him)"
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]The noble Qur’an, A'al-Umran(3):113.
"And Lo! Of the people of the Scripture are those who believe in Allah and that which was sent down to you and that which was sent down to them, humbling themselves before Allah. They purchase not a trifling gain at the price of the revelations of Allah. Verily, their reward is with their Lord, and Lo! Allah is swift to take account."
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]The noble Qur’an, A'al-Umran(3):199.
The choice of the present four Gospels (including the writings of St. Paul who is credited with single-handedly writing the majority of the books of the New Testament) was imposed in the conference of Nicea 325 C.E. under the auspices of the Pagan Emperor Constantine for political reasons. Literally hundreds of gospels and religious writings were considered "Apocrypha" (which actually means "hidden from the people") and destroyed. Some of these were written by disciples of Jesus (pbuh), and not disciples of disciples who had never met Jesus (pbuh), such as Paul. If they were not more authentic than the current selection then they were at least of equal authenticity. Some of these are still available, such as the "Gospel of Barnabas" which agrees with the Qur'an and even mention Muhammad (pbuh) by name. Modern discoveries such as the discovery of the dead sea scrolls (Qumran scrolls) have also confirmed the claims of the Qur’an (such as their claim that no nail shall touch the Messiah). The most ancient copies of the Greek Gospels available today date fully three to four centuries after the departure of Jesus(pbuh). The Dead sea scrolls, however, coincide historically with the time of John the Baptist. They were quickly dated from the 2nd century BC through the 1st century C.E. by the script in which they were written and by archaeological investigations of the settlement near the Qumran caves. They were discovered alongside the most ancient copy of the Old Testament available today.
In an effort to defend the teachings of the current Greek gospels, Mr. F.F. Bruce has the following to say in his book "The New Testament documents. Are they reliable?":
"It is worth mentioning here that striking affinities of thought and language have been recognized between the Gospel and the Qumran texts. These affinities must not be exaggerated; the Qumran literature comes no where near presenting us with such a figure as the Jesus of this Gospel (John)"
Christian scholar of history readily confirm that after the famous council of Nicea (325 C.E.), the church of St. Paul (The Trinitarian Church) selected out of the over three hundred Gospels in their possession the four that most closely conformed to their doctrines. All others, including the Gospel of Barnabas, were ordered completely destroyed. They also ruled that all Gospels written in Hebrew were to be destroyed. This practice continued until at least the year 1616 C.E.
Well then, how did the Gospel of Barnabas reach us? It is well known and recorded that the Gospel of Barnabas was accepted as Canonical in the Churches of Alexandria till 325 C.E. Pope Damasus (304-384 C.E.) issued a decree that the Gospel of Barnabas should not be read. This decree was supported by Gelasus, Bishop of Caesaria who died in 395 C.E. Pope Demasus, however, did secure a personal copy of the Gospel of Barnabas for himself in 383 C.E. and placed it in his private library. Many decrees make mention of the Gospel of Barnabas, such as the decree of the Western churches in 382AD, Pope Innocent in 465C.E., the Glasian Decree of 496C.E., Pope Hormisdas, and it is mentioned in the Stichometry of Niceophorus. There are many others who made note of this Gospel throughout history or obtained their own copies.
In 478AD, the fourth year of Emperor Zeno, the remains of Barnabas were discovered and there was found on his breast a copy of the Gospel of Barnabas written by his own hand. (Acia Sanctorum Borland Junii Tom II, pages 422 and 450. Antwerp 1698) The famous Vulgate Bible appears to have been based upon this Gospel.
Among the early Christians was a man named Irenaeus (130-200 AD). According to the book "Jesus, Prophet of Islam," by Muhammad Ata’ Ur Rahim, Irenaeus quoted extensively in his writings from the Gospel of Barnabas. In the sixteenth century C.E. a close friend of Pope Sextus (1589-1590) called Fra Marino, became extremely interested in the writings of Irenaeus. One day he was invited to visit the Pope and lunch with him. After eating with him, the Pope became drowsy and fell asleep. Father Marino took to browsing through the various books and manuscripts in the private library of Pope Sextus and happened upon an Italian translation of the Gospel of Barnabas. Father Marino concealed it in his sleeve and left the Vatican with it. This Gospel passed through many hands until it reached the hands of "a person of great name and authority" in Amsterdam "who during his lifetime, was often heard to put a high value on this piece." After his death, it came into the possession of J.E. Cramer, Councilor of the King of Prussia. In 1713, Cramer presented this Gospel to the famous connoisseur of books, Prince Eugene of Savoy. In 1738, the library of the Prince, including this Gospel was incorporated into the Hofbibliothek in Vienna where it now rests.
Mr. Sale in his preface "To the Reader" of his translation of the meanings of the verses of the noble Qur’an says:
"… the discoverer of the original M.S., who was a Christian monk called Fra Marino, tells us that having accidentally met with a writing of Irenaeus (among others), wherein Irenaeus spoke against Paul, alleging, for his authority, the Gospel of St. Barnabas, he became exceedingly desirous of finding an existing copy of this Gospel, and that God of His mercy, having made Fra Marino an intimate friend of Pope Sixtus V, (pope 1585-1590), one day, as they were together in the Pope’s library, his holiness fell asleep, and the monk, to occupy himself, reaching down for a book to read, the very first he laid his hand on proved to be the very Gospel history that he was seeking. Overjoyed at the discovery, he scrupled not to hide his prize discovery in his sleeve; and, on the Pope’s awakening, took to leave of him carrying with him that celestial treasure, by reading of which he became a convert to Muhammedanism [sic]"
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gospel of Barnabas, and the New Testament, by M. A. Yusseff, p. 119) (also see Jesus a Prophet of Islam, by Muhammad `Ata ur-Rahim, pp. 39-44, 76-77)
Only the popularity of this copy of the Gospel of Barnabas saved it from the fate of most other copies. Most copies of the Gospel of Barnabas had a tendency of mysteriously disappearing into oblivion. This was the case with a Spanish copy which mysteriously disappeared from the College Library in England around the same time period. The Gospel of Barnabas was translated into English by Mr. and Mrs. Ragg and published in the Clarindon Press in Oxford in 1907. Dispite the fact that the authors disallowed the authenticity of this Gospel, still, mysteriously all copies disappeared from the market. Only two copies are known to have escaped this mysterious fate. One copy is housed in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The other is located in the British museum. A new printing has been made off of these copies and this printing is available today.
Many attempts have been made since the Gospel of Barnabas was first inadvertently smuggled out of the Vatican vaults and unveiled to the public to disprove it’s authenticity. This Gospel was found to support the Muslim Qur’an so strongly that it was quickly recognized that Father Marino must have stumbled upon a fabricated Gospel written by Muslims which Muslims had later managed to cleverly conceal in the Christian Vatican. Much has been written on this topic, however, for those who would like to see strong evidence of the great antiquity and authenticity of this Gospel, they are directed to obtain a copy of the book "The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Gospel of Barnabas, and The New Testament", by M. A. Yussuff.
Some quotations from the Gospel of Barnabas:
In reply to a question by Philip, Prophet Jesus said:
"God alone hath no equal. He hath had no beginning, nor will he ever have a end, ... He hath no sons, nor brethren, nor companions."
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]Gospel of Barnabas:17
"... Verily ye have erred greatly, O Israelites, in calling me(Jesus), a man, your God. ... I confess before heaven, ... that I am a stranger to all that ye have said; seeing that I am man, born of a mortal woman, subject to the judgment of God, suffering the miseries of eating and sleeping, of cold and heat, like other men,. Whereupon when God shall come to judge, my words like a sword shall pierce each one (of them) that believe me to be more than man,"
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]Gospel of Barnabas: 93
Regarding the apostle Barnabas himself, the Bible commands:
"if he comes to you, receive him."
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]Colossians 4:10
(For more quotations from the Gospel of Barnabas, please read the end of the following section titled …)
The Dead Sea Scrolls:
I have just alluded to the Dead Sea Scrolls in the quotation by Mr. F. F. Bruce. Even with his staunch defense of the text the New and Old Testament, even with that, we find him saying "It is worth mentioning here that striking affinities of thought and language have been recognized between the Gospel and the Qumran texts. These affinities must not be exaggerated; the Qumran literature comes no where near presenting us with such a figure as the Jesus of this Gospel (John)"
What is so noteworthy about this quote? Well, to answer this question we need to begin with the story of the scrolls themselves:
In 1947 a group of children stumbled upon the first set of scrolls in a cave on the shores of the Dead Sea. These scrolls were immediately identified as the work of a very devout sect of the Jewish community that lived centuries before the birth of Jesus (pbuh). Hershel Shanks says in his book Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls:
"Such was the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, manuscripts a thousand years older than the oldest known Hebrew texts of the Bible, manuscripts many of which were written a hundred years before the birth of Jesus and at least one of which may have been written almost three hundred years before the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem"
Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hershel Shanks, pp. 7-8
An immediate frantic search ensued through the remaining caves in the region in order to find what other ancient scrolls could be discovered therein. A small group of "international" scholars in Israel were given exclusive access to them and the rest of the world was all but totally barred from gaining even the slightest glimpse of the texts (Prof. Eisenman observes that one of the major stumbling blocks for the publication of the scrolls was that "in the first place, the team was hardly international") . Prof. Robert Eisenman was one of the key players in the drama that finally lead to the release of the scrolls. In his book "The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered" we read:
"In the spring of 1986, at the end of his stay in Jerusalem, Professor Eisenman went with the British scholar, Philip Davies of the University of Sheffield, to see one of the Israeli officials responsible for this - an intermediary on behalf of the Antiquities Department (now ‘Authority’) and the International Team and the Scrolls Curator at Israel Museum. They were told in no uncertain terms ‘You will not see the Scrolls in your lifetimes’"
This stung them into action, and as a result of this statement, a massive effort was launched and five years later through a whirlwind of media publicity, absolute access to the scrolls was attained. Prof. Eisenman eventually received 1800 pictures of the previously unpublished scrolls. The book goes on to describe how
"Eisenman was preparing the Facsimile Edition of all unpublished plates. This was scheduled to appear the following spring through E. J. Brill in Leiden, Holland. Ten days, however, before it’s scheduled publication in April 1991, after pressure was applied by the International Team, the publisher inexplicably withdrew and Hershel Shanks (author of Biblical Archeology Review) and the Biblical Archeology Society to their credit stepped in to fill the breach".
However, finally in September 1991, the archives were officially opened and two months later the 2-volume Facsimile Edition was published.
We have already read the words of Mr. Tom Harpur in the preface to his book:
"The most significant development since 1986 in this regard has been the discovery of the title "Son of God" in one of the Qumran papyri (Dead Sea Scrolls) used in relation to a person other than Jesus.....this simply reinforces the argument made there that to be called the Son of God in a Jewish setting in the first century is not by any means the same as being identical with God Himself."
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]For Christ’s Sake, Tom Harpur, pp. xii.
So why don’t we study these scrolls in a little more detail and see what else we can learn ?
The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of fragments from many manuscripts, however, some of the most interesting among them are the Pesher texts. The Pesher texts are strings of interpretations of Biblical verses compiled by the most knowledgeable among the Jews. The word itself is derived from the Hebrew root word p-sh-r, which means, "to explain". The texts consist of Biblical passages followed by the words pesher ha-davar "the interpretation of the matter is," and then the interpretation itself.
The basis of all of these texts is the notion that all of history is preordained by God. In other words, God is not restricted to looking at matters as "past", "present", or "future", rather, all of time is an open book to God (please read the verification of this concept in Islamic belief in chapter 11). Indeed, this is the essence of how prophets receive "prophesies", because God "sees" the future.
So, remembering that we are henceforth quoting from texts that have been carbon dated at about 100 years or more before the coming of Jesus (pbuh), and that this dating is confirmed by literary analysis, and that the authors were a sect of very religious and devout Jews, considering all of this let us see what they have to say:
Those who have studied the scrolls have noticed a common theme prevalent throughout these manuscripts, that is, most of the pesher texts prophesise the coming of a "Teacher of Righteousness" who will be sent by God to the Jews. This "Teacher of Righteousness" will be opposed by the "Teacher of Lies" and the "Wicked Priest." These scrolls also predict the coming of TWO messiahs. These two messiahs are referred to as a priestly and a temporal messiah. What we had here was a society of very devout Jews who were convinced that the time of the coming of the two messiahs was at hand, therefore, they set about preparing for their advent by detaching themselves from the mainstream society, and dedicating their lives to their worship and the preparation for their imminent arrival.
"According to the dominant view in the sectarian texts from Qumran, two messiahs were to lead the congregation in the End of Days, one priestly, and the other lay"
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman, pp. 321-322
In The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, by Robert Eisenman and Michael Wise, we read that the early scrolls spoke of TWO messiahs, but that later on, the communities of the Jews began to combine them into one messiah:
"As we have suggested, contrary to the well-known ‘two-Messiah’ theory of early Qumran scholarship, these references to the ‘Messiah of Aaron and Israel’ in the Damascus Document are singular not plural... and one possible explanation for it is that it is evoking a Messiah with both priestly and kingly implications, like the somewhat similar recitations of Hebrews"
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, Robert Eisenman and Michael Wise, p. 162
The Jews had prophesies of two messiahs. The first was best known to them for his "priestly" or "ecclesiastic" works which he would perform. The second was best known to them for his "kingly" or "military" works. These two prophesies refer to Jesus (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh). Jesus (pbuh) was best know for his "priestly" works. However, unlike prophets such as David and Moses (pbut), he never lead an army, he never established a kingdom or a government, nor did he call his followers to wage war. Quite the opposite, he always called to peace and submissiveness and to leave the rule of the land to others (Matthew 22:21). He told his followers that he yet had many things to teach them but they could not bear them yet and that another would be coming after him who would teach them the complete truth (John 16:7-14). Muhammad (pbuh) too began by preaching submissiveness and passiveness. However, his ministry was allowed by God Almighty to mature to a point where it was able to defend itself and establish justice in the earth and abolish evil. Thus, just as many Old Testament prophets had waged many wars against the pagans of the surrounding nations, so too Muhammad’s followers fought many wars in the name of God and the Islamic empire finally stretched from China to Spain. Even those who did not follow Muhammad (pbuh) knew him well. However, what did they know him for? They knew him for his "kingly" actions and not for the "priestly" side of him that his followers knew.
"And fight against them until persecution is no more and religion is for God alone. But if they desist then let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers"
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]The noble Qur’an, Al-Bakarah(2):193.
"Those unto whom We gave the Scripture recognize him (Muhammad) as they recognize their sons. But verily, a party of them conceal the truth while they know it"
[P ALIGN="RIGHT"]The noble Qur’an, al-Baqarah(2):146
Over time, the prophesies of the Jews began to become a little blurred, and this in addition to the continuous persecution of many nations towards the them eventually lead to their blending of these prophesies such that we find them in our present day to have combined them into one single prophesy wherein they await this one all-conquering wondrous event that would finally relieve them of their persecution and pave the way for them to march forth conquering all nations and establishing themselves as the protectors of the kingdom of God. However, as we can see from their prophesies, it was the second messiah who was to be known for his "kingly" works, not the first.
For this reason, when we read the Gospel of Barnabas we find that when the Jews ask Jesus (pbuh) whether he is "the messiah" he responds to them that he is not "the messiah" that they are expecting. This appears to be because Jesus understood their question to be deeper than a mere search for a title. They were not asking how to address him, rather, they wanted to know whether he was the one who would lead them in fulfillment of their hopes for leadership, power, and grandeur that they had been waiting for for so many centuries. For this reason, he told them that he was not "the Messiah", but that "the Messiah" they were waiting for would not come until later. He was referring to the SECOND messiah in their prophesies (please go back and read chapter 6.1 of this book). Indeed, both Muslims as well as Christians are unanimous that Jesus was the "Messiah" of God, however, Jesus appears in his response to have applied his wisdom and knowledge of his people and their expectations when answering their question.
Lawrence Schiffman says regarding Pesher Habakkuk:
"It (Pesher Habakkuk) describes the struggle
between the Teacher of Righteousness and his opponents - the Man
of Lies (also termed the Spouter or Preacher of Lies) and the
Wicked Priest[!--Wicked Priest--]. The Spouter is pictured
as heading a community. The dispute between the teacher and the
Spouter is seems to have been based on matters of religious interpretation
and law. The wicked priest is said to have begun his rule in truth
but then to have abandoned the way of truth. He then persecutes
the Teacher, confronting him on the holiest day of the year, the
Day of Atonement."
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 228
This prophesy continues in Pesher[!--Pesher texts--]
Psalms:
"This text also mentions the familiar dramatis
personae: the Teacher of Righteousness, termed 'the priest'; the
wicked priest; and the Man of Lies. The Wicked Priest[!--Wicked Priest--]
persecuted the Teacher and sought to kill him. The man of lies
lead people astray".
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 229
In Pesher[!--Pesher texts--] Psalms A 1 III 15-16
we read
"Its interpretation (Psalms 37:23) refers
to the priest, the Teacher of Righteousness whom God promised
would arise, for He (God) prepared (i.e., predestined) him (the
teacher) to build for Him a congregation".
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 120
What we begin to see in all of this is the story
of the coming of Jesus (pbuh), his selection of Judas as one of
the apostles, the deviance of Judas from the truth, how a sect
of the Jews persecuted Jesus (pbuh), how this sect tried to deceive
the masses and differed with Jesus (pbuh) regarding the truth
of God's message, and finally, how they schemed with Judas to
kill Jesus (pbuh). The Teacher of Righteousness[!--Teacher of Righteousness--]
is thus a reference to Jesus (pbuh); the "priestly"
messiah. The Wicked Priest[!--Wicked Priest--] is a reference
to Judas, and the Spouter of Lies[!--Spouter of Lies--] is most
likely the leader of the "chief priests and Pharisees"
who persecuted Jesus (pbuh) and are mentioned so often in the
Bible, or it may be a reference to Paul himself.
Many Christian scholars have snatched up these prophesies
in order to prove the validity of their claim that Jesus (pbuh)
was indeed sent by God and that the Jews are required to follow
him. However, they have been thwarted in their attempts by one
other quite amazing piece of evidence that the Jews continually
manage to refute their claims with, specifically, that the Dead
Sea Scrolls claim that the first messiah will be persecuted and
that the Wicked Priest[!--Wicked Priest--] will try to kill him,
but that the Wicked Priest will not be successful and that
it is he who will receive the fate he wished for the messiah[!--Dead Sea Scrolls, Messiah not crucified--].
"The Wicked Priest went so far as to lie
in ambush for the Teacher of Righteousness[!--Teacher of Righteousness--].
In interpreting Psalms 37:32, "The Wicked watches for the
righteous, seeking to put him to death," the text states:
'Its interpretation concerns the Wicked Priest who watched out
for the Teacher of Righteousness and sought to put him to death'
Pesher[!--Pesher texts--] Psalms A 1-10 IV 8-9"
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 233
So Judas will try to kill Jesus (pbuh).
In Pesher[!--Pesher texts--] Habakkuk 11:4-8 we read
"Its interpretation (Habakkuk 2:15) concerns
the Wicked Priest, who pursued the Teacher of Righteousness[!--Teacher of Righteousness--]
to swallow him up with his wrathful anger to the place of his
exile. And at the time of the day of rest of the Day of Atonement,
he (the Wicked Priest) appeared before them to swallow them up
and to make them stumble on the day of the fast of their abstention
from work."
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 120
"The Wicked Priest began his career with
the support of the sectarians, but he quickly lost his way and
began to transgress in order to increase his wealth".
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 233
Remember Matthew 26:15
"And said unto them, What will ye give me,
and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him
for thirty pieces of silver".
"Various theories have sought to identify
the Teacher with Jesus, claiming that he was executed by the Wicked
Priest. Had that been the case, the text would not have gone on
to explain how God took vengeance against the priest by turning
him over to the 'ruthless ones of the nations'. And according
to this text, the teacher certainly survived the ambush. Indeed
the entire passage is an interpretation of Psalms where the text
continues, "The Lord will not abandon him (the Righteous),
into his hand (the Wicked); He will not let him (the Righteous)
be condemned in judgment (by the wicked)."
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
pp. 233-234
The author goes on to quote Pesher[!--Pesher texts--]
Habakkuk with regard to the Wicked Priest[!--Wicked Priest--]'s
intentions and his punishment. He says:
"Ultimately, however, the Wicked Priest was
punished: '.. because of his transgression against the Teacher
of Righteousness and the men of his council, God gave him over
to the hands of his enemies to afflict him with disease so as
to destroy him with mortal suffering because he had acted wickedly
against His chosen one'. The Wicked Priest's enemies tortured
him which represents divine punishment for his attacks on the
Teacher of Righteousness. The sufferings of the Wicked Priest
are even more graphically described in another passage: 'and all
his enemies arose and abused him in order for his suffering to
be fit punishment for his evil. And they inflicted upon him horrible
diseases, and acts of vengeance in the flesh of his body'. The
one who suffered was the Wicked Priest, not the Teacher of Righteousness.
The enemies of the Wicked Priest, the nation against whom he had
made war, are said to have tortured him, so that his life ended
in mortal disease and affliction."
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 234
Pesher[!--Pesher texts--] Habakkuk 9:9-10 reads:
"Its interpretation (Habakkuk 2:8) concerns
the Wicked Priest, who, because of (his) transgression against
the Teacher of Righteousness[!--Teacher of Righteousness--]
and the men of his council, God handed over into the hands of
his enemies to afflict him..."
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 119
If we were to read the Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--],
we would find that when Judas came with the Roman troops in order
to betray Jesus (pbuh), God raised Jesus (pbuh) unto Him and saved
him. He then made Judas look and even speak like Jesus (pbuh)
so that the Romans dragged Judas away with them kicking and screaming
that he was not Jesus (pbuh) but Judas. Even the apostles were
totally bewildered.
After the Romans had their fill afflicting Judas
with all manner of abuse and torture, he was finally taken to
trial. He was asked many times whether he was Jesus (pbuh) and
each time he replied that he was not Jesus but Judas and that
Jesus had utilized his black magic in order to alter his form
and make him resemble Jesus. Of course, no one believed him. The
most his pleas succeeded in doing was to convince some that Jesus
was a lunatic. This turn of events appears to be supported by
the New Testament where we find that whenever Jesus was asked,
"art thou Jesus?" He would reply "Thou sayest"(Matthew
27:11, Mark 15:2). This would be a completely logical response
if he was not Jesus but Judas and he had been abused, ridiculed
and mocked to the point that he had given up all hope of being
believed. In other words, what Judas meant by "thou sayest"
was, "you will not believe me if I say otherwise, so why
fight it any more."
Judas' enemies (the Romans) then took him and resumed
their abuse. They mocked him, kicked him, cut him, spat on him,
humiliated him, and tortured him. Finally, they put him up on
the cross[!--Cross--]. It appears, however, that shortly after
they took him down, he disappeared from his tomb (perhaps to live
in disease and torment and die later on if he was not already
dead). The Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--] then goes
on to describe how Jesus (pbuh) returned to the apostles to tell
them of how God had saved him from the hands of the Jews and the
Romans, raised him up into heaven, and how the traitor (Judas)
was taken instead.
Once again this chain of events appears to be supported
by the New Testament where we find that uncertainty regarding
the fate of Judas has resulted in contradicting narrations in
it's different books. For example, in Matthew 27:5 Judas is depicted
as having felt severe remorse, handed over his blood money to
the custodians of the great Temple, and then gone out and hung
himself out of shame and remorse. However, in Acts 1:19 far from
displaying remorse, Judas is depicted as having purchased a field
with his ill gotten gains and then one day while he was out walking
he tripped, fell down, and his internal organs burst out. In this
manner, divine justice took vengeance against the traitor.
Conservative scholars have tried to harmonize these
two conflicting narrations for centuries now, trying to make sense
of how in one place it is Judas who purchased the field himself,
and in the other it is the chief priests who purchased it. Similarly,
in one place Judas died by hanging himself, and in the other he
triped and his bowels gush out. In one he was remorseful and in
the other he displayed no signs of remorse. As a partial solution
to this dilemma, some conservative scholars have suggested that
Judas hung himself, the rope broke, he fell down and then his
bowels gushed out. In other words, they have taken two contradictory
accounts, added in additional details found in neither one, and
then come up with a completely new account supported by neither.
As mentioned previously, it is quite possible that
the elusive Q document which Christian scholars believe to be
the source document for the first three Gospels, (Matthew, Mark
and Luke) is indeed the Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--].
This Gospel, once again, appears to have had a strong influence
on our current day New Testament, however, the denial of Judas
has now taken on various new forms, for example:
In one (Matthew 26:64), Jesus is taken before the
high priest who commands him to answer "whether thou be
the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus replies: "Thou
has said."
In the next Gospel (Mark 14:61), Jesus is asked the
question by the High Priest but this time he is depicted as having
answered it directly and courageously. In this version, Jesus
affirms "I am…"
However, In Luke 22:67, Jesus now returns to the
original "thou sayest" position, albeit with different
words. In this version he says: "If I tell you, ye will
not believe" Once again, confirming the narration of
the Gospel of Barnabas.
Further evidence in support of my assertion that
Q may in fact be the Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--]
is the fact that the final (Non-Synoptic) Gospel, that of John,
contains no mention of the High Priest's question or Jesus' claimed
reply. In the Johnine version (John 18:19-23), the questions and
answers are quite different than the first three Gospels. The
author of the Gospel of Mark appears to have modified the original
response in order to depict Jesus as fearlessly answering their
questions directly, and heroically standing his ground welcoming
their persecution with open arms. On the other hand the other
two (Matthew and Luke) still retain the original text reflecting
Judas' frustration in the face of the persecution he had intended
for his master.
For 1400 years now the Qur'an has been telling us
that Jesus (pbuh) was not forsaken by God to be killed by the
conspiracy of the Jews and Judas but that "it was made
to appear so unto them." Although we as Muslims may never
know for certain the details of how this transpired since the
Qur'an does not give us these details, still, we read:
"But when Jesus became conscious of their
disbelief, he cried: Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah?
The disciples said: We will be Allah's helpers. We believe in
Allah, and bear you witness that we have surrendered (unto Him).
Our Lord! We believe in that which You have revealed and we follow
him whom You have sent. Enroll us among those who witness (to
the truth). And they (the disbelievers) schemed, and Allah schemed
(against them): and Allah is the best of schemers"
The noble Qur'an, A'l-Umran(3):52-54.
"And because of their saying: We slew the
Messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger, and they slew him
not nor crucified, but a similitude of that was shown unto them;
and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof;
they have no knowledge thereof save the pursuit of conjecture;
for of a surety they slew him not"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Nissa(4):157
Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved
were cursed by the tongue of David and Jesus, son of Mary. That
was because they disobeyed and were ever transgressing. They used
not to forbid one another from the evil which they committed.
Vile indeed was what they used to do. You see many of them taking
the disbelievers as their protectors and helpers. Evil indeed
is that which their ownselves have sent forward before them, for
that (reason) Allah's Wrath fell upon them and in torment they
will abide. And had they believed in Allah, and in the Prophet
(Muhammad, pbuh) and in what has been revealed to him, never would
they have taken them (the disbelievers) as protectors and helpers,
but many of them are the rebellious, the disobedient to Allah.
Verily, you will find the strongest among men in enmity to the
believers (Muslims) the Jews and the polythiests, and you will
find the nearest in love to the believers (Muslims) those who
say: "We are Christians." That is because amongst them
are priests and monks, and they are not proud. And when they listen
to what has been sent down to the Messenger (Muhammad, pbuh),
you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth
they have recognised. They say: "Our Lord! We believe; so
write us down among the witnesses. "And why should we not
believe in Allah and in that which has come to us of the truth?
And we wish that our Lord will admit us (in Paradise) along with
the righteous people. So because of what they said, Allah rewarded
them Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), they will
abide therein forever. Such is the reward of gooddoers.
But those who disbelieved and belied Our signs they shall be the
dwellers of the (Hell) Fire.
The noble Qur'an, Al-Maidah(5): 78-86
The scrolls then go on to describe how "Kittim[!--Kittim--]"
(the Roman empire) and the kings of Greece would both try to take
Jerusalem (the symbol of the faithful), but that it would be Kittim
(the Romans) who would finally be successful. Remember how in
chapter one we described the stages of how the Roman empire eventually
took control of the whole Christian religion and "protected"
it and "spread" it after it was "clarified"
and it's doctrines established and preserved through Greek philosophy
and writing?
"Some texts also speak about an eschatological
prophet who will announce the coming of the messiah, a figure
similar to Elijah in the rabinnic tradition"
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 323
Once again, please read section 6.1 where it is made
abundantly clear that not only were the Jews expecting a prophet
to "clear the way" for Jesus (pbuh) and "announce"
him (this was John the Baptist[!--John the Baptist--]), but they
also expected a second messiah to come after Jesus (pbuh).
Referring to the manuscript titled The Rule of the
Community, verse 9:11-12, Mr. Schiffman says:
"this text unquestionably refers to two messiahs,
Dual Messiah prophesy who will be announced by an eschatological
prophet. Based on a the cave 4 manuscripts of Rule of the Community,
the original publication team argued that this passage was added
to the text later in the history of the sect. However, the evidence
in these manuscripts does not sufficiently support such an assertion.
As far as we can tell, the two-messiah concept was part of Rule
of the Community from the time it was composed".
Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman[!--Schiffman, Lawrence H.--],
p. 324
"Until the coming of the Prophet and both
the priestly and the lay Messiahs, these men are not to depart
from the clear intent of the law to walk in any way in the stubbornness
of their own hearts. They shall judge by the original laws in
which the community was schooled from the beginning"
Manual of Discipline 9:8-11 (The Dead Sea Scrolls
and Gospel of Barnabas)
"And these, in specific form, are the regulations
which they are to follow throughout the Era of Wickedness, until
the priestly and lay Messiahs enter upon their office expiate
and expiates their inequities"
Zadokite Document 14:18 (The Dead Sea Scrolls and
Gospel of Barnabas)
Mr M. A. Yusseff relates in his book:
"In the late second century, as the Memoirs
of Hegesippus says, a man was found collecting traditions about
the life and ministry of Jesus from the Nazarenes and Christians
in order to write a general ecclesiastical history. Whatever was
the nature of such an ecclesiastical history, one thing can be
said for sure that the traditions carried prophesies about the
Messiah who was to come after Jesus. So pervasive was their presence
in the ecclesiastical literature that even the Nicolaitans Church
of Rome retained them, though in a distorted from"
The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--],
and the New Testament, M. A. Yusseff, p. 109
To see how the Jews recognized these prophesies and
indeed acted upon them in anticipation of the arrival of their
final Messiah in Arabia, please read chapter 10.
"And when there came unto them (the Jews)
a Scripture from Allah, confirming that in their possession though
before that they were invoking Allah (for the coming of Muhammad,
the last Messiah) in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved,
then when there came unto them that which they had recognized,
they disbelieved in it. So let the curse of Allah be on the disbelievers"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Baqarah(2):89
The Dead Sea Scrolls make mention of many more quite
amazing and illuminating prophesies and parallels with the teachings
of the Qur'an and Islam. There are also many parallels with the
historical series of events presented in this book, such as the
reference to the "seekers of smooth things[!--Seekers of smooth things--]"
(simplifying the law of the religion) which sound amazingly similar
to the description of Paul and his followers who "simplified"
the religion of Jesus after his departure and removed all obligation
from it all the while claiming that his authority came directly
from "visions" of Jesus (pbuh). He is even quoted, while
preaching this removal of obligation and the law, as saying
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ"
2 Corinthians 11:3 (also see 2 Corinthians 1:12,
Romans 3:28, etc.)
"When the prayer was ended, the priest said
with a loud voice: 'Stay Jesus, for we need to know who you are,
for the quieting of our nation.' Jesus answered 'I am Jesus son
of Mary, of the seed of David, a man who is mortal and fears God,
and I seek that God be given honor and glory.' The priest answered,
'In the book of moses it is written that our God must send us
the Messiah, who shall come to announce to us that which God willed,
and shall bring to the world His mercy. Therefore, I pray, tell
us the truth, are you the Messiah of God whom we expect?' Jesus
answered 'It is true that God has so promised, but indeed I am
not he, for he was made before me, and shall come after me.' The
priest answered, 'By your words and signs at any rate we believe
you to be a prophet and a holy one of God. I pray in the name
of all Judea and Israel that you, for love of God, should tell
us how the Messiah will come.' Jesus answered, 'As God lives,
in whose presence my soul stands, I am not the Messiah whom all
of the tribes of the earth expect, even as God promised to our
father Abraham[!--Abraham--] saying: "In your seed will
I bless all of the tribes of the earth" But when God shall
take me away from the world, Satan will raise again this accursed
sedition, by making the impious believe that I am God the Son
of God. At such time, my words and my doctrine shall be contaminated
so much that scarcely shall there remain thirty faithful ones.
At that time, God will have mercy upon the world and will send
his messenger for whom He has made all things. He shall come from
the South with power and shall destroy the idols and the idolaters.
He shall take away the dominion which Satan has over men. He shall
bring with him the mercy of God for salvation of those who shall
believe in his words'"
The Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--],
96
"Then the disciples wept after this discourse,
and Jesus was also weeping, and when they saw many who came to
find him, for the chief of priests took council among themselves
to catch him in his talk. They sent the Levites and some of the
scribes to question him, saying, 'Who are you?' Jesus confessed
and said the truth, 'I am not the Messiah.' They said, 'Are you
Elijah or Jeremiah, or any of the other ancient prophets?' Jesus
answered 'No' Then they said, 'Who are you? Say, in order that
we may give testimony to those who sent us.' Then said Jesus,
'I am a voice that cries through all Judea, and cries, "Prepare
you the way for the messenger of the Lord," even as it is
written in Esaias.' They said, 'If you are not the Messiah or
Elijah, or any prophet, why do you preach new doctrine, and make
yourself more important than the Messiah?' Jesus answered, 'The
miracles which God works by my hands show that I speak that which
God wills; nor do I make myself to be accounted as him of whom
you speak. For I am not worthy to loosen the shoe straps of the
messenger of God whom you call "Messiah," who was made
before me, and shall come after me. And shall bring the words
of truth, so that his faith shall have no end.' The Levites and
the scribes departed in confusion, and recounted to the chiefs
of the priests, who said, 'He has the devil on his back who recounted
all to him'"
The Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--],
42
Mr. Yusseff says:
"In sir Godfrey Higgins' notable work Anacalypsis,
we are told that in the book of Haggi, the name of the Messiah
who was to come after Jesus appears in chapter two, verse seven:
'And the desire of all nations shall come' Here the Hebrew word
HMD* [translated as 'desire'], from
the Hebrew text appears in Sir Higgins' work with the following
explanation of the root word HMD. 'From this root,' (says Parkhurst,)
'The pretended prophet Mohammed, or Mahomet, had his name.' Sir
Higgins says, 'Here Mohammed' is expressly foretold by Haggi,
and by name; there is no interpolation here. There is no evading
this clear text and it's meaning, as it appeared to the mind of
the most unwilling of witnesses, Parkhurst, and a competent judge
too when he happened to not be warped by prejudice. He does not
suppress his opinion here, as he did in the Wisdom of the Jerusalem
Targum, because he had no object to serve; he did not see to what
this truth would lead."
The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--],
and the New Testament, M. A. Yusseff, pp. 110-111
Other Ancient Religions and Scriptures:
There is much more that could be said about the Dead
Sea Scrolls and their confirmation of the Qur'an and the mission
of Muhammad (pbuh), however, that will have to be left to a future
book where, God willing, many more examples of this sort shall
be analyzed in detail. However, before closing this topic, I would
like to pose the following question: Are the Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--]
and the Dead Sea Scrolls the only two ancient scriptures that
prophesy the coming of a final messenger of God from Arabia? This
was a question that I wrestled with for some time. Muslims are
told that Allah Almighty had been sending messengers since the
beginning of time to all of the nations of earth. They are also
told that each one of these messengers had prophesied to their
followers a number of matters, among them the coming of the "last
messenger" and also the coming of the "false Christ"
(whom Muhammad too warned his people of). A brief study of other
ancient scriptures available today has lead me to the conclusion
that it is indeed the case that many of these religions, no matter
their current state, appear to have at one point in time began
their life with a true messenger of God and that this messenger
of God prophesied the coming of Muhammad (pbuh). Although I have
not yet had sufficient opportunity to research this matter appropriately,
still, the initial indications appear to support this assertion.
Two very brief examples follow:
Example one: The Farsi
(Parsi) religion is one of the oldest known religions of mankind.
It was practiced in Persia for many centuries and consisted mainly
of two scriptures: the Dasatir and the Zand Avasta. In Dasatir
14 (Sasan11) we can find a very clear prophesy of Muhammad (pbuh):
"When the Persians should sink so low in
morality, a man will be born in Arabia whose followers will upset
their throne, religion and everything. The mighty stiff-necked
ones of Persia will be overpowered. The house which was built
(The Kaaba in Makkah built by prophet Abraham[!--Abraham--])
and in which many idols have been placed will be purged of idols,
and people will say their prayers facing towards it. His followers
will capture the towns of Parsis and Taus and Balkh and other
big places round about. People will embroil with one another.
The wise men of Persia and others will join his followers."
This prophesy requires no interpretation. It is an
exact description of matters that we now recognize as historical
fact (see end of chapter 10).
Example two: In the Hindu
scriptures too there is what appears to be a clear prophesy of
Muhammad (pbuh). In Bhavishya Purana he is actually mentioned
by name:
"Just an illiterate man with the epithet
Teacher, Muhammad by name, came along with his companions. Raja
(Bhoja in a vision) to that Great Diva, that denizen of Arabia,
purifying with the Ganges water and with the five things of cow
offered sandal wood and pay worship to him. O denizen of Arabia
and Lord of the holies, to thee is my adoration. O thou who hast
found many ways and means to destroy the devils of the world.
O pure one from among the illiterates, O sinless one, the spirit
of the truth and absolute master, to thee is my adoration. Accept
me at thy feet"
Bhavishya Purna Parv 3, Khand 3, Adhya 3, Shalok
5-8
For those who wish to see more, you are encouraged
to obtain a copy of the book "The Bible's Last Prophet,"
by Faisal Siddiqui, Al-Saadawi Publications.
Lawrence Schiffman says regarding Pesher[!--Pesher texts--]
Habakkuk:
Summary
In this book we have seen the evidence for
the following:
1) The very first Christians were Unitarians and
not "Trinitarians."
2) The apostles had never heard of a "Trinity[!--Trinity--]"
and abided strictly by a continuation of the law of Moses[!--Moses--]
which Jesus himself had also abided by during his lifetime and
continued to do so until the crucifixion.
3) St. Paul persecuted the followers of Jesus (pbuh)
and even presided over the death of some Christians such as Stephen.
4) Suddenly, St. Paul claimed that he was singled
out by Jesus' ghost to receive a divine revelation which was deprived
the apostles. He then considered himself more knowledgeable than
the apostles and considered them to be "hypocrites"
and even quite lazy misguided ones at that.
5) Even such fundamental verses as those describing
Paul's "salvation" and his heavenly "vision"
contain very serious discrepancies and even a sworn affidavit
by Paul himself that they were a fabrication.
6) St. Paul was responsible for changing almost every
single aspect of the religion of Jesus (pbuh) imaginable. He began
by relaxing specific laws of the religion of Jesus but in the
end discarded them all. He is the author of the majority of the
books of the New Testament[!--New Testament, Author of--] available
today.
7) Paul's church later went on to persecute and kill
any and all Christians who did not adopt their views.
8) The Trinitarian Church was a direct result of
the attempt to convert the Gentiles "by all means[!--St. Paul, Preaching method--]"
and which involved a gradual compromise in the founding doctrines
of Jesus' message. In the end this system of compromise became
so extensive that Pagan philosophy and theology began to find
it's way into it's doctrines. The concept of the "Trinity[!--Trinity--]"
was borrowed from the pagan Romans and Greeks in order to be able
to finally validate their doctrine of "Son of the Almighty."
This was done roughly two hundred years after the departure of
Jesus (pbuh). They then went about inserting "inspired"
verses into the Bible to validate their views, such as 1 John
5:7. Christian scholars tell us that these "inspired"
additions and "corrections" were continuing at least
until the fifteenth century.
9) Paul's church chose four Gospels which they themselves
approved of and then burned over three hundred other "unacceptable"
Gospels. Some of which were written by the apostles themselves
and which are recorded even to this day to have been accepted
as authentic back at a time when our present Gospels were considered
apocryphal. Their church also felt it necessary to destroy all
Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible and suffice with Greek and Latin
manuscripts.
10) God Almighty sent down the Qur'an upon Muhammad
teaching him Islam and informing him that the message of Jesus
(pbuh) had been tampered with and changed by mankind.
11) Unitarian Christians from North Africa and other
regions who had not yet been totally eradicated by the Pauline
church recognized the similarity between Islam and the religion
they had received from Jesus through the apostles (and not through
Paul). They became Muslims.
12) Copies of The Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--]
began to be discovered in the Vatican and other places but had
a tendency to "disappear" mysteriously. The official
viewpoint of the Pauline church was that the Gospel of Barnabas
was a Muslim forgery. The Gospel of Barnabas not only confirmed
virtually everything the Qur'an had been saying for fourteen hundred
years now, but also mentions Muhammad (pbuh) by name. It contains
an eye and ear witness account of Jesus' ministry by one of the
foremost apostles of Jesus (Barnabas) and not a hearsay account
from a "vision" by someone who never met Jesus (Paul).
13) The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the twentieth
century and countless similarities of content and doctrine were
observed between them and the Qur'an. They specifically mention
that there will be not one but TWO messiahs. They also confirm
the fact that the first messiah (Jesus, pbuh) will not be killed
on the cross[!--Cross--] but will be saved by God.
14) Today countless examples of very serious and
obvious contradictions can be found between the verses of Bible.
These contradictions are well known and documented and even such
eminent conservative Trinitarian Christians as Tischendorf[!--Tischendorf, Dr. Lobegott Friedrich Konstantin--]
found no recourse but to acknowledge them. Only one singe ancient
copy of the Bible was found to contain over 14,800[!--14,800 errors--]
"variant readings" and even our own modern Bibles are
estimated to contain around 50,000[!--50,000 errors--] errors
and contradictions. Once again proving the affirmations of the
Qur'an.
15) Even such scholars as the majority
of today's Anglican Bishops[!--Bishops, Anglican--] now
reject the divinity of Jesus (pbuh), and thus, the "Trinity,"
but recognize Jesus (pbuh) to be what Islam says he was: An very
elect (but mortal) messenger of God.
16) The scholars of the Old Testament are now agreed
that even the "five books of Moses," as we have them
today,[!--Moses--] were not written by Moses but were the result
of a very expert splicing of four different accounts of Moses's
ministry each written by a different tribe of the Jews.
17) When faced with all of this evidence the official
standpoint of most of the evangelists has now become a combination
of "Blind faith" and the application of abstraction
to all verses which do not sit well with them in a desperate attempt
to cling on to that which their own scholars have now recognized
as human tampering with the Gospel of Jesus (pbuh) and the previous
prophets.
18) Even science has now come to endorse the affirmation
of the Qur'an that it is from God. Many examples of scientific
statements have been critically studied by unbiased non-Muslim
scientists and have been shown to be completely accurate even
though mankind did not discover these facts until many centuries
after the death of Muhammad (pbuh). In fact, many of these matters
were not proven true until this century.
"O mankind! The messenger has come unto you
with the truth from your Lord. Therefore believe; [it is] better
for you. But if you disbelieve, still, Lo! unto Allah belongs
whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth, and Allah is the All-Knowing,
the Wise. O people of the scripture, do not exaggerate in your
religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The
Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary was only a messenger of Allah and
His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So
believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not "three."
Desist, [it is] better for you. Verily Allah is one God. Far exalted
is He above having a son. His is all that is in the heavens and
the Earth, and suffice in Allah as a Trustee. The Messiah will
never scorn to be the slave of Allah, nor will the favored angels.
Whosoever scorns His service and is proud, all such will He assemble
unto Him; Then, as for those who believed and did good works,
unto them will He pay their rewards in full and He will add unto
them from His bounty. And as for those who were scornful and proud,
them will He punish with a painful torture and they will not find
for themselves any other than Allah as a friend or a supporter"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Nissa(4):170-173.
I encourage all readers to objectively think about
what they have read and let their faith and mind join one-another
in order to arrive at the truth of God, the truth of Islam.
For those who would like to learn more I recommend
the books:
[LI]The Noble Qur'an. Abdullah Yousuf Ali translation,
or Marmaduke Pickthall translation, or Hilali and Khan translation.
In that order of preference. The last is the most scrupulously
correct, however, the first is the easiest to read.
[LI]"The Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--],"
notes by M. A. Yussuff, ISBN 0089295-133-1,
[LI]"Muhammad in the Bible", by Prof. Abdul-`Ahad
Dawud
[LI]"Jesus a Prophet of Islam," by Muhammad
`Ata ur-Rahim, ISBN 1-879402-07-6 (History of Christianity and
the Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--])
[LI]"The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gospel of Barnabas[!--Barnabas, Gospel of--],
and the New Testament," by M.A. Yusseff (Authenticity of
the Gospel of Barnabas) ISBN 0-89259-061-0
[LI]"The Choice," by Ahmed Deedat.
[LI]"Islam and Christianity in the modern world,"
by Dr. Muhammad Ansari
[LI]"Muhammad in the Bible," by `Abdul-Ahad
Dawud
[LI]"Blood on the cross[!--Cross--]," by
Ahmed Thomson, ISBN 0-907461-70-0
All Praises and glorification be to you O Allah,
and all thanks. I ask Your forgiveness and I repent unto you.
And peace be unto prophet Muhammad, upon his family, his Companions,
and all the prophets of Allah.
http://www.radiocarbon.org/deadsea.html
UA confirms Dead Sea Scrolls predate Christianity
By Jim Erickson
The Arizona Daily Star
[hr]
UA researchers have carbon 14-dated bits of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the results discredit the controversial theory that some of the texts may have been the work of early Christians.
I posted this article because I know that some christians accuse that muslims have written the dead sea scrolls (the content of the dead sea scrolls are very close to what the Qoran says !).
That theory was based in part on the contents of a scroll that University of Arizona researchers said was made before Christ was born.
The scrolls consist of some 800 manuscripts in Hebrew and Aramaic that were discovered in caves east of Jerusalem, near the ruins of Qumran on the Dead Sea, between 1947 and 1956.
They include the oldest known manuscripts of books from the Old Testament, and their discovery is considered one of the great archaeological finds of the century.
Traditionally, the scrolls are viewed as the work of an ascetic Jewish sect, the Essenes, who lived in a monastery near the caves between about 200 B.C. and 100 A.D.
``But there is a school of thought that says that some of these scrolls - the Habakkuk in particular - refer to some Christian leader, maybe Christ or John the Baptist,'' said UA researcher A.J. Timothy Jull.
A commentary on the first two chapters of the biblical Book of Habakkuk was one of the 18 texts dated at the UA lab. The results, announced yesterday in Tucson and Jerusalem, have been submitted for publication in the journal Atiqot and elsewhere.
``The fact that this particular scroll (the Habakkuk commentary) dates to before the Christian era tends to eliminate the possibility that a follower of Christ could have written it,'' Jull said yesterday.
There is a 95 percent probability that the parchment from the Habakkuk commentary dates to between 150 B.C. and 5 B.C., Jull said.
The UA results lend weight to the conventional chronology of the scrolls, obtained by analyzing the script style, a technique called paleography.
``Some of the papyrus samples bear exact written dates within the text itself. These dates match those determined by the carbon-14 measurements,'' the Israel Antiquities Authority stated in a news release. ``The reliability of paleography as a dating method is thus confirmed.''
Critics like Robert H. Eisen-man of California State University at Long Beach have questioned the reliability of dates obtained by paleography.
Eisenman has backed the idea that some of the scrolls may have been the work of early Christians. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The UA results also agree with dates for other Dead Sea Scrolls obtained by a Swiss carbon-dating lab in 1990, said UA physics professor Douglas Donahue, who runs the Arizona Accelerator Mass Spectrometer Laboratory.
As a control measure, the UA lab dated a piece of scroll that had previously been dated by the Zurich lab. Without knowing the date achieved by the Zurich lab, the Tucson lab arrived at an ``identical result,'' Jull said.
Donahue and Jull measured the amount of radioactive carbon in fingernail-sized pieces of parchment, papyrus and linen.
The text samples were cut from the ragged edges of top or bottom margins at two Jerusalem museums in March 1994, as Jull and Donahue looked on. Linen was used to wrap the scrolls.
The samples were dated in the UA's tandem accelerator mass spectrometer, the same machine that proved in the late 1980s that the Shroud of Turin dates to the Middle Ages.
The Arizona accelerator is the first of its kind dedicated exclusively to radiocarbon dating, and more than 12,000 samples have been dated since the early 1980s. It is much faster than conventional radiocarbon-dating machines and can deliver accurate dates with much smaller samples.
Many of the Dead Sea Scrolls were published shortly after the discoveries began in 1947. But others were unavailable, except to an official editing team, until the Huntington Library of San Marino, Calif., broke the embargo by making photographs of the scrolls available to all scholars in September 1991.
In 1992, Eisenman and Michael Wise published ``The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered,'' in which they printed the original text and English translations of 50 scrolls. It was the first time the manuscripts were available to non-specialist readers interested in the age in which Christianity was born and Judaism took definitive shape.
Eisenman has said the scrolls describe a messianic movement that, in its later stages, was virtually indistinguishable from the rise of Christianity. His alleged ``Christianization'' of the scroll material outraged other scholars.
``Wholesale theft from the Jewish people,'' is how Lawrence H. Schiffman of New York University described it to the Associated Press in December 1992.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, believed to be the remains of a library, come from 11 caves in the cliffs of Qumran, 10 miles east of Jerusalem. The initial discovery was made when an Arab herdsman searching for a strayed goat found scrolls wrapped in linen and deposited in jars.
In addition to the oldest known versions of some Old Testament books, the scrolls include long-lost originals of several books of the Apocrypha and non-biblical Jewish religious works such as the books of Enoch, Jubilees, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.
Besides the religious texts there are secular documents - including military dispatches and legal writs.
All living things contain the radioactive form of carbon, carbon 14. As long as an organism is alive, the amount of radioactive carbon in its tissues remains at a fixed level.
At death, an organism ceases to take carbon 14 from the environment. The radioactive carbon in the tissue decays at a constant, known rate, which provides a natural clock that can be used to date organic matter.
[HR]
[B]
You can read and download the GOB here:
http://www.barnabas.net/chapter_index.htm
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 31-03-02 AT 03:03 AM (GMT)]Salaam all!
This is a long response. If you only skim through, I suggest reading under Conclusion. To make it a little shorter, I'll try not to bring up non-issues, the little stuff, which don't tell us more about the truth of Allah.
Majority by Paul
St. Paul who is credited with single-handedly writing the majority of the books of the New Testament
No, the count is 13 to 14. Paul with 13.
Gospel of Barnabas
I read the Gospel of Barnabas some time ago. Artistically, I think it's wonderful. The images of hell are fantastic and once in a while Jesus brings up interesting points about morals. Historically, it's pretty sad. However, I've written a lot and discuss the accuracy in a later post.
The cute bit about Christians burning gospels is also false and I'll reply to later.
Qumran Prophesies
The article makes extensive references showing how three characters, the Teacher, the wicked priest, and the man of lies connect to Jesus, Judas, and Paul respectively.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are written in 35 volumes, that's thousands of pages. It is very easy to take passages out of context and apply them to people, especially when the passages are vague like these. If I could, I'd refute the author, but I can't simply because I don't have the resources.
I can bring up the question, if the prophesies are so clear, why didn't the Qumran Jews accept Jesus?
Another question is, why does the author rely on unknown authors as prophets? In Jewish history we see many Muslim prophets are accepted as prophets. Around 12 I think. So why are these "Muslim" prophets rejected by the rest of the Jews who don't carry on their prophesies?
It is now commonly accepted that the sect's founder, an unknown personality referred to in the scrolls as the "Teacher of Righteousness," established the community in the second half of the 2nd century BCE.
http://www.imj.org.il/shrine/generalnew.html
This site is written on the Scrolls, and the reliability of these scholars seems much better than the author of this book as I'll discuss later.
Second Messiah
The article says the second of the two messiahs was Muhammad. However, what it does not mention is the crucial point that the first messiah was to be from the line of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel and Moses' brother, the second messiah was to be of the line of David. The Jewish Bible is very clear on that. This is very obvious. Every Jew from every know this. Why didn't the article mention it?
Pesher Habbakuk
In Pesher Habakkuk 11:4-8 we read
"Its interpretation (Habakkuk 2:15) concerns the Wicked Priest, who pursued the Teacher of Righteousness to swallow him up with his wrathful anger to the place of his exile. And at the time of the day of rest of the Day of Atonement, he (the Wicked Priest) appeared before them to swallow them up and to make them stumble on the day of the fast of their abstention from work."
However,
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy venom thereto, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! (Habbakuk 2.15)
Where does the interpretation come from? The article also says,
Pesher Habakkuk 9:9-10 reads:
"Its interpretation (Habakkuk 2:8) concerns the Wicked Priest, who, because of (his) transgression against the Teacher of Righteousness and the men of his council, God handed over into the hands of his enemies to afflict him..."
But,
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein. (Habbakuk 2.8)
This doesn't fit Judas because Judas, Gospel of Barnabas says, was crucified by the Romans but the verse says the "remnant of the peoples" will kill him. Rome was not a remnanant, it was the largest empire in history. Rome was neither of peoples, it was one people.
"Art Thou King?"
Where we find that whenever Jesus was asked, "art thou Jesus?" He would reply "Thou sayest"(Matthew 27:11, Mark 15:2).
But,
And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto them, Thou sayest it. (Gospel, Mark 15.2)
And Jesus stood before the governor (Pilate): and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. (Gospel, Matthew 27.11)
What is the article quoting? And does even this fit Judas, as the article says? The article says that no one believed him that he was Judas, so he gave in to being called Jesus. But his accusers, the Jews, call him King of the Jews? Absolutely not. Even Pilate, a Roman? No.
Does it fit Jesus? I think it does. Jesus is willing to die. He wants to die. He says of his death, "it is for this reason I have come into the world." He doesn't need to put a fight spend time. He knows what will happen, so he's just moving the trial along. The article quoted the KJV translation, which has a weak translation here. Better translations like the NASB translate in, "It is as you say." I've read the info behind before, but don't remember it. Further, John quotes more of the same conversation in his gospel, "My kingdom is not of this world. Is that like Judas?
Judas
As for Judas' death in the Bible, he hung himself. He didn't by the field hilmself, the priests did and put Judas in it afterword. There his organs spilled out. It has nothing to do with divine justice in any case, only guilt. No contradiction.
The Trial
Further evidence in support of my assertion that Q may in fact be the Gospel of Barnabas is the fact that the final (Non-Synoptic) Gospel, that of John, contains no mention of the High Priest's question or Jesus' claimed reply. In the Johnine version (John 18:19-23), the questions and answers are quite different than the first three Gospels.
True. However, the trial lasted from late the night before until early the next morning. Should all the gospel writers have written everything, it would have taken too much space. John took the parts pertaining to his purpose and the others to their purpose.
John writes differenly because he has a different purpose. This is not just in the trial scenes, but his whole gospel. Some parts are the same, some different. While the three other writes emphasized Jesus' down to earth teaching, John emphasizes his philosiphical teaching.
But are they too different? The synoptics contain the son of God question. John has a different question. No other differences. That's about equal to the other differences between gospels so it's nothing out of the ordinary. Thus the trial is no different from the rest of Jesus' life and does not support his theory.
The author of the Gospel of Mark appears to have modified the original response in order to depict Jesus as fearlessly answering their questions directly, and heroically standing his ground welcoming their persecution with open arms. On the other hand the other two (Matthew and Luke) still retain the original text reflecting Judas' frustration in the face of the persecution he had intended for his master.
Now where does this come from? In Mark, the only quoted words of Jesus are the "It is as you say." and "you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
In Matthew, the only quoted words of Jesus are the "It is as you say." How is that frustration? In Luke there are these words plus "If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." There is also the short admission that he is the son of God. This could be interpreted frustration, but not necessarily.
The silence of the texts make it clear that Jesus did very little speaking at the trial. Often not more than what was required by him.
Misquotation
This turn of events appears to be supported by the New Testament where we find that whenever Jesus was asked, "art thou Jesus?" He would reply "Thou sayest"(Matthew 27:11, Mark 15:2).
You can check http://bible.gospelcom.net/ and check 13 translations. More if you know another language. Not a single one says "art thou Jesus?" From this we can conclude either one of the following:
1 The author was purposefully deceiving his audience.
2 The author was accidently deceiving his audience. If so, it also means all of the fol
Greetings JBJ,
The article I posted was taken from:
http://wings.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim/library/jesus-say/contents.html
The email adres of "the writer" (at least someone by whom you can go with questions or comments) is:
Muslim-SA@acsu.buffalo.edu
Let me correct some of your points, the points which I dont handle....you can find them in the link here above otherwise I will give you the references to my sources.
You say:
Majority by Paul
St. Paul who is credited with single-handedly writing the majority of the books of the New Testament
No, the count is 13 to 14. Paul with 13.
This is your claim....
I claim, that "most" of the parts(=NT) of the Bible are written by Paul and not by 13 or 14 people.
The proof for this has already been given by people who have researched and took many years the pains for it. And check some of the results about the autors of the gospels:
The Gospel of Mark:
"Although there is no direct internal evidence of authorship, it was the unanimous testimony of the early church that this Gospel was written by John Mark. (From the NIV Bible Commentary, page 1488)"
So, in reality, we don't really know whether Mark was the sole author of this Gospel or not. And since The New Testament wasn't even documented on paper until 150-300 years (depending on what Christian you talk to) after Jesus, then how are we to know for sure that the current "Gospel of Mark" wasn't written by some pro of Mark?
I hope you see the real danger in making these assumptions when you are willing to DIE for the fact that such Gospel is the actual True Word of GOD Almighty!
Further regarding this Gospel, we read the following commentary about Mark 16:9-20:
"Serious doubts exists as to whether these verses belong to the Gospel of Mark. They are absent from important early manuscripts and display certain peculiarities of vocabulary, style and theological content that are unlike the rest of Mark. His Gospel probably ended at 16:8, or its original ending has been lost. (From the NIV Bible Foot Notes, page 1528)"
The Books of Paul:
Before we start on the analysis of Paul's Books, we must first know that Paul who's Books are believed to be inspired by GOD Almighty Himself and who is a disciple of Jesus peace be upon him never actually met Jesus in person. Jesus had 12 disciples when he was on earth. Paul was not one of them!. Paul much later after the disappearance of Jesus came and claimed that Jesus came to him and ordered him to be his disciple. Paul is really taken on faith only and not on proofs. He could be well be another smart deceiver who made his way into the world of the current corrupted Bible (sorry if I offended you).
[link:http://www.answering-christianity.com/paul_docs.htm |Please visit: Famous Theologians and Historians believe that Paul was not truthful.]
[link:http://www.answering-christianity.com/scholars_refute.htm |Christian Scholars refuting the status of the NT as an inspired scripture.]
The Book of Romans:
"The writer of this letter was the apostle Paul (see 1:1). No voice from the early church was ever raised against his authorship. (From the NIV Bible Commentary, page 1705)"
And so on...I think it is really worth to visit the following site and check the whole list:
http://www.answering-christianity.com/authors_gospels.htm
Misquotation
This turn of events appears to be supported by the New Testament where we find that whenever Jesus was asked, "art thou Jesus?" He would reply "Thou sayest"(Matthew 27:11, Mark 15:2).
You can check http://bible.gospelcom.net/ and check 13 translations. More if you know another language. Not a single one says "art thou Jesus?" From this we can conclude either one of the following:
1 The author was purposefully deceiving his audience.
2 The author was accidently deceiving his audience. If so, it also means all of the fol
Matthew 27:11
And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
Mark 15:12
And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?
Taken from http://www.cforc.com/kjv/index.html
So....?
Hi Jalaal,
I'm glad you responded, I was wondering if you weren't going to. I don't know why my response was cut, I'll see if I made a copy of it somewhere else to attach. Sorry about all that italics too, I for one get really annoyed when others do that.
First about Paul and the majority. The author says Paul wrote the majority of the books in the NT, when he didn't. Yeah, only down by 2. It's not the fact that's important to me, it's the integrity of the author. Either that or his counting skills.
The Bible was written by around 40 other people, so Paul would have quite the job of ruining the whole thing. If he did, there'd be contradictions between his writings and the writings of others. For example, if you added Paul's writings to the Qur'an, there'd be problems. Yet, there is not one contradiction of dogma in the entire Bible!
You quoted from Osama Abdallah from answering-christianity.com. I read most of the articles on his site about six months ago and wish I hadn't wasted my time. If anyone doesn't like answering-islam.org, you should HATE Abdallah, he's much worse. For example,
And since The New Testament wasn't even documented on paper until 150-300 years (depending on what Christian you talk to) after Jesus
That is a bold faced lie. You can ask me, Jcecil, Netcurtains, Vancouver, or any Christian who knows anything about Biblical dates and he/she'll tell you everything in the NT was written before 100 AD. That's 67 years after Jesus, not 150, not 300. And that's liberal dating! Most put Revelation at around 90 AD and the first account of Jesus' life 30 years after him. Some put the first at, I believe, 15 years. Abdallah is off by an entire magnitude. That's enough to distrust him.
Paul who's Books are believed to be inspired by GOD Almighty Himself and who is a disciple of Jesus peace be upon him never actually met Jesus in person.
No. They did meet. The event is mentioned at least 4 different times. However, did Bukhari or Muslim meet Muhammad or Gabriel?
Paul is really taken on faith only and not on proofs.
This is a deceitful coverup. Osama tries to shirt attention away from the fact that no matter what Paul's background or history, he still wouldn't believe his letters. Does he believe the book or letters of John? What about Peter? Matthew? Judas? They were all with Jesus for at least 3 years. None of these men match the Muslim ideas, does Abdallah accept them? And what about James? He knew Jesus for 30 years! If this isn't the "proof" Osama wants, why doesn't he wrestle with these men? Instead he distracts readers by showing how "obvious" it is that Paul isn't historical.
Your link isn't worth it at all, and I seriously advise you not use Abdallah. He takes things out of context (I own the NIV book he quotes from) to make his points. No serious scholar would give him the time of day.
For example, he starts his page by quoting Jermiah 8.8, as he does many other times on his site. Even though Jeremiah was written hundreds of years before Jesus, he still jumps to the conclusion that because the Law was handled falsely, the entire Bible is worthless. (Even when the Qur'an quotes from part of it! I might add.) Jcecil and I both responded to the meaning of this verse earlier. If you value scholarship at all, don't believe anything he says until you hear the other side. Don't believe everything you read. If you see a point you think is particularly strong, bring it up. I'd respond to all of it except that it's so long and ridden with mistakes.
The Scrolls author misquotes the Bible which as I said, before, is pretty important. He's either a liar or just a terrible scholar. By inserting "Jesus" after "art thou" he implies that the Bible doesn't support that the man put to death was Jesus. If it was a simple typo, then it wouldn't matter. But this man is twisting the words of the Bible, purposefully or unpurposefully. How can anyone believe him?
JBJ
I sternly believe in not quoting other people's work, but doing the research yourself and representing it yourself. However, as I don't have any access to the Dead Sea Scrolls, I couldn't rebutt the author in regards to the prophecies. Thus I'm quoting the only place I could find a rebuttal, http://www.answering-islam.de/Responses/Al-Kadhi/r07.html. This is pretty long, so if you don't want to read it I understand. I couldn't get through all of it. Just realize that the Qumran had nothing to do with predicting Paul or Muhammad.
Begin quote:
PROBLEMS WITH IDENTIFYING JESUS WITH THE TEACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS :
The Teacher of Righteousness started his ministry in the year 176 B.C.
In the fragment called 4Q171, the Teacher of Righteousness was described as the founder of the sect (commonly called congregation or community, yahad in the manuscripts):
"Its prediction refers to the Priest, the Teacher of Righteousness, whom God chose to stand in front of him, for he installed him to found the congregation of his chosen ones for him, and straightened out his path, in truth." (4Q171 III 15-17)
In the Damascus Document, the history of the Qumran sect was traced. It described the beginning of the sect in a place called "Damascus", hence the name of this manuscript. A medieval copy of this manuscript was found in the genizah of a Cairo synagogue.
In the Age of Wrath, 390 years after he [God] put them into the power of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, he visited them and made to grow from Israel and from Aaron a root of planting to inherit his land to grow fat on the goodness of the soil. And they discerned their iniquity and they knew that they were guilty men. They were as blind men and as those who grope for the way for 20 years. Then God discerned their deeds, that they had sought him with a whole heart; so he raised up for them a Teacher of Righteousness to guide them in the way of his heart. (Damascus Document I 5-11)
Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar in the year 586 B.C. Add to this 390 and 20 gives us the year 176 B.C., coming within 16 years of the reign of the Hasmonean king and priest Jonathan Macabbeaus. Thus, if Jesus was the Teacher of Righteousness, then Jesus must have lived in the year 176 B.C.!
The Teacher of Righteousness was distinct from the Messiah-priest.
From the Damascus Document :
And thus, all the men who entered the new covenant in the land of Damascus and turned and betrayed and departed from the well of living waters, shall not be counted in the assembly of the people and shall not be inscribed in their [lis]ts, from the day of the session of the unique Teacher until there arises the messiah of Aaron and Israel. [blank] (CD XIX 33 - XX 1).
Thus, there was a period of time between the Teacher and the Messiah of Aaron (the Messiah-priest) and Israel (the Messiah-king), where the community will be in existence and where those betrayers will be excommunited from the community. The author's identification of Jesus as the Teacher and Messiah-priest is problematic, even as we look at the next problem :
The Teacher was never called the Messiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
There is not one shred of evidence in the whole vast library of the Qumran manuscripts that equates the Teacher, who was the founder of the sect, with the Messiah to come in the Last Days.
The Teacher was very aware of his sins.
"I am a clay pot, compounded of water, a shameful secret, a fountain of filth, a caldron of iniquity, a figure of sin, an erring and perverse spirit, without understanding, fearful of righteous judgment." (Thanksgiving Scroll I 21-23)
Such a description of sin in the Teacher is completely alien to the description of Jesus in the Bible or in the Qur'an. Christians and Muslims alike believe that Jesus was completely sinless, thus the author's thesis contradicted Islam. Moreover, this description of sin disqualifies the Teacher from being a prophet in Islam.
The Teacher died.
In discussing the date of composition of the Damascus Document, Michael A. Knibb explained :
The Damascus Document twice refers to the death of the teacher of righteousness, apparently as a fairly recent event (see XIX, 35 b - XX, 1a; XX, 13b - 15a), and these sections occur in a section (XIX, 33b - XX, 22a) which seem to belong to the latest layer within the work. However little we know about the teacher, it is clear that he belongs in the second century B.C.E., and this suggests a date of composition at the end of the second century or the beginning of the following era. (in Wise, Michael O., Golb, Norman, Collins, John J. and Pardee, Dennis, G. ed. Methods of Investigation of the Dead Sea Scrolls and The Khirbet Qumran Site - Present Realities and Future Prospects, 1994, p. 150)
Of course, this clearly goes against traditional Islamic teaching, unless the author is an Ahmadiyya.
The Teacher was a Zadokite
Another problem relates to the priestly origin of the Teacher, who was clearly a Zadokite (ie. sons of Zadok). Only the descendents of Zadok were eligible to become the Chief Priest at the Temple. Although the Qumran community do not view the Temple priests as legitimate, there was no evidence in all the manuscripts that the Qumran community separated from the Temple group because of this matter. Instead, the difference was in the interpretation of several matters of law, as was clear from the letter the Teacher wrote to the Wicked Priest (elaborated later). The importance of the Priesthood in the Qumran community cannot be overstated : the whole community was to be led by priests, and priests will teach the Messiah-king in the last days. Their title very clearly implied that the Teacher of the sect must be a Zadokite.
The human ancestry of Jesus did not lie in the Levitic line (let alone a Zadokite), but from the line of Judah through David. Moreover, there was no evidence that Jesus was actually a priest in the Old Testament sense.
Christians interpret the human geneology in Luke 3:23-37 as being that of Mary. Yet, this list clearly showed Mary to a descendent of David, thus a descendent of Judah, not Levi. The list in Matthew 1 also showed that Joseph was not a Levite. Thus, the Bible clearly showed that Jesus cannot be a Zadokite.
Some Muslims might say that Mary was a Levite, where in the Qur'an she was given the title "sister of Aaron" (Sura 19:28), and that her cousin's husband, Zechariah, served in the temple. The tile "sister of Aaron" was a rather puzzling title involving two persons separated by around 2,000 years. Al-Baidhawi, for example, believed that this meant that Mary was a Levite. Some Muslim writers said that "Mary the sister of Moses was miraculously preserved alive from his time till that of Jesus Christ, purposely to become the mother of Jesus" (Koran, p.34, note x on 'Imran'", quoted by Abdul-Haqq). Husain maintained that the Aaron in Surah 19:28 was not the same as brother of Moses (quoted by Hughe's Dictionary, p.328). In the Sahih of Muslim, chapter Kitab al-Adab, it was recorded that Christians of Najran pointed out to Al-Mughairah this mistaken identity. He consulted Muhammd and his answer was the Jews have many names, totally unable to explain what that title meant. I have also heard other Muslims say that this was because they were both believers, but that certainly don't make all the prophets or Muslims Levites. The fact that Zechariah was a Levite does not mean that Zechariah's wife was also a Levite, much less a cousin of his wife. Indeed, the Qur'an cannot tell us if Mary was a Levite, and we have to conclude that that was simply a conjecture, that was contradicted by the Bible, and not supported anywhere else.
Furthermore, even if Mary is a Levite, Joseph was still not one, and Jesus still cannot be a Levite. A recent discovery (UPI Science News, Jan 1st, 1997; Reuter Jan 1st, 1997) by Karl Skorecki and his colleagues at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa discovered that members of the priesthood have an uncommon Y chromosone that is remarkably similar to each other, but remarkably dissimilar to lay Jewish members, again clearly supporting the Bible that said that priesthood passed from the males only.
What is the concept of Priesthood in Islam?
The importance of the priesthood in the Qumran community cannot be overstated. The Community was led by priests, and in the Last Days, the Community will also be led by the Messiah-priest (and the Messiah-king) who will teach the whole Community and the Messiah-king (see below).
Islam, on the other hand, does not have a concept of priesthood. The priest in Judaism stands between God and man, atoning the sins of the latter with sacrifices. Such a sacrificial and ecclesiastical system is totally alien to Islam. Does Islam believe that the Madhi and Jesus, who are coming in the Last Days, are priests?
PROBLEMS WITH IDENTIFYING MUHAMMAD WITH THE MESSIAH-KING
Both the Messiah-priest and Messiah-king will appear together in the Last Days.
The author quoted Schiffman on the Rule of the Community 9:11-12 :
"this text unquestionably refers to two messiahs, Dual Messiah prophesy who will be announced by an eschatological prophet. Based on a the cave 4 manuscripts of Rule of the Community, the original publication team argued that this passage was added to the text later in the history of the sect. However, the evidence in these manuscripts does not sufficiently support such an assertion. As far as we can tell, the two-messiah concept was part of Rule of the Community from the time it was composed".
But what was missed out of the picture was that the two Messiahs expected by the Qumranians are to appear together in the End Days. The author ignored what Schiffman said :
"According to the dominant view in the sectarian texts from Qumran, two messiahs were to lead the congregation in the End of Days, one priestly, and the other lay" (Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, pp. 321-322).
which the author also quoted (the DSS manuscripts are Manual of Discipline VI 2-8 and Rule of the Congregation II 11-16 (quoted later)). But this definitely contradicts Islamic eschatological beliefs. We know that many Muslims believe that Jesus will come again in the Last Days, some Muslims identifying Him with the Madhi, but most Muslims believing the Madhi is not Jesus, but no where in Islamic eschatology do we find the claim that Muhammad is to come again with Jesus in the Last Days, and be able to participate in the communal meal together.
If we accept that Jesus was the Messiah-priest, as the author mentioned, if we are to be consistent, then either Muhammad was not the Messiah-king (because Jesus was the Messiah-priest and the Messiah-king has to appear with Him), or that Muhammad will come in the Last Days (with Jesus) or that Muhamamd was the Madhi (since he appears with Jesus). I know of no such doctrine among Muslims. The more we looked at the details, the harder it is getting for this theory to stick.
A prophet will herald the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel in the Last Days.
Coupled with the above problem is the appearance of an eschatological prophet which the author quoted :
"Some texts also speak about an eschatological prophet who will announce the coming of the messiah, a figure similar to Elijah in the rabinnic tradition" (Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, p. 323)
The relevant text from the Dead Sea Scrolls read :
"They should not depart from any counsel of the law in order to walk in complete stubbornness of their heart, but instead shall be ruled by the first directives which the men of the Community begun to be taught until the prophet comes, and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel. [blank] (Rule of the Community, 1QS IX 9-11)
This prophet is to come in the Last Days heralding the coming of the Messiah-priest and the Messiah-king. But again, this is a contradiction to Islam, for Islam believes that Muhammad is the Last (Seal) of the Prophets and no other prophet is to come after him (ie. Last Days). Thus, the appearance of an eschatological prophet presents a theological problem to the author's thesis.
The Messiah-king was also called the Branch/Shoot of David.
At various places, the Messiah-king was also called the Branch/Shoot of David (eg. 4Q285), ie. a person arising out of the line from David. Was Muhammad a descendent of David? If not, how did he relate to this distinctively Jewish title? On the other hand, the Bible said :
"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." (Revelations 22:16)
The Messiah-king was also called the Messiah of Israel.
As seen from 1QS IX 9-11, the Messiah-priest was also called the Messiah of Aaron and the Messiah-king the Messiah of Israel. Was Muhammad an Israelite? How was he the Messiah of Israel, who was supposed to come and establish the Kingdom of Israel again, back to the former glorious days of David? Can the modern nation of Israel use 1QS IX 9-11 to stake their claim of Palestine, to the chagrin of Muslims around the world? The author clearly cannot understand the enormity of the implications of his theory.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MESSIAH-PRIEST AND MESSIAH-KING
The Messiah-priest has higher rank than the Messiah-king.
The Manual of Discipline 6:2-8 ordains a communal meal which begins with a priest's blessing over the bread and wine. Likewise, the Rule of the Community 2:11-12 legislates the same meal where the members, led by the priest who is followed by the "messiah of Israel", sit according to rank. The blessing of the bread and wine is done again in the identical order or rank: the priest, the messiah of Israel, and the remainder of the congregation." (Neil S. Fujita, A Crack in the Jar, 1986, p. 150-151).
Going by the interpretation of the author, Jesus the Messiah-priest has higher rank than Muhammad the Messiah-king.
The Messiah-king will be taught by priest, thus by the Messiah-priest.
[The interpretation of the word concerns the shoot] of David which will sprout [in the final days, since with the breath of his lips he will execute] his enemies and God will support him with [the spirit of] courage [...] throne of glory, [holy] crown and hemmed vestments [...] in his hand. He will rule over all the peoples and Magog [...] his sword will judge all the peoples. And as for what he says: "He will not [judge by appearances] or give verdicts on hearsay," its interpretation: [...] according to what they teach him, he will judge, and upon his mouth [...] with him will go out one of the priests of renown, holding clothes in his hand. (4QpIsaa III 18-25, also known as 4Q161)
If the Messiah-king is to be taught by the priests, then clearly he is also to be taught by the chief of priests, the Messiah-priest also called the Messiah of Aaron. Therefore, if Jesus was the Messiah-priest, and Muhammad the Messiah-king, then Jesus will teach Muhammad.
PROBLEMS WITH IDENTIFYING JUDAS ISCHARIOT AS THE WICKED PRIEST:
The Wicked Priest was a priest
The Wicked Priest was most definitely a priest in the Old Testament sense, i.e. he served in the Temple and presided over the Old Testament feasts. If Judas was the Wicked Priest, then Judas must be a priest, but we have no evidence that Judas was a priest at all.
The Wicked Priest ruled over Israel
The most forceful piece of evidence that Judas cannot be the Wicked Priest was that he RULED OVER ISRAEL. The author quoted Schiffman :
"... The wicked priest is said to have begun his rule in truth but then to have abandoned the way of truth. He then persecutes the Teacher, confronting him on the holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement." (Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, p. 228)
The relevant portions of Habakkuk pesher described the Wicked Priest as being "called according to the name of truth at the beginning of his service, but when he had ruled in Israel, his heart became proud and he forsook God and betrayed the commandments for wealth." (1QpHab VIII 9-11).
But the fact of the Wicked Priest ruling over Israel has been glossed over by the author. If Judas was the Wicked Priest, then Judas must have been a ruler over Israel as VIII 9-11 tells us, and certainly no historical document gave us such evidence. We ask Mr. Al-Kadhi to please give use the evidence.
The Wicked Priest gathered wealth from gentiles
"[He] gathered the wealth of the violent men who had rebelled against God, taking the wealth of the Gentiles" (1QpHab VIII 11-12)
The Bible tells us, and acknowledged by Muslims, that Judas was a treasurer among the disciples. How was it possible for him to generate wealth from gentiles, much less the kind of wealth described in the Dead Sea Scrolls? Also, how was he able to gather wealth from enemies of God?
The Wicked Priest polluted the temple of God
"[he] polluted the temple of God." (1QpHab XII 8-9)
But, if Judas was not a priest, then how was it possible for him to have desecrated the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Or did he lead an army to force his way in?
The enemies inflicted diseases on the Wicked Priest.
As revenge for his persecution of the Teacher and the sect, the author quoted Schiffman on the sufferings of the Wicked Priest :
"... The sufferings of the Wicked Priest are even more graphically described in another passage: 'and all his enemies arose and abused him in order for his suffering to be fit punishment for his evil. And they inflicted upon him horrible diseases, and acts of vengeance in the flesh of his body'. The one who suffered was the Wicked Priest, not the Teacher of Righteousness. The enemies of the Wicked Priest, the nation against whom he had made war, are said to have tortured him, so that his life ended in mortal disease and affliction." (Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, p. 234)
Again, the author failed to realize that the enemies of the Wicked Priest inflicted on him "horrible diseases"? If Judas was crucified by the Romans, as maintained by the author, what kind of diseases did the Roman soldiers inflicted on him?
The Wicked Priest fought against a nation.
In the same passage that the author quoted above, it is said that the "nation against whom he had made war" tortured and killed him. According to the author's thesis, Judas must have fought a war against the Romans. But how was that possible unless Judas had ruled over Israel and fought a war with the Romans?
The Teacher and the Wicked Priest could not get along
In a conference in 1984, it was reported that a letter from the Teacher to the Wicked Priest was found. Six copies of this letter was found and in the letter, the Teacher told the Wicked Priest (who is a prominent public figure from the letter) the twenty points of the Law that the Wicked Priest has departed from. (Neil Fujita, A Crack in the Jar, p. 46). This resulted in a severance of the community from the Temple, and the reclusive community at Khirbet Qumran bore testimony to this withdrawal from public life.
If Jesus was the Teacher and Judas the Wicked Priest, one wonders how it was possible for Jesus and Judas to have been together all this while until the betrayal? There was no evidence at all of such a severance in the Gospels, nor even from the fraudulent Gospel of Barnabas that the author quoted from.
PROBLEMS WITH IDENTIFYING PAUL AS THE MAN OF LIES :
The Teacher and the Spouter of Lies belonged to the same community at one time.
The Spouter of Lies was also called the Man of Lies, the Man of Mockery. the author quotes Schiffman :
"It (Pesher Habakkuk) describes the struggle between the Teacher of Righteousness and his opponents - the Man of Lies (also termed the Spouter or Preacher of Lies) and the Wicked Priest. The Spouter is pictured as heading a community. The dispute between the teacher and the Spouter is seems to have been based on matters of religious interpretation and law...." (Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence H. Schiffman, p. 228)
However, Muslims have always noted the fact that Paul was not in the list of early disciples, and were not a part of the earliest Christian community. In fact, as the Bible describes, Paul became a Christian some time after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus (Acts 9). So, how was it possible for Paul to have led a community (of early Christians obviously) and disputed with Jesus? Again the author abused Schiffman's words.
According to the Habbakuk Pesher (1QpHab) which described the formative events of the Qumran sect, the Teacher of Righteous and the Man of Lies belonged to the same community:
Its interpretation concerns the House of Absalom and the members of his council who kept silent at the time of the rebuke of the Teacher of Righteousness, and did not help him against the Man of Lies who rejected the Law in the midst of their whole Community. (1QpHab V 9-12)
This passage described a certain Absalom and his house who did not help the Teacher during this schismatic dispute where the Man of Lies rejected "the Law in the midst of their whole Community" (V 11-12), resulting in a "rebuke of the Teacher of Righteousness" (V 10). The Man of Lies "did not listen to the Knowledgeable Interpreter" (Psalms Pesher I 18-19), another name for the Teacher. How was all that possible between Jesus and Paul?
The schism happened before Paul became a Christian.
The author believed that the scrolls were dated to about a hundred years before the time of Christ. The Damascus Document did not mention the Wicked Priest, but alluded bitterly to the "Man of Mockery" and the "congregation of traitors" (his followers) who caused a split that was perhaps early in the history of the sect. Thus, if we believe Mr. Kadhi, we must reject historical evidence that Jesus and Paul lived a hundred years or more after that, and that Paul caused a schism among the Christians even before he was born.
PROBLEMS WITH IDENTIFYING THE SPOUTER OF LIES WITH THE CHIEF PRIESTS OR PHARISEES :
Under the assumption that Jesus was the Teacher as the author proposed, we note the following problems :
Belonging to the same community
The same problems that we have noted with identifying Paul as the Spouter of Lies surface again if we identify the Spouter of Lies as the chief priests (Sadducees) or the Pharisees. There is absolutely no evidence that Jesus belong to the same community (where Jesus is the founder and head) as the Sadducees (which means Jesus must be the Chief Priest) or the Pharisees. We note that scholars tells us that the Pharisees were already in full swing by Jesus' time, and so how can the split happened during Jesus' time? The Bible recorded so many incidences where Jesus criticized the Pharisees, that it was clear that Jesus and the Pharisees had long been in disagreement. And since this was the case, Jesus cannot have been a part of and leader of the Pharisaic movement. And if Jesus was never the leader of the Sadducees or the Pharisees, the author's identification cannot but be very problematic.
Opting for easier laws
This was one of the reasons of the schism within the community, where the Man of Lies led a group of followers and opted for easier rules. But, as we know, the two groups, Sadducees and Pharisees were also very meticulous in observance with the law, with the latter even more so than the former, and thus, what kind of easier laws was meant in the Dead Sea Scrolls?
One of the groups of people scholars identified possibly as the Qumranians are the Essenes. Josephus noted that there were two groups of Essenes active in Palestine, one group totally withdrawn with a more ascetic life and another fully participating in the Jewish life. Josephus even listed the names of some of these people.
This does not mean that the Man of Lies cannot be the Chief Priest, or the Pharisees or the Sadduccees, etc. This leads to an obvious contradiction only if Jesus is identified as the Teacher.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Putting all these pieces together, we see that the author's thesis did not find any support from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Each part of his identification of the main characters mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls was met with contradiction from the Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts. To accept his thesis, one has to twist both the words of Schiffman and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and be inconsistent at various places and contradict Islamic doctrines.
In Summer 1997, Schiffman contacted me about my article refuting Mr. Al-Kadhi's earlier article. I asked him if I had misrepresented him in the article and he said "You certainly did me no injustice and I enjoyed the articles. I also read the Moslem stuff." (10/10/97, private email with Lawrence H. Schiffman, Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University).
[i]End quote
Netcurtains
31-03-2002, 09:14
He Has Risen.
Happy Easter.
Dates? Yes I've put some in the stuffing.
His risen indeed.
Hosanna and hallelujah!
Dates? I like a touch of salt with them.
Netcurtains
31-03-2002, 21:28
I've just made the easter meal for 11 people.
I need a wee lie down.
If god had meant men to cook meals he would have
given us oven gloves.
Praise God we don't have to cook! I like His meals just fine. And the lamb is excellent!
vancouver
03-04-2002, 00:00
Greetings
Some information on the dead sea scrolls:-
The Hebrew Bible Survives
During this period, from about the sixth to the tenth centuries C.E., a group of Jews known as the Masoretes developed systematic copying methods to preserve the Hebrew Scripture text. They went so far as to count all the lines and even each individual letter, noting variations among manuscripts, all in an effort to preserve an authentic text. Their efforts were not in vain. To cite one example, comparison of modern Masoretic texts with the Dead Sea Scrolls, written between 250 B.C.E. and 50 C.E., shows no doctrinal change in over 1,000 years.
All the best
vancouver
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