Both the Bible and Quran recorded the naming of John the Baptizer.
Luke 1:13 ESV
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
Luke 1:59-61 ESV
And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, "No; he shall be called John." And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by this name."
Surah 19:7
Sahih International
[He was told], "O Zechariah, indeed We give you good tidings of a boy whose name will be John. We have not assigned to any before [this] name."
Muhsin Khan
(Allah said) "O Zakariya (Zachariah)! Verily, We give you the glad tidings of a son, His name will be Yahya (John). We have given that name to none before (him)."
Pickthall
(It was said unto him): O Zachariah! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; we have given the same name to none before (him).
Yusuf Ali
(His prayer was answered): "O Zakariya! We give thee good news of a son: His name shall be Yahya: on none by that name have We conferred distinction before."
Shakir
O Zakariya! surely We give you good news of a boy whose name shall be Yahya: We have not made before anyone his equal.
Dr. Ghali
"O Zakariyya, surely We give you good tidings of a youth whose name is Yahya (John). No namesake have We given him earlier."
In the Bible, the neighbors and relatives objected to the name John because none of their relatives is called by the name. In the Quran, Allah told Zakariya (i.e. Zechariah) that the name Yahya (i.e. John) was never given to anyone before.
The name John is derived from the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), which was in turned derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan), which means "YHWH is Gracious". In Arab, it is يحيى (Yahya).
Yochanan (spelled as Johanan in ESV) was found in the Bible in Old Testament before John the Baptizer was named.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Least Christian is greater than the Last and Greatest Prophet
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:11 KJV)
For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. (Luke 7:28 KJV)
All Christians must be like John the Baptizer. John the Baptizer pointed us to Christ. He said, "He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30 NASB)" All Christians likewise must point to Christ. He must increase. I must decrease. Christ must be magnified and glorified. Our ego, i.e. our old man, must be dead.
John the Baptizer is the greatest of all prophets. Jesus said so. Yet the least Christians are greater than John the Baptizer.
John the Baptizer came to announce the coming of the Messiah. But the work of redemption was not completed yet.
All Christians announced the Good News of the completed work of redemption by Christ. This is the greater news, which makes us greater than John the Baptizer.
For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. (Luke 7:28 KJV)
All Christians must be like John the Baptizer. John the Baptizer pointed us to Christ. He said, "He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30 NASB)" All Christians likewise must point to Christ. He must increase. I must decrease. Christ must be magnified and glorified. Our ego, i.e. our old man, must be dead.
John the Baptizer is the greatest of all prophets. Jesus said so. Yet the least Christians are greater than John the Baptizer.
John the Baptizer came to announce the coming of the Messiah. But the work of redemption was not completed yet.
All Christians announced the Good News of the completed work of redemption by Christ. This is the greater news, which makes us greater than John the Baptizer.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Weight and Besetting Sin
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1 KJV)
We all know what the sin which so easily beset us is. But what is the weight?
At a Special Meeting at the Pasir Panjang Christ Church, Jim Berg quoted Bob Jones Sr on the difference between the weight and the sin. Bob Jones Sr gave an anology of a marathon runner carry water and whiskey while he is running. The whiskey, being an intoxication drink, is, of course, sin. The water is a legitimate concern for the runner. He may be thirsty after running and may need a drink.
The weight are our legitimate concerns. But the Lord had promised to take care of these and we do not need to bring our water along when we run.
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:25-34 KJV)
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7 KJV)
We all know what the sin which so easily beset us is. But what is the weight?
At a Special Meeting at the Pasir Panjang Christ Church, Jim Berg quoted Bob Jones Sr on the difference between the weight and the sin. Bob Jones Sr gave an anology of a marathon runner carry water and whiskey while he is running. The whiskey, being an intoxication drink, is, of course, sin. The water is a legitimate concern for the runner. He may be thirsty after running and may need a drink.
The weight are our legitimate concerns. But the Lord had promised to take care of these and we do not need to bring our water along when we run.
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:25-34 KJV)
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7 KJV)
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Feeding the New Man
Our spiritual man needs feeding, just like like our physical man. The food that the spiritual man needs the the Word of God. God want us to "know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:3 KJV)" "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 KJV)"
Many saints of the past had been told to eat the Word of God.
Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16 KJV)
But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. (Ezekiel 2:8 KJV)
And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. (Revelations 10:9-10 KJV)
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103 KJV)
But the Word of God is not only the Bible. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us... (John 1:14 KJV)" Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. So does our spiritual man feed on Jesus? Yes. He asked us to do so.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. (Matthew 26:26-29 KJV)
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. (Mark 14:22-24 KJV)
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19-20 KJV)
I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. (John 6:48-58 KJV)
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:23-32 KJV)
The Bible is food for all types of Christians, from babies to mature adults. Every new Christian should have a hunger for God's Word, like a new born baby crying for its mother's milk. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1 Peter 2:2 KJV)"
So the Bible has milk for new borns and meat for adults.
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. (1 Corinthians 3:2 KJV)
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillfull in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:12-14 KJV)
Unity - Many saints, but one body, feeding on one loaf.
Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:17 ESV)
Many saints of the past had been told to eat the Word of God.
Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16 KJV)
But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. (Ezekiel 2:8 KJV)
And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. (Revelations 10:9-10 KJV)
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103 KJV)
But the Word of God is not only the Bible. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us... (John 1:14 KJV)" Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. So does our spiritual man feed on Jesus? Yes. He asked us to do so.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. (Matthew 26:26-29 KJV)
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. (Mark 14:22-24 KJV)
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19-20 KJV)
I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. (John 6:48-58 KJV)
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:23-32 KJV)
The Bible is food for all types of Christians, from babies to mature adults. Every new Christian should have a hunger for God's Word, like a new born baby crying for its mother's milk. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1 Peter 2:2 KJV)"
So the Bible has milk for new borns and meat for adults.
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. (1 Corinthians 3:2 KJV)
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillfull in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:12-14 KJV)
Unity - Many saints, but one body, feeding on one loaf.
Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:17 ESV)
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Ephraim will become a Multitude of Nations
The prophecy about Ephraim:
But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." (Genesis 48:19 NASB)
The promise to Abraham:
As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. (Genesis 17:4 NASB)
The future blessings of Israel as prophesised by Paul:
For I would not, brothers, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant to them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. (Romans 11:25-28 NASB)
Ephraim will become a multitude (fullness) of nations (gentiles).
But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." (Genesis 48:19 NASB)
The promise to Abraham:
As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. (Genesis 17:4 NASB)
The future blessings of Israel as prophesised by Paul:
For I would not, brothers, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant to them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. (Romans 11:25-28 NASB)
Ephraim will become a multitude (fullness) of nations (gentiles).
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Bad Choice
Read this in Daily Bread 31 May 2011.
An elderly TV star was asked by talk-show host Larry King about heaven. King prefaced his question by referring to Billy Graham, who had told King he “knew what would be ahead. It would be paradise. He was going to heaven.”
King then asked his guest, “What do you believe?” He replied, “I’d like a lot of activity. Heaven sounds too placid for me. There’s a lot to do in hell.”
Sadly, this man is not alone in thinking that an existence in Satan’s realm is a preferred destination. I’ve heard people say that they’d rather be in hell because all their friends will be there. One person wrote, “If hell was real, I don’t think it would be bad. There would be a lot of interesting people.”
How can we convince folks who are deceived in this way that hell and its horrors are to be avoided? Perhaps by telling them of the realities of hell that are presented in the Scripture. In Daniel 12:2, it is described as a place of “shame and everlasting contempt.” Luke 16:23 talks about “torments.” Matthew 8:12 describes “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Revelation 14:11 says there will be “no rest.”
Biblical truth doesn’t allow anyone to think that hell might be a good place to be. Clearly, rejecting Jesus and facing an eternity in Satan’s kingdom is a bad choice.
Don’t choose to spend eternity
Where pain will never dim;
Instead decide to trust in Christ
And choose to follow Him. —Sper
The same Christ who talks about the glories of heaven also describes the horrors of hell.
An elderly TV star was asked by talk-show host Larry King about heaven. King prefaced his question by referring to Billy Graham, who had told King he “knew what would be ahead. It would be paradise. He was going to heaven.”
King then asked his guest, “What do you believe?” He replied, “I’d like a lot of activity. Heaven sounds too placid for me. There’s a lot to do in hell.”
Sadly, this man is not alone in thinking that an existence in Satan’s realm is a preferred destination. I’ve heard people say that they’d rather be in hell because all their friends will be there. One person wrote, “If hell was real, I don’t think it would be bad. There would be a lot of interesting people.”
How can we convince folks who are deceived in this way that hell and its horrors are to be avoided? Perhaps by telling them of the realities of hell that are presented in the Scripture. In Daniel 12:2, it is described as a place of “shame and everlasting contempt.” Luke 16:23 talks about “torments.” Matthew 8:12 describes “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Revelation 14:11 says there will be “no rest.”
Biblical truth doesn’t allow anyone to think that hell might be a good place to be. Clearly, rejecting Jesus and facing an eternity in Satan’s kingdom is a bad choice.
Don’t choose to spend eternity
Where pain will never dim;
Instead decide to trust in Christ
And choose to follow Him. —Sper
The same Christ who talks about the glories of heaven also describes the horrors of hell.
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