The eternal Jihad has been fought and won by Jesus Christ alone…
Two and a half months after Jesus told the Jewish leaders that no one would take His life from Him, but He would lay down His life willingly; Jesus met the leaders once again during the Feast of Dedication – “Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, ‘How long do You keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’” (John 10: 22-24) With directness and authority Jesus said to them – “’I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.’” (John 10: 25-30)
If you are spiritually born of God – spiritually you will never perish. We will all physically perish, but those who experience a spiritual birth will never be separated from God. They will pass from this life into eternity – directly into the presence of God. Those who are not spiritually born of God through faith in Jesus Christ will pass away into an eternity separated from God. Only spiritual birth brings about eternal life. John wrote – “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5: 11-12) No one except Jesus can give you eternal life. No other religious leader can do this.
Paul taught the believers in Corinth – “For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5: 4-8) When we are spiritually born of God, He places His Spirit within us as a guarantee that we belong to Him for eternity. Nothing can take our salvation away. We become God’s purchased possession – purchased by the precious blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
Only the death of Jesus Christ merits life. No other religious leader’s death did this. We can only be conquerors through Jesus Christ. Paul exhorted the Roman believers – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” (Romans 8: 28-34)
The following is taken from a five page suicide letter written by Mohammed Atta (the 911 hijacker) – “’Everybody hates death, fears death, but only those, the believers who know the life after death and the reward after death, would be the ones seeking death,’” and to his fellow hijackers he wrote – “’Keep a very open mind, keep a very open heart of what you are to face. You will be entering paradise. You will be entering the happiest life, everlasting life.’” From a section called “The Last Night,” Atta wrote – “’You should pray, you should fast. You should ask God for guidance, you should ask God for help…Continue to pray throughout this night. Continue to recite the Koran.’” And when they entered the planes Atta told his fellow hijackers to pray – “Oh God, open all doors for me, Oh God, who answers prayers and answers those who ask you, I am asking for your help. I am asking for your forgiveness. I am asking you to lighten my way. I am asking you to lift the burden I feel.” (Timmerman 20) On September 11, 2001, Mohammad Atta took his own life as well as the life of many other innocent people.
From David Bukay (writing for The Middle East Quarterly) – “Prominent Muslim scholars consider the general jihad declaration against the unbelievers to be crucial to Islamic success. Those who sacrifice their material comfort and bodies for jihad win salvation. By their sacrifice, they obtain all the pleasures of paradise, be they spiritual – the close presences of God – or material. As an additional incentive, Muhammad promised those mujahideen who fight in a jihad war a reward of virgins in paradise. Importantly, those conducting suicide bombings do not consider themselves dead but rather living with God. As sura 2: 154 explains, ‘Do not think that those who are killed in the way of Allah are dead, for indeed they are alive, even though you are not aware.’ Therefore the prohibition on suicide need not apply to bus bombers or other kamikaze jihadists. Martin Lings, a British scholar of Sufism, argues that this linkage between martyrdom and paradise was probably the most potent factor that Muhammad brought to the annals of warfare, for it transformed the odds of war by offering a promise of immortality.” (http://www.meforum.org/1003/the-religious-foundations-of-suicide-bombings) The terrorist, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, (killer of the American Marines in Chattanooga) wrote – “We ask Allah to make us follow their path (Muhammad’s companions). To give us a complete understanding of the message of Islam, and the strength to live by this knowledge, and to know what role we need to play to establish Islam in the world.” The terrorist, Major Nidal Hasan (U.S. Army Psychiatrist who murdered 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas) stated – “The United States Government openly acknowledges that it would hate for the law of Almighty Allah to be the supreme law of the land. Is that a war on Islam? You bet it is.” And Abdulhakim Muhammad (formerly Carlos Bledsoe), in explanation for why he murdered an unarmed soldier outside of a Little Rock, Arkansas recruiting station stated – “I wasn’t insane or post traumatic nor was I forced to do this act…It was justified according to Islamic laws and the Islamic religion. Jihad to fight those who wage war on Islam and Muslims”
(http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/in-the-name-of-allah.htm)
Jesus Christ was a man of peace. He came to give His life, not to take people’s lives. The prophet Muhammad was a man of war. Muslims who kill themselves while killing other people justify doing so from the words Muhammad wrote in the Quran. There is a better way of salvation. Jesus Christ is Lord. He can give true inner peace. His words are words of life; not death. Consider that you are a sinner in need of rescue. Your rescuer has come. His name is Jesus. He loves you and wants you to turn to Him. Today He can give you life – eternal life. He will not require you to violently kill other people and kill yourself. Won’t you turn to Him believing that His death satisfied God’s wrath for all eternity.
Resources:
Timmerman, Kenneth R. Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America. New York: Crown Forum, 2003.