Monday, June 29, 2020

Acts17apologetics encourage Quranic Zionism; Islam endorses Jewish promised land?

In answer to the video "Three Quran Verses Every Jew Should Know (David Wood)"

In a clear prophecy of Muslim domination and rule over the Holy Land of Mecca, Allah declares in no uncertain terms that He will make the righteous, successors in the land, and establish them as a nation. This was done with previous nations before, including the Israelites. But if these Muslims do not show gratefulness and keep their duty towards God, they will be dealt with as transgressors and will be uprooted 6:165,24:55. This is because God's favor upon a people is by virtue of righteousness and as a test of faith
8:34"And what (excuse) have they that Allah should not chastise them while they hinder (men) from the Sacred Mosque and they are not (fit to be) guardians of it; its guardians are only those who guard (against evil), but most of them do not know". 
The Quran reminds the Israelites of one their painful periods of humiliation and bondage under the Egyptians, followed by their freedom, the destruction of their oppressors and them being made to inherit all of the good things their oppressors deprived them from for centuries, including their lands 7:137,26:57-9. The Pharao of the Quran, although unnamed, clearly points to him being RamessesII, who controlled vast regions in the area, including the land of Canaan upon which he exerted a particularly tight grip. His dominion was completely taken away and given as inheritence to the Israelites. They could have theoretically chosen to dwell anywhere in that vast kingdom but have understandingly been directed to an area away from where they had been enslaved, in order to start afresh, and in order to fulfill the promise made to their forefathers of settling them in Canaan.

A warning is issued together with that remembrance, stressing that God's favor could be taken away from them at anytime
7:129"then He will see how you act"
just as He uprooted nations in the past and raised other people in their stead to inherit the land. This happened to them again and again as attested in their own history, of successive destructions, scattering and enslavement, even up to the days of the prophet Muhammad. God through His prophet uprooted them from their lands for having associated themselves in battle with the enemies of monotheism, those same polytheistic people whom Moses had ordered them to oust from Canaan 33:26-7.

This is because God is not bound unconditionally to anything and may easily replace a people with another 14:19-20,35:16-17 just like the rulers and people of Pharao were wiped out and replaced with other competing nations 44:25-29. The land of Palestine, blessed since the times of Abraham 21:71,81,5:21,7:137 was entrusted to the Israelites on the condition that they
2:58"Enter this qariya (applied to a place of gathering and settlement be it a town or a village 6:92,42:7,47:13,34:18)..and enter the gate making obeisance, and say, forgiveness".
Their obstination in refusing to abide by the terms of the covenant, and upon their straying from the right path and repeated transgressions despite the continuous sending of prophets to them, led to their destruction and expulsion by the same God who had given them this land 2:59-60. It is to be noted, the land was blessed, in the words of the Quran 21:71"to all people" meaning that anyone can potentially be given authority over it. The only condition, because it is a sacred land, the inhabitants have to live in it according to the landowner's rules.

The Israelites were thus given that land for 2 reasons; to test their gratefulness and God-awareness, as well as to uproot through them, the nations that previously inhabited it, and who became unworthy of it. The very reason, per the Torah, For God deciding to uproot and exterminate those nations, then settling the Israelites instead, was not because of the Abrahamic covenant, but because these nations had become sinners, unworthy to reside in a land previously declared sacred Gen15:16,Deut9,1Sam4:7. The Canaanite were relatives of the Israelites. They were Abrahamic descendants, such as the Moabites descendants of Lot and Edomites whose father is Esau. There is no reason to assume that these Abrahamic tribes did not emulate their common forefather by worshiping YHWH. But as the generations passed they corrupted that worship until God sent another Abrahamic branch, the Israelites, to uproot and replace them.

Similarly Jethro was a Midianite-Kenite. Midian was the son of Abraham, and Kenite in reference to Adam's son, Cain whose descendants lived among all the people of the Levant. Jethro was thus a non Israelite semite, descendant of Arabham, who had kept the Abrahamic legacy. He proclaims to Moses that YHWH is greater than all false deities Ex18:7-12.

When the Muslims were made successors in the land of Mecca, they were repeatedly warned that if they transgress they will be swiftly requited. Just as was done with the Israelites and nations before them, That is because in a universal system based on Truth, falsehood is bound to perish

 34:49,21:16-8,14:19"Do you not see that Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth? If He please He will take you off and bring a new creation".

They will be replaced by the One encompassing them as He encompasses the whole earth, capable of erasing them completely then re-establish a similarly great human creation, even better yet in make, should He want to 6:165,70:40-1,76:28. Similar warnings were issued to the Israelites, as seen earlier, should they neglect the spiritual duties for which they were established in a land 7:137,26:57-9,Deut8:19-20,Deut28-31. The same forceful way the previous landowners were dislodged, due to their wickedness Deut9, could be repeated with them 

Amos9:7"To Me, O Israelites, you are just like the Ethiopians—declares YHWH. True, I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, but also the Philistines from Crete and the Arameans from Kir". 

Previous nations that were similarly established, then rejected their prophets were destroyed and others were raised in their stead as trustees of God's favours 

10:71-3,44:26,7:69,74,137,100"Is it not clear to those who inherit the earth after its (former) residents that if We please We would afflict them on account of their faults". 

The HB uses a very appropriate metaphor to describe that pattern, picturing a sacred land becoming sick of its inhabitants' practices to the point it cannot contain them anymore

 Lev18:24-8"Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants..." 

Lev20:22-3"And you shall observe all My statutes and all My ordinances, and fulfill them, then the Land, to which I am bringing you to dwell therein, will not vomit you out. You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am sending away from before you, for they committed all these [sins], and I was disgusted with them".

The prophet Solomon Prov2:21-22 and before him David spoke of that reality

 Ps37:9-11"evildoers shall be cut off, and those who hope for the Lord-they will inherit the land. A short while longer and the wicked man is not here, and you shall look at his place and he is not there. But the humble shall inherit the land, and they shall delight in much peace".

The heritage of the earth in this worldly life is neither permanent nor everlasting. It is merely bestowed as a trial for different communities. That is why, everlasting heritage of the "land" is only possible in the Hereafter, in Heaven where those that will be established, the righteous believers, will never falter in their spirituality 21:105,39:73-4.

When God calls his covenant "everlasting", it means HE will never abrogate it, so long as the terms of that covenant are fulfilled. As soon as there is a breech in the agreement from either side, it becomes void, like with any agreement. For example in 1Sam2:30 we read
"Therefore," says the Lord, God of Israel, "I said, 'Your house and the house of your father will walk before Me forever,' but now, says the Lord: Far be it from Me, for those who honor Me shall I honor, and those who despise Me will be disgraced".
Where does YHWH state the absurdity He will keep blessing them with honor, and favors regardless of their behavior? God clearly states in Deuteronomy he would take back all blessings and favors, replace them with punishment and humiliation, if such were the case. But God is also merciful and honors any of his servants that sincerely repents and mends his ways. That is why the Israelites were brought back to a position of honor among the nations after they were destroyed and scattered the first time, when they realized their errors and repented. But as they proved themselves again unworthy of divine favors, they were humiliated a second time and their Temple turned into a garbage dump.

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