The whole world has been in search of a Messiah. Muslims and Christians tend to believe that he came 2,000 years ago as Jesus, son of Mary. The Jews are a more theologically accurate in their belief that Jesus of 2,000 years ago was not the Messiah.
Before I continue its appropriate to quote Islamic Scholar A. Maudidi. He states, “If one takes a biased view of something and deliberately nourishes prejudice against it in his mind, then he can neither see any virtue in it nor can hear anything in its favor no can (he) open his heart to consider it dispassionately. This is the law of nature.”
If we want to find the Messiah we must examine the prerequisites to Messiahship. We must examine the function and role of a Messiah and THEN look for the man that would fulfill such roles.
"This Mild Looking Blackman is the MOST powerful Blackman in America"-Readers DigestOne of the first mentions of this Messiah or Son of Man is found in the Book of Psalms. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him (Psalms 8:4)?" However, in 1896, Hans Lietzmann startled the theological world by stating that this phrase could not be found in the Aramaic language, which Jesus spoke. Is there any biblical evidence of this? ABSOLUTELY! Paul writes that Jesus was a man born out of due season (1 Corinthians 15:8). This means that Jesus of 2,000 years ago was born before it was time for the Messiah to come. Thus, when he was casting out devils, they were frustrated with his timing. “And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time (Matt 8:30)?” Even the devils that Jesus began to deal with knew that it was not time for the end that the Messiah is to bring. The bible teaches six days shall we labor and on the seventh day shall we rest (Ex 34:21) and a day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8) bringing the devils rule to a total of 6,000 years. It is AFTER Satan’s rule is over that the promised Messiah is to make himself known since this Messiah is to crush the wicked.
Jesus of 2,000 years ago was a great man. But, he was not the Messiah that we’ve thought him to be. In an article entitled "Who Do Men Say that I Am?" (The Humanist Magazine May/June 1991) writes:
"Most of what we know about Jesus comes from the four gospels. Yet scholars agree that these are hardly dependable as historical sources. For one thing, they did not take shape until late in the first century, a generation or two after Jesus died...Scholars also agree that the gospels were not written by any of the 12 apostles-probably not anyone named Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, probably not by anyone who was even alive when Jesus was... "
In a publication by Dr. Wesley Muhammad titled Was Jesus of Nazereth Christ, he writes, “In 1991, an august body of 200 biblical scholars calling themselves the Jesus Seminar published their results of over 6 years of research trying to ascertain how much of the New Testament really speaks of Jesus of 2000 years ago. They concluded that only 20% of the Jesus of the Gospels goes back to the son of Mary 2,000 years ago, almost none of the Gospel of John. Robert Fortna, biblical scholar from Vassar College and member of the Seminar said ‘Most scholars, if they had worked through the sayings as we had, would tend to agree there is virtually nothing in the fourth gospel (John) goes back to Jesus.’
And the hammer hits the nail! The above evidence is clear. But, some may feel they need to see Quranic evidence as well.
The Quran makes a distinction between the prophetic Jesus and Jesus the Messiah. The Quran shows that Jesus the prophet was given one book while Jesus the Messiah would be TAUGHT numerous books. Speaking of the prophet the Quran reads, "He (Jesus) said: I am indeed a servant of Allah. He has given me the Book (the Gospel) and made me a prophet (Holy Qur'an 19:30) (Holy Quran 57:27). Moreover, Jesus of 2,000 years ago was a sign (Holy Quran 23:50). The sign is not the fulfiller. The sign points to the fulfiller. Who then is the fulfiller?
"And He (Allah) will teach him the Book and the Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel (Holy Qur'an 3:44-48).” The fulfiller is the man that is TAUGHT by Allah these four things. This corresponds with David the Psalmist saying the Lord would visit the Son of Man (Psalms 8:4). It is in this visit or short stay that the Son of Man would be taught the above wisdom. Who can lay such claim?
God Himself taught Elijah Muhammad. Elijah Muhammad IS the Son of Man, the long-awaited Messiah. He is the one whom the world has looked for! How do we know? To know the identity of the fulfiller you have to examine the work that this man was to fulfill.
All Praise be to Allah for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad!
The Messiah is to be made a ‘messenger to the Children of Israel’, which means he must be a man like Moses (Deut 18:18). You cannot have a man like Moses unless you have a people that were in bondage to a modern Pharaoh. We, the Black People of America are the Real Children of Israel who were prophesied to be in a strange land amongst a strange people. Muhammad was made to deliver the Message of Allah to us.
According to Holy Quran (3:46-51) the Messiah is also to do the following: Heal the Blind and the leprous, raise the dead, and teach them what foods to eat and what to store. The language here is symbolic. Muhammad healed the spiritually blind Black People of America. He healed a people totally helpless and buried wholly in sin. A people in a state of ignorance so intense that it is incomparable to anything previously seen. Muhammad reformed a people that took on the identity of another man and took that oppressive man as a god. Muhammad is bringing this people back to life. Lastly, he is to teach the people about FOOD. Neither Jesus of 2,000 years ago nor Muhammad of 1400 years ago did this. Elijah Muhammad taught us HOW TO EAT TO LIVE. Muhammad is resurrecting a dead Nation.
All Praise be to Allah for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad!
Well, the last thing we must ponder is the so-called death of Elijah Muhammad. The Nation of Islam under Minister Louis Farrakhan has challenged anybody in the whole world to prove that Elijah Muhammad is dead. In fact, Minister Farrakhan has declared that we will shut our mouths if anyone can prove Elijah Muhammad to be dead. We have the dental records (the only way one can determine the identity of a carcass) and we are ready to deliver them to whoever is willing to challenge us. The KEY aspect in the life of the promised Messiah is that he must escape death! Why? The Honorable Elijah Muhammad told His Minister once ‘if Allah could not save me then there would be no hope that he could save you.’ “And for their saying: We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah, and they killed him not, nor did they cause his death on the cross, but he was made to appear to them as such. And certainly those who differ therein are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge about it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for certain (Holy Quran 4:157).” This is a Cardinal principle for us.
“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (Please Read 1 Corinthians 15).” So I say to the followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad under the guidance of HIS Minister Farrakhan, stand firm, stand strong, for the victory of the apostle is nigh!
“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).” “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13).”
Lastly, the word Messiah literally means ‘wiped over’ or one anointed with oil. When we Understand and connect with THE Messiah, we realize that our connection to Him makes us ALL little Messiah’s. We all become wiped over with the Spirit of God. We all become anointed and in tune with the God within. But to get there you must go through THE DOOR.
All Praise be to Allah for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad!
