IS MUHAMMAD MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE?

 Is Muhammad Mentioned in the Old Testament?
 Christ's coming is foretold in the Old Testament in many different places.  If, therefore, the Most High God intended to send into the world a prophet far greater than Christ, we should find predictions concerning this future prophet in the Old Testament, and still more in the New Testament.  It is natural, therefore, for Muslims to seek such prophecies in the Bible regarding the founder of their religion.
 If Muhammad was the Seal of the Prophets--the person on whose account God created the universe--it would be very strange for God not to have told us to look for and obey the coming Prophet.  Those who believe in Muhammad tell us that clear and unmistakable predictions regarding him are found in the Bible.  Muslims also say that other predictions of Muhammad's coming were once there, but were removed by Jews and Christians.
 The appeal to the Bible in this matter implies that the Bible is (1) divinely inspired, and (2) uncorrupted.  Otherwise o\, of what use would it be to refer to such a book as authoritative?  If our Muslim friends admit these two points, then an inquiry into the alleged biblical prophecies regarding Muhammad may be very interesting and instructive.  But if they do not admit these points of fact, it is difficult to see what use it is for them to refer to the Bible at all in seeking proof of their prophet's mission.  Of course, many learned Muslims--all, in fact, who have carefully studied the matter--do admit these two facts. Genesis 49:10

•  The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his  feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

 It is asserted that this passage refers to Muhammad, since "Judah" comes from a Hebrew verb meaning "to praise," the same meaning for the Arabic name Muhammad.  But the context of Genesis show that Shiloh was to be born among the descendants of Judah.  Muhammad, however, came from the Arabian tribe of the Quraish.  he was not Jewish.  Moreover, the scepter departed from Judah more than 550 years before Muhammad was born. Deuteronomy 18:15, 18

•  The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst,  from your brethren.  Him you shall hear, I will raise up for them a Prophet  like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in his mouth,  and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

 Muslims assert that the prophet predicted in Deuteronomy is Muhammad.  Since "from your midst" does not appear in either the ancient Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) or the Samaritan Pentateuch, the original text must state the prophet would come from the relatives of the Israelites, the descendants of Ishmael, the Arabs.
 However, there is earlier ancient Hebrew manuscript evidence supporting the customary reading.  In addition, "brethren" naturally and commonly refers to one's closest relative (e.g., the Israelite tribes).
 It is said that Muhammad was like Moses in many points.  Both were brought up in their enemies' houses, appeared among idolaters, were at first rejected by their own people and afterward accepted by them, each gave a law, fled from their enemies (Moses to Midian, Muhammad to Medina, a name of a similar meaning), marched to battle against their enemies, wrought miracles, and enabled their followers to conquer Palestine.  These correlation's prove nothing.
 God Himself has explained in the Gospels that this prophecy referred to Christ, not to Muhammad.  Compare Deuteronomy 18:15, "Him you shall hear," with Matthew 17:5,". . . This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!" (See also Mark 9:2 and Luke 9:35.)  Jesus explains that this and other passages refer to Himself (John 5:46; Genesis 12:3; 24:4; 18:18; 22:28; 28:14).  He was descended from Judah (Matthew 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-38; Hebrews 7:14), was born in Israel, and spent almost all of His life among the Jews.  In Acts 3:25-26, this prophecy is cited as referring to Christ Jesus. Psalm 45:3-5

•  Gird Your Sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One,
   With Your glory and Your majesty.
   And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness;
   And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things.
   Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies;
   The peoples fall under You.

 In Islam, Muhammad is called "the Prophet with the sword."  However, a close study of the context of these verses easily refutes the claim that they refer to Muhammad.  Verse six declares, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever."  Muslims never claim that Muhammad was God.  Furthermore, Hebrews 1:8-9 clearly states that verse six is an address to Christ. Isaiah 21:7

•  And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
   A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels.

 Muslims think that the words "a chariot of donkeys" in this verse are a prediction of the coming of Christ, who entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, and that :a chariot (or troop) of camels" refers to Muhammad, since he always rode on a camel.  In fact, the context shows that this chapter refers to neither Christ nor Muhammad.  It is a prophecy of the fall of Babylon, as we learn from verse 9, and tells how travelers bring word of the capture of the city and the destruction of its idols, which took place under Darius in 519 B.C. and again in 513 B.C.

 Is Muhammad Mentioned in the New Testament? Matthew 3:2

•  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"

 "The kingdom is at hand" is the call of John the Baptist, repeated by Jesus (Matthew 4:17), and said by Muslims to be a prediction of the establishment of the power of Islam, the Quran being the Law of the Kingdom.  but "the kingdom of heaven," or as it is also called, "the kingdom of God," does not refer to the Islamic kingdom, since the heaven and God of Islam are not the heaven and God of the Bible.
 The biblical kingdom of God has temporal and spiritual aspects, present and future implications.  Long before the rise of Islamic power, Christ announced the presence of the kingdom, saying, "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matthew 12:28).  In Mark 9:1, Christ told His disciples that some of them would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God present with power.  Did they see Muhammad and the "kingdom" of Islam?  Certainly not. Mark 1:7

•  "There come One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose."

 The Muslim Injil (gospel) of Jesus is not the same thing as the New Testament or the Gospels.  Muslims maintain that the gospel of Jesus is the record of God's Word given through Jesus.  The New Testament Gospels, they say are the words of man--the recollections of Matthew, Mark, and those compiled by Luke and John.  Only occasionally can we find Jesus' gospel buried in the midst of man's words and opinion.  One of the preserved lines of Jesus' gospel, they say is in Mark 1:7, where Jesus supposedly prophesied of Muhammad, "There cometh after Me he that is mightier than I."
 This shows how hopelessly impossible it is for Muslims to find any prophecy regarding Muhammad, for verse six of this chapter tells us that these words were not spoken by Jesus but by John the Baptist.  The context clearly shows this to be true (see also Matthew 3:11-14; Luke 3:16-17; and John 1:26-34).  It will not do to say that Christ was already in the world, and that therefore He could not be said to come after John.  Christ began to preach only after John had been cast into prison and beheaded (see Mark 1:14; also compare Matthew 4:12, 17), thus ending the forerunner's ministry. John 4:21

•  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father."

 This is supposed by some Muslims to be a declaration that Jerusalem would no longer be the Holy City and the "Qiblah" (focus of prayers), but that its place would be taken by another city, which, the Muslims say, must be Mecca.
 Yet in verses 23-24, Christ Himself explained the meaning of His own words, saying that true and acceptable worship does not depend upon the place where it is offered by upon the state of the worshipper's heart.  Hence, He does away with the possibility of there ever afterward being a need for any "Qiblah" on earth. John 14:16, 17, 26

•  "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in ;you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

 Muslims assert that the Greek paracleton (helper) mentioned by Christ is Muhammad, whose name they believe to be a translation of the term.  They contend that the prophecy in this passage was fulfilled in Muhammad, since he received the Quran from the angel Gabriel (whom Muslims believe to be the Holy Spirit) and bore witness to Christ (John 14:26), acknowledging Him as a prophet (John 16:14), as born of a virgin, as a worker of miracles, as having ascended up to Heaven without dying but not as God's Son (having never claimed to be such), and as having had the Gospel brought to Him.
 But the Paracleton could not possibly refer to Muhammad for these reasons:
 First of all, the word paracleton does not mean anything at all like Muhammad.  Paracleton means helper, comforter, sustainer, and advocate.  The first of these titles is clearly not suited to Muhammad, the "Prophet with the Sword," and the Quran itself denies the title of Advocate to all but God Himself.
 Second, in the New Testament, the title Paracleton is directly applied only to the Holy Spirit (John 13:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:13) and by implication to Christ (John 13:16; 1 John 2:1).  The Paracleton of whom Christ speaks is not a man but the invisible of Spirit of Truth, who was then dwelling with Christ's disciples and would soon be in their hearts (John 14:17; 16:14).
 Third, the Paracleton was to be sent by Christ (John 15:26; 16:7), which Muslims cannot admit concerning Muhammad.
 Fourth, the Paracleton's work was not to gather armies and gain victories with earthly weapons, but to convict men of sin, the very essence of sin being disbelief in Christ (John 16:9).
 Fifth, His teaching was to glorify not Himself but Christ and to do the work Christ sent Him to do (John 16:14-15).
 
 NO!
 These are some of the important biblical passages which Muslims emphasize contain prophecies concerning Muhammad.  Quite clearly not a single one constitutes a prediction about him.  Muhammad is not mentioned explicitly or ;implicitly in the Bible, God's oldest written revelation (and the only written revelation as far as Christians are concerned).  But Christ Jesus is found in the Quran.  And what it says about Him places Him far above the founder of Islam.