(Audio and pdf available on this website.)

Today we finish Sura 7, and then move to sura 8, called "The Spoils",and sura 9, "The repentant".

The ending verses of chapter 7 are yet another reminder of the insecure future afforded mankind by Allah, Islam's god. Verse 179: "And indeed, we have created for hell many of the jinn and the humans." He goes on to sound a little like Jesus, by saying these people have hearts that do not understand, eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear. He then says they are like animals, only worse. Of course, he is speaking of "those who considered our verses lies."

"Whomever Allah causes to go astray, so there is no guide for him. And he will leave them in their rebellion blindly." The thing closest to hope that he says on these two pages is in verse 204: "And when the Koran is read, then listen to it and pay attention, perhaps you may receive mercy."

Perhaps.

The New Testament agrees that there are many whose heart is hard. God has prepared a place for the disobedient He saw from the foundation of the world. But God continually allows for His grace to operate. Saul of Tarsus was a part of that group for whom Jesus offered His worst sayings, including the one above that Muhammad borrowed from Isaiah and Jesus. Yet Saul received the wonderful grace of the Lord and not the fate of the Pharisee, though he was one for sure! No "perhaps" with him. Anyone who calls on Jesus' name will have a glorious future. It's not about reading the Koran or even the Bible, it's about an encounter with the true God of Heaven.

Sura 8, "The Spoils", takes us back to Medina, the later years. It is a relatively short chapter, yet a very intense one. Allah is once again the warrior who is to be exalted above all. The spoils of battle (hence the title of the chapter) are to go to Allah and his messenger, Muhammad. The infidels are to be cut off, literally. Heads and fingers are to be severed to show Allah's severity against those who dare oppose Muhammad. The torment of the fire follows soon after.

Do you Muslims see some marching infidels? Engage, "do not turn your backs to them." Kill them, but "it was not you who killed them, but Allah killed them." So it's justified .

For comparison, never once did Jesus of Nazareth ask His disciples to take the life of another human being. Never will He, until His return, exercise violence. He conquers now by serving, loving, giving life. He taught His followers to love their enemies. And so many enemies they had! Ultimately Jesus died for His enemies, sealing His teaching with His blood. There is no one like Jesus.

But Muhammad, and I continue in chapter 8, curses not only the infidels but the deaf, the dumb, and "those who do not understand", perhaps the ones we would call mentally ill or cognitively delayed today. Allah saw no good in these people and that is why they were created this way. Deaf people would have heard the sound of battle and turned back, after all. In Muhammad's vision, life is war. Those unfit for war must be cursed.

Again the contrast is stark and sharp. What did Jesus do for the deaf and dumb? Compassion. Healing. Deliverance. He calls all His people to similar love. Worthless? Not to Jesus. When they are healed, they noise abroad His wonderful works. And is it not possible that Jesus would love them just to love them, not for what He could receive from them? Is not His love unconditional and freeing?

Verse 36. "Surely those who became infidels spend their money to prevent others from the way of Allah." Amen and may it be so. May we who know Jesus spend much money and time and love preventing others from this Muhammadan way. The very infidel who speaks to you now is spending his retirement time in doing just that! May God raise up many of my listeners and readers to go even farther into enemy territory to inflict a wound on the spirits who are behind this movement. And may the love of God and the compassion of Jesus Christ bring many to the truth.

Verse 39. "And engage in war with them until... the religion will be completely to Allah." You see friend, true Muslims want Islam to be universal. True Christians must want the same for their Lord. Jesus died for this world. He deserves it all. Let us continue calling out a people who will one day rule this world with Him.

In the war, verse 41, when you take the spoils, remember that one fifth belongs to Allah and the messenger Muhammad. Remember also to strike terror into the heart of the enemy. Muhammad is told to "provoke the believers to engage in war." To take no captives. To conquer the earth, and leave the hereafter for Allah. To perform jihad by emigrating and with their money and with their lives and by giving asylum to fellow-Muslims.

Those who continue this sort of worldwide violence and conquest, "those are the true believers, they will receive forgiveness and generous provisions."

So step back and look at the present world condition. Who are those striking terror into the hearts of many innocent people throughout the world? Who are provoking others to engage in war? Who are emigrating to countries around the planet and using their money and their influence and their career and their choice of a marriage partner to wage a holy war against infidels?

On the other hand, who on a global scale are entering nation after nation to bring good news of the Kingdom of God? Who heal the sick and preach hope to the poor and desolate? Who are using untold amounts of cash to invest in the lives of those who might otherwise be considered their enemies?

The battle is on.

Let us move quickly to Sura 9, also written from Medina. Scholars tell us that Sura 9, called "the repentant" is the final message of Muhammad. That means that any message in Sura 9 that seems to contradict messages in other suras can be considered the final word, the abrogation. The translator, Usama Dakdok, has counted 124 verses that are abrogated in the Koran simply by verses 5ff., which call for the outright killing of polytheists wherever they are found. "Lay wait for them with every kind of ambush," giving them a chance to be the "repentant" (as in the title), or to be further tormented or killed if not.

Although all other of the 114 suras begin with the words, "In the name of Allah, the merciful, the merciful," This one does not. The assumption being that Allah will now no longer be the merciful, but rather the avenger. So chapter 9 is like chapter 8 in its militant character and message. While opening with a protestation of innocence regarding any dealings with the polytheists, it quickly leads into calls for slaughter.

Verse 20 once more mentions "emigration" as in chapter 8. We acknowledge that there was certainly a local understanding for emigration, as the switch from Mecca to Medina was underway. Muhammad was being chased out of his original setting to become a fugitive in the North. His true followers emigrated to where he was. However, through the years, the expansion of this Arabian/Muslim culture has called for multitudes to follow in the steps of the original Meccans. Emigration is now a way of life. A way of jihad. The populations of European countries and even America give testimony that emigration jihad is very effective.

The Christian way of emigration is a bit different, and sometimes even more effective. While unlike the method of natural childbirth used by Muslim and Catholic, the Christian takes the seed of the Word of God into a foreign land, and God Himself increases His family members in that place, to the point where entire tribes are often converted to Jesus, and nations are turned from darkness into light by a growing presence of God's people. Our jihadists are called missionaries, apostles, and may their tribes increase!

Muhammad next introduces the regulation that Muslims entering and conquering a foreign land are to collect from its citizens tribute, much as conquering tribes of old.

Jesus calls us to ignore the ridiculous assumption that we, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, are bound to pay taxes to a usurper, which would include anyone except Jesus. Ignore the notion, he implies, but not the taxes. So as not to offend the government, whether it be our own or a Muslim infiltrator, we smile and we give them what they ask, knowing our God will provide what we need in spite of their unjust demands.

Oh what a different people we are! Sometimes it is hard for me to stay focused on the Koran, when the Bible's truths keep shining through! The Koran has strengthened greatly my faith in Jesus and His true word by reminding me there is no viable alternative to Truth that comes from Heaven, which Truth we have in Jesus and His Bible.

We will attempt to finish sura 9 at our next meeting.