EXPLANATORY NOTES

¹Book: How to Witness In The Spirit

²At this point, you may have some argumentative Muslims who will tell you the Bible actually talks about the coming of Mohammed, not just Christ. They will ask you why you do not also believe in Mohammed. You need to ask him which verses talk about the coming of Mohammed. Most likely you will end up returning to the issue of the authenticity of the Bible, and whether or not it has been changed. Some Muslims, however, if they have really learned and studied a lot, will point to the prophecy Jesus gave: "I will send you the Comforter". In Greek, the word "Comforter" is "Paracletos". If this word is changed just a bit -- to "Paracletas" -- it would, in Arabic, mean "Mahmood", which means "being thanked" or "thankful". It has the same root as Mohammed. They will say that the Bible was changed, from saying, "I will send you Mahmood," to "I will send you the Comforter". In John, chapters 14 and 16, however, we see that the word Paracletos is never used by itself. Whenever Christ speaks of the Comforter in these chapters, He always says who He is -- the Spirit of truth. Take time to read these verses with them. If the Muslim is really enjoying the discussion, read right into Acts 2 in which the Spirit of truth actually comes to the disciples.

³It is not necessary for you to become knowledgeable of the whole content of the Koran, although it would be profitable, it you are able, to read it, as well as any other books you can find on witnessing to Muslims. There are, however, two schools of thought concerning use of the Koran in Muslim evangelism. One says verses from the Koran should always be used, and the other says they should never be used. The former group believes that using the Koran will prove the accuracy of the Bible, while the latter believes this will bring the Koran up to the same level. The typical Muslim might say, "If the Koran proves what you are saying, then I will continue believing it as it includes the same things -- why do I need the Bible?" I tend to lean toward the second school, but am not dogmatic about it, because it is important for a Muslim to know you understand Islam. In this particular case, it is crucial that you understand the verse and where it comes from.

⁴There may be some argument here as to which son Abraham offered to the LORD. Muslims believe it was Ishmael, and this is important because Arabs are known to be the descendants of Ishmael. Because of this, the idea of God's redemption of Ishmael, while it is wrong scripturally, is very important, because it signifies God's love for and redemption of the Arab race. Try to avoid a long, drawn-out discussion of this, and focus instead on the concept of Abraham taking his son and offering him to God.

Appendix A - Old Testament Messianic Prophecies...


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