Download the whole book, “A Comparison Guide between the Muslim Qur’an, the Jewish Tanakh, and the Christian Bible: A Simple and Helpful Summary of the Main Stories, Characters, and Beliefs of Global Monotheism” free HERE or on Kindle/Print/Audiobook HERE
1. The Spirit World
Do you know in the beginning God not only created what we can see but he also created that which we can't see? Heavenly beings, angels, we know them to serve God, to honor God, to go out as messengers of God. One of them named Lucifer, we read about in Ezekiel 28, rebelled against God. He was beautiful, he was wise, but he was proud. He resisted God, struggled against God, fought against God, led other angels against God. We call those angels who follow Satan, who follow the devil, who followed Lucifer, we call those angels, demons. We don't need to live in fear of them if we belong to Christ. I love 1 John 4:4, "Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world." We need to recognize and understand that the demons are real, but we also need to recognize that Jesus Christ defeated the devil with His work on the cross.
· Watch on YouTube - https://youtu.be/k_6NoVTPeLE
· Read in The Qur’an - 8:11-13; 38:76; 15:27-29; 15:30; 51:56; 32:13
· Read in The Tanakh and The Bible - Job 1:6-7, 38:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:11-19; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6
Readings from The Qur’an:
· The Qur'an 8:11-13 “We told the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves to Adam’, and they prostrated themselves, except Iblis (Satan), he refused to be of those who prostrated themselves. 12. (Allah) said: "What prevented you (O Iblis) that you did not prostrate yourself, when I commanded you?" Iblis said: "I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire, and him You created from clay." 13. (Allah) said: "(O Iblis) get down from this (Paradise), it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced.”
· The Qur’an 38:76 “[Iblis (Satan)] said: ‘I am better than he. You created me from fire, and You created him from clay.’”
· The Qur’an describes Satan’s sin as disobedience to Allah by not bowing down (prostrating) to Adam. Why does the Tanakh and Bible not speak to this?
· The Qur'an 15:27-29. “And the jinn, We created aforetime from the smokeless flame of fire. 28. And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: "I am going to create a man (Adam) from dried (sounding) clay of altered mud. 29. "So, when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him (Adam) the soul which I created for him, then fall (you) down prostrating yourselves unto him.”
· Why doesn’t the Tanakh or Bible ever describe Satan, demons, or angels as being created from fire?
· The Qur'an 15:30 “So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together”
· Why do the angels bow down (prostrate) themselves to Adam in the Qur’an while the angels of the Tanakh and Bible only bow down to God?
Qur’an 51:56 “And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).”
· Isn’t bowing down (prostration) an act of worship? Why would the angels be commanded to bow down to Adam but the jinn and humans are told to only worship Allah? Does Qur’an 51:56 contradict Qur’an 8:11 and 15:30?
· The Qur’an 32:13 “I will fill Hell with jinn and mankind together.”
· Why do the Tanakh and Bible never describe a category of beings called “jinn”? Who does the Bible say will fill Hell?
Readings from The Tanakh and The Bible:
· Job 1:6–7 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. [7] The LORD said to Satan, ‘From where have you come?’ Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’”
· Job 38:6–7 “On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, [7] when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
· How does the Bible describe Satan?
· Isaiah 14:12–15 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! [13] You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; [14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ [15] But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.”
· Why would Satan want to be like God? Why is that sinful?
· Ezekiel 28:11–19 “Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me: [12] “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. [13] You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. [14] You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. [15] You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. [16] In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. [17] Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. [18] By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. [19] All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”
· 2 Peter 2:4 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment”
· Jude 6 “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day”
o Pride is the prevailing sin of Satan in the Qur’an, Tanakh, and Bible. How would you describe pride? How have you been tempted with pride? How have you been arrogant towards God?
See also:
· “What does the Bible say about Angels, Demons and Spiritual Warfare?” www.trustworthyword.com/sw-angels-demons
· On Angels:
o “What does the Bible say about the Names of Angels?” www.trustworthyword.com/names-of-angels
o “What does the Bible say about what Angels Can Do?” www.trustworthyword.com/works-of-angels
o “What does the Bible say about the Character of Angels?” www.trustworthyword.com/character-of-angels
· On Satan:
o “What does the Bible say about the Names of Satan?” www.trustworthyword.com/names-of-satan
o “What does the Bible say about the Works of Satan?” www.trustworthyword.com/works-of-satan
o “What does the Bible say about the Character of Satan?”www.trustworthyword.com/character-of-satan
· On Demons:
o “What does the Bible say about the Names of Demons?” www.trustworthyword.com/names-of-demons
o “What does the Bible say about the Works of Demons?” www.trustworthyword.com/works-of-demons
o “What does the Bible say about the Character of Demons?” www.trustworthyword.com/character-of-demons