Muslims and Jews share common fate!

  Much has been said and written of late concerning the fate of the Jewish
  people in Israel. With all the violent jihadist talk of the Muslims that
  surround them and are in the midst of them many people are concerned. Hamas
has apparently obtained
  control of the Palestinian authority and refuses to lay down their arms or
  recognize the state of Israel. The leader of Iran calls for the destruction
of
  Israel and the Jewish people in the name of Allah. While it is easy for us
as
  followers of Jesus Christ to empathize with the fate of God's first born
  chosen people (even though God says He will bless them that bless them and
  curse them that curse them, Genesis 12:3), it is also important for us all
to
  remember that both the Muslims as well as the Jews need Jesus Christ or they
  will continue to fight each other forever eternally separated from the one
and
  only true God.
  I have a Lebanese Muslim friend who now teaches at a local college. He is a
  brilliant young man who likes American Jews who he has studied with and
shares
  research assignments with, but he hates Israel. We argue for hours but there
  is never a resolution. When I tell him that God gave that land to the Jewish
  people, he scoffs. He says that Abraham made his covenant with Ishmael. He
  says that that land is holy to Islam and it is affront to have a Jewish
  presence in the third holist site in Islam. When I state that Jerusalem is
not
  even mentioned in the Koran he says that it is. When I say that Allah is not
  Jehovah but a pagan moon god he gets riled. When I say that the Koran says
  that Allah has no son, he agrees, but he still thinks we have the same god.
We
  go in circles.
  One day I told him that in spite of my support for the Jewish people in
Israel
  and his support for Hamas and Islam, both of our peoples were going to hell
  without Jesus. I told him that hell was going to be him locked in a closet
  with an Israeli (Jew) for eternity. That comment touched him more than any
  rational or biblical argument that I had tried to muster over the years. He
  looked at me with his mouth open and a wild eyed look on his face.
  We all have to remember that only Jesus, the Prince of Peace, will be able
to
  bring peace to that region. Both Judaism as well as Islam are works oriented
  religions that believe that a person's good deeds must outweigh their bad
  deeds, but ironically in both cases, only God or Allah ultimately decides
who
  enters heaven or goes to hell. There is no blessed assurance of salvation as
  there is to all who believe in Jesus Christ like there is in Christianity.
  According to the Talmud (B'rakhot 28b), even Rabbi Yochanan Ben-Zakkai, one
of
  the greatest rabbis in Jewish history, who after the destruction of the
Temple
  in 70 AD, convened the Yavneh Council to determine the future of Judasim,did
  not know where he was going when he died. He prayed, was kosher, and was
pious
  more than anyone else and still he did not know.

  "Now I am being led before the supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed
be
  He who lives and endures forever. If He is angry with me, He is angry
forever.
  If He imprisons me, He imprisons me forever. If He puts me to death, he puts
  me to death forever. I can't persuade Him with words or bribe Him with
money.
  Moreover, there are two ways ahead of me-one leads to Gan-Eden
  (Paradise-Heaven) and one leads to Gay-Hinnom (Hell) and I do not know which
  one will take me. How can I do anything but weep?"

  Thus while Jews are mandated to do good works, even the most righteous of
  rabbis, did not know on his deathbed if he would go to heaven or hell. It
was
  all up to God. This is very similar to Islam which is not surprising because
  Muhammad was very influenced by the Jew's Torah, the Prophets, the Talmud,
the
  Midrash and even some apocryphal works.

  The Quran states:
  "Allah forgives whom he pleases and punishes whom he pleases for Allah has
  power over all things" surah 2:284
  "Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy, they will be successful.
  But those whose balance is light will be those who have lost their souls; in
  hell they will abide" surah 23:102-103

  Muhammad departed from Judaism in many ways which led the Jews to reject his
  teachings. In particular, he departed from Judaism in calling for a violent
  propagation of Islam. In fact he called for the death of the unbelieving
Jews.

  "Fight against them until there is no dissension and the religion is for
  Allah." surah 2:193

  One sure way to get into heaven was to die a martyr. In Christianity, Jesus
  came to be our sin bearer and to die for us (Romans 3:24). He shed His blood
  so we did not have to. In Islam, Muhammad commanded his followers to shed
  their blood and the blood of others to get into heaven.

  "And if you are slain or die in the way of Allah, forgiveness and mercy from
  Allah are far better than all they could amass." surah 3:157

  When a Christian lies on his deathbed, he does not have to weep not knowing
if
  Jesus will take him to heaven or send him to hell. He does not have to kill
  others or die a martyr to have assurance of heaven. All he has to have done
is
  call upon the name of Jesus to save him from his rightful destiny in hell
and
  bear his sins and make him righteous in Him.

  "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans
  10:13

  We are saved by God's grace not our works.

  "For by grace you are saved through faith and that is not of yourselves, it
is
  a gift of God not of works lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

  And we know that this is not to be forced upon anybody no matter what the
  Crusaders or Grand Inquisitors or New world Explorers thought.

  "Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest."
  Matthew 11:28-30

  And we know that this peace and this salvation only comes through the name
of
  Jesus Christ-not Moses nor Muhammad nor Mary.

  "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under
  heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12

  We as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have that blessed assurance of
  eternal life with Him (John 5:24, 1John 5:13). We don't have to earn it or
  kill for it. All we have to do is to believe. It is so easy yet it is
  foolishness for those who are perishing (1Corinthians 1:18).
  We all need to pray that both the Muslims as well as the Jews have their
eyes
  opened to the truth of Jesus Christ for this is the only way that they will
  ever be at peace with one another or with God.
  Stephen Yulish