Page 77 - Demo

Muhammad in the Bible David Benjamin KeldaniEdited & Annotated by: Prof. Dawud M. R. Alhanbali & Prof, Dr. Kaseb A. Albadran ( 77 )throne the profligate kings and to cast them into the hell-fire. The “Revelation of Baruch” and that of Ezra —the Fourth Book of Esdrasin the Vulgate— speak of the appearance of “the Son of Man” who will establish the powerful Kingdom of Peace upon the ruins of the Roman Empire. All these Apocryphal Revelationsshow the state of the Jewish mind aboutthe coming of the last great Deliverer whom they surname “the Son of Man” and “the Messiah.” Jesus(pbuh) could not be unaware of and unfamiliar with this literature and this ardent expectation of his people. Jesus Christ (pbuh) is reported to have declared that the Son of Man “will separate the sheep from the goats.”32 The “sheep” symbolize the believing Israelites who will enter into the Kingdom but the “goats” signify the unbelieving Jews who had joined with the enemies of the true religion and were consequently doomed to perdition. This was practically what the Apocalypse of Enoch had predicted about the Son of Man. Jesus(pbuh) simply confirmed the revelation of Enoch and gave it a Divine character. He himself was sentto exhortthe sheep of Israel33 to remain faithful to God and await patiently the advent of the Son of Man who was coming to save them forever from their enemies.The Son of Man is said to be “the Lord of the Sabbath day,” that is, he had the power to abrogate the law, which made it a holy day ofrest from labour and work.Jesus (pbuh) was a strict observer of the Sabbath, on which day he used to attend the services in the Temple or in the Synagogue. He32 Matt. xxv. 31-34.33 Matt. xv. 24.