"That Prophet"?

By: Yusuf Estes


"Are you THAT Prophet?"

[Bible - John 1:20]


"The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto
you."

[Bible - John 14:26]


Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "A messenger will come after me,named Ahmad."

[Quran 61:6]


The chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist, "If you are not the Christ
(Messiah), and not Elijah - are you THAT Prophet?"

[John 1:20]


When the chief priests and Levites asked John the Baptist who he was, they asked
him in a very strange way. First the questioned him as to whether or not he was
the anticipated "Messiah" [Christ in Koine Greek]. He was not the "Messiah" that
had hoped for. Next they asked if he was the prophet Elijah and again he tells
them, "No." Now comes the really strange part. Finally, they asked him if he is
"That Prophet?"

1. Are you Christ? - [No]

2. Are you Elijah? - [No]

3. Are you THAT Prophet? - [No]


What did they mean by "That Prophet?" We of course, know who the "Christ" is.
After all, Christians should know that "Christ" is merely a shortened form of
the Koine Greek word "christos," intended to mean the Hebrew word "Messiah."


The Jews of two thousand years ago were definitely looking for the Messiah, who
it was foretold in their books, would come and lead them to victory over their
oppressors and thus gain for them mastery over this world. They were very
oppressed under Roman domination and even their own Jewish kings were seen as
nothing more than puppets or agents for the disbelievers. Certainly, they would
have been most happy to see someone come on the scene who would defeat their
Roman masters and slave drivers.


Then the priests and Levites asked John the Baptist if he might be the prophet
Elijah, returning back after hundreds of years being away. There was the notion
amongst them that Elijah would come back. But again, John the Baptist is denying
he is Elijah.


Then, who is he? They wonder at this man living out in the desert and forsaking
wealth and luxury and fasting, avoiding the material attractions of life.


Again, they ask John the Baptist who he is. "Are you THAT Prophet?" And one more
time he denies being "THAT Prophet," but then he does tell them about someone
who will come after him soon, whom he claims he is not worthy to even unlace his
shoes.


However, this does not answer the question, "Who were they expecting besides the
Messiah?" Could it be they were looking for someone like Muhammad? (Could be)


Who is THAT Prophet? -


Keep reading and learn who "That Prophet" is and what other proofs can be
discovered within the Holy texts to support this idea.


For centuries Muslims have believed Jesus, peace be upon him, was "THAT Prophet"
mentioned in these words of the Gospel of John. The Quran states one of the
important features of Jesus' mission was to give the "bashir" or 'glad tidings'
of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. During his short
missionary career that lasted not more than three years, and which was
overshadowed by the hostile attitude of his own people, Jesus gave them the good
news of Ahmad, (one of the forms of "Muhammad") the last messenger of God, who
would perfect the divine teaching both in theory and in practice. The Quran
mentions that, Jesus says:

"O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah {Almighty God} (sent) to you,
confirming the Law (Torah or Old Testament) before me, and giving glad tidings
of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." (Surah 61:6)


The Quran gives the name as Ahmad, one of several ways to say Muhammad's name.
Just as we have in English the name Joseph, and often use a shorter form such as
"Joe" or the familiar form, "Joey," and other names like "Jonathan" which
becomes "John"; "Jack" or "Johnny", so in the same way we find Arabic has
similar forms for a name. Muhammad, Ahmad and Hamad are a few of the names
originating from the root word, "hamd" (meaning 'praise) in Arabic, and can be
understood as "The one who praises (God)"; "the praised one"; "praising"; etc.


Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his translation of the meanings of the Quran to English,
he states, "Ahmad or Muhammad, the Praised One is a translation of the Koine
Greek word Periclytos. In the present gospel of John 14:16, 15:26 and 16:7, the
Greek word Paracletos is translated in the NIV as Comforter. Paracletos can mean
an Advocate, or "one called to the help of another", "a kind friend." Muhammad,
peace be upon him, was known from birth as one who brought comfort and
reconciliation to family, friends and strangers alike, especially in bringing
together the ties of kinship and brotherly love.


Another nick name of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, mentioned in the
Bible (or at least what is left of it in the English language) is "The Spirit of
Truth." As-Saddiq means exactly that and it is was another name given to
Muhammad, peace be upon him, by those who knew his proclivity for honesty and
integrity.


The New Testament Gospel according to John, Jesus, peace be upon him, promises
them the Paracletos will come four times (John 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7).
Naturally, Jesus, peace be upon him, did not return in their lifetime nor did
any other prophet for that matter, so later thinkers came up with the notion
that it was not Jesus "in person" but rather, Jesus coming back in "spirit form."
This led some Christians to assert, this was to be the Holy Spirit, who would
descend upon the disciples on the Day of the Pentecost (Acts 2), to witness
Christ and lead them into the whole truth and to be with the believers forever,
and they would not die (John 3:16), but have everlasting life. Also, some added
verses later (see footnotes to Revised Standard Version of the Bible) to the
very last chapter of Mark (16), wherein, they have the Spirit coming upon them
in such a way they imagined themselves going to be able to speak with new
languages; pick up snakes, lay hands on the sick to cure them and even drink
poison and nothing would hurt them. [Luke 23:17-18]


Another point is, the Paracletos, comforter or the Spirit of truth, was going to
dwell with us from now on. Certainly anyone could see Muhammad's influence and
his message of worshipping only One God without any partners has prevailed long
after his earthly life.