* Read online for video viewing & lots of resources *
This article is extremely important and thought-provoking, particularly in light of the extensive and increasingly ubiquitous deceptions afoot in the Christian world and church. I urge you to get on Pastor Gary Gilley's Southern View Chapel email feed HERE. It was through SVC's email feed that I received the article. There are pitifully few sound theological minds available to us in 2013 and SVC's website provides access to them. Part 2 of this subject will be posted tomorrow. CMR.
This article is extremely important and thought-provoking, particularly in light of the extensive and increasingly ubiquitous deceptions afoot in the Christian world and church. I urge you to get on Pastor Gary Gilley's Southern View Chapel email feed HERE. It was through SVC's email feed that I received the article. There are pitifully few sound theological minds available to us in 2013 and SVC's website provides access to them. Part 2 of this subject will be posted tomorrow. CMR.
Think on These Things Articles
An
Evaluation of Muslim Dreams & Visions of Isa (Jesus) Part 1 by Dennis
McBride
June/July
2013, Volume 19, Issue 3
Much confusion surrounds the numerous
stories coming from Islamic people concerning their dreams and visions leading
to conversions. “Think on These Things” published an article by Richard Fisher
in 2008 entitled “Don’t You Believe It.” The next two issues will be composed
of an article written by Pastor Dennis McBride. I believe Pastor McBride has
done an excellent and thorough job of analyzing these experiences in the light
of Scripture.
Gary E. Gilley
Beginning of
article by Pastor Dennis McBride
My Goal: The goal of
this paper is to evaluate the reported phenomenon of Jesus (Isa) appearing to
some Muslims in dreams and visions [1], and to discern if such reports fit the
pattern of Scripture as determined through conservative grammatical/historical
principles of interpretation (hermeneutics).
My Concerns: I first
became aware of the Muslin dreams phenomenon through a Christian brother who
spoke with great excitement about a special moving of the Lord within Muslim
communities. I wanted to share his excitement because I knew something of the
difficulties of Muslim evangelism, and the great joy missionaries experience
over even one Muslim coming to faith in Christ. However, over the course of our
conversations my questions and concerns started to mount.
In short, I
questioned if it was really Jesus appearing to these people, and if so, why?
What special circumstances at this point in redemptive history would
necessitate Him personally intervening, when He said it would be the Holy
Spirit’s role to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment through
the preaching of the gospel by human preachers (John16:8;
Rom. 10:14-15;
1 Cor. 1:21)?
I had no
desire to resist or even question what God might be doing, but I feared these
dreams of Isa might be little more than extra-biblical psychological or
spiritual encounters that could supplant God’s Word and potentially lead their
participants away from biblical authority rather than into it. And I was
greatly concerned to hear the supposedly biblical rationale some of my fellow
conservative Bible teachers were offering in defense of this movement. Some
former defenders of the centrality and sufficiency of God’s Word in evangelism
seemed suddenly to be sacrificing that doctrine on the altar of subjective
mystical encounters. I needed to understand why, and to evaluate their
rationale by God’s Word. I also needed to examine Isa’s communication to
determine if it was consistent with Christ’s communication while He was on
earth.
My Prayer: I rejoice
that many Muslims are coming to faith in Christ, and I pray the Lord will send
many more laborers into those fields. However, as Christians we have a mandate
to guard God’s Word with all diligence and to test all claims of divine
communication (1 Thess 5:20-21; Acts 17:11).
This study is an attempt to do that.
Throughout
this study I raise a number of questions about various aspects of this
phenomenon, and I welcome the reader’s responses, whether they agree or
disagree with my conclusions. I also welcome input on aspects I may have
overlooked but need to consider.
My
Conclusion: This study concludes that the biblical support offered
for the Muslim dreams phenomenon, when evaluated within the context of
Scripture, does not, in fact, support the phenomenon. Therefore, I conclude
that these dreams and visions lack biblical authority and must therefore be
viewed as extra-biblical experiences generated from sources other than the Holy
Spirit.
Four
Representative Descriptions or Views of the Muslim Dreams Phenomenon:
The following
quotes are taken from the sources footnoted and reflect the primary views in
support of this phenomenon.
Description/View
#1 – We are now hearing many stories of people coming to
faith in Christ as the result of a dream or vision where He appears to them,
inviting them to trust in Him. This is particularly happening in the Muslim
world. Many people instantly know it's the Lord Jesus when He appears to them,
but some do not. In some dreams and visions, He tells them who He is, and in
others He does not—He just loves them and calls them to come to Him. After the
dream/vision, the Lord provides someone to identify Him as they continue to
seek Him. (We see something similar in the story of Cornelius in Acts 10.)
So, from what
I understand, people are putting their trust in Christ, but some don't know
anything more about Him than that He is God, He loves them and He invites them
to trust in Him. Two recurrent invitations continue to appear in the dreams and
visions we are hearing about: 1) "I am the way, the truth and the
life," and 2) "You belong to Me." As people are then able to get
a copy of the Bible or talk to a Christian, their knowledge of Christ, the
Cross, and the Christian life grows, as well as their faith and their
understanding of who Jesus is and what He did.
For years, I
have heard that God's only plan for evangelism is for us to share the gospel.
But these stories show that sometimes, Jesus goes directly to a person. And, in
Revelation 14:6,
there is an angel who takes the gospel to men.
So what that
means is that if a person has never heard of Jesus through the preaching of the
gospel, that is no obstacle for God. He can, and testimony shows that He does,
appear directly to—and call a person to—have faith in Him. We still need to
diligently pursue the Great Commission and take the gospel to all nations,
since evangelism through the changed lives of Christ-followers is still God's
main plan. But God's hands are not tied by our inability (or laziness, or
selfishness, or disobedience) to get the gospel to everyone He has chosen for
eternal life. [2]
Description/View
#2 – There are many ways that people who have grown up
and lived their lives in the Western part of the world will differ from the
person who has grown up in the Eastern part of the world. Their foods differ.
Their clothing differs. These things are mostly accepted and understand, but
that same sort of understanding must continue to be brought to the forefront with
regard to views on the supernatural.
Dreams and
visions have been a known reality especially within the region we now know as
the Middle East dating back to the days of Joseph. Both the Bible and the
Qur'an document the stories of Joseph and his interpretation of dreams, not to
mention the vision he was given. God was moving through dreams and visions then
and He continues to speak through them today. Likewise, there is no reason not
to believe that he will speak through them in the future. Instead, the words of
Joel once again serve as a reminder that old men will “dream dreams” and young
men will “see visions.”
In lands
where people have never seen the words of God in written form and they may not
even know how to read at all, God is still speaking to them and revealing
Himself to them through dreams and visions. Within the lives of people so
entrenched in the rituals and structure of Islam, God is breaking through with
dreams and visions. In societies that are already open to the reality of the
supernatural, God is showing himself to be a power above all powers, a name
above all names. In the still of the night or the calm of a moment, God is
using a form of communication that is not new, but instead echoes through
generations. It is not the only way for Him to reach them, but case after case
shows that it is one way. Missionaries have a choice to either ignore the
reality or dare to believe and ask that God would invade their friends' dreams,
too, and reveal the truth of Jesus Christ to them as he has done in the lives
of countless individuals.[3]
Description/View
#3 – The visions or dreams we are discussing, and as
documented in Muslim countries and elsewhere, come on two occasions. First,
they come as heralds of the gospel, to non-believers. They open the eyes, point
to, or start the search for the gospel message that is to come in its fullness.
It is not the gospel itself, which only comes through the Word of God, written,
or shared by a follower of Jesus either in person or over the radio and such. Think
of Cornelius, who received a vision but was presented the gospel by Peter.
Once the
gospel is received, the dreams stop. They do not return until and only if there
is a great need for spiritual ministering such as under torture or martyrdom.
They may, but not always, return under those circumstances as a vision of the
waiting glory to come. Think of Steven. This is the pattern that missionaries
see and the pattern that is seen in Scripture. . . [The dreams and visions] are
not ongoing and indiscriminate in their nature and never add to the canon. They
are given to nonbelievers in the first instance and to spiritually needy
believers in the second instance. [4]
Description
/View #4 – Just as God used a vision to convert Paul, in like
manner He reveals Himself to Muslims through dreams. Just as God prepared
Cornelius to hear the gospel through a vision, so God is preparing a multitude
of Muslims to respond to His good news.[5]
Primary
Considerations: Below are the primary considerations on this issue,
most of which are reflected in one or more of the descriptions quoted above. I
will address them in question and answer format.
1. Should we
question an experience that helps lead someone to faith in Christ?
Why make an
issue of how Muslims come to faith in Christ, as long as they come to
faith? And doesn’t the fact that they come to faith legitimize the means by
which they come? Those are fair questions, and the most concise answers are: 1)
God commands us to be discerning in all things 2) the end doesn’t justify the
means if the means fail the test of Scripture, and 3) this isn’t merely an
experience; it’s a significant spiritual movement based on subjective mystical
encounters that must have objective biblical support before they can be
classified as truly Christian. Testing what claims to be from God is every
Christian’s responsibility (1 Thess. 5:20-21;
1 John 4:1-3),
and exercising caution about claims of Jesus speaking personally to Muslims is
as important as exercising caution about any reports of divine
communication beyond the text of Scripture itself.
In Acts 17:11
God commends the Bereans for putting the gospel itself to the test. But testing
Muslim dreams is more difficult by far than testing the gospel because the
gospel is a singular, cohesive, objective entity readily affirmed by direct
biblical support; whereas these personal dreams are numerous, varied,
subjective, and virtually impossible to test fully due to their extra-biblical
content.
2. Is this a
secondary doctrinal issue?
It has been
argued that the fact of Muslims coming to Christ is so significant that
the means by which they come is inconsequential. Therefore, to question
the validity of dreams and visions is to miss the point and to nitpick over
“secondary doctrines” when we should be rejoicing over God’s grace toward these
people.
However,
examining claims of Jesus appearing to Muslims does not diminish the value of
Muslim converts. Just as God calls us to evangelize the lost and rejoice in
their salvation, He also calls us to guard His Word and rejoice in the truth.
One is not to be set against the other by improperly juxtaposing salvation and
sound doctrine.
Claims that
Jesus personally speaks to individuals today under any circumstances is
not a secondary doctrinal issue by any means. Any time someone claims to have
heard the voice of God, and especially if they claim to have seen Jesus, it’s
of utmost importance to verify what Jesus reportedly did and said.
3. Are we to
test the message or the messenger?
Discerning
rightly between the message and the messenger is a key component in testing
this phenomenon. That is to say, we can’t conclude that Isa is who he claims to
be, or who his hearers perceive him to be, simply because his message has some
biblical content (i.e., Scripture verses), or because God may use those verses
to help bring the dreamers to saving faith. God’s Word will accomplish its
intended purposes regardless of the messenger. That’s why Paul could rejoice
even when men who wanted nothing more than to cause him grief proclaimed Jesus
(Philippians 1:15-18).
But even in his rejoicing Paul still exposed the sinful motives of those
messengers, thereby demonstrating that the message doesn’t necessarily validate
the messenger.
In Gal. 1:8,
where Paul’s focus is primarily on the message, he also addresses the
messengers, and does so in the strongest possible language: “Even if we or an
angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have
preached to you, let him be accursed.” That’s a hypothetical scenario involving
a false message, but coupled with Phil. 1:15-18
it shows the need to test both message and messenger, and to reject the
“end justifies the means” approach to the Muslim dreams phenomenon offered by
some of its advocates (i.e., “people are getting saved; therefore it must be
Jesus appearing to them”, or “people are getting saved; therefore we shouldn’t
question the means by which they are coming to faith”).
As important
as the messengers are, the power of the gospel to redeem souls is not dependent
on their identity or credibility. Therefore one can rejoice in Muslim
conversions while still expressing concerns about the messenger, especially
since the Isa of Muslim dreams isn’t simply calling Muslim’s to believe in the
Jesus of the Bible; he is calling them to believe in him (Isa),
therefore claiming to be God and worthy of their worship.
That’s one of
my primary concerns with this phenomenon. To believe in the Jesus of the Bible
is one thing; to believe in the “Jesus” of one’s dreams is quite another.
Muslims who are “coming to Jesus” are equating the two, as are many who
minister to Muslims and who pray Isa will appear to more Muslims so more will
be “saved.” Therefore, it may be even more important to discern between this
messenger and his message than in either of Paul’s two examples cited
above. Paul’s were messengers with false motives or false messages; Isa is a
messenger claiming to be God! [6]
4. Does this
phenomenon constitute ongoing revelation?
Some
supporters of Muslim dreams also affirm that divine revelation ceased with the
completion of the canon of Scripture. They see no contradiction in those
positions because they don’t view these dreams as ongoing revelation. Isa, they
say, isn’t adding to Scripture; he’s merely reiterating what has already been
revealed (i.e., Scripture verses and biblical principles).
A Doctrinal
Contradiction: However, the doctrine of no ongoing revelation affirms
that Christians have no message from God apart from the text of Scripture[7]
In other words, Scripture alone is God’s verbal communication to
mankind, which excludes all other supposed communication from
Him, including Jesus speaking in contemporary dreams and visions. Therefore,
one can’t affirm both cessation of divine revelation and Jesus personally
communicating with Muslims (or anyone else). They are mutually exclusive
doctrines.
A Divine
Encounter: Claiming that these dreams aren’t intended to add to
Scripture doesn’t change the fact that they are appeals to divine revelation.
Content aside, the encounter itself, if true, is revelatory. It is God
revealing Himself personally beyond His self-disclosure in Scripture.
Therefore, any personal encounter with God is rightly considered ongoing
revelation.
New Messages
from Jesus: Additionally, in Muslim dreams Isa is reportedly
communicating not only Bible verses, but also messages of encouragement,
instruction, exhortation, prophecies, and other information not included in
Scripture. That’s ongoing (or additional) revelation, especially since it
reportedly comes from God Himself. Granted, it’s not intended to be canonized,
but it is divine revelation nonetheless. When Jesus Himself speaks, how can it
be anything less than authoritative divine revelation? Fact is, far from
being non-revelatory, these hundreds of appearances of Isa suggest a
contemporary period of divine revelation rivaling the New Testament era itself.
5. Can God
communicate the gospel supernaturally?
Does
Scripture disallow Jesus (post-ascension) personally communicating to
unbelievers to prepare them to receive the gospel? That’s a fair question, but
I think the more appropriate question is: where does Scripture teach that He will
do that? And do the biblical accounts of visions serve as parallels or
patterns for what is occurring today in some Muslim communities?
Could God Do
It? Before answering those questions, I want to comment on
the hypothetical question of whether God could communicate His gospel
apart from human instrumentality if He chose to do so. The answer, of course,
is yes, He could. However, He has already decreed both the end and the means
of salvation, and has revealed His decree in Scripture. The end is that
all the elect will be saved and none lost (John 6:39-40);
the means is through faith in Christ in response to the Spirit-empowered
gospel proclaimed by human instrumentality (e.g., Matt. 28:19-20;
Acts 2:36-40;
Rom. 1:16;
10:13-15).
Jesus
personally communicating the gospel at this point in redemptive history would
be outside His revealed decree, which would be a highly exceptional situation.
That raises the questions of what aspects of Muslim evangelism constitute a
highly exceptional situation that would require God to work outside His
revealed decree, and is there clear Scriptural support for Him doing so? I will
answer those questions below as I examine the texts used to support Isa’s
appearances.
6. Is this
phenomenon consistent with the Holy Spirit’s convicting role?
Toward the
end of His earthly ministry, Jesus told His disciples He had to leave so the
Holy Spirit could come. And He told them the Spirit would convict the world of
sin, righteousness and judgment, and would guide people into all truth. He
would also reveal the things of Christ, impart illumination and saving faith,
and regenerate human hearts (cf. John 16:5-15;
1 Cor. 1:12-16).
We know from Romans 1:18-20
and 2:14-15
that general revelation (i.e., external creation and internal conscience) is
God’s self-revelation to everyone; that’s why all are without excuse and
accountable before Him (Rom. 2:20; 3:9). Also, general revelation is how He pre-conditions His
elect to the gospel. Those who by grace respond to general revelation receive
additional (special) revelation through God’s Word and the Spirit’s ministry.
Why then is it necessary for Jesus to make personal appearances to prepare
someone to receive the gospel when that’s the specific role of the Holy Spirit?
All
unbelievers are equally lost and can be saved only if the Father grants them
faith (John 6:65),
draws them (John 6:44),
opens their hearts to the truth (Acts 16:14),
and teaches them (John 6:45). That’s how every unbeliever comes to faith. There
is no unbelief that is beyond the reach of the Holy Spirit’s convicting and
regenerating power, and which requires personal visitations from Jesus to
convince it of the truth of the gospel.
7. Does the
church’s failure to evangelize Muslims necessitate Jesus’ personal
intervention?
Some say that
Jesus has to intervene personally because the church has failed to evangelize
Muslims. However, that could be said of any people group in any area at any
time in church history, and even of individuals in our own culture who haven’t
heard the gospel because a Christian friend failed to share it. If that were
the case, dreams and visions would be commonplace.
Perhaps the
church has failed in some measure to evangelize Muslims, and I pray that
Christians will be increasingly active in reaching out to them. But the third
description of this phenomenon cited above echoes a common assertion that the
dreams and visions “open the eyes, point to, or start the search for the gospel
message that is to come in its fullness. It is not the gospel itself, which
only comes through the Word of God, written, or shared by a follower of Jesus
either in person or over the radio and such.”
That
description argues against failure on the part of the church to reach out to
Muslims. If Muslims are receiving the gospel that can only come through God’s
Word, written or shared by a follower of Jesus, then of necessity Christians
are involved in the process. So despite any evangelistic deficiencies within
the church, it appears God is still linking Muslims with Christians, either
directly or indirectly, to help get the job done.
However, my
main point here is that failure on the church’s part doesn’t necessitate Jesus
personally intervening through dreams and visions, because it’s the Holy
Spirit’s role to direct the elect to the gospel and the gospel to the elect.
Could the Spirit prompt unredeemed elect individuals to dream about Jesus and
use those dreams to open their hearts to the gospel? Of course He could. But
that’s not what’s being claimed. To have a dream about Jesus, even a
Spirit-directed dream, is different from Jesus revealing Himself in a dream.
One is natural; the other is supernatural. One is a natural dream; the other is
a divine revelation. Those distinctions must be understood and maintained.
8. What did
Jesus say about His future appearances?
Immediately
after Jesus ascended into heaven, two men (angels) said to the onlookers, “Men
of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been
taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have
watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
And when He does come to earth again, it will be “in the glory of His Father
with His angels” (Matt. 16:27). Jesus warned about any supposed appearances
prior to that time (Matt. 24).
Those
passages refer specifically to Christ’s physical return to earth at some future
point in time, but do they also preclude Him appearing in dreams or visions
prior to that time? We can’t answer that question conclusively from those
texts, but we can conclude that the only teaching Jesus gave concerning
His future appearances on earth relate to His physical return. Therefore, we
mustn’t conclude that other appearances are permissible unless Scripture
elsewhere permits us to do so. With that in mind, I’ll briefly discuss the
relevant New Testament “visions” passages below (see #11) to see if they give a
green light to modern-day appearances of Jesus in dreams or visions.
9. Does
Scripture encourage expectations of personal visitations from Jesus?
Faith based
on God’s Word (spoken or written), not personal divine visitations, has been
the biblical requirement and standard since the birth of the church.[8] In
fact, with the exception of Paul on the road to Damascus, there is no biblical record
of Jesus appearing to any unbeliever following His ascension. And Scripture
nowhere encourages or even suggests praying for divine appearances as an
evangelism strategy or a means of comforting persecuted Christians during the
church age. That is utterly foreign to Scripture. Yet the challenges to
propagate this phenomenon continue: “Missionaries have a choice to either
ignore the reality [of Muslim dreams] or dare to believe and ask that God
would invade their friends' dreams, too, and reveal the truth of Jesus
Christ to them as he has done in the lives of countless individuals” (italics
added). [9]
It’s
important to note that Jesus Himself commended those who believed without
seeing Him (John 20:24-29) [10], and He corrected the erroneous thinking
that a personal appearance of one who has died is more persuasive than hearing
God’s Word (Luke 16:19-31). [11] Peter, too, commended believers who loved
the Lord without having seen Him (1 Pet. 1:3-9).
That’s normal Christian faith. Additionally, there are no instructions or
regulating principles in the Pastoral Epistles regarding dreams or visions
(with the exception of the Col. 2:18-19
warning about false teachers who take their stand on such experiences), whereas
there are numerous and detailed instructions for teaching, preaching, and
guarding “the sacred writings which are able to give . . . the wisdom that
leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15;
see also 1 Tim. 4:13-16; 2 Tim. 4:1-4;
Titus 1:9-11).
10. Is Isa’s
message consistent with Scripture?
If Jesus were
appearing to unbelieving Muslims, it follows that His message would be
consistent with His message to unbelievers while on earth. But that is not the
case.
What Isa
Reportedly Says: As I read the various accounts of dreams, I’m struck
with the impossibility of testing them according to Scripture because their
extra-biblical content is so extensive and varied. Many of the dreams contain a
verse or two of Scripture, along with encouragement to seek the Savior spoken
of in the verses. In many, Isa either identifies himself as Jesus or is assumed
to be Jesus by the dreamers.
Reportedly,
some of the dreamers had no prior exposure to the Bible or the gospel, but most
of the accounts I’ve read indicate the dreamers had some prior exposure to the
Bible and/or Christians. Other accounts don’t comment on that aspect of the
story.
Most of the
content of the dreams relate generally to the circumstances of the various
dreamers (e.g., encouragement in trials or rescue from danger, which are common
themes). That kind of content can’t be tested by Scripture except by broad
measurements such as “does it encourage faith in Christ?” or “is it generally
consistent with biblical principles?” But those are vague and inadequate tests
for determining the divine origin of a dream or vision, as I will explain
below.
What Isa
Doesn’t Say: I’m most struck by what Isa doesn’t say in the
accounts I’ve read. Although the encounters are said to prepare the dreamers
for the gospel, there is little or no mention of sin, repentance, confession,
righteousness, or forgiveness; and no presentation of God’s holiness or
justice. Simply put, the need for salvation isn’t clarified (or in some
cases even mentioned), yet that was at the heart of Christ’s communication with
unbelievers when He was on earth. But Isa’s “gospel” is minimalistic and void
of any clear and concise call to repentance. Gospel clarity and precision would
be especially important for those Muslims who don’t have a biblical background
to draw from and who would therefore need to understand what God requires of
them.
Does Isa Pass
the Test? Jesus used a variety of approaches when speaking with
unbelievers, depending on the individual or group (e.g., Nicodemus, Rich Young
Ruler, Woman at the Well), but typically He identified who He was, confronted
their sin, called them to repentance, called them to believe in Him, cautioned
them to count the cost of discipleship, and then to take up their crosses daily
and follow Him. He didn’t state all those elements in every case, but
collectively they constituted the thrust of His message.
By way of
contrast, Isa typically identifies who he is (or the dreamer instinctively
knows who he is), and tells the dreamer he loves him and wants him (the
dreamer) to follow him (Isa). Sometimes the dreamer is overwhelmed with a sense
of love and peace just by being in Isa’s presence (which was never the
case with unbelievers in the presence of Jesus). So the message that emerges is
one of believing in Isa and following him apparently apart from the Holy Spirit
convicting of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8).
That’s the
pattern I see throughout the accounts I’ve read. Consequently I question the
substance of the message Isa is delivering, and the substance of the gospel
some of these Muslims are affirming. That’s not to say their conversions aren’t
genuine, especially given the fuller gospel presentation that some receive
subsequent to their initial dreams. But it is to say that the message
Isa is giving falls short of the message Jesus typically gave to unbelievers
while on earth. That shortcoming is a major point of consideration in
discerning if this really is Jesus speaking to these people.
Again, I
understand the assertion that Isa isn’t sharing the gospel but is merely
preparing dreamers for the gospel that is to come in greater fullness via a
human evangelist. But I still question the inconsistencies between Jesus’
preparation of unbelievers while on earth and Isa’s preparation via dreams.
Also, in some of the accounts I’ve read, Isa does, in fact, call on the
dreamers to believe in him. So the claim that he merely prepares them to
receive the gospel isn’t always consistent with the testimony record.
Additionally,
I have to wonder why Jesus wouldn’t share the gospel with Muslims if He
were appearing to them. He’s the most capable and powerful evangelist the world
has ever known. Yes, Rom. 10:13-15 says salvation comes by hearing the gospel
preached by a human, and that is part of the divine decree I mentioned above.
But those who affirm that Jesus is appearing to Muslims also affirm by
implication that God isn’t confined to His own decree in these instances, so
why would the human evangelist be necessary at all except in a follow-up
capacity?
The
conclusion to this article will appear in the next issue of TOTT.
[1] For the
sake of brevity, I will hereafter refer to the phenomenon simply as “Muslim
dreams”.
[2] Sue
Bohlin, What About the Person Who Never Heard of Jesus?, Probe
Ministries, www.probe.org.
[3] Good
News for the Crescent World , Dreams and Visions in the World of Folk
Islam: Could These be a Pathway to Jesus Christ?, http://www.gnfcw.com/images/dreams_and_visions.pdf.
[4] Former
Missions Chairman of a conservative evangelical church. I cite this unpublished
source because it’s a concise summary of the supposed biblical support for
Muslim dreams.
[5] Rick
Love, Muslims, Magic and the Kingdom of God (Pasadena: William Carey
Library, 2000), 156.
[6] See #9
below for an examination of Isa’s message.
[7] C.f. The
Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics, Article XXV: “We deny that the
preacher has any message from God apart from the text of Scripture” in Explaining
Hermeneutics: A Commentary on the Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics.
Oakland, California: International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, 1983
(http://www.bibleresearcher.com/chicago2.html).
[8] Cases
such as Paul, Cornelius, and Steven are directly related to the unique
Apostolic era, as discussed in section #11 below.
[9] Good
News for the Crescent World, Dreams and Visions in the World of Folk Islam
: could these be a pathway to Jesus Christ?,
http://www.gnfcw.com/images/dreams_and_visions.pdf.
[10] Jesus
said to Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they
who did not see, and yet believed.”
[11] In Luke 16:19-31,
Jesus tells the story of the rich man & Lazarus. While suffering torment in
Hades, the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers so
they wouldn’t end up there too. Abraham responded, “They have Moses and the
prophets; let them hear them.” The rich man replied, “No, father Abraham, but
if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!” But Abraham said to
him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be
persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.” (Vv. 29-31). That text alone
should erase any question about the sufficiency of God’s Word in bringing the
lost to salvation apart from any miraculous encounter or mystical experience.
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