A year ago, 16 men hijacked four planes. In doing so, they ended up killing themselves, the passengers of those planes, and many who were outside the planes when they crashed into buildings. They, at least in one sense, demonstrated they believed something. Some people would kill others because of their faith. These men killed themselves because of what they believed. What they believe, I think we'll see tonight, was truly an error. It was a dangerous error because it not only destroyed them but the lives of others. They didn't know Muhammad. We were studying something of his life this morning. They had never met him. He had been dead for 1400 years and had gone to his reward. But they did know the Quran. They had heard its teachings. They had been taught by others who had studied it. And they were being influenced by that which came from this book called the Quran. We have not spent time today dealing with all the other writings in Islam. There are many, a good many writings that have come down to us over 1400 years. We have gone to the very roots of what I consider to be the problem. That is the esteem that they have for this man they call Muhammad, who I believe to be a false prophet, and what they believe to be truth in the book of the Quran. Tonight I want us to look at what this book teaches. I want us to compare it with what the scripture teaches, the word of God teaches. I want us to see what it says about salvation especially and how it falls so woefully short. We trust tonight as we look at the glorious gospel of Christ that this object called the Koran will even be despised as we see the glory of the gospel that Christ has provided for his people. Paul spoke of the fact that in the last days there would come perilous times. Evil men would come, religious men would come, seducers would come. But he said in contrast to that, Timothy I want you to study the book. That book that you have known from childhood that's able to make you wise unto salvation? That book that has come from divine inspiration, literally as God breathed? That book that is profitable for doctrine or teaching? That's profitable for rebuke, for reproof? That book that's profitable to correct you, to instruct you? You're that book that is needful to furnish everything you need as a man of God. Study that book. And then Timothy, once you've studied that book, Put a trumpet to your lips and proclaim it. Let nobody stop you. Preach it in season when people want to hear it. Preach it out of season when they don't want to hear it. One day Christ is going to return for his people. And in light of the fact that he's coming, in light of the judgment, in light of the kingdom that shall follow, preach the word. Preach the word. Timothy, there's coming a day when they're not going to want to hear it. Their ears will be itching for some new thing. They'll want teachers that are going to coddle their flesh, teachers that are going to promote that which is sensual and wicked. He said, turn away from that and preach the Word. Tonight we're looking into a book that is God's Word, that is the Holy Scriptures, the 66 books that are before us. Tonight we're also going to look at a book that purports to be God's Word, that claims to be God's Word. Peter said that God's Word has a very clear center to it, a clear message to it. In 1 Peter 1, verses 10 and 11, the Old Testament is spoken of, and Peter says, Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come to you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. Salvation is the sufferings of Christ and the glory that follows. And what was spoken of in the Old Testament so clearly is the strong and clear message of the New Testament as well. In contrast to that message we have another book. A book that Muhammad said he received from the hand of Gabriel. one that was told to him and he told to his followers in reality Muhammad did not write this book as we'll see later he claimed or it was claimed of him that he was illiterate that he could not write he told this book to his followers and they memorized what he told them and then later after he was dead they wrote it down in the fashion of the Quran they're actually in the third caliph the third ruler as it were of the Muslims when they God rid of all the extraneous Korans that were around and actually centered on the one Koran that we have given to us. It was written in Arabic, it was not written in English. In the Koran we read these words. Therefore have faith in God and his apostle, the unlettered prophet, who believes in God and his commandments. Follow him so that you might be rightly guided. Well, does the Koran agree with the word that preceded it? That is the Old and the New Testaments. or does it contradict? Tonight let's look first of all at the claim of the Koran upon the life and then we'll get to the contradictions in that Koran with the scriptures. First of all they claim it's from God. This unlettered prophet who sometimes is called the Gentile prophet, this unlettered prophet was one who spoke the word of God to them. We have several times it mentioned here that this Koran came from him. In this book we have proof that it came from God and that it came from a man who was illiterate. They say one of the proofs of the supernatural origin is that God used the vehicle of a man who was illiterate to give us the book. Obviously that proves that it is of supernatural origin. Second thing that proves this book is of supernatural origin and no man wrote this book is the beauty of the language. This language of which it is written can be compared with no other book that has been written. Also they say it's proof that God wrote the book and that it has no contradictions. Will they not ponder the Quran? If it had not come from God, they should have surely found in it many contradictions. Another quotation, Praise be to God who has revealed the book to his servants, shorn of contradictions and unswerving from the truth. So they claim. According to the Koran, it does not conflict with previous revelation, that is, the Old and New Testaments that have been revealed to the Jews and then later to Jesus Christ. But it supplements what was taught. It is the capstone, as it were. It is the completion of that revelation. So I've given you several quotations here from the Koran. This Quran could not have been devised by any but God. It confirms what was revealed before it and fully explains the scriptures. Again, after them, we sent, that is, God sent Jesus, the Son of Mary, confirming the Torah already revealed and gave him the Gospel in which there is guidance and light, corroborating that which was revealed before it in the Torah. Later on it says, it confirms, that is the Koran confirms the scriptures which came before it and stands guarding over them. Again another quote, we gave him, that is Jesus Christ, the gospel. So here they are claiming the scriptures of the Old and New Testament, that which was given in the Torah, that which was given to Jesus, were truly the word of God. That now what is coming is that which is going to complete it, that which is going to stand guard over it. in effect what we're going to find it doesn't do any such thing. It not only contradicts the Old and New Testament, it changes it and it condemns those who believe in the Old and New Testaments. From this book we have conduct, there are seven basic beliefs that are given to us by the Quran. First is that the Islam did not start with Muhammad but it started back in the Garden of Eden. Secondly, there is no original sin, that is, there is no sin transmitted from Adam to his posterity. Man basically comes into this world good. Further, they believe in the sovereignty of God. When you read what they say about the sovereignty of God, it's more like fatalism than it is the doctrine of sovereignty that we find in Scripture. So much so that when evil comes, that's God's working. When good comes, that's God's working. They seem to have no problem with the fact that God is the author of evil according to what is designed there in the Quran. They have a world of spirits. They believe in angels. Obviously, Gabriel spoke to Muhammad. But they also believe in evil spirits. Remember, Muhammad thought that what he was seeing initially was an evil spirit, that he had contact with the devil. They believe in the Day of Judgment, when men will give an account there to God, and will have to state as to which God they served, as to which religion they were a part of, and who was the prophet that led them. They believe that Jesus is a prophet, that is, the prophet of Islam. He was born of the Virgin Mary, did miracles. He was the Messiah, Apostle, and Prophet. They believe those truths, and they believe those statements. From that has come five pillars of Islam. Confession that must be confessed by all those that are part of Islam. There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. Now Allah is the Arabic word for God. If you had an Arabic Old Testament you would find the word Allah there. That predates the Muslim religion. Predates it. nothing evil in the word Allah but as it's come now to be used by those who follow Islam it does have something evil because it's a God that is different from the God of the Old and New Testaments but the word itself is not evil they say there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger this often times was the confession proving you had been converted would you state this? and Christians could not prayer, all Muslims would pray five times a day facing toward Mecca, the holy city. If you were in a strong Muslim culture, you would find that all activity would come to a stop during this call to prayer. Call to prayer would come from the tower of the temple, or what we would call the mosque. Giving, 2.5% of your assets would be given to this religion. Fasting, especially during the month of Ramadan, was to take place from sunup to sundown. You could eat after sundown, but you're not to eat in between. Pilgrimage, if you were healthy and had the finances to take it, you were to go to Mecca at least once in your lifetime. At least once in your lifetime. Some have added to these five pillars a sixth pillar. To some of those that we have mentioned who are extreme and fanatical, they would add to jihad, the holy war, not necessarily the struggle that exists in the bosom of a Muslim, but the holy war against all unbelievers. We find and have mentioned some of the terrorist movements who have that as their, indeed, five pillars or six pillars of Islam. Can we confirm that the Koran is of God? If we can say it's of God, then I would submit to you that these things we have just mentioned are things that ought to be believed and practiced. But if it's not of God, then some of these things that we have mentioned obviously have to be repudiated. There can be no middle ground. Either we accept the Qur'an is of God or we reject it. If we accept it, we must come under its dominion and its doctrines, if we reject it. then we must teach others why we reject it and warn them of the errors we find in this book. First of all, I'd like to look at the errors tonight in the history of this book called the Quran. And then secondly, we'll look at the errors of doctrine. Someone asked me on the way out if the book he has found has so many of these errors in it, why do not more Muslims see the errors? Well, one of the reasons is they're discouraged from reading anything but the Arabic. even many who are called to memorize the Quran do so in Arabic, a language they do not know. Romanism had a similar theory during the Dark Ages. It kept the people dark. You must study in Latin. The people didn't know Latin. You could hold scriptures, you could read it, but it had to be in Latin. And in a sense, the Latin then was a barrier to keep people from understanding. Arabic has become the same thing. They either write and memorize the Quran in the Arabic, even if it's not understood. Carlile, the famous English writer, said from reading the Koran this, It is as toilsome reading as I ever undertook, a weirsome, confused jumble, crude, inconduct, nothing but a sense of duty could carry any European through the Koran. and having for these last few weeks and months done a lot of reading in the Koran, I could say a hearty amen to everything he has said here. You'll look at some of the quotes and you'll find very crude, very confusing, poorly constructed, nothing like what we read in the 66 books that we call the Scriptures. Some of the history that is in error Well, there are contradictions within the Quran itself. I'm not giving you an exhaustive list. I just here give several examples. One is, it says that Noah's son was killed in the flood. And then later on, it says that Noah's family did not perish. You'll see in the first quotation, at the end of that quotation, Noah's son was drowned. But now God is speaking and it says, Before him, Noah invoked us and we answered his prayer. We saved him and all his kinfolk from the greatest calamity. No son drowned, and yet we saved his whole family. We looked at this morning the statement that Muhammad could marry whom he liked and take as many as he liked. In fact, in this statement that I have before you, it says the privilege is yours alone, being granted to no other believer. But then two verses later we read this. It should be unlawful for you, that is Muhammad, to take more wives or to change your present wives for other women, though their beauty please you, unless they are slave girls from your own. So on the one hand he's granted this privilege and two verses later it's taken away from him. I would submit to you that because this is written years after, that is it's actually penned years afterwards, that it's possible that this verse was added to that years afterwards. You also have the satanic verses that were removed from the Quran by Muhammad himself. In those verses he was trying to, in Mecca, encouraged some of those who were pagans to come and worship with him. And so he gave them permission to worship and invoke the name of pagan deities. Later he would say, no, that's a mistake. And he would excise that passage of scripture, he would take it out, and in doing so, he said, Satan led me to put it there in the first place. And so these verses are called the satanic verses. In the last sheet of your pages here, I have the statement that were in the satanic verses, and what is now in the modern version there. Contradictions in the Koran. But also contradictions with the Bible. From what we have just read concerning the Quran, there can be no contradictions between it and the Bible. That is the 66 books that we call the scriptures. There can be no contradiction. It didn't come to contradict. It came, as it were, to complete it. To stand guard over it. And yet we find contradiction after contradiction after contradiction. If this book is the word of God, these 66 books that we have before us are the word of God, and it is, then the word of God is complete. Any adding then to the history of this book is in a sense a contradiction with the book. You can't be adding to the history if the book is complete, and yet the Quran continually adds to the history of both the Old and New Testament. For instance, did you know that when Adam was created, he and the other angels were commanded to prostrate themselves down before Adam? And that Satan refused to do so. Did you know that Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian? Did you know that Mary's brother was Aaron and that her father was Imran? These are all in the Quran. Did you know that when Christ was a baby, he spoke in the crater to those who came? Mary actually directed the attention of those who came to her child. Carrying the child, she came to her people who said to her, Mary, this is indeed a strange thing. Sister of Aaron, your father was never a whoremonger and your mother was not a harlot. She made a sign to them pointing to the child, but they replied, how can we speak with the babe in the cradle? Whereupon he, that is the babe, spoke and said, I am the servant of God. He has given me the book and ordained me a prophet. His blessing is upon me wherever I go. He has exhorted me to be steadfast in prayer and to give alms as long as I shall live. Nonsense. Christ's ministry began when he was baptized, when the Spirit came and anointed him for that ministry. As a man, he still needed the Spirit of God to rest upon him in his ministry. His ministry began then. Not only does it conflict by adding to the Scripture, it conflicts with the history and the facts of Scripture. As we've already said, Noah's son died in the flood. Noah's son didn't die in the flood. More than that, the Ark didn't rest on Mount Ararat, it rested upon Mount Al-Judi. Did you know that Abraham's father wasn't Terah, but it was Azar? Did you know that Joseph was exonerated by the Master, not thrown in prison? Remember the story that he came and he was in the house and the Master's wife tried to seduce him? his garment from him? Well, according to the Qur'an, later the friends of the Master said to him, let's check his shirt. If it's torn from the front, Joseph is guilty. If it's torn from the back, he's innocent. They went to Joseph, it was torn from the back. The Master proclaimed the innocence of Joseph and condemned his wife. You didn't know that, did you? More than that, later when he was to explain the visions to those who were in prison with him, this same wife would come and confess her fault to her husband, and that was the real reason why Joseph was exalted to the throne of Pharaoh, second in command. It's all right there before you. It wasn't Gideon. who, as it were, put the test to his soldiers and said that those who do not cut the water in their hand and lap it up will not be part of his army. No, no, that was King Saul, and you have it here again before you. He confuses Gideon with King Saul. It wasn't Pharaoh's daughter that wanted to adopt Moses, it was Pharaoh's wife. Zacharias wasn't smitten for months with this malady of not being able to speak. No, it was just a three-day and three-night thing. Worship isn't on the Sabbath day, neither Saturday or Sunday. Worship is on Friday. And men aren't to humble themselves and submit and esteem their wives and give themselves for their wives. No, no, they are an authority above their wives. And if they doubt the submission of their wives, they have been given permission to beat them. You say, where is that? In the Koran, the statement is right before you. They have been given permission to beat them. These are just some of the contradictions. And tonight you might say, well, you know, those are minor issues. And indeed many of these are minor issues. But still it shows the corruption of the Koran. We could multiply more of these, as it were, contradictions. I'm just giving you a sampling tonight. The more weighty contradictions have to do with the doctrine of salvation. That is what you view man as and what you view as necessary for man to get into heaven. How do you view Jesus Christ? Do you need to view him correctly? Do you need to view him as the Son of God? Do you need to come and put your faith in him, or not? First of all, the Koran denies that salvation is a free grace. You'll note in some of these statements I have before you, it's very clear that works becomes that which, as it were, allows you into glory. Now, they speak of forgiveness. They speak of mercy in the Koran. But it all comes down in the end to how good you are and whether you are a good Muslim. Look at this statement at the beginning here. Those whose good deeds weigh heavy in the scales shall triumph. But those whose deeds are light shall forfeit their souls and abide in hell forever. The fire will scorch their faces and they will writhe in anguish. On the day of resurrection you shall see their faces blackened, those who utter falsehoods about God. Is there not in hell a home for the haughty? But God will deliver those who fear him, for they have earned salvation." They have earned salvation. You and I know from our study of scripture that no man can earn salvation. Grace is unmerited favor. It's the favor God shows that we have not earned. It actually has been earned by another, that is, by Jesus Christ. But as far as we are concerned, we have not earned this favor that's bestowed upon us. We find in Romans 3, 23, free grace being mentioned, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Now, if you understand grace rightly, you wouldn't have to call it free grace. Grace by definition is not based upon our works, our merits, therefore it must be free. But Paul here adds the word free so we understand very clearly it's not by the works that you and I have done. It's by God's free grace. God's election is of this free grace. In Romans chapter 11, he says, Even so, then, at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more of grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more of grace, otherwise work is no more work. God's choice of you was not based upon what you had done. He could never have chosen you if it were based on that. It was not based on him looking ahead to see what you would do. Because any decision or choice you would make would be corrupted, in that it wouldn't be perfect in and of itself. It had to be strictly on grace, or God would be unjust. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9, your calling, that is the invitation that brought you to Christ, that effectual calling, was also of grace. Paul says, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Your justification, that is standing before his courtroom, in his courtroom, declared righteous, is not based on your works. based on grace. Romans chapter 4 verses 4 and 5, Now to him that worketh is a reward, not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. The moment you believe righteousness was imputed to you, Not your own righteousness, that would be your works. But the righteousness of another. Chapter 5 identifies whose righteousness. It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It has been imputed to you. So much so that in chapter 6 he says his life, his death, his burial, his resurrection, all of these things are imputed to you. It's as if you live, you died, you were buried, you were risen in your standing. of grace, not of works. Ephesians chapter 2 makes it very clear, all of salvation is of grace. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and not of yourselves, but the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Titus 3 verse 5 says, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Your salvation is of God's grace, not of any works that you can perform. But they not only deny free grace, they deny a divine Savior. I have given you the pages, the paragraphs, the verses where statements are made about Christ that state that he was a prophet, that he did miracles, that he preached even in the cradle. But they also say he was not the God-man. not the God-men. The Messiah, the Son of Mary, was no more than an apostle. Other apostles passed away before him. They say God has begotten a son. God forbid. They're clearly denying it. We looked at that this morning, and we looked at the scriptural proof showing that indeed he is the Son of God. He viewed himself as the Son of God. He declared to his disciples that he was the Son of God. But tonight let's look at just two verses, one from the Old and one from the New Testament concerning this Messiah. Messiah is spoken of in Isaiah 9, in verse 6. For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. The government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government, and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David, and upon his throne, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. He is the mighty God, and yet He is a man. He is the mighty God and man who will rule as king over the nation of Israel. There will be no end to His rule. There will be no boundaries to His rule. And so He continues to reign, even at this very hour. Our Lord Himself, in speaking to His disciples, asked them the question, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremiah, so one of the prophets. And then in verse 15 of Matthew 16, he says, But whom say ye that I am? In other words, disciples, what do you view me as? Am I just another prophet, like Mohammed teaches? Or am I more than that? Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. I am the Messiah, I am the Son of God, and God has taken away the scales from your eyes, and you see clearly." You see clearly. Not only deny the deity of Christ, they deny his painful crucifixion. This is amazing. We're dealing with a book that was written 600 years after the crucifixion of Christ. If any fact in history had been well established, it was that he died by crucifixion. And yet they have the audacity, based on no historical evidence, to say he was not crucified, and that all that was written before is wrong. Well, let's read the statement. They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against Mary. They declared, We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus, Son of Mary, the Apostle of God. They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did. Those that disagreed about him were in doubt concerning him. They knew nothing about him that was not sheer conjecture. They did not stay. him for certain. God lifted him up to himself. God is mighty and wise. There is none among the people of the book that will believe in him before his death, and on the day of the resurrection he will bear witness against them." You say he was crucified? Christ is going to bear witness against you on the day of the resurrection. What does the Bible teach? Paul said, we preach Christ crucified, under the Jews, a stumbling block, and under the Greeks, foolishness, and we can say, under the Muslims, that which they deny. You can read about the crucifixion of Christ in Matthew 27, great detail given there, Mark 15, Luke 21, John 19. Philippians 2.8, great detail is given to the crucifixion. As to what happened around the crucifixion, as to what happened to Christ on the cross, I mean, all kinds of detail is given. The very seven statements from Christ on the cross are recorded for us. And they would have us to believe that the Koran is correct when it says that Christ was not crucified. In denying the crucifixion of Christ, they also deny the vicarious death of Christ. That is, the substitutionary death. That is, that he died for the sins of someone else. They must deny that as well. The two go hand in hand. It's inconceivable to them that God, who is sovereign, would allow his prophet, his Messiah, to be put to death by men, by creatures. But you see, they don't understand the reason why he died. It was a vicarious death. It was a substitutionary death. Our Lord himself said, No man taketh my life from me, I lay it down. And tonight as we come to the work of Christ, we find that indeed both the Old and New Testament speak much of this vicarious death. In Isaiah 53 and verse 4, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He was smitten of God, he was afflicted, but we thought he was just bearing our griefs. Verse 5 says he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, and we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Why was he smitten by God? He was smitten because your sins and my sins were put upon him. Your transgressions, your sins, your iniquity was laid upon him. So now he was viewed by God as if that were you. And God now punished him fully for your sins. A vicarious death. In the New Testament we find these same truths echoed over and over and over again. Peter said, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye are healed. Quoting from Isaiah 53, you are healed by his wounding. You are dead to sin. How are you dead to sin? You died with Christ. That is how you are dead to sin. Christ is not alive. You are alive through righteousness, because you are in him. 1 Peter 3.18, For Christ also was once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. He died the just for the unjust. He was put to death in the flesh. He really died. And when he did so, he did it on behalf of his people, that they might live. Denying his vicarious death, his victorious resurrection, is also denied. Yet Paul says, if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain, you are yet in your sins. Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20 and 21 all stress and teach that Christ is risen from the dead. Example after example after example are given as to what he did after he was risen from the dead among his disciples. Luke says that he rose from the dead with many infallible proofs, proving that he was very much alive. They deny the victorious resurrection of Christ, because again, they don't understand why he died. What was the purpose of the death? But they also deny the perfect heaven that we speak about in Scripture. Oh, they do have a heaven, and those who are slain in battle for the cause of God go directly there. You have this statement in the Quran, As for those who are slain in the cause of God, He will not allow their works to perish. He will vouchsafe them guidance and ennoble their state. He will admit them to the paradise He hath made known to them. Immediately into the presence of paradise. Now for the most part, most Muslims don't have any assurance when they die that they're going to go into this paradise. Would you have assurance if it were based on your works? But assurance is given to the martyr, to the one who in a holy warfare dies in that warfare. Where do they go? We have a number of different descriptions of heaven in the Koran. Let me give you two descriptions. They are both very similar. They shall recline, that is in heaven, they shall recline on couches ranged in rows. To dark-eyed Horus, one of the beautiful virgins in the Quranic paradise, we shall wed them. That is, God said, we're going to wed them to these beautiful damsels. Another statement, they shall recline on jeweled couches face to face, and there shall wait on them immortal ewes with bowls and ewers and a cup of purest wine that will neither pain their heads nor take away their reason, with fruits of their own choice and flesh of fowls that they relish. And there shall be the dark-eyed iris chased as virgin pearls. a reward for their deeds. And you can see other statements about this as well. What is heaven? It's sitting on a jeweled couch, looking into the eyes of this beautiful, dark-eyed virgin. If you like blue-eyed virgins, I guess you're out of luck in heaven. It doesn't say much here about the womenfolk, what happens to them in heaven. Is that heaven? Drinking wine, sitting on a couch, looking at some woman? What does the Bible say? I heard a voice, a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. That's heaven. It's communing with the living God. Be known by God as his people. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Like, for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto them that is the first of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God. and he shall be my son." What is heaven? The removal of the effects of the curse. That is, the curse that came on man for Adam's sin, that's removed. The corruption of the earth that came on the earth at the flood, that's removed. God is saying, I'm restoring this earth without sin or sinner, and it's going to be a place of great bliss. Those who will be there will inherit all things in this eternal state. And again, God says, I will be his God and he shall be my son. Revelation 21, we read in verse 22, And I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple in it. And the city had no need of sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. The glory of this eternal state. is not some dark-eyed virgin. Glory is Christ. If you don't see Christ the way the New Testament and the Old Testament portray him, I can understand why there would be no glory in viewing the Christ of the Koran. But will you understand who this Christ is, the creator of the ends of the earth, the man who is incarnate, the God who is incarnate, and who died for the sins of his people, the one who gives to his people, understanding that they might know him, the one who intercedes on behalf of his people, conquering on their behalf? It's going to be a glorious day when you see it. Oh, I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. He brings a poor, vile sinner into his house of wine. I stand upon his merit. I know no other stand. Not even where glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land. The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of grace. Not at the crown he giveth, but on his pierced hand. For I am is all the glory of Emmanuel's land. Tonight, if you know Emmanuel, that is indeed that which beats within your own heart. Oh, for the day when we will see him, when the trials and tribulations and turmoil is over, and we are ushered into his presence, not based on the works of our hands, not based because we were a martyr or did something else good. No, no. Based solely on the work of Christ. We are ushered into his presence, and we behold him in his beauty. That's the longing of the Saint of God. Proverbs 16, verse 25, says, There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Sixteen men took not only their own lives, but the lives of others into their hands, thinking it was the right way, but it was the way of death. Revelation 21 verse 27 says, And there shall in no wise enter into it, that is, into this eternal state described in scripture, anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. We have seen that the Koran is a lie. That's what you call something that purports to have no contradictions, but is full of contradictions. It's a lie. This is what we call that which stands against the truth, that is Christ himself, who is the way, the truth, and the life. It is a lie. And it says that they're outside of this kingdom, they're outside of this heaven, the new heavens and the new earth. Not in it. They're in the place of torment. These 16 men left this earth in a blaze of fire, only to step into a greater blaze of fire. only to be resurrected one day and to go into a greater blaze of fire. That's what the Bible describes as their lot. Yesterday I was listening to the testimony of Lisa Beamer. Her husband was on Flight 93. She herself is a believer and her husband was a believer. Her husband was on the phone when it was clear that the plane had been hijacked. And he was talking to someone on the phone, to another lady by the name of Lisa, who was in charge of the phone system. And later this Lisa would talk to Todd Beamer's wife and describe to her what happened in those last minutes on the flight. But he was on the phone with her and they were talking. They talked a good while. And at the end of their conversation, he told her what they were going to try to do. They were going to try to retake the plane. They could see at the front of the plane that there were two men that were injured. They didn't know what lay before them, but they had already made a plan. They were going to try to overcome this plane and take it back. They knew what had happened to the other planes and how they had plowed into buildings and destroyed lives. And so he said to those around him, as you heard on the phone, he said to them, are you ready? And they, in affirmative, said they were ready. And then he said the words that now have become quite famous. He said, let's roll. And that was the last comment that she had from him. She could hear the turmoil in the plane, she could hear the loud noises, but she never spoke to him again. I said I was listening yesterday to this man's wife give testimony as to how it's been over this last year. And she said in her testimony she has to keep reminding herself of where her husband is. She keeps coming back to the Scripture and believing again and again and again where He is. That where He is is far better than being here. He died on that plain in western Pennsylvania where those other men. He died. But He didn't really die. That was just His gateway to glory. He stepped, as it were, from that plain crash right into the presence of Christ. And His soul was perfected. And He has been in that bliss ever since. And then she said, I have been having myself to think much on that future state, to think much on where I'm going, to remind myself that this is not all there is, not just myself and these children, but I'm going to where my husband is, I'm going to see Christ. There are misguided men who believe the lie, ending up in their own destruction. And there are others who, in believing the truth, have stepped into eternal glory. What are you believing tonight? These 16 men, to some extent, proved they believed, they gave their life for what they believed. And it was a lie. Just an honest investigation could have proved that to them. You and I have studied the truth, we know the truth, and we believe it. We have a creed that is true. But how often that creed mocks us in the sense that we have it on paper, but it's not ruling and reigning in our heart. You're going somewhere for eternity. You're going to heaven based upon the work of Christ. That ought to change and mold and constrain you to do certain things. Are you believing that gospel? Are you like Lisa Beamer? looking ahead, and making that look ahead from what the scripture says, change the way you live now. To refute the Koran tonight would certainly not be profitable if that's all we did. Tonight we have been discussing eternal truth. Has it gripped your heart? Have you laid hold of that? Or are you making excuses for unbelief? All of us fight with unbelief every day. We have a book, we understand, we're laboring to understand. But do we believe what we understand? If we do, it will transform us, it will change us. May the Lord give us grace tonight that we not make excuses, but that we do battle with that which we do not believe. And that we, as it were, cut away those things that are yet of the flesh and lay hold of those things that are eternal. Are you in Christ tonight? To be in this meeting and be outside of Christ is to be in great danger. I don't know how long we have to live. I don't know how long you have to live. We have considered today a great tragedy that happened a year ago. And many who went to those towers and boarded those planes thought they had a long life yet ahead of them, and yet in a few minutes, in a few hours, they were going to be in eternity. If you were going to be into eternity tonight, where would you be? A question we all need to ask ourselves. Where would we be? If you know Christ, if you have laid hold of Christ, not because of your merit, but because of his goodness and his grace, you will be with him forever. But if he is not your Lord and Savior, you will not be with him forever. You'll be in that place of torment called hell. Come to Christ tonight. Lay hold of Christ. You'll find a welcome at his throne if you'll come to him, pleading his blood as your only merit before God. Father in heaven, we're thankful tonight that there is a way into your presence, not based on our works, otherwise we'd be condemned forever. But there's a way back into your presence based on the work of another, a way that is indeed the way of grace, a way that works. Lord, we pray that you would help us to lay hold of that way of grace. We're thankful that it is effective, that it does indeed save the sinner. And Lord, we're thankful tonight for everyone here who knows he is saved. Lord, we would pray for those tonight who have not yet closed with Christ, that you would give them grace to come and lay hold of him, that they might rejoice in this glorious Savior, and that they might make the glory of this Savior known to this wicked and adulterous generation in which we are living. Lord, come, speak to our hearts, do that eternal work that can only be done by thee, and we will give thee the praise and the glory and the honor for it. It is in Jesus' name that we pray, amen.