Islam is said to be the fastest growing religion in the world. For the first time, many Christians are meeting Muslims, as immigrants pour into Europe and North America. So the mission field is coming to us!
Muslims, disengaged from family and religion, tend to be curious. While most would never admit it, many are searching for something more. The violence of Muslim extremists coupled with the severe policies of some Islamic states, have created disillusionment. When you add in the fact that Islam cannot give assurance of salvation, you end up with a spiritual vacuum.
Muslims are commanded by their holy book—the Qur'an—to believe the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of David and the Gospel of Jesus. The Qur'an refers regularly to some twenty Bible prophets. Because of this, Muslims will tell you that they "believe all the prophets!" But do they really?
In the Muslim country where my wife and I work, the people have a proverb, which says: "The woodcutter does not cut down the village's central tree (under which the villagers meet)." Yet Islam chops at God's "central tree"—the main message of God's prophets—declaring that Jesus is not the Son of God and that he was not crucified.
Of course, refusing to believe God's central message is nothing new. Jesus, in talking to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, said: "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"
Jesus' words on the Emmaus road give us the recipe for sharing the Gospel with Muslims. "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." (Luke 24: 25-27) The book, All that the Prophets have Spoken employs Jesus' teaching method. Beginning in the Torah, it leads Muslims through the Scriptures of the prophets—sequentially and sensitively—so they can see for themselves who Jesus really is and why he had to die on the cross.
Seven years went by before my wife and I saw a Muslim believe the Gospel. What caused this 26-year-old man to become a follower of Christ? In his own words: "I wanted to know where I would go after death. In searching the Scriptures of the prophets and reading Jesus' words, I learned that I could be sure of Heaven. Once I discovered that all the prophets pointed to Christ, and none of them mentioned Muhammad, I had no choice but to believe!" All that the Prophets have Spoken puts this same choice before the Muslim. From start to finish, it challenges the reader to consider the substantiated, thrilling message of God's true prophets. The book ends with the searching question: "Do you believe [the message of] the prophets?" (Acts 26: 27)
The printed page is a powerful tool for reaching folks entrenched in Islam. Most Muslims will never risk attending a Christian meeting, but they will observe the lives of Christians, listen to radio programs and read literature. All that the Prophets have Spoken promises to be a tremendous tool for directing Muslims to the One of whom all the prophets bear witness.
