Understanding the Meaning of “The Last Prophet”

We sat on the floor with great anticipation, moments away from the sunset, and Iftar. Abdullah’s
wife, Fatima, had prepared a feast for a king. It was an honor to be there with the family I so deeply
love.
After Iftar, Abdullah and I sat back, drinking tea, savoring the moment. After a satisfying sigh, and
with a gleam in Abdullah’s eye, he said, “Habibi, I have a question.” I laughed, “Abdullah, you are the
one who studied Islamic religion at a prestigious Islamic university, why do you ask me a question?”
“Habibi, it’s true, I know my religion well. I memorized the Quran as a boy and studied Islamic
religion from some of the best Islamic scholars. Still, honestly, everything I’ve learned about
Christianity, I’ve learned from Islam and other Muslims. During my Islamic studies, I had a class on
Christianity. Everything my professor taught about Christianity he had learned from other Islamic
scholars. I realized my professor had formed an academic opinion about Christianity but had never
had a good Christian friend. Andy, I trust you; it’s only fair that a trusted Christian friend answers
my questions about the Bible.”

I was deeply touched, “Thank you. Habibi that means so much to me. Does this mean for future
discussions I can eat more of Fatima’s cooking?” Before Abdullah could answer, Fatima yelled from
the kitchen, “Whenever you want!” We laughed. “Abdullah, since Fatima has now officially invited
me back for more great meals, what is your question?” “Andy, does your Bible teach that Jesus was
the last prophet?” I smiled at my friend, “Abdullah, you waited until after Iftar when I only want to
sleep, then you ask me the hard question.” With a sly smile, Abdullah said, “You know me well, my
friend.”

“Abdullah, let me begin by asking, who saves us, God or religion?” “That’s easy; only God can save
us.” “Ok, if God saves us, what is the purpose of religion?” Abdullah thought for a moment, “I’d say
the common denominator of all religions is to offer the means and method to be forgiven and obtain
paradise.” “Well said my friend. Habibi, what does religion teach must happen for anyone to be
forgiven and obtain eternal life?” Abdullah chuckled and said, “I thought I was the one asking
questions, but I’d say, there are two key elements that are necessary to be forgiven and have eternal
life. Islam teaches we must live a good life and then hopefully find forgiveness and mercy in the final
judgment.” I smiled, “Habibi, your answer reflects God’s heart of love for you and helps us
understand how Jesus fulfilled the purpose of all religions.” Abdullah chuckled and said, “Habibi, as
always, you have the gift of confusing me, so go ahead and explain.”

“Abdullah, we agree the purpose of religion is to provide the means to find forgiveness.” Abdullah
responded, “I agree.” “Abdullah, you asked if Jesus was the last prophet. I’ll begin by discussing the
prophet Moses. According to the Torah, God instructed Moses to implement a religious system that
shows the holiness of God and what God requires to forgive us. Because our sin separates us from a
holy God, the law of Moses included specific instructions on how to prepare the sacrifice for sins
that God would accept and then offer us forgiveness. For the Jews at that time, there were two ways
to gain forgiveness, the first was to keep the Law and the second was to offer the required religious
sacrifices. The sacrifices were a very important aspect because God had told Adam and Eve that
they will die if they commit sin (Genesis 2:17).” Here, death means physical death and also spiritual
death, which is being deprived of God’s forgiveness and mercy. The animal sacrifice would die as a
substitute for a person’s sin, which we call redemption.

Abdullah got excited and said, “Andy, in my Islamic studies, I remember reading a comparison
between the law of Moses and Islam; it was amazing how much they had in common. Habibi, I’ll
quote a verse from the Quran about sacrifice.” Then Abdullah quoted, “To every people did We
appoint rites (of sacrifice) that they might celebrate the name of Allah over the sustenance He gave
them from animals (fit for food).” (Al-Hajj 22:34).”

“Yes, Abdullah, in all of history, every major religion included the concept of a sacrifice to appease
God and find forgiveness. This has its origin in the story found in Genesis 2. The idea of sacrifice
brings me back to your question and Jesus’ role in offering us forgiveness.”

Abdullah then asked me, “Andy, do you know what Islam teaches about how to obtain forgiveness?”
I answered, “Habibi, if I understand correctly, Islam teaches forgiveness is obtained through God’s
mercy and also the number and quality of one’s good deeds.” Abdullah smiled and said, “For a
Christian, you seem to understand Islam fairly well.” “Habibi, it’s because you are the best teacher.”
Abdullah chuckled, and I continued. “Abdullah, it’s my understanding of Islam that one’s good deeds
will find more favor from God if your deeds are done at great sacrifice.” Abdullah said, “Yes, this
true. Andy, the Quran teaches that our spiritual journey should be one of sacrifice and struggle to
please God and obtain Paradise.” “Abdullah, can you give me an example of that?” Abdullah then
quoted two verses from the Quran. “Do you think you should enter Paradise unless God establishes
who among you have struggled hard and who are patient?’ (Al-Imran 3:142) Do you think you
should enter Paradise while there has not yet come upon you the like of those who passed away
before you? Misery and hardship befell them.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 214)

“Abdullah, what you just quoted illustrates my point, God requires a sacrifice to offer forgiveness, so
let me say a little more about the idea of sacrifice. The Bible teaches since Adam and Eve sinned God
has demanded and provided a sacrifice for sins. The Bible teaches that without a substitute sacrifice
to pay for our sins, there can be no forgiveness.” Then Abdullah paused and said, “Habibi, what does
all this have to do with Jesus being the last prophet?”

“Abdullah, it has everything to do with Jesus being the last prophet.” Abdullah was confused,
“Habibi, how?” “Habibi, let’s look at the law of Moses. God gave Moses many laws, rites, and rules to
establish the religion of the Old Testament. It was a system of rules that God demanded be carried
out with perfection. God is perfect in holiness and purity, so demands complete obedience to the
law of Moses found in the Torah. A holy and righteous God requires for man to be righteous to
obtain Paradise.” Abdullah was tracking and said, “But let me guess, no one perfectly fulfilled the
Old Testament law.” “Yes Abdullah that is correct, as you have told me often about Islam, no one
perfectly fulfills the rules of Islam.” Abdullah said, “It’s true, no one perfectly fulfills God’s laws, but
won’t God just show us mercy.”

“Abdullah, let’s go back to the idea of sacrifice in our religions. We know that God has always
demanded a sacrifice for sin.” “But Andy, why can’t God just show mercy?” “Abdullah, I’m 63 years
old. I’ve sinned many times every day of my life since I was a little boy. If I live to be 93, I will have
accumulated thousands of sins. I will have a huge number of sins and I will deserve death, as God
said to Adam” Abdullah laughed, “Andy, in your case, it’s probably millions.” We both laughed.
“Abdullah, as you know, the 28 th name of God in Islam is al-Hakam, which means, ‘The Judge.’ We
agree God will judge our sin.” Abdullah agreed, “Yes, God will judge everyone. He has to; He is the
judge.”

“Abdullah, God’s judgment is just; because He is just. And because God is just, any person who has
sinned must die according to God’s words and law, or someone else (in the case of the Old
Testament, an animal) must die in his or her place as a sacrifice. The Bible teaches He is also the
essence of absolute love. To fulfill both sides of God’s perfect character, He offered to carry out His
judgment and, at the same time, demonstrate His eternal love. God did this by taking upon Himself
the sentence of death for us. God offers forgiveness to all who accept by faith His holy and perfect
sacrifice for our sins.”

Abdullah said, “Andy, can you give me a story to understand this?” “Habibi, here is a story: One day,
there was a judge who was looking into a case of an impoverished lady, she had to pay a lot of
money for many wrongs she had committed. The judge knew that she was unable to pay the
required sum, but the good judge wanted to be both just and merciful at the same time. He
sentenced her to pay the money, which was just and what the law required. But this good judge
decided he would pay the entire amount to the court for this woman. Once her debt had been paid
and justice served, the judge released her. Because of his love, this good judge executed justice and
mercy at the same time. Abdullah, it’s through God’s sacrifice, not ours, that we are offered God’s
justice and mercy so we can be forgiven.” Abdullah said, “I’d like to know that good judge next time I
break the law.” We laughed.

“Abdullah, the fact that the holiness and purity of God demand that He judge sin explains why the
major religions contain the idea of sacrifice to please God and obtain mercy.” Abdullah asked me,
“What does the sacrifice of a lamb have to do with obtaining mercy?”

“Abdullah, do you remember in the Quran what the angel told Abraham when he offered a lamb, so
he didn’t have to sacrifice his son?” Abdullah was excited and said, “Yes, I’ve read this story many
times in the Quran and the Bible. The angel gave Abraham a lamb to be sacrificed for sin.” Abdullah
was excited telling me this, so I said, “Abdullah, explain to me what the Quran says about this story.”
Abdullah was animated, “Andy, the lamb that is mentioned in the Quran is not a usual lamb, the
angel called it a ‘great sacrifice.’” Then Abdullah quoted from the Quran, “‘And We ransomed him
with a great sacrifice.’ Sura As-Saaffaat 107.” Abdullah continued, “Andy, in the Quran, the word
‘great’ that the angel used to for the lamb is a word in the Quran, which is only used of God. ‘Great’ is
one of God’s 99 names found in the Quran. No one is called ‘great,’ but God.”

I was amazed at Abdullah’s insight, so I said, “Abdullah, would you allow me to tell you what I
believe it means when the angel called Abraham’s lamb ‘great?’” He laughed and said, “Habibi, I
asked you to explain this to me, so yes, of course, you can tell me.” “Thanks. Abdullah, by calling this
lamb ‘great’ the angel wanted Abraham to understand this lamb is represented as God Himself.
Calling this sacrificial lamb great teaches us that the sacrifice for sins can only be from God Himself,
and the lamb sacrificed should be equal to God. This is what the Quranic story teaches us.”
Seeing the interest on Abdullah’s face, I continued, “Abdullah, God did this so Abraham wouldn’t
have to sacrifice his son for sins. Habibi, as I said before, since Adam and Eve, God has always
demanded and provided a substitute lamb as a sacrifice for our sins.” “But how could God forgive us
because of a four-legged animal?” “Abdullah, Fatima’s meal helped your thinking. God has never
forgiven us because of the death of a lamb, but only because of what and who the lamb represented.
The lamb was just a symbol for the real sacrifice which was God’s Lamb, Jesus Christ.”

Abdullah smiled at me and said, “Habibi, so how does all this explain how Jesus was the last
prophet?” “Abdullah, let’s go back to the beginning. We know religion doesn’t save us; only God
saves us. And we also agree that the purpose of religion is to show us the way to be forgiven so we
can obtain forgiveness and Paradise.” He said, “Yes, we agree.” I continued, “Habibi, we also agree
that no one can perfectly complete all the rules and obligations that religion imposes upon us. The
truth is that we all sin and violate the standard of our religion every day. God is just and so must
judge our sins. Once we have passed judgment God can show us mercy. But God in His love did not
want to judge us; He wanted to do for our sin what He’s always done for our sin, provide a lamb.
God did this in Jesus.” As God’s lamb, Jesus is the ‘great lamb’ of God. God accepted Jesus the Lamb
of God, as the perfect and sinless sacrifice for all our sin, so we could find mercy and forgiveness.
Therefore, Christ was the last prophet because he became the only sacrifice God accepted for
us to be forgiven.

Abdullah asked, “How did Jesus qualify to be an acceptable sacrifice for God so we could be
forgiven?” “Habibi, good question. Let me explain it this way. First, Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law of
Moses. By perfectly obeying the law of Moses, He fulfilled God’s standard of holy righteousness.
Jesus is the only One who could do this. Abdullah, Jesus explained this in Matthew 5:17, "Do not
think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to
fulfill them.” The final way Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses was by giving His life for our sin.
Abdullah, consider how the prophet John the Baptist referred to Jesus in John 1:29. John saw Jesus
and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’” Abdullah asked, “How did
Jesus take away our sin?” “Habibi, Jesus was sent as the ‘great’ and sinless lamb of God. God’s angel
offered Abraham a substitute lamb to die instead of his son. This explains how God then offered
Jesus as a substitute lamb to be sacrificed for our sins. God accepted Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, so
now we can be forgiven.”

“Andy, how do we know God accepted Jesus as the final sacrifice for our sins?” “Abdullah, you can
read this for yourself. The Apostle John wrote what happened moments before Jesus died.” I opened
Abdullah’s Bible in Arabic, and he read John 19:28-30, which described what Jesus said on the cross
just before He died. Abdullah read, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now
accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’ Now a vessel full of sour wine was
sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So
when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His
spirit.” Abdullah thought about that and said, “What did Jesus mean when He said, ‘It is finished?’”
“Abdullah, the answer to your good question will explain why Jesus is the last prophet. Let’s go back
and review, what is the purpose of religion?” Thinking, Abdullah said, “To show us how to find
forgiveness so we can have mercy.” “Habibi, exactly! When Jesus died, he said, ‘it is finished.’ What
Jesus said was an accounting term, and it means, ‘paid in full.’” “Andy, what was paid in full?”
“Abdullah, Jesus was saying the total and complete price of our sins was paid in full. God’s justice
was completely satisfied through Jesus’ death as the lamb of God for us.”

Abdullah was deep in thought as I continued, “Habibi, according to what the Bible teaches, the
implications of this are incredible. It means we can be completely forgiven, reconciled to God.
Because of His great love for us, God sent Jesus to be the final and absolute sacrifice for our sin. This
means there is nothing else we could do that would be necessary to gain our salvation. Habibi, Jesus
obtained for us complete forgiveness from God. The purpose of religion has been completed. Since
Jesus paid the complete penalty for our sin, and we know God accepted it, there is nothing else that
needs to be done in order to have forgiveness from God. All God wants now is that we accept the
forgiveness He offers each of us by faith.”

Abdullah sat back, smiled, and said, “Habibi, I tell you every time we have one of these discussions,
you give me much to consider. Andy, I’ve studied Islam for years, but I’ve never heard this message
before. Let’s continue talking, my friend.” I was deeply moved by Abdullah’s kind words to me.
“Habibi, I’ll come back to talk, but only if Fatima cooks for us.” Before Abdullah could respond, we
heard Fatima say from the kitchen, “Anytime Andy! Anytime you want. You are family!” Seeing
Abdullah’s approving smile at Fatima’s words gave peace to my heart.