GOD or Allah: A Closer Look At The GOD of the Old Testament

I recently went on a research journey to compare the OT genocides and killings ordained by GOD (YHVH, Yehovah, Creator God), versus the violence, massacres, and jihad of Muslims - which ended up breaking down into the fundamental differences between Christianity and Islam. The arguments when comparing the two lead some to believe that Yehovah God and Allah, the moon god are the same being. Others believe they might as well be. And some believe the GOD of the Old Testament is not the GOD of the New Testament. This was a study that I've wanted to do for a while, but just recently felt it was time.

I started my study out of the fact that I was hearing the same complaints from believers, or ex-believers who became skeptical over GOD's Word, the Bible, because of the incredible similarities on the surface between the "OT GOD" and the "allah of Islam". Of course, believers in Christ Jesus believe they worship the one true GOD, and Muslims believe they worship the one true god, and many people in the middle believe that these two groups are worshiping the same God, just using different names for Him.

Well, I know enough about Islam to know that the god of Islam is not the GOD of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, or Moses, the Father GOD of Jesus our Messiah, the Creator of all things. Even though their Quran names these patriarchs and prophets – it denies the uniqueness and oneness of Messiah the Son with the Father, and it adds the first son of Abraham, Ishmael, who was not the son of promise, but who was the work of Abraham’s flesh and from whom the Muslim nation is descendant from. Clearly they are a nation who is jealous over GOD’s chosen people, following a god who is jealous over GOD.

Thier god is a copycat god, their system of religion is out of fear, based in hate, and the root of their power is... welll, ... demonic. Their god leads them away from the true GOD and seeks to be the object of all worship. Their god promises forgiveness, but does not provide the means for that forgiveness – he does not provide the blood to cover sin – so who’s blood does he demand? Not animal sacrifices, but the blood of people, even if it’s his own people’s, even if it’s from his own faithful people.

So if allah and GOD are two totally different beings - then why was the seemingly "less favorable" behavior of GOD in some parts of the Old Covenant so similar to the behavior of allah today? Well, first of all, the comparison must go the other direction. GOD's actions and commands in the Old Covenant came before allah ever showed up (as allah anyway). So the question to ask is, "why is allah's behavior so similar to some of the behaviors of GOD in the Old Covenant?"

First, let's look at these "less favorable" acts and commands of GOD in the Old Covenant and put aside allah for a minute. A greater understanding is needed about the difference people see in GOD's actions and commands in the Old Covenant versus His actions and commands in the New Covenant. GOD is the same GOD - the GOD that is both love and holy, Who is compassionate and merciful as well as just and righteous throughout Scripture from the very beginning to the very end. GOD is the same yesterday, today, and forever - He doesn't change, so why the difference between His Word in the Old Covenant and in the New Covenant?

Examples:
Leviticus 24:19-21
If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.
vs.
Matthew 5:38-46
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."



Leviticus 20:10
"'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife — with the wife of his neighbor — both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death."
vs.
John 8:3-11
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."


Numbers 31:1-3, 7-10, 14-18
The Lord said to Moses, "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people." So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the Lord's vengeance on them. ... They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba — the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. ... Moses was angry with the officers of the army — the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds — who returned from the battle. "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them. "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the Lord's people. Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
vs.
Luke 6:27, 30 -38
"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you... Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."


Are these truly contradictions? No - because these Scriptures are all taken out of context. It isn't one OR the other, it's one AND the other depending on the circumstances of the time and when it was said. The difference in the way GOD treated people who were against Him before Jesus died on the cross compared to after, and His requirements for His people had to be the way it was under the Old Testament, because of sin.

Sin requires a blood payment. The wages of sin is death. GOD is compassionate and merciful because He was patient and gave people time to repent, He sent warnings and validations that He is faithful, as He still does today. GOD took no pleasure in the killings and deaths that were the consequences of sin, and He even provided a way to stop the blood sacrifices - by giving up His own Son's life blood to pay for all sin.

And what's allah's reason for slaughtering and punishing the "infidels" now? Because allah wants to be GOD, and wants blood sacrifices poured out in his name - not to pay for sin - not to forgive - not to redeem - but simply to destroy and take over with power. Obviously allah has no problem with killing and has no desire to stop it - nor has a desire to stop sin - because he has not provided a way around it. allah shows no mercy nor gives lifetimes for people to repent. allah is not just.

So, am I saying that killing certain babies (or innocent children, or men and women of good character) in Jesus name because I believe GOD instructs me to is right? If GOD instructs me to kill the innocent, is it really GOD Who's telling me to? Would GOD tell me to kill the innocent? GOD is always the same and GOD has instructed His people to kill men, women, and children before, so why is it evil now and righteous then? If it is GOD Who's instructing me to kill the innocent, wouldn't I look just like the terrorists and jihad soldiers? If I killed people who rebelled against GOD now - would I be doing something righteous or evil?

It is evil now - because Jesus paid the penalty for sin - not for just “some” sins, not just of the sins of those who believe in Him, but He paid the penalty of all sins for all time, for all the sins of all the world. People don't have to die before their time in payment of sin because Jesus already died. All people can live their life and choose to come to Christ for eternal life - or not and after they die, be condemned and sentenced to the second death (John 1:29; 3:16; Hebrews 10:12; Revelation 20:14-15). So no, GOD would not instruct me to kill anyone for sin now - because sin is dealt with differently now - because of our Lord Jesus.

Islam has no Savior - they deny Who Jesus really is, so allah must continue to be god the only way he can - through fear, hate, domination, violence, ignorance, and persecution - he keeps his people in the dark. allah's people commit evil when they treat others in this way - just as believers do evil when they treat others in this way today and have done evil treating others this way throughout history after Jesus' death and resurrection.

Before our perfect atoning sacrifice in the form of GOD, manifesting Himself as Jesus, came – GOD provided a temporary fix for sin in the sacrifice of animals for those who would believe. Why animals? Because animals don’t have sin, and the animals that were required to sacrifice couldn’t have any defect in them either, because sin is a weighty and costly thing. To rebel against GOD and His ways, to act contrary to His righteousness, even accidentally, costs something. So what of the people who wouldn’t sacrifice or conform to GOD’s righteousness? Without the blood of Jesus covering sin for all the world – what would become of these people? Did GOD give them a chance to repent and choose to give up their sin to follow GOD? Why didn’t GOD simply allow the rebellious to live as they were and give out due punishment at the end of their lives? Why kill the children who were only acting out what their wicked parents had taught them?

We know that before Jesus came, the dead went to the place of the dead. A holding place for souls, referred to as the grave, until the final judgment. This place was not Hell – as in the place of eternal fire and torment. We learn later that this spiritual place was divided into two sections – one for the souls who believed GOD and the other for those who didn’t. The side that held the souls that didn’t believe GOD was a miserable place (we’ll call Hades), where the other side was comfortable (we’ll call Paradise). After Jesus died on the cross – it is first said that He went to Paradise and then on to Hades where He witnessed of GOD’s salvation to those there and then led those who believed His words from there to Heaven (brought those that were in Hades over to Paradise to wait for the final judgment) before He was resurrected on the earth. GOD’s mercy even attained a way for those who died rebelling against Him to have another chance to be saved! GOD is just. He leveled the field on the sin factor between the times of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant! (Psalm 9:16-18; Luke 16:19-31; I Peter 3:18-20; Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:13; Ezekiel 26:20; Philippians 2:10; Ephesians 4: 8-10)

Knowing this factor… combined with the fact that GOD is all-knowing and reads the hearts of all human beings, knowing their future choices and fates… we can begin to see GOD’s righteous justification and mercy then for what is a horrible concept to us today. All humans are destined to die once, and the final judgment will bring either eternal life, or the second death (Hebrews 9:27). Genocide of entire populations before our Messiah came to do the eternal work of salvation was maybe the only punishment for their own sin that they would ever receive. Children who had no choice when they were younger, who would have grown up to choose rebellion and in doing so would have caused more devastation were given their destinies to die once before that could happen and sent to wait in Paradise instead.

Now that Jesus has come – has died and rose again – and has ascended to the right hand of the Father GOD, the sin factor is dealt with. All those who reject Jesus and His atoning sacrifice decline His salvation from the second death. They go to miserable Hades when they die and then at the final judgment they will be banished to Hell, the second death. There will be no last minute visit from Jesus after they have died to give them a second chance to avoid Hell. Because of this, we are not used as instruments to inflict judgment on people here and now. People are untouched by other human beings to live out a full life of rebellion against GOD if they choose, because the life they have on the earth, is all they will have. It is wrong to snuff them out early. (This is different from crimes against governing laws - I'm taking about spiritual laws). We can beg and persuade them to accept GOD’s free gift of life, but it is not up to us to dole out punishment for others' sin against GOD if they continue to rebel.

So, back to allah. Allah is not just, nor loving, nor merciful. The afterlife for Islam is “Hell” or “Paradise” without second chances after death as well, but in addition to this, allah also seeks to dole out punishment before people’s appointed time, when Jesus has paid the price for all the world’s punishment. Allah’s people are sent out under a “convert or be killed”, or at least a “convert or be harassed and abused” mandate when it comes to those outside their religion and a "conform or be harassed or abused" mandate within their religion. GOD has never endorsed torture or abuse, only quick death. And now, because of Jesus, not even that. With allah, there is no lifetime to repent in peace out of love, there is only fear and persecution. Sounds familiar doesn’t it – "the enemy comes only to kill, steal, and destroy". Allah steals people’s time on earth to repent, allah kills people who do not bow to him, allah destroys people’s freedoms and lives. There is no explanation or understanding for allah’s cruelty and unsatiable wrath except for the fact that he remains furious towards GOD and GOD’s prized creation, human beings. Allah must strive to maintain control and worship of what little he has where GOD doesn’t have to strive at all – everything is already His and cannot be taken away.

This allah is none other than satan himself, who seeks to have GOD's glory for his own. Writing a book of his own, making it sound similar enough to real Scripture, telling half truths and believable lies, stroking the sinful nature of male chauvinism, lust, and dominance and rage, giving false power, and promising things he cannot deliver on, deceiving people with words of peace while requiring actions of hate, using terror to keep people in his tight control and mindless obedience, all to lead people into believing he is the ONE TRUE GOD. But he isn't, he is the temporary lord of this world and enemy of GOD and true believers. Satan/allah has used Abraham's works of the flesh performed with the slave woman, Hagar, to take an entire people group and enslave them to himself - making Islam the chains by which he holds them down (Galatians 4:21-31). Those of us who have the Spirit of the living GOD within us can see allah clearly for who he really is - and we can trust that the One True Creator GOD and Father is faithful to be Who He reveals Himself to be in His Word. We can be confident that our Messiah Jesus is our salvation and King of all and no longer have to be confused about surface similarities! Our GOD is good and loving, the Creator Who gives life and provides a way for us to have eternal abundant life. Our Lord GOD - He is the One True GOD!