Key Differences Between The Christian And
Muslim Heaven
by JACK WELLMAN ·
Here are
the vast differences that there are between the Christian and the Muslim in
regards to what heaven will be like.
The
God in Heaven
One of
the greatest differences between what Christian’s know about heaven and the
Islamic Paradise is the God Who will be worshipped.
God is radically different for
the Christian than He is for the Muslim. Christians describe our final home as
heaven and that we will be holding an office or position in the kingdom (Revelation
1:8).
For the Muslims, Allah is not
the focus, but Paradise is, and enjoying every physical pleasure they could
imagine.
Christian believers find their
pleasure in God and not in things (Revelation 21:3, 21:4).
Muslims expect Jesus to be in
Paradise just like Muhammad will be, but they do not believe Jesus is God, as
Christians do.
The Bible teaches that there
are Three Persons but one God; for Muslims, there is only one god and they call
him Allah.
Christians know there are the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and all three are God,
In the Islamic faith, there is
but one god, and he is not the god who is always loving, forgiving, and
compassionate. Muslim’s would never refer to Allah as their father. That is
because Muslims do not believe in a very intimate, personal relationship with
Allah as a father and son would have, or that this kind of relationship will be
experienced in Paradise.
For Christian’s, we are already
in that relationship, and He will be our Father forever, including in heaven.
How
we get There
Christians know that we can never be saved by works, but we are
actually saved to do good works for God (Ephesians 2:10).
For the Muslims, there is a lot of work for them
to do. Like several of the cults today, they base their salvation upon works,
but the question troubles them; “How many works are enough,” and “How will a
Muslim ever know for sure if they’ve done enough “good works” to get to
heaven?”
Muslims might know … but Christians can know,
but Christians also know that we cannot do anything to save ourselves. Our
works are nothing more than filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6).
But the Islamic faith stresses works to get to
heaven. That is a huge difference. One is going to heaven by Jesus’ work at
Calvary; one is not.
Unless they trust in Christ, they cannot be
saved. He is the doorway to heaven because He is the one and only way to be
saved (Acts 4:12).
On the other hand, Surah 2:82 says “But those
who have faith and work righteousness, they are companions of the Garden:
Therein shall they abide (For ever).”
Thankfully, Christians do not need to work their
way to heaven (Ephesians
2:8-9).
We would never make it anyway. Muslims believe
that only good people will get there … the Bible teaches that none is good (Romans 3:10-11).
But a very good God imputes Jesus’ righteousness
on our behalf. That is the only possible way we can make it.
The Savior Reigns
Who is it that reigns in Paradise for the Muslims? It is Allah,
and always will be, but it is believed that Muhammad will have a prominent role
in Paradise, just like Jesus will, although they believe, below Muhammad.
As for the Christian, we read that the New
Jerusalem will descend out of heaven and be here on a new earth (Revelation 21:1-2).
And in the Kingdom of Heaven it is
Jesus Christ Who reigns, and unlike the Islamic faith, the children of God will
participate in His reign in the heavenly kingdom (Revelation 1:6, 3:21, 20:4-6).
This was God’s original plan for the nation of
Israel as the Bible says “you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These
are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel” (Exodus 19:6).
However, we know that they failed, and so where
Israel failed, the Church will succeed.
As for the Islamic Paradise, there is no mention
of kings or priests that I could find, or where Muslims will reign.
Rewards
The rewards that Christians and Muslims have are vastly different.
For one thing, the joys in heaven for the Christian
believer are not carnal in nature like it is in the Islamic Paradise.
The Christian heaven will not be having sex with
multiple virgins. Heaven will be unending joy that no sex could ever compete
with.
The Islamic paradise is said to have a beautiful
garden, springs, jewels, expensive robes, and any foods you can imagine (clean
foods).
For Christians, the joy of being in the presence
of Jesus Christ will be absolutely off the charts (Revelation 21:3, 22:4).
Jesus will bring joy … not things. The Prophet
Muhammad said that “the smallest reward for the people of paradise is an abode
where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives.”
The Bible teaches that the redeemed “sang a new
song, saying, “Worthy
are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by
your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people
and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they
shall reign on the earth” (Revelation
5:9-10).
That will be our heart’s desire … to worship God,
but we will also have things to do in the kingdom. We’re not going to be taking
it easy, but working, as today, Jesus’ works.
Physical Details between
Paradise and Heaven
The Islamic paradise sounds very much like the Garden of Eden in
Genesis. It is described as having an enormous garden, a river flowing next to
it, and all along there are groves of fruit trees growing everywhere in the
garden.
There it is said to be unending bliss, with
every desire fulfilled, every food available, and every physical need that one
could possibly think of.
It does sound like the Garden of Eden; however
the Garden of Eden pales in comparison to the New Jerusalem, where heaven comes
down to earth!
The Apostle John tried to describe it as “having the glory of God, its radiance like
a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal” (Revelation 21:11).
“The wall was built of jasper, while the city was
pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were
adorned with every kind of jewel” (Revelation
21:18-19).
Of course, these words cannot really describe
what it must be like! No doubt, no garden can compare.
Who Receives the Glory?
One of the hardest differences to see between the Islamic Paradise
and the Christian heaven is that God will receive all the glory.
Even today, God receives worship and glory 24/7,
where the mighty seraphim proclaim, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of
his glory” (Isaiah 6:3)!
In the Muslim Paradise, there is no mention of
giving glory to Allah for his greatness; rather it is those “good people” whose
“garments will be of fine green silk and gold embroidery. They will be adorned
with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them a pure drink” [Surah 76:12-21].
So Allah’s people receive the glory for their
works, and not the God who brought them to heaven (as with Christianity).
When we are in heaven, others would not say,
“Wow, look at those Christians” … rather, they will say, “Who is the God Who
redeemed them!”
You do not give the credit to a fine painting … you
give the credit to the fine painter who painted it. That is a big difference.
We give God all the glory, for not one of us
could be saved without Jesus, the Son of God.
Conclusion
A great difference to me is that Christians do not
hate Muslims. If they do, they should immediately repent of that because Jesus
said, “Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45).
We should pray for those who do not know Christ,
whether they are Muslim, Jewish, agnostic, and really, anyone who is still
breathing that is not yet saved.
We are not better people than the Muslims and
can think that is why God chose us and not them.
No, no, no! God did not choose us because we
were better. I don’t know why He chose us, other than it was His will to do so.
Why? I don’t know. What I do know is we should
be a thankful people, and thankful enough to pray that God would use us as a
means to save others.
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“Jesus Did Not Die
At The Cross”
Jack Wellman is a father and grandfather and a Christian author,
freelance writer, and pastor at the Mulvane (KS) Brethren church in Mulvane,
Kansas. Graduate work at Moody Bible Institute. His books are inexpensive
paperbacks that are theological in nature: “Teaching Children The Gospel/How to
Raise Godly Children,“ “Do Babies Go To Heaven?/Why Does God Allow Suffering?,“
"The Great Omission; Reaching the Lost for Christ," and “Blind Chance
or Intelligent Design?, Empirical Methodologies & the Bible."
http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/key-differences-between-the-christian-and-muslim-heaven/
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