Deuteronomy 18:18 - I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren...

[Peter]

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JYZeUGfyn4
I have run across Muslims making such claims as:

"The Biblical prophecies on the advent of the Prophet Muhammad are evidence of the truth of Islam for people who believe in the Bible.

In Deuteronomy 18, Moses stated that God told him: I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. (Deuteronomy 18:18-19).

From these verses we conclude that the prophet in this prophecy must have the following three characteristics:

1) That he will be like Moses.
2) That he will come from the brothers of the Israelites, i.e. the Ishmaelites.
3) That God will put His words in to the mouth of this prophet and that he will declare what God commands him."

Deu 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.

Let me open with a quote from Halley's Bible Handbook before we move directly into the scriptures:

"But its language unmistakably points to One Illustrious Individual, THE MESSIAH. It is one of the Old Testament's most specific predictions of Christ. Jesus himself understood it (John 5:46). And so did Peter (Acts 3:22)."

The verses Mr. Halley referenced are:

John 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Acts 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, [that] every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

And so Muslims continue to "destroy themselves from among the people" by rejecting Jesus Christ and the new covenant He brought for salvation unto us all.

But let's look at the claim a little more closely. Preposterous to suggest that Mohammed was like Moses and we can reject that out of hand.

Act 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

Moses was highly literate are studied extensively. Mohammed didn't even know how to read!

Then:

"2) That he will come from the brothers of the Israelites, i.e. the Ishmaelites."

Ishmael was the disowned son of Abraham, with his wife Sarah's handmaiden Hagar.Additionally Mohammed's tribe the Quraish came from Saba, Yemen. A couple thousand miles from where Ishmael lived 2000 years earlier.

Genesis 21:12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

 Arabs are indeed her seed particularly manifest as Muslims.
Consider:

Genesis 16:11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

And so it still is with her offspring today. Over 12,000 deadly Islamic terror attacks around the world, just since 9-11.
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

3) That God will put His words in to the mouth of this prophet and that he will declare what God commands him.

Mohammed did what the jinn commanded him. He never said that it was other than jinn that met him in that cave. Mohammed even reported that the jinn in the cave even strangled him. Angel? No:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpsWnbApBNw
And God puts words in Mohammed's mouth that are the exact opposite of the 1600 year revelation of God through ALL of the prophets and legions of witnesses? Ya right. http://brotherpete.com/islam_is_the_opposite.htm

We have to feel sorry for these folks. They desperately want to find Mohammed in the Word of God because they realize that when they don't they are left with a STAND-ALONE 23 year record, of A SINGLE 6th century FALSE PROPHET that was, and taught, the EXACT OPPOSITE of Jesus Christ and the way God revealed Himself through the New Testament.
http://brotherpete.com/index.php?topic=148.0

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[Peter]

From a ministry friend:

Howdy PeteWaldo-I looked into Deut-18:14 here's something I found.the Muslims claim this speaks of Mohammad -I don't think so-Peace

y concerning the Messiah in Deuteronomy 18:15-22.

Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deuteronomy 18:16 According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
Deuteronomy 18:17 And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Deuteronomy 18:19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
Deuteronomy 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
Deuteronomy 18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

On first read, these references to a prophet seem a little vague; one might even think that Moses is referring to Joshua who is to follow him. However, Jesus points out in Luke 24:27 that Moses prophesied concerning the Messiah when he says, "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

(verse pasted here by Pete: Luk 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.)

Here's the question: Did the Jews of Jesus' day regard Deuteronomy 18:15-22 to be a Messianic reference? To answer this question, let's look at John 1:45, "Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." From this reference, it is logical to deduct that Jews were looking for a fulfillment of Moses' prophecy and had equated the prophet of Deuteronomy 18 to be the same as the Messiah.'

(verse pasted by pete: Jhn 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.)

Peter himself refers to this passage in Acts 3:22-23, "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." Take notice regarding Peter's understanding of Moses' words in Deuteronomy 18:19 when he says, "...whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." In Peter's message, he understands that phrase to mean, "shall be destroyed from among the people." Without question, Peter regarded Moses words to be Messianic prophecy.

Stephen further confirms this understanding when he mentions it in passing to his all-Jewish audience in Acts 7:37, "This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear."

From these passages of scripture we may deduct the following:

* Moses prophesied concerning the coming of the Messiah
* The people of Jesus' day understood that to be the meaning of Moses' words
* Jesus was the fulfillment of that Mosaic prophecy.