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Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether
they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the
world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not
confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now
already in the world.
This verse not only clarifies the human nature of some “spirits” (i.e., pneúma), but
Muslims claim that this verse admits Muhammad into the company of those who are “of
God,” for every spirit that “confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.”
Muhammad said it, all Muslims affirm it, the Holy Qur’an documents it, and in the minds
of a billion Muslims, that settles it.
3 & 4. The third reference to “paraclete” is in John 14:26, which reads, “But the
helper [i.e., Paraclete], the holy spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
The fourth reference, John 15:26, reads much the same. Once again, Trinitarians
may justify their mysticisms with this verse. Others perceive reference to a prophet who
will remind the world of Jesus’ true message, as opposed to the misdirection which
developed in the beliefs and doctrines of later generations. Once again, Muslims suggest
Christians should consider Muhammad and the Holy Qur’an. The union of the comments,
“He will bear witness to the truth of what Jesus did and said and was,”173
and “even
though this divine Advocate is the very ‘Spirit of truth’ (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:13), the
world will not listen to him (14:17)”
174
would make perfect sense if the prophethood of
Muhammad were assumed to be true. As discussed above, both Muhammad and the Holy
Qur’an witnessed “to the truth of what Jesus did and said and was.” Furthermore, Muhammad bore the reputation of honesty (i.e., the “spirit of truth”)—throughout his life
he was known, even among his enemies, as AsSaadiq AlAmeen, which means “the
truthful; the trustworthy.” And yet, the majority of mankind will neither “listen to him”
nor entertain his message.
5. The final mention of paraclete is in John 16:7: “Nevertheless I tell you the
truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the helper will not
come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you.”
This last reference to the Paraclete, like a small but highvelocity projectile, lays
waste to surrounding doctrines far in excess of the innocent entrance wound. Trinitarians
may continue to assert that paraclete refers to the mystical Holy Spirit, but John 16:7
negates that possibility. How? Jesus reportedly stated that unless he goes away the
“Paraclete” will not come; even though multiple, multiple Bible passages speak of the
presence of the “holy spirit” in or before Jesus’ time.* Both cannot be true, and the most
logical conclusion, if the Bible is to be trusted, is that “holy spirit” and “paraclete” are
anything but synonymous.
To compound the confusion, Jesus seems to have contradicted himself. In John
14:17, the Paraclete is preexistent: “but you know him [i.e., the Paraclete], for he dwells
with you and will be in you,” and this makes sense considering that Jesus is himself
identified as Paraclete in 1 John 2:1. However, in John 16:7 the Paraclete is foretold: “If I
do not go away, the helper [i.e., the Paraclete] will not come to you; but if I depart, I will
send him to you.” The church’s conclusion? “The Paraclete is another Paraclete in whom Jesus comes but who is not Jesus (14:18, 16:7).”175 Some accept that explanation. Others
believe Jesus spoke of himself in one case and of a prophet to follow in the other. Billions
of Muslims have voted Muhammad as the fulfillment of this prophecy, just as a few
million Mormons vote for John Smith, a smattering of Ahmadi’ites for Mizra Ghulam
Ahmad, the Baha’i for Mirza Ali Muhammad and Mirza Husain Ali, and small handfuls
for David Koresh, Jim Jones, Luc Jouret, Marshall Applewhite and similar cultists (and
look at what happened to them). The critical issue, then, may not be whether or not Jesus
predicted a prophet to follow, but over which of the many claimants to the title fulfilled
the prophecy.
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