Genesis 21
33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.
Genesis 22
1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.
7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am."
12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The Lord it shall be provided."
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,
16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son--
17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

1. The first prophecy was made by Abraham (called a prophet of God in Genesis 20:7). When his son asked where the lamb was for the burnt offering, Abraham prophetically replied:

   My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.
   (Genesis 22:8)

   At the last moment, God restrained the hand of Abraham from sacrificing his son. Then, seeing a ram caught by his horns in a thicket, Abraham offered the animal in the place of his son. A ram, however, is not a lamb, and the prophecy by Abraham was not completely fulfilled at that time. A lamb was yet to be provided by God. How will God provide His lamb? And what will God's lamb look like?
   
   

2. The second prophecy was also made by Abraham. After sacrificing the ram, Abraham prophetically named that same place:

   The-Lord-Will-Provide.
   (Genesis 22:14)

   The people understood this name to mean that the Lord's provision would be at this same place. And the scriptures record that long after the time of Abraham the people continued to say:

   In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.
   (Genesis 22:14)

   Where is this mount Moriah in which the Lord will provide?
   
   

3. The third prophecy was made by the Angel of the Lord. Speaking to Abraham, the Angel of the Lord prophesied saying:

   In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
   (Genesis 22:18)

   What person from the seed of Abraham will be the channel of this blessing? And what will this worldwide blessing be?
   

1. The fulfillment of the first prophecy:
   

      Jesus was born 2000 years after Abraham. When Jesus began his work on earth, the prophet John-the-Baptist saw him and said:

   Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
   (John 1:29)

      Thus God's prophet clearly announced that Jesus is God's Lamb sent to take away the sin of the world by the sacrifice of himself. Following his death and resurrection, Jesus went up to heaven, After the ascension of Jesus to heaven, the Apostle John had a vision in which these words were spoken to Jesus as the Lamb:

   You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
   (John 1:29)

2. The fulfillment of the second prophecy:
   
      According to Genesis 21:33 and 22:19, Abraham was living at Beersheba. God told Abraham to go to the land of Moriah to offer his son in sacrifice on a mountain God would show to him (Genesis 22:2). Abraham and his son walked to the mountain of Moriah which they saw on the third day of their journey (Genesis 22:4). But where is the mountain of Moriah? In the Torah, II Chronicles 3:1 says:

   Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.
   

      This scripture identifies mount Moriah as the same place where Jerusalem was established, and where Solomon built the first temple about 1000 years after Abraham. Mount Moriah at Jerusalem is about 80 Killometers north of Beersheba, a distance that Abraham and his son could walk in three days.
      Nine months before his death, Jesus made a startling prophecy. The Injil records the words of the Apostle Matthew who wrote:

   From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
   (Matthew 16:21)

   From this scripture it is clear that Jesus knew he must die at Jerusalem, where Mount Moriah is found. Shortly before his death, Jesus repeated this remarkable prophecy. The Injil records these words:

   Then Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, Behold we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. And they will scourge him and put him to death. And the third day he will rise again.
   (Luke 18:31-33)

   Thus Jesus had to die at Jerusalem because all things written by the prophets concerning him had to be accomplished. And, through the prophet Abraham, God had foretold that His Lamb would be provided at Mount Moriah which is at Jerusalem.
   
   

3. The fulfillment of the third prophecy:
   
      What is the blessing God promised to all nations through the seed of Abraham? The Injil gives the answer through the Apostle Paul who wrote:

   And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, In you all the nations shall be blessed.
   (Galatains 3:8)

   So justification (salvation) by faith is the great blessing God promises to the people who believe out of all nations.
      And what person from the seed of Abraham will be the channel of this blessing? Again, the Injil gives the answer through the Apostle Paul:

   And to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to your seed, who is Messiah.
   (Galatians 3:16)

   Thus God's great blessing promised to all nations is salvation by faith for all who believe in the sacrifice of God's Lamb, Jesus the Messiah, who is the promised seed of Abraham.
   
   
   Someone may ask if Abraham understood that Jesus would one day come as God's Messiah to bring blessing to people from all nations. The answer is found in the Injil, where, shortly before his death and resurrection, Jesus said to the Jews:

   Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?
   Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
   (John 8:56-58)

   Thus Jesus made it plain that he was alive before Abraham, and he knew that Abraham rejoiced that Messiah Jesus would one day overcome death and give eternal life to all men who believe in him.
   

Surah No. 37 As-Saffat:

100 My Lord, give to me one of the righteous.
101 And we gave him the good news of a prudent son.
102 And when he reached the age to walk with him, he said, O my son, I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice you. So what do you think? He said, O my father, do as you are told. God willing, you shall find me patient,
103 When they had submitted and he had thrown him down on his forehead,
104 We called to him, O Abraham!
105 You have fulfilled the vision. Verily this is the manifest trial.
106 Surely this is the manifest trial.
107 And we ransomed him with a great sacrifice.
108 And we granted him among the later ones (the salutation):
109 Peace be to Abraham!
110 So we reward the doers of good.
111 Surely he was one of our believing slaves.

In the Koranic account of Abraham's offering, the three prophecies found in the Torah do not appear. Nor does the Koran mention that the worldwide blessing foretold by these prophecies is fufilled through the Messiah Jesus as recorded in the Injil.

The Koran does, however, testify that Jesus is the Messiah:

When the angels said, O Mary, surely God gives you good news of a word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, eminent in the world and in the hereafter and one who is near God.
(Surah No.3 Ali'Imran:40)

Thus the Koran declares that Jesus is the Messiah. But, though it calls Jesus the Messiah eleven times, the Koran gives no explanation of the meaning of this glorious title. For this reason, the one who reads only the Koran cannot know the significance or the blessing of this wonderful name. In order to receive the blessing of the Messiah one must know that which was revealed by God in the Biblical scriptures given before the time of the Koran.

The Biblical scriptures are honored in the Koran which affirms that they were given by God:

And surely we gave Moses the book (Torah)...
(Surah No. 2 Al-aqarah:87)
Say, We believe in God and...what was given to the prophets from our Lord,
(Surah No. 2 Al-Baqarah:136)
...and we gave David the Psalms (Zabur).
(Surah No. 4 An-Nisa:163)
And we sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus son of Mary, confirming the Torah before him; and we gave to him the Gospel (Injil) which contains guidance and light, and confirming the Torah before it, as a guidance and an admonition for the pious.
(Surah No.5 Al Ma'Idah:46)

No man can change the words of God.
(Surah No. 6 Al-An'am:34)
There is no changing the words of God.
(Surah No. 10 Jonah:65)

O you who believe, believe in God and...the book that was revealed from before.
(Surah No.4 An-Nisa:136)

   These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me. And he opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then he said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations.
(Luke 24:44-47)

   "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Messiah Jesus came into the world to save sinners."
(I Timothy 1:15)
   "God will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Messiah Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all."
(I Timothy 2:4-6)
   "For God made Messiah, who knew no sin, to be a sin offering for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him."
(II Corinthians 5:21)
   "For Messiah also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit:"
(I Peter 3:18)
   "Wherefore, God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, And that every tongue should confess that Jesus the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:9-11)

Dear Reader, have you accepted the Messiah? Remember, it is the will of God that you accept and honor Jesus the Messiah as Saviour and Lord. When you accept Jesus, God's Lamb, as Saviour, all your sins will be forgiven. You will know God as your heavenly Father. You will have the assurance of going to heaven. If you want to receive Jesus the Messiah as your Saviour, you may pray the following prayer. God will hear you.

Almighty God, I thank you for sending your Lamb, Jesus the Messiah, into the world. Thank you for showing me through Jesus the Messiah that you love me. Thank you that Jesus the Messiah was raised from the dead in order that I might have eternal life. I know that I am a sinner. I want you to forgive me of my sins. At this moment I accept your forgiveness that you give because of the death of your Lamb, Jesus the Messiah. I want Jesus the Messiah to be my Lord. Help me to love others the same way Jesus loves them. Thank you for taking away my sins. Thank you for accepting me. I ask this of you in the name of Jesus the Messiah who is my Saviour and my Lord. Amen.