During his first time on Earth, the Prophet Jesus (as), like all other prophets, advised people to believe in Allah, the One and Only, and to avoid disbelief, polytheism and all forms of evil. Those who failed to heed the Prophet Jesus’ (as) call sought to hinder this worthy individual, for which reason they put pressure on him and those around him. When these efforts proved to be in vain they then decided to kill the Prophet Jesus (as). However, these initiatives also ended in failure. As is clearly revealed in verses of the Qur’an, these people were unable to kill the Prophet Jesus (as). They were instead shown someone else who resembled him. As a miracle of our Lord’s, the person who had informed on the Prophet Jesus (as) was killed in his place. Allah raised the Prophet Jesus (as) into His Presence, without taking his life in the biological sense. This is revealed in the following terms in the verse below:
And [on account of] their saying, “We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Messenger of Allah.” They did not kill him and they did not crucify him but it was made to seem so to them. Those who argue about him are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge of it, just conjecture. But they certainly did not kill him. (Surat an-Nisa’, 157)
That the Prophet Jesus (as) did not die but was raised into the Presence of our Lord is revealed in a verse as follows:
When Allah said, “Jesus, I will take you back and raise you up to Me and purify you of those who disbelieve. And I will place the people who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then you will all return to Me, and I will judge between you regarding the things about which you differed.” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 55)
The second coming of the Prophet Jesus (as) during the End Times represents very glad tidings that are imparted in the hadiths of our Prophet (saas). However, it needs to be made clear that when the Prophet Jesus (as) does return, very few people will recognize and join him. The great majority of people will keep away from him, for a variety of reasons, such as the effect of indoctrination and falsehoods, the conditions in the societies they live in, lack of information or misinformation.
We need to remember that the fact that many people fail to recognize and support the Prophet Jesus (as) will not stop his intellectual struggle being successful, with the help and by the leave of Allah. Muslims must allow no concessions with regard to their excitement, enthusiasm and joy at our Lord’s sending a prophet back to Earth after some 2000 years. When the time appointed comes and this holy messenger does return, praying to achieve the honor of being one of his helpers and followers and preparing themselves for this time in the finest manner is one of the main responsibilities incumbent upon believers living in the End Times.
