Commentary on Surah 70 (No. Q070)

Pickthall Translation and Bible Quotes are from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

Introduction

The number allocated to this Surah is not accidental. The Seventy relates also to the Seventy-two who were originally the Elohim of the Heavenly Host allocated the nations of the Earth in Deuteronomy 32 and Yahovah elohim, who became the Christ, was allocated Israel by Eloah as his domain, through which the entire human host would be called and placed in the elect in the City of God.

So also the Seventy were allocated to the Tribes of Israel as the Sanhedrin and then Christ ordained the Seventy as the Council of the elders, and we see that in Luke 10:1 and 17. These were called in the original texts the Hebomekonta [Duo] or the Seventy [two]. These were given the power to baptise and ordain to create the means of Salvation and the ascent into the Resurrections by means of the Holy Spirit.

The ascents of Moses were also indicative of the preparation of mankind for the Law of God in order to meet the Messiah at his First and Second Advent (cf. the paper the Ascents of Moses (No. 070)). See also the Introduction to Surah 72.

The church under Christ became the only means by which man could ascend to God in the Holy Spirit. The Prophet was merely one of the Churches of God, all of which were the Muhammad that was able to rule the Churches of God in the Ahmad or Holy Spirit.

*****

70.1. A questioner questioned concerning the doom about to fall

70.2. Upon the disbelievers, which none can repel

70.3. From Allah, Lord of the Ascending Stairways

70.4. (Whereby) the angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day whereof the span is fifty thousand years.

70.5. But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see.

70.6. Lo! they behold it afar off

70.7. While we behold it nigh:

Refer to Habakkuk 2:3 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 18 (No. Q018) at ayat 82 and Isaiah 66:4 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 66 (No. Q066) at ayat 27.

Ezekiel 30:3 For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.

Isaiah 2:12 For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;

Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!

Obadiah 1:15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.

Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there.

Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

Matthew 24:29-30 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

2Peter 3:9-12 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. ¹¹Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹²waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

Genesis 28:12-13 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! ¹³And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.

Matthew 24:36 But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

2Peter 3:8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

70.8. The day when the sky will become as molten copper,

See 2Peter 3:9-12 at ayat 70.7 above.

Deuteronomy 28:23-24 And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. ²⁴The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

2Peter 3:7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

70.9. And the hills become as flakes of wool,

Micah 1:3 For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth^{. 4}And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.

Revelation 16:19-20 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.

70.10. And no familiar friend will ask a question of his friend

Matthew 24:12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

Revelation 6:15-17 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

70.11. Though they will be given sight of them. The guilty man will long to be able to ransom himself from the punishment of that day at the price of his children

70.12. And his spouse and his brother

70.13. And his kin that harboured him

70.14. And all that are in the earth, if then it might deliver him.

See Psalm 49:7-8 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 69 (No.Q069) at ayat 37.

Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Job 33:23-24 If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him, ²⁴and he is merciful to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom;

1Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

70.15. But nay! for lo! it is the fire of hell

70.16. Eager to roast;

70.17. It calleth him who turned and fled (from truth),

70.18. And hoarded (wealth) and withheld it.

70.19. Lo! man was created anxious,

70.20. Fretful when evil befalleth him

70.21. And, when good befalleth him, grudging;

Refer to Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017) for Revelation 20:11-15 at ayat 15; Hebrews 9:27 at ayat 18; 2Corinthians 5:10 at ayat 36 and also Commentary on the Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021) for John 5:28-29 at ayat 47, and 1Timothy 6:9-10 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 64 (No.Q064) at ayat 15.

2Timothy 4:4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Ecclesiastes 5:13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt,

Matthew 25:41-46 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

70.22. Save worshippers.

70.23. Who are constant at their worship

70.24. And in whose wealth there is a right acknowledged
70.25. For the beggar and the destitute;

70.26. And those who believe in the Day of Judgment,
70.27. And those who are fearful of their Lord's doom –

70.28. Lo! the doom of their Lord is that before which none can feel secure –

70.29. And those who preserve their chastity

70.30. Save with their wives and those whom their right hands possess, for thus they are not blameworthy;

See 1Timothy 5:8 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 65 (No. Q065) at ayat 7 and Revelation 12:17 at Commentary on the Koran: Surah 60 (No. Q060) at ayat 2.

John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Revelation 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Isaiah 58:10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

1Corinthians 6:17-20 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. ¹⁸Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Matthew 25:34-40 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Refer to 2Corinthians 5:10 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017) at ayat 36; Revelation 20:6 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 18 (No. Q018) at ayat 31, and James 1:27 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 30 (No. Q030) at ayat 30.

70.31. But whoso seeketh more than that, those are they who are transgressors;

Refer to Ezekiel 18:20 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017) at ayat 13 and Revelation 21:8 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 23 (No. Q023) at ayat 98.

1John 3:4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

Psalm 37:38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

Proverbs 2:22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

Isaiah 1:28 But rebels and sinners shall be broken together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

70.32. And those who keep their pledges and their covenant,

70.33. And those who stand by their testimony

70.34. And those who are attentive at their worship.

70.35. These will dwell in Gardens, honoured.

Numbers 30:2 If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

Deuteronomy 23:21 “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Deuteronomy 23:23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.

Psalm 15:4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

1John 2:5 But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Revelation 14:7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

See 1Peter 2:5 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 61 (No.Q061) at ayat 9. Refer also to Revelation 20:6 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 18 (No. Q018) at ayat 31 and Revelation 4:11 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021) at ayat 20.

70.36. What aileth those who disbelieve, that they keep staring toward thee (O Muhammad), open-eyed,

70.37. On the right and on the left, in groups?

70.38. Doth every man among them hope to enter the Garden of Delight?

70.39. Nay, verily. Lo! We created them from what they know.

70.40. But nay! I swear by the Lord of the rising-places and the setting-places of the planets that We verily are Able

70.41. To replace them by (others) better than them. And we are not to be outrun.

70.42. So let them chat and play until they meet their Day which they are promised,

70.43. The day when they come forth from the graves in haste, as racing to a goal,

70.44. With eyes aghast, abasement stupefying them: Such is the Day which they are promised.

Refer to Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017) for John 12:40 at ayat 46 and Isaiah 46:9-10 at ayat 111; Commentary on the Koran: Surah 30 (No. Q030) for Ecclesiastes 12:7 at ayat 11 and 1Chronicles 29:11 at ayat 28; and Ephesians 4:18 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 39 (No. Q039) at ayat 22.

Jeremiah 3:14 Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

Isaiah 45:5-6 I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,⁶that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Psalm 19:6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

John 15:2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Romans 11:17-22 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either. ²²Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

Refer to Revelation 20:11-15 as quoted in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017) at ayat 15; 1John 2:16-17 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 18 (No. Q018) at ayat 8 and John 5:28-29 Commentary on the Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021) at ayat 47.

God will not spare those who do not persist in the faith.

PO Box 369, WODEN ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA