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Does the Bible predict Muhammad?

In the Torah God says to Moses, "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 you" (Deuteronomy 18:18). Muslim authors claim this is a prediction in the Bible about Muhammad.

The Bible itself, however, attributes the fulfillment of this prophecy to Jesus (Acts 3:22 in the context of 3:17-26 and John 1:45). It has been argued that this prophet was to come from "among their brothers," meaning from the Ishmaelites (Ishmael and Isaac were brothers). Since Muhammad is supposed to have descended from Ishmael, this would favor Muhammad.

However, the term "brethren" or "brothers" is more commonly used of the 12 tribes of Israel coming from 12 brothers (the 12 sons of Jacob, who was the son of Isaac). This would indicate, in the most normal interpretation, that the prophet spoken of should be a Jew, as Jesus was. It has been further argued that Muhammad was in many respects like Moses whereas Jesus was not.

However, note the following: 1) both Jesus and Moses escaped at birth by God's protection from hostile kings who tried to destroy them (Exodus 1:15-2:10 cp. Matthew 2:13-18), which was not true of Muhammad. 2) both Moses and Jesus did many miracles (Moses brought the plagues on Egypt, parted the Red Sea, etc. and Jesus healed many sick, raised the dead, etc.) whereas the Qur'an records no such miracles done by Muhammad, and implies that he did none (Surah 2:112-113). 3) both Moses and Jesus established a covenant (Moses the Old Covenant, or Old Testament, and Jesus the New Covenant, or New Testament).

Moreover, some of the differences between Jesus and Moses (Moses and Muhammad fought battles, Jesus did not; Moses and Muhammad were rulers of the people; Jesus had no political power) disappear when one considers the full career of Jesus, including his second coming, when he will fight a battle against Antichrist and when he will rule as king over the earth.

Muslim authors also claim that Jesus predicted the coming of Messiah in his prediction of the coming of the Comforter (or Counselor): "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me" (John 15:26). But John 14:26 specifically calls this coming Counselor "the Holy Spirit," and also says that he "will remind you of everything I [Jesus] have said to you."

Although the Qur'an revealed to Muhammad does contain over 100 verses about Jesus, it should be noted that almost none of them contain the actual words of Jesus, or the content of his teaching. Yet the Bible says the Counselor "will remind you of everything I [Jesus] have said to you [his disciples]."

The fulfillment of the coming Counselor is recorded in the Bible in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit was sent on the Day of Pentecost. This Holy Spirit inspired the disciples of Jesus to write down Jesus' words in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and thus he did remind them of everything that Jesus said to them.

So Christians do not accept that the Bible predicts Muhammad. The prophet like Moses predicted in Deuteronomy 18 is Jesus, not Muhammad, and the Counselor predicted by Jesus in the Gospel of John is the Holy Spirit, not Muhammad.