In our first two articles on fasting, we focused on when and why Muslims are to fast. However, the fasting that Allah and Mohammed taught is totally different from the true fasting as described in the Bible. In part 3 of this article on fasting, we will examine when and why the Jews and Christians are to fast.
Did God really command the Jews and Christians who lived before the Muslims to fast? As we investigate the Holy Bible, the Jewish and Christian book, we can only find one time that God commanded the Jews to fast. Fasting was not written into the Mosaic laws. We do not read about God commanding the Jewish people to fast except in the book of Joel. However, in the New Testament, Jesus mentioned that His disciples will fast after His ascension.
Notice that God did not give specific times and places to fast for the Jews and Christians as Muslims claim and do. Biblical fasting is not a half day as Muslims do, but it is a full day or multiple days of fasting. The biblical fasting day is from evening to evening, a full 24 hour period. When we compare the biblical fasting to Islamic fasting, we discover that Muslims have never fasted a day in their lives, but they always start their “claiming days” of fasting by feasting all night long until morning comes.
The Jews and Christians fasted for many reasons. For exam ...
