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of St. Matthew’s. One of the characteristic features of
the First Gospel – Matthew – is to show and prove the
fulfilment of some particular statement or prediction in
the Old Testament concerning nearly every event in the
life of Jesus Christ (pbuh) . He is very careless to guard
himself against contradictions, and less scrupulous
in his quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures. He is
certainly not well versed in the literature of his own
language. I had occasion to refer in the preceding
article of this series to one of his blunders concerning
the ass upon which Jesus (pbuh) mounted [1] . This is a
most serious point directly touching the authenticity
and the validity of the Gospels. Is it possible that
the Apostle Matthew should himself be ignorant of
the true character of the prophecy of Malakhi, and
ignorantly ascribe to his master a misquotation, which
would naturally put to question his very quality of a
divinely inspired Prophet? Then, what should we think
of the author of the Second Gospel – of St. Mark – who
ascribes the passage in Malakhi to Isaiah? (Mark i. 2).
Jesus (pbuh) is reported by Matthew (xi. 1-15), and this
too is followed or copied by Luke (vii. 18-28), to have
declared to the multitude that John Baptist (pbuh) was
“more than a Prophet,” that it was he “about whom it
was written: Behold, I am sending My Angel before
thy face, and he shall prepare thy way before thee;” and
that “none among those born by women was greater
than , but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater
than he.” The corruption of the text of Malakhi is plain
and deliberately made. The original text tells us that
Yahweh Sabaoth, i.e. God of Hosts, is the speaker and
the believers are the people addressed, as can be readily
seen in the words “whom ye are seeking….whom ye
desire,” God says: “Behold, I send My Messenger,

[1] See I.R., January 1929, p. 18. (The author).