Why do Muslims say Ishmael was the promised seed?
Muslims claim Ishmael was the promised seed because they assert the Old Testament has been polluted and distorted, so they reject its testimony that the seed would come through Isaac. They argue that in reality Ishmael, not Isaac, was the promised seed, which is how people are easily confused.
Les explains that the Abrahamic covenant consistently promised the singular seed would come through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve sons, leading to the Messiah—not through Ishmael, but through Isaac. He notes the Muslim world argues against this because they claim the Old Testament has been polluted and distorted, and that in reality Ishmael was the promised seed. Les warns this is how it is easy to confuse people and lead them astray, but the Bible being the Word of God can be rested on: it was through Isaac that the singular seed would come. He then ties this to Galatians 3:16, where the singular seed is Christ, and all people benefit from the Abrahamic covenant through whom all the world would be blessed.