I can't help but feel that this Odon guy is a secret Muslim, as if he is trying to create doubts in Christians. Look at these slides, it seems very pro-Islam to me:
He does realize that all names are meanings, right? (aka that Joshua means "YHWH is salvation", Ezekiel means "God's strength", Moses means "To Draw/Pull Out" etc)
Odon references Matthew 21:9, which in context reads:
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.”
And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country.
(Luke 4:24)
Also the connection he makes between the Book of Daniel (which features Gabriel) and Islam (which features Gabriel again revealing their scripture), what is Odon's true motives here?
The above slide shows that he is clearly trying to establish continuity between Christianity and Islam, isn't that curious from a supposed polemicist?
This too is very curious, seeing that he is, on one hand stating that Muhammad was false (and maybe was a later fiction) while claiming that he, and the Caliphates, where fulfilments of Biblical typologies.
Another interesting thing is that he reuses arguments that used to be made about the historical Jesus as an eschatological messianic preacher, and then shifted it onto Muhammad (one way or another), when in Christianity itself the notion of Millennialism became predominant to the same thing. I find it really weird the kinds of arguments that Odon is making, especially if he is a Christian.
That last line too "
Muhammad's religion is actually Jesus' religion" is really bizarre considering the same polemicists (like Jay Smith etc) also claim at the same time that Islam has nothing to do with Christianity and is an entirely foreign, unrelated "Pagan" (even though it originated as Semitic, like Judaism) religion.
I think there is a lot of reason for me to be skeptical by the contents provided.
I noticed some of these elements but took a very different interpretation (as you might imagine).
The wider context is that I’m studying through an epic series on “The Coming Kingdom” by Andy Woods and reflecting on people I have interacted with and the perspectives they have shared.
Anyone one who believes in one God (and who believes this world is not as it should be) will have asked a question similar to the disciples at the beginning of the Book of Acts -“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
I really get the enthusiasm for the kingdom but Jesus asks something of us instead…
7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Interestingly, no mention of the Kingdom to the disciples who were commissioned to share the Gospel.
The earth living under the rule of God, with Satan bound will only happen when the right time is reached….
And here’s where it started to get interesting for me. I don’t believe we are at that point yet, and I don’t think it will arrive till Jesus returns and the rulership of this world passes from Satan to Jesus. It’s as plain as day to me that this is the only way things will truly change…
…but it’s not the view of most of the world!
If you ask an Orthodox Jew why they reject Jesus as the messiah, he might tell you that their is no
shalom (peace) in the world, so the messiah must not yet have come. When the Kingdom comes, it will be a
now thing, which is why Zionism as interpreted by Israeli Jews right now can develop some very odd ideas about God’s stamp of approval on them, and how they are setting themselves up for deception by a coming earthly messiah figure.
Catholicism is also a “Kingdom Now” faith, beginning perhaps the rise of the “Holy Roman Empire”, the delay in the return of the Lord and with the Amillennialism set out in Augustine’s “City of God”.
What I didn’t know was the degree to which Islam itself may have had its origins in a Kingdom Now sentiment (which the videos unpack really well).
Why am I saying this?
I am frequently polemicised as a Israel-loving Zionist shill who approves of every action of the IDF and just loves the Israeli government. I don’t reply to that sort of thing simply because it is not the position I hold.
I don’t think God has finished with Israel as far as His plans for the earth are concerned, but neither do I think their return to their ancient homeland is a stamp of approval on their spiritual state or actions. It is an appointment.
Neither do I think God has finished with Muslims. I think the later verses of Isaiah 42 indicate that the inhabitants of
Selah will rejoice at the return of the Lord, meaning they will have a change of heart as to the identity of Jesus (who died for them too).
Whilst I have a natural sympathy for the Jews as they have the same root and accept the OT, I acknowledge the heart of Muslims wanting to do what they can to please God and do the things He wants them to do.
On the other hand, I can see that Catholicism (along with modern Christian Dominionism) Judaism and Islam are all “Kingdom Now” faiths, I believe they are in error about the nature of the Kingdom that only Jesus will establish on His return.