Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle
May 23, 2022Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle. To view the other 47 presentations click here or to return to Orchard Melbourne City website click here
Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle: Hi I’m Rod Anderson, there are many people today who claim that Jesus Christ of Nazareth, was a good man and nothing more. A kind and benevolent teacher healer who made Himself available to the people. But His contemporaries viewed Him differently. In fact they were prepared to worship Him as a God, and even claimed to have existed before His birth in Bethlehem. Throughout Jesus’ three and a half years of ministry, He appealed to the Old Testament prophets as proof of His Messiahship.In fact a close study of the New Testament reveals there are over 300 prophecies from the Old Testament, which were expressly fulfilled in Him.Furthermore, no one can say these prophecies were written after Christ’s time, because the last book of the Old Testament was written 400 years before Christ, so there could not have been any possible collusion.On Christ’s first public appearance He appealed to prophecy by saying :“This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Luke 4:21.And in Mark 1:15 Jesus declared, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.”After His crucifixion and resurrection, He said to two of His disciples,O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.’ Luke 24:25.
And to show His disciples how they should study the Old Testament prophecies, the Bible says that Jesus,
‘beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.’ Verse 27.
Meaning Jesus revealed the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament showing how He had fulfilled them all.
However much atheists and anti-theists may flout Bible prophecy, they admit that the Old Testament gives frequent warnings regarding the coming of a remarkable personage. They will also acknowledge that for over one thousand years the whole Jewish nation lived in eager expectation of a Messiah. Just a few of the passages upon which the expectation was founded were the promise of the
Seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15;
the declaration that in Seed of Abraham should
‘all the nations of the earth be blessed,’ In Genesis 22:18;
the proclamation that Shiloh was to come out of Judah before the dominion of that tribe should depart, as foretold in Genesis 49:10; that a prophet like Moses was to come, according to Deuteronomy 18:18, and quoted by Peter in Acts 3:22, as fulfilled in Christ.
The prophecies of the coming Messiah were sometimes filled with startling paradoxes. For example, the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah written 720 years before the time of Christ declares
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities . . .
He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not his mouth. . . .
He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
An amazing prophecy of which there is no possible chance of complicity, which describes the last week of Jesus’ life.
Think of this, it is admitted that many centuries before the time of Jesus Christ, certain writings by Jewish writers foretold that a member of the Jewish nation, small and insignificant though it was, should be a blessing to all mankind.
Account for it as you please, it is a stubborn fact of history that this obscure Jew, Jesus of Nazareth, from a small and despised race, has become a blessing to every nation on earth.
Furthermore, the time of His coming was clearly marked, in Daniel chapter 9:24-27 which identifies the year that Jesus public ministry would commence and the year in which He would be crucified.
To sum up, there are several marvelously demonstrated facts which stand out:
Centuries before Christ was born a number of Jewish writers, living over a period of 1,500 years, boldly predicted that one of their race would be pre-eminently righteous. He would be a prophet. He would be rejected as the Messiah by the very people who foretold His coming. He would be a blessing to all mankind. He would live in a certain definite, specified time. He would be killed. He would die as a malefactor.
No one else meets these specifications, only Jesus Christ does.
On top of these facts, consider this, the truth of the system of Plato or Lucretius or Karl Marx or Buddha or Mohammed does not depend on the question whether they were good or bad men. But if a flaw could be shown in the character of Christ, the whole Christian system would collapse utterly and at once.
In estimating the influence of Jesus on history, and contrasting the
difference between Christ and all moralists and philosophers of paganism, we must be honest with the information available to us today.
No Greek moralist or philosopher ever opposed the prevailing vices and corruptions of his own time and country. No heathen moralist ever endeavoured to curb the inhuman and horribly bloody sport of
gladiators; none spoke against lust, the deliberate, slow killing of infants and slaves by exposure, or the public encouragement and establishment of brothels.
The most indecent revellings were openly practised as part of their heathen religion, and the greatest philosophers and moralists never lifted a voice against them.
Plato not only encouraged lying but also recommended a community of prostitutes, and advised that soldiers should not be restrained from even the most obscene and unnatural sensuality. Furthermore, Plato not only expressly allowed excessive drinking at the festival of Bacchus, but he and Aristotle both directed that means should be used to prevent weak children from being reared.
Plato, Cicero, Epictetus, and other famous philosophers advised men to continue the idolatry of their ancestors. Diogenes inculcated and practised the most brutal lust, and Cato commended young men for frequenting brothels.
And such things were encouraged and protected by the laws of the states. Zeno, the founder, and Cato the most famous adherent of Stoic philosophy, and Seneca, the great moralist of Nero’s time, were all suicides.
But anti-theists, athiests, materialist and libertines may declare , ‘but they taught many fine things,’
But this is precisely my point. These men were admittedly the greatest of the ancient world, but in life and example they were corrupt and beggarly elements indeed, but Jesus was altogether different, and by example showed Himself to be above the noise and ranker of this world. This is just one of the ways in which Jesus was ethically and morally different from any other son of Adam who has walked this earth.
If you want to learn more about who Jesus Christ is, I would like to give you a free book called the Path of Peace, which will bring you face to face with Christ in a way which will amaze you.
If you go to Youtube, type in my name, you can go to a presentation I gave called Seven Mind Blowing Prophecies which will un-package this subject more fully. Furthermore I want to give you a marvelous set of Bible reading guides called
the Orchard Faith of Jesus studies, this is a 25 part set of Bible reading guides which are easy to use and will see you become familiar with the most important truths in the Bible.
And all you have to do to receive these two gifts from us, is send me an email with your Name, postal address and phone number to
info at theorchardmelbourne.org.au, that is info at the Orchard Melbourne dot org dot au, or go to our website theorchardmelbourne.org.au, go to the tab marked “contact us” and follow the prompts, identify the book offered and we will mail the studies guides to you, wherever you are.
Well again our time has past by far too quickly, but remember the Truth has nothing to fear from Investigation, I’m Rod Anderson, goodbye for now.
Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle Bible Prophecy, Plato and Aristotle