Articles
The Lord's Church (1)
Countless churches have been devised and created by men. However, I would like to focus our attention upon the Church we read about in the Bible, the Lord’s Church.
The prophet Isaiah foretold that it would come into being in the latter days, all nations would flow to it, and the law would go forth from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-4). The period of time when Christ came is called the “last days” (Acts 2:17; Heb. 1:2). On the Day of Pentecost, in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, the gospel was first preached from Jerusalem and devout Jews from every nation under heaven were gathered together to hear its message proclaimed (Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-47; Rom. 1:16).
The prophet Daniel foretold how God would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed during the period of the Roman Empire (Daniel 2:44-45). Jesus was born and lived when the Roman Caesars ruled the world (Luke 3:1).
The establishment of the Lord’s Church was prophesied hundreds of years prior by God’s faithful prophets. In fact, the apostle Paul tells us that the Church was according to God’s eternal purpose (Eph. 3:11).
Furthermore, John the Baptizer, Jesus and the twelve apostles all preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7) Jesus promised: “that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power” (Mark 9:1).
And Jesus declared before Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).
Remember Daniel prophesied that during the time of the Roman Empire, God would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44). Jesus revealed His kingdom was not physical but spiritual, at hand, and would come with power during the lifetime of His apostles. The kingdom He spoke of was His Church!
