The Church Jesus Established      
   
Lesson 7 - Timeline of the Church's Establishment

Some religious groups teach that the church or kingdom began in the days of Adam, Abel, Abraham or Moses. Others claim the church was organized by John the Baptist or was initiated by Christ during his personal ministry. Still others believe that Christ's Kingdom has not yet been established. With such theories in mind let's examine what the Scripture really teaches.

The Eternal Purpose of God

Eph. 3:10,11 "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord " Clearly the church had been planned by God before the world began.

Old Testament Prophecies

God's holy prophets, beginning with David, who reigned and prophesied about five hundred years after Moses indicated that the kingdom or church was yet future and therefore it could not have begun at any previous time. Let's examine a few of these prophesies and their fulfillment in the church.

Isaiah 2:1-3 -- "7he word that Isaiah the son of Amos says concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountain, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. " (same in Micah 4:1,2)

Dan 2 -- In Daniel 2, Daniel revealed the meaning of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Daniel described the mighty image he saw, and gave its interpretation. The head of the image was gold, its arms and breast were silver, the belly and thighs were brass, the legs were of iron and its feet were part of iron and part of clay. And he reminded the king that "thou sawest that a stone was cut out without hands; which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth " (Dan 2:45).

Daniel interpreted the dream as four world empires of which the Babylonian empire was the head of gold, and would be followed by three others. In regard to the fourth kingdom, Daniel said that "in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever " (Dan 2:44).

Dan. 7: 13,14 -- Later God enabled Daniel to see again the establishment of His kingdom: "I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him, and there was given  him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion, is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed,"

A Kingdom at hand

The days of which Daniel spoke were the days of the fourth and final world power, the Roman Empire had finally come(Lk.1.5:2:1;3;1)

Luke 1:31-33 - The birth of Jesus and His Kingdom were announced to Mary. "And behold, thou shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.  He Shall be great, and shall be called the Son  of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shah be no end "

Matthew 3.1,2 -- "In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judah" and saying repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand~ " ("At hand" means drawing near, approaching.)

Matt 16:18,19 -- Jesus announces "I will build my church" promising Peter "I will unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. " (The words "church" and "kingdom" are here used interchangeably.)

Mark 9:1- The kingdom is promised within the lifetime of the disciples. "And he said unto them. Verily I say unto  you, that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they hove seen the kingdom of God come with power. "

Lk. 24:44-49 -- After His death and before His ascension, Jesus promised, "And He said unto them. these are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written, in the law of Moses, and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. Then He opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission, of sins should be preached in His name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem."

Mark 9:1 - The church/kingdom would begin with power. "And he said unto them, verily  I say unto you, that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till, they have seen, the kingdom of God come with power."

Acts 1:4-8 -- "And being assembled together with them commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized, with water, but ye. shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence."
Anxiously waiting for the kingdom foretold by the prophets and promised by the Lord Jesus, the apostles asked:
"When they therefore were come together they asked him saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel!"
Jesus responded, "It is not for you to know the time or the seasons which the Father has put in his own power. But ye shall receive power   after the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria unto the uttermost parts of the earth."

The Ascension

In fulfillment of Dan. 7:13,14 we note that..

Pentecost-The Day The Church Began

• Lk.1:5;2.1;3.1- It was in the "days of these kings" (Dan 2:44)
• Acts 1,2- All the disciples except for Judas were still living. (Mk.9:1).
• Act 2:2-4- The day the Power (Holy Spirit) came film God, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all one accord in one place," and suddenly the Holy Spirit power came as just described.
• Act 2:5 - It happened in Jerusalem (Isa. 2:2-4).
• Act 2:5-11 - There were people there from every nation (Isa 2:2-4).
• Act 2: 16-21 - It was the "last days" (Isa.2:2-4; Heb.1:1,2).
• Act 2:22-4 1 -- Peter stands up with the eleven, with the keys of the kingdom of God (Matt. 16: 1 8,19). Under the infallible power of the Spirit of God to guide him into all truth, he tells of the death of Jesus, his burial, his resurrection, the shedding of his blood. He announces that the Lord has gone into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens and is both Lord and Christ. He has before him Jews and proselytes, devout men from every nation under heaven.
• When they heard this they were cut to the heart and cried out, "What shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). Here stood the man who had the keys of the kingdom ready to open the door. He exercised the power symbolized by the keys. He opened the door (the way to God), by delivering the terms of pardon to believers in these words, "Repent ye and be baptized everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for [unto] the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
• Act 2:41,47 - The church was now in existence. Every reference to the church or kingdom prior to this day represents it as being yet in the future. On this day the church is mentioned for the first time in the present tense. "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved," or "such as were being saved." From this day forward every reference to it represents it as being in existence, a living reality.
• Acts 1 1:1 5 - The Day of Pentecost was the beginning of the Church founded by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

QUESTIONS

1.Explain why the church could not have existed...
    -In Moses day
    -In the days of the Prophets Before Jesus died, was resurrected and ascended.

2. What about Daniel's description (Dan.2:40-43) that leads us to believe he is talking about the Roman Empire?

3. What New Testament passages can be cited to show that Christ has a Kingdom?

 [ Introduction - The Pattern Concept]   [Lesson 1 - Defining The Church]  [Lesson 2 - Authority Over The Church]  
  [Lesson 3 - How Scripture Authorizes (Pt. 1)] [Lesson 4 - How Scripture Authorizes (Pt. 2)] [Lesson 5 - The Universal - The Local Church]
    [Lesson 6 - Church Not A   Denomination]    [Lesson 8 - Worship Designed for the Church] [Lesson 9 - The Lord's Supper]
[Lesson 10 - Worshipping in Song]  [Lesson 11 - Worshipping in Prayer]   [Lesson 12 - The All-Sufficient Church]  
  [Lesson 13 - Elders] [14 - Deacons ]  [Lesson 15 - Evangelists ]   [Lesson 16 - The Social Gospel]     
     [Lesson 17 -Benevolence-According to the Pattern]

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This page last updated: October 27, 1999