These are certainly not all of the references regarding the prophecies concerning the church in the Old Testament, but this gives us a flavor of those prophecies. So God had the church—the Kingdom—in mind from the very beginning!

Jesus also made predictions and promises concerning the coming of the church. He promised to build the church. He would be the founder of the church, Matthew 16, verse 18 [“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”]. And as the Son of God, Jesus would be the rock upon which the church would be built—the foundation, if you will. Of course, in Matthew 16, verse 18, that’s what He says, “upon this rock,” that is, upon the confession that Peter had made that He was the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus would build His church. And so it was upon that foundation that the church would be built.

Jesus promised that the church would come with power, Mark 9, verse 1 [“And He said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.’”] and with the coming of the Holy Spirit, Acts 1, verse 8 [“But 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.”]. We’ll see in just a moment that this prophecy was fulfilled in just that way.

As for the time of the coming of the Kingdom, the church, Jesus said it would be in the lifetime of those who were there as He spoke to them, Matthew 16, verse 28 [“Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”]. Now this gives a number of people today a difficult time. Many have a problem with Matthew 16, verse 28, for example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses who say that the Kingdom is yet to be established. On more than one occasion, I have pointed out this reference to one of them as they were trying to persuade me of their belief, and it is stunning to see the “gyrations” they go through in trying to explain this, if they’re even aware that it is there at all!

So, not only did Jesus say He would build this Kingdom, be the founder of it, and that it would come with power and with the Holy Spirit, but He also said that it would come soon, because some to whom he spoke on this occasion would still be alive when the Kingdom, the church, came (was built, was established).

Jesus also spoke about the mission of the church, that it would be to teach the Will of God to man, Matthew 28, verses 18 and 19 [“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…’”]; Mark 16, verse 15 [“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.’”].

Jesus taught His disciples to pray for the coming of the Kingdom, Matthew 6, verse 10 [“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”]. You recall there in that Scripture (commonly referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer,” actually the “Lord’s Model Prayer,”) that He was teaching His disciples to pray. He said, “Your Kingdom come.” When I was in grade school (and perhaps even younger), my grandmother taught my Bible class. She urged the children in class to learn that section of Scripture. I remember that she said “Now, when you say, ‘Your kingdom come,’ remember that the kingdom has already come!” I thought that was very astute.

So this is the church in prophecy—the Kingdom in prophecy.

Phase 2: Next we’ll discuss THE CHURCH IN PREPARATION. Obviously, the church originated in the mind of God, not in the mind of man. As we have just seen, God foretold its coming, when it would come, and where it could begin.

But Jesus Christ, God’s Son, did the actual work to bring about the establishment of the church on earth. Yes, it was in God’s mind. Yes, it was God’s plan. Yes, God directed the prophets of old to speak about this coming Kingdom. Yet, it would be Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, Who would actually make this come to pass through what He would do. And He did this through His teaching and also through His work of redemption, Acts 1, verse 1 through 3 [“The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”].

Jesus taught with authority, Matthew 7, verses 28 and 29 [“And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”]. On one occasion, some observed Him and said, “No man ever spoke like this Man.” [John 7:46: “Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, ‘Why have you not brought Him?’ The officers answered, ‘No man ever spoke like this Man!’”] Jesus taught with wisdom, Matthew 13, verse 54 [“When He had come to His Own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?’”]. And He amazed people with what He taught and the way He taught it, Mark 1, verses 21 and 22 [“Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”].