Now, sometimes when we read an Old Testament prophecy, we search for its specific fulfillment in the New Testament, and we have to do a little inference here and there. We have to say, “Well, this seems to fit; this must have been what the prophet was talking about.” But there are certain places in the New Testament where an inspired man says, “Now, when that prophet back there said that, this is what he was talking about.” That’s exactly what Peter did on Pentecost. And we don’t have to wonder whether that is what the prophet meant, or not. Peter said, “This is that—this is what Joel was talking about,” but the phraseology that Peter uses is, “…it shall come to pass in the last days,” saith God, the very same terminology that Isaiah used in chapter 2 and verse 2, “…it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established….”

Well, Peter went ahead with quoting that prophecy, and then after that introductory statement, in verse 22, he begins his sermon in earnest. His opening salvo is to tell that vast crowd of people that they are murderers! Now, has John [Phillis, Evangelist of the Northeast church of Christ] ever started a sermon by getting up and saying, “You’re a bunch of murderers”? That’s exactly what Peter did on Pentecost. He told them, “You have taken and, by lawless hands, crucified the Lord of glory; this man who showed Himself to be from God by signs and wonders—you have crucified!” And then Peter quoted from the Psalms a passage by David in which David prophesied that there would be One Who would die alright, would be buried, but His soul would not be left in Hades and His flesh would not see corruption [Acts 2:27, 31; Psalm 16:8-11, especially verse 10]. Peter said, “David was not speaking of himself. His grave is right over here. You can go and visit his grave. You know his bones are still in there. David was speaking of this Jesus, Whom you crucified, and he was talking about His resurrection!And God has raised Him up. We are witnesses of it, and now God has exalted Him to His right hand!” And then Peter quoted from the 110^th Psalm, where God said through the Psalmist, “Sit Thou at My right hand, until I many Thy enemies Thy footstool.”

And now, Peter reaches and draws a conclusion in [Acts 2,] verse 36: “Therefore …”—Brethren, when you see the term “Therefore,” in the Bible, you need to see what it’s THERE FOR! It’s drawing a conclusion from what has been said. “Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, Whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Now, before we go a little further, let me put in a “parenthesis” or two here. Peter said, “…let all the house of Israel know assuredly….” We live in a world that’s dominated by a philosophy called “Agnosticism” that says you cannot KNOW anything for sure. Well, they will make one exception: The only thing you can know for certain is that you can know nothing for CERTAIN! Think about that a little bit. Poor, old Peter—he was just an inspired apostle; he didn’t know any better. He said, “This is one thing you can know, and know assuredly, that God has made this same Jesus, Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

The crowd could take it no more. Just try to imagine the pressure, the emotional pressure that Peter had put them under by the things that he had said. He’s placed upon them the guilt of crucifying their own MESSIAH fifty days before! No wonder Luke says that they were “cut to the heart” [“pricked in their hearts”], Acts 2:37. And in the agony of their guilt, they cried out and said, “Men and brethren, what…shall…we…do?” They must have expected a negative response: “There’s nothing you can do. The crime that you’ve committed is so heinous that it is unforgivable!” That MUST have been their expected response! We can only imagine the relief of their spirits when Peter said, “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Well, verse 41 tells us the result: “They then that gladly received his Word were baptized: and there were added (unto them) in that day about three thousand souls.” Let me put another “parenthesis” in right here on verse 41. When people gladly receive the Word of God, they do not argue about what the Bible says concerning baptism. And when people argue about what the Bible says concerning baptism, they have NOT gladly received the Word of God.

Verse 47tells us that to which they were added: “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” He has not stopped that process since that great Day of Pentecost. Every time a person obeys that same Gospel plan of salvation, the Lord adds him to that same church. Do you suppose that’s the church He built? Do you suppose He would add someone to somebody else’s church? Not a chance. He added them to HIS church.

There, we have the ORIGIN of the church that Jesus built described for us and its past prophecy, up until all prophecies were fulfilled. Every passage in the Bible that refers to the church, regardless of what “figure” might be used—the kingdom, or the mountain of the Lord’s house, as Isaiah uses it—always has the church in anticipation. Every passage that speaks of the church, from Acts 2:47 to the last Word of Revelation, has the church in existence with people being added to it. There cannot be the slightest doubt as to the pinpoint in time when the church of Jesus Christ was established. It was on the first Pentecost after His resurrection and ascension. Any church established at a different time and in a different place, besides Jerusalem, cannot be the church Jesus built.