The beginning of any organization involves both time and place. Thus we are interested in the time when and the
place where the New Testament Church began. Let us go back to Isaiah 2:2-3 and notice what is said, "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
mountains, 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 us 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."
From the above passage, the following points are evident:
1. When the event will happen …………………………..Come to pass in the last days.
2. What the event will be …………………..……..The Lord's house will be established.
3. Who will be involved …………………………......……........All nations will be present.
4. Where the event will take place……………………………….................City of Jerusalem.
In order to understand what the Lord's House is, let us notice 1 Tim. 3: 15, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest
know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth." Again in Zech. 1: 16 we read, "Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with
mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem."
From this it can be seen that the church is the house of God, and that He intended that it be built in Jerusalem. But,
since we are studying prophecies about the establishment of the church, let us notice another. This time in Luke 24:
46-49, "And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved 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. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but
tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." The outstanding points are:
1. Wait for promise of Father;
2. In Jerusalem;
3. Repentance and Remission of Sins to be preached;
4. Among all Nations; and,
5. Beginning at Jerusalem.
In this scripture the Lord promises the apostles power from on high. How soon could they expect this? Mark 9:1
will help us. Notice, "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." So before the death of some of
these people the kingdom is to come. Added to this, we find the statement of John the Baptist, in Mt. 3:1-2, "In those
days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand" The kingdom of heaven or the church was at hand in the days of John.
Now we are faced with the problem of finding the fulfillment of all these scriptures and subse quently the
establishment of the New Testament Church. Briefly, let us notice what we must find in order to discover the proper
beginning of the church. The following chart will help:
The Prophecy The Fulfillment
1. The promise of the Holy Spirit Acts 2:4
2. In the city of Jerusalem Acts 2:5 & 2:14
3. All nations present Acts 2:16-17
4. Repentance and remission of sins Acts 2:37-38
5. The church of the Lord's house Acts 2:47
First of all let us look for the coming of the promised Holy Spirit. Acts 2: 1-4, "And when the day of Pentecost was
fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a
rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Thus we have met requirement number one: the Holy Spirit
has come. Now let us notice, are we in the city of Jerusalem? Acts 2:5, "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews,
devout men, out of every nation under heaven." Also verse fourteen, "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted
up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and
hearken to my words..." So we are at the proper place: Jerusalem. Next let us see about the time. Acts 2:16-17, "But
this is that which was spoken by the. prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days saith God, I will pour out
of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams..." The last days, that is what we are looking for. Just here it might be well to
emphasize the fact that when the Bible says, "this is that:' the question of whether or not a prophecy has been
fulfilled should forever be settled. Sometimes people make the mistake of looking for the fulfillment of a prophecy
even though the Bible plainly states that it has already come to pass. To be specific then, Joel's prophecy
concerning the last days came to pass in Acts 2. Next, are all nations present? Let us see. Verses five and fourteen
in that order, "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven... But
Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said to them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at
Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken unto my words..." Thus the right people have gathered. What
about repentance and the remission of sins? Were these preached? Note verses 37-38, "Now when they heard this,
they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall
we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." These people were commanded to repent of their
sins, and to be baptized in order that they might receive the remission of their sins. We have but one thing to
consider and our study will be complete. What about the church or the Lord's house? Was it mentioned on this day?
Did it actually come into existence? Let us notice verse 47 for the answer, "Praising God, and having favour with all
the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
Thus, every aspect of the prophecy has been fulfilled just as divine wisdom declared On the first Pentecost after
the resurrection of Jesus Christ, in the city of Jerusalem, the church of Christ had its beginning; The above
statement is very important and implies many things. Namely, that any church that did not begin at that time cannot
hope to be the Lord's church. But someone says, "The church to which I belong was established before that,
sometime during the days of John the Baptist." If such is the case my friend, I am afraid that was too soon. For Christ
did not build His church until after His resurrection. Now the very simple conclusion is evident. Any church built
before Christ built His, cannot belong to Him. But another says, "The church to which I belong was only brought into
existence two hundred years ago." Again, if this is the case, that is far too recent to qualify as the church of the
Bible. It is also noteworthy that this church was, by divine wisdom, to 'be built in Jerusalem. And since the beginning
of any institution involves both time and place any church which was established in any other city cannot be the
Lord's. For example, any church originating in Salt Lake City, Utah; Spring field, Missouri; London, England or any
other place other than Jerusalem cannot hope to meet the scriptural requirements of the New Testament.
Have you checked to see when and where the church of which you are a member began? Go to the encyclopedia
and look it up. Find out a little bit about its origin. See whether or not it can be traced all the way back to Jerusalem.
If not, you need to make a change. But, you ask, "How shall I decide on a church?" One way is to compare every
church with the Bible. If they do not agree then reject them. Study carefully the lesson today, and the others already
given in this series. Find the church with the right beginning, then proceed in your study. We believe the Church of
Christ is worth investigating. In fact, we believe if you do, you will find it to be the Church of the Bible.
