When was the Church Established?
While passing through Caesarea with His disciples, the Lord said to Peter, “Upon this rock I will build My church… And I will give the keys of the kingdom of Heaven to you.” Matthew 16:18-19) Adam Clark wrote in his commentary, “By the kingdom of heaven, we may consider the true Church… and by the keys, the power of admitting into that house…In other words, the doctrine of salvation.”
These words were spoken about six months before His death on the cross. So, even in the shadow of the cross, the Lord speaks of the church as yet in the future. This is significant in view of the claim of some that the church was already in existence at that time.
Almost 40 years ago, in a book titled Great Chapters of the Bible, I wrote: “Isaiah said that the kingdom or
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In other words, these are the last days. Sometime later, Peter referred to the day of Pentecost as the beginning of the last days (Acts 11:15). This was also during the days of the Roman kings, because the Roman Empire did not fall until 476 A.D.
“Even though Christ had promised the apostles and some others that the kingdom would come with power before all of them died (Mk. 9:1), at Acts 1:6, just before he ascended back to heaven, the apostles were still looking for it. Now Jesus said that the kingdom would come when the power came (Mk. 9:1), and that the power would come when the Holy Spirit came (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit came with power on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). That means that the kingdom (church) had its beginning on that day in the city of Jerusalem (Isa. 2”1-2).
“Although the Jews rejected Jesus and the Gentiles nailed Him to the cross, their rejection of Him and rebellion against God was of no avail. They could not destroy God’s authority. They could not defeat God’s plan to put His king on the