Prophecies of the Church

      It is commonly held by many Protestants, both denominationally and by their leading theologians, that the ancient Church established by the Apostles fell into darkness and apostasy, over a period of 1200 years or more, under the corrupt leadership of the Papacy, which many Protestants proclaim as an article of faith to be the Anti-Christ: "here is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ: nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the Church against Christ, and all that is called God." (Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch XXV, Art 6). As a Protestant website dedicated to the conversion of Catholics sums it up: "The Roman Catholic institution is not the only apostate church--but she does have a special status. She is the mother of them all--Revelation 17:5 calls her MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH". As I discussed in a previous post, the usual Protestant view of history demands the principle that the Church Jesus established fell away into apostasy, while a small, invisible remnant of faithful people remained virtually unknown and in hiding. Besides the historical problem of a complete lack of evidence of such a group or alternative orthodoxy existing within the larger Church, it takes a very dim view of the nature of the Church and the promises and prophecies in Scripture. Let us examine some of these prophecies:

1. “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” (Is. 2:2-3)

2. "The stone cleaved from the mountain without the help of hands… became a great mountain and filled the whole earth…And in the days of these kings [Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which 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 for ever” (Dan 2:34, 44)

3. "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, and everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Dan 7:13-14)

These prophecies refer to the Church, comparing it to a Rock, a Mountain, a Kingdom that will cover the whole earth and never pass away. These words are echoed and fulfilled in the New Testament: 

1. "And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Lk 22:29-30)

2. "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." (Matt 16:18)

3. "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" (Heb 12:28)

It is a Kingdom from which truth will go forth unadulterated, spoken and preserved by the Holy Spirit:

1."And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Eze. 36:24-27).

2. "And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them” (Eze. 37:24)

3. "As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever." (Is 59:21)

This outpouring of the Spirit, accomplished at Pentecost, rests on the Church and on those leaders who guide it (2 Tim 1:14), and by Christ's own words will  preserve the Church in all truth for all time:

1. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…" (Jn 16:13)

2. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (Jn 14:26)

3. "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--" (Jn 14:16)

That is why the inspired writers of Scripture, speaking the Words of the Holy Spirit, called the Church the "pillar and foundation of Truth" (1 Tim 3:15), and the authority by which all disputes among Christians are to be settled (Matt 18:17). It is truly the heavenly Jerusalem, Mt Zion, the Body and Bride of Christ, the Unshakeable Kingdom, and being purchased at the dear price of Christ's blood, it can never pass away or fall from the Truth. "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Rev 5:10)