As we begin this journey through scripture to study more about the church of our Lord, it is very important that we understand the purpose of prophecy, especially Old Testament prophecy. There seems to be so much confusion concerning Old Testament prophecy today that many loose sight of the reasons for those prophecies. The Old Testament prophets did basically three things. First, they were God's spokesmen to the people (Isa 6.9). God dealt directly with Israel through the mouths of the prophets as they spoke to the people and instructed them in the ways of God. Along with these instructions were warnings of the consequences of disobeying God's commands. The prophets seemed to spend much of their time warning Israel to turn back to the ways of God because Israel fell away so frequently. They also prophesied of the destruction and captivity of the nation of Israel if they did not follow God's instructions (Micah 1:1-6). Prophets such as Isaiah and Micah prophesied many times concerning the destruction of Israel and their eventual captivity in Assyria and Babylon.
Because Israel failed to heed the warnings of the prophets, they were eventually taken captive. Therefore, one of the purposes of prophecy was to relay God's instructions to the people of Israel and foretell of events to come if they failed to follow God.
Secondly, the prophets demonstrated the power of God in order to convince the people that God is the one and only true and living God. Through the prophets, God showed them many signs and wonders which should have convinced the people that he was truly God. But as we all know, Israel turned to other gods on many occasions, and God punished them because of it. Even as Moses was on Mount Sinai 
receiving the Ten Commandments, the people made an image of a golden calf to worship. Israel seemingly ignored the great miracles performed by God. They fell away many times and eventually became an idolatrous nation. Because of that, God sent them into captivity. We should point out the fact that this is also how Christ convinced man that he was the Son of God when he was on this earth. He did many miracles that could have only been performed by God. Because of this action, some believed but others still refused to accept him as the Messiah. These miracles were also recorded in order to convince mankind throughout the ages that Christ was the Son of God. Heb. 2:4 says,
"God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?"
God performed many miracles through the prophets in order to convince Israel that he was the one true God, and Christ performed many miracles while he was on earth to convince all mankind that he was the Son of God. It seems that since the beginning of time man has been difficult to convince of the existence and power of God, even while witnessing events that could have only been performed by a higher power.
Finally, the prophets prophesied of the coming of the Messiah. They foretold of better times to come when Jesus would come to this earth to redeem all mankind from their sins. They foretold of the circumstances surrounding Christ's coming to this earth and the spiritual kingdom that he would establish for man to dwell in as they sought to follow him. It is very important to understand that the prophets in Old Testament time prophesied of the first coming of Christ and the establishment of the church. It seems that many people in the religious world today believe there are some Old Testament prophecies yet to be fulfilled. They place these prophecies in the same time frame as those in the book of Revelation. They assume these Old Testament prophecies will be fulfilled with the Second Coming of Christ. This assumption causes many problems in interpretation and much misunderstanding of scripture. All who read the Old Testament understand that many of the prophecies foretold of a kingdom to be established by Jesus Christ. The problem then arises as to when the kingdom would be established. Those who believe the Old Testament prophecies are to be fulfilled with the Second Coming of Christ believe this kingdom will be established at that time. From this type of reasoning is born all types of premillennial and postmillennial theories of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and his establishment of the kingdom. These beliefs concerning Old Testament prophecy, combined with a misunderstanding of Revelation chapter 20, cause many to believe that Christ will set up a literal kingdom on this earth and reign for 1000 years when he comes again. The Bible says in Heb. 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Also in John 5:28-29 we read, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
These passages prove that judgment will immediately follow the resurrection of the dead. Speaking of Christ, 1Pet 1:20 tells us that he was manifest for us in these "last times." Since Christ has already made himself known to man, we must therefore be in the "last times" upon this earth. There will be no future "time" of 1000 years for mankind in this present world. Neither is Christ coming back to this earth to establish a literal kingdom in Jerusalem and reign for one thousand years. These theories can be discarded by simply understanding that the prophets of the Old Testament prophesied of the first coming of Christ and the establishment of a glorious spiritual kingdom known as the church.
The people who believe that Christ is coming again to establish an earthly kingdom for one thousand years are making the same identical mistake the Apostles made in Acts 1:6. As Jesus spoke with his disciples shortly before his ascension to heaven, they asked him, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" Evidently they were expecting Christ to establish an earthly, physical kingdom and physically reign on the throne of David in Jerusalem. They must have anticipated him to reign as king of the Jewish nation and cause it to become the most powerful nation on earth. They must have also expected a time of peace and comfort as the Son of God himself led them. All these people had ever known or understood was an earthly kingdom. They were a part of the nation of Israel which began with Abraham, and they did not understand that Christ was going to give them something different - a spiritual kingdom which would stand forever. Jesus answered them in Acts 1:7-8 by explaining, "It is not for you to know the time or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Jesus answered their question about the kingdom by explaining that when they received power by the Holy Ghost's coming upon them, then they would be witnesses for Christ. The Holy Ghost came upon them on the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2:1-4 which states, "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."
This event occurred when Christ established his kingdom and answered the apostles' question concerning when the kingdom of Israel would be restored. It came in the form of a spiritual kingdom instead of a physical, earthly kingdom. This was also the fulfillment of many prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the kingdom that Christ would establish. Let us not continue to look for an earthly kingdom with Christ reigning on the throne; but instead, let us understand that he has already established the kingdom he intended to establish. It is a spiritual, heavenly kingdom instead of a physical, earthly kingdom. The people of Israel had already experienced an earthly kingdom, and they had fallen away and suffered for many years because of it. Christ gave us something much better. He gave us a spiritual kingdom that will last forever. Heb. 12:28a says, "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved." The old earthly kingdom of Israel was taken out of the way so the spiritual kingdom of God, the church, could be established. The church is a kingdom that will never be moved. It is a major step backward to believe that Christ will come back to this earth and do away with the spiritual kingdom to reestablish an earthly kingdom. Since we can now be members of a spiritual, heavenly kingdom, why could we possibly again want an earthly kingdom?
It is also important to understand that all the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Christ and the church were fulfilled at the first coming of Christ. They were all fulfilled, not just a few or even most, but all. To pick and choose which prophecies we believe were fulfilled and which were not is no better than believing all are yet to be fulfilled. It would be very difficult to convince someone that certain prophecies in the Old Testament refer to the first coming of Christ if we believe there are other prophecies that refer to his Second Coming. We have no foundation for our position if we agree that there are prophecies in the Old Testament that deal with the Second Coming of Christ. We must stand on the premise that all Old Testament prophecy has been fulfilled. There are scriptures that substantiate this fact. Speaking of the time of the first coming of Christ and the establishment of the church, Acts 3:24 states, "Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that followed after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days."
"These days" is a reference to the first coming of Christ. The prophets, all of them ("as many as have spoken") foretold of the first coming of Christ and the establishment of the church. They described the spiritual kingdom of the Christian dispensation and the relationship that God's people who dwell in this kingdom have with him.
Granted, there are some prophecies that at first seem to read as though they could only be speaking of the Second Coming of Christ. But, as we continue through this study, we believe it will become evident that every prophecy made by the prophets was fulfilled during the first coming of Christ and his establishment of the church. The prophetic language used by God through the mouth of the prophets applies to the church that Christ established at his first coming. Because we believe this, it now becomes our task to examine the prophecies of the Old Testament and determine their meanings concerning the spiritual, heavenly kingdom, which Christ established at his first coming. We must use these prophecies to understand the church. Some of the greatest lessons possible concerning the church can be learned by studying these prophecies and seeing how God describes the church that we dwell in today. We will begin to see and understand the church as God described it. Our appreciation for the church should be greatly increased as we begin to view the church as described by God.
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