Was the Church prophesied in the Old Testament?

And it shall be afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions. And also I will pour out My Spirit on the slaves and on the slave women in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall be, whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved; for salvation shall be in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the LORD has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.Joel 2:28-32

But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: "And it shall be in the last days, says 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. And in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon My slaves and My slave women, and they shall prophesy. And I will give wonders in the heaven above, and miracles on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious Day of the Lord. And it shall be [that] everyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."Acts 2:16-21

Acts 2 says that the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was the fulfillment of Joel 2. This was fulfilled in the Church yet the Old Testament prophecy was written to ethnic Israel!!!

Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I cut with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which covenant of Mine they broke, although I was a husband to them, says the LORD; but this [shall be] the covenant that I will cut with the house of Israel: After those days, says the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall no more teach each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the LORD; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.Jeremiah 31:31-34

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much He is also the Mediator of a better covenant, which was built upon better promises. For if that first [covenant] had been without fault, [then] no place would have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, He said to them, "Behold, days are coming, says [the] Lord, and I will make an end on the house of Israel and on the house of Judah; a new covenant shall be, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt," because they did not continue in My covenant, and I did not regard them, says the Lord. "For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their mind and write them in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not each man teach his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more." In that He says, A new [covenant], He has made the first one old. Now that which decays and becomes old [is] ready to vanish away.Hebrews 8:6-13

Hebrews 8 quotes Jeremiah 31 extensively and says that Christ is the mediator of a better covenant the old covenant has passed away. The new covenant prophesied in Jeremiah is with the Church. It also says he will make an end of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah.

who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:6
In this verse, Paul says that he and Timothy are ministers of the New Covenant. So we have another verse in the New Testament that applies Old Testament prophecy to the Church.

Next Page

Back to Table of Contents