382. The Church established
Micah 4:1, 2 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob; and will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the Law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
The “last days” are the days of the Messianic Age, the age of the New Testament, the days between the birth of Christ and the second coming of Christ, the days in which we are presently living. “The mountain of the house of the Lord,” “the house of the God of Jacob,” “Zion,” and “Jerusalem” are all terms for the New Testament Church, the invisible Church made up of all believers in Jesus Christ. The promise included in this prophecy of Micah concerns that Church.
The Church is built on the foundation of the Apostles. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone that gives shape to the whole building. This Church is established by the death and resurrection of Christ. It is begun on the earth on the Day of Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Church is established on the top of the mountains and exalted above the hills. The Church is the highest and best, and only, institution that rules over all other gods, religions, governments, and human institutions.
It will be so visible, and strong, and high, and attractive that many peoples and nations of the earth will be drawn to it. The Word of the Lord goes forth out of the Church as the people of God proclaim the Gospel. The peoples of earth respond in faith to the gospel and the Spirit places them in the Church. The promise is that this most powerful of institutions, though invisible, will rule over the kingdoms of the world until all things are placed under God’s eternal sovereignty. And finally, the Kingdom of God is the only kingdom standing, and it stands forever.
It is helpful and encouraging for us to believe this promise, for it makes us a vital part of something really big. It is bigger than anything we know on earth, more powerful than all the powers of the physical universe, and much better than any kind of life we can dream about.