Inside the looking glass again?

Thank you dear sender, the historical depths appear to be kept in obscurity, I do respect the truth, I am deeply touched by such honesty, I am aware of the back ground history and thank those taking the time to be more concerned about eternal matters than the short term. We welcome discussions such as this seekingto speak the truth is what it;s all about. I like to thank all those who have been with us, I have no intentions of changing coarse, the out reach is moving ahead and full steam... of grace, we;re praying for the night people we meet and allthe the others who live completely different lives.

 

Our personal quest has been to  low deep in the past and the a life of faith in which highly proactive out reach takes place, the lethargic state is a loss in life as one can see the conditions of the seven assemblies in asia minor some of them were completely  suffered for it, despite the warnings. It was huge concern to me years back asking the same questions where are we going? That question came up 12 years going when facing eternity things would change in my life as well.

 

 

 

The Roots of Ekklesia, the Assembly.

By Andy Zoppelt

The Greek word Ekklesia (ek-klay-see'-ah) is a word that most translators, not all, have translated as “church.” Biblically there is not one single ligament reason for the use of the word church to be in our bibles other than to support a clergy system, church with the use of a building. With that said, let us now look at the root, the meaning and the intent of the word ekklesia found in our bibles.

Basically ekklesia is a word that is made up of the preposition ek meaning “out” and the verb kaleo meaning “to call”. Combining the verb “to call” and the preposition “out” spoke of a people that were “called out” for some specific purpose. What makes this word significant is how it was intended by Jesus to fit into His eternal purposes and His kingdom. Something we cannot afford to lose sight of. The key to understanding the word ekklesia is in its connection to a city. We pick up on this connection in Revelation 2 and 3, ekklesia is used seven times directly referencing to a city function and government: the ekklesia at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and the ekklesia at Laodicea. But also the ekklesia is referred to as the ekklesia at Colossae, at Philippi and the ekklesia at Corinth, etc.. In every reference it is connected to a city and a specific people of that city with a specific purpose. Ekklesia properly translated should be “assembly”, a Greek word that directly relates to government and a group of people within the city to set policy and rules for the city, a far cry from the word church.

There are only a few exception where the plural is used referring to a number of cities as a whole. In Galatians 1:2, “To the assemblies [plural] of Galatia”, Galatia represented a providence with numerous cities, hence the plural. And that is true when multiple cities are used elsewhere in the scriptures. The other exception is when ekklesia is used referring to an ekklesia meeting in some specific home, we will deal with that later

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But let one thing be made crystal clear, the singular us of the word ekklesia always referenced to a single city, in other words there were never plural ekklesia(s) in a city, only one. By the translator’s use of the word church, referring to a building under the influence of clergy, opened the way for multiple churches in a city violating Jesus purposes of building His called out assembly on Himself in each city. The church has no reference to a city except in paganism and a building. Back in 4500 BC and onward, the pagans built temples for every city having its own Gods and priest. Any casual reader of scripture would clearly know that Jesus never intended for our cities to be divided into numerous churches (John 17 especially).

Recently I had been doing some studies on Greece, their culture and their government and specifically on the city of Athens. In the government of Athens I kept seeing this word assembly, assembly, assembly, assembly and assembly (Greek ekklesia). It was clear that the Greeks used the word as a political and governing assembly of called out persons dealing with Athens. Athens had been ruled for centuries by monarchies, tyranny and an oligarchy dominated by the rich and powerful. But around the period of 500 AD the Athens revolted against the oppression of these systems and created the first roots of democracy with the use of an ekklesia or assembly.

“The central events of the Athenian democracy were the meetings of the assembly (ἐκκλησία, ekklêsia). Unlike a parliament, the assembly's members were not elected, but attended by right when they chose…In the 5th century at least there were scarcely any limits on the power exercised by the assembly. If the assembly broke the law, the only thing that might happen is that it [the assembly] would punish those who had made the proposal that it had agreed to. If a mistake had been made, from the assembly's viewpoint it could only be because it had been misled.” Athenian democracy, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ekklesia is translated every time as assembly and never as church. The assembly, in its most simple definition was a group of men of the city that basically governed the area around Athens. We see this use of this governing assembly concerning the city of Ephesus in Acts 19 dealing with the uprising over the effects of Christianity on the sale and trade of the silver shrines of the goddess Diana. Here a riot broke out lead by Demetrius the silver smith because of the fear of the loss of their trade. With tension building up in this mob or unlawful assembly, the city clerk, representing the city assembly, stood up and spoke, “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of churches [Tyndale used the word churches instead of temples here because he knew that churches were pagan temples] nor blasphemers of your goddess. Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly [ekklesia]. For we are in danger [as an unlawful assembly to deal with the rules of Ephesus] of being called in question for today's uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering."

The first place where ekklesia is used is in Matthew 16:18-19 and let’s see how it fits within the idea of government, “On this rock I will build My called out assembly [ekklesia, His governing body of saints], and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it [a war-like people overpowering God’s enemies. This assembly that Jesus points out has both delegated power and authority within the kingdom of God not church]. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven [passing down of authority from the King], and whatever you bind [as an assembly] on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

The ekklesia was a body of saints under the government of God in each city; this is no small matter, they were the light of that city as one body receiving His power and authority…all references refer to one body, one government and one kingdom.

Jesus was not going to collect money to build a bunch of pagan houses of worship in each city called churches, He was going to establish His rule in every city though His body of disciples. They were a called out, holy people, one people assembled in every city. They were never to be a bunch of divided churches with a clergy overseeing them, hence our churches are not representative of His government and thus they are not prevailing against the gates of Hell as Jesus’ representatives and government. Scripture clearly and irrefutably shows that we were to be a tightly knitted assembly of saints, knowing and loving one another and all sharing together without the use of a clergy dominating it. This descending power through the kingdom of heaven is scripturally made clear

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the [all] saints and members of the household of God, having been BUILT on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself [and by Himself] being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building [the body of Christ not a physical building], being fitted together, [it] grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being BUILT together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” NKJV

Today the church dominates our thoughts and doctrine. Jesus never intend for us to build churches that divide His body in any city, but man has done this through a clergy ruling system over the churches. Jesus intended His called out assembly to be uniquely related in a tight bond with one another. Whatever and whomever divides, conquers and breaks down those bonds is His enemy, regardless how ignorant or sincere they may be. “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather [together as one] with Me scatters abroad.”

A few verses further down in Ephesians, Paul gives God’s eternal purpose relating to our being built together, “TO THE INTENT that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known [How?] by the called out assembly [of the cities, not church] to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Ephesians 3:10-12

No place does the idea of church fit here. Paul is only repeating what Jesus said earlier about the gates of hell using principalities and powers. This united assembly in each city would be given Jesus’ power to bring down, through the wisdom of God, “the principalities and power in heavenly places.” This again is not happening because we are churches and not the governmental assembly under our one King Jesus. No amount of preaching behind a pulpit can patch the massive hole between the idea of church and the kingdom of God. At some point we must go by God’s word and not a clergy inspired translation. We say we love Jesus, but do we follow Him or man? The work we are doing as church will never come close to the work we would be doing as an assembly. In fact the work of the church is destroying the work of Jesus by eliminating the assembly.

There are several things attached to the word assembly for His saints, one, they were a unified called out people and second they dealt with the government being on His shoulders and of His authority over them and the gates of hell under them; issues under Jesus’ authority within the kingdom of God. The government is on His shoulders and if we are a part of that government we will all be tightly knitted together as one by drawing from Him as our Head. We are to be a city on a hill lighting up that city with Jesus our King. When the Ephesian assembly lost its first love mentioned in Revelation 2, Jesus said He would remove His candlestick, in other words they would no longer be His light in Ephesus. They were a good people, they were one in the city, they had many virtues and work, yet Jesus made it clear that without first love they were not His. Hence being bound together in love is one of the essentials that we cannot do without if we are going to belong to Him and go to heaven.

Paul further makes the point of love binding them together later in Ephesians 4:15-16, “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up [as one unified body] in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies [not a clergy system but a body system], according to the effective working by which every part [not likely to be a church service led by the clergy] does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

The Ephesian assembly toward the end of the first century evidently lost that first love. The question now is, did we ever have the first love that they had in the first place? Our foundation is not built on Jesus where all is being governed from heaven; this is no minor flaw or side issues leaving us to do other things. Most of us started out with some church in the city that specifically spent their money promoting themselves and they maintained their own identity with their own leaders, with their own name on the building, they divided themselves from the rest of the assembly with their clergy doing the ministry in each city…this is a one hundred and eighty degree turn from scripture, God’s eternal purpose is to be a united light in our city; otherwise we will experience the gates of hell prevailing against us…something we are seeing in this country. God’s enemies divide, the church divides, God’s body is a tightly loving group, the church is an indifferent, lethargic audience, God has everyone sharing, the church has only one person sharing and the rest silent, God has no clergy, the church has a clergy, God has no building with names on them, the church has buildings with names on them. We are not a governmental ekklesia giving light to our cities and working within the kingdom of God in our cities. What we are doing is not the path to eternal life. There was no head of the Athenian assembly, there is no local head in the Christian assembly and our only head is Jesus. .

Part II the clergy

Because it is the purpose of westernized Christianity to support the career of the clergy in his business [incorporation] within our cities we have established a building, churches for him or her to conduct their religious activities in Jesus‘ name… not so according to scripture.

“But Jesus called them [His disciples] to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them [them=laity=people], and those who are great exercise authority over them [laity]. Yet IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU [not rule over the laity]; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant [diakonos (dee-ak'-on-os); the word we get deacon from, means on who serves like a waiter.]. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave [doulas, (doo’-los) bondslave, one bound to his master] — JUST AS the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve [diakoneo (dee-ak-on-eh'-o) same as diakonos, a servant], and to give His life a ransom for many [the full extent of a servant]." NKJV

Again Jesus pushes the point to include titles, “But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren [no clergy/laity]. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers [I am sure that would include pastor etc.]; for One is your Teacher [Jesus embodies the position of teacher, all that teach, teach from Him “the” teacher], the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” Matthew 23:8-12, NKJV

It is also clear from Philippians 2 that Jesus “made Himself of no reputation,” He didn’t advertise Himself or some church. Jesus is our example. Those disciples after Pentecost aspired to be servants and bondslave and often referred to themselves as such. They never referred to anyone as Pastor Jim or Elder Bill like we do; Paul didn’t even refer to Himself as Apostle Paul. He referred to himself as Paul a sent one of Jesus Christ. Apostle is the Greek word brought into English and then redefined. Where apostolos in Greek means “one sent” and comes from the verb apostello, to send. It is like our runner and run, remove the verb and we have a title. Our translators again well knew what they were doing. Today the titled ministries have set themselves above the people or laity as the present day Nicolaitans; Nico- conquer and laitan- people, means, those who conquer the people. The clergy has removed the ministry out of the hands in the assembly and they have made a career out of being clergy and have elevated themselves above the laity, the people. In Revelation 2, Jesus stated that He hated the deeds of the Nico-laitans or the dividing the clergy from the laity. The point is that we are all brethren and everyone functions within the meeting of the assembly without elevated titles of distinction.

“I believe that assigning someone the role of ‘pastor’ within an institutional system creates many problems including demoting everyone else within that system to ‘lay person.’” From Simple Church Journal 4/24./13

The house assembly is like the families of the city assemblies.

Matt 12:25, "EVERY kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and EVERY city or [every] house divided against itself will not stand.” NKJV

The body of Christ as a whole is made up of what scriptures calls the kingdom; it is thus broken down into the city ekklesia and the house ekklesia. The house assembly is where we find the intimate fellowship among the saints and where they function as part of the city assembly in unity and purpose. The assemblies of the cities throughout the world make up the entire kingdom of God. The city assembly maintains the purity and unity of the city, the house assemblies gather for personal ministry and intimacy. Satan’s plan is to divide. The issue of being nice, successful, moral are not the bases of being saints, the five foolish virgins were obviously morally pure and the Pharisees were righteous and nice people. Our righteousness must exceed their righteousness, we are to be a holy people filled with love and united as one body and functioning as one body in every city. We are to be built together as one in Jesus and not a bunch of churches with numerous programs and pastors drawing people to their churches. (I did a full article on the clergy system; I just don’t want to take up the space to go on).

My question to you the reader is, do you go to church or are you a part of the governing body of Christ in your city. It is better to meet with two or three in Jesus’ name, than a thousand in the name of the church.

 

thanks much.