Why the Institutional Church is not Biblical: Ekklesia vs Church Part 1 [Spirituality & Religion]
What Do We Mean By the Institutional Church is Not Biblical
The institutional church is not biblical. This is the bold claim we will look at in this post. But what do we mean by institutional church? We may get the understanding by looking at the meaning of institution.
Institution:
An establishment consisting of a building or complex of buildings where an organization for the promotion of some cause is situated.
Therefore, when we say the institutional church is not biblical, we are saying the church organizations of today which are based on buildings is not biblical.
This includes almost every single formal Christian assembly. It also encompasses sacred name assemblies that say they are not Christian, but still worship in church-like assemblies.
Denominational Kingdoms
These church organizations divide themselves by denominations according to belief (doctrine) and ownership. Each church in effect becomes a denominational kingdom which is owned by a person or group of persons.
Some are controlled totally by one person or group. Some give unofficial ownership of each branch to the pastor in charge and there is a central governing authority.
Some don’t attribute ownership to anyone, but the pastor still receives the tithes and offerings as the primary recipient of collections.
Of course with tens of thousands of denominations, there are several ways in which these churches are administered. At last count, there are over 40,000 of these denominations worldwide. The most conservative estimates place it at least 33,000.
Each denomination has its own unique name and teachings that separates it from others.
A person simply breaks away from a church and starts his own, usually because of doctrinal differences from his church of origin.
Other times it is just to fulfull an ambition to have a church and collect tithes and offerings. Give it a name, build a church building and a new denomination is born adding to the tens of thousands already in existence.
We simply have to look to the bible to figure out that this division is not of YHWH:
1 Cor 14:33 For YHWH is not the author (causer) of confusion, but of peace, as in all ekklesias (called out, set apart assemblies) of the saints.
By the end of this post, we should be able to see why all this confusion.
Religious Deception
Persons responding to our posts on social media appear to have little or no idea how much deception we are under.
You see, most of us who come to faith just fall into the Christian religion with its traditions and beliefs. Even when we break away (as many sacred namers have done), we bring remnants of ‘Christianity’ with us.
Unfortunately, when we break away from Christianity, we often continue in ‘church,’ which is still a Greco-Roman neo-pagan Christian institution. Still not free of the control of the devil.
Why do we remain deceived? Not many of us stop and try to figure out where our doctrines came from.
church mural
Are they biblical? Are they the traditions of men (Mat 15:9)? Why are we not fervently matching up our belief against what the bible says?
Why do we not stop to prove all things (1 Thess 5:21) when people tell us that they are? Why don’t we seek to take ourselves away from all evil (1 Thess 5:22)?
It would appear Galations 1:8-9 is no longer in the bible:
Gal 1:8 – 9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other good news (gospel) unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other good news unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Why not then be like the Bereans and search the scriptures to see if we are on the right path (Acts 17:10-12)?
Well, let us do so by looking at the biblical assembly as well as the historic changes that brought us ‘church’ as we know it.
Oh, before we do that, let’s look at the warning we got about this deception.
Warnings about the False Church
warning - false assembly ahead
We were indirectly warned about the radical changes that would bring about the institutional church.
2Co 11:2 – 14 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Mashiach.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in HaMashiach.
For if he that cometh preacheth another Yah’shua, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Once again…
1 Tim 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
And again…
Act 20:29 – 30 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
So we have been warned, why not let us stop to see if we are among those who have been led astray? Isn’t that a great idea (to avoid the curse of Galations 1:8-9)?
The Assembly in the Book of Acts
Did you ever stop to compare the first assembly in the book of Acts with our modern ‘church?’
knowledge study bible
Whether or not you have ever taken a serious look, let us start there and see the nature of the first new covenant assembly.
The word translated as church in the English Bible is actually the Greek word ekklēsía.
1577 ekklēsía(from 1537 /ek, “out from and to” and 2564 /kaléō, “to call”) – properly, people called out from the world and to YHWH, – i.e. the universal (total) body of believers whom YHWH calls out from the world and into His eternal kingdom.
It is a congregation where believers are called out of the world into one kingdom.
Why not let us look more at the word ekklēsía.
Etymology of the word Ekklēsia
The word ekklēsia is found in 116 places in the New Testament. In most English Bibles, it is translated as “church” in all of those places except three.
In Acts 19:32 and 41, it is translated as “assembly” and refers to the people whom Demetrius had called together (see Acts 19:25), and in verse 39 it is also translated “assembly” and refers to a lawful assembly.
Ekklēsia is a compound word. The first part is ek. It is a preposition that means “out of,” “out from,” or “from.” The second part of ekklēsia—klēsia—is a derivative of the Greek word kaleō. Kaleō is a verb that means “to call.”
So, ekklēsia is a compound of a preposition and a verb, but ekklēsia itself is a noun. In its most basic form, ekklēsia means “the called out from” or “those called out from.” In other words, it refers to people called out from or out of something.
In ancient Greece, ekklēsia came to be used for the people who were called out of the community to the assembly.
Big Difference Between Ekklēsia and Institutional Church
There is a huge difference between an ekklēsía and a church as we shall soon see. The church was not the ekklēsía (called out assembly) described in Acts and other parts of the new testament as we shall also soon see.
Therefore, what is described below in the book of Acts was an ekklēsía. If it sounds confusing, don’t worry, it will soon become clear.
The Ekklēsia of the Book of Acts
Act 2:42 — Act 2:47
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
AND ALL THAT BELIEVED WERE TOGETHER; AND HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON;
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
And they, continuing daily WITH ONE ACCORD in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Praising YHWH, and having favour with all the people. And YHWH added to the EKKLESIA daily such as should be saved.
Here are the main points to note:
All that believed were together and had all things in common
All had common possessions
There was daily fellowship
Everyone shared their meals
All hearts were one
Let’s look at some more characteristics
Act 4:32 – 35 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Master Yah’shua: and great grace was upon them all.
Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Main Points:
No one claimed material possessions to be their own, but to be shared with others
No one among them was wanting as the wealthier sold what they had to help the poorer
Distribution was made according to need
Even More important characteristics:
Act 5:13 – 15 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
And believers were the more added to the Master, multitudes both of men and women.)
Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
So we see from the verses above:
Sinners dared not join them in the assembly
The people held them in high esteem
The Apostles took to the street for healing and the people waited for them there because hey dared not bring them to the assembly.
Final Profile of the Acts Ekklēsia
Now let us collate all the major characteristics of the first assembly in the book of Acts:
All that believed were together and had all things in common
All had common possessions
There was daily fellowship
Everyone shared their meals
All hearts were one
No one claimed material possessions to be their own, but to be shared with others
No one among them was wanting as the wealthier sold what they had to help the poorer
Distribution of the common wealth was made according to need
Sinners dared not join them in the assembly
The people held them in high esteem
The Apostles took to the street for healing and the people waited for them there. They dared not bring them to the assembly.
1st Ekklesia vs Church (Table)
Dare we compare these 11 important differences between the first ecclesiastical assembly and the so called church of today? Yes we dare and we will place it into a nice little table below:
Ekklēsía (Acts Chapters 4 - 5) Church
Everyone shared their meals Each man cares for his own family
No one among them was wanting Not a way of the church
as the wealthier sold what they
had to help the poorer
Distribution of the common wealth No common wealth
was made according to need
The people held them in high esteemThe church is held in very low esteem
The Apostles took to the street It is all about the assembly and sinners come into the for healing and the people waited for assembly any time. The church is the place to go for
them there. They dared not bring them healing
to the assembly.
Sinners dared not join them in the Church markets itself as a 'hospital' for sinners.
assembly Sinners come and go as they have a will
No one claimed material possessions to Each man seeks his own material well being
be their own, but to be shared with and claims it as his own
others
All hearts were one With so many things uncommon, all hearts cannot be one
There was daily fellowship Usually 1 day of fellowship. Devout believers may also
attend Bible study & prayer meeting
All had common possessions Every man seeks their own
All that believed were together and Everyone only come together on day of worship and each have
had all things in common their own lives (not all things in common)
No place for tithing!
Do you notice there is no place nor need for tithing?! Many people will take me to task for this, but tithing is not for the called out new covenant assembly. It is however the lifeline of the false church.
In the called out, set apart ekklesiastical assembly, people give liberally, not under compulsion. There is no need for tithes!
2 Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for Elohim loveth a cheerful giver.
tithes in basket
Totally different from the church
Do you not see that it was a totally different assembly from the church we have today? Unfortunately, as we can plainly see, the church of today is NOT what YHWH ordained.
Ekklēsias Considered to be Cults
The most profound thing is that assemblies today that have anything remotely in common with the Acts assembly are branded as cults by Christians.
As soon as an assembly is found to not line up perfectly with the church of today, we have a ‘cult alert.’ This is due to Christians being deceived into thinking their church is the biblical standard.
Church was not YHWH’S plan for mankind
The table shows without a doubt that church was not YHWH’S plan for mankind. Whenever we see promises for gathering Israel in the Tanakh (old testament), that promise is fulfilled in the called out assembly of the new testament (not church):
Eze 11:17 Therefore say, Thus saith YHWH Elohim; I will even gather (qabats) you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
קבץ
qâbats
kaw-bats’
A primitive root; to grasp, that is, collect: – assemble (selves), gather (bring) (together, selves together, up), heap, resort, X surely, take up.
Qabats is the Hebrew equivalent to ekklesia. It is a gathering, a collection/ assembly of YHWH’S set apart, called out people.
Now this is what happened when the new covenant believers were gathered. Need I remind you that we are supposed to be new covenant believers?
Act 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that YHWH hath made that same Yah’shua, whom ye have crucified, both King and Messiah.
The ekklesia is a called out assembly, fulfilling the prophecies for gathering Israel, Judah and Gentiles into what Sha’ul calls the Israel of YHWH (Gal 6:16) or the commonwealth of Israel (Eph 2:12).
Whichever term we use, it is still Gentiles called into Israel and not Israel called into a Christian religion as most Christians believe. The new Israel is gathered under the one shepherd, Yah’shua.
John 10:16 And other sheep I have (Gentiles), which are not of this fold (house of Israel): them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold (Israel of YHWH: Gal 6:16, not the false Greco Roman church), and one shepherd (Yah’shua BenYoseph/ Yahshua HaMashiach).
Hence church as we know it is not in the original word of YHWH. It was a pagan institution which was ‘sneaked’ into the Bible as we shall soon see.
church people
This is the Greco-Roman contrived institution known as the church. It bears no similitude to the called out assembly of the 1st century.
Be reminded: if it is not of YHWH, then it must be of the enemy the devil.
However, most of us are not aware of the church being a false tool of the devil. It thus becomes a never ending cycle of blind leading blind (Mat 15:14).
Church under a delusion
Wrong (church) is considered right and right (ekklesia) is considered wrong by over 2 billion Christians worldwide.
Isa 5:20 – 21 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
No wonder the Messiah said wide is the gate that leads to destruction and many will enter there, but narrow is the gate that leads to life and few will find it!
It is a huge delusion.
2Th 2:9 – 12 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause YHWH shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
We could end this article here, but we continue. We have to show without a doubt that church is a false institution.
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No Big Deal
As is the case with all teachings, cognitive dissonance may make us defend wrong. We may say:
“So what if the church is not the church of Acts?”
So what if this is not the church of the Bible?
It is the same “God” and the same “Jesus Christ.”
“God” will understand!
Calling the church false sounds really trivial until we realize that it is the product of lies. And if it is the product of lies, who is the father of lies?
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Church, the house of Ba’al, the great deception given to us by the father of lies, is an institution of the devil. But where did it originate? Where did this deception come from? Why do we have the great church deception today?
We will now give you historical proof of the great church deception.
The Lying Pen of the Scribe: Gross Mistranslation
Church as we know it came into the power base it is today, as a consequence of translators switched the meanings of 2 words.
Sadly, this simple switch gave validity to the modern church while at the same time branding the true called out assembly as a cult.
Jer 8:8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of YHWH is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.
lying pen of the scribe
Ekklesia vs Kuriakos
In the New Testament of most English Bibles, the words “church” and “churches” appear a total of over 100 times.
All of these instances of “church” are mistranslated from the Greek word ekklēsia, with one exception found in Acts 19:37, in the King James Version.
Here is the mistranslation:
From HELPS Word-studies:
The English word “church” comes from the Greek word kyriakos, “belonging to the Lord” (kyrios).
More in Part 2
The institutional church is not biblical. This is the bold claim we will look at in this post. But what do we mean by institutional church? We may get the understanding by looking at the meaning of institution.
Institution:
An establishment consisting of a building or complex of buildings where an organization for the promotion of some cause is situated.
Therefore, when we say the institutional church is not biblical, we are saying the church organizations of today which are based on buildings is not biblical.
This includes almost every single formal Christian assembly. It also encompasses sacred name assemblies that say they are not Christian, but still worship in church-like assemblies.
Denominational Kingdoms
These church organizations divide themselves by denominations according to belief (doctrine) and ownership. Each church in effect becomes a denominational kingdom which is owned by a person or group of persons.
Some are controlled totally by one person or group. Some give unofficial ownership of each branch to the pastor in charge and there is a central governing authority.
Some don’t attribute ownership to anyone, but the pastor still receives the tithes and offerings as the primary recipient of collections.
Of course with tens of thousands of denominations, there are several ways in which these churches are administered. At last count, there are over 40,000 of these denominations worldwide. The most conservative estimates place it at least 33,000.
Each denomination has its own unique name and teachings that separates it from others.
A person simply breaks away from a church and starts his own, usually because of doctrinal differences from his church of origin.
Other times it is just to fulfull an ambition to have a church and collect tithes and offerings. Give it a name, build a church building and a new denomination is born adding to the tens of thousands already in existence.
We simply have to look to the bible to figure out that this division is not of YHWH:
1 Cor 14:33 For YHWH is not the author (causer) of confusion, but of peace, as in all ekklesias (called out, set apart assemblies) of the saints.
By the end of this post, we should be able to see why all this confusion.
Religious Deception
Persons responding to our posts on social media appear to have little or no idea how much deception we are under.
You see, most of us who come to faith just fall into the Christian religion with its traditions and beliefs. Even when we break away (as many sacred namers have done), we bring remnants of ‘Christianity’ with us.
Unfortunately, when we break away from Christianity, we often continue in ‘church,’ which is still a Greco-Roman neo-pagan Christian institution. Still not free of the control of the devil.
Why do we remain deceived? Not many of us stop and try to figure out where our doctrines came from.
church mural
Are they biblical? Are they the traditions of men (Mat 15:9)? Why are we not fervently matching up our belief against what the bible says?
Why do we not stop to prove all things (1 Thess 5:21) when people tell us that they are? Why don’t we seek to take ourselves away from all evil (1 Thess 5:22)?
It would appear Galations 1:8-9 is no longer in the bible:
Gal 1:8 – 9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other good news (gospel) unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other good news unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Why not then be like the Bereans and search the scriptures to see if we are on the right path (Acts 17:10-12)?
Well, let us do so by looking at the biblical assembly as well as the historic changes that brought us ‘church’ as we know it.
Oh, before we do that, let’s look at the warning we got about this deception.
Warnings about the False Church
warning - false assembly ahead
We were indirectly warned about the radical changes that would bring about the institutional church.
2Co 11:2 – 14 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Mashiach.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in HaMashiach.
For if he that cometh preacheth another Yah’shua, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Once again…
1 Tim 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
And again…
Act 20:29 – 30 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
So we have been warned, why not let us stop to see if we are among those who have been led astray? Isn’t that a great idea (to avoid the curse of Galations 1:8-9)?
The Assembly in the Book of Acts
Did you ever stop to compare the first assembly in the book of Acts with our modern ‘church?’
knowledge study bible
Whether or not you have ever taken a serious look, let us start there and see the nature of the first new covenant assembly.
The word translated as church in the English Bible is actually the Greek word ekklēsía.
1577 ekklēsía(from 1537 /ek, “out from and to” and 2564 /kaléō, “to call”) – properly, people called out from the world and to YHWH, – i.e. the universal (total) body of believers whom YHWH calls out from the world and into His eternal kingdom.
It is a congregation where believers are called out of the world into one kingdom.
Why not let us look more at the word ekklēsía.
Etymology of the word Ekklēsia
The word ekklēsia is found in 116 places in the New Testament. In most English Bibles, it is translated as “church” in all of those places except three.
In Acts 19:32 and 41, it is translated as “assembly” and refers to the people whom Demetrius had called together (see Acts 19:25), and in verse 39 it is also translated “assembly” and refers to a lawful assembly.
Ekklēsia is a compound word. The first part is ek. It is a preposition that means “out of,” “out from,” or “from.” The second part of ekklēsia—klēsia—is a derivative of the Greek word kaleō. Kaleō is a verb that means “to call.”
So, ekklēsia is a compound of a preposition and a verb, but ekklēsia itself is a noun. In its most basic form, ekklēsia means “the called out from” or “those called out from.” In other words, it refers to people called out from or out of something.
In ancient Greece, ekklēsia came to be used for the people who were called out of the community to the assembly.
Big Difference Between Ekklēsia and Institutional Church
There is a huge difference between an ekklēsía and a church as we shall soon see. The church was not the ekklēsía (called out assembly) described in Acts and other parts of the new testament as we shall also soon see.
Therefore, what is described below in the book of Acts was an ekklēsía. If it sounds confusing, don’t worry, it will soon become clear.
The Ekklēsia of the Book of Acts
Act 2:42 — Act 2:47
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
AND ALL THAT BELIEVED WERE TOGETHER; AND HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON;
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
And they, continuing daily WITH ONE ACCORD in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Praising YHWH, and having favour with all the people. And YHWH added to the EKKLESIA daily such as should be saved.
Here are the main points to note:
All that believed were together and had all things in common
All had common possessions
There was daily fellowship
Everyone shared their meals
All hearts were one
Let’s look at some more characteristics
Act 4:32 – 35 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Master Yah’shua: and great grace was upon them all.
Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Main Points:
No one claimed material possessions to be their own, but to be shared with others
No one among them was wanting as the wealthier sold what they had to help the poorer
Distribution was made according to need
Even More important characteristics:
Act 5:13 – 15 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
And believers were the more added to the Master, multitudes both of men and women.)
Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
So we see from the verses above:
Sinners dared not join them in the assembly
The people held them in high esteem
The Apostles took to the street for healing and the people waited for them there because hey dared not bring them to the assembly.
Final Profile of the Acts Ekklēsia
Now let us collate all the major characteristics of the first assembly in the book of Acts:
All that believed were together and had all things in common
All had common possessions
There was daily fellowship
Everyone shared their meals
All hearts were one
No one claimed material possessions to be their own, but to be shared with others
No one among them was wanting as the wealthier sold what they had to help the poorer
Distribution of the common wealth was made according to need
Sinners dared not join them in the assembly
The people held them in high esteem
The Apostles took to the street for healing and the people waited for them there. They dared not bring them to the assembly.
1st Ekklesia vs Church (Table)
Dare we compare these 11 important differences between the first ecclesiastical assembly and the so called church of today? Yes we dare and we will place it into a nice little table below:
Ekklēsía (Acts Chapters 4 - 5) Church
Everyone shared their meals Each man cares for his own family
No one among them was wanting Not a way of the church
as the wealthier sold what they
had to help the poorer
Distribution of the common wealth No common wealth
was made according to need
The people held them in high esteemThe church is held in very low esteem
The Apostles took to the street It is all about the assembly and sinners come into the for healing and the people waited for assembly any time. The church is the place to go for
them there. They dared not bring them healing
to the assembly.
Sinners dared not join them in the Church markets itself as a 'hospital' for sinners.
assembly Sinners come and go as they have a will
No one claimed material possessions to Each man seeks his own material well being
be their own, but to be shared with and claims it as his own
others
All hearts were one With so many things uncommon, all hearts cannot be one
There was daily fellowship Usually 1 day of fellowship. Devout believers may also
attend Bible study & prayer meeting
All had common possessions Every man seeks their own
All that believed were together and Everyone only come together on day of worship and each have
had all things in common their own lives (not all things in common)
No place for tithing!
Do you notice there is no place nor need for tithing?! Many people will take me to task for this, but tithing is not for the called out new covenant assembly. It is however the lifeline of the false church.
In the called out, set apart ekklesiastical assembly, people give liberally, not under compulsion. There is no need for tithes!
2 Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for Elohim loveth a cheerful giver.
tithes in basket
Totally different from the church
Do you not see that it was a totally different assembly from the church we have today? Unfortunately, as we can plainly see, the church of today is NOT what YHWH ordained.
Ekklēsias Considered to be Cults
The most profound thing is that assemblies today that have anything remotely in common with the Acts assembly are branded as cults by Christians.
As soon as an assembly is found to not line up perfectly with the church of today, we have a ‘cult alert.’ This is due to Christians being deceived into thinking their church is the biblical standard.
Church was not YHWH’S plan for mankind
The table shows without a doubt that church was not YHWH’S plan for mankind. Whenever we see promises for gathering Israel in the Tanakh (old testament), that promise is fulfilled in the called out assembly of the new testament (not church):
Eze 11:17 Therefore say, Thus saith YHWH Elohim; I will even gather (qabats) you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
קבץ
qâbats
kaw-bats’
A primitive root; to grasp, that is, collect: – assemble (selves), gather (bring) (together, selves together, up), heap, resort, X surely, take up.
Qabats is the Hebrew equivalent to ekklesia. It is a gathering, a collection/ assembly of YHWH’S set apart, called out people.
Now this is what happened when the new covenant believers were gathered. Need I remind you that we are supposed to be new covenant believers?
Act 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that YHWH hath made that same Yah’shua, whom ye have crucified, both King and Messiah.
The ekklesia is a called out assembly, fulfilling the prophecies for gathering Israel, Judah and Gentiles into what Sha’ul calls the Israel of YHWH (Gal 6:16) or the commonwealth of Israel (Eph 2:12).
Whichever term we use, it is still Gentiles called into Israel and not Israel called into a Christian religion as most Christians believe. The new Israel is gathered under the one shepherd, Yah’shua.
John 10:16 And other sheep I have (Gentiles), which are not of this fold (house of Israel): them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold (Israel of YHWH: Gal 6:16, not the false Greco Roman church), and one shepherd (Yah’shua BenYoseph/ Yahshua HaMashiach).
Hence church as we know it is not in the original word of YHWH. It was a pagan institution which was ‘sneaked’ into the Bible as we shall soon see.
church people
This is the Greco-Roman contrived institution known as the church. It bears no similitude to the called out assembly of the 1st century.
Be reminded: if it is not of YHWH, then it must be of the enemy the devil.
However, most of us are not aware of the church being a false tool of the devil. It thus becomes a never ending cycle of blind leading blind (Mat 15:14).
Church under a delusion
Wrong (church) is considered right and right (ekklesia) is considered wrong by over 2 billion Christians worldwide.
Isa 5:20 – 21 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
No wonder the Messiah said wide is the gate that leads to destruction and many will enter there, but narrow is the gate that leads to life and few will find it!
It is a huge delusion.
2Th 2:9 – 12 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause YHWH shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
We could end this article here, but we continue. We have to show without a doubt that church is a false institution.
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No Big Deal
As is the case with all teachings, cognitive dissonance may make us defend wrong. We may say:
“So what if the church is not the church of Acts?”
So what if this is not the church of the Bible?
It is the same “God” and the same “Jesus Christ.”
“God” will understand!
Calling the church false sounds really trivial until we realize that it is the product of lies. And if it is the product of lies, who is the father of lies?
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Church, the house of Ba’al, the great deception given to us by the father of lies, is an institution of the devil. But where did it originate? Where did this deception come from? Why do we have the great church deception today?
We will now give you historical proof of the great church deception.
The Lying Pen of the Scribe: Gross Mistranslation
Church as we know it came into the power base it is today, as a consequence of translators switched the meanings of 2 words.
Sadly, this simple switch gave validity to the modern church while at the same time branding the true called out assembly as a cult.
Jer 8:8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of YHWH is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.
lying pen of the scribe
Ekklesia vs Kuriakos
In the New Testament of most English Bibles, the words “church” and “churches” appear a total of over 100 times.
All of these instances of “church” are mistranslated from the Greek word ekklēsia, with one exception found in Acts 19:37, in the King James Version.
Here is the mistranslation:
From HELPS Word-studies:
The English word “church” comes from the Greek word kyriakos, “belonging to the Lord” (kyrios).
More in Part 2
51-55, M
