Why ‘Church’ Should Be Replaced by ‘Assembly’
When a friend of mine first introduced the idea of Jesus building his Church in heaven and not on the earth, and then highlighted that the church here should be called the Church of God according to the Christian Scriptures, it motivated me to look for that scripture that we all know so well, ”the Lord added to the Church daily….”
Here we have it in the beloved KJV that most of us grew up on:
Acts 2:47
Praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. KJV
If Jesus’s Church is in Heaven, how could he be adding to it daily here on earth? (This deserves a pause for answers). Could the answer be just a matter of Translation? Let’s see what two other translations say:
Acts 2:47
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. NASU
Acts 2:47
praising God, and having favour with all the people; and the Lord added [to the assembly] daily those that were to be saved.
Darby
Now that we have found a conflict between the 3 translations, what do we do? If we have a Greek Interlinear, we go look to see what it says. It says <church> 846 auto, the same, as in all the people. So, ekklesia, which we all have been taught means church, does not exist in Acts 2:47. (The sideways carrot marks < > generally indicated that what is between them is not in the texts, as is the case here). This comes as quite a surprise to me.
To me this posed quite a quandary! Where do I go from here? Another formerly held belief shattered to smitherenes! So what’s left to do, look up ekklesia. Here is what it means according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon:
“a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly.” (See side column for further definition). What we don’t see, is the word ”church,” as any part of the definition. What we do see, predominantly, is ”Assembly.”
Etymology of the word Church
“The etymology of the word “church” is a complex and multifaceted topic. Based on the provided search results, here is a summary of the key findings: Greek origins:
The English word “church” is ultimately derived from the Greek adjective “kuriakos” (κυριακός), meaning “of (or belonging to) the Lord”.
This adjective is found only twice in the Christian Scriptures, in 1 Corinthians 11:20 and Revelation 1:10, referring to the Lord’s supper and the Lord’s day, respectively.”
1 Cor 11:20
Therefore, when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s is the word kuriakos (koo-ree-ak-os’) NT:2960; from NT:2962, kurios; belonging to the Lord (Jehovah or Jesus):
Rev 1:10-11
I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, NASU
Now we will look at Young’s Literal Translation of a few verses containing ekklesia:
Matt 16:18
‘And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it;
Acts 5:11
11 and great fear came upon all the assembly, and upon all who heard these things.
Eph 1:22-23
22 and all things He did put under his feet, and did give him — head over all things to the assembly,
23 which is his body, the fulness of Him who is filling the all in all,
Not in one verse, of 114 scriptures, where ekklesia is used, does the YLT translate it Church!
Much like we have eliminated Old Testament and New Testament from our vocabulary, I think it is time to eliminate “Church” as well! If as close as we can come to it, is a transliteration of kuriakos, we have a pretty weak case for using it at all.
I am of the opinion that what exists in the Hebrew Scriptures should set the precedence for the Christian Scriptures. For example, Church doesn’t exist in the Hebrew Scriptures any more than resurrection does. But what does exist is qahal — OT:6951 an assembly, a company, a congregation, a convocation
a) an assembly for evil counsel, for war or invasion, for religious purposes Ex. 12:6
b) a company (used of returning exiles) Ez. 38:15
c) a congregation as an organized body Joel 2:16
(from The Online Bible Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright © 1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)
Deut 31:30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete: NASU
Judg 20:2 And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. KJV
Qahal is used 123 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, coming close to the 114 of ekklesia!
Other usages of Assembly in the Hebrew Scriptures:
5712, edah, 149 times
6116, atsarah, 11 times
5475, cowd, 21 times Job 15:8, 29:4 the secret of God; Ps. 89:7 the assembly of the saints!
4186, mowshab, 44 times
4150, mowed/moed, 223 times Is. 41:13 Mount of Assembly
When it comes to the phrase, “Church of God,” it is used 8 times in the Christian Scriptures. All 8 of these verses use the word ekklesia, which we now know does not mean “church!” 6 words in the Hebrew Scriptures are translated “assembly” many times in their 571 usages; never church. Therefore, in my humble opinion, Assembly should replace the word church everywhere it is used in the Christian Scriptures, just like the Young’s Literal Translation has! Since we no longer say the word mystery for musterion, neither should we say the word church, for ekklesia.
THE ASSEMBLY OF GOD
| When a friend of mine first introduced the idea of Jesus building his Church in heaven and not on the earth, and then highlighted that the church here should be called the Church of God according to the Christian Scriptures, it motivated me to look for that scripture that we all know so well, ”the Lord added to the Church daily….” Here we have it in the beloved KJV that most of us grew up on: Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. KJV If Jesus’s Church is in Heaven, how could he be adding to it daily here on earth? (This deserves a pause for answers). Could the answer be just a matter of Translation? Let’s see what a more accurate translation says: Acts 2:47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. NASU Now that we have found a conflict between the 2 translations, what do we do? If we have a Greek Interlinear, we go look to see what it says. It says <church> 846 (Strong’s Number) auto, the same, as in all the people. So, ekklesia, 1577, which we all have been taught means church, does not exist in Acts 2:47. (The sideways carrot marks < > generally indicated that what is between them is not in the texts, as is the case here). To me this posed quite a quandary! Where do I go from here? Another formerly held belief shattered to smitherenes! So what’s left to do, look up ekklesia. Here is what it means according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly.” What we don’t see, is the word ”church,” as any part of the definition. What we do see, predominantly, is ”Assembly.” Now we will look at Young’s Literal Translation of a few verses containing ekklesia: Matt 16:18 ‘And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it; Acts 5:11 11 and great fear came upon all the assembly, and upon all who heard these things. Eph 1:22-23 22 and all things He did put under his feet, and did give him — head over all things to the assembly, 23 which is his body, the fulness of Him who is filling the all in all, Not in one verse of 114 scriptures where ekklesia is used, does the YLT translate it Church! You might be asking yourself, ”If ekklesia doesn’t mean Church, then what the heck, if anything, does?” Good question. Etymology of the word Church The etymology of the word “church” is a complex and multifaceted topic. Based on the provided search results, here is a summary of the key findings: Greek origins: The English word “church” is ultimately derived from the Greek adjective “kuriakos” (κυριακός), meaning “of (or belonging to) the Lord”. This adjective is found only twice in the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 11:20 and Revelation 1:10, referring to the Lord’s supper and the Lord’s day, respectively. |
| 1 Cor 11:20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, The Lord’s is the word NT:2960 kuriakos (koo-ree-ak-os’); from NT:2962, kurios; belonging to the Lord (Jehovah or Jesus): (Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.) Rev 1:10-11 I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, NASU Much like we have eliminated Old Testament and New Testament from our vocabulary, I think it is time to eliminate “Church” as well! If as close as we can come to it, is a transliteration of kuriakos, we have a pretty weak case for using it at all. |
Transliteration vs. Translation:
The word “church” is a transliteration of the Greek “kuriakos,” rather than a translation of its meaning into English. This means that the word “church” does not accurately convey the original Greek concept.
Substitution for ekklēsia: In English translations of the New Testament, the word “church” substitutes for the Greek noun “ekklēsia” (ἐκκλησία), which occurs 114 times in the Greek New Testament. This substitution obscures the original meaning of “ekklēsia”, which refers to the gathering or assembly of believers.
Alternative etymologies:
Some sources propose alternative etymologies for the word “church”, including:
Connection to the name “Circe”, a sorceress-goddess from Greek mythology, which is unlikely and lacks historical evidence.
Derivation from the Old English “circe” or “cyrc”, which is related to the Dutch “kerk” and German “Kirche”, ultimately tracing back to the Greek phrase “kuriakon doma” (Lord’s house).
Architectural significance: The term “church” has also been associated with the architectural design of Christian buildings, particularly in traditional Christian architecture, where the plan view forms a Christian cross.”
I am of the opinion that what exists in the Hebrew Scriptures should set the precedence for the Christian Scriptures. For example, Church doesn’t exist in the Hebrew Scriptures any more than resurrection does. But what does exist is qahal — OT:6951 an assembly, a company, a congregation, a convocation
a) an assembly for evil counsel, for war or invasion, for religious purposes Ex. 12:6
b) a company (used of returning exiles) Ez. 38:15
c) a congregation as an organized body Joel 2:16
(from The Online Bible Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright © 1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)
Deut 31:30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete: NASU
Judg 20:2 And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. KJV
Qahal is used 123 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, coming close to the 114 of ekklesia!
Other usages of Assembly in the Hebrew Scriptures:
5712, edah, 149 times
6116, atsarah, 11 times
5475, cowd, 21 times Job 15:8, 29:4 the secret of God; Ps. 89:7 the assembly of the saints!
4186, mowshab, 44 times
4150, mowed/moed, 223 times Is. 41:13 Mount of Assembly
1 Cor 10:31-32
Whether, then, ye eat, or drink, or do anything, do all to the glory of God;
32 become offenceless, both to Jews and Greeks, and to the assembly of God;
YLT
I know it’s going to be difficultfor us to stop using the word Church when it comes to a group of believer’s, but you can still call the buildings, churches. Otherwise, the Body of Christ is the Assembly of God.
REVIVAL? WHO ARE WE KIDDING?
A lot of people have been talking about how much a Revival in the church is needed. I couldn’t agree more but think it is next to impossible, if not impossible.There are many reasons I think it is impossible since the church is so far removed from the precepts of the 1st Century Church. For example :
- The True Church is the Body of Christ, not the bride of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:27
- It was to be built upon the foundation of Paul, not the 4 Gospels, 1 Cor. 3:10-12
- Jesus was born, came into existence, as a descendant of David, Mt. 1:1
- He did not preexist his birth or live before he was born, not reincarnated Mt. 1:18
- God is not in control of the world, Satan is, 2 Cor. 4:4, Lk. 4:6
- the Holy Spirit is not something separate from God, but is God; Ps. 99:9, Jn. 4:24,
- God is the Holy Spirit while the devil is the unholy spirit
- the dead in Christ are dead, along with every other person who has lived and died, 1 Thess. 4:16, Job 14:12, Ps. 13:3, Acts 13:36, 1 Cor. 11:30
- water baptism serves no purpose other than an “emotional” high and was replaced by “spirit” baptism, Acts 1:8, 11:16
- The Secret, as revealed to Paul by the ascended Christ, is all but unknown to the church, let alone understood, Eph. 3:1-9, Ro. 16:25,26, Col. 1:25-29
- Jesus, before his ascension, was limited in knowledge, Mt. 16:28, 24:36, Mk. 9:1, 13:32, Lk. 9:27
- there is nothing written in the 4 Gospels about the Rapture, it is part of the Secret, first revealed to Paul, 2 Thess. 2:1-3
- what is written in the gospels that the church thinks is about the Rapture, is in reality the 2nd coming of Christ, when the Church comes with him to the earth, 2 Thess. 1:7b-10
- this is when Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords, Rev 17:14, 19:16
- the Kingdom of God, when His Son Jesus will be King, will be set up after the battle of Armagedon, in Israel, for 1,000 years,
- the Kingdom of God and of His Son is still in the future, not on the earth today
- the 9 manifestations of the Spirit (miscalled gifts) are to be in operation in every church, all the time, that the Church may be edified, 1 Cor. 14:5,12,26
- the “equipping” ministries are to be in operation in the church for its edifying also, Eph. 4:12,16,29
- the Temple is the entire Body of Christ, not the individual, the individual is the tabernacle, 2 Cor. 5:1-4
These are but a few of the the things that today’s church have been mislead to believe or not to believe. How can there possibly any profitable revival when so much error is being practiced in the church? The word revival begins with “re” meaning to do again, do over. Here are a few definitions of revival:
- The act of reviving, or the state of being revived.
- Renewed attention to something, as to letters or literature.
- Renewed performance of, or interest in, something, as the drama and literature.
- Renewed interest in religion, after indifference and decline; a period of religious awakening; special religious interest.
The Church of the Body of Christ definitely needs a “do-over,” I will agree. But how many are willing to throw away 1700 years of error, steeped in tradition to do so? Our only hope is the gathering together of the saints, when Christ will settle it all at the Bema, where those who built upon the foundation Paul laid will be rewarded and those who did not will suffer loss. 1 Cor. 3
(see more on this subject at https://fredSwolfe.com)
The Mystery (Secret) Revealed (a solved mystery is no longer)
When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray (what has become known as the Lord’s Prayer), he prayed for God’s kingdom to come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. THIS PRAYER HAS YET TO BE ANSWERED! When Jesus prayed this prayer he did not know about the Secret which God kept hidden from everyone from the foundation of the world. This secret was first revealed to the Apostle Paul and the other Christian Apostles and Prophets.
Rom 16:25-27
25 Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which hath been kept secret since the world began,
26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
27 To God the only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
WebsterEph 3:1-5
3 For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you the nations (Gentiles),
2 if, indeed, ye did hear of the dispensation of the grace of God that was given to me in regard to you,
3 that by revelation He made known to me the secret, according as I wrote before in few [words] —
4 in regard to which ye are able, reading [it], to understand my knowledge in the secret of the Christ,
5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it was now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets (Christian) in the Spirit —
YLT
Since then, very few people have taken notice of it, especially The Church. God kept it a secret for over 4,000 years and virtually no one in the church today can tell you what it was, let alone it’s significance. Practically everything being taught today about the Kingdom of God as it relates to the church of the Body of Christ is FALSE, DEVILISH and COUNTERFEIT, and sickening, to everyone who knows and understands the Secret of Romans 16:25,26; Eph 3:1-9 and Col 1:25-29.
The devil has had about 2,000 years to eradicate its knowledge and has done a marvelous job. The Kingdom of God and of Christ is in the FUTURE, not now! Jesus is not now ruling as King of kings! If he is, he is certainly not doing a very good job! The late Apostle Frederick Price said last Sunday, “if God Almighty is controlling the world, as most Christians think he is, I don’t want to go to Heaven!” If what we see in the world today is a reflection of God’s way of doing things, then what could there possibly be to look forward to? This is not the Kingdom of God! We, Christians, aren’t building any such thing. We are building the Body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:27-30
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
28 And God has appointed in the church, ekklesia, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? (no) Are all prophets? (no) Are all teachers? (no) Do all work miracles? (all can)
30 Do all possess gifts of healing? (no, but many do) Do all speak with tongues? (no, but all can) Do all interpret? (no, but all can).Ephesians 4:1-8
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one spirit–just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call–
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men…..” ESV4:11-16
11 And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
12 to equip the holy ones (us) for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13 until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ,
14 so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.
15 Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love. NAB
This is what Christians should be doing, not being kingdom builders! What is it going to take to wake you up? Take a look again at the prayer Jesus taught his Jewish followers to pray: “Our Father who art in heaven.” God’s kingdom is in heaven where he is! Jesus taught them to pray for God’s kingdom to come to earth and now Christian’s pray it every Sunday. If it’s already here, why continue to pray for it to come? Makes no sense.
One of the greatest mistranslations of most translators, has been the Greek word musterion. The problem is it was not translated at all, it was merely transliterated into a similar English word. This word is used throughout the Church Epistles of Paul given by revelation from Jesus himself. These Church Epistles serve as the new doctrine for correct believing for the church today. The transliteration of musterion into mystery was purely satanic, in that it has lead believers to understand that there are some things concerning God that are just unable to be understood. Nothing could be further from the truth. The actual translation of this word is “secret.” It does not regard a secret that any man kept, but one which God kept from the foundation of the world. You and I both know, that a secret between 2 people is one of the hardest things to keep. Deep down inside we are just dying to tell someone else or in some cases, we forget it is a secret over time, and it inadvertently slips out.
Since this was a secret that God kept, it is considered by some a Sacred Secret. No one else, including God’s only Son knew about it. Jesus was not told the secret until he had ascended into Heaven. Soon after he was told this secret, he chose a man named Saul who was a very religious Jew to reveal it to. Saul was so religious he was legally killing followers of Jesus Christ because he believed they were heretics. He was present at the stoning to death of Stephen; he gave the consent for it to be done.
Romans is the first Doctrinal Epistle written directly to believers in Jesus Christ of this Age. As I cited previously, Ro 16:25-26 says, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery (the secret) which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the (Christian) prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; NASU
Here we see that this sacred secret was first revealed to Paul for our obedience of true faith and became known as his gospel. Two of the most important words used in his letters the the Church are the words “according to.” When you read these words pay close attention because our lives are to be patterned accordingly. You will see that Paul’s gospel is actually the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I will leave you with further evidence of this secret revealed from the epistle to the Colossians vss 1:24-29
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and do fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly (improperly translated Church),
25 of which I — I did become a ministrant according to the dispensation of God, that was given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God,
26 the secret that hath been hid from the ages and from the generations, but now was manifested to his saints,
27 to whom God did will to make known what is the riches of the glory of this secret among the nations — which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory,
28 whom we proclaim, warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus,
29 for which also I labour, striving according to his working that is working in me in power.
We are now living during this administration of God, just as we are living during the Trump administration. One being spiritual in nature and the other physically. There is nothing more important in the Word of God to understand for the believer than that the Epistles of Paul were written according to revelation from Jesus Christ, making them our supreme guide for faith and practice. There are no mysteries in the Bible at all, just misunderstandings. God bless.
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