|
“Conventional,” “orthodox evangelical,” or
“dispensational” Christian theology teaches that the “Church” came into existence at
Pentecost and will cease to function in its present capacity at “the Rapture” (also known as
“the Second Coming” or the “Translation of the Church”), and that the “Church” therefore
consists of all the saints of “the present age,” and I faithfully taught that doctrine
for over thirty years. My recent studies of the Scripture have rendered that teaching in
some serious doubt in my mind for the following reasons:
a. The Greek
word that is translated “church” in the English Bibles is ekklesia (ekklesia), which is made up of the
two words ek (ek), which means
“out of,” and kaleo (kaleo),
which means “to call.” Ekklesia
(ekklesia) therefore means “called out” or, when used with the definite article
(“the”), “the called out ones.” This concept carries with it the idea of being “elect” or
“chosen,” and it should be properly translated as either “called out” or “the called out
ones” or simply “the elect” for simplicity sake. Other than the pre-existing religious bias
of the Bible translators and the traditions of men, there is absolutely no grammatical
reason for this word to be have ever been translated as “church.” (Thus in Spanish, the
word is not even translated, but only transliterated as iglacia.)
b. The
Hebrew word arqm (miqra) carries the same
meaning as the word ekklesia, and is used
in the Tenakh (the “Hebrew Bible” or so-called “Old Testament” ... the only “Bible” that was
used by Yeshua and all his Shliachim, or Emissaries) to refer to the “holy
convocations” of Israel. It can also readily be translated as “called out.”
c. While
most “conventional” Christian theology teaches that the so-called “Old Testament Saints”
were saved by observance of Torah (usually mistranslated as “the Law”), the B'rit Chadasha
(or “Renewed Covenant” — particularly Hebrews 11; Romans 3:21-4:25; Romans 11) teaches that
salvation (justification) has always been solely on the basis of faith in Mashiach,
totally apart from any “works of righteousness,” and Rabbinical literature from the Second
Temple Period to the present reveals that Judaism recognizes no such concept as
“justification through Torah observance.”
d. The
“called out ones” before the resurrection of Mashiach were justified (saved) by faith in the
completed work of Mashiach that was yet to be performed.
e. The
“called out ones” after the resurrection of Mashiach are justified (saved) by faith in the
exact same completed work of Mashiach that has now been performed.
f. The
“called out ones” before the resurrection of Mashiach were either born or adopted as
Israelites. (Gen. 17:10-13; Exod. 12:43-51; Deut 16:10-11; Josh. 8:33)
g. The
“called out ones” after the resurrection of Mashiach are either born or adopted as
Israelites. (Rom. 9:1-8; cp. Rom. 8:15; Rom. 8:23; Rom. 11:17-27; Gal. 4:5;
Eph. 1:5; Eph. 2:11-13)
h. The
“called out ones” before the resurrection of Mashiach and the “called out ones” after the
resurrection of Mashiach are therefore related to Mashiach in exactly the same manner. (Rom.
3:30)
Where, then, is the scriptural basis for saying that “the
called out ones” before the resurrection and the “called out ones” after the resurrection
are two different groups of humanity?
There is, therefore, no Scriptural basis to claim that
G-d started something “new” or “different” at Pentecost. In fact, the B'rit
Chadasha clearly states that at the Pentecost event the new Messianic Believers were “added
to” that which was already in existence:
“So then, those who had received his word
were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.” (Acts
2:41, NAS; emphasis added)
The only apparent difference between “the called out ones”
before Pentecost and “the called out ones” after Pentecost is that Ruach
HaKodesh was now to permanently indwell those who came to faith in Mashiach, whereas
before Pentecost that indwelling seems (at least from our limited human perspective)
to have been more temporary in nature.
Although the exact etymology of the word
“church” is far from certain, some Bible dictionaries and commentaries suggest that it came
to be used for the ekklesia because it is thought that early believers may have met
in a circle (see following). However, that concept is highly suspect because if one
correctly understands that the believers met in synagogues until far after the end of the
first century, there is nothing specific in synagogue worship that lends itself to the
concept of a circle, unless it refers to Davidic dance, which is generally performed in a
circle.
According to some other dictionaries, the modern English
word “church” is supposedly derived from the Middle English word chirche or
kirke, which in turn is derived from the Greek word kyriakos, which is said to
mean “belonging to the Lord.” However, the strongest evidence against that position is
simply that the word kirke is far more ancient than Christianity, and was originally
derived from the name of the pagan sun-goddess Circe, whose priests and priestesses gathered
in a “circle” to worship her (hence the source of the word “circle”).
Still other dictionaries and commentaries
suggest that the word “church” it is derived from the Teutonic kirk or kirche,
which is a circle of trees that was used for human sacrifices (again related to
Circe-worship). Since the “church” as we know it
today owes most of its form to its Roman Catholic ancestor, I believe that the best
explanation is that the word “church” apparently actually refers to the “inner
circle” of the Babylonian Mystery Religion (closely related to the Teutonic kirk in both form and function).
In 63 BCE Julius Caesar was officially recognized as the
head of the Romanized form of the Babylonian Mystery Religion (which, though many different
names are used for the gods and goddesses, is in reality the worship of Nimrod [Gen. 10:8-9] and his mother, the “Queen of Heaven,” who became known as Ishtar), and was given
the title of Pontifex Maximus, or “supreme bridge” (that is, the supreme bridge
between man and the gods). That title was continuously held by the Roman emperor until 376
CE, when Emperor Gratian rejected the title, and transferred it to the Bishop of Rome, the
Pope, who retains the title to this day.
When he became Emperor, Constantine (Pontifex Maximus
of the Mystery Religion) desired to consolidate his power over both the civil and religious
aspects of the Empire (ca. 311). At that time, Judaism (which included Messianic Judaism as
a sub-set, or sect of Judaism) was one of the “authorized” religions of the Empire.
Constantine, who never actually became a Believer in Messiah, simply decreed that his
more-inclusive religion, which he called “Christianity,” would be the “official” and only
acceptable religion in the Empire.
All he actually did was to take the
Roman form of the Babylon Mystery Religion, dress it up with “Bible words,” and change the
names of the pantheon of “gods” and “goddesses” to the names of prominent first-century
Messianic Believers, particularly the Apostles. The names of the gods and goddesses were
then removed from their statues in the Roman temples, their new names were chiseled into
place, and the “worship” of these gods and goddesses continued as “the veneration of
saints.” (For example, the mother of Nimrod, who was worshipped as the “Queen of Heaven,”
was renamed “Mary” and continued to be worshipped as the “Queen of Heaven,” and the statue
of “Peter” that presently stands in the Vatican is actually a statue of the Roman god
Jupiter, which has simply been renamed.[1])
The first level of pagan priests under Constantine was
known as the “circle” and derived that name from their practice of meeting in a circle to
worship the sun. (See the reference to the worship of Circe, above. Sun worship was so
prevalent in ancient Rome that they named the first day of the week Sun-day, and had
a law that no work could be done on Sun-day under penalty of death.) Constantine
simply appointed the priests from the Mystery Religion as “bishops” (now called the College
of Cardinals) in his new hybrid religion, and he himself continued to rule over them as
their “high priest.”
He then called the Council of Nicea, to which only the
Gentile bishops were invited, and made the observance of any Jewish tradition punishable by
death. Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits were replaced with the Feast of Ishtar;
Shabbat worship was replaced with Sun-day worship; the Lord’s birthday observance was moved
from Sukkot (Tabernacles) to Saturnalia (the “sun god’s” feast day, December
25); all Hebrew versions of the Scriptures were destroyed [including all extant copies of
the original Hebrew versions of the Apostolic Scriptures, thus we now have only the
remaining Greek copies]; and all Messianic Jewish Believers were given the choice to either
become “Gentile Christians” or die.
By the time the Bible was finally translated into English,
the entire pagan Roman cult had come to be known as “the circle” and this term was later
rendered into Old and Middle English as “church.”
When Tyndale produced the first English translation of the
Bible, he correctly translated the word ekklesia as “assembly.” However, when King
James commissioned the 1611 translation, he apparently arbitrarily decreed that the word be
translated using the common term for the Roman cult, “church,” and so that tradition has
also been followed by modern translators without regard to the actual grammatical meaning of
the word ekklesia.
The body of true “Called Out Ones” (Miqra or Ekklesia)
that Yeshua established—beginning with Avraham—has always survived alongside both the
apostate synagogue and the apostate “church,” just as He predicted in His parable of the
wheat and the tares. He will sort them all out when He returns to rule over the earth.
[This opinion is where my research has currently taken me.
The subject is still under serious investigation.]
_______________
1. Woodrow, Ralph. Babylon Mystery Religion. Riverside, CA: Ralph
Woodrow Evangelistic Association, 1966, pp. 79, 89-91. [RETURN]
Do a Google search for "circe church" for more articles
http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Scriptures/www.innvista.com/scriptures/compare/heathena.htm
http://www.projecttimothy.org/church.htm |
![[EFC Blue Ribbon - Free Speech Online]](http://www.efc.ca/images/efcfreet.gif)
