WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? part 1

THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN • WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? • SPECIAL ISSUE 1
SPECIAL TRIPLE ISSUE “... let Facts be submitted to a candid world.”
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What Is The Ecclesia?
Is It A Church? Is It A Cult? Is It Important?
by Ben Williams
I am writing these things to you,
hoping to come to you quickly: but in
case I am delayed, you will know how
you should conduct yourself in the
house of God, which is the ecclesia
of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth.
1 Timothy 3:14-15
T he ecclesia of the living God IS the
pillar and ground of the truth! That
makes it important. If we can define
“ecclesia,” we will have identified “the
pillar and ground of the truth.” Few endeavors
are as important and rewarding
as this.
Word definition is a crucial factor.
Some people purposely ignore it. Because
of this, many people miss the true
meaning of the “ecclesia.” And, because
they have missed this meaning, they
now find themselves unwittingly in support
of an institution that the Bible warns
us against.
WORD MEANINGS SHOULD
NOT FLUCTUATE
Learning the origins and correct
meanings of words provides answers for
many things. Word studies force us to
change our use of certain words after
discovering we’ve been using them
wrongly. Finding past errors, however,
is nothing to be ashamed of – unless we
refuse to correct those errors.
This quest, of course, never ends.
There is more to learn than one lifetime
allows, and word usage evolves.
But, we can, and should, develop adequate
vocabularies as well as ability to
research original word meanings.
Knowing the popular usage of a
word may mean very little. Contemporary
dictionaries often bend to the popular
(common) usage of a word as its definition.
They simply parrot the fads of
the masses whose popular (common) vocabulary
changes ... often substantially.
The masses, therefore, misuse many of
the words in their vocabularies ... and
you too, most likely. To read and understand
historical writings, like the
Bible, you must learn the original meaning
of its words. This requires that you
have an etymological dictionary at your
disposal along with a lexicon of the original
tongue of the writing you are researching.
It can be embarrassing when you
find you’ve been using a word wrongly.
However, learning truth should be rewarding
to everyone ... except the uncaring,
or the insecure who cannot concede
to having been wrong.
When I discover a word that I’ve
been using wrongly, I always wonder
how much I’ve contributed to today’s
confusion by my misuse of the language.
There have been some vital words which
I’ve misused in the past. And, I’ve found
that a word can cause quite a change in
my life. How we use words has a great
effect on us.
Words allow us to communicate.
Words are tools. However, for two
people to share these tools, both people
must have a common understanding of
word meanings. Communication requires
a standard meaning of words.
Otherwise, my words will mean something
different to you than they do to
me. For instance, a modern “day” is
understood as a 24-hour period including
one period of daylight and one period
of darkness. However, in old Hebrew,
and Greek, “day” was understood
to be a period of daylight only.
Thus, words must be defined in order
for the writers’ intentions to be understood.
Otherwise, when I say “freedom,
you may think I mean “license.”
When I say “government (i.e. self-disciplined),”
you may think “Washington
D.C. (central rulers).” When I say
“ecclesia,” you may think “church.”
If your definition of a word is different
than mine, we probably will not communicate
accurately. And, when a society
uses words wrongly, it gets confused
and debilitated. Progress stops.
The pursuit of correct word usage
is a noble endeavor – one which has a
direct bearing on man’s intelligence and
progress. Many people today suffer from
mental disfunction – partly due to a
crippled vocabulary.
Intelligence and vocabulary go handin-
hand. Not only does intelligence produce
better vocabularies, but an environment
where words are used properly
actually facilitates the development
of intelligence in people. By the same
token, an environment where word
meanings are twisted or neglected produces
ignorance – the kind we see in
American schools today.
People have adapted by learning to
read emotion, body language and vocal
tone rather than depending upon word
meanings. Words have become less
meaningful, and gut feelings have become
the mode of communication. This,
of course, lowers intelligence.
The typical American continues to
verbally demean himself to the level of
the illiterate native who grunts in different
tones to convey a message ... encouraged
by public school, church, TV,
low-class music, and lack of attention
from parents. We have produced a generation
with a withered vocabulary.
STANDARD MEANINGS
In a free and progressive society,
words must be standardized. Standard
definitions make it possible to use words
effeciently. Just as currency (money)
should be standardized to trade accurately,
all things used in common need
a standard description. There must be
a common measure set upon things we
use: by weight, by volume, by length,
etc. This is especially true of words. They
must be standard in their meanings. Otherwise,
they don’t work.
Unfortunately, we’ve lost our standard
measurements for most of the important
things in our lives today – including
money.
Words are building blocks for Intelligent
thought. Even our inner thoughts
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN • WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? • SPECIAL ISSUE 3
are formed around words. They find
expression in our brains by the use of
words. Without words, we would have
a completely different thought process
– possibly like an animal, or an infant
who knows no words.
We think in words. We speak in
words. Since words form thought and
communication, our words need standard
meanings. Words should mean the
same thing a month from today, and
hopefully a hundred years from today,
as they mean today. Historians recognize
this. To understand a history record
one must define the words of that record
the same as the writer did hundreds of
years earlier.
This is especially important when
considering the Bible since it is a very
old historical document. Its words have
been subjected to all kinds of changes
and evolution over the centuries. There
have been mistranslations, re-interpretations,
and changes of popular definitions.
Thus, Bible words must be examined
carefully. A Bible word may have
meant something altogether different at
the time it was written compared to what
it means today. Therefore, to get the
originally intended message from our
Bibles, we must know what the words
meant to the writers.
This brings us to the word “ecclesia”
[ek-le-see-a] – one of the tragic victims
of modern-day language confusion. This
word is misused and mistranslated in
nearly every English Bible version. This
Greek word was carried over into Latin,
and then English. But, during the last
500 years, in English-speaking societies,
it has been popularly replaced with
the English word “church.”
The word is, correctly, “ecclesia.”
It should not have been replaced or
changed. And, although it is hard to
break old habits we should stop using
the wrong word. The term “church”
does not appear in the text of the New
Testament. Not even once!
When people use this term, it is almost
always in error. But, when we attempt
to correct the problem we find
that we are hampered by the popular
Bible versions which consistently use
“church” – the wrong word. That tends
to set the error in concrete and stifle
learning.
Of course, this could be corrected
by teaching people to read the Scriptures
in their original languages. Realistically,
however, this is not a solution
that can be hoped for in the near future.
This generation can hardly read
English – much less Greek and Hebrew.
The word “church” was not only a
bad choice for rendering “ecclesia,” it
was a deliberate attempt to confuse and
mislead. And, although English Bibles
uniformly use “church,” it is wrong in
every instance.
THE CORRECT MEANING
OF “CHURCH”
Let’s start by defining the word.
“Church” comes from the Old English
and German word pronounced “kirché.”
In Scotland, it was “kirk.”
The following entries are from the
Oxford Universal English Dictionary:
Church: [Old English cirice, circe; Middle
English chereche, chiriche, chirche;
whence churche, cherche, etc.: – Greek
kuriakón ...]
Kirk: The Northern English and Scottish
form of CHURCH, in all its senses.
In the earlier Greek it was pronounced
“ku-ri-á-kos” or “ku-ri-á-kon.”
As you can see, this word doesn’t even
resemble the Greek word “ecclesia”
whose place it has usurped.
The meaning of “ku-ri-á-kos” is understood
by its root: “kú-ri-os,” which
means “lord.” Thus, “kuriakos” (i.e.,
“church”) means “pertaining to the
lord.” It refers to something that pertains
to, or belongs to, a lord.
The Greek “kuriakos” eventually
came to be used in Old English form as
“cirice” (kee-ree-ké), then “churche”
(kerké), and eventually “church” in its
traditional pronunciation. A church,
then, is correctly something that “pertains
to, or belongs to, a lord.”
Now, as you can see, there is a
major problem here. The translators
broke the rules in a big way. When they
inserted the word “church” in the English
versions, they were not translating
the Greek word “kuriakos,” as one
might expect. Rather, they were substituting
an entirely different Greek word.
This was not honest!
The word “church” would have
been an acceptable translation for the
Greek word “kuriakos.” However, not
by the wildest imagination of the most
liberal translator is it an acceptable translation
for the Greek word “ecclesia.”
Are you following this? Consider it
carefully. This truth will answer many
questions you’ve had about “churches,”
“the kingdom,” and government.
“Ecclesia” is an entirely different
word with an entirely different meaning
than “kuriakos.” In fact, the Greek word
“kuriakos” appears in the New Testament
only twice. It is found once in I
Corinthians 11:20 where it refers to
“the Lord’s supper,” and once again in
Revelation 1:10 where it refers to “the
Lord’s day.” In both of those cases, it is
translated “the Lord’s” – not “church.”
This word does not appear again in the
New Testament. Nonetheless, this is the
unlikely and strange history of the word
“church” as it came to the English language.
Eventually, through the manipulation
of organized religion, “church”
came to replace “ecclesia” by popular
acceptance. Again, I must emphasize
the importance of knowing word meanings
in order to know the intent of those
who wrote the Scriptures.
THE CORRECT MEANING
OF “ECCLESIA”
Now, let’s look at the word,
“ecclesia.” This Greek word appears in
the New Testament approximately 115
times. That’s just in this one grammatical
form. It appears also in other forms.
And in every instance, except three, it
is wrongly translated “church” in the
King James Version. Those three exceptions
are found in Acts 19:32, 39,
41. Here, the translators rendered it
“assembly” instead of “church.” But, the
Greek word is exactly the same as the
other 112 entries where it was changed
to “church” – wrongly.
In Acts 19, “ecclesia” is a town
council: a civil body in Ephesus. Thus,
the translators were forced to abandon
their false translation in these three instances.
Nonetheless, 112 times they
changed it to “church.” This fact has
been covered-up under centuries of misuse
and ignorance.
The Greek word “ecclesia” is correctly
defined: “the called-out (ones)”
[ECC = out; KALEO = call]. Thus, you
can see this word was used to indicate a
civil body of select (called) people.
The Encyclopedia Britannica:
In the New Testament, “ecclesia”
(signifying convocation) is the only
single word used for church. It
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(ecclesia) was the name given to the
governmental assembly of the city of
Athens, duly convoked (called out) by
proper officers and possessing all
political power including even juridical
functions.
Obviously, in Greece this had no
resemblance to a church. An “ecclesia”
was a civil assembly in Athens even before
the writing of the New Testament.
In the Oxford Universal English Dictionary
(considered the standard for the
English language) the word “ecclesia”
is listed in its English form ... as used by
our English forefathers. (Modern forms
of the word are still used – like, “ecclesiastical”).
The Oxford English Dictionary:
Ecclesia: [medæval Latin, and Greek
ekklhsia – from ekklhtov:
SUMMONED] – A regularly convoked
assembly, especially the general
assembly of Athenians. Later, the
regular word for church.
Two of the most prestigious word
resources in the English language confirm
the fact that an “ecclesia” was originally
a select civil body.
What, then, did the writers of the
New Testament mean when they used
the word “ecclesia” to describe a Christian
body of people? Obviously, they
meant the same thing: a body of Christians
called out of the Roman and
Judean system to come together into a
separate civil community. It meant a
politically autonomous body of Christians
under no king but Jesus. No man
ruled them! Only Christ. And, that was
the reason these same Christians ran
into trouble with kings and rulers; got in
trouble with Caesar; were arrested, crucified
and martyred. They dropped Caesar
and took up Christ.
The ecclesias were diametrically
opposed to the Caesars of the world.
This is the well-hidden secret about the
ecclesia! And, this is why we read in Acts
17, starting in verse one:
1. Now when they had passed
through Amphipolis and Appolonia,
they came to Thessalonica, where
was a synagogue of the Judeans:
2. And Paul, as his manner was, went
in unto them, and three sabbath
days reasoned with them out of the
scriptures,
3. Opening and alleging, that Christ
must needs have suffered, and
risen again from the dead; and that
this Jesus, whom I preach unto
you, is Christ.
4. And some of them believed, and
consorted with Paul and Silas; and
of the devout Greeks a great
multitude, and of the chief women
not a few.
5. But the Jews which believed not,
moved with envy, took unto them
certain lewd fellows of the baser
sort, and gathered a company, and
set all the city on an uproar, and
assaulted the house of Jason, and
sought to bring them out to the
people.
Paul and Silas were spreading the
gospel of the kingdom. What effect did
it have? It caused an immediate, violent
reaction from the synagogues (i.e., the
churches). They set a riot afoot and
sought to arrest Paul and Silas and take
them out into the street.
6. And when they found them not,
they drew Jason and certain
brethren to the rulers of the city
crying, These that have turned the
world (system) upside down are
come here also;
Paul and Silas had a reputation that
preceded them. They were “turning the
world (system) upside down.”
What was their inflaming message?
Were they telling the people to find a
minister and support him; go to church
every weekend; be nice to their neighbors?
Could this have been the message
that set the city fathers against them?
Or maybe they were asking people to
send their tithes to them so they could
build a nice church building and develop
a “united missions board” so they could
save souls all over in Africa.
No?
What then? What were these men
doing to “turn the world upside down?”
7. Whom Jason hath received (into
his house): and these all do
contrary to the decrees of Caesar,
saying that there is another king,
one Jesus.
Now is that clear? Do you see what
they were doing? They were declaring
ANOTHER KING! Not Caesar! Their
king was bigger than Caesar. They were
forming civil bodies that no longer
looked to Caesar as their king. They
were forming civil outposts for Christ’s
Reign! They were at war!
3. For though we walk in the flesh, we
do not war after the flesh:
4. For the weapons of our warfare are
not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strongholds.
5. Casting down concepts, and every
high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ;
6. And having in readiness to revenge
all disobedience, then your obedience
is fulfilled.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
12. For we fight, not against flesh and
blood, but against the governments,
against the authorities,
against the world rulers of this
darkness, against spiritual wickedness
in high (offices).
Ephesians 6:12
Paul and Silas weren’t “church builders”
and “soul winners” like preachers
today claim. They weren’t proselytizing
people from one church or synagogue
to another. They were kingdom builders!
They were dethroning rulers in the
minds of the people and alienating them
from the mental hold Caesar had upon
them through heathenistic (central) government.
They were teaching the principles
of Christian government.
The Oxford Universal Dictionary
defines the word “church”:
As used as a translation of the Latin
and Greek ‘ecclesia,’ in its pre-
Christian sense, it means congregations
and, later, of retrospective
application of the Christian sense, to
the Israelites and the Old Testament
saints.
In other words, the word “church”
had to be perceived from a different
angle – twisted – in order to become a
replacement for “ecclesia.” Now, that’s
interesting. What were they pulling?
Why did the replace the original word?
When referring to the Old Testament
saints, they began using “church.” But
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN • WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? • SPECIAL ISSUE 5
why didn’t they use the right word? What
was it about “ecclesia” they didn’t like?
CHURCH AND STATE
DESTROY LIBERTY
The Oxford Dictionary also has an
interesting entry for “congregation”:
...used by Tyndale* as a translation
of “ecclesia” in the New Testament,
and by the sixteenth-century reformers
instead of “church.” (*William
Tyndale was a fifteenth-century
reformer and translator – murdered
by the church)
Tyndale was willing to die for God’s
word and truth. He didn’t like the word
“church.” Instead, he used “congregation.”
Now, that tells us something!
I have a Geneva Bible (Calvin’s
Bible) in my office. It, too, comes from
the sixteenth century. But, unfortunately,
Calvin wanted the word “church”
in his Geneva version. Nonetheless,
godly Tyndale, and other sixteenth-century
reformers who were more reputable
than Calvin, did not like the word
“church.” They used other words like
“congregation,” “governmental assembly,”
etc.
Following that thought, we remember
that in early America, the so-called
“churches” were divided, politically, into
two types. There was the central hierarchy
type (like the Presbyterians &
Episcopalians), and the independent
autonomous type (like the Congregationalists).
One was corporate in form
with branches united under one governing
body. The other was independent
with each unit having its own independent
governing body in each location.
By name, the independent Congregationalist
type brings us back again to
an obvious tie-in to the word “congregation”
– the same word Tyndale chose
to translate “ecclesia”: an autonomous
community of Christians.
It is interesting how the word “congregation”
ties back in. Again, it gets us
back to a concept that is so important
to American history. That concept is
“independence.”
When you consider the fact that
“ecclesia” was “a civil body politic,” this
is strong proof that the Christian ecclesia
we read about in the New Testament
was an independent civil body of Christians
– independent from human kings
and governors. They wanted freedom
to serve King Jesus. They weren’t building
and attending churches! Please understand.
These weren’t churches –
these were ecclesias!
It’s important that you stop using
the wrong word – and the wrong meaning.
Quit saying “church” when you
mean “ecclesia”! It’s an important step
in retrieving your brain from the trap of
religious confusion.
THE CORRECT MEANING
OF “SYNAGOGUE”
“Synagogue” appears often in the
Greek New Testament. It is not a Hebrew
word; not a Yiddish, nor a Jewish
word. It is a Greek word. It is #4864 in
Strong’s Greek Concordance – pronounced
syn-a-go-gay. It simply means
“an assembly” or “a place of assembly.”
Now, please notice that the modern
use of this word has evolved into a
Jewish religious term. It has become a
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Jewish assembly – exclusively. However,
during the writing of the Greek New
Testament, it was just an assembly – any
assembly. At that time, “synagogue”
could have referred to a Jewish assembly,
or any other kind of assembly – religious
or otherwise.
Synagogues, today, have turned
religious. They are the Jewish prototypes
of the churches. The modern
churches are spin-offs of the Jewish
synagogues.
The point is this: the first-century
“kuriakos” were called “synagogues.”
The disciples of Christ abandoned the
synagogues (i.e., the Jewish churches)
... leaving them to the Jews.
But, by the 4th century, apostate
religionists were starting to form a new
organization patterned after the old
synagogue. However, they could not call
it “synagogue” because that name had
been retained by the Jewish religious
establishments. And the word “ecclesia”
wouldn’t work for them because that
referred to Christ’s kingdom and is opposed
to religious houses and organizations.
So, instead, they called them
“kuriakos” (churches). These were designed
to usurp the place of the ecclesias
(Christian civil bodies) which had been
growing since Christ’s ascension to the
throne.
With the help of the synagogues and
the churches (sister organizations), the
state (i.e., the beast) began waging battle
against the ecclesias (outposts of Christ’s
kingdom on earth).
13. And when the dragon saw that he
was cast unto the earth, he persecuted
the woman (New Jerusalem)
which brought forth the man child
(ecclesia).
17. And the dragon was wroth with
the woman, and went to make war
with the remnant of her seed,
which keep the commandments of
God, and have the testimony of
Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12: 13 & 17
Now, you can understand, the tiein
between the “synagogue” and the
“church.” Organizationally, they are
based on the same serpent principles
of ignorance, superstition and slavery.
Christians left the synagogues (later
also called churches). The disciples of
Christ found that the synagogues/
churches were not Christian in nature.
It was not their mission to build churches
and synagogues. The New Testament
Christians escaped from the heathen
religion concept of church organization.
They went out into the world and they
established “ecclesias” (Christian communities
of Christ’s reign).
The churches (synagogues) never
were on the right track. They still aren’t
today. They have the same bureaucratic
structure as central government. Central
government structure promotes conformity
and blind obedience to the rulers,
whether they be priests or bureaucrats.
For this reason, the first-century
Christians left the synagogues/churches.
CHRISTIAN CIVIL BODY
Independent self-government under
Christ! That is what the ecclesia represents
– not a religious organization for
meeting on weekends. The Bible does
not authorize churches to take the place
of ecclesias. The change of words was
not sanctioned by God or the Scripture.
JESUS CHRIST WANTS YOU OUT OF THE
MIND-SCRAMBLING CHURCHES.
READ THE BIBLE YOURSELF!
THINK FOR YOURSELF!
This is
your mind:
This is
a church:
This is what
churches do
to your mind:
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN • WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? • SPECIAL ISSUE 7
There is NO Scriptural authority for
Christians to build churches, attend
churches, or support churches!
Churches are ungodly organizations
designed for and by Christ’s enemies.
We should be forming and defending
ecclesias instead of the disgusting
churches with their pro-state agendas,
entertainment, cultic mystery, childishness,
and heathenistic nonsense. They
are Pagan and Jewish!
We (ACM) once used the word
“church” in our title, but no more –
thank God. We’ve broken away from
that image. It’s a slow process, and old
habits die slowly, but we’ve put the old
church ways behind us.
So, we must do the same thing the
apostles did. We must form self-governing,
independent, family-oriented, patriarchal-
type communities. In other
words, ecclesias.
DON’T GET ME WRONG
Those who give only a cursory
glance at this study of “the ecclesia”
might wrongly conclude that I am advocating
that people live in communes –
like the cults and the hippies back in
the sixties. But, Christian ecclesias are
NOT communes!
Inhabitants of communes usually
follow thier own lusts rather than Bible
law. They also usually develop the old
familiar central government structure
when they come under the control of a
chrismatic leader. But, that is not the
way of the Christian ecclesia!
An ecclesia, constructed on a Christian
foundation, would be based upon
the principle of independence through
law (God’s law). It would preclude central
government or monopolies by any
entity. It would have free trade, private
possession of land, and patriarchal eldership.
It would use God’s law as its
constitution, and abstain from creating
its own laws. Man would not rule man,
but every man would be responsible for
any crimes he might commit – and answerable
to his victim(s) according to
God’s law. The law would be enforced
by every free male that is of age.
Concerning each man’s part in the
community, Peter wrote:
8. For if these things be in you, and
abound, they make you that ye
shall neither be barren nor unfruitful
in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
9. But he that lacketh these things is
blind, and cannot see afar off, and
hath forgotten that he was purged
from his old sins.
10. Wherefore the rather, brethren,
give diligence to make your calling
and election sure: for if ye do these
things, ye shall never fall:
11. For so an entrance shall be
ministered unto you abundantly
into the eonian kingdom (the reign)
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.
II Peter 1:8-11
Remember, “ecclesia” means “the
called out (elected ones),” meaning those
who are called out from the Babylonian
religious/political system. The word
shallow ideas can be assimilated.
Ideas that require people to
reorganize their view of the world
provoke hostility.
“I know that most men, including those
at ease with problems of the greatest
complexity, can seldom accept even the
simplest and most obvious truth if it be
such as would oblige them to admit the
falsity of conclusions which they have
delighted in explaining to colleagues,
which they proudly taught to others, and
which they have woven, thread by
thread, into the fabric of their lives.”
–Tolstoy
ECCPT1#2
“election” has the same root as the word
“ecclesia.” “The election,” “the
ecclesia,” “the called-out ones” – all
come from the same root. The Bible
says that we, as members of our ecclesia
communities, are to make our “calling”
and our “election” sure.
But, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
I have more to share with you on
this subject. The scriptures are clear on
this subject. It is the key that opens up
the New Testament.
It is time that we begin to live as
ecclesians and rise above our past entanglements
with churches and their
Jewish doctrines and polity. Christianity
is designed to be a way of life – not a
religious ritual. Christ’s Body is manifest
in the community with all its civil
members – NOT a church organization!
We need open light and liberty – not
hierarchical mystery and darkness!