WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA?PART 2

WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? AMERICAN CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES • POST 8 OFFICE BOX 740 • GRANGEVILLE, IDAHO 83530
What Is The Ecclesia? (Part 2)
Is It A Churc h? Is It A Cult? Is It Importan t?
by Ben Williams
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN • WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? • SPECIAL ISSUE 9
Preachers are actors. The Charismatic
Movement has helped to produce
a flood of them. Churchgoers have come
to expect nothing more than emotion
and stage performance from churches.
They are satis fied by entertainment,
excitement, or scandal. They do NOT
expect to be taught! They only want to
sit and observe.
Churches have produced nothing
practical. Churchgoers expect nothing
pr ac ti ca l from ch ur ch es . In de ed ,
churches have achieved their goal — to
neutralize Christians!
CHURCHES = SUBTERFUGE
A “church” is NOT an “ecclesia” —
as the English versions of the Bible attempt
to say. The churches won’t admit
it, however. They prefer to just ignore
the two words and avoid bringing
any attention to them. Churchgoers get
caught up in playing the game of church
which dissipates and neutralizes them
through useless ritua ls and countless
activities like the ones illustrated on our
cover. Every week they repeat the ritual,
feeling holy, never questioning anything,
never discovering any more than they
are programmed to know. The game
captures and holds them in its sticky web
of unity, herd pressure (pressure to conform),
and superstition (fear of the unknown).
They become slavish addicts
who don’t dare step out of line for fear
of getting kicked out of the church herd
(excommunication).
Ecclesias are different in important
ways. Understanding these differences
causes a profound change in your understanding
of the Bible and your grasp
of the gospel of the kingdom.
Getting a grasp of this important
word may not be easy. Some commentaries
prove to be little or no help because
they condescend to the churches
in equating “ecclesia” with “church.”
Obvious differences are glossed over.
In part one of this study, we defined
“ecclesia.” It is a Greek New Testament
word meaning THE CALLED-OUT
(ONES); THE CHOSEN; THE ELECT
— [EK = out; from; KALEO = call].
The word “church,” as it appears
in the English versions of The New Testament,
is wrong. It gives a wrong impression.
Nonetheless, “church” was
used by the King James translators to
replace “ecclesia.” In every single case
in the New Testament, “church” is the
wrong word.
Some of the earliest English transla
to rs chose not to use the word
“church” to translate “ecclesia” into
English. Rather, they kept “ecclesia,” or
else they used the English word “congregation.”
The word “church,” was
later used to replace “ecclesia” for the
purpose of justifying a different institution.
By 1611 (when the King James
Version was published) the translators,
and their public, had obviously become
comfortable with the other institution—
and the other word: “church.”
The “church” is a distinct religious
system created to propagate religion and
superstition under the guidance of the
State. It does not fit the description of
an ECCLESIA. An ecclesia is a political
body of Christians, under Christ. It is
“...the house (i.e. domain) of God,
which is the ECCLESIA of the
Living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth.”
I Timothy 3:15
Churches are proving grounds for re
ligious tricksters, con artists and
politicians. Churches thrive on greed
and superstition. They prey upon the
gullib le. CHURCH IS THE GREAT
AMERICAN IDOL, AND CHURCHGOERS
ARE IDOLATERS.
Some of us have suspected for a
long time that something was terribly
wrong with the church system. Now I
understand why I felt uneasy about it.
The answer has to do with the word
“church” itself. “Church” is the English
word used (by the churches) to replace
the Greek word “ECCLESIA,” in the
Bible. But, “ecclesia” means something
altogether dif feren t than “church.”
Somewhere, somehow, the wrong word
was inserted and the right word was discarded
– hid and ignored.
Why was this done? How long has
this error been with us? The answer is a
study in logic and history.
THE PERVERSION BECAME
THE NORM
The error has been with us long
enough to spawn an entire culture.
Modern Churchdom (not Christendom)
is the product of this perversion.
Churches are natural outgrowths of
a perverted society. They answer the
needs of perverted people. On one
hand, they facilitate superstitious, childish
people... and on the other hand, they
facilitate con men who want to exploit
the market.
The typical preacher is nothing
more than a salesman taking advantage
of weak-minded people. Preachers are
usually motivated by their own self-centered
greed. Churches serve the preachers
by providing a forum for their childish
ambitions. I’ve personally been associated
with many preachers. I understand
them better than most. With few
exceptions, they are religious con men,
working angles to gain recognition and
money.
THE DOG AND PONY
SHOW
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free, self-governing, and is made up of
families and communities working together
under the Reign of Christ—otherwise
called “the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The 1st-century Christians quickly
learned that they had to get away from
the churches (also called synagogues)
because they stifled truth and freedom.
They left the churches/synagogues to
the Judaiz er s, and began forming
ecclesias (wrongly called “churches” by
the KJV translators). All that exciting
act ivi ty in the New Testament was
“ecclesia activity” — not “church activity.”
Its purpose and impact was quite
different from the false scenario painted
by the churches. The excitement was
not over a new church, but a new government.
The apostles and disciples were
“called out” of the Roman/Jewish synagogue/
church systems and brought back
to the real world. In this process,
ECCLESIAS (i.e., independent Christian
communities) were formed. This was
also called “coming out of Babylon.”
RELIGION? ... OR
KINGDOM?
The key to beginning to understand
the difference between “a church” and
“an ecclesia” is this: one has to do with
religion, and the other has to do with
government. Christ didn’t set up a new
religion! He set up a kingdom government!
Thus, Christ’s government system
was immediately at war with the
government systems of the world (i.e.,
the dragon of Revelation).
Jesus called his followers to withdraw
themselves from the Roman/Jewish
political systems (i.e., the beast system).
He called them to form their own
independent political systems based
upon God’s law and the patriarchal,
family-type system which is God’s true
plan for civil government among men.
Does this ecclesia system of government
re late to us today? Well , as
Solomon said, “There is nothing new
under the sun.” The problems have not
changed all that much. Man’s tendency
toward slavery is still a fact. Central governments
are still basically the same in
our day as they were in the first century.
Central government is the proverbial
Babylonian beast system, and we
are still being “called out” of Babylon.
We are still commanded to withdraw
ourselves from the beast system.
But, the process is not easy, nor is
it as quick as we would like. It requires a
change in the public perspective. It requires
that people lose their love of Babylon.
As we begin to develop bona fide
ECCLESIAS around the country, we will
cause people to become more and
more withdrawn and independent from
the central government system of Babylon
(Bush’s New World Order). We will
become less and less enslaved to it. But
the first, and perhaps most important
(and difficult), step is to convince people
that they do not need “Big Brother.”
The old brainwash of, “the Constitution
is good, but the politicians are
bad,” MUST BE ABANDONED! The
Constitution is what empowers the politicians
to do what they do. The Constitution
created a bad government. It’s
time the true patriots admit it, and stop
their tacit support of the Beast that they
otherwise profess to hate. Christ said,
YOU CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS!
Paul said, YOU CANNOT SIT
AT THE TABLE OF DEVILS AND THE
TABLE OF GOD AT THE SAME TIME.
Following Gideon’s example, we must
throw down our idols (i.e., our worship
of central government) and reform ourselves
and our families, – and thus, our
communiti es, into free civ il bodies .
These individual, independent communities
of free Christians are what the
Greek Scriptures call “ECCLESIAS.”
The obvious truth of it is compelling.
You cannot avoid it. The Beast
System – designed by man and controlled
by man (like the US Government)
– are all failures and are destined to incur
hatred and wrath.
2. ...Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen...
4. ...Come out of her, my people, that
you be not partakers of her sins,
and that you receive not of her
plagues.
6. Reward her even as she rewarded
you, and double unto her double
according to her works: in the cup
which she has filled, fill to her
double.
Revelation 18:2-6
Centra lized (collecti vist) gover nments
are evil, corrupt, and destructive.
They are designed only to enslave the
masses under myriads of edicts, ordinances,
codes, licenses, fees, and taxes
invented by grasping, greedy men.
So, those of you who still cling to a
hope that central government can save
you – guess again. You will eventually
be forced to abandon that false hope
and turn and look to Jesus for your leadership.
This change of vision – from believing
in man, to believing in Christ – is
the change that gives us the capability
to “see the Kingdom of God.” In John
3:3, Jesus says, “Except a man be born
from above, he cannot see the kingdom
of God.”
Once we see that Christ is our reigning
king, we can no longer support the
lawless systems of man which operate
upon the principle of “milk the public
for all it’s worth, and destroy all opposition.”
...your adversary the devil (central
government), as a roaring lion, walks
about seeking whom he may devour;
Whom resist steadfast in the faith... (1
Peter 5:8-9)
TEAR DOWN AND DON’T
REBUILD
The concept of Christ’s reign, and
the ecclesia system, is not easily grasped
by people who have lived most of their
lives brainwashed to follow the churches’
propaganda. It’s not that truth is elusive.
Rather, people just have a hard
time letting go of the delusion. But, they
must let go!
The process of changing one’s mind
about central government usually precipitates
many questions. HOW DOES
CHURCH
Anyone may be excused for being a
bit confused about the meaning of the
word “church”; we use the word in so
many ways. It means a particular
building (e.g., “the church on fourth
street”), a denomination or organized
faith (e.g., the Reformed Church in
America), and even a Sunday meeting
(e.g., “Did you go to church today?”).
None of these uses is particularly
biblical. The church ( ecclesia) is a
basic NT theme, and we need to
understand this meaning-filled word in
its biblical sense.
In Greek culture, an ekklesia was a
political assembly. By the fifth century
B.C. ekklesia had come to mean an
official gathering of the full citizens of
a Greek city-state (polis) who were
called together to make political and
judicial decisions.The Greeks never
used ekklesia to refer to religious
fellowships.
Expository Dictionary Of Bible Words,
Zondervan Publishing House
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN • WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? • SPECIAL ISSUE 11
AN ECCLESIA WORK? WHAT IS ITS
STRUCTURE? HOW, EXACTLY, IS IT
DIFFERENT FROM CENTRALIZED
GOVERNMENT?
First, an admission. I am an iconoclast
by definition. An iconoclast is a
person who tears down icons. Icons are
relics of worship; sacred cows, as it
were, held in reverence by religion and
religious people.An icon can be any sort
of idol: a statue, a picture, a stained glass
window in a church, a doctrine, an organization,
a preacher, a government –
or anything that is idolized and worshipped.
People love icons. I tear them down.
And, in doing so, I make people mad at
me. I incur the wrath of those who love
their icons (idols). But this is what I am
called to do. This is what I do best.
CHURCH is an icon/idol. So is
CENTRALGOVERNMENT. I’m tearing
these idols down in the minds of Christians.
I’m causing Christians to lose their
reverence for them. As central government
and the church system are dethroned
in your mind, you find yourself
thinking like a free man. Next you start
acting like a free man. You suddenly
realize that, up till now, you had never
really understood the meaning of freedom.
The feeling is wonderful! As the
Psalmist said, “Truly the light is sweet!”
BUT, the first steps can be bitter. People
tend to get upset with me for belittling
their cherished icons.
Church is an icon that must be
thrown down. However, it is only a diversionary
tool designed to keep slaves
from discovering the true nature of central
government. Central government is
the thing that has usurped the ecclesia
of God. “Church” is only subterfuge.
The direct problem is central government.
Central government uses the
church system to help keep it camouflaged.
“Church” is the front man for
the big criminals.
Slavery minded people are quick to
object to this. It takes time for their slavery
mentality to wear down. We must
not get discouraged by objections from
new-comers. One of the objections I
often hear from new-comers is: “Well,
you can’t just tear down our present
government without replacing it with
something. It is easy to tear down, but
what do you propose to build in its
place?”
Have you heard that one? It almost
sounds sensible. But, the fact is, it simply
doesn’t apply to the subject of central
government. When the Beast (central
government) falls, should we replace
it? I say no! Our ancestors failed to escape
the Beast System because as one
central government fell, they replaced
it with another, and another, and another.
And, I submit that they replaced
one failure with another failure worse
than the previous one.
The menace was not removed in the
past because, as one demon was cast
out, another greater demon was being
ushered in to take its place. It is like a
person saying “We need to get rid of
the prisons in our land.” and another
person replying, “Well, we can’t just tear
down the prisons without replacingthem
with something!” Do you see the point?
A prison is a prison – and prisons are
bad. There are no good prisons. Why
replace a prison system with another
prison system when prisons are condemned
by God?
When you cut out cancer, you don’t
replace it with something similar – as if
the cancer had been filling a needed
position. It is easy to see that prisons
are evil and, therefore, when we tear
them down we don’t need to replace
them. Rather, we need to tear them
down and abandon the whole concept.
The same is true with central government.
We not only have the wrong
form of government ... we have about
one million times too much of it. Our
present government is not only evil, it
is overgrown, abusive and top-heavy. It
invades, and pervades, every nook and
cranny in every business and home. It
must be torn down and NOT replaced!
It must be eliminated! We need some
breathing room!
Understand that an ecclesia is NOT
a replacement for central government.
Rather, it is an alternative. I am NOT
proposing that we REPLACE central
government with ecclesiastical government.
I’m proposing that we switch from
slavery to freedom. I’m saying that we
don’t need a hoard of bureaucrats to
control our lives for us. We don’t need
corporate national government to control
the states. We don’t need corporate
state government to control the
counti es. We don’t need corporate
county government to control the cities.
We don’t need corporate city government
to control businesses and citizens.
We don’t need corporate federal
and state banks to control our money.
We don’t need corporate state schools
to train our children. We don’t need
corporate central government on every
level. We don’t need the gigantic leviathan
beast plundering us. We don’t need
the beast in every station of our lives.
We don’t need the beast that appears
(claims to be) gentle like a lamb but
speaks (rules) like the old dragon.
11. And I beheld another beast
coming up out of the earth; and he
had two horns like a lamb, and he
spoke as a dragon.
12. And he exercises all the power of
the first beast before him, and
causes the earth and them which
dwell therein to worship the first
beast, whose deadly wound was
healed.
13. And he doeth great wonders...
14. And deceives them that dwell on
the earth...
15. And he had power...
16. And he causes all, both small and
AMERICAN CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES • POST 12 OFFICE BOX 740 • GRANGEVILLE, IDAHO 83530
great, rich and poor, free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right
hand, or in their foreheads:
17. And that no man might buy or sell
save he that had the mark...
Revelation 13:11-17
8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil (central government),
as a roaring lion walks
about seeking whom he may
devour;
9. Whom resist steadfast in the
faith...
1 Peter 5:8-9
15. As a roaring lion, and a ranging
bear; so is a wicked ruler over the
poor people.
Proverbs 28:15
24. Thou art the land that is not
cleansed, nor rained upon in the
day of indignation.
25. There is a conspiracy of her
prophets in the midst thereof, like a
roaring lion ravening the prey; they
have devoured souls; they have
taken the treasure and precious
things; they have made her many
widows in the midst thereof.
26. Her princes in the midst thereof
are like wolves ravening the prey,
to shed blood, and to destroy
souls, to get dishonest gain.
27. And her prophets have daubed
them with untempered mortar,
seeing vanity, and divining lies unto
them, saying, Thus says the Lord
God, when the Lord hath not
spoken.
28. The people of the land have used
oppression, and exercised robbery,
and have vexed the poor and
needy: yea, they have oppressed
the stranger wrongfully.
29. And I sought for a man among
them that should make up the
hedge, and stand in the gap before
me for the land, that I should not
destroy it: but I found none.
30. Therefore have I poured out mine
indignation upon them; I have
consumed them with the fire of my
wrath: their own way have I
recompensed upon their heads,
says the Lord God.
(Ezekiel 22:24-31)
Thus, Scripture describes the plunder
and destruction caused by central
government in a land. By the same token,
it also warns us of the added judgment
from God that falls upon our land
if we tolerate criminal government.
I am proposing that we drop central
government – cut it off at the roots
and let it die on the vine. It is parasitic
and cannot survive on its own, without
a host. All we have to do is stop volunteering
to be its host. Stop donating our
blood to feed it. We must stop underwriting
the destroyers. We must start
developing independent Christian families
and communities.
Public dependence upon the beast
in Washington D.C. has been a grave
error. Central government sucks our
blood and tells us it is good for us. We
outgrew our supposed dependence on
leeches in medicine – why can’t we outgrow
them in government? Why have
we been so gullible? Must we, like lemmings,
never question the worn path
which leads us over the cliffs? Must we,
like ignorant, indulgent parents raising
a spoiled child, support a government
whose purpose is to harvest us like a
crop of wheat, or milk us like a herd of
cattle? Let it suck its own blood, instead
of ours, and see how long it survives.
Let the bloodsuckers get a real job, or
die of starvation! And, if they refuse, let
them know that we will not willingly and
blindly support them ever again!
Why replace that which we don’t
need? Central government is our greatest
enemy. Anyone who says we must
replace it is either a fool or an enemy.
WHY FREEDOM SURVIVES
IN ECCLESIAS
Ecclesias are the natural, healthy
form of community for man. It is not
just another form of control. It is not a
church. It is freedom and independence
at the local level.
But, someone may say, “Ecclesiastical
government is defined in the law
dictionaries as a type of centralized government
for churches.” And, that is true.
Law dictionaries define “ecclesiastical”
from the viewpoint of the churches.
Churches have used the term wrongly
and the courts have upheld the lie for
obvious reasons.
A Christian ecclesia is built upon the
pri nci ple of INDEPENDENT SELFGOVERNMENT
UNDER CHRIST (independent
from men – not independent
from Christ). As a family unit works (independently
and with the husband as
its head) so an ecclesia works on a larger
scale (with Christ as its head). This wellknown
form of government was more
common in the past. It was called a
PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY. This civil association
(co-op) is the type we find in
the book of Judges when God was king
in Israel, and there were no human kings
ruling over them. Each individual, and
each family, were free, and personally
responsible, to do what they believed to
be right (Judges 21:25). Their leadership
was from the patriarch and judges.
God was the only Lawgiver as well as
the ultimate Judge. There was no central
government to tell them what to do,
and there was no church system to block
their thinking ability.
A patriarch is the leader of a
large family – by extension, a clan or
tribe. A clan, or tribe, may be large
enough to occupy a whole community.
When Joshua took the children of
Israel into the promised land it was divided
into 12 large parcels and apportioned
among the 12 clans (the families
of the 12 sons of Jacob).Each clan (tribe)
was its own community, and it was apportioned
land for inheritance. Each
tribe, with its land parcel, was led by its
own recognized patriarchs and judges.
The patriarchs and judges were also the
ones who periodically met, in Jerusalem,
with the patriarchs and judges of
the other tribes. There, they worked out
plans of cooperation with regard to na-
CHURCH
The English word “church” is
derived from the Gk. kyriakos (as in
kyriakon doma or kyriake oikia,
meaning “the Lord’s house,” i.e., a
place of worship).
“Church” in the N.T., however,
comes from Gk. ekklesia ...
Although we often speak of these
congregations collectively as “the
N.T. church” or “the early church,” no
N.T. writer uses ekklesia in this way.
An ekklesia was a meeting or
assembly. Its most common use was
for the public assembly of citizens
duly summoned, which was a feature
of all the cities outside Judæa where
the gospel was planted (e.g. Acts
19:39); ekklesia was also used
among the Jews (LXX) for the
“congregation” of Israel which was
constituted at Sinai and assembled
before the Lord at the annual feasts
in the persons of its representative
males (Acts 7:38)
New Bible Dictionary
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN • WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? • SPECIAL ISSUE 13
tional affairs. The clans were bound by
common need and goodwill – NOT by
enforcement from a central government
with a central army of mercenary thugs
(police, central intelligence agencies,
central taxing agencies, etc.).
The following quote illustrates the
implied method of law enforcement in
an ecclesia:
The term “church” was of later usage
and not known in the early days. “Eta” in
Aramaic means “group, or congregation,
composed of elders and town counselors
who generally arbitrate disputes and
settle quarrels, and pass judgment on
legal matters.”
Nomads, as well as inhabitants in
small country places, are governed by a
group of elders selected from among
themselves. These elders are also
members of the chief’s cabinet who
advise on tribal matters. They sit in
judgment and pronounce sentences of
punishment.
When peaceful means fail to bring
settlement between the parties involved,
the case is brought before one or two of
the Elders, and when the guilty is
discovered, he is admonished and
chastised or punished.
In the wilderness, Moses selected a
group of elders to act as judges, but
important cases were submitted to him
as chief justice (Exodus 19:25;
Deuteronomy 22:18). This custom still
prevails in many Eastern countries
where the Patriarch acts as chief justice,
and the bishops and ministers are the
judges. Smaller cases are arbitrated by
lay members.
Gospel Light – from Aramaic on The
Teachings of Jesus, by George Lamsa
The patriarchs and judges were
NOT RULERS! They were businessmen
and statesmen. They were farmers and
fathers. They were community leaders.
They were not RULERS! The people
were free, and they gave their support
freely – as it was deserved. By the same
token, they freely withdrew their support
when a particular leader proved
untrustworthy. No central enforcement
agency came to their doors with weapons
to force them to pay taxes and register
their spears and their children.
Tithes were given freely. They were
not TAXED! Central governments tax!
Free societies TITHE to support their
leaders. There is a great difference. A
tax is mandatory; a tithe is voluntary.
Malachi refe rs to the voluntary-tithe
form of government:
8. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have
robbed me. But ye say, Wherein
have we robbed thee? in tithes and
offerings.
9. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye
have robbed me, even this whole
nation.
10. Bring ye all the tithes into the
storehouse, that there may be
meat in mine house, and prove me
now herewith, says the Lord of
hosts, if I will not open you the
windows of heaven, and pour you
out a blessing, that there shall not
be room enough to receive it.
11. And I will rebuke the devourer
(central government) for your
sakes, and he shall not destroy the
fruits of your ground: neither shall
you vine cast her fruit before the
time in the field, saith the Lord of
hosts.
12. And all nations shall call you
blessed: for you shall be a delightsome
land, says the Lord of hosts.”
Malachi 3:8-12
As this scripture plainly shows, the
tithe is for the land; the nation. It is certainly
NOT talking about sending money
to a church organization! But preachers
use this scripture to threaten and
shame you into givingthem your money.
Here, again, the churches have misconstrued
and misused scripture. This tithe
is not for churches; not for temples; not
for evangelists; not for TV ministries and
saving souls from hell. It is for upholding
the individual’s rights under the law
of God and for upholding the sacredness
of the family unit, the clan, the
lands and the nations – and to insure
that we have righteous leaders who protect
the land, and don’t plunder the
people. This is the patriarchal form of
government.
In the New Testament scriptures,
this form of society is called “the
ecclesia.” It simply means THE BODY
OF CALLED-OUT CHRISTIANS. It
works the same as the Israelite tribes,
or clans, worked in old Israel. They were
called out of Egypt to form free families
and communities within a free land. The
1st-century Christians, by the same token,
were called out of the Roman system.
We, today, are still being called out
of the One-World beast system to form
our own ecclesias (politically-independent,
patriarchal-type communities under
the reign of Christ).
CLEARING THE
SUBTERFUGE
If this is true, and the ecclesia is
actually a form of civi l government
rather than a church, then it would explain
some things. For instance:
a) It would explain why national rulers
put so much emphasis upon SEPARATION
OF CHURCH AND STATE.
The powers of the state must remain
superior over the church, and the Bible
(God’s law) must be kept a safe distance
from government.
b) It would explain why the rulers
of the first century hated Jesus and his
disciples. Jesus preached liberty, which
was tantamount to a declaration of war
against central government.He declared
war on legalized slavery. Jesus stated His
mission publicly, and one of His goals
was to “SET THE CAPTIVES FREE”!
Not just the captives in the jails of the
central governments, but also (and especially)
those held mentally captive by
the brainwashing from central government
and churches.
c) It would explain why central-government
rulers murdered Jesus and His
apostles. They were only doing what
central-government rulers must do: GET
CONTROL, HOLD ON TO IT AT ALL
COSTS, AND GET RID OF ANYONE
WHO POSES A THREAT TO THAT
CONTROL. CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS
ARE CONCERNED WITH
ONE THING ONLY: THEIR OWN
SELF-PRESERVATION!
d) And, it would explain the strange
beast of Revela tion 12 & 13. This
dragon hated the “manchild,” that was
about to be born. He fully intended to
destroy the child.
This MANCHILD symbolized government
by God, as manifested through
Christ (i.e. the ecclesia). The DRAGON
symbolized central government by man.
In chapter 12, verse 5, we are told
that the ecclesia (MANCHILD) was to
“SHEPHERD the nations with a staff of
iron.” Christ’s kingdom government (the
ecclesia) presented a great threat to
dragon government. So, the dragon,
being a beast of prey, simply tried to do
what it had to do to survive: he tried to
des troy the compet ition – i.e ., the
ecclesia. But, the last part of verse 5
tells us that the ecclesia (Christ and his
system of government) was “caught
away unto God’s throne.” In other
words, Christ’s government became inAMERICAN
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vulnerable!
Even so, this beast system wasn’t just
any ordinary dragon government. It was
portrayed as a CORPORATE beast –
with several heads. In Revelation 17:18,
this corporate beast is shownalso to have
one supreme ruler over all the heads. It
says that“THEWOMAN” (Babylon) rules
over the kings of the earth (i.e., she rules
over the heads of the dragon). Back in
chapter 13, we are warned that this
beast was disguised to appear as a lamb.
But, it spoke with the voice of the old
dragon. In other words, this new form
of government was not really new after
all. It was only disguised to appear as if
it were new. It was simply the old dragon
government with a new twist.
The symbolism portrayed by this infamous
beast perfectly fits the central
gover nment of the United States. It
holds itself out to be a lamb, but its actions
are those of the old dragon government
of Rome, Europe, etc. It claims
to be good, but its works are cruel and
destructive. It speaks of liberty, but it
enslaves. It speaks of justice, but it is
wholly unjust. It speaks of rights, but
demands licenses and fees. It claims to
represent “we the people,” but in truth
it only watches out for itself.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
The answer is clear. We must remove
ourselves as far as possible from
the beast. How far can we remove ourselves
from it? Well, it depends upon
our individual circumstances and how
things develop. At the very least we can
withdraw our loyalties. We can certainly
remove any and all feelings of dependency
upon the beast. In most cases,
we can also extract ourselves out of debt
to the beast’s usury-banking system by
simply stopping our practice of borrowing
from them at usury. This would include
throwingaway our credit cards and
monthly credit accounts, and start dealing
in cash only. If we refrain from
spending that which we do not yet have,
we will keep ourselves out of debt, and
that will eventually show us the way out
of slavery altogether.
Next, we should begin interpreting
the political events in our nation, and in
the world, as they really are – instead of
accepting them as the media and politicians
portray them. We should begin to
recognize the criminal motives of central
government. It is nothing more than
organized crime. It certainly is NOT a
benevolent institution for the good of
the people. We should educate our families
to see the truth of the political events
near us and around the world. And, if
our children will do the same in each
succeeding generation, truth and freedom
will grow exponentially. Thus, the
numbers of people who can SEE THE
KINGDOM will grow with each succeeding
generation. And, each generation
will reach millions of others who will
come to see the light. Eventually, the
beast will starve and die!
This we will do by starting right now
with our own families! Our families will
grow into communities. And our communities
will populate the land.
How, you may ask, will we prevent
central government from encroaching
again upon our communities? The answer
is rather simple once you grasp it.
We simply apply the law of Yahweh
which commands us to prohibit the establishment
of other gods (i.e. law systems)
in our land. “Other gods” is a Bible
term meaning “other governments.” To
prevent central government in our land,
all we need to do is obey God’s law
which forbids any form of monopolization,
centralization, state corporation,
state licensing, standing armies (i.e., policemen)
and any other tool of central
control. Central government is the Babylonian
model of government! It is organized
crime! It is plunder. God’s law forbids
it. To guard against it, we only have
to remember God’s law and refuse to
accept any form of central rulership
among men.
The answer for establishing godly
government is ... QUIT SEEKING A
GOVERNMENT OF MEN. Stop lusting
after a system which centralizes and
amasses power. We (and our European
and English ancestors) have had it all
backwards up to now. We were brainwashed
into thinking that freedom depended
upon having a large central system
of government. But, the truth is,
freedom depends just the opposite.
Each individual needs to be responsible
for defening his own rights and liberty.
He can’t hire mercenaries to do it
for him. Mercenaries, in the end, take
over the land.
How will we punish crime, you may
ask? Who will enforce the law? Again,
the answer is so simple we generally
overlook it. Many prefer to overlook the
answer because they shun responsibility.
True freedom scares them. But the
answer is obvious.
Crime (i.e., sin) among men is the
act of harming someone. Crime is committed
against INDIVIDUALS. Crime
cannot be committed against “a state”
or “a nation” unless it harms at least
one indi vidual within that “sta te .”
Courts, today, claim to prosecute people
for “crimes against the nation,” or “the
state.” However, most prosecutions are
for victimless crimes where the state
cannot produce an individual victim of
the alleged crime. The question we’ve
been asking for a long time is simply
this: how can “the state” be damaged
without a single individual being damaged?
That would be like accusing someone
of damaging your body without injuring
any of the cells.
Thus, in trials where the state is the
plaintiff, the defendant is denied the
right to face his victim – because there
is none. No one was damaged! The
court system is 100% heathen and unjust.
It is tyranny, pure and simple.
In order for a real crime to have
happened, it must be traced to at least
one real victim. The accusation itself
must be made by the damaged victim
himself. It is the victim’s right to accuse
his attacker. It is not the duty of the state
to do it for him – as the courts claim
today!
The individual, himself, must defend
himself from harm with all means available
to him. And, when a crime has been
committed, and an individual has been
damaged, he must prove it in a court of
law. Then he, himself, must enforce the
punishment upon the defendant. The
court will verify that he has the authority
to enforce the punishment – but the
court can’t enforce it for him.
EKKLESIA (ekklhsia), from ek,
out of, and klesis, a calling (kaleo
to call), was used among the
Greeks of a body of citizens
gathered to discuss the affairs of
State (Acts 19:39). In the
Septuagint it was used to designate
the gathering of Israel,
summoned for any definite purpose,
or a gathering regarded as
representative of the whole nation.
(Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words, W.E. Vine,
Zondervan Publishing)
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN • WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? • SPECIAL ISSUE 15
“BUT THAT WOULD BE TAKING
THE LAW INTO YOUR OWN
HANDS!” you say. That is absolutely
correct! Gods laws are designed for the
individual. In fact, the individual is truly
the ONLY one that can protect himself
from damage. Police, even if the y
wanted to, cannot prevent crime – any
more than a fireman can prevent fires.
However, a sawed-off shotgun, or a 45
caliber pistol in the hand of a would-be
victim, stops crime very effectively. It
works without fail. Crime is committed
by bullies and thieves. Bullies and thieves
succeed only when their victims are unable
to protect themselves or their proper
ty . Howeve r, ev en a 90-p ou nd
grandma can squeeze the trigger of a
gun that can stop a bully. It has been
said that “God created all men, but Samuel
Colt made them equal.”
Freedom requires the ability to defend
yourself against those who would
take freedom from you. For that reason,
in a free land, there can be no
monopolies on law enforcement. Each
person must enforce the law. Godly
courts (judges) can interpret the law, but
only individuals should enforce it.
When people defend themselves,
police and central government lose business.
This they do not like! For that reason,
Americans are programmed daily
to NOT TAKE THE LAW INTO OUR
OWNHANDS!After all, the bureaucrats
need something to do. They want you
to call the police and beg them to protect
you. Then they want you to send a
few reams of typewritten paper through
their offices begging the courts for justice
– something they know nothing of.
This gives them the appearance of doing
something useful. This illusion is necessary
if they are to keep collecting taxes
for their plush salaries and retirements,
and funding with which they hire lawyers
and judges to entrap and prosecute
you, and hire police thugs to beat you
up.
Most patri ots still think they are
fighting Russians, as if the Russians were
some kind of an immediate threat to our
way of life. What nonsense! I’ve lived
over 40 years in America and have yet
to receive any noticeable damage from
a Russian. However, our “capitalistic”
central government has damaged me
greatly – and continues daily. It steals
from me; it oppresses me; it lies to me;
it gives away my inheritance to foreigners;
it brings other gods into my community;
it enslaves my children. I am
damaged in more ways than I can list
by the American dragon power. My
worst enemy is not in Moscow – it is in
Washington D.C.!
Moscow has served as a straw-man;
a diversion; subterfuge to divert our eyes
off our real enemies in Washington D.C.
PATRIARCHAL
GOVERNMENT
Godly government (Christian Self-
Discipline) is quite different from central
government. Detractors try to say
that self government cannot work. They
say it is insufficient by itself to keep order
in a land. But, the Bible says otherwise.
Logic says otherwise. Liberty demands
otherwise!
The New Testament provides the
following list of tit les for leaders in
ecclesias. Remember these are NOT
offices on a church board. Jesus’ kingdom
is concerned with freedom in government
and not with playing the useless
game of church!
1. ELDER – [Gk. presbuteros] older
man; someone with experience and
wisdom (like a patriarch).
1. Rebuke not an elder, but entreat
him as a father; and the younger
men as brethren.
1 Timothy 5:1
(“presbytery” = body of elders - 1 Tim.
4:14)
5. For this cause I left you in Crete,
that you should set in order the
things that are wanting, and establish
elders in each body politic (Gk
“polis” = “body politic” [i.e., the civil
body; an ecclesia]).
Titus 1:5
23. And when they had appointed
them elders in each ecclesia, and
had prayed with fasting, they
commended them to the Lord, on
whom they believed.
Acts 14:23
2. OVERSEER – [BISHOP; Gk.
episkopos] – EPI (over) + SKOPOS
(sight) = overseer; adminis trator; (a
judge).
1. ...If a man desires the overseership,
he desires a good work. An
overseer then must be blameless,
the husband of one wife, diligent,
sober, of good behaviour, ...
1 Timothy 3:1-7
7. For an overseer must be blameless,
as the steward of God; not
self-pleasing, not soon angry, not
given to wine, no striker, not given
to filthy lucre; ...
Titus 1:7
[Overseers (judges) were picked
from among the elders (patriarchs) of
each ecclesia. Paul charges the overseers
to protect the people against the
“devil” of central government.]
1. The elders which are among you I
exhort, who am also an elder, and
a witness of the sufferings of
Christ, and also a partaker of the
glory that shall be revealed:
2. Feed the flock of God which is
among you, taking the oversight
thereof, not by constraint, but
willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a
ready mind;
3. Neither as being lords over God’s
heritage, but being ensamples to
the flock.
1 Peter 5:1-3
3. MINISTER – [GK. DIAKONOS]
one who runs errands, a minister; a servant
[erroneously transliterated “deacon,”
by churches, as an office of the
church]. Ministers should serve essentially
the same function as the ancient
Levites.
8. Ministers (deacons) must likewise
be serious, not double-tongued,
EC-CLE-SI´-A, n.; [L. ecclesia;
Gr. ekklesia, an assembly of the
people, from ekkletos, summoned;
ekkaleom, to summon,
call out.]
1. The political assembly in the
ancient Greek states, at which
all free citizens could vote.
2. The early Greek and Latin
name for the church; a congregation
(This secondary definition
reflects its subsequent
incorrect adaptation to the
churches).
(Webster’s New Twentieth Century
Dictionary, 1957)
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not given to much wine, not greedy
of wrongful gain.
9. Holding the mystery of the faith in a
pure conscience.
10. And let these also first be proved;
then let them serve, being unaccusable.
12. Let the ministers be husbands of
one wife, with upstanding children
in their own houses as well.
13. For they that minister well acquire
good to themselves and much
testimony in faith which is in Christ
Jesus.
1 Timothy 3:8-13
Timothy confirms that this lesson
in government is about the ecclesia:
14. These things I am writing to you,
hoping to come to you quickly.
15. But, in the event that I am slow, (I
write this) in order that you may
know how to conduct yourself in
the house (i.e., kingdom) of god,
which is the ecclesia of the living
god, and pillar and ground of truth.
1 Timothy 3:14-15
I have likened Christ’s ecclesia form
of government to the patriarchal-type
government we read about in the Old
Scriptures. Each tribe (clan) was independent.
This idea shouldn’t be so foreign
to us. Our Scottish cousins and ancestors
have carried on the tradition of
patriarchs and clans up to the present
day – albeit, since Britain annexed Scotland
into the United Kingdom, much of
the Scottish heritage has been lost –
along with their ecclesia clans.
But let me show you an example of
an ecclesia at work. This example is
actually a patriarchal clan:
11. And they (an invading army under
four kings: Chedorlaomer, Tidal,
Amraphel, and Arioch) took all the
goods of Sodom and Gomorrah,
and all their victuals, and went their
way.
12. And they took Lot, Abram’s
brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom,
and his goods, and departed.
13. And there came one that had
escaped, and told Abram the
Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of
Mamre the Amorite, brother of
Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and
these were confederate (had
agreed to cooperate) with Abram.
14. And when Abram heard that his
brother was taken captive, he
armed his trained servants, born in
his own house, three hundred and
eighteen, and pursued them unto
Dan.
15. And he divided himself against
them, he and his servants, by
night, and smote them, and
pursued them unto Hobah, which is
on the left hand of Damascus.
16. And he brought back all the
goods, and also brought again his
brother Lot, and his goods, and the
women also, and the people.
Genesis 14:11-16
Abram’s clan didn’t ask for government
authorization, or a permit, before
taking care of the problem.Abram didn’t
expect the local police to enforce the
law for him. He didn’t ask permission
to defend his family. He just did it! He
and his own family enforced the law and
defended themselves. Abram, the patriarch,
took the law into his own hands
and did what was right. This is the ecclesian
way.
PLAYGROUNDS: TRAINING
FOR SLAVERY
In forming ecclesias in our land, our
biggest task will NOT be in organizing
and institutionalizing. Rather, it will be
in DE-ORGANIZING and DE-INSTITUTIONALIZING!
Americans are programmed,
organized, institutionalized,
and herded around, from one game to
another, until they don’t know what’s
happening. They wouldn’t know how to
act if they didn’t have a ruler herding
them around like a bunch of steers.
Men and governments remind me
of children on a playground at public
school (Those of you who went to public
schools should be able to relate to
this.). When recess comes, the children
run out to the playground, anxious to
play... but someone has to decide which
game to play.
One kid gets his way, and the others
go along with him. If another kid
manages to finagle his way into control,
then everyone does what he says for a
while. Thus, they change leaders again
and again. There can be any number of
games with different game rules. Each
leader’s set of rules represents a temporary
government. Each leader represents
a temporary ruler. This is the way
of kids (and politicians).
Playgrounds are training arenas for
slave children! It teaches them to follow
other children, and adopt other kids’
ideas as their own for the sake of unity
– so they can continue playing games.
The greatest fear in the mind of the child
is that the playing might stop. They don’t
want to stop playing. They will compromise
anything, and even allow themselves
to be cheated by another kid, if
necessary, in order for the playing to
continue.
This playground training infects the
child’s mind so deeply that he will never
completely overcome it. A child who has
gone to public school will have permanent
damage to his mental faculties. It
destroys individuality, self-government
and self-confidence. It turns kids into
“joiners,” and sets them up for being
obedient, conforming slaves of central
government, and churches, when they
grow up. It also provides early practical
training for future politicians and church
builders who will use the playground
training to help them organize their own
profit-making games when they are
grownups playing “government” and
“church.”
Politics is a game – the big-league
playground. A society which accepts
central government is like kids addicted
to game-playing. UNITY must be maintained
for the sake of the games.
The politicians wait in the wings for
their chance to advance to a more powerful
position – like the children on the
playground just waiting their chance to
dictate their own rules to fit their own
ambitions and prejudices, and to benefit
themselves. The object is to make
everyone else do what YOU want to do,
and the rules are changeable at any time.
The priests, also, do their job of
keeping the people exercised and in
shape by inundating them with church
programs. Also, there are other games
like Rotary Club, Masonic Orders, etc.
Such games are herd drills – good practice
for the big-league.
The point is that we need to grow
up and quit playing kid games. Americans
have had centr al government
games so long they don’t know any
other way to play. They wouldn’t know
what to do if the game stopped.
CONCLUSION
We must stop repeating the old habits
of our ancestors. Remember how the
Chil dren of Is ra el were delive re d,
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN • WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA? • SPECIAL ISSUE 17
through Moses, from the institutions and
political slavery of Egypt? However,
once they were free they looked around
and realized that the illusions were gone.
They were dumbfounded! They hadn’t
been free but a few days before they
began to complain about the lack of government
in their lives. They were hooked
on the drug of government, and were
having withdrawal symptoms.
Moses hadn’t organized, institutionalized,
and developed welfare games to
take the place of those which they had
become addicted to back in Egypt. They
didn’t know how to function on their
own. They wanted Moses to build another
Egypt for them – only with a
“kinder, gentler” slavery.
Americans are still there today! If
we are to ever escape that vicious circle,
we must stop thinking like kids on the
playground. We are called to leave Babylon.
We are not called to build another
Babylon to replace the old one!
We should opt for the ecclesia, with
its patriarchal-type, free kingdom. And,
as we work toward that, God will reveal
more insight into its fulfillment.
In Fredrick Bastiat’s classic book,
THE LAW, the following quote describes
the correct Christian attitude toward
central government:
“Away with the whims of governmental
administrators, their socialized
projects, their centralization, their tariffs,
their government schools, their state
religions, their free credit, their bank
VERSIONS OF CALVIN BALL ARE PLAYED IN AMERICA’S COURTS, LEGISLATURES, AND CHURCHES.
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monopolies, their regulations, their
restrictions, their equalization by taxation,
and their pious moralizations!
And now that the legislators and dogooders
have so futilely inflicted so many
systems upon society, may they finally
end where they should have begun: MAY
THEY REJECT ALL SYSTEMS, and try
liberty; for liberty is an acknowledgment
of faith in God and His works.”
—THE LAW, Fredrick Bastiat
Fredrick Bastiat, a century and a half
ago, described the basic tenets of the
ecclesia! He simply called it “liberty.”
He correctly labels all who cannot kick
the habit of centra l government as
“faithless,” in that they refuse to acknowledge
Christ’s Kingdom.
The Kingdom of Jesus has been
planting seeds of freedom and independence
all over the world in every land
where He pursued scatte red Israel.
These seeds have been growing steadily
for centuries. They have been there
growing, in spite of oppression from
centra l governments . With al l the
scheming of the enemies, Christ’s kingdom
survives in thousands of locations.
7. Of the increase of this government
and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David.
Isaiah 9:7
Our greatest, and most urgent, mission
today is to wake people up to the
message of the Kingdom of Christ: to
get them thinking about the Kingdom
of God and how it applies to us right
now! To do this, the people who have
been sidetracked by the churches must
be enlightened. They must be shaken
out of their stupor. If we must offend
them, then so be it. Whatever it takes
to break their hypnosis, we must do it.
As people begin to look out across
the fields of wheat and tares, and as their
eyes are opened to the Kingdom, they
will begin to SEE the difference between
ecclesia s and churches. And, as the
people see the diference, the charlatans
and church builders will be exposed, and
Christ and His Kingdom will take on new
meaning to them.
But, I repeat – our task is NOT to
organize and build a central system.
Rather, it is to DE-ORGANIZE AND
STOP SUPPORTING A SYSTEM!
This is the hope for freedom for our
people. We need faith, a sincere spirit,
and open eyes to see the Kingdom of
God: that “City of God” – the eccl esia.
END OF PART 2 – WHAT IS THE ECCLESIA?
AMERICAN CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES
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