From part 1 & 2 I have been accused of being judgmental – hmm but ironically aren’t the people judging me being judgemental.

I have been accused of being critical - aren’t the people criticizing me being critical.

Anyhow, I believe exposing an idol is not judgemental nor critical – the bible is full of accounts where wrong is dealt with. God used many different ways including the Apostles & Prophets to ‘expose and correct’. This was neither judgemental nor critical although many times judgment was bought into the situation.

I have been accused of causing division in the body.

Well many are accused of causing division because they preach about for example tongues, or full emersion baptism or even divine healing – does that mean we stop preaching about these things because it causes division.  Ooops too late, many have stopped. Many Pentecostal ‘churches’ (and I use that in the correct term) don’t talk about or even use tongues in public ‘church’ services. Many that were full on Spirit filled now don’t even have alter calls or pray for the spiritual needs of people. Many don’t even have communion (or have it at the door as you leave) many don’t worship, just sing songs  – what was once a Spirit filled assembly of believers is little more than a club that people ‘attend’ – they sing 3 fast songs, 3 slow songs, take up an offering,  have a lifestyle encouragement message and then go to the café.

Come on preachers – I encourage you to preach the Gospel in power instead of being conformed to the image of the idol called the church. That idol is robbing you of the power of the Holy Spirit. It is robbing souls (because many are being converted to churchianty instead of Christianity.) it is robbing your relationship with God. I have talked with pastor after pastor who has said they need a real relationship with God but the idol they serve is robbing them. Person after person who say they need a better relationship with God – The idol called the church is robbing them. Sapping the life out of them and replacing relationship with busyness serving the idol instead of serving the Lord and each other.

Pastors have said to me time and time again that they just can’t get the people ‘turned onto God’ – that is because the idol is sapping them dry. They are not connected to the Vine that gives life. Come on – if they were truly connected to the Vine they would produce fruit - its unstoppable. If they are connected to the idol – there is no fruit, no life, just passive belief in Jesus.

I have had many encouraging emails and comments again (with thanks) but also many negative emails (understandably).

What I am not saying is that the ‘true assembly’ – ‘the assembly of believers’ – ‘the body of Christ’ – ‘the true church’ is an idol. What I am saying is that there is an idol – the idols name is called ‘the church’ – if you are confused by this that’s because the enemy is the author of confusion. This is also why I went to scripture in Part two to see exactly what it says. The word brings clarity not confusion. Please read the scriptures to find what I have taught is true. Acts 17:11

To re-cap:-
The Greek word ekklesia simply means assembly. NOT church. It is used for any assembly whether civic, governmental or religious. To translate ekklesia to church is incorrect. If it were correct then we would have a civic church, a government church, a school church, a sporting church etc etc. Which is silly.

The word ekklesia that many translations incorrectly translate to ‘church’  (many do actually translate it correctly as ‘assembly’) has nothing to do with what the word church means today.

You will not find the western church in the bible. If you can, please show me – use the comment facility we have set up to discuss this - if what I am saying is wrong I am open, please show me in scripture.

So after analysing the foundation I will continue with what a church is not.

•    A Church is not a building.

Nowhere in the Bible is the place where Christians meet referred to as a "church", nowhere.

Never does ekklesia refer to a building in which people gathered, for worship or for any other purpose, Never.

Please go over those statements again and again and let it sink in.

Now most people would correctly say something like “church is all about people, not a building” yet their mindset is all about a building. Statements like “I went to church”, “I am going to church”, “what church do you go to”, “I am involved in such and such church”, “such and such church is located at....” etc etc proves this confusion. One minister emailed me to share about his shock hearing his daughter ‘witness’ to her friend but all she actually said was “how great the church was”, “how great the music is”, “how ‘cool’ the church building is”. Another preacher told his congregation to “go out and witness and bring them to church to be saved” – Jesus was never mentioned, not once.

Statements from well know preachers saying “how powerful the church is” and how you need to get “involved in church”, “to serve the house of the Lord” (which is not in the New Testament and will be covered later) etc etc only feed the mindset (idol). (I mentioned more examples in part 1)

Getting the vision of the church working and goals set to fulfil the vision of the church, programs in place to build the vision, raising finance to foster the vision is all about the building (or the organization – which we will also look at later) it has little to do genuinely with people, the ekklesia.

If church is not in the bible where do we get the word church from?

Some say it means “Called out ones” which again is incorrect because if it were so we would have called out school assemblies, called out government assemblies etc etc.

The word "church" is defined in most dictionaries as: "A building for public worship, especially Christian worship; the company of all Christians as a spiritual body." This, however, tells us nothing concerning the origin of this word and its original definition, meaning, and usage.

Some theologians have erroneously stated that the word church comes from the Greek "kyrios" which means "lord," and thus "church" is those who belong to the Lord, or references the "Lord’s house." This is not, however, the origin or original meaning of the word "church."

The word church was put in King James' translation because he ordered it put there! Everywhere the Greek word "ekklesia" had any religious reference, the translators substituted the word "church" rather than give an actual translation. King James was the Head of the CHURCH of England and he was going to ensure that his "Church" got some biblical recognition. It was a terrible mistake that has been a source of great error ever since.

The translators of the King James version were forbidden to translate ekklêsia in a proper way; they were under specific orders that the word "church" was to be used instead. James' reasons for demanding the use of certain words in his new translation, were of political nature.

The etymology of the word 'church' – its origin and meaning, and how it came to appear in bible-translations.

The English word "church" came into use in the Middle Ages, some time before the 12th century. The Wycliffe translation (1395) used the word "church" (chirche), but for instance Tyndale (1525) did not. Tyndale properly translated ekklêsia as "congregacion" (sic). And, as was mentioned, he used the word "church" (chirche) only twice, in Acts 14:13 and Acts 19:37 which refer to buildings connected to idol-worship.

The roots of the word "church" are as follows. It comes via the Middle English chirche, from the Old English cirice. And then, it is said that cirice in its turn came from the Greek phrase kyriake oikia (κυριακη οικια, kuriakê oikia) which meant "the Lord's house". Thus, in short, the etymology and evolution of the word "church" is as follows:

kuriakê oikia → cirice → chirche → church

" Professor Smith of Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible states that "church" comes from a word meaning "circle," which is akin to our word "circus." Professor Lipsius (German theologian during the Reformation) also shows that "church" came from "circle." Professor A. F. Fausett of Home Bible Study Dictionary" agrees with Professor Lipsius. The exhaustive ten volume Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature under the word "church" states that:

"It was probably connected with the Latin circus, circulus, and with the Greek kuklos. Lipsius, who was the first to reject the received tradition, was probably right in his suggestion" (Vol. II, p. 322).
Robert Brown’s work The Myth of Kirke" also confirms that "kirke" (church) means "Circle" or "Circular" (p. 22).

Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, under the entry "church" adds this:

"The etymology of this word is generally assumed to be from the Greek, kurious oikos (house of God); but this is most improbable, as the word existed in all the Celtic dialects long before the introduction of the Greek. No doubt the word means ‘a circle.’ The places of worship among the German and Celtic nations were always circular [witness circular Stonehenge, one of the most ancient stone megaliths on earth]. Compare Anglo-Saxon ‘circe,’ a small church, with ‘circol,’ a circle."

In Scotland it is called "Kirk" and in Gemany it is "Kirche," in England it is the word "Circe" (the "c" having a "k" sound). 

But according to Brown’s book, "Kirke/Circe" was also the name of a Goddess.
Kirke or Circe was the daughter of the Sun god, who was famous for taming wild animals for her circus. But get ready for this: Circe is pictured holding a golden cup in her hand mixed with wine and drugs, by which she controlled the kings of the world. (Some might go as far as to liken her to the harlot in Revelation)

So as we see here even the word ‘church’ does not have a scriptural source, it was introduced into the Christian assembly for political reasons and some would say still is used for political reasons in many places.

So why would we continue to use the term ‘church’ when it isn’t in the bible?
Why would we use the term when the words roots are not godly?
Why would we use the term to describe something that brings confusion to the saints?

The reason seems obvious - because it is an idol that has power and it needs to be dethroned.

Next time:- What is the true building of believers – what we need to do.