The Jerusalem temple was one of the enormous
Construction projects of Herod the Great. The partial model (left), from
Jerusalem’s Tower of David Museum, shows the southwest corner of the temple
platform and the magnificent staircase by which people accessed the temple from
the lower city as it appeared in Jesus Christ’s day.
Many people have miscellaneous misconceptions about what the word ‘church’ means. Most equate it with a building. But throughout the Scriptures, church and congregation refer to people, and never to a building. In fact, we find several verses in the New Testament where the “church” (people) were meeting inside certain members’ homes (buildings) in the local area (Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; and Philemon 2).
The church is a spiritually transformed body of believers not limited to a particular locale, organization or denomination. The Church is made up of people called to follow Christ. That group of people collectively is called “the body of Christ.” It is very well known from the Holy Scriptures that the term “Church” refers to the body of Christ (Col. 1:24; 1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12).
The derivation of the term “Church”
The Holman Bible Dictionary, in its article “Church,” explains the background of the word “church”: “Church” is the English translation of the Greek word ekklesia or ecclesia. The use of the Greek term prior to the emergence of the Christian church is important as two streams of meaning flow from the history of its usage into the New Testament understanding of church.
First, the Greek term which basically means ‘called out’ was commonly used to indicate an assembly of citizens of a Greek city and is so used in Acts 19:32, 39. These citizens who were quite conscious of their privileged status over commoners were called to an assembly house by a herald and dealt with matters of common concern. Secondly, “ecclesia” literally means ‘a special congregation’ or a group of people who are ‘called out’ from the society for special functions. The “Church” was derived from Ecclesia, because Jesus Christ called out some special people from the world to make them co-rulers and priests in His coming government.
When the early Christians understood themselves as called out by God through Jesus Christ for a special purpose and that their status was a privileged one in Christ, no doubt exists that they perceived themselves as constituting an ecclesia. (Ephesians 2:19). The Greek term ‘ekklesia’ was used more than one hundred times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in common use in the time of Jesus. The Hebrew term (qahal) simply means ‘assembly’ and could be used in a variety of ways, referring for example to an assembling of prophets (1 Samuel 19:20), soldiers (Numbers 22:4). The use of the term in the Old Testament in referring to the people of God is important for understanding the term ‘church’ in the New Testament. For the first Christians to use a term given by Christ in Matthew 16:18, that was common in the Old Testament for the people of God, reveals their understanding of the continuity that links the Old and New Testaments.
Formation of the Old and New Testament Churches
In the Old Testament, God called out Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the twelve tribes of Israel popularly called the ISRAELITES. This ELITE group of people were separated from the world and highly favoured by God above all other peoples of the earth.
The early Christians, Jew and Gentile, understood themselves to be the people of God, who had revealed Himself in the Old Testament (Hebrews 1:1-2), and the true children of Israel (Romans 2:28-29) with Abraham as their father (Romans 4:1-25), and as the people of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:1-13). God purposely chose the Israelites for Himself, so that they can worship Him in truth, and also trust in Him (Deuteronomy 7:6). The Old Testament Israelites served as a pattern of the New Testament Church. Then, God led the Israelites by the hand of Moses, but now He is leading the Church by the hand of Jesus Christ –His Son- who said, “For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matt. 18:20)”
As a consequence of this broad background of meaning in the Greek and Old Testament words, the term ‘Church’ is used in the New Testament for a local congregation of called-out Christians, such as the ‘church of God which is at Corinth’ (1 Corinthians 1:2), and also of the entire people of God, such as the entire body of believers. Thus, affirming that Christ is ‘the head over all things to the church, which is his body’ (Ephesians 1:22-23)”. Christ gave up His own body (physical) on the Cross in order to receive another body (A spiritual one), which as it stands out is now the Church. This assertion cannot be closer to the truth. The Church includes people with specific spiritual gifts to edify the entire body of Christ “…Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-14).
The Church of God that Jesus Built
The Church can best be described as where God dwells. More so, the Church of God is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Church of God is a spiritual gathering of an elite group of people, filled with the Holy Spirit and great authority. The Church is the body of Christ, and not an embodiment of old relics or beautiful Church buildings. The Church Jesus built is not found in the name of an organization like: ‘The Apostolic, Evangelical, Revival, Healing, Prophetic, (or any other name) Church of God Ministries.’
The Church of God was inside God from the beginning. Jesus Christ was inside God from the very beginning of creation. Just as the body cannot live in isolation from the head, even so, Jesus Christ cannot live in Isolation from the Church, since He is the head of the Church. The Church of God is basically anywhere true worshippers of God are gathered together to seek the face of God through Jesus Christ.
It has always been God’s plan for the Church to be a spiritual body of authority. In the fourteenth chapter of the gospel of John, while all the disciples were gathered together with Jesus, and as such, forming a Church, Phillip, one of the twelve said to Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us” (Verse 8). But Jesus replied: “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me… Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to My Father. (John 14: 11-12) ”
Jesus, during His earthly ministry, did not carry out all the works that God wants to accomplish in His Church through the Holy Spirit. Therefore in that infamous gathering of John 14, Jesus admonishes the Church –His body of believers –that the Holy Spirit will do greater works through them if only they believe in Him as the true Son of God.
How Religion buried the Message of Christ for 2000 years
Religion has been responsible for the ‘in-action’ of the Holy Spirit in the Church for most part of 2000 years. The truthful and trustworthy knowledge that would have completely erased mankind’s problems was held back from the world since the first century, leaving humanity dumbfounded on how it could have solved its problems –disease, poverty, and death. Billions are now being deceived. Previous billions have been! Even you and I have been lied to, a complete seduction has taken place, and all the world’s religions have played a big part in it. This amazing understanding is now revealed —along with the conspiracy to suppress it. The leaders of these religions are being deceived that they are on the right path to solving the world’s problems, but they are not. The vital knowledge of the gospel would have shown mankind the solution to its most insoluble problems.
And yet, except for the apostle John, all the original apostles were martyred for teaching the truth of God’s authoritative gospel. Every supposed “great religion” of the world has helped suppress it. Theologians neither comprehend nor are willing to teach it. A correct understanding of the true gospel reveals crucial knowledge. It contains a dimension of understanding that cannot be discovered by any scientific inquiry. —David C. Park, “The Awesome Potential of Man” (2008).
The Bible states that, since his rebellion prior to the creation of man, Satan has greatly “deceived the nations” (Revelations 20:3) and “weakened the nations” (Isaiah 14:12) in understanding the critical knowledge explaining God’s true purpose for His Church. His deception has been complete. We will explore how he deceived the Church into believing another gospel. The entire world remains deceived about the fact that it is deceived! But now, this great deception is being unravelled in this book.
Many people have miscellaneous misconceptions about what the word ‘church’ means. Most equate it with a building. But throughout the Scriptures, church and congregation refer to people, and never to a building. In fact, we find several verses in the New Testament where the “church” (people) were meeting inside certain members’ homes (buildings) in the local area (Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; and Philemon 2).
The church is a spiritually transformed body of believers not limited to a particular locale, organization or denomination. The Church is made up of people called to follow Christ. That group of people collectively is called “the body of Christ.” It is very well known from the Holy Scriptures that the term “Church” refers to the body of Christ (Col. 1:24; 1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12).
The derivation of the term “Church”
The Holman Bible Dictionary, in its article “Church,” explains the background of the word “church”: “Church” is the English translation of the Greek word ekklesia or ecclesia. The use of the Greek term prior to the emergence of the Christian church is important as two streams of meaning flow from the history of its usage into the New Testament understanding of church.
First, the Greek term which basically means ‘called out’ was commonly used to indicate an assembly of citizens of a Greek city and is so used in Acts 19:32, 39. These citizens who were quite conscious of their privileged status over commoners were called to an assembly house by a herald and dealt with matters of common concern. Secondly, “ecclesia” literally means ‘a special congregation’ or a group of people who are ‘called out’ from the society for special functions. The “Church” was derived from Ecclesia, because Jesus Christ called out some special people from the world to make them co-rulers and priests in His coming government.
When the early Christians understood themselves as called out by God through Jesus Christ for a special purpose and that their status was a privileged one in Christ, no doubt exists that they perceived themselves as constituting an ecclesia. (Ephesians 2:19). The Greek term ‘ekklesia’ was used more than one hundred times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in common use in the time of Jesus. The Hebrew term (qahal) simply means ‘assembly’ and could be used in a variety of ways, referring for example to an assembling of prophets (1 Samuel 19:20), soldiers (Numbers 22:4). The use of the term in the Old Testament in referring to the people of God is important for understanding the term ‘church’ in the New Testament. For the first Christians to use a term given by Christ in Matthew 16:18, that was common in the Old Testament for the people of God, reveals their understanding of the continuity that links the Old and New Testaments.
Formation of the Old and New Testament Churches
In the Old Testament, God called out Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the twelve tribes of Israel popularly called the ISRAELITES. This ELITE group of people were separated from the world and highly favoured by God above all other peoples of the earth.
The early Christians, Jew and Gentile, understood themselves to be the people of God, who had revealed Himself in the Old Testament (Hebrews 1:1-2), and the true children of Israel (Romans 2:28-29) with Abraham as their father (Romans 4:1-25), and as the people of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:1-13). God purposely chose the Israelites for Himself, so that they can worship Him in truth, and also trust in Him (Deuteronomy 7:6). The Old Testament Israelites served as a pattern of the New Testament Church. Then, God led the Israelites by the hand of Moses, but now He is leading the Church by the hand of Jesus Christ –His Son- who said, “For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matt. 18:20)”
As a consequence of this broad background of meaning in the Greek and Old Testament words, the term ‘Church’ is used in the New Testament for a local congregation of called-out Christians, such as the ‘church of God which is at Corinth’ (1 Corinthians 1:2), and also of the entire people of God, such as the entire body of believers. Thus, affirming that Christ is ‘the head over all things to the church, which is his body’ (Ephesians 1:22-23)”. Christ gave up His own body (physical) on the Cross in order to receive another body (A spiritual one), which as it stands out is now the Church. This assertion cannot be closer to the truth. The Church includes people with specific spiritual gifts to edify the entire body of Christ “…Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-14).
The Church of God that Jesus Built
The Church can best be described as where God dwells. More so, the Church of God is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Church of God is a spiritual gathering of an elite group of people, filled with the Holy Spirit and great authority. The Church is the body of Christ, and not an embodiment of old relics or beautiful Church buildings. The Church Jesus built is not found in the name of an organization like: ‘The Apostolic, Evangelical, Revival, Healing, Prophetic, (or any other name) Church of God Ministries.’
The Church of God was inside God from the beginning. Jesus Christ was inside God from the very beginning of creation. Just as the body cannot live in isolation from the head, even so, Jesus Christ cannot live in Isolation from the Church, since He is the head of the Church. The Church of God is basically anywhere true worshippers of God are gathered together to seek the face of God through Jesus Christ.
It has always been God’s plan for the Church to be a spiritual body of authority. In the fourteenth chapter of the gospel of John, while all the disciples were gathered together with Jesus, and as such, forming a Church, Phillip, one of the twelve said to Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us” (Verse 8). But Jesus replied: “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me… Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to My Father. (John 14: 11-12) ”
Jesus, during His earthly ministry, did not carry out all the works that God wants to accomplish in His Church through the Holy Spirit. Therefore in that infamous gathering of John 14, Jesus admonishes the Church –His body of believers –that the Holy Spirit will do greater works through them if only they believe in Him as the true Son of God.
How Religion buried the Message of Christ for 2000 years
Religion has been responsible for the ‘in-action’ of the Holy Spirit in the Church for most part of 2000 years. The truthful and trustworthy knowledge that would have completely erased mankind’s problems was held back from the world since the first century, leaving humanity dumbfounded on how it could have solved its problems –disease, poverty, and death. Billions are now being deceived. Previous billions have been! Even you and I have been lied to, a complete seduction has taken place, and all the world’s religions have played a big part in it. This amazing understanding is now revealed —along with the conspiracy to suppress it. The leaders of these religions are being deceived that they are on the right path to solving the world’s problems, but they are not. The vital knowledge of the gospel would have shown mankind the solution to its most insoluble problems.
And yet, except for the apostle John, all the original apostles were martyred for teaching the truth of God’s authoritative gospel. Every supposed “great religion” of the world has helped suppress it. Theologians neither comprehend nor are willing to teach it. A correct understanding of the true gospel reveals crucial knowledge. It contains a dimension of understanding that cannot be discovered by any scientific inquiry. —David C. Park, “The Awesome Potential of Man” (2008).
The Bible states that, since his rebellion prior to the creation of man, Satan has greatly “deceived the nations” (Revelations 20:3) and “weakened the nations” (Isaiah 14:12) in understanding the critical knowledge explaining God’s true purpose for His Church. His deception has been complete. We will explore how he deceived the Church into believing another gospel. The entire world remains deceived about the fact that it is deceived! But now, this great deception is being unravelled in this book.
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