CHURCH
What does it mean, where did it come from and where is it going?
by Digging for Truth
www.jesusisfreedom.net
The word “church” does not come from scripture. Let’s put it to the test to see what we find.
"The word 'church' is really not a translation of any word that was used by either Christ or his apostles, but is the Anglican form of a different word which Roman Catholicism substituted in place of the word used by Christ and his apostles ... It is in our English scriptures by order of King James, who instructed his translators of 1611 not to translate the word 'ecclesia' by either 'congregation' or 'assembly,' but to use the word 'church' instead of a translation".Lee Jackson (Gospel Advocate, 1915, p. 589).
The word "Church" is neither Hebrew nor Greek. When the words were translated into English, the word "Church" was ALREADY in existence. The Greek word used in the NT for "Church" is "EKKLESIA" which means "Called out ones". EKKLESIA does NOT refer to a building at all, but ONLY to a group of people. Proper English translation should read "Congregation, assembly, or group.”
Benjamin Franklin said: "It occurs 116 times in the New Testament, and is translated 'church' in all but three places. In those three places the word has the same meaning it has in all the other places. Those three places are in (Acts 19:32, 39, 41). In these places it is translated 'assembly.' But anyone can see that it means 'assembly' in all the other places, as certainly as it does in these places ... The word simply means 'assembly' or 'congregation.” (Gospel Preacher, 1899, p. 476).
"Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together." Acts 19:32 (KJV)
The word "Church" as it says in Acts is translated "Assembly" but in other passages it is translated as "Church". Church is commonly defined as a "building" for public worship, especially for Christian worship as a spiritual body but this doesn't tell us anything about its original definition, meaning and usage. Ekklesia is also spelled "Ecclesia", and is in our English dictionary, so why was this word changed to "church"? Bible "scholars" say the word is derived from the word "KYRIAKON", meaning "The Lord's House" but KYRIAKON is not used in the Bible, Ekklesia is.
E. G. SEWELL: "The original Greek word is 'ecclesia,' which means 'the called-out ones' ... but whether the word 'church' is the best rendering ... is a question, as that word is emphatically an ecclesiastical term. 'Ecclesia' was used in the days of the apostles to mean any sort of gathering of people, called together for any purpose' (Gospel Advocate, 1912, p. 1024).
Oxford Dictionaries defines church as “a building use for public Christian worship” or “a particular Christian organization with its own clergy, buildings, and distinctive doctrines.”
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/church?view=uk&wwparam=1301411166
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1898 says:
Church - The etymology of this word is generally assumed to be from the Greek, Kuriou oikos (house of God); but this is most improbable, as the word existed in all the Celtic dialects long before the introduction of Greek. No doubt the word means “a circle.” The places of worship among the German and Celtic nations were always circular. (Welsh, cyrch; French, cirque; Scotch, kirk; Greek, kirk-os, etc.) Compare Anglo-Saxon circe, a church, with circol, a circle. E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Oxford Dictionary says about the origin of the word (Church): Old English cir(i)ce, cyr(i)ce, related to Dutch kerk and German Kirche, based onmedieval Greek kurikon, from Greek kuriakon (dōma) 'Lord's (house)', from kurios'master or lord'. Compare with kirk
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_us1233167?rskey=oUKlLQ&result=1#m_en_us1233167
Now lets compare it with kirk (kirk) noun Scottish & Northern English
1) a church.
2) (the Kirk or the Kirk of Scotland) the Church of Scotland as distinct from the Church of England or from the Episcopal Church in Scotland. Origin: Middle English: from Old Norse kirkja, from Old English cirice (see church)
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_us1261151#dws-m_en_us-m-en_us-msdict-00006%E2%80%93186148
Oxford English Dictionary says: "Church forms: (a) CIRICE, CYRICE, CHIRICHE, CHURICHE, CHERECHE. (b), CIRCE, CIRKE, etc. The ulterior derivation has been keenly disputed" ULTERIOR DERIVATION?
What would need to be disputed? According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the word Church comes from Old English "CIRCE", a word that clearly seems to be cognate with "CIRCE". The dialectical form of CIRCE [also found in Greek] was KIRKE, and Etymologists agreed that the Dutch word for "KERK", The German word "KIRCHE" and the Scots word "KIRK", all come from the old Saxons "KIRIKA", another cognate with "KIRKE" or "CIRCE"
So, what is "KIRKE"/"CIRCE"? And why was the true name replaced? Jesus Christ used a different word to identify His followers. KIRKE [or circle] or as it would be called in English, today "Church" was a GREEK GODDESS "PHARMEKEIA [Witch or Sorceress] who lived on the island AIAIA [AIAIA is the most ancient form of the name "GAIA", the Pagan Goddess of "Fertility"] Daughter of the sun god HELIOS [SATURN], she had the power to change men into wolves, lions and swine, retaining their human senses but trapped in animalistic form. The Greeks attribute the invention of the "CIRCUS" to her (PHARMEKEIA or GAIA). They claim it was done to honor her father the sun, which is in reality the "black sun" [SATURN], hence the term "CIRQUE DE SOLEIL", [FRENCH] or in English "Church of the Sun" [Black sun, SATURN].
Obviously this explains the behavior of many of these institutions. True Christians are born in Jesus Christ to be free from bondage, free from slavery and that includes freedom from religious denominations. We are not supposed to be learning from institutions or ministers. Jesus's gospel does not command us to submit ourselves to their teachings. We have the gospels at home in our Bibles and we should be putting everything into test mode before accepting it. Many of these "Christian" denominations or cults are turning into some kind of circus or stand up comedy clubs and people enjoy them because they offer entertainment. They have polluted the purity and simplicity of the gospel by creating confusion and nobody seems to care.
The Apostle John said:
"As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. ' 1 John 2:27
If you are one of those who wonder why there are so many “Christian” denominations, all of them preaching a different gospel and claiming the "truth"; the Answer is because many of them have turned away from THE TRUTH to follow their own leaders and prophets, their own teachers and preachers.
An assembly consisting of believers is "called-out" because of its common belief in Jesus Christ and not all "ecclesias" or religious denominations are Christians. In fact, some of them are violently antagonistic toward Jesus Christ and his followers. The book of Revelation says:
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (Revelations 17:1-5 NKJV)
Jesus never said: Go find a religious denomination and submit yourself to their authority. He never commanded us to be subject to temples or structures built by men. He never told us to follow any specific life styles.
Jesus said: "...Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24, NIV 1984)
And for those who go to temples looking for God, this is what the Bible says in the book of Acts:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." (Acts 17:24-25, NIV 1984) Read also (Acts 7:47-51)
Conclusion:
“Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the LORD’s vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves." (Jeremiah 51:6 NIV 1984)
So, what is "KIRKE"/"CIRCE"? And why was the true name replaced? Jesus Christ used a different word to identify His followers. KIRKE [or circle] or as it would be called in English, today "Church" was a GREEK GODDESS "PHARMEKEIA [Witch or Sorceress] who lived on the island AIAIA [AIAIA is the most ancient form of the name "GAIA", the Pagan Goddess of "Fertility"] Daughter of the sun god HELIOS [SATURN], she had the power to change men into wolves, lions and swine, retaining their human senses but trapped in animalistic form. The Greeks attribute the invention of the "CIRCUS" to her (PHARMEKEIA or GAIA). They claim it was done to honor her father the sun, which is in reality the "black sun" [SATURN], hence the term "CIRQUE DE SOLEIL", [FRENCH] or in English "Church of the Sun" [Black sun, SATURN].
Obviously this explains the behavior of many of these institutions. True Christians are born in Jesus Christ to be free from bondage, free from slavery and that includes freedom from religious denominations. We are not supposed to be learning from institutions or ministers. Jesus's gospel does not command us to submit ourselves to their teachings. We have the gospels at home in our Bibles and we should be putting everything into test mode before accepting it. Many of these "Christian" denominations or cults are turning into some kind of circus or stand up comedy clubs and people enjoy them because they offer entertainment. They have polluted the purity and simplicity of the gospel by creating confusion and nobody seems to care.
The Apostle John said:
"As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. ' 1 John 2:27
If you are one of those who wonder why there are so many “Christian” denominations, all of them preaching a different gospel and claiming the "truth"; the Answer is because many of them have turned away from THE TRUTH to follow their own leaders and prophets, their own teachers and preachers.
An assembly consisting of believers is "called-out" because of its common belief in Jesus Christ and not all "ecclesias" or religious denominations are Christians. In fact, some of them are violently antagonistic toward Jesus Christ and his followers. The book of Revelation says:
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (Revelations 17:1-5 NKJV)
Jesus never said: Go find a religious denomination and submit yourself to their authority. He never commanded us to be subject to temples or structures built by men. He never told us to follow any specific life styles.
Jesus said: "...Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24, NIV 1984)
And for those who go to temples looking for God, this is what the Bible says in the book of Acts:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." (Acts 17:24-25, NIV 1984) Read also (Acts 7:47-51)
Conclusion:
“Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the LORD’s vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves." (Jeremiah 51:6 NIV 1984)
