Charles Guignebert
Charles Guignebert (1867-1939) was a French scholar, a pupil of
Joseph-Ernest Renan, and from 1919 a professor of History of Christianity at
Sorbonne University. Guignebert followed a strictly rationalist approach to
ancient sources, without any concession to the theses of the religious
apologetics. These excerpts from “The Early History of Christianity,” by Charles
Guignebert provide a historical point of view. It is interesting to read Guignebert’s interpretation since it lacks
“Church” influence.
“No doubt it is a law of human mentality, by whose means religions are
born, live and die, that though in certain respects the religious phenomenon
may be different in itself, and perhaps, too, may raise itself from age to age
toward an unconscious ideal of which some believe they have obtained a glimpse,
yet it is really the same cycle that is being everlastingly developed and
consummated, and then beginning once more.
…I
shall by no means exclude comparisons between the facts of the history of
Christianity and those of the history of other religions. A very powerful
atavistic tendency, difficult to eradicate, exists in us; the Romano- Christian
culture brought it into being. And it would have us believe that Christianity
could never have been such a religion as the others; that its genesis and the
course of its long career until the present day followed methods that were
exceptional, and that it will never perish. Comparison alone can dispel this
illusion, and replace it by a vision which, I do not deny, is disheartening,
but is at least true to the historical reality. And is it not by venturing to
look firmly in the face that which has been and that which is, rather than by
endeavoring to conceal the real facts beneath the veil of his dreams and the
adornments born of his desires, that man will rise to a clearer understanding
of his destiny and his duty?”
“…liberal seekers after truth appear as enemies of the faith who are the
more dangerous the more disinterested they seem. They put together, both in
their schools and in their writings, counter-history of Christianity. By this I
mean that while professing to adopt unreservedly the methods scientific
criticism, they apply these in their own way and in such a fashion that they
always lead them—mirabile dictu—to conclusions that are in conformity with the
assertions of tradition.”
“Christ had neither founded nor desired the Church. Perhaps this is the
most obvious truth forced upon whoever studies the text of the Gospels without
prejudice, and indeed the contrary position is an absurdity from the historical
point of view; the utmost ingenuity of theologians cannot alter the fact.
However incomplete our knowledge of Jesus' teaching, it appears primarily as a reaction
against a rigid legalism and an engrossing ritualism.”
“Moreover, bear in mind that Jesus awaited the realization of the
Kingdom as imminent, and that this hope ought to dismiss from his mind all idea
of organizing a future upon this present earth for his disciples. Finally do
not forget that he was a Jew who was entirely devoted to the religious Law of Israel.
When he apparently was opposing it he meant only in reality to extend its scope
according to that which he deemed its true spirit. Whoever recalls these things
will readily understand why it was that his mind never paused for an instant
upon the idea of an organization like that which we call the Church.
If
we admit that he gave the Twelve authority—and this is still a debatable
point—it could have been no more than an appointment, in a fashion, of them to
preach, as he had done, the Kingdom and repentance. He did not make priests of
them, for truly he had no need of priests. Moreover, view these Apostles in
action, after the death of their Master, and it is plain that none of them had
any idea either of founding a Church. They remained attached to the Jewish
faith and practiced its forms of worship very devoutly; for them, too, the
future meant the Kingdom, not the Church.
The
Gospel text never puts into the mouth of Jesus the expression "my
Church," or even the "Church of the Father," except in one
passage only, which reads: "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build
my Church. ..." (Matt. xvi. 18). But a claim to authenticity for this
well- known and widely exploited verse would seem to be absolutely untenable
unless we are prepared to admit that Christ, in a moment of prophetic frenzy,
should have denied his teaching, his labor, his mission and his very self.'
Gospel passages and relevant facts both prove, up to the hilt, that no such
primacy of the Apostle Peter, which Jesus is reputed to have proclaimed in the
text of Matthew's Gospel, ever existed.”
Joseph Ernest Renan
Guignebert notes that from the historical vantage point Jesus never founded
the Church. He also points out that the focus of Christ was the kingdom.
Guignebert largely adopted the beliefs of Joseph-Ernest Renan. The teacher and
pupil ascribe no deity to Jesus which is a shame. Renan more so than Guignebert taught against Jesus being God’s Son. His stance toward
believers was demeaning in which he displays an unwarranted arrogance. His lack
of appreciation for the divine does not diminish his ability in the field of
historical interpretation, thus we need to accept what is historically true and
discard everything relating to Christ’s divinity. “The Apocrypha of the Old Testament, especially the Jewish part of the
Sibylline verses, the book of Enoch, the Assumption of Moses, the fourth book
of Esdras, the Apocalypse of Baruch, together with the book of Daniel, which is also itself a real
Apocrypha, possess a primary importance in the history of the development of
the Messianic theories, and in the understanding of the conceptions of Jesus in
regard to the kingdom of God. The book of Enoch, in particular, and the
Assumption of Moses, were much read in the circle of Jesus. … The Christian
theology and the Jewish theology having followed uniformly two parallel paths,
the history of the one cannot be understood without the history of the other. …
The Jew, on the contrary, thanks to a sort of prophetic sense, has made history
enter into religion. Possibly he owes a little of this spirit to Persia, which,
from an ancient date, conceived the history of the world as a series of
evolutions, over which a prophet presided. …
Each prophet had his reign of a thousand years, and out of those
successive ages, analogous to the millions of ages devolved to each Buddha of
India, was composed the train of events which prepared the reign of Ormuzd. At
the end of the time when the circle of the revolutions shall be completed, the
perfect Paradise will appear. Men will then live happily: the earth will be
like a great plain; there will be only one language, one law, and one
government for all men. But this advent is to be preceded by terrible
calamities. Dahak (the Satan of Persia) will break his chains and fall upon the
world. Two prophets will then come to comfort mankind, and to prepare for the
great advent. … These ideas ran through the world, and penetrated even to Rome,
where they inspired a cycle of prophetic poems, whose fundamental ideas were
the division of the history of humanity into periods… A gigantic dream haunted for centuries the
Jewish people, constantly renewing its youth in its decrepitude. A stranger to
the theory of individual recompenses which Greece had spread under the name of
immortality of the soul, Judæa concentrated on her national future all her
power of love and longing. She believed herself to possess divine promises of a
boundless future… The ancient Hebrew writings contain no trace of future
rewards or punishments. Whilst the idea of the solidarity of the tribe existed,
it was natural that a strict retribution according to individual merits should
not be thought of. …it was the Pharisee, the believer in the resurrection, who
was the innovator. But in religion it is always the zealous sect which innovates,
which progresses, and which has influence. Besides this, the resurrection, an
idea totally different from that of the immortality of the soul, proceeded very
naturally from the anterior doctrines and from the position of the people. … This expression--"the kingdom of
God" or "the kingdom of heaven"—was the favourite term of Jesus
to describe the revolution he was bringing into the world. Like nearly all the
terms relating to the Messiah, it came from the book of Daniel. According to
the author of that extraordinary book, the four profane empires destined to
extinction would be succeeded by a fifth empire-- that of the saints, which
should endure for ever. This reign of God upon earth naturally led to the most
diverse interpretations. In the later days of his life Jesus believed that this
reign would be realised in a material form by a sudden renovation of the world.”
Mythology
“The Satan of Persia. According to Persian mythology, the ages of the
world are divided into periods of 1,000 years. When the cycle of “chiliasms”
(1,000-year periods) is complete, the reign of Ormuzd will begin, and men will
be all good and all happy; but this event will be preceded by the loosing of
Dahak, who will break his chain and fall upon the world, and bring on man the most
dreadful calamities. Two prophets will appear to cheer the oppressed, and
announce the advent of Ormuzd.”
“Zoroastrianism
was one of the first belief systems to include a vision of the end of the
world. It would be signaled by the appearance of three saviors, sons of
Zoroaster. Upon the arrival of Hushedar, the first savior, the sun would stand
still for 10 days, and people would stop eating meat. When Hushedar-mar, the
second savior, appeared, the sun would halt for 20 days, and people would stop
drinking milk. Just as the world neared a state of purity, however, the evil
demon Azhi Dahaka would break free from his mountain prison. Only after he had
been killed would Soshyant, the third savior, arrive. People would stop eating
plants and live only on water, and each soldier of good would fight and defeat
a particular evil enemy.
Then the world would be enveloped in fire
and molten metal for three days. Everyone who has ever lived would return to
life to cross the fire, but only the wicked would suffer from the heat. This
final judgment would purge sin and evil from the world, leaving an innocent
human race in a cleansed world to worship Ahura Mazda.”
The Maccabees/Hasmoneans:
To appreciate Jewish expectations of a kingdom we have to look at events contributing
to those expectations; there were a number of different results anticipated. “The Land of Israel was thus sandwiched
between two of the rivals and, for the next 125 years, Seleucids and Ptolemies
battled for this prize. The former finally won in 198 B.C. when Antiochus III
defeated the Egyptians and incorporated Judea into his empire. Initially, he
continued to allow the Jews autonomy, but after a stinging defeat at the hands
of the Romans he began a program of Hellenization that threatened to force the
Jews to abandon their monotheism for the Greeks' paganism. Antiochus backed
down in the face of Jewish opposition to his effort to introduce idols in their
temples, but his son, Antiochus IV, who inherited the throne in 176 B.C.
resumed his father's original policy without excepting the Jews. A brief Jewish
rebellion only hardened his views and led him to outlaw central tenets of
Judaism such as the Sabbath and circumcision, and defile the holy by erecting
an altar to the god Zeus, allowing the sacrifice of pigs, and opening the
shrine to non-Jews. … Though many Jews had been seduced by the virtues of
Hellenism, the extreme measures adopted by Antiochus helped unite the people.
When a Greek official tried to force a priest named Mattathias to make a sacrifice
to a pagan god, the Jew murdered the man. Predictably, Antiochus began
reprisals, but in 167 BCE the Jews rose up behind Mattathias and his five sons
and fought for their liberation. … When Mattathias died, the revolt was led by
his son Judas, or Judah Maccabee, as he is often called. By the end of the war,
Simon was the only one of the five sons of Mattathias to survive and he ushered
in an 80-year period of Jewish independence in Judea, as the Land of Israel was
now called. The kingdom regained boundaries not far short of Solomon's realm
and Jewish life flourished. … The Hasmoneans claimed not only the throne of
Judah, but also the post of High Priest. This assertion of religious authority
conflicted with the tradition of the priests coming from the descendants of
Moses' brother Aaron and the tribe of Levi. … It did not take long for rival
factions to develop and threaten the unity of the kingdom. Ultimately, internal
divisions and the appearance of yet another imperial power were to put an end to
Jewish independence in the Land of Israel for nearly two centuries.”
John Hyrcanus (134-104 B.C.E.) Conflict continued with the Seleucids with the
latter ruling Judea for a period of five years, after the death of Antiochus
VII Syria was weakened and posed no threat. John Hyrcanus embarked on a policy
of expansion. Aristobulus I (104-103 B.C.E.) was the first of his family to
take the title “king”. Alexander Janneus
came to power. (103-76 B.C.E.) He extended the kingdom, but was very unpopular
with the common people who eventually rebelled against him. Janneus was a cruel
violent tyrant. His wife ruled after his death; Salome Alexandra. (76-67
B.C.E.) Hyrcanus II took the title of king and high priest. Civil war broke out
between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus II.
The Roman Period:
When
the Romans replaced the Seleucids as the great power in the region, they
granted the Hasmonean king, Hyrcanus II, limited authority under the Roman
governor of Damascus. The Jews were hostile to the new regime, and the
following years witnessed frequent insurrections. A last attempt to restore the
former glory of the Hasmonean dynasty was made by Mattathias Antigonus, whose
defeat and death brought Hasmonean rule to an end (40 BCE), and the Land became
a province of the Roman Empire. … In 37 BCE, Herod, a son-in-law of Hyrcanus
II, was appointed King of Judea by the Romans. Granted almost unlimited
autonomy in the country's internal affairs, he became one of the most powerful
monarchs in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. A great admirer of Greco-Roman
culture, Herod launched a massive construction program, which included the
cities of Caesarea and Sebaste and the fortresses at Herodium and Masada. He
also remodeled the Temple into one of the most magnificent buildings of its
time. But despite his many achievements, Herod failed to win the trust and
support of his Jewish subjects. … Ten years after Herod's death (4 BCE), Judea
came under direct Roman administration. Growing anger against increased Roman
suppression of Jewish life resulted in sporadic violence which escalated into a
full-scale revolt in 66 CE. Superior Roman forces led by Titus were finally
victorious, razing Jerusalem to the ground (70 CE) and defeating the last
Jewish outpost at Masada (73 CE).
The study of “Church” and “kingdom” in the gospel of Matthew
The study of “Church” or the
kingdom in the gospel of Matthew is important for two reasons, the first being
that Matthew was the only gospel writer to use the word ekklesia, and secondly, that he used the word basileía over a hundred times. It is abundantly clear
that Guignebert’s
observations are correct; “Christ had neither founded nor desired the
Church” and “Jesus
awaited the realization of the Kingdom as imminent…” Anyone reading the
gospel of Matthew objectively without presupposition will come to the
conclusion that the (basileía) kingdom occupied more of Jesus effort than the
(ekklesia) congregation. But, truth cannot be rendered down to mere frequency
of words used; the fact of the matter is that Matthew’s use of the Old
Testament word ekklesia did not suggest a difference between
ekklesia and basileía, but rather drew them
together as one entity. The use of the English word “Church” for ekklesia
is a flagrant abuse of principles of interpretation. The context in which the
word was used was entirely Jewish and therefore the word ekklesia has to
be translated within the Jewish context of that period. Ekklesia is used
in the LXX some seventy times, it was used in connection with Israel as a
nation or gatherings of citizens, but never prophetically of an institution
that would exist outside of Israel, or, in place of Israel.
References to kingdom in
Matthew:
Mat_3:2 John the
Baptist - "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Mat_4:17 From that
time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand."
Mat_4:23 Jesus
was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease
and every kind of sickness among the people.
Mat_5:3 “Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_5:10 “Blessed
are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_5:19
"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and
teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of
heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in
the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_5:20 “For I say
to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_6:10 ‘Your
kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Mat_6:13 ‘And do
not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For yours is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'
Mat_6:33 “But seek
first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added
to you.
Mat_7:21 "Not
everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he
who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.
Mat_8:11 “I say to
you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table
with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;
Mat_8:12 but the
sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Mat_9:35 Jesus was
going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind
of sickness.
Mat_10:7 “And as
you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Mat_11:11 “Truly I
say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone
greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he.
Mat_11:12 “From the
days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and
violent men take it by force.
Mat_12:25 And
knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Any kingdom divided against
itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not
stand.
Mat_12:26 “If Satan
casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom
stand?
Mat_12:28 "But
if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come
upon you.
Mat_13:11 Jesus
answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
Mat_13:19 “When
anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one
comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on
whom seed was sown beside the road.
Mat_13:24 Jesus
presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven
may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
Mat_13:31 He
presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven
is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
Mat_13:33 He spoke
another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven,
which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all
leavened."
Mat_13:38 and the
field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the
sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
Mat_13:41 "The
Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His
kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
Mat_13:43 “Then THE
RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their
Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Mat_13:44 "The
kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a
man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that
he has and buys that field.
Mat_13:45 “Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
Mat_13:47 “Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering
fish of every kind;
Mat_13:52 And Jesus
said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the
kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his
treasure things new and old."
Mat_16:19 "I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."
Mat_16:28 "Truly I say to you, there are some
of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the
Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
Mat_18:1 At that
time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?"
Mat_18:3 and said,
"Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_18:4 “Whoever
then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven.
Mat_18:23 “For this
reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished
to settle accounts with his slaves.
Mat_19:12 “For
there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there
are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who
made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able
to accept this, let him accept it."
Mat_19:14 But Jesus
said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to me;
for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Mat_19:23 And Jesus
said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_19:24 “Again I
say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Mat_20:1 “For the
kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the
morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
Mat_20:21 And He
said to her, "What do you wish?" She *said to Him, "Command that
in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on your right and one
on your left."
Mat_21:31 “Which of
the two did the will of his father?" They *said, "The first."
Jesus *said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and
prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
Mat_21:43
"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away
from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.
Mat_22:2 “The
kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding
feast for his son.
Mat_23:13 "But
woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off
the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves,
nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
Mat_24:7 “For
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various
places there will be famines and earthquakes.
Mat_24:14 “This gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
the nations, and then the end will come.
Mat_25:1 “Then the
kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their
lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Mat_25:34 “Then the
King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Mat_26:29 "But
I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that
day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."
“Basileía; gen.
basileías, fem. noun from basileús (G935), king. Royal dominion, kingdom.”
“From G935; properly royalty, that is, (abstractly) rule, or
(concretely) a realm (literally or figuratively): - kingdom, + reign.”
“In relation to the general usage of Basileía, usually translated
‘kingdom,’ it is to be noted first that it signifies the ‘being,’ ‘nature’ and
‘state’ of the king. Since the reference is to a king, we do best to speak
first of his ‘dignity’ or ‘power’.”
Mat_16:18 “I
also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
Mat_18:17 “If he
refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen
even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
“The word ἐκκλησία occurs
about 100 times in the LXX, and also a few times in Aquila, Symmachus and
Theodotion. When there is a Heb. equivalent, it is almost always qahal.” …
“In the LXX ἐκκλησία
is a wholly secular term; it means "assembly," whether in the sense
of assembling or of those assembled… the day of assembling… a great assembly…
The real point is who assembles, or who constitutes the assembly. …an assembly
of prophets …assembly of the mob. Only the addition Kύριος makes it plain that
the ἐκκλησία is the
people or congregation of God… the "congregation of the Lord"… of "God".
… In many cases there is no addition, since the context makes it plain that the
ἐκκλησία is the community of God.”
Frequency of the use of ἐκκλησία in the gospels.
Matthew
|
2 verses found
|
3 matches
|
1 – 2 generic
|
Frequency of the use of βασιλεία in the gospels.
Matthew
|
54 verses found
|
56 matches
|
51 - 5 generic
|
Mark
|
18 verses found
|
20 matches
|
18 - 2 generic
|
Luke
|
44 verses found
|
46 matches
|
42 - 4 generic
|
John
|
3 verses found
|
5 matches
|
5 - 0 generic
|
Total
|
120
|
127
|
116 – 11 generic
|
Looking at ἐκκλησία in
Matthew 18.
“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he
listens to you, you have won your brother.
But if he does not listen to
you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE
WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it
to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to
you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
The contextual setting of the pericope is vital to understanding what ἐκκλησία
means. The discussion began with, “At
that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?’” Jesus had set a child in front of them to illustrate the
need for humility. Peter in the same setting asked, “Lord, how often shall
my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Jesus taught his disciples in real time, he was not prophesying an occurrence of
a later time. Concerning the use of ἐκκλησία in “tell it to the church”,
there was no “Church”, but there were Jewish assemblies in almost every town. “And
why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? For while you
are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there
make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the
judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you
into prison.”
“Sunedrion:
- any assembly (esp. of magistrates, judges,
ambassadors), whether convened to deliberate or pass judgment
- any session or assembly or people deliberating
or adjudicating
- Rhthe Sanhedrin, the great council at
Jerusalem, consisting of the seventy one members, viz. scribes, elders,
prominent members of the high priestly families and the high priest, the president of the assembly. The most
important causes were brought before this tribunal, inasmuch as the
Roman rulers of Judaea had left to it the power of trying such cases,
and also of pronouncing sentence of death, with the limitation that a
capital sentence pronounced by the Sanhedrin was not valid unless it
was confirmed by the Roman procurator.
- a smaller tribunal or council which every
Jewish town had for the decision of less important cases.”
|
The King James Version was a landmark accomplishment; a Bible written
in language of the common people. However, as with any translation the King
James Version promoted the bias of the one who ordered the work. One of the
stipulations was that the word “church” be used and not translated more
literally as assembly or congregation. The necessity for Jesus to have said he
would build his Church, is that this statement is the foundation of every
Church as far back as the Roman Church. It is this statement of Jesus that The
Roman Church uses to claim Peter as its first pope. In all the recorded
speeches and conversations of Jesus he only uttered the word ekklesia
three times, and two of those utterances referred to a Jewish assembly. That means the entire doctrine of Church is based
on a word spoken by Jesus one time, in a specific context. The disciples would
have been familiar with the word ekklesia since the LXX was the commonly used translation at that time. At
least 80% of Old Testament quotations in the gospels are from the LXX. The
disciples knew the context of ekklesia was the kingdom of Israel. Why
else would they have asked just before Jesus ascended, “Lord, is it at this
time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
Doesn’t it seem strange that none of the disciples ever asked him about the Church
–the earthly organization people claim Jesus said he was going to build? The
disciples were woefully unappreciative of the spiritual nature of Jesus’ mission,
but they knew when he spoke of the kingdom he was speaking of Israel; they
didn’t know the renewed Israel would be in the form of a spiritual kingdom
rather than the material the Israel in which they were so heavily invested. And
how is it reasonable to think that Jesus would announce the proximity of the
kingdom, teach about the kingdom, and, claim to be king of his kingdom if all
the time he was going to build a Church? The Roman Church was the first to
claim the right to be that Church. The Roman Catholic Church claims it is
founded on Christ’s words. That Church which in defence of its doctrines
persecuted and murdered people who held opposing beliefs. That is the Church on
which all Churches are patterned.
“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” This
I believe is the case with the use of the word Church. It has been around for
so long, everybody believes Jesus said he would build his “Church”. When ekklesia
is translated within the Jewish context, within the context of prophecy, within
the context of first century scripture, within the context of Jesus’ teaching,
and within the context of disciples’ understanding, there is no “Church”; that
has a human origin. There is only the kingdom, in heaven and on earth. God’s
Congregation, paid for by the blood of Jesus. The family of God, the Bride of
Christ, the kingdom. Wherever two or three gather in Jesus name; well at least
in the first century Jesus was with them, but likely today as well. That would
be gathering of citizens or assemblies of God’s chosen –the true meaning of ekklesia.
I have made this point numerous times before, and must make it again.
The first Christians were Jews, and followed the dictates of the law until the
destruction of the temple which signified the end of the age. The first Christians
were Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah; Jewish leaders considered
Christianity a sect. Rumours
of Paul’s teaching preceded his arrival in Jerusalem, “… You see, brother,
how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and
they are all zealous for the Law; and
they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among
the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children
nor to walk according to the customs. Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who
are under a vow; take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their
expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is
nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you
yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.”
Most commentators believe the vow to be the Nazarite vow, but we don’t know;
shaving off hair is I suppose the act that makes the connection. But, the
religion of Israel in New Testament times was not the same as under Moses or
even during first temple times. Repeated subjugation by foreign nations
including the violent persecution by Antiochus IV the Seleucid king. The Jewish religion was subject to syncretism,
from evolution of its own doctrines, and Gezerah. An example of this is Hanukkah. Hanukkah “also known as the
Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the
rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean
Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting
on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from
late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar.”
Tradition has it that following the Maccabean victory over
the Syrians, the Jews returned to the temple to clean and rebuild it. In the
rubble, they found a closed jug of olive oil, which still had the seal of the
High Priest. It contained enough oil to last for one day, through a miracle of
God, the oil lasted eight days. Hanukkah is a minor
festival with little to no religious significance. Some historians say the reason behind Antiochus’ sack of Jerusalem was
the conflict between Hebraic and Hellenised Jews; Judaism in the early first
century still carried the scars of that conflict. James, statement, “…many
thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all
zealous for the Law…” reflected the national repugnance to interference in
its religion. James’ cautionary instruction was sufficiently compelling for
Paul to comply; he engaged in action to combat the rumour he taught diaspora
Jews that to disregard the Law. James also remonstrated, “…concerning
the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should
abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled
and from fornication…“ James
made a clear distinction between the law Jewish Christians were expected to
follow, and the regulations Gentile Christians were to adhere to. The
stipulations given to Gentile Christians related to issues abhorrent to Jews. Evidence
indicates that Jewish Christians continued to obey the Law of Moses through the
period covered by the book of Acts, and supported by the teaching of Jesus,
until the end of the age.
The Synagogue:
“From (the reduplicated form of) G4863; an assemblage of
persons; specifically a Jewish “synagogue” (the meeting or the place); by
analogy a Christian church: - assembly, congregation, synagogue.”
“That the synagogue was, in the time of our Lord, one of the most
important religious institutions of the Jews is clear from the fact that it was
thought to have been instituted by Moses (Apion, ii, 17; Philo, De Vita Moses,
iii. 27; compare Targum Jer to Exo_18:20). It must have come into being
during the Babylonian exile. At that time the more devout Jews, far from their
native land, having no sanctuary or altar, no doubt felt drawn from time to
time, especially on Sabbath and feast days, to gather round those who were
specially pious and God-fearing, in order to listen to the word of God and
engage in some kind of worship. That such meetings were not uncommon is made
probable by Eze_14:1; Eze_20:1. This would furnish a basis for
the institution of the synagogue. After the exile the synagogue remained and
even developed as a counterpoise to the absolute sacerdotalism of the temple,
and must have been felt absolutely necessary for the Jews of the Dispersion.
Though at first it was meant only for the exposition of the Law, it was natural
that in the course of time prayers and preaching should be added to the
service. Thus these meetings, which at first were only held on Sabbaths and
feast days, came also to be held on other days, and at the same hours with the services
in the temple. The essential aim, however, of the synagogue was not prayer, but
instruction in the Law for all classes of the people.”
Using the reference “then
teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which
they are to walk and the work they are to do”
as the scriptural base for the synagogue is as ridiculous as using the
reference in Matthew for Christ building a Church. Moses’ father-in-law Jethro gave
him instructions how to more effectively lead the Israelites. There is no
scriptural authority for a synagogue. If the conversation was a commands
regarding the synagogue then too the other commands of Jethro must also be
taken as such; “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men
who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place
these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.
Let them judge the people at all times…”
There was never a need to have divine authority for a synagogue, God was not
required to validate a gathering arranged to teach exiles the Law. When that
gathering (συναγωγή) evolved into the later Synagogue no violation of Law
occurred. By his actions Jesus validated the synagogue, “… He came to
Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the
synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.” In
the first century the Synagogue was different to what it was in its beginning,
and still no sin was committed. The Synagogue in a town was the place people gathered;
“Council House and Place of Assembly. Synagogues, though only so long as
they had not received a sacral character through the permanent erection of the
ark, could also serve as places of assembly for communal discussions and
meetings …one goes to the synagogue to set public affairs in order. …Public
mourning for the dead took place there … Announcements about articles found and
thefts were made there …The poor were fed and sheltered there … Public
decisions and announcements regarding voluntary almsgiving were also made in
the synagogue, so too regarding judicial investigations and proceedings, e.g.,
the divorce plea of a childless woman … oaths were also sworn there, and
whippings administered…” The
importance of the synagogue is seen by the fear that came over a citizen when
threatened with excommunication (ἀποσυνάγωγος) “His parents said this
because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if
anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.” The
fear of excommunication is better understood looking its degrees of severity, “There
were three degrees of excommunication or banishment among the Jews. The first
was only a temporary exclusion from the congregation and a restriction against
communication with others for thirty days. The second step was an exclusion
from the congregation and from all communication with others for an indefinite
period or forever. Joh_16:2, in particular, hardly allows us to suppose
a mere temporary exclusion such as the first step involved, which might be
proposed and even decreed for the rejected person, without consultation with
the Sanhedrin. This did not necessarily mean exclusion from attendance on and
participation in the synagogue worship, but exclusion from the fellowship of
the congregation and their blessings and privileges. The third was a perpetual
exclusion from all rights and privileges of the Jewish people both civil and religious.
Thus aposunágōgos
denotes one who has been excommunicated from the commonwealth of the people of
God and is given over to the curse.” The
synagogue was central to community and religious life. The first Christians
were Jewish, they did not give up their Jewish ways of worship, they gathered
together bound by belief in Jesus the Son of God and Messiah. Christians
continued to use the model with which they were familiar –the synagogue. One
has only to look at the practices of the first Christians to realize they were
the same as those of the synagogue. Very soon, following the birth of
Christianity we find it organised, feeding widows, and handling a dispute
between Hebraic and Hellenistic Jews. Paul’s teaching on excommunication
reflects his Jewish background, and the severity he ordered was closely
associated with the practice of the synagogue.
“For if a man comes into your assembly…” The
Greek word translated “assembly” is συναγωγή. That Greek word is used 56 times in the New Testament (NASB)
and is translated as synagogue 55 times out of the 56. Three of nineteen versions I looked at use
synagogue; I know of no language or grammar rule that would suggest the use of
assembly over synagogue; there is only one explanation and that is, the bias of
translators. People wanting to maintain the myth of “Church” can’t afford to
have readers recognise that the synagogue was the model of early Christian
communities. There is absolutely no doubt that the first Christians used the
synagogue as their model for community and assembly.
Conditions leading up to the
time of Christ
Events and conditions throughout Israel’s history had a bearing on what
the Jews at Jesus’ time anticipated, expected, wanted, or would be satisfied
with regarding the kingdom. Idolatry starting with Solomon’s wives would be the
undoing of Israel except for God’s promise to David. The epithet “Jeroboam
the son of Nebat who taught Israel to sin” placed Jeroboam as the vanguard
of idolatry. Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal reveal the depth to
which Israel had sunk; he complained to God that he alone was faithful. God
pointed out that there were seven thousand other people who had not worshipped
Ball. We don’t know what the population of the North tribes was, but it is
certain that seven thousand was a very small percentage. The Ten northern
tribes were subjugated by the Assyrians who wrenched them from their territory,
vanquished, and scattered throughout the Assyrian empire. The southern tribes
of Judah and Benjamin a little more than a hundred years later were conquered
by the Babylonians. The exile of Judah’s citizenry was to last seventy years,
during which time Jeremiah the prophet encouraged them to settle in and live
“normal” lives. A remnant returned under Cyrus to rebuild the temple. The
temple was rebuilt, the city walls repaired and order re-established. There we
no prophets after Malachi until John the Baptist, but that didn’t mean the
Jewish religion remained static. There were apocryphal writers during that
period whose writings influenced Jewish thought. The Jews lived in a state of
constant conflict interspersed with periods of calm, culminating in the
rebellion of 66 C.E. That revolt ended with the destruction of the temple and
city of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
Jewish Christianity
The mission of Jesus was to teach about the kingdom. The hope of Israel
was the renewal of the kingdom. Paul states that believers in Jesus are
citizens of heaven. Ekklesia has nothing to do with, nor should it be
translated –church. Ekklesia has everything to do with the kingdom and the
communities of its citizens. The synagogue was the model for Christian assembly
and community. The synagogue began with the need to teach and support captives
in exile. There was no divine authority given for the synagogue. There is no authority
or mention of Church in the original language of scripture. Jews misinterpret
scripture to obtain “proof” of authority for the synagogue. Christians do the
same to gain authority for Church. No divine authority was required for the
synagogue, its purpose was its authority. No scriptural authority is required
for Christian community, its function is its authority. Buildings of synagogues
were used every day, they served the need of communities. Church buildings are
more symbols of power and affiliation and have little functionality. Church
building were designed for majesty and originated with Constantine, “St.
John Lateran is Christendom's earliest basilica. Ordered by Rome's first
Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, it became the Popes' own cathedral
and official residence for the first millennium of Christian history” –it
was a palace fit for a king, but not the King of Israel.
I have made the point in other studies that
Church History doesn’t represent Christian history; that is factual. However,
as history from above, or history written by the victor, it does represent
accurately the history of the Church. That history started with the Roman
Church and its inception in the Counsel of Nicaea. In less than a century papal
power exceeded that of kings, Popes ordered barbaric crusades, sold children into slavery under the guise
of crusades. The Roman Church via the reformation gave birth to Protestantism
which later after splitting into numerous mainline denominations also went
through a period of stress, the restoration. The restoration spawned a number
nonconformist denominations, yet with all that happened throughout hundreds of
years of history, the characteristics and form of the Roman Church can be seen
in modern day denominations. The Church for all its efforts to prove legitimacy
fails under the scrutiny of unbiased review. There is no way that Christ lived
and died for the earthly institution we call Church. “You say that I am a
king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world…” “…the
Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings…”
Whether I belong to a Church or not, the most important relationship I have is
that of being subject to my King and Saviour. I am a citizen of the kingdom over
which he was born to rule.
“But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all
the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore
repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of
refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus,
the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration
of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from
ancient time. ‘Moses said, 'THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE
ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you.
And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly
destroyed from among the people.’ And likewise, all the prophets who have
spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. It is
you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with
your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE
EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him
to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
Reviewing a variety of commentaries it is obvious that there is more
eisegesis than exegesis at work in the interpretation of this portion of
scripture. A number of commentators read into this passage their own millennial
bias. It amazes me that so much stress is placed on the thousand years mentioned
only in Revelation 20. Other than the abuse of the word ekklesia in
Matthew 16, there is no greater abuse of scripture than the fallacious theories
of the millennium. Peter’s point seems to me to be that the Jews of that day
were the beneficiaries of God’s promises, “It is you who are the sons of the
prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers…” About two
weeks earlier the disciples had witnessed Jesus leaving the earth. Their
question concerning the kingdom was still fresh in their minds, “So when
they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is it at this time
you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you
to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the
remotest part of the earth.’” Acts chapter 2 was the answer to their
question, and in the chapters following, the renewed kingdom of Israel is
revealed. Not in the way the disciples may have anticipated, but with the Holy
Spirit walking beside them the spiritual nature of the kingdom was clarified. As
the disciples “were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold,
two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee,
why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from
you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into
heaven.’”
The statements from Peter’s communication; “times of refreshing may come
from the presence of the Lord” is not looking to an end of time event, and,
“…whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things”
were applicable to the Jews of that era. That was what Jesus referred to when
he said, “I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who
will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Also
in response to the high priest’s command, Jesus said “I say to all of you:
From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty
One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The debacle
of the second coming of Christ in 1844 is known as the “Great Disappointment” in
which thousands were misled by Miller’s false deductions. “Not until
the full end of Gentile Times (October, A.D. 1914) should we expect the earthly
phase of God's Kingdom” The Watchtower instead
of admitting its 1914 fiasco, simply changed what they claimed was going to
happen. The more recent unsatisfied claims by Camping were also misrepresentation
of biblical prophesies.
The point has been made that no one is free of
presupposition; the best we can do is to recognize the temptation to seek
support for what we believe, and to counter that by being open to new insights
a text may offer. “Restoration experts reveal the real face of murdered
Renaissance princess beneath layers of paint - added by Victorians to make her
face conform to their ideal of beauty… the portrait was not of Eleanor of
Toledo, but her daughter, the scandalous Isabella de' Medici …” One
might question why anyone would intentionally alter a painting; the theory
presented is, “that the work had been transferred from a wood panel onto
canvas and then repainted so that the woman's face was more pleasing to the
Victorian art-buyer, some 300 years after it had been painted…” I am
not as interested in art as I am in the process of accessing the original
portrait. X-ray imaging was used to reveal the portrait that had been painted
over, and then began the painstaking task of gently and slowly removing the top
layer of paint to expose the original portrait. The task of revealing the intended
message of scripture is no less arduous. Centuries of tradition have been
impressed on God’s word obscuring its original meaning. X-ray imaging can’t be
used in the task of unveiling truth; it will take a process similar to Guignebert’s, -a strictly rationalistic
approach to scripture devoid of doctrinal presuppositions. The scriptures are
God’s communication with mankind; they are God’s story. It is imperative that
we listen to God’s story and not to the spin artists who have imprinted their
own story on top of the true account. It seems to me that after years of study
I now know less than when I started. From my study and experience two very
important facts present themselves, they are firstly, that salvation is not through
the Church, and secondly, no one is going to be saved by learning how to defend
Church doctrines. Cynically in the workplace people chide that to get ahead,
it’s not what you know, but who you know. That may not always be true in a
company, but in connection with eternity it is absolutely true. Paul staked his
eternity on knowing Jesus; “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I
know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I
have entrusted to Him until that day.”
“God our Savior … wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge
of the truth.” Sometimes it is
difficult to see the difference between truth and opinion. When it comes to
understanding scripture, what assurance is there that we can be certain our
understanding is correct? In the past referring to a concordance list of verses
containing the topic under review was common place. Little attention was given
to context or other variables. One plowed through the scriptures unearthing
supporting references for doctrines taught by the Church. Armed with a
profusion of proof texts one could confidently combat any error. That method of
securing “truth”, never did. Church members placidly ignore disagreeable
doctrines. The Church “supports” abstinence, but leaders drink wine with their
meals. There is a disconnect between what is taught from the pulpit and what
members believe and practice. To some, the Church has lost all relevance,
services to them do little more than advertise programs and solicit funds. Some
Pharisees protested to Jesus that his disciples were not keeping the Sabbath,
to which he responded “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath.” The same can’t be said
about Church, because it did not come from God, nevertheless, the principle
should be applied; Churches should serve people’ not people serve the Church.
Hosea was required to marry a prostitute in order to be a living
demonstration God’s relationship with Israel; some prophets were asked to do
unusual things, but none were given a task so emotionally draining as Hosea. His
unfaithful wife characterised Israel’s idolatry. Gomer dumped her children of
whoredom on Hosea to care for. The names of each child referred to events that
would befall Israel. There is no intention to minimize his pain, but it would
be wrong to get lost in pity over Hosea’s plight, because as bad as it was for
him to live in cuckoldom, Israel’s adultery was on a grander scale and its
rejection of God more vicious and spiteful. God continued to care for Israel
even as it squandered his gifts on idolatry, “For she does not know that it
was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil, and lavished on her
silver and gold, which they used for Baal.” God’s
nature never changes, as the scripture says, “God is love.” Hosea
after he had suffered the infidelity of his wife, faced scorn and ridicule of
neighbours is told, “‘Go
again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the
LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin
cakes.’ So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer
and a half of barley.” The
barley and silver together equaled the price of a slave, 30 pieces of silver; that
was the value the Jewish leadership put on Jesus’ life. The price Hosea paid
for Gomer is not representative of the price God paid to redeem Israel; that
price was beyond measure. “…knowing that you were not redeemed with
perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited
from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and
spotless, the blood of Christ.” That
God’s love was spurned by Israel is evident in the Old Testament writings; “When
Israel was a youth I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they
called them, the more they went from them; they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning incense to idols. Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took
them in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with
cords of a man, with bonds of love, and I became to them as one who lifts the
yoke from their jaws; and I bent down and fed them.” At
the conclusion of his castigation of Jewish leaders, Jesus expressed God’s
compassion for Israel, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and
stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children
together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were
unwilling.”
It is not difficult to recognize God’s vast unfailing love for Israel, “For
you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to
be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face
of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you
were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all
peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to
your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you
from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
The blessings promised to Israel were
fulfilled first to Jews. The promises, prophesies, the pleas were all focused
on Israel. “… Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory
and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the
promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the
flesh…”[53] Jesus was a Jew, he lived
under the Law, and supported the teaching of the Law. He preached the kingdom
in a Jewish framework. He came to earth to reach out to Israel. Jesus was born
to be king of Israel, he died as King of the Jews. Jesus completed his mission.
If we are to understand the kingdom it has to be in the same context in which
Jesus taught, and in the same cultural climate in which he lived. The kingdom
was Jewish, Gentiles were branches from a wild Olive tree, “you, being a
wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the
rich root of the olive tree…”
The kingdom was Jewish, “… the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow
members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus
through the gospel…”
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens
with the saints, and are of God's household…”
The book of Acts ends with Luke stating that
Paul was “preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.”
The teaching of the kingdom, whether to Jew or Gentile could not be
disconnected from Jewish history or expectations. “…it is clear that in
practice, eschatological and Messianic speculation led to beliefs that varied
widely as between different circles, groups, or even individuals. Each formed
conclusions determined by his temperament or culture. To the Zealot the Messiah
appeared as a kind of glorified Judas Maccabees. To the Pharisee he was the
righteous ruler over God's people, freed at last from the yoke of the goyim.
For the pious Essene he was God's envoy, invested with supernatural power.
Apparently the only opponents of these comforting speculations were the priests
of Jerusalem and the aristocracy of the Holy City. Those in office, who found
it more profitable to maintain an attitude of compromise towards foreigners and
unbelievers, had good reason to fear the unrest and disturbance that Messianism
might kindle among those who were less contented with their lot and more
spiritually minded than themselves. The politicians of Palestine were prudently
opposed to hopes which they knew to be deceptive and to a faith pregnant with
disastrous enterprise. The Romans shared this distrust and were for ever on the
alert with regard to this Jewish illusion. … It is obvious, from the way in
which Josephus avoids the question of the eschatological expectations of
Israel, that the Jewish teachers attached the utmost importance to it.”
The “Church” was not a Jewish concept, the
synagogue was the religious and social institution with which Jews were
familiar. “Since first-century synagogues were local communal institutions, it is
not surprising that there is no evidence for a centralized group that
determined what took place inside of them. Although scholars used to assume
that the Pharisees (the likely precursors to the rabbis) were in charge of
synagogues, most first-century sources identify elders, priests, and
archisynagogoi (Greek for “heads of synagogues”) as the leaders of synagogues
(Philo, Hypothetica 7.12-3, Theodotus Inscription, Mark 5:22-23). Rabbinic
leadership of synagogues (which is what we are familiar with today) was limited
in the first few centuries C.E. and didn’t crystallize until the medieval
period. … Though literary sources prove that first-century synagogues existed,
there are few archaeological remains. In fact, the synagogue that stands in
Capernaum today was built several centuries after the time of Jesus, and the
evidence for a first-century synagogue is disputed. Nonetheless, there are
remains of a few first-century synagogues in Israel and Palestine, including
buildings in Gamla, Masada, and Herodium. Unlike synagogues from later
centuries, which are identified by furnishings used for worship and Jewish
inscriptions and art, first-century synagogues didn’t have “Jewish” features
and were simply public buildings with benches along the walls. In other words,
the buildings reflected the primary role of synagogues as Jewish community
centers, with worship as a secondary use of the space.”
In
the Jewish context ekklesia has nothing to do with Church; the Church
started centuries after Christ. But, ekklesia to first century Jews
would have had everything to do with their nation, the Kingdom of Israel. The
earliest uses of the word “church” were not in connection with Christian
assemblies, “Then Iupiter's priest, which dwelt before their city, brought
oxen and garlands unto the church porch, and would have done sacrifice with the
people” and “For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither
robbers of churches, nor yet despisers of your goddess.”
The short book of James has a distinctly Jewish flavour calling the Christian
assembly a συναγωγή.
The Hebrew verse used as a command for people to attend Church services not
surprisingly uses ἐπισυναγωγή.
“…not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. For
if we go on sinning willfully…” “Then we should continue to meet
together and not desert the local fellowship, as some do. This may be
considered as a general exhortation for all believers to be faithful in their
church attendance. Without question we find strength, comfort, nourishment, and
joy in collective worship and service.”
“The prep. epí, to, must refer to Christ Himself as the one to whom this
assembly was attached. Thus it would have the meaning of not betraying one's
attachment to Jesus Christ and other believers, not avoiding one's own personal
responsibility as part of the body of Christ.”
To apply the verse as the commentary does is a crass misinterpretation of what
the author intended. The Word Study dictionary with its handling of the suffix epí
states the connection to Christ. The NASB interprets ἑαυτού as “our
own” “our own assembling together…” The author includes himself in the
assembly which obviously was not geographically possible, suggesting the
gathering has a superior significance that local assemblies. There is an
urgency that has to do with “the day drawing near.” That day was, “Therefore,
do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need
of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what
was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND
WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS
BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those who shrink back
to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
The book of Hebrews elevates Christ in every aspect, the context of this
section is no different, Jesus is the best sacrifice, the best covenant, and
anyone rejecting the best God has offered will be severely punished. In the author’s catalogue of supremacies of
God’s gift in Christ, the Church has no place; it is an institution of no consequence.
Churches can offer support to citizens of the kingdom, but in God’s salvation
through Christ, Churches play no critical part. As the synagogue was to Israel,
the Church is to the kingdom of God –human supplementary support. One issue
that bothers me is that “historians” claiming the highest level of objectivity
apply the word Church in interpretation of scripture. If historical accuracy is
dependent on the historian avoiding impressing later terms and notions on
earlier times, then most of those who claim detachment are themselves guilty of
bias.
The kingdom holds a central focus throughout scripture;
“By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done
this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly
bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens
and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate
of their enemies.” And later, “For you are a holy people to
the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own
possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The LORD
did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than
any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the
LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers…” Camped
at the mountain of the Lord, “’Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice
and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the
peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of
Israel.”
God made a covenant with Israel based on obedience; if you obey, then… Israel
violated the covenant of Law and eventually after subjugation, exile, return to
the Promised Land, the promise to Abraham was satisfied; leading to a covenant
of grace. “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped
out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and
that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain
in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago
through his holy prophets. Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you
from your own people a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you.
And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be
utterly rooted out of the people.’ And all the prophets, as many as have
spoken, from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days. You are the
descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your
ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the families of the
earth shall be blessed. When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to
you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.’”[69]
All nations included the gentiles, “But you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the
mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Paul
expressed the bringing together of Gentiles and Jews, “So then, remember
that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision"
by those who are called "the circumcision"--a physical circumcision
made in the flesh by human hands--remember that you were at that time without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the
covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and
has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has
abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in
himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might
reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to
death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who
were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have
access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and
aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household
of God…”
Paul summed up the blessing to all nations writing, “In former generations
this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to
his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become
fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ
Jesus through the gospel.” Fellow
heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise… Israel was God’s
special nation, his kingdom of the Promised Land; Israel was that kingdom
contingent on obedience. Israel was redeemed from Egyptian bondage and given
the land promised to Abraham’s descendants. Through Christ came redemption from
the slavery of sin, and with that, citizenship in the spiritual kingdom of
Israel. The kingdom of Israel was a shadow of the spiritual kingdom over which
Christ rules. Israel looked forward to its redemption and renewal, Christ is
the Redeemer and he is our king.
“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the
prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him
who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before
His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the
dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released
us from our sins by His blood--and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to
His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.
Amen. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even
those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So
it is to be. Amen.”[73]
John stated that he, Jesus, has made us to be a kingdom, priests… that was what
was offered the Israelites –if they obeyed. Jesus having released people from
sin through his blood made it possible for us to be a kingdom of priests. It
was Jesus’ sacrifice not our obedience that allowed us to be citizens in God’s
kingdom. “…the time is near”, “…even those who pierced Him”; John knew that
Jesus’ return would be soon and that some of those who killed him would be
witness to the event. Jesus told the high priest the same as is spoken of in
this passage; “But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was
questioning Him, and saying to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed
One?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT
THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.’” I
can’t turn to any ancient document reporting Christ’s return, I believe it was
in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. I am convinced that Jesus
returned in the lives of some of those who heard him teach, and within the
lifetime of some of the priests who killed him.
To believe otherwise for me would be to suggest that what Jesus told the
people and priests about his return was misleading –it wasn’t!
Hebrews 12: 18-28
“You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire,
and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice
whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For
they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the
mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight
that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’) But you have come to Mount Zion and to
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels
in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in
heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made
perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled
blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See that you do not refuse the
one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who
warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who
warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has
promised, yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.
This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of what is shaken--that is,
created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we
are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we
offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe…”
The author established Mount Horeb as the location from which Israel
received the Law and warnings; “Remember the day you stood before the LORD
your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Assemble the people to me, that I
may let them hear my words so they may learn to fear me all the days they live
on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’ You came near and stood
at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very
heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom. Then the LORD spoke to
you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no
form--only a voice. So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you
to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of
stone.”
He goes on to say that believers in the mid first century were in the presence
of God; Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels in festal
gathering (πανήγυρις), and to the assembly (ἐκκλησία) of the firstborn who
are enrolled in heaven. Πανήγυρις – “a mass meeting, that is, (figuratively)
universal companionship: - general assembly.” This
would suggest fulfillment of “Your kingdom come … on earth as it is in
heaven…”
–The kingdom of God’s spiritual characteristics. “…yet once more I will
shake not only the earth but also the heaven,” this promise was made
through Haggai; “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Once more in a little
while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry
land.’”
The shaking refers to the passing of the material kingdom so that what cannot
be shaken may remain. Adding to his colourful description of the New Jerusalem
the author also connects the events with prophecy; “In the days of those
kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed,
and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an
end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.” As
he drew the section to a close the author wrote, “Therefore, since we are ‘receiving’
a kingdom that cannot be shaken…” Receiving (παραλαμβάνω) is on a number
of occasions translated –received. The kingdom was in place otherwise the
warning about rejecting it would not have been necessary.
Jesus did not say he would build a Church, it wasn’t even in his
vocabulary. Jesus as the Messiah came to earth to set up his rule and kingdom.
The Church is not found in prophecy nor in practice of Israel. The kingdom of
God through Christ’s sacrifice completes the cycle from the fall to redemption.
“So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all
men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of
life to all men.” As
long as the word Church is used Christianity will be fragmented. It will
continue to be institutionalized. The focus of a Church is not Christ, but
conversion of people to its cause. As a citizen of the kingdom, Christ is my
king. My allegiance is to him and him alone. Paul specified that he had a
relationship with Christ, he did not mention the Church. “…whatever things
were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found
in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the
basis of faith…”
Everything about the kingdom is universal encompassing heaven and earth. The
Church is exclusive, accepting only those who comply with its rules. The Way,
the kingdom is a congregation of believers; believing in Jesus the Son of God,
our Saviour. The Church is more demanding of adherents; it requires acceptance
of its doctrines and traditions. John recorded that, “For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world
to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” I
don’t know a Church that accepts simply believing in Jesus as the only requirement
for membership. “The bond of unity in that age was personal faith in and
allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. No other faith than this was required as a
condition of church membership and fellowship. ‘What think ye of Christ; whose
Son is he?’ was the great and decisive question of that age. Whoever confessed
him, as Peter did, as ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God,’ and was willing
to turn away from his sins, was straightway baptized into the name of Christ,
and numbered with the saved. This was the simple creed, and this the simple
method of initiation. There were only two ordinances--baptism and the Lord's
supper--the one commemorating Christ's death for our sins, and the other his
burial and resurrection from the dead.” Garrison
dedicated his essay to Thomas Campbell, his hope was to encourage the union of
believers. He stated that, the bond of
unity in the early age of Christianity “was personal faith in and allegiance to the Lord Jesus
Christ.”
But, immediately added the necessity of baptism and communion – why? The reason
why, is that Church doctrines and traditions are more important than the plain
word of God. A question comes to mind regarding the canon; since each book or
grouping of books was written by an independent author, were all author
inspired? There are two New Testament canons, which one is most correct? It is
doubtful that the very early congregations of Christianity possessed all of the
writings of the New Testament, they would in fact have been fortunate to own a
copy of one apostolic letter. What if the one letter they had available was the
gospel of John; would they have been safe to live according to its principles? The
only baptism mentioned in the gospel of John is John the Baptist’s. Jesus’ when
speaking to Nicodemus does not refer to baptism. John near the conclusion of
his gospel wrote, “Therefore many other
signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not
written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in
His name.”
I don’t believe that the authors of New Testament documents had in mind that
they were contributing to a compilation of material, or that their letter/s
could be used only in concert with all others. It appears to me that the rules upon
which Church doctrines have been formulated need to be re-evaluated. Luther was
at least open with his thoughts on scriptural books which didn’t support his
doctrines. “In a word St. John’s Gospel and his first epistle, St. Paul’s epistles,
especially Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, and St. Peter’s first epistle are
the books that show you Christ and teach you all that is necessary and
salvatory for you to know, even if you were never to see or hear any other book
or doctrine. Therefore St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has
nothing of the nature of the gospel about it. But more of this in the other
prefaces.”
Luther rejected other New Testament books for their lack of support for his
opinions. He was an arrogant man with a pompous view of his own importance. He
by no means is alone in cherry-picking proof texts.
The following selection of prophetic scriptures would have played a big
part in what Jews of the first century thought of the kingdom.
“When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I
will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I
will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he
will be a son to me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod
of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but my lovingkindness shall not
depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever; your throne shall
be established forever.”
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the
government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to
the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his
kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From
then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
“I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He
came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was
given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of
every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which
will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.”
“But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and
possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come. …until the Ancient of Days came
and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time
arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom. … Then the sovereignty,
the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will
be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an
everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.”
“David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom
forever.”
“Blessed art
thou, O Lord, King both great and powerful in thy greatness, the Lord of all
the creation of heaven, King of kings, and God of all the world, thy Godship
and thy kingdom and thy greatness will remain in eternity, and to all eternity,
and to all the generations thy power, and all the heavens are thy throne in
eternity, and all the earth thy footstool in eternity and to all eternity.”
“Behold, O Lord, and raise up unto them their king, the son of
David, at the time known to you, O God, in order that he may reign over Israel
your servant. 22 And gird him with strength that he may shatter unrighteous
rulers, and that he may purge Jerusalem from gentiles who trample (her) down to
destruction. 23 Wisely, righteously he shall thrust out sinners from (the)
inheritance; he shall destroy the arrogance of the sinner as a potter's jar. 24
With a rod of iron he shall shatter all their substance; he shall destroy the
godless nations with the word of his mouth. 25 At his rebuke nations shall flee
before him, and he shall reprove sinners for the thoughts of their heart. 26
And he shall gather together a holy people, whom he shall lead in
righteousness, and he shall judge the tribes of the people who has been made
holy by the Lord his God. 27 And he shall not suffer unrighteousness to lodge any
more in their midst, nor shall there dwell with them any man who knows
wickedness, for he shall know them, that they are all sons of their God. 28
And he shall divide them according to their tribes upon the land, and
neither sojourner nor alien shall dwell with them any more. 29 He shall judge
peoples and nations in the wisdom of his righteousness. Selah. 30 And he shall
have the gentile nations to serve him under his yoke; and he shall glorify the
Lord in a place prominent (above) all the earth. And he shall purge Jerusalem,
making it holy as of old. 31 So that nations shall come from the ends of the
earth to see his glory, bringing as gifts her sons who had been driven out, and
to see the glory of the Lord, wherewith God has glorified her. 32 And he will
be a righteous king over them, taught of God. And there shall be no
unrighteousness in his days in their midst, for all shall be holy and their
king the Lord Messiah.”
“…the belief of the Jews in the doctrine that they were the Chosen
People and therefore unique and the bitter fact that they were forcibly
subjected to the rule of an idolatrous empire which accorded divine honors to
its emperors. This empire was the complete antithesis of the spiritual
conception and way of life of the Jews, and the tension found its resolution in
the strengthening of a messianic-eschatological faith at the center of which
stood the hope of the revival of the glory of Israel and the downfall of
"the kingdom of arrogance." The intensity of this feeling and these
yearnings increased with the passage of time and was nurtured by the
deterioration in relations between the Roman administration of the province,
which gave its support to non-Jewish elements and based itself on them, and the
Jews, as well as by the spiritual and social developments within the Jewish
community itself.”
“The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked
Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, ‘When it is
evening, you say, it will be fair weather, for the sky is red, and in the
morning, there will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening. Do
you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs
of the times?’” Jesus
chided the Jewish leaders; they touted the ability to forecast weather, but
were oblivious to prophetic revelation. We should not be hasty in criticizing
them, for while we can see their failings because we’re looking back at the
full story, they were living it. True, they were blind to prophecy, their minds
were on other things. Jesus rightly got after the religious leaders for failing
to believe what the prophet foretold would come to pass. I wonder what Jesus
would say to people today who read the prophecies and rather than seeing Jesus
as the fulfillment still look to some future event. The Jewish elite of Jesus
day couldn’t accept that prophecy was being fulfilled before their eyes; we
have a written record of events and still there are people who believe that God
failed to set up his kingdom. People today have God’s complete story in front
of them and will not believe that Jesus did what he said he would do; return in
the lifetime of some of those who heard his teaching. Jesus was born to be
king, born to rule over the kingdom of Israel forever. Instead of seeking the
kingdom of God, time, effort and people are sidetracked into supporting the
manmade institution of the Church. “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and
do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never
knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’” It
appears that being religious is not necessarily the same as being God’s
servant.
