When Did "the Church"
Begin?
By John K.
McKee
Is �the Church� a
new phenomenon? Were its origins at Pentecost or much
earlier?
Introduction
In the annals of Christian
teaching, Protestant or Catholic, one common thread runs throughout: the
institution known as �the Church� sees itself as being separate from Israel.
As some would dogmatically, if not vehemently declare, �The Church is
not Israel!� and depending on your view, this is correct. The Church
institution by and large does not consider itself part of or at times
even related to Israel. In many ways Christian theologians have incorrectly
�divided� the word of truth� (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV), favoring to �pick and
choose� which Scriptures �apply to them� and to Israel.[1]
Are
these observations intended to accuse all in the Church institution of
anti-Semitism or an anti-Israel spirit? Absolutely not. Rather, we question a
centuries-old concept of division between the so-called �Church� and Israel. As
the world gets more and more uncertain and news stories of Israel, the Middle
East, and sermons on the Second Coming become far too frequent, the question of
ecclesiology, that is the study of God�s elect, should become relevant to
the Believer.
Arguably, the study of the identity of
�the Church� is the most important doctrine outside those of salvation and
retribution. This study determines what group of people, or elect, the
born again Believer belongs to and has a direct impact on the validity or
non-validity of the popular pre-tribulation rapture doctrine. It also determines
whether he is part of Israel or separate from the chosen people of God.
As the Scriptures attest:
�For the grace of God has
appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and
worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,
looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from
every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own
possession, zealous for good deeds� (Titus 2:11-14; cf. Deuteronomy 4:20;
7:6; 14:2; 16:18).
�This precious value, then, is for you who believe.
But for those who disbelieve, �the stone which the builders rejected, this
became the very corner stone,� and, �a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense;
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they
were also appointed. But you are a chosen race, A royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people for God�s own possesssion, that you may proclaim the
excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy� (1 Peter 2:7-10; cf. Hosea
1:10-11; 2:23).
In Deuteronomy, our Heavenly Father proclaims �YHVH 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� (Deuteronomy 7:6). This people was the nation
of Ancient Israel and by the time of the Messiah�s death, burial, resurrection,
and ascension into Heaven, neither the Lord nor have His plan changed (Malachi
3:6). He is still seeking �for Himself a people for His own possession� (Titus
2:14).
The key to properly understanding �the Church� versus Israel
controversy is that our Father in Heaven is seeking one people for His
own possession --- the restored people of Israel. The Father does not have
two groups of elect, but rather one.
We now examine
�the Church� versus Israel dichotomy and whether or not the two groups are
separate, or one and the same. We will also examine what exactly occurred at
Pentecost and what Yeshua the Messiah meant when He said �upon this rock I will
build My church� (Matthew 16:18). Most important, we seek to establish what the
purpose of God�s people is, firmly establishing that He has but one collected
group of elect.
What Is an
Ekklesia?
The Greek noun commonly
translated as �church� in English Bibles is ekklesia (ekklhsia).
Literally translated, it means �called out assembly.� Thayer�s Greek
Definitions tells us that ekklesia can be �the whole body of
Christians� or �any gathering or throng of men� or most notably �the assembly of
the Israelites.�[2] The primary Hebrew
equivalent of ekklesia is kahal (lhq). Brown-Driver-Briggs�
Hebrew Definitions tells us that kahal means �assembly, company,
congregation, convocation.�[3]
In the
Greek Septuagint, or ancient translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, the word
kahal is usually translated as ekklesia, the same New Testament
word translated into English as �church.� What is important to note in this case
is that the ekklesia, or congregation/assembly of the Septuagint is
Israel. As the author of Acts writes:
��Moses, which said unto the
children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your
brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the
church [ekklesia] in the wilderness with the angel
which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received
the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but
thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt�
(Acts 7:37-39, KJV).
What is interesting is that the King James Version
translators translated the Greek ekklesia as �church� in Acts 7:38
whereas most other versions read �the congregation in the wilderness� (Acts
7:38, NASB). This �wilderness church� was Ancient Israel.
The rendering
of the word ekklesia is purely dependent on context. However, the very
fact that ekklesia can and does mean in many places �an assembly of Israelites�
should instigate some thinking for your average Christian and whether or not
�the Church� is an entity separate from Israel.
Was the Messiah Starting
Something New?
A common defense for those
claiming that �the Church� is an entity separate from Israel is that Yeshua
tells us �upon this rock I will build My church� (Matthew 16:18b). Notably,
Roman Catholics misinterpret this verse to support the non-Biblical doctrine of
papal secession through the Apostle Peter. Protestants use the same verse to
support the fact that �the Church� was a �new� group of elect that started at
Pentecost foretold by Messiah. What was exactly Yeshua telling us?
In its
entirety, Messiah�s dialogue in Matthew 16:13-21 states:
�Now when Jesus
came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, �Who
do people say that the Son of Man is?� And they said, �Some say John the
Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the
prophets.� He said to them, �But who do you say that I am?� Simon Peter
answered, �You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.� And Jesus said to
him, �Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal
this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 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. 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.� Then He warned the disciples
that they should tell no one that He was the Christ� (Matthew
16:13-20).
In the verses where Yeshua allegedly states that �the Church�
will begin with Peter, Peter tells Yeshua that He is indeed the
Messiah.
The Greek verb oikodomeo (oikodomew) translated �build�
in Matthew 16:18 can mean �to build.� However, it can also mean �to
rebuild/restore� or �to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace,
virtue, holiness, blessedness [and] to grow in wisdom and piety.�[4] Now the question of whether or not �the
Church� is a new thing becomes easier to answer. Did Yeshua establish something
entirely new or did He strengthen something already existent? And
if it was already existent, what was it?
As is
prophesied of the Messiah, �And now says YHVH, who formed Me from the womb to be
His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, in order that Israel might be
gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of YHVH, And My God is My
strength), He says, �It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To
raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I
will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the
end of the earth�� (Isaiah 49:5-6).
Prior to Messiah�s ascension into
Heaven, the Disciples asked Him, �Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the
kingdom to Israel?� (Acts 1:6b). Yeshua responded with �It is not for you to
know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority� (Acts
1:7b). The Kingdom was not restored at that time, although it is something we
are commanded by Yeshua to pray for: �Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On
earth as it is in heaven� (Matthew 6:10). We are commanded by Messiah Yeshua
to pray for Israel�s restoration.[5]
It is plainly attested that Yeshua,
the Messiah of Israel, YHVH Elohim (the Lord God) made manifest in the flesh,
did not come to start something new called �the Church.� Rather, He came to
restore Israel --- something which still has yet to occur in all its fullness.
He did not come to build a new �church,� but rather strengthen and
restore His already existent ekklesia of Israel. As is written of the
Rock:
�For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers
were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized
into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and
all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual
rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ� (1 Corinthians
10:1-4).
Legitimately from the Greek text, Matthew 16:18b could be
translated �on this Rock I will strengthen My called out
assembly.�
What Occurred at Pentecost
(Shavout)?
Within Protestant
Christianity, it is usually taught that �the Church� entity was born at
Pentecost. As the Scriptures plainly attest, �and there were added that day
about three thousand souls� (Acts 2:41b). Pentecost is the
English-Greek[6] equivalent for the
Hebrew word Shavout (tw[bv)[7]
representative of the day the Torah was given to Ancient Israel. This happened
almost 1,500 years prior to the Holy Spirit being poured out in the Upper Room,
on which �three thousand men of the people [of Israel] fell� (Exodus
32:28b).
On Pentecost, the Apostle Peter proclaimed:
�Men of
Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God
with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your
midst, just as you yourselves know --- this Man, delivered over by the
predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands
of godless men and put Him to death�Therefore let all the house of
Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ --- this
Jesus whom you crucified� (Acts 2:22-23, 36).
The Book of Acts tells us
that on this Shavout, men believing in Adonai (the Lord) from all over
the known world came to gather in Jerusalem, both those who were observant Jews
and proselytes (Acts 2:9-11). This included those of the Southern Kingdom of
Judah and those of the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim/Israel who had been
taken into captivity by Assyria some 700 years earlier (2 Kings 17:7-23)[8] of which some had undoubtedly converted to
First Century Judaism.[9]
Peter did not proclaim to the
crowds amassed �We�re starting �the Church!�� Rather, he proclaimed the
Divinity and Messiahship of Yeshua and that He was both �Lord and Christ� (Acts
2:36). Peter proclaimed that He was the promised Messiah of Israel and that the
Israelites were to �Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are
far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself� (Acts 2:38-39). Peter
explained that what occurred on this day was prophesied by Joel:
��But
this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: �and it shall be in the
last days,� God says, �that I will pour forth my spirit upon all mankind; and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even upon my bondslaves, both men
and women, I will in those days pour forth my spirit And they shall prophesy.
And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and sings on the earth beneath,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.
And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be
saved�� (Acts 2:16-21).[10]
Pentecost did not initiate something
new, but rather it fulfilled the prophesies of Joel and it was when Messiah
Yeshua was presented to those Israelites of both houses of Israel
gathered in Jerusalem.[11] The Holy
Spirit was poured out as was prophesied by Yeshua (Acts 1:8) and three thousand
came to faith in Messiah, paralleling the three thousand who were killed
at Shavout some 1,500 years earlier.
A Challenge to the
Christian
If one was to ask any learned
Christian what the purpose of our faith is, he would probably tell you that it
is to go out and fulfill the Great Commission: �Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age� (Matthew 28:19-20). He would be
correct, we are commanded by Yeshua to go out and preach salvation and
repentance in His name. Although much of Christianity sees itself as separate
from Israel, its purpose is the same as Israel�s, to be a light to the nations
(heathen)[12] --- because the
ekklesia, the true called out assembly of Believers, is the people of
Israel.
Before His ascension into Heaven, the Disciples asked Jesus,
�Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?� (Acts 1:6).
>From what is recorded after the Messiah ascended, two angels told them �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� (Acts 1:11). The Disciples question regarding
Israel�s restoration wasn�t really answered (Acts 1:7), rather the Disciples
went and proclaimed the good news of Yeshua's death, burial, and resurrection to
those in �Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth� (Acts
1:8).
Was this going out to preach the gospel the beginning of something
new, as in an entity known as �the Church�? Not at all. We know this because
Yeshua said He was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Matthew 10:6,
15:24), which group would have included those of the Northern Kingdom that were
assimilated out into the nations approximately 700 years prior to Messiah�s
First Coming.
Throughout the Scriptures, our Lord Yeshua is called the
light of the world (John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9; 12:46). Notably, He is also
called the light of Israel (Isaiah 10:17), but nowhere in the Bible is Yeshua
the Messiah called �the light of �the Church,�� implying that there is no
separate group of elect outside of Israel.
The
purpose of the ekklesia over the past two millennia has been to gather
the lost sheep of Israel into a relationship with their Messiah, Yeshua.
However, our days present new challenges. Now that we have established the fact
that the so-called �Church� is not separate from the people of Israel, what do
we do? What do we do when confronted with the reality that we as
Israelite Believers are part of that eternal people that will reign with
Yeshua from Jerusalem?
Conclusion
If it is as proposed, should
this truth not change our understanding of our call as part of the Father�s
�called out� people of Israel? If we are not a separate assembly, but instead
are part of Israel, should that not cause us in the very least to rethink our
relationship to the Jewish people and the Hebraic origins of Christianity?
Should we not consider those descended from Judah as �members of our �family��
who need to likewise know Yeshua HaMashiach, the Savior of
Israel?
Moreover, as part of the people of Israel, do we not have to
rethink the concept embraced by most who think they are part of a separate
entity, that being that Messiah will �rapture them (�the Church�) up at any
moment� so that the God of Israel can deal with �Israel�? Even more so,
shouldn�t we start looking at the whole Bible being for us, rather than
splitting it up because of the false teachings promulgated by
dispensationalism?
Might we be part of the people of
Israel whom the Almighty wants to deal with? Let us pause and
meditate.
This article does not address all of
the questions that the reader may have regarding ��the Church� versus Israel�
controversy.
NOTES
[1] The NASB more adequately translates 2 Timothy 2:15: �Be diligent to
present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed,
accurately handling (orthotomeo, orqotomew, Strong�s #G3718) the
word of truth.�
[2] Strong�s #G1577; Quickverse 6.0: Thayer�s
Greek Definitions, CD-ROM, Hiawatha IA: Parsons Technology,
1999.
[3] Strong�s #H6951;
Quickverse 6.0: Brown-Driver-Briggs� Hebrew Definitions, CD-ROM, Hiawatha
IA: Parsons Technology, 1999.
[4]
Strong�s #G3618; Quickverse 6.0: Thayer�s Greek
Definitions.
[5] Consult the
book Restoring Israel�s Kingdom by Angus Wootten.
[6] Greek Penteikostos, penthkosto�
(Strong�s #G4005).
[7] Strong�s
#H7620.
[8] Consult the editor�s
article �The Identity of Israel�
[9] It is believed that the Apostle Luke is such
a convert.
[10] Cf. Joel 2:28-32.
Technically speaking, the �Last Days� have been the past 2,000 years since
Pentecost (cf. Hosea 6:2).
[11]
Ancient Israel was divided into two kingdoms: the Southern Kingdom of Judah and
the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim/Israel. Today Judah is represented by the Jewish
people who have been regathered into the Middle East. Ephraim, taken captive by
Ancient Assyria in approximately 700 B.C.E., has no identity and has since been
assimilated into the nations. Per the prophesies of Messiah�s return, those from
the Northern Kingdom will be gathered back into the Land of Israel (Ezekiel
37:15-25).
[12] Being a light to
the nations also includes being a blessing to the nations, an example to the
nations, or a testifier of the Lord�s deeds (Isaiah 11:12; 49:6; Ezekiel 28:25,
37:28, 39:7; Zechariah 8:13).
**********
Unless otherwise noted,
Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (NAS,
NASB), � 1960, 1977, The Lockman Foundation.
Verses marked KJV are from
the King James Version Bible.
