THE HISTORY OF THE EKKLESIA
APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP REPLACED BY EVIL MEN
The Ekklesia started with a big bang on the day of Pentecost. On day one, she consisted of 120 men and women, who obeyed and stayed in Jerusalem, were bathed in the Holy Spirit, including the 3000 multinational believers. Soon 5000 families would be joining. There would be no deacons, elders, bishops or pastors, structure, or organization, but believers would meet in homes, break bread and share the gospel, and new Household of God would be planted every day. (Acts 2:41,47; 4:4; 16:5)
Yeshua had forewarned that false Messiahs and prophets would arise (Matt. 24:24), that would scatter and destroy the sheep. Paul, Peter and James, also warned about such ungodly, impious men, false teachers and even cursed them (Gal. 1:8-10; I Pet. 2:1-2; Jude 1: 4-19). The church history eminently proves that in the last two millennia, evil men, misled the Bride and made her a harlot (Acts 20:29-30; Rev.17:1-6). However, the true Ekklesia survived, not in the cathedrals of clergy dominated, structured, liturgical church but in the homes of the martyrs.
DENOMINATIONALISM - THE SEED OF DIVISION
The Greek word for the Devil is diabolos, which means deceiver, accuser, one causing division, etc. (Rev. 12:9). The Devil’s strategy is to destroy the Ekklesia by driving a wedge between the people of God (Matt. 13:25). Today, there are about 40,000 denominations with different doctrines and practices. Denominationalism is the most virulent virus afflicting the churches. When we criticize each other, worms come wriggling out of their tin cans.
The Ekklesia is one Body, “joined and knit together for effective working, with every part doing its share, leading to its numerical and spiritual growth” (Eph 4:16). Marketing the divisive sectarian values of “us versus them” to the already fragmented cultures and communities, should be banned. The Hydra-headed serpent of denominationalism has been a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions causing religious fundamentalism, doctrinal division, and high levels of mistrust among national leaders. The churches have a choice: either synergize all our efforts and swim together or lose the opportunity for generations and drown separately.
YESHUA HATES THE CLERGY-LAYMEN DIVIDE
The first false teaching came into the church through Nicolas, mentioned in the Assemblies of Ephesus and Pergamos of the Book of Revelation. Perhaps he was a contemporary of Stephen and Philip (Acts 6:5). Significantly, Nicolas means, “conquering the laos, the ordinary people.” In contrast, Yeshua called the “laos” or the ordinary people His brothers and sisters (Mark 3:31-35).
Nicolas divided the church between “listening brothers” and “speaking brothers” whereby speakers claim a higher status. Yeshua condemned this division and compared it to idolatry and fornication (Rev. 2:6, 14-15). Yet the clergy-laymen division continues unabated to this day. According to the Scriptures, every believer is a royal priest and never just a layperson (1 Pet. 2:9; 1 Cor. 14:26-31).
THE EARLY EKKLESIA GOES THROUGH PERSECUTION
For the first 300 years, the Ekklesia flourished in the simplicity, flexibility, and intimacy of people’s homes. During this time, the house gatherings suffered much persecution. Jews, Gentiles and Roman Emperors took special pleasure in persecuting Christians. They were fed to hungry wild animals for the entertainment of the crowds, sawn alive in pieces, and persecuted in many other ghastly ways. However, this was only a foretaste of what the established church was going to do later. They called them heretics and burnt them on stakes at city centers or dragged them behind horse drawn carriages till dead.
CONSTANTINE SEES A VISION OF A SOLAR CROSS
Constantine (280-337 AD) was born in England into a Christian family. His father Constantius was a virtuous man who encouraged Christianity, dying in AD 306, and was buried in York, England. His son, Constantine, a sun worshipper, went to war against the emperor Maxentius of Rome, who was a sorcerer. However, Constantine saw a solar cross in a vision and became a hybrid believer. He ordered crosses to be engraved on his soldiers’ helmets, belts, and sword handles. Overnight, he weaponized the cross a symbol of death and peace and replaced the Menorah, the light (seven branched lamp), the symbol of the Ekklesia. (Rev. 1:20) Constantine defeated Maxentius in AD 312.
IT WAS THE BRICKS AND MORTAR THAT KILLED THE EKKLESIA
Constantine became the Roman emperor and brought much relief and happiness to the Christians. But, with his best intentions, he permanently damaged the Ekklesia. In AD 313 through an Imperial edict, Christianity became a state religion. He gave many facilities to the Christians including a tax-free salary to priests. Constantine proclaimed himself the Head of the Church. He built the first grand cathedral (313-320 AD). All the people who used to gather in the houses of the believers now started meeting in religious buildings designed on pagan architecture. The intimate environment of the homes was lost and the mandate to disciple the nations, was abandoned. Church buildings assumed an uncanny resemblance to heathen temples. Yeshua is building His temple with living stones and not with the man-made mass-produced dead bricks (1 Peter 2:5).
CHRISTIANITY BECOMES A STATE-OWNED RELIGION
When Constantine left Rome to settle down in the newly built city of Constantinople (AD 330) in Turkey, he bequeathed his palace to the Bishop of Rome who began to live like a lord. Priests gradually took over the governance of the church all over the world and wherever their diktat was questioned, the believers were persecuted and even killed. The governments began to keep control over the people by financially supporting the priests. All over Europe, even today, with few exceptions, the government pays tax-free salaries to priests. Intoxicated with power, churches strayed far out. Instead of worshipping their Lord, they started serving their benefactors. Constantine’s own son Julian (AD 361) became an idolater and the grand cathedral, built by Justinian (527-567 AD) with pale pink domes called Hagia-Sophia in Istanbul, straddling Asia and Europe, became a Moslem shrine, and a mosque in July 2020.
HOUSE EKKLESIAS BANNED BY LAW
In their battle against the Arians who did not believe in the divinity of Messiah, Catholic Emperor Theodosius made church membership compulsory for all citizens. Thus, churches were filled with unredeemed worldly members. As they did not have enough priests, pagan priests were hurriedly ordained and appointed. The Roman empire became officially Christian but in reality, entered into the Dark Ages, which lasted for over 1000 years.
House Ekklesias were banned by law in AD 380. Those who disobeyed were put in prison or killed. Even today, little house Ekklesias are persecuted by their big brothers. As recently as 1997, the Orthodox Church pressurized the Russian government to declare house Ekklesias as illegal. The church was misled by spiritual principalities, powers and rulers of darkness, bringing the golden era of the early Ekklesia, led by the apostles, prophets, elders, and brethren to an end.
CHILD BAPTISM INTRODUCED
In 416 AD, child baptism was declared compulsory to increase the membership of the churches. The parents were threatened that, unless their children were baptized, they would go to hell. This way, the number of people in church membership was raised through manipulation and deception.
MARY WORSHIP BEGINS
Promoting Mary and demoting Yeshua is not new. In 431 AD, the council of Ephesus declared Mary to be worshipped as the mother of God. In 1997, millions of Roman Catholics petitioned the Pope to make Mary a Co-Redeemer with Messiah. Even Mother Teresa was a cosignatory, who believed that Mary is equal to the Lord. When John Paul II was elected Pope, he journeyed to his home country Poland where he prostrated himself before a Black Madonna statue, declaring ‘Totus tuus’ meaning “all yours”., This was his motto to express his personal consecration to Mary. Later he was buried with a big “M” (for Mary) on the casket. The Scriptures clearly teach, “everyone has sinned and come short of the glory of God” and needs washing with the sinless blood of the lamb (Rom. 3:23).
ELDERS REPLACED BY WINE BIBBERS AND SEX OFFENDERS
Peter, James, and other apostles set a good example by taking their wives with them when they traveled for ministry (1 Cor. 9: 5; Matt. 8:14). The early Ekklesias were led by married elders. In circa 325 AD, following the example of the pagan priests, Pope Leo I, in AD 440, made it compulsory for priests to remain celibate. This led to sex scandals, which have permanently afflicted the church. To cover these sins, by 500 AD, the priests were asked to wear white gowns. Thus, the biblical leadership of “an elder who is blameless, not given to wine and husband of one wife,” (Titus 1:5-7) came to an end.
THE POPE - THE BRIDGE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
After the downfall of the Roman Empire in 607 AD, Boniface III, the Bishop of Rome, declared himself as Pontifex Maximus or Pope, meaning “builder of big bridges.” This was the title of the Roman emperor who was considered the high priest and god of the Roman Empire. The Pope is now supposed to be a bridge between God and man. He is, therefore, infallible, meaning he can make no mistakes, though history tells us otherwise. It is the Popes who persecuted innocent believers, preying on them as wolves, and had millions killed mercilessly (Acts 20:29-30).
IDOLATRY ENTERS THE CHURCH THROUGH THE BACK DOOR
The worship of the holy relics of the saints as well as idols began in 709 AD Idols of Mary, Yeshua and the saints were installed in churches, and every day of the calendar was dedicated to the worship of some saint or another. In the process, Yeshua was completely forgotten.
THE CRUSADERS BECOME LOOTERS
For a thousand years, the church forgot to pray and instead believed that “might makes right.” For the last 13 centuries, the unsheathed sword of Islam also had a free run, almost reaching the ends of the earth. To stem the growing tide of Muslim invaders, in 1096 AD the Crusaders (soldiers of the cross) killed, looted and raped thousands of Muslims, Jews and Christians. As a result, Muslim hate Christians. Belatedly some intercessors are taking the same route as the Crusaders, going from country to country asking for forgiveness. This identificational repentance is already bearing fruit.
THE CHURCH MURDERS BY THE MILLIONS
From 1184 AD, if anybody dared to question the ordinances of the church, he was immediately declared a heretic and burnt at the stake. This caused much terror among the people. It is said that the church killed about 25 million people who dared to take a stand against it. At a press conference in Rome on 22nd January 1998, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, said that there are 4,500 volumes of old archives, in Rome, in which the names of these martyrs are written. He believes that they contain the names of only about one third of the martyrs. Most of these martyrs were from house churches. The unrepentant church has never expressed collective remorse, not even shed a few tears of anguish. More people were killed by the official church than in all the wars in history, put together. It is sobering to think that millions of martyrs are now rejoicing in heaven whilst their murderous religious Mafia roast in hell (Rev. 6:9-11; 14:13).
EUROPE POLLUTED BY BLOOD
Europeans think they are a highly civilized but dig anywhere in their city centers and you will find the land soaked with the blood of martyrs. Successive governments, the church, the Crusaders and Hitler, Stalin are all in the long list of murderers who have polluted the land. This has brought a curse on the land, which needs to be broken by repentance. Even after the Reformation was started by Martin Luther, millions more died to keep the Bride pure and faithful (Eph. 5:27).
“COMPELLE ENTRARE” PRECIPITATES SECULARISM
In the parable of the wedding feast, Yeshua said, “Go and ‘compel’ them to come in” (Luke 14:23; Matt. 22: 6-9). In the Vulgate, the first Bible translation by Jerome in circa 405, “compelle entrare” meant “entry by force”. This mistranslation gave license to the church to kill, burn, conduct murderous crusades and even genocide to force conversion. All those who dared to differ from the church fathers of the time, were bludgeoned to death unless they recanted. It was Protestantism that gave birth to “Secularism” with freedom to choose one’s own faith. One of the unique gifts of God is freedom to choose, which is not withdrawn even from the sinner. However, making wrong choices has consequences. Yeshua meant persuasion, never coercion.
THE CHURCH REFUSES TO FORGIVE
When John Wycliffe became disenchanted with the church because the gospel of Yeshua was so badly defiled by the monks, friars, bishops and the Pope, he started calling them agents of Lucifer. Pope Gregory sent a message to silence the man, but Wycliffe survived because of many influential friends. He died and was buried at Lutterworth in 1384. However, the church never forgave him. In 1415, it decided that he should not rest in peace, so dug up his bones, burnt them to ashes and scattered them.
BARON JUSTINIAN VON WELZ COINS THE GREAT COMMISSION
The term ‘The Great Commission’ was coined by Baron Justinian Von Welz, a Lutheran noble of 17th Century and popularized by Hudson Taylor of 19th Century. In 1515 AD, a religious reformer named Erasmus translated the Bible from old Latin into simple German language. He explained that until the Great Commission is accomplished, the kingdom of heaven cannot come to earth. It had such an impact on all the religious leaders of the time that it sowed the seeds of church reformation. Martin Luther always had a copy on his desk. The Great Commission is now synonymous with the mission of the church and indeed of every individual believer.
MARTIN LUTHER’S ENCOUNTER WITH REALITY
Luther was a devout Catholic priest. When he made pilgrimage to the holy city of Rome, he crawled the last 20 miles on his knees. But seeing the Pope, his concubine and his child born out of wedlock, he was so disgusted that he complained of how all the sins enumerated in Rom.13:13, including fornication and drunkenness, were being openly committed by the Pope and priests.
STOCK MARKET PRICE OF HEAVEN PRECIPITATES REFORMATION
In 1517 AD, Martin Luther ignited the Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses or doctrines to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, rocking the Catholic Church. He reminded the people that the NT teaches how we are saved by grace of God through faith, “a gift of God” and not of the works (of the Law) (Eph. 2:8). Until that point, folk believed that salvation could be bought for a price. They also believed the Pope to be holy and infallible, incapable of making a mistake. The situation was so bad that certificates signed by the Pope, called “Indulgences” for pardoning sins, were being sold by priests for money. However, the deal was a fraud, because it did not guarantee heaven but only a reduction in the time spent in Dante’s Purgatory.
LUTHER PLAYS DING DONG
In 1526 AD, Martin Luther called the members of the house Ekklesias the true followers, encouraging them to gather for prayers, Bible study, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and other Christian activities in their homes (W.A., 1944). Just four years later in 1530 A.D, the same Martin Luther, under political pressure, retracted this statement and declared that any believer who is not a priest, and yet preaches, even though his preaching may be right, should be put to death (W.A., 10-11). Because of this statement, Martin Luther became responsible for the death of thousands of believers.
ADULT BAPTISM SUFFERS DEATH FROM DROWNING
On January 21, 1525, Felix Manz baptized Blourock who baptized fifteen others. They rejected infant baptism, opting for believer’s baptism. This was the birthday of the truly baptized believer’s Ekklesia after 1000 years of apostasy. Within ten years, all were martyred. Blourock, a fiery speaker, was burnt alive. Manz, who was in the habit of questioning every tradition of the church, was repeatedly dunked until dead, as a joke to ridicule baptism by immersion. Michael Sattler (1527) another reformer, who suggested adult baptism, had his tongue cut off and his flesh torn with hot tongs. After being dragged behind a carriage, he was slowly roasted alive. His wife, along with thousands of other men and women, were also killed by the church.
PAEDO-BAPTISM A POLITICAL DECISION
In 1525, the Municipal Committee of Geneva ordered baptism of every child within eight days of birth; otherwise, the children would be confiscated. While baptizing, chants were used by the priest to remove evil spirits, whilst the sign of the cross was made on them with spit and oil. Melanchthon, a comrade of Martin Luther, asked Fredrick, the Prince of Germany, permission for a public debate on the practice of child baptism. The Prince rejected his request saying that it would cause riots, and in 1526 AD, declared that there should be no change in the practice of the church regarding infant baptism.
THE ANABAPTISTS AND SITZRECHT (1525)
In defiance against this political decision, thousands took “believer’s baptism”, despite having been sprinkled as infants. These were called “Anabaptists”, meaning “second baptism.” They also believed and practiced 1 Cor. 14: 26, “sitzrecht”, which means the “sitter’s right” in the church to lead singing, teaching, breaking bread, baptizing, etc. They also questioned the magisterial right of the church to kill people based on their religious beliefs. Anabaptists who practiced biblical Christianity were condemned to death by Luther, the Protestants and the Catholics alike. Mennonites (followers of Menno Simons, 1496-1561) are descendants of the Anabaptists. Many of them no longer practice Sitzrecht or even believers’ baptism. Being Pacifists, they do not enlist for international wars, but have no hesitation in waging war against each other in the courts of law.
OPEN PARTICIPATORY EKKLESIA SUFFERS PREMATURE ABORTION
in France, in 1660 AD, Labadi organized small house fellowships called “conventicles”.
Christians are so conditioned to the bells and smells of the church and its powerful, mind-numbing traditions, that they are unable to distinguish the substance from the shadows. Doctor Clergyman, meanwhile, milks all the juice he needs into his own pouch.
ABILITY TO QUESTION IS KEY TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH
One key difference between the modern church and the NT Ekklesia remains “monologuing versus dialoging”. Yeshua’s preaching was so highly interactive, that he was pelted with questions every day on every issue. He even allowed His authority to be questioned. There were times when He Himself confounded his detractors with counter-questions (Luke 20:2; Matt. 21:23). The early Ekklesia searched the scriptures to verify whether Paul’s statements were correct (Acts 17:11). The NT prophets are not spared either, for “the spirits of the prophets are subjects to the prophets” (1 Cor.14:32). Reasoning, dialogue, questioning, are key to spiritual growth. The house Ekklesia revolves around free and frank discussion while the modern church expects mute submission. The church needs a speech therapist as only one tongue functions while the rest suffer from tongue tie (Acts 17:2; 18:4).
THE GREAT MISSIONARY MOVEMENT
The established Church became synonymous with barbarism, with an unenviable record of a millennia of persecution, brutality, gruesome murders, and perpetration of inhuman crimes against her own people. But the true Christians obeyed their Master’s call to “go to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all nations.” The 18th century saw the birth of a plethora of missionary societies. By 1790, in Africa alone, 19 out of 20 missionaries died within two years, as a result, today 50 percent of that dark continent is Christian. A huge suicidal stream of Christians exchanged the comfort and security of their homes for the unknown distant lands, where they also suffered and died by the thousands, but in the process transformed the world. Now it is the first-generation Christians, the new wine in the 10/40 Window countries that have taken over the mantle and advancing the Kingdom as never before.
THE CHALLANGE
There are 3000 Endogamous People Groups (PGs) in India. “Endogamous” means “castes that can intermarry”. There are 165 mega PGs, each with a population of one million or more, who can be reached within a short span of time, provided we have: a time-bound, goal-oriented strategy and a humility to partner with others.
Although actual figures are not available, it is estimated that over the last 200 years, only about 200 PGs and fewer than 25,000 villages were reached. But just in the last couple of decades, several hundred additional PGs and over 300,000 villages have been added. Some 85 percent of Christians come from 33 PGs, while 98 percent come from 104 PGs (People Groups). Most are from the lower castes who had been the focus of the missions and rightly so as they have been dehumanized and exploited for centuries. Strangely the elephant in the room, the OBCs (Other Backward Communities) who form bulk (over 50 percent) of the population of India have been completely missed. The Camel (200 million Muslims) was also overlooked. Any strategy to reach this multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-language pluralistic nation must consider incarnating Messiah not only in individuals, but also in each of the 3,000 endogamous nations.
DISCIPLE NATIONS, BAPTIZE, EQUIP AND SEND NATIONS
Yeshua commanded us to think nations (Matt. 28:18-20). That is a tall order. How do we do that? Most Parables, examples and stories of Yeshua, like the mustard seed that grew into a tree where birds of the air came and made nests, the fertile soil that brought 30, 60 even a 100fold harvest, boatloads of fish, the lamp lighting in the darkness, and the little leaven which leavens the whole lump, all have a clear multiplication and expansion of the Kingdom strategy woven into them. Reaping the harvest is an event, but making an edible bread, is a process that takes time. Just like wedding is an event but raising up a Household is a process. Similarly, finding Persons of Peace and bringing them to repentance and then baptizing, discipling, imparting them vision for reaching their own people and launching them to act as leaven to their own nation, is a process that takes time and persistence.
Yeshua also commanded us to preach the Gospel to every creature by being His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Mark 16:15,16; Acts 1:8). Sounds like another tall order. But again, like any Household, you do not produce all the babies, but every grown-up adult member is engaged in doing so. Again, all your biological children do not settle down in your place but fly away to distant places, build their nests and multiply. Similarly, your spiritual children will also fly away, where they will reproduce and multiply and eventually reach the ends of the earth.
If a little virus can go global without any visible means, then there is no good reason, with billions of mobile phones on the loose, why we cannot do so. All that we need to do is to stop messaging other Christians, instead send well targeted messages to their friends of other faiths. They also need to shift from the mindset of making individual converts and instead think nations and become world changers.
GEMS:
- The obvious end of “the Church” age, though real Christianity and Messianism has finally begun again.
- People are crying out to their gods and find them deficient. So, they look to other ones, and some are finding the One True God
- The clarion call of every Ekklesia should be: “Let us think nations, opening up our homes to equip, empower and launch nations to go and turn the world upside down”.
- The Ekklesia is a center for the “Lost and Found.” It is where the prodigal sons are restored into the Household of God.
- Christians do not be deceived. Being a member of a church will not get you a free ticket to heaven. Having your name written in the
- Lamb’s Book by obeying and saving souls will. (Luke 10:1720)
- Missionaries beware - crossing land and sea to convert someone, and then not maturing him into a disciple multiplier, will make him twice as much a son of hell as you are (Matt. 23:15).
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