The Millennium, part 4

Shalom, everyone.

Yes, this does have to do with the Millennium shortly, but first, we must discuss this term "church":

As I've noted, Yeshua` (Jesus) said in Matthew,

Matt 18:15-17
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
KJV

And, this includes a quotation from the Torah:
Deut 19:15-19
15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;
17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;
18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;
19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.KJV
Therefore, Yeshua`s usage of the word "ekkleesia" is not referring to our modern usage of the word "church" at all; He is talking about the congregation of Isra'el! And, that is how His Jewish brothers and sisters would have perceived it when He said these words in Matthew 18.

Sometimes, churches today will quote Yeshua` in these verses to suggest that this is the way church discipline should run. And, that's fine, as long as one remembers that this was first the way that the nation of Isra'el was to discipline its citizens. And, the usage of these verses for "church policy" or "ecclesiastical polity" was NOT Yeshua`s first intent of His statement. It doesn't fit in with His theme as such.

Now, having said that, the "church" is a local "calling-out" of people; it's a TOWN-MEETING for the purpose of gathering real people together for mutual support and encouragement. With all due respect to those in a hierarchically structured organization called a "church" or a "Church," there is no such thing as a "Universal Church" as a "Universal Body of believers." The word "Catholic" means "Universal." Thus, I am saying that there's no such thing, particularly as described in Scripture, as a "Catholic Church." If that were the case, then why are they referred to as "churches" (PLURAL) in the verses listed above? Why are they referred to as the "church at Corinth" or the "church at Ephesus" or the "church at Rome?" No, these hierarchies were called the sect of the Nicolaitans in Revelation 2:6 and 15:

NT:3531 Nikolaites (nik-ol-ah-ee'-tace); from NT:3532; a Nicolaite, i.e. adherent of Nicolaus:
KJV - Nicolaitane.

NT:3532 Nikolaos (nik-ol'-ah-os); from NT:3534 and NT:2994; victorious over the people; Nicolaus, a heretic:
KJV - Nicolaus.

NT:3534 nikos (nee'-kos); from NT:3529; a conquest (concretely), i.e. (by implication) triumph:
KJV - victory.

NT:2992 laos (lah-os'); apparently a primary word; a people (in general; thus differing from NT:1218, which denotes one's own populace):
KJV - people.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

It's this dominance over the people to which Yeshua` said His disciples should NOT adhere in Matt.

Matt 23:1-12
23 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.KJV
He also alluded to this attitude in John 18:33-38, particularly verse 36:

John 18:33-38
33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?
35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
KJV
And yet, who in today's clergy is called "Father?" What does "Padre" mean? What does the word "Pope" mean? The words "pastor" and "bishop" are not anyone special; they are SHEPHERDS! The word "priest" means "one who intercedes with God on behalf of another," and yet the Scriptures say,

1 Tim. 2:5-6
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
KJV

Heb 10:10-22
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
KJV
So, we have no more need of priests to stand for us; we already have a Great High Priest, Yeshua` the Messiah (Jesus the Christ), who is our ONLY Mediator. We need no "vicar" or substitute; we need no "pontiff" or "pontifex" or "bridge-maker" or "path-maker." Yeshua` is our ONLY "go-between," our ONLY "Mediator," our ONLY "Substitute."

Finally, I'm going to go one step further and address the fictions of the Protestants, as well: There's no such thing as a "Universal Body of Christ." That, too, is a vestigial hold-over from one's denominational origins in the Catholic Church. There is no such doctrine of ecumenism in the Scriptures. To the contrary, the body of the "church" is to be local so that each member can take care of the other members PHYSICALLY, as needed! That's hard to do in an "invisible, universal body!"

Even in the concept of the "Bride" as in the "bride of Christ," as noted before in posts on the New Jerusalem, is both a simile and a metaphor of the CITY, the New Jerusalem, not the people!

In Ephesians 5, the only other place that talks about the "church" being to Yeshua` as a wife is to a husband, it is possible that the "calling-out" is of a group of TWO people, an ASSEMBLY of TWO persons, the man and his wife, and that it is this MARRIAGE - this WEDDING - this BOND that is subject to Yeshua`, not what we call a "church" today! If it were not in this perspective, then one would have to ask, "WHICH church?" since they are local gatherings!

Granted, that's a lot to swallow quickly without choking, but it is crucial to understanding that the "church" is NOT the "Darling" of the Messiah, as so many teach! The Kingdom, therefore, is NOT a subset of the "Church!" Nor is it another name for the "Church" or the "Universal Body of Christ."

To the contrary, the Kingdom is that same Kingdom that was put in the hands of haMelekh David, David the King, haMelekh Shlomo, Solomon the King, and their children after them! It would ultimately be inherited by the Son of David, Yeshua` haMashiach:

Jer. 23:5-8
5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE Lord OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
8 But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
KJV
and

Ps. 89:18-37
18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:
21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.
24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;
31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;
32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
36 His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me.
37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
KJV
THIS is the Kingdom of God! And, it was the nation Isra'el given unto David the King!

In the Messiah's love,
Roy