The New Underground: Part Three

They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place (the Temple) and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

Acts 6:13-15 NKJV

The Ekklesia from the Wilderness

To provide a little context, you could read Acts 5:12-7:60. In essence, the apostles’ teaching began disrupting the sect of the Sadducees, among others. In addition, the followers of Jesus had taken charge over the temple ministry’s food distribution, which was rapidly becoming more inclusive than under the previous leadership. The distribution of food (or lack thereof) to the Hellenists (Greek speaking Jews from the Diaspora), created a rift in the Jerusalem community. The seven servants, and in this account, notably Stephen, began to ensure that these widows received the care they deserved along with the gospel they longed to hear. As a result, many in Jerusalem came to faith in Jesus.

In light of this, you would assume that the disciples would be loathed by the Sadducees and loved by the Hellenists. Yet, the story is more complicated. We’re used to hearing about Stephen’s testimony to the chief priest and his martyrdom which followed. What we don’t realize though, is that it was a group of Hellenists from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia) who set up false witnesses against Stephen.

I could say a lot about this, but for time’s sake I simply want to point out that the testimony of these individuals against Stephen is a false witness. What was this false witness against Stephen? They said that Stephen blasphemes “this holy place”, meaning the temple, that he blasphemes “the Law”, and that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the temple and change the customs of Moses.

Truth gets complicated when false witnesses rise up against the truth, using bits and pieces of the truth to distort its meaning. The same Jesus who prophesied the destruction of the temple, also promised to “go and prepare a place for us”, and also rebuilt the temple of His own body through the resurrection. While there is certainly a spiritual component to these realities (we must understand that we too are temples of the Holy Spirit through the resurrection of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit), we also know that God’s plan all along has been for the Lord Jesus to “rebuild the fallen tent of David”.

To say that Jesus wants to destroy the temple and change the customs of Moses is a false testimony against the ministry and mission of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the embodiment of an anti-Christ message and the spirit of false prophecy. In fact, it would not be the apostles, Stephen, or even the great apostle to the Gentiles, the apostle Paul himself, who would champion this false message. Yes, they foresaw the destruction of Herod’s temple, but they also foresaw the end-times rebuilding of David’s temple by the authority of David’s holy descendant.

We will see, from Stephen’s own testimony in Acts 7, why this is important and just exactly what it has to do with the “church”.

“This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’

“This is he who was in the congregation (Greek: ekklesia) in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:

‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan,

Images which you made to worship; And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’

“Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built Him a house.

“However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool.

What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, Or what is the place of My rest?

Has My hand not made all these things?’

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

Acts 7:37-53 NKJV

Stephen is telling the Sanhedrin that they, like their fathers, transgressed against the leadership of Moses, against the covenantal Law given at Sinai in the wilderness to the first ekklesia, against the words of the prophets, and against the Messiah of whom Moses and the prophets spoke. The Jewish priests were not being rebuked by Stephen because they followed the law. They were rebuked for breaking the law and persecuting the Messiah of whom the law and prophets foretold.

Comparing the priesthood of his day to those who rebelled against Moses’ leadership is one thing, but the nature of the accusation is what is most alarming. Essentially, Stephen is comparing the priesthood to polytheistic idol worshippers, which if you understand anything about Jewish culture, is a big freaking deal. Stephen is saying in essence, “Hey guys, the God of our Fathers chose us as a special people out of all the other nations, so that there would be a people who worship God, not angels or idols. But that wasn’t good enough for you. You went and worshiped the angels of heaven and idols made by man’s hands anyhow.” It wasn’t exactly a well received correction.

Now, about that temple… Stephen points out the tabernacle that moved around with Israel in the wilderness, and also that the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands. Yet, David “found favor” before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. In 2 Samuel 24, we see that David even buys the land where this dwelling would be erected. It was prophesied that the son of David would build the temple, and as it says in Acts 7:47, “Solomon built Him a house.”

Even so, there is a simple outworking here that often gets overlooked by moderns, especially non-Hebrews. David found favor with God, and God promised that the house which David longed to build will be built. The house was first built by Solomon, with hands of flesh by those who would commit idol worship in that same temple. This house would be torn down. The next house, the 2nd Temple which was later called the temple of Herod after the renovations which took place just prior to Jesus’ time, was also built by hands of idolatrous flesh. This temple would also be torn down only a few decades after Stephen’s testimony.

Once again, the God of Israel was wooing His people back into the wilderness experience, where God would dwell within the ekklesia that was called by His name at Sinai. Yet, here is where we “moderns” take this message a little too far in some strange directions.

Temples & Taxes

Some of us emphasize only the spiritual temple of the ekklesia, that is, the body of Christ of whom we ourselves are the temple of God’s presence. It is vital that we emphasize this point, don’t get me wrong. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We can worship God in Spirit and in Truth from every mountain and nation under heaven! This is a glorious reality, and in part, one of the main truths we need to get out of Stephen’s testimony.

Though this is true, by only emphasizing this point we miss out on another vital truth. David found favor with God, and according to Amos 9:11, David’s fallen tent will be restored, and at that time Israel will possess the Gentiles who are called by God’s name. In other words, the Lord is going to restore the family, dynasty, city, and tabernacle of David in the earth. Where does this take place and where is the epicenter of this restoration? This speaks of a literal restored Davidic Dynasty in Israel, from Jerusalem, centered at Mount Moriah, where God provided the sacrifice for His covenant promises. This describes the future rule of Jesus on the earth.

The function of the ekklesia, is to carry with them always and give testimony to the covenantal promises, hope, and Holy Spirit until the day of this restoration at the return of Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, when he parts the skies and restores the kingdom of the heaven to earthly Zion, bringing the two together into one covenant new creation in Himself.

In light of Stephen’s testimony, the Sadducees didn’t want to receive this truth. They did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, much less expected His return. In their eyes, Herod’s temple was more sacred than the revelation of Jesus. For many Christians today, the spiritual temple is more sacred than the physical temple from which Jesus will rule after His return. Might I suggest that both the spiritual and physical temples are important.

Another way we modern christians take Stephen’s message too far in some strange directions is with our emphasis on the sacredness of the church, meaning the building, the properties, and leadership structures which, like the Sanhedrin, are loosely based on scriptural ideas but entirely missing the intended command.

We see this strange error most prominently in the tithe system. The Christian tithe system did not exist until approximately 300 years after the Acts community. By instituting the tithe, we are essentially equating our church organizations with the Jewish temple system. In a weird way, the tithe system is almost a backdoor form of replacement theology. If we believe that the church is now the true Israel, then the church building is our temple storehouse, or at least, this is how I’ve heard it taught. We have our Christian version of the temple tax, and while some of those who minister the word are most certainly doing a work “worthy of its wages”, the same cannot be said about a church that serves as an illegitimate counterpart to the temple system.

Part of the irony of the tithe issue is that, in the future, there actually will be a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem receiving tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:1-12). In this passage, the emphasis of the tithe seems to be placed on Judah and Jerusalem, however the blessing bestowed on those who bring their tithe into the storehouse of the temple does in my mind encourage us to be willing and joyful participants. We can even see this participation of offerings in Zechariah 14. While Zechariah only mentions an abundant offering (no tithe specifically mentioned here), we are provided a glimpse of the nations coming to worship Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles in earthly Jerusalem during His millennial rule and bringing a wealthy offering to leave at the altar.

Now, I understand that many of us who love the churches and ministries we take part in long to give our finances to these ministries to see their upkeep. I am speaking boldly concerning the tithe, however I am not telling you to stop giving a joyful offering. God does indeed love a joyful giver, and He will honor you for this. My point is to speak to spiritual leaders in the body of Christ. To these I would say, “Quit preaching the church tithe doctrine.” Whether or not you realize it, this doctrine is spiritual abuse and manipulation.

We must remember that we will be held accountable before the judgment seat of God for what we preach to our communities. The tithe issue is a relatively small manner for most Christians who long to give a joyful offering, but it is a grave manner for the leaders of our communities who are promoting a doctrine of injustice. Many churches and ministries are built on the dime of the poor, and to what means? Teachers will be judged more strictly.

Welcome to the Wilderness

Returning to our text, in Acts 7:38 we see a reference to the “congregation in the wilderness”. Stephen is communicating an idea to the Sadducees here, one that is both very Hebrew and also very easily missed by a quick reading of the passage. The word used for congregation here is ekklesia in the original Greek text. This is the same word that is translated church in most English translations of the bible, yet curiously the word church is missing from this passage in most English translations.

Ekklesia’s meaning has been discussed and debated a considerable amount lately, to the extent that ekklesia has become a bit of a buzz word in popular christian conversation. Many people are questioning what the bible has to say about the true ekklesia. I believe there is a lot of good to come of this discussion, but with anything that can potentially change the fundamental view we have of Jesus’ community and body, there is also a lot of danger.

I have answered this question in a few different ways over the years. You can search the articles on my website for more technical details on the matter. Today, I want to explore that which Stephen is referring to, and how it applies to our discussion.

In Stephen’s mind, the ekklesia in the wilderness are the Hebrews who were delivered from Egypt, who were with the Angel of the Lord at Sinai, and who received the living oracles. In Stephen’s mind, the ekklesia is covenantal Israel, and the Sadducees are compared to those among the fathers who rejected Moses and the prophets, rebelling against God by prostituting themselves to idolatry.

Stephen rebukes the Sadducees, including the high priest, with the following accusations:

1. You are stubborn and uncircumcised in your heart (soul) and ears (spiritual understanding).
2. You reject the Holy Spirit.
3. You are like your fathers who persecuted the prophets and murdered those who spoke of the coming of the Messiah.
4. You have become betrayers and murderers.
5. You have received the law, but not kept it.

In essence, the leadership of the Sadducees has failed Israel, and God was removing them from leading the community of Israel. Because the Sadducees had rejected the Holy Spirit, they could not be the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. The Sadducees’ system was going to be torn down, along with the temple of Herod.

Throughout much of church history, it has been taught that Jesus eliminated the temple system and removed Jewish leadership over the ekklesia/church. Since the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, this has seemed to many to be the case. Over the generations and centuries to follow, the now predominantly Gentile church would separate itself further and further from the ekklesia of the wilderness, meaning the Jewish people.

By divorcing ourselves from our Jewish heritage we have endangered ourselves more than we might realize. We’re cutting off the branch we’re hanging from, so to speak. According to the apostle Paul, we Gentiles were grafted (joined into) something he referred to as the “Commonwealth of Israel”. When writing to Greek speaking Roman citizens (and to their general understanding of commonwealth) at that time, the Roman and Ephesian believers reading his epistles would have understood commonwealth as referring to those who receive the benefits, or wealth, of citizenship. We Gentiles have been accepted/joined into/made co-heirs with this vision of Messianic Israel in the promise of Jesus. In other words, we Gentiles have been accepted into the beloved and invited to the table of Abraham by the blood of Jesus, and we too can hope with confident expectation that the Father has an eternal inheritance for us in His Kingdom.

All of the promises of Messiah belong to the ekklesia of the wilderness, those who received the bridal covenant at Mount Sinai. This is, and always has been, none other than covenantal, ethnic, and territorial Israel. We who are not Israel, have been graciously, or by grace alone through faith alone in Messiah alone, brought near to these promises and made co-heirs and full participants.

In Romans 11:11-32, Paul refers to unbelieving Israel as branches that were cut off. Using Paul’s tree analogy, all Israel is the tree. The ekklesia is covenantal, ethnic, and territorial Israel. They were already predestined to this purpose and called by merit of human birth into this calling. The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable. Nevertheless, unbelieving Israel was cut off just like when we prune unfruitful branches. These ones, who were predestined according to calling and birthright, were cut off due to their free-will rejection of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. (I love to throw wrenches at the Calvinist versus Armenian debate).

This is also what Stephen is telling the Sadducees in Acts 7. These leaders, who have rejected Jesus of Nazareth and the Holy Spirit, are promised to be cut off and thrown into the fire should they refuse to repent. Here’s the problem with how this relates to a lot of Christian theology: The Sadducees/Sanhedrin were never meant to be the leaders of Israel, and by rejecting both the Law, the prophets, the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit, they have sealed their fate.

So, when God removed the Sanhedrin from leading the ekklesia, it was transferred to the Christian church, correct? I mean, this is what most Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox theology teaches, isn’t it?

The true answer is, “absolutely not!”

In Matthew 16, we see Jesus telling His disciples the keys to His Kingdom are being given not to the Sanhedrin, but to Jesus’ disciples. The Sanhedrin is being replaced by 12 Jewish apostles, the 70 (or 72) Jewish disciples who were sent out by Jesus, and later the 120 Jewish faithful who waited in the upper room for the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was replacing the leadership of Israel, not Israel itself. Jewish leadership was replaced by new Jewish leaders.

I often hear people refer to “Israel and the church” as though these are somehow two distinct entities. Biblically, speaking, Israel is the “church”. If Israel is backslidden, it means the whole “church” is backslidden, even if many individuals are not backslidden. None of us are spiritual islands, so when a brother has fallen into error it is the birthright of the redeemed brother to wrestle with the powers of hell for the redemption of their prodigal brother. Instead, we Gentiles have a history of talking about the “Jews and their lies.”

If there is an entity, organization, or religion that calls itself the church that has “replaced/superseded/fulfilled” or become the “true or spiritual Israel”, you can be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that its organization is wholly and completely illegitimate from a truly biblical perspective.

The only “replacement theology” that happened, is when Jesus replaced one group of ethnic Jews with a different group of ethnic Jews, very similar to how King Saul was replaced by King David. The only “fulfillment theology” that happened was when God saved Gentiles and adopted them into the commonwealth of Israel. Jesus is coming back to save Israel, along with anyone who is willing to follow Jesus and join their commonwealth.

Acts chapter 15 provides the details on how this relationship is supposed to work for those who are not Jewish. We can join the commonwealth without having to be circumcised or “become Jewish”. God has no intention to “homogenize” His kingdom and scrub away cultures like a European monarch on a power trip. So don’t come at me with an argument saying I’m “returning to the law” or “judaizing”.

Many, and I sincerely mean many, genuine followers of Jesus are participating in a “church” that does not realize it belongs to the ekklesia once fashioned by Yahweh in the Sinai wilderness. What I am saying is not intended to be a condemnation of any individual’s sincerity, desire to please God, or their salvation. I am saying we’ve become caged birds, held captive by doctrines of men and the doctrines of demons. I am saying that, while many genuine followers of Jesus live and serve within this broken religious system, it is also the very same broken religious system of this illegitimate church that contributes significantly to the great falling away.

Are you wrestling with “what is church?” “What is ekklesia?” Please, do not follow in the path of celebrity ministers or political zealots who are trying to answer this question for the masses. There are a lot of genuine believers, who, to be frank, are drunk on their celebrity and/or the paycheck it earns them.

Go back to the ekklesia in the wilderness, where it all started. Learn about our commonwealth of promises that are accessible to those who are joined at the hip with Israel. A massive change is coming to the church as we know it. Many old things will be passing away for new things which are based on ancient things. As we enter into these new things, remember that you cannot pour new wine into an old wineskin. Also, remember that new wine really isn’t that great. We need to age patiently and carefully, not moving forward in immature haste.

Get back to the promises made to Israel. We will never understand the true calling and mission of Jesus’ ekklesia without gazing upon these promises and their implications for both Israel and for the nations. If at all possible, find a small group of believers who will walk together with you on this journey. I know I may seem very impatient and brash towards the “church as-it-is”, but there really are fellowships out there who are learning to embrace the biblical vision of ekklesia. I wish there would be more!

J. S. Marek