Scripture shows that the word church referred to a pagan temple.
The word Yeshua used was kahila or assembly NOT CHURCH Yeshua’s followers did not meet in churches but in homes. And were called followers of the way
Yeshua called His people an assembly
The English word church can easily suggest a religious building, denomination, clergy hierarchy, or institution. But that is not what Yeshua established.
Yeshua called together a people—an assembly of faithful disciples who would hear His words, obey Yahweh, and follow the Way.
They did not construct “churches,” attend Sunday services, or organize themselves after the religious systems familiar today. They gathered primarily in homes, shared meals, studied the Scriptures, prayed together, and lived as a spiritual family.
1. Yeshua did not build a “church”.
The Greek manuscripts use the word:
Ekklesia — ἐκκλησία
Its ordinary meaning is:
- An assembly
- A congregation
- A gathering of people
- A group called together
The Hebrew idea is expressed by qahal, and the related Hebrew term kehillah means an assembly or congregation.
Therefore, when Yeshua said:
“Upon this rock I will build my church.”
— Matthew 16:18, KJV
The underlying meaning is:
“Upon this rock I will build My assembly.”
Yeshua was not promising to build a religious building, denomination, or clergy-controlled institution. He was saying that He would gather and establish His people.
A clearer rendering would be:
“I will build My assembly, and the gates of the grave shall not prevail against it.”
2. Ekklesia did not mean a religious building
The Greek word ekklesia referred to the people assembled, not the structure in which they met. Not a denomination. Not a religious hierarchy
3. “Church” was a pagan temple
Acts 19 contains an important example of how the English word churches was once used.
Speaking about the temple of the pagan goddess Diana, the town clerk said:
“For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.”
— Acts 19:37, KJV
The Greek word here is hierosylous, meaning temple robbers. It is not ekklesia. The “churches” in the older English wording were pagan temples—not assemblies of Yeshua’s followers.
4. William Tyndale translated ekklesia as “congregation”
William Tyndale’s 1526 New Testament was translated directly from Greek. When he encountered ekklesia, he normally translated it as congregation, not church.
For example, his rendering of Matthew 16:18 was:
“Upon this rock I will build my congregation.”
Tyndale understood that the Greek word described a gathered people, not an institution ruled by a religious hierarchy.
This translation was highly controversial because it challenged the idea that “the Church” was a powerful organization standing between the people and Yahweh. Tyndale returned the emphasis to the congregation itself. His decision to translate ekklesia as “congregation” became one of the major disputes surrounding his translation.
A historical point should be stated carefully: Tyndale used church only in connection with pagan temples. The clearest example is Acts 19:37, where “churches” means the temples of Diana.
Tyndale did not translate ekklesia as “church.” He translated it as “congregation.”
5. The seven lampstands are seven assemblies
Revelation does not describe seven religious buildings or seven denominations.
Yeshua explained the meaning of the seven lampstands:
“The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”
— Revelation 1:20
The Greek reads:
“The seven lampstands are the seven assemblies.”
Each lampstand represented a body of people gathered in a particular city:
- The assembly in Ephesus
- The assembly in Smyrna
- The assembly in Pergamos
- The assembly in Thyatira
- The assembly in Sardis
- The assembly in Philadelphia
- The assembly in Laodicea
Revelation 2:1 should therefore be understood as:
“Unto the angel of the assembly in Ephesus write…”
The lampstand represents an assembly bearing Yahweh’s light. It does not represent a cathedral, religious corporation, or denomination.
6. Yeshua’s followers met in homes
Yeshua did not command His disciples to construct buildings called churches.
The early disciples gathered in homes.
Acts 2:46
“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”
Acts 5:42
“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Yeshua.”
Acts 12:12
After Peter was released from prison:
“He came to the house of Mary… where many were gathered together praying.”
The assembly was gathered in Mary’s house.
Acts 20:20
Paul said:
“I… have taught you publicly, and from house to house.”
Romans 16:5
“Likewise greet the assembly that is in their house.”
The assembly was not the house. The assembly consisted of the people meeting inside the house.
1 Corinthians 16:19
“Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in Yahweh, with the assembly that is in their house.”
Colossians 4:15
“Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the assembly which is in his house.”
Philemon 1:2
“And to the beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the assembly in thy house.”
The Scriptural pattern is plain:
The assembly was the people. The home was simply where they gathered.
7. They were called followers of “the Way”
The earliest disciples were not primarily known by the modern institutional label “churchgoers.” Acts repeatedly identifies their faith as the Way.
Acts 9:2
Saul sought authority to arrest:
“Any of this way, whether they were men or women.”
Acts 19:9
Some unbelievers:
“Spake evil of that way before the multitude.”
Acts 19:23
“And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.”
Acts 22:4
Paul admitted:
“And I persecuted this way unto the death.”
Acts 24:14
Paul declared:
“After the way which they call heresy, so worship I the Elohim of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.”
Paul’s statement is especially important. A follower of the Way:
- Worshipped the Elohim of Israel
- Believed the Torah
- Believed the Prophets
- Followed Yeshua
- Walked in obedience
The Way was not a rejection of Yahweh’s commandments. It was the way of life taught and demonstrated by Yeshua.
8. Yeshua Himself is the Way
The name the Way comes directly from Yeshua’s teaching:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
— John 14:6
Yeshua did not merely teach people what to believe. He showed them how to walk.
“He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
— 1 John 2:6
His followers were disciples walking in His footsteps—not spectators attending a weekly religious performance.
9. The assembly is a spiritual family, not a hierarchy
Yeshua warned against creating a religious ruling class:
“But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Messiah; and all ye are brethren.”
— Matthew 23:8
He also said:
“Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them… But it shall not be so among you.”
— Matthew 20:25–26
The Scriptural assembly was not meant to be divided into religious rulers and passive members.
Although elders served the brethren, they were forbidden to dominate them:
“Neither as being lords over Yahweh’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”
— 1 Peter 5:3
The assembly was a family of brothers and sisters under one Master—Yeshua.
10. A building cannot be Yeshua’s body
Scripture calls the faithful the body of Messiah:
“Now ye are the body of Messiah, and members in particular.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:27
A building is not His body.
A denomination is not His body.
A religious corporation is not His body.
His body consists of Spirit-led people who belong to Him, obey Him, and remain connected to Him.
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
— Matthew 18:20
Yeshua did not say that a consecrated religious building was required. His presence is among His faithful people wherever they gather in His name.
Why We Do Not Use the Word “Church”
We use the Scriptural word assembly because it preserves the meaning of the original text.
“Church” now commonly suggests:
- A religious building
- A Sunday worship service
- A denomination
- A professional clergy
- An institutional hierarchy
- An organization ruled from the top down
But assembly directs attention back to the people:
- Disciples gathered in Yeshua’s name
- Brothers and sisters studying Scripture
- Families meeting in homes
- Believers praying and eating together
- Followers obeying Yahweh’s commandments
- People walking together in the Way
The issue is not merely what word we pronounce. The greater issue is what religious model we follow.
Do we follow the institutional system created by men—or the assembly pattern found in Scripture?
Conclusion
Yeshua did not establish the modern institution commonly pictured by the word “church.” He established His assembly.
The Greek word ekklesia means an assembly or congregation. William Tyndale recognized this and translated it as congregation. The seven lampstands in Revelation represent seven assemblies, not seven religious buildings. The earliest disciples gathered in homes and were repeatedly identified as followers of the Way.
They were a people—not a building.
They were a family—not a corporation.
They followed Yeshua—not a religious institution.
They walked in the Way—not merely attending a weekly service.
“Upon this rock I will build My assembly.”
“Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”
“After the Way which they call heresy, so worship I the Elohim of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.”
The call is not to “go to church.”
The call is to become part of Yeshua’s faithful assembly and to walk in the Way.
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P.S.
Someone asked about Acts 2:46?
The word is hieron, a sacred place.
It does not necessarily mean the inner sanctuary or a building comparable to what people today call a “church.”
Acts 2:46 uses hieron. Therefore, the disciples were gathering in the public areas of the Jerusalem Temple complex, probably places such as Solomon’s porch:
“And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.”
— Acts 5:12
They were not conducting a modern-style “church service” inside the Temple sanctuary. They gathered publicly at the Temple grounds for prayer, teaching, and fellowship, while their closer congregational life took place in homes:
“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Yeshua the Messiah.”
— Acts 5:42
So the clearest meaning of Acts 2:46 is:
The disciples met daily in the public courts of the Jerusalem Temple, while breaking bread and fellowshipping together in their homes. It does not describe believers meeting in buildings called “churches.”
