“When Jesus of Nazareth spoke about His mission, He never once described founding an institution, creating a hierarchy, or building temples filled with wealth and power. Instead, He said plainly:
"I will build my ekklesia." (Matthew 16:18)
This word, ekklesia, holds the key to understanding what Jesus really intended — and why the institution that later called itself "the Church" has no rightful claim to His name.
An ekklesia was a public assembly of free citizens, called out of their homes to deliberate on important matters.
It was:
Bottom-up, not top-down
Voluntary, not compulsory
Without rulers or priests
Without temples or shrines
Centered on mutual service, not domination
Ekklesia meant people, not buildings.
It meant action, not architecture.
It meant freedom, not control.
When Jesus said, "I will build my ekklesia," He was promising a living, breathing body of believers — not a religious empire.
He was calling for a revolution of the heart, not the construction of a monarchy.
William Tyndale, one of the first to translate the Bible into English directly from Greek, recognized this. He consistently translated ekklesia as "congregation" — emphasizing the assembly of believers, not an institution.
For his faithfulness to Jesus’ words, Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake in 1536.
Later, King James I of England, seeking to protect his political authority, issued a command to the translators of the King James Bible:
"The old ecclesiastical words to be kept, namely, the word 'Church' not to be translated 'Congregation'."
The truth was buried under royal decree. Ekklesia became church, and the living body of Christ was hidden behind stone walls and priestly thrones.
Jesus gave no instructions for popes, bishops, cathedrals, or armies.
His ekklesia was meant to be a gathering of equals, centered on faith, empowered by love, guided directly by Him.
No clergy.
No hierarchy.
No coercion.
Only Spirit, truth, and brotherhood.
By the end of the 4th century, Christianity had been transformed:
Bishops became imperial governors.
Churches became tax centers and political hubs.
Heretics were exiled or executed.
Wealth and power replaced humility and service.
The Roman system taught that salvation could only be found through the Church, not directly through Christ.
Priests became mediators between man and God, contradicting Jesus’ own words:
"No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
Jesus never built a church.
He built an ekklesia —
A living, breathing community of believers
Bound by love
Freed by truth
Equal before the Father
Guided by no man but Christ alone
The time has come to awaken.
The counterfeit institution has ruled long enough, hiding the truth of what Jesus called us to be.
It is not the heir of His Kingdom.
It is the enemy of His freedom.
You were never meant to bow to popes, priests, councils, or cathedrals.
You were called by Christ Himself — into a living assembly of brothers and sisters, with no king but Him, and no temple but your own heart.
Step out of the chains of empire.
Step out of the false security of tradition.
Step into the life He offered — free, fearless, and faithful.
The true ekklesia has no borders, no cathedrals, no thrones of gold.
It is wherever His Spirit breathes, wherever His people gather, wherever His name is lifted up in truth.
The Kingdom is not in Rome.
The Kingdom is within you.”
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