The Radical Gospel Of The Kingdom

The gospel of the kingdom says pack your bags, kiss your family goodbye, say goodbye to your city and your life there. Yes, everything you have laboured for years to build, say goodbye to your country, to your tribe and nation. Pack your bags but don't pack much, limp out of your whole world and begin the journey to a city built by the hands of God Himself.

"The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you... So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed," (Gen 12:1,4).
"to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all" (Rom 4:16).

The gospel of the kingdom is for those with the faith of Abraham. It is for those who would leave everything behind to pursue after God and His eternal purpose. Yes, it involves leaving everything... I mean everything behind. Let us hear it from Jesus's lips;

"“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost,... whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26-28,30).

Say goodbye to everything, I am sorry there is no other way. You cannot have Christ and have your life. You must count the cost, be ready for anything, you might even die on way to the city. It doesn't matter what happens to you, so you better carry your cross, carry the burden of death. You cannot be thinking of what to eat or how you will survive, you have sold your life to death, you have rested from the struggle of survival. You are not interested in surviving, yes carry the burden of death, that is the only way.

Leave now, leave your city, leave your life behind and begin on the journey. How you will survive doesn't matter, just answer the call — that is the faith of Abraham. If you do not have this faith I am sorry the gospel is not for you. You cannot have it both ways; you cannot have your life and have Christ. Yes, you've struggled so much to build that life for yourself but you must pack and leave now. There is another kingdom waiting for you, a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. Do you think you have what it takes, have you counted the cost, and can you pay the price?



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The Book Of The Covenant

A covenant is a binding agreement between parties, and to ensure that the terms of these agreement is kept there are certain things that are set in place in order to administer the covenant. In the Mosaic covenant there are the priests and more importantly the book of the covenant. The five books written by Mosaic which constitute the Torah is the book of the covenant. We see how this book contains everything about the covenant.

It contains both God's role and the people role, since a covenant is an agreement. The book went into details like a modern business contract normally does. We see in the book everything down from the blessings offered by God, the commandments that the people must obey, the law they must keep, the rite and ritual that should be carried out and totally every other thing concerned with the covenant.

The people must follow down to the details everything in this book, they must not add or remove anything, they must not argue or disagree with any part of this book, for the book is totally infallible as it is not only inspired by God but every word there is dictated by God Himself, in fact some part of it is written by God's own hand. Torah is also known as the Law, in the scripture whenever we see that word, "the Law", it is probably referring to the Torah. The Torah is not the only book the Jews have, they also have the Nevi'im ("Prophets") and Ketuvim ("Writings"). So when Jesus said the Law and the Prophet speaks of him, he was referring to the Torah and the Nevi'im. The Nevi'im is considered a very important book, even more important than the Ketuvim, yet it is not in the same class with the Torah, the book of the covenant.

The reason why I am going through all this elementary stuff is because we have put the Torah, Neivim and Ketuvim inside the same class and call it the Old Testament. The word "Testament" means covenant, and to call a book the Old Testament we are hereby implying that it is the book of the covenant. Therefore we have adopted and pass the idea that the book of the Old Covenant is what we now have as our Old Testament Bible. Such distortion of what the book of a covenant is has made it difficult for us Christians to understand how covenant works and what exactly is the real definition of the book of a covenant. The book of the covenant is also called the Law, a written document of the terms and conditions of the covenant agreement.

“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer 31:33).

The word "Law" in this scripture is referring to the book of the covenant. God is speaking through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah, and He is saying that He will make a new covenant, but this new covenant will not have a book as the book of the covenant, and rather than taking a man, like Moses, and instructing him to pen down the book of the covenant, He would write the book of the new covenant, not in tablet, not in scrolls, not in letters, and not through men, but He would write it Himself, He would write it in the heart of the new covenant people. God is saying that the new covenant will not have a letter-written covenant book, it will not have a physical book that you can point to and say, "hey, this is the new testament (testament is another word for covenant) book".

"Who also hath made us able, ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit:" (2Cor 3:6).

Paul understood the prophecy of Jeremiah, and that's why he made this statement. He didn't made the statement simple for the sake of argument, but he is echoing Jeremiah prophecy that the new covenant will not have a letter-written new testament book. Christians are not to have a book called the new testament, a book that will become the covenant book of the new testament people. Not only Paul, but all of the apostles understood this fact, the early Christians lived by this understanding for decades, until the apostles died and then rose the gentile church, a people who do not understand how covenant works, a people who have not gotten a revelation of the new covenant. This people set up a temple (church buildings), a priestly system (the bishops and pastoral system) and a religious book (the bible), all out of ignorance.

This was during the time of Constantine, a time were all kinds of corruption and paganism entered into the Christian community. These immature gentile Christians with the lack of a proper understanding of God's heart opened the door for all kinds of perversion to come into God's Ecclesia. They wanted to stop the problem of heresy so they decided to do something totally contrary to Jeremiah's prophecy and the apostles teachings. They did something that the apostles carefully avoided. Heresy didn't start during their time, when the apostles were alive they had to deal with the problem of heresy, but none of them suggested that Christians should be given an official book that will govern all things doctrinal (a book of the covenant).

John was the last of the apostles to die, and he also fought against the problem of heresy. He didn't gather all the letters and books written by the apostles, he didn't constituted a new testament book. But rather, when he was to deal with the issue of heresy here were his words;

"But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth... These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him." (1John 2:20-21, 26-27).

John didn't point to any book, but with an understanding of Jeremiah's prophecy, John pointed them to the Spirit, the inward part where God wrote the new testament. But all of a sudden, these immature gentile Christians felt they are wiser than all the apostles put together, they felt God has given them a revelation higher than the prophecy of Jeremiah, and they decided to give the Christian a book of the covenant. If such a book is in God's plan, the best person that God would have used is Jesus. Jesus was the one that introduced the covenant, he is the Apostle, the Prophet, and the Priest of the New Covenant. But rather than giving us a book Jesus said these words;

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth;" (John 16:13).

All of these are in perfect harmony with the prophecy of Jeremiah that say God will write the book of the covenant inwardly. Paul went further to explain this in one of his epistles;

"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." (2Cor 3:3).

Just as God through Moses, the Prophet of the Old Covenant, wrote the book of the old covenant, God has also decided to write the book of the New Covenant through Christ, the Prophet of the New Covenant. And in the above verse Paul is saying this Prophet of the New Covenant (Christ) is writing a covenant book, but this is not in ink or letters but by the Spirit, and that the covenant people are the epistles of this book of the covenant. Hence, when Jesus was about to leave he declared that he will send the Spirit through which he would write the covenant book in the heart of the people. This sounds very scary to the carnal man because he cannot read this book. He does not have the ability, the discernment, the faculties to read this book and be govern by it.

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither, can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1Cor 2:14).

The carnal man needs something physical, a book written in inks and letters, and as a result he created a covenant book for himself and called it "The New Testament Bible". Let me make it clear to you that I am not against the letters and books of the apostles. Each one of them is very valuable to us today, the Spirit uses them and it is such a blessing to us. But "the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb 4:12).

The word of God reveals to us the works of the carnal man, and it is this carnal man that has given us the bible. The carnal man took advantage of the immaturity of the gentile Christians and decided to constitute an officially, authorized doctrinal book (the book of the law) for the new testament people. Formulating such unscriptural theologies that this book contains all the law of Christianity, that nothing can be added or removed from this book, that it is infallible, it is written by God etc. All of these are characteristics of the book of a covenant; it is the book of a covenant that is infallible, written by God, and is a binding document that all must conform to, a document that must not be added to neither can any of words be removed. The theology and the authority that we have given to the Bible belongs only to the book of the covenant, a book that God explicitly explained that he would write only in the heart of the people.

This is God's will, that the book of the covenant will be written in the heart of the people. That Christ, the Prophet of the covenant will write this book himself, not with inks and letters, but by the Spirit, making the people a living epistle of the New Testament. To go against this is to rebel against God's will, and sadly that is what we have done. In our own wisdom we have decided that the people must have a letter-written new testament book and we have constituted a book and given it that name, "The New Testament". We have gone against God's will, we have broken the Father's hearts and we have insisted on our own wisdom. The carnal man says God is foolish to not have given us a book, so he would create a book to govern God people, giving them false teaches that makes God's people detached from the real new testament written by the Spirit in their hearts, forcing them to live by their carnal faculties, trusting a letter-written book to govern them and guide them into all truths pertaining to the Christian life.

Repent Now! God will not continue to allow rebellion in his house. He has permitted it for a long time now, but He will not allow it anymore. I am not saying throw away your Bible and never read them anymore. Rather I am saying read the Bible, if you want to call them scripture, I do not see anything wrong with that, and concerning scripture Paul wrote;

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (2Tim 3:16-17).

Yes they are very valuable and useful to us today but they are not the new testament. To call it new testament or to treat it as the book of the covenant, embracing the false theology that has given this book an authority that only belongs to Christ, the Christ that lives in us, the Christ that is the writing of God in our hearts, to elevate that book and give it a sit that only belongs to our Lord, Christ Jesus, is nothing but a rebellion, a rebellion that God will judgment mercilessly. To whom must is given, must is expected. You now have no excuse, you can no longer claim that you are ignorant of the truth, life and death has been placed before you, but if you choose the path of rebellion then be ready to face the judgement for such.



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What Is Ekklesia

First of all, ekklesia is the Greek word translated as Church in the English Bible. Ekklesia is a Greek term and in Hebrew it's Qahal (as used in the Old Testament), while Jesus probably used the Aramaic word "Kehala" when he was speaking to Peter in Matthew chapter sixteen. We can't actually be sure of the exact word Jesus used because the new testament was written in Greek not Aramaic. However, ekklesia means the assembly of the called out ones.

In its Greek origin, the word came from the Athens direct democratic system where the adult male were "called out" to form a congress to make decisions for the community, it was a governmental body. In the Hebrew origin, we find the word when the children of Israel were "called out" of Egypt to be a people unto God — a people that governed themselves through a direct democratic and republican system.

In essence, it is a community, called out, assembled together to form a congress, governing themselves. It is a government, a community and an assembly (congress). However, the aim of this article is to look at how the ekklesia is supposed to be expressed. But first we must look at how it is not expressed.

It is not expressed in a building where only a few is allowed to perform on the altar while the rest sit back and watch like in a cinema, or a concert. In such kind of setting everybody is not given the right to speak, and governance does not take place. In a true expression of ekklesia everybody must participate, they must all express their rights to govern. This may bring us to the question, "how does each member express their rights to govern"?

First we must understand that Christ is the only King, and each member is a king only because they are the body which is the expression of the only King. In essence, to exercise our rights as kings (or government) is to express or manifest Christ. Hence, a proper expression of the ekklesia is each member participating in the expression of the one King (Christ).

They meet to express this Christ among themselves, each member participating as Christ build his body and equip them in order to bring into manifestation his reign on earth. Hence, two things happens in the meeting; first is the building or the edification of the body, and the second is the ministry of the King.

"for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ," (Eph 4:12).

Yes the body must be edify, but edifying is not the main purpose of the ekklesia. The ekklesia is a government and the main purpose of the government is to rule, to reign. The ekklesia is meant to bring into manifestation the reign of Christ, that when the world looks they will see Christ reigning as he exercises his authority over death, sickness, sin, poverty, depression and every form of darkness.

So they meet to edify each other and to also arrive at the will of the King — his decision on how he wants to manifest his reign on earth. It is at the ekklesia that Paul and Barnabas received instructions to be separated and go forth, and manifest the reign of Christ in certain ways. It is at the ekklesia decisions are arrived at, it is where the King's will is unveiled.

Jesus goal is not to have a religion, he came to manifest the kingdom of God on earth. And his body should be focuse on this one goal, to see a kingdom, a reign, a government manifest. In scripture we see that immediately Jesus declared, "all authority in heaven and earth is given unto me", the next thing he said to his disciples is, "go". A new King has been enthroned and we, his disciples, are meant to go and manifest the reign of this new King. Our purpose of gathering is not to appease an angry God or carry out any kind of religious rituals. Rather we gather to see how the King wants to manifest his reign on earth, and to bring ourselves to yield and manifest his government.

The ekklesia is not merely for the edification of the saints, it is a governmental body where decisions are made. Believers are supposed to get there and come out with precepts from the Lord, that they each must go and carry out in order to enforce the reign of Christ in this dark world. The meeting is not a religious meeting, but a decision making body, where heaven meets the earth and the will of God is made unveiled to man for the sake of governance.

It is not about religion, but a government. In the ekklesia you do not find a people trying to appease God, rather you find a people pressing into God to bring down heaven on earth. No, you do not find an audience watching a group of people performing on the altar. Rather, they are all participating, for the Lord will express himself through anyone and everyone, because all are kings. It is a fellowship of kings trying to arrive, together, at the decisions on how the Lord will them to reign on earth.

What is the King (Christ) doing?
How is he moving on earth today?
What is his will at this moment?
In what dimension is he wanting to manifest his reign?
What does the King have for his people (the community, the body of Christ)?

These are the questions that the believers are gathering together to find answers to. They are not gathering to hear one man preach, that is not ekklesia, that is probably a preaching center. For too long we have assumed that preaching centers are ekklesia, no. We must now understand the difference, ekklesia is not a preaching center, it is not a workshop, it is not a cinema or a concert. We are eagerly waiting for the reign of Christ, but the ekklesia is the vessel that is anointed to bring down the reign of Christ. The truth is that Christ will not come until we have true ekklesia on earth.

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Separating Ekklesia From Church

Church in it original meaning is a building dedicated to a divine being (a god) for religious activities. While ekklesia means the assembly of the called out once, a governmental body where decisions are made concerning the governing of the community. They are two different things, carrying different meaning. They are not words that should be used interchangeably.

Yes, the Greek word ἐκκλησία (ekklesia ) is normally translated by the English word “church” in the New Testament. What most people do not know is that the English word “church” did not originate from the word ἐκκλησία ( ekklesia) nor from the concept of the ἐκκλησία (ekklesia ) as expressed in the New Testament. The English word “church” originated with the Greek word κυριακός‚ (kuriakos ), which means “belonging to the Lord”. This word doesn't even resemble the Greek word "ekklesia" whose place it has usurped. But somehow, along the line ekklesia was removed from our new testament bible.

I believe, God allowed ekklesia to be replaced with church because the Lord's people do not understand what a Christian meeting is. And this will continue until the time comes when we finally understand what a Christian meeting is. When we finally have this understanding we would stop expressing church but ekklesia, and we would start calling our meetings ekklesia not church.

Looking at the history of Christianity we would realize that at some point we stop expressing ekklesia and started expressing church. We stop seeing our meetings as a congress where government (the reign of Christ) is demonstrated through each and every member. We started perceiving our meetings with the eyes of pagan religion.

We see it as a temple where rituals are performed in order to appease God. Even before Constantine came and gave us a build (temple) to worship, Christians where already going to holy places (the grave of the apostles and persecuted Christians) to worship (perform rituals to appease God). We can blame Constantine for all we want, but the truth is that it started long before Constantine.

It became more pronoun in the late third century when buildings were being erected for Christian worship. At that point, priests was used to replace the elders. Rather than meeting to make decisions or receive instructions from the Lord concerning how his reign should be manifested and expressed on earth, Christians started meeting to carry out rituals to appease an angry God.

As such, masses were held as often as possible. The priest were working tirelessly in the temple (church), performing rituals for all those who would come, seeking to appease God for one reason or the other. The new testament was turned into the old testament, this was the point Christians totally lost it. Till today we are still struggling to understand what we are doing, still mixing up the old testament with the new.

Even after the reformation we still continue to practice church rather than ekklesia. The only difference is that the buildings dedicated to God was less about rituals and more about men ministries. It was not just a temple anymore, it was now a preaching center. This is still not ekklesia but church, whether the building is used for performing rituals or for the ministry of preachers, it is still a church — a building dedicated to the Lord for religious activities.

Church is not for Christians, ekklesia is. Christians are supposed to meet as a governmental body to demonstrate their right as kings reigning together with Christ. We are not a religious people performing rituals to appease God, and we are not students sitting under the ministry of men. We are kings, kings make decisions, rules and reign. They don't sit down and watch a group of people performing on the altar.

While there is a need to sit under these ministries (as they are a gift from Christ, see Eph 4:7-13) and learn, we must also recognize that we need to have ekklesia. Yes, I am saying ekklesia and church can exist simultaneously, that is if church is defined as a building where we sit under the ministries that Christ has given to us to edify us as a people.

If church could take that definition then it can exit in Christianity, but it must do so separately from ekklesia. We can have church at one side and ekklesia at the other side, and Christians can attend both. Church would be a place open for both believers and unbelievers, the evangelist can minister there. It can also allow for the ministry of teachers, worship ministers, prophets and so on, for it is a ministry center (a building for ministry).

However, the ekklesia must exist separately as a meeting for only believers, where each member freely express Christ in all of his riches as deposited in them. Here Christ is seen through each member, apprehended and adored. Here each member are cemented together; coming to know each other and to become one, even as the body is one.

It is time the ekklesia break out of the church and the two existing separately, these is all for the sake of growing in all ways into the fullness of God. We would not grow the way we suppose to if this clean break doesn't take place, we would not be the body, "the fullness of him who fills all in all" (Eph 1:23).

You might also like to read:
What Is Ekklesia

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The History Of Tithe And Tithing

Tithe literally means 'a tenth'. This leaves us with two questions, a tenth of what and a tenth for what? These questions is answered in the culture, tradition, and law of different people at different times. People have cultures and traditions of offering a tenth to gods, kings, lords, and acquaintance. All over history, there are laws that require people, nations, and kingdoms to give a tenth. However, let start with the bible. The first time tithe was mentioned in the bible was when Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek (Gen 14:20). Abraham heard that his nephew, Lot had been captured and all his possession including spoils from Sodom and Gomorrah were taken by some kings. Abraham took 318 men, attacked these kings and came back with his nephew, other prisoners, and the properties. He was victorious although he had fewer men. Melchizedek, a priest of God approached Abraham and blessed him for helping to return that which was stolen, then Abraham gave him a tenth of the properties recovered. Abraham also went further to give a certain proportion (or certain percentage) to Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre who were his allies and who probably joined him in the battle. Yes, just as Abraham gave a proportion to Melchizedek, he also gave a proportion to each of his allies and then he returned the rest to the king of Sodom. Another question is that, why is the proportion given to Melchizedek mentioned and the proportion given to the rest not mentioned?

The concept of 'a tenth' had existed among the ancient Semitic people before the time of Abraham, and it is attached with some kind of traditional and spiritual significance. The tenth is used to represent the whole; when you give a tenth of what you have to a person, god, government or institution, you are saying, "all I have is yours". It is a way of honouring the lord and expressing loyalty. When a person gives a tenth of his harvest he is saying, "all my harvest belongs to you". If it is a tenth of his cloth he is saying, "all my cloth belongs to you". Or if is a tenth his livestock he is saying, "all my livestock belongs to you". This is because the tenth is a representation of the whole. This is a traditional way ancient people show honor to another. Therefore, the Bible specifically mentioned that Abraham gave a tenth to the priest of God because it was simply trying to tell us that 'Abraham honored God'. Abraham took a very few number of men and won a victory over several powerful kings who just defeated five kings. Four kings against five and they won the battle and took with them spoil. Abraham was just with 318 men and he brought these kings to their knees. The Bible tried to narrate to us how Abraham didn't take the glory, rather he honored God for the victory. Apart from this moment, it was never stated in the bible that Abraham gave any priest (or God) a tenth. There are many ways to honor God and Abraham being a humble servant will always seek to honor God whenever he has the opportunity and in whatever ever way he deemed wise. Therefore the lesson in Genesis chapter fourteen verse twenty was not that we should always give God a tenth (Abraham did not always give God a tenth), but rather the Bible was trying to tell us that we should always honor God.

"And Jacob vowed this vow to God: "If God will help and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothes, and will bring me back safely to my father, then I will choose Jehovah as my God! And this memorial pillar shall become a place for worship; and I will give you back a tenth of everything you give me!"" (Gen 28:20-22).

This is the second time a tenth is mentioned in the bible. Jacob encountered God and there he struck a deal with God. If God will do certain things for him then we would do certain things in return. One of the things he promised to give God in return is a tenth of everything he has. This was a thing between him and God, it was his personal relationship with God, a deal he has decided to make with God. He would personally give to God a tenth, how he would do so was not stated. Probably he kept to his promise and did this throughout his life. After this we see the word tithe appearing next in the law of Moses.

"And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD." (Lev 27:30).

Here we see God specifically instructed them to tithe from the fruit of the land. There were other trade in Israel, for example there was tent-making (Paul was a tentmaker), there was carpentry (Jesus' earthly father was a carpenter), there was metalworking, pottery, blacksmiths, coppersmiths and so on. The people of Israel were not commanded to tithe from just any occupation, but from the fruit of the land. So what happened to people who do not farm? Simple, they do not tithe. However, during that time almost everyone engaged in some kind of agricultural activity. Let quickly look at how they tithe before we move on to the new testament. The tithe in the law of Moses was based on a seven years circle. The seventh-year is the Sabbath year and during this year there is no tithe because there is no harvest. The people allowed the land to rest and they engage in other activities. Those who make pot continue to make pot, the carpenters, the blacksmith, the traders etc all continue their work and earn profits. However, none of them gave tithe from their incomes.

They had six years of tithing, the seventh is a tithe free year. These six years is further divided into three years. The tithe of every three years was different. The way they tithe on the third and sixth year was different from how they tithe on the first, second, fourth and fifth year.

“At the end of every three years bring the tithe of all your crops and store it in your towns. This food is for the Levites, since they own no property, and for the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your towns.” (Deu 14:28).

During the third and sixth year they bring a tenth of their harvest and put it in a store of their town (probably each town has their own store). This is then distributed to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows in that particular town. The tithe would take care of the need of these less privileged people. They were to provide for those that could not take care of themselves. The tithe of the first, second, fourth and fifth year were taken to the temple for a feast.

“You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose [this was before the temple in Jerusalem was built ], your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to.” (Deu 12:17-18).

Every first, second, fourth and fifth year they would take a tenth of their harvest to the Lord's presence and they will feast on it. Let me paint a picture of how this is done. On this special day, you will find in the temple food of all sorts, well prepared. You will also find drinks of all kinds; wine, beer (Deu 14:24-26), any drink at all, alcoholic or non-alcoholic. You will also find families gathering around each other, eating, drinking and rejoicing before the Lord. This is not a wild party, it is a worship onto God, and this was how they tithe. Now we must go to the age of the new testament. Looking at the books of the gospel, tithe was only mentioned twice;

“How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one-tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin," (Matt 23:23).
"I go without food twice a week, and I give to God a tenth of everything I earn.'" (Luk 18:12).

These were the only time the whole of the new testament mentioned tithe apart from the book of Hebrews. The mentioned of "seasoning herbs" indicates that they were agricultural products. This means that even during the time of Jesus they still continued to give only agricultural products as tithe. Probably Paul never tithe and he did not see it fit to preach tithe. Even the Jewish Christians that love to impose the law of Moses on the gentiles didn't demand that the gentile Christians should tithe. In fact, the Jews themselves do not tithe if they find themselves living far away from the promised land and having no agricultural produces within the promised land. Tithing was never a thing in early Christianity. The early Christians do contribute money but they do it out of free will. They gave as much as they can give, some even gave everything they had. This kind of free-will giving was encouraged through out the early age of Christianity even down to the rise of the Catholic church. The Church fathers were very careful to emphasize that giving must be done voluntarily. They were careful to prevent the sin of simony among God's people, they urge every Christian leader not to impose any form of giving on the people, but rather let them give freely. Any form of impose giving was attacked and shunned. However, there were systems put in place for the provision of finances for the Clergy, the church, and missionaries.

Tithe became a compulsory requirement for Christians only in the mid and late 19th century. In 1868 the payment of tithes was declared to be binding on the faithful of the Canadian Province of Quebec by the Fourth Provincial Council. During this time the protestant church (churches that are not supported by the state) were becoming more concerned about how they can convince people to give and support the work of the ministry. Although each church had there own methods of supporting for church expenses, some of these methods were nothing but extortion of the people, and were considered to be unbiblical. The spirit of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) — the tendency of the protestant churches to dive into scripture, searching for the biblical way to do things — has now resulted into argument among the Christian leaders. The argument was based on this; which of the methods (of supporting church ministry) is more biblical. In 1873, two southern Presbyterians, Alexander L. Hogshead of Abingdon, Virginia, and John W. Pratt of Lexington, Virginia, produced a set of scholastic treatises on tithing, which bound into one volume was called, The Gospel Self-Supporting. Hogshead argued that God claimed the worship of His people, he then went ahead to rank prayer, praise, and material offerings as chief among the creature's acts of prescribed worship. Concerning offerings, he put forward that they are of two types. The first is sin offering, or sacrifice which had been obviated by Christ's atonement, but the second type continues to this day. According to him, the second type involves "the acknowledgment of God's ownership in us and our property, and hence of the dependence and obligation, and the expression of faith, love and gratitude for material as well as spiritual blessings."

Hogshead argued that the voluntary attribute towards the giving of offering is unscriptural, but that offering should be "Christian obligation." He stated that the Presbyterians should be given the tenth, that “A tithe of ten per cent is God’s everlasting minimum expectation." He pointed to the Old Testament, stating that Christ and Paul endorsed Moses insofar as Moses represented the moral law that was not abrogated when Christ replaced the ceremonial rites and observances of the law. According to Hogshead Christ plan for supporting the ministry is embedded in 1 Corinthians 9:7-19, as the apostle wrote, "Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?" (1Cor 9:7). Hence, the Presbyterians are to receive the product of the worship of the people (offerings) as the reward for serving.

Concerning the question on what to do with the tenth collected he wrote that God "finds a place in the practice work of the church, in the consumption of the substance His worship produces... after paying honour to Him and securing blessings to the worshipers, the product of His worship supplies the need for material means in the work of the church." Through this writings sparked the teaching that tithe is an obligation and that all Christian must pay tithe as a worship to God, and that God in return will bless them. Till today this teaching is embrace by several churches in Christianity.


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Did The Pastors Existed Among The Early Christians?

We are talking about today's pastoral system, the governmental office of every church. Did the early Christians have a pastor in each church governing the affair of the church and carrying out several responsibilities in each service? The answer simply is no.

Firstly, the early church never had one single person as a head of a church. They believe Jesus to be the head while they are simply parts or members of his body. The hands can never govern the body, neither can the legs or any other single part of the body. The head will always be the head and nothing can ever replace it. No member of the body can ever play head and the early Christians understand this. That is why the early Christians never had any single head. The members of every church govern themselves through Christ the head, they come together and submit under his headship as he expresses himself through each member (you might like to see: http://www.hiswordxray.com/2016/04/the-headship-of-christ-in-local-church.html?m=1). The mature members are more awaken to Christ and therefore they are more capable of expressing the headship of Christ, hence they were called elders, and they were more respected. The elder had more say concerning the government of each community. There authority is not based on a office but on the measure of the status of Christ that have grown into. Remember Christ is the head, not them.


After several decades, all the apostles were dead, and Christianity was faced with the problem of heresy. In the event of the battle against heresy, Ignatius, a prominent Christian leader during that time decided to write to the churches, instructing them that one of the elders of each church should be exalted as the head of the community. Prior to this each church is headed by a group of elders, presbyters, pastors or bishops. There was nothing like a single pastor or bishop heading a church. Even Peter refer to himself as a co-elder, "The elders which [are] among you I exhort, who [am their] fellow-elder..." (1Pet 5:1). Everything began to change after Ignatius letter, and today we have the pastoral system. Christian leaders have the habit of trying to use the bible to prove a practice that have developed over time through this religious system. Today they pick up the bible and try to prove that the pastoral system is in the bible, but let not deceive ourselves. Christ is the head of the church and not a single member.

You might want to read:
http://www.hiswordxray.com/2016/04/when-christ-is-crown-lord-in-our-heart.html?m=1

Is Today's Pastoral System Biblical?

The word pastor appeared only 9 times in the bible and only 1 time was it mentioned in the new testament. Just one time in all of the new testament, that is very very small. But today, that word is one of the most popular word in Christianity. What is even worse is that the way the word is defined in the bible is completely alien from how it is used today.

According to the Bible, pastors are usually prophets that receives instruction from God. They feed the people with God's instructions, commandments, words and precepts. Nowhere is it written that the pastors govern the people. The pastors were never part of the political system in Israel, they were simply religious teachers. They didn't rule over anybody, they didn't have the power to do so, and God never asked them to govern the people. They were prophet that usually come with instructions from God and that was all.

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers" (Eph 4:11).

This is the only time that the word pastor was used in the whole of the new testament. And notice how it was used, "some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers". Notice how it kept using some for each of the ministry, and when it came to pastor it said, "some pastors and teachers". It didn't say some pastors and some teachers, but it joined pastors and teachers as one ministry. This is because pastors are teachers, the people of Israel have always understood pastor to be simply teachers. The pastors comes and teach the instructions of God, that is all they were and this is why Paul joined pastors and teachers together.

While talking about the gifts of the Spirit the bible did mention the gift of government. But no where was it mentioned that the pastors are the ones with the gift of government. Now in the churches that existed during the time of the new testament they usually have more than one person who govern each church. The church was called ecclesia, the word ecclesia is gotten from the Athens democratic system where all the adult male citizens gathered to make decisions concerning the community. This means that to the early Christians the church is governed by every member. The members gathered to make decisions concerning the affair of the community. Now concerning government there were also elders or bishops. The word used for elder had a Hebrew origin, while the word used for bishop had a Greek origin. Both words referred to a group of people that people that are responsible for making decisions for the community. It is not possible to always gather all the people together whenever they want to make a decision, therefore there is a need of an inner body, a smaller group of people that can easily gather to make quicker and immediate decisions. Elders or bishops were that inner body, and they were a group of people with no single head.

The churches in the new testament never had what we call pastor today. The churches were not govern by a single head called pastor, in fact they were never govern by any single head (we would talk more about this in another post). Today's Pastoral System is alien to the bible and to the early believers, it is something that was later constructed by man and anything man-made cannot bring about the kingdom of God.

"As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth." (Dan 2:34-35).

That which will bring about the kingdom of God must be a stone cut not by the hands of man. We would never experience the kingdom of God if we continue to hold on to system that are man-made.



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