centuries so that he could start something totally different and completely new. He sought only to restore the
house (congregation) of David that lay in ruin.
From Temple and Synagogue
The church of Y‘shua was modeled after both the temple and the synagogue that were so intrinsically
involved in the lives of First Century Jews. The church came to be thought of as the spiritual temple, the new
habitation of YHWH through the Spirit (Eph 2:21, 22). Local assemblies of the church were still termed
synagogues by James thirty years after the resurrection of Y‘shua (James 2:2). The translators of the
Scriptures have concealed this truth by rendering sunagoge as ―assembly" or ―gathering." At the same time,
they seemed to have no difficulty translating ―synagogue of Satan" in Rev 2:9; 3:9 and ―synagogue of the
Jews" in Acts 17:10.
The ongoing life of the church was patterned after the synagogue. Its officers were merely an extension of
the form with which the apostles had been familiar all their lives. Each congregation of the church was
autonomous like the synagogues before them. The leader of each assembly was called president (nasi)
rather than pastor, until at least the middle of the Second Century. The government of the early church was
purely egalitarian, both in the democracy of the local congregation and in the yeshiva or Beit Din of its
translocal leadership (Acts 15). Monolithic organisations with hierarchical episcopacies were later accretions
patterned after the governmental and military structures of the Greco-Roman world and of the nations in
which Protestantism later developed.
The liturgy of the earliest church paralleled the liturgy of the synagogue. Forms of prayer and praise
remained consistent with the patterns of the Judaism with which Y‘shua and the apostles had expressed as
their faith. Y‘shua was not seeking to establish a new order; he merely brought a renewed covenant to
YHWH‘s ancient system of praise, worship, and service–biblical Judaism.
Extended Family, Community
In reality, both synagogue and Temple in the economy of Israel were patterned after Abraham and Sarah‘s
tent, so that even each Jewish family‘s gathering for food and fellowship was thought of as in a mini-Temple
(mikdash me‘at). The foundation of both the synagogue and the earliest church was the home; and
congregations met in homes, as had the synagogues of which they had been a part. Some evidence
suggests that no structures were constructed solely for worship until the Fourth Century A.D.
An accurate depiction of the church is that of an extended family, the family of YHWH. Community
(fellowship) was foremost in the First Century church and should be the guiding principle for the church
today. It is in the small groups of extended family that believers receive the mutual support, reinforcement
and the accountability that they need for successful holy living.
Back to Basics
It is time that the church stopped wasting millions of dollars on spectacular, single-purpose structures
and on entertaining stage productions. These monies can more effectively be spent on personnel to
nurture the body of Messiah in communities patterned after the First Century church. YHWH‘s command to
Moses is good advice to us: "See that you make all things according to the patterns shown you in the
mount." In this case, the Mount Zion community of the First Century must be the pattern from which we
contextualise the faith of the apostles in today‘s multi-cultural world society. When we do, we will find
ourselves building on the Rock instead of the sands of human tradition; and the lives that we build and bring
to maturity will stand for all time.
The reference to ―gates of hell" is an example of a concept deeply rooted in Jewish mystical studies. It
means that the demonic world will not prevail against those "walking in the Kingdom".
16:19-20 The keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven
―(19) And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
(20) Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.‖ (Matt 16:19-
20)