• Apostles Set up Churches

    by Published on 04-20-2017 12:04 AM     Number of Views: 1845 
    1. Categories:
    2. Apostles Set up Churches,
    3. Boundary of Local Assembly,
    4. Unity of the Body of Christ

    I can't be any more simple than this to describe the 7 church periods in Rev. 2 & 3.

    1st century - don't lose your first love (Biblocality)
    2nd century - endure martyrdom
    3rd century - don't marry church and state
    4th century - don't be like the Roman Catholic Church
    16th-19th century - weak revivals filling up a glass with less water each time
    19th century - brotherly love true overcomers (brethren movement, only wanted to be called Christians)
    20th-21st century - neither hot or cold, just lukewarm

    The first 3 church periods are consecutive, they came and past (their teaching is still true though).

    The last 4 church periods stay with us (RCC, Reformed/Calvinist, Brethren, and Emergent/Pentecostal).

    The RCC, Reformed/Calvinist and Pentecostal/Emergent are corruptions of the Church. Most people in these 3 groups are not born-again. They are going to Hell.

    The correct Church has these 5 characteristics: 1) OSAS Arminian; 2) Biblocality; 3) Partial Rapture; 4) Gap Restoration; 5) Dividing of Spirit, Soul and Body.

    http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/7churches.htm
    by Published on 07-29-2013 01:46 PM     Number of Views: 3388 
    1. Categories:
    2. Apostles Set up Churches,
    3. Boundary of Local Assembly,
    4. Elders

    What happens if you don't get the right understanding of the Church and how the Church is organized?

    Aristotle wrote, "The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold." In other words, a small lie at the beginning may lead to a complete break with reality somewhere down the line.

    Satan, therefore, tries to plant a small lie and over time lets it grow all the while man thinks he is doing the right thing or managing the problem as best he can when in reality the paradigm must shift and go back to the way it was originally intended.

    The Church is defined in two ways: (a) universal born-again body of believers; (b) according to locality, e.g. church of Houston in the churches of Texas or the church of Antioch in the churches of Syria. Such is the account of every instance of the word "church" in the Scriptures.

    It is not defined as a congregation of some denomination (denominations are outlawed in Scripture, for don't say "I of Cephas" or "I of Apollos" and don't even say "I of Christ" for that divides the body falsely also), nor is it defined even as an independent body of believers of some congregation. Congregationalism is most certainly false.

    If someone asks you what church you belong to, tell them the church of your locality and give the name of your locality you reside in. You could further respond by saying you fellowship at a particular meeting place at someone's house, and provide the Elder of that meeting place as well as the Elder of your locality who approved of the Elder of your meeting place.

    Do you know who the Apostle(s) - directly chosen by God - are for the churches of your state or region and the Apostle who appointed the Elder of your church locality? And are you aware whether or not the Elder of your meeting place has been approved by the Elder of your locality?
    by Published on 10-18-2010 01:39 AM     Number of Views: 2172 
    1. Categories:
    2. Apostles Set up Churches,
    3. Elders

    The Church Is One
    The Church and the Work I: Assembly Life, 49-52, by Watchman Nee

    The Bible teaches that the Church is one. The Church which Paul belonged to is the same Church to which we all belong. Our Church is the Church also of the apostle John, Martin Luther, Calvin [I know you are probably thinking that is odd for Watchman Nee to mention Luther and Calvin since Nee is clearly OSAS Arminian, but I think he was just using them as alleged giants of the faith, just as he used Wesley below also, even though Wesley was not Arminian] and all the other regenerated people throughout Church history. The Church of the Bible has no distinction as to time, geography, or race. In the eyes of God, from the beginning to the end, past and present, at home and abroad, there is only one Church, not two or more Churches. The Bible recognizes the body of Christ, which is one and one only. There can never be two bodies of Christ because there is but one Head. Though the members are many, the body is one. Hence all the saved people, ancient and modern, at home and abroad, form one Church, one body.

    Why, then, are there “the churches” in various places? Since the Letter to the Ephesians speaks of one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God (Eph. 4.4-6), why do the Scriptures mention the churches? Is there any contradiction in the Bible? For it speaks of one body on the one hand and the churches on the other. This tells us of the different aspects of the Church. Actually, there is only one Church, for the body of Christ is one. But in different localities, there may be as many as three to five thousand believers gathered together or as little as two or three (Matt. 18.20). In any city or village where a group of believers is gathered together, those believers there are the church in that city or village. The Scriptures most emphatically employ the phrase “the church in (or at)” such and such a place. The word “in” shows us that the Church is one, even though its various members are scattered and sojourn in many, many localities. The Bible treats all the believers who sojourn in a given locality as constituting the local church, a miniature representative of the one and only Church.

    One thing is exceedingly precious: “We, who are many, are one bread” (1 Cor. 10.17). The “we” here includes all the believers. There is only one loaf. Hence do not imagine that there is one loaf in Shanghai and another loaf in Peking, and so forth. From the physical viewpoint, there may be tens of thousands of loaves throughout the world; from the spiritual viewpoint, however, there is but one bread loaf before God. Why is there but one loaf? Because being in the flesh we are restricted by time and space. If it were possible, all the believers in the entire world would break one loaf of bread together. But we know that that is not possible. Even so, though all the believers in all the different places throughout the world break the bread respectively, before God there is but one bread loaf being broken. The bread which the hands of the brethren in Shanghai touch is the same bread which the brethren in Peking and the brethren in Hanchow touch. The bread which is broken everywhere represents the one body of Christ. For God has only one Church in the world. And this Church is spread out throughout every city and every village world-wide. And the churches which are thus spread out are called the churches in these cities and villages. For the sake of convenience, these churches in the many cities and villages of the world are called “the churches of God” (2 Thess. 1.4; 1 Cor. 11.16; cf. also 1 Thess. 2.14). In actuality, the churches of God are the Church of God. The Lord calls us to break bread lest we forget the churches at various places. We are not to be an independent church, but to be joined with others as one Church. This is why we use one bread loaf to aid us in recognizing that though there are many believers—past and present, at home and abroad—and many local churches, there is nevertheless but one loaf of bread.

    The bread which we believers world-wide break may amount to tens of thousands of loaves, yet the body of Christ which the bread represents is only one. The Lord that the bread speaks of is also one.

    So that all the miniature local churches stand for the entire body of Christ. A local assembly may have only fifty people gathered together, but what it represents is the entire body of believers, both past and present, at home and abroad. The bread which any local assembly breaks, however small that assembly may be, represents Peter, Paul, Martin Luther, Wesley, and you and me. Wherever the local assembly is, it is a representation of the body of Christ. Therefore no church may take independent action. In all its actions it must take the entire body into consideration. In the meeting, you should not see just the few brothers and sisters who sit by you; instead you should see the entire body of Christ. What you do is not only related to the brothers and sisters immediately around you but it is also related to the whole body of Christ. Because we are one body, what you as a member do is what the body of Christ does. One member may affect the whole body.

    The Chinese who live in the South Seas are mainly Fukien and Kwangtung∗ in origin. In many cities and villages in the South Seas there are Overseas Chinese Fraternities. Though the number of the members of these fraternities varies, wherever the fraternities are in power, the Chinese which they represent are in power; and wherever these fraternities are under oppression, the Chinese they represent also come under oppression. Now just as these fraternities represent China throughout the South Seas, so we in the place where we sojourn represent the Church. From this we can readily perceive the relationship the action of each local assembly has to that of the entire body of Christ, as well as the mutual relationship that obtains among these local assemblies themselves. Though you may be only a miniature church in a single locality, God will nonetheless use this miniature church to manifest the universal Church. So that the small local assembly here is to represent the all-inclusive body of Christ.

    ∗Two southern mainland Chinese provinces.—Translator

    For this reason it cannot but maintain relationship with other local assemblies as well as with brothers and sisters in other places.
    by Published on 01-07-2010 03:03 AM     Number of Views: 1704 
    1. Categories:
    2. Apostles Set up Churches

    All denominations and sects have failed before this moment, so I have a right to tell you how God wants it to be, and let you weigh what is said. Very simply the Church is organized by the Apostles agreeing upon a certain number of questions or tenets and that gives the Church confident in who the Apostles are. Nobody appoints the Apostles because we are directly commissioned by God, but as Apostles we must agree with one another, and not leave the discussion table until that agreement has been reached.

    We have 37 questions here at Biblocality Forums for the Apostles of which the first 19 the Elders must agree to be appointed by the Apostles.

    Apostles work regionally to appoint Elders of a locality and in turn, the Elders of a locality approve the Elders of meeting places with the locality. Pretty simple eh?

    Please see the questions at registration.

    If the agreement among the Apostles are wrong on any of these questions then it is open for debate and revision if necessary. The key is the agreement of the Apostles from the head which is Christ as the truth pours down like rain to the rest of the body of Christ.

    Do you know why the Antichrist has not revealed himself yet? Because he doesn't have to. Only when his back is against the wall and he knows his time is short will he be revealed. That occurs when the Church reaches its pinnacle of returning to the "first love": finding a modicum of organizing itself which shall be accomplished through an appreciation of Scriptural locality.

    Send this comment out to people to get them to think:
    When you look at all that suffering it makes you ask what the real problem is and what the real solution is?

    The problem is the disorganized Church. For example there are apparently 450 churches I hear in Fresno, California, but they are disjoined. It is the largest employer in the city, but they are segmented and powerless to come together. Why?

    It trickles from the Head which is Christ to the Apostles, directly chosen by God, who work in region of churches to appoint Elders for the whole locality. The latter in turn approve Elders of meeting places. Before this can be accomplished the Apostles have to agree with each other on a certain number of tenets and how to properly organize the Church.

    The way to begin to properly organize the Church is to define the church correctly. The church of Antioch in the churches of Syria. The church of Jerusalem in the churches of Judea. The church of Fresno in the churches of California.

    Do you get it? Wake up!
    by Published on 12-15-2009 07:56 AM     Number of Views: 5723 
    1. Categories:
    2. Apostles Set up Churches

    The Church will return to "thy first love" (Rev. 2.4) in this final church period before Christ, the Son of Man, appears with His overcomer believers who receive the reward of reigning for 1000 years over the nations as kings and priests (20.2-7). Apostles and Elders though first need to be in agreement about deeper truths in the Word of God such as Biblocality. Apostles directly commissioned by God have asked 37 questions (and the first 19 questions for Elders) as a statement of faith so the Church can be confident in those who say they are Apostles. See the questions at registration.

    "As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders...for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened...[they] traveled throughout the region...having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in [another] province. And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed. But we will not glory beyond our measure, but according to the measure of the province which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even unto you. For this reason I left you in a region of churches, that you should set in order the things which remain, and appoint elders for every city as I directed you...without taking sides or showing special favor to anyone. Never be in a hurry about appointing an elder" (Acts 16.4-6; 14.23; 2 Cor. 10.13; Titus 1.5; 1 Tim. 5.22).