Infallibleproofs:

ConcerningtheLOCALCHURCH

Contents
Page

I.
Introduction..
3
II.
Etymologically
6
III.Scripturally...
13
IV.Numerically..
29
V.Practically..
....34
VI.Logically..
.49
VII.Conclusion.
..54

I.Introduction
"The Christian Church, "The Church Age", "The Rapture of the Church", "The
Church..."this and'The Church..."that,et.al.,are some of the most frequently used
phrasesbymanypreachersandteachers.Scoresofbooksfilltheshelvesofbookstoreson
thesubjectof'TheChurch".Whatexactlydothepreachers,teachersandauthorsofthese
booksmeanby"TheChurch?"
Thisbookisanexpos.Itissetforthwiththehonestintentionofclarifying,whatmany
today in theEcumenicalworld claim to be, "The Church" as opposed to what the
Scripturesteach.Also,theScripturalperspectiveofthetruenatureofthechurchwillbeset
forth.Theauthorsincerelyrequeststhereader,todoso,withoutanyreservationsorbiasor
anypreconceivednotions.Maythemindofthereaderbeopentothetruthandhis/her
heartneverbecontentwithanything,buttheTRUTH.
Thebestwaytoexaminetheveracityofasubjectistoquestionit.Togaingreaterinsight,
wemustscrutinizeanddiagnose.Ifthisbetrue,thenitcancertainlybeappliedtothe
subjectofthechurch."Whatisthechurch?,Howwouldyouexplainit?".Forifthe"What"
canbedefined,thenthe"Who",the"Why",the"Where",the"When"andthe"How"can
alsobeansweredwithlittleornoconfusionatall.Weshallbeginourquestintothesubject
ofthechurchbyscrutinizingsomebasicdefinitionsthatareavailabletousonthesubject.
PastorEdgarC.Carlislestatesthedefinitionsofthechurchassuch,inhisbooklet:God's
Church,FamilyandKingdoms";"ThereareamongChristiandenominations,threeprimary
definitionsoftheword"church".DownthroughthecenturiesBaptistshavebelievedthe
churchisanassemblyofsaintsmeetingataspecificplaceatspecifictimes.Thisisthe
local,visibleinterpretation.
"Roman Catholics teach that the church is universal or Catholic. They insist that
everywhereCatholicsmeettoworshiptheyallcomposetheLord'schurch.Thisisthe
universalvisiblechurchtheory.
"Protestants insist that all the saints since the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two
comprise the church. They may or may not meet with other believers to worship.
ProtestantscallallofthesesaintsthebodyofChrist.Thisistheuniversal,invisiblechurch
theory."(Pages1&2).
M. L. Moser,Jr.in his book:Ecumenicalism

Under the Spotlight, goes along the same

linesinpresentingthedifferentdefinitions:"Inseekingtodefinetheword'church'today,
we find three basic definitions of the term. I choose to call them the'Catholic
Definition,'the'Protestant Definition,'and the'Bible Definition.'Let us note these
definitions:

RomanCatholicDefinition.
The definition of the Roman Catholic Church is that the church is
bothvisibleanduniversal.Indeedtheword'catholic'means'universal.'Theyteachthatthe
CatholicChurchincludes,allthemembersoftheRomanCatholicchurchesthroughoutthe
world,thusbeingbothvisibleanduniversal.
ProtestantDefinition.
Thisdefinitionvariesinthatthechurchisdefinedasbeinginvisibleanduniversal...After
separatingfromtheRomanCatholicChurch,theywerenolongermembersofthat
church,anewdefinitionhadtobedevised.Ithadtobemodified...broadenoughto
include all, whether Presbyterian, Lutheran, Reformed, or what, and because it did
encompassallvariousgroups,itwasassumedthatitwasinvisible,andnotlimitedtoa
particularchurchbody.Thusitwasuniversalincludingallbelievers,butinvisible.Thisis
thedoctrineoftheProtestantstodayandexpressedinthesocalledApostle'screed,"I
believeintheholycatholicchurch."
BibleDefinition.
Thethird definition...is the Bibledefinition.NeitherofthetwoabovefitstheBible
definition of the church. In seeking to definethe word church, we cannot use our
dictionaries,sincethewordisdefinedastoitscurrentusage,thereforewemustreferback
totheGreeklanguageandtoitsmeaningatthetimethewordwasusedbyourLord.For
this purpose, I quote...Dr. RoyBeamon,Professor of Languages and Biblical
Introduction in the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He defines the
word'church'inthismanner:
TheGreekwordforchurch,ekklesia,doescomefromtwoGreekwords,meaning
calledout....AstheGreeksusedtheword,itreferredtoacalledoutmeetingor
gathering.TheproperEnglishfortheGreektermisassemblyorcongregation....a
violation of linguistic principles is made by those whomake
'church'inEphesiansrefertoallthesavedatthepresenttime.Thewordmeanslocal
assemblyoranassemblyasaninstitution.
Notethenthatthedefinitionoftheword'church'asusedintheNewTestamentinvolves
both a'callingout'and a'callingtogether'and true Baptists have always accepted this
definitionoftheNewTestament."(Pages11&12).
Of the above mentioned three basic definitions, the second one, that is the Protestant
Definitionisthemostpopularandwidelyaccepted.Thisdefinitionwaspopularizedtothe
mostpartbythefootnotesgivenintheScofieldBible.Buttherehavebeenthosewhohave
stretchedthissameProtestantdefinitionevenfurther.The"muchsunghero"oftheSword
oftheLordPublishers,JohnR.Rice,forexample,inhisbookletonTheChurchesandthe
Church,statesthat"...theChurchorBodyofChristincludesallthesavedpeopleofall
Ages."(i.e.Past,PresentandFuture[Page10]).
And so, beginning with the late John R. Rice, every major modern
dayecumenicalevangelicalpreachesnothingbuttheUniversalInvisibleChurchTheory.

Preachers

such

as
thelateCurtisHutson,JerryFalwell,ChuckSwindoll,WarrenWiersbe,Jack
VanImpe,Oral Roberts, Billy Graham,R.B.Theime,et.al.,have all promoted this
positionofthechurch.
As stated above, we have the Roman Catholic, the Protestant and the Bible/Baptist
definitions which are the three basic definitions concerningThe CHURCH.All other
explanationsconcerningthechurcharemerevariantsofthesethreedefinitions.Butforour
study'ssake,wewillfurthersumupthesethreedefinitionsandalloftheirvariantsintotwo
majorcategories:
1)UniversalChurchThisdefinitionstatesthatallbelievers,throughouttheworld,past,
present and future, whether visible or invisible, comprise a Universal body of Christ.
Wheneverthisdefinitionisimplied,theword'church'isalwaysspelledwithacapital"C".
2)LocalChurchThisdefinitionstatesthatachurchisabodyofBaptizedbelievers,
assemblingthemselvesinaSpecificPlaceatSpecificPeriodsforSpecificPurposes.
Havingsummedupallofthevariousdefinitionsintotwomajorcategories,itisnoteworthy
toseethateachoneofthesetwodefinitionsisatotalcontrasttotheother.Thereisagreat
differenceorconflictbetweenthetwo,yettherearemultitudeswhoclaimthattheBible
teachesbothofthesepositions.DoestheBibleindeedpositivelyteachtwosubjectsthatare
soconflictingtoeachother,atthesametime?Orisitasemanticerrormadebythosewho
claimtobeBible"gurus"?
Anothergreatproblemisthattherearemanywhotendtobepassiveaboutmostofthe
Bibledoctrines.Theyinsistthat"itdoesn'tmakeanydifferencewhatorhowonebelieves!"
Thiskindofanattitudeiswhatecumenicalismisallabout.Itisanattitudethatsays,"It's
allthesameintheendanyway."Ifthisistruethenwemightaswellgiveupallthatwe
believe and stand for. We might as well all become Hindus or join the New Age
Movement.Godforbid!TheBibleencouragesustoSTUDYitandfindoutthetruthabout
everysubjectthatitdealswith(IITimothy2:15).
Thus we shall now proceed to critique these two interpretations in a systematic and
scripturalorder.Thatistofindout,"WhatistheTRUECHURCH?"

II.Etymologically
Itfirstneedstobementionedthattheword'church'mostdefinitelydoesnotapplytoa
denomination,sectorevenabuilding(suchasaCathedral).Manyareunderthisfalse
notionandwouldverylooselycallabuilding,"achurch."BeforewedealwiththeEnglish
word, church, we shall first go to the Greek language, for our New Testament was
originallywritteninthatlanguage.TheGreekwordbehindour,Englishword,church,as
mentioned previously isejkklhsiva, (ecclesia). We shall etymologically diagnose this
wordtoseewhetheritappliestoauniversaloralocalchurch.
ItisafactthatAlexandertheGreatcameupwithhisown'code'languageforhismilitary,
during his reign. This language came to be known as'Koine'Greek. It

was'KoineGreek'thatwasinternationallyspokenduringthedaysofourLordJesusChrist.
OurLord,speakinginthislanguage,inMatthew16:18said,"uponthisrockIwillbuild
mychurch(ecclesia)."ThiswordwasalreadyincommonusagebytheGreeksandwas
wellunderstoodastoitssignificance.WeshallrefertocertainauthoritiesoftheGreek
languageandderivetheetymologyofthewordECCLESIA.
The late Dr.B.H.Carrol (1843 1914), founder and first President of the renowned
SouthwesternBaptistTheologicalSeminaryinFortWorth,Texasdefinesthetermthusin
his book"Ecclesia";"Etymologically...its...an organized assembly, whose members
havebeenproperlycalledoutfromprivatehomesorbusinesstoattendtopublicaffairs.
Thisdefinitionnecessarilyimpliesprescribedconditionsofmembership."(Pg.8).
Dr. Frank A.Godsoe,D.D.,Th.D.,explains in his book:The House of God,"...an
organizedAssembly,itsmemberscalledoutfromprivatehomestoattendpublicaffairs,
andhavingprescribed,conditionsofmembership.Thatmeaningappliesto(1)Christ's
Assembly,(2)ToaselfgoverningGreekstate,(Acts19:39),(3)ToNationalIsrael,(Acts
7:38)"(Page9).
EdwardOverby,the author ofThe

Meaning ofEkklesiain the New Testament, has

compiledthefollowingdefinitionsinhiswriting:
"anassemblyofthepeopleconvenedatthepublicplaceofcouncilforthepurposeof
deliberating."(AGreekEnglishLexiconoftheNewTestament,J.H.Thayer).
"...anassemblyofthecitizenssummonedbythecrier,thelegislativeassembly."(A
GreekEnglishLexicon,R.ScottandH.G.Liddell).
"...thelawfulassemblyinafreeGreekcityofallthosepossessedoftherightsof
citizenship,for the transaction of public affairs." (Synonyms of the New
Testament,R.C.Trench).
"...The assemblyof the people,which in Greek cities had the power to final
decisioninpublicaffairs."(ADictionaryofClassical

Antiquties,OskarSeyffert).

"In everycase the word means an organized Body " (A Greek and English
Lexicon,GrevilleEwing)
"In classical use ecclesia meant an assembly." (A Manual
ofEcclesiology,H.E.Dana).
PastorJerryD.LockewritesinAStudyoftheNewTestamentChurchthat:"TheEnglish
word'church'istakenfromtheGreekword'ecclesia'whichmeans'calledout.'Italways
denotesanassembly."(Lesson1).
BuellH.Kazee,authorofTheCHURCHandtheOrdinancesexplains;"Ekklesia(sic)was
aGreekwordthatwouldhavebeenunderstoodbyallwhousedthisuniversallanguagein
the days of the apostles as meaning a visible assembly even after it had acquired a

Christiansignificance.Christianitydidnotchangethemeaningofthewordbutadoptedit
asafitdescriptionofthisdivineinstitution."(Pg.16).
TheCHURCHthatJesusBuilt,isabookbyDr.RoyMason.Dr.Masonwasaformer
proponent of the Universal, Invisible Church Theory and after much research of the
subject,hecomestothefollowingconclusion:"Aftercarefulstudyofallthepassagesin
whichthewordecclesiaoccursintheNewTestament,andafterexamining...theword
inclassicalGreek,IsubmitthepropositionthatthechurchthatJesusfoundedwasthe
localassembly,andthattousethewordecclesiatodesignatea"universal",or"invisible"
Churchistopervertitsmeaning,andtofallintoseriouserror."
Hecontinues,"Whatthen,letusask,didthewordmeanasunderstoodbythepeopleof
thatday?SaysDr.GeoW.McDaniel(TheChurchesoftheNewTestament),'Bothwiththe
Greeks and the Jews, the word denoted as assembly of the people....Among the
Greeksecclesiawasanassemblyofthecitizensofafreecitystategatheredbyaherald
blowingahornthroughthestreetsofatown.
Dr.JesseB. Thomas says in his book,The CHURCH and the Kingdoms: "It was the
organized assembly of the authorized voters of the local community, met to transact
businessofcommonconcern."Thismeaningappliessubstantiallyaliketotheecclesiaofa
selfgoverning Greek state (Acts 19:39), the Old Testamentecclesiaor convocation of
NationalIsrael(Acts7:38)andtotheNewTestamentecclesia.WhenourLordsays:'On
thisrockIwillbuildmyecclesia,...'"(Pgs.2628).
From the above mentioned quotes, it should be striking the reader as to the possible
meaningofthetermecclesiaorasithasbeentranslatedintoEnglish,"church".Butwe
shallproceedtoquoteafewmoreauthorsinordertoestablishaconcretemeaningofthe
word,etymologically.
A German historian and theologian,AdolphHarnack,who is renowned among the
historiansofprimitiveChristianityandhighlyesteemed,refutestheideaofauniversal,
invisible church. His statements in connection with this topic carry great weight. In
hisHistory of Dogma, he mentions that: "No one thought of the desperate idea of an
invisible church; this notion would probably have brought about a lapse from pure
ChristianityfarmorerapidlythantheideaoftheHolyCatholicChurch."(Pg.83).
DarrelOwens,inhislessonsonTheChurchintheNewTestament,states;"TheGreek
wordecclesialiterallymeanscalledout.Itwascommonlyusedasatermtodesignatean
assembly of people called out from their homes to a certain designated place for the
purposeoftakingcareofsomekindofbusiness.SuchanassemblyisspokenofinActs
19:39."(Pages1314).
Dr.HaroldP.Chiolero'sdefinition;"EcclesiameansacalledoutASSEMBLYfromsome
placetoaparticularplace,foraparticularpurpose"
Finally I quote, DeanRoscoBrongfrom his notes onThe
ChurchInEphesians;"In the
Bibletheword'church'meansassemblyonlyandalways.Itneverreferstoanunknown,
nonassembling, confused and scattered multitude. Such a'church'exists only in the
imaginationofhereticsdesperatelytryingtojustifytheirschisms."(Pg.17c).

JamesH.StrongdefinestheGreekwords"Ek"as"from,out"and"Kaleo"as"call".The
combinationofthesetwowordsgivesus"Ekkaleo"or"Ekklesia",whichStrongdefinesas
"acallingout,i.e.(concr.)apopularmeeting,assembly,church."Theamplequotations
anddefinitionsmentionedaboveshouldbedeemedsatisfactory.Aclear"picture"astothe
true nature of the New TestamentEkklesiaorchurchhas been set
forth,etymologically.However,let us sum up all of the preceding statements into one
concretedefinitionwhichweshallbeabletousethroughoutoursubsequentchapters.
Ekklesia or church is an assembly or a group of people meeting in aspecific
placeatspecific periodsforspecific purposes.This definition is very contrary to the
popular idea of a Universal, Invisible Church. Even the "brain" behind the Revision
Committee of 18711881,FentonJohn AnthonyHort,who somewhat believed in the
Universal,InvisibleChurchTheory,hadproblemswithit.Forhereadilyadmits,inhis
bookTheChristian

Ecclesia,thatitiswithouthistoricalfoundation.
IntheBiblethedefinitionofEkklesiaappliestothreedistinctgroups;
1)AselfgoverningGreekstateorLegislativeassembly(Acts
19:39).
2)TheconvocationofOldTestamentIsrael(Acts7:38).
3)ThegroupoftwelveapostleswhomChristchoseandallthe
groups that followed inline with the apostles doctrine (Luke
6:13&John15:16).
IntheOldTestament,Godchosetwelvetribeswiththeintentionofestablishinganation
thatwouldbeawitnessforHimbutIsraeldesperatelyfailedHim,thusHedivorcedthem
(Jeremiah3:68&Matthew23:3739).
IntheNewTestament,GodbecameManandcamedowntoearth,duringwhichtimeHe
chose a new group and made a NEW COVENANT/TESTAMENT with them and
personallytrainedtheminordertosendthemouttobewitnessesforHim.ThisJesusdid,
personally,bychoosingtwelvemen,whomHecalledApostles.Healsoreferredtothis
groupasbeing"MYEKKLESIA"or"MYCHURCH"asopposedtotheGreekandthe
JewishEkklesias.TheseeventswererecordedbyDr.Lukeinhisgospelinthe6thchapter
fromverses12through16.Thispassageisparalleledinthe3rdchapterofMarkfrom
verses13through19.PaulreemphasizesbothofthesepassagesinICorinthians12:28,
wherehepointsoutthat"Godhathsetsomeinthechurch,firstapostles,"
NotethattheseeventstookplaceverymuchpriortothedayofPentecost.Thisisanother
BiblicalFACT thatis very contrary to the modern dayecumenicalpreaching that "The
ChurchstartedonthedayofPentecost!" We shallrefertothisFACTagaininalater
chapter.
ThesetwelveapostlesgatheredthemselvesaroundJesus,Mark3:14;"thattheyshould
bewithHim"&Mark6:30;"AndtheapostlesgatheredthemselvestogetheruntoJesus
",asanassemblywhichwasVISIBLEandLOCAL,givingEKKLESIAatruemeaning
in every sense of the word. These apostles, being VISIBLE, were LOCATEDin and

around Jerusalem and they remained there, even after Christ'sascension,as we see
throughoutthefirstpartofthebookofActs(Acts8:1).
AfterhavinggraspedthemeaningofEKKLESIAanditsapplicationtothethreedifferent
groups,weshallconcludethischapterbydealingwithhowthiswordcametobetranslated
asCHURCHinEnglishandalsothesignificanceofthisEnglishword.
Overtheyears,someofthemostviciousattackshavebeenmadeagainstTHEBOOK,i.e.
theAuthorizedVersionof1611alsoknownastheKingJamesVersion,hereafterreferred
toastheA.V.Afavorite"soapbox"ofthecriticsoftheA.V.hasbeentheword"church"
aboutwhichtheycomment,thattheA.V.translatorshadmadea"blunder"atthispoint.
One such critic, sadly,is J.H. Melton.He was a Professor at the Independent Baptist
College,Dallas,Texas,underwhomIhadstudiedforseveralyears.Bro.J.H.Melton,ina
monographentitledTotheBaptistBrethrenmakesseveralallegationsagainsttheA.V.He
claims that one of the "most grievous errors in the A.V. is the usage of the
word"CHURCH". Heforcefully blames theA.V.as having promulgated the idea of a
Universal,InvisibleChurch.
Indealingwiththis"issue",IquotePastorJerryD.Locke,fromhiscompilationAStudyof
the New Testament Church. "The English word'church'has an interesting
history.'Church',Baseduponaslangexpressionfor'power',theearlyGreeknamefora
powerfulman'sresidencewas"Kuriakon".ThistermpassedintoLatinandwaspickedup
by pioneer Christians, who applied it to the house of God, source and author of all
power.'(Whyyousayit.Garrison).
The Greek word,'kuriakon', meant,'a powerful man's residence.'Various forms of this
wordenteredintomostofthelanguagesofEurope.

English:"church";Scottish:"kirk";AngloSaxon:"cyric";German:"kirche";
Danish:"kyrke";Swedish:"kyrka";Russian:"zerkow".(TheNewDirectory
forBaptistChurches,Hiscox).
Theword'church'originallymeant,'apowerfulman'shouse'or'theLord'shouse,meaning
therulingman.
Bro.J.H.Melton was brilliantly countered in a booklet titled;A Responseby Dr.
KenJohnson.Dr.Johnson'sreply is enough to silence the allegations of many a critic,
includingBro.Melton.Letusnote;"Whilehonestydemandstheadmissionofthemeaning
of'Kuriakos'asmeaningthatwhichbelongstotheLord,itisalsoequallydemandedthat
Bro. Melton's insisting'ekklesia'means'assembly'has a problem of equal or greater
existenceinhisownusage.'Assembly'inEnglishcomesfromtheOldFrenchmeaninga
gatheringofpersons.'Ekklesia'isfromtwoGreekwordsmeaning'out'and'tocall.'The
full thrust means, in theN.T.theologicalusage, a local visible body called out for a
specific purpose. Jesus called this'my church' (Matt.16:18) which certainly gives the
connotationofbelongingtotheLord.Eventhesixthmeaningof'church'intheWebster's
NewCollegiateDictionarystatesthemeaningas'AbodyofChristianbelievershavingthe
samecreed,rites,etc.'(p.148).Theword'church'goesbackinEnglish(MiddleEnglish)

withthemeaningrelativeto'kurios'alord,originallymightyandthisfromkuros
strengthcf.Sanskrit,curaahero.(SeeWalterW.Skeat,Etymological

Dictionaryof
theEnglishLanguage,Oxford:TheClarendonPress,1901,p.90).In1340TheApostle's
Creed in English (translated ultimately from Greek) states,Ichyleveineye
holygost.Holycherchegeneralische.' (See A.C.Champneys,History of
English.London:Rivington,PercivalandCo.,1893,p.263).Itistobenotedthedateis
1340or271yearsbeforetheKJVandtheword'cherche'churchisevenTHENtranslated
assuchfor'ekklesia.'ItisalsoafactWickliffuses'churche'eventhoughhetranslatesthe
N.T.fromLatin;thepointisin1380heusestheterm'church'asopposedtoassembly
(Matt.16:18)....ItwouldinfactbemoretothepointforBro.MeltontotakeScriptureand
define'church'theologicallyrather than blunder in 1611'archaic hard to understand
English'tryingtodigupan'error."'(Pg.10).
SoweseefromtheabovethatthereisreallynowordinEnglishthatistheequivalent
of'Ekklesia'.This Greek term is two wordsin one. Neither'assembly'nor'church'is an
equivalent,butthelatterword,i.e.'church',isandhasbeenthemostwidelyacceptable
translation.Itsliteralmeaningbeing"thatwhichbelongstotheLord"or"theLord'shouse"
withtheemphasisalwaysontheSpiritualhouse,whichismadeupof'baptizedbelievers,
covenantedtogetherandmeetinginaspecificplaceatspecificperiodswiththespecific
purposeof carrying out the Lord's commands.Indeed Jesus Christ IS Lord and
HisEkklesiais compared to a "Temple," "House," or "Building", in the Bible, quite
frequently. (I Corinthians 3:16, Hebrews 3:16, I Peter 2:5,et.al.). Only the lack of a
proper understanding of theterm church would make one want to apply it toa
physicalbuilding,suchasaCathedral,adenominationoreventotheentire"Christendom."
ThusEtymologically,theGreekwordEKKLESIAanditsEnglishtranslationCHURCH,
couldapplytonothingbutaLOCALandVISIBLEgroupofpeople.Theterm,asseen
before,subsequentlyappliestothreegroups:1)Israel,2)GreekLegislativeAssemblyand
3)Christ'sCHURCH.Itisusedinthreedifferentsenses:
1)Generic/Abstract
2)Specific/Particular
3)Futuristic/Prospective.
Thecontextdeterminesthesenseinwhichitisused.Forfurtherinquisition,weshall
proceedintotheScripturalaspectofourstudytoseewhetherthechurchisLOCALand
VISIBLEorUNIVERSALandINVISIBLE.

III.Scripturally
Ourstudyinthischaptermayseemstrenuoustothecasualreader,buttothosewhowishto
delvedeeperintoscripturaltruths,itisverybeneficial.Iurgetheseriousstudenttotake
THEBOOK,i.e.A.V.1611,andgothrougheachreferencegiven,notonlyinthischapter,
butthosementionedthroughoutthisbook.Spacedoesnotpermittheauthortoquoteallof
theScriptures,andsothereaderisbeggedtoconfirmeachone,personally.

ThereasonforemphasizingtheA.V.1611,isduetothefactthatmostofthesocalled
"Bible"versions,orratherperversions,areverymisleadingontheCHURCHtopic.For
example,thereaderwillfindtheword"church"inActs2:47missinginmostofthemodern
translations.Also,theword"churches"inActs9:31ismentionedas"church"inthese
counterfeitbooks.UponexaminingActs9:31,thereaderwillfindthatLukewasrecording
the events that took place in the churches (plural) that were existing " throughout
allJudeaandGalileeandSamaria"Anynormalpersonwillagreethattherewouldhave
been many churches throughout these provinces, but to say that there was only "the
church" (singular) throughout these different areas is to insinuate a
UNIVERSALCHURCHand adeliberate perversionof theScriptures. These are justa
coupleofexamplesthatshowthesuperiorityoftheA.V.Alsoonewillfindthatitisonly
intheA.V.orKJVthatwearecommandedto"STUDY"thewordofGod.Thisword
mentionedonlytwiceintheNewTestament,i.e.inIThessalonians4:11and2Timothy
2:15,isfoundbothtimesintheA.V.,butismissinginthecounterfeits.
SincetheNewTestamentwaswritteninGreekandEkklesiabeingaGreekword,weshall
takeeachpassagewhereverthiswordismentionedandexaminethem,contextually,tosee
whether the Bible is referring to aUNIVERSAL,INVISIBLE CHURCH or a LOCAL,
VISIBLECHURCH.Also,attheendofeachexplanation,weshallstatethe'sense'inwhich
thewordismentioned.WhetheritbeAbstract,ParticularorProspective.One"ruleof
thumb"istoalwayspayattentiontothecontext.This,initself,eliminatesmostofthe
confusion.Letusnote:
1)Matthew16:18,"AndIsayalsountothee,ThatthouartPeter,anduponthisrock
Iwillbuildmychurch;andthegatesofhellshallnotprevailagainstit."Manyhold
thispassageasreferringtoaUniversalChurch.Thispassagewillbefurtherdealtwithin
our succeeding chapters. However, it isworth mentioning here that in Matthew 18:17
ChristinstructsHisapostlesaboutthemannerinwhichdifferencesshouldbesettledamidst
themembersofachurch.ThiswouldbeimpossibletodoinaChurchthatisUniversaland
Invisible.Differencesariseamongmembersoflocalcongregations.Whenhasoneever
heardofaquarrelinaUniversalInvisibleChurchandmuchmoreseenonesettled?(Local,
Abstract)
2)Matthew18:17,"Andifheshallneglecttohearthem,tellituntothechurch:butif
he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a
publican."As mentioned above, how can a hearing be summoned by a Universal,
Invisible Church? Even the crossreference in theScofieldBible refers to this as an
"assembly."Justimaginea"Universal,InvisibleAssembly!"(Local,Abstract).
3)Matthew18:17,"Andifheshallneglecttohearthem,tellituntothechurch:butif
he neglect to hear thechurch, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a
publican."Theword'church'ismentionedtwiceinthisverse.Previously,theaccusedwas
speakingtohislocalchurchbutnowthelocalchurchisreprimandingtheguilty.(Local,
Abstract)
4)Acts2:47,"PraisingGod,andhavingfavourwithallthepeople.AndtheLord
addedtothechurchdailysuchasshouldbesaved."Thispassageisclearlyspeakingof

thefirstchurchwhichChristestablishedinJerusalem.Acts1:1215and2:4147makethis
pointclear.Verse46clearlymentionsthattheygathered"...inthetemple."Itwouldbe
ratherimpossibletogatheranentireUniversalChurchintoaSINGLEtemple.(Local,
Particular)
5)Acts5:11,"Andgreatfearcameuponallthechurch,anduponasmanyasheard
thesethings."Dr.Luke'snarrativeoftheeventsthattookplaceinthefirstchurchwhich
was located in Jerusalem are described in the book of Acts in Chapters 18. He then
followsthescatteredmobsofthischurchtotheotherareas,intowhichtheywentand
establishedmorelocalchurchesasforetoldbytheirFOUNDERinActs1:8.ThusActs
5:11,uponexaminingitscontext,ismostdefinitelyareferencetotheJerusalemchurch.
(Local,Particular)
6)Acts7:38,"Thisishe,thatwasinthechurchinthewildernesswiththeangelwhich
spaketohiminthemountSina,andwithourfathers:whoreceivedthelivelyoracles
togiveuntous:"HerewehaveStephen's"defense"andheisreferringtotheNationof
Israel.Asmentionedinourperviouschapter,Ekklesiaappliedtothreedifferentgroupsin
theBible.ThisistheonlyinstancewhereitreferstoIsrael.Eventhen,weseethatitwasan
assemblyLOCATEDinthewildernessandnotsomethingUniversalandInvisible.(Local,
Particular)
7)Acts8:1,"AndSaulwasconsentinguntohisdeath.Andatthattimetherewasa
great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all
scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the
apostles."Thispassageisselfexplanatory.Itmentionsthelocation,"...thechurchwhich
wasatJerusalem."(Local,Particular)
8)Acts8:3,"AsforSaul,hemadehavockofthechurch,enteringintoeveryhouse,
andhalingmenandwomencommittedthemtoprison."Upuntilthistimetherewere
nootherchurchesinexistence,otherthantheoneinJerusalem.Itwasafterthedeathof
Stephen that they were scattered and began other churches
throughoutJudea,GalileeandSamaria.(Local,Particular)
9)Acts9:31,"ThenhadthechurchesrestthroughoutallJudaeaandGalileeand
Samaria,andwereedified;andwalkinginthefearoftheLord,andinthecomfortof
theHolyGhost,weremultiplied."Thisverseprovestheabovementionedstatementtobe
true. Most of the New Age Bible (per)versions have deliberately (mis)translated the
word'churches' (plural) as'church'(singular). (cf. Acts 9:31(NIV), Then
thechurchthroughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was
strengthened;andencouragedbytheHolySpirit,itgrewinnumbers,livinginthefearof
theLord.)ThisisaclearindicationoftheJesuitinfluencebehindeachcounterfeit"Bible",
tryingtopropagatetheirCatholic/UniversalChurch.(Local,Particular)
10)Acts11:22,"Thentidingsofthesethingscameuntotheearsofthechurchwhich
was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as
Antioch."Thisisanotherselfexplanatorypassage.Foritstates,"thechurchwhich
wasinJerusalem."(Local,Particular)

11)Acts11:26,"Andwhenhehadfoundhim,hebroughthimuntoAntioch.Andit
came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and
taught muchpeople.And thediscipleswere calledChristians first inAntioch."A
comparison of this passage to Acts13:1 clarifies this to be;"...the church that was
atAntioch."It is mentioned here that they assembled a whole year"with the
church."CananyrationalpersonimaginetheassemblingofanentireUniversalChurch?
Andthatforawholeyear?(Local,Particular)
12)Acts12:1,"NowaboutthattimeHerodthekingstretchedforthhishandstovex
certainofthechurch."HerodwouldhavehadahardtimetrackingdownaUniversal,
InvisibleChurch.Also,thenamesJames,JohnandPeterindicatethatthesewerethesame
apostlesthatweresetinthefirstchurch,whichwasatJerusalem.(Local,Particular)
13)Acts 12:5, "Peter thereforewas keptin prison: but prayerwas madewithout
ceasingofthechurchuntoGodforhim."Thisverseisfurtherclarifiedinverse12.Here
wehavetheassemblyofagroupofpeopleataspecificperiod("thesamenight"v.6),in
aspecific place("the house of Mary"v.12) and for aspecific purpose("prayer was
made...forhim"v.5).ItwouldbeinsaneforanyonetoarguethatthiswasaUniversal,
InvisibleChurch.(Local,Particular)
14)Acts13:1,"NowtherewereinthechurchthatwasatAntiochcertainprophets
andteachers;asBarnabas,andSimeonthatwascalledNiger,andLuciusofCyrene,
andManaen,whichhadbeenbroughtupwithHerodthetetrarch,andSaul."This
church is referred to in Acts 11:26 and was LOCAL to the city ofAntioch.(Local,
Particular)
15)Acts14:23,"Andwhentheyhadordainedthemeldersineverychurch,andhad
prayedwithfasting,theycommendedthemtotheLord,onwhomtheybelieved."In
theversesproceedingthispassage,wenotethattheapostleswereontheirfirstmissionary
journeyandhadjustcomethroughIconium,Derbe,Lystra(Vs.20&21)andsomeother
places.Theword"every"impliesthattherewereseveralchurches.Itishardenoughto
imagineONEUniversalChurchandtosaythattherearemanyUniversalChurchesis
absurd.EvenScofieldreferstotheseas"churches(Local)."(Local,Particular)
16)Acts14:27,"Andwhentheywerecome,andhadgatheredthechurchtogether,
theyrehearsedallthatGodhaddonewiththem,andhowhehadopenedthedoorof
faith unto the Gentiles."Acts 13:13and Acts14:26 specifythat theseapostles (Acts
14:14)totheGentilesweresentfrom"thechurchinAntioch"andthustheyreturnedto
this LOCAL church upon completion of their journey, and gathered them together
and"...rehearsedallthatGodhaddonewiththem."(Local,Particular)
17)Acts15:3,"Andbeingbroughtontheirwaybythechurch,theypassedthrough
PheniceandSamaria,declaringtheconversionoftheGentiles:andtheycausedgreat
joyuntoallthebrethren."ThisagainisareferencetothechurchinAntioch.Acts1315
narratethemissionaryeffortsofthischurch.(Local,Particular)

18)Acts15:4,"AndwhentheywerecometoJerusalem,theywerereceivedofthe
church,andoftheapostlesandelders,andtheydeclaredallthingsthatGodhaddone
withthem."ClearreferenceismadeheretothecityofJerusalem.Theword'church'being
inthesingularindicatestousthattherewasnootherchurchinthiscity,inthosedays,save
theonewhichtheLordHimselfestablished.ThiswastheLOCALchurchinJerusalem.
(Local,Particular)
19)Acts15:22,"Thenpleasedittheapostlesandelders,withthewholechurch,to
sendchosenmenoftheirowncompanytoAntiochwithPaulandBarnabas;namely,
JudassurnamedBarsabas,andSilas,chiefmenamongthebrethren:"Thisagainwas
thesamechurchinJerusalem.Theissuethatso"upset"thechurchinAntioch,causedthem
tosendchosenmentothechurchinJerusalem,inordertoconfirmwhethercircumcision
was essential for salvation. This issue needed critical attention and thus the Jerusalem
churchsentdelegatesfromitsownmembers,inordertosettletheissue.(Local,Particular)
20) Acts 15:41, "And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the
churches."Dr. Luke is referring to several churches. Namely, those in Syria
andCilicia,whichwerestartedbyPaulandBamabasontheirsecondmissionaryjourney.
(Local,Particular)
21)Acts16:5,"Andsowerethechurchesestablishedinthefaith,andincreasedin
numberdaily."PaulandBarnabas,stillontheirsecondmissionaryjourney,wentthrough
thechurcheswhichtheyhadstartedontheirfirstjourney,theword'churches'(plural)is
referringtothosechurchesinDerbe,LystraandIconiuni(vs.12).(Local,Particular)
22)Acts18:22,"AndwhenhehadlandedatCaesarea,andgoneup,andsalutedthe
church,hewentdowntoAntioch."ThiswasthechurchinCaesarea.IfitwasaUniversal
Church,thenpraytell,whywentheuptoCaesarea?Thefutilityofsuchanargumentis
obvious.(Local,Particular)
23)Acts19:32,"Somethereforecriedonething,andsomeanother:fortheassembly
wasconfused;andthemorepartknewnotwhereforetheywerecometogether."Here
the word normally rendered'church'is translated as'assembly'in order to distinguish
between "that which belongs to the Lord" and that which does not. As seen
earlier,Ekklesiaapplies to three different groups in the Bible. 1) Israel, 2) Greek
LegislativeAssemblyand3)Christ'schurch.ThispassageappliestotheGreekassembly
which met inthe city ofEphesus.This same assembly isseen in the next two verses.
(Local,Particular)
24)Acts19:39,"Butifyeenquireanythingconcerningothermatters,itshallbe
determinedinalawfulassembly."Itwouldbeworthwhiletomentionherethatneither
ChristnorHisapostlesevercoinedthewordEkklesia.Itwasatermofpopularusageinthe
Greekworld,evenbeforeChrist'sfirstadvent.(Local,Particular)
25)Acts19:41,"Andwhenhehadthusspoken,hedismissedtheassembly."Assembly
hasthesamemeaningasthetwopreviousverses.ThiswasaGreekassembly,whichmet,
inordertocondemnPaul,whilehewasinthecityofEphesus.(Local,Particular)

26)Acts20:17,"AndfromMiletushesenttoEphesus,andcalledtheeldersofthe
church."Paul'sministryinthecityofEphesusisrecordedinActs19&20.Itisself
evidentherethatPaulcalledfortheeldersoftheEphesianchurch.(Local,Particular)
27)Acts20:28,"Takeheedthereforeuntoyourselves,andtoalltheflock,overthe
whichtheHolyGhosthathmadeyouoverseers,tofeedthechurchofGod,whichhe
hath purchased with his own blood."Same as above.The church that Paul
instructedtiaeseelderstofeedwastheEphesianchurch.(Local,Particular)
28)Romans16:1,"IcommenduntoyouPhebeoursister,whichisaservantofthe
churchwhichisatCenchrea:"Hereisaselfexplanatoryverse:"thechurchwhichis
atCenchrea:"ThisChurchisnotUniversal!(Local,Particular)
29)Romans16:4,"Whohaveformylifelaiddowntheirownnecks:untowhomnot
onlyIgivethanks,butalsoallthechurchesoftheGentiles."Thewordis'churches'
(plural),indicatingallthechurchesoftheGentiles.(Local,Particular)
30) Romans 16:5, "Likewisegreetthe church that is in their house. Salute my
wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ."This was the
church that gathered in the house ofAquilaandPriscilla.Imagine gathering an entire
UniversalChurchintoonehouse.Ifthiswasthecase,thenAquilaandPriscillaprobably
hadthebiggesthouseintheworld.AhousesolargethateventheRomanEmperorswould
have been outdone. To pursue such a train of thought is utterly ridiculous. (Local,
Particular)
31) Romans 16:16,"Salute oneanother with an holykiss.The churchesof Christ
saluteyou."Again,theword'churches'(plural)isused.Anyonewillagreethatthere
cannotbemorethanONEUniversalChurch,forthereisbutoneUniverse.Butitwillmost
readilybeaccepted,bythemindthatisopentothetruth,thattherecanbeasmanylocal
churchesastherearelocations.Thepluralusageoftheword,"churches"alwaysappliesto
variouslocations.(Local,Particular)
32)Romans16:23,"Gaiusminehost,andofthewholechurch,salutethyou.Erastus
thechamberlainofthecitysalutethyou,andQuartusabrother."GaiuswasPaul's
hostinthecityofCorinth(ICorinthians1:14)andsincePaulmentionsthatGaiuswasnot
onlyhishost,butofthewholechurch,thenthiscouldbenootherchurchthantheone
inCorinth.Itwouldbe senseless to argue that an entireUniversal Churchgathered
inGaius'house.Ifso,theninsteadofAquilaandPriscilla,itwouldhavebeenGaiuswho
probablyhadthelargesthouseintheworld.(Local,Particular)
33)ICorinthians1:2,"UntothechurchofGodwhichisatCorinth,tothemthatare
sanctifiedinChristJesus,calledtobesaints,withallthatineveryplacecalluponthe
name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:"Paul now is addressing
the"...churchofGodwhichisatCorinth",notaUniversalentity.(Local,Particular)
34)ICorinthians4:17,"ForthiscausehaveIsentuntoyouTimotheus,whoismy
belovedson,andfaithfulintheLord,whoshallbringyouintoremembranceofmy

wayswhichbeinChrist,asIteacheverywhereineverychurch."Iftherereallywas
sucha thingas theUniversal Church, itwould have spared Paul from suchextensive
travels.Hecould'vetaughteveryoneinitatthesametime.ButPaulneverclaimedoreven
indicated any such a monstrosity. He personally traveled to every particular church,
regardlessofwheretheywerelocatedandtaughtthem.(Local,Particular)
35)ICorinthians6:4,"Ifthenyehavejudgmentsofthingspertainingtothislife,set
themtojudgewhoareleastesteemedinthechurch."Determinethecontext.Whois
Pauladdressing?IndeeditwasthechurchatCorinth.Paulwrotethisepistlewhilehewas
atEphesusandsentittoCorinth.(Local,Particular)
36)ICorinthians7:17,"ButasGodhathdistributedtoeveryman,astheLordhathcalled
everyone,solethimwalk.AndsoordainIinallchurches."Bynowthepluralusageofthe
word'churches'shouldhavetakenaconcretemeaningintheunderstandingofthereader,
thatseveralparticularassembliesarebeingreferredto.(Local,Particular)
37)ICorinthians10:32,"Givenoneoffence,neithertotheJews,nortotheGentiles,
nor to the church of God:This"...church of God" was at Corinth (ICor.1:2).
EvenScofieldsayslocal'and'visible'.(Local,Particular)
38)ICorinthians11:16,"Butifanymanseemtobecontentious,wehavenosuch
custom,neitherthechurchesofGod."'churches',plural.(Local,Particular)
39)ICorinthians11:18,"Forfirstofall,whenyecometogetherinthechurch,Ihear
thattherebedivisionsamongyou;andIpartlybelieveit."IftherewasaUniversal
Church,thenPaulwouldhavebeenapartofit.IfPaulwasapartofit,thenhewould
includehimselfinthisverse.Hewouldhavesaid,"...whenWEcometogetherinthe
church," instead of"...when YE come together." He is obviously
speakingparticularlyorspecificallytotheCorinthianchurch.(Local,Particular)
40)ICorinthians11:22,"What?haveyenothousestoeatandtodrinkin?ordespise
yethechurchofGod,andshamethemthathavenot?WhatshallIsaytoyou?shallI
praiseyouinthis?Ipraiseyounot."Again,"thechurchofGod"heisreferringtoisthe
Corinthianchurch.IfPaulwaswritingtoaUniversalChurchthenwhydoesheaddressit
tothecityofCorinth?(Local,Particular)
41) I Corinthians12:28,"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings,
helps,governments,diversitiesoftongues."Refertoourpreviouschaptersanditwillbe
seenthatPaulisreferringtoLuke6:13&Mark3:13,whereGod(JesusChrist)firstsetthe
apostlesinHischurch,whichHeestablishedinJerusalem.(Local,Particular)
42)ICorinthians14:4,"Hethatspeakethinanunknowntongueedifiethhimself;but
hethatprophesiethedifieththechurch."PaulinthischapterrebukestheCorinthian
churchfortheirlackofdisciplineandunderstandingregardingthegiftoftongues.(Local,
Particular)

43)fCorinthians14:5,"Iwouldthatyeallspakewithtongues,butratherthatye
prophesied:forgreaterishethatprophesieththan hethatspeakethwithtongues,
except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying."Same as above.
EvenScofieldadmitsthatthisappliesto"churches(local)."(Local,Particular)
44)ICorinthians14:12,"Evensoye,forasmuchasyearezealousofspiritualgifts,
seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church."Same as above. (Local,
Particular)
45)ICorinthians14:19,"YetinthechurchIhadratherspeakfivewordswithmy
understanding,thatbymyvoiceImightteachothersalso,thantenthousandwordsin
anunknowntongue."Sameasabove.Thisverseisforthosewhoareundertheinfluence
ofPentecostalism/Charismaticism.Ifthisentirechapterwerereadwithanunbiasedmind,
itwouldconvincethereaderthatPentecostalism/Charismaticismisunscriptural.(Local,
Particular)
46)ICorinthians14:23,"Ifthereforethewholechurchbecometogetherintoone
place, and all speak with tongues, and there come inthose that areunlearned, or
unbelievers,willtheynotsaythatyearemad?""...thewholechurchbecometogether
intoONEPLACE,"(emphasismine).WhenhastheentireUniversalChurchcomeintoone
place?(Local,Particular)
47)ICorinthians14:28,"Butiftherebenointerpreter,lethimkeepsilenceinthe
church;andlethimspeaktohimself,andtoGod."Sameasabove.(Local,Particular)
48)ICorinthians14:33,"ForGodisnottheauthorofconfusion,butofpeace,asinall
churchesofthesaints."RefertoournotesonRomans16:16andICorinthians7:17.
"churches",plural.(Local,Particular)
49)ICorinthians14:34,"Letyourwomenkeepsilenceinthechurches:foritisnot
permitteduntothemtospeak;buttheyarecommandedtobeunderobedience,asalso
saiththelaw."Sameasabove.(Local,Particular)
50)ICorinthians14:35,"Andiftheywilllearnanything,letthemasktheirhusbands
athome:foritisashameforwomentospeakinthechurch."Refertonote#42.(Local,
Particular)
51)ICorinthians15:9,"ForIamtheleastoftheapostles,thatamnotmeettobe
calledanapostle,becauseIpersecutedthechurchofGod."Theonlychurch,thatthe
Bible records Paul as persecuting, was the one in Jerusalem. Paul could never have
persecuted a Universal, Invisible Church, for it would have been intangible. (Local,
Particular)
52)ICorinthians16:1,"Nowconcerningthecollectionforthesaints,asIhavegiven
ordertothechurchesofGalatia,evensodoye.""churches",plural.(Local,Particular)

53)ICorinthians16:19,"ThechurchesofAsiasaluteyou.AquilaandPriscillasalute
youmuchintheLord,withthechurchthatisintheirhouse."Sameasabove.(Local,
Particular)
54)ICorinthians16:19,"ThechurchesofAsiasaluteyou.AquilaandPriscillasalute
youmuchintheLord,withthechurchthatisintheirhouse."ThewordEkklesiais
mentionedtwiceinthisverse.RefertoournoteonRomans16:5.(Local,Particular)
55) IICorinthians 1:1, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and
Timothyourbrother,untothechurchofGodwhichisatCorinth,withallthesaints
whichareinallAchaia:"RefertoournoteonICorinthians1:2.Thiswasaddressedto
thechurchatCorinth.Ithadanaddress.WhataddressdoesaUniversalChurchhave?
(Local,Particular)
56)IICorinthians8:1,"Moreover,brethren,wedoyoutowitofthegraceofGod
bestowedonthechurchesofMacedonia;""churchesofMacedonia."(Local,Particular)
57)IICorinthians8:18,"Andwehavesentwithhimthebrother,whosepraiseisin
thegospelthroughoutallthechurches;"Refernotes#31&#36.(Local,Particular)
58)IICorinthians8:19,"Andnotthatonly,butwhowasalsochosenofthechurches
totravelwithuswiththisgrace,whichisadministeredbyustothegloryofthesame
Lord,anddeclarationofyourreadymind:"Sameasabove.(Local,Particular)
59) II Corinthians 8:23, "Whetherany do enquireof Titus,he ismy partner and
fellowhelperconcerningyou:orourbrethrenbeenquiredof,theyarethemessengers
ofthechurches,andthegloryofChrist."Sameasabove.(Local,Particular)
60)IICorinthians8:24,"Whereforeshewyetothem,andbeforethechurches,the
proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf."Same as above. (Local,
Particular)
61)IICorinthians11:8,"Irobbedotherchurches,takingwagesofthem,todoyou
service."HowwasitpossibleforPaultorobachurchthatisUniversalandInvisible?Itis
beyondonesimagination.Butheretheword'churches'ispluralthusleavingnoscopefora
Universal Church. These were "churches (local)"as evenScofieldadmits. (Local,
Particular)
62)IICorinthians11:28,"Besidethosethingsthatarewithout,thatwhichcometh
uponmedaily,thecareofallthechurches."IftherereallywasaUniversal,Invisible
ChurchthenPaulwouldhavehadtoworryaboutonlyONEchurch,relievinghimofalot
ofstress.Also,hisstresswouldhavebeenas"invisible"asthat"Church."Butthatwasnot
thecase.Paullamentsthatthecareof"allthechurches"wasuponhim.Therewerescores
of local churches, located in manydifferentlocations. Refer to our note#34. (Local,
Particular)

63)IICorinthians12:13,"Forwhatisitwhereinyewereinferiortootherchurches,
exceptitbethatImyselfwasnotburdensometoyou?forgivemethiswrong."Referto
notes#31&#36.(Local,Particular)
64)Galatians1:2,"Andallthebrethrenwhicharewithme,untothechurchesof
Galatia:"ChurcheslocatedinGalatia.(Local,Particular)
65)Galatians1:13,"ForyehaveheardofmyconversationintimepastintheJews
religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted
it:"Refertoournotes#8&#51.(Local,Particular)
66)Galatians1:22,"AndwasunknownbyfaceuntothechurchesofJudaeawhich
wereinChrist:"Notthe"ChurchinJudea"but"thechurchesofJudea."LocatedinJudea.
(Local,Particular)
67)Ephesians1:22,"Andhathputallthingsunderhisfeet,andgavehimtobethe
head over allthingsto the church,"This and the following nine verses are the most
belovedpassagesoftheproponentsoftheUniversal,InvisibleChurch.Mr.Scofieldcalls
thisthe"true"church.Noteventheslightestindicationofsucha"Church"wasmadeinall
of the proceeding 66 references. Yet the UniversalChurchitesclaim that the Bible
suddenlyintroducesustoanewsubject.Asubjectsoforeignandcontrarytoallofthe
proceeding 66 passages. I suspect a problem with the understanding of the
UniversalChurchite.Myquestiontothemisthat,"ifPaulwasspeakingofaUniversal
Church,thenwhydoesheaddressittothecityofEphesus?DoestheUniversalChurch
existinEphesus?"ItwillreadilybeagreedbyanyhonestBiblestudentthattherewasa
churchalreadyinexistenceatEphesus.Refertoournotes#26&27.Thisbeingtrue,
Ephesians1:23 beautifully fits in withEphesians3:19, where Paul is praying
PARTICULARLYfortheEphesianchurch.
Asseeninourpreviouschapters,Ekklesia,had'3*differentusages.1)Generic/Abstract,2)
Specific/Particular3)Futuristic/Prospective.Hereisaclassicexampleofthewordbeing
usedinaGeneric/Abstractsense.Paulcontinuessuchusageinthenext9references.Christ
istheHeadof:
1)AnyCHURCHGeneric/Abstract(Whereeveritmaybe)
2)EveryCHURCHSpecific/Particular(Ephesus,Corinthetc.)
3)GloryCHURCHFuture/Prospect(NewJerusalem)
Allthreebeinglocalintheirusage.TheBibledoesnotcontradictitselfinteachingtwo
conflictingsubjects.Ifitdid,thenEphesians4:4wouldbeunexplainable.Butitisthe
UniversalChurchitewhoiswrong,forhefalselyassumeswhattheBibledoesnotteach.
TheBibleissimpleandstraightandcanbeunderstoodbythosewhoarewillingtobein
subjectiontoitsauthority.Thisismerelyacaseoftheword,Ekklesia,beingmentionedin
adifferentsenseandnotachangeofmeaning.(Local,Abstract)

68)Ephesians3:10,"Totheintentthatnowuntotheprincipalitiesandpowersin
heavenlyplacesmightbeknownbythechurchthemanifoldwisdomofGod,"Sameas
above.(Local,Abstract)
69)Ephesians3:21,"UntohimbegloryinthechurchbyChristJesusthroughoutall
ages, world without end. Amen."Here again the word,'church',is mentioned in the
Generic/Abstractsense.Godcanreceivegloryin:
1)AnyCHURCHGeneric/Abstract(Whereveritmaybelocated)
2)EveryCHURCHSpecific/Particular(Jerusalem,Antioch,etc.)
3)GloryCHURCHFuturistic/Prospective(HeavenlyJerusalem)
Each of the above being LOCAL in their own usage. We use Generic/Abstract terms
almostallofthetime.Forexample,ifweweretosay;"TherightpairofSHOESarethe
secret of an athletes success!"By this, we do not mean an Invisible, Universal pair
ofSHOES. Weare only using the word.Shoes,Generically/Abstractly.But when the
ABSTRACTisSPECIFIED,thenwewouldhavetonamethepairofSHOES.Wewould
probably say; "Most athlete's attribute their success to SHOES made
byReebok,Adidas,Nikeorwhicheverotherbrand."
Thesameisbeingdoneinthispassagewiththeusageofthewordchurch.Paulsays;"Unto
himbegloryinthechurch..."WhentheABSTRACTword,"church",isSPECIFIED,
thenhewouldhavetonamethechurch.Hewouldhavetosay;"Untohimbegloryin
theEphesianchurch,theJerusalemchurch,theAntiochchurch,etc.,"orwhicheverother
churchthatmayhavebeeninexistenceatthattime.Themeaningoftheword,church,has
notchangedintheleast.Thiswillbefurtherdealtwithinourchapterentitled"Logically."
(Local,Abstract)
70)Ephesians5:23,"Forthehusbandistheheadofthewife,evenasChrististhe
head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body."Same as above. (Local,
Abstract)
71) Ephesians 5:24, "Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, soletthe
wivesbetotheirownhusbandsineverything."Sameasabove.(Local,Abstract)
72)Ephesians5:25,"Husbands,loveyourwives,evenasChristalsolovedthechurch,
andgavehimselfforit;"Sameasabove.
73)Ephesians5:27.'Sameasabove.
74)Ephesians5:29Refertonote#79.
75)Ephesians5:32Seenote#67.(Local,Abstract)76)Philippians3:6Refernotes#8,
51&65.(Local,Particular)
.,.i.

77)Philippians4:15 Paul is praising thePhilippianchurch for their generous giving

towardhisministry.(Local,Particular)
78)Colossians1:18Refertonote#67.(Local,Abstract)
79)Colossians1:24Paulcomparesthechurchinthispassageandinotherpassages,such
asICorinthians12&Ephesians5,toahumanbody.Itwouldbeinsaneandludicrousto
claim that a human body can be Universal and Invisible!Thus it is with the Lord's
body.Hischurch.
Anotherpointisthat,asseeninnote#67,ifPaulwaswritingtoaUniversalChurch,then
whywouldheaddressittothecityofColosse?WastheUniversalChurchinColosse?
Also,inColossians4:16,Paulurgesthemtoreadthisepistleevenamongthechurchof
theLaodiceans.IftheUniversalChurchwasinColosse,thenwhywasitnecessarytoread
thisepistleinthechurchoftheLaodiceans?(Local,Abstract)
80)Colossians4:15ThischurchgatheredinthehouseofNymphas.Refertonote#30
and#32.(Local,Particular)
81)Colossians4:16ThischurchwasLOCALtothecityofLaodicea.Refertonote#79.
(Local,Particular)
82)IThessalonians1:1Thessalonianchurch.(Local,Particular)
83)IThessalonians2:14Judeanchurches,plural.(Local,Particular)
84)IIThessalonians1:1Selfexplanatoryverse.(Local,Particular)
85)IIThessalonians1:4Refertonote#29&30.(Local,Particular)
86)ITimothy3:5Paul'sinstructionsarethatamanhastotakecareofhisownhouse,
beforehecanundergirdachurch.IfthechurchisUniversalandInvisibletheneventhis
man'shousewouldhavetobeUniversalandInvisible.Oneisjustasvalidastheother.
Such an argument isnonsensical. The church that Paul is speaking of, is just
aslocalandvisibleasthemanhimself,whowastobeitscaretaker,andhishouse.(Local,
Particular)
87)ITimothy3:15Asabove,Paulonceagaincomparesthechurchtoahouse.Letme
inserthere,thatintheBible,thechurchiscomparedto1)ABODY,2)ABUILDINGand
3)ABRIDE.Notethatnotaoneofthesethreecomparisonsiseverunderstoodasbeing
Universal and Invisible.Every BODY(human) in this world islocalandvisible,every
BUILDING in this world islocalandvisibleand also every BRIDE in this world
islocalandvisible.EventheUniversalChurchiteunderstandsthesethreecomparisonsto
belocalandvisible,butwhenitcomestotheCHURCH,itself,histhinkinggetswarped.
AbsurdarethethoughtsofaUniversalite.Adeeperinsightintothispassagewouldreveal
tousthatthisisareferencetothechurchinEphesus,forthisiswhereTimothywas.I
Timothy1:3.(Local,Particular)

88)ITimothy5:16IfallthewidowshadtodependonaUniversalInvisibleChurchfor
theirrelief,they'dstarvetodeath.ForitsfundsareasINVISIBLEastheChurchitself.
ThisagainisthechurchatEphesus,asseenabove.(Local,Particular)
89)Philemon2IdoubtifPhilemoncouldfitanentireUniversalChurchintohishouse.
Refertonote#30&#32.(Local,Particular)
90) Hebrews 2:12 This passage is a reference to thefulfillment of the prophecy
mentionedinPsalms22:22.Asdiscussedmourpreviouschapters,JesusdidestablishHis
church,whileHewasonthisearth,inJerusalem,withthetwelveApostles.Onthenightof
Hisbetrayal,inthegardenofGethsemene,HesangasongalongwiththeseApostles,with
theexceptionofJudas.Matthew26:30andMark14:26.Thispassageclearlyreferstothis
group,i.e.ChristandHisApostles,asachurch.(Local,Particular)
91)Hebrews12:23HereisourpassageinwhichtheFUTUREchurchisspokenof.Itis
stillPROSPECTIVEandwillgatherintheCityofGod,theheavenlyJerusalem.Vs.22.
Christ started His church in the earthly Jerusalem and it will end up in the heavenly
Jerusalem.(Local,Prospective)
92)James5:14Ifasinnote#88,thesickhadtowaitupontheeldersofaUniversal,
InvisibleChurchtocomeandprayoverthem,theyaresuretodieintheirsickness,for
theeldersofaUniversal,InvisibleChurchwouldbeasINVISIBLEastheChurchitself.
Visiting and praying for the sick is a ministry given to every local church as we see
throughoutthebookofActs.(Local,Particular)
93)IIIJohn6ContextrevealstousthatthisshortepistlewaswrittentoGaius.Asseenin
Romans16:23andICorinthians1:14,GaiushostedthechurchatCorinthinhishouse.He
was a very hospitable and charitable person and this was witnessed before the entire
church.(Local,Particular)
94)IIIJohn9Sameasabove.Refer#67&#79.(Local,Particular)
95) II I John 10Diotrepheswas a person. Every person islocalandvisible.And if
Diotrepheswaslocalandvisible,thendefinitelythechurchinwhichhesoughttohave
preeminencewouldhavebeenofthesamenature.(Local,Particular)
96) Revelation 1:4"...the seven churches which are in Asia."
Clearly,localandvisibleassemblies.(Local,Particular)
97)Revelation1:11Sameasabove.(Local,Particular)
98)Revelation1:20Sameasabove.(Local,Particular)
99)Revelation1:20Sameasabove.(Local,Particular)
100) Revelation 2:1"churchof Ephesus."Definitely NOT a Universal, Invisible
Church.(Local,Particular)

101)Revelation2:7TheentirebookofRevelationwaswrittenspecificallytotheseven
churchesinAsia.(Local,Particular)
102)Revelation2:8"thechurchinSmyrna."(Local,Particular)
103)Revelation2:1IRefernote#101.(Local,Particular)
104)Revelation2:12"thechurchinPergamos."(Local,Particular)
105)Revelation2:17Refernote#101.(Local,Particular)
106)Revelation2:18"thechurchinThyatira."(Local,Particular)
107)Revelation2:23Refernote#101.(Local,Particular)
108)Revelation2:29Sameasabove.(Local,Particular)
109)Revelation3:1"thechurchinSardis."(Local,Particular)
110)Revelation3:6Refernote#101.(Local,Particular)
111)Revelation3:7"churchinPhiladelphia."(Local,Particular)
112)Revelation3:13Refernote#101.(Local,Particular)
113)Revelation3:14"churchinLaodicea."(Local,Particular)
114)Revelation3:22Refernote#101.(Local,Particular)
115) Revelation 22:16 The wordEkklesiais mentioned 20 times in the book of
Revelation, as seen in the proceeding passages. ALL of these
versesclearlyandconcretelyspeakofSPECIFICchurches.Itshouldalsobenoticedthat
19outofthese20references,proceededdirectlyfromthemouthofourGlorifiedSavior
andLord,andneveroncedoesHeevenmaketheslightestindicationofanysuchathing
asthe Universal, Invisible Church. He refers to each church according to their
PARTICULARLOCATION.(Local,Particular)
ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTEENversesofScripturehavebeenplacedbeforethereader.
TheseareALLthepassagesinwhichthewordEkklesia,appearsintheNewTestament.
Weshallfurthercategorizethesepassagesaccordingtotheirusage,ifthereaderwouldgo
back and check, it will be found that the wordEkklesiais mentioned in the
Abstract/Genericsense,14times,itismentionedintheFuturistic/Prospectivesense,1time
andismentioned100timesintheSpecific/Particularsense.Itisthese14Abstract/Generic
passagesthattheUniversal,InvisibleChurchproponentsvehementlyadvocate.Theywould
rather"holdonto"andplacemoreemphasisonthese14passagesandleavealonethe100
references in which the Biblespecificallyspeaks about LOCAL and PARTICULAR
churches.Howfoolishcanoneget?

Butagain,eventhese14Abstract/GenericreferencesspeakofLOCALchurches.Asithas
beenpointedoutandwillfurtherbedealtwiththat,whentheAbstract/Genericusageis
defined,thenittakesonaSpecific/Particularmeaning.Refertoournotesnumbered67and
69. Thus,SCRIPTURALLYspeaking, the church can be nothing but a LOCAL and
VISIBLEbody.EventheoneincidentwhereitisFuturistic/Prospective,itisstillNOTa
Universal, Invisible Church, for it will be LOCAL and VISIBLE in the Heavenly
Jerusalem.Note#91.Letuscontinueourstudyintothe nextchapter fromadifferent
perspective,i.e.NUMERICALLY.
IV.Numerically
Someone has said that, "There is no language without numerals." True it is that
NUMBERShavebecomeaveryessentialpartofourdaytodaylives.Telephones,TV.
Channels,Computers,Petrol(Gas)Stations,Speedometers,Thermometers,etc.,etc.,all
workontheprincipleof"Digits"orNumbers.
ButIknowthattherewillbewhothosewilldenythewayinwhich'numbers'workand
theyaretruetoanextent,becausenumbersdon'talwaysworkthewayinwhichweexpect
themto.Butthisisduetothefactthattheworldinwhichwenowlive,istotallymarredby
thesinsofmankindandallthatGodhassoperfectlycreated,isinastateofimbalance.
Romans8:1823.
E.W.Bullingerinhisbook,NumberinScripture,discusseshowmanhassosulliedthe
perfectionthatGodhadonceplacedinNumbers.Hesaysthatman,duetohisfallenstate,
"cannottellyouwhatyearitreallyis!Nosubjectisinmorehopelessconfusion,made
worsebythosewhodesirethedatestofitinwiththeirtheoriesofnumbers..."(Pages3&
4)
Regardlessofman'simpotency,weseeintheBiblethatGodDIDcreateaperfectworld,
bothPhysicallyandNumerically.Thuswerefertoitas"TheCreationWeek,"labelingit
withtheperfectnumber,'7'.
Ihave,inmypersonalstudy,founditveryedifyingthattheBiblecanNOTonlyberead
butcanalsobecounted.NumbersdoworkintheBible,especiallyintheA.V.1611.
God,Himself,placeshighvalueonnumerals,thusHeappropriatelynamedabookafter
themcalled,NUMBERS.TheBibleandGodrefertopeoplewhocanCOUNTasbeing
wise. Psalms 90:12 and Rev. 13:18. David, speaking of God's OMNISCIENCE and
WISDOM, refers to Him as the One Who,"...telleththe number of the stars;
Hecalleththem all bytheirnames. Greatisour Lord, and of great power: His
understandingisinfinite."Ps.147:45.
NumbersareGod's"secret"code.Muchcanbesaidaboutthissubject,butIurgethe
serious student to pursue this beautiful subject on his own. Many helpful books are
availableonthissubject.Someofthemarementionedinthebibliography.
ThenumbersthatwearedealingwitharethosementionedintheBible.Inourstudywe
shallseehownumberspertaintothe'church.'Itisinteresting,buttheBiblebeginswithits
firstbookdescribing'7'daysandendswithitslastbookdescribing'7'churches.Ourfocus

willbe,notonthenumber'7',but'22'.Thenumber'22'ismentioned264timesinTHE
BOOK.264,whendividedby'12',whichisthenumberofDivineAdministration,leavesus
againwith'22.'Or22x12=264.Whatthenissosignificantaboutthisnumber.Aswe
shallsee,itisanumberthatrefersto'LIGHT.'
InJohn8:12,JesussaysthatHeis"thelightoftheworld,"andsureenough,Johnmentions
thisword,light',exactly22timesinhisentiregospel.Psalm119:105statesthatGod's
wordisaLIGHTuntoourpath.Andagain,Davidinkeepingwithhistheme,divides
Psalm 119, into'22'sections according to the Hebrew alphabet. There are exactly 22
lettersintheHebrewlanguage.
Also, the totalnumber of books in the Bible are 66.This number divided by'3'gives
us'22.'IndeedGod'sWord,THEBOOK,isaLIGHTuntoourpath.
Ourabovementionedexamplesshowusthatthenumber22appliestoLIGHTandthatthis
wordanditsdescriptivenumber,applytoJesusChrist,God'sPhysicalWord(John1:1)and
alsotoTheBible,God'sWrittenWord.Wewillalsonotewithotherexamplesthatany
thingthathastodowith'LIGHT'intheBible,ismostdefinitelymarkedbythenumber22.
LetusnowturntoExodus25:3137.WehaveherethedescriptionoftheCandlestickthat
wasto beplacedintheTabernacle.Ifonewouldtakenote;thereare7stemson the
candlestick.Themiddlestemisalsoitsmainshaft.This'middlestem'or'mainshaft'bore3
morestemsorbranchesoneitherofitssides,givingus6stemsonbothsides.Eachstemor
branchheld 3 bowls. That is, 6 stems holding 3 bowls each, making'18'bowls. Now,
the'mainshaft',itself,held'4'bowls,givingusatotalof'22'bowls.These'22'bowlsheld
theoilandthewicks,whichwerelitbythepriests,forthesignificantpurposeofgiving
LIGHT.
LetusgotothebookcalledNUMBERS:tothe3rdchapter,verses38and39.Wehave
here the numbering of theLeviteswho were encamped toward the eastern side of the
Tabernacle.SincetheSunrisesintheeast,wewill,again,seeanumberthatissignificant
toLIGHT.ThetotalnumberofLevitesthatwereappointedtoministerlightuntothe
peopleismentionedhereas22,000.22x1000=22000.1000intheBibleisthenumber
forthe'gloryofGod.'(Daniel7:10andRevelation5:11).
Godisbeingglorifiedinthesepassages,andtheexpressionthatisusedtodescribethisact
ismentionedinthemultiplesofthousands.Thus1000isthegloryofGod.These22
000LevitestookcareoftheministrationoflightintheTabernacle,totheGloryofGod.
TheseandmanyothersuchexamplesshowustheperfectionintheWordofGodandalso
goontoprovethatGod'sWordisindeed,GODSWORD,givenbydivineinspirationand
thatthereisnootherbookintheentireuniversethatcancomeanywhereevenneartothe
BIBLE,i.e.theA.V.of1611.Theexamplesaretoonumerousandthuswecannotexplain
themawayasmerecoincidences.Butletusnotdeviatefromthesubjectathand.Our
purpose is to show that the'church'is LOCAL and VISIBLE even from a numerical
standpoint.

22beingthenumberofLIGHTappliesto:1)theCandlestick,2)God'swrittenWordand
alsoto3)God'sPhysicalWord,i.e.theLordJesusChrist.BesidestheseGodhasanother
LIGHTgivingagencyonearth.ThatisHistruechurch.
Jesus,inMatthew5:14,toldHischurchthattheyweretheLIGHToftheworld.Noteagain
thatthechurchwasalreadyinexistenceatthistime.TheeventsthatarementionedinMark
3:1319 andLuke 6:1249 are recorded by Matthew from a different perspective in
Matthew chapters 57. Since Christ compares His'Bride',the church, to a LIGHT,He
keepsHisusageof the wordEkklesiato exactly 22 occurances, throughout the
Bible.NowweknowthattheentireBibleisGod'sownword,buttherearesome"red
letter" editions of theBiblethatdistinguish between what other authors wrote andthat
whichwasspokendirectlybytheLordJesusChrist.Ifthereaderhassuchanedition,
itwillbeseenthatalloftheversesthatweshallreferto,wherethewordEkklesiawas
directlyusedbyourLord,,willbefoundprintedinthe'red'color.
Christ compares His church, not just to'Light',but also to a'candlestick.'This can be
found, not only in the gospel of Matthew 5:1415, but morestrikinglyin the book of
Revelation1:20.Aftersuchacomparison,andprobablytoputadoubleemphasisonthis
fact, our Lord Jesus uses the word,Ekklesiaorchurch,exactly'22'times in the New
Testament.Theversesareasfollows:
1)Matthew16:182)Matthew 18:173)Matthew 18:174)Revelation 1:115)Revelation
1:206)Revelation 1:207)Revelation 2:18)Revelation 2:79)Revelation
2:810)Revelation

2:1111)Revelation

2:1212)Revelation
2:1713)Revelation2:1814)Revelation 2:2315)Revelation 2:2916)Revelation
3:117)Revelation 3:618)Revelation 3:719)Revelation 3:1320)Revelation
3:1421)Revelation3:22and22)Revelation22:16.
Irequestthereadertogotoourproceedingchapter,entitled"Scripturally",andcheckthe
notesforeachoneofthesepassages.Thesearetheonly22passagesintheentireBible,
where we find that Christ,from Hisown lips,uttered the wordEkklesia,andthis
inkeeping,withHiscomparisonofthechurchtoaLIGHT.
Of these passages, wecan concretely affirmthat 21 of them are, beyond any doubt,
references to LOCAL and VISIBLE churches,it is only Matthew 16:18 that most of
theEcumenicalcrowdwouldclaimarereferringtoaUniversal,InvisibleChurch.Ifthatis
thecase,thentheoddsare21:1.WhywouldChrist,soclearly,refertolocalchurches21
timesandcauseconfusioninjust1verse?Oh,butitisNOTChrist,whoiscausingthe
confusion(ICorinthians14:33),itistheUniversal,InvisibleChurchite.Thisverse,i.e.
Matthew 16:18, will be clearly expounded in our succeeding chapter entitled,
"PRACTICALLY."
JesusChrist,insayingthatHisLOCALandVISIBLEchurchistheLIGHToftheworld,
kepttruetoHisword,evenNUMERICALLY.Tosplitthese22referencesinanyway
would ruin their numerical significance and cause great confusion. There are over 22
churchesin115passagesthatarementionedbytheirlocation.

Also,ofthe115passagesinourpreviouschapter,ifweweretoeliminate5passages,i.e.
Acts 7:38, which speaks ofIsrael in the Old Testament, Acts 19: 32, 39 & 41 which
pertain,nottotheNewTestamentchurch,buttotheGreekcivilorlegislativeassemblyand
Hebrews12:23,whichspeaksofthefutureglorifiedchurch,itwouldleaveuswith110
references, which speak oflocalandvisiblechurches, here upon this
earth.'22'x'5'='110'.There would be those, who wouldincludeEphesians5:27 as
speakingofa"futurechurch."ButthecontextrevealstousthatitisanAbstract/Generic
referencetothechurchandnotaFuturistic/Prospectiveone(Refertonote#73)."Thathe
mightpresentIT...agloriouschurch...."(Emphasismine).ThewordITcouldreferto
theEphesianchurchoranyotherchurchforthatmatter.ItisanAbstractreferencetothe
church,whilehereonearth.
V.Practically
Inthischapter,weshallstudythepurposeandpracticalityofachurch.Weshallseewhich
kind of a church is more "ideal" or "practical, alocalandvisiblechurch or
auniversalandinvisiblechurch.Inordertodoso,wemustonceagainmakeclearthefact
that,theNewTestamentchurchwasestablishedbyourLordJesusChristHimself,well
beforethedayofPentecost.Thereasonforsuchaclarificationisthat,iftheperiodofthe
establishmentofthechurchcanbedeterminedthenthepurposeofitsestablishmentcan
alsobedefined.
I have heard much preaching onMatthew16:18. Most of these preachers confuse the
masses with a lot oflinguistic jargon. They stress the words, "WILL BUILD", in this
passageandinsinuatetothelistenerthatChristisspeakingofbuildingHisChurch,yetin
thefuture.Aftersuchastatement,theyimmediatelyaddtheirconclusionthat,sinceChrist
spake"futuristically",whatbettertimetostartHisChurchthanonthedayofPentecost?
SuchisthereasoningoftheentireEcumenicalworldtoday.Theyrigorouslyinsistthat"the
Holy Spirit baptized all the believers on the day of Pentecost into
aMystical,Universal,invisibleBodyofChrist,orChurch."Thistheoryisaresultofultra
orhyperdispensationalismandlacksanyScripturalsupport.Ofcourse,itsoundsgoodand
ispalatabletoevery"Tom,DickandHarry"intoday's,socalled"Christian"world.Butit
is the most dangerous and deceptive device of the devil. It is uniting all of
the"denominations"inthe"Christian"worldunderonebanner,andpreparingthemasa
OneWorldChurch,whichwillmeetitsdoominthe7yeartribulation.
Manyastatementcanbemanipulated,simplybyrestatingitwiththeemphasisonthe
words that were not originally meant to be emphasized. Much of the
samemanipulationconcernsthesubjectofthechurch.HereinMatthew16:18,ifthereader
wouldonlyexaminethewordBUILD,muchconfusioncanbeavoided.
ThewordusedhereintheGreekis"oikodomeo".Thiswordliterallymeans,"tobuildup",
"tostrengthen",or"toedify",asithasbeentranslatedelsewhereintheNewTestament.
Paul, inEphesians4:12,16&29, uses this same word and there we see it translated as
"edifying".
Weusetheterm"bodybuilding"torefertoapersonwhoperformsphysicalexercise.By
this, we do not mean that that person is establishing a body that was

previouslynonexistent,butthatthepersonis"buildingup"thebodythathealreadyhas.
Evenso,JesusChristwasnotspeakingofestablishingHischurch,butratheredifyingit
"upon the Rock." Christ'sEkkiesiawas alreadyestablishedandexisting,it only
needededifying,i.e.buildinguporstrengthening.
Thus,ChristestablishedHischurch,duringtheearlypartofHisministry.RefertoLuke
6:1249,Matthew57andMark3:1319.Thischurchconsistedofthe12apostles.Itwas
LOCAL,inthattheygatheredthemselvesaroundChrist(Mark3:14,"thatthey

should
bewithhim."&Mark6:30)withintheregionsofJerusalemandVISIBLE,justasvisible
asChristHimselfwas.InIJohn1:1,JohnexcitedlyexplainsChrist'stangibility.Hesays:
"whichwehaveheard,whichwehaveseen,andourhandshavehandled,ofthe
Wordoflife;"
JesusChristordainedthemtobewithHimsothatHecouldlatersendthemforthtopreach.
ThiswasHispurposeinestablishingalocalandvisiblechurch.Givenbelowisalistof
responsibilitiesthatChristgavetoHischurch,whichtheypossessedandperformedbefore
thedayofPentecost.Observe:
1)ChristwastheirHeadandFounder.Matthew23:69,Matthew16:18andII
Timothy2:19
2)Theyhadpastors.AtfirstitwasJesus,Himself,andthenHechargedPeter
to take over. The word for'pastor'in the Greek is'poimen'and it literally
meanspastororshepherd.John10:11&14,Acts1:15&John21:1517
3)Theywerebaptizedandwerebaptizing.Matthew3:6,John4:1.2&Acts
1:22
4)Theyhadamembershiproll.Acts1:1315,Matthew10:15,Luke6:1216&I
Corinthians14:40
5)TheyhadtheHolySpirit.John20:22
6)Theyhadatreasurer.John12:46&John13:29
7)Theysanghymnstogether.Matthew26:30&Hebrews2:12
8)Theyhadprayermeetings.Acts1:1215&Luke9:28
9)TheyhadtheLord'ssupper.Matthew26:2628
10)Theyhaddisciplineintheirchurch.Matthew18:1520&Luke17:3
11)TheyhadtheGospel.Matthew4:23,9:35&11:45,Mark1:1etal.
12)Theywereordained.Mark3:14&John15:16
13)Theyhadamissionsprogram.Matthew10:111:1
14)Theywerecommissioned.Matthew28:1820

This list is by no means complete, but it is representative. I reemphasize that they

possessedandperformedalloftheseresponsibilitiesbeforethedayofPentecost.Letus
takeafewnotes:Onlyapastorcanonlyleadalocalchurch,unless,ofcourse,onebelieves
inpopery.Eventhen,thePopeCANNOToverseeandtakecareofallofhissheepatthe
same time. How about a treasurer? How can a Universal, Invisible Church have a
treasurer?Wherewouldhebeandhowwouldhegatherthemoney?Evenifhedid,it
wouldonlybeinvisiblemoney!
Consider a membership roll. How would you go about enlisting the names of all the
membersofaUniversal,InvisibleChurch?Also,withoutamembershiplist,howwould
theygatherforprayermeetings?Howwouldtheydetermineifallofthememberswere
present? For if all of the members cannot be gathered together, how can they be
commissionedorevenordained?Justhowcouldtheygooutandpreach?Thesequestions
might seem far fetched and unnecessary, but if oneisserious inconsidering church
matters, then each one of these questions is valid. For they go to prove theutter
impracticalityof theUniversal,Invisible Church.Ifa "church" can not function in a
practicalwaythenChrist'spurposesaredefeated.
But,yousay;"Apersonneednotbelongtoalocalchurch.Neitherisitessentialforanyone
tobesentFROMalocalchurch,inordertofulfiltheGreatCommission.Apersoncan
workmorefreelyandefficiently,withouttheinvolvementofagroupofpeopleinhis/her
life."
Thosewhosupportsuchreasoningarebasicallyimplyingthatthey'donotwanttobeunder
subjectionofanyhigherauthority.'Thatthey'donotwishtobeaccountabletoanyChrist
made organization or institution; here on earth.This is the very reason why we
have'preachers' "coming out of our ears." Every one that comes along claims to be
INDEPENDENT,meaningthattheydonotidentifywithorbelongtoanyLOCALchurch.
"Freelance"preachers!
Irecalla man,who claimedtobesuchapreacher.He receivedfunding fromalocal
church, somewhere in the United States. There was a time when the church, that
solovinglysentcontributionstowardhis"ministry",askedhimtogiveageneralreportas
to"howtheirmoneywasbeingused!"Tothis,thepreacherwasoutragedandwroteback
tothepastorofthatchurch,statingthattheyhadnobusinessininterferingwithhisaffairs,
andthattheycouldstopthemoney,iftheyweregoingtofurtherquestionhimaboutit.
Sucharetheattitudesofthese"independent"preachers.TheyclaimthatGodcalledthem,
andinmostcases,thatHedidsodirectly,i.e.throughvisions,dreams,strongfeelingsand
emotions,etc.,duetowhichtheyaredirectlyaccountabletoGodandnottoanychurch.
Thesesocalled"independentpreachers,"theoneswhoareunaccountabletoanychurch,
havecomeinandoftenpreach,whattheylike,wheretheylike,andhowtheylike.No,
Christsscripturalorganizationuponthisearthistochecktheirdoctrineanddiscipline
themifneeded.Thus,todayin"Christendom",wehavenewdenominationsandevencults
poppingupmorefrequentlythanwehavepeoplegenuinelybeingsaved.Therebellionof
these"preachers"hascausedmanytoturnawayfromthetrueGospel.Inmostcases,those
whohaveturnedawayevenbecomeANTICHRISTIAN.Paul,withmuchsorrowwarned

theearlychurchesconcerningsuchpreachers.Philippians3:1719,Romans16:1718,II
Corinthians11:1315,etal.
TheLordJesusChristorganizedandordainedthe12apostlesintoachurchwiththevery
purposeofsendingthemforthtopreachtheGospel.Matthew10:57andMark3:14.This,
theyweretodo,beginningfromJerusalemevenuntotheuttermostpartsoftheearth.Acts
1:8.WhyJerusalem?BecausethischurchwasLOCALtothatcity.
WhenJesusspokeHisfinalwordsuponthisearthandgavetheGreatCommission,Hedid
NOTgenerallysay,"everypersonwhobelievesonMeshouldtakethegospelout".Rather,
He called His small church aside,intoamountain, and privately commanded them to
fulfiltheCommissionofpreachingandteachingtheGospel.Matthew28:10&1620.In
Matthew16:19,Hehadalreadygiven"thekeysofthekingdomofheaven"toHischurch.
ThustheauthoritytotaketheGospelforthremainswithaLOCAL,NEWTESTAMENT
CHURCH.AnyonewhowishestocarrytheGospelforth,MUSTbeauthorizedbyandsent
fromsuchachurch.PaulexplainsthistothechurchinRome,(NOTCatholic),inRomans
10:1415.Truetohisword,PaulwasauthorizedandsentfromaNewTestamentchurch.
WeseetheeventsbeautifullyillustatedinActs13:14.Youwillnotfindonepreacherwho
wasnotsentoutbyaNewTestamentchurch,withthepossibleexceptionofApollos(Acts
18:2428).Apollos,however,wasnotproperlyschooledinNewTestamentpolityandit
tookAquilaandPriscilla,membersofthechurchinEphesis,to"expounduntohimtheway
ofGodmoreperfectly"(Acts18:26).Afterthisincident,ApolloswenttoAchaiaandjoined
thechurchthere(v.27).Later,Paulinhisepistles,referstothechurchesofAchaiaand
Macedoniabeingprominentinsendingforthpreachersandsupportingthegospelministry
(Acts19:21,Romans15:2527,ICorinthians16:15,IICorinthians1:1,9:12,11:910).
Torestateitsimply,ourLordJesusChrist,authoritativelycommittedtoHischurchthree
things;
1)Doctrine.Matthew7:2829,Mark1:1922,
Luke4:32andActs2:42.
2)Discipline.Matthew18:1517&Luke17:3&4
3)DeclarationofHisdoings(i.e.theGospel).Luke24:4448,Matthew28:1820,
etc.
If these divine duties are to be fulfilled, and they MUST befulfilled,then in all
PRACTICALITY, it can be accomplished only throughlocal, New Testament
churches.ThisistheonlySCRIPTURALway.
VI.Logically
Ithasbeensaidthat,theproblemwithcommonsenseisthatitisnotverycommon.The
logic and reasoning of the Bible isso simple that anyone who possesses the precious
quality called common sense, will doubtless grasp its interpretations. More than any
human,thebestinterpreteroftheBibleistheBIBLE,itself.

WehaveseenthroughoutthisbookthattheGreekwordforchurchisEkklesia.Andthat
this word applies to a called out assembly or group of people, who gather in
aspecificplaceatspecificperiodsandforspecificpurposes,onlyandalways.AlsoChrist
used this word in reference to HIS CHURCH. This church was unlike the Old
TestamentIsraeland also the Greek civil or legislative assembly. The wordEkklesiais
usedinthreedifferentsenses:
1)Abstractly/Generically
2)Specifically/Particularly
3)Futuristically/Prospectively.
Christ'sEkklesiaorchurchwascomparedtothreedifferentobjects,intheNewTestament:
1)ABody
2)ABuilding
3)ABride.
Ekklesia,asdetailed,appears115timesintheNewTestament.TheEnglishman'sGreek
Concordanceshowsthat79ofthese115referencesappearinthesingularandtheother36
intheplural.Whencontextuallyexamined,mostofthese79referencesapplydirectlytoa
particularorspecificLOCALassemblyorcongregationorchurch.
Atthispoint,therewouldbemanyinagreementaboutthelocalchurch,butyettheygoon
tosaythattheBiblealsospeaksofaUniversal,InvisibleChurch.Whattheyaresayingin
reality is that, the Bible speaks of two different kinds of churches. One LOCAL and
VISIBLE, the otherUNIVERSAL and INVISIBLE. Thelatter,they also refer toas the
TRUECHURCH.ThisiswhatC.I.Scofieldteaches.
ThiskindofreasoningwouldimplythattheBibleiscontradictingitself.Passagessuch
asEphesians4:4, wouldbevery hardto explain,in such a case, we would be safer in
saying that thehumaninterpreter is the one who is contradicting, and NOT the Bible.
Contradictions are brought about by careless expositions. But the Bible is God's Holy
Book,andmostdefinitelycannotcontradictandconfuse,forGod,whoisitsauthordoes
NOTcauseconfusion.ICorinthians14:33.
InthebookofEphesians,Paulmentionsthewordekklesiasome9timesinthesingular.
These9versesarethe"strongholds"ofthemostrabidadvocatesoftheUniversal,Invisible
Churchtheory.RoscoBrong,DeanoftheLexingtonBaptistCollegeexplainsinhisnotes
onTheChurchinEphesians,
"Actually,tospeakofalocalchurchislikespeakingofwetwater,hotfireorcoldice.
ThereisnootherinaBiblicalsense.Theuseoftheword'church'tomeanameetinghouse,
adenomination,orauniversalhierarchyorreligiousmonstrosity,visibleorinvisible,is
completelyunscriptural.IntheBibletheword'church'meansassembly,onlyandalways.
It never refers to an unknown, unassembling, confused and scattered multitude. Such

a'church'exists only in the imagination of heretics desperately trying to justify their

schisms."(Page17)
TheuseofAbstract/Genericnounsisverycommoninourdaytodayconversations.But
whentheapplicationofthenounismade,thenitparticularizesorbecomesspecific.For
example,thewords:school,telephone,automobile,computer,airplane,etal.Ifwewereto
say, "Children inIndia start school at the age of3."We do NOT mean a
Universal,InvisibleSchool!WhentheAbstract/Genericnoun,'school',isappliedtoevery
childitthenbecomesParticular/Specific.
Letussay,"Thetelephoneisoneofthegreatestinventions."BythiswedoNOTmeana
Universal, Invisible telephone When the Abstract/Generic noun,'telephone',is made
Particular/Specific,itthenappliestoeverytelephone.Thesameistruewithalltheother
nouns,thatbeginwiththearticle,the.TheAmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglish
Languagedeclares;the.Thedefinitearticle1.Beforesingularorpluralnounsandnoun
phrases that denoteparticular

specifiedpersons or things. 2. Before a noun, and

generallygeneric:thehumanarm."(Pg.1333,Emphasismine)
Whyisitthen,thatalloftheotherGeneric/Abstractnounsmakesensetous,butonlywhen
itcomestothechurch,wetendtoloseoursense?WhentheBiblecomparesthechurchto
aBRIDE,wedefinitelydoNOTthinkofaUniversal,InvisibleBRIDE.EveryBridewe
knowislocal,visibleandtangible.Howaboutabuilding?WhentheBiblecomparesthe
church to a building, how many would think of a Universal, Invisible Building? It is
ridiculous to argue these points, yet that is exactly what an argument FOR the
Universal,InvisibleChurchwouldbe,ridiculous?
LetustakeEphesians5:23,foranotherScripturalexample.Thereare4Abstract/Generic
nounsmentionedhere:husband,wife,Christandchurch.Anyintelligentpersonknowsthat
PaulisNOTtalkingofaUniversal,invisibleHusbandoraUniversal,InvisibleWife.All
thehusbandsandwivesweknowarelocal,visibleandtangible.EvenChristisLOCAL
andVISIBLE,inthatHeisinHeaven,attherighthandoftheFather,inHisglorified
body,whichwasseenbyStephen,theapostleJohnandbyover500people.Acts7:56,
Revelation1:917andICorinthians15:56.Wehavenoprobleminunderstanding3ofthe
4genericnounswhichPaulused,butyet,whenitcomestothechurch,oursenseseemsto
belost.ThisisaresultofourcomingunderSatan'sinfluence.Forhewantstomakeus
discredittheONLYChristordainedorganizationuponthisearth.But,yousay,whyshould
hedothat?ItisbecauseofChrist'sstrongpromiseconcerningHischurchinMatthew
16:18;"uponthisrockIwillbuildmychurch;andthegatesofhellshallnotprevail
againstit."
WhenChristwasuponthisearth,HewasSatan'sprimetarget.NowthatHeisascended,
Satan'sprimetargethasbecomeChrist'srepresentativeuponthisearth,i.e.Christ'sBody
and Bride, the true local, visible, New Testament churches. Allof Satan's forces
aretargetedondestroyingChrist'schurches,ifwhatthechurcheshadaccomplishedduring
thedaysoftheActsoftheHolySpiritthroughtheApostles,hadcontinued,withoutSatan's
interference,theworldwouldhavebeencompletelyevangelizedandSatanwouldhavelost
muchground.Instead,Satanandhisservants,thesocalled"Christians",havecomeup

withaUniversal,InvisibleChurchandeversinceignorancehasincreasedconcerningthe
trueChristordainedchurchapostacyhasbecomerampant.
Ihavebeenhearingofscoresoforganizations,suchasTheWorldVision,F.E.B.A,etal,
whohavebeensayingthattheywishtocompletelyevangelizetheworldbytheyearAD
2000. Try as they might, with all their modem printing equipment, Radio broadcasts,
transportationmethods,computernetworks,faxmachines,etc.,theystillfallshort,fora
manmadeorganizationcanNEVERmatchtheefficiencyofthatwhichChristbegan,i.e.
Hislocalchurch.Forwhen,oneevangelizesintheChristordainedmanner,i.e.,througha
local church, the rewards and results are great and Christ is honoured and glorified
(Ephesians3:21),becausetheworkisdoneinaScripturalmanner.
Dr.LukeandBro.PauldescribewonderfulresultsbyabidingtruetotheNewTestament
methodofevangelizingthroughalocalchurch.Acts19:10andRomans10:1418."their
soundwentintoalltheearth,andtheirwordsintotheendsoftheworld,"withoutany
technologicalaids.SotheONLYlogicalandsensiblewaytoaccomplishChrist'spurposes
uponthisearth,isthroughaLOCALandVISIBLEchurch.
VII.Conclusion
Let'ssumitup!Ourchapterentitled,Etymologically,isourstrongestandbestinfallible
proofconcerningtheLOCALCHURCH.Inthatchapter,wedefinedtherootwordbehind
theterm'church.'Again,ourpresentdayDictionariesandGreekLexiconsdefineanyterm
according to their current usage. This is very misleading to say the least. The
term,Ekklesia,wasdefinedforusinourchapter,accordingtoitsusageinthedaysofour
LordandHisapostles.Uponsuchanexamination,wedeterminedthatEkklesiaappliedto
"an assembly or group of people, who met in aspecific place,atspecific periodsand
forspecificpurposes."
Secondly, the"Scripturally"chapter gave us anotherinfallible proof.We had examined
alloftheScriptureswherethewordEkklesiawasmentioned,contextually,115inall.Of
these,itwasseenthatin100versesthetermEkklesiaappliedParticularly/Specificallyto
LOCAL churches. 1 verse shows the Future/Prospective church and the
remaining14versesspeakofthechurchinaGeneric/Abstractsense.
Itisthese14verses which are mostoften misrepresentedasspeaking ofa Universal,
InvisibleChurch.Thismisrepresentationisdone,notbytheBible,butbythepersonwho
teachestheseversesassuch.Theproblemwithsuchateacheristhat,he/shelacksaproper
understanding of grammar, for whenever the Generic/Abstract noun is applied, its
applicationthenbecomesParticular/Specific.
Inourthirdchapterentitled"Numerically"wehadstudiedthenumber22.Itwasshown
that22intheBibleappliestoLIGHT.ThisLIGHTdepicts:
1)ThePhysicalWordofGod,theLordJesusChristJohn8:12
2)TheWrittenWordofGod,theA.V.1611Psalm119:105
3)TheCandlestickinthetabernacle,Exodus25:3137

4)Thechurch,Matthew5:1415
Jesus Christ compared His church to a candlestick and a LIGHT. In keeping with its
numerical significance, the Lord Jesus Christ uttered the wordEkklessia,from His
ownlipsin exactly 22 verses. Each one of these verses, when
examinedcontextually,revealtousthatChristwasspeakingstrictlyofanddirectlytoHis
localchurches.Itisinterestingtonotealso,that,alloftheobjects/subjects,towhichthe
number22orthewordLIGHTapplies,areLOCALandVISIBLE.
Ourfourthchapter,"Practically",listedforussomeofthedivinedutiesthatweregivento
the church by their founder and Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. These duties, in all
practicality, could onlybefulfilled by aLOCALchurch. Much can be said about the
practicalaspectsofaLOCALandVISIBLEchurch.Butsufficeittosaythat,ifachurchis
impractical,suchastheUniversal,InvisibleChurch,thenChrist'spurposesuponthisearth
aredefeated.AndthiswouldcauseSatantotriumph,exceedingly,ashealreadyisdoingto
themostpartinthesocalled"Christian"world.
Finally,inthechapter,"Logically"wesawthesimplicityofthewordchurchasusedin
theBible.This term was used in the Bible in three different senses:
1)Abstractly/Generically,2)Particularly/Specificallyand3)Future/Prospectively.
Of the 115 referenceswe have studied,14timesthe word church is
mentionedAbstractly/Generically.In 1verse it is spoken of as being yet in
theFuture/Prospectively.Buttheremaining100verses,beyondashadowofadoubt,apply
Particularly/Specifically"toLOCALandVISIBLEchurches".
OurLordJesusChristhasestablishedatrue,local,visible,NewTestamentchurchandhas
commissionedittopropagate.ThishasbeenGod'scommandandcommissionforHis
entirecreation(Genesis1:2425&28).Hisdelightisinseeing"kindbegetkind".Humans
to beget more humans,cattle to produce more cattle and on into the New Testament,
believers begetting believers and ultimately, churches begetting churches. This pattern
oflocal churches begetting other local churches can be seen throughout the New
Testament.ItallbeganwiththechurchinJerusalem.Asinthephysicalworld,Adamand
Evehavebeenthebeginningof"humansuccession,"thusalsointheSpiritualworld,the
secondAdam,theLordJesusChristandHisBride,thefirstchurchinJerusalem,havebeen
the beginning of "church succession." I Corinthians 15:4548, II Corinthians 11:2
3,Ephesians5:2332andActs16:5.
Theselocalandvisiblechurches, beginning from the one in Jerusalem, that Christ
established,havethroughouthistorysucceededoneanotherandhavecometobeknown
today as true, Baptist churches. True Baptists have always followed this pattern of
successionandhaveheldstrongly,totheLOCALandVISIBLEpositionofthechurchas
seen in ourIntroduction.History holds many records of their age long perpetuity or
lineage.Both,Baptistsandtheirenemies,standwitnesstothisfact.
WilliamR.Byersstates,"Baptistsaretheonlybodytodaythathasexistedthroughthe
centuries andofwhichnonehas been abletodocument ahumanfounder.TheBaptist
peoplehaveexistedsincethedaysofOurLordandHisdisciples."(TakenfromHistorical

StatementsconcerningBaptistsandtheirOriginbyWm.R.ByersoftheBearingPrecious
SeedMinistry.)
CardinalHosius,aRomanCatholicandPresidentoftheCouncilofTrent,December13,
1545 to December 4, 1564, said, "Were it not for the fact that Baptists have been
grievouslytormentedandcutoffwiththeknifeduringthepast1200years,theywould
swarmgreaterthanallthereformersIfthetruthofreligionweretobejudgedbythe
readinessandboldnessofwhichamanoranysectshowsinsuffering,thentheopinions
andpersuasionsofnosectcanbetruerandsurerthanthoseAnabaptists,sincetheyhave
beenmoregenerallypunishedorthattheyhavecheerfullyandsteadfastlyundergoneand
haveofferedthemselvestothemostcruelsortofpunishmentthanthesepeople."(Taken
fromOrchard,HistoryofBaptistspage364)
JohnClarkRidpath,a great Methodist historian states:"Ishould not readily admit that
therewasaBaptistChurchasfarbackas100A.D.,althoughwithoutdoubttherewere
Baptist churches then, as ALL CHRISTIANS were then Baptists." (Taken
fromJarrell,ChurchPerpetuitypage59)
Alonglistofstatementsmade,bothbyproandantiBaptistscouldbecalledtothewitness
stand,butthatwouldrequireanothervolume.Ashasbeensaidinthebeginning,thatthere
are3basicdefinitionsofthechurch.
TheRomanCatholicDefinitionwhichstatesthat,"AllCatholics,throughouttheworld
consistofaUNIVERSALorCATHOLICCHURCH.ThisistheUniversalandVisible
definition."
TheProtestantdefinitionwhichstatesthat,"Allofthebelievers,sincethedayofPentecost,
compriseaUNIVERSALandINVISIBLECHURCH."
Andlastly,theBibleortheBaptistdefinitionwhichsaysthat;"Thechurchisabody
of baptized, believers gathering in aspecific placeatspecific periodsand
forspecific purposes(to fulfill the great commission and obey the commands of
Christ)."
RomanCatholicsandProtestantshavealwaysheldtotheUNIVERSALCHURCH
theory (whether visible or invisible). Due to this, their very definition of the
churchbetraysthemofhavinganylinkwiththetruechurches.
TrueBaptistshavealwaysheldtotheLOCALandVISIBLEperspectiveofthe
church.Thiswasduetothefactthattheyheldontothepromisethatwasmadeto
them by their Founder, regarding their perpetuity. SeeMatthew16:18, Matthew
28:20andEphesians3:21.
Givenbelowisalistofthevariousdenominations,whichhavecroppedup,during
thepastcenturies.Allofthemhaveahumanfounderandtheirown"concept"ofthe
church. They do not andcannotqualify as being true churches. For a true New
Testamentchurchwouldhavethefollowing"qualifications".Itwouldhavebeen
started;

1)IntheRightplace,i.e.Jerusalem,
2)AttheRightperiod,i.e.around30A.D.and
3)BytheRightperson,i.e.JesusChrist.

Denomination

Founder

Place

RomanCatholic

GregoryVII

Rome

GreekOrthodox

Pontius

Greece

Lutheran

MartinLuther

Germany

Episcopal(Anglican)

KingHenryVIII

England

Presbyterian

JohnCalvin

France

Brethren

AlexanderMack

U.S.A.

Methodist

JohnWesley

U.S.A.

Evangelical

JacobAlbright

U.S.A.

ChurchofChrist

A.Campbell

U.S.A.

Nazarene

S.F.Breeze

U.S.A.

Denomination

Founder

Place

Christadelphians

JohnThomas

U.S.A.

SalvationArmy

WilliamBooth

England

JehovahsWitnesses

CharlesTazeRussell

U.S.A.

Mormons

JosephSmith

U.S.A.

SeventhDayAdventist

EllenG.White

U.S.A.

ChurchofGod

DanielWarner

U.S.A.

Pentecostal

CharlesParnham

U.S.A.

AssembliesofGod

K.H.Bruss

U.S.A.

Hebron

BakthSingh

India

JesusCalls

D.G.S.Dhinaker

India

Thislistisbynomeanscomplete,forthereareover2,000denominations,cultsandsects
inthesocalled"Christian"worldtoday.TrueBaptistsaretheONLYgroupwhoqualifyas
Scriptural, for they began in theright place, Jerusalem, at theright period,around
30A.D.andhavetherightperson,,theLordJesusChrist.
After having gone through all of theinfallible Proofs,the reader must
now,personalizethatwhichwassaidintheabstract.Thatis,"HowimportantistheLord's
churchtome?AmIapartofatrue,local,NewTestamentBaptistchurch?"and"Ifthe
theories that I hadlearnt are conflicting with theseInfallible Proofs,then which
doIchoose?"
Maythereaderputawayallbiaswhilecontemplatingthesepersonalquestionsandseek
onlythatwhichisScriptural.FORWOEuntotheperson,whobelittlesandneglectsthe
Lord'struechurch.Corinthians3:1119.

Welivetoday,inaworldwhereLaodiceanattitudesprevail.Manywouldmerelyshrug
theirshouldersat thevital truth as presented inthisbook. Onething that wemust be
cautionedaboutisthatthemajorityCANbeWRONG.Althoughmostofthe"Christian"
worldbelievesinaUniversal,invisibleChurch,thatdoesnotmeantheBibletosupports
theirview.ThewisdomofthewisestmanisfoolishnessbeforeGod.Asitiswiththe
Universal,InvisibleChurch.Thosewhocontinuetoadvocateit,inspiteofhavinggone
throughthisbookarebasicallydeclaringthattheirknowledge,regardingthetruenatureof
thechurch,isasinvisibleastheirInvisibleChurch.