Etymology of the word "Church"
December 24, 2016 robrichmond Main Page 12 comments
The following is not my work, but there is a powerful truth held within. (If it is your work let me know).
What does the word "Church" mean and from where did it come from? The scriptures?
An interesting quote from the 1915 "Gospel Advocate" (Pg 589) says:
"The word 'Church' is really not a translation of any word that was used by either Christ or His Apostles, but is the Anglican form of a different word which Roman Catholicism substituted in place of the word used by Christ and His Apostles… It is in our english scriptures by order of King James, who instructed his translators of 1611 not to translate the word "Ecclesia" by either 'Congregation' or 'Assembly' but to use the word 'Church' instead of a translation."
The word "Church" is neither Hebrew nor Greek. In point of fact, when these languages were translated into English Bibles, the word "Church" was already in existence. The greek word used in the renewed covenant for "Church" is "Ekklesia" which basically means "Called Out ones".
Ekklesia does not refer to a building, but rather a group of people. Proper English translations should read: Congregation, Assembly or Group. Strangely in Acts 19:32, 39 and 41, Ekklesia is the word that is translated as "Assembly", but in other passages, it is translated as "Church".
"Church" is commonly defined as :
"A building for public worship, especially Christian worship: The company of all christians as a spiritual body."
This doesn't really tell us anything concerning its original definition, meaning and usage however. What's even stranger?
Ekklesia is also spelt as "Ecclesia" and IS in our English dictionary. So why didn't later prints of the Scriptures just use the actual word Ecclesia instead of the word "Church"?
The Bible "scholars" say:
The word "Church" is derived from the Greek "Kryiakon" meaning "The Lords House".
This sounds plausible at first, but there is just one problem. The greek word "Kryiakon" is not used the scriptures. The greek word "Ekklesia" is.
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable says:
The Etymology of this word is generally assumed to be from the Greek, "Kurious Oikos" (House of God); but this is most improbable, as the word existed in all celtic dialects long before the introduction of the Greek.
No doubt the word means 'A Cricle'. The places of worship among the Germans and Celtic Nations were always circular [Witness: Circular Stonehenge – one of the most Ancient stone megaliths on earth]. Compare Anglo-Saxn 'Circe' – A small church with 'circol'. A Circle.
The circle represents something which is continuous. The calendar by which these organisations are lead are this.
The Oxford English Dictionary says:
(a) Cirice, Cyrice, Chiriche, Churchiche, Chereche
(b) Circe, Cyrce, Chyrce, Cirke, etc., etc… "The ulterior derivation has been keenly disputed."
Ulterior derivation? – What has been intentionally hidden from its origin….
What would need to be disputed? According to the Oxford Dictionary…
Of English Etymology.
The word "Church" comes from old English "Cirice" or Middle English "Circe", a word that clearly seems be cognate with Circe.
Cognate means to have the same linguistic source as another language.
Yawn right? … But then it starts to get interesting….
"We also know that the dialectal form of Circe (also found in Greek) was Kirke and Etymologists (those who study of the history of words) are agreed that the Dutch word for "Church", "Kerk", the German "Kirche" and the Scots "Kirk" all come from the old Saxons Kirika", another cognate with "Kirke" or "Circe".
So what or who is Kirke/Circe and why would King James order a derivative of this name to replace the true name Yahshua used to identify His followers?
Kirke (or Circe)…or as she would be called in English today … "Church" was a Greek goddess Pharmakeia (a witch or sorceress) who lived on the Island of Aiaia. (Aiaia is the most ancient form of the name "Gaia", the pagan goddess of fertility). She was the daughter of the Sun god Helios, and had the power to change men into lions, wolves and especially swine. The animals would retain their human senses but be trapped in animal bodies.
The Greeks attribute the invention of the "circus" to her. They claim it was done to hour her father, the sun… hence the term "Cirque De Soleil" in French, or in English, "Church of the Sun".
Excerpt from an adaptation of "The Adventures of Ulysses"
"Being entered, she placed them in chairs of the state, and set before them mean and honey, and smyrna wine, but mixed with baneful drugs of powerful enchantment. When they had eaten of these, and drunk of her cup, she touched them with her charming rod and straight away they were transformed into swine, having bodies of swine, the bristles and snout, and grunting noise of that animal; Only they still reained the minds of men, which made them more to lament their brutish transformation." – Adventures of Ullyses by Charles Lamb.
And just how did the Greeks picture this goddess?
With a Golden cup in one hand filled with wine and mixed with drugs to seduce and control warriors and kings, transforming them into man-like "animals".
Sound kind of familiar? It should. John, while on prison on the island of Patmos, saw a vision of a similar woman.
Revelation 17:1-3, 4a-5
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment and doom of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters,
2 she with whom the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality, and the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated with the wine of her immorality."
4a …[and she was] holding in her hand a gold cup full of the abominations and the filth of her [sexual] immorality.
5 And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
Revelation 18:23a
23a ….because all the nations were deceived and misled by your sorcery [your magic spells and poisonous charm].
Sorcery? Earlier in this article "Circe" was described as the goddess Pharmakeia. Interestingly enough, John uses the same word Pharmakeia which we see translated as the word "Sorcery".
Even stranger is that according to some Greek accounts, Church (Circe) died and was buried in the Pharmacussi Island group.. which is visible from the Isle of Patmos where John was imprisoned.
The words "Pharmacy" and "Pharmaceuticals" come from this word. Stong's concordance's first defintion of "Pharmakeia" is medicine. As we do not takes John's vision to be literal…there is no liternal woman with a cup running around…it must be spiritual.
Circe / Church entices people with spiritual drugs… "Feel good doctrines" … Hallucinations of special visions and powers… All of the things which drugs do.
Kirke is also the word for "Hawk"… an unclean bird of pray by Torah standards.
2 And he shouted with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen [certainly to be destroyed] is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every unclean spirit, and a prison for every unclean and loathsome bird.
Fornications.
She has joined herself to the world leaders, in order to conquer others of different beliefs that are otherwise unaffected by her "sorceries".
And in her was found the blood of the prophets, and of the saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Leaders like Constantine, who had "a vision" that he was to conquer in the sign of the cross…
Witch hunts killed many, many, many innocent women to appease the church's god…. During the "crusades" many innocent people and naive followers of church died for church's god.
At it's outset Chattell slavery was defended by church and her followers… the murder, rape and lynching of innocent human beings… didn't bother her and her daughters one bit.
Today, many right wing conservative Evangelicals beleive that the war in the middle east is the "will of god", whole thousands of innocent people are killed every single day.
Be warned. Church's bloody history will be repaid her and ALL WHO FOLLOW HER. I have heard it said..
The Roman Catholic Church is "Mustery Babylon" and the "Reformation" was fulfillment of the scriptures that said "Come out of her My people".
For you who agree with that, you would do well to remember that Mystery Babylon is the MOTHER OF HARLOTS. ALL OF THE DAUGHTERS ARE HARLOTS. (At least 38,000 denominations full of them). They may have different first names, but they still share their mothers maiden name….
They ALL follow her and have a common thread. The calendar they use is NOT the calendar of scripture. Want to know more? Click here.
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Kristina Dennard says:
This was very enlightening, would love to learn more information about the history of christianity and it's TRUE meaning how do it affect the body of christ today
Rev Harrison Chama says:
this should be taught in the Assembly of Yeshua
Yahshua, He came in the Name of His Father YAHweh not yehweh, it's halleluYAH not halleluyeh. Yehshua is erroneously used by taking the incorrect English rendering of jesus back to Hebrew you get yeshu…If you bring properly from the original Hebrew His Name Yahshua to English using the English J you get Joshua, properly Yahshua not jesus, not yeshua. The reason many messianic assemblies use yeh, is not unlike their orthodox brothers they seek to hide the true and Holy Names from the goyem to prevent them from blaspheming His Name. They believe the Name is too Holy to be uttered despite the Almighty stating many times to proclaim My Name, it is one of the 10 Commandments, so they do this erroneously.
robrichmond says:
Need to do some study on pronunciation. Car key in Australia sounds like Khaki in Britain. It is not the spelling but the meaning that is important as accents have changed much of this. Besides. English itself can never holistically represent the words He gave us. Each letter has a meaning in Hebrew, but in english, this is not the case. The spellings are just a representation of the way it sounds depending upon the language and region you live in.
Chibuzo says:
By your explanation here, sir, do you suggest that the Sunday morning service of christians to the lord is unacceptable to God? What's your judgement on the bible passage which says "upon the first day of the week "? Because the first day of the week is Sunday's
Hi Chibuzo,
So Sunday is the first day of the week upon the Gregorian calendar. The calendar used in the Scriptures is not the same. You see nowhere in the bible does it say to count the days from the international date line. In fact in the scriptures it says that the days were counted from the new moon. And if you have ever looked,the new moon is not seen very often, over the international date line first. Sometimes it is seen over the USA, sometimes China, sometimes Africa.
The other thing that is different is that in the scriptures the first day of every month was called new moon day. New moon day was not a work day either.
Scriptures actually tell us that the whole world would walk after the beast and in using the Gregorian calendar, and ignoring Gods appointed times (such as booths which we are presently is now) they fulfill what He said would occur.
The first day of the week would not even be the Roman Monday. Then there is the whole issue you need to deal with where scripture tells you of 144,000 who still follow the commandment ps of God who tells us He does not change…. and that is in Revelation… the time of the end.
Much to learn my friend
Yes, unacceptable. The 7th day is the day the Almighty set aside and made Holy, He chose it. It says "very early on the first day of the week," which would have been at sunset saturday evening when the sabbath and 7th day were ending.
But they are not using the Roman calendar in the scriptures. Saturday and Sunday are not a part of His calendar. The day starts each month with the new moon which is in no way associated with the Gregorian date line.
Veronica VC Wong says:
(1) I really need to know where you got this … (b) Circe, Cyrce, Chyrce, Cirke, etc., etc… "The ulterior derivation has been keenly disputed." – because it show that it was concealed.
(2) I also appreciate the "Cirque De Soleil"; and the "pharmakeia" (from where we get "pharmacy". I need to show our pastor.
Please can you give the citation for (1) or the weblink of the dictionary?
You can find some info on it here. If I recall correctly, I took it from Wikipedia, however they have changed the page a little since then.
http://grahamhancock.com/phorum/read.php?4,762067,762067
You can find some info on it here. If I recall correctly, I took it from Wikipedia originally, however they have changed the page a little since then.
Rick Phillips says:
Very interesting! After years of study, I came to the realization that the ekklesia was people being called out of Babylon to a Kingdom of Israel, a spiritual nation born on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Yeshua. The first generation disciples were followers of "The Way", which Yeshua said he is. I was trying to put together where Church as a word actually came from. My first thoughts are from Simon "the sorcerer" Magus in Acts 8, and it was he who went to Rome becoming first Pope. It's necessary for the false Church of Constantine to mislead and deceive people by allowing them to believe they are safe. However, Yeshua, King of Israel, is looking for relationship, not religion. There is so much to this. Thanks for the info. Will pass it on!