Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
The Lord Jesus himself selected this word when He said, "I will build My church." Did He have some Athenian assembly in mind?
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The preponderance of evidence indicates that Jesus spoke Aramaic not Greek so your first statement is factually incorrect, as several people have already stated and you have neither denied not affirmed. The Greek word ekklesia meant a gathering or assembly. Etymologically it referred to being called out of homes to a meeting. To make it say more than that is to use it denotatively or metaphorically. While that is possible, nowhere in the New Testament is that explicitly taught. In the absence of that, how could a person who claimed to preach "the pure word of God" be certain that that was the intended meaning? Easy when that person is the minister of the age with a special anointing from the God of the universe. But, since I don't have that kind of supernatural connection, I have to go by what is written and what is known about the history and culture of the times.