Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
Some of the bible versions say Church for that verse, indicating the universal church.
The King James Version says churches:
Acts 9:31 "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied."
I suspect if I repeat the study with different Bible versions, we will arrive at different conclusions.
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The Greek text of the N.T. is not "confused" in Acts 9.31, and reading it, there is only one "conclusion" in an accurate translation. The word there for church in singular. W. Nee latched onto the KJV because it favored his narrative. The Greek word for church in 9.31 is singular, and the word for churches in 16.5 is plural. Check it out.
I'll repeat what John Myer, former LC co-worker wrote concerning this topic, "there is more scriptural basis for head-covering in the N.T." than there is for the one-city one-church model promoted by LSM.
Actually, I still espouse some of the ideals of the teaching but have never seen it properly applied in church history. It happened in Asia, was recorded in Revelations 2-3, yet actually the Bible never taught it nor promoted it. Those, however, who have promoted it, like the exclusive Brethren and the LSM LC's, have never done so in a way which matched their own teachings. In other words, the teaching has become a breeding ground for hypocrisy and control.
The one church one city model is very similar to the Biblical record of the church "
having all things common." (Acts 4.34) It happened! It was wonderful! It was a testimony of God's dynamic salvation! But it was never taught! According to Acts 5, the practice was apparently short lived, and never mentioned again. Why was that?
Those who have attempted to teach and practice "having all things common" have never succeeded, and most have done so for the most corrupt of reasons. Karl Marx based his entire communistic model on this one verse. What does that tell you? Purists are still attempting to practice communism "properly," saying it has never yet been done "correctly." I wonder why that is? How could something which sounds so good and noble on paper produce the most evil of systems?
Such also is the one church one city system.