Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. (Acts 18:4-7)

by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

I am going to state right up front here that this article is not for everyone.

My target audience are those of you who no longer feel comfortable or welcome in your Christian Church due to all the things that have happened during the past 2 plus years since the Plandemic was unleashed, or to those of you who see the insanity around you and are searching for answers to understand everything, but know all too well that you will not find those answers in organized religion, including the Christian religion.

This article is addressing the true disciples of Jesus Christ, or those who want to be his disciples. So if you want to know if you are a disciple of Jesus or not, please first read the article I published a couple of weeks ago:

How to Determine if you are a Disciple of Jesus Christ or Not

To those of you who are true disciples of Jesus Christ, and understand that it has cost you everything that this world values to follow Jesus on the narrow path, including family relationships, then this article is for you: It is time to leave the Christian Church, if you have not done so already.

And while your Christian friends and family members will probably try to lay a guilt trip on you for doing so, you are in good company, because the disciples of Jesus Christ in the First Century, as recorded in the New Testament section of the Bible, did exactly the same thing.

The English Word “Church” is the Wrong Translation for the Meeting of Believers in the New Testament

Before I get into the reasons why the true disciples of Jesus Christ need to leave the Christian Churches, it is first important to understand that the English word “church” is the wrong word to translate the original word in the Greek text of the New Testament, which is ekklesia. The Greek word ekklesia means “assembly,” or “congregation.”

The English word “church,” if you study its etymology (history of use) comes originally from the Greek word “kurios” which means “Lord.”

It is an improper word to use in translation of “ekklesia.” In the Roman world of New Testament times, ekklesia was used for general assemblies, including secular or legal assemblies, and not necessarily just religious assemblies.

Ekklesia is the same word used in Acts 19:32, 39, 41 where it is translated “assembly” in most English Bibles, and not “church”:

Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.

The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people.

But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today’s events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly. (Acts 19:31-41)

This was a purely secular “assembly,” so the English word “church” is not used here for ekklesia in any English translations of the Bible that I am aware of.

And yet, every other time this Greek word, ekklesia, is used in the original Greek texts of the New Testament, where the ones assembling are believers in Jesus Christ, the English word “church” is almost always used in most English translations of the Bible.

Why?

Because James Charles Stuart, who was the King of England in 1611, decreed it to be so. James was also head of the “Church of England.”

His “authorized” English translation of the New Testament in the Bible decreed that “church” was to be the proper translation of ekklesia. 

Today in Corporate Christianity, there is a whole cult following of King James and his 1611 “authorized version” of the English Bible, who believe it is the only translation anyone should use. If you listen to some of the Christians who are part of this cult, you would think that the one who “authorized” this translation of the Bible was God himself.

But it was James Charles Stuart, the King of England at the time, who “authorized” it, and anytime a government official “authorizes” something and forces everyone to comply, you should become skeptical and look for the reasons why that government official is making such a decree, and how they benefit from it.

There were dissenters among the scholarly who opposed the use of the English word “church” to translate ekklesia, and the chief one was a man named William Tyndale, who translated the Greek New Testament into English in the early 1500s.

He rejected the English word “church” for translating ekklesia, and used “congregation” instead. King Henry VIII was King of England at the time, and he issued a condemnation of Tyndale’s translation.

Why did Tyndale risk the King’s wrath to ditch the word “church” in his English translation of the Bible?

Of grievous concern to Tyndale was the misuse of ill-gotten wealth by clergy, monks, and prelates (whom Tyndale often called the ‘spirituality,’ as here):

“What good conscience can there be among our spirituality to gather so great treasure together, and with hypocrisy of their false learning to rob almost every man of house and lands … seeking in Christ nothing but lucre?”

Tyndale said the monks and clergy crept into people’s consciences, robbed them of the faith of Christ, and caused them to give their money to build new churches and cloisters through a false faith in such works, by which all suffered:

“… the building of [churches and steeples] and such like, through the false faith that we have in them, is the decay of all the havens in England, and of all the cities, towns, highways, and shortly, of the whole commonwealth.

For since these false monsters crept up into our consciences, and robbed us of the knowledge of our Saviour Christ, making us believe in such pope-holy works, and to think that there was none other way unto heaven, we have not ceased to build them abbeys, cloisters, colleges, chauntries, and cathedral churches with high steeples, striving and envying one another, who should do most.”

Therefore, by using ‘congregation’ in his New Testament, Tyndale was both being faithful to the Greek and avoiding a usage that would contribute to the continuing exploitation or deception of the people.

Indeed this, Tyndale’s translation, together with his books and writings, have led some to credit him with “breaking the spell attached to the word church,” and “breaking the suffocating power of the medieval church.” (Source.)

However, just to make a point, Tyndale did use the English word “church” in one place: Acts 19 and the secular mob assembly, which I quoted above. He used it in verse 37:

You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. (Acts 19:37)

The Greek word for “robbed temples” is hierosulos, and Tyndale translated it as “robbed churches.”

The King of England was not pleased, and he branded Tyndale a heretic, and Tyndale paid the ultimate cost for being a true disciple of Jesus, and was burned at the stake for his “heresy.”

The Original “Churches” were “Synagogues”

There is another word in Koine Greek (the “common” Greek language that the New Testament was written in) that has a similar meaning as ekklesia, and also means “assembly” or “congregation,” and that word is “sunagōgē,” which was also adopted into the English language as “synagogue.”

Unlike ekklesia which was commonly used for non-religious gatherings, such as secular government meetings, sunagōgē was almost exclusively associated with religious gatherings, and it is a common word used throughout the New Testament Greek writings.

In most places in the New Testament writings, sunagōgē is translated as “synagogue,” and it is always a religious gathering of “believers.”

These assemblies existed before Jesus arrived on the scene in the First Century, so they were seen as primarily assemblies of “Jewish” believers, although Gentiles (non-Jews) were also welcomed in these assemblies, as they existed outside of Israel and all throughout the Roman world.

So when Paul, himself a Jew from the Conservative Party of the Pharisees, but also a Roman citizen, became a believer in Jesus and started his ministry by traveling to mainly non-Jewish populations in the Roman Empire, as recorded in the Book of Acts, he always started out by visiting the local “synagogue” to bring the message, the “good news,” about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and his death and resurrection.

While some of the believers at these assemblies were receptive to his message, most, particularly the leaders, were not. The ramifications of believing in Jesus as the Messiah, would result in a dramatic change in their lives, and was a threat to their status and influence in their communities.

As I documented in the article about being a true disciple of Jesus, it means giving up everything this world system offers, including even our own family relationships.

That’s a tough choice to make, and so most opposed Paul, and some even tried to kill him.

So in the verses that appear at the beginning of this article, as recorded in Acts chapter 18 when Paul went to the city of Corinth, he left the assembly (“church” or “synagogue” which contained BOTH “Jews” and “Greeks”) and started meeting believers in someone’s home instead.

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.

Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.

Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. (Acts 18:1-7)

This pattern can been in many other places recorded in the Book of Acts, where Paul first went to the assembly of believers (synagogues), but then left them when they opposed him.

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.

When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'”

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.

But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. (Acts 13:42-51)

Even Jesus himself, who often taught in the “synagogues,” had to leave the assembly of believers in his own home town, because they rejected him and his teaching.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.

And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'”

“I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed–only Naaman the Syrian.”

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. (Luke 4:14-30)

Before I turn to the modern-day Christian “church,” I want to point out a couple of other interesting places in the New Testament Greek texts where sunagōgē is used.

One is in the book of James, which was written by Jesus’ half brother. James was considered at the time the head over the assembly of believers in Jerusalem, most of whom would have been ethnic Jews.

In Chapter 2 he writes:

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”

If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:1-13)

I used a modern English translation to quote these verses, but the Greek word sunagōgē here in verse two which is translated “assembly,” and not “synagogue” as we see in almost every other place in the New Testament, also comes to us from the King James “Authorized” English version of the Bible, where it is also translated as “assembly.”

So why would King Jimmy only authorize “assembly” to be used in this verse in James, but “synagogue” everywhere else?

To truly understand this, one has to come to the realization that Christianity as a formal religion, did not begin until the 4th Century, some 1000 plus years before King Jimmy authorized his English Bible translation, when the Roman Emperor Constantine “authorized” Christianity as the State religion, and then codified the official doctrine of this new Christian religion at the First Council of Nicaea.

This was the actual historical beginning of the Christian Religion, and it did not exist in the First Century when the New Testament manuscripts were being written.

This is a much larger topic that I deal with here:

Fact Check: “Christianity” and the Christian Religion is NOT Found in the Bible – The Person Jesus Christ Is

So to King Jimmy, who saw himself as the leader of the Church of England and the Christian Religion, James was writing to “Christians” and NOT “Jews” because James begins this section by writing: “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ…”

And therefore, “synagogue” was inappropriate because to King Jimmy, these were “Christians” and not “Jews”, and only “Jews” met in “synagogues.”

He also could not use “church” here, because that word was only used to translate “ekklesia,” a Greek word similar in meaning but was used more to describe the meetings of the true disciples of Jesus who were forced to leave the primarily “Jewish” synagogues.

But in fact, in both assemblies, whether called “sunagōgē” or “ekklesia,” they were mixed congregations of BOTH ethnic Jewish believers, and non-Jewish ethnic believers (“Gentiles” or “Greeks”).

It is quite obvious that James, the brother of Jesus, himself did NOT recognize these ethnic or religious distinctions, and would have never considered the people he was writing to as “Christians,” because he begins this letter with:

 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. (James 1:1)

That entire section in Chapter 2 that I quoted above teaches us to NOT look at people by classes, or groups, and in the case he is addressing in chapter 2, people divided by economic status.

When James refers to “the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court,” he is obviously referring to the ruling class of “Jews” that Jesus said were Satanic Jews who belonged to their father “the Devil.” (John chapter 8)

For more on the use of the English word “Jews” please see:

Identifying the Luciferian Globalists Implementing the New World Order – Who are the “Jews”?

So once we see how the original Greek words “sunagōgē” and “ekklesia” BOTH have similar meanings that are better translated as “assembly” or “congregation,” then we can have a fuller understanding of another place where “sunagōgē” is used, which is in the Book of Revelation:

I know your afflictions and your poverty–yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:9-10)

I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars–I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. (Revelation 3:9)

Most of Today’s Corporate Christian Churches are “Synagogues of Satan”

To truly understand these two passages in the Book of Revelation that use the English phrase “Synagogue of Satan,” one must understand the English translation controversies regarding “sunagōgē” and “ekklesia” started by King Jimmy, and realize that these phrases are best translated “assemblies of Satan,” and absolutely refer to the modern-day Christian Church.

In addition, to fully understand this sentence in Revelations 3:9: “I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars..” – one must also have a proper understanding of how the name “Jew” is used in the New Testament.

Again, I have written an entire article on this subject, one that incorporated years of research and took me over 40 hours to write, and is perhaps the most exhaustive piece of writing I have ever written:

Identifying the Luciferian Globalists Implementing the New World Order – Who are the “Jews”?

If you cannot fully grasp that the Globalists who are trying to reduce the world’s population and usher in a New World Order are Satanic Jews, most of whom are also Freemasons and Jesuits, then you are going to be completely unprepared for what is about to happen next.

In short, the term “Jew” as defined in the New Testament writings, primarily refers to the believers who know God, regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation, which is why I have publicly stated that I am more comfortable referring to myself as a “Jew” than I am as a “Christian,” although I choose to wear no labels at all.

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.

No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God. (Romans 2:28-29)

As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:11-13)

And to those of you who do understand all of this, it is absolutely time to leave the Corporate Christian Church, which is facing judgment from God.

The American Christian Church is thoroughly entrenched in the Satanic World System, partnering with the pharmaceutical industry including receiving government funds to host COVID-19 vaccine clinics, the U.S. military industrial complex, the government child welfare system that trafficks children, and the political Right-wing Republican party that the pro-Israel and Zionist Globalists control.

The other huge disservice that King Jimmy did in his “authorized” English translation of the Bible was use the English word “Pastor” in Ephesians 4:11, where the Greek word, poimēn, in every other place in the New Testament is translated with the English word “shepherd.”

If one would consistently use the English word “pastor” every other place where the Greek word poimēn is used, we would have passages that read like this one in the Gospel of John which is always translated “shepherd:”

I am the good pastor. The good pastor lays down his life for the sheep.

The hired hand is not the pastor who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.

Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

I am the good pastor; I know my sheep and my sheep know me– just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep.

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one pastor. (words of Jesus in John 10:11-16)

The entire office of the “pastorate” in Christian churches is one that does not exist in the Bible, but was started by King Jimmy who was establishing the Church of England as the “reformed” church and as an alternative to the “Roman Catholic Church” ruled by the Pope.

So he simply replaced “priests” who ruled over local Catholic churches much like a CEO rules over a corporation, with “pastors” who now rule over Christian Churches that came out of the “Reformation” movement in Europe.

Both titles and offices are not biblical. For a more exhaustive treatise on this topic please see:

Is “Pastor” A Biblical Title for Church Leaders?

Corporate Christianity today is  a $TRILLION dollar industry. A study conducted in 2016 estimated that religion in America (which is primarily the Christian religion) was “worth $1.2 trillion, more than the combined revenue of the top 10 technology companies in the country, including Apple, Amazon, and Google.” (Source.)

Like the ruling Jews who controlled the synagogues where the believers met in the First Century, who were threatened by the true disciples of Jesus Christ who preached the Gospel, because it taught the people that they could have a direct relationship with God apart from organized religion, so too today the true disciples of Jesus are a threat to Corporate Christianity, because we don’t need their pastors, priests, theologians, churches, or other programs, which are thoroughly entrenched in the Satanic world system and support a multi-trillion dollar Christian industry centered around the Corporate Church.

They are “Synagogues of Satan,” and it is time for the true disciples of Christ to separate themselves from them.

As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?

For we are the temple of the living God.

As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:1-18)

Related:

To “Save” America will the Foundation of the Corporate American Christian Church Need to be Destroyed?