The Ekklesia, QAHAL

THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES HE NEVER SAID "CHURCH." HE ANNOUNCED A GOVERNMENT. Sabbath Bible Study First Harvest Ministries International Rev. John Shane Vaughn Primary Text: Matthew 16:18–19 Foundation: Exodus 18:21 | Deuteronomy 17:8–11 | 2 Chronicles 19:6–7 | Matthew 18:15–20 | Acts 15:19–28 | 1 Corinthians 6:2–3 INTRODUCTION — HE NEVER SAID "CHURCH" Shalom, House of Israel! Today I plan to expose a gross misunderstanding. A gross mistranslation of the very words of our Chief Shepherd. The words of our Chief Apostle. The words of YAHSHUA Himself. Open your Bibles to Matthew 16:18–19: First Harvest Ministries International • 1 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." "I will build my church." That is what nearly every English Bible says. But I am here to tell you today: YAHSHUA NEVER SAID "CHURCH." Not in this verse. Not anywhere in the Gospels. The word in the text is EKKLESIA. And the English word "church" does not come from Ekklesia at all. It comes down through the Old English cirice from a different Greek word, kyriakon. "That which belongs to the Lord." First Harvest Ministries International • 2 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study A word for a house. A building. So before you ever read the verse, the translators had already turned an assembly into a building. And this was no accident. In 1526, William Tyndale translated this verse honestly. He wrote that YAHSHUA would build His congregation. And Sir Thomas More attacked him in print for it. Then in 1604, King James commissioned his Bible and handed his translators a list of rules. Rule number three: Keep the old ecclesiastical words. And it named this one. "Church" was not to be translated "congregation." Do you understand what that means? The word "church" in your King James Bible was not a translator's discovery. First Harvest Ministries International • 3 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study IT WAS A KING'S INSTRUCTION! The same king who stood at Hampton Court and declared, "No bishop, no king." A throne that leaned on a church hierarchy needed the people thinking about buildings and bishops. Not about an assembly under the government of Heaven. So what did YAHSHUA say? He said EKKLESIA. And in His world, the Ekklesia was not a building. It was not a worship service. It was not a denomination. In every Greek city, the Ekklesia was the assembly of citizens called out to deliberate, to decide, and to govern. And in the Greek Scriptures His disciples read, the Ekklesia was the Qahal, the covenant assembly of Israel standing before YAHWEH under His law and His judges. So when YAHSHUA said, "My Ekklesia," He was not announcing a meeting. First Harvest Ministries International • 4 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study HE WAS ANNOUNCING A GOVERNMENT! And in the very next breath, He handed over keys. He spoke of binding and loosing. That is the language of jurisdiction. That is the language of the court. A building does not need the keys of a Kingdom. A worship service does not bind and loose. BUT A GOVERNMENT DOES! And here is the tragedy. We have millions who believe they belong to the Kingdom, and they know almost nothing about Kingdom government. They can sing the songs. They can attend the services. They can quote the verses. But ask them who YAHWEH appointed to settle a controversy among His people, and they go quiet. First Harvest Ministries International • 5 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study And the moment a minister renders a judgment they don't like, you hear it: "DON'T JUDGE!" So let me ask the question that drives this whole study. Paul says the saints will judge the world. So how can the assembly that will one day judge the world be forbidden to learn how to judge? Let's find out. PART ONE — BEFORE THERE WAS A CHURCH, THERE WAS A QAHAL Turn to Exodus 19. Israel is out of Egypt. The plagues are over. The sea has closed over Pharaoh's army. Now why did YAHWEH bring them out? First Harvest Ministries International • 6 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study To change their address? To turn them loose as a crowd of individuals, every man doing what was right in his own eyes? No! Listen to Exodus 19:5–6: "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." A kingdom of priests. A holy nation. That is governmental language! And a nation needs law. It needs leadership. It needs a way to settle disputes. A nation cannot run by gathering everybody up and letting them share whatever opinion enters their head. First Harvest Ministries International • 7 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study That's not government. That's confusion. Now the Hebrew word for that assembly is QAHAL. The assembly. The congregation called together before YAHWEH. Deuteronomy calls Sinai "the day of the assembly," the day of the Qahal. And when the Hebrew Scriptures were put into Greek, what word did the translators use for Qahal, over and over? EKKLESIA! So the word in Matthew 16 did not drop out of the sky. It already had a history. And Stephen tells you exactly what that history was. "This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us." — Acts 7:38 The church in the wilderness? First Harvest Ministries International • 8 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study The Greek is Ekklesia. There was an Ekklesia in the wilderness! Before Pentecost. Before the apostles. A covenant people living under divine government. Now write this down, because everything today turns on it: ALL ISRAEL BELONGED TO THE COVENANT. NOT ALL ISRAEL HELD THE OFFICE. Every Israelite was part of the nation. But not every Israelite was a priest. Not every Israelite was a Levite. Not every Israelite was a judge. There were offices. There were jurisdictions. And there were judgments that had to be respected. Hold that. We are coming back to it. First Harvest Ministries International • 9 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study PART TWO — THE CASE TOO HARD Turn to Exodus 18. Israel has controversies. A man has a quarrel with his neighbor. A man believes he's been wronged. A man wants to know the righteous way through a hard situation. Where do they go? To Moses. From morning until evening. One man. An entire nation. Then Jethro shows up, watches one day of it, and tells Moses he is going to wear himself out, and the people with him. Now listen to the answer, because some ministers still haven't learned it. First Harvest Ministries International • 10 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study The answer was not to get rid of government. The answer was to organize government. "Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear Elohim, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens." — Exodus 18:21 Look at the qualifications. Able men. Men who fear Elohim. Men of truth. Men who hate covetousness. Why? Because judicial authority in the hands of a liar becomes a weapon. In the hands of a covetous man, it gets bought. In the hands of a man with no fear of YAHWEH, it serves himself. First Harvest Ministries International • 11 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study So the small matters go to the appointed judges. The hard matters go up to Moses. And notice: Moses had the commandments, and the controversies still came every single day. Having the law did not end the disputes. Somebody still had to hear the case. YAHWEH NEVER GAVE HIS PEOPLE A LAW WITHOUT A WAY TO ADMINISTER THAT LAW! Now go to Deuteronomy 17:8–9: "If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which YAHWEH thy Elohim shall choose; and thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment." "A matter too hard for thee." Stop right there. First Harvest Ministries International • 12 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Who wrote that? YAHWEH did! The same YAHWEH who gave the commandments says up front: There will be cases your local judges cannot settle. The Hebrew is yippale, from pala. Too hard. Beyond your ability to determine. So what does He tell them to do? He does not say, "Let every man follow his own conscience." He does not say, "Whoever can quote a verse wins." He does not say, "If it's not spelled out word for word in the Torah, nobody can judge it." He says: GET UP AND GO TO THE PLACE YAHWEH CHOOSES! The place of His name. And who hears the case there? First Harvest Ministries International • 13 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Not the whole crowd. "The priests the Levites, and the judge that shall be in those days." THE WHOLE NATION WORSHIPED. THE APPOINTED JUDGES JUDGED. The building did not render the verdict. The altar did not examine the witnesses. The crowd did not become a court just because everybody showed up. Now read verse 11: "According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left." — Deuteronomy 17:11 Two words. TORAH and MISHPAT. Torah is the instruction. The law. First Harvest Ministries International • 14 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Mishpat is the judgment. The verdict. Those are not the same thing. Let me show you. YAHWEH says, "Thou shalt not steal." That's the commandment. Now two men stand before the judge over one piece of land. One says, "It's mine." The other says, "I bought it fair." Both swear they're telling the truth. Does "Thou shalt not steal" tell you which man is lying? Does it read the deed? Does it question the witnesses? No! Somebody has to investigate. Somebody has to weigh the evidence. Somebody has to render a verdict. First Harvest Ministries International • 15 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study That is mishpat. A WRITTEN LAW CANNOT APPLY ITSELF TO A DISPUTED SET OF FACTS. That's why judges exist. But hear the other side, too. The judge was bound by the same Torah. He could not invent righteousness. He could not favor the rich man. He could not call his own preference a commandment of YAHWEH. THE JUDGE WAS NOT THE SOURCE OF THE LAW. HE WAS ITS ADMINISTRATOR. PART THREE — A LAW THAT DOES NOT NAME EVERYTHING Let me bring it into a world you know. America has a Constitution. First Harvest Ministries International • 16 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Two parties walk into federal court. The judge opens the Constitution and says, "I can't find a sentence in here that names your exact situation. Case dismissed." You'd say that judge has lost his mind. The founders never heard of a smartphone. Never heard of the internet. Never heard of a drone. And our courts rule on all of it, every day. Why? Because a principle can govern a thing that didn't exist when the principle was written. The judge doesn't write a new Constitution for every new case. He applies the one he has. Now take that back to Torah. Somebody walks up to the ministry and says, "Show me where the Bible says I can't smoke marijuana." First Harvest Ministries International • 17 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study And his whole argument is, "The word isn't in there, so nobody can judge it." That is not reasoning. That's dodging. The Torah doesn't name every modern drug. But the Scriptures speak plainly about sobriety. About self-control. About being brought under the power of anything. Paul said, "I will not be brought under the power of any." Peter said, "Be sober, be vigilant." The fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Now the facts matter. A doctor's treatment is not the same thing as getting high. And because the facts matter, somebody has to judge them! The ministry examines the practice, examines the circumstances, finds the governing Scripture, and renders a decision grounded in Torah, not in personal dislike. First Harvest Ministries International • 18 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study And once a lawful ruling is made, the covenant member does not get to say, "It's not a numbered commandment, so it doesn't count." That would make Deuteronomy 17 meaningless. And Solomon knew it. When YAHWEH said, "Ask what I shall give thee," Solomon did not ask for a new book of law. "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" — 1 Kings 3:9 He asked for wisdom to judge. And what came next? Two women. One baby. Both claim the child. Now picture Solomon saying, "I can't find a verse in the Torah that tells me which woman is the mother." First Harvest Ministries International • 19 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Absurd! The problem was never that YAHWEH had failed to define righteousness. The problem was that somebody had to find the facts and apply it. And if Solomon needed that wisdom, who told you the Ekklesia can run without it? Now turn to 2 Chronicles 19. King Jehoshaphat sets judges in every fortified city of Judah. And listen to the charge he lays on them: "And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for YAHWEH, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of YAHWEH be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with YAHWEH our Elohim, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." — 2 Chronicles 19:6–7 "Ye judge not for man, but for YAHWEH." That ought to shake every man who sits in judgment. First Harvest Ministries International • 20 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study And in the same breath, he warns them against injustice, against partiality, against bribes. Why warn them, if the office made them perfect? Because it doesn't. There are two ditches here. The first ditch is the minister who thinks every opinion he has is the voice of Heaven. The second ditch is the member who thinks that because a judge can be wrong, the office means nothing. Both ditches will kill you. AUTHORITY IS REAL. ACCOUNTABILITY IS REAL. You hold both, or you understand neither. THE MAN WHO CLAIMS TO SPEAK FOR HEAVEN MUST BE MORE CAREFUL THAN THE MAN WHO SPEAKS ONLY FOR HIMSELF. First Harvest Ministries International • 21 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study PART FOUR — THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM Now come back to Matthew 16. YAHSHUA asks, "Whom say ye that I am?" And Peter answers, "Thou art the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim." The Messiah! The anointed King! The One Isaiah said would carry the government upon His shoulder! And the very first thing the King does after that confession is name His assembly and hand over keys. Why keys? Turn to Isaiah 22:22: "And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." That key went to Eliakim, the steward over the king's house. First Harvest Ministries International • 22 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study He didn't own the house. He wasn't the king. He governed it under the king. That is what a key means in the Kingdom. Not ownership. DELEGATED AUTHORITY! Those are not decorative keys. And then YAHSHUA says, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind ... whatsoever thou shalt loose." Now most of Christianity hears that and pictures somebody in a prayer line shouting, "I bind you, devil!" But YAHSHUA's hearers heard the language of the court. In the Hebrew legal world, to bind is asar. To forbid. To loose is hittir. To permit. The schools of Hillel and Shammai argued this way all the time. First Harvest Ministries International • 23 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study One school bound a practice. The other loosed it. Neither one was abolishing the Torah. They were ruling on how the Torah applied. So to bind was not to invent a commandment. It was to rule that the law forbids this act. And to loose was not to cancel the law. It was to rule that this act is permitted, or that a discipline can be lifted because a man has repented. But now look closer at what YAHSHUA actually said, because the English hides the key. "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven." Read it that way, and it sounds like Heaven waits on the apostle. As if Heaven simply follows whatever a man decides. But that is not what the Greek says! First Harvest Ministries International • 24 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study The Greek is estai dedemenon. A future perfect. SHALL HAVE BEEN BOUND. SHALL HAVE BEEN LOOSED. Whatever you bind on earth will already have been bound in heaven. The New American Standard renders it plainly: "whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Young's Literal Translation says it "shall be having been bound in the heavens." Do you see it? Heaven does not follow the apostle. The apostle follows Heaven! The ruling on earth does not create the decision in heaven. It discovers it. It announces what the King has already decided. First Harvest Ministries International • 25 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study HEAVEN RULES FIRST. THE EKKLESIA CONFIRMS ON EARTH WHAT HEAVEN HAS ALREADY SETTLED. That is why the man who sits in judgment must seek the mind of YAHWEH before he ever opens his mouth. If he binds what Heaven never bound, his ruling is empty. If he looses what Heaven has bound, he answers to the King. THE APOSTLE DOES NOT LEGISLATE FOR HEAVEN. THE APOSTLE DISCERNS AND ADMINISTERS THE AUTHORITY OF HEAVEN. He can't bind where YAHWEH hasn't bound. He can't loose where YAHWEH has forbidden. And he can't dress up his preferences as eternal law. PART FIVE — TELL IT TO THE EKKLESIA If you still doubt that binding and loosing is courtroom language, turn to Matthew 18. First Harvest Ministries International • 26 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Because there, YAHSHUA says it again. And look where He puts it. Matthew 18:15–20: "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." How many times have you heard verse 20 used to bless a small prayer meeting? "There's only two or three of us, but He's here." First Harvest Ministries International • 27 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Read it in context! A trespass. A private confrontation. Witnesses, two or three, straight out of the Torah. Tell it to the Ekklesia. Binding and loosing. Agreement. And His name in the midst. That is not a prayer meeting. THAT IS A COURT IN SESSION! And the same Greek is there again in verse 18. Shall have been bound. Shall have been loosed. The court on earth confirms what the court of Heaven has already decided. It's Deuteronomy 17 all over again. First Harvest Ministries International • 28 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study A hard case. Carried up. Heard where His name dwells. Judged. Now somebody will say, "It says tell it to the assembly. So the whole congregation judges." The assembly hears it, yes. Just like all Israel came up to the place of His name. But who rendered the verdict at the place of His name? The priests and the judge. The whole people come. The appointed ones judge. Because where does His name dwell now? Paul says you are the temple of Elohim. Peter says you are living stones built up a spiritual house. THE WHOLE SPIRIT-FILLED PEOPLE ARE HIS LIVING TEMPLE. First Harvest Ministries International • 29 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study BUT THE WHOLE PEOPLE DO NOT HOLD THE OFFICES OF THAT TEMPLE. "Are all apostles?" Paul asks. Of course not. "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Messiah." — Ephesians 4:11–12 He gave them. Appointed them. And not one of them owns the flock. The pastor doesn't own the sheep. The prophet can't overrule the Torah. The teacher can't trade Scripture for philosophy. But the people must also understand: a lawful appointment carries a responsibility you do not get to wave away. Now watch the apostolic government actually work. First Harvest Ministries International • 30 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Acts 15. Men come down to Antioch teaching that the nations must be circumcised to be saved. The assemblies are in turmoil. So what happens? Did every believer just decide for himself? No! They carried the case up. To Jerusalem. To the apostles and elders. Deuteronomy 17 again! Peter testifies to what YAHWEH did among the nations. Paul and Barnabas testify to the signs and wonders. James opens the prophets. And then James rises and says: First Harvest Ministries International • 31 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study "Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to Elohim." — Acts 15:19 "My sentence." The Greek is KRINŌ. I judge! That's not a sermon. That's a ruling. And did the whole assembly have a part? They did. "Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas." — Acts 15:22 The whole assembly agreed. The apostles and elders judged. There's your pattern again. And look how they announced it: First Harvest Ministries International • 32 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things." — Acts 15:28 But don't miss how they got there. They heard the testimony. They searched the Scriptures. They deliberated. They didn't announce a feeling and wave their titles. SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT NEVER EXCUSED THEM FROM EXAMINING THE MATTER. And then: "And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem." — Acts 16:4 Decrees! The Greek is DOGMATA. Delivered to the assemblies. First Harvest Ministries International • 33 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study For to keep. A ruling of the apostolic government was not an opinion somebody posted on the internet. It was carried city to city, and the assemblies kept it. THE AUTHORITY OF THE RULING DOES NOT COME FROM THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MAN. IT COMES FROM THE OFFICE, EXERCISED IN SUBMISSION TO THE KING. PART SIX — "DON'T JUDGE!" Now let's deal with the slogan. You've heard it. The pastor confronts sin: "Don't judge!" The elder settles a dispute: "Judge not!" The ministry rules a practice unrighteous: "You're judging!" Well, what exactly do these people think judges are for? Were the judges of Israel forbidden to judge? First Harvest Ministries International • 34 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Was Solomon sinning when he asked for wisdom to judge? Were the apostles disobeying YAHSHUA in Acts 15? Of course not! So what did YAHSHUA mean in Matthew 7? Read the end of it: "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." — Matthew 7:5 He did not say, "Leave the speck in your brother's eye forever." He said deal with your own beam first, and then you'll see clearly to help your brother. The sin was hypocrisy. Not judgment. And hear Him in John 7:24: "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." First Harvest Ministries International • 35 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study The same Messiah who warned against hypocritical judgment commands righteous judgment. He cannot forbid all judging in one chapter and command it in another. Now Paul. A man in Corinth is living in open sin, and the assembly is puffed up about it. "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?" — 1 Corinthians 5:12 Do not ye judge them that are within? That's jurisdiction! Outside, YAHWEH judges. Inside, the assembly is responsible. And the very next chapter: First Harvest Ministries International • 36 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" — 1 Corinthians 6:2–3 Do you see it? Paul ties the saints' future throne to their present training. THE EKKLESIA WAS NOT CALLED TO ABANDON JUDGMENT. IT WAS CALLED TO LEARN RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT. Daniel saw where it ends: "Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." — Daniel 7:22 And John saw it, too: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them." — Revelation 20:4 Thrones! Judgment! First Harvest Ministries International • 37 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Kingdom! We are not here to be entertained until we die. We are being trained for office in the coming Kingdom. And that training starts with your own house. How can a man judge others if he won't judge himself? How can he settle a quarrel if he can't govern his own temper? How can he judge fairly if he bends for money, or popularity, or family? How can he protect the weak if he's afraid of the strong? JUDGMENT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO DISCERN WHAT IS RIGHT WHEN IT IS HARD, COSTLY, AND UNPOPULAR. So what does this mean for us, in this assembly, today? "And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Master, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake." — 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 First Harvest Ministries International • 38 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account." — Hebrews 13:17 They must give account. To whom? To YAHWEH! That's not a seat of privilege. That's a weight. And no government can stand if every citizen claims the right to cancel every ruling he doesn't like. Some folks only want government when it agrees with them. They want the pastor who encourages. The apostle who inspires. The prophet who says wonderful things. But the moment correction comes, suddenly, "No man has authority over me." That's not maturity. First Harvest Ministries International • 39 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Now does that mean the ministry can command whatever it pleases? No! "We ought to obey Elohim rather than men." Peter says the elders must not lord it over the flock. And Paul withstood Peter to his face when Peter walked out of step with the truth. THE PEOPLE BELONG TO YAHSHUA. THE MINISTRY SERVES UNDER YAHSHUA. EVERY JUDGMENT ANSWERS TO YAHSHUA. That is Kingdom order! CONCLUSION — THE GOVERNMENT BELONGS TO THE KING One last look at Matthew 16. Before YAHSHUA ever mentions keys, He makes a promise: "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Hades. Sheol. The grave. First Harvest Ministries International • 40 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Death itself will not hold His assembly. But House of Israel, why did He say gates? Think like a Hebrew. What happened in the gates of an Israelite city? Go back to your opening text. Deuteronomy 17:8. "Matters of controversy within thy gates." The gate was where the case was heard! "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which YAHWEH thy Elohim giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment." — Deuteronomy 16:18 Judges in the gates. When Boaz needed to settle the right of redemption, where did he go? "Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there ... And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here." — Ruth 4:1–2 First Harvest Ministries International • 41 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study The elders sat in the gate. And Amos cried out: "Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate." — Amos 5:15 The gate was the courthouse of the city. The gate was the council chamber. The gate was where the decrees went out. That's why YAHWEH promised Abraham, "Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." Possess the gate, and you possess the government. Even the Ottoman Turks understood it. For centuries their government was known to the world simply as the Sublime Porte. The High Gate. So now hear Matthew 16 again. "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." The gates of Hades are the council of death. First Harvest Ministries International • 42 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study The court of darkness. The place where the kingdom of death issues its decrees. And YAHSHUA says: WHATEVER DEATH DECREES, WHATEVER DARKNESS DECIDES, IT WILL NEVER OVERRULE THE AUTHORITY OF HIS EKKLESIA! Has death ever tried to make a decree stand against YAHWEH's people? Listen to Isaiah: "And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand." — Isaiah 28:18 Death makes covenants. Hell signs agreements. And YAHWEH says, they shall not stand! Now look at that word "prevail." The Greek is katischyō. To overpower. First Harvest Ministries International • 43 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study To win the verdict. And there's one place that word shows up that will stop you cold. At the trial of YAHSHUA. Pilate wanted to release Him. But Luke 23:23 says the crowd was instant with loud voices, demanding that He be crucified. "And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed." Katischyō! The same word! At that trial, the voices of darkness prevailed against the King. They got their verdict. They got their cross. They got their tomb. And three days later, the King walked out of the gates of death with the keys in His hand. First Harvest Ministries International • 44 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." — Revelation 1:18 The keys of the gates! The darkness prevailed once, for three days. AND YAHSHUA DECLARED IT WILL NEVER PREVAIL AGAINST HIS EKKLESIA AGAIN! The court of death may issue its rulings. It may decree sickness. It may decree persecution. It may decree the grave. But the gates of Hades do not have the final word. THE COURT OF HEAVEN HAS ALREADY RULED, AND THE EKKLESIA HOLDS THE KEYS! And Paul tells you how it ends: "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." — 1 Corinthians 15:25–26 First Harvest Ministries International • 45 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study Death may silence a preacher. Death may close a ministry's earthly work. But death cannot cancel the promise of the King. The saints will receive the Kingdom. The saints will judge the world. THE GATES OF HADES SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST HIS EKKLESIA! House of Israel, we have walked from Sinai to Jerusalem. From the Qahal in the wilderness to the Ekklesia of YAHSHUA. From the judges under Moses to the apostles and elders in Acts 15. And here is what we found. YAHWEH never treated righteous judgment as a burden on His people. He established it. He commanded it. First Harvest Ministries International • 46 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study He appointed men to carry it. So hear me. We are not building a ministry where every man does what is right in his own eyes. And we are not building a ministry where any man replaces the commandments of YAHWEH with his own. We are restoring the order of the Kingdom. Because one day the saints will judge the world. And if that is our destiny, we had better learn righteousness today. Learn to listen before you condemn. Learn to establish the facts before you render a verdict. Learn to recognize lawful authority. Learn to receive correction. YAHWEH DID NOT GIVE HIS PEOPLE A TORAH WITHOUT JUDGES. First Harvest Ministries International • 47 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study YAHSHUA DID NOT ANNOUNCE AN EKKLESIA WITHOUT KINGDOM AUTHORITY. THE APOSTLES DID NOT PLANT ASSEMBLIES WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY FOR JUDGMENT. The Torah is His. The Kingdom is His. The authority is His. And the Ekklesia is His. THE GOVERNMENT BELONGS TO THE KING! THIS IS THE EKKLESIA. THIS IS THE QAHAL. THIS IS THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES. CLOSING PRAYER Father YAHWEH, We thank You that You never left Your people without order. First Harvest Ministries International • 48 THE EKKLESIA, THE QAHAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JUDGES — Sabbath Bible Study From the judges in the wilderness to the apostles in Jerusalem, You have provided a way for righteousness to be administered among Your people. We thank You for Your Son, YAHSHUA Messiah, the King who builds His Ekklesia. Give wisdom to those You have appointed. Make them men who fear You, men of truth, hating covetousness. Give Your people humble hearts to receive correction and honor the order of Your Kingdom. Teach us righteous judgment in our own houses, so that we are found ready for the thrones You have promised. And let every judgment among us answer to the King. In the sacred name of YAHSHUA Messiah, Amen. First Harvest Ministries International • 49