New Testament church gathering place:
In the New Testament Bible, examples are given of the church meeting in homes of individuals.
There are no specifications for church buildings as we see today.
Neither are there any examples of church buildings presented in the New Testament Bible.
The apostle Paul identifies the body as being the temple of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament church.
And Jesus said: Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
The woman at the well asked Jesus "where" they should worship:
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship HIM must worship HIM in spirit and in truth.
We worship God wherever we are. We worship in spirit.
We worship God wherever we are. We worship in spirit.
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The Old Testament:
God set forth very specific directions for the building of the ark of the covenant, which would house the Word of God. (They had no church buildings in the wilderness.)
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring ME an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take MY offering.
And
this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and
brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats'
hair, And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx
stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And
let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to
all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the
pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
(The following is not a building. They had no buildings in the wilderness. The ark housed the written covenant and was carried with them as they moved about. Today the covenant of God is put in our hearts by God ... Hebrews 8 & 10)
(The following is not a building. They had no buildings in the wilderness. The ark housed the written covenant and was carried with them as they moved about. Today the covenant of God is put in our hearts by God ... Hebrews 8 & 10)
And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
And
thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall
be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And
thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make
them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one
end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat
shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims
shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with
their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy
seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
Cherubs have wings. Angels in the Bible do not have wings but often appear as men. (see example in Genesis 19)
21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
And
there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above
the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of
the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto
the children of Israel.
Now,
today, God communes with each person in the New Testament church by HIS
Spirit, the Holy Spirit who lives inside the person.
23 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
And
thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the
four corners that are on the four feet thereof. Over against the border
shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table. And
thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold,
that the table may be borne with them.
And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before ME alway.
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:
Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.
And in the candlesticks shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers. And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick. Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.
And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
Of
a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. And
look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in
the mount.
There is a very big difference between the Old Testament Tabernacle and the New Testament church.
In Exodus 25
are some of the specifications for the tabernacle. In subsequent
chapters there are more directions given. Also in Leviticus there are
specific commandments for the Old Testament church.
If anyone prefers returning to the Old Testament, beware that you have to do all the Old Testament, including animal sacrifices for sins. And if you do return to Old Testament, you deny Jesus and the sacrifice of Jesus for your sins. And if you do this, there is no way back, for there is no more sacrifice for sins.
But why would anyone want to return to the Old Covenant of the Old Testament?
It was strictly forbidden by God to make graven images or to bow down to graven images in the Old Testament.
graven image: a carved idol or representation of a god used as an object of worship... wood, stone, plaster images of a human ... or a photograph which seems symbolic of a religious character ... or a medallion or cross. Basically anything made with human hands which is a symbol of religion.
Deuteronomy 4:15-19 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
It was strictly forbidden by God to make graven images or to bow down to graven images in the Old Testament.
graven image: a carved idol or representation of a god used as an object of worship... wood, stone, plaster images of a human ... or a photograph which seems symbolic of a religious character ... or a medallion or cross. Basically anything made with human hands which is a symbol of religion.
Deuteronomy 4:15-19 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
Leviticus 26:1 Ye
shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a
standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land,
to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.
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I Timothy 4:1-5
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
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