“In the Assembly” – Acts 7:38

He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us.

Here we see Stephen say “In the assembly.” The Greek word here for assembly is “ekklesia.” “Assembly” is a great translation for “ekklesia” However, this word is actually translated as “church” throughout the rest of the New Testament.

So why didn’t the translators make this particular “ekklesia” in Acts 7:38 say “church” like all the other ones in the New Testament? Because that would put Moses in the “church” and most all want to separate the church from Israel. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Even the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, actually uses ekklesia for assembly throughout the translation. The Septuagint was written hundreds of years before Yeshua came. If the word “assembly” was used like it should have been for the Greek word “ekklesia” in the rest of the New Testament, we would then see the “church” is simply the assembly of the Old Testament continuing and not some supposed new creation from Yeshua.

Let this be a focus in your time of meditation throughout the day. Until next time, Shalom.

SOURCE: Steve Moutria at TorahFamily.org (Posted with permission)
https://torahfamily.org/in-the-assembly-acts-738/

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