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As discussed in another thread, the book on the gift of Healing (which I had begun writing) had become stalled, leading to a bit of a spiritual crisis for me, which resulted in further revelation that this book's topic is broader than that single topic. A title came to me, which was then confirmed by a stranger who called me just minutes after I asked God if this is what He really wanted.

This book kept trying to come out when I wrote God's Strange Act. While it did touch upon this topic a number of times, the true subject of that book was on the gathering tribes.

I wanted to share chapter 1 with you guys. It hasn't really been proofed and edited yet.

Much of this chapter will not be new material for many of you, but I think it is important for potential new readers to be introduced to the topic in this way.

Here it is. Let me know your thoughts, questions, and critiques. God bless!!!

From the Church
to the
Kingdom

What came was the church

Alfred Firmin Loisy (1857-1940), a French Roman Catholic priest, professor, and theologian famously wrote, "Jesus preached the Kingdom, but what came was the church."[1] This somewhat cynical statement was designed to reveal an important truth. Loisy had observed a gulf between what Jesus had originally preached about, and what he saw manifested in the Church. Many Christians would readily agree with his statement, in regards to what they may believe about the Church of Rome during that time period. However, could we also make this same observation about the Church today?

Around the year 2000 a thought came to rest very powerfully in my conscience, which I believed to be a message from the Holy Spirit. That thought was, “It is the end of the Church Age and the beginning of the Kingdom Age.” Although I did not fully understand the ramifications of this truth; it permeated the very core of my being and opened my eyes to new possibilities. When considering this statement about the Church and the Kingdom, the first question that begs to be answered is: What is the difference between the Church Age and the Kingdom Age?

The Roman Catholic Church, which Loisy was eventually excommunicated from, taught that the Church of Rome was the true Church to the exclusion of all others. In other words, if you weren’t a member of the Church of Rome, you were not a true Christian. Their belief was that only their clergy had the authority to administer the sacred ordinances of salvation. Their evidence for this notion was that they could trace their authority back to Peter, whom Christ had ordained and given this authority.

Like the Roman Catholic Church, Mormons also trace their authority back to a man, Joseph Smith, Jr., who also received authority directly from Christ to administer the ordinances of salvation. Being the one true Church with exclusive authority is central to the theology of every known sect of Mormonism. Likewise, since the advent of the Protestant Movement, numerous church denominations have made similar claims, believing they are the only church that is correct.

I grew up in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - a church that organized separately from Brigham Young’s Utah-based church after the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. There were a great number of differences between the LDS (Mormon Church) and the Reorganized Church. However, the precept of being the true Church of Jesus Christ to the exclusion of all others was as much a central theme in the Reorganized Church as it was in the Utah Church. Discussions among the membership regarding how other churches were in error about various doctrines were a regular occurrence. Preachers emphasized from time to time that we were the only church with true authority. When we attempted to proselytize someone, we carefully built a scriptural case to demonstrate how we were the only organization on earth that had all the key components of the original church that Jesus had set up.

According to Mormon history, when Joseph Smith, Jr. was just a boy he asked God which church he should join. The testimony states that he was confused over which was right, and lacked the wisdom to know. With so many different churches, opinions, doctrines, and claims, even today, many may find themselves in the same dilemma. Today there are thousands of different sects and they certainly are not bound by the kind of unity the Scriptures declare we must have. Claims of exclusivity and strong opinions regarding the errors of others have caused millions of believers in Jesus to be divided. The body of Christ is fractured. Some of these theological differences are certainly important, but who is right? We cannot all be right. Because of this, joining the right church has been the concern of many of us. Having made up our minds, we often go about expending great energy to build up that Church and proselyte others.

It may be interesting to note that after the gospel was taken to the Gentiles in the New Testament times, there were many churches established, but they were all considered one Church, or one body, in Christ. Jesus warned that if His disciples were not one, then they were not His disciples,[2] and that a house divided would not stand.[3]

Despite the emphasis many place on the Church, it may be interesting to note that Jesus mentioned the Church only twice in all four Gospels. By way of contrast, He spoke about the Kingdom a total of 50 times.[4] Despite its importance to many of us, Jesus never talked about the organization or the structure of the Church in the New Testament. Nearly every parable or public speech He gave was about the Kingdom. Those who followed Him and assisted in building up the Kingdom (on earth as it is in Heaven) were simply known as the Church.

Jesus also said very little about the Church in the Book of Mormon, except that it should be called after His name,[5] and that it should be built upon the principles of His Gospel message.[6] Later, as the disciples went about preaching and baptizing, it was recorded that those who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the church of Christ.[7]

The Church never was the goal or the focus while Jesus walked the earth. His disciples were the Church! The organization of the church in both the Bible and Book of Mormon, which took place, not all at once, but over time, was merely a means to further assist them in attaining the real goal, even the high calling that God has set before them: the salvation of souls and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. The Church was organized, however, the organization itself is not the Church – the people are. 

In July of 1828, the Lord defined the Church in a revelation given through Joseph Smith, Jr. It was the earliest known latter-day revelation on this topic, and it has largely been ignored by every sect of Mormonism ever since.

Behold, this is my doctrine: Whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church; whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore, he is not of my church. [RLDS Doctrine and Covenants, Section 3:16a-b]

Notice that the focus in the above verse is not on joining the right denomination, but on repenting and coming to Jesus. By this means we become His Church. The Church is simply defined as those people who meet the qualification of repenting and coming into a relationship with Jesus. If it is true that we are the Church, then making the Church the focus is a form of self-centeredness. To glory in the Church would be self-glory.

The purpose of the Church was never to convert others from lesser denominations and bring them into the right denomination, but to bring souls to Christ and build up the Kingdom of God. Christianity wasn’t a denomination. It was a movement. It was a radical, spiritual revolution. They did not join a denomination, but made a covenant with God and became a part of a wider community of believers. Those who came into this new and everlasting covenant with God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, would be referred to as the Church, or the Body of Christ.

The word “organization” was a verb in the early Church, not a noun! It was an action that was taken, as needed, to further enhance or assist in the task of spreading the Gospel throughout the world. Likewise, in the early 1800’s, a young man was called upon by God to assist in a “restoration” of truth and greater authority (or keys) that were to be used, not only to bring souls to Christ, but to help bring to pass the gathering of the lost tribes to Zion—the restoration of the house of Israel. Ultimately, the restoration was to culminate in the restoration of ALL things, bringing to pass the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven. This restoration was never completed, only set in motion through the work Joseph was chosen for.

Unfortunately, the word “restoration” has now become a noun, rather than a verb. For many, it became a hierarchal structure. This structure is what many now call the Church. The word “restoration” became capitalized by many Saints, becoming synonymous with the organization, a set of beliefs, or a select group who hold to certain doctrines and beliefs about priesthood authority. It has become another word for the Church. And the Church seems to have supplanted the Kingdom in being the emphasis of our work.

In past years, many of us have probably worked harder to convert people to the Church than convert them to Jesus. When we converted a person away from another Christian denomination, convincing them to join the true Church, we saw it as growth in the Church. Today, many Restoration groups and branches count it as growth when they get other Restorationists to start attending their group or branch. This is not true growth in the Church. True growth in the Church of Jesus Christ is to bring souls to Christ.

It seems to me that many of us have put more energy into debating doctrine with other believers, than in going out to find lost souls and preach the gospel to them. Taking the gospel to those people may be less desirable to us. It may require us to go to uncomfortable places and associate with sinners.

I do not say this lightly, when I say that in times past, when we gained a convert, we more often baptized them into the Church, more than unto true repentance. We laid hands on them to confer membership, when the sole purpose for this ordinance is to confer the Holy Ghost. In many ways, the Church became the goal rather than a means to accomplish the actual goal.

Born in 1968, I was raised in the RLDS Church, but I was not truly converted to Jesus Christ until 1995. Immediately after my conversion experience, I read through the entire Bible (front to back) and then through the other two books of RLDS Scripture, (the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants). As I was reading through the New Testament, the Spirit of God fell upon me and the following words were impressed upon my mind: “I liken my people in the Restoration as unto the Jews of old.” Along with these words, I was also given knowledge of their meaning. Instantly, I saw the parallels between the Jews and Mormons of every stripe.

According to the history of the Bible, the Jews were a chosen people. They were to be a light unto the world. If a Gentile wanted salvation, they had to become a Jew and abide by Jewish laws. Above all other people in the world, the Jews were given the authority of the priesthood, and none other carried this authority. This authority was passed down through successive generations by ordination. They held religiously to the ordinances of God, and kept the proper forms—making sure they dotted all their I’s and crossed all their T’s. They knew the law inside and out. They memorized it from childhood. But they had, over time, somehow lost touch with the original vision and built up traditions and interpretations of the law, which had become contrary to the very heart of God. Their religion had become a dead form.

When John the Baptist and Jesus arrived on the scene, neither one of them had been properly ordained through the proper channels that God had originally set up. Think about that for a moment! The question that was paramount in the mind of the Jews was by what authority do they do these things?[8] It was one of the primary reasons the religious leaders rejected the ministry of these two men. John the Baptist had been ordained by an angel, but he didn’t bother telling them this. If he has told them this, would they have believed him? Neither did Jesus spend much time explaining where He got His authority, except to say that He did the will of the Father, and that they should judge Him for the works He did.

God has told us that His purposes cannot be frustrated.[9] We have also been told that if needed, God can raise up other people to perform the tasks He needs accomplished. John the Baptist testified to this when he warned the Jews not to think of themselves as being irreplaceable because they were the sons of Abraham. He told them that God could take the stones on the ground and raise up children unto Abraham.[10]

This should be sobering news for those who think they are the chosen of God and the only ones with authority. We may be busy performing many works we think sacred or important, but how do our present works compare to the simple message Jesus of Nazareth preached more than 2,000 years ago? Jesus said it was the humble and the meek who would inherit the earth,[11] not those who are lifted up in pride. Have we lost track of the original vision? Is it possible that we, like the Jews, have become filled with pride and stumbled? Will he raise up persons, like John the Baptist, outside the bounds of what we would normally accept as the proper priesthood channels? Is it not a strong possibility that in this day and age, true Spirit-led servants of God may sometimes appear to us to be in violation of the law, as we have understood it-according to our traditions?

The Jewish spiritual leaders accused Jesus and His disciples of breaking the law. If we accuse God’s servants of doing the same, it will be for the same reason the Jews did - because we have built up traditions and interpretations of the Word of God that are in error and that violate the very heart of its true message. It will be because God will move upon whom He will, and command those servants. And with a command of God comes the authority to perform the task they are given, whether we give it sanction, or not.

In the wilderness, the people of Israel became afflicted by fiery serpents. By the commandment of God, Moses made a brazen serpent and set it upon a pole so that any who were afflicted only needed to look upon it, and they would be healed.[12]  Although the brazen serpent was a gift from God to the people, later in Israel’s history, King Hezekiah had it destroyed because many in Israel began to worship it. It had become an idol.[13]  Likewise, I believe that for many of us, the Institutional Church, though God may have been a part of its beginning, has become like an idol.

The simplest definition of the Church of Jesus Christ is that it is the totality of all those people, everywhere, who hear the voice of the Lord and obey it. It is not an institution, organization, or a building; it is His people. The Church of Jesus Christ has always existed in one form or another since Adam. Although the Church has occasionally fled into the wilderness, been diminished in power, scattered, and restored, it has never ceased altogether from the face of the earth. This should give us hope, seeing that the success or failure of the Church does not hinge on the success or failure of any one denomination. The true Church of Jesus Christ will prevail even if denominations collapse or fall into division and scandal.

Those persons who comprise His Church can be organized or unorganized. Not being organized does not disqualify us from being His Church. Although organization is preferable, organization is only a benefit when Christ is at its head. When man is at the head, organizations become an impediment to the work of God. The angel that appeared to Nephi called this state of affairs “the Great and Abominable Church.”[14]

Membership in an organization that has all the right ordinances and hierarchal offices in place does not guarantee us that we are His Church.[15] Even as the Pharisees were guilty of having a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof,[16] so likewise, our ordinances and offices of authority can become shallow and empty if we are devoid of the life of the Spirit.

In the Kingdom Age, the traditions of man that do not hold water will no longer be sustained, for the Holy One of Israel will begin to withdraw His Spirit from these efforts. Many errors, which in the past God may have winked at in patient forbearance,[17] will now be required of us to repent of, if we wish to be a part of the Kingdom of God.

Errors we have held, common to the traditions of our religious background, will have to be corrected and erroneous doctrine righted. I am not writing this book to correct every error, for we only see in part, and I know I am in need of correction myself. I will only share those corrections to error that the Lord has placed in my heart. And most of those errors are ones I have been guilty of.

Ultimately, the setting of all things right will have to come by the outpouring of His Spirit upon all those who are humble and seek His face. In time, the Lord will correct all of the error and deception we currently labor under. I hold on to the hope and knowledge that I shall eventually see the Spirit of God poured out upon His people, wherever they are, and in whatever denomination they attend, to gather us together into one Body with a common vision. 

There may be a period of time when the Spirit of God may lead some believers to be baptized again—or for the first time, if they were previously taught that it was not necessary. But these baptisms will not herald a change in membership from one denomination to another. Rather, it will be a witness of our entrance into the Kingdom of God.

Membership in the Kingdom may not require your name on any particular membership roll, except those kept in Heaven. Many of God’s servants might not carry any paperwork that can be validated by a credentials committee. The witness of their membership and authority will be through the witness of the Holy Ghost. Of course, this will require us to have a closer walk with God and the exercise of the true gift of discernment much more than we presently do. And that’s the point. The Jews judged John the Baptist, the Disciples, and even the Living Word Himself, based on whether or not they had conformed to their understanding of the Law. By doing so, they utterly failed to recognize God in their midst, and they put Him to death.

Jesus said that His sheep know His voice.[18] We will not be able to make judgments about others by using our physical senses. We must be led by the Spirit. And the Spirit must inform us about the Word of God – not our traditions.

Be aware that mistaking our own feelings, intuition, ideas, and emotions for the Spirit of God has been the bane of the Church. It happens far more often than we would like to think. Just as in New Testament times, there will be good, law-abiding folks who will persecute the chosen servants of the Lord, thinking them to be agents of the devil.

What is the Church Age?

It represents an era when the Church, or denominationalism, has taken precedence over Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. It is when God’s people are bound by tradition and miss out on the real “fullness” of what Jesus has given us through the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is an era where religion is King, and endless contention over doctrine is common place. It is an era marked by pride, arrogance, and presumption. It is a condition whereby those who are blind say they see, and think they know and understand.

What is the Kingdom Age?

It represents an era where the Kingdom of Jesus Christ takes precedence over denominationalism. It is when God’s people begin to get free of the traditions of men and inherit the fullness that can only come by faith through the promise of the Holy Ghost – including the workings of the gifts of the Spirit. It is when the living Christ truly reigns in our hearts as King. It is an era marked by humility, patience, and power! It is a condition whereby those who once thought they understood properly, recognize their own blindness and confess that they see only in part - that what God is doing is far bigger than any one denomination or group of people. It is when people begin to leave dead religion for relationship with God—being delivered from a host of evil spirits and influences that have kept them in bondage to sin. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them in power![19]