GOD'S ULTIMATE
INTENTION: THE CHURCH

One of the great mistakes that people make as they come to grips with the condition of today's church is to retreat back into isolation and to think that by doing so they can not only insulate themselves from the effects of the "Great Falling Away" [i.e., church apostasy (2 Thess. 2:3)] but that they can also carry on the battle against the "machine" (see Chapter 2 above) as an individual. But nothing can be further from the truth. To believe this is to reveal one's TOTAL ignorance with regard to "God's Plan and Purpose in the Ages" is concerned: And that is to manifest His glory to the universe THROUGH the church.

As we indicated in the NEW ANTIPAS PAPERS, the Bible says that God has an "Ultimate Intention" which it calls "the mystery of His will" (Eph. 1:9) - and that is to "... gather together in one all things in Christ ..." (Eph. 1:10) And for what purpose? and to what end? - so "... that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by (through) the church the manifold wisdom of God." (Eph. 3:10)

God's intention, then, is to manifest ("make known") His Glory (wisdom) to all creation (i.e., the "principalities and powers"). How? - "through the church!" Specifically, the Scriptures say,

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world ... Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will ... Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself ... That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him ... whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Eph. 3:3-21)

The church, then, is the vehicle through which God has chosen to "make known" His glory and wisdom in the universe. NOW, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE AS YOU SET OUT TO PREACH THE "GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM" - TO WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED IN THESE "LAST DAYS" - YOUR PREACHING MUST PRODUCE THE CHURCH.

Unbelievers are convinced of Christ not so much by one's individual testimony, but by the corporate testimony of believers living in tender and devoted COMMUNITY with one another; that's what oneness means; and this was Christ's prayer insofar as our fellowship with one another was concerned; specifically -

"That they all may be one (i.e., that they may have "community" with each other); as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us (i.e., that they may have "community" with God): that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (John 17:21)

In this world of hatred and broken relationships - where it seems impossible for people to live happily together over an extended period of time - a community where genuine peace and love can be found is something that cannot help but draw attention to itself. The establishment of such a community is central to God's plan for drawing men to Himself (cf. John 17:22-23).

HOW DOES THE WORLD
BELIEVE THAT GOD SENT CHRIST?

The Bible says that the world will know that God sent Christ because believers possess (1) "community" with each other, and (2) "community" with God! THAT'S WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS! - specifically,

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

"I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me (John 17:22-23)

All this brings us back to that remarkable passage of Scripture we quoted at the beginning of this chapter - Eph. 3:3-21. Consider the phrases that are used in this passage: "Gather together in one;" "fellowship;" "with all saints," "through the church," etc. What are all these phrases speaking about? "Community!" - "Community" with God, and "community" with man! Where? - IN THE CHURCH!

WHAT CHRISTIAN
"COMMUNITY" IS ALL ABOUT

Now it's important in this connection to understand what the word "community" means. The word "community" is taken from the word "commune," which means - as we indicated above - to "communicate intimately with," or to "be intimate with." The word implies "closeness," "affection," "familiarity," "friendship" - and is the word from which we derive the word "communal," meaning "BELONGING TO," as, for example, in the way it is used in Mark 9:41:

"For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." (Mark 9:41)

We belong to Christ, and it's for this reason that those who help us help Christ; and in doing so, Christ incurs an obligation to them (i.e., He becomes indebted to them) - hence, His obligation to reward (or pay) them.

Now be clear what's happening here. It's not Christ per se who was helped; it was those who belong to Christ (i.e., Christians - us) who were helped; but because we belong to Christ, the debts we incur as a result of our testimony are ipso facto incurred by Christ. Our debts become Christ's debts. He is obligated to pay them. This is the sense that "BELONGING TO" implied in the Ancient World. Therefore, when one "BELONGED TO" a community, his debts too "BELONGED TO" that community; his obligations became the community's obligations. Thus, "community" in the Ancient World meant "to hold things in common" in the sense that we today attach to the word "communal" or "commune."

THE CHURCH AS THE
COMMUNITY OF GOD

In the Ancient World, the church was the "Community of God," it was the "commune" of God. Hence, unlike what most modern-day Christians have been taught, the early "communal" organization of the church in Jerusalem was no accident or fluke. It flowed naturally and in a very uncontrived manner out of the early saints' understanding of what "community" meant - which is to say, "communalism." Consequently, in speaking of the early church, the Bible says:

"And all that believed were together, and had all things common ..." (Acts 2:44)

"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common." (Acts 4:32)

Pretty scary, isn't it? It certainly strikes at our modern, "free enterprise" understanding of the church-life - but to the extent that this frightens those who are reading this material, it's to that extent that we have missed the mark of what the real church-life is all about - the unreserved sharing of one another in a community of believers who possess the life of Christ.

NOTE: THUS, WE BEGIN TO SEE HOW INADEQUATE AND SHALLOW OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CHURCH IS TODAY - A PLACE WHERE CHRISTIAN MEET ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK. The church is something far beyond that; and it consists far more than a series of formal meetings that occur on a weekly basis. IT IS A COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS WHO LIVE IN CONSTANT, LOVING RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER.

THE FACT THAT IT IS THROUGH THE CHURCH THAT OUR STRUGGLE AGAINST "THE MACHINE" (i.e., THE AMERICAN NEW WORLD ORDER SYSTEM) MUST BE CARRIED ON IS, OF COURSE, NO SECRET; THERE HAVE BEEN MANY EFFORTS MADE IN THIS DIRECTION - AND WE SPEAK HERE OF BATTLING AGAINST THE MACHINE AS A "CORPORATE ENTITY" AND NOT AS INDIVIDUALS. ONE OF THE EARLIEST EFFORTS WAS MADE BY A GROUP OF POOR CATHOLIC PARISH PRIESTS IN PERU AND BRAZIL. IT WAS CALLED "LIBERATION THEOLOGY."

LIBERATION THEOLOGY

LIBERATION THEOLOGY has been DAMNED by the adherents of the American New World Order System as communist in origin, and in certain fundamentalist Christian circles in the United States as a "CATHOLIC HERESY" more "DAMNABLE" than the "idolatrous heresy of Mary Worship."

NOTE: One should be clear, however, that it's not so much the connection of Liberation Theology to the Catholic Church, as it is Liberation Theology's supposed connection to communism and socialism that worries the elites of the American New World Order System. The proof of this is the by-now very real political alliance that most evangelical churches have made with right-wing Catholics as opposed to left-wing Catholics. [We URGE you to see our article on the origin of this alliance of convenience, "The Catholic / Evangelical Rapprochement."]

Finally, one should note the fact that the "heresy of Mary Worship" is much less of a heresy than the heresy of "Christian Deification" promoted by such pseudo-evangelicals as Rick Joyner, James Robison, Bennie Hinn, Kenneth Hagin, Charles Capps, etc. - all of them heretics to whom innumerable evangelicals are slavishly devoted. At worst, Catholics only elevate Mary into "divine status;" these pseudo-Christians, however, elevate ALL members of the church (including, most especially, themselves) into "divine status," OR how else are we to understand the words of Kenneth Hagin who said, "That's who we are! We're Jesus." [Please see our articles, "Luciferic Christianity" and "The God-Men of America's New World Order System."]

The very real fact of the matter is, it was the poor Catholic priests of Peru and Brazil that first realized how much damage was being done to the testimony of the Christian church because of its connection with the American New World Order System. That's why they expended so much energy in trying to reorganize the church they were a part of so that they could better confront the HORRORS of the American New World Order System.

NOTE: I can just here most evangelicals calling down the wrath of God on my head because of my supposed "defense" of Catholicism here; but I am not trying to defend Catholicism and its many errors so much as I am just trying to point out a fact: That - more often than not - it's CATHOLICS who have been the friends of the poor than it's been so-called "Bible-believing Christians." I am reminded of the words of Jesus concerning the meaning of true friendship:

"And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him (i.e., Christ) saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

"He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

"And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

"And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

"But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

"And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

"And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

"And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

"But a certain Samaritan [Samaritans were anathematized by the Jews for being purveyors of 'false doctrine'], as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

"And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

"And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

"Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

"And he said, HE THAT SHEWED MERCY ON HIM. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." (Luke 10:25-37)

LEONARDO BOFF & GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ

And the truth is, the adherents of Liberation Theology are renowned the world over for being "friends of the poor," and much more so than evangelical Christians. In explaining his beliefs, Liberation Theologian Leonardo Boff wrote:

"Liberation Theologians cannot accept a market doctrine that brings death to the majority of the human race ... The Church must break away from the powers of this world and turn its attention to the oppressed ... WE HAVE TO REJECT A CHRISTIANITY WHICH ALLIES ITSELF WITH THE RULING CLASSES AGAINST THE POOR." [Which is to say, we must reject a Christianity that has made common cause with the American New World Order System.]

Boff knew that the church had to confront the American New World Order System if it was to remain a viable witness to Christ in this world. Gustavo Gutierrez knew this as well; he wrote:

"We must take the church to the poor. We must bypass the rich. We must construct at the local level a multiplicity of small communities of the faithful; we call these communities 'Basic Church Communities' [Comunidades Eclesiaia de Base (CEBs)]. Through these communities the faithful poor can minister to their own needs without having to rely on the vicissitudes of the rich. These communities must be more than what we today understand as the 'church'. They must be 'communities' in the meaning of Acts 2:44 ('And all that believed were together, and had all things common'). These communities must minister to the needs of the whole man: body and soul."

What Boff and Gutierrez were proposing is taking the church back to the way it was in Acts 4:32-34. This is how they conceived they could confront the American New World Order System - i.e., the "Machine."  They envisioned their "Basic Church Communities" as a place where the faithful poor could minister to their own needs without having to rely on the vicissitudes and phony charity of the rich; where the concept of "church" was understood to be much more than what most Christians today conceive it as; where "church" meant "community" in the sense of Acts 4:32-34:

"And the multitude of them that believed were of ONE HEART and of ONE SOUL: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold [for the benefit of the church] ..." (Acts 4:32-34)

Of course, such thinking would be called "cultic" in today's American church. The thought of selling "lands" and "houses" for the sake of the church would be considered OUTRAGEOUS by most Christians today - especially Christians in the United States.

"BASIC CHURCH COMMUNITIES"

But that's EXACTLY what the ancient church did; and these acts of selflessness were repeated over and over again in the early days of the church. Indeed, what occurred in the Church in Jerusalem where "the multitude of them that believed were of ONE heart and of ONE soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common" (Acts 4:32) was the norm rather than the exception.

And the Bible says: "... great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4:33) Now note carefully here: Acts 4:32 and 4:33 are linked together: THE "COMMUNITY" THAT THEY HAD WITH ONE ANOTHER ELICITED THE GRACE OF GOD UPON THEM ALL.

Again, it was precisely this kind of "community" that the advocates of Liberation Theology were trying to reproduce in their concept of "Basic Church Communities," and in doing so, these poor Catholic parish priests - as misguided as they were insofar as many basic doctrines of Christianity are concerned - came closer to what the New Testament envisioned as "church" than anything the evangelicals have ever envisioned except during the "Jesus Revolution." [Please see our article, "The Jesus Revolution and the Search for Community and the Church-Life."]

In establishing their "Basic Church Communities" throughout Latin America, Liberation Theologians created a powerful challenge (not only economically, but spiritually) to the neo-conservative, market-driven social order that the adherents of the American New World Order System - in conjunction with their evangelical allies and the right-wing of the Catholic Church - were trying to build in Latin America, and so much so that even Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) was forced to concede that there seemed to be an "irresistible Christian logic" to the concept of "Basic Church Communities" that could not be denied. The only answer to it was MURDER and SUPPRESSION. [Please see our article, "The American Empire: The Corporate / Pentagon / CIA / Missionary Archipelago" for a discussion on how evangelical missionaries have worked hand-in-glove with the CIA and American corporate interests to advance American domination in Latin America.]

WHERE THE ADVOCATES OF
"LIBERATION THEOLOGY" WENT WRONG ...

Where the advocates of Liberation Theology went wrong is that they attempted to construct their "Basic Church Communities" within the confines of the Roman Catholic Church. That simply was impossible. Leaving aside the doctrinal problems inherent in Catholicism - which in themselves are practically insurmountable - they forgot Christ's words when He warned His disciples:

 "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment; for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse

 "Neither do men put new wine into old wineskins; else the wineskins break, and the wine runneth out ..." (Matt. 9:16-17)

The Roman Church with its centuries-old hierarchy and bureaucracy simply could not contain what Boff and Gutierrez were attempting to pour into it. [Please see our article, "Liberation Theology, the Vatican and the CIA: Ghosts and Phantoms."]

I TELL YOU THE TRUTH

But I tell you the truth when I say, THIS IS WHAT THE END OF THE AGE IS ALL ABOUT: Constructing "Basic Church Communities" as a bulwark against the machinations of the American New World Order System.

LIBERATION THEOLOGY
FAILED BECAUSE ...

The attempt by Leonardo Boff, Gustavo Gutierrez and others failed because they attempted to put the new wine of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" into the old wineskin of the Roman Catholic Church. WE MUST CAREFULLY AVOID THIS MISTAKE - AND I SPEAK NOT ONLY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, BUT THE PROTESTANT CHURCH AS WELL.

We must start anew! - AND THERE IS NOT MUCH TIME LEFT. We are being called to "craft" a NEW WINESKIN (what Boff and Gutierrez would call "BASIC CHURCH COMMUNITIES" [Comunidades Eclesiaia de Base (CEBs)] in these last days -

1. As a SANCTUARY against the economic and religious tyranny of the American Empire and the false Christianity that it is "pushing" on the rest of the world.
2. As an ISLAND OF PEACE in a sea of despair; a spiritual and economic shelter where people can find help - a place where it cannot be said that "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food" he will be turned away (James 2:14-16); a place where "LOVE IN ACTION" IS DEMONSTRATED ON A COMMUNAL BASIS.
3. As a sanctuary out from which the coming kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ can be ANNOUNCED to the world, a kingdom where it will be said -
   
   "The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
   
   "AND GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES; AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NEITHER SORROW, NOR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL THEIR BE ANY MORE PAIN: FOR THE FORMER THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY." (Revelation 21:3-4)
4. As a refuge out from which one CAN SPEAK fearlessly against the relationship that the American church has with the American New World Order System - a relationship that impugns Christ's holiness. [Please see our article, "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth."]
5. As a haven that DEMONSTRATES in word and in deed that the church belongs to the poor of the earth, not the rich and high-minded. [Please see our articles, "Capitalism and Christianity" and "The Deceitfulness of Riches and the Marxist Paradigm."]

THESE "BASIC CHURCH COMMUNITIES" ARE TO BE TO US WHAT THE ARK WAS TO NOAH. The Bible says:

"As the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matthew 24:37)

That's significant; that's very significant: "As the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matthew 24:37) There's a parallel between what happened then, and what is about to happen today; and we can begin to discover that parallel when we study Hebrews 11:7:

"Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet [i.e. of things to come], moved with fear, PREPARED AN ARK TO THE SAVING OF HIS HOUSE ..." (Hebrews 11:7)

In establishing "Basic Church Communities" we are - like Noah before us - "preparing an ark to the saving of our house."

THE SITUATION WE FACE AS CHRISTIANS APPROXIMATES
THE ONE THE JEWS FACED 100 YEARS AGO

More than one-hundred years ago, the Jews were called by their modern-day prophets - prophets such as Theodore Hertzl, Vladimir Jabotinski, David Raziel, Abba Ahimeir, and Uri Zvi Greenberg, etc.) to prepare an ark similar to the one we as Christians are being called to prepare today. The ark they were commanded to prepare was Eretz Israel; and they were warned to do so quickly - before they faced annihilation at the hands of the world's anti-Semites, and most especially Europe's anti-Semites.

Naturally enough, very few Jews - like Christians today - paid any attention to the warning of these so-called "alarmists." Indeed, L.S. Dawidowics, in her authoritative account of the Holocaust, War Against the Jews, 1933-1945, wrote:

"The Jews, whose dazzling success in business blinded them to the encroaching blackness of National Socialism [Nazism], were caught unaware by the onslaught of Hitler. The model German Jew was metropolitan, a businessman or professional ... with a more passionate attachment to Germany than to his Jewishness [a fact which strangely parallels the seemingly stronger attachment of American Christians to America than to their own Christianity]. Most German Jews regarded Zionism [the longing of certain Jews to return to their ancient homeland] as an alien doctrine; the son who left Judaism for Communism was less likely to be rejected than the one who chose Zionism."

Yet Zionism was the very vehicle that God had chosen to fulfill His promise to bring back the Jews from out of the nations to which they had been driven nearly two thousand years before by the Roman general Titus. Zionism was rooted in the Hebrew Bible and was toasted once every year at the Feast of Passover with the words, "Next Year in Jerusalem." But the toast had become a meaningless, empty ritual, and success in the world had blinded the Jews to the words of their own prophets. It was not so much the fact that they had denied their own Jewishness as it was the fact that they wanted to have the best of both worlds - the wealth that their success in Europe had brought them, as well as their own Jewish heritage. It could never be! Yet the Jews pathetically persisted. Heinz Kellerman, a Jew writing shortly after the advent of Hitler to power in Germany, wrote the astonishingly naive words:

"The time has now come which requires a renewal of the synthesis of Germandom and Jewry; holding on to one's German identity and acquiring a Jewish one."

But Kellerman wasn't alone in his breathtaking naiveté. There were many others! For example, Joseph Lehman, Rabbi of Berlin, blindly wrote in the Spring of 1933:

"Fleeing Germany is cowardly, just because five months of pain lie behind us and probably years of misjudgment, hate, and need lie ahead of us. Practically speaking, we as Jews reaffirm a life in Germany and for Germany."

Hans Joachim Schoeps, a young German Jewish intellectual who organized the Deutsche Vortrupp, also wrote in the same period:

"Germany is more than merely a community of blood and race. It is also a community of fate and history. Through the acknowledgment of fate and history, we are consciously German."

In his memoirs written after the war, Schoeps describes his nightmarish remorse for not having advised those millions of Jews who were later murdered to flee right away - at all costs.

A TINY FEW RESPOND
TO THE "ALARMISTS"

There were, however, a few Jews who did respond to the "alarmists;" and these few began forming little groups whose members were bent on leaving Europe and establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine. They called themselves "Lovers of Zion."

These poor "Lovers of Zion" of some one hundred years ago met in obscure, little bands scattered throughout Europe - but mostly in the poor Jewish ghettos of Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, etc. - where they gathered together to draw strength from one another in pursuit of what most in the larger Jewish community thought was an impossibly difficult task: emigration to Palestine.

LUFTMENSCHEN - DWELLERS IN THE SKY

Those who attended these long-ago meetings revealed themselves to be irrepressible romantics - dreamers: all of them. After all, only dreamers could entertain such madness. Their detractors called them Luftmenschen - "people who live in the air" or in the clouds, and they were mercilessly ridiculed and even persecuted by the Jewish religious establishment which was bitterly opposed to what they were doing.

They dedicated themselves to preparing one another for ALIYA (which loosely translated means "those who go up to Jerusalem"), and out of these tiny groups small waves of emigrants bound for the Holy Land proceeded out of the lands of Europe - a Europe that in less than thirty-five years would swallow up in the fires of the Holocaust all those who remained.

These tiny few developed a unique ability to focus their dreams into ALIYA and marshal their meager resources to get first one family, and then the next, and then the next, and then maybe two families together, or maybe three out and on their way. As each individual family or group of families and / or individuals left, new members would join the small ALIYA group to take the place of those departing for the Promised Land.

THE CHURCH IS OUR "PROMISED
LAND" AS CHRISTIANS

The "Promised Land" insofar as the Jews were concerned - at least those Jews bent on ALIYA - was Palestine. To these Jewish émigrés, it was impossible to separate the Jewish people from Palestine. In their minds, the one could not exist without the other.

The church - and we speak here of "BASIC CHURCH COMMUNITIES" - is the Christians' "Promised Land," and just as the Jews cannot exist minus their connection with Palestine, so also Christians cannot exist minus their connection to the church. [We urge you to review out material on Israel and the church in Chapter VI of the NEW ANTIPAS PAPERS, "The Distinction Between Israel and the Church."]