Template:Tens

From PreparingYou
Revision as of 20:47, 5 November 2020 by Wiki1 (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The most predominant form of government throughout history and around the world. Christ commanded that his disciples make the people organize into tens, hundreds and thousands in order to set up a daily ministration based on faith, hope, and charity rather than the systems of the world that operated on force, fear, and fealty. Those who will not gather in the tens to love and serve others should not expect to be served by others. God hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans and their covetous practices makes them merchandise.

The Tens

Keys of the Kingdom broadcast Kingdom economics
Download audio 1 or press play

Keys of the Kingdom radio broadcast
Download audio 2 or press play

“Our king and our god! Wherefore art thou in fear by reason of a little child? There are myriad upon myriad of princes in thy realm, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and overseers without number. Let the pettiest of the princes go and fetch the boy and put him in prison.” [1]

These are the words of the Counselors of the mighty provider, Nimrod, who ruled over the people of Babylon directing what they should do with the child who would become Abraham.

Comments
The use of small groups self-organized into a social network was prominent in ancient times and on other continents.[2]
Even before Nimrod centralized his top-down system of Babylon there had been voluntary systems composed of a Network of families in what was sometimes called the "tens, hundreds, and thousands".
Early Israel, the Teutons, Saxons, Lumbards and many others societies all followed this pattern including the early Church because Christ commanded it.
This allowed them to provide a Daily ministration for the welfare of all early Christians through the practice Pure Religion which was the Corban of Christ which helped early Christians survive and thrive while the Imperial Cult of Rome declined and fell.
It is important to understand that the Imperial Cult of Rome and the Corban of the Pharisees were welfare systems of Social Security and public welfare that made the word of God to none effect.
They also make the people merchandise, curse children with debt and entangle you again in the yoke of bondage and the elements of the world.
The Way of Christ is your only salvation.
The early Church began this process of self-organizing as Christ commanded in the first few days after Pentecost.
If Modern Christians will repent and began to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness through the practice Pure Religion, rejecting the wages of unrighteousness, they might be saved.

Before Nimrod and Cain the power of the "State" was in the hands of the individual and their families. People Like Cain, Nimrod, Pharaoh and Caesar also formed city-states where their individual freedom was limited by men who were given authority through contracts, covenants, and constitutions. These relationships with rulers often result from an offer of benefits and protection. The Counselor of Nimrod speaks of the "rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens" but the pattern of "Tens", without rulers, reaches back into antiquity and according to many modern historians is the most predominant pattern of free governments throughout the history of Mankind.

Throughout that history, there have been leaders and prophets who show the people the way to liberty without ruling over them and there has been rulers of the people and lawmakers who lead them to despotism through the apathy and sloth that come with covetous practices.

The ancient priests and prophets have sought to set the people free by showing them another way to obtain the same benefits through broad systems of charity rather than force as it was in the days of Moses. Jethro's recommendation was not about organizing the people into tens, hundreds, and thousands for they were likely already natural forming similar patterns within their society for care and protection. Jethro, as a priest of Midian, was advising Moses to set up a system of appellate judges through a network in that same common pattern used throughout the ages in large societies.

After the episode with the molten calf Moses would call out his Church in the wilderness, the Levites, who would become the priests to the nation and also form the cities of refuge which were the appeals courts of Israel. During all this the people were still priests and kings in their own homes, freely assembling themselves in the reasonable patterns of tens and thousands.

Philo Judaeus writes of the principle of the pattern of tens forming hundreds:

"Moreover the first fruits of the tribe of Levi are given up to the priests;[3] for they having taken tithes, offer up other tenths from them as from their own fruits, which thus comprise the number of a hundred; for the number ten is the symbol of improvement, and the number a hundred is the symbol of perfection; and he that is in the middle is always striving to reach the extremity, exerting the inborn goodness of his nature, by which he says, that the Lord of the universe has appeared to him."

Through the captains of tens, the people chose who they would follow in battling the trials of life in the world. That choice was based on personal knowledge and mutual daily consent. That voluntary network of men choosing ministers and ministers choosing ministers formed a nation of freemen in voluntary support of justice and mercy.

The Levites were the “called out” of Moses, just as Jesus called out His ekklesia, the early Church. They were the ministers of the common communion or welfare of the people of the Kingdom of God, not the strong arm of men who exercised authority. They taught The Ways of God’s kingdom and kept the people together and strong by their system of charity and hope.

These separate but complementary activities kept the kingdom a working brotherhood in time of peace and war. They could bring men together in the face of personal robbery, disaster, and sickness or national famine, disaster, or invasion. As long as men lovingly remembered the character and precepts of God the Father first and secondly loved their neighbor as themselves, the kingdom would flourish and be fruitful under God’s precepts.

“…thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I [am] the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18)


"Feed my sheep!"
Pastors should be like shepherds who tend to all the welfare needs of the people in a daily ministration of faith, hope, and charity, so that none of the sheep of Christ have to eat at the tables of legal charity provided by the exercising authority of the Fathers of the earth.[4]
Before Jesus was able to provide the people with loaves and fishes in Mark 6:39 He "commanded" His disciples to "make" the people sit down in Tens. And then those groups were to organize in companies upon companies in divisions and "ranks" of "fifties and hundreds".
Christ also told His disciples not to be like the rulers and princes of the Gentiles who provided benefits by exercising authority one over the other.
Everyone who got the Baptism of Christ was "put out" by the ordinance of the Pharisees of the Jewish synagogue system which was also composed of ten families through which they provided welfare with the "Corban" of the people.
Christ appointed a kingdom to His "called out" group He called His "little flock" to be ministers or servants to the people in "free assemblies" not rulers like the "benefactors" of the "world" who "exercise authority". Every man should be led by the Holy Spirit to gather in order to love one another. The minister is supposed to be serving by making or requiring the people voluntarily organize themselves in Companies of tens, fifties and hundreds, and thousands so that people may love one another through daily ministration in the practice of Pure Religion as we see the early Church doing in history for centuries.
If all the people who say they are Christians were actually doing what Christ commanded, socialism would be obsolete and no one could be or would be exploited. Socialism is the religion you get when you refuse to do what Christ commanded and have no Pure Religion.

Jesus and the Tens

We have been told that we should not be “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" in Hebrews 10:25. But gathering together had a real purpose in Israel and in the early Church. It was so important that Jesus literally "commanded" that the people organize themselves in in Companies of tens in "ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties" before the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

  • Mark 6:38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.[39] And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies[5] upon the green grass. [40] And they sat down in ranks[6], by hundreds, and by fifties. [41] And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. [41] And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

We see this same pattern when the disciples were told to make the people sit down by fifties in a company. [7]

But at Pentecost when thousands upon thousands of Jewish citizens accepted Jesus as the Christ and king this pattern of Tens would be an absolute necessity. This pattern of ten elders of families was used by Paul as he organized congregations of the Church all across the world.[8]

This voluntary gathering in by hundreds, and by fifties through groups of tens was to implement a righteous system of Corban through the hands of Jesus' disciples that would make the word of Gotext and is from the word prasia which as a Hebrew idiom i.e. they reclined in ranks or divisions, so that several ranks formed, as it were separate plots. </Ref>, by hundreds, and by fifties. [41] And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. [41] And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

We see this same pattern when the disciples were told to make the people sit down by fifties in a company. [9]

But at Pentecost when thousands upon thousands of Jewish citizens accepted Jesus as the Christ and king this pattern off>The word companies is repeated twice in the original text. 4849 ~συμπόσιον~ sumposion \@soom-pos’-ee-on\@ from a derivative of the alternate of 4844; ; n n AV-company 1, not tr. 1; Repeated twice in Mark 6:39

1) a drinking party, entertainment
1a) of the party itself, the guests
1b) rows of guests
"The symposium (or symposion) was an important part of ancient Greek culture from the 7th century BCE and was a party held in a private home where Greek males gathered to drink, eat and sing together. Various topics were also discussed such as philosophy, politics, poetry and the issues of the day."
" The equivalent of a Greek symposium in Roman society is the Latin convivium."
A Roman convivium according to Marcus Tullius Cicero for the republican period and Seneca suggest that ten to twelve was the maximum number.
Plato in his "Laws" endorses the benefits of the symposium as a means to test and promote virtue in citizens. this word sumposion is derived in part from the word pino which "figuratively, to receive into the soul what serves to refresh strengthen, nourish it unto life eternal"</Ref> upon the green grass. [40] And they sat down in ranks[10], by hundreds, and by fifties. [41] And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. [41] And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

We see this same pattern when the disciples were told to make the people sit down by fifties in a company. [11]

But at Pentecost when thousands upon thousands of Jewish citizens accepted Jesus as the Christ and king this pattern of Tens would be an absolute necessity. This pattern of ten elders of families was used by Paul as he organized congregations of the Church all across the world.[12]

This voluntary gathering in by hundreds, and by fifties through groups of tens was to implement a righteous system of Corban through the hands of Jesus' disciples that would make the word of Gotext and is from the word prasia which as a Hebrew idiom i.e. they reclined in ranks or divisions, so that several ranks formed, as it were separate plots. </Ref>, by hundreds, and by fifties. [41] And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. [41] And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

We see this same pattern when the disciples were told to make the people sit down by fifties in a company. [13]

But at Pentecost when thousands upon thousands of Jewish citizens accepted Jesus as the Christ and king this pattern of Tens would be an absolute necessity. This pattern of tens was used by paul as he organized congregations of the Church all aross the world.[14]

This voluntary gathering in by hundreds, and by fifties through groups of tens was to implement a righteous system of Corban through the hands of Jesus' disciples that would make the word of God to effect again to avoid the deeds of the Nicolaitans.

Jesus was teaching His followers what they would need to do to survive without the benefits offered by Herod and Caesar. The network this pattern created would be life and death for Christians when Rome began to fall. He warns in parable after parable about those who make excuses[15] why they cannot come together or are Foolish virgins who get shut out.

There is no essential difference in the canons of Christ’s kingdom “at hand” and the Kingdom of God that Moses tried to teach the people. The Levites were to be the servants of the free congregations of men. Those ministers of the people belonged to God as his bondservants with no personal inheritance.

Each one served ten families, who chose them as ministers, and they were tithed in accordance to their service:

“Take [it] of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service.” (Numbers 7:5)

The Church called out by Christ did the same as that earlier Church in the wilderness called out by Moses. They taught a Kingdom of God organized by congregation of tens, hundreds and thousands.

“And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,” (Acts 1:15)

Here, 12 Apostles and 120 families were the beginning foundation of the Christian Church. The apostles were bondservants appointed by Christ to minister to the congregation of the people. In order to discern exactly how all this worked together for good, we must explore those ancient times but it is clear that the pattern repeated itself for centuries within free societies.

Even as late as the 9th and 10th century, among the Lombard kings there was something called Deans connected to ten families. The word originated from the Latin “decanus”,[16] which was a military term of the Romans. Decurius was also used by early writers. This included the Greek deka and dekate, meaning ten or tithe.

The term was used to described those men performing functions of the secular clergy. This term was used by what we might call ministers of the early ecclesiastical Church. That clergy was much different in their position to authority and function than those now held in what we have come to believe is the Church. They held that office which included a position in their judicial system chosen from the bottom up. Some have tried to assert that a Dean was in authority over those ten families, but the terms used to describe the office clearly establish it as a subordinate position with respect and service to the people. It was a part of their system of governance, but its leaders were titular.

Terms like decurions signified those who served ten deans. As the network of tens, fifties, and hundreds grew, there was a need for assistance like the heralds of the kings and the singers[17] and Nethinims[18] of the Levites who performed important functions of keeping the people and ministers informed. The chore pisco pus was an assistant to the overseer or Bishop to keep the communion between the congregation effectual. Over the centuries, this special communications officer for the government of the people was degenerated into the director of the choir.

The communion of the first-century Church was substantive, filling the true physical and spiritual needs of the people. Those who received Christ’s baptism were cast out[19] of one system of authoritarian government of the Pharisees and entered a government of faith, hope, and charity under the perfect law of liberty. Christians depended upon the freewill charity of each other, not the entitlements of Rome or the synagogue of Satan.[20]

“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” (1 Corinthians 10:21)

The Christian community was well-disciplined and organized from the bottom up by a system of charity rather than force. While the Roman system of political control was breaking down, those who followed Christ were excluded from the dainties of those civic tables. In about AD 150, Justin the Martyr, hoping to clear the misconceptions and prejudices surrounding Christianity, wrote the Emperor Antoninus Pius in defense of the Christian faith and allegiance to Christ:

“And the wealthy among us help the needy ... and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need.” (Ch. 65-67)

As we saw with ministers like Stephen, we also see the Didache[21] stating: “Therefore, elect for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, men who are meek and not lovers of money, true and approved, for they also perform for you the ministry of the prophets and teachers.”

The nature of these appointments would remain the same for centuries. In the 10th century, drastic reforms were enforced to “unify the liturgy” of the Church. This authoritarian call for unity under a centralized Church had been creeping into some Church thinking from the beginning and now became a rebellion against the gospels.

But the modern Church has forgotten the ancient pattern through which the righteousness of God reigns through the hearts and minds of a peculiar people.


  • Jeremiah 18:15 "Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways [from] the ancient paths, to walk in paths, [in] a way not cast up;"

Sitting down in the pattern of ten families in free assemblies has been the only practical way to provide a daily ministration and rightly divide the bread from house to house through charity instead of force like the governments of the world.

The table of the Lord may only be set by the charity of the people. The table of devils is set by the benefactors of the world who force the contributions of the people by exercising authority one over the other. Their leaders are the fathers of the earth. Many modern Christians will say they believe in Jesus and claim to have faith but they do not live by faith.

They live by the sword of governments they have created for themselves. They call upon those institutions of force for their daily bread, their welfare, education of their children, the care of their parents saying it is Corban. The early Church's practice of pure Religion was at the core of the Christian conflict.

The Services of the Liturgy

Liturgy is defined as “a prescribed form or set of forms for public religious worship”.[22] It is from the Greek word leitourgi and leitourgos, meaning “public service” and “public servant” respectively. Liturgy was not about singing and vestments and the smoke and mirrors of modern Christendom. It was about the public servants of the kingdom of God operating under the perfect law of liberty in true worship of God[23] by service to the people. Liturgy was the common procedures of the public servants of God’s kingdom in congregations composed of, by, and for the people. These “reforms” were forced upon the innocent and faithful by usurping kings, who were crowned by a fornicating church, in hopes of securing their own positions of wealth and power, turning the world upside-down again.

The organize of small free assemblies networked into a system of tens, hundreds, and thousands, bound together only by a common brotherhood and love, had been the most predominant form of successful voluntary government throughout man’s history. Similar cell patterns were evident in the early days of the persecuted Church established by Christ.

The crucial ingredient to their success is the implementation of the Ten Codes of God’s Law summarized in the virtuous application of Christ’s two commandments.

Love God and His ways with all that you think and do and actively love your neighbor’s rights to his property and family, his life and liberty as much, if not more, than you love your own. The Church that comes together according to these ancient patterns and righteousness can overcome all tyrants, despots, and enemies of freedom and liberty. They can weather the greatest storms and cataclysms of history, both past or future. They can and will inherit the earth.

Law and justice, as well as national security, had been in the hands of the people who assembled themselves in voluntary militias or armies based on a pattern of tens and fifties, hundreds, and thousands.[24] These leaders were titular in their authority and held office by mutual respect and the consensus of those they served. Every captain was chosen by the ten men he served. This was a pure republic designed by God where the people were free from things public under the perfect law of liberty.

The Tens or Tuns[25] are not about 10 buddies getting together and helping one another...thieves and robbers do that. It is a pattern of the Kingdom of God where people give daily through a network of ministers who help people the individual groups of ten may never meet nor see nor will likely ever help them in turn. It is a body bound only by love of others who are often very distant.

The Error of Saul

Saul was chosen because he was a great man who defended justice and fought for the rights of the people. But once he was given the power of a king he was tempted by that power. At one of the first signs of trouble, he compelled a tax on the people.

There was a measured loss of liberty when the people sinned against God and asked Samuel[26] to establish a centralized government, which now, as Benefactor to the nation, imposed taxes or “sacrifice” and appointed officers over the people. Men rejected God’s kingdom; the voice of the people elected men to make laws, rule with exercising authority, collect the contributions like a tax rather than a freewill offering and generally rule over man and his neighbor.

Once, when there was a threat of invasion and Samuel had not arrived, Saul took matters into his own hands.

“And Samuel said, What hast thou done?… I forced myself therefore [In Wycliffe’s translation we see this as, “I was compelled by need], and offered a burnt offering.” (1 Samuel 13:11)

The word “offered” here is from the Hebrew alah and can mean “withdraw… to be taken up, be brought up, be taken away… to be carried away”. It is also translated “increase, put” and “raised”. The word “and” is not in the original text. What is being said is that Saul compelled the taking of a burnt offering. A burnt offering is just something you are not getting back, as we have already seen.

Because Saul was afraid the people would not come, he compelled a sacrifice, a tax. He coveted the goods of the people and demanded they contribute. This was a clear violation of the Ten Commandments. It was a noble cause, but still a sin.

Samuel’s response to Saul was to the point and direct. He called him a fool:

“And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.” (1 Samuel 13:12-14)

When we covet our neighbor's goods through Benefactors who exercise authority we reject God and His Gospel of love, His Kingdom of Love which is the Kingdom of God.

The Higher Liberty

“And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.” (Psalms 119:45)

Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God’s liberty into every aspect of our lives. God’s precepts and character should govern us and the nations of the world. Liberty is conducive to growth and maturity. Virtue is the avenue of God’s grace. Faith is a gift that brings us into a fuller knowledge of God. A relinquishment of those rights and responsibilities, bestowed on us by the Creator, makes us poor and weak.

“The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18)

There is no more common theme in the Bible than liberty under God with charity and love for God and for our neighbor. Voluntary governments have been the rule in man’s history and not the central or even democratic authorities so common worldwide in modern administrations. It is commonly unknown that, “our modern reliance on government to make law and establish order is not the historical norm.”[27]

We are taught and have come to believe that the history of men and government is the history of centralized authoritarian government, while the truth is that most governance has been men working together in voluntary groups, united by customs, mutual respect, and reasoned justice. Although, top-down authoritarian forms amongst the states created by men have been here since Cain killed Abel, it is, in itself, an aberration, not the creation of God.

The ruling elite, acting as the fountainhead of justice, is presently so pervasive throughout the world, that many still believe that the definition of, “The state is essentially an apparatus of compulsion and coercion. The characteristic feature of its activities is to compel people through the application or the threat of force to behave otherwise than they would like to behave”.[28] It assumes that there can be no order without men compelling it. In truth, the power of God, written in some men’s hearts and minds, can bring order around the world.

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12)

Some will argue that democracies are governments of the people, by the people, and for the people. While this could be true, if the people were without guile and greed, men can still say, “the State is in essence the result of the successes achieved by a band of brigands who superimpose themselves on small, distinct societies”.[29]

This has always been true in democracies where “Fifty-one percent of the people take away the rights of the forty-nine”.[30]

The prophets preached a Republic not a Democracy where people take a bite out of one another and curse their children with Covetous Practices. Paul preached The Higher Liberty under God.

The Kingdom of God is from "generation to generation" and not just from congregation to congregation. The Feasts made this possible as families united by marriage and friendship and meeting the challenges of a peculiar people who live by faith, hope, and charity through a perfect law of liberty.

The Ties that Bind

The pattern of tens, hundreds and thousands is the buddy system times ten. It is a wheel within a wheel and, like the cell groups of the French underground during World War II and the congregations of the persecuted Christians or the Germanic tribes that defeated Rome, it is merely the most practical form of free government.

"Independence begins at the bottom... It follows, therefore, that every village has to be self-sustained and capable of managing its own affairs... It will be trained and prepared to perish in the attempt to defend itself against any onslaught from without... This does not exclude dependence on and willing help from neighbors or from the world. It will be a free and voluntary play of mutual forces... In this structure composed of innumerable villages, there will be every-widening, never ascending circles. Life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose center will be the individual. Therefore, the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to all within and derive its own strength from it." —Mahatma Gandhi

We are not bound to the pattern. In fact it is not the pattern that binds us but the law of love. The bands that connect us are the family ties that occur outside the pattern. Certainly friendship occurs within congregations due to daily interaction, charity and fellowship. But such bonds do not a nation make.

It is the alliances that come when daughters and nieces marry sons and nephews in other congregations. This was one of the primary functions of the Feasts. These bonds of blood supersede the bonds of tens and create the truly unbreakable bands that connect us to others.

While modern governments bind the people with agreements and oaths the Kingdom of God is His Kingdom of Love which binds the people by the covenant of marriage ordained by God and it becomes in the interest of the whole nation to maintain healthy family units. This is why the kingdom is from generation to generation and not from congregation to congregation.[31]


Gospel of the kingdom | Kingdom of Heaven | Kingdom at hand | Thy Kingdom Comes
Kingdom of God | Newsletter | Not inherit the kingdom | Christian conflict |
Benefactors | Principalities | Corban | Covetous Practices | Elements | Redemption |
World | Biting one another | Food Stamps | Workers of Iniquity | Serve two masters |
Doers of the Word | Ye are bought | The Blessed Strategy | Fervent Charity |
Congregations | Congregants | Free Assemblies | Elders | Fellowship | CORE |
Church | Ministers | Tithe | Tithing | Tithingman | Treasury | MORE | COM |
The Way | Pure Religion | Charitable Practices | Thy first love | Kingdom Love |
Christians check list | Aid Addicts | Overcoming together | Pray | Network |

The Pattern

The pattern of tens starts with ten families.

A family consists of the eldest Father of a family, his wife, unmarried sons and daughters and married sons and their wives and children.

The eldest father is an Elder.

Each family unit operating under one Elder gathers in a free assembly where if he contributes anything to the minister it is completely given up. This is a burnt offering.

While they may be a member of a free assembly when the assembly meeting ends there are no legal bonds maintaining their membership. The Congregation is not a corporation nor even an unincorporated association.

The Elders' mission and obligation is to love God and their fellow elders and those other elders all over the kingdom network.

The fulfillment of that mission and obligation of a congregation is the responsibility of every Elder and his family. By freely attending to the Weightier matters for himself and other families he secures his own liberty under God according to the Perfect law of liberty.

A congregation is not a Democracy. The majority of Elders do not elect the minister. It is by consensus. Each elder must choose the minister he wishes to connect him with the whole body of the Church. While there is no means or inclination to compel offerings by force or guilt there is usually a token head tithe of value like the Half shekel.[32]

The elected Minister who is appointed by Ordained Ministers of the Church is a member of the congregation of fellow ministers. But like the Elder's free assembly, that congregation of ministers, is also not a corporation nor an unincorporated association. This has at least four reasons:

  1. Their choice of minister is not the result of a democratic vote but a votive offering.
  2. They do not own what they receive as donations but only hold it in trust as appointed ex officio ministers.
  3. What the people release to their ministers is freely given as if it is a burnt offering.
  4. What the minister receives is belongs to Christ who came to serve.

"Even man's service is the King's, but every man's soul is his own. Therefore I would have every soldier examine himself, and wash every mote out of his conscience"[33]

It is a principle and policy of the prophets that each minister is acting as a single independent stone of the Altars of God. They are not hewn but seek to fit together in a cohesive group as friends. They are not members of the congregation they serve bu part of a free assembly of other ministers like themselves.

There is another classification within the the network of tens. Ordained ministers of the Church are members of their congregation but hold all things in common within that independent congregation but are joint heirs within the whole network of congregations. This is explained in more detail within the book The Free Church Report.

The Prohibition

The Kingdom of God was a voluntary Society gathered in a Network of families bound by Faith, Hope and Charity from generation to generation. You could leave anytime and volunteer anytime but were you excluded and what kept you from the fellowship of these living Altars. Understanding that the Altars and the sacrifice or Corban laid on those altars was a part of a social welfare system is essential to understanding the driving force of a voluntary system not like the systems of the world.

There are several lists which gives us things to be watchful for and avoid the people who persist in them which includes the actions listed in the Ten Commandments.

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9)

There is a constant distinction between walking in the flesh, and walking in the spirit, defined by fruits.

"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the [[kingdo

  1. The Legends of the Jews: From the Creation to Jacob, Vol. 1, Chapter V
  2. Garcillasso de Vega, an ancient Inca historian says Peru was divided into small districts containing ten families with each registered under a magistrate.
  3. Numbers 18:26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe.
  4. "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." John 15:10
  5. The word companies is repeated twice in the original text. 4849 ~συμπόσιον~ sumposion \@soom-pos’-ee-on\@ from a derivative of the alternate of 4844; ; n n AV-company 1, not tr. 1; Repeated twice in Mark 6:39
    1) a drinking party, entertainment
    1a) of the party itself, the guests
    1b) rows of guests
    "The symposium (or symposion) was an important part of ancient Greek culture from the 7th century BCE and was a party held in a private home where Greek males gathered to drink, eat and sing together. Various topics were also discussed such as philosophy, politics, poetry and the issues of the day."
    " The equivalent of a Greek symposium in Roman society is the Latin convivium."
    A Roman convivium according to Marcus Tullius Cicero for the republican period and Seneca suggest that ten to twelve was the maximum number.
    Plato in his "Laws" endorses the benefits of the symposium as a means to test and promote virtue in citizens. this word sumposion is derived in part from the word pino which "figuratively, to receive into the soul what serves to refresh strengthen, nourish it unto life eternal"
  6. ranks is also repeated twice in the original text and is from the word prasia which as a Hebrew idiom i.e. they reclined in ranks or divisions, so that several ranks formed, as it were separate plots.
  7. Luke 9:14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
  8. In "The World Under God’s Law, The Church Under God’s Law", Professor Rushdoony, (Dr. R.J.) describe the congregations Paul was setting up, "To this day, at least among the Jews, all it takes to form a synagog is ten elders! Ten men, rather. They constitute enough for one ruler, and without any rabbii called they constitute a synagog and the elder who was chosen by the ten heads of household conduct the services. That’s the way it was. "
    "The apostles as they went out established, Paul for example, church after church in one place after another and he appointed and ordained elders, and he moved on. Did the services stop when left? No, they continued. The elder carried on the services, or the elders, if there were twenty families, there would be two elders; thirty families, three elders. Then these elders who would be trained by the apostles, Peter or Paul, whoever went out, would then carry on services around so that their work would be extended. And this is how the missionary work of the church went on. You will recall from the book of Acts that the apostles hit the cities, they established churches there. Those churches, the elders thereof, would go out into the surrounding countryside to the smaller communities and villages and establish congregations there. [0:11:46]"
    The pattern is true but the use of the term elder is incorrect. While elders were appointed to serve the people it is not an office of the Church. See Elder
  9. Luke 9:14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
  10. ranks is also repeated twice in the original text and is from the word prasia which as a Hebrew idiom i.e. they reclined in ranks or divisions, so that several ranks formed, as it were separate plots.
  11. Luke 9:14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
  12. In "The World Under God’s Law, The Church Under God’s Law", Professor Rushdoony, (Dr. R.J.) describe the congregations Paul was setting up, "To this day, at least among the Jews, all it takes to form a synagog is ten elders! Ten men, rather. They constitute enough for one ruler, and without any rabbii called they constitute a synagog and the elder who was chosen by the ten heads of household conduct the services. That’s the way it was. "
    "The apostles as they went out established, Paul for example, church after church in one place after another and he appointed and ordained elders, and he moved on. Did the services stop when left? No, they continued. The elder carried on the services, or the elders, if there were twenty families, there would be two elders; thirty families, three elders. Then these elders who would be trained by the apostles, Peter or Paul, whoever went out, would then carry on services around so that their work would be extended. And this is how the missionary work of the church went on. You will recall from the book of Acts that the apostles hit the cities, they established churches there. Those churches, the elders thereof, would go out into the surrounding countryside to the smaller communities and villages and establish congregations there. [0:11:46]"
    The pattern is true but the use of the term elder is incorrect. While elders were appointed to serve the people it is not an office of the Church. See Elder
  13. Luke 9:14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
  14. In "The World Under God’s Law, The Church Under God’s Law", Professor Rushdoony, (Dr. R.J.) describe the congregations Paul was setting up, "To this day, at least among the Jews, all it takes to form a synagog is ten elders! Ten men, rather. They constitute enough for one ruler, and without any rabbii called they constitute a synagog and the elder who was chosen by the ten heads of household conduct the services. That’s the way it was. "
    "The apostles as they went out established, Paul for example, church after church in one place after another and he appointed and ordained elders, and he moved on. Did the services stop when left? No, they continued. The elder carried on the services, or the elders, if there were twenty families, there would be two elders; thirty families, three elders. Then these elders who would be trained by the apostles, Peter or Paul, whoever went out, would then carry on services around so that their work would be extended. And this is how the missionary work of the church went on. You will recall from the book of Acts that the apostles hit the cities, they established churches there. Those churches, the elders thereof, would go out into the surrounding countryside to the smaller communities and villages and establish congregations there. [0:11:46]"
    The pattern is true but the use of the term elder is incorrect. While elders were appointed to serve the people it is not an office of the Church. See Elder
  15. Luke 14:18 And they all with one [consent] began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
  16. The Latin Lexicon Numen from An Elementary Latin Dictionary by Charlton T. Lewis and A Latin Dictionary by Lewis & Short.
    decānus, decāni, m. decem.
    1. "A chief of ten, one set over ten persons (late Lat.). Over soldiers, Veg. Mil. 2, 8." Also,
    2. Over monks, a dean, Hier. Ep. 22, no. 35.
    3. The chief of the corpse-bearers, Cod. Just. 1, 2, 4; 9.
    4. As a judge, Vulg. Exod. 18, 21; Deut. 1, 15.
    5. A kind of officer at the imperial court, Cod. 12, 27, 1.
  17. There were several different forms of this word translated into singer, sheer or shuwr. These were identical with shoor which meant to travel, journey, go [through the idea of strolling minstrelsy]; Minstrels sang and recited poetically because it was easier to remember messages and communications accurately. They were the newsmen or heralds of official business. The singers were travelers because they had to deliver the news and messages all around the kingdom of God in order to keep the people informed.
  18. Nethinims were commissioned ministers of the Levites licensed to act ex officio.
  19. John 9:22 “These [words] spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.”
  20. Revelation 2:9 “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and [I know] the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but [are] the synagogue of Satan.”
  21. The Didache is mentioned by Eusebius (c. 324) as the Teachings of the Apostles following the books recognized as canonical (Historia Ecclesiastica III, 25):...
  22. The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
  23. See Appendix 3 of Thy Kingdom Comes What is worship
  24. Exodus 18:25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
  25. Irish society revolved around the túath Germanic tribes had “tehuntha”, but among the Latins we see “decānus” (deacon), dean or doge which meant “servant of ten”. A “decurion” served ten deans.
  26. “And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;” 1 Samuel 8:11-19, also 1 Samuel 10:18-19, 1 Samuel 12:1-25
  27. The Enterprise of Law: Justice without the State. Bruce L. Benson Publisher: Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (San Francisco), 1991
  28. Ludwig von Mises, Austrian political economist.
  29. On Power by Bertrand de Jouvenel, Viking Press, New York 1949.
  30. Thomas Jefferson 2nd Inaugural address.
  31. Lamentations 5:19 Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
    Daniel 4:3 How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
    Daniel 4:34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
    Joel 3:20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
    Luke 1:50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
  32. Exodus 30:13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel [is] twenty gerahs:) an half shekel [shall be] the offering of the LORD. 14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. 16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
  33. The First Quarto of King Henry V