When you read verses like this...
Matt 18:20; "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
Heb 10:24; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
Heb 10:25; not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
I sometimes wonder... is having a "Zoom conference" or Slack or Skype, or Teams, or whatever you use to video chat with....
the same thing as "assembling together". Does this count for "two or three gathered in my name"?
What do you think? Is this Satans attempt at breaking up the church, or is it the same as physically being together?
A different angle brother...
Question, will the current systems, or technological options break the church?
Now here it appears we are referring to the place of worship, the
kuriakon, the building.
Allow me to try share an example to explain what I see here.
Lets say 200 souls go to a church building, 150 are saved souls, the church, the
ekklesia, is 150 souls. Now lets say following the covid-19 shut down not all go back, 150 total go back to the place of worship, called a church, 40 are not saved, that means the church, the
ekklesia, is 110 souls, but 40 saved souls continue their fellowship on the internet, is the church referred to here any smaller? The answer is No!!!
To many people get cut up about 'their church'. If the building was raised to the ground, the true church, the
ekklesia, will still be the same size.
Now don't get me wrong we need fellowship, it is right to come together in person, in Jesus Name, to pray, rejoice, give thanks together, a personal connection will never be replaced totally, but there are 1000's of reasons people do not go to a places of worship, yet they still come together in houses, online, anywhere, and when two or three born again from above believers come together in Jesus Name, He is there in the midst of us.
Let us give thanks for technology, that is used to bring Glory to God through Jesus. One day we may require these types of communication more than we can imagine. As we edge towards and into the Tribulation Periods it will be time to realise what the church is, what the
ekklesia is, and be grateful that we can come together in Jesus Name, His Church, His living stones, even without a purpose-built place of worship. The early Christians met in each others homes, the saved souls, the
ekklesia, met where ever they could, they were still part of the worldwide Church, in which Jesus is the head.
There were no denominations in the early church, man created them following the Reformation. There are still no denominations in our Lord's Church, the
ekklesia, the Body of Christ, The Bride of Christ. Thanks be to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in Jesus Name. Amen