Jesus was anticipating the establishment of Christian churches after the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. In its historical usage, church (Greek: ekklesia) simply meant “an assembly,” that is, a physical gathering of people. Over several years, the word took on the technical meaning of a Christian assembly, with the implication of physical unity and spiritual unity. At the same time, the word took on a larger metaphorical meaning, often described as the spiritual, universal, or