Why was Israel at Sinai not a church?
Israel at Sinai was a called-out assembly, the same word Ecclesia, but not a church. They had no deacons, bishops, or pastors, and they were under the law and Moses—a wholly different setting from anything pertaining to the church.
Les explains that although the church did not begin at Sinai, Israel was indeed a called-out assembly, because God called them and led them out of Egypt and camped them in Sinai. That assembly is also the word Ecclesia. But it was not a church as we understand the church. They had no deacons, bishops, or pastors. They were under the law and under Moses, a whole different setting than from what anything pertains to the church. So while it shares the same word, it was a called-out assembly, not a church.