He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
18and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
20The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.
Church (Gk. ἐκκλησία, ekklesia). (9; Matt 16:18; 18:17; Acts 8:1, Eph 1:22, Rev 1:4, 11, 20; 2:1) Strong’s 1577
The word church [1] is used one hundred fourteen times in the NT. It is formed from the preposition ἐκ (ek), “out of,” and the verb καλέω (kaleo), to “call.” It literally means “those who are called out.” It is used widely in Greek literature to refer to a regularly summoned legislative body, a casual gathering, or a congregation with shared beliefs. The word is used in the Greek Old Testament for the Hebrew word קהל (qahal), the congregation of Israel. It is used in one passage in the NT for a gathering other than church, Acts 19:30, 33. The typical use in the NT is to refer to a local church, that is, a particular body of believers (Rom 16:1; 2 Cor 1:1Gal 1:22; 1 Thess 1:1). This word is also used to refer to the universal church, that is, all true Christians (believers in Jesus Christ) from the Day of Pentecost until the rapture (Acts 12:1; Col 1:18). It is important to note that from the perspective of the NT, the word “church” [1] only ever refers to the people of God and their assembly. Even though modern Christians use it to refer to the “church” building, it is never used this way in the NT. To think and speak biblically about “church” is to think and speak about saved people universally, or a congregation of believers committed to one another and who assemble regularly. In NT thought, the assembly of God’s people is a powerful and unique expression of the presence of God (Eph 2:21). The church is never mentioned in the OT, with its first mention in the Bible in Matt 16:18.
[1] The origin of the English word "church" is from the Middle English word chirche, from Old English cirice, (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/church) and is related to the German word Kirche, and from the Greek word kuriakon κυριακός, η, ον, "those belonging to the Lord." BAG, p. 459.