Forsake Not the Assembling of the Saints

I'm going to suggest that Heb 10:25 is not as "plain" as most people believe.

The underlying Greek word there for "assembling (or "gathering) together" is ἐπισυναγωγὴν (episynagogen); this word is used in only one other place in the NT:

WEB 2 Thess 2:1 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our --> gathering together <-- (ἐπισυναγωγῆς) to him, we ask you 2 not to be quickly shaken in your mind, and not be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as if from us, saying that the day of Christ has already come.

Now with that in mind, reread the Heb passage:

WEB Heb 10:24 Let’s consider how to provoke one another to love and good works, 25 not forsaking our own --> assembling together <-- (ἐπισυναγωγὴν), as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Is the writer warning against forsaking a periodic gathering of believers, or is s/he warning against giving up on the coming gathering of all saints when Jesus returns? The similarity in these two passages, especially using the same unique word in each, points to the latter. Yet I daresay few find this to be their concept of the "plain language of Heb 10:25".

Even if this is referring to a regular assembly of believers, the focus of the meeting seems to be horizontally, outward-focused one-another oriented ("provoke", "encourage") rather than vertically, upward-focused God oriented ("worship"). It seems to be an "encouragement service" rather than a "worship service".