The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his018/biblenam.txt

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The following is taken from a sermon preached several years ago by
our pastor,  Doyle Armstrong  Th.D, at the Bible Study Center at
851 S. Elm St. in West  Carrollton, Ohio 45449. If you would like
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ARE NAMES IMPORTANT IN THE BIBLE? DOES GOD REALLY CARE WHAT  WE
CALL HIM? DOES THE NAME OF A CHURCH MAKE ANY REAL  DIFFERENCE? DO
NAMES IN THE BIBLE CONTAIN SECRET KEYS TO  INTERPRETATION?
Consider this fact: OVER 2000 MORE NAMES COULD BE ADDED TO  THIS
LIST OF RELIGIOUS GROUPS and to the names commonly used  to
identify God (the Father) and to God manifest as the Son.  We live
in a day when people have been brought to what seems  like an
ULTIMATE BABYLON. Babylon means a state of confusion  and is used
in the Book of Revelation to picture SPIRITUAL  CONFUSION. There
are SO MANY conflicting theories taught as  to the right names for
the church, for God, etc.  Acts 4:12 and Philippians 2:9 say:
"Neither is there  salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under  heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a  name
which is above every name:"  From these verses it is evident that
the NAME of our SAVIOR  is a very important part of our SALVATION.
SINCE SALVATION IS  THE MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION ONE CAN EVER
OBTAIN, IT IS WORTH  OUR TIME TO LEARN WHAT IS A NAME (Biblically)?
In other  words, when the Bible speaks of a NAME, the word comes
from a  root meaning to "have knowledge of" or to "know" someone.
This means that YOU KNOW THEM and not just the WORD by which  they
are called.

The Hebrew word for "name" is the same word as is also  translated
"SHEM." This is the "name" of the son of Noah who  was the
forefather of Abraham and the entire Israelite  nation. Anyone who
is familiar with Bible typology can easily  see DIVINE PROVIDENCE
at work in providing such a NAME for  SHEM. The word itself means a
description or identity which  is peculiar to a particular person,
place, or thing. Today we  use the English word name much
differently than its meaning  in the scriptures. We say, for
example, that two people who  are called Bob have the SAME name.
That is not entirely true  in the biblical sense of the word. To
illustrate what I am  saying, please read II Corinthians 11:4 in
your Bible. Paul  the Apostle says it is possible for someone to
preach  "ANOTHER JESUS." It is obvious from the context that he is
making reference to someone who is called "Jesus", yet who  has an
altogether different IDENTITY and therefore is not a  manifestation
of the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE (John  14:6). Today we think
nothing of calling many different  people by the same word, but
Paul was showing us that people  can talk, sing, and preach about
Jesus (or even the Greek or  Hebrew equivalents of the word Jesus)
and STILL NOT SERVE AND  PREACH THE TRUE IDENTITY OF THE SON OF GOD
(They do not KNOW  the TRUE "JESUS.")

Jesus Himself spoke in Matthew 7:13-23 and showed that even  false
prophets and phoney "Christians" would use His name TO  NO AVAIL!
Notice, He DID NOT say they would use the wrong  name. This proves
that simply speaking His name or doing good  deeds in His name will
not prove nor provide salvation.

There is much confusion and even strife amongst many today as  to
whether the Son of God should be called Jesus, Christ (or  the
equivalent word from the Hebrew language, "MESSIAH"),  IESOUS (the
word "Jesus", transliterated from the Greek  manuscripts) or even
Yeshua, Yahshua, or a direct  transliteration from the Hebrew
language, Yehowshuwa  (pronounced  yehhoshoo'ah).

Sometimes it seems that some people think only one particular
language belongs to God and that He cannot understand the  others.
Such is true in only one sense; God communicates in  the language
of the SPIRITUAL heart. The scriptures denounce  those whose lips
(words) honor Him, yet whose hearts are far  from Him (Ezekiel
33:31, Matthew 15:8).

Some people believe God speaks in the Hebrew language, but  that is
not Biblical. The Hebrew people were descendents of  Eber, who
lived six generations before Abraham. Eber's son,  Peleg, lived
during the time when God originated the many  languages among
mankind (due to the construction of the tower  of Babel). There are
no details in the scriptures to tell us  much about Peleg or his
spiritual state. His NAME is a word  which means a "dividing of the
earth." The Bible shows us  that the region to which he was
"divided" was UR of the  Chaldeas (Genesis 11:31 and context). God
told Abraham to  leave the country (of his ancestors and his
father's  household) and to go to a place where He would lead him.
Since UR means "light from a flame," and since CHALDEA means
"lost" (or a state of destruction), we can learn from the
spiritual type that the ancestors of Abraham were from a  place
which is symbolic of FALSE RELIGION whose "light" is  the flames of
the Lake of Fire (The Lake of Fire is NOT the  same as Hell as most
people believe! It is symbolic, whereas  Hell is a literal place.
In fact the Bible says that Hell is  cast into the lake of fire -
Rev. 20:14). Abraham must "COME  OUT" of false religion (in type or
allegory) in order to be  "saved" (literally) even as we do
SPIRITUALLY TODAY. We "come  out" of SPIRITUAL BABYLON or CHALDEA
(same place) so God can  lead us to the truth (Revelation 18;
especially verse 4).  These things and many other details in the
types of Genesis  11 and 12 prove the fact that Eber (the
forerunner of the  Hebrew nation) and Peleg (the forerunner of the
Hebrew  language) WERE NOT SERVANTS OF THE TRUE AND ETERNAL GOD!
Therefore, a major Bible principle would be broken if God  gave
these UNGODLY MEN an exclusive and personal "GOD"  language.

Other people are just as wrong in their beliefs that God  speaks in
KING JAMES ERA or MODERN DAY ENGLISH! For example,  many people
almost make an idol out of the word, "JESUS," not  realizing that
His name is spoken differently in different  languages (as is OFTEN
the case). As an example of the  confusion this can bring to the
uninformed, please read Acts  7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 in a King James
Version of the Bible.  These passages speak of the one who led
Israel into Caanan  after Moses's death. They call Him Jesus. WHY?
Because the  name Jesus is the SAME NAME (when translated from the
Greek  manuscripts) as the name Joshua translated into English from
the Hebrew text. If you had lived in the first century and  had
spoken the Hebrew language, you would have called Jesus,
Yehowshuwa. If you had spoken Greek you would have called him
IESOUS (pronounced  eeaysooce') because His name (IDENTITY)  was to
be "Yahweh Saves" (Matthew 1:21). Therefore, you would  have called
Him by the word which had such a meaning in your  language.

Perhaps at this point you are wondering, "why don't people  speak
the name the same way in all languages?" The answer is  very
simple. By the very meaning of the term "NAME," it is  more
important to keep the MEANING of the word, when changing  from one
language to another, than it is to SPEAK or  pronounce it the same
in all languages. Remember, to "NAME"  means to describe one's
identity.

The first century writers of our Bible sometimes  transliterated
(emphasizing the WORD itself rather than its  meaning) names from
one language to another. However, they  realized the importance of
the MEANING of Jesus' name, so it  was translated. If you are
familiar with any of the thousands  of spiritual types (allegories)
in the Bible, you then should  realize the importance of
TRANSLATING the original MEANING  (identity) of ALL THE NAMES IN
THE BIBLE whenever you change  from one language to another. THE
MEANINGS OF THE NAMES ARE  WHAT IS IMPORTANT! NOT HOW YOU SPEAK OR
PRONOUNCE THEM. With  all the fuss over pronunciations today, one
would think that  in Matthew 1:21 the angel of the Lord must have
stressed the  pronunciation rather than the MEANING of the name of
Jesus.  The fact is, God is FAR more concerned that TRUTH be
spoken,  and with the reasons it is spoken than He is with HOW it
is  spoken!

To better illustrate God's concern with the MEANING of names
(IDENTITIES), one should study in depth the reasons He  CHANGED THE
FOLLOWING NAMES:

Genesis 17:5 Abram ("Lofty and exalted father") changed to  Abraham
("Father of Multitudes").

Genesis 32:28 Jacob ("heel grabber") changed to Israel  ("Prince of
God")

Genesis 17:15 Sarai ("domineering") changed  to Sarah ("lady,
princess, queen")

Acts 13:9 Saul ("desire, demand") changed to Paul ("stop,  cease")

Matthew 16:17-18 Simon ("hearing") changed to Peter ("large  rock")

For the same reason (the types), God specified the  exact name for
these SEVEN people before they were born:

Genesis 16:11 ISHMAEL ("El or God will hear")

Genesis 17:19 ISAAC ("laughter")

I Chronicles 22:9  SOLOMON ("peaceful")

I Kings 13:2 JOSIAH ("founded by Yahweh God)

Isaiah 44:28-45:1  CYRUS (Persian for "sun or throne")

Luke 1:13 JOHN ("favored by Yahweh")

Matthew 1:21 JESUS ("Yahweh or Yahwhoo Saves")

Revelation 22:4 says: "And they shall see his face; and name  shall
be in their foreheads".

If you are familiar with Bible symbolism, you realize that  "in the
forehead" is a reference to the mind. Does that  simply mean that
the WORD "JESUS" or the WORD "YASHUA," etc.,  is in their mind?

Notice Revelation 19:11-13: "And I saw heaven opened, and  behold a
white horse; and he that sat upon him was called  Faithful and
True, and in righteousness he doth judge and  make war. His eyes
were as a flame of fire, and on his head  were many crowns; and he
had a name written, that no man  knew, but he himself. And he was
clothed with a vesture  dipped in blood: and his name is called the
Word of God."

This symbolic description of Jesus states that He had a name  that
no man knew, then it declares His name is called "THE  WORD OF
GOD." The WORD OF GOD is not a single word (name) nor  just a
phrase. The WORD OF GOD is as deep and as vast as  ETERNITY itself.
It transcends all of space and encompasses  all attributes and
characteristics of DIVINITY. Incorporated  under the heading of
"THE WORD OF GOD" are tens of thousands  of TYPES,  SYMBOLS,
ALLEGORICAL PICTURES, PROPHECIES, MORAL  INSTRUCTION, SPIRITUAL
LIFE GUIDELINES, and even HIDDEN KEYS  THAT REVEAL ALL THINGS BOTH
NATURAL AND SPIRITUAL.

I Corinthians 2:7-10 and 14; "BUT WE SPEAK THE WISDOM OF GOD  IN A
MYSTERY, EVEN THE HIDDEN WISDOM, WHICH GOD ORDAINED  BEFORE THE
WORLD UNTO OUR GLORY: WHICH NONE OF THE PRINCES  (wise men) OF THIS
WORLD KNEW: FOR HAD THEY KNOWN IT, THEY  WOULD NOT HAVE CRUCIFIED
THE LORD OF GLORY: BUT AS IT IS  WRITTEN, EYE HATH NOT SEEN, NOR
EAR HEARD, NEITHER HAVE  ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN, THE THINGS
WHICH GOD HATH  PREPARED FOR THEM THAT LOVE HIM. BUT GOD HATH
REVEALED THEM  UNTO US BY HIS SPIRIT: FOR THE SPIRIT SEARCHETH ALL
THINGS,  YEA, THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD. "  "BUT THE NATURAL MAN
RECEIVETH NOT THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD: FOR THEY ARE
FOOLISHNESS UNTO HIM: NEITHER CAN HE KNOW THEM, BECAUSE THEY  ARE
SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED. "

Romans 1:20; "FOR THE INVISIBLE THINGS OF HIM FROM THE  CREATION OF
THE WORLD ARE CLEARLY SEEN, BEING UNDERSTOOD BY  THE THINGS THAT
ARE MADE, EVEN HIS ETERNAL POWER AND GODHEAD,  SO THAT THEY ARE
WITHOUT EXCUSE. "

Psalms 19:14; "THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD: AND THE
FIRMAMENT SHEWETH HIS HANDIWORK. DAY UNTO DAY UTTERETH  SPEECH, AND
NIGHT UNTO NIGHT SHEWETH KNOWLEDGE. THERE IS NO  SPEECH NOR
LANGUAGE, WHERE THEIR VOICE IS NOT HEARD. THEIR  LINE IS GONE OUT
THROUGH ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO  THE END OF THE WORLD. IN
THEM HATH HE SET A TABERNACLE FOR  THE SUN. "

These verses and others show us quite clearly that EVERYTHING
which God created is intended to symbolize, represent, and
"PREACH" about His GLORIOUS GREATNESS and the multiple  attributes
of His DIVINE NATURE. This is true whether we  study the spiritual
principles illustrated in the many  different arrangements or
electrons and protons (which make  up the various elements) or even
if we simply study the  characteristics of various plants and
animals or parts of the  human body.

Someone might ask, "BUT WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH  THE
NAME?" Friend, that should be obvious at this point in  our study.
THE NAME OF THE LORD IS HIS IDENTITY and that  IDENTITY IS
EXPRESSED THROUGH HIS WORD! Notice the following:

THE "WORD" CREATED ALL THINGS...John 1:1-3 " In the beginning  was
the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same
was in the beginning with God. All things were made  by him: and
without him was not any thing made that was  made."

THE "WORD" IS THE SOURCE OF FAITH AND THEREFORE THE SOURCE OF
SALVATION. Romans 10:13-17; "For whosoever shall call upon  the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call  on him
in whom they have not believed? and how shall they  believe in him
of whom they have not heard? and how shall  they hear without a
preacher? And how shall they preach,  except they be sent? as it is
written, How beautiful are the  feet of them that preach the gospel
of peace, and bring glad  tidings of good things! But they have not
all obeyed the  gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed
our report?  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of  God."

THE "WORD" IS THE MEANS OF SPIRITUAL CONCEPTION.("begat,"
"begotten") James 1:18; "Of his own will begat he us with the  word
of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his
creatures."

  I Corinthians 4:15; "For though ye have ten thousand  instructors
in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in  Christ Jesus I
have begotten you through the gospel." 1 Peter 1:23; "Being born
again, not of corruptible seed, but  of incorruptible, by the word
of God, which liveth and  abideth for ever.  " (The Greek word
which is translated  "born again" in this scripture can also be
translated  "begotten". It is obvious that it should have been so
rendered in this text as the context speaks of the part of  the
father, the giving of seed in order to produce life. The  aspect of
being "born" is of course the mother's job, and is  not the
immediate result of the "seed" of the father.)

THE "WORD" IS THE MEANS OF SPIRITUAL "BIRTH"...John 3:3 & 5;
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, Verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom  of
God."  " Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,  Except a
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot  enter into the
kingdom of God." (The "water" is definitely  not literal, but is
the "water of life" which is mentioned in  Ephesians 5:26).

THE "WORD" IS THE MEANS OF SPIRIT AND LIFE...John 6:53-54,63;
"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,  Except
ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his  blood, ye have
no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and  drinketh my blood, hath
eternal life; and I will raise him up  at the last day."  "It is
the spirit that quickeneth: the  flesh profiteth nothing: the words
that I speak unto you,  they are spirit, and they are life".

THE "WORD" IS THE WEAPON (protection) OF THE  Spirit. Ephesians
5:17; "And take the helmet of salvation,  and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God:"

THE "WORD" IS THE SEED WHICH PRODUCES TRUE SPIRITUAL LIFE IN
HONEST HEARTS. Luke 8:11 and context; "Now the parable is  this:
The seed is the word of God."

With these thoughts in mind, it should be obvious to us that  when
the Bible says there is no salvation in any other  "NAME," IT IS
SAYING THE SAME AS "THERE IS NO SALVATION  EXCEPT THROUGH THE TRUE
WORD (identity) OF GOD. "Now, the  question SHOULD be considered:
IS ALL BIBLE PREACHING TRULY  THE WORD OF GOD?  OUR ETERNITY
DESTINY IS AT STAKE. Please  study the following thoughts and
scriptures:

(1) MIRACLES, CASTING OUT OF DEVILS, and GOOD WORKS DO NOT  PROVE
THAT THE PREACHING IS THE WORD OF GOD. Study Matthew  7:13-23,
Matthew 24:24, II Thessalonians 2:8-12.

(2) PREACHING FROM THE BIBLE IS NOT PROOF THAT THE TEACHINGS  ARE
THE WORD OF GOD. Study II Peter 3:16.

(3) PREACHING SOME TRUTH (PART of the WORD) IS NOT PROOF THAT  ALL
TEACHINGS ARE TRUE. Study II Corinthians 2:17 and 4:2.

(4) IF A PREACHER MIXES MAN'S TRADITIONS WITH THE WORD, IT  CANCELS
ITS EFFECTIVENESS. Study Mark 7:13.

(5) SIMPLY READING THE BIBLE DOES NOT SUPPLY YOU WITH THE  WORD OF
GOD. IT MUST BE UNDERSTOOD AS SPIRITUAL SYMBOLISM AND  ALLEGORY
RATHER THAN JUST LITERAL HISTORY  (Gal. 4:22-26,  John 5:39, I Cor.
10:1-13, Hebrews 8:5, I Cor. 2:14, etc.).  II Corinthians 3:13-16
shows us that even the chosen people  of the Old Covenant could not
grasp the spiritual meaning of  the scriptures. They saw them only
as HISTORICAL and MORAL  instruction. They were really MUCH MORE
than that! EVERY  HISTORICAL ACCOUNT IN THE SCRIPTURES REVEALS
PROPHESIES AND  TEACHINGS FOR TODAY.

Many people call their BIBLE their "SWORD" (from Ephesians  6:17
which says the sword of the Spirit is the WORD OF GOD).  Though we
FULLY agree that we OBTAIN the WORD OF GOD from the  Bible, we must
emphasize, THE BIBLE IN ITSELF IS NOT THE WORD  OF GOD (It must be
given SPIRITUAL MEANING and APPLICATION to  become the WORD OF
GOD).

If the BIBLE itself is LITERALLY the  WORD OF GOD, then:

1) Bibles "increased" in the first century A.D.  Acts 6:7

2) Saved people EAT BIBLES.  Hebrews 6:5, John 6:53-63

3) John 1:1 would mean, "In the beginning was the BIBLE, and  the
BIBLE was with God, and the BIBLE WAS GOD."

4) Since salvation is by the word of God, lost people would  need
only to read the Bible to be saved. In that case, the  greatest
work that could be accomplished would be to see that  everyone has
a Bible. That is NOT the case!

In order to finish briefly answering the questions we  presented at
the beginning of this booklet, we need to  consider the NAME FOR
THE CHURCH. Thousands of names are used  by men today to NAME
CHURCHES. The BIBLE makes use of only  THREE NAMES USED BY CHURCHES
TODAY (Acts 20:28, I Corinthians  1:2, 10:32, 11:22, 15:9,
Galatians 1:13, I Timothy 3:5, I  Thessalonians 2:14, Romans 16:16,
etc.). Since the word  "CHURCH" and the word "ASSEMBLY" are BOTH
correct  translations of the Greek word used in these texts, then
the names "CHURCH OF GOD,"  "ASSEMBLY OF GOD," and "CHURCHES OF
CHRIST" would all SEEM to  have BIBLICAL BASIS. Yet, Jesus' prayer
in John 17:12 begs  the Father to KEEP FOLLOWERS AS "ONE" or in
UNITY through the  FATHER'S NAME. From our study of the MEANING of
the word  "NAME," we should easily realize that Jesus' request was
for  UNITY resulting from a common knowledge of the TRUE
CHARACTERISTICS and IDENTITY of the Father. Since the WORD OF  GOD
reveals the Father, the REAL ANSWER to Jesus' prayer only  comes to
pass when FULNESS OF REVEALED TRUTH IS PREACHED! IT  WILL NEVER BE
FULFILLED BY HAVING CERTAIN WORDS ON A SIGN ON  A CHURCH BUILDING!
Mankind has always been concerned with certain WORDS or  LITERAL
PHRASES which are written down or spoken. The TRUE  and LIVING GOD
(whether you call Him Elohim, Yahweh, Yawhoo,  Jehovah, Lord,
Father, or even Jesus, Yehowshuwa, Yahshua,  Yeshua, Joshua, etc.)
IS CONCERNED  WITH SPIRITUAL MEANINGS  AND PRINCIPLES. So the only
way that you and I can truly  approach God in the "name" of Jesus,
is to study and  assimilate in our hearts the "identity" (i.e.
SYMBOLICALLY the name) of  Jesus, and then God will truly "see" us
"IN CHRIST".