Tag Archives: jesus

THE NAME OF GOD

Teaching, , , ,

 

What is meant by the phrase “The Name of God?” Exodus 20:7 says: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain.”

The Name of God means at least these three things:

(1) His Authority: to act in someone’s name is to act in his authority, as in Esther 8:8, where the king gave Esther and Mordecai permission to write in his name, that is, with his authority.

(2) His Character: One’s “name” also represents his character, as in the saying: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,” Proverbs 22:1.

(3) His Identity: One’s name is used as a surname or distinguishing name in general, his parentage, who he is, as in Exodus 3:14-15.

(1) NAME OF GOD AS AUTHORITY

The Authority of God is infinite: He has all power in heaven and earth; He is omnipotent.

He is the Creator: Elohim, Genesis chapters 1 and 2.

He is the Lord of Hosts, Isaiah 47:4: “Our Redeemer – the Lord of Hosts is His Name.” These Hosts, Sabaoth, includes all military powers, human as well as angelic; also the heavenly hosts of the sun, moon and stars; and the hosts of all created things such as frogs, flies and locusts, Psalm 104:30-34. The word Sabaoth is also used in the New Testament, Romans 9:29, quoting Isaiah 13:19 and in James 5:4.

Jesus delegated the authority to act in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20. To act in God’s Name is to act in the power of His authority.

(2) NAME OF GOD AS CHARACTER

The Name of God represents His character. What is His character?

God is Holy: Leviticus 19:2: “Say to the congregation of the people of Israel, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

I Peter 1:14-16: “As obedient children do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, (15) but as He Who has called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct, (16) since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I Am holy.’”

To act in God’s Name, we must act in His holiness. Holiness is purity. No impure motives nor actions can be done in the Name of our Holy God.

God is Unity: Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear O Israel the Lord our God is One Lord.” He calls us to unity of body, soul and spirit in Jesus.  To act in the Name of God, we must be whole-hearted, not divided within ourselves, not double-minded.

Mark 12:29-30: “Jesus answered, ‘The first [commandment] is “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”

(3) NAME OF GOD AS IDENTITY

God identified Himself by the name Jahweh, transliterated in English as Jehovah  “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” Exodus 3:15. He also identified Himself by many compound names:

Jehovah-Jireh, “The Lord will provide,” Genesis 22:14.

Jehovah-Raphaka, “The Lord that healeth thee,” Exodus 15:26.

Jehovah-Nissi, “The Lord our banner,” Exodus 17: 14-15; that is: the center and power of our cause.

Jehovah-Shalom, “The Lord is our Peace,” Judges 6:24.

Jehovah-Roi, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” Psalm 23.

Jehovah-Tsidkenu, “The Lord, our Righteousness,” Jeremiah 23:6.

Jehovah-Shammah, “Jehovah is present,” Ezekiel 48:35.

Jehovah-Sabaoth, “The Lord of Hosts,” Isaiah 1:9 and many other references.

New Testament Names:

Our Lord Jesus Christ has in His very person all of the attributes of these names, and is the manifestation in the flesh of all of the names of God in the Old Testament. Some New Testament mentions of His Name:

Jesus, Matthew 1:21: Messiah, Savior, Deliverer.

Emmanuel, Matthew 1:23: “God with us,” quoting Isaiah 7:14, 8:8.

Elohim, John 1:1-2: The Creator, Genesis 1 and 2.

Adonai, John 13:13; Rev. 19:16: Lord and Master, sovereign Lord, King of Kings, Deuteronomy 10:17.

El-Shaddai, Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 3:20: All-sufficient One, Genesis 17:1.

El-Elyon, Luke 1:32, 35: Son of the Most High; Psalm 7:17.

El-Olam, Hebrews 13:8: The same yesterday, today and forever:  Genesis 21:35.

The NAME of Jesus: Authority, Character, Identity

“(9) Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him [Christ Jesus] and given Him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father,” Philippians 2:9-11.

The Great “I Am”

Revelation Commentary, , ,

Revelation 1:4-“Him which is and which was and which is to come.”

Parallels:

1:8-“The Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
4:8-“The Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come.”

11:17-“Lord God Almighty, which art and wast and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned,” (KJV)

16:5-“Thou who art and wast, O Holy One.”

This phrase is Christ’s identification of Himself as “The Great I Am” of Exodus 3:13-15.[1]

The Divine Name

The divine Name is a verb of existence: Yahweh – “I am He who creates,” or “I am that I am,” or “Being, I cause to be.”[2]

The name YAHWEH is called ‘the quadriliteral Name’ for in Hebrew it contains four letters and was considered by the Rabbis as being too holy to pronounce. Another Hebrew word which was used to represent this most holy Name was ‘oth.[3] [More on this later.]

In the RSV passages in 11:17 and 16:5 the future tense is conspicuously absent; there is no “is to come.” This more accurately reflects the Greek text than does the KJV. Perhaps this indicates that in the events seen in these visions He has already come. In 11:17 He has begun to reign; in 16:5 He has begun to judge.

“Jesus”

The Hebrew word standing behind this phrase might also be the word yesh. As a noun it means “being, existence, that which is present, ready.” It is most commonly used as a verb substantive, without distinction of number or tense, ‘”is, was, will be.” With a predicate, yesh gives an emphatic force, (BDB). If the subject of the verb form, however, is a pronoun, it is expressed by a suffix as if it were a noun form instead of a verb form. The form that would produce the translation “I Am” would then be almost or entirely the equivalent of “Jesus.”

The force of the name Yahweh is that of infinity brought into the present moment. The eternally existent God, eternity past and eternity future, is brought into the present finite moment.[4] Davies, in his book Rabbinic Judaism says:

“The community of Israel is a unity of past, present and future…. The Israelites to whom Amos spoke had come up from Egypt (3.2); this can be said because every Israelite shared in this experience….  Another excellent example of this method of thought occurs in the book of Joshua. {Note 2: “Joshua 24. See also Deut.26.5f.”} …. it follows that the experience of Christ can be re-enacted in the [individual Christian]: the Christian man can die and rise with his Lord (108-9).

Notes:

[1] Summers says: “Grace and peace are here pronounced as coming from ‘the one who is and the one who was and the one who is coming.’ This was a typical Jewish conception of God. It is a good reproduction of the Hebrew word for Jehovah– ‘the eternally existing one'” (Worthy Is the Lamb, p. 101). [Jehovah is the English equivalent of the Hebrew Yahweh.]

[2] See also John Bright, A History of Israel, Second Edition, (Philadelphia, The Westminster Press. 1972), p. 151-2.
In this and in the identification as “Aleph and Tau”, Christ is identifying with the Name Elohim, God in the plural, which Bright sees to be a name constituting a claim that He is the totality (plurality) of the manifestation of the deity, (p. 153). That is, not plural gods, but a plurality of manifestations of the One God.

[3] See M. Jastrow, Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature. (Brooklyn: Shalom. 1967 reprint).

[4] See also my Commentary on 1:8, “Alpha and Omega” and 1:17, “First and Last”.

2. ‘Revelation’ – Meaning In Context

Revelation Commentary, , , ,

Dear Friends,

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be blind? Have you ever tried to find your way in the dark even in your most familiar surroundings? If so, you know that you can become utterly confused. Without light, we cannot orient ourselves in time or space.

The first born of God’s creation was Light. God is Light, I John 1.5: “This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”

Jesus was the First-born of creation, so He is Light, born of God. Jesus described Himself as Light: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I AM the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the Light of Life,” John 8.12.

And Jesus has bequeathed Himself to us as Light: “Ye are the Light of the world. A city set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven,” Matthew 5.14-16.

Just as by natural light our eyes can see, so God’s Word is the Light for our soul and spirit: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” Psalm 119.105.  It reveals the Truth that guides us spiritually to avoid the pitfalls of darkness: “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light,” Ephesians 5:13-14.

Trying to go through life without the Light of God is like driving down the interstate at night without headlights.

This lesson is about the meaning of ‘Revelation’ as Perfection of Light, which is Jesus.

What did the word ‘Revelation’ mean to the Jewish world of 68 AD?

Urim ve Thummim

(Follow the Scriptures on this one and you will be blessed. Don’t give up here.) For one thing, it meant the precious gift that was only given to the High Priests in the Old Testament, called in Hebrew Urim ve Thummim, literally translated “Perfection of Light.” (Usually left untranslated in the KJV.) This special gift to the High Priest gave them spiritual insight that was required for the guidance of the nation, Israel.

Historically, this gift had not returned to their High Priests after the Babylonian captivity, more than 400 years earlier. By 68 AD they were desperately longing for this gift of the Holy Spirit. Revelation 1.1 tells us that God gave this gift to Jesus Christ, thereby proving His divine anointing as the Great Eternal High Priest, chosen of God: “The revelation, [Urim ve Thummim], of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him.”

Biblical Context For ‘Urim ve Thummim’

Remember, this study is about keeping the Scriptures found in the Book of Revelation “In Context.” For the Biblical context of the Urim ve Thummim read and meditate the following Scriptures:

So “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” means “The perfection of light.” The light which God spoke in Genesis 1:3 has come to its full perfection in Jesus Christ in Revelation 1.1.

For further discussion and referents for this subject see my book Revelation in Context, pages 56-61. Revelation in Context is available locally at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma or www.Amazon.com, or www.XulonPress.com.
Free downloads are also available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.
Next Lesson: The Greek meaning of the word Revelation.

Are There Few That Be Saved?

Teaching, ,

Luke 13:23-24: “Then said one unto Him, ‘Lord, are there few that be saved?’ And He said unto them, ‘Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”

John 10:9-10: “[Jesus said unto them] ‘I AM the door: by Me if any man enter in, He shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I AM come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Enter in by this prayer of consecration: Song:

I Surrender All

“All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.

[Chorus]
I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee my Blessed Savior, I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasure all forsaken, Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender, make me Savior wholly Thine,
Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord I give myself to Thee,
Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on Me.

All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame,
O the joy of Thy salvation, Glory, glory to His name.”

-Words by J.W.Van De Venter