"What's in a name?"
A name is the handle by which we mentally pick up a person or an object. It is the primary means by which we identify that which we are examining. It may aptly, and sometimes accurately, describe. This will be true when the name is given by others after careful examination. On the other hand, if the name is given without due regard for the character or characteristics of the one named, as for instance the name given by the parents of a newborn baby, perhaps even before birth, the name may prove a totally unfitting title. It may thus serve as identification only, and prove not at all descriptive of the individual. But it is a handle just the same.
Sometimes a name is the title placed on someone by those who come to know him best. Even a so-called nickname may thus prove more appropriate than the person's birth-name. It is often easier to remember one's assigned name, for it reflects so accurately the identifying looks, manners, and conduct of the one thus named, rather than his true title.
Sometimes an individual, not liking the name given him by birth, takes the necessary action to re-name himself. On the one hand, this may be done to conceal one's true identity, and thus may be a form of falsehood. On the other hand, the new self-assigned name may reflect the individual's desire to remake his own character and thus try to reconstitute his true identity, either for better or for worse.
A name, properly chosen, and eminently appropriate to the individual,stands for all that the person is, both inherently within and observable without. It thus approaches to a true representation of the total individual.
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The ultimate goal of all human life is to know God. It is the essence of Eternal Life. And to know God is first of all to identify Him. To identify Him is to ascertain His name.
How do we identify God? What name shall He bear for us? The very word "god" speaks of a being beyond our total comprehension. A dictionary definition of the word speaks of one "having more than human attributes and powers." What really does that mean? It merely postpones the acknowledgment of our ignorance. Then we capitalize the word, say "God," and try to think that identifies the One Whom we believe to be worthy of our worship, our adoration, and our self-commitment both for this life and for whatever hereafter we think awaits us. We thus proclaim ourselves as either stupid or sloppy in thought; or worse, blind fools for committing our very selves and our destiny to something or someone we know not what.
A true and adequate name of the Deity is not that which we human beings assign to Him. Any name we ourselves give Him will be inadequate, for the reason that our knowledge of Him is, and must be, incomplete. We cannot know Him except and unless He reveals Himself to us. So the correct name, or names, of the Deity must be a self-revelation of Himself.
It is the long-held conviction and belief that the Bible constitutes in written form God's revelation, including first of all a revelation of Himself. Many therefore ascribe to the Bible the title, "The Word of God"; (although this writer believes that the title, "The Word of God," should properly be reserved for and assigned to Jesus. But that is another issue, which we shall not pursue here.) Rather, we must declare that the Bible, being God's written revelation and written self-revelation, and since God Himself cannot lie, constitutes the one true, correct, and complete statement of the name, or names, and therefore the character, of Deity Himself.
But in searching the Scriptures for the Name, or Names, of the Deity, we must exercise care. As previously stated, a true name of God is not that which we, human beings, assign to Him. Thus, for example, the name given by Hagar to God, "El Roi," ("God of Seeing,") on the face of it does not meet the criterion of a name to be included in our study. We shall try to be very selective. We must confine ourselves to only those names which the Deity Himself claims for Himself. And since any self-study will be inadequate, wherein we err we shall try to be not inclusive enough rather than too inclusive.
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We shall therefore consider, first of all, the names of the Deity which appear to be most significant. Next, we shall analyze certain names of Jesus. Then we shall consider how the writers of the New Testament, being Jews, and therefore "thinking in Hebrew," may have intended that their words, although written in Greek, should be reinterpreted as fulfilling Old Testament meanings.
It is believed by this writer that this essay, offering as it will some surprises, may offer us a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Names of the God we worship, and thus draw us into greater knowledge of Him and therefore a closer relationship with Him.
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PART ONE: SOME NAMES OF GOD * SECTION A: Elohim, the Omnipotent One. When we turn to the Bible, and in particular to the Book of Genesis, the beginning of the Bible, we find that the word "God" is the translation of an Hebrew word transliterated as "ELOHIM." Scholars tell us that the root syllable, "el," signifies "power" or "might." (Note: we are not saying "strength.") We are also informed that this syllable is found in many ancient, primitive religions and cultures.
"El" is used in the Hebrew of the Old Testament as an identification of Deity, usually in a compound form, as for example in the word "Bethel" meaning "house of God"; and "El-elyon" meaning "God most high." But the word is often expanded to a word transliterated as "Eloah." This is a singular form for a word seeming to mean "Mighty One." It occurs some fifty-seven times in the Old Testament, mostly in the book of Job. The plural form, however, occurring more than three thousand times, drops the "a" and adds the masculine plural ending "-im." We thus have the word transliterated "Elohim," referred to in the preceding paragraph.
"Mighty one" ("eloah") is descriptive rather than identifying. Thus it partakes of the quality of an adjective rather than a noun. Adjectives, being descriptive, can be qualified as to degree. Nouns, used for identification, do not possess this quality. We have thus adjectival "comparative" and "superlative" forms: i.e., "big, bigger, biggest"; "small, smaller, smallest," etc.
Unlike our English language which has only singular and plural (which plural means "two or more"), Hebrew has singular, dual (meaning two), and plural (meaning three or more.) Perhaps then, "Elohim," being plural in form and adjectival in quality, really signifies the superlative form: "Mightiest One," or we might translate it as "Omnipotent One." It is thus not so much a name but rather a descriptive title of The Deity.
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But although "Elohim" thus appears to be a descriptive title rather than a true name, The Deity does seem to use it as a form of identity of Himself. In verse 26 of the first chapter of Genesis, The Deity is described as determining to create Man, saying, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." So, in verse 27, we read that, "God ('Elohim') created man in His own image, in the image of Elohim created He him, male and female created He them." Thus the Deity objectifies Himself as "Elohim," the Omnipotent One.
This, then, is the first self-delineation of Himself by the Deity: "Elohim," the Omnipotent One. Therefore, we should not mis-translate the great word "Elohim" by the totally inadequate word "God." Rather, this writer believes, we should translate it as "the Omnipotent One."
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PART ONE: SOME NAMES OF GOD
SECTION B: Yahweh, the Living One.
When we come to the Second Chapter of Genesis, we find another word used to identify the Deity. This word is referred to as "The Tetragramaton," meaning "four letters," since the Hebrew word has four consonant-letters. Scholars today transliterate it as "Yahweh."
In the Ten Commandments it is written, "Thou shalt not take The Name of Yahweh thy God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who taketh His Name in vain."
In order to avoid violating this commandment, even inadvertently, the Jewish people have refrained from uttering the Tetragrammaton, but rather substituting the Hebrew word meaning "Lord." In deference to this tradition, the King James version of the Bible translates the word as "LORD," using all capital letters. Many modern translations also translate the word as Lord, but not making all letters capitals, and the American Standard Version uses an old-fashioned spelling: "Jehovah."
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What is the meaning of Yahweh? There are several explanations, some going back even to Old Testament times. Perhaps the best explanation is to relate the word to a form of the Hebrew word meaning "to be." It will be remembered that when Moses, at the burning bush, being instructed by God to return to Egypt to deliver his people from that land, asked for the name of the One sending him, the answer of God was "I am that I am," and that he was to tell the Israelites that "'I am' hath sent me unto you." The Hebrew word meaning "I am" is, transliterated, "ehyeh," which is the first person singular form of the verb. "Yahweh" thus appears to be the third person singular form, meaning: "He is."
Someone has said that only God the Father and Jesus His Son are true persons: all of us human beings are only "candidates for personhood." In the Fourth Gospel we have the significant statement: "For as the Father hath life in Himself, even so gave He to the Son also to have life in Himself." Thus God the Father and Jesus His Son have the exclusive right to the self-identification "I am."
It is, it seems to this writer, significant that whereas in Genesis 1:1-2:3 the Deity is described under the name "Elohim," starting in Genesis 2:4 and continuing to the end of Chapter Three, the Deity has a double name: Yahweh Elohim, "The Living Omnipotent One."
God thus seems to be enlarging the self-revelation of His Name and therefore the self-revelation of Himself.
And, as an extension of both His essence and also of His power, He proved Himself capable of bestowing "life" upon the inert dust-body of Man, by breathing "into his nostrils the breath of life," so that Man "became a living soul." Later on, Yahweh Elohim, The Living Omnipotent One also produced Woman, another living soul.
So the Second Chapter of Genesis was a demonstration that Yahweh Elohim not only possessed Life in Himself, but was fully capable of bestowing life on others.
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With the end of the Third Chapter of Genesis, there is a further change in names of the Deity. As we know, the Third Chapter describes the sin of Adam and Eve, and the consequences of that sin.
As a final written consequence, we find Adam and Eve, now corrupted by the virus of sin, consigned to a life of labour, hardship, and pain, and although skin-clothed by the mercy of God, driven out of Eden's Garden, eventually to undergo death.
The reason given for this expulsion was to prevent them from partaking of the "tree of life, which is in the midst of the garden." So "life," which as we have seen is of the essence of Yahweh, the Living One, is thus removed from Man. And this seems to be signified by the fact that the dual name, "Yahweh Elohim," no longer appears in the entire book of Genesis.
The Deity, who had been gradually teaching, demonstrating, and manifesting Himself by various names, can no longer do so because of man's sin. We, children of Adam, now corrupted by the virus of sin with which we all have been infected by inheritance from Adam, can no longer know God in His fulness. We can think of God as The Omnipotent One; or we can conceive of Him as The Living One, but have now been rendered incapable of knowing Him in His fulness as Yahweh Elohim, the Living Omnipotent One.
Witness, for example, that we can manage to conceive of the Deity as the All-Powerful one, the Righteous One. OR, we can somehow think of Him as being the Living One, Who bestows life, the God of Love. But it is so difficult to think of God as being a God of perfect righteousness and justice and at the same time as a God of infinite love for His creatures. Elohim and Yahweh seem beyond our full comprehension. We may put them together in abstract terms, but our sin blinds our minds to their total combined significance.
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PART ONE: SOME NAMES OF GOD
SECTION C: El Shaddai, the All-sufficient One
The Deity had yet another name by which to reveal Himself. He waited for two thousand years. Finally, to Abraham, he revealed Himself as "El Shaddai," "God the all-Sufficient One."
Let us examine the setting for this new Revelation.
At seventy-five years of age, a time of life when most of us today are either retired, considering retirement, or at least trying to slow down our hectic and frantic race through life, Abraham was making the tension-fraught journey to an unknown new land. He believed that God had directed him to make this trip, a belief which was confirmed when the Deity, in the person of Yahweh, appeared to him to promise the land as an inheritance for his descendants.
But when Abraham had travelled through the land, God began to test him: He sent a famine. Not asking God, Abraham went down to Egypt and got into trouble, and Yahweh had to take steps to extricate him. A lesson for the patriarch! Then after separating from his nephew Lot, and rescuing him from his capture, Abraham, who now lived in Mamre, just outside Hebron, challenged Yahweh, his "shield and .... great reward," about his lack of a child and heir. When shown the stars of heaven as an indication of the number of Abraham's eventual offspring, it is written that Abraham "believed in Yahweh, and He reckoned it to him for righteousness."
Note carefully the preposition "in." It is not so much that Abraham believed what God said. Rather it was that Abraham believed, trusted, the reliability and truthfulness of the Deity Himself, despite the preposterousness of what he was told. Because he had come to trust in the Deity, Abraham could rely on the unsupported, and to merely human ears, seemingly impossible-of-fulfillment promise of that Deity. It was this belief in Himself that caused the Deity to declare Abraham righteous.
Whereupon, as though to encourage the blind faith of the patriarch, Yahweh Himself established the Abrahamic Covenant.
Now all this took place before Abraham reached the age of eighty-six. After this Abraham, encouraged by his wife Sarah (then known as Sarai), and undoubtedly reasoning that a child by another woman would still fulfill the Divine promise about the multitude of his offspring, "went in to Hagar," and in due course Ishmael was born. But this was not the Divine plan, nor was it in accordance with the Divine promise.
Thirteen more years went by, and Abraham was now ninety-nine years old. And Sarah, his wife, was by now eighty-nine years old. And it was evident that Sarah had a barren womb. Also, it had become evident to Abraham that his own body was now too aged to sire another son. Yet still he believed in God.
It was at this point, after the evidence of twenty-four years of guidance, that Yahweh again appeared to Abraham, and He said to him, "I (am) El Shaddai." (In the original Hebrew language, there is no verb: it is not "I am El Shaddai." {not: "Yahweh El Shaddai."}. It is simply "I El Shaddai").
"I (am) (the) Omnipotent All-Sufficient One! As I have been demonstrating to you in various ways for all these past twenty-four years, I Myself am fully capable of being all that you will ever need!"
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At this point, it will be helpful to consider the etymology of the word "Shaddai." There appear to be two "schools of interpretation" here. But this writer believes that they may be seen to coalesce into a single ultimate meaning, of practical value for us.
"Shaddai," some say, has its root in the syllable "shad," which is a word meaning "breast." Just as a woman's lactating breast supplies all the nourishment her newborn infant needs, both right after delivery and continuing until the child is weaned, so the Deity, as "Shaddai," is Himself all-sufficient for all of His people's needs.
But there is another interpretation, which relates "Shaddai" to a root meaning "strength." But it should be noted here that "strength" is not the same as "power" or "might." Otherwise "elohim" would have a meaning the same as "shaddai," rendering the latter word redundant and superfluous. What is the difference? May we suggest that it can be illustrated by the difference between "potential" energy and "kinetic" energy.
When a large, high dam is constructed across the canyon of a river, an hugh lake builds up behind the dam. The waters of the lake press against the inner face of the dam, and the amount of pressure is measured by the depth of the water just inside the dam. This is known as "potential energy," waiting to be released.
But when a flume is constructed to draw water from the lake through a generating station built at the base of the dam, the force of the water racing through the flume, into the generating station, and turning the rotors of the giant electric generators, measures the "kinetic energy" of the water so used.
If we may say so (purely by way of analogy), the "power" and "might" of Elohim marks His "potential energy"; the "strength" of Shaddai is a measure of the "kinetic energy" He exerts to supply all our needs.
When a group of some seventy Jewish scholars, about two hundred years before Christ, undertook to translate the Old Testament from its Hebrew original text into the Greek language of the day, they chose the Greek word transliterated "pantokrator," to translate the Hebrew word "Shaddai." Later on, when the Bible was translated into English, "pantokrator" was translated as "Almighty."
But, since the "strength" of the Deity is being used to supply our needs, the writer still tends to think of Shaddai, in all His strength, as using whatever is needed to supply our needs. He is thus for us the All-sufficient One.
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There are other names of God used in the Bible. We have previously spoken of El Roi, used by Hagar when she fled from Sarah and Abraham, and the angel of God sent her back again.
Then again, when Abraham returned from destroying the enemies who had captured Lot, he met with Melchizedek, who was referred to as "King of Salem," (i.e., King of Peace); and Melchizedek, which meas "King of Righteousness," and was described as "Priest of God Most High" (translation of the Divine name "El Elyon."
But these names seem to refer to the Deity as identified by human beings. For example, El Elyon would seem to refer to the Deity as being greater (higher) than any of the heathen gods around. They seem to be not names used by God of Himself. Therefore, we discard them from our consideration, as well as other like examples. We seek to confine ourselves to those names which the Deity used about Himself. Of these, we seem to have as the prime examples, Elohim, Yahweh, and Shaddai.
A concordance search seems to indicate that these three names, however, are never placed all together anywhere in the Old Testament. Sinful man cannot fathom, or comprehend, the full significance of a God who can use all three names of Himself together.
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PART TWO : SOME NAMES (TITLES) ASCRIBED TO JESUS
SECTION A: "Amnos," The Yearling Sheep of God
As we know, in the Bible we find many names and titles assigned to Jesus. He is, and has been from the time of creation, The Word of God. Then He is the Son of God. He is Saviour ; He is Lord; He is Christ (Messiah, the Anointed One); to the disciples He was Teacher (Master); to others of His day on earth He was Rabbi; we could go on and on.
For our purposes, and for reasons which will become evident as we proceed, we shall consider three such names, or rather titles.
First of all, then, let us consider the designation given Him by John the Baptist, His divinely-appointed herald and predecessor. According to the Fourth Gospel, at the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus, John saw Him and cried out: "Look! The Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!"
But, according to the text of the original Greek language, that is not exactly what John said. What he did say was: "Behold the 'amnos' (a transliteration of the Greek word) of God." 'Amnos' does not mean a little baby lamb: rather, it means a yearling, a year-old sheep.
This takes us in thought back to the days of Moses, when God was preparing to deliver the Israelites from their slavery to the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. In the twelfth chapter of Exodus, we are told that each Jewish household was to select a lamb, which was to be "without blemish, a male a year old: ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats."
This year-old lamb, selected and set apart from the flock, was to be kept until the evening of the fourth day hence, when it was to be killed, its blood sprinkled on the outside of the front door of the house, and the flesh to be roasted and eaten by the family.
It is to be noted that Jesus, so designated by John the Baptist, had His public ministry last about three and one half years, after which He was slain on the cross. He thus became the anti-type of which the ancient passover lamb was the type.
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PART TWO: SOME NAMES (TITLES) ASCRIBED TO JESUS
SECTION B: "Arnion," the Little Lamb
In contrast to "Amnos," the Yearling Sheep of God, the Apostle John, the presumed writer of The Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, spoke of Jesus as 'arnion' (a transliteration of the Greek word meaning "little lamb.")
This 'arnion,' first mentioned in the Fifth Chapter of the Revelation, is described as "standing, as though it had been slain." This seems to be a clear reference to both the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus. A slain creature, whether animal or human, cannot stand: it must fall over. Yet this "little lamb," bearing the evident marks of slaughter, is "standing." The paradoxical description thus aptly describes the post-resurrection and post-ascension status of Jesus.
Furthermore, in all the references to the Lamb in the Revelation, it is always 'arnion,' (the little Lamb) and never 'amnos,' the yearling sheep. It seems as though the author of The Revelation would seem to be stressing (a) the lowly status of the 'Arnion' in the heavenly heirarchy; (b) if a gentle little Lamb can become angry, how great must be that anger and its cause ; and (c) the tremendous authority vested in the once-slain-but-resurrected Little Lamb.
This "lowly status" and "tremendous authority" need further development. This, however, will be analyzed in connection with the third Title of Jesus to be considered.
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PART TWO: SOME NAMES (TITLES) ASCRIBED TO JESUS
SECTION C: The Son of Man.
During His public ministry on earth, the term "The Son of Man" seems to have been the favorite term used by Jesus of Himself. Only twice during His earthly career did Jesus use another term for Himself, and then it was simply to accommodate Himself to the use of titles used of Him by others.
Furthermore, it is a title not used by the disciples. Only Stephen, the first Christian martyr, as he lay dying from the stones thrown at him, mentioned seeing "The Son of Man" standing in heaven at the right hand of God.
In fact, "The Son of Man" is probably one of the most important titles applied to Jesus. It means much more than to say that by His incarnation Jesus became human as well as divine. It did not begin with Jesus. It seems to have been laid out as an ideal, which Jesus throughout His entire earthly career was striving (with, of course, complete success) to fulfill. Adam of old, by his sin, had failed in that role for which he had been created. The successful claiming of that title by Jesus has in fact implications for all humankind. And for the future, the title will yet reach conclusions extending to the Second Coming and beyond.
The title, "The Son of Man," is several times mentioned in the Old Testament. A very significant reference is found in the Eighth Psalm. Here the Psalmist, meditating upon the vastness of the Creator's work in the glories of the night sky, wrote to extol his Lord as follows:
"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, (Note: not "hands," but "fingers,") The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And THE SON OF MAN, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him but little lower than the angels, and crownest him with glory and honor. Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet."
Now one might interpret this Psalm as merely the praise of God and also the honoring of mankind as having been made "in the image of" Elohim. But the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews quoted the aforementioned Psalm passage, at the same time applying it to Jesus. He referred the statement, "lower than the angels" to Jesus, referring to His "suffering and death" on the Cross; then he spoke of Jesus being "crowned with glory and honor" (by His Resurrection and Ascension.) Also, the author of Hebrews declared that "not yet" have "all things" been "subject to Him." (That is probably reserved for the events connected with the Second Coming.)
In the light of this Psalm and the interpretation thereof as given in the book of Hebrews, we must conclude that from of old the title, "The Son of Man," was ordained of the Deity to be an exceedingly important title for Jesus: in fact, perhaps the most important title He could claim for Himself in His incarnation. It was perhaps greater even than "Messiah" ("Christ,") as He Himself seemed to allege when questioned by the High Priest.
Yet at the same time, it was a term of self-effacement, as Paul brought out in his letter to the Philippians, calling it a form of self-emptying of His prerogatives of Deity, instead taking on the garments of slavery by becoming Man. And even that was not enough, for Jesus further humbled Himself by becoming subject to death on a criminal's cross.
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This now raises another question. What did Jesus do with His humanity when He returned to heaven via the Ascension? Did He abandon it as a worn-out garment? After all, he had left behind his death-shroud and headpiece when He rose from the grave.
No, the answer is that He took His humanity back to heaven with Him. Something new was introduced into heaven. Man was now in heaven!
We can establish this from at least two Scriptures. (1) Stephen, the first Christian martyr, as he was about to be stoned, declared he had a vision of Jesus at the right hand of God, saying, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and THE SON OF MAN standing on the right hand of God."
Then at a later date the Apostle Paul wrote, "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself MAN, Christ Jesus."
Therefore we may confidently conclude from these two Scriptures that Jesus is now in heaven as MAN, even The Son of Man.
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But, and here is an interesting anomaly, according to the Eighth Psalm, previously cited in the Epistle to the Hebrews, in the heavenly hierarchy MAN ranks lower than the angels. So, just as Jesus on earth had advised the Pharisees to take the lowest seat at a wedding-feast, now He Himself as Man was prepared to take the lowest seat in heaven. Can we imagine the scene? Jesus, standing at the gate of heaven, looking around for Man's lowest seat, while His Father came rushing up to him, saying, "Come up here and sit next to Me." It is written that "God also hath highly exalted Him."
Although His official rank, as The Son of Man, was lower than any of the angels, He was taken to sit at the highest place: by the Divine Throne. QUESTION: Is this why in The Revelation Jesus is always referred to as 'arnion,' the LITTLE Lamb? His humility was and always is an essential part of His divine character.
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PART THREE: THE REVELATION AND THE DIVINE NAME(S)
We have heretofore listed and studied three divine names: (1) Elohim, the Omnipotent One; (2) Yahweh, the Living One, and (3) Shaddai, the All-sufficient One.
We also observed that no-where in the entire Old Testament, do we find all three names placed together.
Let us now consider the last book of the Bible, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," as it identifies itself in the opening verse. How does it identify The Deity?
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In the Fourth and Fifth Chapters of The Revelation we find John's description of what appears to be the throne-room of heaven. Seated on a throne was a Being Whom John could only describe as being as dazzlingly brilliant as a red-and-white jewel; while the entire throne was surrounded by an emerald-green halo.
We shall not speak here of the pool of glass before the throne, nor of the twenty-four "senior citizens" seated on lesser thrones, nor of the flashes of lightning and peals of thunder emanating from the throne. Instead, let us fix our attention upon the "four living creatures" surrounding the throne.
Diverse one from another, each "living creature" was "full of eyes," each had SIX WINGS, and each was continually crying out "Holy, holy, holy," concerning the Divine Throne-Occupant.
Upon reading this description in The Revelation, one is reminded of the heavenly vision of Isaiah the prophet, written about eight centuries before the incarnation of Jesus. He saw the One he called "The Lord" on a throne, and the seraphim above him. What is of significance is that each seraph had SIX WINGS, and each was calling out, one seraph to another, "Holy, holy, holy."
QUESTION: Were the seraphim of Isaiah's vision the same as the "living creatures" of John's vision? Each had SIX WINGS; each was crying, "Holy."
Now let us consider the respective designee of each: the seraphim and the living creatures. Isaiah reported that the seraphim cried, "Holy, holy, holy, Yahweh of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory." The living creatures, on the other hand, said, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord, (the) God the Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is coming."
Isaiah, a prophet of the Old Testament, could know the Deity by only one name at a time. In his case, it was "Yahweh" (of hosts.) But, because (in the continuing Fifth Chapter of Revelation) the Little Lamb was in the midst and worthy of praise, (that is, the Cross and Resurrection were now past), the triune God could now begin to be manifested in His fulness, "Lord God Almighty, past, present, and future."
John, the writer of The Revelation, used the three-fold expression, "Lord God Almighty," six times in the Apocalypse: In his introduction, (1:8); in the aforementioned scene in heaven, (4:8); in the worship of the twenty-four elders after the sounding of the seventh trumpet (11:17); the song of Moses and the Little Lamb, sung by those who have conquered over the evil beast (15:3); the cry of the altar praising God for His righteous judgments in retribution for the death of His martyrs (16:7); and finally when the three-fold named God and the Little Lamb are seen to constitute the temple of the Holy City (21:22.)
Now John, as far as we know, wrote The Revelation in the Greek language of his day. The transliterated Greek of "Lord God Almighty" is "kurios theos pantokrator." But John was a Jew. Being a Jew, he probably "thought in Hebrew," although he wrote in Greek. So let us translate back into Hebrew the expression "Lord God Almighty." What do we have: (1) Kurios, Lord, was the substitute word for the forbidden-to-pronounce "Yahweh"; (2) Theos, God, had its Hebrew counterpart in "Elohim"; and (3) Pantokrator, the Greek word translated "Almighty" was the word chosen in the Septuagint to translate "Shaddai."
So, finally, at the end of the Bible, the final revelation of the Deity, His full name, the revelation of Himself and by Himself, we have the three names of Himself at last merged into one great name, "Yahweh Elohim Shaddai!" The "Living Omnipotent All-Sufficient One" is the real meaning of "Lord God Almighty."
And that isn't all! Let us look at the setting for the final use of this term. The Deity, seen seated in splendor, honor, and praise (in Chapter Four), and having put away, punished, and destroyed sin and all evildoers, and having passed final judgment (from the Great White Throne); having cast in the lake of blazing sulphur the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the Devil who inspired them, yes and even Death and the abode of the dead (Hades) themselves having found their place in the fiery sea; the heavens having been rolled up like a scroll, and the present earth having burned up; the new heavens and new earth having appeared as an abode of righteousness; the bride of the Little Lamb in the form of an Holy City having descended to the new earth, we find that the Triune Deity with the Triune Name has come to make His abode with men as their living temple!
And, lest sinful-but-redeemed and transformed human beings, previously forbidden to see the face of the Deity, but now at last permitted to see His face, the Little Lamb will be present, to comfort, mediate, and reassure them.
What a climax!
What a revelation of the great triune Name of the Deity!
What a destiny for us all!
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But the story is not yet complete. There is more to come. There is more to be said about the exaltation of the Little Lamb, The Son of Man .
* * * * *
PART FOUR: EXALTATION OF THE NAME OF JESUS
The Apostle Paul has told us that "God" (the Father) "has highly exalted Him" (Jesus), and has "given Him THE NAME that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus" (note the preposition "of": it is not "the name: Jesus," but rather "the name OF Jesus) " every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that 'Jesus Christ is LORD,' to the glory of God the Father."
What did Paul really mean by this statement? What did he mean by the expression, "of Jesus"?
Let us picture in our imagination this event: Jesus, after His death and resurrection, on the fortieth day ascended to heaven, taking His humanity with Him. This was a new event: the presence of Man in the holy abode. And as the Eighth Psalm taught us, Jesus, now as Man, was prepared to accept the lowliest seat in the Divine Court.
But as Jesus stood for a moment at the Celestial Gate, looking around for His new place, God the Father rushed up to Him, welcoming Him home and saying, "Come up hither and sit right by my side."
The Apostle Paul was a Jew. He was a Pharisee, trained in the Scriptures. Like John, who wrote The Revelation, Paul undoubtedly "thought in Hebrew," although he wrote in Greek.
So let us now try to re-translate the passage in the Second Chapter of Philippians, using Hebrew names where possible:
"Wherefore ELOHIM also hath highly exalted Him (Jesus), and gave Him THE NAME which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that 'YAHWEH SAVIOUR ANOINTED,' to the glory of ELOHIM the Father."
(By way of explanation: (1) In the original Greek language, what is written is not "Jesus Christ is Lord," but rather it is "LORD Jesus Christ"; (2) LORD is the Jewish substitute for "Yahweh"; (3) "Jesus" means "Saviour" ; and (4) Christ = Messiah = Anointed One.)
As we saw in our early study of the name "Yahweh," the name means "He is," the Living One. And we remember that Jesus said, "As the Father hath life in Himself, even so gave He to the Son also to have life in Himself." And this seems to involve the giving of life, as Jesus also said, "For as the Father raiseth the dead and givest them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom He will." And Jesus had just accomplished this by "emptying Himself" in taking on the form of slavery of manhood and then by humbling Himself by submitting to the disgrace of the Cross, all to give life to all who would believe. In "reward" for this, God had bestowed on Him the title, or name, of "YAHWEH - He lives - the Living One," Who not only lives Himself but gives life (eternal life) to all who believe on Him."
Wow!
Jesus has had the name 'YAHWEH' bestowed on Him. That is "THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME." And God the Father is the One named 'ELOHIM." If this is what Paul had in mind, this is an amazing revelation of the respective names of two members of the Trinity!
Again, this raises another issue. If Jesus has been given part of the triune name as His own (Yahweh), and if Elohim has special reference to another member of the Trinity, even God the Father, what can we say of Shaddai? Can it possibly have special reference to the Holy Spirit?
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PART FIVE: IS "SHADDAI" THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be sent to them. He (the Holy Spirit) would remain beside them and be in them. He would teach them all things, He will bring conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment, He will guide into all truth, and He will tell of what is to come. He will do all these things for the disciples in His role as their Comforter.
Thus by doing all these things, the Holy Spirit will be demonstrating that He is meeting all the spiritual needs of the disciples. In doing so, is He not establishing Himself as One Who is their all-sufficient One?
Therefore, we are justified in declaring that Shaddai "lives up to His name" by proving that He is indeed the ALL-SUFFICIENT ONE.
*And so the picture is complete. The triune Deity has a three-fold NAME. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have a three-fold name. And each member of the Trinity bears a relationship to each of the respective Names of that Trinity,
The three-fold name of the Triune God is "THE LIVING, OMNIPOTENT, ALL-SUFFICIENT ONE, even YAHWEH ELOHIM SHADDAI.
This then is "THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME."
And furthermore, each of the separate parts of that Name corresponds respectively to each of the several members of the Trinity.
Yahweh is Jesus. Elohim is God the Father. And Shaddai is The Holy Spirit. And combined, they three constitute the combined three-fold Name That is Above Every Name.
*
When this writer visited Israel, more than twenty years ago, He heard several lectures by a Rabbi who, he later learned, was quite famous and was considered to be a fine Bible (Old Testament) scholar, being "Professor of Bible" at the University of the Negev, in Beer Sheva. In his lectures to us, whenever he had occasion to mention to speak of God, the Rabbi would immediately pause and declare, "Blessed be the Name." He was speaking to us Americans, so he said "blessed be the Name." I felt that if he had been speaking to a Jewish congregation, he would have spoken in Hebrew. He would have said, "Baruch ha-shem: Blessed be the Name."
When you consider the Name(s) of the Trinity, do you not feel an urge to cry out, "Baruch ha-shem, Blessed be THE NAME, Baruch Yahweh Elohim, Shaddai"?
*
Once when upon earth, Jesus was praying to God while the disciples were listening to Him. What a privilege it must have been to the disciples to hear just how Jesus prayed with His Father! As they heard the expressions of intimate fellowship, they must have realized how utterly inadequate were their own.
It is written that when Jesus finished praying, the disciples asked "Lord, teach us to pray." They did not ask, "teach us HOW to pray." They felt their own prayers, in comparison with Jesus, were not really prayers at all. They needed to learn, needed instruction, in the most basic expression of true prayer.
What was the answer of Jesus? He simply said, "When you pray, say, "Father, hallowed be Thy NAME." What a strange combination! They were to approach the Deity in all the intimacy of a child coming to his father with a simple in-the-family request. At the same moment, and in the very next words, they were to give reverent expression to the very Name that expressed the total meaning of the One they were coming to worship.
"Hallowed be THY NAME! Kodesh ha-shemka! Father, let be held sacred the very sum-total of all that Thou art! Hallowed be Yahweh Elohim Shaddai: Son, Father, Holy Spirit. Let us hold in reverent awe The Living, Omnipotent, All-Sufficient One! Hallowed be The NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME."
"Father, Hallowed be THY NAME!"
AMEN!
--- Norman L. MacLeod, Jr. July, 2003.
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