Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE LAW OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NAMES IN THE REVELATION.

The book of Revelation, as the name indicates, is a "Revelation of Jesus Christ" in His work of redemption, from the commencement of the controversy between the forces of good and evil until the establishment of the everlasting kingdom. The Revelation bears the message of "the everlasting gospel" (Rev. 14:6) and reveals the same principles which the Lord employed in the writing of the preceding books of the Bible. As in these earlier books of Scripture, the meaning of names employed in the Apocalypse assists considerably in understanding its true teachings.

In chapter 19 we have shown that the Revelation is a message from Christ, "the King of Israel" (John 1:49), to spiritual Israel. Jesus communicated His Revelation through "John to the seven churches." Rev. 1:4. In the Hebrew, John, or Johanan, means "Jehovah hath granted grace" or "shown favour." The name John is found five times in the Revelation: Rev. 1:1, 4, 9; 21:2; 22:8. Throughout Scripture, five is employed as the number representing grace. John, a recipient of grace, whose name meant "Jehovah bath granted grace," closed the Revelation with the words: "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." Rev. 22:21. The Revelation was written for spiritual Israelites (see Rev. 7, etc.). spiritual "Jews" (Rev. 3:9). In Rom. 2:28, 29 Paul makes a play upon the meaning of the word Jew, which is an abbreviation of Judah: "he is a Jew . . . whose praise is not of men. but of God." The giving of the name Judah and the significance of its meaning, "praise," is recorded in Gen. 29:35, margin. See also Gen. 49:8. "Israel" (mentioned 3 times in the Revelation: 2:14; 7: 4; 21:12) means "a prince with God" having "power with God and with men" (Gen. 32:28) an overcomer. The name Jesus, mentioned 14 times in the Revelation, means "Jehovah is salvation," or "Jehovah Saviour." "Christ" means "the Anointed." Thus the meanings of the names Jesus Christ, John, Israel and Jew teach that "the Revelation" is the message from "the Anointed" "Jehovah," Who is "salvation" (see Matt. 1:21) to those who wrestle in prayer and find "grace" and the "praise . . . of God," and thus become "princes with God" (Gen. 32:28).

Moses altered the name "Oshea," meaning "to save—save thou," to "Jehoshua" (Joshua), meaning "Jehovah is salvation." See Num. 13:2, 16; 14:6, etc. Joshua encouraged Israel to possess the land, saying "Jehovah is with us." Num. 14:9. Moses encouraged Joshua to lead Israel into the land with the words: "Jehovah thy God is with thee." Josh. 1:5, 9; 3:10. In the pronunciation of the Alexandrian Jews, the word Jeshua, or Joshua (Neh. 8:17) was altered into Jesus. Hence Jesus is read for Joshua in the Greek of the New Testament and retained in our version in Acts 7:45 and Heb. 4:8, margin. Joshua, by his work and the meaning of his name, is a type of Jesus. Literal Israel was led into the land of promise, not by Moses, whose name means "drawn" (see Ex. 2:10, margin), but by Joshua: spiritual Israel is led into the eternal Canaan by "Jehovah Saviour." "Jerusalem," meaning "foundations of peace,"' is mentioned three times in the Revelation. Rev. 3:12; 21:2, 10. Melchisedec, the king of Salem (or Jerusalem), is definitely stated in the Scriptures to be a type of Jesus. See Ps. 110:4; Heb. 7, etc. In Heb. 7:1, 2 Paul makes a play upon the meanings of the names of Melchisedec and Salem: "For this Melchisedec, king of Salem . . . first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace." Jerusalem, the city of "the Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6), is presented in the Revelation as the seat of the Messiah's spiritual kingdomspiritual Israel, the church—and also the capital of the eternal kingdom. The names written on the gates of this city are "the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel." Rev. 21:12. Like Melchisedec, spiritual Israelites are said to be "kings and priests." Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6. Throughout Scripture, Jerusalem, the city of peace, is presented as the centre of the great controversy between the forces of good and evil—between the principles which are the foundations for everlasting peace and the principles which create strife and "war." Every time the word "war" or "battle" is employed from Rev. 12:7-9 to Rev. 20:8-9, the reference concerns Satan's "war" against the "foundations of peace" or God's "war" or "battle" against Satan's kingdom.

In the vivid description of the commencement of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, given in Rev. 12:7-9, the names "Michael" and "Satan" are employed. "Michael" means "the One like God," and is revealed in Scripture as Jesus our Lord. Compare Jude 9; Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; 1 Thess. 4:16-18. In Rev. 12:7 He is mentioned as being at the head of the angelic hosts. They were created by Him, and are referred to as "His angels." Heavenly beings having "El" as part of their names are designated as belonging to God: Michael, the One like God; Gabriel, God is my strength.

"El," expressed in its English form "God," is the first of the three primary names of Deity. In Matt. 27:46 we are given the meaning of "El": "Jesus cried with loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli .. . that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" "El" signifies "strength, or the strong One." Jesus had placed all His hopes upon "El," "the strong One," and in His dying agonies, when human strength failed, He committed Himself to the almighty strength of His Father's never-failing arm.

All Hebrew names commencing or ending with "El" have meanings linking them with God, as Daniel, God is my Judge; Ezekiel, the strength of God; Elijah, God the Lord; Elimelech, my God is king; Emmanuel, God with us, etc. The name which God will give to each of the redeemed will convey to each person God's knowledge of his character: "A new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." Rev. 2:17. These character names were "written in the book of Life from the foundation of the world." Rev. 17:8. Each must permit God to fit him to obtain the character expressed in the meaning of the "new name." God does not predestinate persons, but He does predestinate character. The privilege of each is to co-operate with God to obtain the character predestinated to measure up to the meaning of the name written in the book of life from the beginning. The redeemed will also hear names which designate them as belonging exclusively to God. "Him that overcometh . . . I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem . . . and I will write upon him My new name." Rev. 3:12.

"Satan" means "Adversary." See Zech. 3:1 , margin. Satan's heavenly name "Lucifer" meant "Day Star." See Isa. 14:12, margin. The word "devil" means "a slanderer": Satan slanders and accuses God's people.  Rev. 12:10-12. The word "dragon suggests his ravenous desire to devour the saints of God. When designated 'as the "serpent," his cunning and his deceptive powers are referred to. See Rev. 12:4, 9; 20:2, etc.

THE MEANINGS OF THE NAMES OF "THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL." Rev. 7:4-8.

God recorded details associated with the giving of the names of Jacob's sons, and pointed out why they were called by their respective names. As these names are mentioned in the book of Revelation (Chap. 7), where the completion of the work of God on earth is brought to view—the sealing "of all the tribes of the children of Israel" (Rev. 7:1-8) these names and their meanings must be significant to the remnant church. In the following verses and their margins the history of the giving of the names of Jacob's sons, and also the meanings of these names, are found, set forth in order of birth:

When dying, Rachel gave her new-born son the name of "Ben-oni, that is, the son of my sorrow; but his father called him Benjamin, that is, the son of the right hand." Gen. 35:18, margin. Benjamin was born in Bethlehem (see v. 16-19), and is a type of Jesus Who was also born in Bethlehem. Jesus was born into this world to be "a man of sorrow" (Isa. 53:3), but, later, to sit "on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." Heb. 8:1. Thus both names given to Benjamin—"the son of sorrow" and "the son of the right hand"—apply to Jesus. All those who are redeemed, like their Lord, will know from their own experiences what it means to be sons of sorrow; but "if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him" (2 Tim. 2:12) and he sons of His right hand.

Turning to the names of the tribes of Israel as given in Rev. 7, we observe that the name of Dan is not included among the twelve tribes. The meaning of Dan indicates "judging," and Jacob, in Gen. 49:16, 17, pictures Dan as a "serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward." Dan represents those in the professing church who criticize and "judge" their fellow-believers, backbiting as they pass along life's highway, causing those they slander to "fall backward." The Dan-ites will not be counted among the tribes of Israel. Manasseh, meaning "forgetting”—representing those who forgive and forget—replaces Dan in the list of the tribes of Israel given in Rev. 7.

In Gen. 41:51, 52 we are given the names and their meanings of the two sons of Joseph. "And Joseph called the name of his firstborn Manasseh [margin, "forgetting"] : for God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil .. and the name of the second called he Ephraim [margin, ''fruitful"]: for God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." Ephraim represents those who are "joined to idols" (Hos. 4:17): those who have "mixed" (Hos. 7:8) with the world and have not sufficiently valued their eternal life to earnestly seek the things of God. Hos, 6:8-11. His name does not appear in Rev. 7.

The order in which the names of the tribes of the children of Israel are given in Rev. 7 is significant. Having noted the names which do not appear in the list of the tribes of the children of Israel in Rev. 7, we now note the order in which they appear. They are not given in the order of their birth. Not only because Judah was the kingly tribe through which Jesus was born, or because the tribe of Judah during the encampment of Israel was located to the east of the sanctuary, is the name of Judah, the fourth child born to Jacob, mentioned first. but also because the name means "praise." In the days of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, the people of God were faced with perils. The king of Judah "appointed singers unto the Lord (margin, "praisers'") that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army. and say, Praise the Lord ... and when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord" gave them the victory over their enemies. 2 Chron. 20:21-24.

Setting out the names in the order in which they are given in Rev. 7 we see that, by this arrangement of the names according to their meanings and not according to their order of birth, we have God's message of assurance to those who are sealed among the tribes of Israel.

(Read meanings [highlighted in blue] down as a connected sentence.)