Taking another break from the listing of verses regarding
the importance of name in the Bible, this entry deals specifically with the
primary Name I am interested in, the name of our Messiah Savior, Yahshuah.
One of the verses that lends credence to the importance of Yahshuah’s
name, often quoted by those who believe in the importance of the
original Name for personal salvation, are the words of Peter, when he was defending the faith before the
Jewish leaders soon after Pentecost:
10 Be it
known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by
him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is
the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of
the corner.
12 Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
~ Acts 4:10-12
Acts 4:12 yields a number of possible responses:
- The most common response for English speakers is that Jesus is the commonly known name by which our Saviour is known, that it doesn’t matter what we call Him, so long as we call on Him, especially given the fact that there are so many different languages in the world, and some languages do not contain the sounds of the name, either of Jesus or Yeshua.
- The second most common response, though more rare, is that you must call him Yeshua/Yahshuah, or something that sounds like that name, or you cannot be saved. You must pray in the name of Yahshuah, or your prayers will not be as effective.
- A third response is to look at the verse and see exactly what it says. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Yahshuah and His name are synonymous; He IS His name, Salvation. He is the one who saves the world. The verse does not specifically say we have to speak His original name; it is saying that He is the one who saves us.
If one believes that the second option is the truth, in
order for God to be fair, which He ultimately is, He would have to give
everyone on earth who never heard His true name another chance. When would the
second chance happen? For those who believe in the “secret rapture,” which I do
not, for it is not supported in Scripture, they might say the second chance
comes after the rapture, during the Tribulation. Those who believe in one
resurrection for the just and a later resurrection of the wicked just before
they are eternally destroyed cannot believe in the second option and at the
same time believe in a fair God.
Those who do believe in the second option have found in
scripture a collection of verses that demonstrate how God raises those who have
not yet known His Name, and gives them a second chance to learn of Him and grow
in righteousness. This scenario allows most of the people who have ever lived
to be saved. Discussing these verses is outside the purpose of today’s post,
and actually outside the range of my knowledge and expertise, though I am
studying into it more.
Currently, since I do not completely understand the “second
chance” theory (though those who believe it would not want to call it that), I
tend to think that the third option is the more likely explanation. By Him and through Him, He who is named Yahshuah, Salvation, is the whole world saved.
I am not forgetting, however, all the verses I have already quoted in this blog that demonstrate the importance of Name to God, which might therefore logically lean me toward #2.
I am not forgetting, however, all the verses I have already quoted in this blog that demonstrate the importance of Name to God, which might therefore logically lean me toward #2.
I should have said somewhere toward the beginning of this
blog (maybe I already did), that I do not have all the answers; I am learning
as I study.
