August 8, 2025       What's in a name

Welcome brothers and sisters. This week I want to focus on what is in a name. Did you know that until the year 1524, there was no letter 'J' in the American alphabet as a matter of fact"J" was the last letter added to the modern English alphabet. The letter 'J' was originally the same letter as 'I. The 'father of the letter J' is Gian Giorgio Trissino, an Italian author and grammarian; it was he that was instrumental in distinguishing "I" and "J" as separate letters around 1524. The King James Bible back in 1611 still used "I" for the "J" sound, but by the 1629 edition, "J" was more widely adopted. Now Jesus (/ˈdʒiːzəs/) is a masculine given name derived from Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς; Iesus in Classical Latin) it is etymologically related to another biblical name, Joshua. So, I will ask you, who are you praying to? I guess this means that Yeshua was Yeshua until at least 1524. The first time that name was ever used was in June of 1632. Jesus, which is the name used by most English-speaking people today, is an English transliteration of a Germanic adaptation, of a Latin transliteration, of a Greek transliteration of an originally Hebrew name. Now you may be wondering how did Yeshua become Jesus? Anyone who speaks more than one language or has done work in translating knows that names can pose a particular challenge. Most often, when it comes to names, they are transliterated, which means the sounds of the original word are carried over as closely as possible using the letters of the new language rather than translated where a word in the new language that expresses the meaning of the original word is substituted. An example of transliteration would be Moshe becoming Moses, Ya’akov becoming Jacob. Yet Ya’akov has also undergone metamorphosis, becoming James in English, Santiago in Spanish, and Jacques in French! As a matter of fact the disciples' names in Hebrew are: Shimon (Peter), Andreas, Yaqov (James), Yohanan (John), Philippos, Bar Tomai (Bartholomew), Toma (Thomas), Matityahu (Matthew), Yaqov (James), Thaddaois, Shimon (Simon), Yehuda (Judas). Therefore one can conclude that so, dogma, the religious teachings of a denomination, is not Scripture. I would say to you defend scripture, not dogma. And the truth is that dogma is such a terrible thing. It is dogma that makes people argue and say that there is nothing wrong if you change the name of our Lord and Saviour from Yeshua to Jesus. They will give you all kinds of sophisticated arguments, none of which draws from scripture, as to why it is okay to use Jesus, a manufactured name, instead of the real name, Yeshua. You maybe asking yourself “How come when I pray in the name of Jesus, I get answers?” To that I would have to say that there are people that pray in the name of Ogun, Buddha, Krishna, Confucius, and even the Dalai Lama, a living human being, and they get results also. I have even heard that some people praying to the Kumari of Nepal, an eleven-year-old girl; got results. Even The Messiah Himself said “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:22-23 .  I would like you to notice that “in your name” is used three times in the above verses. That goes to show you how important it is to The Messiah that we use His actual name, which He never hid from us, rather than a man-made name, that some people gathered together and gave Him. If anybody should name anybody, it should be The Messiah that should name us, rather than we naming Him. I mean think about it; can you imagine Muslims tolerating anybody, anywhere, changing the name of Prophet Mohammad to another name? By the time they dealt fully with you, you would know what it means for a name to be perceived as holy. I do not know who Jesus is. But one thing I know is that he is not the Son of Yahweh written about in scripture. The name of Yahweh’s Son is, was, and will continue to be Yeshua. It is a holy name. It was a name given to Him by Yahweh Himself, via the Angel Gabriel. How dare any man change it? I would ask you, what is hard in pronouncing Yeshua? If it is not hard to pronounce, so why was it changed to Jesus? What is the agenda of those who changed it? I have an idea but you may not like it. I know that some people get upset when being told this, yet I believe the reason why you get angry when people expose the truth about The Messiah and the Scriptures, which is in direct contradiction to what you have been indoctrinated to believe by organized religion, is not because people like me are lying, it is because we are challenging your belief system, and you are very comfortable with the system you have. It may have been supporting you throughout your life. It has supported your parents and their parents as far back as you can remember. Now I have heard it said that familiarity breeds satisfaction. And guess what? That is a clinical psychological response to deprogramming. Organized religion from Europe programmed most Christians/Believers of today, and it has led to this Stockholm Syndrome whereby the converted are more fanatical than the converters. I believe this is the reason why, for example, The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion is more fanatically Anglican, and has threatened the Church of England with breaking away, if they, The Church of England change their doctrine. Yet, I am hear to tell you that Dogma, the religious teachings of a denomination, is not scripture. I say, defend scripture, not dogma. And the truth is that dogma is such a terrible thing. It is dogma that makes people argue and say that there is nothing wrong if you change the name of our Lord and Saviour from Yeshua to Jesus. I mean they will give you all kinds of sophisticated arguments, none of which draws from scripture, as why it is okay to use Jesus, a manufactured name, instead of the real mame, Yeshua. What does Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15.“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”  I mean think about it a moment, if you had told Miriam, the Messiah’s mother, that you were looking for Jesus, she would have said, who are you looking for? If you had told His disciples to say amen to a prayer in Jesus’ name, they would have refused. Because only the name Yeshua is a holy name. I believe they want to change it because it will confuse some that do not truily believe. Remember Paul? Let's look at 2 Corinthians 11:3 "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." Some things just aren’t confusing. Some people just aren’t confusing. Yahweh is one of those Beings who just isn’t confusing. However, Yahweh has an enemy, Satan, who seeks to confuse everything that is holy and the truth of the Word of Yahweh is one of those holy things that Satan distorts. So we need to understand how simple the Lord has made it for us.1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” So if it is confusing, it probably isn’t from Yahweh. There is an easy example. Let's to the book of Luke. Luke 18:28-30 "Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. 29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, 30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." Therefore the Messiah does not change. His name does not change. He is the same today. He is the same tomorrow. He is the same forever! We do not follow a changing Messiah. We follow a Messiah who changed us, but is Himself unchangeable. I believe that those that changed His name had an agenda. I do not want to go into that agenda here, because I do not want to overload you today. But I urge each of you to consider the words of Yeshua in Matthew 7:13&14 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." I'd like to ask you all a question and I want you to think about it. What is the meaning of Jesus? I am sure that some of you will say ‘The Lord Saves’. I am here to say that is wrong. That is the meaning of Yeshua, not Jesus. Now, again, I ask you, what is the meaning of Jesus? Are you now unsure? Well, I must admit, it is shrouded in mystery and some people even think it is Zeus, the Greek God. I do not know if that's true or not. But what I do know is that Satan likes to play games with names, such as Santa for Father Christmas. If you rearrange Santa, you get Satan. Coincidence, I am not so sure. What about Claus? If you were to rearrange it, you'd get Lucas. For those who do not know Lucas comes from the Latin word Lucere, and means light or to shine. Lucere is the first part of the name Lucifer. Lucifer simply means Light bearer or Light Ferrier in Latin. Another coincidence, maybe? You must judge that for yourself. Where as Yehoshua, and therefore Yeshua as well, means “the Lord is salvation.” Let’s start with the foundational information, which is understanding the name Yeshua. This unique name of Yahweh, one of many and yet, the most significant means salvation. It is only with this understanding that we can recognize Jesus’ Hebrew name throughout the Old Testament. Jesus’ disciples wouldn’t have called Him anything other than Yeshua. And instead of “Jesus Christ”, they would have said Yeshua HaMashiach ie Messiah. So why the confusion and where did the name “Jesus” come from? We need to remember that the Old and the New Testaments were not written in the same language. The Gospels were written in Greek, which means we lose some of their Hebrew context. The prophecies around the infant Yeshua are one such example of treasures “lost in translation”. In biblical Hebrew, a name of a person, or town was more than just a unique identifying title. It spoke of their calling or destiny. For example, Moses means “drawn out”, like he was drawn out of the water by Pharaoh’s daughter. Then, he was used by Yahweh to draw Israel out of Egypt. And Elijah means "My Yah", short for Yahweh. The prophet Elijah famously known as the man who took a stand on Mt Carmel against the prophets of Baal. If you are ever fortunate enough to visit a Hebrew speaking community of Believers, you would notice that it is not only Jesus’ name that sounds unfamiliar. But also Peter, from Greek Petrus, they may use Kefa, Hebrew for rock. And you might hear Yohanan instead of John. In Messianic congregations, Yeshua’s mother is not called Mary but Miriam, which is what her Hebrew name would have been. In the same way, Mary Magdalene is simply Miriam from Magdala. You could make an interesting case for Paul however, because the New Testament suggests he used both translations of his name, depending on context. Paul is what the Greeks and Romans called him, meanwhile to the Jews, he was Sha’ul, Saul. Now do you believe that Yeshua would have used both variations of His name, Hebrew Yeshua and Greek Iēsous, which is where “Jesus” came from? We cannot know for sure, but it is highly unlikely. Yeshua the Messiah never traveled outside of the Jewish lands and most of His companions were Hebrews. When I started calling the Lord Yeshua I began to walk bolder and braver in Him. His name is so powerful! Believing in His name means believing in Salvation through Him; not just believing He existed. We all like to be called by our real name. Even our Lord Yeshua and our Yahweh, Elohim. All I'm asking of you today is that you think about it. And please remember being clear is a gift from Yahweh. A relationship with the Lord Yeshua the Messiah is also a gift from Yahweh, Elohim.
Please join me in prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, We are grateful for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth. Father, we thank You for the indescribable gift of a relationship with Your resurrected Son, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, that offers each of us the resurrection and eternal life. We deserved to die for our sins that put a barrier between us and a relationship with You yet You sacrificed Your Son, sending Him to die so we wouldn’t have to and to tear down the barrier of the dividing wall and the ordinances against us. We ask for Your help to see the simplicity of what You did for us, removing all the confusion from our souls and letting Your clarity of thought permeate our every action We ask today that You let our lives be a reflection of the simplicity and purity of devotion to You and to The Messiah, In Yeshua's precious name we pray, Amen
May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make His face to shine ypon you and be gracious to you,
May the Lord lift up His counyenance upon you and give you peace