So how does a name save us?
It is not the name, but the being behind that name that gives us
salvation. In Joel Chapter 2, verses 30
– 32 there is a description of the Day of the Lord. It is quoted from the NASB as follows:
30 “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth; blood, fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the Lord has said, Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.” (NASB)
The Hebrew word in the text for Lord is the 4 letter name of
God the Creator (YHVH). So the plain
reading of the text is that whoever calls upon the name of the Creator is
saved. It doesn’t say the messiah’s name;
it says the specific name in Hebrew of the Creator. So how can it be that the Messiah’s name
saves us?
There is an interesting passage in Exodus 23 that gives a
clue to this mystery. God says the
following to the Israelites prior to the conquest of the Promised Land starting
in verses 20 - 22:
20 “Behold, I am
going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you
into the place which I have prepared. 21 Be on your guard before him and obey
his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your
transgression, since My name is in him. 22 But if you truly obey his voice and
do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to
your adversaries.” (NASB)
It is clear in this passage that God’s name is in His angel
– The Angel of the Lord. In other words
God’s spirit and essence is in His angel.
It is common theological teaching that the Angel of the Lord would incarnate
to become the messiah and that the messiah would teach truth, restore all
things, and establish God’s Kingdom here on earth.
In Acts Chapter 4 when Peter and John were arrested in
Jerusalem, Peter stated in reference to the Christian messiah, “And there is
salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been
given among men by which we must be saved.”
This is in direct contradiction to the Joel 2 passage unless you take
into account the Exodus 23 passage where God said His name is in His
angel. On the surface, Christians
believe that by calling on their messiah through repentance of sins brings them
to salvation. However, on a deeper level
they believe that their messiah is an earthly extension of the creator here on
earth and the Creator’s name (essence) is in him. It is calling upon the name or essence of the
creator that grants salvation through a relationship with Him. If a person doesn’t really have a
relationship with the Creator’s essence and know Him through His Word, then
they are not saved. If you have this
relationship, you will “obey his
(angel’s or messiah’s) voice” and “do
all that I (God) say” (Ex 23:22) in my instructions (Bible).
The ultimate expression of this concept is illustrated in
the Christian messiah’s own words in Matthew Chapter 7:21-23 where he said: 21 “Not
everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he
who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to
Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name
cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will
declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness.” It is not just saying
the name and doing things in the name, it is in knowing the Creator’s Name
(essence) that is in the Angel of the Lord and God’s messiah, the Name of the
Creator of all. May His Name be
praised! Halleluyah!
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