Revelation 2:17

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a NEW NAME written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”

We all know that according to the verse above, to him that overcometh will be given a NEW NAME. So what is this NEW NAME that is written in white stone “which no man knoweth saving he that received it?”

To answer this question, we must first know what does the Bible says about a NAME. Does our understanding of a Name is the same as the definition of the Bible? Let’s take a look.

WHAT IS A NAME?

On our common understanding, “a name is a word or a group of words used to refer to someone”. But when the Bible tells us about a Name, it doesn’t always mean a literal name to be used just to refer to someone. The Bible tells us something else.

Using Strong’s concordance, the word “Name” came from the Hebrew word “Shem” which means “Reputation, Character or Personality”. (This is also the meaning of the name of Shem, the son of Noah).

Now, let’s take a look at these verses:

Proverbs 18:10 “The NAME of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”

How can be the NAME of the Lord be a strong tower if it is just a literal name? What makes the name of the Lord a strong tower? Is it the letters on His name? Or is it something else? Remember: “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Cor. 3:6)

Exodus 34:14 “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose NAME is Jealous, is a jealous God”

How can Jealous be a name?

Revelation 19:13 “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his NAME is called The Word of God.”

How can the phrase “The Word of God” be a name?

Those verses certainly do not talk about a literal name of God. Instead, they are telling us something which is behind the Name. And that is no other than the Nature or the Attributes of God itself. In Proverbs 18:10, it is not the literal name of God who is the strong tower but it is His Attribute. He is the strong tower Himself.

In Exodus 34:14, the name of the Lord is certainly not Jealous, we don’t call Him that. Jealous is His attribute. In Revelation 19:13, the phrase “The Word of God” is certainly not a name, it is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The Bible emphasized that a name is not just a word used to refer to someone but actually the attribute of that someone.

Let’s further take a look at some verses.

Rev. 6:8 “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his NAME that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

Death is actually not a name for identification, but an attribute of Satan. Satan is identified by his attributes. When Satan was not yet a fallen angel, he was named Lucifer. The name “Lucifer” itself means “light” this tells us that he is called according to his attribute. But after he lost that first state, he became Satan and death became his attribute which is his name.

Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”

We know that the nouns “Father, Son and Holy Ghost” are not names, they are the attributes of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, The Word is called Father by the Old Testament saints for He has the attribute of a Father. During His earthly ministry, the Word became a Son and today, He is the Holy Ghost.

See also how the Old Testament saints named their children. It is according to their attributes:

Names = Meaning    
Adam – Man  
Seth – Appointed        
Enos – Mortal       
Cainan – Sorrow    
Mahalaleel – The Blessed God  
Jared – Shall come down  
Enoch – Teaching    
Methuselah – His death shall bring
Lamech – The Despairing       
Noah – Rest (or Comfort)

That’s why if these attributes will be put together using conjunctions, we have this message:

“Man (is) appointed (unto) mortal sorrow, (but) the blessed God shall come down teaching that His death shall bring the despairing rest or comfort.”

Consider also the reason why God change the name of Jacob to Israel in Genesis 32:27-28:

“And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”

It is because Jacob has this attribute: “as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed”. The word Israel describes this attribute of Jacob. The Lord knows us not by our earthly literal names but by the REAL US. He called Jacob by his REAL NATURE.

When the Lord was named Emmanuel (God is with us), it does not refer to His earthy given name, instead, it is a message that He Himself is with us. We are identified with our Lord by His attributes.

WHAT IS THE POWER IN A NAME?

We must keep in mind also what happened to the seven sons of Sceva and other Jews in the book of Acts 19:13-17 who used the name of Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ to cast out evil spirits without knowing what is behind the literal name of the Lord. The evil spirits just answered them “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” and after that, the following verse says “And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” These verses only tell us that it is not enough just to know the Lord with only his name per se. We must know him beyond what is behind His lettered name. Those evil spirits mocked them for they don’t know Paul and the Lord, they only know them by their literal names. You see? It is not enough for us to just know the literal name of the Lord! We must know Him with His real name! And that is His true nature – His attributes!

Those people are thinking that the power to cast out demons is in the literal name which is “Jesus”. They don’t know that the power is actually not the literal name but the person Himself behind that name.

So what if you know that the name of God is “LORD JESUS CHRIST”? So what if you are Baptized in His name and not on the titles? The thing is, without knowing “WHO” He really is aside from His literal name, we are just like the sons of Sceva who doesn’t know that the power is not actually on the literal name, but the person behind that name.

Phil. 2:9-10 “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.”

As we can see in Phil. 2:9-10, there is only one name that is above every name, and that is the name JESUS. But why did it become the “name above every name”? There are also so many people who are named Jesus. Does this mean also that all of them have the name that is above every name? The answer is certainly No. This is because the Bible doesn’t talk about the literal name, but the person behind that name. Even if there are so many persons who are named Jesus, there is only one JESUS Who has the name which is ABOVE EVERY NAME because there is also only one person Who can save us all. And that is our Lord.

So the long debate about what to use in Water Baptism whether only “Lord Jesus” (Acts 2:38) or “Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:36) are both correct as long as you know the REAL NAME of the Lord and not only His literal name. Anyway, our baptism is not based on the literal name, but the person behind that name.

In Psalm 138:2, King David wrote: “For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” This only tells us that one of the attributes (names) of God is being the Word.  And that attribute is the greatest of all His attributes (names).

“I AM THAT I AM”

In Exodus 3:13, we can read that Moses is asking God about what to tell the children of Israel if they will ask him about what’s the name of God that sends him to them. And we can read the reply of God to Moses in Exodus 3:14,

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

Notice the reply of the Lord God to Moses when he asked Him about what His name is. He had not given Moses a literal name. Instead, God told Moses that He is the I AM (the Who He is, His totality). Why is this so? This is because God cannot be contained in a literal name. His attributes cannot be described by a single name or group of words. That’s why He said that His name is the I AM (His totality, His total attributes).

This only means that no words can describe the Lord’s total attributes but the words “I AM”. Many say that the word “YHWH or Jehovah” is the name of God but in fact, those words are the Hebrew for “Lord” and we all know that Lord is not a name. It is just one of the attributes of God. Still, God is more than just Lord! He is a Savior, He is a Father, He is a Healer, He is a Rock, He is an Archangel, He is the Word and many more! One can’t contain these attributes in a literal name or group of words. Again, we must know that God’s concern about a Name is not a literal one but He refers to the attributes.

When the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, He was named “Jesus”. It is because the word “Jesus” describes the attribute of the Word which is a Saviour.

In summary, when a name is mentioned in the Bible or when someone is named, it does not only function as a noun to refer to that someone, but also it refers to the attributes of that someone or their REAL Nature.

With this in mind, we are now ready to answer our main question:

WHAT WILL BE OUR NEW NAME?

Let’s go back to our original verse:

Revelation 2:17 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a NEW NAME written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”

Since we have known that a Name is no other than the attributes of the one bearing the name, this will only mean that the New Name which will be given to us is no other than our NEW ATTRIBUTES! The new us! The new us are not our literal names but our attributes. We all know that God is working on us for us to be a new person – a new creation. This is for us to reach the stature of a perfect man.

“…and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a NEW NAME written”

Why is it written on a white stone? Since we know that our New Name is not a literal name, then this stone is not also a literal stone. A stone or a rock in the Bible signifies Revelation of which where our Lord will build us, His Church (Matt. 16:18). This means that our New Name (new attributes, new us) is founded (written) in the Revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will build the new us on this Revelation (white stone). So we can only have our new us through the Revelation of our Lord.

“…WHICH NO MAN KNOWETH saving he that receiveth it”

There are some people who believe and insist that our New Name will be a literal name just like Abram who was given a new name Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul and so the other people in the Bible. If this is the case, then this passage “WHICH NO MAN KNOWETH saving he that receiveth it” will be not applicable and will become false. It is for the reason that those new names given to those people mentioned above are known to everyone and not only to them. Now, the purpose of giving a literal name is for it to be used to refer to or to call the owner. If it is a literal name and it is given to you and only you alone can know it and no other will know it, then what is the use of it? What will be the use of giving us new literal names in heaven if we cannot use it to refer to us because no one should know it except you alone? If it is a literal name, then what are we going to do with it in heaven? It will be useless.

This is the reason why our New Name is not a literal name! A literal name will be of no use if the owner alone knows it. But the other way around is true. No one will know it but only he that receives it because that New Name that will be given to us is the New Us, our whole new attributes. No one will know your whole attributes except you alone.

Another thing is, this New Name will be given to all of those who have overcome (Rev. 2:17). If this is a literal name, then why is it that Moses and Elijah have still the same name in the Bible even though they have already overcome? They are still called by their original given names in the mount transfiguration and in the book of Revelation. Not to mention David, Judah, Adam and many more in the Bible who are still called by their original given names even after they have already been resurrected. See? Their original literal names are not changed!

Revelation 3:12 “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: AND I WILL WRITE UPON HIM MY NEW NAME.”

On Revelation 3:12 it says that to those that will overcome “I will write upon him the name of my God”. Now, if this refers to a literal name, then all of us will have the same name, and that would be the name “Lord Jesus Christ”. And it also says “and the name of the city of my God”. In this case, all of us will have a name which is New Jerusalem? I don’t think so. Remember that we will be called on this New Name (Isa. 62:2). If this is a literal name, then we will all have the same name in heaven! Isn’t this thinking absurd?

The City of the Lord is called Holy City, New Jerusalem because it is also made up of everything new and holy. We know that we are the one who will be the Holy City, New Jerusalem. That’s why our Name (our attributes) will be the name (attributes) of that New Jerusalem. We are all New! We are all Holy! When the Lord will write upon us the name of His City which is New Jerusalem, it only signifies that the attributes of that City are upon us. If it that City is described as made of precious stones, our attributes are also of that precious stones.

“…AND I WILL WRITE UPON HIM MY NEW NAME.”

Our Lord will have a New Name and He will write this on us. How will this happen and what will be His New Name? We knew that we are the New Jerusalem in the making. Right now our Lord is still building us (2 Cor. 5:1). He is the Head and we are His body (1Cor. 12:27). His New Name (new attributes) will only be revealed when this City (which is His Body, which is us) will be completed. So this new name is no other than his New Attributes – the New us, the New Him. This attributes of Him will be (written) on us.

Right now, these attributes of Him is still for completion. But one day, He will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). We will be one with our Husband. And He will be one with us. Just like in Isaiah 54:5,

“For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”

So to those who are expecting that they will have a new literal (and beautiful) name in heaven, remember that those literal names will be of no use in heaven if no one but you alone shall know it. The plan of our Lord is much more wonderful and beautiful than our own expectations!

May the Lord will guide us into all Truth is my prayer.

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