Jesus is NOT Zeus

THE ENGLISH NAME JESUS IS NOT DERIVED
FROM THE NAME OF THE PAGAN GOD ZEUS

It has been stated that the English name Jesus is derived from the name of the
Greek god Zeus.  There is no evidence
to support that theory.  Even so, that theory, without any solid evidence in its support, is being presented as fact.  This is outright deception.  It is confusing; and God is not the author of confusion.

Scriptures tell us that we are to “prove all things.”  In an effort to do so, I visited the epigraphical museum in Athens Greece, as well as many sites associated with Zeus
and his supposed son Dionysius to study inscriptions in order to determine if there could be any possible connection between the name Jesus and the name Zeus.
There is no connection!  

..Richard Rives, author of the book Too Long in the Sun standing in front of the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens Greece

  

The Greek name Zeus is spelled entirely
different from the Greek transliteration of
the Hebrew name Yeshua.

The Greek spelling of the name Zeus would be the equivalent of the English spelling DIOS.  The name we pronounce Zeus
starts with a D.  

Top..The English name Zeus, written in Greek – DIOS
From an inscription in Athens Greece

Bottom..The English name Jesus written in Greek – IESOUS

It has also been stated that the English name Jesus is associated with the name of Dionysius, the son of Zeus.

That is not true.

As seen in the inscription to the left the name Dionysius also begins with the Greek letters for the name Zeus (DIO) and is in no way similar to the Greek spelling of the English name Jesus.

The supposition that the English name Jesus is derived from the name of the pagan god Zeus is now being taught as fact.  It is being preached from pulpits and appears in popular books.   The result is that unsuspecting people are being persuaded that the basis of New Testament, that is Greek manuscripts, cannot be trusted.  They are encouraged to believe that the Greek writers had an agenda to intentionally corrupt our New Testaments.

In an effort to determine the truth I personally made a trip to Greece to study inscriptions and to talk with experts concerning the name Zeus.  The conclusion of my investigation is that there is no association with the name Zeus and that of Jesus.

Those who attempt to pronounce the name of Messiah in a proper manner are to be commended.  Those who present unsupported theories as fact must stop.  It is confusing and God is not the author of confusion.

….Richard Rives

JOSHUA:  was the word chosen by the King James translators to represent the Hebrew spelling of the Biblical Joshua before Ezra and Nehemiah.  This word is pronounced YAH HO SHUA or YEH HO SHUA by those living in Israel today.  It seems that the HO pronunciation is due to the addition of the vowels of Adonay to the word YHWH, in order to remind the reader to pronounce Adonay instead of YHWH, and that the most pure pre- Babylonian Hebrew pronunciation would be YA-hu-SHOOa.  The word is a combination of YAH and Oshea.  The word means YAH is Salvation.

“I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.” ……John 5:43

We read in in the King James version of Numbers 13:8-16 : Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan,… of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.  ……And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.

After the Babylonian captivity the Hebrew spelling changed.  Linguists indicate that this is the “short form” of the name of Joshua that appears in earlier scripture.  This word is pronounced YES SHUA by those living in Israel today.

IESOUS: was the word chosen by the writers of the Greek New Testament to represent both the Hebrew Old Testament Joshua and the English New Testament Jesus.

This word was derived by way of transliteration (the representation of the sounds of the Hebrew word Yeh Shua with the Greek letters having the closest corresponding sound.)

JESUS:  was the word chosen by the King James translators to represent the Hebrew spelling of the Biblical Joshua Yeh Shua after Ezra and Nehemiah.  This word was also derived by way of transliteration ( the representation of the sounds of the Greek word IESOUS with the English letters having the closest corresponding sound.)

The English Name Jesus is an excellent transliteration of the Hebrew
name Yeshua which means YAH is SALVATION

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Author: Richard Rives

Speaker, WorldNetDaily commentator, and author of the books "Too Long in the Sun" and "Time is the Ally of Deceit" www.toolong.com

11 thoughts on “Jesus is NOT Zeus”

  1. That is so cool! Thank you for writing this article. It’s informative and easy to understand. I will direct my church towards this article. I feel this is something every Christian should know. Thank you again!

    1. Before searching, “is … pagan?”
      search a word rather as “… is not of pagan origin”
      -this goes for Amen, God, Lord, etc…In research, you will find joy in the answers you seek, and…
      In research, you will find Jesus’ name vindicated, more than “accepted.”
      God, who knows all things, has surely preserved His truth for those who truly seek it and believe.

      Did you know that Greek, the country some apostles were born in, and the language many of them natively spoke, is strikingly closer to Paleo-Hebrew, than Aramaic or Modern Hebrew, and was the language of text Jesus read often from? Whatever Jesus and the apostles did, is what I’ll go by, whether in respect of the Sabbath, [which to keep, is not legalistic (common term), but part of the Ten Commandments, the Immutable Law, that even the secular world agrees should be followed, so why just get rid of the one and keep the nine? “Under grace, not under the law”, does not mean lawlessness, which God detests. Under grace means you love the law, and by His power seek to keep it all the better), and to continue, whether in respect of select ancient Bibles,… (the most reliable today, the King James Version).Here are posts you should like to see

      1 Corinthians 13King James Version (KJV)
      “13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
      2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
      3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
      4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
      5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
      6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
      7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
      8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
      9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
      10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
      11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
      12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
      13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
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      John 6:37King James Version (KJV)
      “37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
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      Jeremiah 31:3King James Version (KJV)
      “3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
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      John 16:33King James Version (KJV)
      “33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
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      Joshua 24: 1-31King James Version (KJV)
      “1 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
      2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
      3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
      4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
      5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
      6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.
      7 And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
      8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
      9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
      10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
      11 And you went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
      12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
      13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
      14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
      15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
      16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
      17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
      18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God.
      19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
      20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
      21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
      22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
      23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.
      24 And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
      25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
      26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
      27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
      28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
      29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
      30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
      31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.”
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      Matthew 16: 15-17King James Version (KJV)
      “15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
      16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
      17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
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      Romans 10:13King James Version (KJV)
      “13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
      ——All we are given is truly sufficient. Call upon His Name, search the Scriptures, worship on the day He kept, follow, as did the apostles, worship as they worshipped, and call upon whom they called upon, whether in Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic.
      //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

      Who do we say He is?; Truth answers beautifully.
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      Excerpts, quotations, and subject commentary:
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      “Everywhere that the most accurate doctrine is taught, it’s always done in the Name of JESUS.
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      Accusation: The English word “God” comes from an old Syrian deity “Gawd” and is referred to as Gad in Isa. 65:11
      FACT: There is NO authority for such a statement. This is no more true than to claim that the Polish word “Bog” came from our English word “bog”. To them, the word means an object or being of worship, but to us it means a marshy piece of ground. As for “Gad”, one of Jacob’s twelve sons was named Gad and thus one of the tribes of Israel is named Gad. Gen. 30:11; Rev. 7:5. One of Gods prophets in Davids day was named “Gad”. 2 Sam.24:11-19. The word “Gad” has a favorable place in the Sacred Scriptures, even though there was also a heathen god by that name mentioned in Isa. 65:11; and furthermore there is NO evidence of a connection between the word “Gad” and our English word “God”.
      Accusation: The word “God” was originally used by the Teutonic peoples to refer to their heathen deities according to Websters Dictionary.
      FACT: The word “God” is a title of anything that is worshipped. There is the True One Eternal GOD and there are false “gods”. Some peoples god is their money. Just because one group of people or some groups of pagans used the word “god” in reference to their “god” doesn’t mean the word always refers to false gods. When using the word “God”, you know which God you are referring to and so does the person you are talking to and so does God. He knows who you are talking to. He does not mind you using titles when referring to Him, He gives Himself many titles. Anyone with great authority has many titles and names which can be used interchangeably such as Sir, Mister, President, etc. The greater the authority, the more names and titles that person has. This is also true in all of the spirit world.
      1 Corinthians 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
      6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      LORD= Baal?
      Accusation: “Lord” means “Baal”, the name of a false god or demon!
      FACT: Actually, the word “lord” is a general title that refers to any master, ruler, owner, leader or husband. The word “lord” is never the actual name for any pagan god. Since, people worshipped false gods, they would of course call their gods by generic titles of lord and god. But these words do NOT refer specifically to any particular deity. People try to point to the Hebrew (Aramaic) word “baal” which SOMETIMES does refer to a pagan deity. However, words can have different meanings in different contexts. We must also look at the original word, then the Aramaic translation and then the Greek and English translations. The words “lord” and “God” are NOT names of pagan gods.”
      “The fact is that the word “LORD” is a Hebrew word and comes from the Hebrew word “ADOWN” (Strongs #113 & 136 a king or sovereign) from which comes “ADONAI” which is a Hebrew word translated into the Septuagint Greek version of the Old Testament became “Kurios” and both are CORRECTLY translated “LORD” and this refers to kingship or sovereignty”.
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      “One of the most important Scriptures all of us refer to in the discussion of Sacred Names or concerning the Name of THE Creator, is Exodus 3:14 which in the KJV says “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”.
      According to Strong’s Concordance, which is actually a concordance of the Babylonian Aramaic Language (when referring to the Old Testament), the words “I AM That I AM” comes from H1961 H1961: “hayah hayah”. However in the true Hebrew Scriptures, it actually said
      “EHJEH ASHER EHJEH”. (Pronouned I-JE Asher I-JE)
      Source 1. Source 2, Source 3.
      NOT “hayah hayah” and NOT “I Am, I Am”.
      “EHJEH ASHER EHJEH” is hard to translate into just 3 or 4 English words. It means “I am JEH (the h is silent so it’s pronounced JE, the same sound in JEsus) the beginning, currently self-existing, and eternally existing, JEH”. HE was speaking a sentence that basically says “”I am JE the beginning, currently self-existing, and eternally existing, JE”, or in other words, HE was saying I am JE, The Alpha & the Omega, the beginning and the end, the eternal”. He said that HIS Name is JE as in JE-sus, JE with us, GOD with us.”
      “In Greek, the I in Iesous would be pronounced with a J sound. NOT with an i sound. It was the letter called “iota”, which could carry either an i or j or y sound. In the first century A.D. and in the era of the 1611 King James translation, they only had one letter for both the i sound and the j sounds. But later on, people developed a separate letter for each sound. But the J sound did exist in both paleo-Hebrew and Greek during the original writings of the Old and New Testaments. Since paleo-Hebrew and Greek look alike and sound alike, the rules of the true Hebrew language would apply for the name of a Hebrew person. The rule of the true Hebrew language states that if the iota comes directly before a vowel, it must be pronounced with a J sound. Even the word iota was originally pronounced with the j sound. It was called the jota, jot, jod and Jud. The modern English spelling and sound of the word iota results from Aramaic influence. Language history is very clear that the word iota had the j sound in Paleo Hebrew and Greek. So when we see the name IESOUS, we therefore would have Jesous.”
      “The Apostles wrote JEH and Iesous. In the New Testament, they wrote Iesous. But the first letter which looks to us as an capital i was called the Jot. It was pronounced with the J sound whenever followed by an vowel such as E. Thus we have Jesous, which we pronounce as Jesus. Thus, the Apostles wrote what was spelled Iesous. It is still Jesus.”
      ” His Names include but not limited to: JEH, JE, JESUS, LORD, GOD, EHJEH, Adonai, EHJEH ASHER EHJEH, Alpha and Omega, The Word of GOD, KING of Kings, LORD of Lords, Emmanuel, GOD with us, Father, Saviour, Messiah, Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Rev.19:12 says He has a name that no man knows! Rev. 19 uses THREE “name”‘s for Him! One is the one that “No man knows”, one is “Word of God” and What name will be written on Him when He returns?
      Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      commentary-“A Greek speaking person …technical… will call him “Yeasoo”. (a short study of greek proves that no Greek speaking person in the first century called him yeazeus. The last letter of his name in Greek (S in English) is silent and only points out the masculine form of his name. The Greek language to this day still does not have a spelling for the “sh” sound so it is easy to understand why it got dropped over time through transliteration…
      First there is no “sh” sound in Greek.
      The final sigma (V) or “s” on the end is part of the standard transliteration from other languages to Greek. Greek nouns and names almost always have case endings, so the sigma (V) or “s” is added at the end of the word to distinguish that the name is the masculine form, and also makes it declinable.
      What we end up with is the name Iesou(IhsouV), pronounced Ee-ay-soo or Yaysoo. The Greek Iesous then got transliterated into Latin as Iesu[s], and then into Old English as Jesus, but initially the J was at that time, still pronounced like the German J, which was pronounced with more of a ‘Y’ sound (think Jägermeister). This is the way that it still is spoken in Germany today. Over time, the J sound eventually began to harden into sounding more like the French J which is where the Modern English J originated from. The end result is the current English pronunciation of Jesus.”
      – cited Scripture:
      “Judges 12:5 The men of Gilead captured the places where people cross the Jordan River. Those places led to the country of Ephraim. Any time a survivor from Ephraim came to the river and said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead would ask him, “Are you from Ephraim?” If he said, “No,” 6 they would say, “Say the word ‘Shibboleth.’” The men of Ephraim could not say that word correctly. They pronounced the word “Sibboleth.” So if the man said, “Sibboleth,” then the men of Gilead knew he was from Ephraim. Matthew 5:6,7″
      – commentary:”I’ve caught a lot of fish through the years, but I’ve never caught a filet. ”
      “He instructs us to catch them. He will clean them.”
      Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19)
      -“Should the gospel be excluded from even those who can’t say “Shibboleth”?
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      -“And remember, God is the one who created the kaleidoscope of different languages at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11). -”
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      “2Kings 6:10-22
      10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
      11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
      12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
      13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
      14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
      15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
      16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
      17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
      18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
      19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
      20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
      21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
      22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.”
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      -Much is wrong with individuals, not with our Savior and Lord.
      Matthew 11:4-6, 13-14, 18-19, 25-28
      “4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
      5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
      6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me…13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come…18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children… 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
      Matthew 5:6,7
      “6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
      7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”
      “The apostle John says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). This is one of God’s names! It is also the best definition of who God is. This is the name God wants to give us, as He did for Jacob. We, like Jacob, sometimes get a bad reputation because of our behavior. God says that we can get a new eternal name and a new reputation based on our repentance and God’s mercy.”
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      There is also discussion regarding the precise declaration to utter during one’s baptism. Do we baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as stated by Jesus in Matthew 28:19, or in the “name of Jesus Christ,” as Peter notes in Acts 2:38?
      Let’s be careful to place the emphasis where God places it. Of the 70 references to baptism in the New Testament, only five make a reference to a specific name or title of God to proclaim. One time it says, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). Another time the Bible says, “Be baptized … in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). It also says, “Be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48). And twice the Bible says, “Baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:16; 19:5).
      The phrase “Lord Jesus” was a favorite title used mostly by Luke (21 times) and does not appear at all in the other Gospels. So to stay on the safe side and remove any possibility of leaving out a member of the Godhead, it is probably best to follow the clear statement given by Jesus Himself in the great gospel commission, baptizing believers “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
      However, during a wedding ceremony, the couple can decide how formal to be in the wording of the official vows. The pastor could say, “Do you, William Spencer Peabody III, take Rebecca Marie Ann Hunter?” Or he might simply say, “Do you, Bill, take Becky?” As long as the parties involved and the witnesses understand who is being married, the wedding is legally binding. So it is with baptism.”
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      In Acts 9: 13-18 the sons of Scheva, exorcists, though they knew the name of Jesus, and how to pronounce it, did not prevail against the evil spirit because they did not know Him as their Lord… Paul understood God’s character and could cast out demons by the name of Jesus. The demons obeyed because of Paul’s faith and the authority and the power of Christ’s name. “[Paul] turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very hour… and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.”
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””‘””””””””””
      EXAMINING CLAIMS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF “CHRIST” AND “LORD”
      — Hebrews, not Greeks, came up with the name Iesous and used it in place of “Yeshua” . About 150 years BC devout Hebrew men translated the Old Testament into Greek. This isn’t just speculation, You can check this out for yourself. The Greek translation was called the Septuagint (abbreviated as “LXX” because LXX is the Roman number for 70, which reflected the Hebrew belief that 70 men translated it). The simplest way to verify this is to visit http://www.unboundbible.org You can have it print out Joshua 1:1 (or any other verse that mentions Joshua) with the English next to the OT Greek. It is obvious the Hebrews chose “Iesous” for “Joshua/Yeshua.” That was Greek spelling that to them sounded most like the Hebrew “Yeshua,” The Greek alphabet does not have either a “Y” or a “J,” nor does it have a “sh” sound, so they could not have spelled it either “Yeshua” or “Jesus.” You can also find “Septuagint” in Webster’s dictionary (maybe not a pocket size, but the desk size will have it) because it is so important in understanding the Law and Prophets as well as the New Testament. The Hebrew world chose to use the word “Christ,” not the Greeks This translation was widely in use among Hebrews in the first century, so many Jews called the Messiah “Christ.” Both Hebrew and Gentile followers of Y’shua drew their faith vocabulary and thought from the bilingual Hebrew world, not from the Gentile Greek world.
      — The “ous” ending on “Jesus/Iesous” was not put there by sun god worshipers or by Greeks. The Hebrews first did it in the LXX, as noted above. They had to do this because of how the Greek language works. English is a word order language in which nouns and names are always spelled the same, and you understand what they mean by where they fall in the sentence. It makes a big difference whether you say “Jeff went to the store” or “The store went to Jeff.”
      Greek is not that way. Greek doesn’t care what order the words are in. Instead, Greek changes how the names are spelled to help you understand what they mean. This is called “declining” words and giving the nouns “case.” You can find definitions of these words in Webster, too. For instance, if the name “Jeff” was used in ancient (and modern) Greek, it would be spelled different ways depending on their use. A sentence would say “Jeffous (the subject of the sentence) sent Jeffov (the object of the sentence) to get the book of Jeffou (“Possessive”- Jeff’s book).” You’ll notice that “Jeff” always has an ending added to it. It has to have an ending, or the readers wouldn’t understand the sentence, because word order means nothing.
      The same thing happened with the name Yeshua/Joshua. Hebrews took the root of the name, “Yes” transliterated it to Greek letters “Ies” and added the case endings so that the name was spelled “Iesous,” “Iesou” or “Iesov” depending on its use in the sentence. This wasn’t an option. Greek speakers did this with every name and nouns, whether it was Simon, house, cow, table- whatever. The “ous” (or other word endings) weren’t added because they indicated Greek gods. They were a natural part of talking Greek.
      English does not decline nouns, except for the pronoun “he.” We say, “He (nominative) drove him (accusative) to the store in his (genitive) car.” It wouldn’t make sense to us to instead say “He drove he to the store in he car,” because you have to decline the word for it to make any sense. In the same way, Greek had to decline nouns in order for them to make any sense.
      Adding “s” to the end of Christ (or Messiah) was necessary when the words were used by Greek speakers. Nouns in Greek (and some other languages, but not English) must be “declinable.” That means that the last couple letters of the noun change with how they are used in the sentence. When “Christ” or “Messiah” is used as the subject, it is spelled with an “s” at the end (e.g.: Messias). When the noun is used as a genitive (as in “followers of Messiah”) it is spelled with a “u” at the end (e.g.: Christou). English shortens it to the root, “Christ,” because English doesn’t decline nouns. Regardless of exactly how different languages spell it- as Messias, Messiah, Mashiyach, Christ, Christos, Y’shua, Yeshua, Jesus,” etc, it is the same name or title. (Rood himself has used a variety of spellings of names for Messiah and YHWH, some not matching the spellings Gordon uses.)
      — “Zeus” was not added to “Yeshua” to make “Iesous.” In fact, “Zeus” is spelled with a Z, and there is no Z in Iesous. The article by J. C. J. Melford, page 126 … is just plain silly: “It is known that the Greek name endings with sus, seus, and sous (which are phonetic pronunciations for Zeus) were attached by the Greeks to names and geographical areas as means to give honour to their supreme deity, Zeus.” The “s” ending was applied to literally all masculine nouns. Giving honor has absolutely nothing to do with this. Plus, names were actually spelled with “u” and “n” endings, too, depending on the case (as noted above). It is just grammar, not Zeus. But check this out for yourself by looking at any Greek grammar. What Melford says is just totally ignorant of the Greek language.
      — The Greeks never used the word “Christ” for their gods, or in any sacred context, or as any kind of title of honor at all. The verb form of the word meant “to rub lightly, spread.”
      On the surface, it may seem odd to some people that such a “secular” word as christos would be used for anointing Messiah, which people see as a very spiritual use. But the noun Messiah, also has a verb form, messah. Some of the Prophets use the verb in everyday ways- to rub (messah) a shield with oil (Isaiah 21:5), to paint (messah) a house (Jeremiah 22:14), and apply oil (messah) to a body (Amos 6:6). You can verify that the verb massah is used in these verses by checking a Hebrew text or Strong’s concordance. This shows that the verb form of Messiah is sometimes used in the same nonreligious ways that the verb form of christos was used by the Greeks. This made christos a good match for translators to use, since they were looking for a Greek root that had both verb and noun forms which were used in much the same ways as the Hebrew words. Messah was used more often to describe anointing kings, prophets and priests, but it was clearly used in both secular and religious ways.
      — The Hebrews, not Greek or Christians, chose to use the word “Christ(os)” and “Messiah” interchangeably. The Hebrews themselves translated the Old Testament into Greek in about 150 B.C. in what is called the Septuagint They say that the High Priest himself chose 72 elders from Judea who were experienced in the law, beliefs and customs of the Torah and were able to translate from Hebrew to Greek. This means they were fluent in both languages, and used both Messiah and Christos, Throughout the LXX, “Christ” is used for the Anointed One, such as in Psalm 2:2. You can check this for yourself by looking it up in the Septuagint online at http://www.unboundbible.org or in a paper copy at a library.
      The Apostle John himself used both words when he wrote, “(Andrew said,) we have found the Messiah, that is the Christ” (John 1:42), and “The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah, called Christ, is coming” (John 4:24). John considered “Christ” and “Messiah” to be synonymous, and used Christ when speaking to Greek speakers, and Messiah when speaking to Hebrew speakers. (This article follows the Gospel’s practice of using Messiah and Christ interchangeably, too.)
      Hebrews roots proponents including Rood also condemn using the word “Lord” for YHWH (often spelled Yahweh). But the Hebrews, not Christians, introduced “Lord” (Greek- kurios) in the LXX just as it did “Christ.” The LXX uses “Lord” (Greek- kurios) for YHWH and “God” for Elohim (eg: Genesis 3:14, Exodus 3:14)..
      — The only ancient author to suggest that any part of the NT was authored in Aramaic or Hebrew is Papias, and he said only that Matthew was, not the rest of the NT. Some writers claim that many ancient authors claimed the NT was written in Aramaic, but that is entirely false. I challenge you to find the name, book title, and chapter of even one ancient author or church leader (other than Papias) that said so. They absolutely do not exist.
      — Many Hebrews of the first century B.C. who strictly observed the Torah spoke and wrote in Greek, not Hebrew. One example of this is the book of II Maccabees. Although this book is included in the Apocrypha found in Catholic Bibles, those books were written by Hebrews for Hebrews. II Maccabees records historical events which took place in Israel from 175 to 160 B.C. It is a condensation of a five volume history written by Jason of Cyrene, a strict observer of Torah written for other strict observers. It records how God’s people faced torture and martyrdom rather than break the law of Moses. Yet, the book was authored in Greek, not Hebrew, and continued to be passed down to Hebrews in Greek. They considered it perfectly acceptable to strict observers of Torah to use the Greek language. The Greek Septuagint version of the Law and Prophets was used by Hebrews like these.
      — The book of Acts and the epistles were all written in Greek. Almost all the conversations in the book of Acts had to have taken place in Greek, not Hebrew. Think about it.
      Luke, the author of Acts, was a Greek and he addressed it to another Greek, Theophilus (both names are Greek). Saul (Paul) and Luke accordingly used the Greek form Christos,” because the vast majority of their hearers would have understood that, but would not have understood “Messiah,” because they did not know Hebrew.
      Acts 6 mentions the large body of Greek-speaking Hebrews in Jerusalem, the heart of Hebrew country (6:1). Phillip preached to the Samaritans, (who hated Hebrews, their language, religion and temple) and surely used Greek or Aramaic (Acts 8). The Gentile centurion Cornelius, some of his soldiers, and his whole household could not have understood Hebrew, yet understood Peter preaching- no doubt in Greek (Acts 10).
      Paul, Barnabas and others taught the many Greeks who came to faith at Antioch (Acts 11,13). Paul persuaded the Roman proconsul on Cyprus, Sergius Paulus to believe (Acts 13:6-12). Many Gentiles at Iconium believed Paul, but he barely persuaded the crowds in Lystra (who spoke Lycaonian) not to sacrifice to them as gods (Acts 14). Acts never mentions a synagogue in most of the cities Paul visited. Paul could not have communicated in Hebrew to his own coworkers such as Timothy and Titus, who were raised as Greeks. In fact, most of Paul’s coworkers had Greek names- Titus, Timothy, Apollos and Dionysius (names of Greek gods), Eutychus, the seven (Acts 6:6), the teachers at Antioch (Acts 13) and the long list of saints in Romans 16. Some names were Hebrew, such as Barnabas, which indicates that Luke wasn’t trying to expunge everything Hebrew and replace everything with Greek- he was just factually reporting the prevalence of both Hebrew and especially Greek in the early church.
      Paul spoke with the judges and jailer at Philippi, a Roman colony, though they surely did not know Hebrew. Paul’s message to the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17), and his defense when on trial before the Roman proconsul Gallio (Acts 18) were in Greek. The idolmakers in Ephesus (Acts 19) surely didn’t riot in Hebrew. Paul spoke Greek to the Roman commander and centurion who arrested him in the temple (Acts 21:37, 22:25), as did Paul’s nephew (23:19-21). Paul didn’t need a translator. Paul made his own defense when on trial before Governors Felix (Acts 24) and Festus (Acts 25-26). Paul surely spoke Greek to the captain and everyone on the ship on his voyage to Rome (Acts 27) and to the superstitious islanders on Malta (Acts 28). Since Paul spoke Greek to them, he always had to use “Iesous Christos” with the Greek endings on the name in order to be understood.
      — An Aramaic NT did not have to exist in order for the Greek NT to transliterate “Yeshua” into “Iesous.” As I mentioned above, Paul and others spoke to many groups of people in Greek, using the “declined” word forms in order to be understood. Luke was quoting him.
      — The New Testament sometimes uses a variety of spellings for names. The Greek form “Iesous” is used for Jesus in the NT, and is used for Joshua in the OT (you can check this in the Septuagint, as I mentioned above.) So every translator who sees “Iesous” in Hebrews has to guess by the context whether it refers to Jesus or Joshua, as in Hebrews 4. It’s a fluke that people commonly translate the Iesous as either Joshua or Jesus. But it is not uncommon to have different spellings for the same name. For instance, Jude, Judah and Judas are all exactly the same name, and are spelled the same in Greek.. You can check this yourself by calling up Mat 1:2, 26:47 and Jude 1 in Greek at http://www.unboundbible.org . Matthew and Matthias are the same Greek name.
      Why is the same Greek sometimes transliterated in different ways? It wouldn’t have to be. But it saves some explaining- you don’t have to tell every child, “no, Judas the betrayer didn’t write a book of the Bible.” Sometimes translators chop off the Greek “s” ending (like in Jude, Herod, etc) and other times leave it on (as in Judas, Jesus).
      — When people translate the Greek New Testament into English (and other languages), why don’t the translators convert Greek forms of names like Iesous into Hebrew forms such as Yeshua? There are a few reasons for this. First, the Greek does not read Yeshua, it reads Iesous. Is it sound translation to write in sounds that don’t actually exist in the Greek original? Second, in conversations recorded in the second half of the book of Acts, such as Paul’s conversations in Ephesus, Philippi, etc, the speakers certainly used the Greek forms of the names (as noted above). To replace words that apostles actually said with Hebrew forms that they did not use is a stretch that translators think would be inappropriate or misleading.”
      “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
      “When people are “[settled] into the truth,” both intellectually and spiritually,” faith has reached its goal. Genuine faith joins the head with the heart, not just information alone and not just emotional feeling. These last-day Christians have discovered the validating assurance of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and they live in accordance with His guidance. Their intellectual grasp of the truth has reached its transforming purpose; these are men and women who have developed characters that will vindicate God’s wisdom and patience, contradicting Satan’s lies that God’s will is impossible for humanity…
      The book of Hebrews quotes a prophecy from the book of Isaiah: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them” (Hebrews 10:16). The results of this promise will be the “settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved.” To have God’s name means having His law—not just the written words of the Ten Commandments, but its spirit—written in our hearts. A Name We Can Trust”
      “Pray in What Name?
      Yet while God’s name is the holiest of names, He is also our friend. Following a bloody Civil War battle, Jack kneeled by a mortally wounded soldier on the field. He could see that Bill, his best friend, was dying. Bill also knew he was dying, so with trembling fingers he reached into his blood-stained pocket and handed a letter to his comrade. “Jack,” Bill said in a raspy tone, “I didn’t have time to mail this letter. I know you don’t have much family or money. If you live through this war, take this letter to my folks in Connecticut. I told them all about you and what close friends we are. They’ll take good care of you, and anything that was mine is yours.” Moments later, Bill breathed his last.
      Jack did survive the war, but times were tough. For months, he and other war veterans would ride the trains looking for some farm work hoeing weeds in exchange for a hot meal. They came to be known as “hoe boys,” later called “hobos.”
      In the course of his wanderings, Jack eventually found himself in Connecticut. He made his way to the address on the letter Bill had given him so many years before and found there a large New England home. Jack timidly walked up the steps and hesitated. He looked down at his torn, ragged clothes and dirty hands. He mustered the courage and knocked on the great oak door. When the door opened, there stood a dignified grey-haired gentleman and his wife. But before Jack could speak, the man said in sympathetic tones. “I’m sorry, young man. These are hard times, and we just can’t feed and clothe every hoe boy who knocks.” Dejected, Jack turned away, but then he remembered the letter. “I have a letter from Bill.”
      “You knew our son?” The woman asked.
      “My name is Jack; we were best friends.” With that, Jack handed the blood-stained envelope to the surprised couple. With tears welling up in their eyes, the couple read the last letter from their beloved son. When they recovered their composure, they pulled Jack into the house, saying, “Anything that was his is now yours.”
      What made the difference? The name of their beloved son opened the door. Jesus promises that when we come to the Father in His name, we will have the same reception. “Most assuredly, … whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. … Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23, 24).
      However, always remember that “to pray in the name of Jesus is something more than a mere mention of that name at the beginning and the ending of a prayer. It is to pray in the mind and spirit of Jesus, while we believe His promises, rely upon His grace, and work His works.”
      Controversial Subject Matter
      The subject of God’s name remains one of the most confusing and disputed issues in Christianity. This is partly because God has many names in Scripture. But each name that God reveals serves as an important key in disclosing His power, holiness, and desired relationship with His people. His names provide a composite picture revealing different facets of His awesome character.”

  2. the best way is to call our Lord and savior Yeshua by his true name. lets honour Him by his true name. He is not jesus , but He is Yeshua or Yahshua or Yahushua.

  3. If you want to start where people are at in their walk then you might as well be preaching a gradual salvation message. unfortunately this is all too true in Americas take on Yeshua. They have drifted far away from Him and His Word. They call Him names that aren’t given by Him, they incorrectly assumed that Jesus did away with Torah, they worship Him on Baal day (sun-day) instead of friday at sundown till Saturday at sundown (biblical day of rest), they celebrate December 25th as if it was a holy day to God (Yet that is the birthday of Baal). They celebrate Easter as Yeshuas’ resurrection (Yet Easter is the English word for Ishtar or Ashtoreth; false gods in the bible).
    And the list goes on…

    The most unfortunate part of this is many believers will never know the truth of this information. They love Yeshua but they are not able to follow Him. They perish for lack of knowledge. But the really sick part of all of this is that many leaders in Christianity are totally aware of this yet they continue leading the flock of Yahweh astray.

    1. One thing I’ve noticed is that when I’ve prayed and gotten real life out of nowhere miracles from
      the prayer 3 different times the miracles saved my life. And I’ve had other prayers answered that
      were not emergency prayers and they were answered. And each time I have used the name ” Jesus”
      and HE did what I had Faith HE could do. So, all of this “discussion” on HIS Name is really ridiculous.
      GOD & JESUS read our hearts, not our lips. The Name JESUS works fine when praying or being saved.

  4. My posts were deleted for speaking out the truth. Poor Christians being lied to who will not hear the truth.

  5. God knew that when the gospel went to the gentiles that their pagan language and vocabulary would be used in reaching His Good News to the ends of the earth. He is far above and supercedes all barriers even language! He has over on the world. People cannot relate and be converted if they don’t understand. Look at the missionaries in Africa and Asian countries like India and China. These were are polytheistic cultures, and these missionaries are using their language to bring the to Jesus Christ so that they may be saved. Stay focused on the Great Commission. Satan wants us, the Bride of Christ to be confounded and confused so he can win those precious souls to himself. We are debating the correct name to use, well let me tell you, our LORD God Almighty is so awesome that nothing can separate you from His Love, nothing in creation, not even language; He knows His own and is above EVERYTHING created. Get focused and work the Lord’s harvest! We got soul winning to do in the precious name above all names, JESUS CHRIST.

  6. Joses rios…
    The prophet spoke the word of the Lord and said to call His name Immanuel ( Isaiah 7:14). He has many names. As the author stated in his findings ( excellent facts by the way), Jesus is a perfectly acceptable transliteration of His Hebrew name. Also, maybe you should think about what Christ truly means to the sinner, unable in his fallen nature to keep the righteous requirement of God, Christ frees us from the burden of the requirement. We are not redeemed by works of the law but by faith in Christ and in Christ alone. This doesn’t mean I despise God’s law, in fact I dwell on it constantly. But as the apostle says, through the law comes knowledge of sin ( Romans 3:20). So I stand with Luther when he says the command does not exist to reveal ability but rather inability. In other words, when I see my wretchedness that God’s law exposes in me this drives me straight to the righteousness of Christ and the atonement He provided for me. I lean not on my own understanding but on Him who can do all things.

  7. I have prayed both in the name of Jesus in the past and now in the name of Yehoshua and still see miracles. If you believe in Our Heavenly Father then your knowledge of His Person should outweigh any misconceptions especially mistranslations of a name.

    Just like parents you know and love regardless of their name you know WHO they are to such an internal extent that if their names were different it wouldnt matter. Our Father’s abounding Love is no different. If we make the name more important than the person, what disservice would we do His Life and Death by reducing the importance of all of that into just a name. He was more than just a name. The Person lived a Holy life and example for us all. Lets stick to that objectively and finally end this fruitless name debate.

    English: Jesus
    Greek: Iesous
    Arabic: Isa
    Gaulish: Esus
    Celtic: Aisus/Hesus
    Various:
    Esuv Iesu Esv Esav Esau

    Aisus Esu Esa Iesu Esav Esau. There. The name is closer to Esau than Yeshua anyway but thats just speculation. Get to know WHO He is beyond the scope of the different name translations. I garauntee you would find Love and completeness in The Spirit of Our Father.

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