One: Name Above All Names

ARTIST'S NOTES

This was among the first of the Revelation paintings. Rather than go through each special revelation of the Risen Christ given to the churches in existence at the time, I wanted to represent the essence of these passages in a way that could speak to anyone, a revelation of the depth and goodness in the personal identity of Jesus Christ. How better than with His name? The Name Above All Names! I needed to communicate the understanding that Jesus is the Name above some very awesome, mystical, powerful, beautiful names. So I went through the Book, looking for every instance of a new name of God. It took about six months, but I found each name so full of meaning, such powerful names the prophets were inspired to call him, such beauty of character and personality these names describe... my heart was repeatedly filled with an overwhelming sense of His goodness, majesty, and love.

God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the LORD.

-Phillippians 2:9,10

In silver, from the top of the painting to the top of the Cross, are some of the many names and name phrases, as I call them, of the Father from the Old Covenant texts. Superimposed in gold on the Cross itself are the names of the Messiah to come from the books of the Prophets. Within the symbol above the Cross are the names of the Holy Spirit, in pearl, and inside the dot at the bottom of the symbol is the single name, One. Below the Cross are the names of God from the writings of the disciples and witnesses of the New Covenant. There isn't one repetition, and many remain in my notes but couldn't be included...notice how the text got smaller and smaller as I reached the bottom in my effort to fit them all! I couldn't, but then the glorious rainbow of the names of God overflows the entire universe, and even the Book itself cannot contain them all....

There are also a great many other things which Jesus did, which, if written one by one, not even this world, I believe, could contain the books that would be written.

-John 21:25

Behold, all heaven and Earth are filled with me, saith the LORD

In Him we live and move and have our being

However, there is one name that encompasses them all and portraying its significance was the point of this endeavor, but I'll get to that later, because by now you're probably wondering if I will explain that symbol above Jesus' head. I learned that the original texts of the Bible (Latin : book) were not written in Greek, as many theologians will vehemently argue, but in Aramaic. This is documented by historians as the ancient language of the Middle East, from which both Hebrew and Arabic are descended, the language which Abraham spoke before he set out from Chaldea (now Iraq). Aramaic continued to be the common language of natives of the region beyond the time of Christ's visitation, and is still used by some. In this language prayers are sung in the surviving branches of the Eastern Church, but there is concern that the language is dying as it's the first language for only about 100,000 people today (namely the Kurdish people of Northern Iraq). The symbol I used above the Cross is the ancient word for One God, or Deity in this language, literally Aholah, God. It 's easy to see where the Islamic Allah originated in light of this. It's also the Hebrew word for the Holy Spirit.

There is a teaching among western Christians of a Trinity, which many believe to be a revelation of the three-fold nature of God. Yet Jesus himself, when challenged by the Pharisees as to which was the greatest law of them all, said Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. When he had empowered his disciples, he sent them out to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, yet although the scriptures record that instead they baptized in the name of Jesus, there is no record of him scolding them for this. Later, when after a period of confusion they realized He was trying to tell them that He was leaving them, one of the disciples said Now we understand, just show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. He responded All this time you've been with me, and still you do not know who I am? In Paul's words, Jesus is the express image of the invisible God. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, the One God who, visiting His creation in human form to straighten out misunderstandings and relieve us from the power of death, took upon himself the image of a Son, setting for us the One example that would guide multitudes over millennia into the way of truth, sonship and eternal life.

And the LORD will be king over all the earth; on that day shall there be one LORD, and his name One. -Zechariah 14:9

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he is One -Mark 12:32

God is One -Galatians 3:20

To Seth was born a son, and he called his name Enosh (mortal man). Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD. -Genesis 4:26

The scripture from Genesis above is the first that refers to His name, the LORD. Intrigued, I looked up its origin in my Concordance and found that the ancient meaning of this name is He who cleanses the whole person. John the Baptist knew this, and pointed it out when he alerted everyone who came to him for cleansing that the one who would come after him could cleanse not only the body, but the soul to life everlasting. Jesus' own name means God is salvation...testifying to the cleansing of the heart and soul which is the only rescue from the weaknesses of man: hatred, murder, death (check the scripture again and see how long ago the LORD had this rescue in mind and had revealed it to men-I was deeply affected when this discovery showed me how important - and prophetic - names are). This cleansing is deep to the point of becoming a new creation, so deep that Jesus called it being born again. This re-creation, really the replacement of the human spirit with a new spirit of divine nature can only come from the One who created him and is the true definition of salvation...fondly known to those who have experienced it as the adoption

But it does go even further than this...I've found in the scriptures that the name of God is frequently synonymous with the presence of God, and therefore the union of the new creation with the One is not in name only, but in reality:

We will walk in the name of the LORD forever and ever.

-Micah 4:5

O Holy Father, protect them in your name, which you have given me, that they might be one as we are one... 17:26... I have made your name known to them, and I am still making it known, so that the love with which you have loved me might be among them, and I be with them.

-Jesus, as quoted by John (chapter 17:11)

...those who received him, to them he gave power to become sons of God, especially to those who believed in his name, those who are not of flesh and blood nor of the will of man, but born of God

-John 1:12

...For those who have been baptized in the name of Christ have been clothed with Christ-Galatians 3:27

...Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat upon the throne. -Revelation 4:2

...on his head there were many crowns, and he had names written on them, and one of the names written, no man knew but he himself... :13... and he called his name the Word of God -Revelation 19:12

They shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads... -Revelation 22:4

Won't you join us?