It may be helpful to read Part-1 of this article to help improve your understanding about the topic. Click on link. Power of a name (Part-1) – Feast of light
Names can signify origin.
Biblical names are rich in symbolism. Some names signify origin. Scripture opens with the Book of Genesis detailing the beginnings of Creation. The word “genesis” itself means “origin.”
God named the first human “Adam,” likely derived from the Hebrew word for “ground” and reminding us that Adam, as the first human, was created from the ground’s dust (Genesis 2:7). Adam then named his wife Eve, a name that means “living” and commemorates Eve’s role as “the mother of all the living” (Genesis 3:20).
Names can be changed in the spirit realm
Jeremiah 20:1-6. Pashhur:
Pashhur is a priest that wickedly flogged and put Jeremiah in Jail for prophesying the truth whereas he was prophesying lies that everything will be alright (they won’t go into exile in Babylon)
From Bible encyclopaedia; meaning of the name “Pashhur” is unknown, possibly of Egyptian origin., in which case it might mean portion of the god Horus). Since the name was not Hebrew, some bible scholars define the name to mean “deliverance is roundabout” In this rebuke Jeremiah reversed the popular meaning of the name, saying that the Lord would no longer call him “Pashhur,” but “Magor-missabib” meaning “terror is surrounding,” and declaring that Pashur and his friends would be carried into captivity to Babylon and would die there (Jer 20:1-6)
So if we go by the good meaning of his name, his name in the earthly plane is Pashhur, but in the spirit realm his name was Magor-missabib. This name by which he was known in the spirit realm signified tragedy and disaster to him and those connected to him. And so whatever name you are called in the spirit overrides your natural name!
It is possible to have a name in the spirit and not even know it. Pashhur did not know in the spirit realm that he had a name that implied terror was surrounding him
Pharoah; Jeremiah 46:17 (Give the king of Egypt a new name— ‘Noisy Braggart Who Missed His Chance.’) GNT
When God decided to intervene for His children in Egypt, in the spirit realm He had changed Pharoah’s name to a “noisy one”, one who has missed his opportunity. So all pharaoh’s boasting against Moses & Aaron at the time in the book of Exodus was just “noise” in the spirit realm as God had completely defeated Pharoah in the spirit realm before the victory even manifested in the physical. And hence we get some clues to spiritual operations, that one of the strategies that the enemy also employs to defeat a man or woman is to change his or her name spiritually.
Gideon; Judges 6:12 (The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!)
Gideon was fearful man, with low self-esteem issues but in the spirit realm, he was regarded as a Mighty hero, a man whom God is with. But the change of his destiny from a man that was hiding in the shadows because of fear, to a man who gave Israel victory over its enemies, started by the angelic announcement of his new name. so, we can change our physical environment by declaring the names that God has given us through His word by speaking it. For example, you can declare in the spirit realm my name is favoured by God. In the spirit realm my name is blessed by God and so on.
May God Almighty announce a new name in the spirit for you that will cause you destiny to arise and shine in Jesus Name
((God has given us a victory name from His throne to use. That name is Jesus. Bible says if we ask anything in His name, it will be done for us. (John 14:14; If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it). But remember, God doing it is dependent on what you are asking lining up to His will. (1 John 5:14, This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.)))
Elizabeth, Luke 1:36; Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. (NKJV)
She was called barren. No one would have been unkind to call her “barren” to her face but we live in a world governed by wickedness and someone may have indirectly said it to her face but am almost certain behind her back many would have called her “barren”. She had a spiritual cloud of barrenness following her but when God visited her, her name and story changed from barren to mother. From reproach to praise. But it began with the encounter of the angel that revealed she once had a name called barren but now God is changing it to fruitfulness
Gideon, Jacob, Elizabeth had godly spiritual encounters that caused their name to be changed which repositioned their destiny from shame to glory
It is possible that you are called wonderful natural names such as Joy, Daniel, Elijah and so on but in the spirit realm, your name may be “beggar”, “no progress”, try hard but nothing to show forth”
Having such names tagging your life spiritually will cause your life to be denied access to the blessings, victories, favour that should be yours in life. Having such names in the spirit will magnetise problems to you. That’s why we need to pray; “O God arise and give me a new name”
God specializes in doing new things which include giving us new names in the spirit realm. Isaiah 43:19; Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.
One of the new things He can do in your life is give you a new name; Isaiah 62:2; The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
Revelations 2:17; “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”
God had to give Jacob a new name for him to enter into his destiny. Names are crucial in enabling one to fulfil their destiny
Names are linked to destiny
Hosea 4:6a; My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Most people don’t realise that names are linked to a man’s destiny. And many people have gone into captivity because of ignorance on the power of names. Spiritual ignorance to the power of names will cause problems.
In all culture names are important. Names are important to God. Names are important to satan. Names are important to people. And there are spirits behind names.
Names have to do with destiny. A wrong name can damage a destiny. No wonder God gives names to people to enable them to fulfil their destinies.
About Jesus
Matthew 1:20-21
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is [g]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name [h]Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
The name of Jesus was linked to the Holy-Spirit because He was conceived in Mary through the activity of the Holy-Spirit
About John
Luke 1:13-15
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
John’s name was given to Him by God from heaven. Any other name would have been a disaster to his divine destiny. That is why when his relatives were insisting, he takes his father’s name (Zacharia) at the naming ceremony, God opened the mouth of Zacharia to speak and support the wife, that their son’s name will be called John
Anyone whose name is bringing problems to their lives will today receive divine intervention in Jesus Name
About Jacob
Jacob in the bible was blessed from changing his name from Jacob to Israel
Gen 35:10-11; 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.
God had to change Jacob’s name to Israel, which suggest names can block blessings from locating a man. Names can invite a curse on a man. It was only after God changed his name from Jacob to Israel, activated the release of the covenant blessing upon his life
A name speaks of character
In the Old Testament For example, Jacob means “heel-catcher,” characterizing his underhanded, deceptive nature, but God renames him Israel, “one who prevails with God,” after his conversion.
Christ Himself is named Jesus, “Savior.” God’s names likewise identify His character traits: He is Eternal, Creator, Almighty, our Banner, our Healer, our Sanctifier, our Peace, our Righteousness, our Shepherd, our Master, etc.
A name can bring a curse
First, we find out that Jabez’s name itself wasn’t pleasant at all. 1 Chronicles 4:9 says, “Now Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.
” His mother probably had a difficult time giving birth to him because, as she said, “I bore him in pain.” And so named him Jabez!
Jabez’s name, according to the footnotes in the NKJV version, literally meant “he will cause pain.”
His name affected him all his life, a life of pain and sorrow, until he got fed-up and cried to God
From the story of Jabez, we can clearly see that an Evil name will bring evil manifestation in the life of the bearer of that name. So, if someone is bearing a “cursed” name, that name will serve as a platform for evil operation in the life of that individual
Names can have prophetic meaning or be Signs
(The case of Isaiah’s two son’s). Isaiah 8:18; I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion. (NLT)
This was Isaiah prophetic comment about the two sons God gave him and their names were indeed signs to Israel of the sovereignty of God Almighty.
You may want to study more about the prophetic signs behind the names of Isaiah’s two sons for your own spiritual development. If so, please take a look at the verses listed; Isaiah 7:1-5, Isaiah 8:1-3, Isaiah 10:5-7 2Chr 28:19-22
Hosea’s children, their names were also a prophetic sign of thing to befall Israel & Judah.
But we will just consider the name of his first son. (Please study Hosea 1 in your spare time)
(1st son) Jezreel means “God sows”
Hosea 1: 3-4; So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. 4 And the Lord said, “Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu’s dynasty to avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel’s independence.
Hosea 1:11 Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreel[d]—when God will again plant his people in his land.
Jezreel, “that God sows seed”; meaning that He will also bring His people back to their land and they will never be uprooted again
Because of names are so important in shaping people’s destinies, He illustrated this by changing names of certain people in the bible
Jacob was renamed Israel after he spent the night wrestling with God. When He encountered God, his name was changed
Jacob’s struggle with God is symbolic of his struggle with his inner self. God wanted to enter into a relationship with Jacob, however, he couldn’t do so until Jacob admitted his weakness of self-reliance, deceit, and trickery. When Jacob refused to surrender to God, a mere divine touch on Jacob’s hip forced him to surrender and admit his utter need for God (Genesis 32:25-26).
God blessed Jacob and gave him a new name – Israel (Genesis 32:28) and with it a new identity. Jacob was no longer to be associated as the swindler and trickster of his past: He was a new creation, filled with God’s blessings with a divine purpose to establish the Israelite nation
Steps to be taken if you suspect that your name is linked to evil events in your life
- Do not hang on to a bad name because you want to preserve your family heritage
- Drop every bad name and pick up a new one
- Destroy the spiritual principles by which the former name operated to induce evil experiences
- Engage in prayers
- Wait on God and Seek God for a new name & Bring into force by prayer the expected blessings of a change of name which God gives you.
What does a name change spiritually mean to us using Jacob as an example?
Like Jacob, we can enter into a relationship with Christ today by asking forgiveness for our sins and declaring God to be our Savior and Redeemer.
Through admitting our brokenness to Him, God can give us a new life as His children, and we can enter into an eternal relationship with Him by accepting Jesus as Lord and saviour of our life. By this new spiritual identity we have access to the fullness of His blessings and good promises over our lives. God bless you.
Prayer
Anointing for excellence overshadow my name and my life in the name of Jesus
I remove my name from every spiritual register of darkness in the name of Jesus
I decree that by the blood of Jesus, my name will favour me from now on, in Jesus Name
Feast of Light Global Ministry
