Only, don’t speak in that name (1)

Act 4 “¹⁶Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
¹⁸And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.”

This is a really touching story that shows us a clash between two kingdoms. On one side we see God glorifying his servant Jesus and delighting all those that love God, and on the other side jealousy, hardness of heart, and finally unveiled fury against that name. Everything begins with the healing of a man over the age of fifty years born lame. The miracle was made ​​in the name of Jesus and in His kingdom there is joy, cheer and lots of sons and daughters of God who were still in the kingdom of darkness see the light and return to their kingdom. On the other side they realize that they are losing members, they are unveiled and may soon close the doors if nothing is done to quickly stop this trend announcing their bankruptcy. They cannot deny that God performed a miracle in the midst of the people by those who keep and honor the name of his Son Jesus Christ of Nazareth, exactly the name that they cannot bear to hear.

They can tolerate the apostles to continue their business if and only if they dismiss that name. There is no confusion here, but precision: what bothers the enemy is a name and the name is mentioned, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The devil was not disturbed by the religion of the apostles, their organization, their teaching or even by miracle, which things he allowed; he was disturbed by the name. The apostles might have cancelled the name of Jesus from everything they did , they might have organized their religion, teach and do the rest in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and in this case they might have been in peace with the Sanhedrin. The devil understands better the mystery of salvation than man who is the recipient thereof, and he strives to con him. He knows that when the name of Jesus is rejected, everything else done is just folklore. When a soul is saved, there is celebration in heaven, and in the kingdom of darkness there is mourning, desolation, it is a fatal blow to the enemy.

Now the prince of this world is aware that without the name of Jesus salvation is not possible. Hence, in matters relevant to salvation it suffices to put the name of Jesus aside, and the bet is won then; you can decorate religious folklore: build beautiful, well embellished churches, organize agapes, professional choirs, conventions, etc. Salvation is repentance and forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47). And one can only repent if one hears a message of the cross by a man sent from God (Romans 10:14-17), i.e. if one believes in the good news of Jesus Christ. And when one believes and is baptized, one is saved, otherwise one is condemned (Mark 16:16). And we know that according to the Spirit and the scriptures none of these steps is valid before God unless it is done in the name of Jesus (Col 3:17). The Spirit expressly says in Acts 4 that there is salvation in no other name than that of Jesus (v.10 -12). Whatever is done without the name of Jesus does not refer to salvation: repentance, baptism, laying on of hands without the name of Jesus is an nonevent before God. All these mysteries are well known to the enemy, so he said to the apostles, "we can keep a good relationship, you can organize your church with no issue and you can even count on us, on the only condition that you dismiss the name of Jesus from all that you do."

In Matthew 28:19 the Lord has commanded his apostles to baptize in the NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Not three names but one name revealed to those who obey God, and it is against this name that the enemy hounds thinking he can remove it and replace it with titles Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I heard one doctor teach that Father, Son and Holy Spirit were proper nouns (names). I was embarrassed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: may one stand at the corner of Marketplace Street and call shouting: Father! how many people will turn to see? because they are all fathers, but each has his own name. In the spiritual world it is the same: our God is our Father but has His own name, the devil is father but has his own name and the Pope of Rome is HOLY FATHER but has his own name. What is more astonishing in the whole thing is not the error per se, but the personality of the author of such an error: a theologian doctor! Whereby we comprehend what the Spirit says that the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of fornication of the prostitute woman of Revelation 17 (v. 2). Unless one is intoxicated or drugged, one cannot say that Father and Son and Holy Spirit are names.

God's covenant with humanity in the name of Jesus is a covenant of salvation, from the Old Testament and in the very meaning of the name: Mt 1 “²¹And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”  Whoever receives Jesus for anything other than salvation has not received Him. One must therefore accept to be saved in the name of Jesus, and it is only then that one can continue to live the rest of his life in the name of Jesus. Many people have rejected the name of Jesus for their salvation (as we have already exposed that he that believeth and is baptized in the name shall be saved), but they love to sing this name and do miracles in the same name. God did not send His Son to die on the cross to make a covenant with men for music band or demonstration of miracles! Paul had accepted Jesus for his salvation (he had repented and taken his baptism in the name of Jesus) and demonstrated the power of the name. People who had no covenant of salvation with that name began to use it on an adventure to drive out demons: Act 19 “¹³Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.” Disdainful use of the name of our salvation.

When a person rejects the name of Jesus about his salvation and then uses it for other purposes, God can not honor him because He has never known him (Mt 7:22-23). These exorcists received the response they deserved from the evil spirit: Atc 19 “¹⁵And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? ¹⁶And 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.”  The prince of this world wiser than any prophet (Ezekiel 28:3), understands all these mysteries and deceived the inhabitants of the earth to ignore the name of Jesus in matters relating to their salvation (repentance, baptism, etc..) and to only call on this name in the performance of their religious folklore. In vain do they invoke it for the Lord will tell them plainly, Mt 7 “²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

What the enemy asked, he certainly could not at all get from the apostles. A wise man in their camp even showed that their approach could not prosper (Atc 5:33-39). The apostles, like all of us who believe in God through their word, had nothing other than the name of Jesus. The Lord had made ​​it known to them and continues to make it known to those who believe in Him through their word (Jn 17:26), not to all the inhabitants of the earth or all religions, but only to those who believe in God by the word of the apostles: they are the ones that God has given Him (Jn 17:6). Now those people that know the name of the Father by the revelation of the Son manifested at Pentecost through the Holy Spirit, they trust in him: Ps 9 “¹⁰And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”  Salvation depends on the knowledge of the name: Jn 17 “³And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” This is the name in which God saves, demonstrates His power and glory in the midst of his people: Ps 44 “⁵Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.”  Ps 54 “¹Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.

The Shulamite who had the secret of the name of the bridegroom sang in the spirit saying, Sg 1 “²Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. ³Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.”  Yes, to us the Lord's name is perfume, we cannot stand before God without that name, otherwise He will not bear the stench of our sins. But perfumed in the name of Jesus that pardons, only then can we be acceptable and pleasant. All virgins have the revelation of this mystery, which is why they love the name. The virgins are all those who have responded to the call out of the confusion of Babylon to be separated from her blasphemies, abominations and fornication (see discussion 'The god of this world'). Prostitutes, i.e. MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, which is the mother of harlots, together with all her daughters, are not mentioned among those who love the Lord's name. They do not have the revelation of the name, they do not know the value thereof, being themselves drunk with the wine of the fornication of the great prostitute sitting on many waters (Rev. 17). For the Shulamite, and all the other virgins, the name of the Lord is all: asking us to dismiss the name of Jesus is asking us to deny our salvation.

The apostles being virgins sanctified by the word and purified throughout their conscience by the blood of the lamb; it was both unthinkable and impossible that they could favorably respond to this request of the prince of the world. This crude strategy showed its limitations, and the enemy had to use another, more subtle strategy ... (continued in the next epistle)

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