The Father’s Name Guards the Way for Agape Love

Christ said to dig deep. To find the vein of gold we must study thoroughly. The gold here is putting on Christ in the form of divine love. Christ’s prayer recorded in John 17 comes from the depths of the Father’s heart. It reveals how we will receive the seventh addition—agape love. And it is the Father’s name that takes center stage in our relationship with the Father.

At first, we flinch and say, “Huh? What does the Father’s name have to do with adding agape love in our spiritual walk?

Christ did say, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world…” (v. 6).  I have clearly shown thy name; I have made it apparent; I have made it known to them.  And they have believed that You have sent Me; they have kept My word, and they believe that it is You, Father, who is doing the works.  And they know that I came out of You, and that it is You who has sent Me (vs. 6-8).

Christ goes on to say that it is His followers that He is praying for and not the world because they are the Father’s, who has given them to Christ.  And the time has come, He is saying, for Him to depart out of the earth, leaving His followers. So how will they remain in one mind and one accord with the Savior?  How will God keep them spiritually safe and sound after Christ departs?

Love and the Knowledge of His Name

He said to continue in His love. We continue in it through the knowledge of the Father’s name. “Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given Me…” There is keeping power in the name of Yahweh.  The Greek word for “keep” means “to attend to carefully, to attend, to guard,” and is translated in other places as “to preserve.”  So, He is guarding us from the evil for this purpose: “That they may be one, as we are one” (vs. 9-11). We could then say that we will never be fully one with God without knowing His name.

He is the fountain of love. He wants us to be one with Him. It happens through the knowledge of His name. He goes on to say that while He was walking with them here on earth, He “kept them in thy name,” and none of them is lost except Judas Iscariot.  He “kept” them; He guarded them.  How?  By teaching them and showing them and revealing to them the Father’s name.  For in His name is the whole plan of God (v. 12).

Christ goes on to ask the Father to not give them an escape hatch “out of the world,” but rather guard and keep them from the evil.  “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (v. 15, NKJV) {Side note: That speaks against the rapture theory}.

Now some will say that this prayer is only for His twelve disciples, His followers of that era.  But it is for all of us down through the ages. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” (v. 20). That’s us. He was praying for you and me, so we can take these concepts to heart.

Consequently, if Christ is going to “keep” and guard us from the evil by manifesting the Father’s name to us that we all may be one with Him, then how can that happen when very few Christians know that the Father’s name is Yahweh?

Christ’s desire is that all of us His followers “would be with Me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which You have given Me” (vs. 24).  He desires that we all “may be made perfect in one” (v. 23).  But we have to ask ourselves, How can this happen if a Christian doesn’t know the Father’s name Yahweh, which God uses to guard us from the evil?

And lastly in this prayer in John 17, Christ repeats, “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it…”  For this specific reason: “That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”  Let’s savor this.  He is saying, I have made known, shown clearly, Your name, Father, and I will continue to make it known, for this reason: That the same love You have loved Me with may be in My followers.  And that My very essence and Spirit of love may be in them!

What His Name Means

Here the very love and presence of God is tied into the knowledge of God’s name.  His name means “The Self-Existent One” and Yahweh is the Savior, which is what the Son of God’s Hebrew name means—Yahshua.

Inside, God’s name contains and reveals the very nature of Himself.  God is Love. Him being the Savior of His creation reveals or unveils His essence, which is Love. For “greater love hath no man than this than to lay down his life for his friends.”  This essence of the greatest love on earth–giving your life to save someone else–is implicit in the name of the Savior.  This is the reason that our hearts are touched and moved when we hear of someone giving up their own lives to save someone else.  It touches us because it is the heart of God and shows us what He has done, whether we realize it or not.

He guards us from the selfishness of the evil one, when we think on His name and how He gave His life for us. For the great invisible Spirit Yahweh poured Himself into a human form so that He could express fully the love that is His essence.  It is through realizing this knowledge of His love contained in His name that we can receive that same love—that God, who is Love, may dwell in our hearts, and that He and His love would thrive and grow in our hearts, so that we could make known who God is by the love exhibited through us to others. And thus fulfill Christ’s prayer.  “I have declared unto them thy name and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”  The addition of His love into us is realized through the remembrance of the meaning of His name. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Believing the Secrets of the Son’s Name

Man wrestles with God over belief. It is all about faith, or a lack of it. Hence, all will not believe the following words about belief. Yet these words are written down and are essential for the future 100-fold fruit bearers, the elect for these latter days. The following knowledge is crucial for those predestined to sit with Christ on His throne when He returns to earth: “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne…” (Rev. 3:20). These following words are better swallowed and digested in small contemplative bites.

“Belief” and “faith” are translated from the same Greek word. Faith is being sure of the things that we hope for based on God’s promises to us. Belief/faith is also being certain of the things that cannot be seen (Heb. 11:1 NIV).

We are told to believe in God. But what does that mean exactly? Belief in God is believing the words of God spoken and written down. Try to believe something—anything–without putting it into words first. Our minds immediately formulate words to cradle our belief. Thoughts come to us in words. Consequently, we believe words. Belief cannot exist without words.

To express our belief that the sun will come up in the morning, we use words describing this ball of fire rising in the east. To believe in the truth, we must believe the words of truth. With this in mind, we read the words of the Spirit written down by the apostle John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1).

In the Beginning Was the Word

There is something to be believed that existed from the very beginning. And that something is God, and He was and is a Spirit, and that invisible Spirit was comprised of words. For Christ said, “The words that I speak they are spirit, and they are life.” God wants us to believe in Him. Of course, he also knows that words are the things that are believed. Therefore, for belief to take place, something must be spoken or written in the form of words.

The spoken word has invisible spiritual qualities. Invisible because, like the wind, you can’t see them in the physical and natural sense. But also, like the wind, you can see and feel their effects on those in their path. Words spoken can destroy the hearer like a hurricane wind, but words can also comfort and cool like a summer breeze.

So, to believe God, we must believe the Word. For the Word was God, and the Word was in the beginning. And this Logos, this Eternal Thought/Word, who is the Father, “was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This Anointed One (Christ) “has declared Him” (v. 18).

Christ’s life was the life of the Father—eternal life—and was read of all men who saw Him 2,000 years ago. And many millions afterward have believed His witness of just who the Word is. And the Word, the Son of God, spoke many words to us. To believe God, we must believe the words of the Word, who is God. For the Son of God is “the expressed image of the invisible God.” The Son expressed the words of the Word.

Again, for us to believe God, we must believe His words. There is a vast difference between saying, I believe God, and saying, I believe that there is a God. To believe God, one must believe His words, words that he declares about Himself and us. When He says, “Repent of your sins,” we must not only believe that it is possible with His help, but also mandatory as part of His initiation into His Kingdom. But to say, I believe that there is a God, is to speak hollow, lukewarm words that He will spue out of His mouth. “For even the devils believe in one God and tremble.”

Believing in the Name of the Son of God

[The following paragraphs are some of the secrets of the Almighty. The Spirit of Christ still speaks to us: “I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.” These are some of the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” It is given unto the elect to know them. “Whosoever has [been chosen to receive the secrets and mysteries] to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance…” (Matthew 13:10-12).]

We are talking about believing God’s words. He that believes in Christ is not condemned. “But He that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Believing in Christ’s name is crucial. But how do we believe in His name? We saw above that “belief/faith” believes words. So, believing in His name is believing the message contained in His name.

Believing in His name is believing what His Hebrew name means. For the Son’s name has meaning! It literally means “Yah is the Savior.” Yahweh is the Father; He is a Spirit that dwells inside the Son; He is the Savior (Isa. 43:11; 45:21; Hosea 13:4). And our Savior’s Hebrew name is Yahshua, the same name of the patriarch Joshua–Yahshua. And it literally means “Yah saves or Yah is the Savior.

Christ’s Hebrew name is encased as one of the Father’s secrets. But they can be ours. For “the secrets of YHWH belong to them that are in reverential awe [fear] of Him.” This secret and many more are like tree ripened pears, ready for our hands to grasp them and hold them to our hungry lips. All we need do is to believe His words about His name.                                  

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[I wrote a book on this entitled Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality. Order your free copy with free shipping. Just email me. Include your name and mailing address and the title of the book: wayneman5@hotmail.com ]

The Invisible Dimension–How Do We Enter?

Christ turned the water into wine at the marriage at Cana. That is another dimension. Christ raised up Lazarus from the dead after four days.  That is a different dimension than the one we wake up in every morning.

Peter and John healing “a certain man lame from his mother’s womb”—that miracle came out of a dimension that the public had never seen nor experienced before. The apostles took no credit, for they had crossed over into that new, heavenly dimension. They said that the miracle was from “the Holy One and the Just.”

How, then, did they do it? They said, “His name through faith in His name has made this man strong.” Faith/Belief had allowed them to enter this new, invisible, powerful, and spiritual dimension (Acts 3:1-16).

[Faith/Belief in His name? What does that mean exactly? Christ’s Hebrew name is Yahshua, which means  Yahweh is the Savior. That is the message encrypted into His name. We believe in His name by believing the message in His name. “I, even I, am Yahweh; and beside Me there is no savior” (Isa. 43:11; 45:21)].

So, we see that Peter and John crossed over into the spiritual dimension through “faith in His name.”  Or, believing in the message contained in His name. The miracles came from an invisible dimension. One of faith/belief, not sight. In fact, show me a miracle, and we will see it ushering forth from this invisible dimension. A few humans have walked in that spiritual dimension where miracles were on the menu. Think of Elijah, Moses and all the apostles and prophets whose walks on earth intersected with the heavenly dimension. The Holy Bible is record of their spiritual journeys into the heavenly dimension.

But how do you and I enter this dimension? That is the question.

[Share your thoughts on this by leaving a comment. I would love to hear your take on “dimensions.”]

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

The “Deep Things of God”—Knowledge That Will Change Your Life

We are commanded, “Add to your faith.” The seven additions to the faith are “the deep things of God.” Knowledge is one of those deep things.

Man’s wisdom teaches us that knowledge comes as we get to know God better. But knowledge is not us knowing him or us knowing about him. It’s what he alone knows. It is proprietary knowledge—God being the Proprietor. For knowledge is an attribute of God. Knowledge emanates out of Him–not us. Knowledge is part of his “divine nature.”

And God has hidden His knowledge and wisdom from the eyes of natural man. The disciples inquired of Christ about the hidden knowledge. And He responded, “The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them” (Matt. 13:11 NIV).

Example of Hidden Knowledge

The irony is rich. We were drowning in sin, and we reached for the lifeline. But we found that God’s lifeline does not save our old way of living; it puts it to death. His lifeline is the cross. Being crucified with Christ is God’s way of putting to death our old selfish heart. Then we are buried with Him, and then we are resurrected with Him by believing in Christ’s resurrection (Rom. 6:6-12). This is part of the hidden wisdom. It is a secret that natural man’s wisdom does not comprehend.

By this belief, we receive the Spirit of God into our hearts. Our old sinful life is dead and gone, whether we feel it or not. As we seek Him and grow, the Spirit now within us seeks and searches and shares with us the “deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:6-16).

The knowledge to be added to our faith is an attribute of the Spirit of God. It can only be attained through a gift from God to us; only the Spirit can teach us His knowledge. It is in the heart of God. It is the kind of knowledge that only God has. It’s the knowledge that is of Him and by Him and for Him, to be channeled through us out into the world.

The Spiritual World Contains Secrets and Mysteries

His divine nature is painted in secrets and mysteries, to be meted out to those who seek Him with all their heart. Only God can give his own secrets and mysteries and knowledge to us. Therefore, we must ask Him for wisdom and knowledge. It is His to give. He is the Great Giver of His own secrets of hidden wisdom. And He “has freely given us all things” (Rom. 8:32).

To be in reverential awe of Yahweh is the first step in attaining knowledge. “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7). Fearing Him, being in awe of Him—that is the start of knowledge and wisdom. When His omnipotence floods the heart and mind, then we begin to know Him and the power that He wields in His universe.

It Is All God’s Doing

Comprehending all this is having “the mind of Christ.” Paul speaks of “the wisdom of God in a mystery,” a “hidden wisdom.” God ordained it so. He ordered His plan to unfold in the very beginning. He planned it that there would be a wisdom and knowledge hidden from the eyes of the unregenerated ones. And God ordained the hidden wisdom, revealed along the way, as steps toward our glorification. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory” (1 Cor. 2:7).

He planned everything—all the secrets and mysteries—to bring us into a glorified state. He ordered it; it was part of His plan. Our glorification is His way to reproduce Himself. He does it by sharing Himself. That is what agape Love does. It shares His glory with us. After all, He did say that man is the “glory of God” (I Cor. 11:7).

The Crucifixion—Hidden Knowledge

The crucifixion of Christ is an example of this “hidden wisdom,” which leads to our glory, culminating in us sitting with Him on His throne. The rulers of this world system did not know the “hidden wisdom.” Paul wrote, “We declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:7-8).

This is secret knowledge that is only attained by the Spirit revealing it to us. Natural man cannot give us secret wisdom; only God can give it. Millions of souls all over the earth are “destroyed for lack of  knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).

We are talking about knowing the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). This knowledge is indispensable, for we must know His thoughts before the Spirit will enable us to act according to that knowledge. Knowing comes before doing.

There is only one way for us to know the secret, hidden wisdom, and that is for the Spirit to reveal His knowledge to us (v. 10). Natural man’s eye, ear and heart cannot see, hear, nor feel the secret things and blessings that “God has prepared for them that love him (v. 9).

Once we receive the Spirit, then He will begin to “search all things, yea, the deep things God” in and through us! I repeat. The Spirit of God inside of us will search. The Spirit will be the driving force that leads us in our search for His truth. The hidden wisdom was this: God used hate and evil, that led to murder, to accomplish the crucifixion. It was the very thing that had to take place on the very day of Passover. The Pharisees and the Romans were serving God’s purposes, trying to wipe out the Savior through hateful murder. Their sin took the Savior’s human life but enabled the resurrection to become our lifegiving source of power. We will see that the “deep things of God” help us grow into powerhouses that bear much fruit for the King. Being in awe of Him will lead us into much more hidden knowledge and wisdom.

What Prevents Us from Going Deeper?

Later in chapter 3, Paul explains how he could not go further into the deep things of God with them. He could not teach them the “meat of the word” because they were “carnal” or worldly (3:2). And why were they worldly? Because of their “envying, strife, and divisions.” Think denominations and their thoughts of being the only true church. Christ is not divided. But that is for another time…

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Two Outpourings of the Spirit—One “Good,” One “Bad”

[Continued from 4-5-22]

In the dream, the Voice coming through my mouth shouted, “I will pour My Spirit upon all flesh! UPON ALL FLESH! Through study, I discovered that the Spirit at Pentecost was not poured out on “all flesh” present that day in Jerusalem. It was only poured out on His servants and handmaidens, the disciples of that era. Here the scene is painted (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:17-21).

Both renditions contain two different and distinct visions of how the Spirit will be poured out. In Joel 2:28-29 and Acts 2:17-18 we see the blessed outpouring on His servants. Reading on in the very next verses, we see another kind of outpouring. Yahweh says, “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD [Yahweh] come” (Joel 2:30-31).

That day will not be nice day for many. In both prophetic passages, there are two vastly different outpourings. The first section reveals the baptism of the Holy Spirit that will take place during the “time of the end.” The second part of that prophetical flow reveals a pouring out of natural disasters and “acts of God,” a day of gloom and terror (Joel 2: 30- 31). This day of terror is when Yahweh has His angel pour out the vials of wrath. This shows us that both the latter day pouring forth of the Spirit and the pouring out of the vials of wrath happen at basically the same time in history—our time. The Upper Room pouring out of the Spirit was a type and shadow of what will take place on the earth at the beginning of “the time of the end” (Dan. 12:1). We are living in that time.

Christ warns us of that time (Matthew 24:15, 21- 22, 29). The pouring out of His Spirit that brings power from on high happens first. But not every human being will be so blessed.

But Joel, right after the first outpouring of His Spirit, speaks of a universal scourge. Christ calls it the pouring forth of the vials of wrath. How ghastly that will be for all the inhabitants of the earth. For all will see the sun “turned to darkness before the great and terrible day of the LORD  come.”

Some will say that the outpouring can only mean the baptism of the Holy Spirit like on the day of Pentecost. However, the scriptures are very clear that “all things are of God” (2 Cor. 5:18). And because “God is a Spirit,” then “all things are of the Spirit” (John 4:24). Even the pouring forth of the wrath of God upon all flesh [except those spared for the elect’s sake]. Yes, the elect, the sons and daughters of God will be on earth during tribulation.

He says, “Pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.” After all seven vials are poured out, “a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne [said], It is done” (Rev. 16:1. 17). This pouring out of God’s wrath is heavy stuff. It is the destruction of the world system, including the Battle of Armageddon (v. 16). This is major end time misery for mankind and runs parallel with the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon His chosen ones.

The Former and Latter Rains

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost partially fulfilled the prophecy spoken by Joel and it was confirmed by the apostle Peter. We have seen that the Spirit was poured on “all flesh” that were prepared for this happening. It did not fall on everyone in Jerusalem that day.

This partial outpouring of the Spirit has been called the “former rain.” The Hebrew word translated “former rain” means “teacher of righteousness.” The Spirit moved them to teach this gospel throughout the Mediterranean world. Christ did promise us that the Spirit “shall be in you” (John 14: 17). He also promised that the Holy Spirit “shall teach you all things…” (John 14: 26). Furthermore, the Spirit “will guide you into all truth” (John 16: 13).

The Holy Spirit, teaching righteousness through the apostles, was that former rain. This has gone on for the past 2000 years. You and I know Christ because of the early apostles’ work. The beauty of this event is captured in the poetry of Hosea:

“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know Yahweh: His going forth is prepared as the morning;        And He shall come unto us as the rain, As the latter and the former rain unto the earth” (6:3).

He shall come to us as the former rain, as the teachings of righteousness. He is pouring His Spirit over our minds and hearts, and it will teach us and prepare us for the latter rain. The latter rain will fall on us at or near the “time of the end.” It will fall upon those who are prepared to bear 100-fold spiritual growth (Matt. 13:3-9; 18-23).

For the righteousness shared by the “former rain” apostles will engender growth in us to be sustained in these latter days. For they spoke of our time, the time when our exiled King returns to this earth to establish righteousness and peace and judgment in the earth. Brothers and sisters, that’s what we’re working for. We do not believe anything into existence. We just believe what Christ believes.

The latter rain will fall through the teaching of apostles and prophets that God is raising up. They will teach righteousness and the truth about our King. They will raise up many princes and princesses and Yahweh will wipe the slate of the earth clean. It is all there in the book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, our King.

This shows that God pours from His mind His plan according to the record in heaven. He pours forth out of his Spirit, what we would call the “good” and the “bad.” We need only think about Pentecost and Him pouring out the vials of wrath. Yahweh spoke in the dream: “I will pour My Spirit upon all flesh. UPON ALL FLESH!” We see that these words are not only precious promises of personal spiritual growth, but also a dire warning of His displeasure and a subsequent cleansing of evil from the earth. [Share with us your thoughts about these things in the comments.] Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Small House Churches—Not Big Church Houses

We need two or three or four disciples meeting in homes, learning how to follow Christ all the way to manifested sonship. That will do the job. God always works that way–in small gatherings in homes, not in huge state of the art auditoriums.

It is a mistake to expect thousands, hundreds, or even scores of people to respond to these truths. Why? Because as Christ said, “Few there be to find this way of truth” And, because “many are called, but few are chosen.” In other words, few will be elected for the 100 fold walk. And “where two or three are gathered together, there I am in the midst.” It will be small groups in hundreds of places throughout the earth who will eventually communicate with each other, as they get on the same page with Christ.

Are you saying that there won’t be other Christians in the big churches. There will be others, but they will have not aspired to be like the apostles and prophets of old. It is because their leaders have told them that they cannot be like the Savior. Consequently, their spiritual growth will be stunted.

Why a Small Group?  

Why? We are admonished by what happened to the tribes of Jacob/Israel. It was always a small group that really knew God and His will for their time. Look at the patriarchs, Moses, Elijah and all the prophets. They were not pastors of large congregations. They even sometimes walked alone with God. We must not think it strange to be in that condition.

After fleeing Egypt at forty, Moses tended flocks with Jethro, his father-in-law. He waited forty years on Yahweh’s visitation and direction. He like other prophets chosen by God walked on practically alone.

Elijah was so alone that he thought he was the only prophet in all of Israel. But God told him, “I have 7,000 tiny groups scattered around this world who will do My will in surrendering to Me that I may reproduce Myself in them.

Look at Gideon’s 300. 10,000 showed up to fight, but God chose out 300. He did not want them to get the big head thinking that it was their great big army that had won the day. And the 300 did it God’s way, not the way of the world, not like the megachurches. They have their audience and followers. But so do I, saith Yahweh.

The way of the prophets of Yahweh is a lonely path. It’s going to be small groups to start out. That is His way as seen throughout the scriptures. But they will go out and find others to love and help and hopefully bring into the deeper calling.

We are talking about the fulfilling of God’s purpose of reproducing Himself. Very few, if any, of the denominations believe that human beings can be used to do this. They do not believe that Christ can be formed in us.

But this message of being His son or daughter is a fire. And who can stand close to the fire? For it will burn out all the impurities and assumptions about God and will light the path for the completion of God’s plan.

The first fruit elect company of which we speak will be small in each field of grain.  Those ordained by Him to bear 100 fold fruit will have their little flocks to love and care for and nurture for God’s sake. They will be meeting in house churches after turning their backs on big church houses. They will be teaching little flocks. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Free Copy of New Book “The Eleventh Commandment”

I am offering a free copy with free shipping of my latest book. Just send your name, mailing address, and the name of the book to my Email: wayneman5@hotmail.com

It usually takes a week or so to get it to you.

Those living outside the U.S. will receive a pdf. Let me know what you think of the book.

All the best. kwh

Believing the Meaning of Christ’s Name Yields Power

Believing in Christ’s name is believing the meaning of His name.

Every Christian will tell you that God’s name is important. When asked if they believe in Christ’s name, they will say, “Yes. Of course.” Believing in His name to them means believing the gospel story: Christ died for us on the cross, was buried, and was resurrected to give us eternal life, which is true. But they equate this with “believing in His name.”

But as we drill down, we see deeper layers of knowledge about His name. First, the Son of God was given a Hebrew name—Yahshua. Most who hear this will reject it because they have always been taught that the Savior’s name is “Jesus.” Granted, in the English speaking world, that is the name that we English speakers have given Him down through the centuries. But our Savior was not born in an English speaking world; it was an Aramaic speaking world closely akin to Hebrew, which was the language spoken by the Savior.  

And names in the Hebrew tradition have meanings that point to the person’s destiny. God changed Jacob’s name to match his new destiny. His new name would be “Israel,” which means “prince or power with God.” When Christ was born, the angel of the Lord gave Him a name whose meaning would herald the destiny that He would fulfill. “Thou shalt call His name _______, for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).

Christ’s Hebrew name has a meaning. And it has to do with saving His people from their sins.  Find the word in Hebrew that means “save or Savior,” and you will know His name. As per the angel’s direction, they named Son of God Yahshua. It means “Yah is the Savior, or Yah saves.” It means that the Father–Yah, or Yahweh, dwells inside the Son and does the saving. At least that is what the Spirit in Isaiah said:. “I, even I, am the LORD [Yahweh]; and beside Me there is no saviour (43:11; 45:21). Christ told His disciples that it was the Father Yahweh inside of Him that was doing the miracles (John 14:10-12). The name Yahshua witnesses this.

May I make a crude analogy to illustrate this crucial point? Going from the sublime to the ridiculous, we hear of a new professional wrestler named “Monster Mann.” He is a German hulk. We wonder if he can live up to his name. We go see him in action one night. He destroys his opponent.  We go away believing that his name accurately describes him. He is a monster in the ring, so we believe in his name. We believe in the meaning of his name—Monster Mann. Christ’s name means “Yahweh [His Father] is the Savior.” And the Father dwelt inside the Son.

The patriarch Joshua had the same name and was a type of Christ as the Savior of His people. Joshua’s destiny was to take them into the Promised Land. So, “Savior” is the meaning of His name. Now, to believe in His name is to believe in the meaning of His name: That the Father Yahweh dwelt in the Son and is the Savior.

To believe in or on His name is important in our spiritual growth. It is rare knowledge—the “word of knowledge,” one of the “gifts of the Spirit.” This is our ticket into being God’s elect, His chosen and called, His sons and daughters. Getting this is the proof that we are in His family.

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” Receiving Christ = Believing the meaning of His name. God gives power to become His sons and daughters to those who do this. He gives this power to us in a systematic way. He likens it to a garden. One plants the seed, the word of God, and another waters and nurtures the new plant. But it is the Spirit of God that gives the increase (I Cor. 3:6-7).

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Knowing Him That Is from the Beginning–The First and the Last

[I could tell you that the following is food taken from the peak of God’s mountain, high above the clamoring of earthlings. I could plead with you to partake of this secret bread, that it will propel God’s growth in you to lustrous lakes of living water. But only the hungry and thirsty will eat and drink. This we know, and in this we will rest.]

As Christians we believe that we know God. We have been touched by the love of Christ, and we have experienced the love, joy, and peace that His Spirit has given us. But do we “know Him that is from the beginning”?

The apostle John is writing a letter addressed to followers of Christ. They fall into three levels of maturity. He writes unto “little children, young men, and fathers” (I John 2: 12-14).

He ministers differently to each spiritual growth group. “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake” (v. 12). We see here that little children of God are into receiving from God. They receive love, encouragement, hope, and faith from him after their salvation. But many remain children in their spiritual growth by staying in the receiving-from-God-mode. They desire to receive blessings from God, both spiritual and physical.

John writes a different message to the fathers. The “father” here is a growth, like when Paul “fathered” Timothy in the gospel. Paul was in this “father” category of spiritual growth—the same growth that the remnant, the elect of today, will aspire to. Those in the 100 fold “father” growth no longer want a blessing from God, they are the blessing to the world!  For it is Christ fully formed in them.

John addresses them. “I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning.” “The beginning” is important to the apostle John. It is on his lips, and he includes “the beginning” in all his writings to us. John knows that “knowing Him that is from the beginning” is of the utmost importance.

He talks about “the beginning” in 1 John 1:1. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life…” Of course, he is talking about the Messiah Himself, the Son of God. John’s greatest desire is to help the sons of God get to know Him that is from the beginning. And during John’s hardest trial as an aged apostle toward the end of his days, he teaches us just who this One from the beginning really is. To be like the early apostles, we must have this knowledge.

The apostle John is banished to the barren rock pile in the Aegean Sea called Patmos. It is around the turn of the first century A. D., and John does not have long to go on this earth. Sixty-five years ago he had walked with the Savior and had heard and seen firsthand the Master’s plan for His followers. The scene is set for the Son of God’s final recorded appearance to the beloved apostle. The apostle will now become a seer who, aided by the Spirit, looks through time and space to the end of this present age.

He will see the total mouth-stopping vision of the end time.   He will see and record for us the way the evil world system will finally come down.   He will witness its final destruction and also the establishment of the kingdom of God come to earth.

But the most important thing that he will see is the risen Savior again.   It is a sight that would dumbfound him and take him to a deathlike state. “I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me,” John writes in Revelation 1: 12. “And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man…His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”

And then the Master comforted John and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last” (v. 17). Fear had stricken John to the point that he didn’t know whether he was alive or dead. And the very first thing that the Savior said to him to get him up on his feet, to get himself ready to receive what the Master was about to tell him—the very first words were for him to not be afraid, that it is I, “the first and the last.”

Knowing that He is “the first and the last” must have a profound effect on Christ’s followers. It must have an extreme amount of comforting power. Upon first glance at this statement, however, one could wonder just what is the revelation about this statement—what makes these first few words that He spoke unto John so special—that He is “the first and the last,” the beginning and the end.

For those words sound familiar. In fact, the prophet Isaiah wrote down those same words no less than three times. Can we get the revelation about Christ being the “first and last” by going to the prophet Isaiah?

“The God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name” Isaiah 48:3. Capital “LORD” is the title that the translators inserted for the name “Yahweh.” This passage in Isaiah should read, “Yahweh of hosts is the name of the God of Israel.” The Spirit Yahweh continues to speak through Isaiah on down to verse 12: “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.”

Here Yahweh, the great Creator, the great Father of Israel and all the prophets, is saying that He, Yahweh, is the first and the last! But I thought that the Son of God just told John that He, the Son of God, was the first and the last! How can this be?

If these two passages only appeared one time in Revelation and in the book of Isaiah, then they might be overlooked or forgotten. But the words “first and last” appear at least three times in each book! {Rev. 1:11, 1:17, and 22:13. And in Isaiah 48:12, 44:6, and 41:4}

The Problem

      The Son in Revelation says three times that he is the first and the last. And the Father Yahweh in Isaiah says that he is the first and the last. If there are two up there in heaven, then how can they both be “first”? Is not a father by definition before his son? Then how can the Son of God tell John that He is the first? If there are “two beings up there,” then which are we going to believe? Which is telling us the truth?

The Solution

      There can only be one plausible answer to this enigma. There is only One, and He is telling the truth. That is the mystery. We must look at this enigma after the spirit and not through natural thinking. It was Yahweh speaking through one “like the son of man.” Christ is the Son of man and walked with the sons of men.

It had to be Yahweh, the great eternal Creator Spirit who appeared in human form to John on that sun-bleached rock of an island 1900 years ago and comforted and strengthened him with the prerequisite revelatory truth of the day: “I am the First and the Last. I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the Root and the Offspring of David.” Yahweh made the full circle from eternal Spirit, pouring Himself into human flesh, and taking that body on up to the full glorification of immortality. John saw the face of God that day on Patmos, and the Spirit spoke and encouraged John with this truth: “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” That is all the nourishment John needed to receive the rest of the vision.

The Answer

The answer is that the Father and the Son are one. The Son said that they were one.   “I and my Father are one.” The Father is the invisible Spirit, who inhabits His body, the Son. It is Yahweh, the Spirit, the Father, speaking through Isaiah, and it is the invisible Father speaking through the Son in Revelation.

God spoke to us through His prophets in times past, but has in these last days spoken to us by His Son (Hebrews 1:1). God spoke to His people through the old prophets with the same Spirit that He spoke to the Israelites through Christ.

There is only one God; there is only one Spirit. And God, who is a Spirit, is invisible. Yet, He resides in a spiritual body, a human looking prototype form, and it was that form who we call the Son. And it was that form that John saw on Patmos in Rev. 1:11 and 17. And it was Yahweh Himself who spoke through the Son to John. For the Son is “the brightness of the Spirit’s glory and the express image of the invisible Spirit’s person.”

The Pharisees could not see past the flesh of the Son, the body of the Anointed One. They did not believe that the Father Yahweh was living in a human form fully. And that is what we all must do; we must see the invisible Father Spirit by seeing Him move through His form/His Son, which is His spiritual body. This is “knowing Him that is from the beginning.” Believing this will propel our spiritual growth into the 100 fold “father” realm.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock  [This is from Ch. 24 of my book The Unveiling of the Sons of God. Free copies with free shipping are still available. Details here:  https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/donate/ ]

 

 

Angels Are Under Our Authority–Part 1

The concept of angels has fascinated human beings for millennia. Man’s imagination is fertile ground for every conceivable manifestation of them. Angels come in every shape and size, from stylized little cupids hovering like hummingbirds to mysterious figures cloaked in the shadows of night or glistening with the rays of the sun.

Some Christians today even believe that these heavenly beings are to be feared and obeyed and held in worshipful pose. But what is the truth about angels? What are they scripturally, and what is our relationship with them really about?

Knowledge about them is revealed when we see how the angels interact with the Son of God. By exploring the springs of His authority, we may imbibe draughts of understanding concerning angels. We find this knowledge in the first chapter of Hebrews.

Authority = Power

As we have seen above, “authority” and “power” are translated from the same Greek word. Christ has promised to give power to His disciples, His disciplined ones. We read in the gospels about once flawed fisherman healing the sick and raising the dead. And these same men, moved by the Spirit of God, proclaim that we can do these things, too.

We are talking about power given to us from on high—power to be His witnesses that He is God, power to cast out evil spirits, power to heal, even power to raise the dead. The elect will be granted authority to do these things. And we will learn that it is the authority that He gives us that brings the power to do the mighty works. For He has promised the overcomers that we would do “greater works” than what He had done. Christ said, “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14: 12).

Let us examine “authority”—what it is and where it comes from. Analyzing the first chapter of Hebrews shines much light on the subject. Back before Christ came, the great Yahweh spoke to mankind through the prophets. But during the last twenty centuries, He has spoken to us by His Son. Very important, for the Son is heir of all things, and it was by the Son that the world was created (v. 1-2).

The Son of God was invested by the Father with several wonderful attributes. The Son is “the brightness of His glory.” He is “the express image of His person.” The Son upholds “all things by the word of His power.” All this was fulfilled by Him “when He had by Himself purged our sins,” He “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (v. 3).

It was after He had “purged our sins” that all of these accolades were confirmed. It was at the cross through His death, burial, and resurrection that He proved that He is the greatest love.  “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15: 13).

In the next verse the apostle tells us that the Son was made “so much better than the angels.” And why was the Son made so much better than the angels? Because of His name. Because of His destiny pre-written and distilled in His name. The Son was made “so much better than the angels,” for He has “obtained a more excellent name than they.” The Son’s name is Yahshua which means: “Yahweh is the Savior” or Yah saves. It was by His laying down His life for others that He became the Savior and showed Himself to be agape love incarnate, thus fulfilling the meaning of His name (v. 4).

There’s Power in His Name

The Hebrew name for the Savior, Yahshua, is extremely important for many obvious reasons, especially when it comes to receiving power to be His witnesses {Be sure to order my book Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality. It is free with free shipping. Details at the end of this article}.

After Pentecost Peter and John were asked how they had healed the lame man “at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful.” Peter praised Christ and said that “His name through faith in His name has made this man strong…” (Acts 3: 6, 16). Christ’s name through belief in His name is the key to the power [“faith” and “belief” are both translated from the same Greek word].

The power to heal came through the Savior’s name by believing in the meaning of His name—His Hebrew name, Yahshua. Christians are stymied in their spiritual growth because they either do not know about Christ having a Hebrew name, or they don’t believe it. And it is this unbelief that is short-circuiting them from ever becoming like Peter, Paul, James, and John. If we want to walk like them, we must believe what they believed.

Christ was given at birth the same Hebrew name as the patriarch Joshua, which means “savior.” “Yahshua” means “Yah is Savior” or “Yah is Salvation.” The angel told Joseph in a dream, “Thou shalt call His name JESUS (Yahshua in Hebrew) for He shall save His people from their sins” (Mat. 1: 21 KJV). The center column reference of the World Bible Publishers edition says “Savior.” They know.

So Peter and John knew of the power of not only knowing His name, but also knowing and believing the meaning of His name. Yahweh is the Savior. That is what Christ’s name means. The early apostles knew that Yah had come in the human form of Christ. The prophets declared it. “I am Yahweh (the LORD) and beside me there is no savior” (Isa. 43: 11). Peter and John knew that the great Creator Yahweh was walking around in human form. They knew that His Hebrew name contained this information, and they believed it. And that was the source of their power. Read many more scriptures declaring this (https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=saviour&t=KJV&ss=1#s=s_primary_0_1).

The apostles knew. They knew that Christ had a “more excellent name” than the angels, which gave them power over the angels—all angels—the “good” and the “bad” ones.

[Ordering My Free Books in Paperback 

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality explores the deeper meaning of our Savior’s Hebrew name Yahshua, which means Yahweh is the Savior.

The Unveiling of the Sons of God explains how the whole creation is waiting and longing for the manifestation (the unveiling) of the sons of God for these latter days. Christ will be totally formed in His elect as they will have grown and matured spiritually into His likeness and power.

The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores God’s vision for us, to be kings with Christ and how He will use us to reproduce His nature of Love.

My latest book is The Apostles’ Doctrine. Their doctrine was Christ’s teachings. And the early church walked in those teachings. This book reveals just what they are and how to walk in them.

Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.]

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

The Way to the Abiding

What if there was a way to have God inhabit us, to take up residence in us. What if He were to have a prescribed procedure, which if followed, would create in us a welcoming habitation for our Savior and King. What if there was a way for Him to dwell in us—really make His abode in us, an everlasting presence, like the early church in the book of Acts.

The Abiding is a state of being where the Spirit of truth comes into us and abides or remains in us. The Son of God is the way for us to receive this state of being. Christ said that He is the Way. But the way to what exactly? The way to becoming His temple where He dwells, where He rules from, where He lives. The way for us to be His temple, the  place for our Father to hang His heart on. That is our destiny.

He is the Way forward toward this goal. How then do we follow the Way? He operates through His Spirit. It is through this auspice that He will inhabit us. But His Spirit is like the wind; it is invisible. So then, it takes faith—believing without first seeing.

But many have a problem with this invisibility. They don’t realize that you cannot please an invisible God if you don’t believe that He exists because you cannot see Him. It takes faith to see the fruit of the action of the Spirit. It is like believing that there indeed is a thing called “wind.” We believe that “wind” exists because we see its effects on the trees; we feel its coolness in summer and its frigidity in winter. We have also seen God’s effect on hearts, how he heals broken ones, how He encourages us with edifying words of love. You have seen humans touched by pure agape love.

“God is love” (I John 4: 8).  He has promised us the way to have Him, Agape Love, not only visit us on rare occasions, but also abide in us on a permanent basis. Christ is the Way to get there. He shows us the steps to take on the way to Him fully living in us. The way is the road we travel to get to that spiritual destination. He illuminates the path, for “God is light.” And the lighted pathway is His teachings, His pure unadulterated doctrines. Christ the grand and glorious Teacher has left us with His words. And it is His words that will show us how to be the temple of the Spirit, the place of His habitation, the place where He stays and remains. [The following is of utmost importance for us. Satan, an angel working through thoughts of the mind, has a job. It is to distract us—right now—to introduce other things for us to think about—things of this world and not the words of Christ to us. Remember this when your mind begins to wander away from the following. This subterfuge and distraction by Satan is ordained by God to test us, to give us a victory in Him when we overcome him and his distractions.]

How the Abiding Comes and Inhabits Us

One of Christ’s New Commandments is this: “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (John 14: 11). That is a command to us His disciples. If we obey this command, He has promised us that we will do even “greater works than” those He has done. “He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do…” (v. 12).

Verse 12 elucidates verse 11. Believing on Christ in verse 12 equals believing that the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son. When we believe that Yahweh, the invisible Spirit Creator, dwelt fully in the Son, then we believe on Christ. To say it plainly, Christ explains the way to have the Father abide in us. He commands us to believe that the Father Yahweh is in Him. This is believing on Christ. To believe on Christ is to believe His words about His relationship with the Father Yahweh. Yahweh, the Father, dwells inside the Son. “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:  9).

This is the truth. Christ is the Anointed One by definition. He proclaimed that He is the truth. Truth is the anointing that remains or abides in us after we obey His commandments, His New Commandments. “But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you…the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth…” (I John 2: 27).

The anointing of the truth comes to us by His Spirit. Christ our great Teacher has lined it out how to receive this anointing. First, we must believe on Him by believing that the Son was in the Father and the Father in the Son. After this comes the “greater works” (John 14: 11-12).

Second, the “greater works” come through answered prayers. “And whatsoever you shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (14: 13). We pray, but not the kind of prayers we have sent up over the years. These prayers must be based upon His will, plan and purpose. Nothing for self; everything for Him. These prayers must be asked in the Son’s name. His original Hebrew name, not his English name. Asking in His name is acknowledging the meaning of His name.

For the meaning of the Son’s Hebrew name contains nothing less than the secret of the universe. The Son’s name is Yahshua, the same as the patriarch Joshua. Yahshua means “Yahweh Saves” or “Yahweh Is the Savior.” Remember this verse? “And you shall call His name Jesus [Yahshua], for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1: 21). The meaning of His name goes with us believing that the Father Yahweh is in the Son. For Yahweh is the Savior. The Spirit through Isaiah says, “I even I, am the LORD [Yahweh in Hebrew]; and beside me there is no savior” (Isa. 43: 11; 45: 21). Believing in the meaning of the Savior’s name is obeying Christ’s New Commandment to believe that the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son. The anointing in the form of the Spirit of truth teaches us all spiritual things. {Be sure to order my free book with free shipping Yah Is Savior. See end of article for details)

Third, keeping Christ’s commandments is loving Him. “If you love Me, keep my commandments” (John 14: 15). Especially believing that the Father Yahweh is in the Son, doing the works. And after we do this and keep His other commandments, He will give us a wonderful gift—the Comforter—“that He may abide with you forever” (14: 16). This Comforter is the Spirit of truth who “shall be in you.” This is the anointing/truth that will abide, stay and remain in us (v. 17).

In order for the Spirit of truth to abide in us, we must have the truth contained in His Spirit. Without the truth as to who God is and what He is doing in the earth, it is impossible to have His abiding presence which guarantees Him granting whatever we ask of Him. The truth is paramount—the truth of His purpose of reproducing Himself in us and His truth of His plan to get there.

And with this abiding, He wraps us all up into One. “At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (v. 20). We become one with Him. What an astounding promise. This promise is attainable now to His elect. It is not for the sweet bye and bye. His first fruit company of sons and daughters need this truth/anointing to accomplish the work He has scheduled for us in these latter days. We desperately need a closer walk with the Savior (John 14: 15-20).    Kenneth Wayne Hancock   (to be continued)