Many people say that the Lord will still take the name of “Jesus” when He returns, because it is written in the Bible, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Is this really so? People who are familiar with the Bible know that the Old Testament also records the words Jehovah God said: “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:11) “…this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial to all generations.” (Exodus3:15) Since the name of “Jehovah” could change to “Jesus,” when Jesus returns, will he still take the name of “Jesus”?
Let’s read Almighty God’s words, “Some say that God’s name does not change. Then why did the name of Jehovah change to Jesus? It had been said that Messiah would come, but why did one named Jesus come? How could God’s name change? Aren’t these the works God did long ago? Can God not do a newer work today? Since the work of yesterday could be changed and the work of ‘Jehovah’ could be continued by ‘Jesus,’ can’t the work of ‘Jesus’ be succeeded by another work? Since the name of ‘Jehovah’ could change to ‘Jesus,’ can’t the name of ‘Jesus’ also be changed? These are not strange things. People think so, only because their mind is too simple. God is God after all. No matter how His work changes and how His name changes, His disposition and His wisdom will never change. If you think that God can only be called by the name of Jesus, your knowledge is too little.” “There are those who say that God is immutable. That is correct, but it refers to the immutability of God’s disposition and substance. Changes in His name and work do not prove that His substance has altered; in other words, God will always be God, and this will never change.” (from The Word Appears in the Flesh) Almighty God’s words tell us that God’s name is not unchanging, but changes with the change of God’s work. The name of Jehovah could change to Jesus in the Age of Grace, so the name of Jesus could also change in the end time. It is determined by God’s work and decided by God Himself. We should not cling to God’s work and God’s name. However, God’s substance and disposition will never change because of the change of God’s work and name. For example, the unique authority of God, and God’s righteous substance will never change. That is to say, the word “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” refers to the substance of God, not to the name of God.
Actually, God prophesied long ago that God’s name would change in the end time. Please read Revelation 3:12, “Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name.” This verse prophesied that God would have a new name in the end time. When “a new name” is mentioned, it is definitely not the name of Jesus. Next, let’s read another passage of Almighty God’s word, “In each age and each stage of work, My name is not baseless, but holds representative significance: each name represents one age. ‘Jehovah’ represents the Age of Law, and is the honorific for the God worshiped by the people of Israel. ‘Jesus’ represents the Age of Grace, and is the name of the God of all those who were redeemed during the Age of Grace. If man still longs for the arrival of Jesus the Savior during the last days, and still expects Him to arrive in the image He bore in Judea, then the entire six-thousand-year management plan would stop in the Age of Redemption, and would be incapable of progressing any further. The last days, furthermore, would never arrive, and the age would never be brought to an end. That is because ‘Jesus the Savior’ is only for the redemption and salvation of mankind. I took the name of ‘Jesus’ for the sake of all the sinners in the Age of Grace, and it is not the name by which I shall bring the whole of mankind to an end. Although Jehovah, Jesus, and the Messiah all represent My Spirit, these names only denote the different ages in My management plan, and do not represent Me in My entirety. The names by which people on earth call Me cannot articulate My entire disposition and all that I am. They are merely different names by which I am called during different ages. And so, when the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, My name shall change again. I shall not be called Jehovah, or Jesus, much less the Messiah, but shall be called the powerful Almighty God Himself, and under this name I shall bring the entire age to an end.” (from The Word Appears in the Flesh)
God is the Creator and the Ruler of the universe. No name can fully represent what God has and is! It is the last days now, and is the time when God changes the age. Although people today have been forgiven of their sins through the Lord Jesus’ redemption, their sinful nature still remains, and they are more and more corrupt, even to the point of being more depraved than the people in Noah’s days. In order to thoroughly save man, on the basis of the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work, God is incarnated again and does His work of judging and purifying man. God’s name is no longer Jesus, but Almighty God. And He shall bring the entire age to an end under this name! The Bible says, “follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” (Revelation 14:4) Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. Only if we keep pace with Almighty God’s end-time work can we be approved by God.
