You Shall Be Called by a New Name

Jesus gives an unusual promise to those who overcome in Revelation 2:17:

“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” (emphasis added throughout).

This secret new name is a very special gift God will personally give to each of His followers.

What will our new name be? What can we learn from the way God changes names in the Bible?

How does God use names?

From the first chapter of the Bible, God uses names to identify and explain. God introduces Himself not only by name (Elohim in Genesis 1:1) but also by what He has done. He is the God who created the heavens and earth.

God is incredibly creative. The vastness of the heavens tells us that God works on an unimaginable scale. This insight sparks new questions. Why did God create the universe? Is He still creating?

God unveils His names throughout the Bible to allow us to know Him better. The titles of God give insight into His mind, nature and personality. With each name of God, we unravel vast mysteries.

Not only is God most powerful (El Shaddai), eternal (El Olam) and exalted (El Elyon), but He is also the God who heals sicknesses (YHWH Rapha), provides blessings (YHWH Jirah), brings righteousness (YHWH Tsidkenu) and champions peace (YHWH Shalom).

For a study of God’s names, see the article “Names of God.”

How does God choose names?

God chooses names carefully. Just as God’s names for Himself have meaning, God’s chosen names for the creation have meaning.

Genesis 1:5 tells us, “God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.” God’s name for day means the hot or warm hours. God’s word for night means “a twist (away of the light),” because the earth turns away from the sun, becoming dark and colder.

Giving names is part of God’s creation process. God names things what they are and what they do.

God’s names have purpose

God conveys purpose through names. He wants us to understand His purpose for humanity.

God’s name for the first man was Adam (meaning ruddy or red earth) probably because he was formed from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). The Hebrew word Adam is also God’s name for mankind (Genesis 5:2, King James Version). God also tells us we were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26).

So God’s message to mankind is essentially: You are dirt now, but you are made in the likeness of God with great potential.

God continues to create

Creating Adam was only the first step in a much larger creation. Adam was formed of the dust in the likeness of God (Genesis 5:1) with the potential to be fully transformed into the bright likeness and glory of God (1 John 3:2).

King David was in awe of this larger plan. He wrote in Psalm 8:3-6:

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.”

God gave man dominion, including allowing Adam to name the animals (Genesis 2:19). God plans to give man far more responsibility over His creation when the sons of God are revealed in their full glory (Romans 8:19-21).

But the creation of man is not finished. God continues to create the full stature of Christ in His followers (Ephesians 4:13). God refers to these followers as “called,” “chosen” and “faithful” (Revelation 17:14). God sees us as little children of God. His saints will grow to have a new heart like God’s (Psalm 51:10).

God even identifies Himself by the people He has transformed. God called Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, men who were transformed as they grew in spiritual maturity through decades of following God.

Why God changes names: How did Abram become Abraham?

God began working with a man named Abram, calling him out of his homeland. Abram believed God and obeyed for many years. He was 99 when God renamed him—changing his name from Abram (meaning “exalted father”) to Abraham (meaning “father of a multitude” or “father of many nations,” Genesis 17:5).

Abraham pleased God and lived his faith by obeying God (Hebrews 11:8). Abraham became “the friend of God” over time as God worked with Him (James 2:23).

Abraham was destined to become the father of many nations. God names people what they will become. God declares the end from the beginning and has the power to bring His promises to pass (Isaiah 46:10). God changes names when purposes change.

God gives new names to those who prevail

Abraham was not the only one God renamed. Jacob, whose name meant “taking hold of the heel, supplanter, layer of snares,” was also renamed. At first, Jacob lived up to his name by shrewdly convincing Esau to sell his birthright for some stew and then plotting to steal his brother’s blessing.

But after years of trials and character growth, Jacob became a new person. After he wrestled with God, God changed his name to Israel, meaning “he prevails with God.”

We may not know what that new name will be, but the promise should motivate us to become the person God is calling us to be. God calls His followers children of God to express the close family relationship. This name also explains our enormous potential.

Notice 1 John 3:2: “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

God’s names for those who turn away from Him

God also gives names to those who turn away from the light of God. For example, a once powerful angel named Heylel, meaning “shining one” (Lucifer in Latin), fell into darkness when he rebelled against God (Isaiah 14:12-15). Lucifer became known as Satan, meaning “adversary,” because the devil opposes God and God’s people.

The devil is not the only one who opposes God. Even Peter, when he unwittingly opposed the plan of God, was called “Satan” or adversary (Matthew 16:23). The rebuke was strong, but Peter changed and that description did not stay with Peter.

What is in our new name? A lifetime of choices

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob learned to make good choices. Since they came to be known as followers of God, God even identified Himself as “the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob” (Exodus 3:16).

Jezebel, Balaam and Judas had their names come to mean evil because of their bad choices. Modern names like Hitler, Ponzi, Madoff and Dahmer are defined by the sins these infamous men committed.

God offers us eternal life and offers to call us “My son” if we overcome (Revelation 2:7; 21:7). Those who do not overcome will be known as “cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars,” and they do not have a future (Revelation 21:8). God calls those who demonstrate godly love “blessed,” and those who do not, “cursed” (Matthew 25:34, 41).

Perhaps the new names will reflect the positive characteristics of the overcomers.

The new name comes with an office

Jesus Christ came to earth to show us the way to eternal life. He left earth to prepare a place for His followers (John 14:1-6). This place includes offices or positions of service. Learn more in our article “Many Mansion (in Heaven?).”

For example, Jesus said the 12 apostles would sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28). And John records that the foundations of the New Jerusalem will have the names of the 12 apostles (Revelation 21:14).

God, who is named “the Beginning and the End,” offers each person a choice. We can follow God by keeping His commandments or reject God and choose our own way. We can choose life or death. God wants us to choose life.

If we choose life and become overcomers, Jesus Christ promises to keep our names in the Book of Life and to confess our names before His Father and His angels (Revelation 3:5). He will write His new name on us (verse 12). And He will give us a new name chosen by God Himself (Revelation 2:17).

We may not know what that new name will be, but the promise should motivate us to become the person God is calling us to be. Our lifetime of spiritual growth, our conversion through the power of the Holy Spirit, and our faithful preparation for an eternity of love and service may be reflected in that carefully chosen name. Perhaps it will be related to our character and our new responsibilities as productive and fulfilled members of the family of God.

Whatever it will be, we can rejoice that our new name will signify our transformation into an eternal child of our loving God!