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Obama's
Inauguration Issues
-truth about the Messiah's name-
There has been a lot said and written about the inauguration oath debacle by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts and President Obama. First, the wording was terribly mixed up. Then President Obama didn't use a Holy Bible when the vows were taken for a second time. Perhaps the greatest problem with the swearing in was not Obama's actions but the prayer spoken by Christian Pastor Rick Warren.
Warren, who is the pastor of a mega-church in California, gave a stirring invocation that quoted the Torah, New Testament, and Quran. He ended the prayer in a very Christian manner. He said, "I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Heysus, Jesus, who taught us to pray: "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come..."
The plea from the Pastor was dangerously inclusive. He used four different names of the Savior from four different languages - Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, and English. This name calling effectively proclaimed that the one true name of the Messiah doesn't matter. This prayer suggests that the Messiah's name, and therefore his character, changes for each culture. Such an idea couldn't be farther from the truth.
The Islamic Quran uses the phrase "Isa" as a derogatory name for the Messiah. The Isa of Islam and the Savior from the New Testament are very much opposites. The Quran states that "Isa was simply a created human being, and a slave of Allah," An-Nisa' 4:172; Āl 'Imran 3:59. The Muslim holy book says that "Isa did not die, but ascended to Allah," An-Nisa' 4:158. On the day of Resurrection, "Isa himself will be a witness against Jews and Christians for believing in his death," An-Nisa' 4:159. Can Isa and the Messiah really be the same person?
Many Catholics view the Spanish Savior Heysus as the son of the sinless Mother Mary. Others picture Jesus with dark skin and dread locks or blue eyes with blond hair. Do these descriptions accurately fit the Biblical Jewish Messiah? The Bible states that the Savior of the New Testament was given a Hebrew name by the direction of angels. "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins," Matthew 1:21. Of course, this verse has been translated into English. Originally, the angels spoke the language of Hebrew to this Jewish couple. The child was named "Y'shua," which is the exact Hebrew word for "salvation." Y'shua is the name that the Savior used, heard, and answered to during His life. He never heard the name "Jesus" or "Heysus" while He walked the earth. The sacred name of Y'shua was never meant to be changed to Isa, Heysus, Bob or Jesus.
A name reflects character and meaning. Therefore, names do not normally change from culture to culture or from language to language. President Obama does not change his name when he visits Islamic or Hispanic countries. So, why would the Savior's name be different?
Rick Warren used the true name in His prayer BUT he equated this name to other titles. We must be careful not to follow Warren's sin of creating God in our own image. Names do matter. The Savior's true name is the Hebrew "Y'shua" and not "Isa" or "Heysus." Acts 4:12, "There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved."
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