The Mysteries of Shêm and Onoma

• In the spiritual realm, the names of human beings are written on their foreheads.
• In the spiritual realm, trees often symbolize human beings and nations.
• In some parts of the spiritual realm, you only see, feel, and experience darkness. Darkness often represents danger, ignorance, and enemy traps in the spiritual realm.
• In some parts of the spiritual realm, you will only see, feel and experience light. Light in the spiritual realm often means holiness, the presence of God, and power.
• In the spiritual realm, the level of the mountain or valley you stand upon signifies your spiritual level, maturity, and sphere of influence.
• In the spiritual realm, giant gates guard cities and territories. You cannot enter a new environment without passing the test. Every territory has a gatekeeper. It is the gatekeeper that authorizes you to access his territory.

I have shared some spiritual experiences with you. Have you ever asked yourself about the significance of Shêm and Onoma? Shêm and Onoma are the Hebrew and Greek word for names. Names play an important role in life. A name identifies a person, place, or thing. Names give relevance to substances. After creation, God brought his created things to Adam to name them.

 

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

Genesis 2:19-20 KJV

God allowed Adam to name what he had created because naming a substance gives you authority and power over the material. Have you realized that when you name your cat, dog, or any domestic animal you own and call that animal consistently by that name, that animal responds and submits to you?

It is a key in the spiritual realm. It is easy to identify Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Korean, German, Ghanaian, Nigerian, American, and several citizens by their names. I can identify Ashanti, Akwapims, Ewes, Krobos, Ga’s, Muslims, and several tribes by their names in Ghana.

In the same way, you can also identify specific tribes in your country by their names. Names play a significant role in our lives. It has spiritual and physical implications in our lives. For example, Adam named his wife Eve.

 

And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Genesis 3:20 KJV

Adam naming his wife gave him authority over his wife. When Christ Jesus entered the land of the Gadarenes, he encountered a man possessed by demons. Before Christ Jesus delivered the man, he demanded the name of the demons.

 

 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

Mark 5:1-9 KJV

Why did Christ Jesus ask for the name? Christ Jesus could have cast out the demon (s) without asking the name, but he insisted on knowing the name of the demon (s). Christ Jesus knew the power of names, so he used the knowledge (name) to dominate the evil spirits.

Knowing the name of someone gives you some power over the person. Do you know that spiritualists often demand the name of someone before they work on the vessel? Most often, they will ask for the day, month, and hour the person was born before they start working against or for the person.

When a spiritualist, evil spirit, or someone calls your name in the spiritual realm, and you respond, they can proceed to their next agenda. If you fail to respond when spiritualists, evil spirits, or someone call your name, they cannot move to the next agenda.

It is a secret in the spiritual realm. The name you carry can affect your destiny, decisions, and personality. It is a spiritual reality you cannot ignore. Let’s read the account of Jacob and how his name affected his life, lineage, and destiny.

 

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

Genesis 32:24-29 KJV

After Jacob had laboured for Laban for several years, he married his two daughters (Rachel and Leah). Jacob decided to separate from Laban. On his way, he had information that his brother Esau was meeting him with an army.

Jacob being a spiritual man, decided to seek the face of God. One night, he encountered the Lord. In the encounter, the angel of the Lord changed his name from Jacob to Israel and blessed him.

Jacob himself did not know why the angel of the Lord asked for his name. It was through this name (Israel) that the blessings of the Jews became active. You may ask why the angel of the Lord (symbol of God) changed Jacob's name to Israel.

God changed the name Jacob to Israel because Israel had a record of divine blessings in the spiritual realm. Israel symbolized the nation of God’s children. God had to change the name Jacob to Israel to break the spiritual power Esau had over Jacob.

If God had not changed Jacob’s name to Israel, Esau would have conquered Jacob. However, as soon as God changed the name Jacob to Israel, the battle became God’s battle. If Esau insisted on fighting Jacob (Israel), he would be fighting God himself, which would be a great disaster for Esau and his army.

Naturally, Esau had authority over Jacob. However, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel so Jacob could have spiritual authority over his elder brother Esau. This is one reason; Esau couldn’t fight Jacob and his family.

Naturally, Esau could destroy Jacob and his family within minutes, but the spiritual power embedded in the name of Israel created a resistance for Esau to fight Jacob (Israel). Some evil spirits and people cannot attack you because of the name you carry in the realms of the Spirit.

 

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

Genesis 35:18 KJV

Rachel decided to name his son Benoni because of her extreme pain, but Jacob (Israel) changed the name Benoni to Benjamin. Jacob, a spiritual man, knew the consequences of names, so he did not want his son to bear any pain in his life, so he corrected the name and allowed the holy spiritual forces to protect and direct his son.

Jabez suffered much in his life because of his name. His mother gave him that name because she suffered much in delivery. His brothers and neighborhood ignored him. However, God changed his destiny when he prevailed in prayer.

Jabez became an honourable man among his brethren. What would have happened if Jabez did not prevail in prayer? Probably he would have been rejected and become a useless man in his country. In the New Testament, Zacharias became dumb because of the mysteries of a name (Shêm and Onoma).

 

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

And they had no child because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 

And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. 

Luke 1:5-20 KJV

And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. 

And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. 

And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. 

And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. 

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

Luke 1:59-64 KJV

Elisabeth, the wife of Zacharias, has been barren for a long time. God decided to honour faithful Zacharias and Elisabeth with a son in their old age. Zacharias, a priest in the temple, went on with his regular duties.

In the temple, Zacharias encountered the angel Gabriel.  When angel Gabriel gave the news of a child delivery whose name shall be called John, Zacharias doubted and became dumb. Another reason Zacharias became dumb was that the angel Gabriel discerned that Zacharias would not name his son John.

Until Zacharias validated his son’s name (John), he could not speak. If you read verses sixty-two to sixty-four, Zacharias’ tongue was loosed when he named his son John (as commanded by angel Gabriel).

When I studied Luke chapter one, I understood that God and the spiritual forces value names (Shêm and Onoma). If Zacharias became dumb for several months because of a name (John), then we must not joke with names.

If you study Luke chapter one, you will understand that God restored Zacharias’s speech as soon as he wrote on a table the name John. Zacharias would have remained dumb or died if he did not name his son John.

This revelation should tell you that spiritual forces recognize names (Shêm and Onoma). John became a great prophet and evangelist in Israel because of his name. If you study the holy scriptures, you will understand that angel Gabriel gave the name JESUS to Joseph because it was the custom of the Jews that Fathers gave names to their children.

 

…behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

 Matthew 1:20-21 KJV

Note that Jesus’s birth was supernatural. The Holy Spirit sowed the seed (Jesus) in the womb of Mary. Joseph gave the name Jesus because that was what the angel Gabriel commanded Joseph to do. In heaven, the angels of God knew no name except Jesus.

If you study the Old Testament, the prophets prophesied the name of Jesus before Jesus came to the earth. This should tell you that heaven does not joke with names. In the realms of the Spirit, every knee bows when the name of Jesus is mentioned because that name carries power and authority.

 

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11 KJV

The spiritual forces in the realms of the Spirit recognize the name of Jesus. This is one reason Satan and his minions fear the name of Jesus. Demons and holy angels recognize your name in the spiritual realm. In the book of Acts, there is a unique revelation about names.

 

And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.

And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

Acts 19:14-15 KJV

The evil spirit knew the name of Paul and Jesus but did not know the names of the seven sons of Sceva. This should tell you that forces of darkness know the potency of our name. Have you ever asked yourself why God changed the name of Abram to Abraham?

Names have a spiritual implication on your life. Research your name because it impacts your life and those connected to you. In your bloodline, search for the meaning of your family’s name.

Research the name of the land you live upon because it has spiritual implications on your life and destiny. If your name has an evil attachment, break that covenant through fasting and prayers.

Change your name if led by the Holy Spirit. Don’t allow any evil name to rest on you. God has invested power in you to change bad names into holy names. Prophesy the promises of God over your name.

Consistently decree blessings over your name. Establish your name in the courts of heaven and let the evil spirits know that Christ Jesus has power over them. Speak to the earth. Break the curses on that cursed land because you carry divine power. The evil name on that land will not have power over you if you take responsibility in the spiritual realm. Vacate that evil territory if led by the Holy Spirit.

Have you learned something new about Shêm and Onoma?

To be continued…

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