God In Scripture :: By Nathele Graham

Published on: July 19, 2025 by RR10

God In Scripture :: By Nathele Graham

What’s in a name? Names are special to each person and are usually given at birth by parents who have given much thought as to how that name will affect their son or daughter throughout life.

Remember the song “A Boy Named Sue”? I never liked that song but heard it often. I have an unusual name, “Nathele,” and it’s usually mispronounced. I get called Natalie quite often, but the name is pronounced “Nuh-theel.” Once I was even lectured by someone about why I pronounce it wrong. Well, it’s been my name for 73 years, and that’s how I pronounce it. My mother helped me find humor when someone pronounced it wrong, so I grew up not being offended.

We find that names in Scripture have a deeper meaning than what appears on the surface. For instance, Jacob, which means “heel holder” or “supplanter,” got his name from an event when he and his twin brother, Esau, were born.

“And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them” (Genesis 25:26).

By the way, Esau means “hairy.” The twins never got along, and Jacob ended up going out on his own. Along the way, he met a “man” with whom he wrestled all night. At the breaking of dawn, Jacob insisted the man bless him. The man changed Jacob’s name.

“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” (Genesis 32:28).

“Israel” means God prevails. This name was given to the nation that God established and loves, Israel. The people of Israel have had many struggles with God, and those struggles continue to this day. One day soon, Israel will submit to God and recognize Jesus as their Messiah, and the struggle will be over.

Throughout the Old Testament, God is called by many names. These names are always translated God or LORD, and we miss the deeper meaning. First, let’s look at the creation account.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

God was in the beginning, in fact, before the beginning. He always was and always will be. In the above verse, “God” is Elohim, a plural noun. In Hebrew, a plural means at least three. In fact, we get a clear picture of the Trinity here.

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

The Spirit of Elohim was upon the face of the waters. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

God spoke all things into being. Jesus is the Word, and is seen in the Gospel of John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

That leaves no room for doubt that Jesus created everything and is the second person of the Trinity. Elohim is found in over 2,000 verses, including Exodus 34:14, Psalms 30:12, Isaiah 35:4, and Hosea 3:5.

Speaking of Exodus 34:14, in it we find another name of God. “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14). His name is Qanna, which is translated “jealous.” The context, this verse is for Israel to have no gods other than God Almighty. That’s true for Christians also. God should always be first in our life, and our actions as well as our words need to honor Him.

Qanna relates to the way a marriage is to work. One man and one woman; they love, honor, and cherish each other. God looks upon Israel as His bride, and only He is worthy of their love and worship. Christians are the bride of Christ and need to be faithful to Him. Qanna only occurs six times in the Old Testament, but it is worth doing a word study on it in order to dig deeper into Scripture.

Many of the names for God are first found in Genesis. That’s not really surprising, but it does surprise me a bit to think that people who had no access to the Bible as we know it today were able to know God so well. In those days, fathers faithfully passed God’s truth on to their sons. Today, we have Scripture available and many study tools but still don’t know God as we should. Faithful fathers seem to have gone missing.

Quite often, the word “El” is used for God, and at times it appears with other words. Such as El Olam, which is first used in Genesis 21:33. Olam means forever, eternity, or everlasting. “And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33).

Abraham was raised in a pagan culture where idol worship was a way of life. God called him out of that life, and it’s through him that the nation of Israel was established. Abraham was the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob, who was the father of 12 sons who established the 12 tribes of Israel.

Abraham truly left his pagan ways behind and was very close to God. We must also leave our pagan ways behind when we ask Christ for forgiveness. Abraham knew that God was El Olam, the Everlasting God. In Jeremiah we read, “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation” (Jeremiah 10:10).

In this passage, Jeremiah was mocking idol worship, and speaking clearly about worshipping God Almighty. He called God “emet Elohim” (true God), “living God” (hay Elohim), and “olam melek” (everlasting king). Sounds a lot like Jesus.

In Revelation, we read about the wrath of the Lamb: “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16).

Jeremiah warned of the coming wrath, and so does the New Testament. It will be a time of Great Tribulation on Earth, and only faith in Jesus can save you from the wrath of the Lamb. Faith in Jesus will bring the blessing that you will be Raptured prior to the Great Tribulation. Christians, comfort each other with these words.

Speaking of the Lamb, what about the Shepherd? “[[A Psalm of David.]] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). This psalm goes on to talk of how the shepherd cares for the sheep. Yehova (the Existing One) is my raah (shepherd).

King David had spent his younger years as a shepherd and knew how the shepherd cared for his flock. David spoke of God as his Shepherd and knew he was loved by God. In the New Testament, Jesus is called the Lamb of God and refers to Himself as the good Shepherd. “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

Jesus did give His life for the sheep. Because of His love, He willingly laid down His life in order to give eternal life to anybody who comes to Him in humble repentance. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

The Lord is my Shepherd, and I hope He is yours too.

There are many other names for God in the Old Testament, and each one has a special meaning or description of one of the attributes of God. Adonai, meaning Lord, Master, appears over 400 times, including Genesis 15:2.

God had promised Abraham a son, but Abraham and his wife were quite old. Abraham trusted God but was curious how he would become a father. “And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” (Genesis 15:2).

Abraham called God “Adoni Jehovah” showing trust and respect. Adoni appears quite often in Ezekiel and Daniel. Another name for God is Jehovah Rapha, which means the Lord who heals. When the Israelites were freed from Egyptian captivity, they complained. God provided for them, but they still complained. The way to be blessed by God is obedience.

“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that health thee” (Exodus 15:26).

In Jeremiah we read, “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:6).

Jehovah Tsidkenu is “The Lord our Righteousness.” This whole passage in Jeremiah is a prophecy of Jesus. No one can be righteous without Him, In the Book of Judges, we see that Gideon built an altar and called it Jehovahshalom. “Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites” (Judges 6:24).

Even in the time of the judges, when everybody did what was right in their own eyes, Gideon was able to understand that God is peace (shalom), and so he named the altar “The Lord is Peace.” I could go on and on with the names of God, but I’ll stop here. Do some digging for yourself and find a name for God that you like best. Jesus is on every page of Scripture.

What’s my favorite name for God? Maybe Immanuel, meaning “God with us.” “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

That speaks of the virgin birth as well as who Jesus was. He was God incarnate. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be n end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Jesus is all of that. Or maybe my favorite name is simply Jesus, meaning Jehovah is salvation. Peter said it clearly when talking to the Pharisees about Jesus. “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 14:11-12).

No other name. Not allah, not buddha, not the pope. Only Jesus. As you study the names of God in Scripture, you’ll see that they all describe Jesus.

Do you know Him? Have you taken His name into your life? If so, don’t use His name as a cuss word, but take it seriously and live to honor Him.

God bless you all

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com

www.prophecyupdate.com

www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you would like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).

Line Upon Line :: By Nathele Graham

Published on: July 12, 2025 by RR10

“Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts” (Isaiah 28:9).

Scripture is a treasure of information, yet most Christians don’t take the time to dig for that treasure. Too many times, the very people who should be driven to share this treasure simply pick and choose the noncontroversial Scriptures that make everybody feel good. In doing that, the integrity of God’s word is compromised. The preacher simply sorts through his own thoughts and talks about things that don’t upset the woke and politically correct agendas. In doing so, much of God’s word is compromised.

God’s word and expectations never change. His directions for our lives are best, and lusts of the flesh must be controlled.

In today’s world, it seems as if truth is optional. Much of the blame for this is directly caused by lack of sound Scriptural teaching within the Christian community. Pastors are more concerned about losing the tax-exempt status than losing souls to Hell.

There is still a remnant out there that holds God’s word as the authority. These Biblically sound men teach from Genesis through Revelation without trying to change what God meant when He said things like, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3), and compare it with Jesus’ words, “…I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me” (John 14:6b).

The congregations who sit under false teachers need to demand truth and hold them accountable. God will.

Isaiah said that those who are weaned from milk can understand doctrine, but milk seems to be all that’s fed to Christians. It’s possible that the pastors don’t have knowledge of the Scriptures and therefore can’t wean their congregations. On more than one occasion, I asked a pastor a fairly basic question and got the very disturbing answer of “I don’t know.” Fortunately, I was able to find the answers I needed from other sources.

Once, my husband was very upset that the pastor didn’t teach that Jesus was God incarnate and skipped verses regarding this truth. One day, Ron asked the assistant pastor point blank, “Is Jesus God?” and got the answer, “Well, there are a few ideas on that subject.” Oh my. It wasn’t long until we found another place to attend, but that pastor put more emphasis on “my favorite atheist” and quoting rock and roll singers rather than on God’s word, and prayer was an afterthought rather than a matter of importance.

Peter had denied Christ, but Jesus knew that he would be a good leader. Perhaps the Holy Spirit can see promise in the pastors who fall short. After the resurrection, when Jesus met with the disciples on the shores of Galilee, Jesus spoke with Peter and restored him into fellowship and gave Peter his marching orders. Three times Jesus asked, “… Simon son of Jonas lovest thou me?…” (John 21:15a, 16a, & 17a). Each time, Peter said yes. It would be good to do a word study on the word “love” used in this passage and see exactly what Jesus asked and what Peter replied.

The first time, Jesus told Peter, “Feed my lambs“ (John 21:15b). The second and third time, Jesus told Peter, “Feed my sheep” (John 16b & 17b). Lambs need milk but will die if they are only fed milk. The sheep need more than milk. Peter obeyed and later wrote, “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:1-3).

Newborn babes in Christ need a firm foundation but also need to grow into deeper understanding. Line upon line and precept upon precept.

Paul was very disappointed with the congregation in Corinth. They were proud of the sin infiltrating the congregation, and it had to stop. This group of believers was ‘woke’ and tolerant of sin, very carnal in their thoughts and actions.

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2).

This wasn’t a compliment and could be written to many congregations today. We need to grow in our knowledge and understanding of God’s word. What a shame that Paul couldn’t talk to these brethren in grown-up terms. They had only been fed milk and weren’t able to deal with God’s greater knowledge. Because of this, sin permeated the congregation, and they tolerated things that they should have been appalled over.

What about your place of worship? Is sin accepted in order to keep the membership numbers up and the collection plate full? Teaching line upon line may offend some people, but it is the best way to teach.

I live in a small town that boasts of many churches, and the parking lots are full on Sunday mornings. What’s being fed to the flock? I’ve been very disturbed over the number of very heinous sexual assaults against children, and have wondered how these evil acts seem to be overlooked by the Christian population. My feeling is that Satan is getting a foothold here, and I’ve prayed.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the answer to what’s happening. I had visitors from out of town, and they wanted to see various things around town. The clerk in the motel suggested a certain business…a mall…so off we went. I had never been there before, but there are many places in town I haven’t been to. When we got there, we found a very dirty (filthy) place with large tubs catching the rainwater running from the ceiling. The walls were mostly just old studs. I’m not sure why we went any further into the building, but we did. Finally, we saw a light coming from a shop in the back of the building, so we headed that way. I stopped immediately without entering. It was a Wiccan shop that had a sign saying, “Come in and sit for a spell.” We left immediately. This was the answer to the child abuse and other crimes happening in this little town with so many churches.

I’m not advocating that the owners should be burned at the stake, or tarred and feathered, but where are the prayer warriors? I’ve been praying daily against this evil spirit and that the owners will meet Jesus.

A large problem with Christian teaching is denial of the evil that Satan promotes. It’s OK to know that God is a supernatural being…God is love and all is sugar and spice, but it’s wrong to even mention the evil supernatural that’s waiting to pounce on weak lambs who have only been fed milk.

If Scripture is taught line upon line and precept upon precept, we’ll learn about the enemy, the evil supernatural enemy. Eve chatted with him in the Garden of Eden, and Adam just stupidly went along in disobedience to God. They lost Paradise for all of us. Outside of the Garden, there were struggles and hardships, but the population grew. Eventually, the fallen angels had sexual relations with human women, and God was forced to destroy all of creation by the Flood.

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose“ (Genesis 6:1-2).

If you’ve been taught that this was Cain’s daughters marrying Seth’s sons, you’ve been fed milk. Except for Noah, his family (who were genetically pure), and a few animals, the whole world met with God’s wrath.

Scripture is never lax in speaking of evil and how important it is to trust God, so why do pastors avoid teaching the truth? Is it because they haven’t been weaned from milk themselves? It’s time for meat to be served.

Scripture doesn’t avoid the issue of evil supernatural; God loved the Israelites enough to warn them about the spiritual evils to avoid. “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations” (Deuteronomy 18:9).

Today, we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by confronting sin.

A line-by-line study through Scripture reveals how important it is to trust and obey God. “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

What does it mean to pass your children through the fire? That’s offering your children to a demon god through murder. Today, we “tolerate” abortion of our sons and daughters. This is nothing less than offering a human sacrifice to a demon god.

God doesn’t wink at sin, nor does He accept it. How many pastors just keep on following the Rick Warren and Joel Osteen type of teaching that is skim milk? This has to stop, and we need pastors who aren’t afraid to stand firm on Scripture.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou has forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6).

Hosea was a prophet and warned Israel to turn back to God. I’m not a prophet, but I am warning Christians to turn back to God and humbly accept and obey His authority.

God doesn’t want anybody to fight this spiritual battle unarmed. Nor does He want us to fight in a weakened state because we’ve only been fed milk. We need to be a well-fed army. Study Scripture. Study all of Scripture. The Old Testament is mostly the history of Israel, but the truth and prophecy it holds are definitely for us today. The New Testament is about the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the precious love of Jesus.

Jesus knew the spiritual battle is real, and He cast out demons. He didn’t make a circus of it by sprinkling “holy water” or using useless rituals. He just told them to leave. Use Jesus as your example and take authority in His name.

The Apostle Paul was on the frontline of the fight and knew very well that he had to be skilled in the use of battle armor. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11).

Don’t pick your favorite piece of armor. Put it all on and don’t take it off. In the same way that all the armor is important, so is the line-upon-line study of Scripture. You can’t be armed for battle if you don’t know how to use the battle tools.

Why do we need the armor? “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). These are all demonic spiritual enemies. This is the same evil that is spewing from a small shop hidden in a rundown building where I live. We have to fight.

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:13-18).

Study all of Scripture and you’ll learn to recognize the enemy and also become skilled in using the weapons of battle. Study line upon line.

I’m just a woman who is getting up in years. My health isn’t such that I can be boots on the ground in battle, but I can be a watchman and sound the alarm. “But I the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand” (Ezekiel 33:6).

I’ve just scratched the surface of why it’s important to study Scripture line upon line. I do mean study, not just read. The spiritual battle is real, and Scripture will teach you to recognize the enemy and will provide the weapons for battle. We sing songs like “Onward Christian Soldiers,” but if the soldiers are only sent into battle with a canteen of milk, the battle will go to the enemy. Shame on those given the responsibility of feeding the sheep but are only feeding lambs.

As we draw closer to the Rapture, this battle will become more aggressive. Don’t wait for your pastor to feed you meat. Study for yourself line upon line and precept upon precept.

Always remember that Jesus loves you and gave His life for your salvation. The Holy Spirit lives in every Christian, and we need to trust Him now in the spiritual fight.

God bless you all,