You will leave your name
    for my chosen ones to use in their curses;
the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,
    but to his servants he will give another name.

• Isaiah 65:15

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

• Revelation 2:17

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

• Isaiah 62:2

The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.

• Revelation 3:12

In prayer the other day, a strange verse in the Bible caused me to ponder.

I thought, “If God changes our name, and like Revelation 2:17 states, I am the only one who knows my new name, how will I communicate with anyone in Heaven?”

Well, it might mean that we have to introduce ourselves to folks so that they will know who we are.

It could mean that whether we were someone important on earth or the guy who never amounted to anything, with a total break from what we used to do, we are on the same standing in Heaven as is King David, Moses, and Noah.

Now, in researching the white stone, the white stone was given to the athlete who won the contest.  A white stone was used to gain admission to various events.  And a white stone with your name on it meant that you gained admission forever.

All of this is a powerful symbol that we are welcomed into Heaven by Jesus.  It signifies that Jesus loves us.

But none of the commentaries that I read addressed the new name that we receive and that it was known only to ourselves.

Then I did some daydreaming and thought of this dialogue.  I was in Heaven and I walked up to a man trimming a flowering plant.

Me: Hi!  I’m new here.  You seem to look familiar.  What’s your name?
Charlie: I’m not sure, but this white stone says that I am ‘Charlie.
Me: I’m sorry, but you don’t look like any Charlie that I’ve ever met.  Hey! Wait! Could you really be Albert Einstein?
Charlie: Hmmm.  I don’t know.  I never met the guy.
Me: You seem to be well adjusted to your new name.
Charlie: Sure.  It might feel strange at first, but you get used to it.  And you never have to change your monogrammed towels.
Me: I suppose.  There is that.  But I was wanting to invite the neighbors over for dinner.  How do I invite them when I don’t know their names?
Charlie: I have been getting that question from a lot of the newcomers lately.  It’s this strange custom that they call ‘walking up to someone, looking them in the eyes, and talking to them.’  You’ll get used to that too.
Me: But I have another question, I would like to invite family.  You know, from the other life.  With all of us having new names, how would I know how to get in touch with them?  It says in Revelation 2:17 that we are the only one that knows our new name.
Charlie: And who gave you the white stone?
Me: Jesus.
Charlie: And was Jesus blindfolded at the time?
Me: No.
Charlie: So, maybe Jesus knows where your great-grandfather is here in Heaven and maybe Jesus knows his new name.
Me: I suppose.  That’s a few maybes, but then again, God knows everything.
Charlie: That, He does.  And what are we supposed to be doing all the time in Heaven?
Me: Worshipping and glorifying God.
Charlie: So, what better way to find someone you used to know on the old earth than to ask of the Lord what that person’s name is?  Or better yet, have Jesus bring that loved one to your mansion to have dinner?  And God’s free time is infinite, so He is always available.
Me: Yeah, Charlie.  That makes sense.  We should go through God to get to those we loved back then.  But it’s funny.  I can remember a lot from the old earth.  All of it was good stuff.
Charlie: (laughing) I remember these photographers that wanted a picture of me.  I turned around and stuck my tongue out at them.  Does that sound like this Einstein fella you were talking about?
Me: Hmmm.  I don’t know.  I never met the guy.  But thanks a lot, Charlie.  By the way, what is that flower that you are trimming?
Charlie: You seem to have trouble with more names than just people names.  But to answer the question, ‘Do the name Ruby Begonia strike a familiar note?

And Charlie and I had a good laugh.

And that may be the reason that only we know our name.  To find someone that we once knew, we go through Jesus to get there.  It is Jesus whom we worship.  It is Jesus whom we praise and serve.  And through Jesus we find ourselves in Heaven.

So, why not have Jesus be the connection to everyone else in Heaven?

This is one old man’s idea.  We have no idea what Heaven will be like.  We only know that it will be more wonderful than anything we could imagine here on earth.

Credits

I don’t usually have credits in one of my random thoughts, but the running line of “I never met the guy” is similar to the running joke on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In.  Marcel Marceau, the famous French mime (someone not accustomed to talking during a performance) was asked about his dating life, and his answer was “I don’t know.  I’ve never been out with one.”  After several questions and the same answer, he was asked something totally different.  Let’s say, “Do you put broccoli in your tossed salad?”  And the answer, “I don’t know.  I’ve never been out with one.”  The joke became so popular that it was used by a variety of regulars and guests for more than a season of shows.

Einstein was being hounded by paparazzi.  They caught up with him and demanded a pose for their cameras.  He gave them one, thus the famous picture of him with his tongue sticking out.

And the line about “Do the name Ruby Begonia strike a familiar note?” is another Laugh In adlib.  It was said by Sammy Davis Jr.  It was also used by Flip Wilson.  They swore someone on the old Amos and Andy show had said the line, but as far as I can tell, no one has found the connection.  But Amos and Andy was not only a television show, it was a radio show before that.  It made fun of African Americans, picking on certain stereotypes and has been banned for decades, but the line that may have never been said on the show, lives on.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.