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A "John" by any other name- dj eckert
I recently bought a book that catalogued a list of the great Christian Theologians throughout history.
While perusing this book, something that really struck me, was how dominant, or how many of these people had the first name of "John" or went by their middle name of John. People like:
John Edwards, John Calvin, John Bunyan, John Wesley, John Fletcher, John Gill, John Knox, John Milton, John Owen, John Flavel, John of avilla, John Chrysostum, John Goodwin, John of the cross, John Miley, John Henry Newman, John Murray, John Walvoord, John B. Cobb, John Gresham Machen, John Piper, and wow, even the world's biggest selling Theologically inspired book,(after the Bible) was penned by John R.R. Tolkien. ( The Lord of the Rings) ... this list isn't even counting various other versions of the name "John" ( like Johann or Johannes).
I realize this is all unscientific, but I'd feel pretty safe betting on a statistical significance to the dominance of this name among these famous Theologians vs. the prominence of the name in the General population of Western, Christianized culture.
This got me to thinking about what God's Word says about our names.
It strikes me as no coincidence that the Gospel of Luke Chapter 1 seems to make quite a big deal of making sure that John the Baptist was given the name John by his parents. God taking away the father, Zacharia's voice until he sealed the name "John" upon this God promised child. What might this also be saying?
Surprisingly, upon a quick google search, I didn't find any direct, concrete evidence that God specifically names the rest of us common folk. Although, I bet it is in the Bible somewhere. How hard would it be for our God to put ideas of our names into our parents' minds? (But would that be God effecting our free will?...hmmmm??)
I did find some interesting related verses. Like in Psalm 139, David says:
"You made my whole being;
you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know this very well. You saw my bones being formed
as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there,
you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me
were written in your book
before I was one day old. "
(Among all of the things God knows and planned, I would say it would include our name... how else can our names be written in His Book?)
Isaiah ch. 43 is filled with related ideas on all of this.
I have no proof of this yet, but it seems the name "John", to God, seems to mean something like "the voice" or "the messenger" or "God's voice".
For example, in the Bible the two most famous Johns are John the Baptist, (we all know about his "voice in the wilderness") and then there is John "the Revelator" or John "the Beloved" whose "voice" is very prominent in the end times through the "Revelations".
Throughout American history we had John Adams and that famous John Hancock who's name is so obviously and blatantly slapped upon God's other greatly inspired document that changed the world, that being the "Declaration" of Independence.
Even in modern times, we have prominent and distinctive famous voices in music like John Lennon (The voice of "Revolution"), or Johnny Cash (The voice of the down trodden and imprisoned) I add this part mostly tongue in cheek because I know there are lots of other very distinctive voices in the pop realm with names like Bob, and Frank, and Willie, and Bruce, and Michael, and Neil, and Mick, and one of my own favorites ...Leonard.(lol)*
Hey, continuing on this line, even the most famous voice in football is that of John Madden.
But then of course, Satan, "the prince of this world", likes to pervert, and have us even crap on what God ordains. There are many examples of this worldly perversion of this name like:
The man who visits prostitutes is a" john", or an unwanted man whose girlfriend breaks his heart is a "Dear John", or an unknown man or baby is a "John Doe", and then, even a toilet is called a "john". There seems no other first name with so many dubious "other meanings" ... not even "Bill" or "Dick". This is ALL very interesting I think.
There definitely seems to be something to this name John being "one who likes to declare God's voice of Truth. Of course, I probably wouldn't even have noticed all of this if my own middle name weren't John. (Not that I am anything but a child of God) But this even seems to fit ME. Anyone who is aware of my writes would notice this desire to announce Truth. I even had a dream/death experience that speaks directly to this. It's in one of my writes. (I think it is called "The life changing trip of a spiritual goof").
To give the conspiratorial sides of our minds a little exercise and a little stretching, what "voice of God" was being heard worldwide when another John, (John F. Kennedy) was openly and publicly killed right in front of us? It is a well known phenomena that all of those conspiracies that rose up from this famous murder, has in fact, given birth to much of the "conspiracy theory" and the conspiracy theorists that are now everywhere, and NOW gloriously exposing much Satanic corruption. It is interesting that Kennedy
went by the name of "Jack", and that another man named Clive, who also went by the same name "Jack" also had his voice silenced on that exact same day. That Jack , of course, being , Clive Staples Lewis , aka C.S Lewis. Another great voice of God. How's THAT for stretching?
Of course, , a mantra of any good "Conspiracy theorists" is " there is no such thing as coincidence". In that light, I wonder who coined the term "You don't know Jack"? But, I digress. But, I must go on. In that same "light", the very term "conspiracy theorist" was coined by the C.I.A in an effort to derail and paint with a broad brush as "crazy", anyone who refuses to believe their "official " narrative. To continue this idea of coincidence, that exact same day of death of Kennedy and Lewis also saw the death of the author of one of the prophetic, "almost bibles" of a "conspiracy theorist". That being Aldous Huxley, author of the prophetic book "Brave New World". Now guess what his middle name was....Yep, you guessed it: Leonard (lol),. Now the stretching of our conspiracy mind muscles has reached it's fullness in elasticity.
To bring it all full circle:
The name of a man who seems to be "trumpeting" out God's voice of Truth by exposing political and Governmental "darkness"; this man named Donald J. Trump..... The man, who "coincidentally" just released all of those sealed JFK documents : What might his middle name be?... Yes, you guessed it.
It's John!
So, what exactly IS God up to right here, right now?
Well, in this John's view, to slightly edit the words of another silenced voice, John Lennon,in his song "Revolution"...
"But if you go painting pretty pictures for us of Chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with humanity anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be alright
Alright, alright"
Thisi is ALL very interesting, I think... or at least to someone coincidentally named John.
______________________________
*
My homage to Leonard Cohen
So long Leonard!
I'm so glad you were passing through!
As you passed through, your gravelly, dark but lovely "voice",
it gave my soul a clue.
Everybody knows that your blue raincoat
it will famously protect last year's man as the rain falls ever down.
"As the lovers rise up,
and the mountains touch the ground."*
And they will sing Hallelujah! forever more
in this dress rehearaal rag.
The one in which wer'e all
only gloriously,
but temporarily
bound.
So long Mr. Cohen,
I'm so glad you were passing through.
Many of my favorite titles of Mr. Cohen's great songs are in this homage to a great poet/ songwriter that influenced me.
So long Marianne
passing through
everybody knows
famous blue raincoat
last year's man ( prob my fave)
Hallelujah
Dress rehearsal rag
(Many of these come from his recording 'Songs of love and hate' which is my favorite, and perhaps favorite album of any artist.)
* from his masterpiece 'last year's man'
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