Baptism Matthew 3:16 - And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: Mark 16:16 - He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Luke 5:20 - And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. (man let down through the roof) Luke 23:43 - And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (thief on the cross) John 3:23 - And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. Acts 2:41 - Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Acts 8:12 - But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Acts 8:36 - And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the ...

This study is addressing the subject of name changes in the Bible. Not all name changes are going to be examined, but (with one exception) only those where God himself has changed the name of the individual, for there are many others that had their names changed by men. The purpose of this study is to disprove the premise that when a person's name has been changed by God, it indicates that that person has at that point become a believer. In fact, there is no place in the Bible that I am aware of where a name change indicates a salvation experience. As to where this belief came from, I can only speculate. Perhaps it has been handed down as an ongoing tradition, from teacher to student without challenge or investigation. Possibly because the name change of Jacob (trickster), who became Israel (prince with God), was looked upon as his salvation experience, and was then mistakenly used as a de-facto rule for all name changes. In any case, as we investigate several instances of name changes, we will see that there is indeed a pattern to be found, but not one of coming to salvation. The first and most notable name to ...

Jesus exists from eternity past Micah 5:2 - But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Jesus is God, the Son Hebrews 1:7 - And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Jesus is the Third Person of the Godhead with the Father and the Holy Spirit Matthew 28:19 - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Colossians 2:8 - Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Jesus is equal with God Philippians 2:5 - Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, ...