The Name of Jesus

Another of the most controversial movements that's going on among cultists is to actually say that the name Jesus is wrong and that it should either be Joshua or Yeshua.  However let's remember this fact that the New Testament is written in GREEK and NOT in Hebrew.  Names can differ or stay the same when languages transfer from one place to another.  Here are some examples of name translations.

As an example, we would like to present the names of people in the Bible translated into Filipino or Spanish:

• Matthew - Mateo
• Mark - Marcos
• Luke - Lucas
• John - Juan
• Peter - Pedro
• James - Santiago
• Philip - Felipe
• Mary - Maria
• Joseph - Jose
• Timothy - Timoteo

So are the meanings being defeated?  No.  Now for the Jesus name controversy.  Some go as far as to say that Jesus is derived from Zeus when it is NOT. That's just stupid.  Now to fully understand the Greek and the Hebrew that is Yeshua (Joshua) and Jesus.

Here's the Greek: ησοῦς which is pronounced as Ieasus and spelled out in English as JESUS which in Filipino is read as Hesus with a harder pronunciation of the h sound (while spelled as Jesus).  Does it have to be pronounced correctly to be saved?  No.  As said, there are people with speech problems, many who stutter and if that were true, they would be exempt from salvation or what about the mute? They can't pronounce anything so that would exempt them too.  Fortunately that heresy is not true. Then since the New Testament is in Greek, the language of the known world that time, and it does not write Joshua but Jesus just as these are but the other names translated from Hebrew to Greek while some have remained the same like David, Joseph, Moses, Aaron or the other heroes in Hebrews 11 (Noah is still Noah) which suggests there is a mix of Greek and Hebrew.  Remember God still AUTHORED all languages.

Here's the translation from Hebrew to Greek:

• Miriam - Mary
• Elijah - Elias
• Noah - Noe
• Saul - Paul
• Joshua -Jesus (not in reference to Jesus Christ but Joshua, son of Nun in the speech by Stephen)

So as said, it is the name of Jesus remains the same. Quite interestingly, the name of Jesus in Mandarin is: 耶稣基督.

The first two characters are read as "Ye1 Su1" and the last two characters are read as "Ji1 Du1" (Christ).  "Ye Su" sounds a lot like "Yeshua" which was derived from the Hebrew and Iesus from Greek.  It all points to the only name whereby men shall be saved (Acts 4:10-12).  "Ji Du" means Christ and the Chinese word for Christian is "Ji1 Du1 Tu3" which in Hokkien is read as "Ki Tok Kaw".  As said, God is the author of all languages and everybody calls upon the same Name above every names the Lord Jesus Christ, only in different languages.

Got Questions also has this to say about the whole supposed Jesus means Zeus nonsense:

First, we will explain the “Jesus-means-hail-Zeus” theory, the best we can. Then we will look at the truth of the matter from a biblical perspective. 

Those who teach that the name Jesus means “Hail, Zeus” usually start with the name of God, YAH (see Isaiah 26:4, NET). From that name of God, they take the Messiah’s name to be YAHSHUA, which they say means “YAH Is Salvation.” They contend that is the name used by the apostles and by the Messiah Himself; however, after the apostles were dead and gone, the Roman Church took over Christianity. In order to make their brand of religion more palatable to the pagans, the Roman leaders changed the name of the Messiah into a Greek/Latin hybrid, Iésous, which (supposedly) means “Hail, Zeus.” Since Zeus (or Jupiter) was the chief god in the Greco-Roman pantheon, the pagans had little trouble accepting this new demigod. By changing the Savior’s name, Christianity had been effectively stripped of its Hebrew roots, and the melding with paganism was a success. The Greeks’ savior could still be Zeus. In time, the word Iésous was further corrupted into Jesus in English. 

As “proof” for their conspiracy theory that Jesus means “Hail, Zeus,” advocates point to the fact that the second syllable of Jesus (-sus) sounds similar to the name of the chief Greek god. Especially when Jesus is pronounced in Spanish, it becomes “evident” that people are “actually” saying “Hey, Zeus.” Added to these “proofs” is the fact that ancient sculptures of Zeus show him with a beard—just like modern-day pictures of Jesus! 

What can we say to such far-fetched nonsense? First, not everyone who has a beard is trying to take the place of Jesus. Second, just because a certain word or word part sounds like another word is no proof of commonality. Basing theories of word origin on pronunciation is preposterous. Humorous sounds exactly like humerus, but there’s nothing particularly funny about the bone that goes from the shoulder to the elbow. Third, the Messiah’s Hebrew name is Yeshua, not Yahshua—the latter being a fabrication in order to make the name sound more like YAH. 

Fourth, the Hebrew name Yeshua translates into Greek as Iésous. This is the name that the angel Gabriel commanded Joseph to name Mary’s child: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The name Jesus is a simply a Greek form of Joshua, a common name among Jews. The same verse also alludes to the meaning of the name: the Lord was to be named Jesus because “he will save his people from their sins.” The name Jesus means “The Lord Saves” or “The Lord Is Salvation.” Whether you spell it Jesus or Joshua or Yeshua, the meaning stays the same, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with Zeus.

Also, more importantly Zeus written in Greek is Ζεύς  and not ησοῦς which is the precious name of the Savior in Greek. Unfortunately, the site Reformation.org is unfortunately full of sensationalism and inaccuracies such as believing humans and demons reproduced or the existence of biological messes that cannot exist due to the very laws of science. You can read the nonsense here which really had me questioning more of the site's credibility with its sensationalism. It's no surprise that they would later suggest such a sensationalist issue.