Monday, February 19th | First Name Jesus, Last Name Christ?

This episode of Clearview today is brought to you by Mighty Muscadine. David, let me ask you, how's your immune system lately?

It's honestly in critical condition. Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, but what if I told you that similar to our immune system, which produces more antibodies when under attack, the Muscadine grape also produces more damage-fighting antioxidants when under stress from the environment it grows in, leading to a host of health benefits. I'd gobble them up like Tic Tacs.

My friend MightyMuscadine.com has everything you could ever need to take your health game to the next level. All their products are gluten-free, trans-fat-free, non-GMO, dairy-free, and best of all, they actually taste delicious. I can attest to that personally. I had some of their protein powder just this morning and it's delicious.

I know that's right. Their grape juice is delicious. Tell it. Their antioxidant beverages, delicious.

Preach it on. Their shampoo, their body lotion, all delicious. What?

Best I've ever had. I'm glad to hear that you liked it, but try not to eat the shampoo. Too late, and I'll tell you something else. Mighty Muscadine believes in protecting God's great earth for generations to come.

That's why their farming and production is environmentally friendly, and they make every effort to protect and preserve without the use of pesticides and herbicides. You ate shampoo, though. Said your immune system was in critical condition. I think I know why. The only problem is I'm a little short on funds. Well, fret no more, my friend.

We're going to talk about that later, but fret no more. Again, visit MightyMuscadine.com and use promo code today. That's T-O-D-A-Y to unlock exclusive savings at checkout. Again, use promo code T-O-D-A-Y at checkout to enjoy a significant discount on all your purchases of Mighty Muscadine products. And listen, every single dollar you spend using that promo code helps support us here at the Clearview Today show. Remember, that promo code is today.

T-O-D-A-Y. A healthier, happier you is just a click away. Send us a text to 252-582-5028, or you can email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com.

That's right. You guys can help us keep that conversation going by supporting the show. You can share it online with your friends and your family. You can leave us a good review on iTunes or Spotify, anywhere you get your podcasting content from.

We're going to leave a link in the description, so you can do just that. The verse of the day today comes from Genesis 2, verse 7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living being. Maybe the feminists were onto something. Men are dirt.

Remember where you came from, men. No, that's not what we're saying. But we are saying that there's a difference here in how God formed man. He spoke light into existence. He spoke land into existence. He spoke time and space into existence.

But man was different. God formed man out of the dust of the ground. It's almost the idea of a potter shaping clay. And God just breathes the breath of life into his nostrils. That's different phraseology than any other thing in creation.

And being formed in the image of God has so much theological depth that we could never get into in this little two-minute segment at the top of the show. But it does just remind us, number one, where we came from, and number two, how lovingly our Creator has created us. To know that God, like Ryan said, has breathed the breath of life into us. It makes me look at life differently. It makes me see my life as precious.

You know what I'm saying? It's not just something that I'm getting through. I have to just grit my teeth and get through the struggles of life. Life is something to be cherished and enjoyed. And kind of in that vein, I'm back in the gym, baby. So I was going to say, God's created us in his image, including our physical bodies.

And we want to make sure that we're taking care of our physical bodies. And according to Snapchat, you have been. So here's the thing. Did I ever get out of the gym completely? Yes.

Some would say yes. I took a hiatus. I should not have. It was not a hiatus that I meant to take.

It was not planned. Thanksgiving messed me up, but good. I ate way too much at two or three different Thanksgivings. And then Christmas came. So between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was like, you know what? That is kind of the one-two punch of the holidays. Bad, bad, bad, bad. Just all around harmful for my gains. So Christmas came, and between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was like, you know what?

Let me just take some time to get all this off. Maybe I'll do some cardio here and there. And I did. I did a couple days a week. But it was not regimented like the four to five day split over the week that I had been doing since 2018.

So that was pretty bad. Then Christmas came, and I repeated my sin at Christmas. I ate way too much. And from Christmas all through January, my workouts were so spotty. I never got out completely, but I would take a week off, and then I would do two days a week. And then I would take another two weeks off, and then I'd go back and do one day a week. Bad.

Just overall bad. So I never dropped it. But now, starting these past two weeks, I'm back in four days a week, doing my chest one day, doing my legs, doing my back and my shoulders. And then I can't remember what the fourth day is.

I think it's all cardio. Nice. I can't remember.

Nice. You're back in as well. I have been back in the gym as well.

Last year there were a whole bunch of different factors, and I can throw up every excuse in the book. But the thing that really struck me is that in the mornings sometimes, because I'll get Elizabeth up and get the kids up and get them ready to go to school. Elizabeth's a teacher, so she's got to get there a little earlier. And then I've got some time in the mornings.

Right. So that's when I'll go to the gym. And there's lots of mornings where I'm like, man, I just feel like I just want to lay back down.

I just want to, you know, just rest and relax for a little while. And it was that initial hurdle. But the thing that makes me, like, continue to go back to the gym is that I've never regretted going to the gym.

Yeah, true. I've never gone to the gym and been like, man, I really wish I didn't do that. I really wish I'd stayed home and slept. No.

Uh-uh. Every single time it's like I really feel better. I really do feel like mentally, physically better. I feel there's clarity, like I can get through the day better.

It's just more beneficial. I want to check in with Dr. Shawn and see how the gym's going for him. But right in to let us know, what's your go-to hack for the gym?

What makes gym life easier for you? 2-5-2-5-8-2-5-0-2-8. Or you can visit us online at cleerviewtodayshow.com. We'll be back after this.

We'll be right there with you. You can check us out on Apple Music or on Spotify, anywhere digital music is consumed. We've got a few singles out right now. We have an EP out as well. And right now, at this moment actually, we are working on our first ever full-length original album.

Hopefully that's going to be out sometime this coming summer. Clearview Worship on iTunes and Spotify is your 24-7 place for inspiration and worship. Follow us today and let God's message of hope, love, and faith be a guiding light in your life.

Amen. Let's hop back into the show. Welcome back to Clearview Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You can visit us online at cleerviewtodayshow.com. Or if you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for future topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028. That's right. And we're here again with Dr. Abbadon Shah, who is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show. Yaxha, a lot of people don't know this, but we actually have people write in to ask, what does your first name mean? Abbadon?

Yeah. What kind of name is Abbadon? They think it's an Eastern name or it's like an Indian name or a Hindi name. They asked me the same question in India.

Really? What kind of a name is that? Abbadon? Because it's not an Indian name. It's not. And those who know Indian languages, it doesn't sound Indian. But to those who are unexposed, if I can say that, to languages in India, they think it sounds Indian.

To the Western ear, it's an Indian name. I had this guy come to me when I was in college. He was kind of an interesting guy. He worked in the finance office.

Oh, boy. He was a big fella. He was nice, very nice guy, just kind of odd.

Just kind of like, hello, how are you? So how much are we withdrawing today? Not much there, but what he would like, you know. Oh, my goodness. Bro. You said work to the finance department. I was like, hmm.

Sounds about right. Here we go. Finance department. Here we go. So because I used to work on campus, and I would go see him every month to get my $60 out. Do his voice one more time. Hello, how are you? Well, let's see.

Well, I think you can get maybe $55 this time. He said, well, I don't know if you were aware of that, but we were doing a Bible study last night, and your name came up. I said, oh, OK. I said, in the book of Revelation. I said, oh.

He said, well, we prayed for you. I think you had the wrong name. Yeah, that's the wrong name. That's A-B-A-D-D-O-N. And it's funny because I'm reading a book called The Expanse. Oh, it's a series called The Expanse. It's science fiction. It has nothing to do with religion at all. But the titles of the book draw from religious imagery to kind of demonstrate what's going on. So it's not about demons or anything like that. But there was a book called Abaddon's Gate. And it was about they go through this portal in space and all this stuff. I remember sending it to you and being like, check it out.

I know it's not how you spell it. And you were like, no, that's not me. Yeah, that Abaddon is the angel of the abyss. Yeah, you don't want that. No, I don't want that. That's not you.

You're not affiliated with me. So I explained to him. And I was like, oh, that's different because mine is A-B-I-D-A-N. And it's found in Old Testament in Numbers 111. He just kind of looked at me. OK, well, take care.

It's like, I guess it didn't make a difference to you. You apparently already have your mind made up that my name means the devil. Yeah, the one thing I like about that is because your name is Abaddon, which is rich in biblical meaning.

And then your sister, Libna, just a very beautiful. Is that an Indian name, Libna? No, that's also a biblical name. That's biblical, too? Yeah, because that's one of the cities that Joshua conquered in the Promised Land. Oh, yes, that's right.

You told me about that. Yeah, that's one of the cities of Canaan. Because really, it's a beautiful, beautiful name.

And it's got that biblical historic meaning, too. And then I remember asking you when I first met you, do you have any other systems? I got one more brother. I'm like, oh, there must be a big story. He's Fred. Fred, yep. He's named after the missionary who sort of adopted my father. Yeah. He was not the one who led my father to the Lord.

No, no. He was the one who adopted my dad. And they had this father-son relationship. So when my dad's first son was born, my brother was born, he named him Fred. But he didn't get any of those awkward questions like, what does your name mean?

You're from the Book of Revelation. He just got the easy pass on Fred. Fred, yeah.

Named after Fred Shillander. By the way, Fred Shillander was the man who helped, in a sense, translate, but really was updating the Bible that was translated from original Hebrew Greek into the Marathi language. Marathi is the language in Bombay, the capital of Maharashtra. Bombay has close to 90 million people. Now, they say it's 19.

That's not true. A lot. 90 million.

Wow. How are they getting so, I know this is kind of off topic, but how is the census so off? Because people are living on the streets. They're living in hutments. Like in slums and stuff?

Slums and streets and all that. You're not counting all of them. Really? Yeah. I mean, how can you? I mean, you count them in a sense of like, OK, I think it may be another 100,000.

But you're not counting counting them. Right. So one time we were at the Y in Bombay. Y in Bombay, staying there with other people. There were other people that travel who have a Y membership and they can come stay there too. And my dad was talking to our group. And he was explaining to the people right here from Henderson, from Clearview and other places who had gone with me to India. This is in 2008. And he was explaining to them, the population of the city is about 90 million. And there were a couple of these people sitting there, I think from Europe somewhere. And they're looking at our group and saying, that's not true what he's saying.

Really? That's not true. And I was like, you're talking about my dad for one. You don't know that he's my dad.

So I kind of looked at him and said, you may not realize this, but that man knows more about this place than you think he does. Secondly, have you counted? Have you seen all the people who are on the streets? Do you think the census goes around looking for all of them? No.

Here's what you do. Look at the population of Maharashtra, the state of Maharashtra. How much is it? Now look at the big cities in Maharashtra. Look at all their population, add them up.

Guess what? There's a huge chunk missing. Where do you think those people are? Where does that fit in? That fits in Bombay. We just don't know where those people are because it's all based on people having children in the hospital, whatever. Where do those people go? Yeah, that's a good point. So that missing population is in the streets of Bombay.

True. Europeans always want to correct somebody. Yeah, they want to correct somebody.

But anyways, I don't know how we got to that. But that translation in Bombay, in Maharashtra, was made by a woman, an Indian woman, who was kicked out of her home because her husband died and all that stuff, terrible tragedy. Her name was Ramabai, and she became Pandita Ramabai, means the scholar Ramabai. She came to America back in the late 1800s.

Brilliant woman. Started an orphanage. That's where my sister worked later on.

My dad was a trustee there. But she translated the Bible. But then the Bible became kind of outdated because of the language changes. Fred Shellander is the one who freshly translated or updated most places. He updated the Bible.

Wow. And he became my dad's father. And also, he's got a pretty cool sounding name too, Shellander. Shellander is a cool name. That is a cool name.

So anyways, long story for a short question. Well, biblical names have a lot of meaning. That was one thing that was really important to me when we were naming our kids is that I wanted to have biblical names.

Now, one of my kids is Gavin, and one of them is Holden. So hopefully the third one will get a biblical name in there. But my son's middle name is John, which is after my name. And I love those biblical names because they have really, really deep significant meanings.

And I think it just adds that next layer of identity to your name. Having significance in names is a biblical thing. So many names in the Bible have significance. But the one I want to discuss for a few minutes is the name of Christ or just Christ. It says here, this is in John chapter 20 in verse 31, it says, But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

So name is significant. So we know what Jesus means. Jesus means Yahweh or God saves.

But what does Christ mean? First and foremost, is it His last name? You mean it's not His last name?

No, it's not His last name. Mr. Christ? Mr. Christ. First name Jesus, last name Christ.

The neighbors move in next door, the Christs. You know, it's funny because I've always, I even have had a misunderstanding of Christ. I always thought Christ was just this promised one.

Not necessarily the king or royalty, it's just one who was promised. But there's so much more that goes behind Christ. It's the Greek translation. Christos is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. Now what does the word Messiah mean? Messiah, it means the anointed one, someone who has been consecrated or set aside for a special task. That's what Messiah really means. Mashiach.

It's someone who has been set aside for a very important task. And when we talk about the Gospel, it's really important that we do know these names, understand what these names mean. Because like I said, we throw around Jesus Christ very liberally. You know what I mean?

Maybe not liberally, but we throw it around without understanding the true depth of what we're saying. When the Septuagint translators, for those of you who may not know or don't remember, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek because Jewish people were losing their language. They were not able to read Hebrew for a time period. So they decided to translate it into Greek so that their children would read the Bible. Isn't that amazing?

And so this is what we know as Septuagint, LXX, Septuagint. And when they came to this word Messiah or Messiah or Messiah, they used the word Christos or Creole, which has the idea of anoint or smear with oil. That's where we, what is that oil we have now? The Chrisco. Chrisco. Is that really? Yeah, it's all connected. I didn't know that?

No. Chrisco. I didn't know that. Chrisco and Christ use their derivatives. That's insane.

Yeah, like using oil. Wow. I'm floored.

Some woman is in her cabinet looking like, there it is, Chrisco right there. I legitimately learned something on the Cleary Today show today. Yeah, I didn't know that. That's where the word comes from.

Now, maybe they don't realize that, or maybe they just thought Chrisco sounds good. But that's where you, the whole idea of Creole, anoint with oil or smear with oil comes from. So by the time Jesus came on the scene, that was already a very important word.

That was an important title. Oh, the Septuagint was already there. So they knew Messiah from Hebrew, but they also knew Christos from Greek.

I don't think we think about that. The Greek translation was already there by the time Jesus was born. That translation was made over a 400 year period, according to the best estimates.

200 before Christ, 200 after Christ. So that 400 year period is where you have the Septuagint translation. Now, according to tradition, it is the 70 scholars who came together and translated these writings into Greek, which are more than just the 39 books of the Old Testament, according to the English 39 distribution. But, because they also have other, what we know as the extra canonical books in the Septuagint, but also this, that's tradition, that these 70 people translated this.

But we don't have concrete information that that's all there is to it. I think it was a lot of people were translating the Hebrew into the Greek. See, we make it out to be like by the time Jesus came on the scene, he was talking about being the Messiah and being the Christ, and the Jewish people just had question marks. Like they were just. What does that mean? Like they were like dim-witted, like what, what are you talking about?

I've never heard that. They knew, like when he said, I'm the Messiah, I'm the Christ, they knew exactly what he was saying. Oh yes, absolutely. They're way, and I think that's a theme that we've kind of talked about here on the Clearview Today show, is that the Jewish people, even the ones following Jesus, were way sharper than we give them credit for.

Yes, I mean look, think about it. The first converts were not Greeks or Arabs or Africans or Indians or Chinese. The first converts were. Or Jewish people. Jewish people. Either the ones who lived in Jerusalem, the Hebrew Jews, or they were the Hellenists. Means they were the diasporic Jewish people. On the day of Pentecost, when we hear, all these are here from Parthia and Mede and Babylon and all, that does not mean they were Babylonians. They were all foreigners gathered together.

No, no, no, no. These were Jewish people who lived in foreign lands who were now Parthians and Medes and Hebrews who were there for the feast of Pentecost. They were there because this is what you do.

You go on a pilgrimage to your home country, to your fatherland, and you celebrate it there. Why would they have done that if they were Babylonians? Well, why would they have come to this Jewish feast and be there listening to these Jewish speakers?

Now, there were some who did come who were not bona fide Jewish people from the stock of Israel, like the Ethiopian eunuch, but the vast majority of them were actually Jewish people. So, talking about did they understand Christos or did they understand Messiah? Just look at some of these references.

Let me give you just a few of them. 1 Samuel 2.35, it says, Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before my Messiah or my Christos. As many times as you and I have gone through the book of 1 Samuel, I think I've missed that. Because the focus is on who Samuel's going to be in contrast to Eli, but he's also pointing towards Jesus.

It's crazy. We've read that so much, and I've missed it somehow. Psalm 2 and verse 2, The kings of the earth said themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed.

Same word. Psalm 132, verse 10, For your servant David's sake, do not turn away the face of your anointed. I mean, I can go on and on. Let me take Daniel, chapter 9, verse 25, Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah, the anointed one, the prince, there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks and after the 62 weeks, the Messiah. The anointed one shall be cut off, but not for himself.

I mean, how much more prophecy do you need? All those verses on the Scriptures, it led to the Jewish people developing an understanding of who the Messiah was, so that by the time Jesus came on the scene, they were well versed in what was to come. They knew very well, which is why you get the reaction you do from some of the Jewish leaders who oppose Jesus. When he claims to be the Messiah, they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, uh-uh. But it also confuses me because it's like they know that it's coming, why not Jesus? Because he didn't come through them.

He did not come for their endorsement. And it says it, that Jesus did not give himself to anyone because he knew what was in man and did not want human beings to testify of him. Do you feel like, and I think we've talked about this on the show, but just for my clarity, was it that they were like, okay, since he didn't come through us, it can't be him? Or it probably is him, but we're not gonna tolerate that.

I believe it was more the second one. That's a scary thought. That he fits the bill, he is all through and through what he says he is, we just don't like it that he is doing this. See, okay, all you have to do is look at some of Jesus' parables about himself. He talks about the parable of the vineyard, how the rich man went away. When he went away, he sent these people to go check on his vineyard. They are the prophets. And these people came, and what did the workers do? They killed some of them. They killed these, I guess the representatives or these people sent by the vineyard owner. Some they killed, some they stoned, some they mistreated, and sent them back.

They represented the prophets. And then the vineyard owner said, you know what, I'm gonna send my son. I know they're going to respect him. And when the son came, these workers said, hey, here's the son. Guess what? Let's kill him.

Wow. Now, if that does not satisfy your question, I don't know anything else will, because what that means is the people who are working in the fields, which means the chief priests, the Pharisees, the scribes, they knew Jesus. They just said, this is the vineyard owner's son.

Let's kill him. It's insane because I know, man, it's rough for me because you and I have been looking at the Old Testament a lot, especially in the establishment of Israel as a nation with Samuel going forward to the time of Jesus. And one of the big themes, especially even in the book of Judges, which I know is before that, but you just see Israel's corruption. You see restoration. You see corruption. You see restoration.

It just keeps going and keeps going and keeps going. But to be so corrupt as to understand that you're putting God himself to death, it's almost unimaginable to me. It's very difficult for me to wrap my mind around the fact that they knew full well that he was God.

They had accepted it and killed him anyway. Well, I want to read for us a passage. Is that OK? Yes, absolutely. This is Matthew 21 because I know some of our listeners or viewers may be wondering, where are we getting this from?

So let me read for you. Matthew 21, and I believe it's verse 35. It says, and the vine dressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stole another. And again, he sent other servants more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all, he sent his son to them saying, they will respect my son. But when the vine dressers saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. So they took him, cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine dressers? They said to him, he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vine dressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus said to them, have you never read the scriptures?

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God is taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on the stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.

Now pay attention to this. Verse 45, Matthew 21, 45. Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived he was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitudes because they took him for a profit. So it wasn't even that they were afraid of what God would do to them for killing their son. They feared the people.

People crowd. Yeah. Bro. It's crazy, isn't it? It's crazy.

That's what I'm saying. I completely believe it. I understand it. But it's tough to put myself, because I'm the type where I'm reading a story. I want to put myself in it. Yeah. I want to put myself in the mindset of all the characters, even the bad guys. Yeah.

It's difficult to do. It's really difficult to understand that they knew who he was. They knew that they got it.

They're like, I hear you. I believe you. I'm still going to kill you anyway.

Yeah. He asked the disciples, who do men say that I am? Then they gave all those answers, John the Baptist or Baptizer, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. And then he asked them, who do you say that I am? And Peter said, you are the Christ. You're the anointed. You're the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And Jesus gave him a great compliment. I mean, it's throughout. We don't have enough time to get into all the proofs that he was the anointed one.

He was the Messiah. Yeah. So. I love it.

He's the one. If you guys enjoyed today's episode, if it was helpful for you, write in and let us know 2-5-2-5-8-2-5-0-2-8. Or you can visit us online at clearveetodayshow.com. Don't forget you can partner with us financially on that same website.

Be a part of what God is doing through the Clear View Today show to reach the nations with the gospel of Jesus. I also want to remind you to visit mightymuscadine.com. They're the sponsors for today's episode. Use the promo code TODAY when you check out.

That's T-O-D-A-Y. It's going to get you a discount and a portion of those proceeds come right back here to the Clear View Today show. John, what's coming up tomorrow? Tomorrow is a very, very, very significant day.

Lots of verys. Very significant day, especially in the field of New Testament textual criticism. Well, probably not New Testament. I think the Dead Sea Scrolls are Old Testament, right? The Old Testament, okay. It's still a significant day in biblical history and textual criticism. We're talking about the anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Dr. Schell, we actually went to Qumran, you and I, and David. Absolutely.

My wife? Was that 2019? 2020? I've been there before. I went there in 2015, but then I think I took you guys with me, I want to say in 2020. 2020. So then my wife was there as well. Yes. Really, really fascinating stuff, and we're going to talk about that a little bit more.

I'm sorry. 2019. 2019? I think you might be right.

It was one of those. But definitely we want to talk about our experience there, talk about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, what that means for textual criticism and modern Christianity today. Very nice. Make sure you guys tune in. Love you guys. I'll see you tomorrow on Cleary Today. Bye. Bye.