Don't miss the key detail in Gabriel’s message to Mary: Why Jesus' name matters



Old Testament readers will notice that the significance of a character can commonly be found even in that character’s name. The names Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Solomon, and many others carry with them some kind of verb or noun that connects to their origin, demeanor, or purpose.

And every once in a while, the name of a character is announced before the birth. When that happens, the reader can be especially intrigued because announcing a person’s name ahead of time raises our expectations for what that character will be and do.

Mary and Joseph were to name the child Joshua because, through the birth of this child, salvation had come.

When the virgin Mary was in Nazareth, the angel Gabriel revealed to her that she would have a son and that her son would be the promised king who would rule on David’s throne (Luke 1:30–33). She would give birth to the Messiah.

Gabriel told her, “You shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). He told Joseph the same thing: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Matthew 1:21). What’s interesting in Joseph’s case is that Gabriel explained the name: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (1:21).

The angel not only made an announcement, he also gave an instruction.

Joseph and Mary could not name the child whatever they liked. The son would have a name that connected to his mission. Naming the child Jesus would be an act of obedience on their part.

The name “Jesus” in Greek is the equivalent of the name “Joshua” in Hebrew. And the name Joshua was a familiar one to readers of the Old Testament. The book called Joshua is named after the ancient successor to Moses. That Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River and into the promised land for the conquest. Through Joshua’s leadership and faithfulness, the Lord gave the Israelites victory and their inheritance.

Jesus — or Joshua — means “Yahweh is salvation.”

In the Old Testament, deliverance or salvation took different forms. An individual, like the psalmist, could celebrate God’s salvation from a threatening illness. A nation could receive deliverance from an external enemy — like the Philistines or the Amalekites. A penitent sinner could be delivered from divine discipline for transgressions.

Why is Jesus named “Yahweh is salvation”? Because he would accomplish the greatest and most far-reaching deliverance possible. He “would save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Jesus is a true and greater Joshua because he brought a greater salvation. Mary and Joseph were to name the child Joshua because, through the birth of this child, salvation had come. Salvation had a name.

Hear the angel say, “You shall call his name Joshua,” for that name will most easily connect us to the Old Testament background. Jesus didn’t come merely to promise deliverance or to sustain the hope for deliverance or to point us to some other source for deliverance. He came to be our deliverance. His name means “Yahweh is salvation,” and he is the deliverance we need.

We need to be saved from our sins, so we need the one whom the angel called “Jesus” — the new Joshua to lead the people of God into a land of everlasting life.

This essay was originally published at Dr. Mitchell Chase's Substack, Biblical Theology.

CONTENT WARNING: What NO ONE is telling you about Hamas and Israel



Glenn Beck is not one to shy away from the truth, even if the truth is as ugly as it gets.

On his Wednesday Night Special, Glenn exposes what’s actually going on between Israel and Hamas, specifically highlighting the events the mainstream media and our own government refuse to disclose.

“Warning: You are about to see shocking images tonight … [and] uncomfortable video,” says Glenn, but “the only way we can defeat evil is by naming it and identifying it and then standing up against it.”

The first clip he shows is footage of a reporter describing his findings in Israel.

“We saw one home in which the terrorists had barricaded themselves, and so the IDF had to come in and demolish the structure, and when they pulled the rubble apart, they found the bodies of eight small children who had been tied to one another and shot,” he reported, adding that they “also found the bodies of a couple who were embracing when they died.”

But despite the horror, there are still pro-Palestine rallies occurring across the globe.

“Do you remember how the entire country – the world – rallied together in the wake of 9/11? There was no debate that the Taliban and al Qaeda were evil [and] they had to be dismantled at all costs, [so] why is the world treating Israel's 9/11 so differently?” asks Glenn before displaying a video of a recent rally in Amsterdam where “thousands gathered in support of Gaza and Hamas.”

What’s perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that our own government seems to be taking the cowardly path of neutrality. Just three days ago, "Squad" members proposed a resolution to Congress that called for a ceasefire, despite the intended genocide of Hamas. Further, Biden’s visit to Israel has been framed not around the slaughtered Jews but rather around the idea that “Gaza faces humanitarian catastrophe.”

“Is there any wonder why so many people are misinformed about Hamas and Gaza when our own elected officials are effectively telling Israel not to respond to their 9/11? Are terrorists really free to kill over 1,300 people as long as they're Jews?” asks Glenn in disgust.

For those who believe Gaza citizens are entirely innocent, Glenn plays a video of “civilians walking into Israel cheering as the Jews are getting slaughtered” when Hamas first launched its attack.

“Many of these same civilians are probably following an IDF leaflet to safety today,” he adds, referencing the thousands of warnings Israel has issued before planned attacks in an effort to spare as many civilian lives as possible – even though those same “civilians of Gaza handed the Hamas terror group power.”

“Do you know any other country in the world that would risk tipping off their enemies before attacking?” asks Glenn.

And while the death of any child is tragic and horrifying, Glenn argues it’s important to understand that Palestinian children are indoctrinated from an early age to harbor a deep hatred for Jewish people.

He then plays another video of seven young Palestinian students explaining what they’ve been taught in school. Here is what each boy said:

“At school they teach us about Jews. They teach us that they are bad people. They killed our young.”

“They teach us in school that Jews are fickle, bad people. I am ready to stab a Jew and drive [a car] over them.”

“I will fight. I will ram a car into them.”

“We have to constantly stab them, drive over them, and shoot them.”

“Stabbing and running over Jews brings dignity to the Palestinians. I am going to run over them and stab them with knives.”

“Right now, I am prepared to be a suicide bomber.”

“With Allah’s help, I will fight for ISIS, the Islamic State.”

“This is what happened in Germany,” says Glenn. “For Hamas, children are instruments of war just as they were with Hitler.”

“Jewish children Hamas sees … as human shields and bargaining chips,” he explains before playing “a video that Hamas published showing off the children – the Israeli children – they stole.”

The horrifying footage shows Hamas soldiers carrying crying children who have been ripped from the arms of their parents – many of them babies who can’t even walk yet.

“There can be no ceasefire with people like this,” says Glenn before displaying the “Hamas Charter,” which unabashedly states “that the killing of Jews and the destruction of Israel is their main goal.”

If you don’t believe us, read the Hamas Charter for yourself at glennbeck.com.

Here’s something that’s even more disturbing: That’s only the first fifteen minutes of Glenn’s special. To get the complete picture – the unvarnished truth – of what’s happening between Israel and Hamas, watch the full episode below.


Want more from Glenn Beck?

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What NO ONE Is Telling You About Hamas and Israel | Ep 312

What NO ONE Is Telling You About Hamas and Israel | Ep 312

The REAL Reason Hamas Attacked Israel: Glenn Beck, Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin REACT | Glenn TV | Ep 310

The REAL Reason Hamas Attacked Israel: Glenn Beck, Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin REACT | Glenn TV | Ep 310

Tucker Carlson unleashes on the abortion regime, stressing its business is the ancient 'sin' of child sacrifice: 'This is not a political debate. This is a spiritual battle'



Tucker Carlson unleashed righteous fury on the abortion regime in America during a recent address to Christians, stressing that anyone who advocates for the slaughter of the unborn "is your enemy" and that the practice of abortion is an evil "religious rite" that is "as old as time."

The Center for Christian Virtue, a religious conservative outfit that advocates for public policies reflective of "the truth of the Gospel," hosted Tucker Carlson for its gala in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 21.

The 54-year-old featured speaker indicated that he and his family left the Episcopal Church owing to its alleged transformation into an "aggressively pagan institution" and in response his former minister's apparent unwillingness to prioritize salvation over safety during the pandemic.

"Why is she worried about dying? She's a Christian minister. Like, why should she care?" said Carlson, who indicated church services had been greatly curtailed for fear of COVID-19. "If you're afraid to die, then you don't really mean it. ... Okay, not a Christian."

Although he stepped outside his particular church, Carlson did not give up the faith. Rather, he suggested he has since gotten "to understand God better," in part by poring over the Bible and the eternal truths contained therein.

Extra to finding reassurance in the account of the conversion of St. Paul of Tarsus — whereby even "a truly awful person ... could become one of the great people of all time" — Carlson observed an all-too-familiar evil "chronicled in great detail throughout the Hebrew Bible" that appears to have survived to become a bloody ritual of the left and the powers that be.

Carlson noted that human sacrifice, ritual child sacrifice in particular, "rears its head about every four chapters. ... Of all the sins the ancients committed, that sin, every single time it's described, is called detestable, at least in the [Revised Standard Version]."

In virtually every instance, Carlson suggested the terms of the sacrifice were more or less clear: In exchange for the annihilation of innocence and innocents, the bloodied perpetrators would receive "power and contentment and happiness."

"Every civilization on the face of the earth has engaged in it. ... The archaeological record tells us that human sacrifice, the sacrifice of children, the killing of children, is the one constant in human civilization," continued Carlson.

Carlson suggested that this unnatural but universal decision, which "cuts against the imperative of evolutionary biology" and does not appear to have been reached organically, is the result of "outside forces ... acting on people at all times throughout history, in every culture on the planet, to convince people that if they sacrifice their children, they will be happy and safe."

Tailoring his comments to his Ohio audience, Carlson noted that the state's ballot initiatives have once again made clear this "religious rite" continues to have many supporters in the United States.

The ballot initiatives he was referencing were the "Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative," which would enable the slaughter of the unborn possibly up until the moment of birth despite the ratification of SB 23, which banned abortion after six weeks; and the "Marijuana Legalization Initiative," allowing anyone 21 years old and older to buy and possess dope.

"The one unalloyed source of joy in your life is your children. The point of life is to have children and to watch them have grandchildren. Nothing will bring you joy like that," said Carlson. "So anyone telling you 'don't have children,' 'kill your children' is not your friend, is your enemy."

Whereas in decades past, political debates appeared at least nominally concerned with improving the lives of citizens, Carlson underscored that this naked effort to snuff out life and suffocate souls is something else entirely.

"This is not a political debate. This is a spiritual battle," said Carlson.

This battle has claimed many lives in recent decades.

On the basis of numbers reported by the Guttmacher Institute, the pro-life group National Right to Life indicated that 63.4 million abortions were executed between the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade and January 2022.

Abortion has gone from being tolerated to celebrated. What kind of sick people would tell you that killing your baby is a pathway to joy?
— Tucker Carlson (@Tucker Carlson) 1695679200

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