Does God select our true names?

Question:

I have been reading through your website and I find a lot of answers to my questions. I have also shared the link to it in our group. I thank God, first of all for the wisdom He's given you. Thank you for your time using it. I really appreciate it.
Please let me know if the names that will be in the Book of Life is the name that we have now.

Answer:

You are trying to apply something from the physical realm to the spiritual realm. The Book of Life is a reference to a record of those faithful to God in this life. I would not conclude that it is a physical book. Those who are faithful are recorded in that book but exactly how it is done is not something we are told. Names in this life are reused. What is recorded in the Book of Life is unique to each person.

Question:

Hi Jeffrey,

Thanks for your response. I just thought of this because God called patriarch and prophets by their names and even gave names or changed some of them.

I am learning a lot from your site and I hope that you don't get tired answering questions. I also appreciate your answering angry, very personal and sometimes not so sensible ones. May God bless you with good health, patience, and wisdom at all times.

Answer:

The changing of names served a purpose. Abram's name means "father." God told him to change his name to "father of a multitude" (Abraham) while he was an old man who never had children. It took faith for Abraham to refer to himself by a name that seemingly did not match his circumstances. Abraham demonstrated his faith because you never see his old name used after God told him to change his name.

Jacob's name means "heel catcher." It refers to a prankster who trips someone walking by. His name was changed to "wrestles with God" in honor of his persistence. Unlike his grandfather, Jacob did not use the name "Israel" very often. It did become the name of his descendants and it was an appropriate name because they constantly struggled against God.

There are times in the past when God selected names for people or changed their names because He had a message He wanted to convey. But these were rare events and is not the way God deals with people today.

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