A querist asked, “What is the new name of Isa 62:2?”
James replied:
In my opinion this verse refers to Jerusalem and not to Christians. The verses read:
Isa 62:1-4
1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. 2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.”
“Thy righteousness” and “thy glory” refers to Jerusalem. She was the one that would no longer be called “Forsaken” or her land called “Desolate”. “Hephzibah” is a good guess as to Jerusalem’s new name.
Rev 2:17 promises a new name to each saint that no one else knows. Rev 19:12 says that Christ also has a new name that no one knows except He Himself. If you look at the seven promises to the churches in Rev 2-3 you will find that none of these promises is realized until after death, because the determination of whether one is faithful till death cannot be made until death. The time at which God determines whether an individual saint will receive these promises or not is made at death (Rev 2:10b). Therefore, the new name would not be received until after death, presumably at the resurrection, for that is what we see with the 144,000. We see the 144,000 newly risen in Rev 7. They had no markings on them until the angels wrote on them. We see these resurrected ones again in Rev 14 where they are standing before the throne of God with God’s name written on them. Jesus promised that Christians would have a secret new name after they were faithful till death. At the same time, they would have the name of God, the name of New Jerusalem, and Christ’s new name written on them (Rev 3:12). Since those newly resurrected saints had God’s name written on them after their resurrection (Rev 14:1), and we see Jesus with His new name after His resurrection (Rev 19:12), then we would expect these risen saints in heaven to also have their secret new names, just like the resurrected Christ does. Since these are the firstfruits (Rev 14:4), then we as the later fruits should be just like them and get our new names after we are risen from the dead.
