ContradictionsReading order 565Bible context 5 min read
What was Jesus H. Christ's real name?
The passages assign many names and titles to their figures. The sharper issue is the juxtaposition of a secret name with explicitly disclosed designations.
Textual conflict
Weak contradiction
The supplied passages do not establish incompatible claims. Different events, meanings, or conditions may account for the difference.
Importance
Minor
A local detail in a story, chronology, or inventory.
Multiple titles coexist with a personal name, and a secret name does not imply that every other designation is secret.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
The rider has a name known only to himself
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
The spirit identifies Jesus as the Holy One of God
And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
The speaker is called the Amen and faithful witness
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
The victorious figure is the Lion and Root of David
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Jesus calls himself David's offspring and the morning star
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
The promised child receives several exalted royal titles
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Matthew 1:21 and Luke 1:31 give a direct naming instruction: Jesus. Matthew 1:23 also supplies Emmanuel and explains its meaning as God with us. The remaining passages use family relationships, descriptions of authority, and images such as Word, Lion, and morning star. A person can have a name and several titles, so their variety does not by itself make the accounts contradictory.
Revelation 19:12 presents a more specific puzzle by saying the rider has a written name known only to himself. Revelation 19:13 immediately gives the designation Word of God, and Revelation 19:16 provides King of kings and Lord of lords. This would be inconsistent if the revealed designation is the same name just declared unknown. The wording says he has a secret name, however, not that every possible name or title for him is secret.
Daniel 2:37 even applies king of kings to an addressed king, showing that the phrase need not function as one person's exclusive personal name. Nor do the isolated prophecies themselves identify every promised figure as Jesus. The collection demonstrates diverse religious claims about identity; it cannot establish a different legal name for every title it lists.