300. The names used in the spiritual world make it plain that someone's name does not mean just his name, but his whole character. In that world no one keeps the name he received at baptism and from his father or family in the world, but everyone there is named to suit his character, and angels have names to suit their moral and spiritual lives. It is these whom the Lord meant when He said:
I am the good shepherd. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:3[, 11]
Likewise by these words:
You* have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes. As for him who has overcome, I will write upon him the name of the city of the New Jerusalem, and my new name. Rev. 3:4, 12.
Gabriel and Michael are not the names of two people in heaven, but those names mean everyone in heaven who possesses wisdom about the Lord and worships Him. The names of persons and places in the Word too do not mean actual people and places, but matters which concern the church.
[2] Even in the natural world a name does not mean just the name, but at the same time a person's whole character, since this is inseparable from the name. In ordinary speech we say, 'He is doing this for the sake of his name', or 'for the sake of the reputation of his name'; or 'this man has a famous name.' We mean by this that he is famous for qualities he possesses, such as ingenuity, learning, achievements, and so on. Everyone knows that if anyone insults and slanders someone by name, he is also insulting and slandering the way he lives. The ideas are linked, so that the reputation of his name is destroyed. In much the same way, if anyone utters the name of a king, duke or high dignitary in an insulting fashion, he heaps abuse also on their majesty and dignity. Equally, if anyone pronounces a person's name in a contemptuous tone, he at the same time shows his contempt for the way he lives. It is the same with every person; the laws of all kingdoms forbid a person's name to be slandered or insulted, because the name is equivalent to his character and reputation.
* The Latin text has 'I' for 'You'.
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