Jesus = Zeus?

Q. Lately I’ve been reading a local pastor’s take on the names “Jesus” and Yeshua: this pastor says Jesus is derived from the mythological god Zeus. Is this true? What is the correct and proper term for the L-rd?

A. No, it is not true. This teaching has been around a long time and it is found in the Sacred Name movement and other places. It is used to put fear into people who really haven’t looked into this, and has been discredited many times. It’s a lie and if you are confronted by it, a simple knowledge of this will help you. Jesus is just the English translation of the Greek Iota Eta Sigma Omicron Upsilon Sigma or “IESOUS” . The Greek is from the Hebrew/ Aramaic “Yeshua”.

To see how they did this is interesting. 300 years before Yeshua his name was written in the Septuagint (LXX) because Joshua had the same name. To say that this name is a derivation of Zeus is just plain silly and bad grammar. There are web sites devoted to this controversy and I suggest you read those for yourself. I wouldn’t put too much stock into this lie.

Greeks in the first- century would have said His name in Greek and certainly would have used this name in referring to Yeshua by saying something very close to how we say ‘Jesus” today and it would have been proper to do so. Paul used the term “theos” for the L-rd, even though that name was used for the pagan, Greek deities (Acts 17.22-34). There was no controversy over this in the first century when Zeus was a very prominent deity and very well known. What the correct and proper term is, you will have to decide, but I use Yeshua or Jesus, and this would be acceptable I believe.

Q. Who or what are the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, are they symbolic or literal descriptions of events set to occur?

A. These horseman are symbolic of events in the Tribulation. Let’s look at them quickly. In Revelation 6.1-8 we find them listed, so let’s look at the first horseman, the rider on the white horse. White is a symbol of righteousness and horse is power, so this is one who pretends to be righteous. A bow in his hand means strength and power and has an allusion to Nimrod. He was wearing a crown which has to do with authority. This figure is one who has a false righteousness, has power and authority, and may be alluding to the false messiah and his confederation. The second horseman rides a red horse which is alluding to blood, war and sin. He has a sword which in this case has to do with war and carnage. The third horse was black, and this is the power of famine (Lam 5.10). The fourth rider was on an ashen horse, and this is the power of death. So, in the Birth-pains, the false messiah will go out to conquer, wars will evolve (nation against nation), resulting in famine and shortages of all kinds, which in turn will result in disease and death. Of course, there is much more to this, but I hope this helps.