As we continue to look at our banner, the name of the Lord, I want to just show you briefly from the Old Testament Scriptures and from history the significance of the one who carried the banner in an ancient army, the banner or the standard. Describing the defeat of a large Gentile army, the Assyrian army, the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 10:18 says this:

“...they shall be as when a standard bearer fainteth...”

Now, when the standard bearer fainted, the whole army was in disorganization because ancient armies were trained that if they were hard pressed in battle they were liable to be divided and separated from one another and lose contact the standard bearer would find some kind of eminence, a hill or something, and lift up the standard and the soldiers were trained to regroup around the standard. But when the standard bearer fainted then there was no place for them to regroup. That meant a real serious problem in the army. But, in our case, for us as Christians our standard bearer is the Holy Spirit. Listen to what Isaiah says in Isaiah 59:19.

“So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”

You see, the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, is our standard bearer when we’re hard pressed by the forces of Satan and they’re coming like a flood against us. The good news for us is that our commander in chief directs our standard bearer, the Holy Spirit, to lift up the standard and we regroup around that standard. The standard being the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, he is our gathering point, our rallying point. And when we’re hard pressed in this Christian warfare the Holy Spirit lifts up that standard which is the name of the Lord Jesus. And when we see his name uplifted we gather there.

You see, that’s what’s happening today. All across the earth the Holy Spirit is lifting up afresh the standard of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s people are rallying to that standard, irrespective of denomination or other things that have separated them.

Finally, look at this picture of the victorious church in the Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon 6:4:

“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, as lovely as Jerusalem, as awesome as an army with banners.”

And again in Song of Solomon 6:10:

“Who is that that grows like the dawn, as beautiful as the full moon, as pure as the sun, as awesome as an army with banners?”

That’s the bride of Christ but it’s also the army of Christ. The bride is also the army. It’s very interesting in the two closing pictures of Christians in the epistle of the Ephesians the one but last is the bride and the last is the army. So, we’re both the bride and the army and we’re going to come forth on the stage of history as prophesied there in the Song of Solomon like an army, awesome with its banner. Remember that our banner is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, our time is up for today but I’ll be back with you again tomorrow at this time. Tomorrow I’ll be speaking about the next great covenant name of Jehovah, the one

God Revealed In His Names

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