Growing up in American christianity, I often saw 2 Chronicles 7:14 used in a way that implied the verse was speaking of christians—specifically those in America. Actually, the verse has nothing to do with christians OR America.
Yah said, “If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Well, this verse cannot be talking about christians, as there was no such thing when the verse was penned—it was centuries before Messiah’s incarnation, and neither the Father nor the Son EVER call Yah’s people “christians.” The insulting term “christian” was never used as anything but an epithet—a term of shame—when the New Testament was written. It was a term that only unbelievers used against believers.
It was not until christianity was invented after all the New Testament writers had died—the counterfeit belief system that was not even codified until the 4th century—that people started embracing the term “christian” (which meant “little messiah”) for themselves.
So, who is the verse talking about? Which people are called by the name of the Father?
The Father’s name is יָהּ (pronounced: “Yah”), and He also calls Himself יְהֹוָה (pronounced: “Yahweh”), which is a reiterative device (“I Am THAT I Am”). Christianity’s translators worked to obscure the Father’s name, and they changed the Father’s name (Yah/Yahweh) by combining it with one of His titles (adonai, which means “lord”) and then, to “the LORD” in English translations of the scriptures.
His NAME has never been “the LORD,” and neither has it ever been “God” (elohim).
First, let’s look at Messiah, Yah’s Son. In Psalm 118:26 and Matthew 23:39, we see “Blessed is He who comes IN THE NAME of Yahweh.” How did Messiah come in Yahweh’s name? Well, Messiah’s name Yahoshua, which means “Yah’s salvation,” contains the Father’s name Yah. That is how He came in His Father’s name, and it is also why we are told to believe on His name, which is to believe on the meaning of His name—Yah’s salvation.
So, His Son’s name contains His Father’s name. But, what about the people He says are called by His name? After the Babylonian captivity, all of the Israelites were united under the king of Judah (“yahudah”), and from that time on were called Jews (“yahudiy”). The name “yahudiy” in the Hebrew is יְהוּדִי, and that name contains the name of the Father (Yah), just as Messiah’s name does.
So, Messiah Yahoshua came in the name of Yah (YAHoshua), and the people of Yah are called by His name (YAHudiy). In 2 Chronicles 7:14, then, Yah is speaking of Jews, not American christians. But, what does that mean for us today? It actually means what it has always meant—Yah’s people, those who have been given the covenant (the OLD was only a physical foreshadow of the NEW).
The ancient Jews (yahudiy) were a physical foreshadow of Messiah’s bride. The physical foreshadow was called Y’isra-el, and the spiritual real substance is called Y’isra-el (which means “rules as God”). However, in Romans 11, Paul explains that those who were the physical foreshadow who reject Messiah Yahoshua are CUT OFF from Y’isra-el. Thus, only those who have been given the new covenant (Acts 2) are called Y’isra-el, and that has nothing to do with anything physical (bloodline, race, geography, etc.).
Paul explained in Romans 2:29 who the true Jews (yahudiy) are. The physical Jews were those who bore Abraham’s covenant, which was physical circumcision (a foreshadow). But, Paul tells us that the true Jews (yahudiy) are those of any race or bloodline who are spiritually circumcised, which is circumcision of the heart, something only the Holy Spirit can do.
It is vital to understand that the ancient Jewish people were just a physical foreshadow of Messiah’s bride, and both the physical foreshadow and the spiritual real substance are called in scripture by the same name. Y’isra-el is comprised of Yahudiy (Jews). That was true of the physical foreshadow (OT) as it is true of the spiritual real substance (NT).
Those who have been given the covenant (seal of the Holy Spirit) are the true Jews, or “yahudiy,” and they are called by the name of Yah, the Father. They are Y’isra-el, as they will “rule as God” in all eternity as the bride of Yahoshua the Messiah.
So, what about American christians? Well, christianity is the counterfeit of the true faith, and in the prophetic texts of scripture, it is referred to as Babylon. The spiritual head of Babylon is where christianity was invented, and is still christianity’s head, the mothership—Rome.
Paul called christianity the “falling away” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, as it was a belief system that was invented by stripping away the foundations of the faith (the Father’s traditions), and replacing them with pagansim and humanism (SUNday assembling, christ-mass, easter/ishtar, and salvation by man’s decision).
There is no way to be a part of Yah’s family (Y’isra-el) and also part of christianity, the counterfeit of it (Babylon). One cannot eat at both the Father’s table and the counterfeit of it, which is of the world.
Those who are Yah’s people are called Jews (yahudiy), and, as Paul taught, that is wholly spiritual in nature—they are those who have received the Holy Spirit’s seal. The ancient Jews in scripture were just a physical foreshadow (object lesson) of Messiah’s bride. The spiritual real substance of the name “Jew” (yahudiy) was revealed in Acts 2.
If MY PEOPLE (yahudiy), which are called by My name (Yah), will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (Yerushalayim), which was a physical foreshadow of the New Jerusalem, who IS the bride.
For more information: Circumcision and Spiritual Reproduction