Your New Name in Eternity: The Hidden Promise of Revelation 2:17

From Genesis to Revelation, one of God’s favorite things to do is rename His people. A new name is never just a label — it is a declaration of destiny, identity, and irreversible belonging.

The final, glorious edition of this promise is found in Revelation 2:17:

“To the one who overcomes… I will give a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” (NIV)

But this is not the first time God has spoken of giving His people a new name. The Old Testament is full of previews:

Old Testament Promises of Your New Name

Isaiah 62:2–4

“You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow… No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah [“My delight is in her”], and your land Beulah [“married”]; for the LORD will take delight in you…”

Isaiah 65:15

“You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse… but my servants will be given another name.”

Isaiah 56:5

“To them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.”

These are not generic titles. They are deeply personal, spoken by the mouth of God Himself, reversing every shameful or painful name the world ever gave you.

The Pattern Across Scripture

• Abram → Abraham (“father of many nations”)
• Sarai → Sarah (“princess” of multitudes)
• Jacob → Israel (“he struggles with God” and prevails)
• Naomi begged to be called Mara (“bitter”), but God restored her story and gave her a new chapter through Ruth and Obed.
• The exiles in Babylon were called “forsaken,” but God promised: “You shall be called ‘Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken’” (Isaiah 62:12).

Every Old Testament renaming points forward to the ultimate white-stone moment in Revelation 2:17.

What the New Name Will Do

1. It will:Silence every accusation
2. Heal every wound behind the old names you carried
3. Reveal how the Lord has seen and loved you from eternity
4. Tell the story of every trial you overcame by His grace
5. Be spoken in a voice that makes your soul say, “Yes—that’s who I’ve always been.”

The White Stone: 

Three Ancient Pictures, One Eternal TruthIn Roman courts: a white stone meant “acquitted — innocent forever.”

In athletic games: a white stone was the victor’s pass to the champion’s banquet.

In friendship and love: a white stone with a secret name was given as a token of unbreakable intimacy.

Jesus hands you all three at once: innocent, victorious, forever His.

Living From Your New Name Today

You don’t have to wait for heaven to start answering to the name God has already written.When shame calls you “failure,” answer with Isaiah 62: “My delight is in her.”

When fear calls you “forgotten,” answer with Isaiah 56: “Everlasting name.”

When the past calls you by your old chains, answer with Revelation 2:17: “Overcomer.”

A Prayer for the White Stone

Father, Thank You for every time in the Old Testament You stooped to rename the broken, the barren, the deceived, and the exiled. Thank You that the same mouth that spoke “Abraham,” “Sarah,” and “Israel” has already written my new name on a white stone that no one can erase. Until the day I hold that stone in my resurrected hands and hear You speak it with my own ears, let me live as one already renamed — delighted in, sought out, married to You, victorious forever. Let every old name fall silent under the weight of the new one You have spoken. I am listening, Lord. Speak my name. In the Name above every name — Jesus — Amen.

One day soon, the One who named the stars will lean in close and call you by the name He has loved from before time began.

And when you hear it, every longing will be satisfied, every tear will make sense, and you will finally, fully, joyfully know:

“This is who I was all along.”