Whether to pronounce Yahweh’s Name with a “v” or “w” hinges on which letter accurately transliterates the sound of the Hebrew letter W or “waw” in the Tetragrammaton, YHWH.
We must take into consideration the ancient pronunciation of the waw and whether “v”, “w” or “u” as we know them accurately reflect that ancient pronunciation. The following information is derived from a number of sources, including G.B. Palatino’s Lettere Romane(1545). ‘U’ and ‘W’ are variants of ‘V’ which was being used for two different sounds in medieval England. ‘U’ was introduced to give a soft vowel sound as opposed to the harder consonant sound of ‘V’. ‘W’ began as a ligature. Two ‘V’ letterforms were joined into ‘VV’ to represent ‘double U’ in 12th-century England. Those who use the “v” form of Yahweh’s Name (Yahveh) should note that the Name is spelled “Yahweh” in almost all academic publications, many by people well-studied in the Hebrew language, including Hebrew speakers. Hebrew linguists believe the third letter waw was in ancient times pronounced as “w” (hence it is named “waw”).
In later Hebrew its pronunciation, influenced by European languages, was changed to “v” and the letter was later called “vav,” according to the Encyclopædia Judaica. The Judaicashows that the semitic languages nearest Israel use the “w” pronunciation as opposed to the “v” pronunciation found in those speakers of Hebrew living in or closer to Europe. Those using the “w” sound include Jews of Babylonia, Yemeni, Morocco, Samaria, the Sephardi (Temple Hebrew) and Portuguese. Those using the “v” sound of “waw” include Hebrew-speaking communities in Italy, Poland, Germany, and Lithuania. These Europeans picked up the Germanic “v” and transferred it to the waw.
The change from W to V is very well known, for example, in most of the continental languages like German (also the descendants of Latin). We know from historical comparisons that direction of change in Latin was from W to V. English has remained faithful to an old W sound for over six thousand years, while it changed to V in Late Latin almost two thousand years ago (but had not yet changed in Classical Latin). The “w” is formed by putting two “v” letters together, but it is called a double-u because it is made up of two letters originally pronounced as we do the “u.” One needs only to look at old government building architecture with inscriptions bearing a “v” but pronounced like a “u” to see that the “v” was originally a vowel sound like “u” (e.g. bvilding, Jvly).
It was not until the dictionary was published that a decided difference was made between the “v” and the “u.” It is more than coincidence that the U, V, and W occur together in our alphabet; it shows a common relationship that these letters had in derivation and similar pronunciation.
The v is a consonant that some have used for the sound of the Hebrew waw in Yahweh’s Name (Yahveh). The problem is, the waw in His Name was considered a vowel anciently. In fact, all the letters of the Tetragrammaton are called vowels by Josephus (Wars of the Jews, 5.5.556) as well as by Hebrew grammars. Bagster’s Helps to Bible Study also says these are vowel-letters in the sacred Name, “as having been originally used to represent vowels, and they still frequently serve as vowels in combination with the points.” Bagsters says the waw represents the letters o or u.
Another authority says, “The sound of waw a long time ago wasn’t ‘vav’ at all but ‘w’ and ‘w’ is weak. The Yemenite Jews of Arabia who retain an ancient, correct, and pure pronunciation of Hebrew still pronounce the waw as ‘w,’ as does Arabic, the close sister language of Hebrew,” How the Hebrew Language Grew, Edward Horowitz, pp. 29-30. As the online Wikipedia notes: “There was no ‘U’; instead, there was the semi-vowel ‘V’. There was no ‘W’, although ‘V’ was pronounced as the modern English ‘W’.” As for the “j” in “Jehovah,” the letter J is the last letter to be added to our alphabet. ‘J’ was an ‘outgrowth’ of ‘I’ and was used to give a sound of greater consonant force, particularly as the first letter of some words. It was used interchangeably with the letter “I” at first, showing that its original pronunciation stemmed from the vowel sound of “I” and only later got its “juh” sound through French influence.
The English name “Jehovah” was invented by Roman Catholics sometime in the Middle Ages, based on a misunderstanding of Masoretic Hebrew texts. It is a hybrid word consisting of the Tetragrammaton YHWH (“J” used to be pronounced as “Y”) and the vowels for the word “Adonai.” Though “Jehovah” is used a few times in the 1611 King James Version (e.g., Gen 22:14; Exod 6:3;Isa 12:2; Ps 83:18) and is found in many older Christian hymns, it is not the authentic biblical pronunciation of the sacred Name (For a discussion of the “Jehovah or Yahweh” question see “God, Names of” in Encyclopædia Judaica, vol. 7, col. 680, or George F. Moore, Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian Era: The Age of the Tannaim (3 vols., Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1927-30), vol. 1, p. 219 and note 1, p. 427. Most modern Bible translations have notes on this issue in their introductions, agreeing that the true Name of the Heavenly Father is Yahweh.
If a person told you his name, would you argue with him about it? Would you tell him, “No, I don’t think so. I’ll call you something else instead”? Of course not, that would be absurd! You have no right to do such a thing and you would certainly not make him too happy if you did.
Yet when it comes to the personal Name of the Father in Heaven, many believe that they have the prerogative to decide what they will call the One they worship. They will go to great lengths to avoid using the revealed Name of the Heavenly Father, Yahweh. The most creative mental gymnastics are performed in an effort to justify the continued use of common titles over the personal Name Yahweh, which the Bible says is a name above every name.
In an effort to quiet their consciences, some will argue, “He has many names.” Many will rationalize, “He knows who I mean no matter what I call Him,” while others will postulate, “His ‘name’ just means His authority.” Anyone looking into this important matter from the Scriptures, however, soon discovers that Yahweh Himself rejects all of these arguments, as well as other common assumptions about His Name.
A simple examination of the Scriptures shows that the issue of Yahweh’s Name is of paramount importance to Him — just as your name is important to you. He thunders, “I am YAHWEH: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images,” Isaiah 42:8. The Hebrew original of this passage contains the Tetragrammaton YHWH, or Yahweh.
Yahweh is resolute about His Name. He is adamant that His people call on Him by the only Name that ensures salvation. The New Testament Book of Acts tells us, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved,” Acts 4:12.
He even wrote the Third Commandment specifically to address the neglect of His Name: “Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh thy Elohim in vain; for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.” The Hebrew behind that commandment says “bring to deso-lation and ruin,” which is exactly what will happen if you substitute other names and titles for the one true Name.
Following are the most familiar arguments given to justify the use of substitute titles like “God” and “Lord” in place of the true Name Yahweh. We will examine each in light of the Bible to see whether any has validity.
“He has many names.”
This is one of the most popular justifications advanced to avoid using the Name Yahweh. If He has many names then it is implied that no single name stands out as His one, special, personal Name. Or in other words, He has many names but no name. The problem with this argument is the failure to recognize that generic titles are not names.
Take “Mr. Sam Jones,” for instance. “Mister” is not the name of “Sam Jones.” Mister is only a title for him. Sam Jones cannot sign a document with only the word “Mister” and expect anyone to accept it as his authentic endorsement. One is a generic term that applies to any man, the other is his real name.
The same goes for the various descriptive titles for Yahweh that some erroneously think are names, like eloah (“mighty one”), el shaddai (“the all-powerful”) and adon/adonai (“sovereign”). Others are confused by attributions that are sometimes used in connection with His Name, like Yahweh-Yireh (“Yahweh provides”), Yahweh-Zidkenu (“Yahweh our righteousness”) and Yahweh-Rapha (“Yahweh our healer”).
Regardless of certain titles and attributions, He still has only one Name — Yahweh. He inspired the prophet Isaiah in 42:8 to write, “I am YAHWEH: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” Psalm 83:18 confirms that He has but one Name: “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is YAHWEH, art the most high over all the earth.” Nowhere in the pages of the Bible can we find a statement saying He has many names. But we can find many passages attesting to His one true Name.
“He knows who I mean no matter what I choose to call Him.”
You cannot find such a statement expressed or implied anywhere in the Bible. Nowhere are we given the right to rename our Heavenly Father. To bestow a name is the sole prerogative of a superior, as when a parent names his child and as when Adam named the animals under his dominion. Since when does the one created have the right to address his Creator by any name he pleases?
To use this argument for the One who made us is the height of insolence and is utterly offensive to Yahweh. Notice His warning about such obstinacy: “If you will not hear, and if you will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, says Yahweh of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because you do not lay it to heart.” Yahweh’s Name is bound up in proper worship and in Psalm 68:4 He commands His people to praise Him by His Name. John 4:24 reminds us, “Yahweh is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” To deliberately ignore the Truth of His Name in favor of what pleases us as His worshipers is nothing less than vain arrogance deserving of rebuke. We cannot reverse the flow of authority —Yahweh our Creator tells us how to worship Him, not the other way around. Even beyond this, His knowing “who you mean” makes no difference to Him if you refuse to honor and glorify Him as He demands, which includes using the right Name. His Name represents Him and His truths, something no other name does.
“The pronunciation of the Name has been lost and we don’t know how His Name was spoken.”
Besides being false, this argument amounts to no more than an excuse — that because of supposed uncertainty we should not even try to pronounce His Name. The fact is, the Name is given us in the Hebrew in the form of the Tetragrammaton or “four letters,” which is YHWH (Yod, Hay, Waw, Hay). Jewish scribes went to great lengths to ensure the accuracy of this Name in the Hebrew, while the Masoretes or text guardians vowel-pointed the Hebrew letters to preserve the pronunciation.
It is not true that the pronunciation of the Hebrew Name was lost. If it were then the pronunciation of the entire Hebrew Old Testament was lost as well. It would also mean that in the passing-down process of the Hebrew tongue from one generation to another, that at some point all Jews suddenly woke up and forgot how to speak their own language! If we can read the Old Testament out loud in the Hebrew, then we can also read the Name Yahweh accurately in the same Hebrew. Today the Jews read Hebrew every Sabbath in their synagogues. They have no problem pronouncing it.
Here is what the noted Encyclopaedia Judaica says about this issue: “The true pronunciation of the name YHWH was never lost. Several early Greek writers of the Christian Church testify that the name was pronounced ‘Yahweh.’ This is confirmed, at least for the vowels of the first syllable of the name, by the shorter form Yah, which is sometimes used in poetry (e.g., Ex. 15:2) and the –yahu or –yah that serves as the final syllable in very many Hebrew names,” Vol. 7, p. 680.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica comments: “Early Christian writers, such as Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century, had used the form Yahweh, thus this pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton was never really lost. Greek transcriptions also indicated that YHWH should be pronounced Yahweh,” 15th Edition, Vol. X, p. 786.
The Catholic Encyclopedia notes: “The saying of God, ‘I am who I am,’ is surely connected with His name that is written in the Hebrew consonantal text as Yhwh, the original pronunciation of which is well attested as Yahweh,” 1967, Vol. 5, p. 743.
“But there are no vowels in the Hebrew so how can we know how to pronounce the four letters of YHWH correctly?”
Vowels do exist in Hebrew, as in all languages, or else it would be impossible to speak Hebrew. Vowels are spoken via the open mouth, while consonants are spoken by closure of the lips or by tongue contact on teeth or palate. Old Testament Hebrew is composed of words written in consonants with the vowels understood.
As noted, the Masoretes in the seventh century inserted vowel points or marks in and around the Hebrew letters to preserve the correct pronunciation. Just as with our letter “Y,” there are some Hebrew letters that serve as both consonants and vowels. Amazingly, all four letters of Yahweh’s Name are such consonant-vowels. This fact can be verified in most Hebrew grammars, including A Beginner’s Handbook to Biblical Hebrew (Horowitz), p. 7 under “Vowel Letters”; The Berlitz Self-Teacher, p. 73 under “The Vanishing Dots”; Hebrew Primer and Grammar (Fagnani and Davidson) p. 10, under “The Quiescents and Mappiq,” and How the Hebrew Language Grew (Horowitz), p. 28.
First-century priest and historian Falvius Josephus writes about the sacred Name that was engraved on the headpiece of the high priest (Ex. 28:36-38): “A mitre also of fine linen encompassed his head, which was tied by a blue riband, about which there was another golden crown, in which was engraven the sacred name [of Yahweh]; it consists of four vowels,” Wars of the Jews, Book 5, chapter 5, p. 556.
“When the Bible speaks of His name it just means His authority, not His literal name.”
It is true that to do or say something in someone’s name can mean by the authority of that person. But that is only a small part of the meaning of Yahweh’s name in His Word. Through the Hebrew verb of existence, haYah, the Name Yahweh defines the very nature, character, and essence of Yahweh. His Name means to cause to be. To claim that references to His name refer only to His authority is incongruous in many important passages. To drive home the point, we have changed the word “name” to “authority” in the following verses. See whether each still makes proper sense:
“Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended? who has gathered the wind in his fists? who has bound the waters in a garment? who has established all the ends of the earth? what is his [authority]and what is his son’s [authority], if you can tell?” Prov. 30:4
“That men may know that thou, whose [authority] alone is YAHWEH, art the most high over all the earth.” Ps. 83:18
“Sing unto Elohim, sing praises to his [authority] extol him that rides upon the heavens by his [authority] YAH, and rejoice before him.” Ps. 68:4
“Seek him that makes the seven stars and Orion… Yahweh is his [authority].” Amos 5:8
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his [authority] Yahshua: for he shall save his people from their sins.”Matthew 1:21
Once we realize that Yahweh has a personal, life-giving, healing, covenant Name only through which we can find salvation, to continue calling on an inanimate, generic title to provide the same blessings that His Name gives is an affront to Him and His character.
“I speak English, not Hebrew, so I use the English ‘God and ‘Lord.’”
One problem here is that these are not names but common titles that can apply to any number of mighty ones or even less than mighty ones. Another problem with this statement is that “God” is not English at all but Germanic from the word gott. A “lord” is someone subordinate to a king. “Lord” derives from Old English hlafweard meaning “loaf keeper,” a person who headed a feudal estate under a king.Yahweh is King of the universe, and so to address Him with a diminutive title like Lord is a dishonor.
Lord is also related etymologically to Bel, a pagan deity. As one source notes, “In late Babylonian times the title Bel, ‘Lord,’ became synonymous with Marduk, who like Ishtar assimilated to himself various aspects of other gods,” Babylon, by Joan Oates, p. 172. The Companion Bible note on Isaiah 46:1 says, “Bel. Abbreviation of Baal=Lord. Here=Zeus, or Jupiter of the Greek and Roman mythology.” Neither is the term “god” free of heathen trappings. Paul wrote that there are “gods many and lords many,”1Corinthians 8:5. One root of “god” means to pour as in a molten image (Oxford English Dictionary). No wonder idols are known as gods.
How can we justify using such terms when calling on the only true Father in Heaven, and His Son, Yahshua the Messiah? The language you speak has nothing to do with the Name of the one you worship, because His Name doesn’t change from language to language (Consider that there is no English form for the French name Napoleon and neither is there a German or Russian version for the English name Churchill. Specific names transcend language. They are transliterated, not translated).
“I have had prayers answered using ‘God’ and ‘Lord’ so it must be okay to use those titles.”
Yahshua said that even an evil person won’t give his son a stone when he cries out for bread (Matt. 7:9). Each one who seeks the Truth of Yahweh first does so with a certain lack of understanding. If Yahweh let our ignorance get in the way of our heart’s desire to seek Him, then we would soon become discouraged and give up our quest.
After more truth is revealed to us, however, then we become accountable to make the proper changes in our lives and toward True Worship. “And the times of this ignorance Yahweh winked at; but now commands all men everywhere to repent,” Acts 17:30. Our true walk must start somewhere, and if calling on Him through common titles is all we know, then Yahweh will show compassion and toleration.
But as He gives us more knowledge and Truth, He expects us to walk in all the light we are given. Paul wrote, “For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Master: walk as children of light,” Ephesians 5:8. Yahshua said, “Not every one that says unto me, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven,” Mattthew 7:21.
The truth of His Name has been revealed to you and it is now your responsibility to use that knowledge to begin to honor Him by calling on His revealed, personal Name. See Psalm 34:3, 68:4 and 1Kings 8:35. He reminds us repeatedly that His people are called by His Name, 2Chronicles 7:14, Daniel 9:19 and Ephesians 3:14-15.
His Name is central to True Worship. We cannot say we truly know Him if we don’t know and call on His Name.
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La plupart de ceux qui croient en la Bible vivent leur vie sans jamais voir la flagrante incohérence existant dans leur approche du Créateur de l’univers. Contrairement à d’autres religions majeures de ce monde, dont les adhérents utilisent un nom spécifique pour leur divinité, le nom employé exclusivement pour le Père Céleste étant adoré dans la chrétienté est un titre, ou sont des titres, communs et génériques. Alors que les païens fidèles comprennent précisément qui ils adorent, des millions de chrétiens appellent et rendent un culte à leur Créateur par les termes habituels « seigneur » et « dieu », et continuent à demander : « Le connaissez-vous ? »
Le fait évident est que la chrétienté a négligé le Nom révélé et personnel du Père Céleste. Beaucoup ne réalisent même pas qu’Il a un Nom, croyant que le titre Dieu est un nom parce qu’il a une majuscule. Cependant, ils acceptent le fait que des milliers de dénominations différentes rendent un culte avec ces mêmes titres mais avec une pléthore de croyances et de pratiques contradictoires. Ce qui amène à se demander si elles-mêmes Le connaissent ?
Identifiez et connaissez votre Père Céleste !
Hormis ces contradictions, le Nom sacré du Père Céleste est-Il à ce point important ? Cela fait-il quelque chose la manière dont vous L’appelez ? A-t-Il même besoin d’avoir un nom pour rendre un bon culte, comme les divinités des autres religions en ont un ? Certains croient qu’Il sait de qui vous parlez peu importe comment vous L’appelez. Mais ont-ils considéré que refuser de révérer Son Nom personnel démontre un manque de respect à l’égard de Celui qu’ils adorent, de même qu’un mépris flagrant de Sa Parole ? C’est exactement ce qu’Il nous dit dans Malachie 2:2.
En des temps de désespoir, combien de croyants en la Bible tomberaient-ils à genoux et feraient appel à Baal ? Ou Vishnu ? Ou Moloch ? Il est évident que CELA A de l’importance quel nom vous utilisez dans un culte. Les Noms VEULENT dire quelque chose. Les noms identifient un être particulier qui a des traits particuliers et qui est adoré d’une manière spécifique, et qui (en théorie) répond par des voies spécifiques à des cultes précis et bien définis.
En faisant appel à des noms comme Vishnu ou Bouddha, vous invoquez une certaine divinité qui ne doit pas être confondue avec le Tout-Puissant de la Bible. Comment quelqu’un pourrait-il s’attendre à ce que le vrai Père Céleste réponde à des noms de cultes païens ? Plus important encore, à quel point est-Il proche de ceux qui refusent Son Nom personnel, décidant qu’un simple titre est suffisant – un titre adapté à une identité perdue dans un océan de doctrines et de croyances en conflits? Un titre est-il suffisant pour le vrai Tout-Puissant lorsque ce même titre peut tout aussi aisément se référer à d’autres divinités païennes ? Notez ce qui suit.
L’apôtre Paul a écrit : « Pour ce qui est donc de manger des viandes sacrifiées aux idoles, nous savons qu’il n’y a point d’idole dans le monde, et qu’il n’y a qu’un seul [Elohim]. Car, s’il est des êtres qui sont appelés dieux, soit dans le ciel, soit sur la terre, comme il existe réellement plusieurs dieux et plusieurs seigneurs, néanmoins pour nous il n’y a qu’un seul [Elohim], le Père, de qui viennent toutes choses et pour qui nous sommes, et un seul [Maître, Yahshua], par qui sont toutes choses et par qui nous sommes » (1 Corinthiens 8:4-6).
S’il existe plusieurs dieux et seigneurs, comment pouvez-vous distinguer celui qui est adoré avec l’un de ces titres ? Indifférent aux arguments et aux excuses que les personnes vont utiliser, Yahweh le vrai Père dit qu’Il est jaloux de Son Nom, et qu’Il ne permettra pas des louanges à des images gravées ayant comme origines des titres communs (Ésaïe 42:8).
Intimité des noms
Nous, dans la civilisation occidentale, avons pratiquement perdu le sens de l’importance des noms. Pour nous, Johnny vaut tout autant que Tommy. Mais, même dans ce cas, nous pouvons être influencé dans le choix du nom de notre enfant sur base de quelqu’un que nous connaissons et possédant un nom particulier. Ce nom est, dès lors, connecté à une personne – peut-être un père, un grand-père ou un oncle – dont la personnalité et les qualités viennent à l’esprit lorsque le nom est cité ou qu’il y est fait référence.
Rien n’est plus vrai que dans les Écritures. En fait, les noms ont une bien plus grande importance lorsqu’il s’agit de la Bible. Ceci est particulièrement vrai à l’égard de Celui que nous adorons comme Créateur et Soutien de cet univers. Philippiens 2:9 dit que Son Nom Yahweh est au-dessus de TOUT nom. Peu importe ce que nous pouvons penser ou voulons croire, faire appel à Son vrai Nom est d’une importance critique à Ses yeux.
Son Nom révèle Son Identité spécifique. Lui seul est celui qui est connu par Son propre peuple comme le véritable Tout-Puissant appelé Yahweh. Lorsqu’un étranger vous appelle « amis », « monsieur » ou « madame », cela ne vous gêne pas. En fait, vous vous attendez à ce que les gens que vous ne connaissez pas utilisent de tels titres. Mais une fois que vous avez été présentés et que vous donnez votre nom à l’autre personne, vous vous sentez déconcerté si il ou elle continue à vous appeler monsieur ou madame. En agissant de la sorte, votre contact rejette la proximité que, normalement, l’usage de votre nom induirait.
Yahweh ressent la même chose. Une fois que nous connaissons Son Nom, mais que nous persistons à l’appeler par des titres de divinités communes, nous perdons Sa faveur. Son Nom est une marque de proche intimité. Comment certains peuvent-ils prétendre avoir « une relation personnelle » alors qu’ils ne l’appellent même pas par Son Nom ? En faisant une alliance avec Israël, l’une des toutes premières choses que Yahweh a faite a été de Se présenter à eux sous Son Nom personnel. Il voulait et s’attendait à l’intimité que l’usage de Son Nom personnel engendrerait.
Venons-en à des points précis
Lorsque Yahweh proclame par le prophète Ésaïe 42:8 : « Je suis [Yahweh], c’est là mon nom », Il n’a pas dit « c’est l’un de mes noms » ou « tu peux m’appeler comme tu veux, je saurai de qui il s’agit ». Au contraire, Il a dit « c’est là mon nom ». Point. Fin de la discussion. Le psalmiste écrivit à Son propos dans 83:18 « toi seul, dont le nom est [Yahweh]… »
Dans la Bible, quand une personne donne son nom à une autre personne, cela signifie la jonction des deux dans une proche unité. Lorsque Yahweh donna Son Nom à Israël, Il se lia à eux – il s’agissait d’un mariage – l’union la plus proche dont deux personnes peuvent se réjouir. Nous devons, en tant qu’Israël spirituelle et épouse du Messie, porter Son Nom également.
Est-ce une simple coïncidence qu’une femme prend le nom de son mari dans un mariage ? Pourquoi cela ? C’est parce qu’à présent ils sont unis – ils sont devenus une espérance, un but, un engagement en une cause unique dans une famille menée par le mari. (En cette ère de féminisme, il est difficile de dire combien de temps cela va encore être pratiqué). Actes 15:14 nous dit que Yahweh Se choisit, parmi les païens, un peuple spécial «portant Son Nom ». Il est en train de créer une famille à Son Nom : «C’est pour cela que je fléchis mes genoux devant le Père (de notre [Maître Yahshua le Messie]), duquel est nommée toute famille dans les cieux et sur la terre » (Éphésiens13 :14-15, Bible Darby).
Estimé par le Nom
Bibliquement, une personne et son nom sont virtuellement équivalents et inséparables. Le mot « nom » en hébreux est shem. Shemsignifie une marque ou un mémorial – exprimant l’individualité d’une personne. Un nom est la marque de l’honneur (ou déshonneur) d’une personne, son autorité, et son caractère. En fait, un nom décrit et définit tout ce qui concerne la personne. Le Nom Yahweh a une grande importance à cause de ce qu’il définit. Intrinsèquement, le Nom de Yahweh est la véritable parole de vie.
Dans Exode 3:14 Il dit à Moïse : « Je suis celui qui suis,» ou « ha Yah asher ha Yah » en hébreu. Ce qui signifie « Je suis l’existence elle-même ». « Je fais exister toute chose ». Son Nom Yahweh Le décrit, Le définit, et met Ses qualités en évidence comme étant celui qui nous fait exister maintenant, et comme celui qui peut, pareillement, nous donner l’existence éternelle. Joël 2:32 prophétise que le jour viendra où quiconque invoquera Son Nom sera délivré. Cette signification est également intrinsèque dans la définition de Son Nom : « Je suis » ou « Je serai ». « Yahweh » a la connotation « Je serai là (pour toi), » spécialement quand vous avez besoin d’une délivrance.
Son Nom est aussi un Nom de famille. Son peuple, ceux qu’Il a choisi, son appelé de Son Nom : « [Yahweh], écoute ! [Yahweh], pardonne ! [Yahweh], sois attentif ! agis et ne tarde pas, par amour pour toi, ô mon [Elohim] ! Car ton nom est invoqué sur ta ville et sur ton peuple » (Daniel 9:19). Son peuple porte ce merveilleux Nom car ils sont dans une alliance avec Lui – Lui obéissant et Lui plaisant dans tout ce qu’ils font. Il est extraordinaire que Son Nom Yahweh soit présent au moins 6823 fois dans les anciens manuscrits hébreux de la Bible. Cela ne peut simplement pas être ignoré.
L’erreur dans l’argument « Mais je parle le français »
Il y a également l’argument : « Je ne L’invoque pas par Son Nom hébreu parce que je parle le français. » Une personne change-t-elle son nom lorsqu’elle voyage dans des pays étrangers dans lesquels différentes langues sont parlées ? Ou son nom est-il le même où qu’elle aille ? A-t-elle un nouveau passeport à chaque entrée dans un pays ? Ou bien Monsieur Dupont est-il toujours « Monsieur Dupont » dans chaque pays qu’il visite ? Il est évident que son nom reste inchangé, épelé de la même manière peu importe où il se rend.
Quel est l’équivalent français de Barack Obama ? C’est Barack Obama, n’est-ce pas ? Quelle est la forme française de Bill Clinton ? Eh bien, c’est Bill Clinton. Si l’argument est « Je parle le français donc j’utilise des noms français », dans ce cas comment dit-on « Satan » en français ? Satan est la translittération d’un nom des Écritures, comme le sont de nombreux autres. Tout comme Yahweh, le nom Satan est hébreu. La forme française d’Abraham est également Abraham, un nom hébreu directement sorti des Écritures hébraïques et repris pratiquement sans altérations dans nos traductions françaises. Qu’en est-il de Daniel, également un nom hébreu ? Qu’elle est l’équivalent français de Daniel ? Le nom est Daniel évidemment. Et quid de Sarah ou Marthe ?
Tous sont des noms hébreux inchangés dans la traduction française parce que les noms ne se traduisent tout simplement pas. Les noms sont translittérés, c’est-à-dire que l’on fait correspondre, sans changements, les sons d’un langage avec les sons d’un autre langage. Nous n’avons aucuns problèmes à utiliser sans équivalents français ces noms hébreux pour la bonne et simple raison QU’IL N’Y A PAS D’ÉQUIVALENTS FRANÇAIS ! Pourquoi devrait-il en être autrement avec le Nom de Yahweh ? Pourquoi le Nom le plus important de l’univers devrait-il être non seulement altéré, mais complètement remplacé ? (Le terme « dieu » n’est pas, à proprement parlé, un mot français. Il dérive du latin « deus » – se prononce ‘déous’ – issu de la racine indo-européenne « dei wo » et se retrouve dans le nom du dieu grec Zeus – se prononce ‘dzéous’).
Mots et noms communs comprenant « Yah »
L’un des mots de louanges les plus populaire est « alléluia ». Chacun peut l’entendre dans les églises du monde entier. C’est l’un des mots d’exultation existant les plus anciens, et se trouve être un terme purement hébreu (halleluyah). « Hallel » signifie« louange » en hébreu, et « Yah » est la première partie du Nom sacré de Yahweh (c.-à.-d. Yah-weh). Ainsi,halleluYah signifie « louez Yah ». Beaucoup ne réalisent pas que le mot de louange le plus commun contient le Nom même de notre Père Céleste – halleluYah. Nous trouvons particulièrement ce mot sous la forme « alléluia » en français. Mais dans d’autres versions on le trouve sous la formehallelu-Jah, le « j » est toutefois dérivé de l’hébreu yod, qui est une consonne-voyelle équivalent au « y ». Un autre fait que beaucoup ignorent, c’est qu’il n’existait pas de lettre « j » dans les alphabets hébreu, grec ou latin. Pour cette raison la lettre originale ne pouvait pas être un « j » mais un « i » ou un « y ». Le « j » est la lettre la plus récente de notre alphabet et naquit au alentour de l’époque de Christophe Colomb.
Le « j » est simplement un « i » avec une courbe à son extrémité, avec un son « gi » qui n’existe que depuis peu de temps. Le « j » et le « i » étaient utilisés de manière interchangeable jusqu’au XVIIe siècle. Les Écritures reprennent de nombreux noms connus qui contiennent le nom de notre Père Céleste. « Élie » se prononçait « Eliyah », un nom qui signifie « mon El est Yah ». Ésaïe (YehshaYah) est un nom hébreu qui signifie « salut de Yah ». Jérémie (YirmeYah) signifie « celui que Yah a élevé ». Quant à Sophonie (ZephanYah), c’est « caché de Yah ». De nombreux autres auteurs et prophètes furent nommés sur base du Nom Yahweh, montrant le lien profond qu’ils avaient avec Lui.
Les inconsistances de l’argument en faveur du français
Si quelqu’un persiste dans sa position selon laquelle parce que nous parlons français nous ne devrions pas utiliser des formes hébraïques, dans ce cas nous ne devrions pas non plus utiliser les noms ci-dessus parce qu’il s’agit de noms hébreux et que « nous ne parlons pas l’hébreu ». Il ne serait pas juste d’appliquer cet argument uniquement au Nom de Yahweh et pas aux autres noms et mots hébreux de la Bible – comme « sabbat », un nom hébreu, ou « Messie » un autre mot hébreu.
Et quid de toutes les villes des Écritures, comme Jérusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, et les noms de centaines d’autres personnes, lieux, rivières, mers, déserts, et montagnes ? Tous devraient être transformés en équivalents français pour être consistent avec l’argument appelant à l’usage exclusif du français. Le problème est qu’il n’y pas de formes équivalentes en français pour ces noms hébreux ! Pas plus qu’il n’y a d’équivalent adéquat ou de nom, ou de titre, de substitution pour le grand Nom de Yahweh.
Mais poussons l’argument un peu plus loin.
« Cher Président (sans nom) »
Quel est le nom français pour Yahweh ? Cela pourrait-il être Dieu, avec un « D » majuscule ?
Premièrement, il nous faut comprendre que « dieu » n’est pas un nom mais un titre. Paul dit qu’il y a de nombreux dieux et de nombreux seigneurs. Les titres ne définissent pas d’individus particuliers. Il y a de nombreux présidents dans nos pays – présidents de compagnies, de collèges, présidents de conseils d’administrations, présidents de banques… mais il n’y a qu’un président de General Motors, un seul président d’Harvard, et un seul président de Citibank – et chacun à un nom qui lui est propre.
Si j’écris une lettre qui débute par la salutation « Cher président », celle-ci peut s’appliquer à n’importe lequel de ces présidents. Ce n’est que quand j’inclus le nom avec le titre que je mets en évidence à qui je m’adresse précisément. Si je prie le dieu de ce siècle, Paul dit, dans 2 Corinthiens 4:4, que je pourrais bien prier Satan car Satan est appelé un « dieu de ce siècle », comme le sont des milliers d’autres divinités auxquelles l’homme a rendu un culte tout au long de l’Histoire. Et même dans ce cas, ces divinités avaient des NOMS précis qui étaient liés à leurs titres.
Notre français, langue étrangère
Le mot « Dieu » est-il simplement l’équivalent de «Yahweh » utilisé par les croyants francophones ?
Attend-il de Son peuple que celui-ci change Son Nom en une autre forme plus conforme à la langue qu’il parle ? Cela est-il même possible ? Le Dictionnaire des racines des langues indo-européennes (R. Grandsaignes d’Hauterive, Éditions Larousse, Paris, 1949) dit que « dieu » dérive du Latin deus, ayant lui-même pour racine l’indo-européen dei wo ; la base étant « dei- »signifiant« luire », « briller » – dei wo = « ciel lumineux » considéré comme une divinité païenne. Ce mot a également donné dios et zeus(prononcé dzéous) en grec.
Le point est le suivant : peut-on dire que « Dieu » est un mot français ? Absolument pas ! Son usage commun en français repose sur d’antiques origines étrangères. Relativement peu de mots français utilisés sont du pur français. Le mot « Français » même n’est pas du français ! « France » vient du germanique « Franko(n) » (Francia en latin), domaine des Francs. Qui étaient les Francs ? Un peuple de guerriers germaniques situé aux abords du Rhin au IIe et IIIe siècle, et qui allait dominer la majeure partie des Gaules, de la Germanie et la Lombardie (nord de l’Italie actuelle) après la chute de l’Empire romain au Ve siècle.
Notre langue « française » impure
Le français est un langage qui emprunte de manière très étendue à d’autres langues. L’argument « Je parle français, c’est pourquoi je n’utilise pas de noms hébreux » manque, en fait, d’une base historique. Examinons quelque peu cet argument et voyons combien les racines de notre langue peuvent être peu françaises, et ce par quelques exemples issus de cette phrase :
« Je » vient du latin populaire eo, lui-même du latin classique ego.
« Français », comme nous l’avons vu, est d’une racine germanique.
« Parler » à pour racine le grec parabola ayant donné le latin parabolare.
« Être » à pour origine l’ancien français estre.
« Noms » vient du grec onoma
« Hébreux » vient de l’hébreu Eber.
Dans les exemples issus de cette phrase « Je parle français, c’est pourquoi je n’utilise pas de noms hébreux » on constate que le verbe « être » est peut-être le seul mot dont on peut dire qu’il est d’origine française. Le fait que l’on souhaite mettre en évidence ici, est qu’on ne peut pas dire que le français soit un langage pur en tant que tel. La majeure partie de ses emprunts vient du grec, du latin, voire de l’arabe et de l’hébreu même. La plupart des mots que nous utilisons en français viennent d’autres langues.
Dans tout ceci, le point important est que le langage n’a pas grand-chose à voir avec le Nom du Tout-Puissant des Écritures. Il était Yahweh avant qu’Il ne place l’homme sur cette terre. Avant qu’il n’y ait eu tous ces langages à Babel, Il était Yahweh. Son Nom transcende les langues. « Yahweh » est la vie personnifiée. Psaume 135:13 dit : « Ton nom subsiste à toujours, Ta mémoire dure de génération en génération. » Son Nom est Son mémorial qui perdure pour toujours.
Le premier commandement est fondamental
Dans Exode 20:2, les Dix Commandements débutent ainsi : « Je suis [Yahweh], ton [Elohim], qui t’ai fait sortir du pays d’Égypte, de la maison de servitude. Tu n’auras pas d’autres dieux devant ma face.» En définitive, tous les faux cultes peuvent être liés à la transgression du premier des dix commandements. Tous les péchés que nous commettons résultent du refus de suivre Yahweh et Sa volonté manifestés en premier lieu dans Ses lois.
Avant de dire quoi que ce soit, Yahweh établit dans le tout premier commandement que LUI est Yahweh notre Tout-Puissant. Ecclésiaste 12:13 énonce cette importante vérité :« Écoutons la fin du discours : Crains [Yahweh] et observe ses commandements. C’est là ce que doit faire tout homme. » Nous continuons avec Exode 20:4 : « Tu ne te feras point d’image taillée, ni de représentation quelconque des choses qui sont en haut dans les cieux, qui sont en bas sur la terre, et qui sont dans les eaux plus bas que la terre. » Les païens ne rendaient pas de culte à une image de pierre en tant que pierre, mais comme une représentation d’une divinité. Il dit : « Ne fabriquez pas ces choses car elles vous rappelleraient d’autres divinités, et Je suis le seul que vous avez à adorer. »
Plus loin, le verset 6 nous dit d’observer les commandements si nous L’aimons et qu’Il nous ferait miséricorde à Son tour. Notez à présent le verset 7 : « Tu ne prendras point le nom de [Yahweh, ton Elohim], en vain ; car [Yahweh] ne laissera point impuni celui qui prendra son nom en vain. » Que signifie de ne pas prendre Son Nom en vain ? Un juron lorsque vous ratez le clou avec votre marteau et que vous frappez sur votre pouce ? Ou quelque chose de beaucoup plus important ?
Pas dans l’hébreu
« Prendre » est traduit de l’hébreu nasa signifiant « lever » ou « emmener ». « Vain » vient de la racine hébraïque shoaw signifiant« se ruer sur ; dévaster ; ruine » – fondamentalement,« prendre en vain » signifie « traiter avec négligence ». Lorsque nous remplaçons Son nom uniquement par quelques titres, nous transgressons le Troisième Commandement.
Le commandement dit : « Ne portez pas Son Nom à la désolation » ou « Ne L’ignorez pas par négligence ». Lorsque nous utilisons un titre commun dans le culte, nous perdons l’aspect le plus important de l’identité de Yahweh et ce qu’Il représente ; Ce qu’Il est et ce qu’Il peut faire pour nous. Son Nom décrit l’essence même de qui Il est : Yahweh – Il est l’existence elle-même. Aucun titre ne peut décrire tout ce que Son Nom représente. Un titre annule la raison d’être même d’un nom. Il est juste là comme une étiquette, sans profondeur de sens, n’étant lié à aucune identité particulière.
« Je suis [Yahweh], c’est là mon nom ; et je ne donnerai pas ma gloire à un autre, ni mon honneur aux idoles », dit-il dans Ésaïe 42:8. Lui et Son Nom sont inséparables. Nous espérons que vous prendrez conscience de l’incroyable importance de cette vérité, et que vous en arriverez à connaître votre Créateur par Son Nom personnel et révélé : Yahweh. Imaginez tout ce qu’Il peut et voudra faire pour vous si vous Le mettez à la première place et que vous honorez Son merveilleux et puissant Nom !
L’argument habituel selon lequel n’importe quel nom est acceptable lorsqu’on nomme le Père céleste non seulement transgresse la sainteté du Nom personnel de Yahweh qui fut révélé, mais est également une attaque contre le véritable culte.
Actuellement, une poussée vers l’unification en une religion New Age monolithique est en train d’atteindre son but de la même manière – exploitant des mots clés qui sont importants pour un culte correct et les redéfinissant en vue d’une consommation de masse et des fins iniques.
Dans le 44e chapitre de Jérémie, nous voyons notre Père Céleste Yahweh complètement dégoûté de Son peuple et prêt à Se laver les mains à leur propos. Nous voyons un Père excessivement patient qui en a finalement eu assez de Ses enfants rebelles qui insistaient pour avoir leur propre manière de rendre un culte quoi qu’il en coûte.
Après tous les prophètes qu’Il leur avait envoyés pour les avertir, après toutes les épreuves qu’ils n’ont pas réussies à surmonter et toutes les plaies et les difficultés qu’ils ont endurées à cause de leur désobéissance, rien n’avait réellement changé.
À présent le peuple dit avec mépris au prophète : « Nous ne t’obéirons en rien de ce que tu nous as dit au nom de [Yahweh]. Mais nous voulons agir comme l’a déclaré notre bouche, offrir de l’encens à la reine du ciel, et lui faire des libations, comme nous l’avons fait, nous et nos pères, nos rois et nos chefs, dans les villes de Juda et dans les rues de Jérusalem. Alors nous avions du pain pour nous rassasier, nous étions heureux, et nous n’éprouvions point de malheur » (Jérémie 44:16-17).
Ici, Juda est ouvertement vindicatif et dédaigneux, comme un enfant désagréable qui se conduit mal dès que ses parents ont le dos tourné. Ce peuple rebelle continue à vouloir adorer les dieux païens. Peu importe ce que Yahweh dit ou fait, ils désirent suivre l’apostasie de la majorité des religions qui les entourent.
Pour Yahweh il est temps de prendre des décisions drastiques. Allez-y, dans ce cas, leur dit Yahweh. Respectez votre parole de rendre un culte plein d’erreurs, comme les païens autour de vous. Mais sachez ceci, vous ne pouvez plus utiliser mon Nom. Notez :
« Écoutez la parole de [Yahweh], vous tous de Juda, qui demeurez au pays d’Égypte ! Voici, je le jure par mon grand nom, dit [Yahweh], mon nom ne sera plus invoqué par la bouche d’aucun homme de Juda, et dans tout le pays d’Égypte aucun ne dira : [Yahweh Elohim] est vivant ! » (Jérémie 44:26).
Ceci est une punition pour leur refus de Lui rendre un culte dans la vérité. Il ne veut pas que Son Nom soit lié à eux ou leur péché de rébellion.
Le Nom identifie le véritable culte
La leçon pour nous revient à ceci : Vous ne pouvez pas Lui rendre un culte correct sans utiliser Son propre Nom personnel. Son Nom définit le Père comme le culte qui est uniquement le Sien. Le seul vrai culte dans la Bible se rend dans et par Son Nom révélé.
Nous apprenons dans Apocalypse 7:3, 14:1 et 22:1-4 que les 144 000 fidèles qui sont scellés à la fin des temps sont scellés avec Son Nom sur leur front. Son Nom sépare les véritables adorateurs des faux et leur donnera littéralement une protection lors de la tribulation des derniers jours.
Notez ce que Jacques dit au peuple assemblé à Jérusalem : « Simon a raconté comment [Elohim] a d’abord jeté les regards sur les nations pour choisir du milieu d’elles un peuple qui portât son nom » (Actes 15 :14).
Les païens doivent quitter leur faux culte et adhérer au véritable Nom. Le vrai culte et Son Nom vont de pair et ne peuvent être séparés.
Ceux qui connaissent le vrai Nom mais persistent à le remplacer par des titres sont encore dans l’Égypte spirituelle, continuant, de fait, à sacrifier à la reine des cieux parce qu’ils n’en sont pas encore arrivés à connaître le véritable Père, connaissance qui vient en usant de Son Nom personnel.
Il n’y a qu’une vérité clairement montrée tout au long des Écritures et c’est celle-ci : Son Nom et vrai culte vont main dans la main, ils ne peuvent être séparés. Il interdit à l’homme de substituer Son Nom avec un autre, de même qu’Il ne permet nul autre culte que celui qu’Il prescrit.
En nous montrant dans Jérémie 44 qu’il n’est pas permis aux adorateurs apostats d’user de Son Nom, Il nous montre également que nous ne pouvons uniquement, et véritablement, adorer que dans Son Nom.
Le vrai Nom n’est pas seulement une question de « savoir qui Il est » lorsque nous rendons un culte ou Lui faisons appel. C’est plus qu’une identité. Son Nom est la différence entre être dans la vérité et être en dehors de la vérité. C’est la différence entre un culte qui Lui plaît et un culte qui L’irrite.
Cette vérité est difficile à accepter pour certains comme il l’est, pour eux, d’accepter le Sabbat à la place du dimanche. Ce n’est rien d’autre que 2 000 ans d’une tradition bien ancrée qui les rend confus. Tout ce qu’ils ont besoin de faire c’est de permettre à Yahweh d’œuvrer avec leur cœur – leur montrer la vérité – et ils verront la différence.
Son Nom identifie Son peuple comme il définit la bonne manière d’adorer.
Le prophète écrivit : « [Yahweh], écoute ! [Yahweh], pardonne! [Yahweh], sois attentif ! agis et ne tarde pas, par amour pour toi, ô mon [Elohim] ! Car ton nom est invoqué sur ta ville et sur ton peuple » (Daniel 9:19).
Dans notre culture, les noms ne sont tout au plus que des étiquettes. Mais en aucun cas avec Yahweh. Son Nom signifie le seul et unique véritable Père Céleste en opposition aux fausses divinités des cultes apostats. Son Nom est un véritable moyen d’identification, un lien vers le seul véritable Créateur.
La simple leçon pour Israël et pour nous est celle-ci : Rejetez le véritable culte et vous rejetez Son Nom. L’inverse est également vrai : Rejetez Son Nom pour un nom de substitution, et vous n’avez plus l’authentique, véritable culte des Écritures. Les deux sont inséparables.
Un danger dans l’indifférence à l’égard du Nom
Les noms et les mots ont une puissance telle que vous ne l’avez jamais peut-être considéré. Existe-t-il un quelconque danger dans la notion que n’importe quel nom est acceptable pour rendre un culte à notre Père Céleste ?
En dehors du fait de nous tenir éloigné de la vérité, la nonchalance typique concernant le Nom du Père Céleste, et Son culte atypique, fait partie intégrante de l’indifférence générale qui va ouvrir les portes à la fausse religion universelle qui prendra bientôt le contrôle. Au cœur de ce système existera un dirigeant religieux démoniaque qui exigera un culte à l’échelle mondiale.
Un livre titré New Age Bible Versions détaille la façon dont la voie est préparée pour la grande séduction. Il révèle que les nouvelles traductions des Écritures prennent des mots et des termes importants associés au vrai culte, et les universalisent pour attirer un large spectre de croyants.
Mis publiquement en évidence très récemment est le retrait des références masculines de Yahweh dans des Bibles et des livres de chants et leur remplacement par des références générales et des pronoms comme « Elle » pour « Il » (alors même que le culte de l’ancienne déesse féminine Sophia revient dans les églises).
En définitive, des tentatives seront faites pour inclure toutes les personnes des diverses croyances sous une seule religion globale. Pour accomplir cela, l’utilisation des mots dans les nouvelles Bibles aidera de nombreuses personnes et leur rendra plus aisé leur entrée dans le faux culte.
Le mouvement est actuellement subtil ; néanmoins, une fois le christianisme rendu plus souple, la soumission complète à une religion mondiale dominante viendra rapidement.
Paver la voie de cette religion universelle consiste en une réorientation des croyances par le moyen de la manipulation des mots. Inconscient de ce qui est train d’arriver, les masses acceptent une nouvelle terminologie qui les éloigne davantage du peu de vérité qu’elles avaient.
Des titres qui réjouissent Satan
Allons dans Luc 4:8. Il s’agit de la réponse de Yahshua à l’invitation de Satan de se prosterner et d’adorer ce dernier : « Jésus lui répondit : Il est écrit : Tu adoreras [Yahweh], [ton Elohim], et tu le serviras lui seul. »
La version Louis Segond écrit « le Seigneur, ton Dieu ». L’araméen ou l’hébreu, que parlait Yahshua, se lit « Yahweh ton Elohim ». Mais même en grec, le Nom de Yahweh serait resté inchangé.
Si Yahshua avait vraiment dit « le Seigneur, ton Dieu », Satan en aurait été heureux. Pourquoi ? Parce qu’Il aurait pu se référer à Satan lui-même. L’apôtre Paul appelle Satan le « dieu de ce siècle » dans 2 Corinthiens 4:4. Dans Matthieu 12:24, Satan est appelé Béelzébul, qui est un autre terme pour « Seigneur des mouches ».
Dans les faits, notre traduction française dit : il est écrit, tu adoreras le seigneur ton dieu – qui peut être tout aussi bien Satan dans ce cas-ci – et tu le serviras lui seul.
Nous pouvons voir comment l’adversaire se réjouit lorsque, de nos jours, des personnes sont amenées à rendre un culte avec des titres communs. Agir ainsi les éloigne du vrai Père tandis qu’un faux est mis à Sa place au travers d’un titre générique et incorrect.
Toutes les fois que nous n’adorons pas Yahweh avec Son vrai Nom, nous sommes en danger d’invoquer de faux dieux créés par le Père du mensonge lui-même – même si cela est fait dans l’ignorance.
Changez le nom de celui que vous adorez et vous changez CELUI que vous adorez et la MANIÈRE dont il est adoré. Substituez-Le par un titre universel et vous vous éloignez du vrai Yahweh. Il ne s’agit pas d’une simple question de sémantique ; ce n’est pas un simple choix entre deux alternatives. C’est une question de vraie ou fausse identité – et d’un bon culte face à un faux culte !
C’est la raison pour laquelle Yahweh a la caractéristique de Se présenter Lui-même par Son Nom en premier lieu, et ensuite Il spécifie le culte qu’Il attend : « Je suis [Yahweh], c’est là mon nom ; et je ne donnerai pas ma gloire à un autre, ni mon honneur aux idoles » (Ésaïe 42:8). Dans Exode 3, Yahweh dit à Moïse que Son Nom est Yahweh, à la suite de quoi Il explique comment Il va faire sortir Israël hors d’Égypte. Ils allaient connaître le vrai culte, y compris les jours saints, après avoir appris Son Nom personnel.
Le pouvoir par les mots
Nous établissons nos croyances par le langage. Le langage peut inspirer, convaincre, et défier, de la manière dont Yahshua l’a utilisé ; ou il peut être utilisé pour manipuler ou subjuguer, comme les dictateurs l’ont fait tout au long des siècles. Les mots peuvent influencer les émotions et les opinions, comme dans un bon film ou un bon livre.
Même les maris, les femmes, et les enfants savent ce qu’un mauvais ou un bon mot peut signifier dans leurs relations.
L’utilisation de titres comme « dieu » ou « seigneur » encourage l’universalisme, ce qui est à l’exact opposé de la vraie foi. Le véritable culte est spécifique, étroit, bien défini, et comprend un nombre relativement petit de fidèles identifiant le vrai Père par Son Nom (Matthieu 7:14).
La voie de l’erreur menant à la destruction est large et nombreux sont ceux qui y marcheront, dit Yahshua (v.13). L’une des manières par lesquelles cela s’accomplit est par l’argument selon lequel la façon dont nous Le nommons ne fait aucune différence. N’importe quel nom ou titre est acceptable.
Comme expliqué ci-dessus, des titres comme « dieu » ou « seigneur » sont généraux et s’appliquent à de nombreux et différents dieux, ainsi qu’à Satan lui-même. Les idoles païennes, pareillement, sont appelées par les mêmes titres communément utilisés comme noms pour le Père Céleste.
Les titres ne fixent pas d’identité personnelle. Ils sont comme des « êtres humains » génériques. Faire appel à « Dieu », c’est comme appeler votre voisin « la personne ».
La nouvelle Babel actuelle
Même le Nom sacré du Créateur Lui-même peut perdre son importance lorsque nous permettons à d’autres de faire des manipulations de mots et des substitutions de noms.
Centré sur l’être humain, le mouvement humaniste qui débuta à la Renaissance est finalement en train de réussir à éliminer le langage lié au péché, qui provient d’une puissance supérieure. Dans la société en général nous n’entendons encore que très rarement des termes comme « immoralité », « vivre dans le péché », « fornication », « vertueux », et d’autres encore.
De nos jours, l’homme a décidé d’appliquer ses propres standards définissant ce qui est bien ou mal. Le péché et toutes références qui y sont faites sont rejetés, car le péché admet l’existence d’un Père céleste, et cela entre en conflit direct avec l’idée que l’homme lui-même est omniscient.
Notre culture est en train de bâtir une nouvelle tour de Babel, où chacun parle le même langage du relativisme moral. Ce mouvement est en train de changer la manière dont les personnes pensent le sujet du bien et du mal lui-même, et ce en changeant leur langage et la manière dont le bien et le mal sont exprimés. Des forces travaillant en coulisse ont pris le contrôle de la puissance du langage pour promouvoir leurs propres agendas.
Tout ceci fait partie d’une réorganisation des croyances fondées sur la Bible – afin de remplacer la moralité traditionnelle et biblique avec des croyances humanistes. Cela, à son tour, préparera la voie de l’homme impie.
À la place de normes bibliques, nous avons aujourd’hui du « politiquement » correct. Comme l’a écrit un auteur : « Le politiquement correct est une tentative d’éliminer la liberté d’expression pour ceux qui tiennent aux valeurs traditionnelles et aux croyances religieuses. C’est une censure sociale évidente en vue d’étouffer la vérité. »
Mais les plus grandes implications sont celles qui tendent à falsifier la nature même du Tout-puissant Yahweh et Sa Parole. Satan s’est mis en marche, cherchant à oblitérer Yahweh et Sa vérité dans une poussée finale afin de tout préparer pour son propre Anti-messie.
Ce ne sont pas uniquement les mots de tous les jours qui sont modifiés et maltraités en vue d’un objectif inique, mais aussi la Parole de Yahweh elle-même. Un récent rapport souligne qu’un important éditeur emballe ses Bibles pour une distribution mondiale avec l’insigne « La Bonne Nouvelle pour un Nouvel Âge ».
Plus troublant encore est la façon dont les nouvelles versions jouent avec le texte lui-même.
Satan en tant que Dieu
Ceux qui se méprennent sur le côté significatif des mots et des noms nous disent que la façon dont vous appelez le Père n’a aucune importance. Ils disent : « Peu importe, Il sait de qui vous parlez ». Étrangement, cependant, ceux qui nous disent ceci emploient exclusivement les mêmes titres « Seigneur » et « Dieu » qui, de part leur usage universel reviennent à être des faux noms de remplacements.
Ayant été éloignés du Nom Yahweh, qui identifie le vrai Tout-puissant de cet univers et le culte précis qu’Il demande, les croyants modernes ont inconsciemment acceptés un titre générique qui les éloigne également du vrai culte attaché à Son Nom.
Sans surprise, Satan a usurpé ce titre. Les écrits New Age et sataniques décrivent Satan en des termes qui sonnent bibliques, l’appelant le Dieu Divin, disant que Lucifer est Dieu, le porteur de lumière, le sauveur du monde.
« Et ils adorèrent le dragon, parce qu’il avait donné l’autorité à la bête ; ils adorèrent la bête, en disant : Qui est semblable à la bête, et qui peut combattre contre elle ? »
Mais comment cela pourrait-il arriver ? Très simplement. Les masses nomment déjà leurs dieux avec les mêmes termes et titres respectés tant dans le christianisme que dans le satanisme.
L’avertissement de Yahweh ignoré
Un petit peu plus de séduction et ils transfèrent simplement les titres d’un individu à l’autre ! Par définition, des titres peuvent s’appliquer à bon nombre de personnes ou de dieux.
C’est l’accomplissement final de Deutéronome 32:17 : « Ils ont sacrifié à des idoles qui ne sont pas [Elohim], à des dieux qu’ils ne connaissaient point, nouveaux, venus depuis peu, et que vos pères n’avaient pas craints. »
Il y a de nombreux nouveaux « dieux » faisant surface en cette époque de New Age. Notre société est sous l’emprise croissante d’un culte païen et de ses nombreuses fausses divinités.
Mais le plus gros est encore à venir. La véritable adoration de l’Anti-messie débute par la transgression de l’avertissement d’Exode 23:13, qui nous est tout autant applicable à nous comme il l’a été à Israël il y a 3 000 ans :
« Vous observerez tout ce que je vous ai dit, et vous ne prononcerez point le nom d’autres dieux : qu’on ne l’entende point sortir de votre bouche.»
Yahweh savait clairement ce qu’Il faisait en nous donnant cet avertissement. Il est Yahweh Tout-puissant, le seul Vrai Père d’en haut. Son Nom Le définit et Son Nom L’identifie, comme c’est le cas pour ceux qu’Il appelle Son Peuple – ceux qui sont appelé de Son Nom (Ésaïe 43:7).
Most Bible believers live a lifetime without ever seeing the glaring inconsistency in their approach to the Creator of the universe. Unlike other major world religions, whose adherents use a specific name for their deity, the name employed exclusively for the Heavenly Father worshiped in Christianity is a common and generic title, or titles. While the heathen faithful understand exactly whom they worship, millions of churchgoers call on and worship their Creator by the everyday terms lord and god, and then proceed to ask, “Do you know Him?”
The obvious fact is, churchianity has neglected the Heavenly Father’s revealed, personal Name. Many don’t even realize that He has a name, believing that the title God is a name because it is captialized. All the while they accept the fact that thousands of different denominations are worshiping under these same titles but with a plethora of contradictory beliefs and practices. Which leads one to ask, do they themselves really know Him?
Identify and Know Your Heavenly Father!
Aside from these contradictions, is the sacred Name of the Heavenly Father really that important? Does it matter what you call Him? Does He even need to have a name for proper worship, as the deities of all other religions do? Some believe that He knows who you mean no matter what you call Him. But have they considered that refusing to revere His personal Name demonstrates dishonor for the One they worship, as well as blatant defiance of His Word? He tells us precisely that in Malachi 2:2.
How many Bible believers would fall on their knees in times of desperation and call out to Baal? Or Vishnu? Or Molech? Obviously it DOES matter what name you use in worship. Names DO mean something. Names identify a particular entity who has particular traits and is worshiped in a specific manner and who (supposedly) responds in specific ways to well-defined and proper worship.
By calling on names like Vishnu and Buddha, you have conjured up a certain deity who must not be confused with the Almighty of the Bible. How can one expect the true Heavenly Father to respond to names of pagan worship? More importantly, how close is He to those who refuse His personal Name, deciding that a mere title is sufficient – a title suited for an identity lost in a sea of conflicting doctrines and beliefs? Is a title good enough for the true Mighty One when that same title can just as easily refer to other pagan deities? Notice the following.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol [is] nothing in the world, and that [there is] none other Elohim but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many, and lords many), But to us [there is but] one Elohim, the Father, of whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Master Yahshua, by whom [are] all things, and we by him” (1Cor. 8:4-6).
If there are many gods and lords, how can you distinguish the one worshiped with one of those titles? Regardless of the arguments and excuses people will use, Yahweh the true Father says He is jealous for His Name, and He will not allow praises to graven images that proceed from common titles, Isaiah 42:8.
Intimacy of Names
We in our Western civilization have nearly lost the significance of names. For us, Johnny is just as good as Tommy. But even then we may be influenced to choose a name for our child based on someone we know who had a particular name. In that case the name is connected to a person – maybe a father or grandfather or uncle – whose very personality and attributes come to mind when the name is spoken or referred to.
Nowhere is this more true than in Scripture. In fact, names have much greater significance when it comes to the Bible. This is particularly so with the One we worship as the Creator and Sustainer of this universe. Philippians 2:9 says His Name Yahweh is above EVERY name. No matter what we may think or want to believe, calling on His true Name is critically important to Him.
His Name reveals His special identity. He alone is the one known by His special people as the true Mighty One called Yahweh. You don’t mind when a stranger calls you “friend,” or “sir,” or “lady.” In fact, you expect those you don’t know to use such titles. But once you are introduced and you give the other person your name, you feel put off if he or she continues to call you sir or lady. In doing so your acquaintance is rejecting the closeness that using your personal name would otherwise induce.
Yahweh feels the same way. If once we know His Name but insist on calling Him by titles of generic deities, we fall out of favor. His Name is a mark of intimate closeness. How can some claim a “personal relationship” when they don’t even call on Him by Name? In making a covenant with Israel, one of the very first things Yahweh did was to introduce them to His personal Name. He wanted and expected the intimacy that using His personal Name would engender.
Getting Down to Specifics
When Yahweh proclaimed through the prophet Isaiah in 42:8, “I am Yahweh, that is my Name,” He didn’t say, “That’s one of my names” or “You can just call me whatever you wish, I’ll know who you mean.” On the contrary. He said, “That is my Name.” Period. End of discussion. The psalmist wrote of Him in 83:18, “… Whose Name alone is Yahweh…”
In the Bible, when a person gave his name to another individual, it signified the joining of the two in closest unity. When Yahweh gave His Name to Israel, He was joining with them – it was a marriage – the closest union two can enjoy. We as spiritual Israel and bride of the Messiah are to take on His Name as well.
Is it just coincidence that a woman takes on a man’s surname in marriage? Why is that? It is because now they are in union – they have become one in aspiration, goal, and commitment to a single cause in a family headed by the husband. (In this era of feminism it’s hard to say how long that will continue to be the practice.) Acts 15:14 tells us that Yahweh takes out from the gentiles a special people “for His Name.” He is creating a family under His Name: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Master Yahshua the Messiah, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,” Ephesians 3: 14-15.
Esteemed by Name
Biblically, the person and his name are virtually equivalent and inseparable. The word “name” in Hebrew is shem. Shem means a mark or a memorial – expressing a person’s individuality. A name is a mark of a person’s honor (or dishonor), his authority, and his character. In fact, a name describes and defines everything about the person. The Name Yahweh has great significance because of what it defines. Intrinsic to Yahweh’s Name is the very verb of existence.
In Exodus 3:14 He tells Moses: “I am that I am,” or “ha Yah asher ha Yah” in the Hebrew. It means I am existence itself. I cause everything to come into being. His Name Yahweh describes Him, defines Him, and displays His attributes as the one who causes us to exist now and the one who can give us everlasting existence as well. Joel 2:32 prophesies that the day will come when whoever shall call on His Name will be delivered. That meaning is also intrinsic in the definition of His Name: “I am” or “I will be.” “Yahweh” connotes, “I will be there (for you),” especially when you need deliverance.
His Name is also a family Name. His people, His very Chosen, are called by His Name: “O Yahweh, hear; O Yahweh, forgive; O Yahweh, hearken and do; defer not, for your own sake, O my Elohim: for your city and your people are called by your name” (Dan. 9:19). His people take on this wonderful Name because they are in covenant union with Him – obeying Him and pleasing Him in all that they do. Astoundingly, His Name Yahweh is found no fewer than 6,823 times in ancient Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible. It simply cannot be ignored.
The Error in ‘But I speak English’
Then there is the common argument, “I don’t call on Him by His Hebrew Name because I speak English.” Does a person change his name when traveling to foreign lands in which different languages are spoken? Or is his name the same everywhere he goes? Does he get a new passport at each new port of entry? Or is John Doe still “John Doe” in each country he visits? Obviously his name remains unchanged, being spelled the same no matter where he goes.
What is the English equivalent of Franzois Mitterrand? It’s Francois Mitterrand, is it not? What is the English form of Boris Yeltsin? Why, it’s Boris Yeltsin. If the argument is, I speak English therefore I use English names, then what is “Satan” in English? Satan is a name transliterated in Scripture, as are many others. As with Yahweh, the name Satan is Hebrew. The English form of Abraham is also Abraham, a Hebrew name right out of the Hebrew Scriptures and carried over almost unaltered into our English translation. What about Daniel, also a Hebrew name? What’s the English equivalent for Daniel? The name is Daniel, of course. How about Sarah and Martha?
These are all Hebrew names unaltered in the English translation because names simply are not translated. Names are transliterated, meaning that the sounds are brought across unchanged from one language to another. We have no problem with using these Hebrew names without an English equivalent because THERE IS NO ENGLISH EQUIVALENT! Why should Yahweh’s Name be any different? Why should the most important Name in the universe not just be altered, but completely replaced? (The term “god” is not an English word anyway. It derives from the Germanic Gott.)
Common Words and Names with ‘Yah’
One of the most popular words of praise is halleluyah. One can hear it in churches all around the globe. It’s one of the most ancient words of exultation in existence, and is a purely Hebrew term. “Hallel” means “praise” in Hebrew, and “Yah” is the first part of the sacred Name Yahweh (i.e. Yah-weh). Therefore halleluYah means “Praise Yah.” Most do not realize that the most common word of praise contains our Heavenly Father’s very Name—”Hallelu-Yah.” We see this word especially in the form hallelu-jah, but the “j” is derived from the Hebrew yod, which is a consonant-vowel equivalent to the Y. Another fact many overlook is that there was no letter J in any Hebrew, Greek or Anglo-Saxon alphabet. Therefore the original letter could not have been a J but an I or Y. The J is the newest letter in our alphabet and came into existence about the time of Christopher Columbus.
The “J” is merely an “I” with a tail on it, with a “juh” sound that evolved only recently. The “J” and “I” were used interchangeably until the 17th century. Scripture records many well-known names that contain the name of the Heavenly Father. “Elijah” was not pronounced that way in the Scriptures. It was “Eliyah,” a name that means, “my El is Yah.” Isaiah (YeshaYah) is a Hebrew name that means “salvation of Yah.” Jeremiah (YirmeYah) means “whom Yah raises up,” and Zephaniah (ZephanYah) is “hidden of Yah.” Many other writers and prophets were named after Yahweh, showing the close bond they had with Him.
Inconsistencies in Argument for English
If one sticks to the position that because we speak English we should not use Hebrew forms, then we shouldn’t use the forementioned names, either, because they are Hebrew names and “we don’t speak Hebrew.” It would not be right to apply that argument just to Yahweh’s Name and not to all the other Hebrew names and words in the Bible – like “Sabbath,” a Hebrew name, and “Messiah,” another Hebrew word.
What about all the cities in the Scriptures, like Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, and the names of hundreds of other people, places, rivers, seas, deserts, and mountains? These would all need to be changed to English equivalents to be consistent with the argument calling for the exclusive use of English. The problem is, there are no equivalent English forms for these Hebrew names! Neither is there an adequate equivalent or substitute name or title for Yahweh’s great Name.
Let’s pursue this argument a bit further.
‘Dear (Nameless) President’
What is the English name for Yahweh? Can it be G-d, with a capital G?
First, we must realize that “god” is not a name but a title. Paul said there are gods many and lords many. Titles do not define specific individuals. There are many presidents in our country – presidents of corporations, colleges, board presidents, bank presidents…but there is only one president of General Motors, only one president of Harvard, only one president of Citibank – and each has a specific, identifiable name that he answers to.
If I wrote a letter addressed, “Dear President,” it could apply to any one of these presidents. Only when I include the name with that title do I reveal whom I am specifically addressing. If I pray to the god of this world, Paul in 2Corinthians 4:4 says that I could be praying to Satan because Satan is called a “god of this world,” as are thousands of other god deities man has worshiped throughout history. Even then, those deities had specific NAMES attached to their titles.
Our Foreign, English Language
Is “God” simply an equivalent for “Yahweh,” used by English-speaking, Bible believers?
Does He expect His people to change His Name to some other form according to the language they speak? And is that even possible? The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) says “god” derives from the Dutch god, stemming from the Old High German, gott.It sprang from the Gothic guth, going back to the Teutonic gudo, which stems from two Aryan roots – one meaning to invoke, the other to pour in the sense of a molten image.
The point is, can we say that God is an English word? Far from it! Its common English usage belies ancient foreign origins. Relatively few of the words we use in English are in fact pure English. The word “English” itself isn’t even English! England is from “Englaland,” land of the Angles. Who were the Angles? Germans from the lowlands of Germany who settled in eastern England in the 5th century (see “English,” OED)
Our Impure ‘English’ Language
Our Impure ‘English’ Language
Our Impure ‘English’ Language
English is a melting pot language that borrows extensively from many languages. The statement, “I speak English so I don’t use the Hebrew name,” is reasoning that lacks a historical basis in fact. Let’s analyze that statement and see just how “nonEnglish” the roots of our language really are. Discovering the origin of each of the words in that simple sentence proves enlightening indeed:
I = the letter I is the ninth letter of the alphabet, coming through the Latin from the Greek and ultimately from the Semitic or Hebrewyod – the first letter in Yahweh’s Name. speak = from the German sprechen
English = a proper noun based in German, as already shown
so = akin to the Gothic swa
do = traces to sanskrit which was spoken in India
not = Old English nought, cognate to several Old Saxon and French formations
use = from Latin asus
the = from Teutonic and Indo-European forms
Hebrew = Hebrew Eber, one who “crosses over.”
Name = Greek onoma .
In the statement, “I speak English, so I do not use the Hebrew Name,” the word “not” is the only one of those 10 words that is English in origin. English is not by any stretch a pure language. Much of it is from the Romance languages, and vast numbers of its words derive from Greek and Latin (and ultimately Hebrew). Most of the words we use in English come from some other language.
The point in all of this is that language has very little to do with the Name of the Mighty One of the Scriptures. He was Yahweh before He put man on earth. Before there were all these languages from Babel, He was Yahweh. His Name transcends language. “Yahweh” is existence personified. Psalm 135:13 says, “Thy Name endures forever, your memorial throughout all generations.” His Name is His memorial that endures for all time.
First Commandment Is Foundational
The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:2 begin, “I am Yahweh your Elohim which brought you out of the Land of Egypt. You shall have no other mighty ones before me.” All false worship can ultimately be traced to a violation of this first of the Ten Commandments. Every sin we commit results from not putting Yahweh and His will, manifested by His laws, first.
Before He says anything, Yahweh establishes in the very first commandment that HE is Yahweh our Mighty One.Ecclesiastes 12:13 bears out this important truth: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Yahweh and keep His commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.” We continue in Exodus20:4: “You shall not make into you any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” Heathens did not worship a stone image as a stone, but as a representation of some deity. He says don’t manufacture these things because they will remind you of some other deity, and I am the only one you are to worship.
Moving on, verse 6 tells us that if we love Him to keep the commandments and He in turn will show mercy to us. Now notice verse 7: “Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain.” What does it mean to take His Name in vain? Curse when you miss the nail with a hammer and smash your thumb? Or something far more significant?
Not in the Hebrew
“Take” is the Hebrew nasa, meaning to lift or bring to. Vain comes from shoaw, to rush over, bring to devastation, uselessness, waste – basically “take in vain” means to treat with neglect. When we trade His name exclusively for some title, we are breaking the Third Commandment.
“You shall not bring His Name to desolation or ignore it through neglect,” the com- mandment says. When we use a common title in worship, we are missing the most important aspect of who Yahweh is and what He stands for; what He is all about and what He can do for us. His Name describes the very essence of who He is – Yahweh: He is existence itself. No title can mean all that His name stands for. A title defeats the purpose of a name. It just sits there like a pasted-on label, with no depth of meaning and tied to no particular identity.
“I am Yahweh, that is My Name, and My glory will I not give to another,” He says in Isaiah 42:8. He and His Name are inseparable. Our hope is that you will grasp the awesome importance of this truth and will come to know your Creator through His personal, revealed Name Yahweh. Realize all that He can and will do for you if you will put Him first and honor His wonderful and powerful Name!
The common argument that any name is acceptable for calling on the heavenly Father not only violates the sanctity of Yahweh’s revealed, personal Name, but also is an assault on True Worship.
Now a push to unite all worship into monolithic, New Age religion is accomplishing its goals in the same way—exploiting key words that are important to proper worship and redefining them for mass consumption and unholy ends.
In the 44th chapter of Jeremiah we find our Heavenly Father Yahweh completely disgusted with His people and ready to wash His hands of them. We see a once exceedingly patient Father who has finally had enough of His rebellious children who insist on worshiping their own way no matter what.
After all the prophets He had sent to warn them, after all the trials they failed to overcome and the plagues and hardships they endured for their disobedience, nothing ever really changed.
Now the people say in defiance to the prophet, “As for the word that you have spoken unto us in the name of Yahweh, we will not hearken unto you. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes for out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil” (Jer. 44:16-17).
Here Judah is openly reprobate and contemptuous, like a bratty child who acts up just as soon as his parent’s back is turned. These rebellious people are still wanting to worship the heathen gods. No matter what Yahweh says or does, they lust to follow the apostasy of the majority religions around them.
Yahweh decides it’s time for some drastic steps. Go ahead, then, Yahweh tells them. Keep your promise to worship in error—like the heathens around you. But know this, you may no longer use my Name. Notice:
“Therefore hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says Yahweh, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, Yahweh Elohim lives” (Jeremiah 44:26).
This is punishment for their refusal to worship Him in truth. He does not want His name tied to them or their sin of rebellion.
I follows, therefore, that for Judah to return to True Worship would mean that Judah would have to return to using His Name.
Name Identifies True Worship
The lesson for us comes down to this: You cannot worship properly without using His proper, personal Name. His Name defines the Father as well as the one worship that is uniquely His. The only True Worship in the Bible is done in and through His revealed Name.
We learn in Revelation 7:3, 14:1, and 22: 1-4 that the 144,000 faithful who are sealed in the end days are sealed with His Name in their foreheads. His Name separates True worshipers from the false and will give them literal protection from tribulation in the latter days.
Notice what James told the people gathered at Jerusalem: “Simon Peter has declared how Elohim at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name” (Acts 15:14).
The heathens had to come out of their false worship and adhere to the true Name. True Worship and His Name go together and cannot be separated.
Those who know the true Name but insist on using replacement titles are still in spiritual Egypt, in essence still sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven because they have not come to know the true Father, which comes from using His personal Name.
I there is one truth that is clearly shown throughout Scripture it is this: His Name and True Worship go hand in hand, they cannot be separated. He prohibits man from substituting His Name just as He disallows any worship other than what He prescribes.
By showing us in Jeremiah 44 that apostate worshipers are not allowed to use His Name, He is also showing us that only in His Name can one worship in truth.
The true Name is not just a matter of His “knowing who we mean” when we worship or call on Him. It is more than identity. His Name is the difference between being in the truth and being outside the truth. It’s the difference between worship that pleases Him and worship that provokes Him.
This truth is as difficult for some to accept as it is for them to accept the Sabbath over Sunday. It is nothing more than 2,000 years of entrenched tradition that has them confused. All they need to do is allow Yahweh to work with their hearts—show them the truth—and they will see the difference.
His Name identifies His people as it defines the right way of worship.
The prophet wrote: “O Yahweh, hear; O Yahweh, forgive; O Yahweh, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my Elohim: for your city and your people are called by your Name” (Daniel 9:19).
Names in our culture are mostly labels. Not so with Yahweh. His Name signifies the one and only true Heavenly Father as opposed to the false deities of apostate worship. His Name is a true means of identification, a link to the only true Creator.
The simple lesson for Israel and for us is this: Reject True Worship and you reject His name. The reverse is also true: Reject His Name for a substitute one, and you no longer have the authentic, True Worship of the Scriptures. The two are inseparable.
Danger in Name Apathy
Names and words are powerful in ways you may not have considered. Is there any danger to the notion that any name is acceptable in worship of our Heavenly Father?
Aside from keeping us from the truth, the typical nonchalance regarding the Heavenly Father’s Name and His atypical worship is part of the general indifference that will open the door to the universal, false religion to take control soon. At the heart of this system will be a demon-backed religious leader who will demand worship on a worldwide scale.
A book called New Age Bible Versions details how the way is being paved for the great deception. It reveals that the newer translations of Scripture are taking important words and terms associated with pure worship and generalizing them to appeal to a broad spectrum of worshipers.
Highly publicized recently is the taking of male references to Yahweh in Bibles and religious song books and replacing them with general references and pronouns like “She” for “He” (as worship of the ancient, feminine goddess Sophia returns to churchianity).
Ultimately, attempts will be made to include everyone of every faith under a single, global religion. To accomplish that, the wording in new Bibles will help to ease many into further false worship.
The move is subtle now; once churchianity is rendered even more pliable, however, the complete yielding to a one-world religion will come rapidly.
Paving the way for this universal religion is a reorienting of beliefs through the manipulation of words. Unaware of what is happening, the masses accept new terminology that moves them further from what truth they had.
Titles That Thrill Satan
Turn to Luke 4:8. This is Yahshua’s response to Satan’s invitation to fall down and worship the Evil One: “And Yahshua answered and said unto him, Get behind me, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship Yahweh your Elohim, and him only shall you serve” (Luke 4:8).
The KJV says “L-rd thy G-d.” The Aramaic or Hebrew, which Yahshua spoke, reads, “Yahweh your Elohim.” But even in the Greek, Yahweh’s Name would have remained unchanged.
If Yahshua actually said, “Lord thy God,” Satan would have been delighted. Why? Because He could have been referring to Satan himself. The Apostle Paul calls Satan the “god of this world” in 2Corinthians 4:4. In Matthew 12:24 Satan is called Beelzebub, which is another term for “Lord of the Flies.”
In effect our English translation says: it is written, you shall worship the lord god—which could just as well be Satan—and him only shall you serve!
We can see how the Adversary delights when people are led to worship in common titles today. Doing so removes them from the true Father and a false one is put in His place through a generic and incorrect identification.
Any time we are not worshiping Yahweh in His true Name, we are in danger of invoking false mighty ones manufactured by the Father of lies himself—even if done in ignorance.
Change the name of the one you worship and you change WHO you worship and the WAY he is worshiped. Substitute a universal title and remove yourself from the True Yahweh. It is not simply a matter of semantics; it is not simply a choice between two alternatives. It is a matter of true versus false identification—and proper worship versus erroneous worship!
That is why Yahweh characteristically introduces Himself by Name first, then specifies precisely what worship He expects: “I am Yahweh: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isa. 42:8). In Exodus 3, Yahweh tells Moses that His Name is Yahweh, then proceeds to explain how He will bring Israel out of the sin of Egypt. They would come to know True Worship, including the Holy Days, after they first learned His personal Name.
Power Through Words
We establish our beliefs through language. Language can inspire, convict, and challenge, as in the way Yahshua used it; or it can be used to manipulate and subjugate, as despots have done over the centuries. Words can sway emotion and opinion, as in a good movie or a good book.
Even husbands, wives, and children know what the wrong word or the right word can mean in their relationships.
The use of general titles like god and lord promote universalism, which is exactly the opposite of the True faith. True Worship is narrow, specific, well defined, and includes a relatively few faithful identifying the true Father by name (Matt. 7:14).
The way of error leading to destruction is broad and many will be walking on it, Yahshua said (v. 13). One way this is accomplished is by the argument that it does not matter what we call Him. Any name or title is acceptable.
As explained, titles like god and lord are general and apply to many different mighty ones, even to Satan himself. Pagan idols as well are called by the same titles commonly used as names for the Heavenly Father.
Titles do not fix personal identity. They are like the generic “human being.” To call on “G-d” is like calling your neighbor “the person.”
Today’s New Babel
Even the sacred Name of the Creator Himself can lose its significance when we allow others to manipulate with words and substitute names.
The human-centered, humanistic movement that began in the Renaissance is finally succeeding in eliminating the very language of sin, which derives from a higher power. We hardly ever hear in general society terms like “immorality,” “living in sin,” “fornication,” “virtuous,” and the like, anymore.
Today man has decided to set his own standards of what is right and proper. Sin and any references to it are out, because sin recognizes a Father above, and that directly conflicts with the idea that man himself is all-knowing.
Our culture is building a new Tower of Babel, where everyone speaks the same language of moral relativism. This movement is out to change the way people think about the issue of right and wrong itself by changing their language and how right and wrong are expressed. Forces working behind the scenes have seized on the power of language to promote their own agendas.
It’s all part of a revamping of Bible-based beliefs—to replace traditional and Biblical morality with humanistic beliefs. This in turn will prepare the way for the universal Man of Sin.
Instead of Biblical standards, we have today “political” correctness. As one author wrote, “Political correctness is an attempt to eliminate freedom of speech for those who hold traditional values and religious beliefs. It is overt social censorship designed to stifle the truth.”
But even greater implications are those that tamper with the very nature of Almighty Yahweh and His Word. Satan is out to obliterate Yahweh and the truth of Him in a final push to prepare for His own Antimessiah.
Not just everyday words but even the Word of Yahweh is being molested and modified for an unrighteous end. A recent report notes that a prominent publisher is packaging its Bibles for worldwide distribution with the insignia, “Good News for a New Age.”
Even more disturbing is how new versions are fiddling with the text itself.
Satan as God
Those who misunderstand the significance of words and names tell us that it doesn’t matter what you call the Heavenly Father. They say, “He knows who you mean” regardless. Oddly, however, those who tell us this exclusively employ the same “L-rd” and “G-d” titles, which by their universal use amount to false, replacement names.
Having been removed from the Name Yahweh, which identifies the True Mighty One of this universe and the specific worship He demands, modern worshipers have unwittingly accepted a generic title that takes them away from the only True Worship connected with His Name as well.
Not surprisingly, Satan has usurped this title. New Age and satanic writings describe Satan in terms that sound Biblical, calling Him the Divine God, saying Lucifer is God, the bringer of light, the savior of the world.
This fact will help to fulfill the prophecy of Revelation 13:4:
“And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
But how could it happen? Quite easily. The masses are already calling on their mighty one with the same terms and titles honored in both Christianity and Satanism.
Yahweh’s Unheeded Warning
A little more deception and they simply transfer the titles from one being to another! By definition, titles can apply to any number of persons or beings.
Thus is the final fulfillment of Deuteronomy 32:17: “They sacrificed unto devils, not to Elohim; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.”
There are many new “gods” coming up in this age of the New Age. Our society is becoming increasingly taken over by pagan worship and its many false deities.
But the biggest is yet to show. The very worship of the Antimessiah all starts with violating the warning in Exodus 23:13, which is just as applicable for us today as for Israel 3,000 years ago:
“And in all [things] that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of your mouth” (Exodus 23:13).
Yahweh knew clearly what He was doing by giving us this warning. He is Yahweh Almighty, the only True Father above. His Name defines Him and His name identifies Him, just as it does those He calls His People—who are called by His Name, Isaiah 43:7.
Many who understand the importance of observing the seventh-day Sabbath also acknowledge the necessity of calling on the personal Name of the One they worship —Almighty Yahweh. The two go hand-in-hand as instructed in the Ten Commandments.
The Fourth Commandment obligates the True Worshiper to keep the weekly Sabbath on the seventh day, while the Third Commandment tells us not to be negligent when it comes to calling on His true Name: “Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain; for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain,” Exodus 20:7. “Vain” is the Hebrew shoaw and means to make waste or ruin. When we substitute His personal Name with titles we are bringing His Name to waste or ruin, and therefore are in violation of the Third Commandment.
Sabbath keepers are aware of the many arguments leveled against the seventh-day Sabbath. Perhaps you at one time also raised the same points before you came to understand that the Bible upholds only one weekly day of worship, the seventh day. Maybe just like pre-converted Paul who had persecuted the early Assembly but who then came to the Truth, you eventually came to the Truth as well and discovered that worship on the first day of the week is not endorsed anywhere in the Scriptures. You found that all of those common rationalizations used against the true Sabbath day were baseless (request our two-part audio taped sermon series, Sabbath or Sunday, Parts 1 and 2).
But are you aware that the very same kinds of unsupported arguments employed against the Sabbath are also raised in an effort to refute the truth of the Name Yahweh and the Name of His Son, Yahshua? And just as those contentions against the Sabbath collapsed under the weight of Scriptural proof, likewise the various allegations against the Name.
Following are a dozen common, flawed arguments leveled at both the Sabbath and the Name (shown in bold type). We will answer each in the true light of the Word.
I am not a Jew, therefore I do not need to keep the Jewish Sabbath.
The Sabbath was established at the creation of the universe when Yahweh Himself rested on the seventh day, long before there were any Jews, Genesis 2:2-3. Just because the Jews have been most visible in keeping the Sabbath down through history does not mean it is a “Jewish” Sabbath. The Israelites kept the Sabbath, even though 11 of their 12 tribes were not Jewish (see 2Kings 16:1,6-7, where the Jews are at war with Israel). In Acts 13 we find Gentiles keeping the Sabbath as well as Jews, vv. 42, 44, 46. The Savior said that the Sabbath was made for man, not just for Jews, Mark 2:27.
I am not a Jew, therefore I do not need to use the Hebrew Name Yahweh.
Yahweh never refers to His Name as Hebrew or Jewish, even though it was revealed predominately to a Hebrew-speaking people.Psalm 86:9 prophesies that ALL nations will worship Him and glorify His Name. A person’s nationality has no bearing on whether he calls on the personal Name of the Father of all creation. Yahweh Himself told Moses, “This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” Joel 2:32 foretold that in the last days, whoever calls on the Name Yahweh will be delivered. You need not be Jewish or speak Hebrew to do so.
I keep holy whatever day I wish, so long as I keep a day to Him.
Nowhere does Yahweh give man the prerogative to make any day holy. He never allows us the liberty to decide ourselves how we will worship Him. He sets the conditions, and His people follow them. Some may point to Romans 14:5 as giving them liberty when choosing a weekly worship day. This passage, however, merely refers to fasting on any one day, not Sabbath keeping, as verse 6 makes clear.
I can call Him whatever I wish. He understands who I mean.
Again, nowhere in the Scriptures is such a right granted to man, and He never says He “knows who we mean” when we call on Him using other names. Just the opposite is true. He tells us not even to mention the names of other supposed deities (using the same titles), Exodus 23:13. And in Isaiah 42:8 He says, “Yahweh is my Name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” Being our personal Father, He demands that we use His personal Name. The title “God” has as a root meaning, “to pour as in a molten image” (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Is this an acceptable title to use for the true Creator of the universe? Paul said there are “gods many and lords many.” How can these generic designations please the Heavenly Father when applied to Him? (1Cor. 8:5)
Any day can be a Sabbath.
The fact is, Yahweh blessed only one day of the week, at the end of the creation week, and He commands us specifically to keep holy the seventh day also: “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of Yahweh…Yahweh blessed the seventh day and hallowed it,”Exodus 20:8-11. He never set apart any other weekday for regular Sabbath rest.
The Father has many names.
Psalm 83:18 says His Name alone is Yahweh. Romans 10:13 says we are saved by calling upon His Name not His many titles. He has several titles, like El Elyon (“El Most High”), El Shaddai (“El All-powerful”), and Yahweh Zebaoth (“Yahweh of Hosts”), but only one Name is attributed to Him in the Bible — the personal, revealed Name Yahweh.
The Sabbath was changed to Sunday.
Not one verse in the Scriptures changes the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week. It was not the Scriptures but the Roman Church that made that portentous change. Dr. Edward Hiscox, author of The Baptist Manual, writes, “There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday…It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week…where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament.” The Roman Church admits that it alone authorized the change. Note: “Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the church [Roman Catholic] outside the Bible,” Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947.
His Name changes from language to language just like other names.
If this is true, why didn’t original Hebrew names like Abraham, Martha, David and even Satan change when they were brought into the English translations? What about Hebraic descriptive terms like Sabbath, Rabbi, and Maranatha, all of which exist unchanged in the English Bible? The fact is, names are transliterated, meaning the same sound is brought over into the new language virtually unaltered.
You would not change your name if you visited Russia or Argentina; your name on your passport would remain as before. When reading newspapers we never find an English translation or substitute for foreign names like Putin or Sharon. Commercials on Spanish television always leave retail names like Chevrolet and Coca-Cola untouched. Names are not language-dependent. They stand on their own, regardless of the language spoken. Again, names are transliterated, not translated.
The Sabbath was first given to Moses and was just for Israel.
The implication is that the law came into existence at Sinai, including the Fourth Commandment — the Sabbath Commandment. But we can see the law in operation in Genesis and all the way back to creation. Being part of the law, the Sabbath was also in force from the creation of man. We read of Abraham in the Book of Genesis, “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws,” Genesis 26:5.
The Name Yahweh was first given to Moses at the burning bush and was unknown previously.
Yahweh’s Name is first mentioned in Genesis 2:4. We read that after the birth of Adam’s grandson Enos, “then began men to call upon the name of Yahweh,” Genesis 4:26. In Genesis 22:14 we find this, “And Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh-yireh: as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of Yahweh it shall be seen.’” Here’s proof that Yahweh’s Name was known and called upon long before Moses and even before the flood.
Sunday worship is far more common and poses fewer difficulties than Sabbath keeping.
Sin is far more common than righteousness, too, but that shouldn’t mean we choose sin over obedience. Revelation 12:9 says that Satan deceives the entire world. Whatever is popular and easy, therefore, must be closely examined and proved against the Word. Yahshua the Messiah said the way of Truth is a narrow way and few are going to find it and follow it, Matthew 7:13-14. Therefore, the Truth will be accepted only by a relatively few, and that includes the truth of the true Sabbath, 2Peter 2:2.
“God” and “Lord” are far more common than “Yahweh,” and less misunderstood.
Yahweh’s people are to come out of the world and be separate, 2Corinthians 6:17. Our convictions are not based on popular practice or public opinion polls. We are told in Psalm 22:22 that Yahshua declared Yahweh’s Name to His brethren, and so are we to do so. Regardless of what otherwise may be fashionable or common, Yahweh’s people will know His Name and be called by it, Daniel 9:19. True Worshipers get their standards from the Word, not the world.
Our salvation is not in a specific day but in the Messiah.
When Yahshua was asked about entering into everlasting life, He responded by admonishing, “keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17). Hebrews 5:8-9 tells us a key fact about Yahshua, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” He set the example for us by His obedient life as He kept the weekly Sabbath as well as all of the commandments.
Our salvation is not in a specific name but in the person and authority of the Messiah.
Acts 4:12 clearly says that there is salvation in no other Name. Joel 2:32 tells us that whoever calls on Yahweh’s Name will be delivered. The Name “Yahshua” means “Yahweh is salvation.” The Name Yahshua also defines the person, and the person of the Messiah is manifest by His one Name. You cannot separate the two.
Time was lost and we do not know which day is the Sabbath.
The sequence of days in the week has never been “lost” or reshuffled. In the past, calendar dates have been adjusted to put the Gregorian calendar back in synchronization with the seasons, but never have the weekdays themselves been rearranged. Even in a leap year when an extra day is added in February, the sequence of our weekdays remains unchanged. The Hebrews kept every seventh day as the Sabbath down through history, and to confirm it we need only go back to the time of Yahshua, who Himself kept the Sabbath as commanded in the law. Never have any days been lost since. The Jews have diligently seen to that.
The exact pronunciation of the Name was lost over time.
The Encyclopaedia Judaica tells us, “The true pronunciation of the name YHWH was never lost. Several Greek writers of the Christian Church testify that the name was pronounced ‘Yahweh.’ ” (Vol. 7, p. 680). This fact is confirmed by the Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Early Christian writers, such as Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century, had used the form Yahweh, thus this pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton was never really lost. Greek transcriptions also indicated that YHWH should be pronounced Yahweh” (15th edition, Vol. X, p. 786). Other references, including The New Schaff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia, Catholic Encyclopedia, and Eerdman’s and Unger’s Bible dictionaries, confirm that the original pronunciation was “Yahweh.”
Early believers worshiped on Sunday, not on the Sabbath.
The Apostles kept the seventh-day Sabbath. It was on the Sabbath day that they went regularly into the synagogue to worship. InActs 16:13 we also read, “And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.” Paul customarily taught on the Sabbath: “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,” Acts 17:2. Yahshua kept the Sabbath as well (see Matt. 12:2; Mark 6:2, Luke 13:10). Request our booklet, Popular Arguments Against the Sabbath for a fuller discourse.
Early believers used “Jehovah” and “Jesus,” not “Yahweh” and “Yahshua.”
Neither Jehovah nor Jesus was ever used by early believers because the letter “J” did not come into existence until the 15th century. “Jehovah” is a ghost word that was never used in the Scriptures for the Heavenly Father. This hybrid name, invented by the confessor to Pope Leo X, was formed by taking the vowels of Adonai and inserting them into the Tetragrammaton, YHWH. The letter “J” did not exist in Hebrew or Greek and the “v” should be a “w,” from the third Hebrew letter waw of the Tetragrammaton.
The Sabbath was nailed to the cross and was done away with.
If this were true then Paul, the supposed champion of Christianity, knew nothing about it. We find him observing the so-called “Jewish” Sabbath long after the Savior’s death and resurrection when a whole city of Gentiles came to hear him and Barnabas preach the Word on the Sabbath, Acts 13:42-46. We learn that what was nailed to the tree in Colossians 2:14 was the handwriting of ordinances (Greek dogma, man-made rules) that were “against us.” Yahweh’s law is never characterized as against us or contrary to us. Paul in Romans 7:12 informs us, “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” In Acts 18:4 he preached to both Jews and Gentiles on the Sabbath.
When the Savior died Israelites were speaking Greek and so we call Him by a Greek name.
The language of Galilee and Jerusalem has always been Hebrew (or its close sister, Aramaic). Passages showing that Yahshua spoke Hebrew by using Hebrew terms and sentences include Matthew 27:46; Mark 5:41, and 7:34. Clearly, He was not speaking Greek to Jews in Galilee.
The Sabbath is not commanded in the New Testament.
This is a widely held fallacy. Hebrews 4:9 is a direct injunction to keep the seventh-day Sabbath in the New Testament: “There remains therefore a rest to the people of Elohim.” The word “rest” is sabbatismos, whose verbal form means “to keep Sabbath” and is also found several places in the Septuagint Old Testament. Verse 10 explains that this is speaking of the weekly Sabbath: “For he that is entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as Yahweh did from His.” How much clearer can the New Testament be to keep the Sabbath as Yahweh did at the end of the creation week?
The Name Yahweh does not appear in the New Testament.
Yahshua in His prayer to His Father specifically said that He had “declared unto them [the world] your name and will declare it,”John 17:26. In His model prayer of Matthew 6, Yahshua attested to the sacredness of the Name with the statement, “Hallowed be thy name.” He spoke the Name numerous times in the New Testament when He quoted Old Testament passages containing the Name Yahweh, including Matthew 4:10 (from Deut. 6:13); Matthew 21:42 (Ps. 118:23); Mark 7:6 (Isa. 29:13); Luke 20:37 (Ex. 3:4-6) and John 6:45 (Isa. 54:13).
Salvation is not through a special 24-hour day.
Certainly we cannot earn our own salvation. Salvation is a gift given only by Yahweh through Yahshua. He does, however, give that gift to those He deems worthy through their obedience, and denies salvation to the disobedient. “And being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him,” Hebrews 5:9. On the other hand, Paul wrote, “Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohim?” 1Corinthians 6:9. Then he defines unrighteousness by listing many examples of lawbreaking. The Sabbath is part of the royal law, and therefore to violate it is to break the law and join the ranks of the unrighteous.
Salvation does not depend on the correct pronouncing of a name.
Salvation comes to those who know their Savior, as He was our example of doing the Father’s will. Joel 2:32 says that whoever calls on the Name of Yahweh will be delivered. Luke 24:47 tells us that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations. In the KJV we read in Psalm 68:4 to “extol Him by His Name Yah,” which is a short or poetic form of the Name Yahweh. Here, we are expressly told to use His Name. Being that the Savior’s Name Yahshua means “Yahweh is salvation,” when we call on the personal, true Name of the Messiah Yahshua, we are accepting the salvation of the Father. When we say, “It doesn’t make any difference what I call Him,” we are choosing to worship as we alone see fit, rather than to do as He commands us and honor His Name, Ps. 66:2,4.
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All faiths and religions have identifying characteristics that distinguish them and the one they worship from all others. These features are instantly recognizable.
For instance, you hear the word “Hindu” and you think of a man in shorts, sitting cross-legged with hands resting on his knees, palms up, meditating on his trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. His deities, with their unique names, embody a well-defined worship, faith, and set of practices unique to Hinduism.
Similarly, when you hear the word “Islam” visions of ornate mosques come to mind and turban-headed men on their knees bowing toward Mecca with foreheads touching the ground as they worship Allah and practice the dictates they claim are demanded.
These and nearly all other religions have a worship that is consistent with the name of the one they worship. They would be quick to tell you that worshiping any other way in any other name is not worshiping Brahma…or Allah. The deity’s name invokes a unique regimen of worship. This fact should be self-evident.
Closer to home, what comes to mind by the term Roman Catholicism? The pope is prominent here. But unlike other faiths, he and his followers worship a mighty one by the generic term G-o-d. They believe this unnamed mighty one requires a specific kind of worship as well, including the rosary, veneration of Mary and saints, Sunday worship, mass, sacraments and popular holidays.
An offshoot of the Roman Church is the Protestant movement. Protestants worship the same nameless mighty one using the same nonexclusive title “G-o-d.” Nevertheless, they believe that their eternal one that goes by the same common title the Roman Church uses demands a whole different practice of faith. Although they worship the same “G-o-d,” more than 500 Protestant divisions don’t agree on that worship even among themselves, as they hold clashing beliefs and much different doctrines. Amazingly, few people ever give this profound oddity a second’s worth of thought.
Worshiping under the specific name of an identifiable Mighty One limits one’s faith to a particular belief and practice. But attempting to aim an exclusive faith at a nonspecific mighty one, as churchianity has done, leads to today’s hodgepodge.
Identify the One You Worship
In light of these facts it is critical that we ask, is the revealed, personal Name of the Heavenly Father important? Does it matter to Yahweh what you call Him? Does He need to have a name for proper worship, as the rest of the world’s faiths demand?
Some say He knows who you mean no matter what you call Him. How many Bible believers would fall on their knees in times of desperation and call out to Vishnu? Or Baal? Or Zeus? How can one expect the one true Father Yahweh to respond to a plea to a false god? What about your name in the Book of Life? Does it matter if it is correct or not? You bet it does! You see, names do matter. Names do mean something, as any honest worshiper will admit.
Names are definitive. In worship they identify and specify the one being worshiped. For all other faiths on earth the name called on points to a particular one who is worshiped in a specific manner and who (supposedly) responds in well-defined ways to a particular worship. But in a strange contradiction to this norm, Bible believers accept a common, generalized title for the true Heavenly Father they claim to invoke. And because only a nonspecific title is called on, widely divergent beliefs and practices can and do result. Does this make any sense in light of dozens and dozens of Scriptures commanding us to honor and call on His personal Name and follow only one true way of faith connected with that Name (Ephesians 4:5)?
More importantly, how close is He to those who refuse His personal Name? Does He eagerly embrace those who have decided that a generic title is more acceptable than His revealed, personal Name – the same title found at the center of contradictory doctrines, beliefs and practices?
Notice what the Apostle Paul said about this title: “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other Elohim but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one Yahweh, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Master Yahshua the Messiah, by whom are all things, and we by him” (1Cor. 8:4-6).
Names Have Meaning, Even Today
We in our Western culture have nearly lost the significance of names. Today “Johnny” is as good as “Tommy.” Even still we may be prompted to name our child after some beloved and admired individual with the same name. The good attributes of that person come through when we hear his or her name. Similarly we may reject a name for the reverse reason. All this from what the name brings to mind.
Names are much more than mere labels when it comes to the Bible. All Hebrew names mean something. For instance, Joshua (Yahshua) means “Yahweh’s Salvation”; Nehemiah (Nehemyah) signifies “Comforter of Yahweh”; and Daniel means “El My Judge,” which accords with the character and contents of his book.
The Name of the true Father we worship is particularly important because He tells us it is. Philippians 2:9 says His Name Yahweh is above every name. His Name reveals His special identity as the one true Mighty One of the universe. No other one worshiped has His Name. His Name brings us close.
You don’t mind when a stranger calls you “friend,” or “sir,” or “ma’am.” In fact you expect an unfamiliar person to use such terms. But once you are introduced and you develop camaraderie with that individual, you would feel put off if he or she continued to call you the generic “sir” or “ma’am.” Your supposed friend would be rejecting the bond that using your personal name engenders.
Yahweh feels the same way if once we know His Name we insist on calling on Him by common titles, especially the titles of other deities (Isa.42:8). His Name is the seal of a relationship that bonds us with Him. He said in Isaiah 52:6, “Therefore my people shall know my name.”
When making His all-important covenant with Israel one of the first things Yahweh did was to introduce His people to His personal Name, Exodus 3:13-15. He wanted and expected the intimacy that using His personal name would create. He called it His “memorial for all generations,” Exodus 3:15.
He thundered to the prophet, “I am Yahweh that is my name!” Isaiah 42:8. Notice He didn’t say, “I am Yahweh, that is one of my names,” or “You can just call me whatever you wish, Isaiah, I’ll know who you mean.” He said specifically, “That is my Name!” Period. (“…whose Name alone is Yahweh…” Ps. 83:18).
In the Scriptures when a person gave his name to another it signified the joining of the two in closest unity. When Yahweh gave His Name to Israel He was calling them to a marriage covenant, the closest union two can have. It is no different when a bride takes on her husband’s name. When she shares his name she becomes at one with him, both in aspiration, goal and commitment to a single cause – building a family.
Yahweh is creating his own heavenly family with His people now, one day to be resurrected as a kingdom of priests, Revelation 5:10. We read in Acts 15:14 that Yahweh is taking out from the world a special people “for His Name.” He is making a family of Yahweh. “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Master Yahshua the Messiah, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,” Ephesians 3:14-15.
Esteemed by Name
Biblically, the person and his name are virtually equivalent and inseparable. The word “name” in Hebrew is shem. Shem means a mark or a memorial – a person’s individuality. His name implies his honor (or dishonor), his authority, his character. In fact, scripturally a name describes and defines a person in all aspects of his or her persona.
The Name Yahweh has great importance because of what it signifies. Intrinsic to Yahweh’s Name is the very verb of existence. InExodus 3:14 He tells Moses: “I am that I am,” or “haYah asher haYah” in the Hebrew. It means I am existence itself. I cause everything to come into being. His Name Yahweh describes Him, defines Him, and expresses His attributes as the one who causes us to exist in this life and the one who can give us everlasting existence, too.
Joel 2:32 prophesies that the day will come when whoever shall call on His Name will be delivered. That meaning is central to the definition of His Name: “I am” or “I will be.” “Yahweh” also has the connotation, “I will be there (for you),” especially to be your deliverance.
His Name is a family Name. His people, His very Chosen, are a family called by His Name: “O Yahweh, hear, O Yahweh, forgive; O Yahweh, hearken and do; defer not, for your own sake, O my Elohim: for your city and your people are called by your name” (Dan. 9:19). His people take on this wonderful Name because they are in covenant union with Him – obeying Him and pleasing Him in all that they do. His Name Yahweh is found an astonishing 6,823 times in ancient Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible. It simply cannot be ignored or dismissed.
Is ‘G-o-d’ an English Form of His Name?
A typical argument is, “I don’t call on Him by His Hebrew Name because I speak English.” Does a person change his name when traveling to foreign lands in which a different language is spoken? Or is his name the same everywhere he goes? Does he get a new passport with the corresponding name change at each new port of entry? Or is John Doe called John Doe everywhere he goes? Clearly, the name is the same everywhere. If names do in fact change then what would be the English equivalent of Vladimir Putin? It’s none other than Vladimir Putin. What is the English form of the Japanese Prime Minister’s name, Junichiro Koizumi? Why it’s Junichiro Koizumi, of course. No English equivalent exists because it’s not needed! Names don’t change in going from one country to another or one language to another.
If the argument is, I speak English therefore I use an English name for the one I worship, then please provide the English name for Satan – because that name is Hebrew and it never changed in our English Bibles. Can you supply the English form of Abraham? This is another Hebrew name right out of the Hebrew Scriptures and carried over virtually unaltered into our English translation.
What’s the English equivalent for the Hebrew name Daniel? How about Sarah and Martha? These are all Hebrew names that are unchanged in the English text because names are not translated. We have no trouble using these Hebrew names without an English equivalent because there is no English equivalent. Why should Yahweh’s Name be any different? Besides, “G-o-d” is not a name anyway but only a generic title. Calling on Him by this title is like calling out to your neighbor, “Hello human being!”
One of the most popular words of praise is halleluyah. One hears it shouted out in churches all the time by those who have no clue as to its meaning. Halleluyah is one of the most ancient words of exultation in existence and it is pure Hebrew. “Hallel” means “praise” in Hebrew, and “Yah” is the first part of the sacred Name Yahweh. Therefore halleluyah means “Praise Yah”! The most common word of praise has our Heavenly Father’s very Name embedded within it – “Halle1uYah.” We usually see this word in the form hallelujah, but there was no “j” in Hebrew, Greek or English until about the 15th century. The “j” is merely an “i” with a tail and given a “juh” sound relatively recently. The “j” and “i” were used interchangeably in alphabets until the 17th century.
Scripture records many well-known names that incorporate the name of the Heavenly Father. “Elijah” was not pronounced that way in the Scriptures. It was “Eliyah,” a name that means,” my El is Yah.” Isaiah (YeshaYah) is a Hebrew name that means “salvation of Yah.” Jeremiah (YirmeYah) is “whom Yah raises up,” Zephaniah (ZephanYah) means “hidden of Yah.” The names of many other writers and prophets contain the shortened “Yah” Name of Yahweh, showing the close bond they had to Him.
Inconsistencies Abound
If one sticks to the position that because we speak English we should not use Hebrew name forms, then we shouldn’t use any of the aforementioned, Biblical names, either, because they are all Hebrew names and we don’t speak Hebrew. It would not be right to apply that argument just to Yahweh’s Name and not to all the other Hebrew names and words in the Bible – like Sabbath, a Hebrew term, and Messiah, another Hebrew word.
What about all the Biblical cities like Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, and the names of rivers, seas, deserts, and mountains? These would all need to be changed to some English form to be consistent with the argument for the exclusive use of English. The problem is, there are no equivalent English forms for these Hebrew names! Neither is there a proper equivalent or substitute name for Yahweh’s great Name. Let’s pursue this point even further.
‘Dear (Nameless) President’
For argument’s sake, let’s say that there is an English equivalent for the sacred Name Yahweh and that equivalent is “god,” with a capital G..
First, we must note again that “god” is not a name but a title. As we already read, Paul said there are gods many and lords many. There are also many presidents in our country – presidents of corporations, colleges, board presidents, bank presidents…but there is only one president of General Motors, only one president of Harvard, only one president of Citibank – and each has a specific, identifiable name that he answers to. If I wrote a letter addressed “Dear President,” it could apply to any one of these presidents. Only when I include the name with that title do I reveal the one I am actually addressing.
If I pray to a god then according to Paul in 2Corinthians 4:4 I may be praying to Satan because Satan is called the “god of this world.” Myriads of other god deities have been worshiped by man throughout history.
Is “G-o-d” an English form for “Yahweh”? Does He expect His people to change His Name to something else according to the language spoken? And is that even possible? TheOxford English Dictionary (OED) says “god” stems from the Old High German,got, deriving from the Gothic guthand going back to the Teutonic gudo, which stems from two Aryan roots – one meaning to invoke, the other to pour in the sense of a molten image. Call on god and you call on an idol, according to the origin of this word. Capitalizing it doesn’t change anything.
G-o-d is far from being an English term. Its common English usage belies ancient foreign origins. Relatively few of the words we use in English are purely English. The word “English” itself isn’t even English. England is from Englaland, land of the Angles. Who were the Angles? None other than Germans from the lowlands of Germany who settled in eastern England in the 5th century. “English” is from Englisc, meaning of the Angles – Germans! (see “English,” OED)
Our Impure ‘English’ Language
English is a melting pot language borrowing extensively from many languages. The statement, “I speak English so I do not use the Hebrew Name” is self-contradictory. Here’s why:
Let’s break down the words etymologically: “I speak English so I do not use the Hebrew Name.” Discovering the origin of each of the words in that sentence proves enlightening indeed:
I = the letter I is the ninth letter of the alphabet, coming through the Latin from the Greek and ultimately from the Semitic or Hebrewyod – the first letter in Yahweh’s Name.
speak = from the German sprechen.
English = a proper noun based in German
so = akin to the Gothic swa
do = traces to Sanskrit which was spoken in India.
not = Old English nought, cognate to several old Saxon and French formations
use = from Latin usus
the = from Teutonic and Indo-European forms
Hebrew = Hebrew Eber, one who “crosses over”
Name = Greek onoma
In the statement, “I speak English so I do not use the Hebrew Name,” only one of those 11 words is in fact English. English is not by any stretch a pure language. Much of it is from the Romance languages and vast numbers of its words derive from the Greek and Latin (and ultimately Hebrew). Most of the words we use in English come from some other language!
The point in all of this is that language has little to do with calling on Yahweh’s Name. He was Yahweh before He put man on earth. Before He created all these languages from Babel, He was Yahweh. “Yahweh” is existence personified. Psalm 135:13 says, “Thy Name endures forever, your memorial throughout all generations.” His Name is His memorial that endures for all time.
The First Commandment Is Foundational
The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:2 begin, “I am Yahweh your Elohim which brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall have no other mighty ones before me.” In the very first of the 10 Commandments Yahweh established right off the bat that, above everything else, He has an identity. If you don’t get that part right, everything else about your worship will fall like dominoes. We must above all else worship the right Mighty One. As we witness the general decay of Bible-professing religion and the perversion of all that is right and moral on this planet, we can go back to the very first of the Ten Commandments and see why Yahweh established Himself as supreme.
If man would have just kept Commandment One he would have kept all the rest. All false worship can ultimately be traced to a violation of this first of the Ten Commandments. Every sin we commit results from an unwillingness to put Yahweh and His laws first in our lives. Before He says anything Yahweh establishes at the start that HE is Yahweh our Mighty One. Ecclesiastes 12:13 bears out this important truth: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Yahweh and keep His commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.”
We continue in Exodus 20:4: “You shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” Understand that heathens didn’t worship a stone image as the stone that it was, but as a representation of some deity.
Yahweh says don’t make these things because they will remove you from worship of Me, and I am the only one you are to worship. When we employ substitute titles for His Name we are in idolatry not unlike the pagan’s wood and stone. In the same way that an idol removes us from Him, substituting His Name veers us away from Him and the specific worship expressed by His Name and puts us in a generalized worship that is practiced by diverse and conflicting denominations.
Moving on to 20:6 we are told to keep the commandments if we love Him and He in turn will show mercy to us. Now notice verse 7: “Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain.” Taking His Name in vain does not mean to curse when you smash your thumb with a hammer. “Take” is the Hebrew nasa, meaning to lift or bring to. “Vain” comes from shoaw, to rush over, bring to devastation, uselessness, waste – basically it means neglect.
When we trade His name for some title, we are breaking the Third Commandment. “You shall not bring His Name to desolation or ignore it through neglect,” the Hebrew behind the commandment says. When we use a common title in worship we are missing the most important aspect of who Yahweh is and what He stands for; what He is all about and what He will do for us if we would just follow and obey Him. His Name describes the very essence of who He is – Yahweh: He is existence personified.
No title can begin to denote all that His Name stands for. A title defeats the purpose of a name. It just sits there like a pasted-on label, with no unique meaning and no particular identity attached. Calling Him G-o-d is like greeting your neighbor, “Hello human being.”
When you call on the Name Yahweh you are invoking the only true, active, all-powerful, majestic Being in the universe. Most people would prefer a nameless mighty one who, like a kindly old grandfather, is there to bail them out when needed but who otherwise is absent while they live out their lives any way they choose without hindrance. Much better for them to keep Him nameless and in the shadows and not make Him too real through the calling on a personal name. Perhaps this is the underlying reason His Name is so often avoided today.
Do we have such little respect and regard for our Heavenly Father that we would deny Him His own Name and call Him whatever we please?
Our prayer is that you will grasp the critical importance of the truth presented here and come to know your Creator through His personal, covenant Name Yahweh, the only Name given to us for salvation, Acts 4:12; Joel 2:32.
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It is the greatest cover-up in all of human history. Many have lived their entire lives never realizing that their Father in heaven has a personal name that is a necessary part of proper worship. Some believe He answers to Jehovah. But that name has been soundly disproven. Today His true Name is being proclaimed and many are discovering it and realizing the necessity of calling on the only Name given to man for salvation. He Himself challenges us in Proverbs 30:4 by asking, “What is His Name and what is His Son’s Name if you can tell?” In this study we will show what the Heavenly Father’s actual name is, what His son’s Name is as well, and why knowing them by their revealed names is critically important for correct worship and … for salvation itself.
Do you want a personal relationship with the one you worship?” the evangelist bellowed to the crowd. “Do you want to know Him intimately and receive His blessings?” The crowd goes wild. “Then ask God to come into your heart.”
Hold on a minute. What’s wrong with this scene? How can you have a personal relationship with a generic label? Doesn’t closeness begin with a personal name? The Apostle Paul wrote, “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth — as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’,” 1Corinthians 8:5 (ESV). Even Satan is referred to by the common term “god”! Paul wrote, “…in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving…” 2Corinthians 4:4.
Using the same designation for our Creator that is used for the evil one, as well for false deities of the pagans, presents serious issues. Replacing His Name with a common title is identity theft.
The Third Commandment is explicit about the necessity of His true Name in our worship. “Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain; for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” The word vain is the Hebrew shoaw and means emptiness, worthlessness, waste, ruin. Removal of His name brings it to a state of ruin and desolation.
To distinguish the Heavenly Father from other so-called deities, those who refuse to call on His Name are forced to add qualifying descriptions like “the great god,” and “the one and only true god.” By its very nature a title must be buttressed with many adjectives in order to nail down exactly who you mean. But a personal name easily solves this identity problem, and of course is entirely appropriate as well. He commands His people to call on His revealed, personal Name.
It should be obvious that the title “god” is a broad-spectrum, general term and is not capable of individual identification. Capitalizing it doesn’t change that.
We would have the same problem if every man in the world had his name replaced with the title “Mr.” Imagine this conversation: “Give this to Mr. for me, would you?”
“Uh, which Mr. do you mean? There are millions of them.”
“You know, the one true Mr., the only genuine Mr.”
Does this make sense?
The obvious purpose of a name is to distinguish one individual from another. That should go without saying, yet how many think about that simple fact when it comes to their Heavenly Father? They have been taught to call Him by a generic label, which He Himself says is unacceptable.
It is amazing that all religions are known by the name of the one worshiped … except Christianity. Anciently the god of the Akkadians was Marduk; the god of the Ammonites was Moloch; the god of the Greeks was Zeus; the god of the Romans was Jupiter; the god of the Moabites was Baal-peor; The god of the Muslims is Allah, and the god of the Christians is…God? Using a nondescript, indefinite, impersonal, nonidentifying title does not identify the One you worship! Capitalizing that title doesn’t turn it into a name, no more than capitalizing the title “mister” does.
By removing His Name from our Bibles and our worship we denigrate Him and bring Him down to the lowest common denominator. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary explains: “[His] name reveals his character and salvation in which people may take refuge (Ps. 20:1; cf. Isa. 25:1, 56:6); to treat [His] name as empty is to despise his person (Ex. 20:7),” p. 747.
His One and Only Name
What then is the revealed, personal Name of the Creator of the universe as established in the Bible?
We’ll let Him tell us. In Isaiah 42:8 He said, “I am Yahweh: that is my name: and my honor will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” He makes it crystal clear that He expects us to call on His personal Name Yahweh, which separates Him from the world of idols. He says that when you hear my Name that you will know it is I. When using His personal Name you don’t need to define who you mean. It is His personal identity. His Name tells it all. It also distinguishes His people when they call on Him in His Name.
In Isaiah 52:6 Yahweh thunders, “Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.”
The prophet said in Micah 4:5, “For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of Yahweh our Elohim for ever and ever.” In other words, all the other religions have a name for the one they worship, and so does the true one.
How important is His Name? Extremely. It is the ONLY name in the Bible that is called “holy” (see Lev. 20:3; Ps. 33:21; 103:1;105:3; 106:47; 145:21; Luke 11:2). Salvation comes only through His Name.
The Name “Yahweh” is becoming more widely known and acknowledged as His genuine Name. Theologians along with the general public are starting to catch up with Bible scholarship, textual proof, and historical fact, all of which reveal the truth of the Name Yahweh.
In this booklet we will show why His Name is Yahweh and His Son’s Name is Yahshua by using source manuscripts, scholarship, linguistics, etymology, and archaeology.
Coming to know His revealed, personal name is one of those gratifying “Ah-ha” moments that make you say, “Yes, of course, that makes perfect sense. Why wasn’t I told this before?” When He refers to His Name, He means His literal Name, not a common title or generic stamp. To those who say He has many names, Yahweh inspired this response, “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is YAHWEH, are the most high over all the earth,” Psalm 83:18.
Those other “names” that some may cite are just adjectives added to His Name to describe some aspect of Him, like Yahweh-Yireh (Yahweh will provide), Yahweh-Nissi (Yahweh my banner), Yahweh-Sabaoth (Yahweh of hosts), and Yahweh Zidkenu (Yahweh our righteousness). Other so-called “names” are just titles, like “Elohim,” “Lord,” and “Adonai.”
The Name Yahweh is from the Hebrew verb of existence hayah, meaning “I am.” Some scholars say it also means I will be whatever I want to be or need to be. He explained His Name and its significance in Exodus 3. In verse 15 He told Moses that His Name was a memorial to all generations. Memorial in Hebrew (zakar) means to mark, remember, mention.
Yahweh causes all things to exist, including us human beings, He is the self-existent One. He causes everything in the universe to be and He controls all of it. We exist because He exists. That is who “Yahweh” is.
Jehovah and the Letter J
His true Name Yahweh was cloaked through the centuries by the erroneous “Jehovah.” The name Jehovah is an impossibility because there was never a letter “J” or sound of a J in the Hebrew or Greek languages from which our Bible translations are derived. Not even the early 1611 King James English Bible used the letter J, but employed the letter “I” instead. In Psalm 68:4 it reads, “…extol him that rideth upon the heavens, by his Name IAH…” The letter J came into widespread use only 500 years ago, becoming the newest letter to join the English alphabet. Before its debut, the J had a Y sound and grew out of the vowel “i,” which is why the lower case “j” is dotted like the “i” and was given a hooked tail to distinguish it from the “i.”
The Encyclopedia Americana says, “The form of J was unknown in any alphabet until the 14th century.”
The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, agrees that the J is only a modification of the Latin I and dates back with a separate value only to the 15th century.
Funk and Wagnall’s Encyclopedia (1979 edition), volume 14, page 94 under “J,” states: “J, the tenth letter and seventh consonant in the English alphabet. It is the latest addition to the English script and has been inserted in the alphabet after I, from which it was developed…”
The Jewish Encyclopedia calls the word Jehovah “a philological impossibility.”
The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology says that Jehovah is an erroneous transliteration of the Hebrew name YHWH, “often represented as Yahweh” (1995).
In the preface to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible is the following statement: “The form Jehovah is of late medieval origin; it is a combination of the consonants of the Divine Name [YHWH] and the vowels attached to it by the Masoretes but belonging to an entirely different word. The sound of Y is represented by J and the sound of W by V, as in Latin. The word ‘Jehovah’ does not accurately represent any form of the Name ever used in Hebrew,” pp. 6-7.
The Moffatt Bible says in the preface about the Jehovah:
“Strictly speaking, this ought to be rendered ‘Yahweh,’ which is familiar to modern readers in the erroneous form of ‘Jehovah.’ Were this a version intended for students of the original, there would be no hesitation whatever in printing ‘Yahweh.’”
The name Jehovah is a synthetic blend. It even has a shocking aspect. The suffix hovah is No. 1943 in Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary and has the meaning of “ruin: mischief.” It is another form of No. 1942, havvah, which is translated “calamity, iniquity, mischief, mischievous (thing), naughtiness, naughty, noisome, perverse thing, substance, very wickedness.” Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius says of No. 1943, hovah: “ruin, disaster.” No wonder the Rotherham Bible refers to the name Jehovah as a monstrous hybrid!
Even the Jehovah’s Witnesses acknowledge that the name Jehovah falls short. Their book, “Let Your Name Be Sanctified” freely admits on pages 16 and 18 that Yahweh is the superior translation of the Tetragrammaton.
Read One Way But Spoken Another
In an effort to protect the sacred Name from being pronounced and even profaned, ancient scribes added vowel points (code letters) from the title Adonai (“Lord” in English) to the four letters of His Name, YHWH, thereby prompting the reader to use the substitute term “Adonai” instead of “Yahweh.” Kohlenberger in his introduction to Hebrew-English explains this device as kethib-qere, meaning the name is written one way but is read or pronounced another way.
The Encyclopedia Judaica explains which vowels were used wrongly to transform Yahweh into Jehovah: “In the early Middle Ages, when the consonantal text of the Bible was supplied with vowel points to facilitate its correct traditional reading, the vowel points for Adonai with one variation—a sheva (short ‘e’) with the first yod [Y] of YHWH instead of the hataf-patah (short ‘a’) under the aleph of Adonai—was used for YHWH, thus producing the form YeHoWaH. When Christian scholars of Europe first began to study Hebrew they did not understand what this really meant, and they introduced the hybrid name ‘Jehovah’” (vol. 7, p. 680).
As the Judaica notes, by deliberately inserting the vowel sign for “e” into the first part of the Tetragrammaton, the short form of the Name “Yah” was rendered “Yeh.” Thus, the Jewish Masoretes effectively hid even the short form Yah of the sacred Name. It is this erroneous form “Yeh” that has survived to this day in “Jeh”ovah and most likely enters into the development of the erroneous form of the Son’s name, Je-sus, which we will see later.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica (Micropedia, vol. 10) corroborates. Under “Yahweh” we read, “The personal name of the [El] of the Israelites …The Masoretes, Jewish biblical scholars of the Middle Ages, replaced the vowel signs that had appeared above or beneath the consonants of YHWH with the vowel signs of Adonai or of Elohim. Thus the artificial name Jehovah (YeHoWaH) came into being.”
Another authority says this: “The pronunciation Jehovah was unknown until 1520 when it was introduced by [Petrus] Galatinus [Pope Leo X’s confessor] but was contested by Le Mercier, J. Drusius, and L. Capellus as against grammatical and historical propriety,”Emphasized Bible, Rotherham, p. 24.
(To learn more about the Hebrew alphabet and the practice of vowel pointing see “Hebrew Articulation” preceding Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary.)
The Reason for Hiding the Sacred Name
Why was His Name Yahweh avoided and hidden for millennia? Jewish religious leaders had an ultra-pious interpretation of Leviticus 24:16, which commanded that anyone who blasphemed Yahweh’s Name (did violence to it) should be stoned to death. They took that injunction and ramped it up, so that just pronouncing the Name constituted a serious offense. Ultimately, the Jews would not use the Name even in normal religious worship or exercises.
Another passage the Jews cite is Jeremiah 44:26, where Yahweh tells Judah not to use His Name in Egypt or foreign lands. Why did He say that? It was because they had worshiped the queen of heaven! It was a punishment for their sins. We have statements from Philo and Josephus around the time of Yahshua that this avoidance in uttering the name carried over into the New Testament as well.
What exactly happened in the New Testament and why aren’t most churches using the sacred Name today
Hiding the Name in the New Testament — Nomina Sacra
The Jewish belief that the name was not to be pronounced was picked up in the 2nd century C.E. by Greek translators and various Christian church leaders who continued the Jewish practice of Name substitution. They also adopted the notion that Adonai, translated Lord (kyrios in Greek), gave the Heavenly Father a universal character. Finally, the Jewish practice of avoiding the Name further evolved among Christians into the belief that the Name was no longer important and to use it was Judaizing.
The New Testament translators even mimicked the Hebrew scribal custom of adding vowel pointing to the Name to render it “Adonai” instead of Yahweh. This scribal practice carried over in the New Testament Greek and was known as nomina sacra (meaning “sacred names”). Specifically, the Greek letters kappa epsilon with a line above them were inserted for the sacred Name. Consequently, the reader would read “kurios” (Greek term for Lord) instead of the Name. All of the earliest Christian papyri exhibit the nomina sacra.
Bruce Metzger’s book, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, lists 15 examples of these abbreviations from Greek papyri that were used for: God, Lord, Jesus, Christ, Son, Spirit, David, cross, Mother, Father, Israel, Savior, Man, Jerusalem, and Heaven (examples appear as found in KJV). Except for “mother,” which is not found until the 4th century CE, all other nomina sacra in Greek manuscripts from the first through third centuries CE. While scholars are still debating the purpose, some propose that this shortening of key words may have been used to replace the Tetragrammaton (see Ex. 3:15) with the common title Kurios (typically abreviated “KS” with a line above) in Greek Christian manuscripts.
This offers a likely explanation as to why Yahweh’s Name is missing from the Greek New Testament. In fact, in those places where the Tetragrammaton should appear, the definite article is missing in front of the nomina sacra. This conclusion is supported also by German scholar David Trobisch’s work, The First Edition of The New Testament. In the instance of a Hebrew or Aramaic NT original, this may also explain why the Greek title theos, typically (abbreviated “THS” with a line above), appears in place of the Hebrew [Elohim] (see Gen. 1:1).
Let’s now look at the oldest Bible manuscripts available to confirm that ‘the Heavenly Father’s Name was truly Yahweh.
‘Yahweh’ in the Original Text
In the Hebrew, which is the oldest text of your Bible, Yahweh’s Name is found in the form of the four letters (known as the Tetragrammaton) no fewer than 6,823 times. Those four letters are: yod, hay, waw, hay or YHWH in our alphabet. This four-lettered name is seen abundantly throughout the ancient Hebrew manuscripts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest of the Bible manuscripts in existence.
Some believe that the correct pronunciation of Yahweh’s Name has been lost through the centuries. The Judaica says otherwise: “The true pronunciation of the name YHWH was never lost. Several early Greek writers of the Christian Church testify that the name was pronounced ‘Yahweh’” (Vol. 7, p. 680).
One of those was Clement of Alexandria, a Greek-speaking teacher in the early New Testament period (150-211 CE). He said, “The mystic name which is called the tetragrammaton … is pronounced Iaoue, which means, ‘who is, and who shall be’” (“How to pronounce ‘YHWH,’” Biblical Archaeology Review magazine, September/October 1994).
Already in the sixteenth century Mercerus suggested that the original pronunciation of the name was Yahwe (Anchor Bible note on Job).
The Schaff-Herzog 20th Century Encyclopedia says, “The pronunciation Yahweh of the Hebrew tetragrammaton need no longer be based on traditions preserved in late patristic sources. Both the vocalization yahwe and yahu (a shortened form used chiefly in personal names) are now confirmed by a variety of ancient Near Eastern inscriptional materials from the first and second millennia B.C,” pp. 1194-1195.
Others who confirm the correct rendition of the Tetragrammaton include Origen in his Hexapla (Greek revision of the Septuagint) and Jerome, who translated the Old Testament into Latin.
Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible says, “The true pronunciation seems to have been Yahwe (or Iahway, the initial I = y, as in Iachimo).” It notes that the e should be pronounced as the e in there, and the first h sounded as an aspirate (breathed letter).
For those who claim the Name should be Yahveh, the book, How the Hebrew Language Grew by Edward Horowitz, says, “The Yemenite Jews of Arabia who retain an ancient, correct and pure pronunciation of Hebrew still pronounce the (waw) as ‘w’ – as does Arabic, the close sister language of Hebrew.” The “v” developed much later through the Germanic, Yiddish influence in Europe.
The Missing Vowels Argument
Some misinformed individuals have claimed that the exact pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton is unknown because Hebrew lacks vowels. This is incorrect for several reasons. Hebrew indeed has vowels, but the vowels were just not written into the Hebrew text. If Hebrew had no vowels then the entire Old Testament could not be read out loud or spoken. The Hebrew speaker understood the correct pronunciation of each word because he knew the language and the sounds of the letters and their combinations.
Consider, we can decipher many English words through repeated usage, even with no vowels. For example, if we saw the letters “txt” we would read it “text” even without the vowel “e.” When it came to names, “Wllm” would be “William” and “Jhn” would signify “John.” As with Hebrew, we see the consonants and restore the proper vowels.
Later in the seventh century C.E. scribes called Masoretes added diacritical marks or vowel points to Hebrew words so that the correct pronunciation would be preserved. These scribes obviously knew how to pronounce Hebrew words! We have also seen how the wrong vowel points were purposely used to try to hide the name Yahweh.
No language can be spoken without vowels. Vowels are vocalized with the open mouth. It would be virtually impossible to pronounce words without vowels; all you could do with just consonants alone is make incomprehensible sounds (try pronouncing those last two words with their vowels removed: ncmprhnsbl snds). Acting as a built-in safeguard to preserve the correct pronunciation, the three letters of the Tetragrammaton (the H is repeated) are also used as vowel-consonants in Hebrew, much as our letter “Y” can be used as either a vowel or a consonant. The writings of Qumran show that in the first century that “Y” used as a vowel made the sounds I and E. In Hebrew the consonants Y, W, H, can serve as vowels, being called ‘mothers of reading’ (matres lectionis). When these consonants do double-duty as vowels they help in the pronunciation of many Hebrew words.
But there is yet more confirmation that Yahweh is the correct Name.
The Jewish priest and historian Josephus, who lived in the first century of the New Testament era, attests that the Tetragrammaton is made up of vowels. In writing of the Temple, he said about the high priest, “A mitre also of fine linen encompassed his head, which was tied by a blue ribbon, about which there was another golden crown, in which was engraven the sacred name [of Yahweh]; it consists of four vowels,” Wars of the Jews, Book 5, Chapter 5, section 7.
Being vowels, the letters of the Tetragrammaton spoken together are pronounced: EE-AH-OO-EH. Say them rapidly and you get “Yahweh.”
The personal, revealed Name Yahweh is attested in the prefaces of some Bibles. For example, the New Revised Standard Version says, “While it is almost, if not quite certain that the Name was originally pronounced ‘Yahweh’…’ Greek versions corroborate “Yahweh.”
Importance of His Name
In an effort to explain why a particular Bible version doesn’t use the Name Yahweh, some editors will waffle with a statement like, we use the substitute names and titles that readers are more familiar with—as if it didn’t matter to Yahweh Himself what we call Him.
Yahweh has a much different attitude about His personal Name, however. He told Moses to tell Israel in Exodus 3:15, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Yahweh Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
Repeatedly He emphasizes the necessity of His Name. He said His Name alone is Yahweh forever, and it is not subject to alterations. He gives the command to “call on my name” in Psalm 99:6; we are told to declare His Name in Romans 9:17 andHebrews 2:2; to exalt His Name in Psalm 34:3 and Isaiah 2:4; to honor his name in Psalm 66:2, 4; to praise his Name in2Samuel 22:50; to remember His Name in Exodus 3:15; to sing to His Name in Psalm 9:1-2; to think on His Name in Malachi 3:16.; and in Deuteronomy 32:3 to publish His Name. In a critical passage He declares that there is salvation in no other name. Acts 4:12reads: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Yahshua the Savior carries His father’s Name in His own, and therefore has the only Name that offers salvation. After reading what He Himself says, who can argue that substitute names and titles are just as acceptable to Him?
You can find the name Yahweh verified in nearly any common encyclopedia, in most dictionaries and in a host of Bible study references (look under “Yahweh,” “Lord” or “God”). It is restored in the modern text of some Bible versions, including the Jerusalem and New Jerusalem Bibles, The Anchor Bible, Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible, World English Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible (50 times) and eight times in the New Living Translation and the Bible in Basic English. It is completely restored in our own Restoration Study Bible.
The Scriptures Confirm His Name Yahweh
Abundant evidence of the true Name exists within the Bible itself. Nicknames, which are often just shortened versions of the longer name, were used anciently as well as today. Abram was a shortened version of Abraham.
Yahweh also has a short form of His name, which is spelled by the first two letters of the Tetragrammaton, YH. The name “Yah” is found abundantly in the Hebrew manuscript sources of our Bible translations. It is even found in the King James Version inPsalm 68:4: “Sing unto Elohim, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.” The “J” was originally a “Y,” as corrected in Psalm 68:4 by the New King James Version.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Hebrew dictionary No. 3050 has the entry Yahh, a contraction for 3068 [the Tetragrammaton, the Sacred Name].
The short form of Yahweh’s Name exists in many names of key Bible personalities. For example, it is found at the end of such names as Isaiah (IsaYah), Jeremiah (YeremYah), Hosea (HoseYah), Nehemiah (NehemiYah) and Hezekiah (HezekYah). The Anglicized “i-a-h” in these names is Y-a-h in the Hebrew. You can hear the “Yah” clearly when the name is spoken. But Yah also appears at the beginning of many names, as in Joel (Yah-el); Joash (Yah-awsh); Jonadab (Yah-nadab), Jochebed (Yah-chebed, mother of Moses), and Joanna (Yah-anna). This “Yah” or shortened form of Yahweh’s Name is also found in the common word of praise, halleluYah, a purely Hebrew term that
means “praise Yah.” Spelled hallelujah, it is still pronounced with the original Y sound—halleluyah—thus preserving the short form of His Name in a very well-established word.
Having His Name encoded in the names of notable Bible personalities is known as theophany. And there is one individual’s name in which assimilating the Father’s Name is absolutely critical — it is the Name of His Son the Messiah, the Savior of men
Our Savior’s True Name
In Exodus 23:21 we see a prophecy that the one sent to rescue Israel, and all of mankind as well, carries the Father’s Name within his own name. “Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name [is] in him.” This is a reference to the Savior Yahshua because only He is given the authority to pardon transgressions.
The last six words plainly state that the Father’s Name exists in the Son’s – “for my name [is] in him.” The Son affirmed that He literally bore His Father’s Name. “I am come in my Father’s name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive,” John 5:43.
Some contend that this just means that He came in the authority of the Father. That is true, too. Yet, as we have seen with many noteworthy patriarchs and prophets, the short form of Yahweh’s Name, Yah, is literally found in their names. This is common in the Hebrew Scriptures. Should it not be even more essential that the Son would carry his Father’s name in His own, especially since He Himself said so and because they are Father and Son? Every son today inherits his father’s surname. If the father’s last name is Smith, so is the son’s. The Heavenly Father and Son also share the family Name, Yah, in their own names.
Virtually every name in Hebrew has a meaning. Our Savior’s earthly father Joseph was told by the angel to give His Son a name that signified salvation.
Notice, “But while he (Joseph) thought on these things, behold, the angel of Yahweh appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Yahshua: for he shall save his people from their sins,” Matthew 1:20-21.
The angel Gabriel also spoke to Mary regarding the name of her unborn son. Since Mary, or more correctly Miriam, was a Hebrew of the tribe of Judah (see Luke 1:27), Gabriel had to communicate to her in the Hebrew tongue, her native language. Had he spoken to her in Latin or Greek she would not have understood him. Whenever angels spoke to mankind in Scripture it was always in the Hebrew tongue.
“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with Elohim. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Yahshua” (Luke 1:30-31).
The Messiah’s purpose was to save His people from the death penalty resulting from their sinful behavior IF they would turn to Him in repentance. The angel tied the son’s Name directly to salvation. You shall call Him this Name because He shall save His people. It can’t get any clearer! In Hebrew the word for salvation is hoshua. Because the Father’s Name is in the Savior’s Name, and knowing that His purpose was to bring salvation, we combine these two essential facts and the result is a name that means “Yahweh (Yah) is salvation” or “Yahshua.”
Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary shows how erroneous vowel pointing changes YAH to give YEH. You can see this by scanning through the entire column starting with “Yehovah.” In every name in this column, a shewa (:) appears under the Hebrew letter yod (y), and thereby the pronunciation in the prefix of all those names is changed to “YEH.” The proper vowel point should have been the hataf-patah (short ‘a’) to yield “YAH,” as the Judaica has explained.
Using the “e” instead of the proper “a” changes the critical family Name YAH, the first syllable of both Yahweh’s and Yahshua’s Names. This also explains how the “e” likely came about in the transformed name that became Jesus. The next letter in Jesus, “s,” results from the fact that Greek has no letter “h” and therefore no “sh” sound, only the hard “s” sound of the sigma. This was incorporated into the Latin text.
The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology explains, “Iesous is the Greek form of the Old Testament Jewish name Yesua [Yahshua], arrived at by transcribing the Hebrew and adding an “s” to the nominative to facilitate declension.”
The final “us” in “Jesus” is the Greek nominative masculine singular ending. Matthew 1:8-11 contains the genealogy of Joseph’s line, where we can find similar examples of “s” added to produce Greek-inflected Hebrew names: Uzziah becomes Ozias; Hezekiah becomes Ezekias; Jonah becomes Jonas, etc. Ending a name with an “a” in Greek makes it feminine, so the Greek translators gave it a masculine “us” ending. Such errors among names in most versions can be traced to translators who failed to transliterate those names properly to bring the name sound for sound into the next language. Jesus is the English rendering of the Latin transliteration of the Greek word “Iesous” (pronounced ee-ay-sooce’). As we look into the origin and meaning of the Savior’s name we learn that the Latinized Greek name Jesus has no connection to His true Hebrew name.
Yahweh has bestowed on His Son the family Name, as we see in Philippians 2:9, “Wherefore Yahweh also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Yahshua every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Yahshua Messiah is Master, to the glory of Yahweh the Father.”
Our Savior’s Family Was Not Greek
A fundamental question about the Messiah’s Name is, why would His Hebrew parents Mary and Joseph call their child a Latinized Greek name, which also lacks any connotation of salvation? To do so would also violate what the angel told them to call their Son. Would an American couple living in Iowa give their child a Chinese name? Of course not. Chinese is not their race or culture. Neither would a Hebrew couple living in the heart of Israel name their child a Greek name like “Jesus.”
The Greek culture and language were foreign to the Jews in Israel. The invading Greeks were gentiles and were despised by most Hebrews living in the environs of Jerusalem at the time. There was no love between Jews and the pagan, Zeus-worshiping Helenists. The Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes had grotesquely defiled the Hebrew’s temple by having a hog slaughtered on its altar and then dedicating the Temple to Zeus. This madman’s monstrous act was so egregious that it would parallel what the man of sin will one day do to devastate true worship prior to Yahshua’s return, Matthew 24:15.
The acts of Antiochus in forcing the worship of the Greek god Zeus on the Jews and killing tens of thousands of Hebrews incited the Maccabbean revolt. In Acts 21:26-29 Paul had upset the Jews by bringing Greeks into the temple, proving that Jews had no love for the heathen Greeks. It was for the Greek-speaking Jews outside of Israel in Gentile nations, mostly in Egypt, that the Septuagint Greek Scriptures were translated.
Was the New Testament Originally Greek?
Many believe that the apostles originally wrote the New Testament in Greek simply because Greek manuscripts are the oldest available. Internal and external testimony explodes the common myth of a Greek original. Consider that the Savior’s earthly parents were Jews, Semitic people in the Hebrew nation of Israel. The Savior’s avowed purpose was to take the truth of the Word to the house of Israel. He chose Hebrew apostles to help in His ministry. He taught and worked almost exclusively in the central region of Israel, mostly around Galilee. He spoke Hebrew or the close sister tongue Aramaic as did everyone else in Galilee. Everything about Him exhibited the Semitic tongue Hebrew, including His Name.
The reason so much of worship — even today— reflects a Grecianized, Romanized flavor is that these cultures transformed the early New Testament faith when they absorbed the Hebrews into their western society. Because of this, many key New Testament teachings today do not reflect what they were in the year 30 CE. (Request the booklet, Astonishing Bible Truths That Your Church Never Taught.)
Joshua and Yahshua Share Virtually the Same Name
Another eye-opening link to the actual name of our Savior is the Old Testament name Joshua. If you replace the more recent letter “J” in Joshua’s name with the original “Y,” you have the pronunciation “Yahshua” (try it—say Joshua out loud, now say it again using the proper Y instead of J). There is an equivalency between the Savior’s name and the Old Testament name Joshua, as indicated in several Scriptures.
The first of these is Jeremiah 23:5, which prophesies, “Behold, the days come, saith Yahweh, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”
This “Branch” with a capital “B” in the KJV is a clear reference to Yahshua the Messiah, who came from King David’s line. Note that this Branch is called righteous, that He shall reign as king, and that he will judge the earth. That can only point directly to the returning Messiah.
But now let’s see how truly illuminating this Branch metaphor is. Who else is associated with this designation “Branch”?
The prophet Zechariah in 6:11-12 wrote: “Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set [them] upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh Yahweh of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name [is] The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of Yahweh.” It is the name Joshua that is associated with “the Branch.” Through this Branch epithet we see that both the high priest Joshua and the Messiah share the same Name.
But there is still more confirmation connecting the name Joshua to the Savior’s name.
When Bible translators brought the New Testament Greek translation over into the English, they substituted the sacred Names rather than transliterated them as they should have done. Two examples are Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8.
Acts 7:45 reads, “Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom Elohim drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David.”
Hebrews 4:8 reads, “For if Jesus had given them rest then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.”
Both verses refer to Joshua, the leader of Israel in the Old Testament who succeeded Moses and led Israel into the promised land. Yet, here He is called “Jesus”! Clearly this was a mistake by translators, and a very revealing error at that.
It demonstrates that when translators came across the name Yahshua in the New Testament, that they automatically changed it to the Latinized Greek substitute, Jesus. The Bible itself warns against adding to or taking from the Word. In Deuteronomy 4:2 we hear Yahweh’s warning about changing the text in any manner:
Explicit Meaning in the Name
We read in Acts 4:12, “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Changing His Name is serious business and even impacts salvation. Names in Hebrew are tightly wrapped in their own meanings. Changing Yahshua’s name is not only identity theft, but it also alters His purpose for coming. He has gone from “Yahweh’s Salvation” to a name void of any innate meaning, showing again that Jesus is not Hebraic because Hebrew names have meaning.
The Savior Yahshua came to offer salvation. That is what Yah-shua means in the Hebrew. Act 4:12 tells us there is salvation in no other name. No Latinized-Grecian name or substitute title has that significance.
In his book, The God of Two Testaments, author Robert Brent Graves writes, “…the rendering of ‘Savior’ only gives part of the Hebrew meaning. In the original Hebrew, ‘Joshua’ literally means ‘Yahweh saves’ or ‘Yahweh-Savior’! For the first syllable of ‘Joshua’ in the Hebrew is Yah, an abbreviated form of Yahweh…” Graves further observes that Yahweh “has literally stamped upon the Messiah’s Name (1) His own name—Yahweh and (2) His own title—Savior.”
The Anchor Bible note on Matthew 1:1 reads: “Jesus. The word is the Greek rendering of a well-known Hebrew name. It was Yahoshu first, then by inner Hebrew phonetic change it became Yoshua, and by a still northern dialectal shift, Yeshua.” This reference goes on to say that the first part of the name, Yahu equals Yahweh, while the second comes from shua, “to help, save.”
Kittle’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament reveals through the Hebrew that the name Yahoshua was shortened after the exile. The shortened form Yahshua was in vogue at the time of His birth.
Benjamin Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott says in the appendix under “Jesus”—”This name is composed of YAH, or JAH, I shall be and SHUA, Powerful;–“I shall be the Powerful.” Hence he is “mighty to save, and strong to deliver,” and will “save his people from their sins.
Eusebius, third-century scholar of the Biblical canon, noted that the Son’s name means the salvation of Elohim. “For Isoua among the Hebrews is salvation, and among them the son of Nun is called Joshua; and Iasoue is the salvation of JAH,” Ibid.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2:10-11: “That at the name of Yahshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Yahshua Messiah is Sovereign, to the glory of Yahweh the Father.”
Man Decides Instead of Yahweh
Ancient Bible manuscripts from which your Bible was translated show the sacred names, but translators failed to carry them over and instead replaced them. Remarkably, they left many other Hebrew names virtually unchanged, such as: Satan, David, Abraham, Eleazar, Immanuel, Rachel, Joseph, Barabbas, Martha, and Tabitha.
It is fundamental to understand that names are not translated. Nor are specific names changed in going from language to language. Instead, the sound of a name is brought over from one language to another. William Smith is William Smith no matter where he goes in the world. His name isn’t translated or changed. He signs his credit card “William Smith” in every foreign country he is in. He answers to the name William Smith whether in France, Russia or Zimbabwe. When a dignitary from Russia or China visits the U.S., American newscasts pronounce his name the same as in his native language. Who would ever ask for the English equivalent of Vladimir Putin or the English version of Chinese leader Hu Jintao? Clearly, no one, because there is no English version. The same goes for the Father’s Name. It is the same worldwide in every language.
The Lord God?
The shocking negligence in the way the sacred Name was handled through the centuries was even prophesied in such passages asJeremiah 23:27, saying, “Their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.” Baal equals “Lord” according to the Hebrew lexicon. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names confirms that Baal is used in the Bible as “L-o-r-d.” The Companion Bible’s note onIsaiah 46:1 says of Bel: “Abbreviation of Baal=lord” (see note on Num. 25:3). You have forgotten my name for Lord, Yahweh foretold through the prophet.
Besides its connection to Ba’al, our English word “Lord” itself is a contraction of two words meaning “keeper of the loaf” (bread). It is from the Old English hlaford (hlaf=bread and weard=guardian (American Heritage Dictionary). Is it proper to use such a term for the Mighty One of the universe?
“God” comes from Old English gheu(d), “to pour” (American Heritage Dictionary). The Oxford English Dictionary adds that god also means to “pour as in a molten image.” Paul says there are many lords and many gods. We reduce Yahweh to just another common deity when we replace His Name with their titles. Doing so also changes His identity. He thunders in Isaiah 42:8, “I am Yahweh: that is my name: and my honour will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
When you reduce Yahweh to a simple title—one that makes Him into a broad-spectrum, ambiguous and impersonal persona, you also water down his worship by the same measure. A one-size-fits-all belief goes along with a generic deity. Nothing specific is required when you worship a no-named mighty one. That’s modern worship in a nutshell, honoring a generic title with general worship and nonspecific behavior.
When you worship “Yahweh,” however, your worship takes on an identity as it comes under the mandates of the Creator Himself. It is to be conducted in very specific ways. His people adhere to the requirements of the covenant promise He made through His personal Name. That is why He established His Name in the very first of the Ten Commandments, so that Israel would understand that they were worshiping only Him exclusively; specifics of His unique worship will now be required of them. Exclusive worship in His one and only Name extends all the way to the end of the Bible. Concerning the 144,000, Revelation 14:1 says: “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”
The Price of Concealment
The one who owns the Name repeatedly commands that He be called by His Name and worshiped in that name.
Is it just a coincidence that the distinguished Philadelphia congregation, the most faithful end-time assembly, has not denied His Name? (Rev. 3:10).
Although Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament show His Name correctly, most Christian Bibles substitute “the LORD,” “the Lord GOD,” or “LORD of hosts.” (The Tanak uses the word “HASHEM” or the phrase “the Lord HASHEM/Elohim” instead of the Name “Yahweh.”)
This is by far the greatest cover-up in all of history by those who know better. It explains why so few Bible students know Yahweh’s Name today—as well as the True Worship that goes along with His covenant Name.
Most churchgoers have never heard Yahweh’s Name mentioned from the pulpit. A reasonable person would think that at some point most ministers would have turned on to the host of commands in the Bible associated with Yahweh’s Name and would have shown the truth about it to their congregations. Any sincere minister would teach this truth they learned in seminary, especially in light of the 7,000 times His Name appears in the Old Testament manuscripts. But it has yet to happen on a large scale. The age-old suppression of the Name has latent power. Tradition is a powerful force to reckon with.
What more does it take for Yahweh to prove to man that He has a personal Name by which He expects to be called and worshiped? Does He need to reveal His Name 7,000 more times before people begin to see its importance? He says over and over again how critical His true Name is to proper worship.
He Commands His Name Be Honored
Yahweh tied His promises, His covenant, and salvation to His Name. He commands His people to call on His true Name as part of His worship. “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is YAHWEH, art the most high over all the earth,” Psalm 83:18. It is nothing short of stunning that so few clergy are willing to teach this key salvation truth!
But some might ask, when it all comes down to it, does it really matter? Doesn’t He know who I mean anyway?
We’ll let Yahweh Himself answer that.
He says in Malachi 2:1-2: “And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Yahweh of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.” Refusal to call on His true name is a condition of the heart. It says to Him you have no real desire to honor Him in all things. He says you are not completely true to Me if you can’t even honor me by my Name.
The issue is, does He “know who you mean” when your worship also fails to live up to what He expects? Both His worship and His people are tied to Him through His Name. It is not just a matter of knowing or even just using His Name. It is also about aligning your worship and your life with all that His Name signifies, because His Name defines Him. This is clear in Exodus 6:3: “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of El Shaddai, but by my name Yahweh was I not known to them.” This is a Hebrew idiomatic expression that means Yahweh’s Name was not yet revealed in its fullness through the sustaining and saving acts that He would eventually perform for Israel.
According to the Apostle Peter, our very salvation is through the Name Yahshua. Consider what he tells us in Acts 2:37-38. “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Yahshua Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
Yahshua warned in Matthew 7:22, “Many will say to me in that day, Sovereign, Sovereign, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Iniquity is sin. Sin is defined as lawbreaking, 1John 3:4. Along with knowing and using His name is the obedience that goes with it. Living a unique life of obedience is what He means by giving glory to His Name.
Those who honor His name will receive the blessings of life everlasting as they call on the only name that offers salvation. Acts 4:12says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
What about you? Will you honor the One you worship by honoring His personal name? Will you be among the select ones who eagerly embrace what they have learned and submit to His Name in worship? That is what He expects of His followers. The first commandment says, I am Yahweh, you shall have none other mighty ones before me. If you honor Him by His personal, revealed Name, He will bless you as well.
Some will say: He has many names; He knows who you mean anyway; one name is as good as another; I speak English not Hebrew; His name just means his authority, and the pronunciation of His Name was lost. Each of these is soundly and decisively refuted by Yahweh Himself as well as by linguistic fact.
The Name Before Moses
Some believe that Yahweh’s Name was not known before He revealed it to Moses in Exodus, and therefore it cannot apply to all people. The following verses from Genesis reveal the error of this argument and show that Yahweh’s Name was indeed known by the patriarchs and used long before Moses:
The most important building block of any society is the family. The family is the foundation, the cornerstone, of civilization. Within the family one of the most important roles is the father. Today the father’s significance has largely been diminished. One area in which this is painfully evident is with his authority. Paul addresses the family structure in his epistle to the Ephesians.
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Master. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Messiah is head of the Assembly; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the Assembly is subject to Messiah, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah also loved the assembly and gave Himself for her” (Eph 5:22-25).
In today’s politically-correct-driven climate, most individuals simply refuse to accept that the husband is the authority within the family. However, this is what our Father in Heaven says in his Word. Paul says that the wife is to submit to her husband as to the Messiah. He went on to explain that as the assembly is to obey the Messiah, the wife likewise should also obey her husband. According to Scripture, the father is the final authority within the scriptural family.
Paul also said that the husband is to love his wife as the Messiah loved the assembly. It is important to note that our Savior, Yahshua the Messiah, never abused his authority over the assembly. In the same way the husband should never use his given authority to abuse his wife or family. The husband is to love his wife.
Over the years there have been many published studies on the importance of fathers. Without a father a child is much more likely to engage in activities that are abusive or harmful. In an article entitled The Plight of Fatherless Children from Gazette.net the following discoveries were noted with children without fathers:
Sixty-three percent of young people who commit suicide are from fatherless homes.
Eighty-five percent of children who exhibit behavioral disorders are from fatherless homes.
Eighty percent of rapists are from fatherless homes.
Seventy-one percent of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.
Seventy-five percent of all adolescent patients in chemical-abuse centers are from fatherless homes.
Seventy percent of juveniles in state operated institutions come from fatherless homes.
Eighty-five percent of youth in prison are from fatherless homes.
Seventy percent of pregnant teens are from fatherless homes.
In the majority of studies documenting the impact of fatherless homes, there is one recurring theme —without strong fathers at home children suffer in many profound ways. Yahweh knew what he was doing when He created man and woman and brought them together as a family. Without this core unit that our Father in Heaven established, no culture has a chance for long-term survival.
What does it mean scripturally to be a father? What responsibilities do we find within Yahweh’s Word for the father? Perhaps the most basic role of a father is the provider.
The Family Provider
“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1Tim 5:8). For a father there is no greater basic responsibility than to provide for the necessities of his family. Besides obeying our Father in heaven, there is no obligation more important for a father.
As fathers we can be the best Bible students, but if we lose sight of our basic obligation to our families then all our efforts are for naught. As fathers we must always provide for our families. Yahweh has no patience for fathers who are lazy or refuse to provide for their immediate household. The only obligation more important than reading the Word is living the Word. If we read the Word without putting that knowledge into action then that knowledge is worthless.
Another duty of a father is the responsibility of disciplinarian. It is clear from scripture that this is primarily a father’s role, which explains why children require a father’s influence.
Head Disciplinarian
An amazing fact of Scripture is that many characteristics of the father are the same as our Heavenly Father. According to the author of Hebrews, His discipline is one of them.
“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of Yahweh, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom Yahweh loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, Elohim deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons” (Hebrews 12:5-8).
According to scripture, those whom Yahweh loves he rebukes and chastens. If we are not being rebuked, we are not considered legitimate sons of Yahweh. Why is this? Through discipline Yahweh shows his concern for those whom He loves.
Correction or admonition should not to be considered bad. Correction is often the catalyst to change. A person who receives no admonition is a person who often does not change. Scripture is clear that is it Yahweh’s will that all of mankind would be saved (Ezek. 18:23, 1Tim. 2:4); however, it is written that salvation is given to those who obey (Heb. 5:9). Obedience is not the means of salvation but is the responsibility of a believer (Rom. 7:1, Acts 5:32).
As Yahweh’s correction is advantageous to those whom He calls, a father’s correction is also beneficial to his children. In the Book of Proverbs, Solomon speaks of the benefits of a father’s admonition. For instance, in Proverbs 3:12, Solomon compares the discipline of Yahweh to the discipline of a father. “For whom Yahweh loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Solomon in his wisdom wrote that as Yahweh corrects those whom he loves, a father does the same. If as parents desire our children to be well behaved and sons and daughters of the Most High then correction is crucial. Those who receive no admonition are those who often leave the path of righteousness. As a parent we should discipline with a desire to see our children succeed morally. Again, correction or admonition should not be viewed negatively. There is more hope for a child who receives correction than for one who is spoiled and does not know correction.
Correction is becoming increasingly taboo today, but not in Yahweh’s Word. Solomon in Proverbs 23:13-14, wrote, “Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, and deliver his soul from [the grave].”
Yahweh’s Word specifically says that a parent is not to withhold correction. Matter of fact, it says that if a parent uses a rod of correction that he or she would save the child from the grave. The word for “beat” in the above passage is derived from the Hebrewnakah, which is a primitive root meaning to strike. To be clear, the Hebrew word nakah does not promote the idea of physical abuse.
As with all things within the Word, there is a balance in discipline. This passage is not to be used to justify physical abuse that causes harm to a child. Nothing good comes from child abuse. Studies have shown that when a child is abused he will often later in life rebel and go the opposite way from the parents’ admonition. Moderation and discretion must be the corner of all actions, including with admonition and discipline.
Even more important is the good example of a parent. As we find in this passage, to spank a child is scriptural; to abuse or to cause harm, however, is not to be tolerated. As parents we need to remember that our correction of our children is a reflection of how Yahweh rebukes us. While Yahweh shows correction or admonition, he never shows abuse.
Spiritual Guidance from the Father
Solomon in Proverbs 22:6 offers a nugget of truth that if followed will benefit a child for all of his or her life. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” How is this accomplished? Besides correction and admonition, a parent must be willing to spend time with his or her child. Nothing is more important in this life than our families. Many fathers do not realize the impact that they have on their families. As a father there is nothing more important than spending time with your child. It is truly sad to find fathers ignoring and not fulfilling this fatherly role.
And no more important time is there than that spent in Yahweh’s Word and especially doing so with a son or daughter.
Our Father in Heaven commands that we teach our children of Him throughout each day of our lives. “You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).
As we find within this passage, before we can train our children we must first have Yahweh’s words within our own hearts. There is nothing worse than a hypocritical parent who does not live what he himself is teaching.
In this passage we find that we are to teach these words diligently to our children. The word diligently comes from the Hebrew word shanan, which is a primitive root meaning, “to point (transitive or intransitive); intensively, to pierce; figuratively, to inculcate” (New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance).
To accomplish this goal, we find that we are to teach our child Yahweh’s Word when we sit in our house, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up. In other words, we not only teach our children Yahweh’s Word every day, but we also live its precepts ourselves
A Father Nurtures
Along with the duty of being chief provider, disciplinarian, and instructor in the family, the father shares the task of nurturing. While this responsibility seems to be dominated by the mother, the father also plays a significant part in the nurturing of his children. In doing sohe must be cautious not to discourage his children. “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of Yahweh” (Ephesians 6:4).
Paul refers to punishment that is excessive and unwarranted, which will ultimately provoke a child to harbor resentment and anger.
“That is, by unreasonable commands; by needless severity; by the manifestation of anger. So govern them, and so punish them — if punishment is necessary — that they shall not lose their confidence in you, but shall love you. The apostle here has hit on the very danger to which parents are most exposed in the government of their children. It is that of souring their temper; of making them feel that the parent is under the influence of anger, and that it is right for them to be so too.” (Barnes’ Notes, note on Ephesians 6:4).
As with all things in life, there is moderation in discipline. Is it a known fact that many children who live in abusive homes frequently do the opposite of what the parent attempted to reinforce through punishment. Remember that our Father in Heaven never promotes the abuse of a child, which as we find in this passage will only kindle enduring anger and animosity. If we are harsh in our correction, we may defeat the very purpose for that correction. It is important for a father to remember that when discipline is required that the result of that discipline is to nurture and not to create enduring anger or animosity.
Along with the role of nurturing, a father must show kindness and compassion to his child. There are many examples where Yahweh’s love for His people is compared to the love found between a father and son. One such passage is found in the Book of Psalms: “Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father pities his children, so Yahweh pities those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:8-13).
Through this Psalm we find Yahweh is full of mercy and compassion. We also find that as a father pities his children, Yahweh pities those who fear him. The word “pity” comes from the Hebrew word racham, which means, “to love or to have compassion.” Solomon wrote that there was a time for every season. As there is a time for correction, there is also a time to show lovingkindness. Often the show of compassion will impact a child more than correction. If Yahweh only showed correction and admonition and disregarded mercy and compassion, where would his people be today?
In one final passage, Paul sets an example that is relevant to all generations. “You are witnesses, and Elohim also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children” (1Thessalonians 2:10-11).
Paul said that he exhorted and comforted those in Thessalonica as a father would his own children. Following in this example, a father should also encourage and comfort his children. Children require their father’s approval and encouragement for a well-balanced emotional state. A son and daughter look to their father for encouragement and guidance as they mature to adulthood.
In summation, a father’s role is vital to the physical and emotional needs of the family. Without a father, a child often suffers from emotional problems, which in some cases leads to crime, immorality, and other forms of sin. Yahweh established the family unit with one father and one mother. When this is tampered with, confusion is frequently the result. However, when we live within the confines that Almighty Yahweh established we experience peace and blessings that can only be found with His Word.
