YHWH
THE NAME! WHAT IS GOD'S NAME?
or
WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE KING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD???
by
John Roy Bohlen & John 5:30
(Hebrew reads from right to left)
THE NAME OF THE KING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
WHAT IS GOD'S NAME?
God wants His Name to be:
Understood Taught Appreciated & Respected Loved Known Used Worshipped or, U-TALK-U-W
The enemy does NOT want God's Name to be: known, used, understood, appreciated, respected, loved, taught, or worshipped.
What is the Name of the King of the Kingdom of God? Who is the King? What is His Name? We have asked this question of ministers at ministers‟ seminars that we have conducted, and, there have been times when no minister knew His Name! Will you take a moment to make a guess as to what you believe God's Name to be? You may even make a list of names.
Now, isn‟t this strange? Here we have millions of people who claim to live in a Kingdom with a King, Whom they consider to be their close friend, with Whom they speak, to Whom they submit petitions, on Whom they depend, Whom they hold dear, but they do not know His Name!!! Isn‟t that amazing??!!.
One reason they do not know His Name is that the devil, the enemy of their King, does not want people to know the Name of their King, does not want people to: appreciate the Name of their King, use the Name of their King, understand the meaning of the Name of their King, or to teach others the Name of their King. The same thing is true of the Name of the King‟s Son, the Prince, King Jesus. People do not know the Name of their Saviour, their Lord, their God, their Friend, or their King. Isn‟t that amazing?!.
Have you ever noticed that in most Bibles, that there is a difference between "LORD", and "Lord" and "lord", and that there is a difference between "GOD" and "God" and "god". Have you asked yourself, "What is the difference?"
Some people think that God's Name is - "God"! Well, it is true that He is God, but there are many gods, including the "god of this world". Some people think that His Name is "Lord", and it is true that Jesus Christ is Lord! But, again, there are many lords. Sarah called Abraham 'lord', there is the lord of the house, lords and ladies, etc., and, again, the devil is called 'the lord of the flies', the meaning of 'Beelzebub". 'Lord' means 'boss', so, this, and 'god' is a job description, or a title, but not a name.
The word "LORD" occurs 6,823 times in the King James Version, and in most other versions, while "Lord" is used 69 times. "GOD" is used 7 times, and "God" occurs some 429 times.
Some people think that God‟s Name is 'Jehovah'. They even sing songs like "Jehovah Jireh, my Provider - - ", but His Name is neither 'Jehovah', nor is it 'Jireh'. The name "Jehovah" was never heard of, never used, until several hundred years ago, until the 1600‟s, and is a fabricated, made up name, a mistake!
The Lord God has many titles, like El = God, Elohim = The Strong One, El Shaddai, (Provider), Sabbaoth = Lord of Hosts (Armies), Emmanuel (God with us), Meqadeskem (Righteousness), Tsidkenu (Sanctification), Shamma, El Roi (God sees me), Qanna (Jealous), etc. But, again, these are important titles and job descriptions, things by which God is called, but not His proper Name! For example, I am called: 'high chief', 'chaplain', 'author', 'amateur astronomer', 'man of God', 'friend', 'apostle', 'teacher', 'pastor', 'father', 'husband', 'honey', 'grandfather', 'hey you!', 'doctor', 'brother', etc., but these are titles and job descriptions, and, these are who or what I am, but none of these is my proper name.
THE NAME OBSCURED
Would you like to hear a funny, but sad, but interesting, but true story? What happened was this: Once upon a time, many years ago, along about 5,000 years ago, or more, God introduced Himself by Name, and told people what His Name was. In fact, His real Name was used some 6,823 times in the Old Testament part of the Bible. 6,823 times! He said, over and over and over again, “My Name is . is My Name. By My Name , I shall be known.” Over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, The Lord introduced His Name. Sometimes, the Lord's proper Name is used 3 or 4 times in one verse!! But the devil did not want God‟s true Name to be known or used, understood, appreciated, worshipped or taught, so he did his best to hide the Name, and got people off on the wrong track. For too long, the devil has succeeded. Do you want him to continue to succeed???
Question: Do you want to know God‟s Name? When you find out what it is, will you use it, appreciate it, love it, understand it? Will you share the knowledge of His Name with others. Do you want the devil to continue to win the battle and obscure God‟s Name?
Here‟s what the devil did. In the Old Testament, God gave a law, after introducing Himself. He said, “Do not take the Name of thy God, in vain.” The devil tricked the people into thinking that if they did not use or pronounce the Name of God at any time, for any reason, under any circumstance, that they would not take God‟s Name in vain. The people did not realize that mentioning a person‟s name is not what takes that name in vain, but the misrepresentation of that person‟s character. Here's an interesting passage from Ezekiel 39:5-8:
"5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord . 6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am . 7 So will I make My holy Name known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let them pollute My holy Name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am , the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord ; this is the day whereof I have spoken." KJV
One of the saddest verses in the Bible is a phrase that is repeated at least 69 times, which says, "Then shall know that I am " It can read, "Then you shall know that I am " or, "Then they shall know that I am " or, "Then the heathen shall know that I am " Over and over and over and over this phrase is repeated.
However, but, or instead, the sad truth is that today, ALMOST NO ONE KNOWS THAT GOD IS !!!!!!!
HASHEM!!!
To this very day, the Jewish people and most Messianic Jews, are superstitious about pronouncing God's proper Name. Instead, they will say, "Hashem"!, which simply means, 'The Name!' Or, else, out of superstition or fear, or, perhaps reverence, will substitute 'Adonai', or 'Elohim', or will spell it, G-d, or L-rd. How would you enjoy it if, every time someone referred to you, they would, instead, call you, "Name".
Is God's Name important? Is its pronunciation important? God wants His Name, to be:
KNOWN UNDERSTOOD USED APPRECIATED (Loved), WORSHIPPED, and TAUGHT!
The devil doesn't...
A FUNNY STORY
Did you know that it is NEVER the practice to translate one's name into another language and call him or her by that new name. For example, we do not change any Bible name in that fashion. Johan Sebastian Bach is not translated John Flower Black. Naomi is not
translated "pleasant". Elijah is never translated or pronounced “El is God”, etc. Every Hebrew name in the Bible is recognizable and unchanged from the Hebrew, in almost
every language in the world, almost every Bible translation. The One exception is the Name of God. Why? It is because the devil does NOT want God's Name to be known, used, understood or appreciated, worshipped, or taught.
IN THE NAME OF GOD!
Do you believe that the Name of God is important?
Do you particularly care if people know, remember or mispronounce your name? If God had a special name, would you be interested?
If God's Name had a special meaning, would you like to know it?
If hardly anyone knew the proper Name for Jesus or God, would you use it anyway, even if other people misunderstood, or thought you were strange?
If God had a special Name, do you think that the devil would want you to know it, appreciate it, understand it, use it, worship it, love it, or teach it to others?
In most Bibles, in the Old Testament, the Name 'LORD', most of the time, 6,823 times to be exact ( I have actually counted them!), is written in capital letters in the form 'L-O-R- D', but sometimes, it is spelled with a capital letter L, followed by a small o, small r, and a small d. or 'Lord'. Psalm 89:49-52 is a good example. In verses 49 and 50 the word 'Lord' is used, but in 51 and 52, (In most translations), 'LORD' is used!. Do you know why these forms are used? Have you noticed the difference? Have you ever asked yourself or someone else, "Why?" In your reading, you will find both forms used many times, and each time used, it is used with meaning and on purpose. Should you have
been asking yourself why each form is used? Or, don‟t you really care? God cares that you know His proper Name.
THE NAME OF GOD
There is a really strange and unusual thing that has been happening down through history that is really amazing! Would you like to know what it is? Here it is:
God WANTS His Name to be: known, understood, used, appreciated, loved, worshipped and taught to others.
But, The devil does NOT want Gods Name to be: known,understood, used, appreciated, loved, worshipped, or, taught to others.
So far, the devil has been winning!
In the best of churches, one does not hear the proper Name for God even a few times, if ever. Fortunately, if people do not know the real Name for God, they won't be able to use it in a cursing manner.
It all started out when God decided to introduce His Name to mankind. He announced,
"My Name is Yahweh!!!"
"By My Name, Yahweh, I shall be known!!!"
He proceeded, in the Old Testament to tell us that His Name is Yahweh, some 6,823 times! God wanted us to know His Name, Yahweh, to understand the meaning of His Name, Yahweh. God wanted us to appreciate His Name, Yahweh. He wanted us to use His Name, Yahweh. However, the devil did and does not want Yahweh's Name to be known, used, understood or appreciated. Thus, the battle began. Yahweh's move - He introduces His Name - It is Yahweh! "Thou shalt not take the Name of Yahweh thy God, in vain!" The devil's move - This is one of the Ten Commandments. The devil convinced God's people that by never using, writing or saying that sacred Name Yahweh, that they would avoid taking it in vain! They did not realize that taking Yahweh's Name in vain has nothing to do with using it or pronouncing it - but rather, misrepresenting His character, or bringing shame to Him, by their association with sin.
So Yahweh's people decided to never write or pronounce His real Name - Yahweh. Even to this very day, many Jewish people, or even Jewish Christians are superstitious about this matter. Even to this day, they will write Yahweh's Name, YHWH, or G-D, or L-rd, or Y'shua. At the time of Matthew and the writing of the New Testament, the Jewish people were still superstitious about using God's Name. Instead of calling God's Kingdom the 'Kingdom of God', Matthew and others called it the 'Kingdom of Heaven', and thus avoided pronouncing or using God's proper Name.
IN JESUS' NAME
Let's make one thing clear: Doing something in Jesus' Name, in one sense, has nothing
whatsoever to do with a formula, but with attitude and actions. For example, let‟s say that you ask me to go to the store to get you some milk. I go and announce to the store owner that you are demanding some milk, immediately, or you are going to come to the store and assault the store owner and take him to court. Because this is not your intention, request or nature, I am taking your name 'in vain', because I am misrepresenting your intentions, your nature and your character. I may not have even mentioned your name.
Yet, I have taken your name in vain. This is the way we take Yahweh's Name in vain - by not properly representing Who He is, what He is, or what He wants. Taking Yahweh's Name in vain has not much to do with any special verbal formula, it has everything to so with properly representing Who He is, His Nature and Character.
But none of this takes away from Yahweh's desire to have His Name to be known, used, understood, appreciated, or taught to others..
THE LITERAL MEANING
God's Name is Yahweh. The literal meaning of "Yahweh" is: The God That is 'He That is He That is He that is' -
or
The God Who is He Who is He Who is -
or
'the Almighty Right Now God' or,
'the God of this Present Moment' or,
the Great 'I AM'!
Yahweh is not a 'has been' god, though most people live too much in the past. Nor is He a 'maybe', or 'someday', 'perhaps', or, 'iff-y' god, though too many people live way off in the future. The Bible makes it clear that Daddy Yahweh has no greater gift that He can give us than our enjoyment of Him to the maximum in the present moment. There is no greater thing that we can do - than to do His will and pleasure and leading in each present moment. The greatest preparation we can make for any future moment, is to please Yahweh in each present moment, each 'NOW'! Yahweh wants to be our mighty Right Now God!!!
NOW! RIGHT NOW!! THIS PRESENT MOMENT!!!
The most important Hebrew word, the most important Name for God, is YAHWEH! Every time you find the capitalized word
L O R D or LORD in the Bible, it means, "Yahweh". This Name is used for God, 6,823 times, or more. The Name "YAHWEH" has a special meaning: Yahweh means:
1) "The Almighty Right Now God", or,
2) "The God of This Present Moment", or,
3) "The I Am that I Am that I Am", or,
4) "He Who Is He Who Is He Who Is", or,
5) "He That Is He That Is He That Is", or,
6) "The God of the Now”
7) "The Right NOW!"
Ex 3:13 "What is His Name? What shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, 'I AM THAT I AM': and He said, 'Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, "I AM hath sent me unto you." ' "
Too many people live in the past. Bible says, in Phil 3:13, "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded:"
Too many people live in the future. Bible says in James James 4:13 "Go to now, ye that say, 'Today or tomorrow we will - - - 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. 15 For that ye ought to say, 'If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.' " The Rapture, although it is the Blessed Hope, is NOT the next thing on God's agenda. Mt.24:13 & 14 is: "This Gospel of the Kingdom Must First be preached in all the World - - and THEN the End shall come."
ALL of our focus must be on being led by the Holy Spirit - IN THIS PRESENT MOMENT!!! All of our focus and attention must be on doing the will of God - right NOW! It is true that the will and leading of God may be for us to right now intelligently plan for the future, but, we must be circumspect, and aware of what is going on around us, as we plan.
An example of this would be Judges 7, when Gideon's Army was being selected by Gideon and by God, only those would qualify, who were circumspect, focused, aware, ready, prepared, and not distracted by the past or the future.
Phil 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, 'Rejoice' "!
1 Thess 5:16 "Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing (Eph 5:20 For everything, always) give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
These following things are a full time job, and require our full focus and attention: 1) Being led by the Holy Spirit, 2) Doing the will of God, 3) Rejoicing in the Lord, 4) In everything give thanks, 5) Keeping a right heart attitude, a right spirit.
All these require our full attention, without the regretting of things past, or the worry about things future. Worry is a choice! 1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant - - "
Joshua 24:15 "Choose you this day, whom you will serve!"
HALLELUJAH!
Actually, we all use the proper Name for God already, but we do so, without realizing it, every time we say the word 'Hallelujah'. The literal meaning of 'hallelujah' is hallel which means to praise with giddy, glorious, excited, jumping up and down - spinning round and round - kind of praise with joyful - all our heart - kind of praise - and, then, the second half of the word - YAH, which is the shortened form of Yahweh. We also use the shortened form of Yahweh, when we use words like:, Isa + YAH, Jeremi + Yah, Obadi + Yah, Zephani + Yah, Jonathan or, my name, John, which is the New Testament form of Jonathan, means, = "Yah" + "Nathan", or "Yahweh is gracious" or, "Gracious gift of Yahweh"! Then there is Joel = "Yah" + "El", or "Yahweh is God"!, while Eli-jah meals that "El (or God) is Yahweh", etc. Please remember that the English 'J' absolutely did not exist, until several centuries ago, but was the letter 'i', which was substituted for 'y'. That is why, to this day, we pronounce the 'j' in Hallelujah as a 'y' or an 'i'
Do You Want To Hear A Joke?
During World War II, my father told me a joke. He said, "An American soldier challenged a German soldier to a contest of a tug of war with a piece of steak between their teeth. Through gritted teeth, the American said, 'Are you ready?' To which the German replied, 'Yah.' "
Because the Jews were superstitious about mis-using Yahweh's Name, they refused to use it at all, wrongly changing His Name to something else, like El, Elohim, Adonai. To keep the people from using Yahweh's Name, they decided to put SOME WARNING MARKS, EVERY ONE OF THE 6,823 times Yahweh was used in the Hebrew Scriptures. The warning marks were the vowel markings from Adonai and Elohim.
These marks that they spread across the Name of Yahweh, were a kind of "skull and cross-bones" sign, warning the people to NOT pronounce the Sacred Name! These marks were intended to convey the message, "Warning! Do NOT pronounce this Name!!! Substitute some other name, but NOT this one. At least two reasons were given as warning:
- The Name is too sacred!
- If you pronounce the Name, you might become guilty of taking It "in vain". But, keep in mind, the REAL reason people were warned against pronouncing Yahweh's Name, is because the devil did NOT want Yahweh's Name to be used, understood, known, appreciated, or taught!
The following suggestions have been made over the centuries as to what to use in place of the Name Yahweh:
Adonai = equally the name of heathen gods of other nations. Elohim = another title for God, or for a god or gods.
"Hashem" = in the Hebrew language, it simply means, "The Name!", so, instead of saying "Yahweh", they simply said, "The Name".
G-d, or L-rd, or, 'LORD'
Can you imagine Yahweh using His Name, "Yahweh", 6,823 times, over and over again, saying, "My Name is Yahweh!" By My Name, 'Yahweh', I shall be known!", only to have the Enemy come along and tell Yahweh's people, "Hey, dummies, it is not important for you know His Name, or use His Name, or understand His Name, don't write or speak His Name, don't appreciate or honour or pray or sing in His Name, and don't even think of trying to teach His Name to others, etc." Let me ask you:
How many times have you used or prayed or understood or revered the Name of Yahweh, in this last year?
How many times in your church? Any other place or people?
THE GERMAN SAID, "JAH"!
The scribes decided to use just the consonants from Yahweh or Y-H-W-H, so people would know Who was being referred to. But, then they decided to take the consonants from Yahweh, or, Y-h-w - h, and the vowels from Adonai, or Elohim to construct these warning signs. Then, about the 1518 century, a German theologian, a Franciscan Petrus Galatinus, (quote from the Encyclopedia Americana), wanted to translate the Name, so he looked at this skull and cross-bones warning sign and concluded that the whole thing was to be pronounced. When he looked at the whole contraption, he decided that the whole thing should be pronounced something like this: 'J', in stead of Y, since he was German, and the Germans use the 'Y' as a 'J', then e h o v a, or J E H O V A H ! He changed the Hebrew "w" into a "v" 'waw' into a 'vav', since, again, the Germans pronounce the 'w' as a 'v'. (Volks-wagon becomes "folks + vagen") Jehovah never, ever, was a proper name for God, yet that's what many people think His proper name should be!!! Ha-HA!
Want to hear another joke? Only this one is really sick. The word Allah, originally the name of an insignificant female idol goddess of fertility, one of many, many idols in the vicinity. Yet, over a billion people today call God 'Allah'! God's proper name always has been and always will be Yahweh.
Why is it that every other name is brought across the languages, recognizably, in its original form? Moses, Elijah, Joshua, John - all come down to us as roughly the same - but not God's Name! We do not call 'Johan Sebastian Bach', by the name of 'John 'gift-of- God' Big Man Back', or, 'Songwriter Jack', but we call Yahweh's Name = "LORD"!???
Tell me why? We know why! The devil made them do it.
I recently spoke to a highly reputable Hebrew scholar, from Bethel Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota, who was on three different Bible translation committees. In every case, he pleaded with them, tried to persuade them, to use the proper Name for Yahweh, each and all of the 6,823 times it is SUPPOSED to be used. All of the other scholars AGREED that God's proper Name is Yahweh. They ALL agreed that it would have been proper to substitute Yahweh in ALL of the 6,823 times that the Hebrew Scriptures mandated it to be so. But, it was at this point, that they all agreed to compromise what should have been, with the lame and sick excuse that "the people were not used to the Name 'Yahweh', that they would substitute the word "LORD" instead, though they all agreed that it was wrong to do so."!!! They all out-voted my Hebrew Scholar friend, and used the same lame reasoning Moffatt used in his translation.
In Moffat's translation, in the comments at the introductory section at the beginning of his Bible, he readily admits that the Name for God, SHOULD BE 'YAHWEH', but, 'since the people are not used to it', he would, instead, use the word "The Eternal One"!!! In this introduction, he apologizes, and admits that he is wrong to do so, but, reluctantly goes ahead, in every one of the 6,823 times where the Name Yahweh should be used, he, instead, used the phrase, "The Eternal One"!
Fortunately, there are SOME translators that have had the courage to use the Name of Yahweh, as God intended, in every one of the 6,823 times that His Name should be used.
Rotherham's Emphasized Bible, is an example. The Jerusalem Bible, is another.
The Sacred Name Bible, is another.
There are others. . .
Remember, the devil does NOT want Yahweh's Name to be known, used, understood, appreciated, or, taught to others.
Good Lord!
While there are many kinds of lords and gods, yet, there is only one Yahweh, the Mighty Right Now Creator King of Everything!
Thus, the Bible Translators added to the problem! In Bible translation after translation, and in version after version, here's what they did. Many of them admitted in small print, sometimes, in front of their Bible, "We know that God's Name reeeeeeeeeeeally should be Yahweh, but, y'know, not very many people are used to that one, so, well, let's compromise, and call God what everyone voted that He be called, so, instead of calling Him what He should be called, instead of calling Him what He wants to be called, we'll just call Him 'God', or the 'Eternal' or the 'Almighty' or, 'Lord', or 'Jehovah' (an artificial name), or, 'Lord', or 'LORD' (all caps), or 'Allah' (as in the Nigerian Hausa language Bible)." The Translators of the King James' Version and others said, "We know that it should be 'Yahweh', but just so you know when it should be 'Yahweh', well do it 'L-O-R- D' in capital letters, just so you will know." One problem is, there are many KJV (and many other) Bibles around, where they forgot (or neglected) to include that footnote or explanation, so most people have no way of knowing the difference between "LORD" and "Lord", or, that His Name should be Yahweh!
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?
Let's say we are in a room together, and I ask your name, and you tell me that your name is 'Peter', and I say, 'Oh, hello George'. And you tell me, 'My name is Peter', and I say, 'Yes, George, its nice to meecha.' And, you say, 'But my name is Peter!", and I say, "No problem George.' And, by the way, Brother George, could you please hand me that pen?" Would Peter respond? Yes, if he were very polite. But, here, we have our loving Heavenly Daddy saying to us, 'My Name is Yahweh' - (6,823 times!) We say, 'Oh, hello, Jehovah' !. And Yahweh says, 'Yes, My Name is Yahweh'. and we say, 'Oh, yes, hello, Jehovah', Does God know Who we are referring to? Of course He does! Does He listen, and answer when we call Him Jehovah? Of course He does! By now everyone knows who we mean when we refer to George, and God knows Who we mean when we call Him by an name that is wrong.
Hyper-critical, Religious Legalism
When the enemy cannot succeed in suppressing a truth, he often gets behind the truth and pushes it to a cultic extreme.
There are those who become legalistic, religious and wrongly critical of others - insisting that God be called ONLY by His proper Name, Yahweh. Some people are so narrow- minded that they insist that one's salvation is invalid if they have not been baptized by the exact formula, "I baptize you in the Name of Yahweh, for the remission of your sins, in the Name of His Son, Yahshua". Some insist that if you have not called on the literal Name of Yahweh or Yahshua, that you will not be saved. Other formulas can be equally legalistic. Once again, people are forgetting that to call upon His Name, mostly has to do with calling on Him, the Person, the Character-Who HE IS! - not - what His Name is, although His Name, YAHWEH is important!
Another problem with many 'Yahweh People' is their silly and stubborn and cultic insistence that a person MUST keep various of the Old Testament Torah Laws!!!!! It varies with the particular group as to just exactly which or how many of the Old Testament Laws one must keep. But I know of no Old Testament Law keepers that insist that one must stone their rebellious children to death, or that one must take a year long honeymoon, or that one should feed his wife a poison concoction if he is jealous of her, or, that we sacrifice animals. The Bible CLEARLY TELLS US in many places in the New Testament that we are "no longer under the Law", and that the "Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, has SET US FREE from the old (Torah) law of sin and death!!!.
Galatians tells us over and over that we are free from the Old Testament Law, and that those who try to get us to keep Old Testament Law are 'seducers' and 'bewitchers', and that we are foolish and deceived if we listen to them. If you would like to know more of the truth about this legalistic and dangerous Old Testament Law keeping deception, write for our small book, Law, Grace and Law.
What I Call My Wife
My wife‟s name is Karen Harriet Wold Bohlen. 'Karen' means 'Pure One'. She did not like her name 'Harriet' until I told her the meaning, 'The boss of the house!'. For some one to legalistically and religiously insist that I only always refer to her by one of her proper names would be nonsense and crippling. But to NEVER use one of her proper names would also be silly. In the meanwhile I call her, 'Honey', or 'Hunzie', or 'Darling', 'Peaches", "Shnookums', 'Saint', 'Ma'am', 'Dear', 'Precious', 'Babe', 'Sweetheart', etc. In our bedroom, or in private, there are some pet names that I have for her, that I will not tell you what they are, but they are not very formal! My favorite way of addressing God is 'Dear Darling Daddy Yahweh'!, or 'Papa Yahweh'.
The balance is to use God's proper Name sometimes, often, and appropriately, but to refuse to be religiously critical and legalistically superior over others, just because we know His Name. Just because there are legalistic, religious, cultic people who use His Name in vain, while using His proper Name, does NOT mean that we are stop using His proper Name. Just because a driver backs into you with his Ford car, does not mean that we are to stop driving Fords.
The most important thing, however is to walk in the Truth of what it really means to do things In His Name. In order to really do things In Jesus' Name, is to have a deeeeeeep revelation of the King's Greatest Secret!, or, of the Exchanged Life or, of having Christ within us AS our Life! Allowing our Lovely Yahshua to live His Divine Life through us, speaking through us, walking around in our shoes, being all that He wants to be, through us, looking out through our eyes, speaking through our lips, blessing through our hands, etc., etc., is truly what doing things in Jesus' Name, really means. If you want to know more about how to allow Christ to live His Life through you, AS your Life, get in touch with us! 715-866-4060, or see our website:
www.Great-Commission-Ministries.org
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON THE SACRED NAME
Some people claim that the proper pronunciation of tetragrammatan YHWH is 'uncertain', because, as they say, at the time of the writing of the Old Testament, there were 'no vowel markings' used. But most true Hebrew scholars know that the proper pronunciation of His Name, Yahweh, has never been lost! Josephus, well known historian and scholar at the time of the early church, stated that through Jewish history, and before the invention of vowel letters, there were 3 letters in the Hebrew alphabet that were commonly used as vowels: These are the 'Yod', the 'Hay', and the 'Wow'.
Since the Germans had large influence on theology, their way of pronouncing the 'W' was a 'V' sound, and wrongly changed the 'Wow' to a 'Vav'. The Divine Name consists of the following letters: Reading from right to left, first there is a 'Yod', which provided the 'Y' sound, like in the word "Yes". The Yod looks like a small seven, and is half as long on the top as the 'Hay', then going down halfway on the right side, half as tall as the 7 in the 'Hay'. Then, there is the 'Hay', which looks like a 7, but with equal length on the top, and on the right side. That is, equal length on the top as on the right side, coming down.
Then, put a leg on the seven, like a table, but not allowing the left leg to quite reach the top of the 7, or it becomes another letter. The Hebrew letter "Hay' can have three sounds,
1) 'h', 2) short a, like our 'ah' , and 3) long 'a', like our word 'way'. The 'Waw' comes next, and also looks like the number 7. It looks like the 'Hay', but does not have a left leg, and it is only half the length of the 'Hey' on the top. The Hebrew letter 'Waw" sometimes has an 'oo' sound like in the word 'moose', or our letter 'w'. But, in modern Hebrew, the 'Waw" has been changed into a 'Vav', because of the German influence, that pronounces our letter 'W" like the letter 'V", as in the word "Volkswagen" being pronounced "folks+vagen", or "wolks+vagen". The next letter, again is another 'Hay'. Josephus states that everyone knew how these letters were to be pronounced, and that every letter in the Divine Name of Yahweh, was a vowel! Yod = 'Y' as in 'yes'. Hay = like our letter 'A', but like our short A, with an 'ah' sound. Then, from right to left, came the next letter, 'Wow' with a 'W' sound, like our use of the letter 'w' in the word 'was'.
Finally, the last 'Hay', but this time with a long 'a' sound, thus, 'Yahweh'. Phonetically, in English, it would be:
"ee ah oo ay", or, Yahweh!!! We recommend that you give yourself permission to use this Name for God, often, in prayer, in praise and in your daily conversations with and about God. Amen. You can even say: HalleluYahweh ! ! ! My favorite way to address God, is: "Dear Darling Daddy Yahweh!" or, "Papa Yahweh".
The Bible and Other Uses of The Proper Name for God:
Here is Moffat's explanation, at the beginning of the James Moffatt Bible, "One crucial instance of the difficulty offered by a Hebrew term lies in the prehistoric Name given at the exodus by the Hebrews to their God. (should read, 'by their God to the Hebrews).
Strictly speaking, this ought to be rendered 'Yahweh', which is familiar to modern readers in the erroneous form of Jehovah. Were this version intended for students of the original, there would be no hesitation whatever in printing Yahweh. But almost at the last moment I have decided with some reluctance to follow the practice of the French scholars and of Matthew Arnold (though not exactly for his reasons), who translate this Name by 'the Eternal', except in an enigmatic title like 'the Lord of hosts'. There is a distinct loss in this, I fully admit; to drop the racial, archaic term is to miss something of what it meant for the Hebrew nation. In the other hand, there is a certain gain, especially in a book of lyrics like the Psalter, and I trust that in a popular version like the present my choice will be understood even by those who may be slow to pardon it." p.xx-xxi/W- James Moffatt, The Bible: A New Translation, 1935 Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York and London.
WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO PRAY OR DO SOMETHING IN GOD'S NAME
I have given my wife my power of attorney permanently. This means that she is legally qualified and empowered to do any thing she wants in my name. She can sign my checks, sell my property, spend my money, buy and sell the farm, my computer, my car, anything I possess. She can also make any kind of purchases, in my name.
We have that same empowerment and endowment from God, to act in His Name. But doing something in Jesus' Name actually goes much, much farther than our simply having power of attorney. One needs to grasp the whole concept of "The King's Greatest Secret!", or the "Exchanged Life", or "The Life That Wins" in order to begin to understand the meaning of doing something "In Jesus' Name".
THE KING'S GREATEST SECRET!!!
When Christ died on the Cross, He took us with Him there. He took not only our sins, sicknesses, worries, burdens and fears, but He also took you, He took me with Him to the Cross, the Crucifixion, the Death, the Burial, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Enthronement, the Glorification and the Ruling and Reigning with Him and within Himself on the Father's Throne, at the Father's right hand. Ephesians 1 and 2 tells us that we died with Christ, were buried with Christ, were quickened together with Christ, were
raised together with Christ, and were seated with and within Christ at the Father's right hand. Colossians says, "For we have died, and our life is hidden with Christ innnnn God." Romans 6 says that we are to "Know this, the we have been crucified with Christ" v.6: and the that we are to "reckon ourselves (act like it is true, because it IS true, that we are dead INDEED to sin, and are "alive within Christ!!!!!!!!!!!!!" v.11
To do things in God's Name, or in Jesus' Name means that this time, God wants to live His Own Life, do His Own business, speak His Own words in and through us. God wants to be Himself in and through us, unceasingly, increasingly, unhindered, uninterrupted. It is NOT that we are acting in the interests of a long distance God, as Karen would be doing when I am in Africa, but somehow, if Karen died, and I came to live on the inside of her and did my own business through her body, from the inside out. This is what it means for us to do things in God's Name or in Jesus' Name: We are to get a revelation that we are dead with Christ, and that in His resurrected glory, He wants to speak His Own Words through our lips. Christ wants to do His Own miracles through our very own bodies, our very own hands. Jesus Yah'shua wants to think His Own thoughts through our brain. He does NOT want to HELP us speak His Words, does NOT want to HELP us live a good life, etc. Instead, Christ wants to speak His Own Words through us, do His Own deeds through us, think His Own thoughts through us, to live through us, love through us, be patient and loving and wise through us. Amen. Will you let Him live and speak and be righteous, and overcoming through you? This is want it means to truly do or pray something "In Jesus' Name. Amen. It is very important that you receive and come to understand our book, The King's Greatest Secret! Please contact us on our website, or send to us for this book.
AN EARNEST INVITATION
The Bible says, Ps 22:22 "I will declare Thy Name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee." Then Jesus said, in John 17:26, "And I have declared unto them Thy Name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
I am asking you, begging you, imploring you, commissioning you, urging you, inviting you to join me in proclaiming, announcing, telling, teaching, spreading, informing people the Name of Yahweh. Will you? Would you? Can you? Won't you help us spread this good news!?!?!.
Here are several ways you can help spread this Good News:
- Please begin using this Name "Yahweh" in your prayers, in your worship, in your singing, in your conversation.
- Teach others, formally, and informally, that God's Name is -
- Please get printed copies of this little book into as many hands as possible, as quickly as possible, by as many ways possible, in as many places as possible. You may reproduce this in any form. Let's get the word out, the Good News! Or, contribute to our Great Commission Ministries, so we can publish the word! Amen
- In your own Bible reading, public and private, you are encouraged to intentionally substitute the CORRECT Name of Yahweh, EVERY time the word "LORD" is In my own Bible reading, I have gone through my own Bible and have actually and literally written the word Yahweh, every time the word "LORD" occurs! For example, "Yahweh us my Shepherd, I shall not want." And "I will dwell in the House of Yahweh, forever." And, "The Earth is Yahweh's, and the fullness thereof, and they that dwell therein." Ps. 23:1,6; Ps.24:1.
OTHER EXAMPLES OF THE NAME OF YAHWEH!
The Book Of Yahweh, Yisrayl Hawkins, 1988, Published by The House of Yahweh, Abilene, Texas, (Not recommended, but interesting.)
The Century Bible, Vol. 1, pp. 90-91, by Adeney & Bennett
Emphasized Bible: A New Translation Joseph Bryant Rotherham, Cincinnati, Ohio, The Standard Publishing Company.
The Holy Name Bible
The Jerusalem Bible, General Editor: Alexander Jones, Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York, 1966.
The New International Version Interlinear Hebrew/English Old Testament, Edited by John R. Kohlenberger III, Four Volumes, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49506, Vol. 1, pp, 26 of the Introduction.
The Restoration of the Sacred Name Bible
The Word of Yahweh, 2nd Edition, Assembly of Yahweh, 1017 N. Gunnell Road, Eaton Rapids, MI 48827
Dictionaries and Other Sources
Encyclopedia Judaica, 1972, Keter Publishing House, P.O.B. 7145, Jerusalem, Israel, Vol. 7, pp. 680.
The Interpreter‟s Dictionary, 1962, Vol. 4, pp. 923, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee.
(Even the Jehovah's Witnesses agree that 'Yahweh' is more correct than Jehovah, though they continue to use the wrong name and the wrong bible.) = The Kingdom Interlinerary Translation of the Greek Scriptures, the Jehovah's Witnesses, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc. Forward, pp. 23 (We do NOT recommend this bible, as they do not believe, and have changed their bible to read that Christ is not God, that Jesus and God does not come and live within, and that Hell does not exist.)
Smith's Bible Dictionary, 1872 Edition
Unger's Bible Dictionary, Merrill F. Unger, 1957 Moody Press, Chicago Illinois, pp. 413 (Baal)
Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, 1975, volume 2, pp. 690, Moody Press, Chicago Illinois.
An auxiliary source of information is Salem Temple. C/O Rachel Garza or Pastor Mark. Address: 7419 East Brick School Road, Rock City, Illinois, 61070. Phone: (815) 449-
2890
You may contact us at: Great Commission Ministries Phone: 715-866-4060
9473 County Road D Email:
Webster, WI 54893-7510
Website: www.Great-Commission-Ministries.org