subject: From Everlasting to Everlasting, He is Yah - The name game [print this page] From Everlasting to Everlasting, He is Yah - The name game
Kerry L. Byrley
The ambush
You spot them out the window as they approach the door; this calls for a bit of quick thinking on your part. Ding-dong chimes the doorbell What to do, what to do.
What do you do? Do you ponder hiding, hoping they do not see you? Do you open the door and politely say no thank you as you begrudgingly take their Watchtower Society magazines and various religious tracts?
Most have had at least one encounter with the Jehovah Witness and the majority, I am sure, have felt as though their highly coveted personal time was being infiltrated as these Witness' attack us with their unique brand of proselytizing, I know I have.
One late afternoon several years ago, I was flat out ambushed while coming home from a very long day out. It was the dead of summer and overwhelmingly hot; needless to say, I was just plain worn out and tired. The kids and I still had the farm critters to attend to before going in to make dinner - hopefully in time to greet my husband as he returned from work. Let's just say, all I wanted at the time was to get the hay and feed out of the truck, finish up my chores and relax. Instead, as I backed up to the barn, I noticed an entire extended family of Jehovah Witnesses sitting in their car awaiting my arrival, they had brought snacks; cooler and all this was not a good sign. Each of them were very polite and friendly but per their conditioned modus operandi, immediately after the initial pleasantries started off with something that went like this "God has a name! Do you know what it is?"
What's in a name?
No matter what your reply or lack thereof, Jehovah Witnesses will perform the non-debatable speech of God's true name being Jehovah. Period. This is what they are commanded to do by their church. To be fair, the Watchtower Society has concluded that Yahweh is also acceptable but to this day, I personally have yet to hear a member of their congregation actually use it without solicitation.
This got me to thinking, is their argument correct and could they really be on to something?
If you are a believer in the God of Israel; God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then knowing your Father's name should be the simplest and foremost thing to be understood. After all, if you're going to have any sort of "personal relationship" with Him, shouldn't you at least know His name?
In fact, there is no excuse to not know it and in today's modern age of technology it is easier than ever before in the history of research. Sadly, most professing believers have no grasp of this most basic yet emphatically important concept whatsoever.
Is Jehovah correct?
Psalm 83:18 says, That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. KJV
I digress: There is no possible way on God's green earth that Jehovah is the rightful and proper name of the Most High. Let's take a look, shall we?
The letter "J" is in neither the Hebrew, Greek or Arabic languages so right from the get go we can know with certainty that it is incorrect.
The name Jehovah was not in any original text and therefore that too is nothing short of a falsehood.
Calling on the name of the Lord synonymous with deliverance?
Joel 2:32 - And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
Malachi 1:11 - For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles;
Isaiah 12:2-4 - Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
How is it possible to call on His name if you don;t know it? The words "Lord" and "God" respectively are not names at all but rather simple titles with both positive as well as negative connotations. What part might one's own ignorance of truth play in the days ahead? Is it possible that there could be serious spiritual consequences in not knowing?
Hosea 4:6 - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
So what is God's name?
I will attempt to simplify this and not get too etymological. Etymology is the study of the history of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time. As always I encourage you to do your own study.
The name of the God of Israel as He revealed Himself to Moses, Exodus:6:2, was Yah or Yahu.
In original Hebrew, , pronounced yod-heh-vav-heh, is found in ancient Bible manuscripts and makes its appearance in Hebrew texts 6,823 times.
One might believe that if it was important enough to mention nearly 7000 times, it just might be something we should regard highly.
In each of the examples below, the meanings of these names and words refer to and are held with great esteem, to the name of the Most High, e.g. Yah is Strength, my God is Yah, etc.
EliYahu, Elijah
YeremiYahu, Jeremiah
YeshiYahu, Isaiah
Halleluyah, Praise Yah
Yahudite, Judaic
Yahoo, One who follows Yah
But it's easier to pronounce
On more than one occasion, I've actually heard the argument made for this name change being that it's an innocent English conversion of His name - you know, to make it easier for us to pronounce.
Huh!?! Are these people for real? Using this logic, essentially what they are saying is this.
Example:
My name just so happens to be Kerry but should I venture to Israel or partake in any form of communication with a Hebrew speaking person, I am, for their convenience of course, now obliged to temporarily change my name to something akin to Achazia?
Not only does this not make sense but it is insulting as well as ridiculous. To assume that the inhabitants thereof cannot or will not attempt to pronounce my given name is just plain silly. Whether or not they pronounce it perfectly or without accent, they could learn. No matter where I am at any given time, my name is, always has been and will always be Kerry. Dick will be Dick, Jane will be Jane and Achazia will be Achazia. That is just the way it is.
Seriously? Is Yah, yaw, or even yod-heh-vav-heh really that difficult to pronounce? Methinks they are not.
God knows what's in your heart
Many will undoubtedly say, "What's the harm? God knows what is in your heart and that we are referring to Him." While this may be true and I am not 100% convinced that it is, my simple reply is this, "Once you learn his proper name, why would you continue to insult him with something else?"
Throughout this book, I am trying to offer wisdom and understanding as to why knowing these things can help keep you in faith during the coming persecutions. There is a monstrous web of deceit to muddle through but it all adds up and if you take the time to look. A bright and clear picture starts to appear. Apostasy and tribulation are not an overnight occurrence and your faith needs to be unshakable.
Why has this been done?
The widely accepted pseudo-scholarly explanation we've been spoon-fed for centuries is this:
At some point in time the divine name, Yah, came to be held in such high esteem that in public readings in the synagogue the readers refused to pronounce it. As a sign of the ultimate sacredness of God's name - so holy that it could not even be pronounced - the Masoretes added vowel signs to the consonants Yah, which then changed the meaning of the word to adonai, which means "Lord." Adonai was and is considered a name for God that could be spoken and is the one most frequently used in modern Jewish ritual. The Greek translators followed this same tradition in their translation by using the word Kyrios meaning "Lord," as did the Latin Vulgate's use of Dominus.
The sacred name has been changed to keep us from blasphemy. If you don't know it, you can't use it with ill will.
What does the Bible have to say?
While the above explanation sounds almost reasonable, as someone wanting to know and follow their God, they should be aware that God Himself has a crafty nemesis, Halal HaShatan [Name] Satan/Lucifer. [Title]
Satan has one objective and one objective only which is to deceive the whole world so that he can become the like the Most High, Isaiah 14:13-15. Thus far, in the time which Satan has been allotted, he's been very busy and superfluous in his success. He has achieved this success through manipulation, lies, trickery, craftiness, cunning, deceit and the mocking of all that is good. As a strategic master, his first task at hand was to infiltrate the wisdom, hearts and minds of Yah's people; be it Jew or Gentile. Yah's people are collectively known as "Israel"- the people and has absolutely nothing to do with the country.
By changing Yah's name into a meaningless title, Satan was able to not only diminish the once common knowledge of the Most High's name, the very one we have been commanded to know but he also managed to get us to accept a nameless god.
Isaiah 14:13-15 - How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Revelation 12:9: - And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
We are told in Matthew 24 that many will effectively come in the name of christ but that we, His people are not to believe them; they are false christs.
Do you believe that it is probable that the Most High would give His authority to Lucifer and his minions, who must be granted permission, to use His sacred name? Of course He would not so the next best thing for Satan to do would be to change God's name. Think about it.
