The Sacred Names

1.)        Is it important for us today to use the correct name for the God of Israel, the one we believe in? Is it not enough if we in prayer call the Almighty, "God", like almost everyone else on earth does? Most other Religions have names for their deities. The Moslems call their god; Allah and Hindus call their deity, Hare Krishna. What is the name of our God? This is exactly the question asked us in Proverbs 30: 4 "Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?"

2.)        This should be an indication to us that both our God and His Son have names. If they have names, is it not important for us to know and use those names? Is it not in order if we call our God, "Father", as did His son in the model prayer, known as the Lord's Prayer? Not according to Malachi 1: 6 "A son honoureth his father and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the LORD of hosts unto you, o Priests that despise my name. And ye say wherein have we despised thy name?"The word Father is like God, a title and not a proper name.

3.)        In order for the gentile nations not to blaspheme the name of the God of Israel, the Priests of the Hebrew nation changed the vowel points of the name of the Almighty to Adonai, which was translated in the English Bible as Lord. This happened after the Babylonian captivity. Before the Babylonian captivity, the Sacred Name of our Heavenly Father was used freely in worship. After the captivity the name was totally suppressed by the religious leaders in Judah.

The name of the Almighty could only be used during Atonement and only by the Priests. The rest of the believers in Israel did not have permission to use the name at all. This was essentially done, because the religious leaders misinterpreted the third commandment, as stated in Exodus 20:7: "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain". However by using such names as Adonai and therefore misspelling God's name, they are breaking the third Commandment. You are not to ("lash-shawv") use lightly, destroy or bring to naught, the name of YHWH your Elohim, by hiding, refusing to use, and purposely misspelling His name. There is a warning message for those prophets who cause fellow brethren to forget the name of YHWH in Jer.23: 26-27 "How long the existence in the hearts of the Prophets prophesying the deception? Prophesying deceits according to what is in them. The schemers that cause my people to forget My name by their dreams which they relate each to his neighbor. Just like their fathers have forgotten My name because of Baal"

4.)        In the preface of a number of modern translations of the Bible, as is the case with the New American Standard Bible, the Editorial Board - The Lockman Foundation, openly tells the reader that the word God is translated from the Hebrew word Elohim and the word LORD is translated from the word YHWH. The word Lord (lower case letters) is translated from the word Adonai. Hindus also use the word Lord, when they call their deity, Hare Krishna - "my sweet Lord". If we claim to be the Almighty's people, do we know His name as stated in the first part of Isaiah 52: 6 "Therefore My people shall know My name." Despite the efforts of the religious leaders to disguise the name of the Almighty, it is possible for us to know His name from the Bible. The Almighty Himself told Moses what His Name is in Exodus 3: 13-15


14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM (The footnote in The New American Standard BIBLE states: this is related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered LORD, which is derived from the verb HAYAH, to be): and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God (YHWH the Elohim) of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

From these scriptures we can at least deduce that the Almighty's name is YHWH. However do we know how to pronounce the name? In Psalm 68: 4 we learn that the first part of the name of YHWH is pronounced as Yah: "Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name YAH, and rejoice before him".The Encyclopedia Judaica under "G-d, names Of": "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'"

5.)                In Psalm 72: 17-19 we see that YHWH's name is eternal: 




Knowing the correct name of the Almighty gives us every reason to start using it. In fact it will be our only way of survival during the forthcoming time of tribulation, prophesied in many scriptures in the Bible. This we read in Joel 2: 31 & 32 "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 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'. However, we must still be careful not to use YHWH's name in everyday language like some people in TV programs do. Perhaps it is a good thing that most do not know the true name of YHWH, as the generic name God, as used by people in TV programs is not the true name. YHWH's name should only be used in prayer, blessings and teachings.

6.)        What about the name of our Messiah, YHWH's son? The Messiah was a born Jew with a Jewish mother, who gave her son a Jewish name. He was never known as Jesus Christ, during His lifetime on earth. His Jewish family, His disciples, fellow Israeli citizens and even His enemies knew him as Yahushua (or the shortened version Yahshua).In Matthew 1: 21 we read about his birth, as follows: "And behold she will bear a son, and will call his name Yahshua; for he will save his people from their sins." Yahshua means YHWH is Salvation. The name Jesus does not have the same meaning. Does it matter whether we use the name Jesus or Yahshua? Yes, in fact it is vital to our salvation to make sure that we know and use the correct name for the Messiah. In Acts 4:12:we read "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved." In John 10:9Yahshua said: "I am the Door; if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved". The disciple Peter knew what the Key was, as Yahshua said to him in Matt 16:19 "I will give you the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven". When asked by those to whom he preached, what they should do, Peter said unto them in Acts 2:38: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahshua Messiah for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Set Apart Spirit."

7.)        In the first part of John 5: 43 the Messiah said that He came in His Father's Name "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive".His Father's Name as we know is Yahweh or Yah in its short form. When the Messiah was named Yahshua in Matt. 1:21, He was given His Father's name, like most of us, after birth are given our earthly father's Surname. If we overcome, we mayalso be given the God Family name. In Rev. 3: 12 we read: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God."

8.)        If we are truly Yahweh's people, it is very important that we know and use the correct names for both our Heavenly Father and that of His Son. By so doing, we can be sure that we obey the third Commandment.  If however, you as a group leader choose not to use the correct names of the Almighty and His Son, because it could lose your group a number of brethren, then consider the warning against this in Malachi 2: 1 "And now, this commandment is for you, O Priests." And verse 2 "If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to MY name," says YHWH of hosts. "then I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart." To conclude I am certain that we all believe that we/our group, will become part of the 144,000 faithful with the correct names on our foreheads as per Rev. 14  "And I looked, and, lo a Lamb stood on the mount Zion and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Name and His Father's name written in their foreheads."