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AN ANSWER TO Is Using the
Sacred Names Some groups teach that
you MUST use what they call the Hebrew names of God before you can be saved!
They claim the terms “God,” Christ,” “Jesus,” and such are PAGAN and WRONG to use!
What is the plain truth of this matter? William F. Dankenbring COMMENT: Yes! Bill! Let’s get to the heart and the
plain truth of the matter right away! Joel declares, “And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Yahweh shall be delivered: for in
mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as Yahweh hath said, and in
the remnant whom Yahweh shall call,” 2:32. The Hebrew word for “delivered” is malat. It means; to escape
or to be rescued. “Deliverance” is translated from the Hebrew word pelataw, which also means to escape. The Hebrew also for “call
upon the name of Yahweh” is qara beshem Yahweh (יקרא בשׁם
יהוה).
The
typical modern day Jewish usage of HaShem (the
Name) is not ever utilized in the Scriptures. What is utilized is beshem, which means “in the name.”
As you know, I am sure, this very same quote is utilized twice in the New
Testament. Peter quotes it on the very day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was
poured out upon him and the other disciples, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of
Yahweh shall be saved,” Acts 2:21.
The Apostle Paul also alludes to it in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall
call upon the name of Yahweh shall be saved.” But let’s allow Paul to
continue, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without
a preacher?” v. 14.
Don’t you think these are good questions, Bill? After all, when works
are declared in the true names, most people will say, We have never heard of
those names and they disbelieve not even caring for the true names because the
works have been declared in other names.
According to Paul, someone must be preaching this or the people will
never hear, believe and be saved. BILL: A number of “sacred names”
groups insist that we must use the Hebrew “sacred” names of God and Christ,
if we are to inherit salvation! They
are very dogmatic about this and RIDICULE those who do not follow them in this
practice, as “god [small “g”] worshipers”! COMMENT: RIDICULE!!?? Bill, I am
not sure you know what that word means. The great overall preponderance of our
people were raised in Christianity. We believed that the terms “God, the LORD,
Jesus and Christ” were acceptable. I, and a great number of us were also in
the Worldwide Church of God. But before that, we were Sunday and holiday
observers. When we learned of the Sabbath and Holy Days, the commandments, etc.,
we realized that we had been misled. We repented and embraced those truths, as
well as many others. We were taught in Worldwide to love the truth. We were
taught that when the truth comes, we must embrace it and turn away from the
untruths that we had been embracing. You also were in the WWCG. You even
referred to “plain truth” in your opening statements. But you and other WWCG
and Ex-WWCG ministers are the ones who ridicule and seek to make a mockery out
of us. It is only by the grace and favor of Yahweh that we are where we are
today. How can we ridicule, make a mockery of, and laugh at those who are still
in the ways from whence we have been delivered? We don’t ridicule, Bill. We
seek to proclaim the truth.
But let’s look quickly at this English word “sacred.” The words
holy, sacred, sanctified, hallowed, even saint in the Hebrew, stem from the word
qodesh. Qodesh
not only means to be
holy, but its primary meaning is to be “clean” and/or “pure.” So when we
speak of the “Sacred Names,” we are speaking of the names that are holy,
clean, pure, etc. BILL: Is God really that concerned
about the exact, precise pronunciation of COMMENT: You have a name that is
not the easiest to say or spell. My name isn’t the easiest for people to spell
or say. I know plenty of people who get bent out of shape when their name
isn’t spoken or spelled right. Don’t you? What about the most important name
of the most important Being in existence? Don’t you think that we should get
as close to right as we possibly can? Bill:
The Name of the
Father
Some of these groups say Yahweh is the only right way to pronounce God
the Father’s name. But my research
in the Jewish Encyclopedia and
writings of the Ante-Nicean Fathers, and others,
indicate that YAHVEH would be more correct, the original pronunciation.
I go into this evidence in my booklet on the Sacred Names.
COMMENT: While I may disagree
with you on the correct pronunciation of the name, I have my information that I
tend to favor and you have yours, the fact of the matter is that you do admit
that His name is different from “the LORD” or “God.” Since you do admit
this fact, why don’t you change to the truth you have proven and begin to
proclaim His works in the name Yahveh? Aren’t we supposed to embrace the truth
when it comes instead of continuing to promote error? BILL: Some of these self-appointed
critics say the English word “God” comes from the Hebrew “Gad,” and
there is an ancient deity named “Gad.” Does
this make the usage of “God” wrong?
Strong’s Concordance shows that the word “Gad” may mean
“fortune” as well as “troop.” Says
Strong’s, “fortune, troop, in the sense of distributing” (#1408-9).
It is true that this name or title was also used for a pagan god,
Does this prove the very English word "God" is pagan in
derivation? Not at all!
One of the twelve sons of Jacob, and one of the twelve tribes of Israel,
was named “Gad” also. “Then
Leah said, A troop comes! So she
called his name Gad” (Gen.30:11). Thus
his name was literally, “Troop,” or “Fortune.”
It is also a fact that one of God’s own prophets was named “Gad”
(II Sam.22:5; 24:11, etc.). A river
or valley in Israel was also named “Gad” (II Sam.24:5).
Obviously, the meaning is simply “troop” or “fortune.”
Then the pagans took this name and applied it to their god of
“fortune” or “good luck.” Although
pagans later misused the name, that does not make the original word or name
pagan or idolatrous! COMMENT: Good research, Bill, but not good or deep enough! More
in-depth research reveals that our English/Anglo-Saxon predecessors, before
their conversion to so-called Christianity, were pagans. One of their most
important deities was named “God, Gott, Guth, Gud, Goth,” etc. I know that
you and I believe that most of the English speaking world are descendants of the
Northern Kingdom of Israel which was sent into captivity because they embraced
idolatry (Baal worship] and refused to repent. So now, Bill, you are continuing
to promote the error of the Israelites rather than repenting, embracing the
truth and proclaiming the truth to the world in the correct names. Shame, shame
on you.
A couple of your own former associates, one of them named Garner Ted
Armstrong, did more in-depth research than you and found that the name or word
“God” is associated with Taurus the Bull. Their
priesthood was the Druids. They had a savior named Esus (on the European
Continent) or Yesu (in the British Isles). Both names Esus and Yesu were
pronounced “Hesus.” They revered this savior via an oak tree that was shaped
in the form of a cross. Shouldn’t red flags start shooting up, Bill?
Didn’t Israel change the form of Yahweh into that of an ox? (or bull?)
Yes, they made a physical image out of gold, but Yahshua has expanded things
into the spiritual realm. Now the use of the word God changes His spiritual
image into that
But let’s learn something else about the matter. Scripture says, “Why
do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers
take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his anointed (Messiah),
saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us,”
Psa. 2:1-3.
Question: Who originally had the most popular English version of the
Bible published? Wasn’t it King James of England? Isn’t he one of the kings
of the earth? Didn’t he embrace a Christian faith that cast the bands (laws)
of Yahweh and His Anointed (Messiah) behind? Didn’t he promote Sunday, Easter,
Christmas, and other pagan holiday observances? Doesn’t his brand of
Christianity declare that the law is done away? I happen to have a copy of the
1611 version and the only place where the name of the Creator, the
tetragrammaton (hwhy),
appears is the page of artwork that introduces the New Testament. The
Tetragrammaton is at the very top of the page with the names of the twelve
tribes of Israel on the left hand of the page and the names of the twelve
apostles on the right hand. Therefore, the king and the Bible interpreters
understood the true name of the Creator, but refused to utilize it, but rather
took it out of the very book that He authored by His Spirit. Furthermore, the
names of the tribes of Israel and the Apostles are transliterated from their own
Hebrew names.
But the name of the Creator Yahweh, and His beloved son Yahshua are not. Hmmmmm…….
Oh yes, and by the way, just because a son of Israel
or even an Israelite prophet were given the name Gad/God, does that give us the
authority to change the Creator’s name to that? One of the men in the New
Testament was named Apollos. Obviously, he was named after the pagan deity
Apollo, so can we change the Creator’s name to that? I hope you are beginning
to see how ridiculous that is. BILL:
The “Name” of God
When God began speaking to Moses, He said, “I am God [Elohim] of thy
father, the God [Elohim] of Abraham, the God [Elohim] of Isaac, and the God
[Elohim] of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). Moses,
knowing that the term Elohim meant “God,” and was more a
title, than a distinct name, as there are many “gods” including pagan gods, then
asked God: COMMENT: Here you go, Bill!
You’re giving your own interpretation concerning what the word Elohim means.
You are confusing the issue because you are using the word “God” to be the
personal name and also the distinctive title of the Creator. Tell me, Bill, does
God mean Elohim or does it mean Yahweh/Yahveh or both? You are utilizing this
word in an extremely versatile manner. Truthfully, Elohim is plural of El/Eloah.
El means Mighty One. Elohim means Mighty Ones. While Yahweh/Yahveh can mean The
Eternal, it essentially means He Exists. Do you mean to tell me that you believe
that the word God means both and can be utilized for both name and title? As I
say, you are confusing the issue. Bill: “Behold, when I come unto the
children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent
me unto you; and they shall say unto me, What is his name?
what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I
AM THAT I AM [Hebrew, EHEYEH asher EHEYEH ]:
and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath
In these verses, when God says “I AM THAT I AM,” He is saying to
Moses, according to the Septuagint, “I am he who exists.” The
Syriac, Persic, and Chaldee preserve the original words without a gloss.
The Arabic paraphrases them, “The Eternal, who passes not away.”
The
Targum of Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targum paraphrase the words:
“He
When God says, “This is my
name for ever,” He is referring to the expression in verse 13, “The LORD
[YHVH] God.” This, in the Hebrew,
is a compilation of the two names YHVH and Elohim. This is the name by which God had been known from the creation of the world
(Genesis 2:4). The pagan, heathen
nations corrupted this name into their own forms, such as Jao, Jeve, Jove,
Jupiter. COMMENT: And the pagans also
utilized Gott, Goth, Gud, Guth, God, etc., as his personal name, which you
continue to promote because you continue to utilize this word as both His
personal name and His title. But once again you also reveal that you understand
the truth about His name, however refusing to submit to it. And the pagans also
corrupted the word Elohim didn’t they? BILL:
In Exodus 3, however, Moses goes on to say to God,
“Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers
has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’
Then what shall I tell them?” (Exo.3:13).
God responded, saying: “I AM WHO I AM. This
is what you are to say to the Israelites: I
AM has sent me to you.” God went on, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD,
the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of
Jacob – has sent me to you.’ THIS
IS MY NAME FOREVER, the name by which I am to be REMEMBERED FROM GENERATION TO
GENERATION” (Exodus 3:15). COMMENT: Elohim went on, “Say
to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh/Yahveh, the Elohim of your fathers – the Elohim
of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac and the Elohim of Jacob (remember that Elohim
means “Mighty Ones”) – has sent me to you.’ THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER
(YAHWEH/YAHVEH), the name by which I am to be REMEMBERED FROM GENERATION TO
GENERATION” (Exodus 3:15). You’re utilizing a little reverse psychology
here, Bill. If you want to be truthful, then print and exhibit the real facts,
don’t cover up! Let’s be honest and
above board. BILL: The Hebrew word here translated
“LORD” is actually the word “YHVH” – in Hebrew it is hwhy called the
Tetragrammaton. It is composed of
the four vowel-consonants Y-H-V-H and is usually translated as “LORD,” in
capital letters, in most English translations.
The Moffatt translation, however, renders it, “The Eternal.”
The God of the Scriptures says that THIS NAME is the real, personal,
definitive name by which He is to be remembered.
There are many “gods” in the world, but only one true “God.”
His name is YHVH – not Jupiter, Zeus, Baal, Tammuz, Thor, Odin, or any
other of the names of the pagan gods! COMMENT:
Hey Bill, this is a
great statement! However, you failed to go into a little more in-depth research
concerning what Moffatt says about the Creator’s name. He says, “One
cruicial instance of the difficulty offered by a Hebrew term lies in the
prehistoric name given at the exodus by the Hebrews to their God. 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.” (Introduction, pp. xx-xxi) Isn’t that interesting Bill! They chose to translate the
Creator’s name rather than render it in its archaic Hebrew form! I visited
some web-sites in order to get a translation of your name. I found that William
actually means “desire to protect,” or “resolute protector,” coming from
a combination of two words “will” (desire) and helmet (to protect). It is
most interesting to me that Another thing you should have done in the above statement,
“His name is YHVH – not Jupiter, Zeus, Baal, Tammuz, Thor, Odin, or any
other of the names of the pagan gods,” is you should have included the word
God because that IS NOT His name either! BILLY: But how should this original, true
name of the One and Only True God be pronounced?
What do the letters YHVH in
Hebrew signify? In this passage of
Scripture God Himself defines the name, saying it means, “I AM WHO I AM,” or
the great “I AM.” This
expression gives the essence of the meaning of the name.
God is the One who “Is,” the “Self-existent One,” the One who
supremely “Is What He Is” or “Is Who He Is.”
He was, is, and always will be, the “I AM.”
He will be what He will be, do what He will do.
He is the independent, self-existent One, who owes His existence to no
one else. Thus He stands alone and
apart from all other objects, beings, or persons called “god.”
He alone is the “I AM WHO I AM.”
The
NAME of the True God Says
the Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon of this name, “hwhy Jehova, pr. name of the supreme God myhlah amongst the
The later Hebrews, for some centuries before the time of Christ, either
misled by a false interpretation of certain laws (Ex.20:7; Lev.24:11), or else
following some old superstition, regarded this name as so very holy, that it
might not even be pronounced. . . Whenever, therefore, this nomen tetragrammaton
occurred in the sacred text . . . they were accustomed to substitute for it ynda [Adonai],
and thus the vowels of the noun ynda [Adonai]
are in the Masoretic text placed
The Universal Jewish
Encyclopedia adds the following information:
“YAHVEH.
1. The Word. Yahveh is the most probable transliteration of the ancient Hebrew name for God. It
is frequently, especially among German
scholars, written Jahweh, Jahveh, Jahve or Yahweh; but these forms call either
for the German pronunciation of j as y, or of w as v, or both.
The oldest traditions as to the pronunciation of the name Yahveh are
found in the church fathers. Of these, Clement of Alexandria (about 215 C.E.;
Stromata 5, 6:34) writes Iasuai = Iaove [Yahveh], while Theodoret (about 386-457
C.E. . .) gives IaBe [Yahbeh] as the Samaritan
pronunciation and Ia [Yah] as that of the Jews . . .” (p.584). COMMENT: Hey Billy, here is
something that I noticed about this Universal Jewish Encyclopedia rendition! They very
carefully point out that the German for the j is a y and the w is pronounced
like a v, but somehow they forgot to mention that a v in German is pronounced
like a w. In other words, when we see the name Volkswagen, the English-speaking
world calls it exactly like it looks, but the Germans pronounce it as Wolksvagen.
So, in German, Jahweh would be pronounced like Yahveh, Jahveh like Yahweh, Jahve
like Yahwe and Yahweh like Yahveh. That’s why you prefer to pronounce it
Yahveh isn’t it? It’s because you are German or Dutch and you prefer the
Germanic enunciation. (I may be imputing motives here, but I can quote tons of
scholastic works, including the Encyclopedia
Judaica, which proclaim that
the pronunciation is Yahweh.)
But let’s look at something else you have presented here. You quoted,
“Of Did
you know that it was Constantine who outlawed all Hebrew documents, decreeing
that anyone found with such documents in their possession would be tortured and
slain? Did you know that he donated fifty copies of the Bible (written in Greek,
of course) to the churches in Constantinople? Do you realize that Constantine is
the successor to the little horn of Daniel chapter seven’s power? Do you
realize that Constantine is the little horn of Daniel chapter eight? Isn’t it
interesting that the Greek Scriptures before Constantine contained the
Tetragrammaton in Hebrew instead of Kyrios and Theos? Isn’t it interesting
that Clement writ
BILLY:
This authority adds, “That the divine name was frequently shortened is
clear from the occurrence of the short form Yah, which frequently occurs at the
end of Hebrew personal names, such as Elijah and Jeremiah, and in the word
Hallelujah; Yah also occurs a few times independently, as in Ex.15:2;
Isa.12:2;Ps.68:5; 118:14.”
In the light of these and other facts, says the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia,
the first syllable of the divine name was clearly “Ya,” or ‘Yah,” and
the only possible uncertainty would involve the second syllable.
“Was the name originally Yah, Yahu, Yaho or Yahveh? . . . .the reading
[YHVH] IS VERY OLD, being found in line 18 of the Moabite Stone, the inscription
of King Mesha of Moab, written in the 9th century B.C.E.
This goes far toward establishing the priority of the four-lettered name
(Tetragrammaton). IT IS THE OLDEST
KNOWN DATABLE INDEPENDENT OCCURRENCE OF THE DIVINE NAME” (ibid.).
The Torah: A Modern Commentary,
adds that: “Overwhelming scholarly opinion
holds that hwhy [YHVH]
was in Moses’ time pronounced hwhy (Yahveh).
There is also a shorter form of the Name, Yah (hy) which may represent the original from which Yahveh was expanded or may,
contrariwise, be a contraction of the longer ascription” (p.426). The
name “El” is applied to God 217 times in the Old Testament.
It is the general Semitic term for a god.
It most probably comes from a root meaning “to be strong.”
The use of El as a divine name is confined almost entirely to poetry; otherwise, it
occurs generally in the generic sense rather than as a proper The
name Elohim occurs 2,570 times in the Bible, and is found with two principal meanings
– as a designation for heathen gods in general, and as a name for God. The
Tetragrammaton, or four-lettered Name, YHVH, occurs 6,823 times, and is by far
the most frequent name of God used in the Scriptures.
The Samaritans pronounced it as Iabe [Yah-bey] and Origen transcribes it as Iae,
both pointing to an original vocalization of Yahveh.
The “v” and “b” sounds are very similar in
Hebrew. These
names and titles for God were known by the ancient world. The knowledge of the
Tetragrammaton was known to mankind as early as the second generation after
Adam. Speaking of that period of
history, the book of Genesis relates, “At that time men began to call on the
NAME of the LORD [YHVH]” (Gen.4:26). The
first usage of the name for God in the Scriptures occurs in Genesis 2:4 –
“When the LORD [YHVH] God made the earth and the heavens . . . the LORD [YHVH]
God formed the man from the dust of the ground . . .” Yahweh and Yehushua Some
of these people also claim that using the pronunciation YEHUSHUA is the only acceptable name of Christ. Not
“Jesus,” not “Yehoshua,” not even “Yeshua” – only “YeHUshua”!
They
reject “Jesus,” “Yehoshua,” and “Yeshua.”
They are very cultic in their approach.
They reject the original Greek Iesous,
which is the New Testament version of Jesus, which God inspired to be used
throughout the New Testament books (see II Tim.3:16).
“All Scripture is God-breathed” and inspired!
But if using Iesous
was wrong, then why did God inspire its usage in the New Testament, and PRESERVE
His Word in that language? COMMENT: Now you have told me
something that I have never heard. I have heard of those who proclaim that the
name of the Savior is Yahushua, but not Yehushua. But whether it is Yahshua,
Yehushua, Yahshua, Joshua, etc., that is far, far closer that the erroneous
Iesous/Jesus. BILLY: They reject “Yeshua,” as the name of Christ, but in Ezra 3:2 the Bible
speaks of “Yeshua the son of Jozadak” (spelled in Hebrew YOD SHIN VAV
AYIN), which is Aramaic for “Jesus” (Yeshua).
Nehemiah 8:17 speaks of “since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun,” meaning the one we call “Joshua” – YOD SHIN VAV
AYIN – or “Yeshua.” The Greek
in the New Testament is Iesous, “Jesus,” or “Joshua,” which is the very same
name for “Joshua” in the
Septuagint. So
Joshua = Yeshua = Iesous = Jesus, from Old Testament to New Testament to Greek
to English. They are all the same
name, in different languages. And these names and translations are used in the INSPIRED WORD OF GOD
ITSELF! So how could it be wrong to USE
translated names in various languages for YHVH the Father, or Yeshua for Christ?
COMMENT: Billy, Billy, Billy, Why is it that our English Bibles always utilize Joshua for the patriarch Joshua and the book written in His name. Also Zechariah was contemporary with Ezra who did utilize [Wvy |