Why must we call God by his personal name?

Before we begin, it is important to understand who is ELOHIM, commonly referred to as "God".

In Hebrew, the plural of EL or ELOAH (God) is ELOHIM (GODS. It's often preceded by the article HA- (HA ELOHIM) to express "a combination". Thus, ELOHIM refers to a plurality of majesties, He's not just God but He's GODS: the Father (YAHWEH), the Son (YESHUA) and the Holy Spirit (RUACH). For this reason alone, speaking of Him as "God" is not the appropriate designation, but using the term "ELOHIM" is a more accurate representation of who He is.

In order to put things into context, it might be worthwhile to first do a brief study on etymology.

The proto-Hebrew alphabet (ancient Hebrew text), which contains 22* consonants, had no written vowels and only a single "ah" sound which was added to consonants. It sounded like this: kah, yah, dah, hah, wah, and so on. Pronunciation of words was unambiguous. All the other sounds appeared later, after the introduction of the Masoretic vowel system, between the 6th and 10th centuries.

The root of the verb "To be" in proto-Hebrew is Hayah (haw-yaw) or Hawah (the W and Y are often inter-changed in Hebrew). These two words are identical in meaning and usage. They have an imperfect aspect that denotes an unfinished action, a state of being that has no end such as eternity. It can also mean: I was, I am or I will be.

The conjugation of the verbs Hayah and Hawah looks like this:

I am: Ah-yah or Ah-hawah
You are: Th'yah or T'hawah
He is: Y'h-wha or Ya-hawah or Yahua

God revealed to Moses that his personal name is "I AM" or "I AM WHO I AM". Translated from Proto-Hebrew: Ahyah or Ahyah Ashr Ahyah

Exodus 3:14 "God said to Moses, I am he who am . And he added: This is how you will answer the children of Israel, He who is called 'I am' sent me to you. "

But if God said His name is AHYAH (I AM) , why then the tetragrammaton YHWH (HE IS)?

Now if you carefully read verse 15 you will realize that God presented Himself to Israel using the 3rd person.

Exodus 3:14-15-1 "God said to Moses, I am he who am . And he added: This is how you will answer the children of Israel, He who is called 'I am' sent me to you. God said again to Moses, Thus shall you speak to the children of Israel: 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, and this is my name to generation. "

To help you discern this, let simplify God's statements. He asks Moses to say this: "The Being who is the God of your fathers hath sent me to you. He is the Lord of the 3 patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), This is his name for ever, and this is his memorial to all generations.."

ELOHIM declared that He is "I AM", but when we refer to Him, we must say "HE IS", because whoever draws near to ELOHIM must believe that He is (He exists).

Hebrews 11: 6 "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists"

The fact that YAHWEH asks us to call him in the 3rd person is consistent with is character because the number 3, which represents wholeness or completion, is an immutable element to the nature of ELOHIM.

Why is it important to know the name of The Father?

For many, knowing the name of God the Father is irrelevant, because He can read our hearts and He knows our prayers are being addressed to Him. Certainly, the Father knows, but it's important to know his personal name for the following reasons:

Reason 1

"Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the Lord is a strong tower""

There are several implications that bear witness to the importance of the name YAHWEH (HE IS)

The name YAHWEH testifies the most important truth about God: He exists
The name YAHWEH testifies that there is no reality beyond Him, He is not controlled by any force outside Himself. His character and power are derived solely from himself and no one else.
The name YAHWEH testifies that He is an objective reality which surpasses our own subjective perceptions or desires. We can desire God to be a certain way or think whatever we want to think about Him but our opinion of Him does not change who He is.
The name YAHWEH testifies He is unchanging. He's not subject to change as we are.
The name YAHWEH testifies we are to be conformed to God, not him to us, for he alone is and there is no us without him. Through him we have life, mobility, and existence (Acts 17:28) .

Reason 2

In the Hebrew Bible, the original theophoric names of the prophets and patriarchs are composed with the abbreviated form of the Father's name Yahua and give a clue to an attribute of ELOHIM that "testifies" who He is.

Numbers 6:27 "This is how they will put my name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."

Here are some examples:

Judah ( YAHUdah): The disciples of YAHUAH;

Jesus ( YAHUshua): YAHUAH is salvation;

Jacob ( YAHqob): YAHUAH succeeds;

Isaac ( YAHsaac): YAHUAH laughs;

Jehoshaphat ( YAHUshaphat): YAHUAH is the judge;

Elie (EliYAHU): My God is YAHUAH;

Isaiah ( YeshaYAHU): Salvation is YAHUAH;

Jeremiah ( YirmeYAHU): The resurrection is YAHUAH;

John ( YAHUchanon ): YAHUAH is Grace;

Matthew ( MatithYAHU): The gift is YAHUAH;

Zachariah ( ZacharYAHU): YAHUAH remembers;

Job ( YAHshub): YAHUAH will return;

Daniel ( DaniYAHel): The decision is YAHUAH;

Joel: (YAHel): YAHUA is God, etc.

Reason 3

The Bible warns us there are entities in our world that are also called "god" (with a small "d").

1 Corinthians 8: 5 "For if there are any beings which are called gods, either in heaven or on earth, as there really are many gods and many lords."
2 Corinthians 4: 4 " for those unbelievers whose minds the god of this age have blinded, that they may not see the splendor of the gospel of the glory of Christ, which is the image of God, shining forth."

Knowing other gods are present in our world, if you enter a place of worship where the preacher speaks of "God" without ever stating His personal name, what proves the audience they are indeed being told about the Supreme God of the universe?

Isaiah 26:13 LORD our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us; but by you alone we will mention your name. "

When YESHUA said, "Before Abraham was, 'I AM', he echoed the irrefutable truth of ELOHIM's existence, testifying that the Supreme God has revealed Himself to us so that we can witness His character, attributes, vision and eternal love. So, when in our places of worship we call him by his name "YAHWEH" and not just "God", we are testifying to all that "HE IS"

Isaiah 52: 6 " Therefore my people shall know my name"

Where does the name Jehovah come from?

The Name Jehovah: How It All Began ...

Before Jesus

In the year 957: Solomon built the first temple in Jerusalem.

1 Kings 6:1 "in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD."

In the year 586: The Temple is destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The Book of Law, Writings and Manuscripts are burnt.

Jeremiah 52:12-13 "On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building."

In the year 515: Cyrus king of Babylon, orders the construction of the second Temple.

Ezra 6: 3 "In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its foundations be firmly laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide"

By divine inspiration the prophet Esdras restores Book of Law, 94 books were dictated to the scribes in 40 days; 24 books for the general public and the remaining 70 for the wise only.

2 Ezra 14: 42-47 "Further, the Most High gave understanding to the five men, and in turn they wrote down what was dictated, using characters they did not know. They sat for forty days; they wrote during the day and ate their bread at night. But I spoke during the day and during the night I was not silent. Thus, during the forty days, 94 books were written. At the end of the forty days, the Most High said to me, Make known the first twenty-four books which you wrote, and let him that is worthy and he that is not worthy read them; but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise people of the people. For in them is the source of intelligence, the source of wisdom and the river of knowledge. - From the Second Book of Ezra

Between the year 250 - 150: Greek was the common language of the Roman Empire. Many Jewish emigrants from Israel grew up learning and speaking Greek, not ancient Hebrew. Over time, consequently, the Hebrew Bible became incomprehensible to many Jewish emigrants. Given how important the Law was to the Jewish people, the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) was later translated into Greek. This Greek translation is known as the Septuagint, because 70 or 72 Jewish scholars took part in the translation process. The tetragrammaton YHWH was inscribed in the Septuagint, while the name "Jehovah" had never appeared in either the Septuagint or the original Hebrew manuscripts.

After Jesus

In the year 70: The first Jewish-Roman war broke out. The second Temple was destroyed and all the Hebrew manuscripts restored by the prophet Ezra were also destroyed. Only the Septuagint remained and became the main basis for translations of the Old Testament.

Between the year 170 - 400: They begin to list the teachings of Jesus in the first Greek collection of the New Testament books called The Fragment or Canon of Muratori, however the name "Jehovah" was not mentioned. During this same period, the tetragrammaton YHWH is removed from The Septuagint and replaced with the designations Kyʹri-os (Lord) and The-osʹ (God).

Between the year 501 - 1000: The Massorets, a group of Jewish scribe-scholars committed to restoring the original Tanakh, created the Masoretic text inspired by meticulously preserved oral tradition and the best available manuscripts of the Hebrew texts. In order to help readers understand the content, they introduced punctuation marks and added extra letters to the proto-Hebrew. However, the Masoretes dared not pronounce the name YHWH; superstitiously, they called it Edonay (Adonai), which signifies Lord. Later, in their Masoretic text, they replaced the tetragrammaton YHWH with YEHOWAH, translated as Jehovah. They obtained the name by adding the vowels of the name Adonai (eDoNaY in Hebrew) to the unpronounceable name YHWH, thereby obtaining YeHoWah.

In the year 1385: Translations of the Muratorian Canon began to appear in Hebrew versions called Versions J, and numbered from J1 to J27. In these J versions, the tetragrammaton YHWH is replaced by the name "Jehovah", with the exception of J7, which ascribes the name YHWH to Jesus Christ. We have the example of Acts 9:5, which read as follows, “Who are you, YHWH?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” he replied.

In the year 1599: Elias Hutter, a professor of Hebrew at the University of Leipzigre, re-translated the J7 version of the New Testament. His edition was titled Derekh ha-Kodesh, taken from Isaiah 35:8 and meaning "The Way of Holiness". In his edition, he replaced the tetragrammaton YHWH by "Lord". This new version translated Acts 9:5 (in example) as follows: "Who are you Lord? And the Lord said, I am Iefus, which you perfecute", note that their writing style was different than ours. Hutter's Polyglot was published in Nuremberg in 12 languages. You can read it by clicking on the following link: http://www.bibles-online.net/hutter/

In the year 1611: The King James Bible is published and follows the same blueprint as Hutter's polyglot, citing "Lord" in reference to YAHWEH and Jesus Christ. However, the King James also incorporated the name Jehovah in the following 7 verses:

Genesis 22:14 "And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen."
Exodus 6:3 "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."
Exodus 17:15 "And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi"
Judges 6:24 "Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites"
Psalms 83:18 "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.".
Isaiah 12:2 "Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength".
Isaiah 26:4 "Trust you in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength"

Notice how Exodus 6:3 seems to imply that the name Jehovah was never mentioned in the Tanakh, and the forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, did not know it.

Exodus 6:3 "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." - King James 1611 version

In the year 1871: The Louis Segond Bible is published. The name Jehovah is removed and replaced by “The Lord”. Except in Genesis 22:14

Interesting fact about the transliteration of the name Jehovah into Hebrew

According to Strong's Hebrew dictionary, the transliteration into Hebrew of the name Jehovah (Yah-hovah) has a rather interesting meaning.

The suffix "Yah" (# H3050 in Strong's dictionary) means "god".
The suffix "Hovah" (# H1943 in Strong's dictionary ) means "ruin, mischief". It is another form of "Hav'vah" (# H1942) which means "very wicked, greedy for lust, desire for ruin, calamity, iniquity, malice, wickedness, downfall"

Thus the name Yah-hovah (Jehovah) translates into Hebrew "God of wickedness". Interestingly, Jesus had prophesied that the name of the Father would not be accepted, but rather that of another.

John 5:43 "I have come in My Father’s name, and you have not received Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him."

Concerning Charles Taze Russell, founder of the organization "Jehovah's Witnesses

Charles Taze Russell, known as "Pastor" Russell, was the founding father of this organization in 1872. He was born on February 16, 1852 in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA) and died on October 31, 1916 in Pampa (Texas). He founded the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and the International Bible Students Association, the organization that is now known as Jehovah's Witnesses after various split-ups and divisions. At his death he was buried in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in what is now (after several changes of ownership) the United Cemeteries of Rosemont, Mt. Hope and Evergreen United Cemeteries in Ross Township.

The front of his headstone features a picture of the pastor and an inscription identifying Pastor Russell as the messenger of the Laodiceans, or "the angel of the church of the Laodiceans." In Revelation 3:14-22, YESHUA refers to this church as "lukewarm. He particularly despises lukewarm Christians whom He describes as: "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked".

Revelations 3:15-17 "I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked."

Interestingly, if you stand at the back of his tombstone, it faces a pyramidal monument inscribed with the name of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, and just below it are the emblems of the Knights Templar and the Freemasons.

Emblem of the Knights Templar

Philadelphia Masonic Lodge. Note the emblem of the Knights Templar on the ceiling

Although there have been rumors that Russell was a 33rd-degree Freemason, he never acknowledged belonging to Freemasonry, oddly enough he made the following statement during a speech at a San Francisco Masonic hall in 1913: "Now, I am a free and accepted mason. I trust we all are. But not just after the style of our masonic brethren." |"The Temple of God" Souvenir Notes, Bible Students' Conventions, 1913. Chicago: Dr. Leslie W. Jones, 1913. p. 284.|

Further more, in a document entitled 'Pastor's Russell's Convention Dicourses', which is a collection of sermons, testimony meetings and special services by pastor Charles T. Russell, on page 914 he admits to being a member of the Knights Templar order.

While claiming to be a Christian, Russell denied many essential Christian doctrines, including punishments in eternity, the Trinity, the deity of Christ and the existence of the Holy Spirit.

He refuted the notion of hell as a place where the wicked would face God's wrath.
He contended anihilation of the soul, which simply ceases to exist after death.
He claimed that Jesus was a created being, and was actually Michael the Archangel in human form.
He denied the deity of Jesus and taught that while He had died for the sake of mankind, He had only risen spiritually, not physically.
He further denied the existence of the Holy Spirit, teaching that the Spirit is not a godhead, but merely a name given to express an impersonal force of God's power. By denying Jesus' Godhead and the very existence of the Holy Spirit, he inevitably rejected the Trinity.

May the Holy Spirit guide you in the understanding of this message.

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