A Jewish Bible Without Elohim’s Name:

I recently purchased David Stern’s “Complete Jewish Bible” through the Messianic Jewish Publishers and I find the reading very interesting except for one aspect – the Name of Elohim was hidden in the English word God and/or the word Adonai. As I see it the “Jewishness of the Bible” of this version of the Bible weakened somewhat as a result.

I accept the explanation given by Stern in the introduction (page xxxiii) as follows:

“The Basic Problem: God’s personal name is never Spoken. When Moshe turned aside in the wilderness of Midyan, to see the bush that burned without being consumed, God revealed himself to him and told him his own personal name. The name in Hebrew consists of four letters, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh and is therefore called the Tetragramaton (four letters writings). The Bible makes it clear that his name was not to be used casually. The third Commandment prohibits taking His Name in vain and the man that uses it in a curse was put to death at God’s explicit instruction. Already by Yeshua’s time no one ever spoke God’s name except the cohen hagadol (high priest), when he entered the Especially Holy Place in the temple to make atonement for the sins of Isra’el on Yom Kippur, so strictly this rule was followed that when the Masoretes wrote down the vowel point for the Torah, they did not write the actual vowels to be used in pronouncing the Tetragramaton. By then the word Adonai which is a term for God found frequently in the Bible and which means “My Lord” was said instead of the Name whenever the Torah was read. ….”

Indeed this was the basic problem I immediately detected when I opened my new Bible to read its content. I missed the name of our Elohim. Two issues were raised to explain Sterns’ inability to use Elohim’s name as follows:

a) The Bible makes it clear that his name was not to be used casually;
b) The third Commandment prohibits taking His Name in vain.

Those prohibitions are fairly clear; but if we called Elohim by His name, how can this be defined as using Yahweh’s name in vain and how can we be taking His name in vain if we mentioned his name and promote it?

Let me put it this way, right now the world does not Him, that He is Creator of all things. Ask any who Yahweh is and the likely answer is that we do not know Him. Ask who is Creator, and the likely answer, is God is the Creator and he is the Lord. In Fiji it is TURAGA na Kalou (i.e. LORD God). Yahweh is unknown Selah. And shall we say that since the time of Moshe, 4,000 years have passed now, far too many people of the world still do not know who Yahweh is. This is incredible but obviously true. Is this Yahweh’s desire?

Let us check that out, by going into the Holy Scriptures itself for some answer. Should we hide Yahweh’s Name and not use it?

Call in his Name (Psalms 99:6)
6 Moshe and Aharon were among His priests,
And Sh’mu’el was among those who called upon His name;
They called upon Yahweh, and He answered them.

Honor His name (Psalms 66: 2-4)
02 Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. 03 Say unto Elohim “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. 04 All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your Name.” Selah

Magnify His Name (Psalms 69:30)
30 I will praise the name of Elohim with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Publish His Name (Deuteronomy 32:3)
03 For I proclaim the name of Yahweh: Ascribe greatness to our Elohim.

Remember His Name (Exodus 3:15)
15 Moreover Elohim said to Moshe, “Thus you shall say to the children of Isra’el: ‘The Yahweh Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Yitz’chak, and the Elohim of Ya’akov, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’

Sing to the Name (Psalms 9:1-2)
01 I will praise You, O Yahweh, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. 02 I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, ELYON.

Think on the Name (Malachi 3:16)
16 Then those who feared Yahweh spoke to one another, And Yahweh listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear Yahweh And who meditates on His name.

First can I mention that the texts I used is based in the New King James Bible intertwined with the Complete Jewish Bible and the Words of Yahweh Bible so that I can make my point loud and clear, namely that it is very clear that Yahweh wants the World to know Him, to remember Him, to turn to Him, to think on His Name and to honor, magnify and publish his Name.

Let me repeat my anxiety, that we have now come to the 21st Century and much of the world still do not know who Yahweh the Elohim of Avraham, Yitz’chak, and Ya’akov who created all of us. Since Moshe’s encounter with Elohim, some 4,000 years have lapsed. That I think sucks.

Notice this text on the Oracles of Elohim (Romans 3:1-3) The Word of Yahweh Bible:

“What Advantage then hath the Jew? …. Much in every way; chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of Elohim. For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of Elohim without effect?

Will those responsible continue to hide the oracle of Elohim - eg His Name, from the world?

Keep well and Bye for now.

Yahweh’s Nature

I discovered some Christian Churches, on the internet that use the scared name of Yahweh in their worship services. But when I read through their statement of belief I noticed that they are no different from the old Worldwide Church of God (WCG) in their belief, faith and practices, so I wonder if this is OK! I will continue to explore this aspect of the worship of Yahweh our Elohim.

I had began this study from the burning bush incident where Moses was introduced to Elohim’s preferred Names. Exodus 3:13-15 reads:

13 Then Moses said to Elohim, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, `The Elohim of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, `What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" 14 And Elohim said to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 And Elohim, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `The Yahweh, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations."

So there you have it. Elohim's personal name, as they translate its meaning in English, is "I am that I am." Here are some other ways it has been translated:
a) He who is
b) The self-existent one
c) He who is ever becoming what He is
d) Is-ness is is-ness

Unfortunately, I can say that inspite of 4000 years since his name was exposed to Moses, the world still does not know who Yahweh is and I hope this Blog will, amongst others, fulfill this role in a small way. Some of the natures of Yahweh are really what we need as human beings. Take this one that I recently considered as quite important. Read Deut 32: 3-4 (WOY throughout):

“For I proclaim the name of the Yahweh: Ascribe greatness to our Elohim. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, an Elohim of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.”

Yahweh is great, He is our rock, He is perfect, all his ways are justice, he is the Elohim of truth and he is without injustice, he is righteous and upright. These are the nature of Yahweh that we need to proclaim widely, so that people will know who to turn to in their times of anxiety.

These are some of the natures of Yahweh that we all need to have in our lives, and especially so, when we need help from Yahweh to help us in our times of needs. Yahweh is the one that could help us because of these Natures that He possesses. There are three points we can think about and these are that we should:

v Think on His Name
v Call on His Name and
v Trust in His name

The first needs are for us all to think of Yahweh and his great name, to meditate on his Name. Malachi 3:16 reads and I quote:

“Then those who feared Yahweh spoke to one another, and Yahweh listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear Yahweh. And who meditate on His name.”

This is quite important to us because thinking always leads to action. For instance if we are thinking of his name we will surely consider his nature which I have outlined above. When our needs arise, we would immediately know where to go for help.

The Prophets and His priests called upon Yahweh for help in their times of needs. We can see this for instance in Psalms 99:6 which read:

“Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the Yahweh, and He answered them.”

There is no doubt that by thinking and calling on the name of Yahweh, that help is forthcoming. The final of course is that we need to place our trust in Yahweh, as laid out in Isaiah 50: 10 which of course read:

“Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God”.

Yahweh is the one we can all trust, and entrust ourselves to, with all our needs and wants; for Yahweh is trustworthy.

I will end here on this installment. We need to think call on his Name, call Him and trust Yahweh.

Let The World Know Who Yahweh is?

One Bible text that has always interested me is found in Romans 3:1-3 and it reads (WOY):

“What Advantage then hath the Jew? …. Much in every way; chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of Elohim. For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of Elohim without effect?”

This text is interesting to me because it is saying that our understanding of Elohim will come from the Jewish people. Several things became stumbling blocks to this, and the primary one is that we often do not realize that the Holy Scriptures we read and study actually came from the Greeks and not from the Jewish people. There is a need to correct this isn’t there. The other text that is interesting is the one where Yahshua was conversing with a lady in Samaria, and in concluding this interesting conversation Yahshua said something significant when he said (John 4: 22 - WOY) and I quote:

“You worship you know not what; we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews”

You see this is important isn’t it and it behooves the Jews to come forward to deliver what they need to deliver to the world because the end of the age is coming fast. Some may say, but the Jews have already delivered – look at the Holy Scriptures. I was of that mindset at one time, but I have now come to realize that perhaps we are wrong after all. Sure we have received the messages of God and Jesus Christ, but that deprives us the knowledge of the Elohim and Yahweh, and the richness of his names isn’t it, which only the Jews can deliver to us.

I friend of mine – who as passed away - use to ask just for fun, once an instruction was delivered, “Who Say?” This reminds of another text which seem to suggest that we need to be watchful. Revelation 2:9 (WOY) reads and I quote:

“I know your works and tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.”

So there is a need for us to see that we are not deceived by what we already have and there is a need to get out of that and move forward in a correct way. I have quoted three texts which highlights the importance of the Jewish people in terms of the preservation of the Oracles of Elohim, the fact that salvation is of the Jews and that we have people who claim to be Jews but are not.

The Holy Scriptures say that the creator of all things is called Elohim. But today people call him G-d. Who is right I ask? Is it Elohim or is it G-d, let me say that both cannot be correct. There is a text in Genesis 48: 20, which partly reads as follows:

English Version says: ”May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe” But the transliteration reads as follows:”Ye'simcha Elohim ke-Ephraim ve'chi-Menashe” Why is the term God used when Elohim (or YHWH or Yah or El etc) is more appropriate, even in the English Language? I think if you can use Manashe in both texts, the English and the Hebrew then we can call Elohim as well in both the English and Hebrew versions of the text.

Unfortunately for me I wanted to search for the Name of the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by reading the English translations of the Holy Scriptures which are based on the original Hebrew text, and I am thoroughly disappointed with what I meet up with. They all transliterate the names of biblical personalities but most translate the names of Elohim. OK what is the big deal one might ask? To me the big deal is that the name God or Lord or LORD does not tell us the richness that is found in the expressed names of Elohim. It leads to confusion most especially. This needs to be changed.

Let me illustrate this point. Read I King 18:21 strictly in the English KJV and you will see this,

“And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”

The catch here is the term Baal which has been left transliterated in its original form. Translated the word Baal means Lord too. So we have a problem of identification don’t we? If all the Hebrew terms were translated the text word read:

“And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if the Lord (i. e. Baal), then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”

Well people would be dumbfounded alright but for a completely dfferent reason namely –confusion. Now read it with the names of Elohim transliterated and left intact (I King 18: 21 WOY):

“And Elijah came unto all the people and said, "How long halt ye between two opinions? If Yahweh be Elohim, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him."

Can that be any more clearer? One knows where one stands.

Someone once said, well the English translations have been used because people do or may not actually know who Yahweh or Elohim really is. I hope they listen to themselves. Indeed, it is very true that people do not Yahweh or Elohim and all his other name including El Shaddai etc, because they have always been taught that G-d (the deity of good fortune) created the universe. But to find eternal life, people need to know Elohim, in his true and only names, that he Himself gave to Moses around the burning bush. Remember. Exodus 3:15 reads:

“Elohim also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers — the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac and the Elohim 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”.

Elohim has outlined his name to Moses and qualified it by saying that it was “His name forever” and that “it was the name by which He is to be remembered forever”. I think some people may have forgotten to inform Yahweh that they had in their wisdom decided to rename him God or LORD. What a pity.

My point is simple. Sure the Jewish people may argue every possble way, but the fact remains that they have a role in the introduction of Elohim to the World where it reads, “chiefly because unto them (Jews) were committed the oracles of Elohim.” They need to get on with this important task. They should not leave this task to those "who say that they are Jews, but are not, because they are the Synagogue of Satan". That is a terrible thing to say but I truly mean it. Let the Names of Yahweh be known and praised. The Jews are responsible.

Simply ask this question, “Does the world, after almost 7000 years, know who Yahweh is? The answer is a resounding No, the world does not know who Yahweh is? And who was commissioned to do this announcement? The Jews? It seem so, and they need to step up and inform the world of the True names of Elohim. This is my point.

What if they don't?

Please look up Jeremiah 16: 19-20 (WOY) for this is very interesting indeed. It reads:

"O Yahweh, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. 20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? 21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Yahweh"

Well just for emphasis, Yahweh himself shall show His Hands and His Might and his Name that it is Yahweh. Those responsible for this must beware.

Till next time , bye for now.