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His Name Studies > Christian Leadership Response
 
Amazing Facts Answer to - Why not YaHshua?
 
 


 
This is the response I received when I contacted Amazing Facts Ministry about or Savior's Birth Name.  I have added my comments about the statements made in this email I received from the Amazing Facts Ministries.
  
To Doug Bachelor – Amazing Facts Ministries
Hello Dan,

The Hebrews felt that the name of God was too holy to even pronounce. We know that the personal name of the God worshiped by the Israelites and their progenitors is represented by four Hebrew letters transliterated Yhwh. This term appears some 6,800 times in the Hebrew O.T. Instead of transliterating this name, most of the translations substitute the word for lord, or Lord, and the divine name as LORD.
 
My comment:  The Hebrews never practiced any such thing.  The Jews in later centuries, after our Savior was crucified, some began to hid and cover up and look down on anyone who would dare pronounce His Holy Name out loud.  This, however was a later development, and not a Biblical position.  Read it for yourself, His Name is emphasized over and over again and just because men replace it with a lesser term, like LORD.  I wonder if the author of this return email can hear themselves.  Transliterating His Hebrew Name by the act of substitution?  All the way down to replacing His Holy Name for another.  
 

New Testament writers followed the practice of the Septuagint translators. Nowhere do they use the divine name Yhwh except as it occurs in compound names or terms transliterating the Hebrew. There are certain religious groups active today conducting a campaign to have the divine name brought back into usage, but they have no divine warrant for their contention. Nowhere, not even once, in the New Testament writers' numerous references to the Deity, did they use the divine name Yhwh, unless they were quoting. So if the N.T. writers felt no urge by the Holy Spirit to revive the use of the divine name, we should feel no compulsion and let it rest at that.

My Comment: It seems that all modern preacher, teacher, and minsters resort to this excuse, calling on the Septuagint, a Greek translation for the Hebrew text.  So, if the Greeks changed the name, then that makes it all right?  What kind of reasoning is that?  And what is wrong with some groups campaigning to restore His divine Name?  Isn't that better than using names other than His.  How about we call Doug Bachelor, Sam Ham?  Why not, Sam Ham is the man, why not?  Because no one would know who you are talking about or who you are addressing and if you called out to him, Hey, Sam Ham, he would not respond, but this is how we are told to handle the Holy Identity of our Creator?  Oh, and then to blame the Holy Spirit for inspiring His Name to be changed?  This could be approaching Blaspheme.  
 
The most important thing, I believe is not to worry so much about the name, as to know the Deity Himself, His character, His purposes, His will. The term "name" as used in Hebrew often means nature, reputation, character, and it is a knowledge of the divine name in this sense that Christians should seek. My thought is that we are spending a lot of time on side issues -- debating whether we have the right articulation of Hebrew and Greek words -- when there are souls out there dying because they have never heard the name of Jesus. I believe that God is much more concerned about heart surrender, for He says that people honor Him with their lips, but their hearts are "far from me." -Isa. 29:13.   (emphasis mine)

My Comment: Not to worry so much about His Name, His Holy Identity.  Read Acts 4:12, and say that, and then read, Mat 11:27 and Ph 2:9-11, also.  Whose Name do you confess?  Oh, any name will do, you say?  And, what, people are dying in the name of Jesus?  That is proof?  Oh, and then you say it is about "articulation"?  How do you articulate the name Jesus?  Geezus, but in over a third of the world it is articulated as Hey Zeus, Hezeus.  I think it does matter.  Certainly the name used to replace our Savior's Name is not His Name, the Name He was given by His Heavenly Father -- the translators are wrong and are afraid to admit it -- imagine if they did, all of the bibles they would have to recall, and all of the books they would have to change, but only after wiping all of the egg of error from their faces.
 
Jesus summed up the importance of a knowledge of the Deity: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3; See also Hosea 6:6, Jer. 9:24 and Hab. 2:14)

My Comment:  Now read the quotes you gave, only this time, with the Names restored.  Your name is Sharon, why don't i just call you Chuck?  If your name is important to you, how much more His Name.  You know, it isn't like we do not have His Name today.  We have His Name, it is in the Old Testament as Joshua, the Old English transliteration, so why not use that Name?  Why use a made up name?  Why not use the Name we see and read in the Old Testament in the New Testament?  Joshua, pronounced as YaHshua, has been around for some 3,000 years and is the name of the individual that led the Chosen people of YaHWeH into the Promised land.  It is fitting, then, that our Savior, who is going to lead us into the Kingdom of God would have the same name, Joshua, or YaHshua, and not the bogus name JESUS, a name that is not even close to the Name He was named at Birth.   Make no mistake the translations you read today were not written in the first Century, so they had plenty of time to replace His true Name with a false name.  I say THEY, meaning the Devil and his angels.  
 
Thank you for contacting Amazing Facts and hope this helps you in your study of God's name.  Please write again if you have more questions. God bless!
Sharon,  Amazing Facts Team    http://www.amazingfacts.org
 Comments or Questions to:  dan@servantsofyahshua.com
 
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