THE SACRED NAME 5ALLUSIONS,
CHARACTERISTICS, AND EPITHETS
Consider
HIM:
The
Lord Is My Portion.
Unto US! Unto
us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given . . and His name shall be
called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6. He
said unto them, 0 fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken! . . And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, He
expounded unto them That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son. honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. John 5:23. "In
order to strengthen our confidence in God, Christ teaches us to address
Him by a new name, a name entwined with the dearest associations of the
human heart. He gives us the privilege of calling the infinite God our
Father.
This name, spoken to Him and of Him, is a sign of our love and trust
toward Him, and a pledge of His regard and relationship to us. Spoken when
asking His favor or blessing, it is as music in His ears. That we might
not think it presumption to call Him by this name, He has repeated it
again and again. He desires us to become familiar with the appellation (an
identifying name or title]." Christ's Object Lessons, 141-142. "Then
press your petition to the Father in the name of Jesus. God will honor
that name." Christ's Object Lessons, 148. "Man
must overcome as Christ overcame. And then, through the victory that it is
his privilege to gain by the all-powerful name of Jesus, he may become
an heir of God and joint heir with Jesus Christ." 4 Testimonies, 33. "Holy
angels have been displeased and disgusted with the irreverent manner in
which many have used the NAME of God, the great Jehovah. Angels mention
that SACRED NAME with the greatest awe, ever veiling their faces when they
speak the NAME of God: and the NAME of Christ is so SACRED to them that
they speak it with the greatest reverence." l Testimonies, 410. "The
miracles wrought by Paul in the NAME of Jesus created great excitement
among the Ephesians. And certain Jewish exorcists. believing that the
SACRED NAME acted as a charm, determined to cast out evil spirits by the
same means that the apostle had employed. Seven brothers, the sons of
Sceva,
a chief priest of the Jews, were of this number. Finding a man who was
possessed of an evil spirit, they addressed him, 'We adjure you by
Jesus, whom Paul preacheth;' But the evil spirit answered with scorn,
'Jesus I Know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?' And the man who was
possessed
attacked them, and overcame them. 'so that they fled out of that house
naked and wounded.' Their discomfiture was soon known to Jews and Gentiles
throughout Ephesus; and it furnished unmistakable proof of the
sacredness
of the NAME of Jesus, and of the peril incurred by those who would invoke
it while they had no faith in his divine mission." The Signs of the
Times, "February 18, 1886, para. 3. "Those
who are in the service of God, who profess to believe the truth, should
closely examine themselves, to see whether they are in the faith,
whether they are using SACRED or common fire. At the death of Nadab and
Abihu, Moses declared to Aaron, 'This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I
will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I
will be glorified. Let all who NAME the NAME of Christ depart from
iniquity." The General Conference Bulletin, October I, 1899, para.. 2. "Those
who profess the NAME of Christ are to represent Christ as their pattern
and example. They are to unfold to others the truth in its purity, and
make known to them what are the privileges and responsibilities of the
Christian life, and this can be done by the professed follower of Christ
only as he conforms his character to the SACRED principles of truth."
Advent Review and Sabbath Herald November 20, 1894, para. 4. "The
grace given cost Heaven a price it is impossible for us to measure. That
grace is our choicest treasure, and Christ means that it shall be
communicated through us. It is SACRED, in the NAME of Jesus. to the saving
of the soul. It is the revealing of the honor of God, an unfolding of
His glory. And shall any man or woman professing godliness misinterpret
the gift, ignore the Giver, and present a substitute?" In Heavenly
Places, 220. "It
was Christ who planned. . every specification in regard to the building
of Solomon's temple. The One who in His earthly life worked as a carpenter
in the village of Nazareth was the heavenly architect who marked out the
plan for the SACRED building where His NAME was to be honored. . "My
Life Today, 117. "Christians are to be indeed the representatives of Jesus Christ; they are not to be pretenders. Shall the world form its conceptions of God by the course of those who only take the NAME of Christ. and do not His works? Shall they point to those who claim to be believers, but who are not believers at heart, who betray SACRED trusts, and work the works of the enemy." Our High Calling, 123. "Christ claims all those as His
who have believed in His NAME. The vitalizing power of the Spirit of
Christ dwelling in the mortal body binds every believing soul to Jesus
Christ. Those who believe in Jesus are SACRED to His heart; for their life
is hid with Christ in God. The command will come from the Life-giver,
J\wake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of
herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead' (Isa.26:19)."Selected
Messages
Book 2, 271. "Heaven
is a clean and holy place. God is pure and holy. All who come into His
presence should take heed to His directions, and have the body and the
clothing in a pure, clean condition, thus showing respect to themselves
and to Him. The heart must also be sanctified. Those who do this will not
dishonor His SACRED NAME by worshiping Him while their hearts are
polluted and their apparel is untidy. God sees these things. He marks the
heart preparation, the thoughts, the cleanliness. . of those who worship
Him." Sons and Daughters of God, 173. "This
testimony in regard to the establishment of the Christian church is
given us, not only as an important portion of SACRED history, but also
as a lesson. All who profess the NAME of Christ should be waiting,
watching. and praying with one heart. All differences should be put away,
and unity and tender love one for another pervade the whole, Then our
prayers may go up together to our Heavenly Father with strong, earnest
faith. Then we may wait with patience and hope the fulfillment of the
promise." The Spirit of Prophecy Vol. 3, 272.
"Some think it a mark of humility to pray to God in a common manner. .
They profane His NAME by needlessly and irreverently mingling with their
prayers the words, 'God Almighty' awful. SACRED words, which should never
pass the lips except in subdued tones and with a feeling of awe." The
Faith I Live By, 41. "Let
us study the life and death of Christ. Let us do all in our power to work
out the plan of God. What tongue can tell. what pen unfold the mighty
results of looking to Jesus and living His life? How few of those
claiming to be Christians have any real right to that SACRED NAME."
The Upward Look, 200. "When
appearing as members of their [Jesuit] order, they wore a garb of
sanctity, visiting prisons and hospitals, ministering to the sick and
the poor, professing to have renounced the world, and bearing the SACRED
NAME of Jesus, who went about doing good. But under this blameless
exterior the most criminal and deadly purposes were often
concealed." The Great Controversy, 235. "Young
men, young women, you are called by the Master to take up His work. His
requirements are too SACRED to be tampered with. In the NAME of
the Lord, I ask you to conquer every unlawful appetite and passion and to
purify your souls by a belief of the truth, Overcome by the blood of the
Lamb and the word of your testimony. Discharge faithfully your
obligations, looking to God for strength." Pacific Union Recorder,
November 20, 1902, para. 10. "Brethren
and sisters, I call upon you in the NAME of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to
work where God works. Now is the day of gracious opportunity and
privilege. Let not one be a traitor to holy, SACRED trusts, as were the
Jews. Resist not grace, abuse not privileges, smother not in your human
pride the convictions of the Spirit of God. Despise not warnings, settle
not down in hardness of heart, in confirmed impenitence, as did Pharaoh,
the rebellious king of Egypt. Let every one listen to the voice of the
True Shepherd, and not only hear but obey, and it will be well with your
soul." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. July 23, 1889, para. 16. "Life
is not given to us to be spent in idleness or self-pleasing; but great
possibilities have been placed before every one who will develop his
God-given capabilities. For this reason the training of the young is a
matter of the highest importance. Every child born into the home is a
SACRED trust. God says to the parents, Take this child, and bring it up
for Me, that it may be an honor to My NAME, and a channel through which My
blessings shall flow to the world," Fundamentals of Christian
Education, 416. "When
they are intrusted with children, it is the same as though Christ placed
them in their arms and said, 'Train these children for me, that they may
shine in the courts of God.' One of the first sounds that should attract
their attention is the NAME of Jesus, and in their earliest years
they should be led to the footstool of prayer. Their minds should be
filled with stories of the life of the Lord, and their imagination
encouraged in picturing the glories of the world to come." Advent
Review and Sabbath Herald, February 19, 1895. para. 7. "Let
us study the life and death of Christ. Let us do all in our power to work
out the plan of God. What tongue can tell, what pen unfold, the mighty
results of looking to Jesus and living His life! How few of those
claiming to be Christians have any real right to that SACRED NAME!" Advent
Review and Sabbath Herald, August 11,1903, para. 18. "On
Monday, February 8, the Lord gave me a plain message for the people, and
all present had evidence that the voice of the Holy Spirit was in the
message I bore in the NAME of the Lord. I presented before our people
principles that were SACRED and holy, principles which the Lord expects
His people to carry out." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, March
11,1909, para. 4. "By our baptismal pledge we avouched and solemnly confessed the Lord Jehovah as our Ruler. We virtually took a solemn oath. in the NAME of the Father. and of the Son. and of the Holy Ghost, that henceforth our lives would be merged into the life of these three great agencies, that the life we should live in the flesh would be lived in faithful obedience to God's SACRED law." God's Amazing Grace, 150. "Men in SACRED office
ought not to be sanctioned and upheld while they are going down to the
world's level. and dragging the banner of truth after them. In the NAME of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth I urge that the world's spirit and maxims, their
likings, their principles, shall not leaven the churches. Shall the
principles of heaven be discarded as in the days of Noah? Shall he that
departeth from evil make himself a prey to sharp, critical, designing men?
In the last work, the last influence, and the last warnings of the
world, shall we give the trumpet an uncertain sound? There is a broad,
clear, deep line drawn by the eternal God between worldly policy and the
unselfish, undeviating principles of justice, and righteousness, and
equity." The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1401. "I
am getting to be very tired of moving. It worries me out, settling and
unsettling, gathering up Manuscripts and scattering them, to be gathered
up again. If I should look to my poor, finite self, I should soon become
discouraged; but in looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my
faith, I take courage. and press forward with His NAME on my lips to the
mark for the prize of the high calling which is in Christ Jesus. If we at
times feel our infirmities encompassing us, and a discouragement comes
upon us, we must look away from self unto Jesus, and pray for spiritual
eyesight." The Paulson Collection of Ellen G. White Letters, 101. "'Ye
shall not swear by my NAME falsely, neither shalt thou profane the NAME of
thy God; I am the Lord.' The NAME of the Lord is profaned in many ways. It
is spoken thoughtlessly, and is often dishonored in common conversation
by appealing to God, as 'the Lord knows,' etc., thus making common that
NAME which is sacred, and should always be spoken with reverence. Some
even in their prayers take
the
NAME of God upon their lips in a thoughtless manner. His HOLY NAME Is to
be spoken with solemnity, and not to be heedlessly brought into our
prayers every few sentences. 'Lord God Almighty: 'HOLY and Reverend is His
NAME!' His purity, majesty and excellence should be meditated upon, and
the lips be sanctified that utter His NAME. Although we do not hear His
voice from Sinai's mount proclaiming His HOLY law, we have just as much
need to fear and tremble as had they who surrounded it at that time. The
law of God is exceeding broad. We cannot measure it, neither can we evade
its positive claims, for it will be the rule of future judgment." The
Signs of the Times, July 22, 1880, para. 8, "Teach
your children reverence for God and the hour of prayer. The Lord our God
is HOLY and his NAME is to be treated with great reverence. Angels are
displeased and disgusted with the irreverent manner in which the NAME of
God, the great Jehovah, is sometimes used in prayer. They mention that
NAME with the greatest awe, even veiling their faces when they speak the
NAME of God: the NAME of Christ also is sacred, and is spoken with the
greatest reverence. And those who in their prayers use the NAME of God
in a common and flippant manner, have no sense of the exalted character
of God, of Christ, or of heavenly things." The Signs of the Times,
November 18, 1886, para. 12.
Irreverence." I
saw that God's HOLY NAME should be used with reverence, and awe. Said the
angel, 'Couple them not together: for fearful is His NAME: I saw that God
Almighty was coupled together, and used by some in meeting in a careless,
thoughtless manner, which was displeasing to God. They have no realizing
sense of God, or the truth: or they would not speak so irreverently of the
great and dreadful God, who is soon to judge them in the last day. Those
who realize the greatness and majesty of God, will take his NAME on their
lips with HOLY awe. He dwelleth in light unapproachable: no man can see
him and live. I saw that these things would have to be understood and
corrected where they exist, before the church can prosper.
"Supplement to the Christian Experience and Views of Ellen G. White,
43. Present
Inspiring Themes of the Gospel." We need a power to come upon us now
and stir us up to diligence and earnest faith. Then, baptized with the
HOLY Spirit, we shall have Christ formed within, the hope of glory. Then
we will exhibit Christ as the divine object of our faith and our love. We
will talk of Christ, we will pray to Christ and about Christ. We will
praise His HOLY NAME. We will present before the people His miracles, His
self-denial, His self-sacrifice, His sufferings, and His crucifixion,
His resurrection and triumphant ascension. These are the inspiring
themes of the gospel. to awaken love and intense fervor in every heart.
Here are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, a fountain inexhaustible.
The more you seek of this experience, the greater will be the value of
your life." Selected Messages Book 3, 186. "We
come unto God in the NAME of Jesus by special invitation, and He welcomes
us to His audience chamber, and imparts to the humble and contrite heart
that faith in Christ by which he is justified. Jesus blots out as a thick
cloud his transgressions, and the comforted heart exclaims, '0 Lord, I
will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned
away, and thou comfortedst me' [Isa. 12: 1]. He will understand such a one
by his own experience in the words of Paul, 'With the heart man believeth
unto righteousness: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation'
[Rom. 10: 10] .He then becomes a sanctified agent that God can employ to
work out His noble purposes. He represents Christ, holding forth to the
world His mercy and love. He has a testimony that he desires that others
should hear. In the language of the psalmist, he says, 'Bless the Lord, 0
my soul: and all that is within me, bless His HOLY NAME. Bless the Lord, 0
my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine
iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases: who redeemeth thy life from
destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies'
[Ps. 103:24.]" Counsels to Parents, 242. "I
believed, without a doubt, in the perfect and entire restoration of my
husband to health. The Lord is for us. praise His HOLY NAME! Although
Satan tried to press us sore, yet help has been laid upon One that is
mightier than he, and in the NAME of Jesus, our great Deliverer, we knew
we should come off conquerors." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald,
April 23, 1914, para. 14. "We
know that trials await us. But those who are true and steadfast will have
a strong and powerful defense in God. My trust is unwavering. I am not
discouraged. because I can hold to the hand of Christ. Let us be always
cheerful, that others may not catch from us the spirit of
discouragement. Sing praises to the Lord: sing praises to His HOLY
NAME." Bible Training School, November 1, 1903, para. 5, "Why
are so many who profess to be children of God devoting their
God-entrusted capabilities to selfish purposes? They are stewards of
the grace of Christ. and should lift up Jesus before the world. They
should talk of Christ. His praise should be on their lips because the
Sun of Righteousness is shining in their hearts. Through them His HOLY
NAME should be exalted in the earth. Many, many, become the subjects of
Satan's temptations because they do not disinterestedly and energetically
engage in the service of Christ. but take their position in opposition to
the Great Worker. The names of such cannot be registered in the books of heaven
as laborers together with God. They are numbered with the
idlers." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. August 16, 1898, para.
13.
THE
PRONUNCIATION OF THE WORD "YHWH" The
Sacred Name theory is centered around the teaching that only the ineffable
name of God must be spoken, and it must be pronounced correctly. Here are
some facts about the ineffable name which you will want to consider: FACT
ONE Some people call it "YHWH" while others call it "JHWH,"
but no one knows how to pronounce it. FACT
TWO It is the "ineffable name"; that is, the unspeakable
name, because, down through the centuries, the Jews have refused to take
it upon their lips and pronounce it. FACT
THREE Instead, they applied different vowels to it; i.e., the vowels
of word ADN (Adonai). This has confused the matter still more, rendering
it even more difficult to know its original vowels. FACT
FOUR Aside from the ineffable name, the Masorite Jews did not know how
to pronounce any Hebrew words, when they guesstimated which vowels
should be added to each Hebrew word in c. A.D. 900. This is because the
pronunciation of the Hebrew language had been lost since the time of Ezra
and Nehemiah. FACT
FIVE The pronunciation of the entire Hebrew language was lost for
about 1,345 years because the Jewish people stopped speaking the language
by the time of Nehemiah (445 B.C.; Ezra 7:10, PK 608-609), and no one
tried to figure out how it had been pronounced until c. A.D. 900, when the
Masoritic Jews tried to do so centuries before the time of Christ. FACT
SIX If a language is not spoken for a century, the correct pronunciation
will be lost. However, the written vowels can partially restore the
pronunciation. But, in the case of ancient Hebrew, no vowels had ever
been in the written language! So, even a couple hundred years later, no
one could know how to pronounce a language that no one had spoken for
twenty decades, especially when no earlier written vowels had been
included in the language. FACT
SEVEN But, from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (445 B.C.) down to the
time when the Masorites tried to guess their way through the pronunciation
of the ancient Hebrew manuscripts (c. A.D. 900), over a millennium had
elapsed years twenty-three centuries! There was absolutely no way they
could correctly restore the pronunciation of the ancient language! FACT
EIGHT After so many centuries, the Masorites could not even be certain
how the consonants sounded! For example, in German, the "J" is
pronounced like "Y. " The same problem of consonantal
differences in pronunciation could have affected ancient Hebrew. The
Masorites in the eighth century, A.D., 15-20 had absolutely no way of
knowing how JHWH had been pronounced twenty-three centuries earlier. FACT
NINE For thousands of years, reaching back far into Old Testament
times, JHWH has been the "ineffable name"; that is, the "unpronounceable
name." The Jews have refused to pronounce it correctly. How then can
we today know how it should be pronounced? FACT
TEN The pronunciation of words in a language can change very quickly,
even when the words are spoken daily. We know this was so, even in ancient
Israel. According to the chronology given in Judges, the incident in
Judges 12:6 occurred only 319 years after Joshua led the Israelites into
Canaan. Yet, within that short period, significant differences in
pronunciation had developed between Jewish tribes which dwelt in the land.
The word, Shibboleth, means "flowing stream, " yet the
Ephraimites could not pronounce the initial letter, shin, properly. FACT
ELEVEN The Jews before the time of Ezra did not pronounce the name. They
also called it the "ineffable name." So, after Moses and Joshua
led the Hebrews into the Promised Land, the word was no longer pronounced.
Someone will say. "Well, every Jew living then would know how to
pronounce the word." No, they could not know this, and for two
reasons: (1) The word was never spoken, and (2) no vowels were included
in the word when it was written. Therefore, no one could know how it
should be pronounced. FACT
TWELVE But, because of the lapse of about a millennium, between the time
of Ezra and Nehemiah and the time of the Masorites, when it was not
spoken, the entire Hebrew language became ineffable! No one could
correctly pronounce any of it! FACT
THIRTEEN For over a thousand years, from after the time of Moses on down
to modern times, the Jews refused to speak the ineffable name. It has been
a word read, but not spoken. When something is only read and never
pronounced, the sounding of it is eventually lost to the people. That is
what happened to YHWH FACT
FOURTEEN It is quite obvious that the God of heaven purposely permitted
this situation, so no one today could worship Hebrew words! We are to
worship God and obey Him! And we are to do it in our language, not in an
unknown language!. FACT
FIFTEEN If the Jews did not think the word should be pronounced, why
must anyone in our time demand that everyone today must pronounce it! FACT
SIXTEEN We are told in Great Controversy that one of the popes
declared that it was pleasing to God that He be worshiped in an unknown
language. Is this what we are doing? We are told we must forsake our own
language and use foreign ones which we cannot pronounce. Is not
worshiping God in spirit and truth more important than trying to ascertain
unknown pronunciations? FACT SEVENTEEN Assuming that we can be certain of the pronunciation of the consonants, which we cannot, YHWH is generally pronounced "YAH-WHEH." We guess that "ah" and "eh" may be the two vowels to be supplied to sound the ineffable name. But, any vowel could be used instead of those two. Someone may reply, "Oh, that is simple enough; there is only "A, " "E," "I," "0," and "U" to pick from!" But, mathematically, that could give you many possible pronunciations, if even only one vowel were placed after the "Y' and one after the "w." But the situation is far more complicated than that. FACT EIGHTEEN
Just as we do
today, ancient Hebrews often placed vowels at the beginning of their
words, before the consonants. Some were particles of various kinds, and
some were not. So an additional vowel could easily have been attached to
the front of the ineffable name (before the "Y'),with another at the
far end of the word (after the "H"). Thus the name could have
had as many as four unknown vowels in it. FACT NINETEEN The unknown vowels in the ineffable name might have been diphthongs; which are double vowels, producing still different sounds. ("AI," "OU," "AU," "OI," etc., etc.) FACT
TWENTY But actually, there are far more than the five vowel
sounds, "A," "E," "I," "0," and
"U" There are actually over thirty vowels in the phonetic
alphabet! The experts who study such things tell us they have cataloged a
large number of ways that vowels can be pronounced! For example, in
English "OU" can be pronounced in at least six different ways:
"Though he pulled through a cough and hiccough, he still had a Tough night on a bough." FACT
TWENTY-ONE In many languages even consonants have varied in
pronunciation. For example, in English note the difference between the
"th" of ether and the "th" of either; between the
"ssi" of mission and the "si" of vision. FACT
TWENTY TWO If you will check in any reputable Hebrew grammar, you will
learn that Hebrew experts inform us that the first consonant in the
ineffable name (which is commonly written as "Y," for lack of
something better), is often quiescent. This means that Jewish scholars
tell us it is often not sounded at all. FACT
TWENTY-THREE If you will check in any reputable Hebrew grammar, you
will discover that the second consonant in the ineffable name (which we
write as "Y") can be pronounced in three different ways: with a
"Y" sound, a "J" sound, or a "V" sound! Which do you
prefer? FACT
TWENTY-FOUR If you will check in any reputable Hebrew grammar, you will
find that the third consonant in the ineffable name (which we write in
English as "H") is also often quiescent, or not sounded! FACT
TWENTY-FIVE In view of all this, does it not seem that our kind
heavenly Father does not want us to worship a word, any word, and
particularly that word? He wants us to worship Him and spend our lives
trusting in Jesus, obeying His Commandments, and helping others. FACT
TWENTY-SIX The meaning of the ineffable name is crucially vital. God is totally,
eternally self-existent Self-existence; that is, life that is unborrowed
and underived, is a very special attribute of God. It is this truth that
is vital, not the language in which it is expressed. Let
us close with this statement about the ineffable name by a leading expert
in the Hebrew language: "The
Name of Jehovah: The Old Testament contained this name in some 5,500
places, and in this Interlinear Bible, we have always rendered it Jehovah,
or in its shortened form, Jah. The Jews, of course, considered this name
to be incommunicable and never pronounced it or wrote it. "The
root bears the meaning of continuing being, a personal, absolute,
self-determining Existence. It is very likely best translated as in
Exodus
3:14, where the Lord said to Moses, 'I AM THAT I AM' 'Thus you shall say
to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. .' Because of the
vagueness of the Hebrew tense (which is the same in both parts of the
sentence) other renderings are possible, but none are better than "I
AM THAT I AM:
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