The very first Shavuot, after the resurrection, all the disciples were gathered together in one place, in one accord, and the Holy Spirit had fallen upon them, and they began to speak in languages that were familiar to the audience, the people that were there, and it was all speaking this message to them, the wonderful works of Yahweh. 

And at that time, (Acts 2:14-16) – Peter stood up with the eleven, [he] raised His voice and [he] said to them, “Men of Judea, and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.
¹⁵ “For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only [about] the third hour of the day.
¹⁶ “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Yael —
¹⁷ ‘(And) it shall come to pass in the last day, says Elohim, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸ ‘And on My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ ‘I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
²⁰ ‘The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh.
²¹ ‘And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of Yahweh Shall be saved.’”

So all these works that Yahweh is doing, He is expecting a response that leads to salvation. And that is calling upon the name of Yahweh to be saved.

Most translations, however, do not have the name “Yahweh” in this verse. And to me, that’s tragic. Instead, they have put “the Lord,” which is not a name at all. It is a title, a generic title, on par with “landlord,” okay?

It is not a title, it’s not something that belongs to the Father in heaven alone. It’s a generic title. And so to me, this is not just tragic. Actually, it’s a scandal! It’s a scandal!

And so today’s study topic is called, “The Scandal of Erasing Yahweh’s Name.”

Yahweh’s name is in Scripture 7,000 times, and 7,000 times man erases it. In the case of English, they decided to replace His name with a generic title, but you see – you know, generic title? Yahweh is not a generic Elohim! He is not a generic father!

And so why would we reduce His name, His mark of individuality? One of the first things you ask when you get to know somebody is, “What’s your name?” Completely absent, erased, and replaced. 

Try that with any other author. He sends his book to the publisher. It’s a biography about his life and things he’s doing, and so he goes and sends this off to the publisher. Publisher comes back, and every place where his name is, it says, “human being.” What do you think that author would do? Would he be happy about that? No, he would not be happy about that at all.

And yet translators have done this with not just some guy writing a book; the King of kings, the Creator of the universe, the One who loved us and sent His Son to us, the One that loves us more than anybody ever could. And our response? Erase His name from His own book.

How could anyone do that? Imagine! And when anyone says, “Wait a minute, this isn’t right,” we get labeled, “One of those divisive sacred namers.” Like, that’s what I’ve experienced. Call me what you want. I’m calling upon the name of Yahweh. Call me what you want. I’m not going to participate in the scandal of erasing Yahweh’s name.

And so when did this first originate? How did this whole thing get started? Look, any encyclopedia will tell you—Encyclopedia Britannica says – “Yahweh, the Elohim of the Israelites, His name being revealed to Moshe as 4 Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the tetragramaton, after the exile (6th century B.C.), and especially from the 3rd century B.C. on, Jews ceased to use the Name of Yahweh for 2 reasons.

As Judaism became a universal religion through its proselytizing in the Greco-Roman world, the more common noun elohim, meaning ‘god’, tended to replace Yahweh to demonstrate the universal sovereignty of Israel’s God over all others.

At the same time, the divine name was increasingly regarded as too sacred to be uttered. It was thus replaced vocally in the synagogue ritual by the Hebrew word Adonai, meaning ‘my Lord,’ which is translated as Kyrios, ‘Lord,’ in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament.” – And this is Encyclopedia Britannica under the name “Yahweh.” This is what it says.

Now, this tradition of the Jews was picked up by the early church fathers. One of the very first apologists of Christianity was a man by the name of Justin Martyr, about 150 A.D. or so. And he said “All the Jews even now teach the nameless Elohim (God) spoke to Moshe (Moses).” (I Apol., 63) Nameless Elohim?!

Then he says, “For [Elohim] cannot be called by any proper name.” (Justin’s Hortatory Address to the Greeks, 21) – Really?

And then he says, “For no one can utter the name of the ineffable Elohim (God). If anyone dare to say there is a name, he raves with hopeless madness.” (I Apol., 61)

In my mind, the man who wrote this is raving with hopeless madness because, I mean, was Yahweh raving with hopeless madness when He said, (Exodus 3:15b) – ‘This is my name forever, and (this is) My memorial to all generations.’ – Something you want to be remembered by is a memorial, right?

Was He raving with hopeless madness when He said, (Isaiah 42:8) – I am Yahweh, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, ⋯ – Was the psalmist raving with hopeless madness when he said, (Psalm 116:17) – I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of Yahweh. – No.

This is one of many false doctrines, sadly, that crept into Christianity during this era. I say, let us return back to the doctrine found in the Holy Scriptures.

Yahweh never told us to change His inspired Word. His name is in Scripture nearly 7,000 times, not so we could change it; so that we would use it.

Now, most translations freely admit that they are doing this. Just look at the preface. The New International Version. They will tell you. They say, well, “The NIV translators chose to render the Tetragrammaton,” – Yahweh – “the personal name of Elohim in Hebrew as LORD in all caps,” – So wherever you see all capitals, L-O-R-D, that is where the sacred name is. – “to distinguish it from other uses of the term Lord, capital L-o–r–d, this decision aligns with the” – what? – “longstanding tradition in English translations reflecting the Jewish practice of substituting Adonai “lord” when reading the divine name aloud.” – So they are following the Jewish practice.

Also, the preface of the Revised Standard Version says, “The use of any proper name for the one and only Elohim as though there were other Elohim from which He had to be distinguished, was discontinued” – when? – “in Judaism before the Christian era, and is entirely inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian Church.”

I’d love to talk to these people. Well, I’m going to. Wait a minute. I thought your job, sirs, was to translate, not tell us what to believe. That’s what I thought. I thought you were supposed to tell us what’s in the Hebrew, not decide what is appropriate or not appropriate.

Who was the one who invented the idea of having a name? Wasn’t it Him, like Yahweh? His idea, right? Was Yahweh entirely inappropriate for putting His name in the Bible 7,000 times? That’s what they’re saying. And we think we’re so wise that we can improve upon His already perfect Word.

And they say it was discontinued in Judaism. I find it incredulous that normally they’re against Judaism. Normally, they don’t want anything to do with Judaism. In this case, they’ll follow Judaism when Judaism is wrong, but they won’t follow Judaism when Judaism is correct. What gives?

And so in my mind, what’s more universal than one name? One name. One universal name. Isn’t that what Yahweh wanted from the very beginning? Yes.

Malachi 1:11 says – For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; – Well, how’s that going to happen when you don’t even use it? It’s not even in the Bible.

Many times Yahweh says, exalt His name. (Psalm 34:3) – Oh, magnify YAHWEH with me, And let us exalt His name together. – How are you going to do that? And when the name is taken out of the Bible and people don’t even know He has one. If they do know He has one, they must think it’s not important because it’s not in their Bibles.

Psalm 105:1 – Oh, give thanks to YAHWEH! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! – That’s what I want to do. I want to give thanks to Him, call upon His name and make known His deeds among the peoples.

And again, (Joel 2:32) – And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of Yahweh Shall be saved. – I’d say it makes the name pretty important. I’m not saying if you didn’t use it, you’re still lost and going in… I’m saying this proves a name is important.

Now the Bible is full of false statements as typically written. For instance, New King James version says, (Isaiah 42:8) – I am the LORD, That is My name. – That’s not true. His name is not the LORD.

It says, (Isaiah 42:8) – I am Yahweh, [and] that is My name; And My glory; I will not give to another, – name – Nor My praise to graven (carved) images. – Now I added the name, but another what? Another name. What else?

So this is the name He wants to be glorified in. And so, Scripture says not to add to and not take away from His Word, right? Says not to add to and not to… Well, when you replace Yahweh’s name with a title, you’re both adding to and taking away from the Holy Scriptures. Yes, I say it’s scandalous.

Not only that, it’s a direct violation of the Third Commandment. I’m going to explain to you why. The Third Commandment, Deuteronomy 5:11 says – You shall not take the name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. – (<Heb. #7723 ‘Shav’>)

Now this is the Hebrew word “shav.” Then that same Hebrew word is found here. (Deuteronomy 5:20) – You shall not bear – shav – false witness against your neighbor.

So, might this shed light on the Hebraic meaning of the Third Command? We know that the name of the Heavenly Father is not “the Lord.” That’s actually a false witness, that’s actually a false statement.

We are falsifying His name, when we replace it with a generic title. You’re lifting His name out of the text and you’re replacing it with something that is not His name at all. We should not be falsifying His name!

We have no right to change Yahweh’s Word. It does not need corrected by men. You have no right to come along and fix it, because it’s not broken.

Now, even if you think “vain” is an acceptable translation, take a look at the dictionary definition of the word “vain.” – “Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying. (‘Thy vain excuse…’) destitute of forge or efficacy; effecting no purpose; fruitless; ineffectual; (as) vain toil; (a) vain attempt.”

So I have a question. Someone must have thought Yahweh’s name was unsatisfying, right? Someone thought His name had no real substance, value, or importance. And so they emptied the text of His Word, making it void. The name was considered null and void. It must not have had any value or they wouldn’t have done that.

And it didn’t, in their mind, have any forge or efficacy. They didn’t think it had any real purpose of being there. They thought it was fruitless and ineffectual.

They probably figured, “Well, He knows who you’re talking about. He knows what you mean.” Sure, He knows what you’re talking about, He knows what you mean. But He says, don’t do that to His name. He says, actually, He will not hold you guiltless if you do it. He will not hold him guiltless who does this. It’s the only Commandment with a warning. I find it interesting.

And the next Commandment—remember the Sabbath, is the one everyone forgets. Like the very thing He said not to do is what is being done.

So since I want to keep the Ten Commandments, I don’t want to falsify or misrepresent what’s in Scripture.

In most translations, the Third Commandment is actually a transgression of itself. Because Yahweh says not to falsify His name and not to make it – what? – empty, worthless, unsatisfying, all these things. And yet, most translations do just that by how they translate the Third Commandment.

Now you might say, “Well, names don’t matter, you know; rose by any other name, it’s all the same, you know, who cares?” That’s not what Yahweh says about His name.

I mean, really, do you really believe that? What if your name was Louis? I decided to call you Lulu. What if your name was Brian? I decided to call you Bozo. Yeah, you wouldn’t be too happy about that, right? Sticks and stones don’t break your bones.

Wow, what name I call you doesn’t hurt, right? Wrong. In fact, when I mispronounce someone’s name accidentally, they’ll inevitably correct me. It’s just how it is. Yesterday, someone said, “My wife’s name’s Alyssa.” I called her Alicia, and oh, they corrected me. “No, it’s Alyssa.”

So, if we think that we have the authority to change Yahweh’s name to some other thing, we’ve got another thing coming. Think about in Scripture, the one who’s in authority will decide to name the ones under their authority. Adam named his wife, right? Yahweh renamed Abram to Abraham. He renamed Jacob to Israel. The Messiah renamed Simon to Peter. We give names to our children. Yahweh gave the name to His Son.

We are not His authority figure to change His name. We do not have the authority to do that.

So in spite of what others may think, I’m going to keep this Third Commandment. I’m going to keep it. And I’m going to allow His name to be in the same…, in fact, the word “Yahweh” is the seventh most commonly used word in all of Scripture. Number seven, interestingly enough.

And so when Scripture tells me, (1st Peter 4:11) – If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of Elohim, – then when I’m speaking, the words I say should be of similar frequency to how the name of Yahweh is spoken in Scripture.

And so I’m not just going to limit my pronouncing of our Father’s name to simply when I read the Scriptures. I want my speech to be like the oracles of Elohim.

And the primary term that’s used when referencing our Heavenly Father is the name of Yahweh. I’m not going to take it away. I’m not going to add to it. I’m going to forsake the traditions of men and keep the Commandments.

What did Messiah say to those of His generation? He says, (Mark 7:9) – (He said to them,) “all too well you reject the commandment of Elohim, that you may keep your tradition.”

Every righteous man in Scripture called upon the name of Yahweh. Abraham. It says, I’m sorry, in Seth’s day, (Genesis 4:26) – (And) as for Seth, to him (also) a son was born; (and) he was named Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of Yahweh.

Then we have Abraham. (Genesis 12:7-8) – (Then) Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
⁸ As he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, (and) he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; And he built an altar to Yahweh and called on the name of Yahweh.

(Genesis 22:14) – (And) Abraham called another place YAHWEH-YIREH; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of Yahweh it shall be provided.”

And then we have Moshe himself who asked what His name was. And Yahweh said, (Genesis 3:15) – (Moreover Elohim said Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel:) ‘Yahweh Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever,  and My memorial to (all generations).’” – How many generations? Every single one of them. This is His memorial to every generation. 

We have no business changing and erasing His memorial! Imagine somebody went to the Vietnam memorial, with, gosh, 55,000 names on it, and goes up there and just starts erasing all these names off of there. Don’t you think someone will be pretty upset by that? Of course, of course. People will be enraged. That person will probably end up in prison.

Yet man goes in, in spite of Yahweh saying this is His memorial, they’re going to erase His memorial out of His own Book. Why do people value the memorials of men more than the memorials of Yahweh?

And then we see David. David, (Psalm 116:12-13) – What shall I render to Yahweh For all His benefits toward me? – This is the response, the same response as in Acts chapter 2.
¹³ (I will) take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of Yahweh. – That’s what I want to do. How about you? How about you?

Then there’s Eliyahu the prophet. He had a contest with the prophets of Baal. He said, (1st Kings 18:24) – (Then) you call on the name of your mighty one, (and) I will call on the name of Yahweh; and the Elohim who answers by fire, He is Elohim.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”

And so what do they do? Down to verse 26. (1st Kings 18:26) – (So) they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of (Baal) – and the Hebrew reads Ha-Baal, Ha-Baal – from morning even till noon, saying, “O Ha-Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.

Did you know what “Baal” means in Hebrew? “Lord.” “Ha-Baal” means “the Lord.” So Eliyahu saying, I’m going to call upon the name of Yahweh, and you all guys can call upon the name of the Lord. And the one that answers by fire, He is the mighty one. In fact, there’s one – there’s actually three places in Scripture where it has “Baal Gad,” like “Lord Gad.”

So listen, I know that no one is calling upon that idol Baal when they say the Lord, I know that, okay? But isn’t it just coincidental that, you know, probably not coincidental, probably intentional, something the enemy is doing to mock Yahweh.

And so, it’s interesting. Jeremiah said, (Jeremiah 23:26-27) – “How long will this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Indeed, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart,
²⁷ “who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for (Baal)” – the Lord.

Some things, just keep repeating, nothing new under the sun. It’s a little bit different angle, a little bit different way of doing it, but here we are. Same thing today. Very, very old tradition, replacing Yahweh’s name and forgetting Yahweh’s name for “the Lord.”

John 17:26, Yahushua plainly says – “(And) I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” – Yahushua didn’t make any bones about what He did. He declared His Father ‘s name.

And in the end times, Yahweh identifies His people this way. John 17: 6 says – “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given [to] Me out of the world.” – So He did not hide it, He manifested it, and He declared it.

And what will we be doing? I hope we will be doing this. Zechariah 13(:8-9) says – ”And it shall come to pass in all the land,” says Yahweh, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it:
⁹ I will bring the one-third through (the) fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, (And) I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is my people’; And each one will say, ‘Yahweh is my Mighty One.’” – Beautiful Scripture here in Zechariah 13.

Let’s not wait for the fire purification. Let’s get pure now. Let’s get cleaned up, get rid of traditions of men, and call upon the name of Yahweh. And He will say, “It is My people.” He alone is worthy of our praise and devotion. Forsake the traditions of men, and cleave to the holy Word of our Father in heaven. Every Word He speaks is words refined in the fire seven times. He don’t need you to come along and fix it.

Now, after He returns, look what’s going to happen. Zechariah chapter 14, verse 9 – Yahweh shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be, “Yahweh is one, and His name one.” – You know, not anymore “Ha-Shem,” “Adonai,” “Lord,” “God,” whatever. All these different versions of “Lord” in various languages. No, His name, one name.

Zephaniah 3:9 says – “(For then) I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call upon the name of Yahweh, To serve Him with one accord.”

He knows the translators have gone in and changed all the Scriptures so people don’t call upon the name of Yahweh anymore. And so when He restores every one to the pure language, these translators will be skipped and we’ll go right back to the Hebrew where His name is clearly there.

And so, when Yahweh’s will is finally done on the earth, as it is in heaven, what are people doing? They are calling upon the name of Yahweh.

Now, if you think that’s scandalous, hang on to your hats. This is crazy. What I’m about to share with you is absolutely preposterous, what I’m going to show you right now.

Translators, in some cases, missionaries especially, have done an even worse thing than changing Yahweh’s name to a generic title. In some cases, missionaries would go to these foreign lands and they’d want to translate the Bible into their language.

And so they inquire about the idols that they’re worshiping, okay? And they’d want to find out whether this idol they were worshiping is somehow compatible with the One in the Bible. And if it is, sometimes they will actually replace the name Yahweh in their translation with the name of whatever the idol was they were worshiping before. Really!

So in that case, they’re not replacing the name of Yahweh with a title, they’re replacing the name of Yahweh with an idol. The name of a demon, have you?! They are putting that in these Bible translations.

I’m going to give you multiple examples. There are hundreds, but here’s some. Chinese New Version, Yahweh’s name replaced with the idol Shangdi. The Korean Revised Version, Yahweh’s name replaced with the idol Hananim. Lakota New Testament, Yahweh’s name replaced with the idol’s name Wakan Tanka. The Ghana Akan Bible, Yahweh’s name replaced with an idol’s name Nyame. The Nigerian Igbo Bible, Yahweh’s name was replaced with the idol’s name Chukwu.

Foreign translations here, Nigerian Yoruba Contemporary Bible, they replaced Yahweh’s name with the idol’s name Olórun. South African Sotho Bible, Yahweh’s name is replaced with an idol’s name Modimo. In the India Hindi Bible, Yahweh’s name is replaced with the idol’s name Parameshwar.

The Chinese Union Version, Yahweh’s name is replaced with the idol’s name Shen and Tian. In the Uganda Luganda Bible, Yahweh’s name is replaced with the idol’s name Katonda. In the South African Zulu Bible, Yahweh’s name is replaced with an idol’s name, I can’t even pronounce it (uNkulunkulu). In the Albanian Bible, Yahweh’s name is replaced with the idol’s name Perendi.

So it goes on and on! Listen, yuck, yuck, a thousand times yuck! Really!

I actually spoke with the Ugandan missionary that was actually on the broadcast some years ago. And yeah, he said they still call him Katonda over there. They all do. And so when he informs them that it’s not “Katonda,” it’s “Yahweh,” they get mad. They actually get angry that they’ve been lied to, all these years they’ve been lied to.

And so I have this one – what’s wrong with just using Yahweh’s name? What’s the problem here?! What’s the problem? There is some kind of demonic push trying to get people away from it. And it’s amazing how far people will go to maintain their traditions.

What Yahweh wants, once again, He wants from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, His name to be great among the Gentiles. (Malachi 1:11)

I actually mentioned this to Paul Washer’s mission work, because they had this as their key Scripture. I’m like, “Well, you don’t do it. You don’t make His name great. You take it out.” And he had some excuse.

Listen, Scripture tells us to praise His name, honor His name, exalt His name, bless in His name, pray in His name, call upon His name, fear His name, love His name, magnify His name, rejoice in His name, remember His name, sing about His name, even walk in His name. It goes on and on and on, so many things about His name. Now, why don’t we just do that?

Instead of walking in the name of these idols, why don’t we walk in the name of Yahweh? This is what Scripture says, (Micah 4:5) – (For) all people walk each in the name of his mighty one, But we will walk in the name of YAHWEH, our Mighty One, Forever and ever.

That’s what I want to do. I want to walk in the name of Yahweh, my Mighty One, forever and ever. Praise Yahweh.

So let’s forsake this practice, which is not Biblical at all. Let’s forsake this practice of replacing Yahweh’s name with titles and idols. And let’s see to it that we don’t refer to Him as a nameless Elohim, but an Elohim that has a name.

And we see His name is associated with righteousness, as the Messiah walked. Let’s forsake traditions of men that violate His commands so that we can truly be walking in righteousness. And so His name will be associated with righteousness.

Now some people in their efforts to justify themselves, they’ll try to say, “The word ‘name’ in Hebrew doesn’t really mean a literal written and spoken name.” They say, “His name just means His character.” And they’ll say things like, “If I tell you I come in the name of peace, that doesn’t mean my name is peace. It means I’m coming to you in the characterization of peace. And so if I say I come in the name of Yahushua, that doesn’t mean my name is Yahushua. It means I’m coming in the Messiah’s character.”

However, I hope we can agree that the word “peace” should not be replaced in such a case with some word of a different meaning altogether. Yahweh’s name does have a meaning in Hebrew. It means “He causes to be.” Every time we use His name, we’re calling upon the One who causes all things to be.

And so that’s important. We want to call upon the One who caused all things to be. And that is Yahweh. He is the one that caused all to exist that which exists. And that’s important that we do that. Yahweh is the One who did that.

And, even a child will tell you when you try to say, “Hi,” they tell you their name, and you come to the child and the child says their name is Jane, and you say, “Hi, Jim,” or “Hi, Josephina,” they’re going to say, “That’s not my name,” right? Because we all know that name isn’t just character. It’s also literal written and spoken name. It’s not just character.

In fact, in the Hebrew, the word “shem” – I’m sorry, in Hebrew His name is so intricately linked with who He is as a mighty one, the Mighty One. And Isaiah chapter 30 in verse 27 says – Behold, the name of Yahweh comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, (And) His tongue like a devouring fire.

You cannot separate Yahweh’s literal written and spoken name with His character. Because a part of His character is that He has a literal written and spoken name that He tells us to call upon, vocalize. To call upon means to vocalize something, okay?

And so not only that, in the Lexicon, the Hebrew word “shem” from which you get the word “name,” it means it’s a mark. It’s a memorial of individuality. A mark is something that you write, a mark. And so His name is His memorial, His mark; His memorial He tells us to call upon and to use.

Now some say, “Well, we don’t really know exactly how to pronounce it. And so we’ll just not use it at all.”

To that I say, don’t some people say, “We don’t really know when the Sabbath is, so we’ll just keep any old day.” I mean, a lot of these same arguments against Sabbath is used here. Here’s what I say to that point. We know for sure His name is not the Lord. And we know for sure His name is not God.

So if you do your very best of what you believe is the correct pronunciation, just as a little child might mispronounce a word or whatever, or mispronounce someone’s name, the person’s not going to get upset because the little child, he can only, this is what he knows, he’s doing what he knows, okay?

In the same way, Yahweh looks at us as His children, and if we don’t say it exactly right, He does see the effort, and the effort is always appreciated. Where we have a problem is when the child knows this is not right, and he does it anyway, right? That’s when we’re going to have a problem, even though they know it’s not right. And we know His name is not the Lord or God, okay?

So that’s okay. If you do your best, someone says “Yahuwah,” someone says a little different than me, that’s fine. All right? And next week, I do plan to share a study on pronunciation.

But we do want to make sure that we are doing our very best in everything that we do. And that would include how we keep Sabbath, how we live our life, trying to walk as Yahushua walked, and includes calling upon His name.

It’s not like a name doesn’t matter, it’s right there in the Ten Commandments. I mean, He must have thought His name and His Sabbath were pretty important. It made it His top ten list, right? I mean, it’s right up there. It must mean something to Him, even if it doesn’t mean something to most people in this world.

Now, some people say, “Well, I don’t expect my child to call upon my personal name. I tell him to call me Daddy or Father. And so, it’s disrespectful to use our Heavenly Father’s name because that’s not appropriate.”

Well, that’s true in our culture; our culture, it’s pretty common for someone to only call their Daddy by their title, that’s our culture. But what did Yahweh tell us to do with His name? Here’s what He told us to do.

Joel 2:32 – It shall come to pass (That) whoever calls on the name of Yahweh shall be saved.

Psalm 105(:1) – (Oh, give thanks to Yahweh!) Call upon His name; make His deeds known among the peoples.

Psalm 116(:17) – (I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will) call upon the name of Yahweh.

Isaiah 12:4 – (And in that day you will say:) “Praise Yahweh, call upon His Name; (Declare His deeds among the peoples,) Make mention that His Name is exalted.”

(Psalm 44:8) – In Elohim we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. (Selah)

(Psalm 34:3) – Oh, magnify Yahweh with me, and let us exalt His name together.

(Psalm 20:5) – We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our Mighty One we are going to set up our banners! (May Yahweh fulfill all your petitions.)

Psalm 129:8 – “The blessing of Yahweh be upon you; We bless you – bless you – in the name of Yahweh!”

Psalm 29:2 – Give unto Yahweh the glory due (to) His name; worship Yahweh in the beauty of holiness.

(Psalm 115:1) – Not unto us, O YAHWEH, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth. – So give glory to His name.

(Malachi 2:2) – “If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name,” (says Yahweh of hosts,) “I will send a curse upon you, And (I will) curse your blessings. (Yes,) I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart. 

Malachi 3:16 says – 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 – what? — meditate on His name.

(Psalm 5:11) – (But) let all those who rejoice (who) put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

Psalm 89:16 – In Your name they rejoice all the day long, (And) in Your righteousness they are exalted.

(Psalm 20:7) – Some trust in chariots, (and) some trust in horses; But we will – what? – remember the name of Yahweh our Mighty One.

I mean it goes on and on and on. And so, what does Yahweh want us to do with His name? Use it, call upon it, honor it, bless it, all these things He wants us to do.

So He doesn’t want you to just call Him “Father.” Yes, He’s a father; yes, He’s a master; yes, He’s a creator; yes, He’s a redeemer. The same is true for you. You’re a brother, you’re a sister or you’re an aunt or uncle or grandma or whatever; but you have a personal name, right?

And so we all, we also know that our Heavenly Father, He’s a father , He’s a creator, He’s a master, He’s a redeemer, He’s a mighty one; but He has a personal name.

Now, some people who say, “Well, you know, name only means character,” here’s how you test whether they really believe that, because really most of the time they don’t. If that’s really true, then why do you think it’s too holy to be pronounced? Answer that one!

See, they’re contradictory. Whatever’s against using the name, that’s what they’re for. In one case, the name doesn’t really mean a literal written and spoken name; but in another case, “Oh, it’s too holy, you can’t pronounce it.” It doesn’t make any sense. You can’t have one and not the other, it doesn’t make any sense.

And so, the truth is: His name is a literal written and spoken name, and His name does have a character attached to it. And that character is a righteous character, it’s a holy character, it’s a loving character. And He loves us. He calls you by name. He knows you by name. He wants you to know Him by name also.

Now some say, “Oh, those people were Jews, you know, why would a Gentile have to call on Yahweh’s name?” Names… listen, listen. Names don’t translate. They transliterate, okay? Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel. If you were to translate his name, you would be calling him, “Son of the right hand gift of Yahweh.”

No one calls him, “Hi, Son of the right hand gift of Yahweh.” That would be a translation. No, we transliterate his name into our language. You don’t say “Netanyah Lord,” you don’t say “Netan-Lord,” it’s “Netanyahu.” “Yahu” is the name of their Father in heaven, right? And so you don’t do that.

“Vladimir Putin,” still “Vladimir Putin,” wherever he goes. A personal name of an individual, a world leader will always maintain the same. There was Yitzhak Rabin. Yitzhak was a prime minister of Israel. He was assassinated back in the nineties. Nobody called him ”Isaac.” They tried to pronounce his name as he intended it to be pronounced “Yitzhak,” even though the English version is “Isaac.”

But names don’t translate, they transliterate. And “Lord” is not a translation of “Yahweh” at all! Yahweh means “He causes to be that which is.”

So in spite of what others may think, I’m keeping that Third Commandment. I’m keeping it. I am going to set aside vain traditions and I’m going to walk in the original truth of Yahweh and represent His Word just as He inspired it. To the best of my understanding. Just as He inspired it.

Now, some people say, “Well, why is Yahweh’s name not found in the Greek New Testament manuscripts?” Well, I can tell you the tragic reason why. It is tragic.

In the Hebrew text, we know the name is found, again, about 7,000 times. Including the New Testament, it should be more than that. But the Gentile church, as we saw from Justin Martyr’s writings, accepted the Jewish tradition that one was not to speak the sacred name. And so they went as far as removing the sacred name from the manuscripts in the Greek text.

So here is an example of what’s called “nomina sacra.” Nomina Sacra. These are Greek titles that are abbreviated into two letters and they have a line over top of them indicating that these are sacred titles, okay? Look at “nomina sacra” in the Wikipedia, they’ll explain it to you here. “In the system of nomina sacra that came to prevail” – this is the earliest Greek manuscripts – “abbreviation is by contraction, meaning that the first and last letter (at least) of each word are used. In a few early cases, an alternate practice is seen of abbreviation by suspension, meaning the initial two letters (at least) of the word are used.” – And so this word, “Iesous Christos,” they would shorten it to “IH XP,” okay? Also it says – “the use of nomina sacra was an act of reverence rather than a purely practical space-saving device, as they were employed even when well-established abbreviations of far more frequent words such as” – there’s one there – “and were avoided, and the nomen sacrum itself was written with such generous spacing. Furthermore, early scribes often distinguished between the mundane and sacred occurrences of the same word, (e.g.) a spirit vs. the Spirit, and they applied nomina sacra only to the latter.” – When it’s referring to the Heavenly Father’s Spirit, they would shorten it into two letters with a line over top of it.

And also it says in the same article – “Biblical scholar and textual critic Bruce Metzger lists 15 such words treated like nomina sacra from the Greek papyri:…” – And you can read them there.

And so, they were so superstitious that even words like “Spirit,” and “David,” and “Mother,” and “Father,” and “Israel,” and “Savior,” they were so superstitious, they would even write out the full Greek title of these particular names or titles. They were so superstitious and nervous about doing so.

And so, this Jewish superstition against using Yahweh’s name went into Christianity, and they took it a step further. They took it a step further. Even the Jews today, they take a step further. They don’t call Elohim “Elohim,” they call him “Elokhim,” “Elokim.” At least the most Orthodox call him “Elokhim” instead of “Elohim.” It’s crazy! It is, it is crazy!

Now, the earliest Greek Septuagint manuscripts that have been found that were done by the Jews – the Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament – and the oldest Greek manuscripts actually have the sacred name in Hebrew letters in the middle of the Greek text. And so they didn’t want to change from Hebrew letters to Greek letters. And so this maintained the paleo-Hebrew letters in the text. Another example, Greek text, Hebrew letters.

And so, when it came to Septuagint copies that were in the hands of Christians, they’re not going to write no Hebrew; they just took it completely out, replaced it with “Kyrios”, meaning “Lord.”

And so all the Septuagint copies in the hands of the Jews, they’re at least reverent enough to maintain the sacred name in the text. But when it came in the hands of Christians, nope, they took it completely out. The Old Testament Septuagint copies in the hands of Christians, the sacred name is completely erased.

And so what do they do with the New Testament? Obviously, we see the habit there. They’re going to do the same thing with the New Testament.

Now they probably didn’t want a Hebrew sounding Elohim anyway. They want something more, you know, friendly to their Greek audience. Didn’t want to sound too Jewish.

So I think they had some other motivations; but the Hebrew New Testament manuscripts that have been found, many of them actually do have at least a placeholder—three Yods and a triangle, or a Chet and a Yod, indicating the sacred name once was in this text, and we’re replacing it with something else.

And so they at least, you can tell a difference. The Greek manuscripts, there are several places you cannot tell when it says ”Kyrios” or “Lord,” you can’t tell whether it’s talking about Yahweh or the Messiah. You can’t tell which one it’s talking about.

But the HebrewGospels.com has a number of those that have the sacred name placeholders in them. The Shem Tov, the Du Tillet Hebrew Matthews, both of those have the sacred name placeholders of where the sacred name once stood in the text.

So yeah, it’s not there, but it was. Somebody went in, like they did with the translations, and erased it. And that to me is a scandal!

So you might wonder, “Why, why would Yahweh allow Christians to erase His name from these Greek manuscripts?” Well, you know, Yahweh allows a lot of things He don’t approve of. There are children being abused every day. There are people that are being murdered every day. That doesn’t mean He approves of what He allows. You can’t make that jump, okay?

But here is a reason I suspect He did allow it. Because we have precedence in Scripture that He hates it when His name, the name Yahweh, is associated with unrighteousness.

In Ezekiel chapter 36 verse 22 it says – “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Master Yahweh: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.
²³ “And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am Yahweh,” – They shall know I am He that causes to be that which is. – says the master Yahweh, “when I am hollowed in you before their eyes.”’”

What’s He going to do? We read about this yesterday. For the sake of His holy name, He is going to take them out of the nations, gather them out of all countries, and bring them in to His own, to their own land. It’s for the sake of His holy name, He is going to regather Israel, as we read about yesterday, and He is going to bring them in that land, and they are going to call upon the name of Yahweh, and His name will be One.

And all the world will call upon Yahweh, because no more do they have these stupid translations that replace His name with titles. He’ll restore to the earth a pure language, that they all may call upon the name of Yahweh, and His name will be One, and He will be glorified. Because His name is being profaned, He is going to do this.

Don’t tell me His name is not important. Even if it’s not important to most people, His name is very important to Him! And therefore it should be important to us.

Another place in Jeremiah. Yahweh was so upset with Judah, He said (Jeremiah 44:25-26) – “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the Elohim of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows (that) we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows (and) you perform your vows!’
²⁶ ”Therefore hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: – because they went to Egypt, He says, – ‘(Behold,) I have sworn by My great name,’ (says Yahweh, ‘that) – His name is great, He’s swearing by it. He says – My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Master Yahweh lives.”

“I’m going to take My name out of their mouth, because they are profaning it by syncretism.” Syncretism, they were calling on Yahweh, and they were making cakes and stuff to the queen of heaven, burning incense to her, and He hated that.

And so why did He allow His name to fall into disuse? According to precedent here, this is an act of judgment. An act of judgment upon a people group that He allows the name to fall into disuse.

It just so happens, the two major religions, they’re not using His name. They both embrace the same tradition to not use His name, because they’re not teaching the truth.

Traditional Judaism rejects the Messiah. Traditional Christianity rejects the Torah. It may be their disuse of the name is simply an example of Yahweh’s judgment on them, on the religions.

I’ve noticed most people who do use the name also believe in keeping Torah, and also believe in the Messiah. Very rarely is it anything different.

The true believers, according to Revelation 14:12 – Here is the patience of the saints; (here are those who keep) – They’re both going to embrace both – the commandments of Elohim and the faith of Yahushua. – And one of those Commandments is to not bring His name to nothing, right? And not to change the Scriptures.

And I noticed that the elite group of believers, the ones who were the cream of the crop in Revelation 14 (verse 1), it said – (Then) I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father ‘s name written on their foreheads. – It’s in their minds. It’s in their minds.

And who were they? They were a people in whose (Revelation 14:5) – (And in their) mouth there was found no deceit, – no deceit, no deception, no falsifying, no falsehood. In their mouth there was no falsifying His name and replacing it with a generic title. In fact, the name of Yahweh is written on their foreheads.

And we read earlier (Isaiah 52:6) – Therefore My people – My people – shall know My name; – I want to be His people! I want to be His people, and so I want to know! I want to know His name. I want to know.

In fact, in the end times, it says (Malachi 3:16-17) – (Then) those who feared Yahweh spoke to one another, and Yahweh listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance – a book of remembrance – was written before Him For those who fear Yahweh and – What? – who meditate on His name.
¹⁷ “They shall be Mine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.” – We’re not perfect. We need to be spared because we’re a kind of a wreck, I have to acknowledge sometimes, right? But He’s going to spare us. He’s going to spare us from judgment. And you will –
¹⁸ (Then you shall) discern – again – Between the righteous and the wicked, Between the one who serves Elohim And one who does not serve Him.

Now please understand, I am not saying only those who use the sacred name are saved. I don’t believe that. I believe that Yahweh looks at our heart. But I have presented to you the Word of Yahweh, what Scripture says about His name.

Yes, He allowed His name to be hidden from the masses. Yes, He did. But (Proverbs 25:2) – It is the glory of Elohim to conceal a matter; it is the glory of kings to search it out. – Who are those in Revelation 14:1? Kings and priests, right?

Now for me, I didn’t have to search it out much. I was blessed with grandparents who called on Yahweh’s name for as long as I can remember. They taught me His name when I was a child. And me, just being a child, it wasn’t hard, I wasn’t churched. I thought, “Well, that’s His name, so I want to use it.” It didn’t like register all these excuses that people come up with for not using it. Very childlike faith.

And I said, like, I said, “How do you know it’s His name?” It was halleluyah, Jeremiyah, all these were referencing Yahweh’s name. I’m like, “Oh, okay.” That’s, that was it. It was over. And from that day forward, I called on Yahweh’s name.

Now I wasn’t really a particular religious child, but I recognized that He was there, and He was, it was true, the Bible was true. But when I gave my life to Him in 1989, I used Yahweh’s name and Yahushua’s name. That’s no credit to me. That’s no credit to me. It was something that I didn’t have to search out. I had the blessing of grandparents who already just made it simple, wasn’t hard, wasn’t difficult, okay? But yes, someone sought it out. Somebody sought it out. And I’m glad they did.

Yahweh actually rejoices. Yahushua, many a time, Luke 10:21 – (In that hour) Yahushua rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Master of heaven and earth, (that) You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for (so) it seemed good in Your sight.”

We got to receive faith as a little child. Me as a little child, it was so, it was one plus one equals two. That’s His name. That’s what I call Him. It’s that simple.

And this month actually marks 30 years that I have been proclaiming the name of Yahweh in ministry. And I’m going to continue doing so because that’s what He calls us to do. This is what Peter was saying at Shavuot. He was telling everyone within the sound of His voice, if you want salvation, he says, “Call upon the name of Yahweh.”

So as Yahushua rejoiced in the Spirit, knowing certain things had been hidden from the masses, but revealed to those who receive this truth as a child—a truth, in this case, a truth as a child, but in our case, this truth as a child—I rejoice also.

It’s not something for us to be prideful about. It’s something for us to be thankful for. None of us are deserving, but for whatever reason, it seemed good in His sight.

And I pray, and I hope if Yahweh has revealed this to you, as a result of this word today, that when you read your English Bibles, and it says capital “L,” capital “O,” capital “R,” capital “D,” or capital “G,” capital “O,” capital “D,” you’re going to go, “uh-uh, Yahweh. I’m going to restore what man has removed.”

Now, I’m going to tell you, people say you’re going to be divisive, but we don’t approach them saying we’re better than them. It’s just like any other truth the Father has revealed.

But I got to tell you, it’s not easy. You’re sitting, say you’re attending a congregation, and they’re all, “The Lord, God, Lord, God,” you’re just going, “Yahweh,” you know, it’s really awkward.

But don’t be ashamed of His name. Don’t be ashamed. Use it. Don’t be ashamed. Don’t practice their traditions. Practice the Scriptures. Let your speech be as the oracles of Elohim, holding nothing back, nothing back.

Let’s pray. I say it’s time for us to express our deep and deep gratitude.

Almighty Yahweh, I bow before You in worship, to give You thanks. None of us are worthy of the least of the mercies of truth, and truth that You have revealed to us, but it seemed good in Your sight.

It grieves me greatly that men have chosen to change Your holy Word. I know You allowed it, but we want to proclaim Your holy Word, as You have said.

Thank You for opening our eyes to see wondrous things out of Your Word. We pray Father that this truth will go forth, and those to whom You’ve appointed to receive it would receive it. And for that reason, we proclaim it.

We honor You, we praise You, we thank You on this glorious day. Pour out your Spirit upon Your people, and let that be a reminder that whoever calls upon the name of Yahweh, as we are doing at this very moment, will be saved.

And for any who have not repented and turned away from unrighteousness and turned toward righteousness, and put their trust in Messiah Yahushua for the forgiveness of sin, call them into Your sheepfold.

There is no better future than those who are in Messiah Yahushua. And it’s in Messiah Yahushua’s name we pray these things, amein.