I want to begin by saying, if you’re brand new to this ministry, what you’re looking at behind me here might be some unusual signs and symbols.

I do believe in the New Testament. I do believe our Savior is my salvation. I do believe my own righteousness is not sufficient for me to be saved. I do believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of our dear Savior.

And I am a 100% New Testament believer. I also believe in the Old Testament. I believe in the whole Scripture. I believe it does not contradict itself and that one day we will live with Him forever, if we turn away from our transgressions and we put our trust in Him.

And behind me here you have some symbols, the Hebrew letters there, which you’re going to see here in just a minute and what those are. The first one on top there is the name of our Heavenly Father, Yahweh, in Hebrew. And the name below that is the name of the Messiah Yahushua, as I call Him in Hebrew.

And then there’s also a menorah and a Torah scroll representing the ministry of the commandments and the ministry of the Messiah. I believe both ministries are essential and important for us, as the commandments teach us how to love and the Savior saves us for those times that we did not walk in love. And we’re so thankful for Him.

And really anyone who reads the articles on our website www.EliYah.com, e-l-i-y-a-h.com, or watches any of the videos will notice I never refer to the Messiah our Savior, as most people do, using the name Jesus. I don’t call Him Jesus. And actually I haven’t called Him Jesus since I was a child, maybe 40 years ago or more.

So why would I refuse to call Him by the name that nearly everyone in this world, in the English-speaking world mind you, uses? Well, I’m going to address this question in the study entitled, “Why I Don’t Call The Savior Jesus.”

In modern Christianity one of the most popular songs today, is a song by a very popular singing group called “Hillsong,” and it’s called, “What a Beautiful Name It Is.” And the lyrics go on to say, “What a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus. And that nothing compares to the name of Jesus”, the song says. It also says that “Jesus is the name above all names.”

Now, for many people the very sound of the name Jesus is wonderful. I mean, I understand that, I really do. The very name Jesus may conjure up memories of being saved; many times our Savior brought peace, brought comfort, brought a sense of being loved, a sense of belonging, a sense of being cherished, a sense of being valued. And all these things and much more come to mind, positive thoughts, when one thinks of the name Jesus. And that’s probably why the old hymn says, “The name of Jesus is so sweet, I love its music to repeat; It makes my joys full and complete, The precious name of Jesus.”

Now I want you to understand, I do understand why for many people such positive thoughts come to mind when they hear this name Jesus. I do, I understand it.

But for me, a man who has not called him Jesus for most of my life, I mean, to hear songs like that, honestly it bothers me. And I’m not judging anybody. It’s me, it bothers me. And it’s particular irritating for me when pastors and Bible teachers enunciate the name with such force on the consonants. Otherwise, they don’t just say Jesus, they say JESUS.

And I just, I’ll tell you why it bothers me. It’s simply this—Jesus is not His name. I mean, it never was, it still isn’t, and it never will be our Savior’s name.

And I understand, I don’t judge anybody who doesn’t know that any better, but for me it would be like someone going around and talking so highly of me. And rather than telling people my name was Tom or Thomas, they decided to call me Masaccio ¹. “O, did you know that Masaccio has a website? O yeah, Masaccio. Masaccio, he runs a charity in Ava, Missouri, and they feed the poor in their community. O, Masaccio. How are you doing, Masaccio? Good to see you, Masaccio.” Even though I tell him my name is Tom, it’s not Masaccio. They say, “Okay, Masaccio, I’ll remember that, it’s really neat. Really neat. I’ll remember that, Masaccio.” – “Uhm, my name’s Tom.”

Now, no one would like being called by a different name than what they actually are given. And you probably wouldn’t need to have to give them an hour-long explanation of why you want them to use your actual name. Just common decency, right? I mean, we wouldn’t appreciate someone doing that to us.

And so, my point is, since our Savior’s name really isn’t Jesus, it really isn’t; I know it may sound shocking to some of you and mind-blowing. Like, “Well, it’s right there in my Bible!” I understand. Just give me a minute. I’m not questioning the Bible. I’m really not, okay? I’m questioning whether it’s been translated correctly.

But my thought is, since we wouldn’t want someone to do that to us, well, do unto others as you want others to do unto you. And one of those others is, yeah, the Messiah. And so, for me the very basics of love and respect, once I learn that my Savior’s name really isn’t Jesus, then at that point it’s simple.

Well, what is His name then? So, then I start using what I see His name to be. So. Now, let me say first of all, yes in your Bibles it does say Jesus. Absolutely, it does. But did you know, in the original 1611 King James Version, 1611 King James Version, the very first one ever printed, did not have the name Jesus in it. Here’s a photograph or a facsimile of the 1611 King James, and look here. It does not say Jesus in the upper right-hand corner. What does it say? I-E-S-U-S? Iesus? Iesus? Iesus? Iesus? It doesn’t have J. There was no J back then. There was no letter J. I mean, it was starting to come into the English language but it was not really formed and solidified.

And as fact, a very old dictionary, we’re talking 1778, it did not have a, you know, all the letters are in alphabetical order, it did not have a J-section. The I’s and J’s are all mingled in together. And right here is the copy of that, if you’re interested. So, I-D-O, I-D, J-E, J-E, I-G, the very top, I’m talking about the headings. And you just go across here, and the I’s and J’s are all just mixed in together. So 1778, not too terribly long ago.

So, I don’t know. I mean, I know it may seem strange to your ears, and I mean, the precious name is so sweet, the name everybody proclaims, what a beautiful name it is—it’s actually a relatively modern invention.

Actually, the Encyclopedia Americana says, “It was the French who gave the letter J its present sound of the soft letter G as in ‘large’ or ‘purge’… And it is only in the last century that the letter J has firmly taken on the French pronunciation as in joy or journal.” Right? So, that’s interesting. So, our language has kind of morphed. French influence.

And then, according to dictionary.com, it says, “Both the I and J were used interchangeably by scribes to express the sound of both the vowel and the consonant. – And that vowel could be a Y or E and the I or J sound. – And it wasn’t until 1524 when Gian Giorgio Trissino, – Italian guy – Italian Renaissance grammarian known as the father of the letter J, – Ah, okay, Gian – made a clear distinction between the two sounds. Trissino’s contribution is important because once he distinguished the soft J sound, as in jam (probably a loan sound), he was able to identify the Greek Iesus as a translation of the Hebrew Yahushua, – Actually, that’s Aramaic, but that’s for another study – as the Modern English ‘Jesus.’ Thus, the current phoneme for J was born. It always goes back to Jesus.”

So, okay. So, even the term Iesus, I-E-S-U-S, actually wasn’t even commonly used until even a little bit earlier than that. According to grammarphobia.com a couple of grammarians did their research and they said that “The name was first recorded in English as iesu – Didn’t even have an S on it. – around 1175, as part of the iesu, iesu cristes in the book of homilies. The spelling Iesus – with S – representing the Latin nominative form, was rarely used in Middle English but became the regular English spelling in the 16th century, – the 1500s – according to Oxford.” (Grammarphobia.com ‘How Jesus Got His Name’) So, that’s interesting.

So, while there are some out there that would claim that somehow Jesus is derived from Zeus, like Iezeus, I’ve heard people say that. I don’t believe it. Now, some people actually will tell you, and don’t believe them. Don’t believe what they say. The term Iesus did not come from Zeus. I’ve never seen anyone present hard evidence of that claim. I mean, one person wrote a book and said that Iesus means Hail Zeus. So, when I contacted by telephone, I asked him for the evidence of that claim. You know, they said, “Well, like they do at you know, at different sporting events: Yeah Zeus.” – That’s not what they were trying to do, okay, that’s not how we got Iesus.

Actually, if you look at the two letters side by side in the Greek, you notice that the Greek has a Z, okay? But this here, this letter right here, actually had Zjah, Zjah, Zjah. Okay, they’re trying to say this and this are the same, like this and this are the same. But this had a Zjeh, Zjah, Iezjus. I’m sorry, this was Zeus, Zeus right here. This Z right here was pronounced d-z-y, dzyah, Dzyeus. And this was pronounced Seus, okay? And so this letter and this letter don’t match up. This letter and this letter don’t match up. And these are the only two letters here that even match up. So, it can’t be from Zeus when they’re not even, Seus and Zeus are two different letters.So, the whole idea is actually a misnomer. So, don’t pay any attention to that, okay?

So I don’t believe, if you use the term Jesus or Iesus, or even if you say Iezeus, as some people in Spaniard countries may say, Mexicans, Iezeus, Iezeus, Iezeus, whatever, they’re not trying to say Zeus. Actually, Zeus was pronounced Dzyeus.

So, now an important point actually is the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, that was completed many years, centuries before Yahushua even came on the earth, before our Savior was even born. They rendered the name Yahushua, as I believe the Messiah’s name is actually pronounced, as Iesus. So, that tells me, I mean, the Jews were not trying to worship Zeus, okay? So they weren’t trying to do that.

But there is evidence, the name Yahushua was originally written in Greek as Iesus. But even though it was written Iesus, there is evidence going back to the 2nd century AD that they actually, even though they wrote it out as Iesus, they pronounced it Yahushua.

Now, here’s my evidence. There was a pagan by the name of Celsus who was in a debate with a Christian. And there’s a book entitled “Celsus on the True Doctrine” that was written. And it says, he’s commenting on what the Christians were saying at that era, okay? He had no reason to lie to you. He’s actually trying to combat what they’re saying, okay?

He says, “But of course they think otherwise: they assume that by pronouncing the name of their teacher they are armored against the powers of the earth and air. And they are quite insistent on the efficacy of the name as a means of protection: pronounce it improperly, – they, that would be the 1st, 2nd century believers at the time, – they say, and it is ineffective. Greek and Latin will not do; – You can’t say it in a Greek way, can’t say in a Latin way – it must be said in – what he called – a barbarian tongue to work. – That’s Hebrew to him, Hebrew is like a barbarian language. And so he’s commenting on what the 2nd century believers were saying. So, the 2nd century believers, even though it may have been written as Iesus, actually would have been pronouncing it in the Hebraic way—Yahushua. And he goes – Silly as they are, one finds them standing next to a statue of Zeus or Apollo or some other god, and shouting, ‘see here: I blaspheme it, I strike it, but it is powerless against me for I am a Christian.’” – (Celsus on the True Doctrine, A Discourse Against the Christians, R. Joseph Hoffman (page 118) 170-180 AD)

So they were trying to show the pagans that their deities were nothing, okay. So that’s interesting.

Actually, Greek does not have the letters to properly transliterate the name Yahushua into their language. And so since they didn’t have any letters to do it with, they just went with Iesus, even though that’s not the correct pronunciation. So this is the Greek alphabet doesn’t have the letters to convey the name how it’s pronounced in Hebrew. And so these folks were just, yes, they wrote it that way but they were at the time pronouncing it correctly, based on the evidence I see here.

Now, our language does have the correct letters, and we don’t need anybody to say, “Well, you know, we don’t have, here’s how you really say it, even though it’s written this way.” We don’t have that problem, okay?

Now, I can already hear what some of you are saying, I already know what you’re going to say. I’ve talked to many of you so I know what you’re pretty much going to say next. And that is, “Well, but Jesus is how we say His name in English,” right? I know that’s what you’re thinking. So, but based, you know, based though on the history of how the Messiah’s name was pronounced in English, we can see, we can clearly see that changed actually over time. I mean, first it was Iesu and then it was Iesus and then, in more recent years, changed to Jesus. So, all right.

And so in light of this, I have some really heart probing questions. Since Iesu, Iesus, Jesus, I mean they’re all used in English. Which one do we say is the English way of saying the name? Do we just go with the modern way? And why? Why would we? Do we need to? I mean, who decided that we would start calling Him Jesus? Was it Gian Giorgio Trissino? I mean, why did this man get to decide what we call our Savior? Why did this man, or better yet, why do we let any man tell us what we call the King of kings? The Savior of men? The name we get baptized in. The name we pray in. The name we proclaim to all nations. The name we gather in. The name that we’re supposed to be doing all things in. And if our Savior is the same yesterday, today, and forever, why do they keep changing His name?

Now, I understand it’s not unusual for general names to take on different forms. For instance, Thomas in English is Tomas in Spanish. Doesn’t sound too far off. But then the Italian way of saying Thomas is Masaccio ¹. That name I mentioned earlier. So, Masaccio is an Italian way of saying Thomas. They don’t even sound the same.

Much like the name Jesus in no way resembles the original in the Hebrew Yahushua. And that’s one reason why I would be so bothered if someone went around telling people my name was Masaccio. Because while there may be men in Italy called Masaccio, and they’re fine with that, and I’m fine with that. But when it comes to a personal name by a real living person, we don’t change their names to fit our language.

I mean, if some real live person showed up at our Bible study by the name of Masaccio, it would be rude, it would be disrespectful to me just introduce him as, “Here’s Thomas, everybody.” Everyone call him Tom. And he says, “Well, it’s actually Masaccio.” I say, “O, we don’t speak Italian here. I’m sorry. We only speak English. And so we’re going to call you Tom.” You see what I’m getting at? This is a real living person. It’s not just a general name that gets all messed up and corrupted across all languages. This is someone’s personal name, a real living live person that we’re going to let him be called Masaccio. I’m not going to complain even though in our language, that’s Thomas.

Now imagine this poor fellow, then he goes to Russia. He attends a Bible study and they call him Famka ¹. “Well, hi Famka,” because Famka is how they say Thomas in Russian. And then he goes to Scotland where they call him Tavish ¹. Both of them are how they say Masaccio or Thomas in their respective languages. And so he’s got Famka, you got Tavish, you’ve got Thomas, you got Masaccio. You got confusion.

I have a Savior who is a real living person. He’s not just some real living person—He’s the King of all kings, worthy of our respect. And there isn’t a man more worthy of our respect than Him. And just as I don’t want to be called Masaccio or Famka, I don’t think He wants to be called Jesus either. There is one King of king with one name.

Yahushua is His personal name. We have a personal relationship with Him. And therefore, we call Him by His personal name.

There’s a difference between a personal name and just a general name. The personal name, we try to speak of the person as they themselves say their name. Back in the 1990s there was a prime minister of Israel. He actually got assassinated a little bit later. But His name was Yitzhak Rabin, first man to ever shake hands with the PLO leader, Yasser Arafat. Anyway, how respectful would it have been, Yitzhak Rabin comes to the United States, everybody insists on calling him Isaac, okay? Yitzhak is how you say Isaac in Hebrew. The arguments would be made, “Hey, Isaac, we use English here, we’re not going to call you by Hebrew, we’re not Hebrew speakers. We don’t have a tsa in a letter in our language, like tsa, as in the Tsadek in Yitzhak. So, hey, we call you Isaac.” You ever listen to a foreign news broadcast? They’ll be going like, “Blah, blah, bla…Donald Trump.” Well, you know they’re talking about the president, or who used to be president. Or they might go, “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Joe Biden.” You’ll pick out the personal names, because names of personal individuals don’t change across languages. The truth is, we naturally retain the same name and how it’s pronounced as much as possible when it comes to a personal name.

So, I’m not going to let some English scribe, I don’t care whether it’s Gian Giorgio or whoever it is, tell me what to call my Savior. I mean, what if some English scribe decided, you know what, I think His name is going to be Lulu. I mean, would people today be going, “What a beautiful name it is, the name of Lulu?” I mean, I’m not trying to be ridiculing anybody. I’m trying to get you to see something, I’m trying to make a point. In truth, Jesus doesn’t resemble the Messiah’s name any more than Lulu does. And in fact, Lulu might be closer, because at least in Hebrew, it has the letter L and the letter U sound. But in Hebrew, there is no J. There’s not a J sound anywhere in the language.

And I know what some of you are saying already. I can hear you. “Yes, but He knows who I mean.” Yes, He does. I’m not trying to suggest that you can’t be saved until you pronounce my Savior’s name correctly. It’s all about respect. It’s all about reverence.

For instance, Scripture says that our praises to Him are compared to offerings. (Hebrews 13:15) – Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to Yahweh, – That’s our Heavenly Father’s name by the way. – that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. – So this giving thanks to even our Savior’s name certainly would be an offering, a sacrifice of praise, glory to the Lamb, right?

Now I know when it comes to sacrifices, Yahweh always hated it when someone got lazy about the offering and didn’t give Him their best. For instance, the Book of Malachi. It says (1:8) – And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, – like a blind animal as a sacrifice – Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, – like “This thing was going to die anyway so might as well sacrifice it to Yahweh.” – Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” – Of course not.

Rhetorical question. So when we’re talking about giving thanks to His name, His real name, shouldn’t we give Him our best? And not be lazy about it? And if we show proper respect to foreign governors, as Yahweh mentions here, and we don’t try to change your name to some English form or whatever, shouldn’t we do our very best for the King of kings? I believe absolutely!

You see, personal names do not translate. They actually transliterate. Transliterate. What’s transliterate? Transliterate means to write or print a letter or word using the closest corresponding letters of a different alphabet or script. Names from one language are often transliterated into another, okay?

That being the case, consider the word Jesus. You’re trying to, once again, transliterate, write or print a letter or word using the closest corresponding letters of a different alphabet or script. Okay, well, the name Jesus. There’s no J in Hebrew. There’s no E in Yahushua. There is no S in Yahushua. Then there is no Uh sound in the final, there’s Uh on the very end, but there’s no S before the Uh, so then that’s no good. And then there’s no S in the end of Yahushua. There’s nothing even closely resembling the Messiah’s name at all. You might as well be calling Him Lulu. I mean, there’s nothing even closely coming. I mean, if you messed up a little bit, this is so foreign.

So, here’s what I’m in favor of—giving Him my very best and using a more accurate transliteration, no matter how strange it may sound to our ears. And for those of you who love the name of Jesus, I think you’ll come to love the name Yahushua even more, especially after I tell you what it means.

Because that’s what He was called when He was on the earth. That’s the name the disciples were using. That’s what He was actually still called in heaven today, actually. And His name was given to Him by His Father, our Heavenly Father. And His name carries a very important meaning. A beautiful meaning.

In Matthew chapter 1:20-21 says – …an angel of Yahweh appeared to him – that’s Joseph – in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
²¹ “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name – And what it actually reads, as I understand, is – Yahushua, – not Jesus – for He will save His people from their sins.” –

Now, what does the name Jesus actually go back to in Hebrew? Well, according to the Strong’s lexicon, Iesus of Hebrew origin, which is number 3091 in the Strong’s lexicon, meaning “the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites.” And then you go back to 3091 here in the Strong’s, and they have it Yehushua, I’ll show you later why it’s not Yehushua, on the study of the pronunciation of our Savior’s name; but it means Jehovah – which really should be Yahweh, they’re just all off the map here – Yahweh saved. That’s actually what it means.

So, now. You’re looking at this, you’re saying, “What you said and the lexicon says are two different things.” That’s true, but that’s a whole other study which I can easily show you—Jehovah is not correct. In fact, there’s no J in the Hebrew.

So anyway. So putting the correct meaning of the name into the text, watch what happens. (Matthew 1:21) – “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Yahushua – Yahweh saved, Yahweh saved, call His name Yahweh saved – for He will save His people from their sins.” – There you go. Yahweh our Father in Heaven had a reason for calling Him Yahweh saved.

So what I’m saying is this—every time you speak the true Hebrew name of our Savior, you are declaring that you have been saved by Yahweh our Father. That you were lost, but now you’re found. And so the name of Yahushua speaks to the very things that you once believed true about the name of Jesus. And these are true, but Yahushua actually should be the name conjuring up. Yahushua should be the name conjuring up the memories of being saved because that’s what the name means. It means to be that Yahweh saved you.

And so, therefore He brought the peace, He brought the comfort, He brought the sense of being loved, the sense of belonging, the sense of being cherished and valued, because Yahushua, Yahweh saved you. And that’s a beautiful name. And so, all these things should come to mind when we speak the name of Yahushua.

Now, we have to understand according to Scripture John 6:63, Yahushua said – The words I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. – So words are spirit! And so, the name Yahushua therefore, since it’s a word, it’s actually spirit! And so, there is a spirit, our Heavenly Father’s Spirit, attached to this name Yahushua in the spiritual realm. It has a powerful statement attached to it—that Yahweh saved.

So when the enemy comes at you like a flood, Yahweh saved. When the enemy wants to say you’re a piece of trash, Yahweh saved. You’re saying it, Yahweh saved. And so, you’re speaking these words in the spiritual realm.

And so, the Holy Spirit resided on our Savior Yahushua to the extent that John 14:26 says – “…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send – Yahushua speaking here, Messiah speaking saying in – My name, – the Holy Spirit comes in our Savior’s name Yahushua and – He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” All right.

So halleluyah! So, there’s a spirit attached to this name Yahushua; and there is a spirit attached to Jesus, in the sense that you’re talking about the same person, but it doesn’t speak the same things.

And so, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying if you use Jesus, you’re lost, you’re going to hell or anything like that. All I’m saying is it’s so important we speak truth in all that we do. That we don’t go around looking to grammarians as our inspiration of how we pronounce our Savior’s name. We look to our Heavenly Father to tell us. He named His own Son, right? And His name is too important to change! The things I’ve come to associate with the name Yahushua are things our Heavenly Father Yahweh Himself chose to be associated with Him from His Spirit.

And so, again I’m not saying everyone who calls on Jesus is unsaved; although there are certain things associated with this name Jesus that I don’t think are Biblical sometimes. But I’m not saying, because Yahweh looks at the heart, He doesn’t just look at the actions, He looks at the heart.

So I’m saying let’s get back to truth. And Jesus is simply not truly His name. It’s a modern invention. It’s never possible, ever, ever, ever, is it ever possible for truth to be inferior to error. It’s never possible for a lie or an error to be superior to the truth. Error is always at a lower level than truth. Error is always a downgrade, always!

And so, I’m sure many of you who use the name of Jesus are repentant people who want to do what’s right, and you want to do what’s according to the truth. And I’m not doubting you. I’m only saying let’s walk in the truth. Because I’m confident, if we’re seekers of the truth and we walk in the truth as we find it, yet we trust in Messiah Yahushua as I call Him, for the forgiveness of sin if we walk in error, He will accept us. I mean, if we have an error somewhere, then it’s not intentional, it’s not willful, it’s not purposeful.

And He’s looking at the condition of our heart. And since the condition of our heart is to always do what’s right and true, no matter how many people around us may do something differently. I’m sure most of you who listen to this broadcast know gay marriage is not even marriage at all, right? And so you’re not going to call them married when they’re not married, right? At least I hope you don’t. And so, no matter how many people may think they’re married, they’re not married. Okay? And you may get a lot of flack.

Or if a person decides they’re going to be a she, even though they’re a he, you’re going to call them a she, even though they’re a he? And you probably will stand up and say, “Well, no, that’s a he.” And you might even get a little stickler about that and refuse to call them she, which is going to be against the law here pretty soon probably. But anyway, and you’re willing to stand for what’s right with your speech, even though the whole world is going to do something different, right? Because you’re going to speak what’s true—“That’s not a marriage. And that’s not a she, it’s a he.” Right. Okay.

He is a he. He is not a she. And so, Yahushua is His name, Jesus is not. And I don’t care how many millions of people call Him Jesus, it’s not His name. It’s not the name He’s called in Heaven! It’s not the name He was called by His disciples! It’s not the name they were preaching in! It’s not the name they were baptizing in! It’s not the name that they’re being persecuted for teaching in!

I want to be using the name He’s called in Heaven. The disciples were using, they were preaching in, baptizing in, receiving persecution for teaching in; that’s what I want to use. Because Scripture says, “Whatever I do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Master Yahushua.” (Colossians 3:17) That makes it important not to change it.

(Acts 2:38) – Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of – not Jesus Christ – Yahushua – Yahushua – Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

And in Acts 5:40 it says – “…when they called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Yahushua, and let them go.” – Did they stop? No. They kept on preaching in the name of Yahushua. They didn’t care what people thought of them. They ought to obey Elohim rather than men.

John 5:43. Actually Yahushua said in John 5:43 – “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.” – That’s true, they received a false messiah by the name of Bar Kokhba. But He came, He said, “I have come in My Father’s name.” Literally, He came in His Father’s name. The Father’s name is Yahweh. And how do I know? Like the word HalleluYah, praise Yah, praise Yah, Yahweh.

So, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah; Obadiah would be servant of Yah. Okay. All these things with Yah in it.

And so our Savior had Yah, Yahushua, Yahweh saves. And so, when He said He came in His Father’s name, literally He did! And His character as well. He came in His Father’s character also. And so, actually, when you know this, it solves a real problem! Because there is no Yahweh’s name in Jesus. Yahweh’s name is not Jeweh, okay? So it is not truth! Jesus doesn’t come in His Father’s name. So, all right.

Now here’s the problem it solves. Pay close attention. I come in My Father’s name, which is the name of Yahweh. So when Matthew 28:19, Yahushua said – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” – Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But then, Acts 2:38 it says – …“Repent, and let everyone be baptized in the name of Jesus…” – Now that Jesus is not correct. It’s Yahushua.

And you know, these Scriptures did not contradict each other. Actually I went to one congregation they did both Jesus and Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Entire churches have split over this issue. But remember—the name of Yahushua means Yahweh saved. Because our Heavenly Father’s name is in our Savior’s name. So when you baptize in the name of Yahushua, you are baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son. Both! You’re doing both. That’s why He said, “I have come in My Father’s name.”

What about the Holy Spirit? Yahushua said, (John 14:26) – “But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, – Right? Halleluyah! – He will teach you all things…” – So within the name of Yahushua, we have the name of the Father, we have the name of the Son, we have the name of the Holy Spirit. Do you understand? So when you’re baptizing in the name of Yahushua here, we know that Yahweh is salvation or Yahweh saved. Heavenly Father’s name is within the Son’s name. And the Holy Spirit is also sent in our Savior’s name.

So when it comes down to it, the reason why the name for baptism there in Acts 2.38 was Yahushua, because the name of Yahushua contains the name of the Father, the Son, and the name in which the Holy Spirit comes in.

So what about Jesus? Within Jesus, you don’t have the name of the Father there. You don’t have the name of the Holy Spirit there because you don’t have the name of the Son there either. And it’s not only wrong, it’s created confusion about a very, very important practice that we are supposed to be doing—baptism. It’s created church splits. And if man had never changed the Messiah’s name and replaced the Father’s name with a generic title like Lord or God, they would have seen a connection.

It’s always better off going back to the very beginning to see what our apostles were doing. Forget the church fathers, forget the pastors of today’s church. What were the apostles doing? We’re always better off letting every word that proceeds out of our mouth be accurate as the original oracles dictated. And letting no corrupt word, let no corrupt word proceed out of our mouths. (Ephesians 4:29)

The name Jesus is the English corruption of the name of our Savior Yahushua. And names are important in Scripture. In fact, the name of our Savior must have been important because He came in His Father’s name!

And what an awesome concept if you think about it. You know, He actually didn’t just come in His Father’s literal written and spoken name. He came in His Father’s character, His image. To the extent He told Philip, if you see Me, you’ve seen the Father; because He’s the direct reflection of the image of the Father. So He came in His Father’s character also!

Now, in Hebrew, much like the word in English, it can mean a literal written and spoken name as well as a person’s character and their reputation.

So when Yahushua said, “I have come in My Father’s name,” He’s also talking about His Father’s character, His reputation, who He is, the essence of who our Father truly is if He was to come on the earth and express Himself through a man.

So. Now some people like to say, “Well, the word ‘name’, – ‘šēm‘ {shame} in Hebrew – only means character.” But Biblically it means both character and a literal written and spoken name.

For instance, when Paul, Acts 9:29 – And he spoke boldly in the name of the Master Yahushua and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. – He was not only speaking boldly in the character of our Savior Yahushua, but also he was speaking in His literal written and spoken name. You can’t separate His written and His spoken name from who He is in His character. Why?

Because His literal written and spoken name is a part of His character. It’s a part of His story. When Yahweh chose to call Him Yahweh Saved, Yahushua, that heaven-inspired name, it’s a part of who He is, of what happened to Him.

It’s even predicted actually in the Old Testament that the name of the coming Messiah would indeed be Yahushua. In Zechariah 6 verse 11 it says – “Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua… – You know, Joshua in Hebrew is pronounced Yahushua. It’s the same name as our Savior. –
¹² “Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name – His name is Yahushua – is the BRANCH! – The branch. Sorry, I didn’t mean to cross it out there. – From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of Yahweh;
¹³ Yes, He shall build the temple of Yahweh. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne. – This is talking about our Savior because He’s the one that caused the priesthood and the royal line to be combined under Him, after the order of Melchizedek, okay?,

So he’s saying this man has the name of the branch, the name of the coming Messiah. Very interesting. I wonder how many Jewish people may have come to knowledge and faith in Messiah if they had been, you know, told this. Because this is a clear prophecy of what His name would be.

Now, names were a pretty big deal in the book of Acts. You may not think names are a big deal to you, but I’m telling you, names were a big deal in the book of Acts! Take a look here. We’re just going to look at the book of Acts alone, okay?

Acts 3:16, It says – And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which [comes] through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. – Talking about the man who was saved and who was healed. “In the name of Yahushua, he said, rise up and walk.” Right? His name, through faith in His name.

And when they – Acts 4:7 when they – had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” – Once again, Yahushua.

Acts 4:10 – “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Yahushua Messiah of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom Elohim raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.”

Acts 4:12 – “Nor is there salvation in any other, – Nor is there salvation in any other – for there is no other name under heaven given – Given by who? By Yahweh the Father, given – among men by which we must be saved.” – Yahushua is that name. Not Jesus, although Jesus is supposed to be derived from Yahushua, it’s just not pronounced correctly.

So, knowing that there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved, I think it’s a good idea we get it right. Just throwing that out there. I’m not suggesting, if you use Jesus, that you’re lost and going to hell. Once again, it’s all about the heart.

Acts 4:17 – “But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”
¹⁸ And they called them and commanded them to not speak at all nor teach in the name of Yahushua. – Boy, they did not like that name Yahushua, did they?

Then they prayed it says (Acts 4:30) – “by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Yahushua.” – Then they confront them again (Acts 5:28) – saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” – It’s all about the name.

(Acts 5:40) – And they agreed with him, – it was Gamaliel – and when they had called for the apostles and beaten [them], they commanded that they should not speak – not speak – in the name of Yahushua, – They hated the name of Yahushua – and let them go.
⁴¹ So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame – for what? – for His name.

Acts 8:12 – But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of Elohim and the name of Yahushua Messiah, both men and women were baptized.

It goes on in Acts 8:16 – For as yet He had not fallen – Talking about the Holy Spirit not fallen – upon any of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Master Yahushua.

Acts 9:14 – “And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” – Talking about Paul. –
¹⁵ But the Master said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
¹⁶ “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake. – Yahushua was speaking here. You’re going to suffer for My name’s sake.

Acts 9:21 – Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?” – Talking about Paul. And then talking about Paul once again, verse 27 –
²⁷ But Barnabas took him and brought [him] to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Master on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Yahushua. – Verse 29 –
²⁹ And he spoke boldly in the name of the Master Yahushua and disputed against the Hellenists…– We saw that earlier.

Acts 10:43 – “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

Acts 15:14 – “Simon has declared how Elohim at the first visited the Gentiles – Gentiles – to take out of them a people for His name. –

Talk about (Acts 15:26) – men who have risked their lives for the name of our Master Yahushua Messiah.

Acts 16:18 – And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Yahushua Messiah to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.

And so then there the Gentiles are getting involved there. And he’s just like, well, (Acts 18:15) – “But if it is a question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters.” – Words and names. You see, words and names were a big deal there in the first century. Even though they may not seem like much to you, they were important to him.

Acts 19:5 – When they heard this, they were baptized in – what? – the name of the Master Yahushua. – Which you understand now as the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Acts 19:13, though they tried to use this name, Master Yahushua, like it was some kind of a magic word or something, and – Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Master Yahushua over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Yahushua whom Paul preaches.” – And we know what happened to them. They ran out; the demons attacked them and they ran out of there with no clothes on.

So then (Acts 19:17) – This became known to both all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Master Yahushua was magnified.

Acts 21:13 – …“What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Master Yahushua.”

It is just over and over and over and over again! And that’s just the book of Acts my brothers and my sisters. Don’t tell me a name don’t matter! It would matter to them, it mattered to the world, both Jews and Gentiles, it mattered. And so it should matter to us!

You see, man has a way of always changing always trying to improve. We can’t improve upon the already perfect name of our Savior Messiah Yahushua.

And for those of you who may use a different pronunciation, okay, I respect you. But we know His name is not Jesus, we agree on that. So let’s say you do your study, you come to a different pronunciation than me. The main thing is that you are doing your very best to honor the Savior of men. That’s what I’m after! I’m still after the heart, okay? And Jesus is not our best, okay?

So let’s suppose you and I, or maybe we’re both wrong on that final day, and it comes through some blindness or something we didn’t know, or people that used Jesus and didn’t know, you didn’t know! That’s why James 4:17 says – Therefore, to him who knows – you know, once you know – to do good and then you don’t do it, to him it becomes sin.

Yahushua told the people (John 9:41) – “If you were blind, you would have no sin.” – If you don’t know, you don’t know. But once you know, you know; you know. The main thing is that we are truth seekers, not truth ignorers.

Now what about people who actually, they cast out demons and do other signs, you know, using the name of Jesus? Well, first of all, let me just point out, they may be true believers and true. But just because, I just want to get this out of the way, just because we do signs and wonders, it does not prove anything as far as us being a believer. Because Yahushua said (Matthew 7:22-23) – “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
²³ “And then I will declare to them, – I don’t know who you are, who are you? – ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” – Disobedience. Miracles prove nothing.

Now the word translated lawlessness has to do with intentional, purposeful violation of Yahweh’s Word. And if we don’t know any better and we’re using something we don’t realize is wrong, okay. But when we know, that’s a whole different thing. We don’t ever intentionally speak things that are not truth from Yahweh’s Word.

Therefore, we don’t want to be guilty of anything that would be a transgression or anything different than what the Word of Yahweh would speak. Now, when a person is casting out demons they might be using the name of Jesus. I mean, the name is not a magic word where you use this name, I mean, the sons of Sceva figured that out (from Acts 19:14). It’s the person Yahushua, okay.

And that person of Yahushua, that person, the Messiah, the One that died for us 2,000 years ago, He’s the one that’s casting out the demons. So whether you mispronounce His name or not for sure He can overlook that, okay. He’s not bound by your lack of correct pronunciation. And He can still tell the demons where to go, because of who you’re referring to. No matter how badly you might botch His name, okay.

And so yes, the Father can still hear your prayers and you can have a genuine relationship. Why? Because you just didn’t know, okay. I mean, if I had a son that did something wrong, he didn’t know it was wrong, I’m not going to judge him and spank them and put them over my knee, okay. And so, if you simply don’t know, you don’t know! In other words, if you didn’t know, or maybe if you did know, you didn’t really feel convicted about it, it didn’t really hit you like a conviction, Yahweh can overlook your lack of knowledge and lack of conviction. Unless you’re secretly convicted but you’re avoiding the topic because you don’t want to be different. You’re afraid what people will say and lose your sense of respect in the community, and all these other things that get in the way of people receiving the truth.

Yahweh will judge the secrets of the heart. And on the day of judgment, it will come up as to whether you were truly a repentant person or not. Because once we know and we’re convicted we know what’s right, we’re responsible.

Yahushua told the people of His generation (John 15:22) – “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.” – Because I spoke to them.

It is a sin, brothers and sisters, to disrespect our Savior Yahushua! Wouldn’t you agree it’s a sin to disrespect Him? To not give Him proper reverence? It’s a sin not to give Him proper reverence and that you so quickly will give to somebody else. The same reverence you give to other world leaders and respect you give to them, you should be giving Yahushua the Messiah even more respect, honor and praise and reverence than you do anybody else.

And so, we need to reverence and respect our Heavenly Father also, who chose to name His Son. I mean, how would you like it if you named your son, you told everybody what you named him, and your family went around told everybody your son’s name was something different? Would you like that? You see, just common decency here brothers and sisters. Common decency, not being rude.

You know, I notice often it’s the same people that get all riled up if you don’t pronounce their name correctly, and they’ll also declare it doesn’t matter if you call Him Jesus. The same people will do the same thing for their own name. Oh, they’re real strict about it, but anybody else calling Him Jesus it’s okay.

All you know is what you mean don’t matter. But if you want that respect, I think He wants that respect. It’s all about ‘what’s true’ versus ‘what’s false’. And once we know the truth, and you know really His name’s not Jesus, pray tell, why continue in error? Why? His name was not, is not, never will be Jesus.

I know that this will be a transition for some of you. You’re not used to calling Him anything different. And yes, He’s not standing over you with a stick waiting for you to say it the wrong way. He’s not that way. He wants you to put good effort though into showing Him it means something to you.

And let me tell you something. Once you understand every time you speak in this name it has a powerful meaning. It’s easy to do, to want to do, because you want to declare to all the world He’s the One, Yahweh is the One that saved you.

And you know, now some of you might be wondering, “Well, what do you do if, you know, you’re trying to reach this lost person? You know they’re not going to understand it when you say the name of Yahushua. Is it okay to just say well Jesus, and use Jesus?” And because you don’t want to get distracted, you don’t want to get caught up in something other than just presenting the gospel. Let me tell you this. I have never one time in my entire life had a problem using Yahushua, whether I’m talking to an unbeliever, whoever, because I just simply explain, “Well, I found out Yahushua is how His name was originally pronounced. So I prefer to use that rather than Jesus.” And I’ve led unbelievers to Yahushua all across the globe. And I’ve actually found unbelievers are easier to deal with, honestly. Unbelievers are easy, they pick it up, “O, okay no problem,” right away!

Then believers who’ve been churched, you know, they’re like, “O, what are you talking about?” You know, they’re already churched, I should say, you know, they’ve been, they’ve been calling Him Jesus for a long time, and so they have a harder time receiving what I’m saying. Whereas unbelievers right away calling Him Yahushua, no problem Yahushua, calling Him Heavenly Father Yahweh, they pick it up no problem at all. So really the problem is usually with the people going to church every Sunday.

But as I see in Scripture, what we need, we need to be willing to be bold, right? And not be afraid of what everybody says, Yahweh will take care of all that. Don’t be afraid of what people may say, and just do what you’re told, and proclaim His name to all the nations. Luke 22:46 it says – …“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead – rise from the dead – the third day,
⁴⁷ “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to – just the Jewish people? No. – all nations…” – That name Yahushua, all nations.

So I’m going to do that. I’m not going to change it, I’m not going to alter it. I don’t care if I’m talking to some Hellenized Jews or some Greek or whoever, because Scripture says they spoke boldly in the name of Master Yahushua and disputed against these foreigners (Acts 9:29). Actually they were Jews, they were trying to act like Greeks. Then Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, declared what? There he is in Damascus, foreign nation, proclaiming the name of Yahushua (Acts 9:27). In fact, (Colossians 3:17) – And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of Master Yahushua.

And if it ever did come down to someone rejecting your message because you use this different pronunciation, remember what Yahushua said, o yeah (John 15:21) – “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.” – If they’re His they’re not going to stumble at it, okay? Don’t worry about that. In fact, even if your own family and friends hate you and reject you because you won’t say Jesus, it doesn’t matter. You stand boldly because even Yahushua said (Matthew 10:22) – “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”

And so, we not only stand for Messiah’s literal written and spoken name, but also the character of who He truly is. And so this Scripture does apply to both. And again, you can’t separate who He is from His written and spoken name Yahushua. That’s a part of His story, who He is.

Other Scriptures say—we gather in His name; we call on His name for salvation; we get baptized in His name; we’re anointed in His name; we’re forgiven in His name; we’re justified in His name; we have life in His name; we’re protected by His name, we’re commanded to make appeals in His name; we do miracles and cast out demons in His name; we heal in His name; we give thanks in His name; we honor His name; we speak, teach, and preach in His name; we praise in His name; and we suffer for His name.

Yep, all those can be found EliYah.com/tbidx.html. I’ll show you all the Scriptures, and there’s dozens and dozens of them. That doesn’t sound like something you ought to be changing, just going to say that.

In fact, Scripture says the end time assembly, the one at the very end, the one that’s, you know, spared from this hour of trial.
Revelation 3:10 – “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial – the hour of trial – which shall come upon the whole world, – this great tribulation – to test those who dwell on the earth. – He says –
¹¹ “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take away your crown.” – May take your crown. What group is this? It’s the Philadelphian congregation. Back up a few verses (Revelation 3:7-8) – “And to the messenger of the congregation in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens:
⁸ “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” –

So I say, “Let’s not deny His name, let’s proclaim His name to all the world without hindrance.” Declaring in the spirit realm, putting notice on all the demonic forces that it’s Yahweh who saved me, every time I speak that precious name. And to the world declare, “It is Yahweh my Father who saved me.” And every time you speak that precious name, you’re saying to everyone, all the people in the world, “Yes, you were once lost, but now you’ve been found. You’re once enslaved, but now you are free. And He loved you like no one ever has. And He brought peace to you like no one ever can. And He cherished and valued you like no one ever has and no one ever will. Because even though none of us deserved it, Yahweh saved us.” And the world needs to know, “Yahweh saved, Yahweh saves, Yahweh is salvation!” That’s what our Heavenly Father wanted us to declare when we call on His Son’s name. And that’s beautiful! What a beautiful name it is indeed.

Let’s pray. O Heavenly Father Yahweh, almighty Creator, Master of the universe. Thank You for opening our eyes to see wondrous things out of Your Word. We want to proclaim the name of Yahushua just as You inspired it to all the world. We want everyone to know You have become our salvation through Him. We thank You for that salvation.

We thank You that Yahushua came and died for us and rose again. Even as tomorrow, as of this day we will remember the resurrection, the day of first fruits. The first fruits of those who fell asleep.

We give You praise, we give You honor and we want to give You, we want to give Your Son the Messiah Yahushua our respect. We know He deserves it. We want to give Him and do for Him what we would want done unto us. We praise You. We thank You for opening our eyes to this truth. I pray Father if there’s anyone in the sound of my voice who’s not yet convicted about this, that You would open their eyes to see it matters. All throughout the book of Acts the Messiah’s name mattered. It never stops mattering. It never stops being important, because He’s important.

In all things we give You honor and praise and glory. And we give thanks to Your wonderful truthful name. For all Your name is in Messiah Yahushua’s name and we give thanks and honor to Your name in Him.

For truly Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, and the majesty, and all praise, and honor, and worship belongs to You Yahweh our Mighty One, forever and ever. In Yahushua’s great name we pray these things.

Endnote

1. Variation of the name for Thomas that in no way resembles “Thomas” or “Tom,” just as the name Jesus in no way resembles the name Yahushua.