Sacred Name Concerns

By Brother R Michel Lankford

Just prior to last week’s 7^th day Sabbath, I received a request from someone on Facebook to discuss the issue of the Sacred Name. We were just entering into the Sabbath of YHWH, and so at that time I could not do the research to come up with the well-considered response that her question truly deserved, and so I wrote to her that I would be glad to research and answer her question after YHWH’s Sabbaths of Unleavened Bread. To be more precise, here is the more exact quote of her question:

“Please Robert shed more light on the mention of the holy name of our creator, some branches of church of God condemn the mention of this name(Yahweh),which is the way forward especially for a very new member in that church.?”

First, let me say that I thoroughly appreciate this sister’s question. I thank her for asking it. Thank you sister.

Secondly, let me say at the outset that I DO NOT have ALL the knowledge, all of the understanding, nor do I possess the absolutely incontrovertibly PERFECT application of every single Scripture, in either portion of the Whole Testament. At the moment, my knowledge and my understanding on this and every subject is only, IN PART. Therefore, my prophesying and my teaching is also only IN PART. For as of today I see through a mirror dimly, I have NOT YET reached the point where I know and understand perfectly, as I am perfectly known by YHWH, (1 Corinthians 13:9-13). I would further add that any human being, who is not honestly humble enough to admit this at the outset, is probably not trustworthy enough to teach you, because they may have an unseen agenda to lift themselves up, rather than to build up the body of Messiah.

All that having been said, just because I admit that I don’t know EVERYTHING, that doesn’t mean that I don’t know ANYTHING at all. Those particular things where YHWH has opened my eyes and given me understanding, those things which I have diligently studied, those things which I have learned, those things which I have diligently practiced, and those things where I have seen the fruit and result in my life and the lives of others; of those things I am certain. The things that I have come to KNOW; those things I know, and I am passionately ZEALOUS to grow in, to practice, and to teach those things where our Heavenly Father has given me Grace to understand. I make no apologies for spreading the truth as Abba YHWH has given me Grace to understand it, even though others may take offense.

I said all that because we need to understand that people are incredibly emotional and passionate about what they believe. They may be partially correct, or entirely correct on a given issue. They may be partially incorrect or even entirely wrong or even deceived on a given subject, but if they firmly BELIEVE something to be true, whether they are in fact right or wrong, if they believe it, they will be passionate about it. This is especially true when you are dealing with people’s relationships with the Creator and with Messiah, (the Creator en-fleshed).

Learn to Treat Absolutes as Absolute

I absolutely believe that we should passionately pursue truth and excellence as disciples. We must NOT compromise on issues where the Almighty has clearly spoken and it is provable through the Weight of Biblical Evidence. Within Scripture, there are things that are biblically established ABSOLUTES. However, there are also things in Scripture which are not as clearly spelled out, they are not as easily understood, and where the meaning and the application of the Scripture is not as easily provable, and they are therefore debatable.

One of the snares of the adversary is that he loves to get believers to treat absolutes as though they were debatable, and to get believers to treat debatable things as though they were absolute. This causes no end of UNNECESSARY division among believers.

It’s a critical key to maturity in discipleship that we should learn to discipline ourselves to clearly distinguish the difference between the biblically provable absolutes and the biblically debatable things. We must learn to treat absolutes like they are absolutes, and to treat debatable things as debatable things. Part of discipleship maturity is about warning not to confuse those two concepts.

For example, the need to bionically REPENT is a provable, definable, biblical absolute. If I teach that it is part of our job as human beings to learn what the Almighty Creator desires and requires.

If I teach that it is part of our responsibility as human beings to CHANGE our mind AWAY from what the Almighty considers to be sin and to turn our thinking TOWARD what YHWH considers to be good, then I am teaching correctly. For that is what it means to repent. 

If I teach that it is part of our responsibility to TURN our purposes and desires AWAY from what the Creator considers to be sin, and to turn our purposes and intentions TOWARD what the Creator has defined to be good, then I am teaching correctly because that is part of what it means to repent biblically. 

If and when I teach that we must turn our life’s directions AWAY from what the Creator considers to be sin, and that we must progressively turn our lives and walk TOWARD what YHWH Almighty considers to be good, then I am teaching correctly, because that is what is required in order to repent biblically. There is clear evidence of that throughout the entire Testament of Scripture. Both the weight of biblical evidence and original language studies bear out the definition I just described. That is NOT a debatable issue. It is a biblical absolute.

So, if someone claiming to be a biblical teacher does not teach repentance, or does not teach how to repent according to how the Bible defines that term, then I can and I SHOULD righteously take issue with such a teacher, because the Bible is so definitively clear on that issue.

For another example, the Bible is incontrovertibly clear about the fact that we must turn away from things such as idolatry and adultery, and that if we do not turn away from such things, we will then be condemned. The Bible teaches this as a clear concept throughout the Whole Testament of the Scriptures. It is indisputable to anyone truly seeking to obey the Almighty Creator. So we can teach in favor of returning to Yahweh and in favor of repenting from adultery and idolatry without any fear of contradiction, because these are absolutely abundantly clear.

 

Understanding the Opposing Extremes

There are other issues one finds in Scripture, which are NOT AS CLEAR as the absolutes described in the above section. The Sacred Name issue is not nearly as clear and well spelled out as other issues in Scripture.

Now within the Sacred Name issue there are extremists on both fringes. There are extremists who believe that the Name of the Creator is SO sacred, that it should NEVER be spoken by a human being. For the purpose of identification, I will call this group, the Nicknamers. They give YHWH a nickname in substitute for using the Creator’s actual name. This is how the majority of believers, both rabbinical Hebrew and rabbinical Babylonian Christians are trained by tradition and practice. So they are by far the most popular group. That is the traditional view of rabbinical, (not biblical, but rabbinical), Judaism to this day. Protestant Christianity and our English Bibles picked up the same habit as well. Since this belief is so deeply entrenched in their traditions, and since the scribes and Pharisees were responsible for the transcribing and preserving of the Scriptures, the habit of SUBSTITUTING the Creator’s Name, with titles referring to Him instead of using His Name, is a long-standing tradition which has become so habitual that it is now second nature to many.

On the opposite extreme, you have a group which I will identify as the Sacred Namers. The Sacred Namers are those who believe that one should ONLY use the Sacred Name of YHWH, and nothing else. Some of the Sacred Namers even go so far as to say that unless one uses the Sacred Name, (and uses it in the spelling and vocalization and pronunciation which THEY believe to be the only correct one, then such a person is not truly saved, because in THEIR estimation they have not truly called or been baptized in the name of YHWH). I kid you not, I have seen that argument. I tell you the truth. I believe that BOTH extreme camps of the issue are WRONG.

The Nicknamers Are Wrong

These are the extremists which often claim that even attempting to pronounce His actual Name is an unholy sin. These are the people which often favor removing all direct identifiers from the Sacred Name. In English these people would use replacement nicknames and titles for our Creator such as LORD, God, or G-D leaving out a letter, the Almighty, the Almighty One, the Almighty Creator, the Eternal One, and so forth. In Hebrew circles, the traditionalists who favor the substitution tradition will use terms such as B’Shem, meaning, “The Name,” to substitute for the actual Name of the Creator.

The substitution tradition has so widely permeated the human experience that even our English Bibles picked up this bad habit. For example, we know for a fact that even the consonant letters for the Hebrew name of the Creator (יהוה). Reading from right to left, this reads: YOD-HAY –VAV-HAY; these were removed from our English Bibles and replaced with the English phrase, “the LORD in all capital letters. This was done in part for English readers who knew nothing of Hebrew to read the Scriptures, but let us also be brutally honest and truthful. There was also a HUGE anti-Hebrew and anti-Semitic agenda that had infested organized Christianity since the early 300s A.D. Since Emperor Constantine and subsequent Roman emperors and succeeding governments made an  all-out concerted effort to forcibly separate Christianity from its true first century BIBLICAL Hebrew foundations.

As a result, both the rabbinical Hebrew tradition and the Roman anti-Semitic traditions have effectually conspired together so that the Name of the Creator, even the consonants, (known as the Tetragrammaton), is largely unknown today among most Christians. We know for a fact that the Bible translators removed the consonants of YHWH’S Name, (the Tetragrammaton) from the Scriptures, some 6,832 times, and made generic label substitutions, as far as we can prove.

Here is why the Nicknamers are WRONG, biblically speaking. Scripture is incredibly CLEAR and definitive that we are NOT to ADD to, and we are NOT to SUBTRACT from what YHWH יהוה has commanded us. That’s definitive Scripture, (Deuteronomy 4:2; Deuteronomy 12:32; cf. Revelation 22:18-19).

Furthermore, we are COMMANDED by YHWH (יהוה), to teach His Name to our children, (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 13; cf. Isaiah 63:16; Ezekiel 39:7; Psalm 105:1; 1 Chronicles 16:8; 1 Chronicles 23:12-13). These are just very few of many examples. So when you remove YHWH’s Name altogether, and one then substitutes it with a nickname, that is clearly violating Scripture. There is no getting around that. Substituting YHWH’s (יהוה) Name and replacing it with something else, one is clearly violating Scripture if one reads and believes the Bible. So eliminating the Name from memory is clearly WRONG.

 

Not Using YHWH (יהוה’s) Name in Vain

One of the popular validations and supposed justifications for removing the Sacred Name from the Scriptures and for substituting the Sacred Name with nicknames and titles instead of using His Name was the idea that we are commanded not to use (יהוה’s) Name in Vain. Now, the desire not to use YHWH’s name in vain is absolutely right and laudable. However, the method in which the Nicknamers went about supposedly trying to keep that Commandment was by VIOLATING other Biblical Commandments of the Heavenly Father. This is completely wrong. When one is trying so hard to make sure that they don’t break a Commandment, that they end up creating new laws, rules and regulations, and by doing so they actually end up BREAKING other Biblical Commandments; that is known as the concept of  “Putting fences around fences,” (Luke 11:37-54). Please do not forget, that we are COMMANDED NOT to ADD to, and NOT to SUBTRACT from what YHWH (יהוה) Almighty has commanded, (Deuteronomy 4:2; Deuteronomy 12:32; Revelation 22:18-19). So when we create human traditions which put more burdens and obligations on people then YHWH (יהוה) has actually decreed; that’s a sin. Likewise, when we create human traditions which remove or gives people permission not to do what YHWH (יהוה) has decreed, that is also sin.

In actual fact, by refusing to use the Father’s Name at all in an effort to avoid using His Name in vain, they are in effect actually MAKING the Name VAIN. Because the term vain in Hebrew and Greek includes the idea of rendering or causing to become empty meaningless, or void of purpose and meaning. So, by not using the name of YHWH (יהוה) at all, it does end up losing its fullness. If you don’t use it at all, it ends up not having any real purpose, and people lose the meaning. So in effect by not using the Creator’s Name at all, that is in fact causing it to become a meaningless and vain thing which is not fulfilling its purpose. So by not using the name of YHWH at all, we are in fact causing His Name to become a vain thing.

 

The Sacred Namers Are Also Wrong

While I completely agree that removing the sacred name of YHWH (יהוה), and substituting it with a nickname, or avoiding His Name altogether is OBVIOUSLY WRONG from a biblical standpoint, I also think that some of the Sacred Namers are also wrong in some things, and that some are stepping into VERY dangerous territory. Here’s what I mean.

Among some Sacred Namers there are some who INSIST that unless one knows and uses the Sacred Name of YHWH (יהוה) exclusively, then such a person is not truly saved. I kid you not, I have read of people making that argument.

Within this Sacred Namers camp, there are still other extremists, who believe and teach that you MUST use THEIR particular spelling, and THEIR particular pronunciation or vocalization for the Sacred Name of YHWH (יהוה). Some go so far as to say that unless you use THEIR pronunciation and vocalization, you are not truly saved and you need to be re-baptized into THEIR pronunciation of the Sacred Name of YHWH (יהוה).

Here is the kicker. Even among those who ardently believe that we should use the Sacred Name of YHWH (יהוה) exclusively, there is passionate disagreement on how exactly it should be spelled, and how exactly the Sacred Name should be pronounced or vocalized. Even among Sacred Name proponents, there can be heated disagreements on the pronunciation and vocalization issue.

There are many who have studied this issue longer than I have, but just in my short time of studying this issue, I myself have seen multiple variations on the spelling and vocalization of the Sacred Name of YHWH (יהוה). These variations include:

YAH

YAHWEH

YEHUAH

YEHOVAH

YAHWAH

There may be even more variations, but these are just the ones I remember seeing in my own studying. The proponents of each of these claims to have biblical reasoning and biblical backing for their own preferred vocalization and pronunciation of the Sacred Name of YHWH (יהוה). I hate to point out the obvious, but it seems that I don’t have much choice. Each of the five factions believe that YHWH (יהוה) has given THEM revelation of how the sacred name is to be used and pronounced or vocalized. Beloved of YHWH (יהוה), I hate to burst your elitist bubble, but all five of your factions CANNOT be 100% correct. The odds are HUGE that even if one of your factions is correct, the others are wrong. It is even possible that all of these five different vocalizations MIGHT be off by a little bit, in any event.

As I said in the beginning, part of maturing as disciples is that we need to learn to treat Biblical absolutes as biblical absolutes. We need to treat debatable issues as debatable issues, and not mix up the two concepts.

Since there are multiple variations of pronunciations and vocalizations and spellings, even among those who believe that we should use the Sacred Name, of YHWH (יהוה), it is glaringly obvious that this particular issue IS in fact a DEBATABLE issue, whether you like it or not. It is not as definitive as the Sacred Namers may wish to believe that it is, because if it is not a debatable issue then WHY is there so much passionate DEBATE, even among yourselves?

The sad fact is that we are at least FIVE languages removed from the original Hebrew. We are at least 5000 years removed from the original Scriptures, and the culture that originally received it. Whether we like it or not, mistakes are going to happen in translation, and pronunciation or vocalization, and in our understanding and application of what is written.

• ·         Do I believe that removing the Sacred Name of YHWH (יהוה), from the written Scriptures is wrong, and that such a practice was and is a violation of written Scripture? Of course I do. There is ample Biblical evidence to prove that point.

• ·         Do I believe that attempting to restore the Sacred Name of YHWH (יהוה), into the mindset and understanding of believers is a good and righteous goal?  Of course I do.

• ·         Do I believe that believers should abandon replacement theology, dispensational theology, the pagan-based religious traditions invented by men, and that we should all repent, that we should return to YHWH (יהוה), and follow His Instructions in the example of the Messiah with all of our heart? Absolutely I do! That is my goal as a disciple, and that is what I attempt to practice and to teach, as YHWH gives me Grace to do so.

·         My problem is that there are enough absolute definitive Biblical Instructions which I am still trying to learn to practice and to teach correctly, that I don’t have time to argue and debate over the obviously debatable issues.

·         My solemn warning to the Sacred Namers is this. I speak especially to those who insist that they have the definitive pronunciation and vocalization, and to those who insist that any believer who does not use THEIR particular pronunciation and vocalization as they believe it should be used, then such a believer is not saved or accepted by YHWH. Be exceedingly careful how you judge. The fact that there are different opinions even among yourselves about how the Sacred Name should be pronounced and vocalized obviously means that the issue is NOT as biblically clear as you might wish to believe that it is. My question to you is, what if it turns out that you have the wrong pronunciation and you have gone through your life CONDEMNING others for not using your pronunciation, when all the while it turns out that your interpretation was in fact incorrect all along? Since you spend your time condemning other brothers and sisters, who were honestly trying to OBEY Torah as you are, since you spend your entire life condemning other brothers and sisters who were trying to obey the prophets as you are, since you spend your life condemning brothers and sisters who were trying to obey Messiah just as you are; if it turns out that your pronunciation is the wrong one, but you have spent your life condemning others over this issue, then what mercy will you receive from YHWH (יהוה) if your pronunciation and vocalization happens to be the wrong one? For even Messiah has clearly said that to the measure that you use to judge others, you will also be judged. The measure you use to assess punishment that will also be meted out to you (Matthew 7:1-2).

If it turns out for some reason that you have the incorrect pronunciation or vocalization of the Sacred Name of YHWH (יהוה), how would you want our Heavenly Father to treat you in such a case? Then how should you treat your brother, whom you think is in error? Do not misunderstand me. 

I am NOT suggesting that we should always live and let live. I am NOT suggesting that we should ignore definitive identifiable biblical commands, or that we should excuse concepts that the Bible calls sin in the name of Grace; because that is a sin. However, where the Bible is not as clear, and where well-intentioned Bible students are attempting to obey, but they may not all agree on exactly HOW to be a DOER of a passage, let us leave room for Grace, so that we will not be judged or condemned if it turns out that our interpretation is the one found to be in error.

Conclusion: Be Gracious and Generous in Honestly Debatable Matters

 

In closing, let me say this. Do not forget that the Messiah Himself used the principle that the Kingdom of Heaven is made up of little children. He also said that unless we are converted and become like them, then we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (see Matthew 18:1-6).

Now when a little one begins their relationship with their parents, they are not very articulate. Most of the time all they can do is scream and cry to make their needs and desires known. In the cases where one has a good and loving parent, just the fact that the little one is dependent upon them and crying out to them for help is enough to motivate these loving parents to come to the child’s aid. Most of the time when the child is crying the loving parents are eager to discover why he’s crying out to them and to try to meet those needs and sometimes even those wants that the little one cannot yet express. 

As he grows, the little one may form the word “da-dah” for their father, and mama for their mother. Later they learn to articulate mommy, or daddy. Now, do loving parents ever say to their child that until you can articulate my name perfectly well, I’m not letting you into relationship with me? No way!! Just the fact the little one is learning who their mommy and who their daddy is; just the fact that the child is expressing his or her dependence upon their parents and that the child is wanting mom and dad to help; that is more than enough to motivate mommy and daddy to love, to nurture, to provide and to assist that precious little one whom those loving parents so deeply treasure. Is that not true? Messiah is the One who Himself gave us the example: As it is written:

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11, NKJV see Matthew 7:7-11).

• No, we should NOT remove Yahweh’s (יהוה) Name from the Holy Scriptures.

• Yes, we should learn, we should respect, and we should teach the Sacred Name of Yahweh (יהוה), as best as we can.

• No, we should not let this issue EVER become a stumbling block to people who are calling out to the Creator, who were seeking for the Almighty to be their Daddy, and who are honestly seeking to learn their Heavenly Daddy’s Word, and His Ways. Because woe be it unto us if we take someone who is honestly trying to OBEY the Father, and we cause these little ones to stumble who are trusting their Heavenly Father, especially over things that cannot be definitively proven. That is neither good nor safe. 

Let us remember to treat biblically definitive things like they are definitive things, and let us remember to treat debatable things as debatable things. So by all means, let us be gracious, especially in debatable matters. Abba-YAH, mercifully give us grace not to confuse the two concepts.

Brother Michel Lankford