Let’s Not Break The Third
Commandment!
by Rabbi/Rabbi/Brother Moshe Yoseph Koniuchowsky
In the Decalogue of Exodus 20:7, the
Elohim of Israel warns us in the simplest and clearest possible terms not to
bring His Name to naught, or not to use it in a vain, unbefitting or empty
manner. Our Creator knew, in His great omniscient foreknowledge, that this would
be an ongoing tendency in man that needed to be carefully guarded, lest mankind
copy the ways of the pagans (Jeremiah 10:1-4), who always use "The
Name" of the Creator in vain, one way or another.
In Exodus 3:13-15, the Creator
revealed to Moshe that His eternal Name is YAHWEH and states that the very
"Name" itself is to be used, propagated and spoken by all true
worshipers. He gave Moshe and all the children of Yisrael his Name as an
eternal memorial to all generations. YHVH is the tetragramaton for the Hebrew
phrase Ehyeh asher ehyeh, "I will become that which I will become."
YAHWEH was revealing to Moses and to us that He would become the solution and
the answer to whatever problem Moses faced in his call to redeem our people from
Egypt.
"The Name" of YAHWEH was
known to Adam, Eve and others prior to the global flood of Noah’s day. We see
in Genesis 4:26, that mankind after Adam did in fact know and call on His true
Name. After Noah, Abraham also knew his Sacred Name since he plainly labeled Mt
Moriah as-Yahweh Yireh! This knowledge was then passed along to his son Isaac
and his grandson Israel then to the Israelites in Egypt.
Exodus 6 verses 2and 3 confirm this
marvelous truth when Yahweh reminds Moshe that he was not the first human to
learn the Sacred Name telling him "I was known to them as El Shaddai and by
my name Yahweh was I not known to them? The best translations put this verse in
a question format rather than a statement. The statement format of this verse
can be found in other poorer translations
After YAHWEH showed this renewed
grace to Moses, He warned Israel not to make the same mistake that the
pagans did over a 1000 years earlier. They were never to bring "The
Name" to naught or take it in vain by using it lightly without reverence
and respect. As a divine safeguard to the Sacred Name being used improperly, He
forbid even the mention of other false Elohim or mighty ones. We find this
directive given in Exodus chapter 23:13. YAHWEH was in essence saying, that in
light of the privilege that you now have in regard to having free license to
properly use my Name, just make sure that you, and the people you shepherd, make
no mention of other deities either by title or by name. "They must never be
found on your lips and must never proceed from your heart, since those lips and
that heart were created to glorify Me alone."
What did the sons of Israel do with
these warnings? They did just the opposite, bringing great condemnation upon
themselves and many others who did some of the same things that Israel did. In a
self righteous attempt to obey the third commandment, the Jewish leaders adapted
a pagan practice found in Babylon known as ineffability. The pagans gave false
reverence and respect to pagan mighty ones such as Marduk and Baal by refusing
to use their real names and by substituting titles to show these false deities a
form of perverted honor. Even in Egypt, the name of Osiris was said and taught
to be ineffable.
As an example, Baal, the great sky
deity, was first called Baal-Gad and was the Babylonian god of good fortune and
luck. Thus was born in English "Lord-God." Does that sound familiar?
It should! Most English translations substitute Lord-God for YAHWEH. In Isaiah
65:11, the Creator manifests His utter disgust and contempt for anyone who would
knowingly practice this Babylonian custom, by condemning those who practice
ineffability as having forsaken YAHWEH and having gone whoring after paganism.
That is the attitude of YAHWEH towards the religionist’s tendency to misuse,
mask, substitute or practice avoidance of His Set Apart Name.
Prior to the Babylonian captivity,
the Sacred Name of our Heavenly Father was freely and lovingly used by Biblical
Judaism. After the return from Babylon we find that "The Name" was
totally suppressed by the illegal occupants (Pharisees), who removed the sons of
Aaron from Moshe’s seat and illegally seated themselves in Moses seat without
divine sanction. These religionists forbade the use of the Set Apart Name and
limited its use to temple services held on the "Shalosh Regalim" or
the three ascension Feasts of YAHWEH (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles). The
rest of greater Israel had no permission to use "The Name" and,
therefore had great difficulty in knowing the Father, since they were not
allowed to know His true redemptive covenant Name.
The pagan practice of ineffability
was further reinforced and proliferated by Greek culture and its attempt to
Hellenize the world. Even though the Assyrian king Antiochus Epiphanes tried to
outlaw Torah study, observance, Shabbat keeping and other Judaic practices, he
did not have to do anything or legislate any law when it came to getting rid of
"The Name" of YAHWEH from common usage. The Jewish nation had already
brought that error upon themselves. The major Greek deities such as Zeus were
rarely mentioned in Greek culture. Rather the titles of Kurios and Theos were
substituted for their proper names. 3 Is it not fascinating to
discover that the Greek titles that precede Yahshua’s Set Apart Name in the
Greek versions of the Brit Chadasha (renewed Second Covenant) are the identical
titles as used for Kurios (lord) Zeus? That is proof that YAHWEH would never, I
repeat never, have allowed the original, divinely inspired New Covenant
manuscripts to be written in any language other than Hebrew, since doing so
would have been a violation of His own instructions of Torah in Exodus 23:13,
where He strictly forbids even the very mention of pagan titles or deities when
referring to Himself or to His beloved Son Yahshua. The Talmud teaches us that
it is far better for a Jew to eat pig, than to learn Greek!
Thus this unscriptural practice of
avoiding, hiding or masking His true Name is a pagan custom with deep roots in
Egypt, Babylon and Greece. Those who seated themselves in Moshe’s seat (having
kicked out the legitimate heirs of Moshe, the Aaronic priesthood), are the
traditional rabbis who have done all truth seekers everywhere a great
disservice. They taught open rebellion and the violation of the third
commandment. These gross sins are still practiced today in traditional Judaism.
False titles such as Adonai (my Lord), Lord, God, Lord-God and numerous others,
are all results of the false practice of ineffability and have absolutely
nothing to do with Biblical Judaism. The belief system of ineffability is the
belief system behind the omission of the "o" vowel, that even the most
secular of Jews avoid when writing either L-rd or G-d. This omission is a
meaningless act of monkey see, monkey do and scores no brownie points with
YAHWEH. If anything, this practice is a lack of reverence and understanding,
whereby unregenerate Jews change pagan titles by omitting the "o", all
the while believing that they are engaged in a holy act of reverence.
Further evidence of Satanic
tampering with the Sacred Name is found in the Talmud where the traditional
rabbis, by their own admission, declare that everything possible must be done to
mask the name of YAHWEH from ever being invoked (Tamid 7:2 or Sota 7:6). This
disgraceful doctrine was the groundwork and foundational principle of the
liberty taken by the 8th century rabbis who compiled the most widely
read and studied Chumash (Torah in book form), extant today. The Masoretic text
added the vowels under all the consonants of the Torah writings, so as to
supposedly assist readers in pronouncing words correctly. When they came to
YAHWEH or yud, hay, vav, hay (YAHWEH) in the Torah text, they added the vowels
not to help and assist readers in pronunciation, but rather to mislead them by
having the vowels make the Sacred Name sound and read totally different then it
originally did! Thus, went the logic, no one could ever pronounce it accurately
even if they wanted to because the added vowels under the consonants were there
to lead them astray! As a believing Jew on a continual search for Truth, I find
this masking practice very offensive and nothing more than another attempt by
religionists everywhere to establish caste systems of religion designed to
suppress divine revelation to the masses.
In preparation for this teaching,
the Ruach Hakodesh reminded me of my time growing up as a young boy in a
Conservative Hebrew Day School in Long Island, New York. During my early grade
school years, as I was trained to read Hebrew, I clearly and vividly remember
reading YAHWEH as Yahweh during my Torah class. Despite being a beginner I read
"The Name" correctly. My Torah teacher jumped in, turned red faced,
and started to shake uncontrollably having something similar to an epileptic
fit. He then strictly warned me never to use "That Name" (even though
the innocence of a child learning the Hebrew language had done nothing improper
or incorrect), ever again. I was told that it was a major sin! Perhaps those of
you from a Jewish background could relate to that episode with a similar sad
tale of your own.
Have you ever wondered why the chief
priests were infuriated when they saw the Hebrew inscription hanging over
Yahshua’s head as He was dying on the tree (John 19:19-22)? After all it was
just a silly old sign with the accusation of the accused hanging over His head.
They were upset for exactly the same reason my elementary Hebrew School Torah
teacher was. By taking the first Hebrew letter of each word of the inscription
hanging over His head, Yahshua Hanotzrei Vemelech Hayehudim and combining it
into a single word, you get the same thing they got! YAHWEH! In other words, the
sign offended them because it identified Yahshua as King Of Israel, and it
publicly proclaimed His deity, even going so far as using the unmasked Sacred
Name of Exodus 3:14-15!!
This violation of the third
commandment is so deep and widespread throughout traditional Judaism,
Christianity, Islam, as well as segments of Messianic Judaism, that it appears
to be one of those sins which will remain until Moshiach returns to personally
eradicate it and cleanse His bride as well as the unregenerate earth.
To further elaborate and highlight
upon the great disservice done by our Jewish forefathers, the translation for
Lord-God in the Polish translation of the Bible, is "Pan-Bog". Pan
& Bog were both well known pagan deities in the ancient world. These unclean
names and titles are the simple byproduct of the suppression of the Set Apart
Name which was given to us for our usage, so that we would not misuse it. YAHWEH
wanted total preoccupation with the marvelous revelation of His Name, so that no
names of other false mighty ones, could ever proceed from our lips.
Modern Christendom has inherited
much of these same tendencies as well. They call our Heavenly Father,
"Father", but Father is a title and not a proper Name. Also much of
Christianity calls on the name of Jesus, which has nothing at all to do with His
true Name, Yahshua, which has deep meaning (YAHWEH saves). Read Matthew 1:21!
The Set Apart Name of YAHWEH’s
Son, unfortunately has also become the victim of the ineffability doctrine. Many
Christians become obstinate, angry and indignant when told that Jesus is not
only not the Messiah’s true Name, but is in fact a variant of the Egyptian
deity, Isis. When translated into Greek, Isis becomes Iesous which becomes Jesus
in English. This error of ineffability has become so entrenched among modern day
religions, that when anyone dares to mention the true Name of YAHWEH and His Son
Yahshua, they are labeled mentally unbalanced with perhaps cultic affiliation.
Allow me to make this abundantly
clear. Just because some cultists like Yahweh Ben Yahweh in Miami have
blasphemed and brought the Set Apart Name to naught, does not mean that truth
seekers who desire to have personal intimacy with the Heavenly Father on a
first-name basis are character deficient, gullible or weird! The true cults are
those who in direct violation of the third commandment, refuse to ever mention
His revealed Name! That is literally and blatantly bringing His Name to naught,
by totally ignoring it.
How would you feel if some close
personal lifelong friend insisted on constantly calling you Mr. or Mrs. After
the initial flattery wore off, you would wonder why that person was avoiding
your name and bringing it to naught. You would rightfully conclude, that this
person is avoiding you, doesn’t really like you and has no desire whatsoever
to become intimate with you. After a while you would want that person to call
you by your real name, so that a first name basis relationship can be
established and the formality of titles can be removed. Well much of modern day
religion talks about having a close intimate and personal relationship with
Elohim, yet they don’t even know His Name, or in some instances do not feel it
is applicable, necessary or a prerequisite to a close and personal relationship
with the Creator. The Jew claims to know him better then anyone, yet refuses to
mention "The Name". That is in its most basic essence an act of
self-serving, self-righteous, pseudo-piety. The Christian also claims to be
involved in intimacy with YAHWEH in the flesh, yet can neither get His or His
Fathers Name right. The Moslem has substituted Allah for YAHWEH, which is just
another example of the denial of the everlasting memorial Name re-instituted to
Israel through Moses.
I have spoken to many believers who
defend their breaking of the third commandment by telling me that they do not
have to call the Messiah by His real name of Yahshua and that Jesus suits them
just fine. Ironically some of these same people would never think of violating
the fourth commandment (Sabbath observance)! They also have informed me that
they don’t have to learn Hebrew to have a personal relationship with Elohim. I
find that very interesting in light of the fact that Christians have no problem
reciting Hebrew words like Satan, amen, halleluyah, Sheol and others. These are
and always have been Hebrew words! Don’t you find it very bizarre that Satan
has managed to preserve his name (Satan) from the Hebrew "Ha Satan",
in almost every language spoken amongst the sons of men? No matter what language
you may speak, the name of Satan is more or less the same with just some very
slight variations. IN MOST BIBLES YOU CANNOT FIND "THE NAME" OF THE
AUTHOR YAHWEH, IN EITHER THE FIRST OR THE SECOND COVENANT! THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY
BOOK IN THE WORLD WHERE YOU AND I CANNOT FIND THE AUTHOR’S REAL NAME IN ANY
MODERN DAY LANGUAGE TRANSLATION!! DO YOU SMELL A SKUNK? Would you go to the
bookstore and buy any secular book without being able to identify the name of
the author? Does not the author’s name give the book you are purchasing a
sense of initial credibility? Wouldn’t a red flag go up, as you put the book
back down on the shelf?
If Christianity has no hang-ups
about using Satan, amen, halleluyah and Sheol, which are Hebraic words, then why
all the stubbornness and refusal to add just two more Hebrew Names or words to
Biblical Christian vocabulary, especially the beloved original redemptive Names
of Yahshua and His Father? Get the point? Most of the world’s major faiths
amazingly enough, cannot seem to add these two simple Hebrew proper Names to
their existing vocabulary! Isn’t it fascinating that in most English
translations such as the King James Version, New King James, New American
Standard and many others, the Hebrew names like Elijah, Isaiah, Moses, Jonah and
others more or less retain their recognition factor despite being translated
from Hebrew to Greek to English! A perfect example would be how Isaiah becomes
Isaias and Elijah becomes Elias and Jonah becomes Jonas, yet no one is confused
or in doubt as to what characters these twice translated names refer to, since
their most basic essence is preserved. The names of geographical locations such
as Decapolis, Bethany and Tyre & Sidon also more or less survived all
translations pretty much intact.
The absolute necessity of
Christendom having to adopt the two Sacred Hebrew Names of YAHWEH and Yahshua is
not shocking when one comes to fully realize and admit that the proper name of
any individual is not translatable from one language to another. Instead, it is
usually transliterated in order to retain its original pronunciation. For
example, the Italian name "Guiseppe Verdi" is equivalent to
"Joseph Green" in English. However, Guiseppe Verdi cannot be
translated as Joseph Green in English, even if that is what it means in English.
Apparently Satan didn’t mind other
biblical names in whom there is NO REDEMPTION, being somewhat linguistically
preserved, yet absolutely no attempt was made by any human translators, to
preserve the Sacred Names of YAHWEH or Yahshua. These "scholars"
continued the practice of ineffability instead of boldly bringing long overdue
correction to this ongoing fallacy. Due to their lack of backbone in standing up
to ineffability, we have wound up with "Lord" or with "Kurios"
instead of YAHWEH, and "Jesus" instead of Yahshua.
Many biblical scholars have even
speculated that Matthew the talmid manifested the error of ineffability in his
gospel as well! Due to his Levitical background (Matthew was known in
traditional circles as Levi), his attempt to give reverence to the Sacred Name,
has caused us some modern day confusion. These same scholars have come to the
conclusion that the synonymous and often interchangeable terms, Kingdom of G-d
and Kingdom of Heaven found only in Matthew’s gospel, are both New Covenant
masks for YAHWEH. Don’t forget that Matthew was writing primarily to a Jewish
audience showing them that the promised King Messiah had in fact been manifested
to Israel, thus fulfilling all the prophetic pronouncements of the Suffering
Servant. He did not want to offend or be a stumbling block to his intended
traditional Jewish audience, which was the very audience that he was witnessing
to! Substituting YAHWEH in all these verses would eliminate these different
interchangeable and supposedly synonymous terms, thus bringing uniformity to the
text. According to these scholars these verses should properly read
"Kingdom Of YAHWEH" in all instances.
Now let me ask you honestly! Does
Lord, God, Lord-God, Jehovah, Jehovah-God, Adonai or Kurios sound anything like
Yahweh or Yahshua? Why not? All the other names of the prophets & biblical
locations seem to have come through into our modern Bible translations pretty
much unblemished and intact! Very interesting! That skunk (Satan) is pretty
slimy isn’t he!
Now you may be thinking, so what!
Enough already! What’s the point? What’s the difference? The point is that
when you walk around your own home and have your kids say HEY YOU!, OR, YO
POPS!, to gain your personal attention, after a short while you no doubt would
explode. You would be fed up with that irreverent behavior and justifiably so.
You and I have been created with a
desire instilled within us, that cries out to hear our own proper personal name.
YAHWEH loves to hear His children cry out for His Set Apart Name, and instilled
that desire within us! Remember that we are created in His image! No wonder King
Solomon, under the inspiration of the Ruach Hakodesh, wrote this twofold
prophetic question in Proverbs 30:4:
Who has established all the ends
of the earth? What is His Name and what is His Son’s Name if you know it?
This is clear indication that
YAHWEH, knowing the future in 900 BCE, asked this twofold question as both a
reproof and an invitation to seek these two Names that have been so diabolically
suppressed.
In Philippians 2:9, Rav Shaul tells
us that YAHWEH has given Yahshua His beloved Son "The Name" above
every Name not "a Name". The definite article here is "The
Name". The Father did not give Yahshua "a Name" rather He
imparted His own Name, "The Name" of YAHWEH. We see in most
translations the definite article is not used in this verse of Philippians. Let’s
not forget that in Matthew 6:9, Yahshua teaches us to address our Heavenly
Father by His Name. "Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed (or set apart)
be "Thy Name". Notice Yahshua did not teach us to hallow or set apart
the title of our Heavenly Father, which is exactly what religionists of all
backgrounds have done and continue to do!
In Matthew 28:18-20 we see that the
Father, Son and Spirit all have the same Name. It is in this Name, that
all mikvehs (baptisms) are supposed to take place. Throughout the Book Of Acts
the talmidim continually and consistently mikveh in Yahshua’s Set Apart Name
alone. Never ever, I repeat never, do they mikveh with the three titles of the
complex unity!
In the midst of all this deception
and darkness, still shines the light of our blessed Yahshua. In His first advent
on this earth, one of the main ministries assigned to Him by YAHWEH, is also one
of the more overlooked aspects of His ministry. In John 17 we find several
verses where our Adon Yahshua (Master Yahshua), shockingly has to reintroduce
the Sacred Name to the eleven remaining disciples. Through the disciples, the
Sacred Name was reintroduced to all of Israel and through the remnant born-again
believing Jewish community, to the rest of the believing community at large. In
John 17:6, Messiah teaches us that He had been commissioned to re-reveal
"The Name" of The Father (YAHWEH), to those chosen out of the world.
He further states that only those who know the Sacred Name are in reality those
who can guard His word. Jumping down to verses 11 & 12 of John 17, we see
that "The Name" that He is revealing or manifesting to the eleven is
the same Name that YAHWEH the Father had imparted to YAHWEH the Son. In other
words they BOTH HAVE THE SAME NAME!! (2nd Corinthians 3:17, teaches that the
Ruach HaKodesh is also called YAHWEH!) In John 17:26 our Messiah openly declares
that He was obedient to His Father by re-instituting through divine revelation,
the covenant Name of YAHWEH, that had been lost through ineffability.
By the time Messiah was born,
"The Name" had virtually disappeared in and amongst physical Israel.
How in the world were the Jews going to be the light to the nations that they
were called to be, when they not only did not accept the Son as YAHWEH, but they
suppressed the Set Apart One Of Israel’s Name as well. Yahshua reassured the
Father that He will continue to declare the Sacred Name, even after His
glorification and subsequent physical resurrection from the dead, by and through
the agency of the Ruach HaKodesh. So we see that even while He sits at the right
hand of the Father, He is still reintroducing "The Name" of YAHWEH to
those with ears to hear what Name the Spirit is teaching the body of Messiah in
these last days. Acts 3:21 confirms this marvelous truth by stating that Yahshua
is seated in heaven and will remain there until the reinstitution and
restoration of ALL THINGS, including the Sacred Name.
Zephaniah 3:9 reaffirms Messiah’s
last days mission by stating that the latter days will be characterized by a
return to the heavenly language of Hebrew (the language of both the first and
second covenant), "so that ALL NATIONS OR PEOPLES (including born again
Ephraimites Christians) CAN CALL ON "THE NAME" OF YAHWEH AND SERVE HIM
WITH ONE SHOULDER"!
What a glorious ongoing restoration
we are seeing in these last days. The ongoing ministry of Messiah Yahshua, in
restoring the Sacred Name to His people to be used for deeper intimacy and
answered petitions, will see an ultimate fulfillment both in the Kehilah of
Yahshua, and also in the land of Israel. Hosea 2:16 &17 reads as follows:
‘And it shall be in that day’
declares YAHWEH, ‘that you shall call me my husband and no longer call me
my Baal (MY LORD). And I shall remove the names of the baals (lords) from
her mouth and they shall no more be remembered by their name".
You may be surprised
to learn that "Jehovah," which is just another poor substitute for the
Sacred Name, cannot possibly be the correct rendering of YAHWEH, since neither
the letter "J" nor the "J" sound ever exist in Hebrew. Even
more shocking is that the letter "J", was the last addition to our
English alphabet around 1500 CE and therefore English did not originally have a
"J" sound. Even the 1611 version of the King James Bible uses the
letter "I" for "J". One such instance was the name of
Jeremiah, which was written and translated as Ieremiah and pronounced as a
"Y". Neither ancient Hebrew or classical English recognizes the letter
"J". This evidence therefore linguistically shuts the door on Jehovah
being an acceptable substitute for YAHWEH. Jehovah is nothing more than a well
polished ineffable name for YAHWEH. Even in the writings of the Jehovah’s
Witnesses (who are guilty of breaking the third commandment themselves), there
is admission that the pure and untainted original name of "Jehovah" is
YAHWEH. Many intellectually honest and respected non-rabbinical secular Jewish
works with no hidden agenda, such as The Encyclopedia Judaica, proclaim and
verify the correctness of the Sacred Name. This same reliable source goes on to
state that The Sacred Name has never been lost or become unpronounceable.
Friend of truth, your moment has
come! If you still feel that the issue of His Name is trivial and not of major
import, then soberly meditate on Acts 4:12, in light of this prophetic teaching.
One can legitimately question whether a person can even be saved by knowingly
calling on the substitute names of pagan deities. Obviously millions do not know
this revealed truth and are still saved, since Yahshua does not hold them
accountable for poor teachers and teachings that have led the flocks astray.
I was saved for 13 years until this
truth started to take root and begged for an active and immediate response on my
part. That my friend, is where you stand today after having digested this
teaching and after looking up all the applicable Scriptures. Ask yourself why
the entire Scriptures give repeated warnings, rebukes and prohibitions against
the practice of Sacred Name replacement, avoidance and title substitution. Let
the Spirit-filled believer agree with the words of YAHWEH and reject the words,
names, titles, dogmas, doctrines and baals of men!
A special challenge needs to be
issued to the global Messianic Jewish movement, which is the last great hope for
the spiritual survival of the Jewish nation and which possesses the true final
solution to the Jewish question. We need to stop blushing at the usage of the
pure Names of YAHWEH and Yahshua by our brothers in the faith! It is part and
parcel of our call to the Jews. We must do everything in our power to lead in
the restoration of the Sacred Names. Our zeal in this area must equal our noble
zeal in other well-defined areas such as Zionism, Shabbat keeping, aliyah and
Torah observance. If we fail to lead the way and seize the moment, our Savior
will hold us accountable and we will have once again abdicated our opportunity
to determine Biblical Jewish halachah, to the often bankrupt spiritual
leadership of traditional Judaism. We must put an end to their illegal doctrine
and practice of ineffability, by restoring the truth about the Sacred Names.
Remember that to whom much is given,
much will be required. If we are the great restoration movement that we claim to
be, then our obedience in this area must be as bold, fresh and innovative as it
already is in other areas. That may require the rewriting and reproducing of
some of our liturgy, business cards, bulletins, music, overheads, tapes, videos,
books, literature, jewelry, T-shirts, brochures and Torah readings! So what?
That is a small price to pay for more power and favor from YAHWEH! There are no
elitist individuals (Romans 2:11), in His Kingdom, neither are there to be any
elitist movements. We do not ever want to see the hand of the Almighty inscribe
"ichobad" (the glory has departed or moved on), on the doors of our
blood-washed & believing synagogues, like it already has done on most
traditional synagogues. Yaakov (James) 4:17 is a clear and direct warning to us.
When we know to do good, and do it not, to us it becomes sin. Many in our
movement know the truth about the Sacred Names, yet refuse to use it or teach it
in the fear of other men and in the false notion that we must keep a little
paganism, in our services, so that unsaved and unbelieving Jews coming into our
meetings can recognize the paganism, that they are familiar with through
exposure to other unbiblical forms of Judaism. What poppycock that is! Why don’t
all the Messianic rabbis make sure that we have a miniature golden calf in our
Aron Kodesh, so that our people can surely recognize the often idolatrous past
escapades of our people? We are called to be separate from error, not to
sprinkle just enough of it so that it can be recognizable to our people. We are
ordained to teach lost Jews how to accept Yahshua in order to receive eternal
life and then to train them on just how they can allow the YETZER HATOV (good
inclination), to prevail over the YETZER HARAH (the evil inclination), by the
power of YAHWEH's Ruach HaKodesh.
That is our job! The recognition and
acceptance of our religious practices by lost Jewry is not the issue here.
Obedience to the literal Word Of YAHWEH is! The Word warns us that the fear of
man brings a snare or a trap. We must never fall into that trap. If we who know
this truth and are found suppressing it out of the fear of being misunderstood,
then we are displaying our lack of faith in Yahshua’s proclamation that as
long as we lift Him up, people will be drawn to Him (John 12:32), when we have
the chutzpah to use the Sacred Name the way He wants us to.
True spirit-filled Ephraimite
believers should add just two more Hebrew words to their vocabulary. YAHWEH and
YAHSHUA. Through this act of surrender, you will not only approach your Creator
through obedience, but rediscover the true Name of the author of the scriptures.
What a joy that will be when you rediscover His Name to be neither Thomas
Nelson, Jack Hayford, Mr. Kirkbride, the American Bible Society, Lord-God,
Almighty God, or any other religious jargon, but rather YAHWEH and Yahshua!
Allow Proverbs 30:4 & 5, to be personally fulfilled in your believing life.
You and I need to personally
reintroduce that Set Apart Name in our walk with the Messiah. Yahshua taught us
to pray and relate to our Heavenly Father with great reverence for His Name. Are
we prepared to step out in total obedience despite the snickers and whispers of
other fellow believers? What do you and I want more? The eternal praises of the
Elohim of Israel, or the fleeting and temporal praises of men? Once you answer
that question honestly and correctly, you will be prepared to address the
Creator even as Yahshua did and even as He taught us to do! Our Father who art
in heaven hallowed be THY NAME!
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1 Brody, H. Who Is A Jew? Who Is A
Rabbi? Dresher, PA: Shiloh Publications.
2 Ibid.
3 Koster, C. J., (1996). Come Out of
Her My People. Pawtucket RI: Institute For Scripure Research.Aª
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