Fact 1: His Name is Yahweh
God’s personal Name, Yahweh, is called the Divine Name and the Tetragrammaton, or four-letter word because it has four letters in Hebrew. Most Jewish people won’t say Yahweh. Instead, they say HASHEM—a Hebrew word that means “The Name”, or they say Adonai—the Hebrew word for Lord. Yahweh is also called the Ineffable Name, or the unspeakable Name, but God’s Name is not unspeakable!
Fact 2: Yahweh’s Name Has Been Edited Out of Most Bible Translations
Yahweh’s Name doesn’t appear even one time in the text of the three most popular English Bible translations on the market today. The King James Bible, the New American Standard Bible, and the New International Version substitute the titles “LORD” and “GOD” with all the letters capitalized where the Name “Yahweh” actually belongs. Jewish Bible scholars introduced this tradition in the mid-2nd century B.C., and it has continued since that time. This man-made tradition, which achieved near-universal acceptance in 1611 A.D. when the King James Bible editors failed to include the Name ”Yahweh” in their inaugural edition, is wrong and dangerous for two reasons. First, it nullifies Yahweh’s explicit command to tell the world that we have only One God—Yahweh. Second, according to the Bible, Yahweh is the only Name in which we have salvation.
According to Bible scholar and author Charles Ryrie, the Name “Yahweh” appears exactly 6,823 times in the Old Testament, and the New Testament is loaded with direct quotes and paraphrased passages from the Old Testament containing God’s Name. In other words, Yahweh’s Name should appear all over both the Old and New Testaments, but most Christians have never seen it. Even more, few Christians have ever heard a preacher declare Yahweh’s Name from the pulpit. This is a serious problem—and one that needs immediate attention!
Fact 3: LORD and GOD are Titles—Not Names
“LORD” and “GOD” are titles—not names, and Yahweh never even hinted that we should declare His titles to the world. Additionally, these titles can be applied appropriately to wood, rock, or metal, and Yahweh Himself refers to anything that has been fashioned into an idol for worship as either a “god” or a “lord.” Putting it bluntly, these titles don’t distinguish between Yahweh and inanimate objects and false deities so it makes absolutely no sense to believe they are appropriate substitutes for His Name. In fact, there is no substitute for the Name “Yahweh”.
Fact 4: Yahweh Commanded Us to Tell People Who He is by Name
Yahweh means “I AM”, and “I AM” is one of His Names. In Exodus 3: 13-15, God told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM; thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Then He added this command:
“Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This (Yahweh) is My Name forever, the Name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”
“Forever” means without end so it’s clear that Yahweh never intended for us to substitute titles for His Name. Also, since Yahweh instructed Moses to tell the Children of Israel to remember Him by the Name Yahweh “from generation to generation”, it’s obvious that He wants everyone
to know His Name,
to call on Him by Name, and
to tell people about Him by Name.
Fact 5: Yahweh is Our Only Savior and Jesus is Yahweh
Jeremiah 23: 5-6 says the Messiah’s Name is Yahweh, and in Philippians 2: 9-11, the apostle Paul was referring to the Name “Yahweh” when he said,
“God…bestowed on Him (Jesus) the Name which is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Yahweh is the Name God bestowed on Jesus; it’s the Name that is above every name; and it’s the Name to which every knee will bow when He returns.
We know for certain that Paul was saying God bestowed the Name “Yahweh” on Jesus because in Philippians 2: 9-11 he paraphrased Isaiah 45: 21-24. This is what Yahweh told Isaiah:
“And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me. Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the Word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance, they will say of Me, ‘Only in Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him and all who were angry with Him shall be put to shame.”
In Isaiah 43: 11, Yahweh said that He is our only Savior—“I, even I, am Yahweh, and there is no savior besides Me.” It’s almost impossible to misunderstand that verse. In John 8: 58 Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I AM.” Jesus said He is Yahweh, and to misconstrue what He meant, you would have to be ignorant about the fact that Yahweh told Moses He is I AM.
The Bible reveals these irrefutable facts:
Yahweh is our only Savior.
Yahweh is our only God.
Jesus is Yahweh.
Yahweh is the only Name we were told to declare to the world.
Yahweh is the only Name in which we have salvation.
It’s heartbreaking that most Christians don’t know the Name of their God—especially now. We live at a time when people are being told by religious and political leaders that all of us worship the same god, but we call him by different names. That’s not true! We don’t all worship the same god, and Satan himself must be the source of that lie. There is only One true God—Yahweh, and the Person most Christians call Jesus is Yahweh!
Fact 6: We Have Salvation in Only One Name—Yahweh
Joel 2: 32 says, “Everyone who calls on the Name of Yahweh will be delivered (or saved).” In Acts 2: 21, Peter quoted Joel 2: 32, and in Romans 10: 13, Paul delivered Joel’s and Peter’s message precisely. In Acts 4: 12, Peter went even farther—“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” It just doesn’t get any clearer than that! We have salvation in One Name—Yahweh. That’s what the Bible says again and again! The fact that most preachers have failed to deliver this message to their congregations is a serious problem that screams for attention!
Yahweh, the Sovereign of the universe, declared that He is our only Savior. Jesus said He is Yahweh. Joel, Peter, and Paul said that everyone who calls on the Name of Yahweh will be saved. Peter said there is no other name by which we must be saved. How could it be any clearer than that? And these are not ordinary witnesses. Their message is so unambiguous and it is repeated so often in the Bible that you need help to be confused.
Neil Snyder earned a Ph.D. degree in strategic management from the University of Georgia in 1979 and taught leadership and strategy at the University of Virginia for 25 years. He is the author of numerous books including Vision, Values & Courage (The Free Press, 1994) and The Will to Lead (Irwin Professional Publishing, 1997), and he has published more than 100 articles and business case studies. Dr. Snyder retired from UVA in 2004 and currently is the Ralph A. Beeton Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia. Go to his website to find more materials: http://www.hisnameisyahweh.org/
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