OVERCOME THE LAST
ENEMY -- DEATH
The Christian who wants to
overcome the last enemy which is death (1 Corinthians 15:26)
desires to know God as JESUS knew Him.
1 Corinthians 15:26, The last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death. (KJV)
JESUS overcame death
for us and the last generation of Christians shall also overcome
death.
JESUS AND MELCHISEDEC
JESUS and
Melchisedec (Spelled Melchizedek in O.T.) served the
name/nature of God as EL ELYON, the Most High
God. (Genesis 14:18) JESUS and Melchisedec
entered the EL ELYON priesthood through the power of an
endless life. (Hebrews 7:16-17) They both overcame the
last enemy, death.
Those Christians who are alive
in the last generation, who do overcome the last enemy, death,
will do it the same way, through the power of an endless life
(they will not die). They will have a balanced knowledge of,
and experience with, all of the names/natures of God.
They will become priests of EL ELYON, the Most High God.
They will conduct their lives
like JESUS and Melchisedec.
READ THE SCRIPTURES
Here is a review of the
scripture references for that last powerful statement.
Genesis 14:18-20, And
Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was
the priest of EL ELYON (the Most High God).
19 And he blessed
him, and said, Blessed be Abram of EL ELYON (the Most High
God), possessor of heaven and earth: (KJV)
20 And blessed be
the EL ELYON (the Most High God)., which hath
delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of
all. (KJV)
The New Testament tells
us that Melchisedec (N.T. spelling) never died; he was a
priest forever; he had an endless life. And JESUS entered
the Melchisedec, EL ELYON priesthood the same way, by
overcoming death.
PRIEST FOREVER
Hebrews 5:5-6, So also
Christ glorified
not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him,
Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
6 As he saith
also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec. (KJV)
ETERNAL SALVATION
Hebrews 5:9-10, And being
made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him;
10 Called of
God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. (KJV)
FOR EVER
Hebrews 6:20, Whither the
forerunner is for us entered, even JESUS, made an high priest
for ever after the order of Melchisedec. (KJV)
ENDLESS LIFE -- FOREVER
Hebrews 7:15-17, And it is
yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of
Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,
16 Who is made,
not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an
endless life.
17 For he
testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order
of Melchisedec. (KJV)
LAST ENEMY IS DEATH
1 Corinthians 15:26, The last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death. (KJV)
The last generation of
believers in JESUS CHRIST will overcome the last enemy --
death. Perhaps you will do it. It is possible that you
may enter the Melchisedec priesthood for ever after
the power of an endless life.
PRIEST FOR EVER
Hebrews 7:21, For those
priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that
said unto him, The LORD sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest
for ever after the order of Melchisedec: (KJV)
MELCHISEDEC PRIESTS
DO NOT DIE
The Melchisedec
priesthood lasts for ever because Melchisedec
priests do not die. This is in direct contrast to the
Levitical (Aaronic) priests who do die. The book of Hebrews
calls special attention to this contrast. I hope that you can take
the time to read chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Hebrews.
Also see Chapter 26 of this
book for much more on Melchisedec.
Hebrews 7:1-28, For this
Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of EL ELYON (the
Most High God), who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of
the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also
Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King
of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King
of peace;
3 Without father,
without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days,
nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a
priest continually.
4 Now consider
how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave
the tenth of the spoils.
5 And verily they
that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the
priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people
according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come
out of the loins of Abraham:
6 But he whose
descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and
blessed him that had the promises.
7 And without all
contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
8 And here men
that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom
it is witnessed that he liveth.
9 And as I may so
say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
10 For he was yet
in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
11 If therefore
perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the
people received the law,) what further need was there that another
priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be
called after the order of Aaron?
12 For the
priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also
of the law.
13 For he of whom
these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man
gave attendance at the altar.
14 For it is
evident that our Lord
sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
priesthood.
15 And it is yet
far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec
there ariseth another priest,
16 Who is made,
not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an
endless life.
17 For he
testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedec.
18 For there is
verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the
weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
19 For the law
made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by
the which we draw nigh unto God.
20 And inasmuch
as not without an oath he was made priest:
21 (For those
priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that
said unto him, The Lord
sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec:)
22 By so much was
Jesus made a
surety of a better testament.
23 And they truly
were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by
reason of death:
24 But this man,
because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
25 Wherefore he
is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
26 For such an
high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27 Who needeth
not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for
his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when
he offered up himself.
28 For the law
maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the
oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated
for evermore. (KJV)
WHAT IS GOD?
What is God? It is the
Teutonic word for a personal object of reverence or fear. It is
like the Greek word "THEOS" and the Latin word "DEUS."
It is applied to all superhuman beings of mythology who exercise
power over nature and man. When the Teutonic races converted
to Christianity, the word "God" was adopted as the name
of the Supreme Being, the Creator of the universe, and the three
Persons of the Trinity. The result is a very unfortunate mixture of
ideas that produced a real literary mess.
One purpose of this study is
to try to help identify the parts of this mess and try to find out
what they really mean.
GENDER OF GOD
Different words for God
also have different genders in many languages. As our study
develops, we are going to see that different Hebrew words for God
also have different genders. In Hebrew, the last characters
(letters) of the word tell the gender. We will see that Hebrew
words often tell a new and extended story in the Bible when the
gender is noticed. We will also see that we lose a lot when we are
limited to our English genderless words.
MALE AND FEMALE
For instance, YAHWEH is
masculine. EL SHADDAI is feminine in context usage. When
the masculine YAHWEH and the feminine EL SHADDAI come
together to operate in concert, they become the creator, ELOHIM.
The word "ELOHIM" is androgynous (meaning both masculine and
feminine) in gender in the Hebrew language. The androgynous word "ELOHIM"
(creator) was unfortunately translated into the genderless word "God"
in our English Bible. In our English language we lose the gender
idea because our word "God" brings no idea of gender to us.
In the creation story we loose
the idea that there must be a masculine YAHWEH operating in
concert with a feminine EL SHADDAI in order for them to
become the androgynous creator ELOHIM.
There is a fairly complete
analysis of the creative aspects of the Godhead featuring the
masculine YAHWEH, the feminine EL SHADDAI, and the
androgynous ELOHIM in Chapter 14 titled YAHWEH FAMILY.
Check it out.
ADAM WAS BOTH
MALE AND FEMALE
You probably remember that, at
first, Adam was created as an androgynous person because Eve was
still within that body. In other words, Adam was both male and
female, at first. That is exactly the same as ELOHIM -- male
and female. That explains why ELOHIM said, “I'll make man as
I am -- in my androgynous image.”
Most students say that
understanding the different genders of the various name/natures
of God really does add a lot of meaning to the Bible. They
don't get as much meaning from the simple English.
THINK ABOUT THAT
What you think about the
gender of God shapes, to a great degree, what you think
God will do, and consequently, what you should do. For
instance, since the God of Israel is masculine
YAHWEH, most Jews (and most Christians) of today have mentally
developed a personal profile and a national profile that reflects
their understanding of how their masculine YAHWEH would want
them to handle a problem. They usually apply the law instead of
mercy, like a father usually does.
In the U.S.A. we use a giant
army, with a big stick, to force our will upon other smaller
nations. Our President, Theodore Roosevelt, is reported to have
said, “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.”
This narrow minded view is
unfortunate because God is far more than just masculine.
Many times it is better to offer mercy, like a mother usually does,
rather than the law of the father.
The NEW ENGLISH DICTIONARY points
out that the old Teutonic word "God" is neuter. In Christian
applications the word God became masculine. In Gothic and
Old Norwegian the construction is masculine even where the earlier
neuter form is still kept.
Popular etymology has
connected God with good, exemplified by the corruption
of "God be with you" into "good by." We plan
to use the word "etymology" several times in this study. So
now it won't hurt to remind ourselves what etymology means.
ETYMOLOGY
Etymology means to
study the history of a linguistic form such as a word. It is
studied by tracing its phonetic, graphic, and semantic development
since its earliest recorded occurrence. It is studied by tracing
the course of its transmission from one language to another by
distinguishing it from its component parts. The subject word is
studied by identifying its cognates in other languages. The word and
its cognates are traced back to a common ancestral form in a
recorded or assumed ancestral language.
Etymology is a branch
of linguistics. It helps us to find out what the ancient author
meant.
THAT'S TOUGH
For instance, when I was in
the Navy during the Korean war, the word "tough" meant hard
to break or hard to tear. About 20 years later, when my daughters
were in high school, I found, to my surprise, that it then meant a
good looking guy. That’s quite a bit of difference.
Now, if we read the word "tough"
we need to know a lot about it -- or we will get the wrong idea. We
must know the etymology of the word "tough." We must
know when the author used the word “tough” so we can
know if it means “hard to tear” or if it means “a good looking
guy.”
Often the context will give
you the answer, but not always. The same is true for Hebrew and
Greek Bible words.
GAY FUN
There is another problem.
Even within the same generation a word can mean something very, very
different. When I was in the Navy 40 years ago, "gay" meant
to have good clean fun. Nowadays, to some people, it describes a
person who wants to have sex with another person of the same sex.
So you see, when someone uses
a word, we really don't know for sure what they mean. Sometimes I
think that's why we have lawyers and preachers. If we all
understood the intent of the words we use we might eliminate the
jobs of 99% of those people.
DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
The Father of our LORD
JESUS CHRIST was identified as EL ELYON, the
Most High GOD (Luke 1:32 & 35). While it is true that
YAHWEH was the Father of the Jewish religion, YAHWEH is
never referred to as the Father of JESUS.
That's why JESUS didn't
act the way the Jews expected Him to act. For instance, the Jews
wanted to stone the adulterous woman, but JESUS brought no
condemnation. No condemnation does not mean approval.
YAHWEH and EL ELYON
have some completely different name/natures -- and yet
they are the same God. I think the differences
in the name/natures of God produce a major
reason for the existence of different major religions such as Jewish
or Christian. The different name/natures are also the
reason for different denominations such as Catholic, Baptist,
Methodist, or Pentecostal. Each group shapes their own religious
belief system (ethos) based on their own singular concept of a
single name/nature of God. I think that is the
major reason that we don't get along very well, and I hope that will
soon change, for the better.
ATHEISTS
I can not find any Bible
arguments made to demonstrate the reality of God. The
existence of God is presupposed throughout. The
controversies of the Prophets never examine the fundamental question
of God’s existence or nonexistence. My own personal
experience with a personal God has settled the question for
me. The existence of God seems so basic to me, that the
arguments of an atheist seem absurd and are hardly worth any of my
time at all.
FOR EVERYBODY
This message is for
everybody. No one is left out. Every type person, every language,
every race, and every nationality has an inheritance in EL ELYON.
This is the way the Bible says it.
Revelation 5:9, And they
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to
open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to
God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and
nation; (KJV)
WHICH NAME?
Even though some of my friends
will not publicly use the word "God" anymore, substituting
words like “YAHWEH,” “ELOHIM,” and “EL ELYON,”
I have elected (for myself) to not abandon the word "God."
I do not condemn or find fault with anyone who now uses the original
Hebrew names publicly. I don't feel comfortable in telling
students to use this word or that word, even though I use the
original Hebrew names in my private prayers and
contemplation.
For the time being I'm
publicly using the word "God." Here's why.
GOD IS GOD
The word "God" is
almost universally accepted as to its general meaning. I teach
Bible lessons in a lot of churches where the use of YAHWEH or
EL ELYON, etc. would be unintelligible. I recognize that the
word "God" has a strange and a foreign meaning from its
original use. But, if I removed the word "God" from my
vocabulary, then it logically follows that I should correct the
meaning of all of my other words from their present use to their
original use. In that case, I would have to change a major portion
of my vocabulary. I would no longer be understood -- and I just
don't have the time to develop a new language (or revive and old
one).
Bible study is different. In
that special case, we must endeavor to find the meaning that was in
the mind of the writer, in terms that we presently use. That's why
we must study the word "God" with all of its various Hebrew
and Greek words and many English translations.
HOW DO YOU SAY "GOD?"
In some languages God
is:
Gothic, GUTH;
Danish and Swedish, GUD;
German, GOTT; and
Dutch is the same as English,
God.
Different words for God
also have different genders.
It is no wonder that no one
agrees with anyone else, as to what God is like! I really
believe that God will respond to the proper prayer of any
believer/receiver, no matter which name is used. I also have
discovered that the Bible stories make more sense when a person
knows what is the nature of the name that is being
used.
SLANG WORDS FOR GOD
I think that the best word for
my heavenly Father is
"DAD," which is a
pretty good translation of "ABBA." But, you better not use "DAD”
in very many public places.
Mark 14:36, And he said,
Abba, (DAD) Father, all things are possible
unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will,
but what thou wilt. (KJV)
JEALOUS
You may not believe this, but
one name for YAHWEH is “JEALOUS.” The
LORD’S name is “JEALOUS.” All the other major
translations say the same thing. The LORD (YAHWEH’S) name
is JEALOUS. Very few people believe that God’s
name is “JEALOUS,” but that’s what the Bible says. That
means we have a lot more Bible study ahead of us to see why
YAHWEH’S name is “JEALOUS.”.
Exodus 34:14, For thou
shalt worship no other god: for YAHWEH (the LORD), whose
name is Jealous,
is a jealous God: (KJV)
DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS
FOR THE WORD “GOD”
It is hard to imagine that the
Hebrew word "EL" (God) was translated into all of the
following different English words in our Bible.
“God, strength, mighty,
Almighty, these, those, to, about, according to, after, against,
among, as for, at, because, both, and by, concerning, for, from,
hath, in, into, near, out of, over, through, to, toward, under,
unto, upon, whether, with, within.”
That is an incredible list of
words, all with different meanings, which have been translated from
one word, God "EL."
Look up "EL" in
Strong's Concordance if
you want to confirm this list.
SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
If you are as surprised as I
was to find that "God" was translated into so many other
different words, then what do you think of this?
Another Hebrew word, "ELOHIM"
was translated:
“God, gods,
magistrates, angels, exceeding, goddess, godly, very great, judges,
mighty.”
So, the Hebrew words for
God have a whole lot of other meanings, too. When we look up
the other Hebrew words for God, we find that they were also
translated into many other words in addition to God.
I think the list is too long
for a detailed study here, but if you want to, look up the following
words in the STRONG’S CONCORDANCE.
1. GOD 3069 YAHWEH
2. ALMIGHTY 7706 SHADDAI
3. LORD 3068 YAHWEH,
4. LORD 136 ADONAY,
5. HIGH (Most) 5945 ELYON
6. GOD 433 ELOAH.
WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
Next notice the large number
of Hebrew words for God, and then notice that the translators
from Hebrew to English did not render them consistently. They
confounded the meaning by often exchanging the same English word for
several different Hebrew words. When we also remember that there
are a large number of variations (72), it becomes easier to see why
there is a lot of disagreement as to what God is like.
SUCH A TIME AS THIS
Who knows? Maybe you are born
at this time so you can fix the world with your new found knowledge
of the different name/natures of our one God.
Esther 4:14, ---who
knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as
this? (KJV)
Some Christians are starting
to use the different Names of God in their own private prayer
life. That's good, I think. But, using the different Names of
God isn't the whole answer to increasing a person's spiritual
sensitivity, or the whole answer to always receiving an answer to a
self serving prayer. I don't think that the key is knowing the
name or pronouncing it right. I think the key is in living the
nature of the name. Some authors have written books
indicating that there is some magic in knowing the correct name of
God. One book even said that the magic is in the right
pronunciation. Well? Wouldn’t it be nice if it was that easy?
NAME OF A DEMON
Some books contain the idea
that there is a strange esoteric power in learning and using a
Spiritual name. I think that I first ran across this
idea in a book on exorcism (casting out demons). Much was made of
the fact that JESUS demanded to know the names of the
demons. The idea projected was that the demon was obliged to follow
whatever command was given to it, as long as the exorcist called the
demon by its name (Mark 5:9-15).
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
Mark 5:9-15, And he asked
him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My
name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he
besought him much that he would not send them away out of the
country.
11 Now there was
there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the
devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may
enter into them.
13 And forthwith
Jesus gave
them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the
swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea,
(they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
14 And they that
fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And
they went out to see what it was that was done.
15 And they come
to Jesus, and
see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion,
sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
(KJV)
JACOB’S SECRET ANGEL
The second story is about
angels and their secret names; it’s about Jacob wrestling with an
angel.
The story ends this way:
Genesis 32:29, And Jacob
asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he
said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And
he blessed him there. (KJV)
The knowledge of the name
of the angel must have been worth wrestling for all night. I can
easily see how the idea of "special power in a name" got
started, and there seems to be some merit in it.
SAMSON’S SECRET ANGEL
Here is another story about
angels and secret names, concerning Samson’s mother and father.
Judges 13:18, And the
angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my
name, seeing it is secret? (KJV)
Why would the angel not be
willing to give out his name? Why would his name be a
secret?
There is an area in which I do
have personal experience regarding the special power of using the
name of a person.
WAITRESS! WAITRESS!
When I go to a restaurant, one
of the first things I try to do is to learn the name of my
waitress. Have you ever had to call, "Waitress, waitress!" It just
doesn't work! She can walk right by your table and not hear you.
But if you say her name, she hears you from across the room.
There must be something to learn concerning the fact that there is
special power in a name. However, I'm also inclined to think
that the real power comes when the approach is made in the nature
of the name.
In other words, it is easier
to approach someone who is a lover if you yourself are a lover. So,
when you approach in the name and in the nature of the
name, you will have a lot of things going for you.
This chapter on the Names
of God presents an overall view of:
1. The Names,
2. The Natures,
3. The Actions, and
4. The Interactions
between the,
5. Names of God by
using a picture of clouds.
The basic outline for, and
content of, this chapter are taken from an edited transcript of a
Bible lecture on the Names of God. It was given at Hershey,
Pennsylvania, by this author.
TYPES & SHADOWS
Some people are quite
sensitive about using a picture (or any graphic or graven image)
to represent God, and justifiably so.
Exodus 20:4, Thou shalt
not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any
thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth: (KJV)
Here is why we have chosen to
use types and shadows to represent our God.
The Bible speaks about types and shadows (Col. 2:17,
Heb. 8:5) which foretell the facts about the real thing. JESUS
spoke in parables that are usually fictional stories about
events that really have a deeper spiritual meaning. The lives of
Ishmael and Isaac were called an allegory because Ishmael
represented the Old Testament and Isaac the New. (Gal. 4:24)
Colossians 2:17, ---
Which are a shadow of things to come; (KJV)
Hebrews 8:5, Who serve
unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. (KJV)
Galatians 4:24, Which
things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the
one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
(KJV)
PARABLES AND ALLEGORIES
Following the same idea of
using types and shadows and/or parables and/or
allegories, I have drawn a picture of one large cloud that is
made up of five smaller ones. Each of the smaller individual
clouds represents one of the five primary Names of God,
and is so labeled.
Concerning the large (whole)
cloud we remind ourselves that the scripture says:
Deuteronomy 6:4, Hear, O
Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (KJV)
Please see the cloud picture.
AN ALLEGORY
Whereas there is only one big
cloud that covers the whole sky, called God, the one big
cloud is really made up of five smaller individual primary
clouds. Each of those smaller individual clouds has a name
of its own.
According to our usage and
understanding, our word "God" applies to the whole giant
cloud. Also, our word "God" applies equally to any of the
individual smaller clouds that make up the whole big one.
I have chosen lightning to
represent the interaction between the various Names of God.
The release of lightening energy is one of the most instantaneous
and powerful acts known to man. Almost everyone has watched the
clouds in a rainstorm. We have seen lightning flash from one cloud
to another, and then perhaps strike the earth somewhere. Also
lightning is a good allegory because lightening and clouds go
together. Please set aside your thoughts about the destructive
action of the lightning for this illustration.
What we are looking for here,
is the thought/picture of the interaction between the several
Names of God.
NATURE OF THE NAMES
The drawing is not a picture
of God. Of course not. It is an allegory of the way five
individual clouds are really a part of the one whole big cloud. In
a loosely similar way, the five Names of God, operate
individually and separately, while at the same time they are a part
of the whole concept of one God.
Concerning one of the ten
commandments:
Exodus 20:4, Thou shalt
not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness
of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (KJV)
I do not believe that the
cloud or clouds are a graven image of God. No. The
picture is a type and shadow, a parable, and/or
an allegory. The cloud picture is not an image of
God.
Across each individual cloud I
have attempted to display a short outline of the meanings and
the natures and some of the actions of each of the 5
Names of God.
We will refer back to this
drawing and these notes quite often. So, you may save yourself
quite a lot of time later if you take a few minutes now to
look over the cloud drawing. Of course it's not complete. All the
books in the world couldn't do that.
FIVE NAMES OF ONE GOD
I researched each and every
time that the word "God" appears in the Bible. Naturally
that took a long time (over a year). That was before I had this
wonderful computer. That phase of study would take much less time,
now.
PRONUNCIATION
You may pronounce these 5
Hebrew Names of God any way that you want. That's right.
Every audience I have ever spoken to has always had a few people who
learned to pronounce these words with some variation. Who is to
say? Even the Jews do not agree among themselves concerning the
correct Hebrew pronunciation of the Names of God.
EL ELYON
EL ELYON is God
(GEN. 14:18-20), the Most High God, the God of the
nations. Androgynous (masculine and feminine), possessor of heaven
and earth, Father of the LORD JESUS CHRIST (Luke 1:32, 35,
24:49), our Father too (Psalm 82:6). Translated "Most High"
and "Most High God." Provides love, mercy, forgiveness.
EL ELYON is God
of the nations but YAHWEH is God of Israel.
EL ELYON is God
of the Melchisedec Order, but YAHWEH is God of
Aaronic-Levitic Order (Heb. 7:21).
EL ELYON is the God
of those who overcome death.
Etymology of EL ELYON
is STRONG’S 5945, 5947 and it is 5945, 5920, 5921, 5942,
5946, 5956, 5957, 5958, 5959, meaning to provide from the top
head.
YAHWEH
YAHWEH is God,
(Ex. 6:2), masculine (call me ISHI, husband, Hosea 2:16),
God of Israel (not the nations), law giver, judge, condemner,
punisher, death bringer, guard, shepherd, light, salvation,
protector, healer, deliverer, causer of victory, the I AM.
Was introduced to Moses in 1491 B.C. YAHWEH gave 613 laws to
Moses, established the Aaronic-Levitic priesthood (not Melchisedec
priesthood). The unspeakable unpronounceable name YHWH
(tetragrammation) is YAHWEH. Usually translated "LORD," was
corrupted into "Adoni"
by Masorite copyists, and was also corrupted into "Jehovah"
by English translators.
YAHWEH operates in
concert with the feminine EL SHADDAI and becomes ELOHIM
who creates all things.
Etymology of YAHWEH is
Strong's 3068, 3050, 3051 meaning to produce with the hand.
ELOHIM
ELOHIM is God,
androgynous (masculine and feminine), plural, creator of all things
(Genesis 1), spirit, translated "God," the object of
reverence.
Etymology of ELOHIM is
STRONG'S 430, 410, 352, 193, 17a, and it is 430, 424, 413,
410, 451, meaning to come forth with (by) a strong oak tree,
and rump.
EL SHADDAI
EL SHADDAI is God,
feminine (Ex. 6:3), from the word "shad" meaning "breast" (the large
breasted one, her breast is mine for me to use), translated "Almighty,"
in the O.T., but not “Almighty” in the N.T., the God of
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph (not Moses in his later life), the
Mother, nourisher, provider, life sustainer, open eyed.
The word “Almighty” in
the New Testament (G3841, pantokrator, 2 Cor. 6:18; Revelation 1:8
more) is not the same as EL SHADDAI in the Old
Testament. The word “Almighty” in the New Testament should
be translated “All Powerful” to distinguish it from the word
“Almighty” as used in the Old Testament.
EL SHADDAI appears
often in Job, has knowledge of all truth, provides balance and
fairness, provides because of need, and withholds when best,
responds in love.
EL SHADDAI operates in
concert with masculine YAHWEH and they become the ELOHIM
who creates all things.
Etymology of EL SHADDAI
is, Strong's 7706, 1237, 7703 and 7706, 7699, meaning to provide
with the breast.
ELOAH
ELOAH is God,
Lord, Messiah (OT), CHRIST (NT Acts 2:34-36), life giving
creative force (Hebrews 10:12-13), the anointing, Ghost, Spirit.
Gender is feminine in the Hebrew O.T. The spirit is neuter in the
Greek N.T., but always travels with a masculine article, making the
usage masculine in the New Testament.
ELOAH appears often in
Job.
ELOAH connects spirit
with flesh.
Etymology of ELOAH is
Strong's 433, 410, 352, 193, 17a, and it is 433, 410, 451, meaning
to provide with the rump.
BODY PARTS
Did you notice that all five
name/natures of God are etymologically connected to
anthropomorphic body parts by the Hebrew words?
EL ELYON -- head
YAHWEH -- hand
ELOHIM -- rump
EL SHADDAI -- breast
ELOAH -- rump
GENDERS OF GOD
Did you notice the various
genders in the Hebrew for the Names of God?
EL ELYON -- androgynous
YAHWEH -- masculine
ELOHIM -- androgynous
EL SHADDAI -- feminine
ELOAH -- feminine in Old
testament, ELOAH changes to masculine in New Testament.
The ELOAH gender change
is probably because the Holy Spirit was quiet and retiring
(feminine characteristics) in the Old Testament -- but dramatically
changed to forceful and active (masculine characteristics) in the
New Testament.
GOD OF ISRAEL OR
GOD OF NATIONS?
Did you notice that YAHWEH
is the God of Israel contradistinctive to EL ELYON who
is the God of the nations? When Israel was taken captive
from Jerusalem to Babylon, they changed the name/nature of
God from YAHWEH (LORD) to EL ELYON (Most High God)
because YAHWEH laws could not be practiced in Babylon.
For instance, in Babylon the
king called the three Hebrew children servants of EL ELYON
(the Most High God) ‑‑ not servants of YAHWEH (the
LORD) (Daniel 3:26).
Daniel 3:26, Then
Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace,
and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of
EL ELYON (the Most High God), come forth, and come
hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the
midst of the fire. (KJV)
WHICH PRIESTHOOD?
Did you notice that the
Aaronic/Levitic priesthood is under YAHWEH but that the
Melchisedec priesthood is under EL ELYON? JESUS was a
priest after the order of Melchisedec. He was not a priest after
the Aaronic-Levitic order. (Heb. 5:6, etc.) The Bible tells us to
expect to eventually enter into the Melchisedec priesthood, too
(Heb. 5:9-10, 6:20, 7:19-28).
OVERCOME DEATH
Further Bible study will show
you that those Bible characters who overcame death did serve
the name/nature EL ELYON.
ONE GOD
Deuteronomy 6:4, Hear, O
Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (KJV)
FAMILY OF GOD
Ephesians 3:14-15, For
this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our LORD
Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named, (KJV)
Did that say there is a
family of God in heaven?
It did. Yes. It did.
PRESENT RELIGION
YAHWEH is the
name/nature of the God of the present religions,
especially Judaism, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism.
NEW RELIGION
The name of the God
of the new religion is EL ELYON. The new religion (EL ELYON)
will go through the same problems, understandings and
misunderstandings, acceptance and rejection, as did Christianity, as
it emerged from Judaism some 2000 years ago. The new religion (EL ELYON)
will lead humanity to peace, following JESUS, the High
Priest after the order of Melchisedec. It will require a separation
from old religious orders, like the disciples left John in order to
follow JESUS (John 1:37).
John 1:37, And the two
disciples (of John) heard him (John) speak, and they followed
Jesus. (KJV)
Rejection of the present
religions, especially Judaism, Roman Catholicism, and
Protestantism on the part of much of contemporary society has been
mostly because of the failure of the established present religions
to bring significant social reforms, especially peace to men.
Some contemporary people
recognize that most of the world's bloodshed has been because of the
present established religions.
God is presently
establishing a new religion based on the name/nature
of EL ELYON which will right the wrongs of the past and
present practices of religion.
An understanding of the
different names and natures of God will help us
to see what the future holds. Even though YAHWEH and
EL ELYON are the same single God, there is as much
difference between the two name/natures of God
named YAHWEH and EL ELYON, as there has been
between Judaism and Christianity.
WHY US?
This is all very important to
us because those people who do overcome the last enemy, death,
(I Cor. 15:26) will become priests after the order of Melchisedec
who was priest of EL ELYON, the Most High God.
Jesus did it, and
we stand as candidates to do it, too.
The NEW RELIGION will
have a consciousness of the name/nature of God as
EL ELYON. They will be led by the spirit of EL ELYON (not
by the law of YAHWEH) and they will lead this world
into peace.
Many people in the present
religious systems have an inner leading to apply EL ELYON
principles to every situation, even now. On occasion, they have
discovered that they can't, because of old religious rules that
presently govern their own organization.
A serious study of YAHWEH,
GOD OF ISRAEL Chapter 10, must also include a study of:
·
YAHWEH,
CONFOUNDING Chapter 11, and
·
YAHWEH,
UNCONFOUNDED Chapter 12, and
·
YAHWEH MADE THE
LAW Chapter 13, and
·
YAHWEH FAMILY
Chapter 14, and
·
YAHWEH AND/OR
EL ELYON Chapter 15,
because there is a lot to
learn about YAHWEH.
Some subjects in those
chapters have been reviewed and/or abbreviated for this chapter.
Some have not. Some subjects in this chapter are new and unique.
The index should be a big help.
YAHWEH, A NAME OF GOD
Let’s look at some of the
names/natures, actions, and interactions of YAHWEH.
YAHWEH is God. YAHWEH is the distinctive personal
name of the God of Israel. Contradistinctively,
EL ELYON (not YAHWEH) is the personal name of the
God of the nations.
·
YAHWEH is
a masculine word in gender and use.
·
YAHWEH
means, I AM.
·
YAHWEH is
the Lawgiver.
·
YAHWEH is
the Judge.
·
YAHWEH is
the Condemner.
·
YAHWEH is
the Punisher.
·
YAHWEH
releases the Death Bringer.
·
YAHWEH is
the God of ISRAEL, from the time of Moses to the
present time.
·
YAHWEH is
“HA SHEM.” Translated, “THE NAME.”
·
YAHWEH
was not the name of the God of Abraham.
·
YAHWEH
gave 613 laws to Moses.
·
YAHWEH
established the Levitical Priesthood.
·
YAHWEH
established the order of Aaron.
·
YAHWEH is
the unpronounceable, unspeakable Name of God, according to
Jewish tradition.
·
YAHWEH
was corrupted to the name "ADONI" by the Masorite
Scribes.
·
YAHWEH
was corrupted to the name "JEHOVAH" by the English
translators.
·
YAHWEH is
usually translated "LORD" in the K.J.V.
·
YAHWEH
operates in concert with EL SHADDAI to create all things.
·
YAHWEH
etymology is 3068, 3050, 3051 meaning to provide with the hands.
·
YAHWEH
appears in the O.T. 6823 times.
·
YAHWEH
does not occur in Ecclesiastes.
·
In Daniel
YAHWEH is found only in chapter 9.
·
Chronicles uses
ELOHIM much more than YAHWEH. Psalms chapters 43
through 83 follow the same patterns as Chronicles using ELOHIM
much more than YAHWEH.
·
YAHWEH is
the third person singular imperfect of the verb “TO BE.”
Some people say that therefore the meaning is, "He is" or "He will
be" or perhaps "He lives" from the root meaning of the word "BEING."
·
YAHWEH is
erroneously called ADONI, LORD, and JEHOVAH.
It is not hard to see how the
word YAHWEH was contracted to JAH, YAH, JEHO,
YEHO, JO, YO and YAHU. The graffiti
message, "YAHUDI WAS HERE," painted on German locations by
American Jewish GIs, in WW II, is probably a reference to YAHWEH,
the God of Israel.
TETRAGAMMATION
YAHWEH is from the
tetragammatron "YHWH." The word "YHWH" is older than
"YAHWEH." Ancient Hebrew did not contain vowels, only
consonants. Later "vowel points" were added to the scripture
texts. That’s the way YHWH became YAHWEH.
PRONOUNCE YAHWEH?
The original pronunciation
must have been YAHWEH. You should also know that Jews
pronounce "W" as "V." (After all, a W is just two Vs anyway). So we
may pronounce it YAHVEH.
Jews are not allowed to
pronounce, say, or articulate the Name of God, YAHWEH.
The avoidance of pronouncing
the name of YAHWEH is generally ascribed to a sense of
reverence. More precisely, it was caused by a misunderstanding of
the Third Commandment (Exodus 20:7, Deut. 5:11) as meaning "Thou
shalt not take the name of YAHWEH thy God in
vain." Whereas it really means, "You shall not swear falsely by the
name of YAHWEH your God."
Exodus 20:7, Thou shalt
not take the name of YAHWEH (the LORD) thy ELOHIM
(God) in vain; for YAHWEH (the LORD) will not hold him
guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 5:11, Thou
shalt not take the name of YAHWEH (the LORD) thy
ELOHIM (God) in vain: for YAHWEH (the LORD) will
not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (KJV)
FEAR OF SAYING YAHWEH
In the third century B.C., the
Jews regarded YAHWEH as a "NOMEN INEFFABLE" because of
an extreme interpretation of Exodus 20:7 and Lev. 24:11. "NOMEN
INEFFABLE" means “a name incapable of being expressed in
words, unutterable, indescribable, unspeakable, not to be uttered,
taboo.”
BLASPHEMED AND CURSED
Leviticus 24:11-16, And
the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of YAHWEH
(the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his
mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the
tribe of Dan:)
12 And they put
him in ward, that the mind of YAHWEH (the LORD) might be
shewed them.
13 And YAHWEH
(the LORD) spake unto Moses, saying,
14 Bring forth him
that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay
their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
15 And thou shalt
speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his
ELOHIM (God) shall bear his sin.
16 And he that
blasphemeth the name of YAHWEH (the LORD), he shall
surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall
certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the
land, when he blasphemeth the name of YAHWEH (the
LORD), shall be put to death. (KJV)
The fear of breaking the third
commandment, and the fear of using YAHWEH improperly made
religious Jews avoid the use of the Name of God, YAHWEH,
at all.
PRIESTS PRONOUNCED YAHWEH
According to Jewish tradition
the pronunciation of YAHWEH was used only by the priests
inside the Temple when blessing the people (Num. 6:22-27).
Outside the Temple they used the title ADONAI.
THE PRIESTLY BLESSING
Numbers 6:22-27, 22 And
YAHWEH (the LORD) spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Speak unto
Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the
children of Israel, saying unto them,
24 YAHWEH
(the LORD) bless thee, and keep thee:
25 YAHWEH
(the LORD) make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 YAHWEH
(the LORD) lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27 And they shall
put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless
them. (KJV)
The high priest mentioned
YAHWEH on Yom Kippur ten times. Once in every Sabbatical year
(seventh year) the sages delivered the Key to pronunciation and
understanding of YAHWEH to their disciples.
WHAT DOES YAHWEH MEAN?
Several explanations of the
meaning of the name YAHWEH have been proposed:
1.) Derived from "to
fall" and originally designated some sacred object such as a stone
which was believed to have fallen from heaven.
2.) Derived from "to
blow," a name for the God of wind and storm. Some say
that YAH should be pronounced while inhaling and that WEH
should be pronounced while exhaling. Try it. Some writers say that
every breath cycle of every living human in the world is a call upon
YAHWEH. In this sense, YAHWEH provides life to
everyone.
3.) Derived from "to
be," meaning "He who causes to be" or "the creator."
4.) Derived from "to
fall" meaning "He who causes to fall the rain, thunderbolt -- the
Storm God."
You can take your pick.
THE FIRST MENTION OF YAHWEH
Our first recognition of
YAHWEH occurs in Exodus 6:2-3 which says:
Exodus 6:2-3, And ELOHIM
(God) spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am YAHWEH
(the LORD):
3 And I appeared
unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of
EL SHADDAI (God Almighty), but by my name
YAHWEH (JEHOVAH) was I not known to them.
Our God changed his
name/nature from EL SHADDAI to YAHWEH.
Yes. YAHWEH does
appear in the KJV (and others) before Exodus 6:24. The question
arises, “If YAHWEH was introduced in Exodus 6:2-3, then how
can He appear before that verse. How can YAHWEH appear
anywhere in Genesis?” The answer to this dilemma is in the fact
that the scribes and copyists were ordered to insert YAHWEH
into the text they were copying wherever and whenever they could.
Some men have spent their entire adult lives in study about that
question. They conclude that YAHWEH has been erroneously and
purposefully inserted before Exodus 6:2-4.
HISTORY OF THE CHANGE FROM
EL SHADDAI TO YAHWEH
Around 2000 B.C. Abraham knew
the name/nature of God, EL SHADDAI.
About 500 years later, 1500
B.C., Moses met a new name/nature of God,
YAHWEH. At the same time Israel became an organized nation
and YAHWEH gave 613 TSAVA laws to Israel through His prophet
Moses.
From the time of Abraham (2000
B.C.) to the time of Moses (1500 B.C.) there were no laws of God
(just commands) of EL SHADDAI.
The fact that the King James
Version of the Bible does erroneously use the word YAHWEH on
many occasions before the time of Moses is covered in succinct
detail in the chapter of this book called YAHWEH,
CONFOUNDING, Chapter 11.
Some authors say the word
YAHWEH is the only Name of God. Others say there are
many Names of God. We agree there is only one name
for the God of Israel. The consistent pattern is always
YAHWEH for the God of Israel. When our God
operates among the other nations (and with certain special people of
Israel) then He often uses other names. Psalm 9:2 says:
Psalm 9:2, I will be glad
and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou
ELYON (Most High). (KJV)
YAHWEH is the name
of the God of Israel and EL ELYON is the name
of the Most High God. YAHWEH is the God of
Israel. YAHWEH gave all the laws to Israel, no argument, no
question. The gender of the word YAHWEH is masculine.
YAHWEH is the God of war, hosts, victory, etc. So then,
you would expect Israel to follow YAHWEHISTIC tendencies.
The YAHWEHISTIC concept of God is leading the nation
of Israel to be a warring, pushy, forceful, aggressive,
overshadowing people. They are the only nation in the world to
expand their natural borders since WW II. In addition to describing
the acts of the nation of Israel, I am also describing most
denominations.
The denominational concept of
God is YAHWEHISTIC because the religion is descended
from Judo-Christianity. Denominations are directly descended from
that concept. Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant concepts of God
are for the most part based on YAHWEH. Hence, they are a
failure in the present society. It is just that simple. Our
present society does not want to know God as a pushy,
forceful, masculine personality. That was all right for Israel and
the O.T. but JESUS taught us a different concept of our
God. EL ELYON is the God of love, light, mercy,
forgiveness and life. Whereas the God nature of
JUSTICE is in YAHWEH; the God nature of
MERCY is in EL ELYON.
A serious study of YAHWEH,
CONFOUNDING, Chapter 11, must also include a study of:
·
YAHWEH, GOD OF
ISRAEL Chapter 10, and
·
YAHWEH,
UNCONFOUNDED Chapter 12, and
·
YAHWEH MADE THE
LAW Chapter 13, and
·
YAHWEH FAMILY
Chapter 14, and
·
YAHWEH AND/OR
EL ELYON Chapter 15,
because there is a lot to
learn about YAHWEH.
Some subjects in those
chapters have been reviewed and/or abbreviated for this chapter.
Some have not. Some subjects in this chapter are new and unique.
The index should be a big help.
SERIOUS
TRANSLATION PROBLEMS
As reported earlier in this
book, The Jewish scribes who hand copied the Bible were instructed
to insert whatever Name of God their denominational leaders
demanded. Several layers of corruption were placed upon each other.
YAHWEH CORRUPTION
Unfortunately, YAHWEH
is represented in the KJV and some other modern translations by the
name of JEHOVAH, which is a philological (relating to the
study of words and languages) impossibility. That's a nice way of
saying that the word JEHOVAH, is a made-up error.
It causes lots of confusion
and I wish that we had never heard of it. Here's what happened.
Believe it if you can. It’s true. This truth is stranger than
fiction.
MASORITE SPOILERS
The Jews were afraid to say
(pronounce) the word YHWH (YAHWEH) because they
thought the act might take the name of the LORD in vain, and
thus break the commandment. In the early Middle Ages, from about
700 to 900 A.D., when the consonantal text of the Hebrew Bible was
supplied with vowel points to facilitate its correct traditional
pronunciation (correct according to the Masorite
Ashkanazan, not the Sephardic Jews), the vowel points for
ADONAI were used for YHWH, thus producing the form Ye
Ho WaH. (There was one slight variation from the ADONAI
vowel points; a sheva with the first YOD of YHWH,
instead of the Hataf-patah under the ALEPH of ADONAI
was used).
JEWS PRONOUNCE YHWH
AS ADONAI??
The Jews were instructed to
read (pronounce) the word YHWH (with ADONAI vowel
points) as ADONAI. Here is an instance where a Name of
God was pronounced differently than all the consonants would
indicate, by all laws of language. Written YHWH (with
ADONAI vowel points), it was pronounced (spoken) ADONAI.
When early Christian scholars
of Europe first began to study Hebrew, they did not understand what
all of this confounding really meant to the Jews. Consequently, the
Christian translators pronounced YHWH (with ADONAI vowel points) as
normally indicated, introducing the hybrid and erroneous name,
"JEHOVAH" into the English Bible and language. Sad.
MORE CONFOUNDED CORRUPTION
Here is yet another problem.
In the original Hebrew text sometimes the words ADONAI
YAHWEH appear together. It should read "LORD God" in
English. But when the Masorites decided to change the name
YAHWEH (YHWH) into ADONAI it presented them with a
different problem. This second problem only appeared a very few
times in relation to the first reason for their changes (they were
afraid to pronounce YAHWEH). But it was a real problem.
It sounded kind of funny to
say "ADONAI ADONAI." (LORD LORD) in the same place it
used to read "ADONAI YAHWEH." (LORD God). So
the Masorites concocted up a different formula for that special
case. Then the different Masorite formula kept the word "YHWH"
(the Tetragrammaton) in the text but they added the vowels from the
word "ELOHIM," which is another Name of God
(contradistinctive from the vowels of ADONAI which comprised
their solution for the first case).
In the first case the Masorite
Jews combined the consonants YHWH (a Name of God)
with the vowels from ADONAI (another Name of God); in
the second case they used the vowels from ELOHIM (still
another Name of God) with the consonants of YHWH.
Sad.
JEWS PRONOUNCE YHWH
AS ELOHIM??
In the second case, the Jews
were instructed to read (pronounce) the word ELOHIM instead
of YHWH. Here is another instance where a Name of God
was pronounced entirely differently than all the consonants would
indicate, by all the laws of language. Written YHWH, it was
pronounced (spoken) ELOHIM. Sad.
It is still more complex. The
word YHWH was also written a third way. It contained
the vowel points as they should be written, producing the familiar
YAHWEH.
Even more complications. The
Sephardic Jews do not agree with the Ashkanazan Masorites, so they
have their own different rules. Sephardic Jews even have separate
Synagogues. Little is written about their rules, presumably because
they represent such a small minority opinion. Sad.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT
I find these facts difficult
to believe. It seems to me that students would have questioned the
practice. It just goes to show that a person with my present
personality would not fit in that ancient society. We
probably wouldn’t get along too well.
Now you and I have to deal
with a mistaken English corruption on top of a purposeful Jewish
corruption when we say JEHOVAH. Sad.
A LITTLE RELIEF
But we (English speaking
people) don’t have to deal with the second problem because it only
involves Hebrew pronunciation. The English translators rendered
YHWH (pronounced ELOHIM by the Jews in this special case)
into our word “LORD,” just like it would have been without the
erroneous vowel points. Glad for that, but sad that they changed
from Hebrew to English.
UNDERSTAND?
If you understood all this --
or if you didn't -- you probably agree: It is no wonder we don't
know much about the Names of God!!
No wonder that informed Jews
politely smile and look away when they hear us Christians say
"JEHOVAH."
Some Jews may be offended at
the thought of saying that their transmitted text of the Bible is
erroneous. Technically they may be right. After all, it was their
text, not ours. We borrowed it from them. They have the right to
make up any new rules they want to make. It is their text and their
rules. On the other hand, they could have helped our early English
translators a lot more, if they really wanted to help. The
pernicious act, as far as I am concerned, was to change the rules,
and then keep the changes secret. That makes all the changes
erroneous and pernicious as far as this English speaking Bible
student is concerned.
JEWISH DENOMINATIONS
A long time ago the Jewish
religion was divided into various groups that today we would call
different denominations. One group was called ELOHIST. Another,
PRIESTLY. Still another Jewish group (denomination) was
called YAHWIST.
The formal study about those
Jewish groups (denominations), and what they did to pervert the
transmitted Hebrew text of the Bible, is sometimes called the
Documentary Hypothesis in seminaries and the academic stream.
According to the Documentary
Hypothesis, the literary sources in the Pentateuch known as the
ELOHIST and the Priestly Document never used the name
YAHWEH for God until it was revealed to Moses (Ex.
3:13, 6:2-3). Thus, their transmitted Hebrew text of the Bible was
correct because it never used the Name of God, YAHWEH
(YHWH) in any portion of the book of Genesis. However, the
YAHWIST source erroneously uses it from Genesis 2:4 and
following.
This, we believe, demonstrates
the redacting (degrading) of the text by the YAHWIST source
in order to further the use of the name YAHWEH.
Those YAHWEH
corrupters tripped themselves up when they failed to change Exodus
6:2-3. That left us with a clue to their wrongful deeds. The exact
meaning of the text in Exodus 6:2-3 prevents the use of YAHWEH
until the time of the revelation of the name YAHWEH to
Moses.
Exodus 6:2-3, And
ELOHIM (God) spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am
YAHWEH (the LORD):
3 And I appeared
unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of
EL SHADDAI (God Almighty), but by my name
YAHWEH (JEHOVAH) was I not known to them. (KJV)
This confounded
contamination should not be confused with the errors introduced by
the Masorites. If you do get these stories confounded, try reading
this portion again and again. It is very hard to keep the facts
straight, but do try.
WARNING ABOUT
CHANGING THE BIBLE
It is appropriate at this
point to call attention to the warning about changing the Bible.
Deuteronomy 4:2, Ye shall
not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish
ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your
God which I command you. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 12:32, What
thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add
thereto, nor diminish from it. (KJV)
Revelation 22:18-19, For I
testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of
this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall
add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the
holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (KJV)
The people who made those
changes to the Bible were skating on pretty thin ice. We can’t help
but wonder about whatever happened to those people who did damaging
dastardly deeds, like changing what the Bible said.
Translations from Hebrew into
our English language had to suffer because the translators had to
work from ancient manuscripts that were admittedly changed (for the
worse) and corrupted (from their pure state) and confounded (in
regard to their original meaning) by some of the Jewish scribes.
STRONG'S CONCORDANCE has
done much to right this pernicious wrong, but STRONG cannot
repair all the damage.
In reference to the original
text no one can say, with absolute authority, just exactly which
Name of God was used in any certain chapter and verse. However,
modern scholarship is helping by using chronology, etymology,
context, and the new marvel -- the computer. It is now easier for
the scholar to point to the Name of God that he thinks was
originally used in any certain verse, but not with real positive and
firm authority, yet.
Serious students should go to
their library for a copy of the JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA, Vol. 9,
pages 590 and 591, which sheds much light on the subject of which
Name of God was probably originally used in any selected
passage, and which Name of God was probably
inserted and/or exchanged. If we tried to cover that subject, this
book would be about twice as big as it is now.
OTHER THINGS WRONG?
The King James Translators are
not without blame. Look what they did to JESUS’ teaching
about being angry.
Matthew 5:22, But I say unto
you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his
brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever
shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (KJV)
The expression, “without a
cause” is not in any transmitted texts. It was added by the
King James translators. Some analysts report that King James was
angry with his brother, so the translators made the change to save
their necks. Shame. Shame.
Here is the way all modern
translations attack the problem.
Matthew 5:22, But I tell you
that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to
judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca,' is
answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will
be in danger of the fire of hell. (NIV)
All new translations leave out
“without a cause.” Why? Because it is not in any ancient
manuscript. And because it changes the meaning of the teaching of
JESUS. It gave King James a reason to be angry, and it
should not.
POLITICS
Humanistic scholars indicate
they think Jewish religious movements were coupled with political
reasons, and that explains why the Names of God were
corrupted.
Spiritually inclined scholars
point to the devil, and his demons as the force behind the
destructive confounding.
Still others believe that our
God gave permission for the confounded corruption to happen
so that the truth could be first hidden and then revealed at the
right time, citing Proverbs 25:2.
Proverbs 25:2, It is the
glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is
to search out a matter. (KJV)
Take your pick.
These explanations do not
address the question of why does the confounding only
involve the Names of God? I don’t know, but I’ll try to
write another book when I find the answer.
Students should also be warned
that some Fundamental, Evangelical, and Pentecostal writers do
attack those scholarly works, due to fear of the unknown and fear of
being misquoted as saying something is wrong with the Bible. It is
very easy to misquote an author or lecturer on the subject of the
Names of God. A misquote can do as much harm as an intentional
slander. Consequently, only a very few scholars have entered the
battle arena called Names of God.
I have met some Christians
whose scholastic acumen and/or emotional stability is/are not strong
enough to listen to, or study about, these uncontested facts.
We are not saying that there
is anything wrong with the original Bible. We are standing up for
the original Bible. I am a Bible teacher and I love the word of
God. I am convinced it is perfect in its original state. Now
we are having to go through some very deep studies to find out
exactly what our God really said.
We are standing against the
corrupted and confounded translations and transmitted texts. Some
people have not been able to see the difference. Their
conduct indicates that they believe their own religious ideas can’t
be wrong. Sad.
Misunderstanding bred by
ignorance becomes dangerous to a Bible student, especially when that
student attempts to share what he/she has learned. But truth will
prevail. Glad.
Scribes added words and
removed words. Most Bible students have heard of the Masoretic
texts and nearly all scholastically cultured Bible students fully
admit that the texts were corrupted by the Masorites. Now you have
discovered five more levels of corruption, some of which are a
corruption of a corruption.
The transmitted text has been
spoiled and debased -- and as a result, the translations do not tell
us what God wanted us to know. The original Bible was
right! What we have now was purposefully contaminated by many
Jewish religious societies and it was confounded in error (honest
mistake) by other religious groups.
Many people have spent their
whole lives in study, trying to find out what the Bible really said,
at first. Strong and Young are examples. There must be multiplied
hundreds more, such as, Rotherham, Fenton, Green, Wilson, Kittle,
Wescott, Hort, etc. Hats off -- and a round of applause for those
great stout-hearted scholars. After their studies were published,
groups and committees also got together for the same purpose,
producing such Bibles as Amplified, St. Joseph, New American,
Holy Name, Sacred Name, R.S.V., and numerous Diaglots and
Interlinears.
These all prove the point that
the transmitted Hebrew text, with which we have to work, is
corrupted and confounded, and the translations are faulty. All
Bible students believe that we can get back to the original truth
through study, illumination, and revelation.
It is vital that we all know
what our God really said. I think that the results of Bible
study about the Names of God have been worth the time and the
price, so far.
Here is a suggestion as to how
I think the present translation could be written to eliminate or
reduce some problems.
Genesis 14:22, And Abram
said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto <YAHWEH
(LORD)>, EL ELYON (the Most High God), the possessor
of heaven and earth, (KJV)
I believe that the word <YAHWEH
(LORD)> was purposefully added to the Hebrew scrolls, thus
corrupting the text. Other scholars agree.
I have placed the words in
carrots rather than parenthesis in this text because I believe it
should be expunged (thrown out).
Here is why:
1. The plain meaning of Exodus
6:2-3 makes it impossible for Abram to have used the name
YAHWEH. a. Exodus 6:2-3
2 And ELOHIM
(God) spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am YAHWEH
(the LORD):
3 And I
appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name
of EL SHADDAI (God Almighty), but by my name
YAHWEH (JEHOVAH) was I not known to them. (KJV)
2. Within Judaism there
are/were several divisions, similar to the denominational divisions
in Protestantism. Those divisions inserted their ideas into (or
removed offending ideas from) the scrolls as they were copied in
scriptoriums and handed down from generation to generation.
a. English
translators of the Bible had to work from those corrupted and
confounded scrolls.
b. This instance
of adding YAHWEH to the text is one of several hundred
corruptions, I believe.
3. Great Bible scholars have
devoted the better part of their own lives to try to identify the
corrupted and confounded texts. Computer etymology is helping a
lot, recently.
a. The scholarly
works of Wellhausen and Kuenen, and also Dillman show that the word
"YAHWEH" was both added to and deleted from different parts
of the sacred text.
b. The scholars
Kuenen, Carpenter, and Battersby confirmed the above in their work,
"THE HEXATEUCH."
c. The earlier
Documentary Hypothesis of Astruc also confirms the above.
4. The article titled "PENTATEUCH"
in THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA confirms and explains in enough
detail for any Bible student.
RIGHT OR WRONG?
I have never said, nor have I
ever thought that the Bible is wrong. I believe that the Holy Bible
is the word of God. What I said and what I believe is that
the transmitted texts and also the translations were purposefully
corrupted, causing our own Bible to be confounded.
The student who wants to spend
the time to follow up on a study of the corruptions is well advised
to study the word "PENTATEUCH" in the JEWISH
ENCYCLOPEDIA, KTAV PUBLISHING HOUSE, NEW YORK 2, NEW YORK. In
articles about the Bible, editors of the above state that the
documents were "redacted.” Redact means “to lower in
condition or quality, reduce.”
I think that it is a shame for
anyone to purposefully "redact" the Holy Scriptures when
their purpose is to conceal truth. Shame! Shame!
Our students are smart enough,
educated enough, and experienced enough to deal with the subject of
corrupted and confounded texts of the Holy Scriptures.
A serious study of YAHWEH,
UNCONFOUNDED, Chapter 12, must also include a study of:
·
YAHWEH, GOD OF
ISRAEL Chapter 10, and
·
YAHWEH,
CONFOUNDING Chapter 11, and
·
YAHWEH MADE THE
LAW Chapter 13, and
·
YAHWEH FAMILY
Chapter 14, and
·
YAHWEH AND/OR
EL ELYON Chapter 15,
because there is a lot to
learn about YAHWEH.
Some subjects in those
chapters have been reviewed and/or abbreviated for this chapter.
Some have not. Some subjects in this chapter are new and unique.
The index should be a big help.
RECENT HISTORY OF THE NAMES
OF GOD
The first recorded written
notice of the difference between YAHWEH and ELOHIM occurred
in 1753 A.D., around the time the first rumblings of the
American Revolution started to be heard. One hundred years
later in 1853 A.D., an agreed upon systematic approach to the
difference was used by scholars. Around the time of the start of
the United States of America, God EL ELYON started planting
seeds of a NEW RELIGION.
200 YEARS AGO
Following is a quote from the
JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA, ELOHIST, Volume 5, p.p. 142.
“JEAN ASTRUG (Conjectures Sur
Les Memoires Originaux - Brussels 1753) was the first to call
attention to the occurrence in Genesis and in Exodus 1 & 2, of the
two names for the Deity, ‘ELOHIM’ and ‘YHWH’ (YAHWEH),
and to base upon this fact a theory concerning the composite
character of the first Mosaic book.”
100 YEARS AGO
Quote continued. “Theory was
adapted by Hupfield (Die Quellen der Genesis, 1853) whose acceptance
of ‘ELOHIST’ as a recognized term was followed by almost all
subsequent writers on the Hexateuch from the critical point of view,
though cannotation of the term was not definitely fixed at first.”
End quote.
It is nearly impossible to
accept the fact that for nearly 5000 years of written Jewish
history, no one ‑‑ no one ‑‑ noticed that there was a difference
between “ELOHIM” and “YAHWEH.” Scholars have only had
a little over 200 years to develop the facts.
NEW LIGHT
In a mysterious move of the
Holy Spirit, TIME MAGAZINE published a short article on
December 7, 1981 about the corruptions of the Old Testament. While
the TIME article is critical of some points of scholarship
that appeared within the last 100 years, it does not attack the
acknowledged corruption of the Names of God, rather, it
supports the knowledge.
Also, CHARISMA magazine
featured an article on the same subject the next month.
A lecture on the Names of
God, including the corruptions of the Names, was
presented by this author to the Bible Students of Baltimore Md., the
second week of November 1981 (nearly the same time as the magazine
articles).
So we see that new light began
to appear around November 1981 to January 1982.
TIME, DECEMBER 7, 1981,
BY ONE HAND?
COMPUTERS REREAD GENESIS
Quote and quotes within
quotes, "Jewish tradition holds that Moses wrote the first five
books of the Bible. Conservative Christians agree. But 19th
century Protestant critics emphasized the Pentateuch's diversity
rather than its unity. They deemed it a scissors-and-paste job on
materials from different centuries by four anonymous authors: the
Jahwist ("J"), ELOHIST ("E"), Priestly writer
("P") and Deuteronomist ("D"). {We call Jahwist (“J”)
by the name of, YAHWEHIST at our school. D.P.E.}.
Though traditionalists
rejected it, this J.E.P.D. theory hardened into liberal
orthodoxy.
Now the four-author thesis has
come under a powerful new attack. The ancient view, it seems, is
supported by the most modern deity of omniscience, the computer.
Bible Scholar Yehuda Radday of Haifa's Israel Institute of
Technology reports that a five year computer study of Genesis shows
that it is the work of a single writer and that the J.E.P.D. theory
must be "rejected or at least thoroughly revised."
Radday and three aides studied
"the only unquestionable data," the words of the Hebrew text, and
concentrated on 56 criteria of "language behavior," (such as use of
conjunctions and word length) that are outside the conscious control
of an author. The key finding: a remarkably high 82% probability
that the same person wrote the supposed J and E
passages. The P passages were as distinct as the critics
have long maintained, but Radday contends that the difference can be
explained totally by the formalistic content. Says he: "My love
letters to my wife are completely different from my scholarly
articles."
None of this proves that the
single writer was Moses, but Radday is already hard at work on
Exodus and will then search Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Radday's challenge will be fiercely resisted by scholars who favor
the entrenched J.E.P.D. theory, partly because he deals
exclusively with linguistic criteria and ignores stylistic
variations. Radday is no right-wing ideologue, however. Earlier he
earned wide acclaim when his whirling computers supported the
conventional theory that multiple authors produced the books of
Judges, Zechariah, and Isaiah. Says Radday: "These scholars can't
have it both ways, approving a method when it suits them, and
repudiating it when it does not." End quote.
At our school we believe that
Radday's error is in not recognizing that the Names of God
were purposefully corrupted, by the YAHWEHIST (“J”).
We believe his study of the phrases and sentences actually supports
our contention.
CHARISMA, JANUARY 1982
DEBATE OVER GENESIS
ISRAELIS DISPUTE
3-AUTHOR THEORY
Quote, and quotes within
quotes, “The authors or author of the Book of Genesis has been a
long-standing question over the years among theologians. Now a
Technion research team in Israel, according to the JERUSALEM POST,
claims that Genesis ‘almost certainly was written by one author’ and
not by three as claimed by modern Bible criticism.”
The article points out that
the question of the unity of Genesis was first raised at the start
of the 19th century by the German Protestant theologian Johann
Wellhausen who noted its numerous contradictions, duplications, and
style differences.
These include the conflicting
accounts of creation (chapters 1 and 2) and the linguistic
difference between the narrative and genealogical parts of the
book.
Bible critics have since
attributed Genesis to three authors, defined as "Jahwist" (J)
and "Elohist" (E), who used two different names for
the deity, and a priestly writer (P), who is credited with
the genealogical and treatises in the book.
This division of Genesis into
J. E. and P. elements is widely accepted in Biblical
scholarship and taught in many universities in the "documentary
hypothesis" theory which holds that not Moses but an editor from
David's time or later composed Genesis from oral tradition or
documentary works.” [End quote from the JERUSALEM POST.]
[Continue quotation from CHARISMA.]
DEBATE OVER GENESIS
The Technion team fed the over
20,000 words of Genesis into a computer which conducted a
painstaking analysis of its linguistic make-up.
The conclusion of the team, as
reported in the JERUSALEM POST: "We found the J and
E narratives to be linguistically indistinguishable. But the
P sections differ widely from them. This is only to be
expected since dramatic tales of legal documents must necessarily
display different ‘behavior.’ If you compared love letters and
telephone directory written by the same person, linguistic analysis
would point to different authors." [End quote from the JERUSALEM
POST.] [Continue quotation from CHARISMA.]
The scholars would not comment
on the question of whether Genesis was written by Moses. They would
only state that it was certainly written by a single author- 82
percent statistically." End all quotes.
Hats off and a round of
applause for modern day Jews who are fixing the mess that was made
by their forefathers. We are very grateful to them, and happy that
God used them and their computers to help us find the truth.
YES AND NO!
Here at the David Ebaugh Bible
School we have decided to not take sides in the theological and
technical arguments about who wrote what, or when. It is still too
early, and not enough information is known.
We believe that the plain
meaning of the words of the text in Exodus 6:2-3 indicates that the
"documentary hypothesis" has merit in matters of corruption of the
text.
The recent work of computer
scholar Radday has merit in matters of who did what, when. We are
sorry when we see the magazines mix up the subjects.
The magazines have merit in
the matter of bringing the questions to the attention of the general
public.
We do not agree that
the ELOHIST (“E”) used two different names for
God.
Of course, we agree with
Radday, (“J”) and (“E”) are linguistically
indistinguishable in a computer program. We certainly agree with
that finding. The reason they can’t be distinguished is that the
change was to add and/or substitute YAHWEH, and that change
is too small to be recognized by comparing computer ratios.
The best news is that people
are still working on it and talking about it, and it is newsworthy
for TIME and for CHARISMA magazines.
Praise God for modern
scholarship and new tools like the computer that are being combined
with fearless authors, in order to present us with the old original
truth about the Names of God.
“Hang in there, men.” Don’t
give up the ship just because you are being fired upon by torpedoes
made of error and misunderstanding. The truth will win. “Damn the
torpedoes -- full speed ahead.” We’re going to win this war.
If we believe that God
is the Boss, then we have to conclude that the confusion must have
been part of His will for a time. We must observe that it must be
time for a change, now! I hope and wish that every one of
our Bible students can and will read the Introduction to the
EMPHASIZED BIBLE, ROTHERHAM, KREGEL PUB., Chapter 4, THE
INCOMMUNICABLE NAME. It contains many documented facts
concerning the purposeful suppression. Out of courtesy to
Jews and the Masorah, Rotherham used the word suppression.
Because of the consequence of the act, I have chosen the word
corruption. Also, I suggest a reading of the whole
introduction, especially on the original texts.
SCHOLASTIC HUMOR!
Rotherham's statement on page
20, "How should these Various Readings be treated by an ordinary
intelligent reader? They may very well lead to a suspense of
judgment." is cautiously hilarious to a tired Bible student with
a pile of reference books on his desk!! I don’t know if Rotherham
meant to crack a joke in the middle of an otherwise serious academic
piece, but he did.
A serious study of YAHWEH
MADE THE LAW, Chapter 13, must also include a study of:
·
YAHWEH, GOD OF
ISRAEL Chapter 10, and
·
YAHWEH,
CONFOUNDING Chapter 11, and
·
YAHWEH,
UNCONFOUNDED Chapter 12, and
·
YAHWEH FAMILY
Chapter 14, and
·
YAHWEH AND/OR
EL ELYON Chapter 15,
because there is a lot to
learn about YAHWEH.
Some subjects in those
chapters have been reviewed and/or abbreviated for this chapter.
Some have not. Some subjects in this chapter are new and unique.
The index should be a big help.
YAHWEH LAW
The main action for which
YAHWEH is best known is the giving of the law to Israel
through Moses.
There are 613 TSAVA (means
laws in Hebrew). Jews tie little knots, to represent the 613
laws, in the fringe of their prayer shawls. That interesting custom
is a reminder of the Roman Catholic Rosary. They both are physical
objects that are used to remind us about prayer subjects. I like
the idea, even though I’m a Protestant.
TEN COMMANDMENTS
How about the 10
commandments? Are they in addition to the 613 TSAVA? No.
The 10 commandments are included in the 613 TSAVA. But, the
10 commandments have a different word to describe them. They are
the 10 DABAR. The Hebrew word DABAR is translated
into the word “word” in our English. The 10 commandments are
10 words. Some writers go even farther, saying that the 2 tablets
of stone Moses brought back contained only 10 words. We have
amplifications of those 10 words.
MIXED CLOTH
Here is an example of one of
the TSAVA laws.
Deuteronomy 22:11, Thou shalt
not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen
together. (KJV)
An orthodox Jew will not wear
clothing of mixed fibers. Think about that the next time you put on
your linen lined woolen suit coat.
This law has the same force
as, “Thou shall not kill.”
COZY FAMILY
How about this law?
Deuteronomy 25:5, If
brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the
wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her
husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife,
and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. (KJV)
Think about that law
the next time you think about your brother-in-law, or
sister-in-law. Does that sound like a good idea or do you think,
“Gag me with a spoon?”
OUR GOD’S FIRST
CHOICE
WAS TO TALK TO US
INDIVIDUALLY.
THE LAW WAS OUR GOD’S
SECOND CHOICE.
Exodus 19:5, Now
therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep
my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all
people: for all the earth is mine: (KJV)
God’s plan was for all
of the people of Israel to hear His voice and obey. Our God
wants to speak individually to every person, not a religious
hierarchy. But, they didn’t like God’s idea. After God’s
command to listen to Him, observe what the Israelites did.
Exodus 20:18-19, And all
the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of
the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it,
they removed, and stood afar off.
19 And they
said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let
not God speak with us, lest we die. (KJV)
Our God said He wanted
to talk to His people (Ex 19:15). Then He gave the 10
commandments. The people removed (ran away) and said “Don’t
let God talk to us any more. He scares us. Moses, you go up
the mountain any time God has anything to say. Then you come
back and tell us what He wants. We appoint you Moses to be the boss
of our religion. We know that our God wants to talk to us
individually, but we can’t take it. We would rather have a
structured religion with Priests, Bishops, Cardinals, and a Pope.
Moses, you be our Father.”
RETURN TO THE LAW??
Many groups in this country
have erroneously concluded that our nation should return to
YAHWEH and to His law. They conclude that a return to
YAHWEH will bring about a return to the law of YAHWEH
and that will restore righteousness to our nation. They blame all
the ills of our nation on the fact that we do not keep the laws of
YAHWEH. And they quote plenty of Old Testament scriptures
that support their point.
The New Testament teaches that
JESUS is our righteousness and that an offense in just one
point of the O.T. law that YAHWEH gave to Moses
makes one guilty of the whole law.
James 2:10, For whosoever
shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all. (KJV)
No one in the whole nation of
Israel was ever able to keep the law of YAHWEH given
to Moses. And we believe no one in this nation can keep the whole
law of YAHWEH either.
Some erroneously teach that
after a person becomes saved by receiving JESUS CHRIST in
their heart, that person should be able to keep the law of
YAHWEH. The experience of every Christian shows that is not
so. The following description of Paul's pitiful try at keeping the
law of YAHWEH is classic.
Romans 7:9-25, For I was
alive without the law once: but when the commandment came,
sin revived, and I died.
10 And the
commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
11 For sin,
taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
12 Wherefore the
law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just,
and good.
13 Was then that which is good
made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that
it might appear sin, working death in me by that which
is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding
sinful.
14 For we know
that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which
I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but
what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do
that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is
good.
17 Now then it is
no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that
in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is
present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good
that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I
do.
20 Now if I do
that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a
law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with
me.
22 For I delight
in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see
another law in my members, warring against the law of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of
sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched
man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?
25 I thank
God through JESUS CHRIST our LORD. So then with
the mind I myself serve the law of God; but
with the flesh the law of sin. (KJV)
The answer to our problem is
not to go back to the law of YAHWEH given through
Moses.
John 1:17, For the law
was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by
JESUS Christ.
(KJV)
We will see later, as we study
EL ELYON, that a new law was given by the Father of
our LORD JESUS CHRIST whose name/nature is EL ELYON.
People who approach God
through the name/nature of YAHWEH have always died,
do always die, and will always die. Conversely, those
who approach God through the name/nature of
EL ELYON, have never died, do not die,
and will not ever die (as we will see in our later
study of EL ELYON and Melchisedec).
SCHOOLMASTER
Galatians
3:24-25, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us
unto CHRIST, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after
that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (KJV)
Not very many people believe
that.
After we have faith we will
not have to carry our schoolmaster around on our backs.
I believe that in this day and
age it is a tragedy to have to go to a church where the elders place
a person back under the law of YAHWEH.
Yes, most churches do believe
that their conduct and reaction to problems at church and in the
home should be patterned after YAHWEH. They bring law
to the situation.
They produce the following
pattern:
LAW, JUDGMENT,
CONDEMNATION, PUNISHMENT, AND DEATH
This process describes nearly
all denominations and religious movements. Do you have enough
insight and courage to ask yourself if your own group belongs in
this list?
Governments are also
YAHWEHISTIC. Our Pentagon, especially, tells us the
YAHWEHISTIC idea that, "Might makes right." They tell us that
military preparedness is the way to a lasting peace, but world
history shows that that has never been the truth.
Our churches and our
governments only bring us a half truth by their
YAHWEHISTIC teachings and actions. We believe that a new
religion having a new Name of God is developing.
Church denominations and
governments that ignore the developing changes that favor
EL ELYON are signing their own death warrants. Churches
and governments that apply balance to every situation will enter
into the millennium (a thousand years of peace).
YAHWEH is the God
of Israel. So when a Jew wanted to please God he patterned
his own actions after the way he thought that YAHWEH would
handle a problem. But JESUS acted the way that EL ELYON
directed Him, and there was a big difference.
The following chart
demonstrates two different paths to follow.
YAHWEH gives one path.
EL ELYON gives the
other.
5 STEPS
YAHWEH
EL ELYON
LAW
LOVE
JUDGMENT LIGHT
CONDEMNATION FORGIVENESS
PUNISHMENT MERCY
DEATH
LIFE
For example, in the case of
the adulterous woman, the Jews followed the pattern taught by
YAHWEH. On the other hand, JESUS followed the pattern
given to Him by his Father EL ELYON. There was great
conflict because both the Jews and JESUS were really
serving God. When you see that each name/nature of
God always leads to a different conclusion, then you can see why
there was such great conflict.
JESUS did not always
choose the pattern of EL ELYON, though He usually did. In
the case of the Temple money changers, JESUS chose the
YAHWEH pattern.
If your desire is to force
everyone to practice the law of YAHWEH, you are wrong.
If your desire is to be led by
the Holy Spirit, you are right.
Remember that you needed a
mother (EL SHADDAI) when you were an infant. After you
became a teenager you needed the laws of your father (YAHWEH).
That's not your end. You are going to become a manifest Son of
God. No one we know as yet has become a manifest Son of God.
Remember, Romans 8:14 says:
Romans 8:14, For as many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
(KJV)
Those people who are not
mature enough to be led by the Spirit of God, still need to
be led by something. That something is the law of YAHWEH.
John told us that, for the moment:
1 John 3:, Beloved, now
are we the sons (teenagers -- Greek - Teknons)
of God, (KJV)
Since we are still teenagers
and are not yet manifest sons, we must still be led by the law.
What is your reaction to the fact that, for the most part, teenagers
(more than other groups) are having most of their trouble with the
law?
In other words, God,
EL ELYON, has a plan for us to be:
·
First,
led by the commands of our Mother, EL SHADDAI,
·
Second,
led by the laws of our Father, YAHWEH,
·
Third,
led by the Holy Spirit, ELOAH.
If your desire is to quickly
pass through or skip any of these steps -- you are wrong.
If your desire is to
thoroughly learn every step and progress orderly from one to another
-- you are right.
YAHWEH WILL
KILL AND MAKE ALIVE,
YAHWEH WILL WOUND AND HEAL
Deuteronomy 32:39 (YAHWEH
said [v36]), See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god
with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound,
and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my
hand. (KJV)
There is a good answer to this
paradox but I think we need a few more shockers, to establish the
question. Please take note of the Name of God
that created evil.
YAHWEH DID IT
Amos 3:6, Shall a trumpet
be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be
evil in a city, and YAHWEH (the LORD) hath
not done it? (KJV)
ELOHIM SENT AN EVIL SPIRIT.
Judges 9:23, Then
ELOHIM (God) sent an evil spirit between
Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt
treacherously with Abimelech: (KJV)
AN EVIL SPIRIT FROM YAHWEH
1 Samuel 16:14, But the
Spirit of YAHWEH (the LORD) departed from Saul, and an
evil spirit from YAHWEH (the LORD) troubled him.
(KJV)
AN EVIL SPIRIT FROM ELOHIM
1 Samuel 18:10, And it
came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from
ELOHIM (God) came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the
midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other
times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. (KJV)
A LYING SPIRIT FROM YAHWEH
1 Kings 22:22 And YAHWEH
(the LORD) said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth,
and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his
prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go
forth, and do so. (KJV)
2 Chronicles 18:20-22, Then
there came out a spirit, and stood before YAHWEH (the LORD) ,
and said, I will entice him. And YAHWEH (the LORD) said unto
him, Wherewith?
21 And he said, I
will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all
his prophets. And YAHWEH (the LORD) said, Thou shalt entice
him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.
22 Now therefore, behold,
YAHWEH (the LORD) hath put a lying spirit
in the mouth of these thy prophets, and YAHWEH (the LORD)
hath spoken evil against thee. (KJV)
YAHWEH MINGLED A PERVERSE
SPIRIT
Isaiah 19:14, YAHWEH
(the LORD) hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst
thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as
a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. (KJV)
YAHWEH DECEIVES PROPHETS
Ezekiel 14:9, And if the
prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I
YAHWEH (the LORD) have deceived that prophet, and
I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the
midst of my people Israel. (KJV)
Did you notice that the
scriptures say that both YAHWEH and ELOHIM created
evil? How can that be? When the masculine YAHWEH is
creating, He becomes half of the androgynous ELOHIM.
Those are enough scriptures to
settle the question, “Who created evil?” God did. We
will shortly try to explain why God created the devil.
WHO IS THE GOD OF HELL?
Is God the God
of hell as well as the God of heaven?
King David answered our
question;
Psalm 139:8, If I ascend
up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell,
behold, thou art there. (KJV)
Our God is the God
of everything, heaven, earth and hell. All things were
created by Him and for Him, even hell.
OUR GOD CREATED ALL THINGS
We must all see that God
ELOHIM is the creator of everything. God is
love. And lovers create.
John 1:3, All things
were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made. (KJV)
Ephesians 3:9, And to make
all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in ELOHIM (God),
who created all things by
JESUS Christ:
(KJV)
Colossians 1:16, For by
him were all things created, that are in heaven,
and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all
things were created by him, and for him:
(KJV)
Notice that all things
are created by Him and for Him.
Revelation 4:11, Thou art
worthy, O LORD, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou
hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are
and were created. (KJV)
GOD CREATED THE DESTROYER
Our God ELOHIM
is such a great lover that God ELOHIM can never
destroy anything. Lovers create; they don't destroy. But
here's the catch. Sometimes there are things in the way of God’s
creative plans. The work can not proceed while the
obstructing thing is in the way. So God ELOHIM
created a destroyer to use in order to remove or destroy things
that have outlived their usefulness or are in the way of progress.
Yes. Our God did create the devil; and Satan works
for God.
Isaiah 54:16, Behold, I
have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire,
and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have
created the waster to destroy. (KJV)
In other words, God has
created a waster, a destroyer, a devil to work for Him.
Satan could not do anything to
Job unless God gave the command to Satan. See Job 1:6-12 and
Job 2:1-6.
There are a few more notes
about the creation of demons in Chapter 24, EL ELYON, MOST HIGH
GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. Check it out.
YAHWEH TOLD SATAN
TO DESTROY ALL THAT JOB HAD
Job 1:6-12, Now there was
a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before YAHWEH (the LORD), and Satan came also among
them.
7 And YAHWEH
(the LORD) said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan
answered YAHWEH (the LORD), and said, From going to and fro
in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8 And YAHWEH
(the LORD) said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an
upright man, one that feareth ELOHIM (God), and
escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered YAHWEH (the
LORD), and said, Doth Job fear ELOHIM (God) for
nought?
10 Hast not thou
made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he
hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his
substance is increased in the land.
11 But put forth
thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he
will curse thee to thy face.
12 And YAHWEH
(the LORD) said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath
is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine
hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of YAHWEH
(the LORD). (KJV)
NEXT, YAHWEH TOLD SATAN
TO DESTROY JOB’S BODY
BUT NOT HIS LIFE
Job 2:1-6, Again
there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before YAHWEH (the LORD), and Satan came
also among them to present himself before YAHWEH (the LORD).
2 And YAHWEH
(the LORD) said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And
Satan answered YAHWEH (the LORD), and said, From going to
and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
3 And YAHWEH
(the LORD), said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an
upright man, one that feareth ELOHIM (God), and
escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although
thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
4 And Satan
answered YAHWEH (the LORD), and said, Skin for skin, yea, all
that a man hath will he give for his life.
5 But put forth
thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh,
and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And YAHWEH (the LORD)
said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his
life. (KJV)
Here is an allegory to explain
if God did destroy or if He did not
destroy.
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT
Jack said that he was building
a house. But when I went to look, I found that he never cut a board
or drove a nail. Other men were doing all the work for him. Now,
was Jack building the house or wasn't he? The fact that Jack gave
all the orders to have the house built really did qualify him to say
that he was building a house even though other men did all the
work. But, Jack didn’t build it with his hands.
Hebrews 3:4, For every
house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is
ELOHIM (God). (KJV)
So, in the sense that God
did tell Satan to destroy, God did it. But, God
didn’t destroy anything.
It is nice to know that God
is such a lover that He does not destroy anything. So, in a sense,
God hired the devil (created the devil) to do His
dirty work for Him.
The scriptures tell us that
YAHWEH and/or ELOHIM created everything. YAHWEH
is involved when the creation of evil is involved. You know the
secret that the masculine YAHWEH is the masculine half of the
androgynous ELOHIM
A serious study of YAHWEH
FAMILY, Chapter 14, must also include a study of:
·
YAHWEH, GOD OF
ISRAEL Chapter 10, and
·
YAHWEH,
CONFOUNDING Chapter 11, and
·
YAHWEH,
UNCONFOUNDED Chapter 12, and
·
YAHWEH MADE THE
LAW Chapter 13, and
·
YAHWEH AND/OR
EL ELYON Chapter 15,
because there is a lot to
learn about YAHWEH.
Some subjects in those
chapters have been reviewed and/or abbreviated for this chapter.
Some have not. Some subjects in this chapter are new and unique.
The index should be a big help.
FAMILY IN HEAVEN
Does this say that there is a
family of God in heaven? Yes! All the various
translations confirm that there is a family of God in
heaven.
Ephesians 3:14-15, 14 For
this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our LORD
Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named, (KJV)
Normally, we expect the term
family to include a father, a mother and an offspring. When
family is the subject of a study, then procreation is
also a subject, and the study of sex is also necessary. Our
Bible is full of information on them all.
YAHWEH IS MASCULINE
We note that the word
YAHWEH is masculine in gender in the Hebrew. We also notice
that YAHWEH operates by giving laws. YAHWEH is
aggressive, forceful, overpowering, the God of hosts
(armies), the God of victory. In summary, YAHWEH acts
in a very masculine way.
EL SHADDAI IS FEMININE
We also note that
EL SHADDAI is the large breasted provider, nourisher, Mother in
the Old Testament.
ADAM AND EVE
Let’s temporarily shift our
interest from the Godhead to our first parents, Adam and
Eve. Yes. Adam was the first father and Eve was
the first mother in the realm of the natural body of mankind. In
fact, my own lineage traces back to them. Yes. Yours does too.
That makes us brothers and sisters through Adam and Eve.
If our skin is red, or yellow, or black, or white, we all trace back
to Adam and Eve. That makes all mankind a great
brotherhood of humans. Yes. Things did not start out that
way. Before there was an Eve, there was an Adam.
Eve was hidden in Adam’s side. We don’t know how many
years Adam tended ground and the herds of cattle, lonely, the
only human on the earth. I have read books that speculated that
Adam could have been alone for a short time, a few years, or a
few centuries, or even a few thousand years. The Bible doesn’t say,
and I have decided to leave that an open question with no firm
answer, for now.
At any rate, we know that
Adam was lonely and he told ELOHIM (God) so. Adam
said he had been watching how all the animals had a fit companion
and he wanted to have a fit companion, too. God said, “O.K.
Adam, you’re on.”
Where do you think our God
found a suitable helpmate for Adam? Right. The woman was in
the side of Adam all the time. You remember, God put
Adam to sleep, operated on the side of the torso of Adam,
and out came Eve. When Adam woke up he discovered
Eve was gorgeous, beautiful, smart, vivacious, sensitive,
willing to help, and Eve was everything Adam wanted.
But stop. Think. Before there was an Eve, where was she?
The woman was in the man. Yes. Adam contained Eve.
So, at the very first, the man wasn’t just a man. The
man Adam was a man and a woman in the same body.
Doctors have a word to
describe the case when one single body contains both male and female
organs in the same single body. The word used to describe the
condition when a single body is both male and female is “Androgynous.”
You remember that they taught
you in High School that if you put a fishing worm in a jar with
everything it needs to stay healthy, eventually you will have two
fishing worms. That is because the worm is androgynous; it
contains both male and female forces and parts in one body.
The worm creates another worm from itself, because it is
androgynous. You remember studying that. That’s the way Adam
was at first. The woman Eve was inside the man Adam,
and that made Adam androgynous.
Adam was not the only
force, power, and energy in the world that was androgynous.
The Names of God, EL ELYON and ELOHIM are also
androgynous Hebrew words. Hebrew is a fascinating language
that attaches gender (male and female) to many of its words.
That’s one way we know
EL ELYON and ELOHIM are androgynous. Another
is to study their actions to see if they follow masculine or
feminine patterns. EL ELYON and ELOHIM have both
masculine and feminine actions in the stories of their
manifestations. YAHWEH is definitely masculine in action.
EL SHADDAI is definitely feminine in action. And ELOAH
is more complex; having feminine actions in the O.T., and when
ELOAH manifests as the Holy Spirit in the N.T., He
becomes definitely masculine. Technically, the Greek word for
Holy Spirit is neuter gender, but it always travels with a
masculine article, making the Holy Spirit masculine.
Remember some of that?
IN OUR IMAGE
We also remember that the book
of Genesis contains a heretofore perplexing scripture.
Genesis 1:26-27, And
ELOHIM (God) said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and
over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon
the earth.
27 So ELOHIM
(God) created man in his own image, in the image
of ELOHIM (God) created he him; male and
female created he them. (KJV)
There is a short section on
the subject of the creative aspects of the Godhead in Chapter 6
titled GOD DEFINITION.
The word "God" in
Genesis is the word "ELOHIM" in the Hebrew. That word "ELOHIM"
is plural, and androgynous (having both male
and female characteristics), and it means "the creator God".
So we see that the "creator God" ELOHIM seems to speak
to Himself, "Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness.” Most people have logically asked themselves the
question, "To whom is the ‘us’ and the ‘our’
referring? Is God talking to Himself or to someone else?"
TOGETHER IN CONCERT
When the masculine YAHWEH
and the feminine EL SHADDAI come together in concert, they
become the "creator God" ELOHIM. When there is no
concert between YAHWEH and EL SHADDAI, then there is
no creation, no "creator God," no ELOHIM. So, it is
right to say that YAHWEH and EL SHADDAI said to each
other, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our
likeness." Now it starts to make sense.
ADAM WAS ANDROGYNOUS
Adam was both male and
female at first. We do remember that at first, Adam was
created as an androgynous creature. Adam’s body contained
both sexes. That makes sense, now, when we remember that the word "ELOHIM"
is androgynous (contains both male and female
forces).
Genesis 1:27, So ELOHIM
(God) created man in his own image, in the image
of ELOHIM (God) created he him; male and
female created he them. (KJV)
So Adam truly was
created in the image of ELOHIM because both ELOHIM
and Adam were androgynous. The first human person
contained the masculine forces of Adam and the feminine
forces of Eve within the same physical body. And in like
fashion, the "creator God" ELOHIM contained the
masculine forces of YAHWEH and the feminine forces of
EL SHADDAI. That is why the verse ends this way, "In the
image of ELOHIM (God) created he him, male
and female created he them."
TWO OUT OF ONE
You remember, after the
passage of some time, the two forces were separated from each other,
and two physical bodies were created out of one.
Genesis 2:21-24, And the
LORD (erroneous Masoritic insert YAHWEH) ELOHIM (God)
caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam (man), and he slept: and he
took one of his ribs (in Hebrew rib means curved portion,
God took Adams curves), and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib
(the curves), which the LORD (erroneous Masoritic insert YAHWEH)
ELOHIM (God) had taken from man (Adam), made he a
woman (womb man), and brought her unto the man (Adam).
23 And Adam said,
This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be
called Woman (Isha), because she was taken out of Man (Ish).
24 Therefore shall
a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his
wife: and they shall be (again) one flesh. (KJV)
The fall of mankind from the
grace of God did not occur until after the separation of Eve from
Adam. God gave one curse to Adam and another curse to Eve, proving
that the separation had already occurredd.
ONE FLESH
We should note that many of
the problems of this present society are due to the fact that the
male is now not a complete unit and that a female is now
not a complete unit. A complete unit is "one flesh.” So
presently we are incomplete or half of a complete unit. This
scripture explains the sex drive of most of humanity, the drive to
enter into relationships that bring completeness, oneness.
The Bible describes the
meaning of the expression, "one flesh.” It means sexual
union, nothing else.
Genesis 2:24, Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (KJV)
Matthew 19:5-6, And said,
For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave
to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they
are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God
hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (KJV)
The partners should become
married in our society before becoming one flesh because
becoming one flesh usually produces children and marriage
fixes responsibility for the maintenance and the future of the
children. Only the most selfish irresponsible male will procreate
children without providing for them. And lately we have to add,
that also goes for females, too.
1 Corinthians 6:16, What?
know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body?
for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. (KJV)
The only union that a man has
with a harlot is sexual union, nothing else. "One flesh"
means sexual union, nothing else. The Bible stories
demonstrate that one flesh sex can be in the marriage
bond or one flesh sex can be outside the marriage, but one
flesh is sexual union, nothing else.
While we are looking at the
creation scripture there is one more thought that we cannot pass
over.
CREATED OR IS CREATING?
We receive the erroneous
thought that our God completed the job when He created
man, from reading,
Genesis 1:27, So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created
he them. (KJV)
But that idea is not right.
The job is not finished.
The error is in the
translation of the verb "created." There is no
verb tense in the Hebrew language. The verb tense has been
supplied by the English translators. The tense of the verb should
be present progressive, not past tense. It should read,
Genesis 1:27, So ELOHIM
(God) (is creating) man in his own image, in the image of
ELOHIM (God) (He is creating) him; male and female (He is
creating) them. (KJV)
Now there is harmony between
the creation scripture and the one Paul wrote in:
Galatians 4:1-2, Now I
say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from
a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under
tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. (KJV)
In other words, our God
is not finished with us yet. I'm reminded of a bumper sticker which
reads "CAUTION, HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK," and the lapel button
which reads "Please be patient, God is not finished with me, yet."
ANDROGYNOUS GOD
The word "EL ELYON"
(the Most High God) is androgynous like the word "ELOHIM"
(Creator) is androgynous. This adds a little light to:
Psalm 91:1, He that
dwelleth in the secret place of ELYON (the Most High)
shall abide under the shadow of SHADDAI (the Almighty).
(KJV)
The "secret place" of
EL ELYON is the "secret shadow" of EL SHADDAI (her
womb). Remember, EL ELYON must have both masculine and also
feminine parts in order to be androgynous.
Psalm 91 does not refer to the
physical womb, it refers to the spiritual womb. Psalm 91
describes the protection of the womb of EL SHADDAI this way:
“My refuge, my fortress, my God, my trust, my deliverer, my
covering, my truth, my shield, my buckler, my deliverer from fear,
my deliverer from arrows, my refuge, my habitation, my keeper, my
savior.”
EL ELYON -- EL SHADDAI
This probably is not
the most famous verse in the Bible, but it is in the running for one
of the most familiar scriptures. Most people know it. But I don't
believe most people know it like we just read it. That's the way
Strong’s Concordance says
it should be translated as far as the Hebrew Names of God are
concerned.
Psalm 91:1, He that dwelleth
in the secret place of ELYON (the Most High) shall
abide under the shadow of SHADDAI (the Almighty).
(KJV)
REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS
When we remember that secret
places have to do with our reproductive organs, then that
translation may begin to make some sense. The secret place of the
androgynous ELYON is the shadowy place of the feminine
SHADDAI.
THE MOST HIGH GOD
Since "EL ELYON" is the
name/nature of the Most High God, it also follows that
all of the attributes of the whole GODHEAD are in
EL ELYON. He is the Most High God. That's so important,
I think I should say it another way. Whereas all of the attributes
of the whole GODHEAD are in EL ELYON, the Most High
God may exhibit them any way He pleases. EL ELYON can
operate as YAHWEH, ELOHIM, EL SHADDAI, or
ELOAH because He is everything.
SPIRIT, SOUL, BODY
Students who have studied the
difference between spirit, soul, and body know
that a person is a spirit, they have a soul, and they
live in a body. They also know that all spirits are
masculine, i.e., all men and women on the earth are masculine
spirits. They also know that all men and women on the
earth possess feminine souls. The Greek word for soul
is “PSYCHE” which is feminine in gender.
SONS OF GOD
Psalm 82:6, I have said,
Ye are ELOHIM (creators) (gods); and all of you are children
of ELYON (the Most High). (KJV)
Hebrews 12:9, Furthermore
we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave
them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the
Father of spirits, and live? (KJV)
We see a distinction between
two types of fathers:
1. a father of flesh,
and also
2. the Father of
spirits.
You had better pay attention
to your two fathers.
GOD GAVE THE SPIRIT OF MAN
The Bible says that the
spirit came from God, not our natural father.
Ecclesiastes 12:7, Then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit
shall return unto ELOHIM (God) who gave it. (KJV)
Zechariah 12:1, The burden
of the word of YAHWEH (the LORD) for Israel, saith YAHWEH
(the LORD), which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the
foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within
him. (KJV)
TWICE BORN
Referring to two
separate births, JESUS said:
John 3:5,
Jesus answered,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water
(the natural birth) and of the Spirit (the
spiritual birth), he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
(KJV)
Some confusion may still exist
as to who fathered what. Our flesh (not spirit) was
fathered by our own natural physical father who produced us while he
was in concert with our natural mother.
The Dunamis of the Holy
Spirit was brought to the soul of the blessed virgin Mary by
the Holy Spirit, in preparation for the next step. The flesh
of JESUS was fathered by EL ELYON as He spoke the
word. The word then became flesh through His dunamis (miracle)
power.
In the special case when a
person was fathered by a bad man, it is far more important to
reflect on the goodness of the heavenly Father than to dwell on the
sins of the natural father.
BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN
You were fathered in spirit
before the world began.
2 Timothy 1:9, Who hath
saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given
us in Christ Jesus
before the world began, (KJV)
Ephesians 1:4, According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love: (KJV)
Your soul and body
weren’t around before the world began but you were
there in spirit. You can’t remember it because the memory
part of your soul/mind was not there. Remember, you must be
fathered twice. You must be born again. Once
in the body, and once in the spirit.
THE CONCEPTION OF JESUS
The following article has been
edited, and was adapted from the MONARCH, Dec. 1988,
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
JESUS CHRIST.
This season is a great time to
give your own personal testimony as a believer. That's because most
people in our society follow the whole world in opening up to the
birth of JESUS at Christmas. Is there anyone in our world
who doesn't know JESUS was born at Christmas? (More on the
exact date of His birth later.) A proper greeting is "Merry
Christmas to you -- and Happy Birthday to JESUS."
THE CONCEPTION OF JESUS
Most writers concentrate on
the birth of JESUS. No problem. Today we will study the
conception, contradistinctive to the birth. A student doesn't have
to be very mature to know both events are very important.
"You can't have the one with out the other."
IS EL ELYON
THE FATHER OF JESUS?
The Bible says the
name/nature of the Father of JESUS is EL ELYON
(the Most High God).
Luke 1:32, He shall be
great, and shall be called the Son of ELYON (the Highest):
(KJV)
Luke 1:35, And the angel
answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power (Dunamis) of ELYON (the Highest)
shall overshadow thee:
SPIRIT, SOUL, OR BODY?
EL ELYON, acting in the
capacity of YAHWEH, in concert with EL SHADDAI, first
procreated the spirit (not body) of JESUS
before the world began (John 1:1-3, 2 Tim. 1:9, Eph.
1:4). Much later, about 2000 years ago, EL ELYON procreated
the body (not spirit) of JESUS in the womb of
the blessed virgin Mary (Luke 1:32, 35). The flesh of JESUS
was fathered by EL ELYON as He spoke the word. The word then
became flesh through His dunamis (miracle) power. YOUR SPIRIT
The Spirits (not
bodies) of the rest of us were first procreated by EL ELYON
before the world began (2 Tim. 1:9, Eph. 1:4). Much
later, your own body was procreated by your own natural
father and mother.
The spirits of every
one of our Bible students were also procreated by EL ELYON,
the same name/nature of the Godhead who procreated
JESUS. The Bible settles the question of the name of our
own heavenly Father when it says:
Psalm 82:6, I have said,
Ye are gods; and all of you are children of ELYON (the
Most High). (KJV)
In other words, the Bible says
EL ELYON is the Father of the spirit of everyone of
our friends, readers and students. EL ELYON is also the
Father of JESUS' spirit, too.
WHEN WERE YOU BORN?
The Bible settles the
question, "When were our spirits born?"
2 Timothy 1:9, Who hath
saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given
us in Christ Jesus
before the world began, (KJV)
Ephesians 1:4, According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (KJV)
YOU ARE VERY OLD!
Those scriptures show that you
are very old. Upon hearing those scriptures a middle aged lady in
our Bible class said, "So that's why I'm feeling so tired!" That
was a joke because she knew her spirit was ancient but her
tired body wasn't, even though it sometimes felt like it
was. And that applies to you, too! We are like JESUS one
way, in the realm of the spirit. We, like JESUS, were
all fathered by EL ELYON before the foundation of the
world (Psa. 82:6, 2 Tim. 1:9, Eph. 1:4).
THE DIFFERENCE
Jesus differs
from us, in that He is the only human who was begotten by
God in the realm of the body.
John 1:14, And the Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace
and truth. (KJV)
John 1:18, No man hath
seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is
in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (KJV)
John 3:16, For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. (KJV)
John 3:18, He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth
not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God. (KJV)
Jesus is the only
begotten Son of God in the realm of the body. But in
the realm of the spirit, our God has many Sons. For
instance:
John 1:12, But as many as
received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name: (KJV)
THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Was Mary a virgin? My
Bible study convinces me Mary was a virgin before the
conception and birth of JESUS.
Luke 1:27, To a virgin
espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of
David; and the virgin's name was Mary. (KJV)
Some critical students point
to the translation of the Greek word PARTHENOS (Strong's
3933) for virgin, as not being consistent. They claim
PARTHENOS should be translated maiden or unmarried daughter. I
agree with the scholarship, but not with the conclusion. The Bible
context clearly indicates to me Mary was a virgin even though
the word PARTHENOS does not absolutely prove it. Other
passages prove Mary was a virgin. I think it is dumb to
apply that questionable translation to the question of Mary’s
virginity.
Matthew 1:18, Now the
birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with child of
the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
How much more plain does the
Bible have to be? I believe it is absurd to think that Mary "came
together" with some other man. Our LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST
is not a bastard. He is a miracle of EL ELYON and the
Holy Ghost with Mary.
WHO'S YOUR FATHER?
Since the time of the cross of
JESUS, all bastards can have as much of the blessings of
EL ELYON as legitimately born people. But under the law of
YAHWEH, the God of ISRAEL, bastards have no rights or
blessings. Sadly, some of our own students do not know the name
of their own natural father. But, I am very glad to tell every
person on this earth, "The name of the Father of your
spirit is EL ELYON, who is also the Father of JESUS
CHRIST." That makes JESUS your brother. Right? Yes!
Right! Every person in the world is a legitimate son of God
EL ELYON. You are not the product of a mistake (even if your
mother said you were). You were procreated at least 6000 years
before your parents got around to it. Our God wants you.
Shape up and realize that you have a marvelous part to play in the
Volume of the Book, the mysterious script of life, because our
God made you. Don’t ever forget it.
IS YAHWEH THE FATHER OF
JESUS?
At this point, please note
that my Bible study can not find any reference to the
erroneous idea that the name/nature YAHWEH, (the
God of Israel) was the Father of JESUS. No. The
scriptures point to the name/nature EL ELYON (the
Most High God) as the Father of JESUS. YAHWEH is
the Father of the Jewish religion. A long story can be told about
the fact that the Jews saw the practice of religion very
differently from JESUS. The reason is that the
name/nature of the God of the Jews was YAHWEH,
but the name/nature of the Father of JESUS is
EL ELYON.
Compare these two thoughts:
YAHWEH brought (in
the O.T.)
1. Law, 2. Judgment, 3,
Condemnation, 4. Punishment, and 5. Death.
EL ELYON conversely
brings (in the O.T. and the N.T.)
1. Love, 2. Mercy, 3.
Forgiveness, 4. Freedom, and 5. Life.
That's the reason for the
trouble between the Jews and JESUS. The Jews
applied the name/nature of YAHWEH to everyday
problems. The conflicts came when JESUS applied the
name/nature EL ELYON to the same problems. Even today we
still have the same problems in the practice of religion. Most
denominations, religious groups, and societies still look to
YAHWEH for solutions to today’s life problems. Sad. Presently,
only the very advanced look to EL ELYON, the Father of
JESUS, for solutions to life’s problems. Hopefully, this book
will help hasten the change.
DID MARY HAVE OTHER
CHILDREN?
It is a sad thing to reflect
on the fact that Christianity is also divided on another question
regarding the blessed virgin Mary.
Was Mary also a virgin all of
her life after the birth of JESUS? The Pope at Rome said he
received a vision that Mary was a virgin all her life. But I have
never read anything in the scriptures to indicate that was true. I
am a Protestant, so my authority in the matter is the Bible, not the
Pope’s vision.
Matthew 1:25, And knew
her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and
he called his name JESUS. (KJV)
I believe that the word "till"
indicates that Joseph knew Mary in a procreative way, after the
birth of JESUS. We should note, when Bible language says a
man knew a woman, it means they engaged in sexual
intercourse.
Genesis 4:1, And Adam knew
Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have
gotten a man from the LORD. (KJV)
Another scripture that speaks
to the question of Mary's continued motherhood is:
Mark 6:3, Is not this the
carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of
Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were
offended at him. (KJV)
These scriptures indicate to
me that the virgin Mary became the natural mother of several other
children in addition to JESUS, the normal natural way, after
the miraculous conception of JESUS.
Personally, I find it
distasteful to consider the idea of depriving the blessed Mary of
the natural pleasures, pains, and lessons of natural womanhood and
motherhood. But I also admit I have met a few people who find the
idea that JESUS had brothers and sisters to be distasteful to
their own concept of the blessed virgin Mary.
I have decided to not teach on
the subjects of the Immaculate Conception of the blessed virgin
Mary or the Immaculate Conception of Mary’s mother, Ann, except to
indicate that those ideas came from revelations of the Pope at Rome
and not from the Bible.
TWO GENEALOGIES
Most Bible students have
noticed there are two separate and very different genealogies
given for JESUS. One is in Matt. 1:1-17. The other is Luke
3:23-38.
Luke traces the genealogy of
JESUS back up through Mary (not Joseph --
explained later) to David and adds the progression through Adam
to God.
MARY OR JOSEPH?
A casual reading of Luke 3:23
would cause a Christian to think the path was through Joseph. And
that causes a lot of confusion because Matthew also traces the
lineage through Joseph using different names.
Luke 3:23-24, And
Jesus himself
began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the
son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
24 Which was the
son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of
Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,
(KJV)
Etc. all the way back, through
David to Adam, and finally God.
Some scholars report that Luke
3:23 should read, "Joseph...was the son in law of
Heli" (instead of son of Heli as the KJV has it). In other
words, Mary's father was Heli -- not Joseph's. In that case, the
Luke lineage really traces Mary’s forefathers. That would explain
the difference in the two different paths. The genealogy reported
by Luke really traces through Mary, but male chauvinism of the day
confused the issue by refusing to use her name. Why?
MALE CHAUVINIST SOCIETY?
We should note that females
had almost no rights in that old society. For instance, remember
that the Bible gives the names of the brothers of
JESUS but it only mentions His sisters without naming
them. (Mark 6:3) Some writers have suggested that when referring to
a woman it was customary to use the name of her husband.
That makes a little sense because even today that is the way some
legal documents are written, i.e., Mrs. David Ebaugh instead of
Betty. I can't find enough information to prove or disprove the
claim that it was a male chauvinist society that switched Mary's
name to Joseph's. But it is an interesting and believable point
to ponder. And it answers the question, “Why are there two
different genealogies for Joseph?” There aren’t.
WHEN IS JESUS' BIRTHDAY?
The exact date of the birth of
Jesus has been
argued by expert theologians, and no one that I know of, still
adamantly holds to Dec. 25. That is what I call the traditional
date. But, that issue still splits some Christians. Christians
should not "bad mouth" believers for selecting one date over
another, for the celebration of the event of the birth of JESUS.
At our house we celebrate Christmas at the same time as does every
one else on our block.
It may surprise you to know
that each Christmas season I receive several letters of condemnation
because I celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25. I do not turn my head
away from these critical letters. I do read them carefully. I have
decided they are right in determining Dec. 25 is not the right date
for the birth of Jesus.
But, we celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25 anyway, because we honor an
event, not a date. Most modern Biblical analysts report the birth
of JESUS to be at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles in the
fall around harvest time. Roman Catholics report Dec. 25. Greek
Catholics report Jan 6. What date do you pick?
MARY KNEW THE DIFFERENCE
Mary, the mother of
Jesus, was the
most blessed and highly favored woman in all history. I greatly
honor her and I continually study every recorded word of Mary. Her
famous division of soul from spirit is naturally one
of my favorites.
Luke 1:46-47, And Mary
said, My soul doth magnify the
Lord,
47 And my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. (KJV)
I do think the blessed virgin
Mary would agree with every word in my book, SPIRIT, SOUL, and
BODY, THE 3RD SALVATION. Her testimony shows that she
understood the long hidden and misunderstood difference between
soul and spirit. I long for the day the same thing can
be said about all preachers. I don't believe it is possible to
effectively explain or understand the Bible without referring to the
basic difference between soul and spirit.
EL ELYON OR THE HOLY GHOST?
There is another big problem
in relation to the blessed virgin Mary. I stumbled over it for a
lot of years. Most all Christians erroneously teach that JESUS
was conceived by the Holy Ghost. I used to be among those
who taught that way. When I came upon the SPIRIT, SOUL, and BODY
study, I noted the pattern of the Holy Ghost (Spirit)
was to always make entry into the soul of mankind -- not the
body. And I knew enough about procreation to know that if
the Holy Ghost did conceive JESUS, then that would be
in the body realm. That is a departure from the patterns set
by all the other scriptures. Furthermore, I was even more confused
because I was sure the Bible said someplace, "Conceived by the
Holy Ghost.” But I couldn't find it whenever I took the time to
look it up.
APOSTLE'S CREED
Now I have discovered that
"Conceived by the Holy Ghost" is part of the Apostles
Creed (usually in the hymnal responsive reading section) and it
is not in the Bible. Well, it helps to know where that idea
came from!
I carefully analyzed Matt.
1:18.
Matthew 1:18, Now the
birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy
Ghost. (KJV)
That is a good (but erroneous)
reason to think that JESUS was conceived by the Holy Ghost.
But, that is in direct opposition to the scriptures that say:
Luke 1:32, He shall be
great, and shall be called the Son of EL ELYON (the
Highest) (KJV)
Luke 1:35, and the power (Dunamis)
of EL ELYON (the Highest) shall overshadow thee. (KJV)
Those two scriptures indicate
EL ELYON (the Most High God) is the Father of JESUS.
OVERSHADOWED BY TWO
That's not the whole story
either. All scripture can be brought into harmony by reading it
like this, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee (to your
soul) and the power (Dunamis) of EL ELYON (the
Highest) shall overshadow thee (your body).” Now, that
is beginning to make sense. The Holy Ghost brought
thoughts/ideas to the soul of Mary and that got her mind
ready for what was soon to happen to her body.
Next the word of EL ELYON
came forth with the Dunamis (power) of EL ELYON. They
overshadowed the body of the blessed virgin Mary and produced
the conception of the BODY of JESUS. Can you conceive
of that? So, it was the Holy Ghost who prepared her mind.
It was the word and the Dunamis (power) of EL ELYON
that performed the physical miracle in the body. That makes all the
patterns in all the other scriptures fit. But it doesn't support
the Apostles Creed ‑‑ so you'll have to deal with that. When
there is conflict, which has priority? The Apostles Creed or
the Holy Bible? I picked the Bible; what did you pick?
WITH CHILD OF
THE HOLY GHOST
Now, we should re-examine:
Matthew 1:18, Now the
birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy
Ghost. (KJV)
That does not agree with our
conclusion and also it does not agree with the original Greek. As
you might have guessed, we are headed for the study of a translation
error. The Williams translation renders it this way, "She was found
to be an expectant mother through the influence of the Holy
Spirit." That translation is more in harmony with all of the
Bible patterns, as we know them now. Mary was influenced in her
soul (mind) by the Holy Spirit; she was not impregnated
by the Holy Spirit. Mary's body was overshadowed by
the Dunamis (power) of EL ELYON (the Highest).
These translations and these
ideas now cause all of the Bible to agree with every other part of
the Bible. I don't stumble over the question of who is the Father
of JESUS anymore.
The Father of JESUS is
EL ELYON, the Most High God.
Is there a family of God
in heaven? Yes. There is a family of God in heaven.