Kingdom Come

The Bible’s thesis is that God created the material universe and everything in it. Every single element in the rest of the story, which builds systematically from The Beginning in Genesis through The End in Revelation, rests on this fundamental premise.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

• And God said, Let there be light: and there was light….
• And God said, Let there be a firmament…
• And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together…
• And God said, Let the earth bring forth [vegetation]…
• And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament… 
• And God said, Let the waters bring forth…
• And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature[s]
• And God said, Let us make man…
• These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens…
• And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 1, 2:7)

The King James translation follows Jewish tradition by substituting Adonai / LORD (all caps) in most of the almost 7,000 occurrences of YHVH. By comparison, the general name of El-ohim / plural Gods indicating the Singularity in diversity is used only 2,500 times in the scriptures.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the Jewish revelation of the name of God. As we Christians spell and pronounce it, the word is Yahweh. In Hebrew, it is the sacred Tetragrammaton YHVH (yah, he, vay, and he). I am told that those are the only consonants in the Hebrew alphabet that are not articulated with lips and tongue. Rather, they are breathed, with the tongue relaxed and lips apart. YHVH was considered a literally unspeakable word for Jews, and any attempt to know what they were talking about was “in vain.” All attempts to fully think God are in vain…When Moses asked for the divinity’s name, he received only the phrase that translates “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14)…formally the name of God was not, could not be spoken at all — only breathed. Many are convinced that its correct pronunciation is an attempt to replicate and imitate the very sound of inhalation and exhalation. Therefore, the one thing we do every moment of our lives is to speak the name of God. This makes the name of God our first and last word as we enter and leave the world.

For Jewish people, YHWH is the most holy name of God, as written in the ancient Hebrew language. The written language showed no vowels, so the pronunciation is not agreed on. However, most academics agree that “Yahweh” is the most accepted way to say it.

It has also been pronounced as “Yehova” in Hebrew as a substitute word for the tetragrammaton…The vowels used come from the Hebrew word for Lord, “Adonai”, which after the last captivity, was substituted and the vowels of “Adonai” forced into the tetragrammaton, incorrectly spelling God’s Hebrew name as “YaHoVaH”. It was never meant to be anything more than a substitute to avoid pronouncing the tetragrammaton…because it is believed to be too holy to be spoken.

(Wildly waving hand to get attention for my question.) But in an era of general illiteracy when the Word was transmitted orally, wouldn’t the essential name of God need to be spoken to teach people about his essential nature?

I’m thinking the “unspeakable” nature of the Creator’s name isn’t holiness – although we certainly are told not to speak it carelessly, in trash talk and vulgarities, or treat his power as being under our beck and call in curses.

I’m thinking the unspeakable nature of the Creator’s name is literally, wordlessness.

Ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus backs this up in his description of the inscription on the miter of the high priest…”in which was engraven the sacred name: it consists of four vowels,” The Wars of the Jews, 5.235. Could Josephus be indicating the name is an onomatopoeia (formation of a word from the sound associated with it)? I’m pretty convinced he is…

Vowels are spoken with the open mouth and to inhale and exhale air you must open your mouth. It is no accident that the Tetragrammaton is made up of semi-vowel letters…

Pronounce the tetragrammaton the way it is written: YHWH. Notice you can actually pronounce the name with just the four letters. It really is quite amazing! You really don’t even need the vowels to say the name. This is the beauty of these aspirate consonants that make up the name and how fascinating Yahweh’s name really is. From the first man Adam till now, no matter your religion, if you believe in the Bible, or an Atheist, the name of Yahweh will be on every ones lips until your last breath.

Thus saith [the] God the LORD / ha-El YHVH / the God Bringing Into Being,

• he that created the heavens, and stretched them out;
• he that spread forth the earth,
• and that which cometh out of it;
• he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein…

I am the LORD / Ani / YHVH: that is my name / attribute: and my glory will I not give to another. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.“ (Isaiah 42:5-9) 

By not naming a Creator, the Enuma Elish and Hindu accounts validate what the Hebrew God claims exclusively as his power. 

Only the Hebrew Torah documents a specific individual and clearly describes his actions at the beginning and continuing throughout human history, with multiple means of validating the reports from a variety of scientific disciplines. Documentation of this power by eyewitnesses who saw first-hand what this sentient Being we call God did in the past is the only basis for believing what these same eyewitnesses report what he said  that he will do in the future.

“And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, Ani YHVH…” (Exodus 6:2)

The definition of YHVH is found in its first occurrence, of over 6,000 occurrences, in the Bible. 

“the LORD / YHVH God made the earth and the heavens” (Genesis 2:4)

Therefore YHVH = Creator. In order for the LORD / YHVH to make anything, he had to existent prior to his creation.

Therefore the name Ani = I am, always in the present, always existent, Eternal One.

Creation is clearly the basis for trusting which hyper dimensional being holds supreme power

Every statement in a religious creed – like “ye must be born again” – every theological belief  – like the virgin birth – derives its credibility and legitimacy from the first statement that God created, sustains, and controls the universe, and from proof of supernatural origin by future fulfillment of prophecies.

The name YHVH is first revealed to humanity when God introduces himself to Moses, in a variety of manifestations simultaneously. We can understand its retroactive appearance in the book of Genesis from Moses’ authorship of that earlier history.

“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel / messenger of the LORD / YHVH appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush [more on this person in the next post]

1. God / elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said…I am the God / elohe of thy father, the God / elohe of Abraham, the God  /elohe of Isaac, and the God / elohe of Jacob…
2. And the LORD / YHVH said…Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 
   • And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 
3. And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; [Trust me]…
   • And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name [attributes, characteristics – the god of water, lord of the flies, the god of war]? what shall I say unto them?
4. And God said unto Moses, [and we may fairly suppose he shrugs at that point, expressing “What can I tell you?]
   • In the KJV “I Am that I Am”
   • In Hebrew: “הָיָה אֲשֶׁר הָיָה“ translatable as
     • I am / was / become
     • that / who / where
5. and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
6. And God said moreover unto Moses [With the juxtaposition of “moreover” in the passage, we can literally connect “I Am” with “YHVH.”

• • the LORD / YHVH God / Elohim of your fathers,
  • the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you:

this is my name:

• for ever “And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.” (Genesis 21:33)
• eternity
• infinity
• Singularit
• I Am  
• Simultaneously In The Present, Past and Future

and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Exodus 3:1-15)

Most of what we treat as God’s names are titles that can apply to other individuals, and multiple titles can apply to a single individual.

• God, elohim  or eloah translated God or god / gods. The fact that other beings besides Creator God are also referred to by this title should add significant depth to our understanding of this title. When El is used in scripture to indicate Creator God, we find it modified with his traits to single him out from inferior els. El is also a part of names of humans who identify with him. El is also translated power, indicating the supernatural source of the power.
  • Human rulers/judges (I Samuel 2:25) “If one man sin against another, the [human] judge [translated from elohim, God] shall judge him. but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him?” The biblical title of “judge” is basically what we now call executives, because they make decisions (executive function of the brain) and have their orders carried out (executed). Executives have the power to put their plans, actions and laws into effect, Including execution as a death sentence.
  • Lesser gods (Exodus 18:11) do have power, but this is different from authority. As we shall see, these hyper-dimensional beings defied their Creator and act on their own plans rather than carry out his orders. There is archeological and anthropological evidence backing up the Bible’s report that these beings are real, not mythological figments of imagination. It is reasonable to label them “ancient aliens” and “ancient astronauts / star travelers”, without making the assumption that they have no Creator. It is more unreasonable to use them to eliminate the concept of a Creator without providing an explanation for their ancient origins.
    • “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?…They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations [in the greatest corporate takeover in history]. (Psalm 82)
  • Angels being the common reference for the good hyper dimensional beings, but this term simply means malak / ambassador or messenger representing the melek / king. This function in bridging the hyper dimensions of the heavens with the four dimensions of the human world is readily apparent. As God’s messengers, they are powerful beings. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and [still, yet] hast crowned him with glory and honour.” (Psalm 8:5-6)

When we understand that “God” = the one who has the power to make and put plans into effect, we realize that the use of this title for the creator of everything introduces him as the most powerful being of all. 

• Lord, or Adon in Hebrew, more frequently emphasized as Adonay (O Lord or my Lord). This as a title means ruler or master, someone with authority to influence others’ affairs for good or bad. This descriptor also applies to other beings, who often illegally seize authority through mutiny.
  • Humans, such as masters over servants/employees, fathers who in ancient time held absolute authority within families, military superior officers, etc. “O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?” (Jeremiah 2:31)
  • The gods who are false, not in the sense of unreal but in the sense of deceitful, promising to empower their followers but actually trapping and destroying them. “Thou shalt make no covenant with…their gods…for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.” (Ex 23:32-33) “O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead [disconnected from the source of life], they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.” (Isaiah 26:13-14)
  • Angels / Messengers of Almighty God: “…a thing was revealed unto Daniel…I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude…Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia…then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord…how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me…And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: andwhen I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.“ (Daniel 10)

The existence of other created gods and lords is why we address the God of creation as “Most High God, King of kings and Lord of lords.” What makes him unique among all the god is that he alone is creator and giver of life.