Page 76 - SABBATH

translations.
(New Living Translation © 1996 by Tyndale House Charitable Trust)

Again, there is no divine command cited to justify this practice. It is merely stated that
“the device used in most English versions” has been followed. When one undertakes such
an important labor as producing a copy of the holy scriptures to be read by millions of
people, one should approach the labor with the greatest of integrity seeking to walk in strict
obedience to the revealed mind of the Father. Making profound decisions that result in
altering the scriptures just because other men have done so is no justification at all. It is the
height of audacity to then turn around and say that using the divine name, as recorded by
holy men and prophets at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is totally inappropriate for the
universal Christian faith. What is truly totally inappropriate is making wholesale changes
to the scriptures and basing such decisions on tradition and the devices of men.
It is not wrong to refer to divinity by titles, but we should not forget the true names
of the One to whom we refer. The disciple Thomas certainly knew the Messiah by His
Hebrew name Yahshua, but he also called Him, “my Lord and my God” (John 20:28).
In the Old Testament the name Yahweh was very frequently used, but Yahweh was
also referred to by the titles El, Elohim, and Adonai. Yahweh gave no prohibition against
referring to Him with a title, but certainly it is inappropriate to replace His name in every
instance throughout scriptures with titles, thus obscuring His name to multitudes as do the
publishers of many of the most common Bible translations today. Knowing someone’s name
is a mark of intimacy and those who are members of the Kingdom of God should know the
name of the God they serve.
As we enter into the seventh millennium, the Sabbath day of creation, Yahweh will call
forth a Bride for His Son. The Bride is to know the Bridegroom, and the Father of the
Bridegroom, intimately. It would be very fitting that this Bride should come once again into
an understanding of the divine names. One of the most intimate encounters between
Yahshua and His elect regards the knowing of the name He gives to them. This is a sign of
the greatest intimacy. We find this recorded in Revelation.

Revelation 2:17
'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who
overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white
stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives
it.'

The sharing of this private name is a mark of great friendship. Some will be given a
name that is only known by themselves and Elohim, the Godhead. It is a special token
denoting some facet of their relationship with God. On the other end of the spectrum, our
Messiah will say to those who have never known Him intimately, “Depart from Me, I never
knew you” (Matthew 7:23).
It is my conviction that the Father would have me to refer to Him often by His name,
as well as using the name Yahshua when referring to the Messiah, rather than Jesus, for
Yahshua conveys a greater understanding of the relationship between Yahweh and His Son.
Yahshua literally means Yah’s Salvation, and this He is. The name Jesus is an English
rendering of a Latinized Greek translation of the Hebrew name Yahshua. The Hebrew
Yahshua has been altered as it has been changed into Greek, then Latin, and later into