Certain People are teaching that we no longer can use the name of “Jesus” In Our Worship and Teaching. Is this true?

By WILLIAM B. CHALFANT

It is a fact that “Yahshua”, which does not exist in any Hebrew manuscript, is an “invented spelling”. The Messiah’s name was “Iesous” in the inspired Greek manuscripts, since three of the four gospels, at least, were written down in Greek, and not Hebrew. The apostle Paul, spoke and wrote in Greek.

The apostles, as well as Jesus, spoke the common language of Israel in the first century AD-Aramaic. This is seen in Mark 5:41, where Jesus told the little girl, “Talitha cumi”, which in Aramaic is “Damsel, arise”. And so even if Matthew had written his gospel first in an oriental language-it would have been Aramaic and not Hebrew.

Dr. Daniel Segraves(THE MESSIAH’S NAME) says there is no equivalent to the final letter “ayin” in the Messiah’s name in Hebrew. For English speaking people this letter is virtually unpronounceable. Some Hebrew grammarians describe the sound of this Hebrew letter, when someone tries to pronounce it, as the “sound of incipient vomiting”. So let us not deceive ourselves, those who using the transliteration of “Yahshua” are not even close to pronouncing the name in Hebrew.

Since we know the New Testament was inspired in Greek, and not in Hebrew, we understand that “Iesous” was used for the Lord’s name. The transliteration of this into English is “Jesus”.

I would like to see the scripture (chapter and verse, please), which commands that the Lord’s name shall be pronounced ONLY in Hebrew. If someone is going to use this type of a command in matters of salvation, then they must have the word of the Lord to back it up. Please find a scripture that says that the Hebrew language must be used when it comes to names.

I would also like to point out that in the Hebrew language NO VOWELS were used (a,e,i,o,u) in the manuscripts. There is NO INSPIRATION FROM THE SCRIPTURES TO SAY that Y-A-H-W-E-H requires the vowels “a” and “e”. As the Yahwists believe, this was obtained from an amulet in a family tomb. In an article, “The Book of Yahweh”, p.2, says that the name of “Yahweh” could be clearly read. But they know that no VOWELS WERE FOUND! The Hebrews did not use vowels, only consonants. It was YHWH. The vowels are not based on the inspired word of God. Also, the article says that several Greek Christian church fathers testify that the name was pronounced “Yahweh”. But the article does not give these Greek fathers’ names. I have a full set of the Greek and Latin Catholic writers and would be glad to look up their writings if someone can provide their names. But isn’t it a little risky to base a doctrine of demanding the use of “Yahweh” on what some Catholic writers said, and then turn around and condemn them at the same time! I am not a Catholic. I am an apostolic, but I believe in being honest.

Jesus and many of the apostles quoted from the masoretic scriptures and the Septuagint, in some cases. Is there any place where Jesus ever said anything like what those who are insisting on using the doubtful pronunciation of “Yahweh” are demanding? Jesus certainly knew about the substitution of “Adonai” (which means “Lord” in Hebrew, and need have no reference to any pagan god) or “Elohim” (the plural of majesty for El, which can be translated as “God”, a title and not a personal name). Why didn’t Jesus say anything about it?

When we talk about the personal name of God (YHWH or JHVH), we can know what it means from Exodus 3:14, and the English meaning is “I AM THAT I AM” (YHWH) or “I AM” (YH). In other words, He is the fountain of existence, the Self-Existent One (all creation stems from Him, but no one created Him). No creature can claim the Name that He has (“the Self-existent One”).

I wonder why no apostle or even an early Christian has told us what the “House of Yahweh” people are trying to tell us? Do you suppose God kept this from the apostles and the early Christians?

Surely, Peter, James, or John, or better yet, Paul, would have admonished all Christians to be sure to not use any other form of the name of Jesus other than “Yahshua”. And if it had to be a Hebrew form (since the apostles themselves spoke Aramaic as did Jesus), then they would also have told us exactly how to pronounce the gutteral “ayin” (the last letter of the personal Name). I don’t think so. Not one apostle or one early Christian said anything at all about this. There is not one scripture demanding that we only use the Hebrew form of the Name. I notice that in the article, “The Book of Yahweh”, put out by Yahwists, that most (about 99%) of the argument to use the form “Yahshua” instead of Jesus is based on what certain, selected so-called “scholars” have said. Is that a good way to establish a biblical doctrine? What about the scriptures?

Also, in the article aforementioned, there is an effort to make it sound like the use of the titles “El (Elohim, plural of majesty)” and “Adonai” (Lord) are solely pagan titles. This is not true. Many of the Hebrews had the title “El” in their very names. Can you imagine a true worshipper of God, putting what was considered a “pagan” title in his name!

For example, Jesus even used this title “El” when He was dying, crying out in the Aramaic tongue “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani!”, or “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46). Do you really think that Jesus would use a “pagan” title for God, if what the “House of Yahweh”, and the Yahwists, say is true?

Jacob called the sacred place where he met God “El-Bethel” (“The God of House of God”)(Gen. 35:7). Do you really think that Jacob, a man of God, would use a “pagan” title? Surely not.

Do you think Aaron would have named his third son “Eleazar” (The help of God)? And what about the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, “Elijah” (“My God is YHWH”). Would the pagan title “El” be appropriate if it were “pagan”?

It is only natural that the pagans who spoke similar tongues should use the titles “El” and “Adonai”.

I am not in complete disagreement with a dissatisfaction of the suppressing of the sacred Tetragrammaton, as Rotherham and other scholars complain, but it is absurd to make this into some sort of an extrabiblical docrine of demanding that the sacred Name be pronounced in a way that may or may not be scriptural (since there is no scriptural evidence of HOW to pronounce it). There is a danger of ADDING to the word of God, which the scriptures do not allow.

The New Testament scriptures were inspired in the GREEK (not the Hebrew) language, and the name of Jesus in Greek is IESOUS.

This is transliterated in English as JESUS. I would like to see one inspired manuscript with the name YAHSHUA (using those vowels exactly as you have them). I don’t want what some non-Christian scholar supposedly said, or what history supposedly thinks, but give me a scripture (inspired manuscript) with the name YAHSHUA (EXACTLY as the House of Yahweh says it is) on it.

MY RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS BASED ON FAITH, NOT ON THE CORRECT PRONUNCIATION OF HIS NAME!

I personally know in my own life that when I called upon the Name of “Jesus”, in faith, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance (see Acts 2:4, 10:44-48; 19:1-6). I was also baptized in the saving Name of Jesus for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38 and 22:16), and was cleansed of my sins. My relationship with Jesus is by faith, not by the correct pronunciation of His name.

Have you been baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ as the scriptures teach? (Acts 2:38). Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance? (Acts 2:4). That is the New Birth experience. Do you know that Jesus Christ (Yahshua, as you call Him) is actually God the Father manifest in the flesh? There are not Three Divine Persons in the Godhead, but all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Jesus (Yahshua as you call Him) bodily? (Colossian 2:9).

Sincerely,

WILLIAM B. CHALFANT