His Name Forever: The Story Behind the Name of "God"

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© 2011 Iris A. Foreman. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 06/16/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4490-4029-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4490-4030-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011900456

Printed in the United States of America

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Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Chapter One: The Trap of Worshiping the Unknown God

Chapter Two: The So-Called Names of the Most High

Chapter Three: The Language of the Scriptures

Chapter Four: The Name

Chapter Five: His Name Was Blotted Out

Chapter Six: YHWH Is His Name Forever

Chapter Seven: The Lord Cannot Help Us

Chapter Eight: The Messiah Made His Name Known

Chapter Nine: Names Do Matter

Chapter Ten: Protecting the Name

Chapter Eleven: Let’s Get Acquainted With YHWH

Appendix A: Editor Notes and Translators Notes

Appendix B: The Name of YHWH in Scripture

Appendix C: I Am YHWH Scriptures

Endnotes

About The Author

Acknowledgements

A book like this is not the work of one person alone but a culmination of influences, teachings, and conversations with many persons. I have been blessed to have people at various stages in my life who have imparted valuable nuggets that have encouraged me and, even, to some degree, shaped my thinking. I appreciate every teacher, friend, spiritual advisor or leader, and pastor who shared, in sincerity, their understanding of spiritual matter.

The impetus for the research that resulted in this book began with my husband, Anthony P. Foreman. His courage and wisdom to question the status quo challenged me to look beyond the doctrine of the church. Without his support and encouragement, I may never have gone on the spiritual journeys that have led me to the path of truth I now walk.

Many thanks to my brother, Darryl X McKenzie, author of Black, White & Easy, who encouraged and mentored me in publishing this book. I even have him to thank for the awesome book cover design. Not only is he an accomplished author and poet but also an artistic genius. I would like to recognize my sister, Renee McKenzie Hayward, PhD. From childhood on to adulthood, she alone was the one who read through my short stories and poems, much as she does today — with great patience and tolerance.

I must acknowledge Luis Ascersion, a former co-worker and friend, who has significantly impacted my awareness and understanding of the name of our Creator. Though Luis was not the first to reveal the name to me, he was the first person I knew to consistently call the Almighty by His name. For many months, I enjoyed beautiful fellowship with Luis and his congregation as we acknowledged the Almighty and His son by their sacred names.

This book benefited from the editorial work of Pamela Guerrieri. She and the team at Proofed to Perfection took the time to understand my nonconventional subject matter and edited without challenging my voice or message. Pamela assured me that His Name Forever would be a polished, professional book that will open readers’ eyes to a whole new level of understanding. I like to believe that this is and will be the case.

My parents, Grover and Sara McKenzie, deserve special thanks for so many things that they have done for me throughout my lifetime. However, here I would like to thank them for teaching me at an early age to think for myself. It was that sound advice that helped me to break from blindly accepting traditional teachings and delve into a search for truth. I thank the Most High for blessing me to have been born to such wonderful people.

Preface

I decided to write about the name of the one whom two-thirds of the world calls God following my graduation from seminary. Surprisingly enough, the inspiration for this topic did not come from my Master in Divinity program studies but from my life experiences shortly afterward. There is nothing like simply living to open our eyes to truth.

There are a few key things I want to point out before you read through these pages. You will notice that I do not always hold to convention or political correctness. The terms that I use in this book reflect my current beliefs about the Almighty and the Scriptures. For example, I believe that the Creator of the heavens and earth, written about in the Holy Bible or the Scriptures, is above all in the universe. One of my ways of honoring Him in my writings is by capitalizing the first letter of every pronoun I use in reference to Him. Also, I have no qualms and make no apologies about using the masculine pronoun for the Almighty. Although I believe that the Almighty is spirit and has no sexual designation, I am comfortable with masculine references to Him and choose not to flip-flop between masculine and feminine pronouns.

My studies have led me to accept that the Israelites—the descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—were Hebrews. They were referred to as Hebrews and Israelites in the Scriptures. In some places, the word Judeans (stemming from the Greek word VIoudai/oi, which is very loosely translated from the Hebrew word Yehudim) is used to describe Israelites from the area of Judea. Following the Babylonian captivity, the area of Judea consisted of the territory west of the Jordan River. Later, it was the southernmost province of Palestine during the Roman occupation. Although Bible translations may sometimes have the word Jews in it, that word is not a true translation from the Greek or Hebrew words used to refer to the Israelites. So, I purposely do not use the word Jew when referencing Hebrews or Israelites. However, I do use the word Jew when referring to people who practice a form of religion called Judaism.

I use several terms to refer to the Almighty, whom most of our Bibles simply call God or the Lord. I am not comfortable with either of these two terms, as the contents of this book will explain. So, I use such words as the Most High, the Mighty One, the Power, the Creator, the Almighty, and even Heavenly Father.

You may wonder why I do not call the Messiah by his name. (This topic may warrant writing a whole other book.) Rather than use the name that people have ascribed to him based on Greek and Latin translations, I try to keep it simple by just saying Messiah. Of course, when I speak of the Messiah, I am referring to one of the main persons written about in the New Testament, the Son of the Most High.

In this book, I quote a lot of Bible verses. While in seminary, I used the New American Standard Bible (NASB). I like this translation because it is a fairly sound translation from the Hebrew and Greek texts. Having studied both languages, I feel confident with how closely the NASB Bible verses reflect the original languages. For this reason, unless otherwise noted, all quotes from the Bible will be from the NASB.

I use the Scriptures and the Hebrew Scriptures interchangeably when referring to the portion of the Bible commonly known as the Old Testament. These were the holy books of the Israelites and what the Messiah and apostles read, studied, and preached.

It is important to me that once we come to know certain truths that we begin to walk in them. It is my goal to honor the truth that I have come to know and to help others in their quest for greater truth.

Introduction

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! (Psalm 103:1)

"Bless His holy name…" There is just something about these words that seem to pull at the heart strings of those who love the Most High. A beautiful hymn was composed using these very same words. Although simple, these words carry a heavy message. Those who take ownership of these words declare their allegiance, commitment, and deep love for Him. His name alone is recognized and declared as a true reflection of His greatness. All of His attributes, I have been told, are embodied in His name. Therefore, the name of the Most High just ought to be blessed.

I remember singing these words and wondering what they really meant. What is His holy name that my soul should be blessing? Somehow, I instinctively knew that God was not His name nor was the Lord. Yet, I had been accustomed to hearing Him called God and the Lord as well as other names during my many years of Bible study. So the pool of names I could choose from was pretty extensive. But which of these names were truly His holy name? I knew there had to be one name that was uniquely His that the psalmist had in mind when he wrote this particular psalm. It had to be a name that represented the fullest essence of the Most High. So, just what is that name?

Even after I came to know the answer to that question, nothing changed for me. I continued to refer to Him as God and the Lord, as the importance of using His holy name escaped me. I used His name intermittently, but with no commitment. After a while, I returned to my old habit of not acknowledging His name in my studies, conversations with others, worship, prayer, and meditation—just as if I had no knowledge of the truth.

Like me, some people have been told His true name, but the relevance of His name was not emphasized; therefore, they had no conviction to use it in the place of the terms God and the Lord. There are, of course, other people who just have never been taught His name at all and, therefore, have a legitimate excuse for not using it. They cannot be expected to use what they do not know, can they? However, the vast majority of people, I believe, fall somewhere in between these two positions. Most have heard so many different names for Him and are