Does God have a name?

Our Father's name, "3Y3Z" (transliterated YHWH or YHVH), was removed from The Holy Bible, and then His name was replaced with the designation, "LORD" or "God". Our Father's title, "Adonai", was also removed from The Holy Bible, and then His title was replaced with the lower cased designation, "Lord". This desecration of our Father's name was contrary to His Commandment to preserve His word, and especially His name (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32; Proverbs 30:5,6; Exodus 20:7, and 1 Corinthians 4:6).

Consider the following verses and decide if remembering our Father's name (YHWH) is important:

"How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship" (Jeremiah 23:26, 27 (NIV)).

"And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, As surely as the Lord lives even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it, declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 12:16, 17 (NIV)).

("Baal" is a Semitic language title meaning "Lord" which was used for various gods in cities located in Southwest Asia, Turkey, and the Armenian highland.)

"And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 12:3, 4 (King James Version (KJV))).

""I am (3Y3Z); that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols"" (Isaiah 42:8 (NIV)).

'“And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I”" Isaiah 52:5,6 (NIV)).

This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation" (Exodus 3:15 (NIV)).

(Additional examples of verses that describe the importance of our Father's name are: Genesis 4:26, Zechariah 13:9, and Deuteronomy 32:3).

People stopped saying the name "YHWH" in fear of breaking the third Commandment, "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:7 (NIV)). "Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death" (Leviticus 24:16 (NIV)). About the third century B.C., Pharisees decided the name "YHWH" should never be spoken so that nobody would be guilty of blaspheming it. The Pharisees were not speaking the name "YHWH" by the time The Messiah was born, which is most likely why the name "YHWH" is illusive in The New Testament.

Jesus 'The Christ' (Yeshua) prayed to God (YaH), "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me" (John 17:11, 12 (NIV)). The Messiah knew the name "YHWH" had special power to protect His people.

The Messiah did not openly speak the name "YHWH" because His destiny was not to be stoned to death for blasphemy, but to be pierced to death on the cross as it had been prophesied (John 8:58, 59, and 10:31)). While on the cross, the Messiah called out to fulfill the prophecy which had been written about Him in Psalm 22 long before He was born, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1 (NIV)). Sure enough, "About three o'clock Yeshua (Jesus) cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (Matthew 27:46 (Names of God Bible (NOG))).

Notice what was stated by a Greek pagan, Celsus, who was an anti-Christian philosopher during the second century. Celsus stated, "But of course they think otherwise: they assume that by pronouncing the name of their teacher they are armored against the powers of the earth and air. And they are quite insistent on the efficacy of the name as a means of protection: pronounce it improperly, they say, and it is ineffective. Greek and Latin will not do; it must be said in a barbarian tongue to work. Silly as they are, one finds them standing next to a statue of Zeus or Apollo or some other god, and shouting, "see here: I blaspheme it and strike it, but it is powerless against me for I am a Christian." Celsus on the True Doctrine, A Discourse Against the Christians, R. Joseph Hoffman (page118).

(The name of our Father could have also been written with symbols even older than the Phoenician alphabet used by Moses.)

If you visit a foreign country, do you want the foreigners to replace your name with a generic designation they made up in their language? Many titles were given to our Father throughout The Holy Bible, but that does not mean we should allow His name to be forgotten.

List of the most important questions with answers and information about YaH (God), Yehoshua (Jesus 'The Christ'), The Holy Spirit and The Holy Bible.

The Holy Bible chapter and verse references of the scriptures and gospels are quotes from: