the What Trinity? seroes
.One Name
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)
"How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who
intend
to make My people
forget MY NAME?" Jeremiah 23:26-27
"...baptizing them in
the NAME
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." Matthew 28:19
"But when help comes alongside, which I will impart to you
from the Father
the spirit of Truth (Who is YaHoVeH),
which goes out from the Father
He (YaHoVeH) will bear witness about me." John 15:26
As we saw in the previous article
One Spirit... (click on highlighted words to view content)
there is a consistent theme found in scripture from cover to cover of the Book called "the Bible." Every premise contained in all the other scriptures are built around and upon this one, distinct, single Truth that every Hebrew knew when these books were written and knows now - even Yeshua, born a Hebrew, confirmed it. That theme is
the Shema
- "Hear, O Israel: YaHoVeH our Elohim, YaHoVeH is One" meaning there is no other entity in the mix with Him
(Deuteronomy 6:4-5,
Mark 12:28-30).
Most today don't know His Name because it has been obscured in our modern translations. How is it that the Name of this Hebrew God,
YaHoVeH
appears over 6,500 times in scripture - yet, not once does His Name ever appear in any of our "modern" translations? It has been replaced in these translations by the names Jehovah, Adonai or LORD - none of which has any equivalency to what appears in the original Hebrew those scriptures were written in
(ref Deuteronomy 6:4 - "LORD").
Wherever you see the capitalization of Lord or God in the English translations, that is where the Name of YaHoVeH appears in the original manuscripts. It can not be said enough: every letter of every book in the Book (including all those of the Messianic Writings (renamed the NT) were written by Hebrews, from a Hebrew mindset that was influenced out of a Hebrew culture that was aimed primarily to a Hebrew audience who understood the nuances of the Hebrew language. When we consider that 2/3 of this Hebrew Book to not be relevant because everything has been
replaced,
we find ourselves at a serious disadvantage when it comes to comprehending these Hebrew concepts contained in those Hebrew words.
Naming is the act of identifying the essence of something and applying that essence as a purpose in the life of the thing or person so named. Since the English language evolved out of Greek and Latin influences, it embraces the inherent philosophies of those languages. This means that, if we are to understand what was originally meant by the authors of these Hebrew documents, we must dig below the surface of translation and look at their words from the same Hebrew perspective they were written in so as to uncover the true intent of the words they wrote. While names in Greek and Latin tend to be abstract in nature, in Hebrew the word spoken and the thing identified are identical - they cannot be separated. It is what gives the person or the thing named its identity. This is illustrated by the Hebrew word for "hear", which is
shama'
- but, in Exodus 19:5,
this same Hebrew word is translated as the English "obey". This is because in Hebrew to hear IS to obey, to obey IS to hear. Whether you hear what is spoken or not is measured by how you obey what you hear. Conversely, how you obey determines whether or not you heard what was said. To say "God is good" is to also say "good is God" at the same time - they are the same. Therefore, as explained at the end of the previous article with the name
Nabal,
from a Hebrew perspective, a person's name IS his purpose
(see the Present Presence for a look at what His Name actually means).
Thus, the name
Immanuel
which means "God with us" (but, since Yeshua makes plain in
John 4:24
that God is Spirit - the definition should actually read "Spirit with us"), is an active description of what it means to have the Essence of the Nature and Character of the Spirit of YaHoVeH displayed among us. When you are with someone in the flesh in a park does not make that person you - they accompany you. The Spirit of YaHoVeH accompanied the man Yeshua as He chose to manifest the essence of that Spirit by, in and through His actions. Yeshua displayed the active description of Immanuel and, thus, fulfilled the purpose of the name. This is how the active description of the "Word" described in
John 1:1
can be with YaHoVeH and be YaHoVeH both at the same time. They are both pointing to the same identity - not some other person
(see Who Is The Word? for more detail).
Let's see how this Hebrew concept of naming applies to another well-known verse.
"And His
NAME
will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
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Many look at the "Everlasting Father" portion in this passage and think, "Aha - here it is! This verse says it - Jesus is God!!". W-e-l-l, not really. If we are to find Truth in these words, we have to remember that we are looking at an English translation carrying with it and bringing forward the inherent philosophies of those languages that embraced many different gods as eternal - not the Hebrew understanding of there being only One Spirit whose NAME is One. The Hebrew Isaiah was writing out of his Hebrew perspective compiled during the reigns of kings we can date, mentioned in the opening statement of the book (generally considered between 740 and 680 BCE). We have viewed this verse through the filtered lens of "the trinity" for so long, we just don't realize this Hebrew prophet is telling us the NAME of the child, not the transliterated meaning of the child's name. If we look at these words through the Hebrew perspective they were written in, grammatically in Hebrew,
Isaiah 9:6
is written in past tense (vayikra sh'mo, "and he called"); therefore, the verse in English should read, "…and the wonderful counsellor the great god the eternal father called his name the prince of peace"
(see a Pre-Determined Destination for more confirmation).
The full Hebrew name given this person is sar-shalom. All of the capitalizations in this passage are artificial - meaning they were added to the translated text to conform the words to an pre-formulated agenda and do not appear in the original Hebrew that way (there is no capitalization in either Hebrew or Greek).
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Immersed in Immanuel
- the Spirit of YaHoVeH with us -
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To be baptized in the
NAME,
of the One True Spirit of YaHoVeH means to be immersed in all that Name means, all at the same time - to be completely saturated into the Nature and Character of YaHoVeH's Spirit. "There is but One Spirit and His Name is One". In the context and culture of Hebrew Israel, this child's very name expresses the essence of YaHoVeH's divinity - what it is that makes Him divine. Isaiah gives us, in the name of this child, a name that describes the actionable character of the one born to us. This is why names are so important to our reading of the scriptures. Now, are you ready for a shock? "Jesus" is not the name of this child. "Jesus" is a Greek derivation from a transliterated meaning of a Hebrew name. The real name of the child born to Miriam is Yeshua, which, of course, has a specific meaning that describes the essence of this person. Why does this change matter? It matters because this child IS the seed of YaHoVeH through which the promised salvation (deliverance) would come to the house of Israel to redeem them from the bondage of separated darkness they had been placed into by the first seed - the role of the
Kinsman Redeemer,
the Messiah. In other words, in the context and culture of Hebrew Israel, this child's very name expresses Who and What He is
(see What's In A Name? for an expanded look at His Name).
The Greek word for "salvation" in
John 4:22
is soteria
and primarily means deliverance, preservation, safety. The Hebrew word used throughout the Tanakh for "salvation"
(found in Isaiah 52:10,
Isaiah 62:1
and elsewhere) also has as its primary definition deliverance. And that Hebrew word is - are you ready for this -
yeshua.
Yeshua is the fulfillment of the promise of deliverance from the bondage of darkness by the
Kinsman Redeemer
to the family of YaHoVeH - Israel. By the way, the name, Yeshua, is not the same as
Joshua
(yehoshua in Hebrew meaning "the Lord is salvation") which many have attributed the translated name "Jesus" to have derived from. The Greek word used to transliterate the name "Jesus" is
iesus.
This is the same Greek word used to transliterate the name Joshua in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament often abbreviated LXX). Many will be surprised to learn that what is called the "Old Testament" in their bibles is not a translation from the original Hebrew text but from the Greek LXX. Translators render iesus as Joshua instead of Jesus because that is the name readers are familiar with. The reason it is a transliteration and not a direct translation is because Joshua does not translate into Greek exactly. There are letters in Hebrew that are simply not there in Greek. Yehoshua means "YaHoVeH is salvation" or "YaHoVeH saves", combining two Hebrew words - the name of YaHoVeH and the word for salvation. Perhaps that is why so many people are so enamored with the idea that Yeshua's name = Joshua - but it doesn't. As mentioned, the Hebrew word for salvation is
yeshua
(accent on the last syllable) and is a feminine noun - but is personalized in the masculine form of the Hebrew noun. Yeshua means "salvation/deliverance" - He is not "the Lord is salvation". Yeshua is the instrument by which YaHoVeH brings His deliverance to His Family of Israel. The definition of salvation (deliverance) used throughout the Tanakh as yeshua is very narrow - pertaining to
the house of Israel,
the family of YaHoVeH. Which brings us to the inclusion of Isaiah's phrase, sar-shalom (Prince of Peace), into this passage - the only place this phrase is found in scripture.
What is incredible about Isaiah's words in this phrase, sar-shalom, is in what he does not say. We would expect Isaiah to use the title "king" - not "prince" in his description. The Hebrew word for "king" is
melek
and is used more than 2,500 times in the Tanakh (renamed the OT). If anyone is King, it is certainly YaHoVeH. Melek is consistently used to describe the ruler of the people, the law over the land and the judge of the tribe. But Isaiah doesn't use this word, melek. Instead, he uses the word
sar
which means "prince". Why would this Hebrew do that? What is he trying to convey? Sar and melek have one unique, but different, distinction. While both have authority, a king has authority in and of himself - he is a ruler in his own right. A sar, however, is someone who has authority bestowed upon him by another. He is a ruler, but a ruler by appointment only - appointment from a higher authority. This difference is crucial in understanding Yeshua's role as the Prince of Peace
(Ephesians 2:14).
The Suffering Servant, the Messiah, Immanuel, is not a self-appointed ruler. He is the One Who comes in the NAME of the Spirit of the One Who appointed Him, granted authority by another - YaHoVeH. When we think of Yeshua as king, we must not get confused. Isaiah understood - the Messiah comes as sar, not melek. Yeshua understood His Role
(John 14:28);
as did the Hebrew apostle Sha'ul (Paul) in
1Corinthians 15:27
- as did all the other Hebrew apostles. Bending and altering the words so that they conform to a pre-conceived notion of what we want them to mean is simply disingenuous. YaHoVeH's Name is comprised of all of these words taken together at once. They are attributes of, characterizations of the Spirit of the One who abides in eternity
(Isaiah 57:15,
see the Present Presence for an expanded explanation)
- of which the appointed prince stated He manifested the NAME of His Father, the Essence of Spirit, in
John 17:6
(see what it means To Be Made Manifest).
That means He was appointed by someone else. The Greek translation was flavored to support an imported doctrine, an agenda of man not supported by the rest of scripture. This verse simply does not make the statement that this child IS YaHoVeH or that YaHoVeH birthed Himself - nor is it made any where else in scripture. Yeshua is the displayed image of the Spirit of the Father, the Essence of the Father's Nature and Character - not the Father Himself
(2Corinthians 4:4).
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a discussion of One Name
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"But to all who did receive him,
who believed in His NAME,
He gave the power to become children of Spirit (YaHoVeH)..." John 1:12
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The Trinity Series
Part One, the Godhead
Part Two, Agreement
Part Three, In Addition
Part Four, One Spirit...
Part Five, ...One Name
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???Questions???
Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear.com.
While not claiming to have all
the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what Spirit is uncovering.
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