Hi John, next question! I hope that your family and cat are doing well. I so appreciated your prayer for Jerusalem this week. I have been praying, both for your family and for Jerusalem.
As we enter Advent, the daily readings are about the coming Messiah. Sometimes they clearly relate to His second coming, as they are passages that you have talked about in that context. Are there other Messianic prophecies that relate to His first coming? Is there any way to tell them apart? I am interested in your experiences and thoughts here.
Sorry to bail on you with that. After coming to Christ 50 years ago, it has been a long time that I dug very deeply into all of the prophecies about Jesus. And, when doing evangelism, I stick to the very basics.
Yahweh is NOT a Hebrew word, and it appears to be a modern invention. And, we have sources that show us that the proper pronunciation is Yehovah. Those who know Hebrew and how it's constructed are going to say Yehovah. It actually means the 'always existing one'.
Also names like Yehoshua offer proof that Yehovah is the correct choice.
Is "always existing one" written in the Hebrew bible anywhere other than in reference to Yehovah the Creator-God? Have you ever seen it written elsewhere, like in a newspaper, magazine, or book? That is fascinating to me.
Okay, you will NEVER see any book, newspaper or ANYTHING printed that will have the Hebrew name Yehovah anywhere. The superstition is so strong about doing this among the Jews that you will never ever ever seem them do this. Even secular Jews.
And, if there is ANY piece of paper with the name Yehovah on it, it cannot be discarded. It must be buried in a specific ritual.
Even DISCUSSING the name seems to be forbidden. They aren't even allowed to SAY the name. The superstition is so bad that it has infected many Christians.
The words that they use instead of Yehovah are Adonai (Lord) and HaShem (The Name).
As children of God, we are allowed to say His Name. But, they can't.
Yes. The vav or 'v' can be pronounced a number of different ways. Usually the nikkudote tell us which it is, but because of Jewish superstition, in which pronouncing the name of God was forbidden, they only included one nikkud in the name - the 'ah' sound in Yehovah. That one nikkud actually knocks out the Yahweh pronunciation in the original Hebrew Text.
Be all that as it is, it has been my personal experience that God loves us, wants us to engage with Him, and rewards those who seek Him. He has given me revelations about scripture when I ask.
John has spent decades seeking the Lord and pondering these scriptures with the reverence and humility that they warrant.
Personally, I am far more interested in what an individual has had revealed to him than I am in what a pastor learns at seminary on the same material. Our faith and diligence is rewarded with relationship and insight.
My family is of video game ages, so that is something I can draw a simple analogy to. When you develop certain skills and prove certain abilities, you move on to another level in the game. And it becomes richer and more rewarding. Seeking the Lord, in prayer, His word, and in service, works like this (although far richer).
John's first principle in these analyses (see his essay, "What is Good Eschatology?") is
* If the Bible doesn't say it, you shouldn't.
* If the Bible speaks AGAINST what you are saying, repent quickly.
We are all in agreement that any notions about eschatology should be subjected to biblical scrutiny.
You wrote, "I disagree with you [John] when you say. 'Remember that the Bible was specifically written so that those who rebel, will stumble and fall, while those who submit to God will obtain knowledge.' " John talked about his basis for this in the first essay in this series.
I agree with you when you said, "Prophecy is written in such a way that we cannot understand it using human deduction." John isn't so much trying to explain prophecy by human deduction. His process, if anything, is more inductive: What prophecies are talking about the same incident, and what can we learn if we are able to map them?; What in our bibles has been a stumbling block to our understanding due to human mistranslation?
I really appreciate what John writes because he takes very seriously the directives not to add anything to, nor take anything from, the scriptures. He understands the risks he runs by doing these assessments.
It has been my experience, and the Bible backs this up through people such as David and Daniel, that God loves to be sought. He is a loving father, and He rewards those who seek Him. That is what I see happening here with John's work.
He (John) is certainly not convinced that he is right. He always asks for people to push back and dig in to what he is offering. Fundamentally, it is like a scientist building a theory: we cannot, inherently, understand locked prophecies; but you can build a mutually, and biblically, consistent model.
I have questioned some of the things that he's raised. I disagree with him broadly on geopolitics. But that doesn't mean that I see a TON of value here. I cherish him as a brother in Christ.
When you read Zechariah 14, how is it possible that you cannot see the completely literal description of events in that chapter?
The Mount of Olives literally splits in half.
How can any of us claim that to be symbolic?
It says that Our Lord will rule over the Earth, and that surviving nations must pay reverence to Him?
How can you claim that to be symbolic?
Again, it is a dangerous thing to reverse the words of God, to trample upon them. For your own safety, I strongly urge you to reevaluate what you are saying here.
I am interested in your thoughts on this (and others in this community, not least of all John's). This seems very much of a piece with prophecy and if it is knowable.
Jesus instructs us to pray to our Heavenly Father, "Hallowed be Thy Name."
What is YHWH's name? For something that important, why is it so shrouded? Can we know it, while we walk on earth?
I do not speak Hebrew and do not know how all of the letters are pronounced.
I am confident that God's name is embedded into peoples' names as a prefix (Ye) or suffix (Yah). It's clearly a prefix here, so it would seem that it starts with a word pronounced in English with a Y and a short E, "Ye." Yehoshua is an example of this.
I do not know how the W is pronounced. Is it a V? a short W, like Wa? A literal double U, like moon? Is the first H silent or spoken, like in Jehovah?
All creation speaks His name, so it seems like it could be something like breathing. For me, that is most natural as Yah (on the intake) Wah (on the exhale). You can insert a short O between them as a catch. Yah-O-Wah. I can get there with Yeh-O-Wah but it is hard to keep going with this without getting winded or tangled up. [In typing this paragraph, I inadvertently spelled the last syllable as Wha and then corrected it to Waa. In both cases, it's a shorter syllable than I make Wah.]
Sorry but as a Hebrew speaker, I can tell you that Yeshua - the name of Jesus - means either 'salvation' as a noun or 'he will save' if used as a verb.
And we have absolute proof that the name of Jesus is Yeshua.
Hi John, I was referring more to the way Yeshua's name is pronounced in different ways in different languages. It is my prayerful belief that Jesus (as I know Him) treasures this. That His name is precious to Him in all tongues.
I see Yehovah as different. He is One. There is only one correct way to pronounce his name.
Hi John, next question! I hope that your family and cat are doing well. I so appreciated your prayer for Jerusalem this week. I have been praying, both for your family and for Jerusalem.
As we enter Advent, the daily readings are about the coming Messiah. Sometimes they clearly relate to His second coming, as they are passages that you have talked about in that context. Are there other Messianic prophecies that relate to His first coming? Is there any way to tell them apart? I am interested in your experiences and thoughts here.
It has been a long time since I went through the prophecies about the First Coming of Jesus, but I did find a few places that you could look at:
https://jesusisgodandlordministries.com/prophecies-fulfilled-by-jesus-at-his-first-coming/
https://www.gotquestions.org/prophecies-of-Jesus.html
Sorry to bail on you with that. After coming to Christ 50 years ago, it has been a long time that I dug very deeply into all of the prophecies about Jesus. And, when doing evangelism, I stick to the very basics.
I hope those links help, Jeff.
- John
John, I am very interested in your thoughts on how to pronounce YHWH, as I commented to Anthony William.
Hey Jeff,
Yahweh is NOT a Hebrew word, and it appears to be a modern invention. And, we have sources that show us that the proper pronunciation is Yehovah. Those who know Hebrew and how it's constructed are going to say Yehovah. It actually means the 'always existing one'.
Also names like Yehoshua offer proof that Yehovah is the correct choice.
But, fighting over it would be foolish.
I hope that helps, Jeff.
- John
Hi John,
Is "always existing one" written in the Hebrew bible anywhere other than in reference to Yehovah the Creator-God? Have you ever seen it written elsewhere, like in a newspaper, magazine, or book? That is fascinating to me.
Okay, you will NEVER see any book, newspaper or ANYTHING printed that will have the Hebrew name Yehovah anywhere. The superstition is so strong about doing this among the Jews that you will never ever ever seem them do this. Even secular Jews.
And, if there is ANY piece of paper with the name Yehovah on it, it cannot be discarded. It must be buried in a specific ritual.
Even DISCUSSING the name seems to be forbidden. They aren't even allowed to SAY the name. The superstition is so bad that it has infected many Christians.
The words that they use instead of Yehovah are Adonai (Lord) and HaShem (The Name).
As children of God, we are allowed to say His Name. But, they can't.
Was that you were asking about?
- John
100%. That is so sad. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water. Something so precious, gone.
Thanks, John. Is the V pronounced as a V or a W?
Probably a V, like "hava negilah?"
Yes. The vav or 'v' can be pronounced a number of different ways. Usually the nikkudote tell us which it is, but because of Jewish superstition, in which pronouncing the name of God was forbidden, they only included one nikkud in the name - the 'ah' sound in Yehovah. That one nikkud actually knocks out the Yahweh pronunciation in the original Hebrew Text.
Be all that as it is, it has been my personal experience that God loves us, wants us to engage with Him, and rewards those who seek Him. He has given me revelations about scripture when I ask.
John has spent decades seeking the Lord and pondering these scriptures with the reverence and humility that they warrant.
Personally, I am far more interested in what an individual has had revealed to him than I am in what a pastor learns at seminary on the same material. Our faith and diligence is rewarded with relationship and insight.
My family is of video game ages, so that is something I can draw a simple analogy to. When you develop certain skills and prove certain abilities, you move on to another level in the game. And it becomes richer and more rewarding. Seeking the Lord, in prayer, His word, and in service, works like this (although far richer).
Hi Anthony,
John's first principle in these analyses (see his essay, "What is Good Eschatology?") is
* If the Bible doesn't say it, you shouldn't.
* If the Bible speaks AGAINST what you are saying, repent quickly.
We are all in agreement that any notions about eschatology should be subjected to biblical scrutiny.
You wrote, "I disagree with you [John] when you say. 'Remember that the Bible was specifically written so that those who rebel, will stumble and fall, while those who submit to God will obtain knowledge.' " John talked about his basis for this in the first essay in this series.
I agree with you when you said, "Prophecy is written in such a way that we cannot understand it using human deduction." John isn't so much trying to explain prophecy by human deduction. His process, if anything, is more inductive: What prophecies are talking about the same incident, and what can we learn if we are able to map them?; What in our bibles has been a stumbling block to our understanding due to human mistranslation?
I really appreciate what John writes because he takes very seriously the directives not to add anything to, nor take anything from, the scriptures. He understands the risks he runs by doing these assessments.
It has been my experience, and the Bible backs this up through people such as David and Daniel, that God loves to be sought. He is a loving father, and He rewards those who seek Him. That is what I see happening here with John's work.
He (John) is certainly not convinced that he is right. He always asks for people to push back and dig in to what he is offering. Fundamentally, it is like a scientist building a theory: we cannot, inherently, understand locked prophecies; but you can build a mutually, and biblically, consistent model.
I have questioned some of the things that he's raised. I disagree with him broadly on geopolitics. But that doesn't mean that I see a TON of value here. I cherish him as a brother in Christ.
When you read Zechariah 14, how is it possible that you cannot see the completely literal description of events in that chapter?
The Mount of Olives literally splits in half.
How can any of us claim that to be symbolic?
It says that Our Lord will rule over the Earth, and that surviving nations must pay reverence to Him?
How can you claim that to be symbolic?
Again, it is a dangerous thing to reverse the words of God, to trample upon them. For your own safety, I strongly urge you to reevaluate what you are saying here.
You literally didn't answer my question. I have consistently welcomed disagreement over my theories.
But, I asked you about the Millennium. And you didn't answer.
Please do so.
I'm sorry, but I didn't realize that people didn't know that Zechariah 14 directly the Millennium.
That specifically says that God will reign upon the world from Jerusalem - and Revelation 20 adds to that description with a length of time.
So, please explain why you disagree with Zechariah 14.
Hi Anthony,
I am interested in your thoughts on this (and others in this community, not least of all John's). This seems very much of a piece with prophecy and if it is knowable.
Jesus instructs us to pray to our Heavenly Father, "Hallowed be Thy Name."
What is YHWH's name? For something that important, why is it so shrouded? Can we know it, while we walk on earth?
I do not speak Hebrew and do not know how all of the letters are pronounced.
I am confident that God's name is embedded into peoples' names as a prefix (Ye) or suffix (Yah). It's clearly a prefix here, so it would seem that it starts with a word pronounced in English with a Y and a short E, "Ye." Yehoshua is an example of this.
I do not know how the W is pronounced. Is it a V? a short W, like Wa? A literal double U, like moon? Is the first H silent or spoken, like in Jehovah?
All creation speaks His name, so it seems like it could be something like breathing. For me, that is most natural as Yah (on the intake) Wah (on the exhale). You can insert a short O between them as a catch. Yah-O-Wah. I can get there with Yeh-O-Wah but it is hard to keep going with this without getting winded or tangled up. [In typing this paragraph, I inadvertently spelled the last syllable as Wha and then corrected it to Waa. In both cases, it's a shorter syllable than I make Wah.]
But it isn't anything that He has revealed to me.
Sorry but as a Hebrew speaker, I can tell you that Yeshua - the name of Jesus - means either 'salvation' as a noun or 'he will save' if used as a verb.
And we have absolute proof that the name of Jesus is Yeshua.
Not Yehoshua.
I agree that there is latitude for the name of Jesus. He wants us all to call on Him, coming as we are.
It's how YHWH's name is pronounced that I was writing about.
Ah, okay. Please look to my explanation towards the top.
Hi John, I was referring more to the way Yeshua's name is pronounced in different ways in different languages. It is my prayerful belief that Jesus (as I know Him) treasures this. That His name is precious to Him in all tongues.
I see Yehovah as different. He is One. There is only one correct way to pronounce his name.
That's what I meant.
Ah. Sorry. In Arabic it's 'Issa'. In Mandarin, it's 'Yiesu'. In Taiwanese it's 'Yaso'. (An 'i' is always pronounced like 'ee'.)
Yehovah in Mandarin 'Yehuwah' and in Taiwan 'Yahuwah'.
I don't know what Arabic Christians use for Yehovah.
Ultimately, God knows who you are referring to, if you are speaking from a pure heart.
I hope that helps.
- John