the Script (Love or Knowledge)

The situation is more serious than it sometimes seems on the surface. Vestiges of Eden still exist upon earth, and life can be wonderful sometimes. We each try to build our own little paradise here, but as in Rudyard Kipling’s “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi,” a serpent always seems to find its way into the garden. (Note: Kipling names the cobra in his story “Nag.” The Indian Cobra is called “Nag” in Hindi, and other Indian languages. No doubt there’s a connection between “Nag,” and “Nachash,” the Hebrew word for the serpent in Genesis 3:1.)

Isaiah 11:9 speaks of a time when, “They will neither harm nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord…” There will be no danger. Isaiah 11:8 says, “the infant will play on the hole of the asp, and the young child will put his hand into the crevice of the viper.” That day has certainly not yet come. The “knowledge of the Lord” is rejected by the earth. The attitude is, “Thanks anyway, but we’ve got our own.”

Knowledge is a tool that can be used to beat the other person down, and make them look small. I’ve seen people make others look like utter fools, and I didn’t like it. I guess it happens to each of us in one way or another. I think it’s good policy to try to pay little attention to it when you’re on the receiving end, but be very sensitive about being on the other. Jesus said to call no one a fool (Matthew 5:22).

Knowledge pulls us right into the game, and we must have knowledge to compete, and more of it than the “enemy.” If we aren’t very careful, it pulls us away from God. Knowledge is power, and the power-hungry crave it. It can be used to enslave others, and deceive them. It can get you money and riches. You can take it right out of the hands of the naive.

You can easily think that you love someone until you get to know them better. Then knowledge can turn you away from them if you let it. People may seem to like us until they get to know us better, and then they may know better. With every byte of knowledge come the possibility of misusing it. There are so many branches of the tree of knowledge that you can hardly tell one from another. Knowledge can make God seem to be just another of the gods of the myths.

It’s no wonder that God is sick of it. First Corinthians 1:21 tells us that since, “…the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” His love reaches out to us through his death on the cross, trying to bypass our mental reservations. We can see something about him there that we can learn no other way. We can’t keep trying to kill that love, can we?

He knows us, but yet he loves us.  Love must be something that reaches beyond knowledge, to change things. He has that, and we need that, to love him, and to love others (ref. “the Foolishness of God,” in my April 2010 archives).

It isn’t wise to wait for knowledge to force us to accept the reality of God, for love cannot be forced. It must be received as a gift, and given in the same manner. God knows it won’t change our hearts and minds to force “right” upon us. Our interpretations of knowledge can alienate us from God forever, and that would be a fate worse than death. Jude 1:13 calls that separation, “the mist of darkness forever”. (ref. part one of “Death,” in my Dec. 2010 archives)

the Script (Ancient Book on Modern Science)

I spent some time writing on the logical significance of the Tree of Knowledge before I began speculating whether it was a physical tree. I did that because at this time in history it’s easy to see the dangers of knowledge. Symbolically, the Tree of Knowledge continues to exist today and anyone should be able to see the dangers. Linking our misapplication of knowledge to the tree of Eden is also something the church has pretty much ignored.

Even though I’m now trying to take a look at the biological side of this, I don’t want to downplay the part we play in our own learning process. We have more choice in the matter than we may know. I’m going to suggest some subjects for study as I go along. Wikipedia has some pretty good information on Neurobiology and the plasticity of the human brain. These subjects relate to the way our choices and thinking patterns affect us physically.

There is a logical process to learning, but there are also biological processes involved. That’s something we don’t typically think much about, but it’s true. Foods and environment can affect gene expression (ref. study, Nutrigenomics and Phenotype). Our bodies derive the necessary elements for brain function, and so on, from the foods that we eat.

A question has come up about whether some form of plant DNA from food eaten could have found its way into our DNA. I don’t know that it’s impossible, but I also don’t know if the effect of the fruit of a tree of knowledge would have to be that direct. As some drugs do, it had some immediate effects upon Adam and Eve. A paranoia (a fear, and aversion to God) was introduced into their minds, and they began to interpret sensory data differently. The death process was introduced into their bodies, and they began to slowly age.

Plants and animals have some things in common. They had the same creator so why wouldn’t they display similarities? Why design a whole new system for animals if a DNA system similar to that of the plant’s would work? It would naturally follow that if devolution takes place, then mutations in plants could translate into problems for animals that eat them (study ref. Mutagens in foods) Some known organisms also more directly affect both plants and animals. Fusarium fungi, for instance, cause disease in both plants and animals.

We don’t see the picture as it once was, but we see it in the present. Both plants and animals can produce certain proteins such as Cytochrome C. DNA copying “errors” over time have caused Cytochrome C variations in different organisms. There is less difference in Cytochrome C from one animal to another than from animal to plant. DNA copy “errors” and such affect heredity, but God intended variety to exist. Even among plants, he meant for individuals to exist, and not for the offspring to be carbon copies of the parents.

God-given individuality, and ability to adapt to environmental changes are not proof of evolution. Energy and matter didn’t just appear from nowhere and nothing. Life was not spontaneously generated from lifeless matter by some freak accident. Some single-celled organism didn’t morph into a plant, and then become an animal that spawned a man. How is it that evolutionists can accept these things without question, yet think it’s impossible for the first humans to have eaten something that affected heredity?

Science is now beginning to use God’s mechanisms to “intelligently” design mix and match creations of their own (study ref. living computers and E. coli computer). Isn’t that evidence that the Genesis warning about the tree of knowledge is justified.

We have no idea whether the tree of knowledge continues to physically exist today, or what kind of tree it was. I believe it was an actual tree, because all through the Script the story is treated as if an actual history is being given. Also, the changes that have since taken place in nature are evidence of a biological disaster. That which we call nature, no longer reflects the nature of God. It reflects something dark and confusing.

Eating from the tree of knowledge was more than a simple act of disobedience. It was an act with deadly consequences. It put Adam, Eve, and their descendants in danger of something more dangerous than death; not of becoming like God, or “gods,” but of becoming Antigods…

the Script (Deviation From Design)

Adam and Eve had never experienced fear until they ate from the tree of knowledge. After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve developed a paranoia. They dressed themselves in leaves, and when God came to visit them, they hid in the trees. It’s interesting to me that paper for our books comes from the pulp of trees, and that “leaf,” is another word for a page.

Children playing hide and seek sometimes think that if they can’t see you, then you can’t see them. Sometimes, it’s only their eyes that are hidden. That’s the way it is in this forest of books and ideas in which we live. We can’t see God because of the way we educate ourselves. The knowledge that we think we have closes our eyes to the knowledge of God. It isn’t only Atheism and Evolutionism that make it difficult to see God, but also Religion. Many people hide behind a god of their own making. They’re afraid of God, but not so afraid of a god they can control.

I’m very conscious of the fact that I’m not qualified to do a thorough study of the Tree of Knowledge. You would need unbiased scientists from all fields, especially Genetics and Neurobiology. You would need language experts (all languages), computer experts, theologians, and endless others. No one “puffed up” by their own knowledge (1st. Corinthians 8:1) is qualified, and everyone would have to cooperate fully.

As you can quickly grasp, that isn’t going to happen until the Lord’s return. People knowing only what little can be gleaned here and there have to try to get the word across, so I’m going to do the best I can. I know that God helps us, and some begin to understand and believe, in spite of our weaknesses.

I think the tree of knowledge (Genesis 2:16-17 & 3:1-8) was an actual tree, though the logical and symbolical meanings are as profound as its physical effects. I don’t know how it had the genetic effect that it had, but I do know that substances in many plants affect our minds, as well as our bodies. Some drugs can induce paranoia, but there is probably much more to the forbidden fruit than that. Scientists studying the effects that food substances have upon genetics are beginning to unravel some strange secrets. Modern science is proving that the foods we eat can alter genetics, just as the Script says of the forbidden fruit.

When Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Science (from “Scientia,” the Latin word for knowledge), devolution, or deviation from design began to occur. Devi-ations from design don’t prove Evolution. They are evidence of Devolution instead. They show the influence of the Dev-ill (Hyll, or Heylel) upon creation. I hope to go into more detail on this next week, and furnish some references and topics for further study. Truth is truly stranger than fiction.

the Script (Heylel)

They knew things we couldn’t imagine, yet they were so naive; Adam and Eve. There was so much they didn’t know. Adam didn’t know anything about competing for a girl, or a job. In the garden of Eden, he didn’t know any thing about losing, being cheated, being broke, or broken-hearted. There was no rivalry. Adam and Eve were one; they were one flesh (Genesis 2:21-25).

If they disagreed on anything, I don’t think they would have noticed. There would have been no anger. Eve didn’t know that it was possible for the male to become domineering. She didn’t know anything about pornography, or child trafficking, or rape. They wouldn’t have understood sweat and toil, pain, or age. Violence, murder, war, and death would have been farther from their thoughts than we can imagine.

God recognized the possibilities, and warned them. We know little, of course, about how much they were actually told. I’m sure that God would have given them as much information as possible without doing harm to their psyche, but they had never experienced such things. There are a lot of things that you don’t really understand unless you’ve experienced them.

There are very few things that couldn’t be used in some harmful way. I’ve only experimented superficially with that idea, but I think it’s safe to say that any bit of knowledge can be twisted. If intelligence is to exist, then a tree of knowledge must exist, and knowledge can be used for good, or for evil.

The Script in Genesis says that everything God created was “very good,” so we know that God-given knowledge is good. God could only have given us very limited intelligence if he had not “allowed” freewill at the same time. Freewill is intertwined with intelligence. One cannot exist without the other. We would only be able to think as we were programmed to think. We would be robots.

The angels, possessing greater intelligence than man, would automatically have freewill, and they would have freedom. God would not have created beings with freewill if he hadn’t intended for them to be free. He did not intend for one person to exercise their freedom by enslaving another, though such a possibility would exist. Slavery was invented by man. If God had only made that which neither man nor devil could mess up, creation would be very small. I don’t believe in blaming God for every idea that comes to our mind.

God didn’t create a devil, but an angel could become a devil. Here’s how it could happen. It could happen just as it happened to man. A thought could arise within the mind of an intelligent being. Thoughts such as this; “It doesn’t have to be this way, many deviations are possible…” could lead to conflict. When conflict arises, it’s necessary for love to exist on both sides for the difference to be resolved. If one party is loving and sacrificial, and the other rejects that, then they must come to a parting of the ways.

I’m not a real fan of John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” but I think that some bit of it is true to life. Milton has Satan lamenting at one point that God had kept some knowledge hidden from him, and that he had underestimated God’s strength because of that. I think something like that is likely to have happened.

The angel who transformed himself into God’s adversary had seen God create the earth, but he had never seen anything warlike about God. Isaiah 14:12-15 tells part of the story; “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer…for you have said in your heart…I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…I will be like the most high.

Speaking through Nachash (the serpent), this is what Heylel told Eve about knowledge; “You will not surely die…in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God (or gods)…” He deceived his own self, a third of the angels, and then Adam and Eve with the same kind of thinking. Well, now we know more stuff, but we’ve forgotten much truth in the process. Collectively, we still don’t know that knowledge will lead to the complete downfall of man, but we’re getting closer to that discovery. We are outsmarting our own selves.

The name “Lucifer,” is a translation of the Hebrew name “Heylel.” I’ve mentioned that fact before in part 2 of “Hallucinations” (my July 2011 archives), and part 2 of “Hell” (my Jan. 2011 archives). There’s another thing that can be added. (Please note that I do not believe in practicing either numerology or gematria. These things may hold some distorted factual information, just as myths, or lies in general, may contain some fragmented truth).

I’ve mentioned before that the symbols of the Hebrew alphabet have individual meanings and are also used as numerals. The Hebrew symbols used to spell “Heylel,” in our language become HYLL. Meanings associated with “H” are, behold, look, window, or hole. “Y” means the hand. “L” means to goad, push, drive, or teach. The letter “L” used twice in the name seems to indicate an extreme. Heylel could be read as, “Behold the hand that pushes, and pushes.”

Mankind is being driven toward self-destruction, and it is Heylel that is doing the driving. Second Corinthians 4:4 calls Satan (Heylel) the “god of this world,” or “the god of this age…” depending upon the translation. Only the hand of YHWH the true God, only the hands with the nail holes, can stop Heylel.

the Script (Man Ets Daath)

“Ets,” is the Hebrew word for “tree” in Genesis 2:17 and 3:6, and “Daath,” is the word for knowledge in 2:17. It is just what it looks like to the English mind though; man eats death. There was nothing forbidden to Adam and Eve except to eat from the tree of knowledge.

I want to go into more detail about that later, but I’m not going to pretend that I understand everything about it. One thing worth knowing is that we don’t know it all. Another is that the difference between what we need to know and that which we don’t can be critical.

The current news is that scientists have altered a deadly strain of flu. The bird flu has killed several people in the past, but it hasn’t been highly contagious. A scientist has now altered it to see if it could become more contagious, and therefore more dangerous. The answer is yes. Now, because of the threat of bio-terrorism, there’s debate over how much the public should know about the process.

What one scientist can do, can be done by another. Sometimes, all it takes is an idea and a little tinkering. I personally believe that the global plagues predicted by the Script, will be loosed upon mankind by science. I believe such things have already happened on a smaller scale.

Knowledge is a Pandora’s box. The myth of Pandora is just a fanciful retelling of an actual happening. In the retelling, Eve becomes “Pandora,” and the Tree of knowledge becomes a box, or jar that she opens. There are even similarities between the names. “Pandora” is a Greek name meaning “all-giving,” or all gifts. “Eve” (Eva) is from the Hebrew name “Chavvah,” which means “life-giving.”

Myths are born when symbolic interpretations are associated with historic events. Eventually, the reality of the actual events is thrown into question. In the perversion of history, reality can be lost. True knowledge can be lost. God has mourned (Hosea 4:6), “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” This isn’t only knowledge in a broad sense, but knowledge revealed by God.

The Script encourages us to seek knowledge, (Proverbs 2:3-5) but warns us not to be too dependent upon our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). We’re not capable of properly interpreting everything, or understanding how all knowledge should be used.

The Script also teaches that Knowledge should be governed by love. First Corinthians 13:2 says, “Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge…but have not love, I am nothing.” The word “gift” in that passage is easily overlooked. Here is one of the great secrets of life, and of understanding God. You can’t “take” a gift, you have to receive it. Love cannot be forced, no matter how badly you want it. It has to be given, or it isn’t love.

Contrary to the whispering of the serpent, Adam and Eve were already “like God.” They were made in his image (Genesis 1:27). They were loved and anything else they needed would have been given to them, including knowledge. When Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge and ate it, they were grasping for something that doesn’t exist apart from God.

Our interpretations of knowledge separate us from God. Our interpretations separate us from each other. For every thesis, there is at least one possible antithesis. All disagreement is the result of the knowledge that we think we have.

In the Pandora story, along with all the evils that are unleashed, there is a little thing called hope. The Script is more specific. Genesis 3:15 speaks of the “seed of the woman” who will bruise the serpent’s head. This is a veiled prophetic reference to the virgin birth of the Messiah (Ref. Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:18-23). In reality, hope is a person.

Christmas celebrates the fact that God was born into this world as a man. He came to be with us in our struggles, and to die with us. He “tasted death” for all of us, and by raising himself from the dead, he’s shown that he can raise us. Death is not the end. The greatest gift that God could ever give us is his son. “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son.” (Ref. 1st. John 5:11-13) He is the antidote to the tree of death.

the Script (The Thinking Tree)

Patterns of thinking affect the physical construction of the human brain. That is well established by medical science. Our brain is like the rest of our body. It grows stronger in the ways in which it is exercised. Within certain parameters, training on the track makes you a faster runner. It can also make you a better athlete in other areas, but those who set world records must train for specific events.

Our personal preferences influence the way our brain works, just as the “preferences” settings for a computer application affect the computer. A great mathematician may know little about other subjects. The scope of knowledge is so broad that focus is required for certain areas. That’s one thing that makes this subject difficult to write about. I can’t branch off into too many directions, or I’ll fail to get the point across.

As we study and learn, connections called dendrites form branches between areas of the brain. “Dendrite,” from the Greek word for a tree, is a fitting scientific term for the process. Knowledge forms a tree-like structure in our brain. The knowledge doesn’t have to be true, or good. It’s like the huge database of the internet. Any sort of information will take up space.

Our thoughts then influence our behaviors, which over time become habitual. To a large degree, we act, and react as we have been conditioned by our education and upbringing. We are “trained” to follow the rails. That’s why governments work so hard to control education.

There are many other factors. In Ephesians 2:2, Satan is called the “Prince of the power of the air.” There is an ongoing struggle for control of the airwaves and the internet. Leaders of countries are aware that whoever controls the media (including education), controls the minds of the masses. This is where Christianity, which is so slow to counter the weaving of the serpent, is losing the war. Besides the “stars” that we look up to, there are the “suggestions” that come directly to our minds from the Whisperer.

The whole world belonged to Adam and Eve. They had it all. They were told to have children, and to “fill the earth.” There would have been no pain in childbirth, and no danger for the children. There would be no child abuse, or cruelty to animals. The wonderful list could go on and on. The only thing we know of that was forbidden to them was “eating from the Tree of Knowledge.” They were to let YHWH Elohim teach them the interpretation of knowledge, rather than vainly grasping by trial and error.

Now we’re left with the impossible mess that someone thinks is knowledge. We have to try to make some sense of it. It is really an impossible task. The only way out is to simply believe in the one who warned us of the dangers of “knowledge” to begin with. The prophecy (foreknowledge) of the Messiah in Isaiah 53:11 tells us, “By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many…”

The Hebrew word for knowledge in that passage is “daath.” It is no coincidence that “daath,” looks so much like our word “death.” The “spell check” even suggests that’s what it should be.  It is by his death that the righteous servant justifies us. He is the only real hope for the world.

the Script (Whispers in the Mind)

There are five words transliterated as “Nachash” in the Strong’s Concordance. The Hebrew spelling is the same for all of them, except for the vowel symbols added many centuries after the Script was written. I’m only interested in two of the usages right now, and this is only a partial list of meanings for the two.

(Strong’s #5172) “Nachash…to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell, enchantment, learn by experience, diligently observe…”  A spell isn’t necessarily magic as we would normally think of it. We can be spellbound by something that fascinates us. It can be the idea of magic, since that’s something people are attracted to.

It’s being persuaded by enchanting words. It can be the artfully woven tale of evolution, that works scientific data gained by diligent observation into a dangerous fabrication. It can be false science, false religion, the powerful whisper of false love, or anything that deceives us. Deception doesn’t even have to be intentional. It can be built upon simple misinterpretations.

Deceptions can be promoted by people who think they’re doing the right thing. Thoughts are planted in our minds by the power of suggestion. They affect us in ways we can’t imagine. There are empty promises that lift our dreams to the clouds, and then shatter them. Then there is depression and fear that immobilizes us.

(#5175) “Nachash; a snake (from its hiss), serpent…” This is the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The sound “hiss,” is part of the word “wisp,” (handfuls of nothing) as well as “whisper.” People sometimes do horrible things. We hear about it on the news. All those things began as a whisper in the mind.

Words are works. Words are seeds. Ideas are the roots of deeds (ref. “the Mind Games” in my Dec. 2010 archives). The “na,” of Nachash indicates a negative. It’s where our word “no,” comes from. “Chashab,” is a Hebrew word sometimes translated “thought,” “count,” (compute) “consider.” “Nachash,” is associated with negative thoughts. (Strong’s #2803) “chashab…to weave or to fabricate…”

I wish I could tell the world that the thoughts that arise in our minds don’t necessarily originate there, and we don’t have to accept them as ours. Some people seem to instinctively ignore negative thoughts that come to mind, and that’s not the worst way of dealing with them. Sometimes the more you wrestle with something, the stronger it seems to become. Wrong ways of thinking can be woven into the brain. Patterns of thinking and study affect the physical construction of the human brain.

I haven’t had much time to work on this. I love Christmas but I don’t enjoy the preparations. I can’t tell you how many interruptions I’m running into as I try to write. Please pardon my lack of focus.

the Script (Nachash)

There are two basic ways to learn. One is to learn from someone who knows. In order to learn by that method, it’s necessary to have some faith in the one who’s teaching. We’re not going to be as teachable if we don’t have confidence in the teacher. It often takes a little time to tie things together, and make it understandable.

The other way to learn is by trial and error. Byte by byte, some things can be learned by experience, if you survive the experiment. There’s a reason that it’s called the school of hard knocks. Our education is most often a combination of the two methods. We believe some things that we’re taught (even though some of them are wrong), and we get other things the hard way.

In Genesis 30:27 (New King James Version), Laban uses the expression, “…I have learned by experience…” In that version, the Hebrew word “Nachash,” is translated as a three word phrase. Other translations read as if this was something Laban divined from signs or omens. The Septuagint uses the word augur, meaning to foretell, especially from omens.

“Learned by experience,” would cover it all. That would include that which might be predicted from actual experience, either properly or mistakenly interpreted, along with the influence of superstition.

“Nachash” is also the Hebrew word for “serpent,” and is translated that way in Genesis 3:1. How is “learning by experience” like listening to a serpent? It has been my experience, that all people are prone to misjudge others because of past experiences. That is a very sad statement. It tells you of at least one thing that we’re all guilty of. It’s easy for me to misjudge you, and you to misjudge me.

People at church (or wherever you go), may think they see a sign that you are like so and so, that they used to know. They may not be quite right, but they may not like you for that reason. Experience will often lie to you. Sometimes people won’t love, and couples won’t marry, because of past experience. Hurting people hurt other people. It’s something we need to be on guard against.

This is not the way YHWH Elohim created us to be. Nachash has deceived us into living life in a trial and error way, and twists the knowledge that might be gained from experience. I’ve written several things about the Tree of Knowledge. I have a blog-page with that title, and you can “search,” for other places I’ve mentioned it. I don’t want to cover the same ground again, so I’m trying to present something different. There’s plenty to write about. This subject is as deep as knowledge itself.

Adam and Eve may have had little prior experience with “Nachash,” but they had been warned… If only they had believed YHWH. If only we had all believed, but I would never have believed such evil could exist, if I had not experienced this world outside of Eden.

the Script (They Are One)

I’m going to quote some verses of the Script, and ask some questions about them. The right questions sometimes lead to the right answers. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” Who is the “us,” and “our,” that Elohim is referring to in Genesis 1:26? Note that the one spoken to is a participant in the creation.

Similar verses are scattered throughout the Script. Psalm 119:79 says, “Let those who fear you turn to me.” Who is speaking? The one feared in this instance is God. How could it help us to turn to the one who’s speaking? What could anyone other than God do to assuage man’s inborn fear of God? Could God be in two places at the same time? Philippians 2:5-7 speaks of Jesus existing in the form of God, equal with God, but becoming a man. Could God become a man, and thus be less frightening to us? King David wrote the Psalm, but obviously he’s not speaking of himself.

David wrote many such things. Psalm 110:1, “The Lord (YHWH) said to my Lord (Adonai), sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” The ‘Complete Jewish Bible’ translates that verse as, “Adonai said to my Lord…” Messianic Jews who accept Jesus as Messiah, continue to read YHWH as Adonai because of their Jewish heritage (Ref. my previous post).

Psalm 110:4, “The Lord (YHWH) has sworn, and will not relent, you are a priest forever…” The one spoken to is considered a Priest, or one who stands for others before God. Verse 5, “The Lord (Adonai) at your right hand will…” Verse 1 speaks of Adonai at the right hand of YHWH, and now verse 5 says that Adonai is at the right hand of the one being spoken to. That is not a contradiction, but it does sound as if it’s going around in circles, and maybe it is. “Adonai,” sometimes refers to YHWH, and YHWH sometimes refers to Adonai.

The same thing happens with the name Elohim in Psalm 45:6-7. These verses are quoted in Hebrews 1:8-9, and the writer says they are spoken to the “Son.” “Your throne, Oh God (Elohim), is forever…therefore God (Elohim), your God (Elohim), has anointed you…” If God calls him God, then I’m not going to fear to call him God. They are one, and we don’t need to try to rank them.

Just because mankind can’t imagine or understand union doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. In Isaiah 48:16, the speaker says, “I have not spoken in secret from the beginning. From the time that it was, there I am. Now Adonai YHWH, and his Spirit have sent me.” Someone, who has existed from the beginning, is sent by God, and his Spirit. They are one.

The CJB says, “Adonai Elohim has sent me and his Spirit.” When “YHWH” is written alone, the Jewish people substitute the name Adonai in reading aloud. They substitute the name “Elohim” for YHWH when the actual name “Adonai” precedes it. Rather than repeat Adonai YHWH, as “Adonai Adonai,” they say “Adonai Elohim.” That’s kind of complicated but that’s the way its done.

The names Elohim, Adonai, and YHWH are used alternately as one throughout the Script. That pattern continues through the New Testament. In the book of the Revelation, it is often difficult to discern whether it is the Father speaking, or the Son, but it usually doesn’t matter.

In John 14:9 Jesus said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” They are one. What one thinks, the other speaks. When one is pierced, the other is wounded. The speaker of the prophecy in Zechariah 12:10 says, “They will look on me whom they have pierced, and mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son…” Who is speaking? Who is pierced? The hands of YHWH are pierced, no matter how you interpret that verse.

the Script (Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh, the Secret of YHWH)

I don’t think we know for certain how YHWH, from the Hebrew Old Testament, should be pronounced. If you research the word “Lord,” in a Bible Concordance such as Strong’s, the original word was almost always the name YHWH. In defence of the translators, when YHWH is used it is speaking of the Lord, even though YHWH doesn’t actually mean Lord.

Elohim (God), and Adonai (Lord), are more of a description of what he is, whereas YHWH is his name. The name YHWH is said to mean Ever-Existent, or Ever-Being. “You shall not take the name of YHWH your Elohim in vain,” is one of the Ten Commandments. Out of fear or reverence, the ancient Hebrew people substituted the name “Adonai,” rather than pronounce “YHWH” as written.

That methodology was already established by the time the Septuagint was translated. It was adopted by some of the early Christians, who were themselves Jewish, and later became the standard used in Bible translations. This has made it easier to overlook some mysterious things about the name YHWH. It has come to be thought of as “the unutterable name,” though the commandment was not against saying the name YHWH, but against taking it in vain.

I’m sure that many people will already know what I’m going to say, but I’ve never heard it. Perhaps some have considered it unimportant, and others have avoided it for fear of controversy. For some reason, the secret has been well-kept from the most of us.

Many people are aware that the symbols of the Hebrew alphabet represent numerals as well as letters, and that they also have individual meanings. For example the Hebrew letter “aleph,” usually represented by the letter “A,” is also a word that means “ox.” “Beth,” (B) means house, and so on. There’s general agreement on the meanings attached to the letters, and whenever there are multiple meanings, they are usually related in some way.

In a few places, the CJB (Complete Jewish Bible), spells out Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh rather than using the English letters YHWH (it substitutes Adonai in most places). When I saw it written that way, the meanings of the letters came to my mind.

“Y” (Yud, Yad, or various spellings), is translated as “hand,” or “hands.” (Ref. Psalm 119-Yod)

I have a “Langenscheidt Pocket Hebrew Dictionary,” that says “H” (He), means air-hole. Other sources say that it means “look,” or “window.” Those meanings are connected because the earliest windows were simple holes that you could look through, and that would allow a flow of air. The Hebrew symbol for H is shaped like “Cheyth,” another Hebrew letter, except the H has a hole or opening in one corner. The Early Paleo-Hebrew symbol for H is the figure of a man with hands raised as if to say, “stop,” or “look.” No doubt our word “Hey,” that we call out to draw attention, comes from the Hebrew symbol “heh.”

The Hebrew V (vav or waw) means “nail,” “hook,” or the plural of these words. Vav is translated as “hooks,” in passages of Exodus which deal with the curtains of the Tabernacle. That includes the vail (veil) of the inner sanctuary (Ex. 26:31-33). I haven’t seen this word elsewhere in the Script, except in the alphabetical layout of Psalm 119.

Many times I’ve wished the truth could be told without someone being offended, but that’s impossible in our world. My next sentence will seem like blasphemy to some people, but it is true, and it’s nothing to fear. The meaning of the letters Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh is something like, Hands-Holes-Nails-Holes, or Hands-Look-Nail-Holes.

You can order the words somewhat differently, but the prophetic message conveyed by the letters YHWH is very clear. “YHWH” is testimony for Jesus, and his crucifixion. I want to go back and read many passages of the Script with this thought in mind. It lends greater meaning to many New Testament writings, and I’m certain that will be the case with the Old Testament also.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke, recorded that when Jesus died there was an earthquake, and the veil of the Temple (which replaced the Tabernacle) was ripped from the top to the bottom (remember the word vav, for the hooks or nails, that this curtain was hanged upon).

Hebrews 10:16-20, is another passage made more meaningful by this understanding. Verse 20 speaks of “a new and living way which he has prepared for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” The inner sanctuary of YHWH, his very heart, is open to anyone who will enter through this torn veil. The Script tells us to “enter into the holiest.” Whoever you are, you can enter the sanctuary, but go softly, and be humbled for this is a hallowed place. The blood of the Son of God is sprinkled here.