In two earlier posts, labeled Parts 1 and 2 of this topic, I explained how and why the name Yahshua had to legally be changed shortly after his death, to Yeshu, then eventually to our modern day “Jesus”, and for 2,000 years, millions of devout people have been unwittingly praying to the wrong name.  But, did something similar happen in regards to the father’s name too?

We are commanded not to take the name of our Father in heaven “in vain”. For centuries, conventional wisdom has interpreted this to mean: when we speak of Him, it should be with honor and reverence, not in vulgarity or profanity. But is this what the 3rd commandment actually says?

Virtually all professed Bible believers are so certain that they understand this clear instruction that they feel it isn’t worth discussing. But what if, starting in the first century A.D. people had already begun breaking this commandment?  By the beginning of the 2nd century, this false understanding would form the bedrock of Biblical belief. From that point forward, for 2,000 years, could it be possible that nearly 100% of humanity has broken this commandment 100% of the time?

The Hebrew word for vain is לַשָּׁוְ א “shav”, and is defined as “false, vapid, empty or meaningless”. This is much different than “irreverent, vulgar or profane”. Moses was handed instructions on how important the Father deems His holy name. He did not say “It is fine with Me to call Me any name you want just as long as you acknowledge and worship Me in some way.”. No–this command is very easy to understand. But most people have never given it much thought.

Consider this fact: In today’s English language, you can literally read every Hebrew word of every prophet or holy person from the Old Testament and the sound still retains much of the original Hebrew sound.  Here are some examples.

adm                     אדם          Adam

mo’-sheh            משה         Moses

no’-akh               נח            Noah

yehowshuwa   ג’ושוע        Joshua

dud                    דייויד         David

ichzq-el             יחזקאל       Ezekiel

ieue                    יהווה          God? Or Lord…. Huh?

Why is this the only name of a person in all of scripture that has completely lost any similarity to its original sound?  Pronounced together, i-e-u-e can easily form the sound eeaahoooay, or Yahweh, can’t it?

Throughout the Old Testament there are countless verses that reinforce the significance of this 3rd commandment, too numerous to include in this post.  Instead, let’s make it simple and move ahead to the 1st century A.D., and the sermon on the mount.

Thousands of people listened to the most famous sermon in history. This was the moment that formally began Yahshua’s ministry and he immediately instructed us on how to pray. You all know the words: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be _________? What?

Thy NAME. When the people asked for assistance in teaching them HOW to pray, the very first thing they were told was to keep the Father’s name HOLY.  This verse in Matthew is so familiar to millions of people that I suspect that almost none of them pause and consider the actual thought expressed in this verse.

Again, Yahshua did not say “My Father doesn’t care what name He is called, just as long as you worship Him and fear Him”.  Nor did Yahshua say “hallowed be the Father”, as if the name carried no significance.  No, he BEGAN his sermon with instructions that his father’s NAME is what is to be hallowed.

A short 3 1/2 years later, after a gruesome execution then resurrection, almost immediately the early church began to violate both the 3rd commandment and the clear, specific instruction on the Mt. of Olives.

To this day, 2,000 years later, nearly 100% of every person on earth continues to break the 3rd commandment with every utterance of our heavenly Father. And they ignore the FIRST words our Messiah spoke when answering the question of how to pray. Is it really possible that Satan has been SO successful in hiding the simple truth of these two commandments, that the WHOLE WORLD is deceived?

Yes.

Scripture does not say “a few” will be deceived…does it? Does anybody have the courage to discover, on your own, what the Bible actually says about this? Or, are you willing to trust that what has been presented to you for 100’s of years must be the truth?

Food for thought.