Two Presumed Names of G-d (Part 1)

The substitution of the title “the LORD” for the Four-Lettered Name of G-d (YHWH / the Tetragrammaton) in the Scriptures has resulted in a great cloud of uncertainty over its pronunciation. It has led theologians to suggest various versions. In 1749, the German Biblical scholar Teller mentioned several pronunciations of G-d’s Name that he had come across in his readings: “Jao” (Diodorus of Sicily, Macrobius, Clement of Alexandria, Saint Jerome and Origen); “Jahe” or “Jave” (Samaritans, Epiphanius, and Theodoretus); “Javoh” (Ludwig Cappel); “Jahve” (Drusius); “Jehva” (Hottinger); “Jehovah” (Mercerus); “Jovah” (Castellio); “Jawoh” or “Javoh” (LeClerc).

Over the centuries, however, two forms have each gained sufficient favor and following to be accepted as the presumed correct vocalization of the Tetragrammaton. Let us see what these are and how it happened.

The first presumed Name

In the 1^st century A.D., Jewish historian Flavius Josephus supplied a hint on the lost pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton in his book Wars of the Jews. Writing in Koine (common) Greek, the international language of the time, he described the garments of the high priest at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem partly as follows: “A mitre also of fine linen encompassed his head, which was tied with a blue riband, about which there was another golden crown, in which was engraven the sacred name (of G-d); it consists of four vowels.”¹

Four Hebrew vowels?

Josephus was a Jew who surely knew that the Tetragrammaton consisted of four Hebrew consonants. According to the editor of the Loeb edition of Josephus’s Jewish Wars, “He was perhaps thinking of a Greek form.”²

Researcher Voy Wilks agrees: “Josephus spoke of four GREEK vowels in order to accommodate his Greek readers, and did not in any way intend to leave the impression that the four Sacred Letters on the priest’s garments were vowels from the Hebrew alphabet. After all, the Hebrew alphabet contained no vowels.”³

Author B. Earl Allen notes: “The Greek language does not… have a Y sound, nor an H sound in the middle of a word, nor a W sound.”⁴ All of these three Hebrew consonants that make up the Tetragrammaton were not part of the Greek writing system!

Hebrew names Hellenized.

Josephus admitted in his other book Antiquities of the Jews: “With a view to euphony and my readers’ pleasure these names have been Hellenized (made Greek). The form in which they appear is not that used in our country, where their structure and termination remain always the same.”⁵

We find in Adam Clarke’s Commentary that “neither Greeks nor Romans could pronounce either the Hebrew or Persian names, and when engaged in the task of transcribing, they did according to their manner of pronunciation.”⁶

The Jews followed suit. “Once the Jews came under Greek influence, we note a tendency to replace or to translate Jewish names by similar sounding Greek names.”⁷

Four Greek vowels.

Rabbi Yeshayahu Heiliczer explains that “when the Greeks borrowed the Phoenician/ Paleo-Hebrew alphabet they used leftover consonants that did not occur in their language and used them as symbols for vowels.”⁸ He quoted writer Robert Whiting: ‘Therefore, the Hebrew yud (Y) became the Greek vowel iota (I); the Hebrew hey (H) became the Greek vowel epsilon (“E”); and the Hebrew vav (W/V) became the Greek vowel upsilon (“U”)’.”⁹ 

Vowel indicators

The Israelites themselves, though, had developed a rudimentary system for indicating vowels. Sacred Name researcher Choon-Leong Seow shares: “Beginning in the monarchial period (10^th to late 7^th centuries B.C.E.), certain letters [H], [W], [Y] were added at the end of words to indicate various vowels…”¹⁰

Last Day Ministries of Texas concurs: “It is true that the letters y, h, w can function as vowel letters… the yod acts as a vowel in the word ‘Eli’… ‘The h… at the end of a word is always a mere vowel letter, unless marked by a Mappiq as a strong consonant…’ The waw w… carries the ‘o’ sound… Therefore the letters yod, he, and waw can be vowel letters, they can also be consonants, depending on the usage.”¹¹

The booklet The Mistaken J (YNCA) provides us with more specific pronunciations. The three letters, called vowel-consonants or semivowels because they can be used either as vowels or consonants (like Y) at the end of words, are pronounced as follows:

		Yod	/	Y	=	ee as in “see”
		Hey	/	H	=	ah as in “bah”
		Waw	/	W	=	oo as in “cool” 12

           

‘IEUE” or “IAUA.”

If the Greek vowel equivalents (Y=I, H=E, W/V=U), as shown by Rabbi Heiliczer, were used, the sacred Name (YHWH) would be spelled IEUE in Greek.

However, if the four consonants are transliterated with the three Hebrew semi-vowel sounds “ee,” “ah,” “oo,” we will get the four Greek vowels I-A-U-A (iota, alpha, upsilon, alpha) forming the word “IAUA”.

Author B. Earl Allen concludes: “(YHWH) would be transliterated correctly into Greek as Iaua…” The Seventh-Day Adventist Dictionary confirms this from Sumerian inscriptions: “He (namely, the God) (is) spelled Yaua in cuneiform records.”¹³

 “IAUE.”

The form “IAUA”, though, was not linguistically proper in Greek. Brian Allen says: “For the Greek translators to have preserved the true spelling in Greek (IAUA) or (Iaua) would have caused a language revolution.”¹⁴

“The sacred name… was transliterated into the Greek IAUE, the Greeks changed the ‘a’ to ‘e’, just as they did with Noah, Judah, Oshea, Korah, etc. The Greeks have it Noe, Jude, Osee, and Core, etc.”¹⁵ Other examples are: Nogah/Nagge, Joshah/Jose, Jehoshua/Iesoue, Joshua/Josue, Gomorrah/Gomorrhe, Abishua/Abisue, Jeremiah/Ieremie, etc.

Feminine “ah”? Elder Jacob O. Meyer of Assemblies of Yahweh rationalized: “The ‘h’ (hay) has the vowel sound of an A (aw or ah)… The ‘h’ (hay) standing at the end of a masculine name has the vowel sound of short E. The Hebrew long A sound (pronounced aw) is a feminine ending at the end of a name...”¹⁶ Therefore, the “hay, the last letter is pronounced ‘eh’ (short e) and not ‘ah’ (short a)…”¹⁷

“IAOUE.”

The Greek form “IAUE” was further modified. The Missing J notes, “Early Christian writers such as Clement of Alexandria transliterated it into Greek as IAOUE.”¹⁸

Seow reports a number of “Greek transliterations of the name in the early Christian period and in some magical papyri in the early centuries of that era, including Iaoue, Iaouai, Iabe, Iabai, and Iaue.”¹⁹

Clement of Alexandria, quoted by Prof. Anson F. Rainey, said, ‘The mystic name which is called the tetragrammaton… is pronounced Iaoue, which means, “Who is, and who shall be”.’”²⁰ 

“IABE.”

Another form of the Name surfaced after about two centuries. “Later on, Theodoret (c. 390-455) and Epiphanius (c. 315-404) transliterated the sacred name as Iabe, but a couple of hundred years had passed since Clement…”²¹ The Jewish Encyclopedia says “Theodoret (‘Quaest. 15 in Exodum’) states the Samaritans pronounced the name ‘Iabe’.”²²

Different pronunciation. The Jews and the Samaritans, however, had religious differences. We read in The Good News magazine:“Professor Eerdman’s article showed that it is not safe to follow the Samaritan pronunciation advocated by Theodoret and Epiphanius, because the Samaritans were opposed to the Jewish way. ‘They built their own Temple on Gerizim and had their own priesthood. They thwarted the Jews whenever they could. On the account of their attitude we may safely assume that the Samaritans had their own (different) pronunciation of the holy name. For this reason the Samaritan pronunciation should not have been regarded (by modern scholars) as evidence for the Jewish pronunciation.’”²³

Moreover, Christ told the Samaritan woman at the well that her people did not truly know G-d. “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).

“YAHWEH.”

Meyer told his readers, “Now, if we combine these (Greek) letters we have the English word in the letters IAUE. Pronounce them slowly and then rapidly. You will discover you are saying YAHWEH!”²⁴ The Missing J suggests a similar exercise: “When we pronounce the Tetragrammaton IAOUE we get the sound ‘ee-ah-ou-eh.’ Saying it rapidly we produce ‘Yah-way,’ which appears as Yahweh in English.”²⁵

The Encyclopedia Judaica states: “The true pronunciation of the name YHWH was never lost. Several early Greek writers of the Christian Church testify that the name was pronounced ‘Yahweh’.”²⁶

Many proponents of the name “Yahweh” quote the preceding statement to support their contention. However, common sense tells us: How could early Greek writers who Hellenized foreign names, including Hebrew ones, have “testified” to the true pronunciation of the ancient Hebrew Name of G-d?

Meaning of “Yahweh”.

The advocates of the name “Yahweh” cannot seem to agree on one single meaning. According to The New 20^th Century Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: “The divine name would thus go back to a verbal form meaning ‘he causes to come into existence,’ or in effect, ‘he creates’.”²⁷ The Assemblies of Yahweh slightly rewords the meaning. “And in the imperfect form this means that the Name of the Heavenly Father should be understood as He Who shall cause things to exist or He Who shall cause to be.”²⁸ The Ambassador College in California, though, proposes other definitions: “But Yahweh is a name meaning the Everliving, or the Eternal. There is no one word in the English language that translates it exactly… Actually, Yahweh means the Self-Existent, Everliving, Eternally Living Creating One.”²⁹

Yet, we already know the meaning of the Tetragrammaton from the Bible. The meanings proposed by the advocates of “Yahweh” are different. The true pronunciation of the Four-Lettered Name of G-d should carry the original meaning – “I AM THAT I AM”.

Doubts and disagreements.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, states: “The name YHWH is often reconstructed as Yahweh, based on a range of circumstantial historical and linguistic evidence. Most scholars do not view it as an ‘accurate’ reconstruction in an absolute sense, but as the best possible guess.”³⁰ The Aid to Bible Understanding also says that “there is by no means unanimity among scholars on the subject (of the form ‘Yahweh’), some favoring yet other pronunciations.”³¹

Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon tells us that “this same form (Yahweh) appears on the gems of the Egyptian Gnostics as the name of God… (but these gems are not of the most remote antiquity; they are the work of heretics of the second and third centuries).”³²

Even those who use the form “Yahweh” maintain a certain amount of reservation. Meyer related that one of his Hebrew professors once said: “We use Yahweh because it is the best representation of the original letters of the Name, transliterated into English. Scholarship is now quite positive of this form, although our minds are not closed should new evidence be introduced.”³³

Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 150-211/215?), Epiphanius (315-403), and Theodoret (393-458/466?) were among the most prominent leaders of the early Christian Church. We can safely say that Epiphanius and Theodoret had read the writings of their predecessor Clement. If Clement’s pronunciation, “Yahweh” (Iaoue or Iaouai), was beyond the shadow of any doubt, why did Epiphanius and Theodoret propose other pronunciations?

(Excerpted from Chapter 11, “Two Substitutes, One Original”; THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD: A Primer on the Secrets of Heaven and Earth by M.M. Tauson)

_______________________

¹Flavius Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 5, ch. 5, sec. 7

²Jewish Wars, Loeb Classical Library, p. 273

³Voy Wilks, “The Sacred Name YHWH Consists of Four Vowels?”, tract, 11\17\91

⁴B. Earl Allen, Publish the Name of Yahuwah, Revised 2009, p. 62

⁵Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Ch. 6, Sec. 1

⁶Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Vol. 3, pp. 393-394

⁷Iesous, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, pp. 284-293

⁸Yeshayahu Heiliczer, “The Divine Name,” Messianic Home, Summer 1999, p. 19

⁹Ibid.

¹⁰Choon-Leong Seow, “The Ineffable Name of Israel’s God,” Glossary, Bible Review, December 1991, p. 49

¹¹“Four Vowels,” Last Day Ministries, tract, undated

¹²The Four Vowels, The Mistaken J, YNCA, 1996, p. 32

¹³Brian Allen, “Open Letter to Tony Sukla,” undated

¹⁴Last Day Ministries, tract, undated

¹⁵Ibid.

¹⁶Jacob O. Meyer, The Memorial Name – Yahweh, 1987, p. 83

¹⁷Meyer, Seven Ancient Witnesses, 1973, p. 2

¹⁸The Missing J, Yahweh’s Assembly in Messiah, Revised 1996, p. 7

¹⁹Seow, op. cit., p. 50

²⁰Anson F. Rainey, Biblical Archaelogy Review, Sept.-Oct. 1994

²¹B. Earl Allen, op. cit., p. 41

²²The Names of God, Jewish Encylopedia, Vol. 9, p. 161

²³The Good News, Nov.-Dec. 1972; quoted by B. Earl Allen, op. cit., p. 64

²⁴Meyer, The Memorial Name, loc. cit.

²⁵The Missing J, loc. cit.

²⁶God, Names of, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 7, col. 679

²⁷The New 20^th Century Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 2^ND edition, p. 886

²⁸Meyer, op. cit., p. 22

²⁹Faculty Members of Ambassador College, Padadena, California, “God Speaks Out on the New Morality”; quoted by Meyer, op. cit., p. 8

³⁰Names of God, Kabbalah, Wikipedia, Internet

³¹Aid to Bible Understanding, Watchtower Tract and Bible Society, p. 885

³²Jehovah, Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon

³³Meyer, op. cit., p. 87

Only Those Who Call on the True Name of G-d Will Be Taken in the First Resurrection (part 2)

The ten virgins

Christ told the disciples an intriguing parable: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

“Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matt 25:1-10).

            We already know that a “virgin” represents a pure, spotless religion and its followers. So, the “virgins” are righteous churches and their faithful members waiting for the “bridegroom”. Who is the “bridegroom”? John the Baptist alluded to Christ as the "bridegroom" in John 3:28-29; Christ referred to Himself as the "bridegroom" in Matthew 9:15. The “bridegroom” therefore is the Messiah.

What about the “lamps” and the “oil”? What do they stand for? Once more, let us decipher their meanings through the principle that the Bible interprets itself.

“Lamp”.

            We read in Psalm 119:105 – “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”; while in Proverbs 6:23 – “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light.”

            Thus, G-d’s word – the Scriptures, as well as His commandments contained therein – stands for the “lamps” mentioned in the parable.  

“Oil”.

            “Oil” signifies several things in the Bible, but the most relevant verse is in The Song of Solomon (1:3, ASV) – “Thine oils have a goodly fragrance; Thy name is (as) oil poured forth; Therefore do the virgins love thee.”

As an allegory, the Song pictures the lover and his beloved personifying G-d and Israel, respectively. His name is figuratively likened to aromatic oil which leads “virgins” (faithful believers) to adore Him.

            The “lamp” (the Bible) without “oil” (the true name of G-d) cannot produce light (enlightenment). Thus, whenever we read the Scriptures and see the title “the LORD”, we must remember that it is merely a substitute and read the verses as if the true name of G-d is written therein.

The “foolish” left behind.

As “virgins”, the foolish young “women” are also spiritually saved believers belonging to righteous churches, yet they neglect to use and call on the Father’s name. As a result, they will not be part of the elect Christ will take at His Second Coming.

“I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left” (Luke 17:34-36; cf. Matt 24:40-41).

The “foolish” will be left behind in first resurrection of the dead and “rapture” of the living at the Second Coming of the Messiah.

A deadline for calling on the true Name of G-d

            In a related enigma, the Scriptures seem to say that there is a deadline for calling on the true Name of G-d. Let us return to the opening lines of Revelation 7. 

“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Rev 7:1-3).

There are at least four metaphors in the prophecy: “wind”, “earth”, “sea”, “trees”. Let us again allow the Bible to interpret the Biblical symbolism for us.

“Wind.”

          We read in Jeremiah 18:17 – “I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity” (Jer 18:17; see also Prov 1:27; Jer 49:36-37; Dan 11:40; Amos 1:14). Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary explains: “In a figurative sense, war is compared to the east wind…”. In this regard, many of us have probably heard the phrase “the winds of war”.

The four angels are “on the four corners of the earth” – denoting the four points of the compass: north, east, west, and south; and suggesting that the scope of their responsibility is worldwide. If “wind” prophetically means war, then the “four winds of the earth” that they are holding back point to a global conflict – the Third World War?

“Sea.”

In Revelation 13:1, John saw a monster with seven heads and ten horns emerge from the “sea.” Then, in Revelation 17:1, an identical creature can be seen in “many waters”. Hence, the terms “sea” and “many waters” must be synonymous.

An angel reveals the meaning of “many waters” (or “sea”) to John. “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Rev 17:15). The “sea,” therefore, signifies a place where many different nationalities live, speaking various languages.

One region best fits the description – the “Old World”, comprising countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa around the Mediterranean Sea, primarily Western Europe. In these last days, many of the countries there have bonded together to form the European Union (EU). Thus, “sea” could prophetically mean the EU.

“Earth.”

At the Creation, after G-d separated the waters from the dry land, the surface of the planet consisted of two kinds: the “Seas” and the “Earth” (Gen 1:9-10). The New Unger's Bible Dictionary defines “earth” as the “land as opposed to sea.” Obviously, “earth” and “sea” are opposites.

Along that line, if “sea” means a place with many peoples and languages, then “earth” likely means a region with few people in it. In that case, “earth” must be the sparsely populated lands that European explorers found when they came to the Americas -- the New World.

Today, the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the New World is the United States of America (USA). And, when we hear the word “America”, what country immediately comes to mind? Yes, the United States. It appears that the prophetic metaphor “earth” refers to the USA.

 “Trees.”

G-d told Ezekiel: “Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs… To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD” (Ezek 31:3,18). G-d likened the Assyrian king and the Egyptian pharaoh to trees.

In Babylon, Daniel interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: “The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home -- it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth” (Dan 4:20-23, NKJV).

The kings of Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon, are compared to great trees. What do they have in common? For one thing, they all oppressed and subjugated the Israelites. “Trees” therefore stand for the enemies and oppressors of Israel. (Egypt, whose ancient Hamitic population is gone, is the most populous Arab nation today. Assyria is now the northern part of the Arab state of Iraq, while Babylon used to occupy the southern sector of the country.)

The “deadline”.

The four angels are preventing a global conflict (“four winds of the earth”) from breaking out prematurely. The metaphors identify the main protagonists and battle zones in the coming conflagration: “earth” (United States); “sea” (European Union); “trees” (enemies of Israel, such as Iraq, Egypt, and other anti-Jewish Islamic countries).

After the angel from the east shall have finished sealing the “servants of our God in their foreheads”, the global conflict (world war) will be allowed to break out. Thus, the number of the 144,000 who will be sealed will be completed just before the outbreak of the war.

Those who want to have an opportunity of becoming part of the elect must know and call upon G-d’s true Name before the worldwide warfare begins. The start of widespread hostilities will be the sign that the angel from the east shall have finished his work. No further sealing will be done. In short, the “deadline” is the eve of the Third World War.

No one will know for sure who will have been sealed until after the elect shall have been taken up in the first resurrection of the dead and the “rapture” of the living at Christ’s Second Coming.

Nevertheless, it will console those who will be left behind to know that the Name of G-d can still save them, physically, on the Day of Wrath that will soon follow. “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God” (Zech 13:8-9).

Only Those Who Call on the True Name of G-d Will Be Taken in the First Resurrection (part 1)

This claim may seem incredible, even preposterous, but scripturally true. The following discussion, supported by pertinent passages in the Bible will show it is true.

Importance of knowing G-d’s Name.

Some people say it is not necessary to know the Name of G-d, because, whatever name we use, He will know that it is He we are addressing. However, one very important reason the Creator revealed His personal Name to men through Moses is for us not to confuse Him with false gods.

He is a jealous G-d. “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth” (Deut 6:13-15).

A substitute for the Name.

The true Name of the Creator has been replaced in the Scriptures. We read in Isaiah 42:8 – “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” Obviously, “the LORD” is not a name; it is a title. “Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD” (Jer 16:21, etc.).

Many Bible translations follow the tradition William Tyndale started in the 16^th century which renders G-d’s name as ‘LORD’ (all capitals) or ‘Lord’ (small capitals). So, each time we see “the Lord” in the Biblical text, that means it is merely a substitute for the original Name of G-d.

Sound waves and frequencies.

Names are words made up of letters, which are sounded through vibrations made with the vocal chords, lips, tongue, teeth, throat, nasal cavity, lungs. Sound travels in waves, with varying wavelengths and frequencies. Since names are normally made up of certain combinations of letters, each name is one of a kind, with its own set of vibrations.

Thus, the personal Name of G-d, with its unique wavelengths and frequencies, is the only one that resonates perfectly with His Being. By revealing His sacred Name to men, the Creator has given us, as it were, His direct line. He has taught us how to precisely tune in to His personal frequency, much like the way we select a TV channel or dial a telephone number.

When we use a different word, title, or name to call on G-d, we are tuning in to a different frequency and, hence, could be communicating with an entity that is entirely different from the one true G-d.

Blessings in knowing the true Name of G-d.

The Creator promises to answer and grant protection, honors, long life, and salvation to those who will call on His Name. “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation” (Ps 91:14-16).

His Name can save the faithful even from the brink of death. “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living” (Ps 116:3-9).

Two resurrections

Two resurrections (the dead coming back to life) are prophesied in the Bible. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years… This is the first resurrection” (Rev 20:4,5b).

 The second resurrection will take place 1,000 years later. “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished…” (Rev 20:5a). This raises some questions: Why two resurrections? Who will be in the first and in the second resurrections?

The “elect”.

“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt 24:31). It is the “elect” who will be taken by Christ in the first resurrection at His Second Coming.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “elect” as “chosen for salvation through divine mercy”. In this connection, Christ said in Matthew 22:14 – “For many are called, but few are chosen.” So, it seems that the “elect” who will be taken at the first resurrection will be few in number.

Who are the elect?

            G-d said through the prophet Isaiah: “For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me” (Isa 45:4). Accordingly, the nation of Israel is the elect of G-d. No other group of people is named as such in the entire Bible.

            Moreover, G-d’s choice will never change. “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” (Ps 89:34).

144,000 Israelites.

“And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel” (Rev 7:2-4). It looks like the “elect” (or chosen few) who will receive the seal of G-d will be made up of 144,000 Israelites.

What? You are not an Israelite or a Jew? Well, not all is lost. There is still hope for you. Read on.

What is the seal of God?

 “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Rev 14:1). It appears that the Father’s name is the seal of G-d itself or, perhaps, the most important part of the seal.

The Father’s Name will be “written in their foreheads”. Note that the word is “in”, not “on”, the forehead – suggesting that the seal will be in the mind, not on the skin of the brow. (The brain’s decision-making hub, the pre-frontal cortex, is just behind the forehead.) Hence, having the seal “in the forehead” means the person wholeheartedly accepts and upholds it.

The “firstfruits”.

 “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Rev 14:4).

The 144,000 are the “firstfruits… redeemed from among men, ” meaning they will be in the first resurrection.

“Virgins undefiled with women”.

            The phrase seems to denote unmarried men who have not had any sexual experience with the opposite sex. Will Israelite bachelors exclusively make up the 144,000? Let us allow the Bible itself to interpret the mysterious metaphors in this veiled prophecy.

            “Woman”. In Biblical prophecy, a “woman” symbolizes a faith, church, or religion, as well as its members. So, a “virgin” (Lam 2:13, etc.) is a pure, spotless religion. On the other hand, a “harlot” or a “whore” (Rev 19:2, etc.) is a corrupt, sinful church.

            Therefore, “not defiled with women” means they have not been tainted or soiled by the erroneous teachings and practices of false churches.

            “Virgin”. Anyone – married or unmarried, young or old, male or female, with or without children – can become a “virgin” again. How is this possible? The apostle Paul explained: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor 5:17).

            A person becomes a “new creature” through baptism or immersion in water. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Rom 6:4-5). Baptism is symbolic of burial and rebirth!

            Christ emphasized the value of baptism. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

            So, Israelites only? The 144,000 are from “all the tribes of the children of Israel”. That seems to leave out Gentiles.

Paul, however, said that Gentiles can be part of the elect. “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” (Col 3:11-12). Gentiles can be part of the elect through Christ!

            Spiritual Israel. We can become “naturalized” Israelites. “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Eph 2:19). “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God” (Gal 6:15-16, NIV). We do not become Jews or Israelites physically, but spiritually – the “Israel of God”!

“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Rom 2:28-29).