What's in a name?V

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And exactly who is the God whom all are commanded to praise? "God who sits on the throne" (19:4) is the Father, Jehovah alone. See all other instances of the God seated on the throne in the Book of Revelation (e.g., Rev. 4:2, 8; 5:6, 7, 16; 7:9). "The Lord our God the Almighty [pantokrator]" (Rev. 19:6) is never used of the Son (nor anyone else), but only the Father, Jehovah alone. E.g., 2 Cor. 6:18 says: "And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty [pantokrator]." Yes, the only person called God in the Book of Revelation is always the Father. (Rev. 1:6 - "[Jesus Christ] has made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.") So how do God's true worshipers respond when commanded to praise this God Almighty seated on the throne? "HALLELU JAH!" ("Praise JEHOVAH!").

"Jehovah ... This is my eternal name, to be used throughout all generations." - Ex. 3:15, LB.

If "Hallelujah" had not been, for some unknown reason, combined into a single word by the original translators of the Septuagint[8] (or by very early copyists) and was therefore misunderstood by the Gentile "Christian" copyists of the second century, then even this last (and most important) use of "Jehovah" would have been eliminated from all of the NT Greek Scriptures.

As it is, however, the exclusive name of God was miraculously preserved in the Hebrew manuscripts of the OT (even after the Jews finally succumbed to the superstitious practice of never pronouncing aloud that supremely important name that still appeared written in their OT manuscripts). It was miraculously preserved in the Septuagint, the ancient Greek manuscripts of the OT. (Even after later copyists changed nearly all instances into "Lord" or "God," it remained in the "Hallelujahs.")[9] It was miraculously preserved in the Greek NT manuscripts. (Even after copyists changed nearly all instances into "Lord" or "God," it, too, remained in the single-worded "Hallelujahs.") And it was miraculously preserved in the extremely significant statement of Ps. 83:18 in the English of the King James Version which took away "Jehovah" and substituted "LORD" nearly everywhere else (nearly 7000 times).

So on the basis of the many clear, unquestioned teachings of the OT (and since I believe the two "Testaments" must not so completely contradict each other in such an important area), I am forced to the conclusion that "YHWH" and "YAH" have been removed from the NT in most cases (at the very least in places where the OT is quoted or clearly alluded to). Zech. 12:10 is an example of a similar "contradiction" of the OT with the NT which is resolved by the undeniably certain testimony of one of them (John 19:37 in the NT) versus the questionable testimony of the available manuscripts of the other (OT) - see the MINOR study. In the case of God's Name the evidence from the OT is much more overwhelming concerning its extreme importance (and the necessity of its being universally known and reverently used) than the evidence for a discontinuation of the use of that name in existing copies of NT MSS.

Remember, the trinitarian The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology tells us that the custom of writing the tetragrammaton in copies of the Septuagint "was retained by later Jewish translators of the OT in the first centuries A.D." - Vol. 2, p. 512. So the name was in the very copies (whether in the Hebrew or the Septuagint) which were read and quoted by the inspired NT writers themselves!

And Prof. George Howard of the University of Georgia tells us:

"When the Hebrew form for the divine name was eliminated in favor of Greek substitutes [`Lord,' `God'] in the Septuagint [after `the first centuries A. D.'], it was eliminated also from the New Testament quotations of the Septuagint .... Before long it was lost to the Gentile Church except insofar as it was reflected in the contracted surrogates or remembered by scholars." - Biblical Archaeology Review, March 1978.

This removal of God's name was obviously done in a parallel manner (and at approximately the same time - probably near the time of the Jewish rebellion of 135 A.D. - and by the same people[10]) to the same changes being made in the Septuagint. These are the same "Christians" in the same time period who (probably for the same reasons) radically changed the Memorial Celebration of Jesus' death. Observance of this extremely important ceremony was commanded by Jesus, instituted by the Apostles, and continued until after the deaths of the Apostles when an intense anti-Jewish attitude within Christendom began to dominate (135 A.D. and after).

However, in spite of strong circumstantial evidence (including motive, opportunity, and a history of similar activity [modus operandi] as discussed above), the only real proof we have of the desecration of God's name in copies of the NT manuscripts is the incredibly clear and repeatedly emphasized statement of the OT concerning the never-changing, essential importance of God's personal name (to him and us). There is no other teaching in the entire OT that is any clearer or more emphatic than this. If this is really contradicted by the testimony of the original inspired NT manuscripts, then nothing can be relied upon in scripture, and all is lost.

Either the eternal Holy Name of God is as important forever to all generations and nations as the OT insists emphatically and repeatedly, or it isn't. If it isn't, we simply cannot trust the Bible as the word of God. If it is, then, either the NT has had that essential, eternal name removed in many places, or it is not the word of God. I still believe that both "Testaments" are the word of God and must reveal clearly all essential and important knowledge that we need to worship God in spirit and truth.

Therefore, the best conclusion is that "Jehovah" has been eliminated from the existing copies of the NT manuscripts exactly as it has been removed from existing copies of the Septuagint OT MSS. (And exactly as "Christian" translators have most often removed that name from the OT in English Bible translations - e.g., KJV; RSV; NASB; NIV; NRSV; etc.) The restoring of this most-important name to the NT in the NWT should cause rejoicing. Instead it is one of the most criticized (often angrily, with hateful attacks) features of the NWT. The very same spirit which has prompted Christendom (illogically) to actually remove that only personal name of the only true God from the original Greek manuscripts of the Old Testament AND from even the most "literal" of translations of the original Hebrew manuscripts of the OT (KJV, NASB, RSV, NIV, etc.) still motivates and influences most of Christendom today.