The Threshing Floor’s Randy Maugans has a very good program up this evening: The Cult of the Sacred Name – (direct audio here)
A little background on the Sacred Name Movement:
What is The Sacred Name Movement?
The Sacred Name movement consists of those persons, groups, and assemblies who use the Hebrew names for God (i.e. Yahweh, Yahvah) and for Jesus (i.e. Yahshua) in the devotion and worship. They have characterized themselves as “the True Worshippers” eschewing the name ‘Christian’ as being of pagan origin.
Sacred Namers are a group largely professing to be Torah Observant Gentiles, who believe that the only source of power and righteousness in creation is the use (and frequent use at that) of the Holy Name which the Creator gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. This group routinely pronounces anyone who does not use their terminology and their “correct” pronunciation of the name of God as Pagan.
The history of the Sacred Name Cults shows them to be derived of the Millerite sects, the Adventists and the Church of God, and thus from the false prophet William Miller who prophesied the return of Jesus in 1843 and made a subsequent false prophecy concerning 1845. Though his group self destructed by the mid 19th century the followers became the Adventists and later Church of God sects, preserving the strict legalism and false prophetic bents of the original group.
These groups are founded on a private interpretation of the scriptures which does not bear up to close scrutiny by the Word of God. Though claiming to be Torah Observant Messianics they, like the Pharisees, use their personal interpretation of scripture as a weapon to condemn…
The Sacred Name Movement (SNM) is a movement in Christianity that seeks to conform Christianity to its roots in Judaism in practice, belief and worship; This movement seeks to destroy and blot out the name of Jesus…
The Sacred Name dogma has enormous Antichrist elements inherent within its beliefs and practices.
Think about the serious implications and consequences of the sacred name cults’ satanic agenda to destroy both the Name and Word of Jesus Christ in the Believer’s life by turning the Child of God against the mightiest weapons that we as Believers have at our disposal to combat the powers of darkness. There are just too many verses in the Bible to list about the power of standing on God’s Word in prayer in the Name of Jesus. Yet the most controversial, rejected and hated of them all is the promise of Mark 16:15-20 in the Old King James Version Bible:
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” Mark 16:15-20
References:
The Sacred Name Game: An exposé on the Hebrew Roots / Sacred Name Movement
Sola Dei Gloria 
“history of the Sacred Name Cults shows them to be derived of the Millerite sects”
Interesting. Can you point me to a source on that? Any tie-in with Herbert Armstrong’s group?
I’ve interacted with a few of this sort in other online venues. They tend to be sabbatarian, judaizing, legalistic and very much into observing the old covenant festival cycle. And eliding vowels in every imaginable reference to “G-d”. Also non-trinitarian. The slightest provocation will get you a ranting screed about the Nicene Council.
“Jesus (i.e. Yahshua)”
Which is curious. God in his wisdom and providence gave us the New Testament in Koine Greek. The New Testament in it’s original knows nothing of that. Jesus == Iesous. There are no “Hebrew originals” extant. None.
You’re right. I’ve ran into a few online at Christian boards/forums over the years. A few here at the blog.
They seek to rob the believer of the joy and freedom found only in Christ.
A few i’ve come across also adhere to the dietary customs under the old covenant. And condemn you if you don’t…
Lee:
Me, too.
I recently on another blog debated one of these folks.
Without all the exacting detail, the basic rundown was:
Sacred Name Guy (SNG) states that by not observing the Sabbath, we’re all not really God’s children. He quotes much real scripture but out of context.
I explain salvation by grace through faith in Christ versus his works salvation. I question his understanding of salvation in as polite a manner as possible (really, I was not inflammatory).
I explain the conventant of law and the covenant of grace. I explain Mosaic law in light of grace. I quote scripture like Col 2:16, which is a real slam against legalists attempting to judeaize others.
SNG goes off on a tangent about how verses about special sabbath keeping aren’t relevant.
I call his bluff as the text does not state ‘special’ sabbath (which he conveniently ignores). It says sabbath period.
I also point to Matthew and our Lord answering the Pharisees on numerous occasions concerning their charges about His keeping of the sabbath. I also asked if SNG knew that Christ said the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
SNG, unwilling (like the pharisees) to suscribe to grace, but rather seeking to earn his way to heaven through works, just ignores my rather long and detailed (and scriptural) responses, and tells me he isn’t talking about the ten commandments because the keeping of the sabbath is not one of them (huh? I had no idea what this was supposed to mean, since he was Law Guy, I thought he’d at least know his law).
I remind him that keeping the sabbath is one of the ten commandments (which was bizarre since I was preaching grace but oh well, truth is truth). I, a little more bluntly than before, asked how he felt so comfortable preaching works salvation of the law when he didn’t even know his law, and presumably, much else in the Word.
SNG just circled right back to his law verses and accusations and refused to offer any counterpoint, let alone a scripturally sound one.
It was at this point I realized I was not connecting with a fellow believer who was merely new in the faith or suffering under poor discipleship, but someone who believed something totally different altogether and did not know the Lord our righteousness.
I explained keeping of the law of Christ is a PRODUCT (or fruit) of our true regeneration, an evidence of the supernatural saving work of God the Holy Spirit in our lives, raising our dead spirits to newness of life in Christ Jesus. They flow from the Spirit in the Father’s children, His works done in them and through them, that the Father had prepared, and that they are not something we produce of ourselves to get saved. IOW, we don’t obey to be saved, we obey because we are saved.
This cult is really very much a new pharisaic order and this article nails that quite well. They wrongly equate grace with antinomianism, and seek to develop their own self-righteousness. But our hope is not to be found with a righteousness of our own, but to be clothed in the acceptable righteousness of Christ. They strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.
Yes, exactly. They are VERY elitist…
I may have mentioned this in another post concerning this movement, but there’s a guy who comes on radio here late at night from out of Georgia. He teaches this stuff also. You’ve never heard anything so funny then to hear this ‘dude’ with this deep deep southern drawl repeatedly using the term “Yahweh”
🙂
If i had to guess, i’d say he says it at least 50-60 times in the 30 minute program. He pronounces it “YAAAL-WAAAY”
it drives me nuts…
He point-blank says if you use any other term, (like Jesus), you’re not saved and on your way to hell!
In English so the sense should equally be translated into your own common experiences, I will offer a Scripture from Psalms:::>
Psa 124:8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
It’s not the “name” that’s nearly as important as the Guy behind the Name being invoked! 🙂
No, don’t believe me? Well then explain this:::>
Act 19:13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”
Act 19:14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.
Act 19:15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
Act 19:16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Act 19:17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
🙂
true – but dont forget that the most fresh ‘converts ‘are the most fanatic
( btw is always so for fresh converts )
it should tell US, that there is stíll a difference between the Judah House, and Efraim –
and all, because they have NOT yet been reunited ,
under one King,
in one Land ( not: present ‘israel ‘) , etc.
..in spite of what almost every christian thinks to have to proclaim. We better search hard, what and who He really means with both Houses !!
My personal take… and it’s just that – personal – is that this is all a form of elitism. It’s basic message is “Look at me! I respect God so much, and I revere God so much that I will not even so much as dare to pronounce his name. That’s how holy *I* am. I’m sure glad I’m not like that guy over there. Or like YOU.”
Think about this name that the Jews would never pronouce. They removed the vowel sounds from all written representations of it, leaving just the letters YHWH… How do we know the real name of God isn’t “Yuhwoy?” Or how about “yeweh”, or “yoway”, Maybe God’s name is “Yoweeeeh!”
But that aside… Can they provide any commandment from the Lord that says they were forbidden to say it? Or write it? No. They cannot. There is no such commandment. On the flip side, God had no problem at all clearly voicing His name to Moses, and had no problem with Moses using that name.
This whole “Can’t say the name of God” is no command of God. It is a tradition of men. God has commanded no such thing. Men use this as a pretense for holiness. A holiness that is based on “Touch not. Taste not… SAY not…”
I understand perfectly that Christ’s name was not pronounced “Jesus”, like we pronounce it. Even in modern language, we do not pronounce it like it is actually pronounced by people who actually still use it as a name.
But that’s not the point. It’s not a matter of trusting in the NAME of Jesus, but in the very person of Jesus. Scriptures that speak of “The Name of Jesus” are speaking of his authority – not the pronunciation of the name.
They’ve focused on the wrong thing. And that means they are (likely) missing the real meaning. Being baptised in the name of Jesus doesn’t mean being baptised into “the name.” It means to be baptised into the FAITH – the authority that Jesus has to rule over life and death, and to resurrect those who are his own in the end.
[…] Post ⋅ Post a comment Filed Under cult ofthe sacred name P.J. Miller, over at the Sola Dei Gloria blog, picked up on our meme of the Sacred Name Cult and linked to the June 19, 2009 Threshing Floor […]
First, thanks PJ for linking to the show and all the great insights on the Sacred Name Movement from you and your readers. It informed the subject vastly!
On 2009 JUNE 29 Kirby L. Wallace wrote:
“This whole “Can’t say the name of God” is no command of God. It is a tradition of men. God has commanded no such thing. Men use this as a pretense for holiness. A holiness that is based on “Touch not. Taste not… SAY not…”
Actually, some additional research indicates that the prohibition against speaking (and hence writing) the Name of God was an actual command of YHWH, found in Jeremiah 44:26. I explain the backdrop of this prohibition and the reason it became hardened in the post-exillic writings and practices of the Jews.
This is not a justification for either the legalistic Jewish practices, nor (more emphatically) the current crop of “Christian” legalists who Judaize Gentile believers—rather it is a piece of history that explains the roots of the Ha Shem substitution via the canon of the Septuagint. That the Jews to this day continue the prohibition is more of the curse upon them for rejecting Christ and the New Covenant.
It also removes the very argument used by most of the SNM—the ridiculous notion that if they use the “proper” Name, the Jew will believe. To the contrary, the use of the Name of YHWH is still forbidden to Jews and will continue to be a stumbling block to them due to this cryptic pronouncement by Jeremiah. Again, I explain the details of this in the follow up audio, “Addendum: The Cult of the Sacred Name” which is posted on the websites. Here is a link for anyone interested: http://threshingfloor-radio.com/index.php/2009/06/addendum-the-cult-of-the-sacred-name/
Randy Maugans-The Threshing Floor
I have been fellow-shipping with people online from the SNM and it made sense to me at first. I see a lot of them smashing Christians because of their practices which when studied really do come from a blend of paganism and biblical truth but many of them participate in activities that also originate in Greek paganism like Olympic sports or sport the hexagram which is also a pagan symbol. I am kind of confused and in between right now personally because the more I have tried to observe feasts and “be good” according to Torah observance the more I feel miserable. In fact I am loosing my faith altogether now…so sad.
Ahada,
May be you be blessed of the LORD thy God. I just now read your comment and was touched by your sincerity and even though it has been nearly two years since you wrote your heart-felt comment I feel that you may need some encouragement and I hope and pray that you will receive what God has for you.
Even though religion has brought some confusion into your life I would suggest that this is a time of true blessing because of the One Whom truly loves you has not given up on you. He is still there. He is still calling to you and offers you His rest. There are of course some things that you need to know that will help you decide your relationship with God and I hope you will pray about these things and allow our Savior to work in your heart to bring you peace and joy.
First, and sadly true, you must understand that if you have sought after Christ Jesus then you become a target for the devil. He does not waste his time trying to steal something you don’t have and even though he works to keep the sinner satisfied living without God, his most important and strongest desire is to steal you away from God.
And unfortunately, the church and or religion are the very tools he uses to make you feel like giving up. Please understand that all religions are affected by his works and even though most people in churches are not evil they are subject to deception more so in a church than anywhere else.
All the ceremonies, sacrifices or good deeds in the world or church cannot please God. The only sure way to please Him is by following Jesus Christ. But, to truly be able to follow Christ we must be able to hear His voice and we can’t hear His voice when there are so many other voices shouting for attention at the same time.
Therefore, you must get away from religion and church for a season just as Jesus Christ went to the wilderness to be with His Father and fall to your knees and submit yourself to Jesus Christ when you are alone, in quiet and in hope. Offer your life to Jesus Christ just as he offered His for you and keep Him first in all thoughts, things and works as you depend upon Him to lead you. After a while you will begin to hear His voice as His Spirit changes your life and you can tell this by how much you will thirst for His Word.
But unfortunately, here is what you are up against and the reason why so many are unsure of their walk with God is because one may be tempted by the wisdom of man rather than the simple, direct and loving council of the Savior. Don’t let the devil tell you that this new Bible is better, or that man’s interpretation is wiser than what God has said because if that were true you have no need for God. After all, if God can’t say what He means and has need of man to say it for Him then the man rises above God.
The devil loves it when we lose respect for the Holy Bible and put our trust in the conceits of men because he knows that the Word of God will confirm the work of the Spirit in your life while the delusion of men will confuse and distract us from God. But in time, if you stay firm you will be led to a church or gathering of saints where God wants you to go.
Don’t let the popularity of a church or religion keep you from finding the truth and a place of rest where you can share your walk with God with others whom truly love Him and not just love what He can do for them. I recommend that you begin by finding a Bible study group outside of the church institution that lives, depends, trusts and obeys the written Word.
Last, while many will not agree with this thought I also suggest that you find and keep a King James Version (KJV) of the Bible since the texts that this version is based upon have a clean ancestry something that the other versions do not. I hope and pray that after all this time since your comment that you have found true peace and love through Jesus Christ our LORD.
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