| A: |
Yahweh is the actual name of God. In Exodus 3:13 when Moses asked, "who should I tell the Israelites is sending me?" God answered him and said, "YHWH"" or "Yahweh," which means "I Am" in Hebrew. Yahweh's name is given nearly 7000 times in the Bible. "God" isn't a name; it's just a word, one derived from the German, "Gott." It can apply to any false or pagan "deity." By not using Yahweh's name and using, instead, the generic word "God," we are contributing to the deception that we all worship the same God and that Allah is just another word for God. In actuality, "ilah," is the Arabic word for God, and Allah is the name of Muhammad's god. Allah is never mentioned once in the Bible. Likewise, the name "Jesus" was derived from confusion in translating Greek (which has no "Y" or "J"), to Latin (which also has no "J"), and then to Anglo-Saxon, the precursor of English. We therefore prefer to use Christ's Hebrew name of "Yahshua" which means "Yahweh Saves," or "I am Saves," clearly revealing his mission to mankind that is otherwise obscured in our English translations. Excerpts from Prophet of Doom From chapter 2, "Devils and Deceptions" You may be wondering why Muhammad based his new religion on old Bible stories, and why he found it necessary to alter them. Muslim scholars insist that the characters and events, at least up to the point of departure, are similar because Yahweh and Allah are the same god. Unfortunately, that makes less sense than the sun falling out of a chariot and angelic wings blotting out the moon. If Allah is Yahweh, simply translate the Old Testament into Arabic and be done with it. We have proved that the Bible has not changed with the passage of time, so, if it was divinely inspired - as Muhammad claims - it must still be true. From chapter 3, "I Don't Noah 'Bout This?" Just as the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls disprove Allah's assertion that the Jews corrupted their scriptures, the clay tablets of Ur, Babylon, and Nineveh prove that Muhammad lied when he tried to reshape Abraham into a compatriot of Nimrod. And this lie is not without consequence. If Abraham was not as Allah claims, the Qur'an disintegrates. Abraham is the lone, thin string that connects Islam to the Bible. And without the Bible, all that is rational and religious in the Qur'an evaporates, and Islam with it. Abraham's story is repeated thirty times in the Qur'an in fifteen different surahs. We hear Adam's tale of woe four times. Noah was a crowd pleaser; the mocked messenger makes thirty appearances in thirty different surahs. You just can't get enough death and destruction. That's why Lot, Abraham's nephew and a relatively minor Biblical character, débuts no fewer than fifteen times. He too, was recast as Allah's Messenger. The people didn't obey, so wham - fire and brimstone. Moses, the great liberator, prophet, and miracle worker, was the most frequently named character in Allah's book, with a stunning 500 appearances. The longest surah, the 2nd, was dedicated to the golden calf the Israelites foolishly crafted in the wilderness. The 10th surah is called "Jonah." The 12th is named after and preoccupied with "Joseph." The 14th is dedicated to "Abraham." The 17th is named after the Jews, the "Children of Israel." The 19th derives its name from "Mary," mother of Jesus. The 21st is dedicated to the Hebrew "Prophets." Only one is named for Muhammad and just one bears the name of his first god, "Ar-Rahman." "Noah" has a surah named in his honor, but so do the "Pen," "Jinn," "Signs of the Zodiac," the "Sun," and "Moon." Without the Bible, the Qur'an would be a very thin book. Detached from its influence, Islam loses most of its religious trappings. This is the reason Muslims are so insistent that the God of the Bible and the god of the Qur'an are the same. For if they are not, Islam's reliance on the Bible becomes an insurmountable liability rather than the religion's lone asset. From chapter 5, "Can Qusayy Scam?" Although Muhammad is credited with bringing monotheism to Arabs, the Qur'an venerates three distinctly different gods. In the first Meccan period, god was nameless. He was referenced solely by the title "Lord." This deity was modeled after Zayd's god, which is not surprising since the Meccan Hanif's poems formed the basis of Muhammad's early surahs. The Hanifs derived the title "Lord" and their faith from the Jews - a people who called their God "Lord" for fear of saying his name. If they used Yahweh's name incorrectly, they were accused of blasphemy, and risked being stoned. While their scriptures contained 7,000 repetitions of His name, Rabbis always read and said "Lord" in its place. Being illiterate, the Meccans wouldn't have known the difference. But a title was insufficient. The creator of the universe needed a name. All gods had names. So in the second Meccan period Muhammad called his Lord "Ar-Rahman." Inscriptions from the fifth century reveal that Ar-Rahman was worshiped in Yemen by another group of Hanifs. We know about them because Dhu Nuwas, the Jewish Yemeni king, may have been one. His exploits were chronicled in Greek, Syriac, and Aramaic. When he attacked the Abyssinian Christians in Southern Arabia in the early sixth century, he swore by Ar-Rahman, "The Merciful," and Ar-Rahim, "The Benevolent." An invocation including these god's names now precedes all but the 9th surah. Muhammad transitioned from Lord to Ar-Rahman in surahs 56, 68, 78, 89, and the last half of surah 93. While none of these mention Allah, Ar-Rahman and Lord are used interchangeably, often side-by-side. The names Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim are used fifty-one times in the Meccan period and twice in the first Medina surah. Then they disappear, replaced by Allah, never to be mentioned again. This is important because surrounded by a veritable sea of pagan idols, all Muhammad did was whittle down the number. An interesting insight in this regard can be found in Surah Qur'an 21:36 : "When the unbelievers see you they make fun of you, mocking you, ridiculing you. They say, 'Is this the one who mentions your gods.' They would deny all mention of Ar-Rahman!" This is a problem on a number of levels. The Qur'an is saying that Muhammad is being teased because he "mentions the Meccan gods." Why? Allah was a Meccan god. And if Islam began monotheistic, why was "gods" plural? Moreover, by having the Meccans "deny all mention of Ar-Rahman," two things became apparent: Muhammad's god was Ar-Rahman and the Meccans' was not. It is interesting that while the Islamic god doesn't seem to know his name or if he is one (I, Me, and My in verse 37) or many (We and Us in verse 35), he is the same old guy, showing signs that men don't heed and making threats. Qur'an 21.37 "Man is made of haste. I [Ar-Rahman] shall show you My Signs; then you will not ask Me to hasten the punishment! If only the unbelievers could apprehend the moment when they would not be able to ward off the fire from their faces and their backs.'" The "What's My Name" game continued with this Qur'an passage: Qur'an 21.41 "Many apostles have been scoffed before you, but they were caught by what they ridiculed. Say (Muhammad): 'Who guards you from Ar-Rahman.' But at the mention of their Lord they turn away. Or do they have lords of their own besides Us who can defend them?' They turned away because the Meccans knew Allah, not Ar-Rahman. Surah 25 speaks to the confusion over who the Islamic deity really was. The 59th verse ends with these words: "He is the Benevolent." Left untranslated, that says: "He is Ar-Rahim." Verse 60 begins with this: "When you say to them: 'Bow before Ar-Rahman.' they say: 'What is Ar-Rahman.' Should we adore whomever you ask us to? And their aversion increases further." Muhammad was asking the Meccans to prostrate themselves to a god named Ar-Rahman. They, however, rebelled, asking, "What is Ar-Rahman?" They knew Allah, the top dog of the Ka'aba, but not everyone knew the other fellow as he wasn't a local rock idol. This debate over god's name was hardly academic. Since several gods are named, Islam can't be monotheistic. And since none of the names are Yahweh, they aren't the God of the Bible. Therefore, the Biblical prophets and patriarchs should not have been used to justify Islamic rites and rituals. From chapter 6, "Heart of Darkness" Islamic scholar Montgomery Watt, one of the English translators of Tabari, adds an interesting footnote. He says, "The name [not word] Allah has throughout been [wrongly] translated as 'God.' It should be kept in mind, however, that in the pre-Islamic period it does not necessarily mean "God" in a monotheistic sense. It is known from the Qur'an (29:61 and 39:38) that many pre-Islamic Arabs believed in Allah as a god who was superior to the other gods whom they also recognized." Allah was a name, much like the Judeo-Christian "Yahweh." But Muslims desperately needed the world to see it otherwise. For if Allah was a proper name - not a word - their religion was a fraud. The creator of the universe can't be a pagan god, no matter how big a stick Muhammad swung. And Allah can't be Yahweh any more than I can be George Washington. Arabic, like Hebrew before it, is a Semitic language. In Hebrew, "el," was the word for god - lower case "g" - as in idols. Elohiym was used with the article to convey "God" with a capital "G." In Arabic, "el" became "il." Then, over time, Arabs derived a secondary word for god, "ilah." With "al" being the Arabic word for "the," Muslims would have us believe that "Allah" is a contraction of "al" and "ilah." But the first pillar of Islam contradicts this claim when it says: "There is no ilah but Allah." If "Allah" were the Arabic word for god it would have been written: "There is no allah but Allah. Moreover, the Qur'an itself uses "Ilah" when Allah claims to be "the God of Abraham" (Qur'an 2:132). And that ends the debate because the only way Muslims can claim Allah, not Ilah, is the Arabic word for "God" is for the Qur'an to be errant or for its author to be either ignorant or deceitful. Further, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Islamic traditions like the one we just reviewed that confirm that Allah was the name of a well-known pagan deity (at least in Mecca). Their own scriptures profess that Allah had an ignominious rule as a Meccan rock idol centuries before he was transformed from god to God, from an ilah to Allah. All of which serves to destroy the most essential Islamic myth: "We all worship the same God." From chapter 8, "The Abused Abuser" As we discovered earlier, Ar-Rahman was a pagan rock idol with a House like Allah's. The two gods vied for attention. And it's clear that Allah was slighted in the early going. Not only hasn't he been mentioned thus far, he wouldn't find his way into Islam for quite some time. It's not a very nice way to treat the Lord of the House. So why choose this name? Muslim scholars have no viable explanation as to why Muhammad called his Lord Ar-Rahman. The best they can do is say that god has many names and that Ar-Rahman became one of their god's attributes. But that's nonsense. Ar-Rahman was the name of a pagan deity, one much better known - at least outside the tiny village of Mecca - than Allah. He was an idol - not an attribute. Further, all of the initial religiosity contained in the early revelations mirrors the religion of the Hanifs - the followers of Ar-Rahman. There are serious problems associated with the prophet choosing to name his spirit Ar-Rahman. When Muhammad ultimately migrated from the shallow doctrinal pool of the Hanifs to the unimaginably deep reservoir of the Jews, he was forced to claim that his Lord was their Lord - the Biblical God, Yahweh. Otherwise, why were all the characters and stories so similar? But that was problematic. Although Muhammad didn't know it, the God of the Bible had a name - Yahweh. He didn't know because the Jews were afraid to say it for fear of blasphemy. And since he was illiterate, Muhammad couldn't read any of the 6,868 times YHWH, or Yahweh, was written in their Scriptures. Just like our Bible translations today, when the Hebrew word says "Yahweh," God's personal name, we read and say "the Lord." But Joe is not Jim. Moses is not Muhammad. And Yahweh is neither Ar-Rahman nor Allah. As with politicians, a blunder becomes a crisis when it is covered up and then exposed. The Islamic clerics, following their prophet's lead, have tried to sweep the name of the Qur'an's first god under the rug. So we must ask: if there is nothing to hide - why try so hard to hide it? Of the many Qur'an translations, all but two errantly replace Ar-Rahman's name with an attribute like "Merciful," the title "Lord," the generic "God," or with the name "Allah." But unlike the Jews, who misinterpreted the Third Commandment, there is no excuse for changing Ar-Rahman to Lord, God, or Allah. From chapter 17, "Good Muslims Kill" According to Allah, Imran was Mary's father, and that's a problem. The Bible says Mary's father was Heli in Luke 3:24. Imran isn't a Hebrew name, but Amram is. Numbers 26:59 identifies him as the father of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. This misunderstanding may be why Allah, in Qur'an 19:28, calls Mary "Miriam, the sister of Aaron." As such she would have been over 1,200 years old when Christ was born. And while that's bad, the verse begins with "remember," yet there was no prior "Imran" revelation. Qur'an 3.35 "Remember, when the wife of Imran prayed: 'Lord, I offer what I carry in my womb in dedication to Your service, accept it, for You are the Hearer, the Knower.' And when she had given birth, she said: 'O my Lord I have delivered but a girl, a female child.' [Remember: girls are worthless in Islam apart from luring boys to their doom.] But Allah knew better what she had delivered: 'The male is not like the female, and I have named her Mariam (Mary).'" Allah is very confused, demonstrating an embarrassing lack of knowledge for the scriptures he claims to have inspired. Yahweh sent Gabriel to talk to Zechariah about his wife Elizabeth having a baby who would preach with the power of the Holy Spirit, like Elijah of old. So as to try to unmuddle the mess, Allah has Zechariah adopting Mary as well as fathering John the Baptist. Qur'an 3.37 "Mariam was given into the care of Zacharyah. Whenever he came to see her in her chamber he found her provided with food, and he asked, 'Where has this come from Mary.' She said, 'From Allah who gives in abundance to whomsoever He will. Zacharyah prayed, 'Bestow on me offspring that is good [i.e., not a girl]. As he stood in the chamber the angels said, 'Allah sends you tidings of Yahya (John) who will confirm a thing from Allah (the creation of Isa (Jesus), the Word of Allah) and be a noble prophet, one who is upright and does good [a Muslim]." In trying to dig himself out, Allah fell deeper into his pit. Magical food for Yahshua's mother doesn't square with Muhammad's mother's misfortune, especially if Muhammad is to be believed over "Jesus." And John proclaimed that Yahshua was from Yahweh, not Allah. And yet they were so very close. The Arabic name for John identified the name of his God YAHya, as did ZacharYAH's. Even the Arabic word for Jew used throughout the Qur'an is YAHdodi. Biblical names acknowledge Yahweh: YAHshua (Joshua and Jesus), YAHayahu (Isaiah), YirmeYAHu (Jeremiah) YAHezqel (Ezekiel), NehemYAH (Nehemiah), MattihYAHu (Matthew), YAHaqob (Jacob and James). There wasn't an Allah in the batch. From chapter 23, "Jihad" The next verse confirms what the Islamic clerics deny and what the American media ignores. Allah is the name of the Islamic god - it was never the Arabic word for "God." Qur'an 5.4 "Pronounce the Name of Allah: and fear Allah; for Allah is swift in reckoning." Every time you read the word "God" in an Associated Press article emanating from the Islamic world, know that they are unwittingly propagating this deception. Muslims have a perfectly good word for "god" and they use it with great regularity. They say, "There is no ilah but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger." This deception is at the very core of Islam, and thus of Islamic terror. If Allah isn't Yahweh, the Qur'an is rubbish - it's a horrid job of plagiarizing, nothing more. If Allah isn't Yahweh, Muhammad was speaking on his own behalf - and for his own benefit - he could not have been among the line of Biblical prophets. If Allah isn't Yahweh, the god of Islam is fictitious - an impotent mirage. But knowing that most people are blissfully ignorant - unwilling to read or think for themselves - they'll never know that Allah is the inverse of Yahweh. So the ruse works. From chapter 23, "Jihad" If Allah is Yahweh, why can't he do any of the miracles with which he so vividly demonstrated his power throughout the Bible? Have Allah's hands become fettered? From chapter 23, "Jihad" Before we press on, I'd like you to consider the 98th surah - one revealed about this same time. Allah said Christianity and Judaism were "false religions." Qur'an 98.1 "Those among the People of the Book, who disbelieve and are idolaters [making Christians and Jews pagans], would never have been freed from their false religion if the Clear Proofs had not come to them. An Apostle of Allah came reading out of hallowed pages, containing firm decrees…. They were commanded to serve Allah exclusively, fulfilling their devotional obligations, and paying the zakat. Surely the unbelievers and idolaters from the People of the Book will abide in the Fire of Hell. They are the worst of creatures." So I pose this question to the world's cadre of Islamic scholars: if Qur'an 5:69 is testimony to Islamic tolerance, why does Qur'an 98:1 contradict it? Further, if Allah was Yahweh, why isn't there an order for fighting in his cause, for paying the zakat tax, for observing holy months, for performing devotional obligations, for Ramadhan fasting, or for participating in the hajj pilgrimage in the Ten Commandments? And while we are on the subject of Exodus 20, most everything Muhammad did violated Yahweh's commands. How could that be if the Qur'an confirmed the Torah? How can Judeo-Christianity be a false religion if Allah revealed it and then confirmed it? Excerpts from the Feedback Pages I happened to be listening to djc (Mark and Mack show) and caught a little of your interview. I am a little confused about what you were discussing about the name Yahweh and Yeshua. I didn't hear all of thata conversation, but I understood you to say that Lord and Jesus were not correct words for them. Could you tell me exactly what you mean by that? I believe that the Bible is God's inerrant and infallible word and wonder how He could allow translation over the years to call him the wrong name, I would appreciate your answer and any info you can send me of thata belief. (MB) Yahweh inspired His name to be written 6868 times in His Scripture. English translators chose to disregard Yahweh's desire to use His name and replaced His name with LORD every time. That alone would make all English translations errant. Worse, Baal, the satanic sun god was called Lord. And there are many errors in the Bible - all due to scribal and translation errors. Fortunately, the scribal errors, at least as the pertain to the OT are meaningless and few and far between. Unfortunately, the translation errors are frequent and devastating. Yahweh never calls His Scriptures inerrant so when you believe such things you are believing the words of men, not Yahweh. Yahweh is too smart for impossible and simplistic platitudes. Language is an imperfect tool so the imperfect cannot be inerrant. Yahweh claims that He inspired His Scriptures and that they are sufficient. Most every Hebrew and Greek word has considerably more meaning that the English word which replaces it. When we lazily try to replace one word with another we lose 70% of the intended meaning. All too often we get the meaning wrong. You should read the Future History chapters I've written to see this for yourself. It was Yahweh's responsibility to inspire His Scripture. It's man's responsibility to preserve it, to know it and to share it. We are not doing our job very well. For example, there was no J in Hebrew or Greek so Yahshua's name could not have been Jesus. The first J was invented in the 16th century. The name Jesus was first used in 1629. The closest name to it at the time was Gesus - the name of a druid demon called the Horned One. Similarly, God is from Gott, the name of a Germanic pagan spirit. These things are abominations to Yahweh. Yahshua means Yah-Saves. It defines Yahweh's Messianic mission. Our Creator is very angry with us for changing His name and not using His name. Way back in the 4th century, Constantine established the "religion" of Christianity on pagan sun god worship. That is why we celebrate Christmas and Easter. For a thousand years, Yahweh's scriptures were hidden by the Roman Catholic Church. Owning a Bible was a capital offense. Our pastors know that they are doing the wrong thing but doing the right thing they believe would ostracize them and thin their flock. (Craig) |
