God's Name

Q. Why is the Hebrew letter “shin” symbolic of God’s name (yod, he,vav,he=YHVH) but there isn’t a “shin” in it?

A. The Hebrew letter shin has three “heads” to it and looks like an English “W” in a way, for those who don’t know Hebrew. It is pronounced like “sh” in English. In Deut 12.11 God says “ Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there…you shall bring all that I command you…your burn’t offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the heave offerings of your hand and all your choice vows which you shall vow unto the Lord.”

What He is describing is the eventual Temple site in Jerusalem. The city has three valleys called the Hinnom, the Tyropean and the Kidron. These three valleys form the letter shin. Now, God has several names beginning with this letter like “shaddai” and “shalom” and that is why His name is symbolized by this letter. In Gen 22 Abraham is coming from the south to Moriah, and from afar off could see the place where he was to go. Back then, the shin could be plainly seen from where he was and that was how he knew where to go. In light of this, when the priests invoked God’s name on the people through the Aaronic blessing found in Num 6, they would form the letter shin with their hands.

Let’s look at some spiritual aspects to this. In Rev 14.1 it says that believers have the name of God written on their foreheads. The forehead is the seat of thinking and intellect so it means they have the commandments on their minds and obviously obey them. Torah observance (Sabbath, Kosher, biblical festivals and having the belief they are not “free from the Law”) is a part of their walk with God (Rev 12.17, 22.19). In Deut 6.8 it says that God’s word (Torah) is written on their hands (action) and forehead (intellect). So, a believer is “marked” by what we do and think.

On the other hand the letter shin is also the first letter of the title “Satan” but is pronounced with an “s” sound. If you put three Hebrew letter “vavs” together you can form what looks like a shin, but isn’t. Vav in Hebrew is also the number 6, so, 6,6,6 in Hebrew can look like God’s name but isn’t. Many follow what looks like God’s way but isn’t and they are really following a false religion. Rev 13 says that those who follow the false messiah are “marked” by his name (3 vavs=6,6,6) in their hand (action) and their foreheads (intellect). What does this mean?

Unless you have wisdom, you may be thinking you are following God, but id you aren’t keeping the commandments you are actually following the false messiah and are marked by your actions and intellect with his name, not God’s. So we are already marked by what we do. Many are looking for a tattoo or a micro-chip in their hand/forehead, but are spiritually marked already by their refusal to follow the commandments, believing they have been “done away with” and follow man-made doctrines instead of the Word.

The mark of the beast is non-Torah observance spiritually. But, if we follow the Lord we are marked by His name spiritually. This concept is seen in Ezekiel 9.4-6 where God marked those who were to be spared from coming judgment. There is more to this but I hope this answers your question

Referring to God as 'Allah'

Q. Many Christian missionaries to the Muslim world witness to Muslims using “Allah” for the Christian G-d. I say this is dangerous, what is your opinion?

A. What it comes down to is several things. What is the meaning of “allah” and what is the name associated with. Allah is the Arabic for “al” (the) and “ialah” (god). It is the Arabic equivalent to the Hebrew “eloah” which means the same thing. This appears in the Bible as the plural “elohim.” So, Allah can be used to describe the true G-d if you are in Muslim countries.

Paul used “theos” to describe the L-rd even though it was also used in Greek paganism for their gods. The Scriptures refer to the L-rd as “ba’al” and “el” also, which were Canaanite names for their deities. The problem is Allah has a unique history of its own and it predates Mohammed.

It all comes down to what you mean when you use it. If using it invokes a different idea than the G-d of the Scriptures in the mind of the hearer, than it shouldn’t be used and it adds to the confusion. If it doesn’t and the hearers understand that you are referring to the G-d of the Bible, there isn’t a problem. The Muslims don’t like Christians using the name either because of the confusion so it comes down to whatever the local custom is wherever these missionaries go. By the way, neither Allah or Eloah are names anyway, they are titles.