The Name of God
There is still one aspect of the Godhead which is the subject of divine revelation, of which few professed Christians have any knowledge. It concerns the name of God, in which is embodied the foregoing truths outlined in this booklet, with especial reference to the promises to the righteous.
When Moses received the commission from God to secure Israel's release from Egypt, he said to the angel who visited him, 'Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. . . . this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations'. (Exodus 3.13-15). It is agreed by Hebrew scholars that the rendering of the original should be in the future tense: I will be who I will be'. This enigmatical expression has a wonderful doctrinal significance. The Hebrew, transliterated into English is Ehyeh - I will be'. The reverent enquirer will ask, What is it that God will be? This is revealed in the full memorial name of God. The Almighty employs the third person, singular, future tense of 'Ehyeh', which is 'Yahweh', 'He who will be", and in the full memorial name the word Yahweh is joined with the word 'Elohim', which literally means 'Mighty Ones'. This memorial name occurs many hundreds of times in the Old Testament as Yahweh Elohim: 'He who will be mighty ones'.
The tremendous doctrinal significance of this memorial name is quite hidden from the readers of the Authorised Version, because the translators have simply translated Yahweh by the word 'LORD' printed in capital letters, and Elohim by the word 'God'. In the very numerous places referred to above where we read in our Bibles 'LORD God', the original is Yahweh Elohim, 'He who will be mighty ones' The name is an expression of the purpose of the Creator to manifest Himself by His spirit for ever in a multitude of earth-borns. Of these Jesus is first and chief, but an innumerable number are to follow: 'Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christs at his coming'. (1 Corinthians 15.23).