So, Jesus avoided saying 'Jehovah'/Yahweh to avoid being killed immediately by Jews
who obeyed Lev.24:15,16 in the Septuagint. The apostles avoided public speaking of the
Name because the Romans would execute people who preached foreign deities. Early Christians
avoided the Tetragram because "Father" conveyed an intimate, loving image of God
and also because they followed Jesus' example of prefering it over the Tetragram.
Beyond this, God set an example by avoiding His 'Own Name'!
In John 12: 27, 28 we read that God actually spoke directly to men in response
to Jesus: "Father, glorify your name." Therefore a voice came out of heaven: "I both
glorified it and will glorify it again."
Did God BOOM out of heaven "I AM YAHWEH/'JEHOVAH'" ?? NO, he avoided the Name himself!
In this and other contexts, it is useful to consider that God's 'name' may not refer
to 'Jehovah' at all. Even the Insight book admits that MANY scriptures referring to
God's 'name' actually are just a Hebrew metaphor for God's reputation or power.
(See heading 'Jehovah' in the Insight book). At any rate, THE 'NAME' did not thunder out
of heaven that day - by Divine choice!
In many Eastern European countries, Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced persecution
as 'Jehovists'. Could this persecution be eased if they stopped this extreme emphasis
on the name 'Jehovah' to the detriment of Christ?
It needs to be asked, are JW's really Christians? A simple definition of a Christian
might be "someone who recognizes Jesus Christ as Lord".
How can that be true of Witnesses when they shrink from referring to the "Lord Jesus
Christ" in common conversation, as ordinary Christians did in the first century?
If a Witness used this common scriptural phrase in a congregational prayer, would
they looked at with suspicion by the elders?(Yes!) Would most Witnesses shy away from
a congregation member who did "everything in the name of the Lord Jesus"? A personal
Lord and Savior doesn't stop being such just because an organization hates the
Trinity!
Far from being central to belief, Jesus seems to be a marginal figure in Watchtower
subculture, someone who "shows up to sign the checks" but little else that isn't
perfunctory. He is nearly always forgotten in life stories of Witnesses published
in the Watchtower amidst thanks given to 'Jehovah and his organization'.Check for
yourself.
I have written about these points because they are simple and easy to discern
even in a minimal reading of the Christian Greek scriptures. Currently, the Watchtower
is based on an understanding of the first century that is utter fiction - that 'Jehovah'
was habitually spoken or used. In addition, the absence of personal reference to Christ
amoung Witnesses marks them as an artificial religion, related only marginally
to first century Christianity.
metatron