GOD: A NAME OF IDOLS!

There are many spirits being called upon in the world: 1Co 8:5

For though there be that are called Elohim (God), whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be Elohim (Gods) many, and Adonai (lords) many,) 1Co 8:6

But to us there is but one Elohim (God), the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Adon Yehoshua Hamashiach (Lord Jesus Christ), by whom are all things, and we by him.

• Men consider many evil spirits to be Elohim (God), each known by various names:

Testament of Solomon 58 And I Solomon did as she enjoined me, and restrained myself because of the wisdom dwelling in me in order that I might hear of her deeds, and reprehend them, and manifest them to men. And I sat down, and said to the demon: "What art thou?" And she said: "I am called among men Obizuth; .........For I am a fierce spirit of myriad names and many shapes."Testament of Solomon 64 And there came before my face another spirit, as it were a woman in the form she had. But on her shoulders, she had two other heads with hands. And I asked her, and said: "Tell me, who art thou?" And she said to me: "I am Enepsigos, and I also have a myriad of names."

• Evil spirits have many names. We must not invoke or revere the names of other deities {Exo 23:12}, for forgetting our Elohim's name or reaching for another is a transgression Yehovah will search out {Psa 44:21}, since He does not share His glory with another {Isa 42:8}.

Exo 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other Elohim (God), neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Psa 44:20 If we have forgotten the name of our Elohim (God) or stretched out our hands to a strange deity;

Psa 44:21 Shall not Elohim (God) search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Isa 42:8 I am Yehovah: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

• Building on this, we are not to call the names of heathen idols, because the deities sacrificed to by Gentiles are devils.

1Co 10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to Yehovah: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

With this understanding, we must not have fellowship with devils—this is a direct, urgent command. If a word is the name of a heathen deity, we must strictly avoid using it in reference to Yehovah (Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit, the Messiah) during prayer or reverence, as commanded.

To illustrate this principle further, consider the phrase: IN "GOD" WE TRUST - People don't know this, but they are calling on the name of "THE GOD OF FORTUNE"!

Understanding the word "god," One of the devils worshiped among the Gentiles was "Gad" among the Babylonians:
Definition: H1408
גּד :Original
Transliteration: gad
Phonetic: gad
Strong's Definition: A variation of H1409; Fortune, a Babylonian deity: - that troop

• For example, the idol "Gad" among the Chaldeans was worshipped among the Canaanites, known as "Baal Gad," as seen in the naming of cities after their idols:

Jos 13:5 And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baalgad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.

Definition:
H1171 (Strong)
בַּעַל גָּד / ba‛al gâd
bah'-al gawd
From H1168 and H1409; Baal of Fortune; Baal Gad, a place in Syria: - Baal-gad H1409
גּד :Original
Transliteration: gâd
Phonetic: gawd Strong's Definition: from H1464 (in the sense of distributing); fortune: - troop.

• The pronunciation of גד among the Canaanites as "gawd," which is rendered in English as "god," highlights the commandment in the law and Joshua's explicit instruction not to make mention of the deities of the surrounding nations in Israel:

Jos 23:6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;
Jos 23:7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their Elohim (God), nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:
Jos 23:8 But cleave unto Yehovah your Elohim (God), as ye have done unto this day.

• "GOD," an Elohim of the Canaanites, should not have been mentioned or served by the Israelites. Yet, Israelites transgressed, learning to serve Canaanite idols and forsook Yehovah by preparing a table (meal) for the idol.
  "God:"

Isaiah 65:11 But ye are they that forsake Yehovah, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop.

The etymology of "god" in English

• The Germanic languages have had a significant influence on the English language. "God" in English comes from Germanic roots, evident in the word's pronunciation and etymology. According to world information, "god" was not only an idol among the Canaanites; it was also a title for beings of heathen myth among the Germanic people.

Further supporting this understanding, in "The Scriptures" Copyright 2000 by Institute for Scriptures Research (Pty) Ltd, the "EXPLANATORY NOTES" under God say, See Gad: Apart from Gad, the son of Ya'aqob, there was another 'Gad'. The astrologers of Babel called Jupiter by the name "Gad". He was also well know among the Canaanites (Kena'anites) where his name was often coupled with Ba'al, Ba'al Gad, which according to Massoretic vowel pointing in the Book of Yehoshua is pronounced Ba'al God. This same name is discovered in the ancient Germanic languages as Gott, Goda, Gode, God, Gud, Gade....."

• The Babylonian, "Gad," is known to the Romans as "Jupiter"="Yohweh" (Greek "Zeus") and the Canaanites as "God," to help confirm that devils are known by different names among the heathen.

The Encyclopedia American (1945 Edition) has this definition for the topic of "GOD": "GOD (god) Common Teutonic word for personal object of religious worship, formally applicable to superhuman beings of heathen myth: on conversion of Teutonic races to Christianity, term as applied to Supreme Being."

• The Germanic people used titles of their deities for the Supreme Being, which was unlawful, as Yehovah does not share His glory. From scripture and history, "god" was the name of heathen deities, adopted into English, leading to transgression when used in prayer and reverence. We must not speak the names of other deities {Psa 16:4}.

Psa 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another Yehovah: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. ​

• Therefore, let us refrain from calling upon "god" in prayer or reverence, nor use it to refer to Elohim, so as not to give His glory to another. According to scripture, "god" refers specifically to a heathen deity, the Canaanite idol derived from Babylonian "Gad," deity of Fortune. While the Hebrew word גד generally means "troop" or "fortune," when referencing deities, it names a heathen idol, which we must avoid.

In closing, the English word "GOD" derives from Germanic and Canaanite roots and originally referenced "superhuman beings of heathen myth" and Baal God, not simply a generic deity. Israelites once forsook Yehovah for this name. We must not forget Yehovah Elohim or mention strange deities like "god."

By Rabbi HaTzair M. Francisco Arbas

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