Those cryptic looking symbols are an ancient language; Paleo-Hebrew to be precise. Read from right to left, they roughly correlate to the English letters YHWH, at least phonetically. Paleo-Hebrew is a fascinating language; in that, it is not only phonetic, but also semantic. In other words, each letter not only has a sound, but also a meaning. The script could just as easily be translated into words rather than letters. Once again, from right to left, we could read the script to mean "Hand, Behold, Nail, Behold".
In Paleo-Hebrew, the letters combine to express the meaning of the word as a whole. If one understands the meaning of each of the letters, it is possible to infer the meaning of about 80% of the words in the language. For example, the first two letters of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet are Alef and Bet, approximately our A and B in English (and the root of our word Alphabet). Alef which looks roughly like a long horn steer tilting its head in Paleo-Hebrew has the meaning "Power" or "Authority" while Bet looks a bit like a Native American tee-pee and means "Home" or "Dwelling". Put the two letters together to form the word Ab, "Father" or literally "Authority of the Home" which makes complete sense in the context of the ancient patriarchal culture.
What's the point? YHWH is the unpronounceable name of God which appears over 6,800 times in the Hebrew Bible. In English translations YHWH is typically replaced with the word LORD all in capital letters. YHWH is the God in whom three of the world's major religions assert their beliefs. Trying to infer a meaning from the letters "Hand Behold Nail Behold" may not mean much to adherents of Judaism or to Islam, but it sounds an awful lot like the gospel (good news) believed by Christians. Jesus came and did many miracles by his hands. He was beheld and followed by many. His teachings were so disruptive that he was crucified and nailed to a wooden cross. After his death, he rose from the grave and was beheld again by many.
The name Jesus is transliterated (or converted to English letters with roughly the same sounds) from the Greek translations of the Bible. Many English speaking people may be surprised to learn that his name transliterated from the Hebrew is closer to Yeshua (or Joshua). There is a meaning behind the name that is even more fascinating however. It means YHWH Saves. Jesus wasn't just a man, the seed of Adam, he was also God coming to save us.
The dot in our website name has more meaning than just conforming to internet domain protocols. Replace the dot with each of the words below and our mission is explained. We strive to understand the mystery of God's name and what is means FOR us, what it means TO us, and what it can mean THRU us.
FOR
John the Apostle writes in his Gospel: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The implications of the name of God telling the the gospel message in its first appearances in the creation account in Genesis chapters 2 and 3 indicates that God created the world with a plan of redemption. God's plan was FOR us. Jesus came to earth FOR us. He lived FOR us, and he died FOR us.
TO
So what does that plan mean TO us? We have a part in the redemption story and it is that of accepting the sacrifice of Jesus. The blood offering on the cross was to pay for our sins, but we must believe and accept that great gift. God wants to redeem us TO him. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). If you were caught in a burning building and were not able to get out but someone came and rescued you from sure death, would you feel like you owed them EVERYTHING? That is exactly what the sacrifice of Jesus does for us saving us from sure death in sin to live through the grace of God. What does that mean TO us? Hopefully, it means EVERYTHING.
THRU
The forgiveness of sins is really only part one of the gospel story. Yes our sins are wiped clean, and we can stand before God unashamed, but the second part is even better. In Paul's letter to the Ephesians he asks God to grant strength "so that Christ may dwell in [our] hearts through faith." What does that mean? Picture your life as a glass. Sin fills the glass with a dark liquid. The forgiveness of sins is like pouring out the liquid. Once again the glass is clear and can be looked through, but what happens if we started filling the cup with dark liquid again? It would become once again dark and opaque. What God is offering is for Jesus to come and dwell within us. If we have a life filled with Christ, it is like a glass full of crystal clear water. The added benefit, when Christ is in us, it is amazing what he can do THRU us.
