Hallowed Be Thy Names: Knowing God As You've Never Known Him Before

by David Wilkerson

Simply put, this book is for every believer who needs assurance and hope during his or her trying times. In my opinion, this includes every devoted servant of Jesus Christ. Scripture makes it abundantly clear- because of our commitment to the Lord, we're going to be put through the fire. And that's the very reason God revealed his names to his people in the first place-to bring them encouragement, hope and life. Likewise, I believe that at some point as you read this book, you'll find a special word of encouragement.

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

David Ray Wilkerson was an American Christian evangelist, best known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He was the founder of the addiction recovery program Teen Challenge, and founding pastor of the non-denominational Times Square Church in New York.

Wilkerson's widely distributed sermons, such as "A Call to Anguish", are known for being direct and frank against apostasy and serious about making the commitment to obey Jesus' teachings. He emphasized such Christian beliefs as God's holiness and righteousness, God's love toward humans and especially Christian views of Jesus. Wilkerson tried to avoid categorizing Christians into distinct groups according to the denomination to which they belong.

Wilkerson was killed in a car crash in Texas on April 27, 2011.

Reviews

[Benjamin Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has made its way into being one of my favorite books! I am rejoicing how great my Savior is!

[J. Horsfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable insightful read

[Craig Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written book which has greatly helped me draw closer to God. Worth purchasing and studying

[Atanas Dimitrov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psalm 130:4 “But with You there is forgiveness,
that You may be feared.”

Here David Wilkerson explores a very important topic – dare I say crucial, even – for any Christian believer out there.

For the most part, contemporary editions of the Bible (even Study Bibles) use the words “God” or “The Lord” when referring to God and not every edition has an explanation noted down with an asterisk showing what the original words used in Hebrew are.

Even fewer editions go further to provide context or a form of an explanation about what those names of God actually mean or what they refer to; which is fine, as the purpose of a Bible edition is not to provide analysis but rather to present Scripture in the purest and truest form there is (although that statement in itself begs for a wider debate on which Hebrew words/terms, when, and based on what criteria should be noted down/explained in the footnotes, but let’s not get into that).

Wilkerson’s book is priceless at that: it acts as a sort of prolonged sermon on the subject – or a series of sermons – on the various names of God. With a caveat that it doesn’t cover all the variants found in Scripture, and it doesn’t attempt to be exhaustive, as that is, of course, humanly impossible. We will have all of eternity to gaze upon God, contemplate His perfection and keep finding new things about Him forever and ever and the process will never cease. To God be the Glory.

Some of the aspects that Wilkerson focuses on I found fascinating. I’ve read the Bible several times now and some of the stories I’ve read, listened to sermons about, seen artistic enactments of or otherwise have come across with countless of times, and yet when reading Wilkerson’s book I saw them at vastly different angles. Presenting lots of room for further contemplation.

Like the story of Joshua and the taking of the fortified city of Jericho. We all know the story, but when it’s broken down and seen through the prism of the name of God used when the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joshua (Jehovah Sabaoth, God of Heaven’s Armies), it adds for a whole new set of layers. Or in other words, how to allow God to wage war against everything (the fortified walls of Jericho) that stands between yourself and God’s promises for you (the Promised Land) in 4 steps.

Another example would be Jehovah Nissi (God, my Banner), our Commander in all the battles we are in, with his hand raised in support and prayer, just as Moses’ hand was raised when Joshua was fighting the Amalekites.

All in all this is a great book and I keep coming back to the notes I’ve taken, as there is too much to contemplate on and to constantly remind myself of about God and His promises.

Highest recommendation and a necessary read for any Christian believer.