Yahweh is Not God

At the heart of Western culture lies a linguistic, ontological, and philosophical problem that we rarely confront. Today, we speak of the biblical "God" as a single universal force – a supreme consciousness or the absolute source of all life. However, in the original texts, among prophets like Jeremiah, we encounter something entirely different: a specific name, YHWH, and occasionally the plural Elohim, referring to a vast host of beings among whom YHWH is but one of many.

From Local Mascot to Universal Lord

For the historically inclined, the picture is clear: YHWH (Yahweh/Jehovah) did not begin as an abstract cosmic consciousness, nor even as the sole creator of the universe. Archaeological finds and early texts, even the bible itself, indicate that he was a regional deity, a storm and war god with roots in the nomadic territories south of Canaan. He was one god among many similar beings (the Elohim) – a "small-g" god who fought for his specific "chosen people," just as neighboring nations had their own divine protectors, such as Chemosh or Milkom.

As time passed, the role and presentation of YHWH underwent a radical shift. When the prophet Jeremiah emerged in the 7th century BCE, the Israelite people were facing an existential crisis. It is here that a great theological transformation occurred – a deceptive "switcharoo" that would leave spiritual scars on humanity for millennia to come. Jeremiah began to preach that this local god, YHWH, was not just the strongest among the Elohim; he was the only one. He was no longer presented as a mere tribal deity, but was rebranded as God with a capital G: the one universal source of every other existing thing or being.

The Irony of Jeremiah –  A Local God Against Local Gods

There is a striking irony in Jeremiah’s rhetoric. He fiercely attacks the gods of neighboring nations, labeling them idols, emptiness, and lies. In Jeremiah 10:11-15, he writes contemptuously of how the gods of other peoples are merely created things destined to perish, while he exalts YHWH as the highest being in existence. (Psalm 96:5 simply states "For all the gods of nations are demons/idols".)

Here, a massive logical short-circuit is exposed: Jeremiah condemns the gods of other nations as false idols and/or demons (fallen angels, in other words) precisely because they are local and limited, despite the fact that YHWH shares those exact same origins. He mocks the "small-g" gods of others while attempting to hijack the concept of the universal "Capital-G" God and paste it onto his own local national deity. It is a form of theological imperialism: my local god is the universal consciousness, but your local god is merely a demon or a dead piece of wood.

Ronald McDonald as the Creator of the Cosmos

Why would Jeremiah, and the other later prophets of judaism do that? If one wishes to describe the highest universal consciousness – that which is beyond time, space, and human limitation – why stubbornly cling to an old epithet linked to a limited and often fickle entity?

It is not only as if the Norse people claimed Odin to be the highest god; it is also like an American claiming Uncle Sam to be the only true God and supreme being, or the McDonald’s corporation claiming Ronald McDonald as the single source of all life, matter, and consciousness. No matter how much one "upgrades" Ronald’s powers in the stories, the name still carries a specific backstory, specific agendas, and inherent limitations.

Also, if accepted as the one true God, the worship of "God" will forever be in service of the McDonald's corporation. In the same way, the name YHWH carries the heavy baggage of human wrath, vengefulness, and a demand for the preferential treatment of one specific tribe. Those who succeed in convincing others that their local, 'small-g' entity is the Supreme God – the very Source of All Being – will inevitably be the ones in control.

The Great Deception: Was "Abba" Ever YHWH?

When Jesus enters the scene, he speaks constantly of "the Father" (Abba). Traditional church history has spent centuries trying to fuse this "Father" with the vengeful YHWH of the Old Testament, even though Jesus himself calls the god of the Pharisees (the god of the Israelites, in other words) a "liar." Already in the gospels you see these attempts.

A closer look suggests a profound break. Jesus describes a God who is spirit, who is love, and who is pure, non-judgmental Being itself – one who "makes his sun rise both on the evil and on the good." This is not the behavior of the jealous tribal deity who commands the slaughter of other peoples and nations, but something closer to The Good/The One among the Greeks, or Brahman among the hindus.

Within early Christianity, thinkers like Marcion of Sinope saw this clearly. Marcion argued that the God of the Old Testament (YHWH) and the God Jesus spoke of were two entirely different beings. To Marcion, YHWH was a lower, limited, and temperamental "small-g" god – a blind demiurge and creator of an evil material existence, essentially the devil himself – while Jesus was the messenger of the true, universal, and previously unknown God of Grace.

Notice that Jesus never used the name YHWH; he used Abba, a term of intimate relation to the Source, effectively bypassing the nationalistic and demonic baggage of the local war god. In other words, Jesus did not worship Yahweh. In addition, he exposed the true nature of YHWH to the religious zealots of his time and place.

This is, most probably, what got him crucified.

Christians Tricked into Worshiping the Devil

This leads to a provocative and unsettling conclusion: If we follow Jeremiah’s own logic—that the gods of local nations are idols and demons – then it follows that billions of Christians (and Muslims, for that matter) have been deceived into worshiping exactly such a local idol for millennia. By fusing the universal message of Jesus with the national "small-g" local god YHWH, the universal consciousness has been imprisoned in the costume of a literal fallen angel – the very entity (just an egregore, if you will) that chose to guide the Israelites for its own purposes.

It is this very legacy – the attempt to force infinite consciousness into the suit of an ancient, vengeful entity – that makes the "God" of our scriptures feel so strangely petty, and the clash between the god of the Old Testament and the God of Jesus so total. We have been tricked into venerating the name of a limited, fallen entity when we are truly seeking the Source of All.

Conclusion

Pure Abrahamic monotheism thus appears as a form of exalted local patriotism. A limited tribal deity has been taken and, through linguistic acrobatics, declared to be the "Capital-G" God. The devotional energy thousands of worshippers should have poured into source itself, has been poured into a literal demon.

This explains why Christianity, as it has been practiced for almost 2,000 years, almost never leads individuals to true gnosis, enlightenment, or salvation – except for when the words of Jesus are read free from their ties to tribal language and circumstances. It also explains why Christianity has been allowed not only to survive but to become an enormous player in the game of worldly power. Remember that meanwhile, most traditions teaching true gnosis have been stomped out, ridiculed, or forced underground.

Why?

Let us recall whom Jesus identifies as the ruler of this world, and then ask ourselves: in a world ruled by such an entity, would a form of Christianity that actually leads to true gnosis and salvation ever be allowed to be the dominant one?