House of Yahweh

The House of Yahweh (HOY) is a religious movement based in Clyde, Texas. Its founder and pastor is Yisrayl Hawkins (formerly "Buffalo" Bill Hawkins), a former member of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). The group has membership around the globe. The assembly has been controversial, and is referred to as a cult by at least one former member and by the cult-monitoring website Religioustolerance.org, which finds that the House of Yahweh meets ten of its ten signs of a dangerous and "high risk group."

Founder

Yisrayl Hawkins (also known as "Buffalo Bill" Hawkins) is HOY's founder.

In 1974, his brother, J. G. (Yaaqob) Hawkins, returned from a seven-year visit to Israel claiming he had "found proof of Yahweh's name". Shortly after, he formed the "first House of Yahweh" in Odessa, Texas. He preached distinct doctrines that his brother agreed with, such as the necessity of referring to the Creator as Yahweh and the Messiah as Yahshua, as well as following the Torah and the Jewish festivals.

House of Yahweh (biblical term)

The House of YHWH (or "House of Yahweh", "House of the LORD", Hebrew בית יהוה) is a phrase found in the Hebrew Bible and on at least one inscription, usually referring to a temple.

Most modern religious scholars focus primarily upon Solomon's Temple. However, there have been two structures identified as a 'House of Yahweh'. One is located in Elephantine Egypt. The other structure suggested as a House of Yahweh is at Tel Arad.

In 1962 Yohanan Aharoni excavated at Tel Arad the only Judean temple recovered by archaeologists to date. The incense altars and two "standing stones" may have been dedicated to Yahweh and Asherah. An inscription was found on the site by Ahroni mentioning a 'House of Yahweh', which William G. Dever suggests may have referred to the temple at Arad or the temple at Jerusalem. However, the temple was probably demolished around 700 CE, which is before the date of the inscription.

The "New Testament" refers to the phrase "house of God" in Mark 2:26; Luke 6:4; 1 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 10:21; and 1 Peter 4:17. "Jesus of Nazareth" quotes Isaiah 56:7 – "... My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations" (NKJV) – in Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; and Luke 19:46.