I AM Jerusalem

When Moses experienced the LORD at the burning bush, the LORD revealed his eternal name. God revealed his eternal name to Moses as “I AM”. 

Exodus 3:13-15 (NLT) 

But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” 

14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” 

15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations. 

Let’s fast forward some 1500 years past the time of Moses to the time of Jesus. Jesus reveals himself to the Jewish leaders as the “I AM”. 

John 8:56-59 (NLT) 

Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.” 

57 The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?” 

58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” 

59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple. 

They picked up stones to kill Jesus. Why? Because they refused to believe that Jesus was the I AM that had revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush. Abraham predates Jesus by some 2,000 years, and yet Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM.” 

Jesus also describes his “I AM” identity/name in 7 specific terms. 

1. I AM the Bread of Life. 

2. I AM the Light of the World. 

3. I AM the Gate. 

4. I AM the Good Shepherd. 

5. I AM the Resurrection and the Life. 

6. I AM the Way, Truth and the Life. 

7. I AM the Vine. 

Today, I would like to add one more to the seven I AM statements of Jesus. “I AM Jerusalem.” Jesus made the truth quite clear to the Jewish leaders, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” With that statement from Jesus, we must also conclude that this next statement is true. 

I AM Jerusalem! Why would I say that about Jesus’ name today? The Bible clearly states that God has placed his eternal name in Jerusalem. 

1 Kings 11:36 (NASB) 

'But to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. 

2 Chronicles 6:5-6 (NASB) 

'Since the day that I brought My people from the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man for a leader over My people Israel; 

6 but I have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.' 

2 Kings 21:4 (NASB) 

He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem I will put My name." 

When you read those three Old Testament Scriptures, you can understand why we might hear Jesus say, “I AM Jerusalem”. Jerusalem is the only place on earth where God has placed his name, and his name is “I AM”. 

Conclusion…everything that is happening around us in these last days is ultimately the battle for Jerusalem. The battle for the throne, the battle for whose name will be on the throne in Jerusalem. 

I hope today’s topic will help you understand why the antichrist, a man inhabited by Satan himself, will sit on the throne in Jerusalem at the midpoint of the Tribulation and proclaim that he is God. 

2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 (NLT) 

Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. 

4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. 

5 Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 

6 And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 

7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 

8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. 

In this prophetic scene, Jesus comes to Jerusalem and takes the throne away from Antichrist/Satan and says once and for all time, “I AM Jerusalem”! 

Psalm 2:6-8 (NLT) 

For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.” 7 The king proclaims the LORD’s decree: “The LORD said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. 8 Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession. 

Maranatha, Hosanna, Hallelujah and Amen, 

Terry Cooper