I AM That I AM
According to Scriptures, names do matter, and they have great significance, since they stand for something or reveal something about a person’s character.
There are even several instances when God changed the names of His people, effectively giving them new capacities. For instance, Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, Sarai’s was changed to Sarah, and Jacob’s was changed to Israel.
The names of God, as He has unveiled them in Scripture, should be particularly noteworthy to us because they reveal who He is, as well as aspects of His character, promises, authority, and power.
The Bible also tells us that in these last days, those who call upon God’s name will be saved:
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:31-32)
So what is God’s name? When Moses stood before God at the Burning Bush inquiring about His name, God understood how important it was that Moses was able to reveal to the Israelites this important piece of information.
In response, God told Moses, Ehye Asher Ehye (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה) or simply Ehye (אֶהְיֶה).
In most English Bibles this name is translated as I Am Who I Am or simply I Am. (Exodus 3:14); “God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” Or ‘I Will Be Who I Will Be.’
The meaning God was intending to say is, “I am the One who was, who am and who will be.” Meaning that this Being has always lived, and He will always live. Besides, He is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient; and will be whoever He chooses to be in any circumstance: saviour, healer, deliverer, provider, protector; He will be that for you.
Immediately after telling Moses to say to the Israelites that “I AM has sent me to you,” God also tells him, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD [YHVH]… has sent me to you.’”
To most preachers today, the expression I AM has been used to prove that Christ of the New Testament is the same as the Being of the Old Testament.
When Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees and the elders, he said in John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.
Thus the espression I AM has been used to prove that the Personage of the Old Testament is the same as Christ of the New Testament. Typical is a justification in today’s Churches that read like this: [LCG, CBCG, UCG]
Jesus asserts that Abraham rejoiced to see His day. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” The Jews are infuriated by such claim and rebuked Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
Then Jesus drops the bomb, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” The Jews knew exactly what He was saying: Jesus was blaspheming by proclaiming that He is the God speaking to Moses at Mount Sinai!
Therefore, the I AM of the Old Testament has to be exactly the I AM that the New Testament says it is, and He is the One Who became Jesus Christ. And thus the Father was not the God of the Old Testament speaking to Moses!
This is why the Jews took up stones to kill Jesus. In their twisted minds He was guilty not only lying but of the utmost blasphemy.
Is this correct? These Jews were blinded to the fact that the Being who had become Jesus was, in fact, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. They were standing right there talking to the One who was their God—and they did not know it.
Or are these false preachers who are themselves blind shepherd trying to deceive their sheep? It was prophecised in Scriptures that God’s people will know His name: “My people will know My name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it” (Isaiah 52:6)
First, it’s confusing to prove anything by mixing Greek with Hebrew. Christ was merely stating that He was present during Abraham’s time rather that His name is “I am.”
The phrase “I am” in Greek is “ego eimi.” In fact, when Yeshua spoke to the Jews, he used the phrase “ego eimi” at least twenty times and yet, in only one instance did the Jews seek to stone him (John 8:58).
Jesus (or Yeshua) said, “I am the bread of life” to a large crowd in John 6:35,48, yet no one opposed him. In verse 41, the Jews murmured because he said, “I am (ego eimi) the bread which came down from heaven.”
But in verse 42, the Jews questioned only the phrase, “I came down from heaven” and ignored “ego eimi.” The same is true of verses 51 and 52. Their complaints being that He claims He came down from heaven, not because of the “I am.” Yet they didn’t attempt to stone him.
In John 8:12,18,24, and 28, Yeshua used “ego eimi” with the Pharisees present (v13) and yet, no attempt at stoning. He again used it four times in John 10:7,9,11 and 14 with no stoning.
Yeshua said to his disciples, “…that…ye may believe that I am (ego eimi)” in John 13:19 without them batting an eye.
In fact, several other individuals beside Yeshua used “ego eimi” as well. In Luke 1:19, the angel Gabriel said, “Ego eimi Gabriel.” In John 9:9, the blind man whose sight was restored by Yeshua said, “Ego eimi.”
In Acts 10:21, Peter said, “Behold, ego eimi (I am) he whom ye seek.” Obviously, the mere use of “ego eimi” does not equate one to the “I Am” of Exodus 3:14.
A sleight of hand! A pigeon!
Only the claim of being present before Abraham caused the Jews to stone Him.
Later in the Garden of Gethsemane Yeshua was answering the question “Whom seek ye?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said unto them, “I am He,” John 18:4-5.
Jesus didn’t intend to mean he was the God of the Old Testament, the God who said he was the Ehyeh that appeared to Moses before the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).
Other translations have caught it true intended meaning, as follows:
WE (Worldwide English) translation of John 8:58: Jesus answered, `I tell you the truth. I already was before Abraham was born.’
TLB Jesus: “The absolute truth is that I was in existence before Abraham was ever born!” Same with Luke 22:70 where “I am” is just an affirmation of what His accusers were charging Him of in the WE version.
MAGIC!
A touch of Simon Magus from all the false prophets and false shepherd we have today!
The Mystery of Ephraim 