Names of Jerusalem Jos. 10:1 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Jos 10:1 – Jerusalem. Jerusalem means “city of peace.” That’s an indication of what the city was under the reign of Solomon, whose reign typified the peaceful reign of Jesus, and will be during the millennial reign of Jesus. But the city has been anything but peaceful having been attacked 33 times before 1948. And it is still not a city of peace with its Jewish and Arab inhabitants, fighting from time to time. Look what people say in Lam 2:15. Before it was called Jerusalem, the city was known as Jebus, and it was inhabited by the Jebusites [Jud 19:10-11; 1 Chr 11:4-5]. Jebus means “trodden down,” which is a more accurate description of Jerusalem than the city of peace [Lk 21:24; Rev 11:2]. In Jos 10:1, the king of Jerusalem was Adonizedek. His name means “the lord of righteousness.” He is a type of the antichrist. He’s a counterfeit. His defeat by Joshua typifies the destruction of the antichrist by Jesus Christ.
Is 62:4 – Forsaken – and after Jesus returns, Hephzibah. Read the context from Is 61:1-4. Jerusalem has been forsaken, leading others like the Muslims to claim it as their own and leading some Christians to claim that God is through with Israel. However, Forsaken will be called Hephzibah, when Jesus returns. Hephzibah means, “My delight is in her.”
Is 1:10 – Sodom, or Sodom and Gomorrah, or Sodom and Egypt [Rev 11:8]. This is her name in her full blown idolatry and when she is occupied by the antichrist.
Is 1:26 – The city of righteousness – also the faithful city. Jerusalem will have this name when “The Lord Our Righteousness” is dwelling there as king [Jer 23:6]. As a matter of fact the name of the city will also be “The Lord is there,” [Ezek 48:35].
Is 60:14 – The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Jesus will be ruling from here on the throne of David over the whole earth [Is 9:6-7; Lk 1:31-33; Zech 14:9-11]. As Matt 5:35 says, “Jerusalem… is the city of the great King.”
Conclusion: it is interesting to see the progression of the names concerning this city. They let you know how she started, where she is today, in God’s eyes, and what her future relationship will be to him.