V-40b. What Does John 8:58 TRULY MEAN?

V-40b. What Does John 8:58 TRULY MEAN?

IS JESUS SAYING THAT HE HIMSELF IS

THE ALMIGHTY GOD

THE

GREAT I AM THAT I AM?

In John 8:58, is Jesus saying that he is Yahweh Himself by saying “Before Abraham was I am”? Does John 8:58 prove the doctrine of the Trinity? Does John 8:58 prove the doctrine of Oneness? Does John 8:58 prove the doctrine of the Deity of Jesus as being fully ALMIGHTY God and fully a human being at the same time having two natures during the days of his FLESH? Is Jesus QUOTING Exodus 3:14 where Yahweh describes himself as the great I AM THAT I AM? And if so be that Jesus is quoting Exodus 3:14 is Jesus actually saying that Yahweh the creator existed before Abraham as opposed to saying that he himself is Yahweh? Could Jesus have intended his words to mean that he was in the mind and plan of Yahweh before Abraham was ever born? There are many ways to INTERPRET John 5:58. But Oneness Christians and Trinitarian Christians both dogmatically demand that Jesus is saying that he is Yahweh Himself in John 8:58. And their line of reasoning is that they WRONGLY believe that the words “I am” is Yahweh's NAME.

Let us read just ONE English TRANSLATION of Exodus 3:14 out of its CONTEXT first because that is the way that Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal Christians interpret verses out of their context. to wrongly conclude that Jesus is Almighty God Himself in the flesh.

Exodus 3:14.

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you.”

Now let us INTERPRET John 8:58 in the way that Trinitarian and Oneness Christians interpret this verse. Trinitarian and Oneness Christians say that since Yahweh said the English words “I am” and Jesus said the English words “I am” then according to both the Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal Christians that means that Jesus is saying in John 8:58 that he is Yahweh Himself, the great I AM THAT I AM in the Old Testament.

Please consider that if John 8:58 was the ONLY words that Jesus ever spoke, then we would have no clue as to what Jesus was saying. Let us read John 8:58 out of its context and try to imagine that these are the ONLY words Jesus ever spoke.

John 8:58.

“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

In English, we would ask the question, “I am WHAT? Or I am WHO?” What I mean to say is that this verse MUST be INTERPRETED because Jesus does not STATE as a FACT who or what he means by saying “I am”. Therefore, we need CONTEXT from what Jesus HIMSELF said about himself in the entire gospel of John.

So then, both the Trinitarian and the Oneness Pentecostal INTERPRETATION of John 8:58 that Jesus was saying that he is the I AM that I AM of the Old Testament is an INTERPRETATION. Also, please understand that it is not the ONLY interpretation of John 8:58. Other Christians such as myself interpret John 8:58 to mean that Jesus intended his words to mean that he is the Messiah, the one prophesied in the Scriptures to come. No matter what Christians believe about who Jesus is, John 5:8 is one of those verses that MUST be INTERPRETED. And for ME, I must use the CONTEXT of what Jesus says about HIMSELF as opposed to using what church tradition says about Jesus.

Now, before we get into the different interpretations of John 8:58 let us read this verse with the eyes of a brand new Christian that is reading the Bible for the very first time. Let us assume that this Christian has been taught the very basic rule of how to interpret verses from the Bible by reading the CONTEXT when he or she comes across a verse that does not make sense to them. And let us say that this Christian randomly opened his or her Bible and started reading at John 8:58 as the very first words that he or she has ever read for himself or for herself from the Bible. Read John 8:58 as YOU being that Christian reading this verse for the very first time as the first verse you ever read.

John 8:58.

“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

Your first thought would most likely be a QUESTION. And that question would be “I am WHAT?” Or it would be “I am WHO?” I mean your question would be, “What are you saying, Jesus?” Then you remember that you were taught that the first thing you do when you do not understand a verse is to read the CONTEXT.

Now, in all honesty, would you go to the Old Testament FIRST as being the CONTEXT of John 8:58 that is in the New Testament? No! You would read the immediate context first. And then, if you still did not understand John 8:58, then you would widen the context to several chapters in the SAME book of John. But going to the Old Testament would be the farthest thing from your mind.

So then, let us approach the study of John 8:58 as a new Christian that has been taught all the rules of interpreting the Bible. And the FIRST rule of interpretation is to read the CONTEXT. The context can vary from one or two verses before and after the verse in question. The verse in question is the verse that does not make sense to you and you desire to learn the TRUE meaning of that verse. And if one or two verses before and after the verse in question do not help you make sense of that verse, then you would widen the context by reading the whole chapter. And perhaps the context may extend into the next chapter or the preceding chapter. And IF the next chapter or the preceding chapter seems to be a part of the SAME context then you would see what they say.

So then, with this first rule of interpretation as the context of two verses before and two verses after as the immediate context in mind, let us now read John 8:56-59. In this particular case, there is only one verse after verse 58 and the next chapter starts a new context of another subject.

So please read John 8:56-59.

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

57.  Then said the Jews unto him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?

58.  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

59.  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by”

In verse 56 Jesus is talking about HIS DAY being something that Abraham rejoiced to see. But we are not yet told by the information we have thus far as to what Jesus means by MY DAY. In fact, we do not even know who Abraham is. All we know for sure is that Jesus had to be older than fifty years old in order to see Abraham. So just from these verses, we learn that Abraham was born long before Jesus was born.

In verse 57 we can see that the Jews misunderstood what Jesus was saying. By their response, they thought Jesus was saying that HE himself saw Abraham back in Abraham’s day. And that would be humanly impossible since Abraham had been dead even some four hundred years before the Law of Moses was given. I did a word search on the word Abraham and that is how you can also learn the true meaning of verses in the Bible.

So then, in verse 58, we can see that Jesus repeats what he said in verse 56 in different words. Keep verse 56 in your mind the best you can AS your read verse 58 again. In other words, keep the DAY that Abraham rejoiced to SEE in your mind while reading verse 56 and verse 58. And do this without being distracted by verse 57 which was a MISUNDERSTANDING by the Jews of what Jesus was actually saying in verse 56.

John 8:56,58.

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see MY DAY: and he saw it, and was glad. ...

… 58.  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

Still, nothing makes perfect sense because we do not know for sure what Jesus is meaning by his words “MY DAY”. So let us now widen the CONTEXT by reading John 8:51-58. Again, let us read it without verse 57 because the Jews did NOT understand what Jesus was TRULY saying to them.

John 8:51-56,58.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keeps my saying, he shall NEVER SEE DEATH. (This is the WHOLE subject of the Bible. This is the DAY Jesus is speaking about Abraham REJOICING to see and he SAW it or PERCEIVED through the Scriptures the day of the Messiah coming. The DAY Jesus is speaking about is the day of the coming of the MESSIAH)

52.  Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that you have a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and you say, If a man keeps my saying, he shall never taste of death. (The Jews did not understand that Jesus was the Messiah and that he was going to tell them more about the DAY of RESURRECTION. But they picked up stones to stone him so he had to get out of there for his time had not yet come to be lifted up on the cross. The Jews thought that they were saved because they were the children of Abraham. They thought Jesus was making himself better the Abraham. And to them, Abraham was their father. They did NOT understand that Jesus is their MESSIAH)

53.  Are you greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead: whom do you make yourself? (Now, we would say on behalf of Jesus in answer to this question on our own words, why yes, as a matter of fact, I am greater than Abraham. But Jesus knew to NEVER exalt HIMSELF. Please read Matthew 23:12 “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”)

54.  Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is MY Father that honors me; of whom you SAY, that he is your God: (Jesus understood the Scriptures that they testified of him but he also knew that it would be honoring himself if he came right out and said that he is greater the Abraham because he is the Messiah. Also, we need to remember that Jesus already told the Jews from the very beginning of his ministry that he is the anointed one of God prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-3. Jesus made it very clear to us that he is the Christ, the Messiah, the ANOINTED OF God prophesied to come)

55.  Yet you have NOT known Him, but I know Him: and if I should say, I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know Him, and keep His saying. (This is important because Jesus has been showing them that they are SINNERS and they need a Messiah. Keep in mind that you, that is to say assuming you yourself are a new Christian that was shown that you were a sinner and you needed a Savior and that is what Jesus is teaching the Jews. And that is the SUBJECT or purpose of the whole Bible. It is the purpose of the Bible to point to the Messiah that was prophesied in the Old Testament. The DAY of the MESSIAH was what every Jew was looking for. Except, these Jews knew that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee. Please read John 7:41,42. “Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said, That Christ comes of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” So, these particular Jews did NOT believe that Jesus was their MESSIAH, the Christ because they did not know that he was BORN in Bethlehem)

56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see MY DAY: and he saw it, and was glad. (The word translated as “SAW” also means to perceive or to understand. So Jesus is saying that Abraham perceived the day of RESURRECTION of the RIGHTEOUS from the Scriptures that prophesied of the coming Messiah. Now< I am going to skip over verse 57 temporarily and we will come back to it)...

...58.  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

Now, verse 58 is starting to make perfect sense without verse 57. Jesus is saying one of four things according to the CONTEXT and the meanings of the Greek words. Please understand that all four interpretations are INTERPRETATIONS and not thus says the Lord statements of facts. The whole purpose of this study in God's word is for YOU, the reader that is seeking the truth, to make up your OWN mind as to which of the following interpretations makes the most sense to you in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. And by LIGHT, I mean the clear correct meanings of other verses of Scripture that AGREE with the whole word of God.

Interpretation #1.

Jesus is saying that before Abraham was BORN I am HE. The pronoun HE is not in the original text. And thus, the context should determine if the IMPLIED pronoun should be added for clarity or not added. In other words, interpretation #1 is saying that what Jesus meant by his words I am is that God prophesied of his coming Messiah before Abraham was ever born.

So this interpretation #1 means that Jesus is simply saying that he is the MESSIAH. Let us read this INTERPRETATION INTO the text as we read verse 56 and verse 58 again without verse 57.

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see MY DAY: and he saw it, and was glad.  

58.  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am [HE].”

Speaking of the Messiah prophesied to come. In other words, Jesus is saying, before Abraham was born I am [he], the Messiah who was prophesied to come. I was prophesied to come into being before Abraham was born.

This is just one possible interpretation that FITS the CONTEXT. In a moment, we will broaden the context, even more, to CONFIRM that this interpretation is a 100% SOUND Biblical interpretation. And had the translators translated John 8:58 this way by adding the IMPLIED pronoun “he” to say “I am [he]” then there would have never been any confusion as to what Jesus was truly saying. You see my dear brothers and sisters in or Lord Jesus Christ, we use sentences all the time where the UNDERSTOOD pronoun YOU is omitted and we understand perfectly that if we ADD the understood pronoun to the sentence that it would NOT CHANGE the meaning of the sentence. We will take a look at John 8:24 in a moment where the translators did, in fact, ADD the IMPLIED or UNDERSTOOD pronoun he for clarity. But first, let us consider three more interpretations.

Interpretation #2.

Jesus is saying that before Abraham will be resurrected to receive eternal life I exist or I shall come TO exist, meaning that Jesus will be given eternal life BEFORE Abraham comes to exist or before Abraham will be given eternal life in the world yet to come. The Greek word translated as “was” ALSO means TO BECOME, to be brought to pass, be finished, arise to be assembled, and to come into existence. These are all future meanings. So this Greek word translated as “WAS” in the past tense could have been translated and interpreted in the future tense. In other words, the translators interpreted this Greek word FOR you to mean Abraham’s being born in the past, as opposed to the yet future meaning of Abraham being born from the dead to eternal life in the world to come.

Here is a quote from a Bible concordance called E-Sword that I use for the meanings of the Greek and Hebrew words. Here is how E-Sword defines the Greek word translated as “WAS” in the King James Version.

γίνομαι

ginomai

ghin'-om-ahee

A prolonged and middle form of a primary verb; to cause to be (“gen” -erate), that is, (reflexively) to become (come into being), used with great latitude (literally, figuratively, intensively, etc.): - arise be assembled, be (come, -fall, -have self), be brought (to pass), (be) come (to pass), continue, be divided, be done, draw, be ended, fall, be finished, follow, be found, be fulfilled, + God forbid, grow, happen, have, be kept, be made, be married, be ordained to be, partake, pass, be performed, be published, require, seem, be showed, X soon as it was, sound, be taken, be turned, use, wax, will, would, be wrought.

Total KJV occurrences: 672.

And the meaning of the Greek word translated as “am” means “TO EXIST”. But again, it must be INTERPRETED to mean that Jesus existed in eternity past as opposed to Jesus saying, I am TO exist before Abraham will exist. In other words, Jesus is saying before Abraham becomes into being in the world to come, I will come into being in the world to come. In simple words, Jesus is saying that he will be given eternal life BEFORE Abraham will be given eternal life.

Here is a quote from a Bible concordance for the Greek word “EIMI” Strong’s #1051 translated as “am” in the King James Version. And the Greek word for “I” is “EGO” So, EGO EIMI is translated as “I am” in most Bibles.

εἰμί

eimi

i-mee'

First person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist (used only when emphatic): - am, have been, X it is I, was. See also G1488, G1498, G1511, G1527, G2258, G2071, G2070, G2075, G2076, G2771, G2468, G5600.

Total KJV occurrences: 146.

And here is G2071 that the concordance tells us to ALSO see.

ἔσομαι

esomai

es'-om-ahee

Future tense of G1510; will be: - shall (should) be (have), (shall) come (to pass), X may have, X fall, what would follow, X live long, X sojourn.

Total KJV occurrences: 188.

And it did indeed come to pass that the Son of man, Jesus, was given eternal life BEFORE Abraham will be given eternal life. So then, this interpretation AGREES with the immediate CONTEXT as well as with the WHOLE word of Almighty God.

But verse 58 is in the PRESENT TENSE. It is NOT in the PAST tense, as in, I EXISTED in eternity past. And it is NOT in the FUTURE tense, as in; I WILL exist for all eternity future BEFORE Abraham will be born from the dead. It simple says in the PRESENT tense “I EXIST”. So then, to exist in the PRESENT TENSE does not dogmatically demand that the existence began in eternity past. Nor does it demand a literal existence in the eternity past. Jesus existed in the mind and plan of God before Abraham, and as you can see by the future meanings of the word that Jesus could have been prophesying into the present tense of his yet future resurrection to be given immortality BEFORE Abraham. Also, the Genesis account where God said let us make man in our image was not in the eternity past. The earth itself might be billions of years old but God created man just some 6000 years ago. And thus, God's plan of salvation BEGAN some 6000 years ago and NOT in the eternity past. In other words, the account in Genesis speaks of God recreating or restoring the earth and laying the foundation of ground rules for the very purpose of JUDGING Satan and the fallen angels. Know you not that we shall judge the angels, as in, we who overcome Satan.

So this present tense of this Greek word tells me that interpretation #1 is the BEST interpretation so far. However, interpretation #2 did indeed come to pass as well. So then, Jesus MAY have been prophesying in the PRESENT tense a yet FUTURE fulfillment. And, therefore, Interpretation #2 is still a valid interpretation that agrees with both the immediate context and the rest of God’s word.

Interpretation #3.

Jesus is saying that he is preferred above Abraham by being the Messiah. The Greek word translated as “BEFORE” means before in time but ALSO it can mean preferred above in importance as well. And certainly, this interpretation of Jesus being ABOVE Abraham also agrees with what the Bible teaches us about Jesus being anointed above his fellow brothers. God prophesied that he would make his firstborn Son HIGHER than the kings of the earth

Please read Psalm 89:27 from the Bible in Basic English which is a PROPHECY of the coming Messiah.

“And I will make him the first of my sons, most high over the kings of the earth.”

And this is exactly what was fulfilled. Jesus was made to become the King of kings.

Interpretation #4.

And BOTH the Trinitarian and the Oneness Pentecostal interpretation says that Jesus is saying, that before Abraham was, I EXISTED as the great I am that I am in eternity past. But MORE than just as Yahweh himself, the Trinitarian Christians interpret John 8:58 as Jesus saying that he pre-existed as God the SON, the second person of a Godhead Trinity God, who was WITH God the Father at his side, according to their interpretation of John 1:1.

Now, this INTERPRETATION comes from the much greater context of going to the Old Testament while IGNORING the immediate closer context. Keep in mind that John 8:58 could have just as easily been translated as Before Abraham was I am [he] just like the translators did in John 8:24. The translators added the IMPLIED pronoun “he” for clarity. So all I am saying is they could have done the same thing in verse 58 as they did in verse 24. And since they did not add the implied pronoun that causes me to see that there may be some BIAS in the translation of John 8:58. Please read John 8:24 where the translators did add the implied pronoun, he.

John 8:24.

“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am [he], you shall die in your sins.”

And if John 8:58 was ALSO translated as I am [he] then there would be no question concerning this verse to be the so-called NAME of Almighty God, the “I AM”. For you see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, the immediate CONTEXT clearly teaches us that Jesus was saying that he is the MESSIAH. Jesus clearly says that he is the Messiah in John 4:26.

John 4:25,26.

“The woman said unto him, I know that Messiah comes, which is called Christ: when he has come, he will tell us all things. 

26.  Jesus said unto her, I that speak unto you am [he].”

Yes, the pronoun he is implied but the CONTEXT is CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD that Jesus is saying I am HE, the Messiah that is prophesied to come. And Jesus is saying in John 8:24 that if you do NOT believe that I am HE then you shall die in your sins. What Jesus means by the IMPLIED or UNDERSTOOD pronoun “he” is that if you do not believe that I am he, the Messiah, then you shall die in your sins. And that AGREES with what the Apostles of Jesus believed and taught throughout the New Testament which is that the NAME Jesus is the ONLY name that has been given among men whereby we MUST be saved.

So my argument is WHY would Jesus change who he said he was in John 4:26 from being the Christ to now being the great I am that I am Yahweh Himself in John 8:58? There are NO prophecies of Yahweh prophesying that He Himself would become a human being and come down to be the Messiah. But rather, the prophecies clearly teach us that God would raise up a Messiah FROM AMONG his people.

Remember that John 8:58 must be INTERPRETED by the CONTEXT and what Jesus said about himself.

So which is the better interpretation, ACCORDING to the CONTEXT of what Jesus says about HIMSELF?

And that is all that I ask my readers to consider. What does the CONTEXT teach us?

Now, before we come back to the immediate context, let us take a look at both the Interlinear Greek translation and some different Hebrew translations of Exodus 3:14 in its CONTEXT.

Let us go now to that Old Testament passage of Scripture to see what it is actually saying. Please read Exodus 3:13-16 where we will see that the ACTUAL NAME of Almighty God is YHWH pronounced as YAHWEH in the Hebrew as opposed to the NAME of God being “I AM”.

Just as a side note, in my own opinion, I believe that the Tetragrammaton was transliterated incorrectly by some to be Jehovah. I myself believe that God said his name is Yahweh and that this would be his name forever. For all the verses, in the Bible, on this topic, please see the study “IS JEHOVAH GOD'S TRUE NAME?” But for now, let us read Exodus 3:13-16. We will look at the King James Version first.

Exodus 2:13-16.

“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God (Or the Elohim) of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his NAME? What shall I say unto them? (Please notice that Moses asked God TWO questions. This is important because God gives Moses TWO answers)

14. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: (Or more precisely, I will be that I will be or I SHALL BECOME WHO I AM BECOMING. You can read this translation for yourself from this literal translation by clicking on the link and scrolling down to verse 14. Also keep in mind that this is God’s answers to Moses’ SECOND question, “What shall I SAY unto them?”) and he said, Thus shall you SAY unto the children of Israel, I AM (Or more precisely, I will be, or I am BECOMING) has sent me unto you.

15. And God (Or Elohim) said MOREOVER unto Moses (Or wait, Moses. There is MORE that you shall say to my people when they ask you. Remember you asked me TWO questions, “WHO sent you Moses AND WHAT is his NAME that sent you?” So ALSO), Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, The LORD (Correctly translated as YHWH and NOT as LORD) God (Or YHWH God, which is to say Yahweh the Elohim) of your fathers, the God (Or the Elohim) of Abraham, the God (Or the Elohim) of Isaac, and the God (Or the Elohim) of Jacob, has sent me unto you: THIS IS MY NAME forever, AND THIS IS MY MEMORIAL unto all generations. (In other words, God was saying to Moses I will BE what or who I will BE and my NAME is YAHWEH forever AND my memorial is the WHO I shall become or bring into existence. Yahweh is the SOURCE of everything that comes into existence. And Jesus said that he came OUT FROM God. Please read the studies “JOHN 16:28 JESUS CAME FORTH FROM GOD!” and “DID GOD CREATE ALL THINGS OUT OF NOTHING?”)

16. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God (Or YHWH or YAHWEH the Elohim or the God) of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:”

Plain and simple, the NAME of Almighty God is Yahweh and NOT I AM THAT I AM. The NAME of God is NOT “I AM”. Rather the actual name of the one true and only Almighty God is Yahweh. You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ when you read other translations you can also clearly see that God told Moses to SAY to the children of Israel that “I WILL BE” has sent me to you as opposed to “I AM” has sent me to you. So then, in John 8:58 Jesus is simply saying, Before Abraham “I WILL BE” if Jesus was actually QUOTING Exodus 3:14. So to me, Jesus is saying “I am HE” the one PROPHESIED to come, the Messiah. This will become even clearer when you read the Greek Interlinear Translation.

But first, let us read Exodus 3:13-15 from the Complete Jerusalem Bible which gives the literal English for the Hebrew text. Again, remember the TWO questions that Moses asked Yahweh and the TWO answers that Yahweh gave to Moses. The first question about God’s NAME is answered last in verse 15. And what Moses should SAY to them is answered first in verse 14.

Here is Exodus 13;15 from the Complete Jerusalem Bible.

“Moshe said to God, “Look, when I appear before the people of Isra'el and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is his NAME?' what am I to TELL them?”

14. God said to Moshe, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be]," and ADDED, “Here is what to SAY to the people of Isra'el: 'Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.'”

15. God said FURTHER to Moshe, “Say this to the people of Isra'el: 'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov, has sent me to you. 'This is my NAME forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.”

So then, to INTERPRET the words of Jesus saying “I am” to mean that Jesus is saying that he is the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY GOD, the great I AM THAT I AM, is going way beyond what the word of TRUTH teaches us. As you can clearly see even without getting into the literal Greek text that the words. “I AM” is NOT God’s NAME.

Once again, the NAME of the Elohim or the God of Israel is NOT “I AM” or “I AM THAT I AM”. But rather God's NAME is YHWH or YAHWEH that is TRANSLATED as LORD in many Bibles. Nonetheless, in the original Hebrew, it is written as YHWH to be the NAME of God forever. Sometimes God's name is rendered as YHWH or as Yud Heh Vah Heh. And these four Hebrew letters YHWH, called the Tetragrammaton, is transliterated into English and pronounced as Yahweh. Again, some say that God’s name should be pronounced as Jehovah which I personally will not use anymore. See the study “IS JEHOVAH GOD REAL NAME?” 

Again, when we keep verse 14 in its CONTEXT it becomes clear to us that the simple two English words “I AM” is NOT the NAME of Almighty God. Yes, Almighty God told Moses to say “I am or I will be or I shall be” has sent you. BUT Almighty God also told Moses to say that YHWH or Yahweh was his NAME. In other words, God is saying my NAME is Yahweh and I will BE who or what I will be. Some have gone a little further and say that this means that God will BE whatever you need him to BE. And we do indeed NEED a Messiah.

Here is the LITERAL translation of these Hebrew words “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh”.

“I shall BECOME who I am BECOMING.”

And “I shall BECOME who or what I am BECOMING” agrees perfectly with the rest of God's word. So when you view John 1:1 to mean Almighty God and his SPOKEN WORD as HOW Yahweh ALONE and by himself creates all things, then you will see that the “LOGOS” is the SAYING of God and it is NOT a separate person who was with God at God’s side.

In other words, if we read John 1:1,14 where we see that in the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was WITH THE God and the WORD was God to mean that God was the WORD is becoming, then we can clearly see that the SPOKEN word of God BECAME FLESH. And NOT that God the Son became flesh. And NOT that a separate divine eternal Spirit being named the Word became flesh.

To say this another way, when God said, Light BE or Let there BE light, we have no idea how LONG it took for the SPOKEN WORD of Almighty God to BECOME LIGHT. We just ASSUME that light became instantly into being where it did not exist before. And it well may be the case that light was instantly brought into being or created. But my main point is that God FIRST THOUGHT in his mind or within himself for light to BE when there was NO light as yet. And there was NO light UNTIL God SPOKE forth his THOUGHTS as his word, his “LOGOS”, his SAYING to become or the come into being the IMAGE of what God willed to BE in his mind first.

You see, when God SPOKE forth the IMAGE of his thoughts in the FORM of his WORD or SAYING out from his mouth as PROPHECY, then the WORD or SAYING was MADE FLESH as fulfilled prophecy. Please read the PROPHECY of the yet coming Messiah in Isaiah 9:6,7. And as you read this prophecy please notice the ORDER that the events are PROPHESIED.

Please read Isaiah 9:6,7.

“For (Order of event #1 that has already been FULFILLED) unto us, a CHILD is BORN, (THEN comes Order of event #2 that has also already been FULFILLED) unto us a son is given: (Speaking of the HUMAN Son of MAN, Jesus as the Son given as the ONE sacrifice for the sins of the world. Yahweh provided His own Lamb that was slain in the mind of God from the foundation of the world. God chose His Lamb to be made inferior to the angels so He made the human race a little lower than the angelic beings) and (And THEN Order of event #3 is YET FUTURE and it is YET TO BE FULFILLED) the government shall be upon his shoulder: (Which is the WRATH of God executed by Jesus. That is WHEN the kingdoms of this present world will become the kingdom of God's dear Son to begin the 1000 year reign of Jesus) and ( And THEN will come Order of event #4 that is YET FUTURE and it is YET TO BE FULFILLED WHEN the government will be set upon the shoulder of Jesus IN the world to come, at which TIME) his NAME shall be CALLED Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, (Or more precisely, according to Hebrew 5:9, the Father of everlasting life or the AUTHOR of eternal life. For you see, it was BECAUSE, OF the Son of man, Jesus obeying his God and Father's Will, which Jesus made it possible for whosoever believes in him shall be saved. Jesus was MADE perfect and he BECAME the Father of eternal life AFTER the cross. For you see, the Son of MAN, Jesus, was GIVEN the authority and the power AFTER the cross to JUDGE and also to give eternal life to whomsoever he chooses. This is why Psalms 2 prophesies to kiss the feet of God’s Son whom He ordained to be his King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is also called) The Prince of Peace. (And, according to Revelation 1:5, Jesus is our Prince right now standing at the right hand of God. But at his second coming, Jesus will SIT on the right hand of Yahweh to rule and reign FOR Yahweh as the Lord of the Sabbath. And at that time, the kingdoms of this present world will become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. And)

7.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Also, please notice WHO is doing the PERFORMING of His own spoken word of PROPHECY that came forth OUT FROM His mouth. It is Almighty God Yahweh the creator who is performing His own word. So to me, Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of the spoken word of PROPHECY. Jesus began as a THOUGHT in God’s mind as God's secret plan of salvation. Not just the salvation of mankind that He had not yet created, but also the RESTORATION of the entire universe back to being at PEACE having no WAR. God created the human race to put an END to evil. Please read the studies under the heading >>>WHY ARE WE HERE-IS GOD AT WAR?<<< 

Again, who SPOKE this PROPHECY? And who PERFORMED and will continue to perform THIS prophecy to come to pass? It is Yahweh alone and by himself who spoke this prophecy and He is still yet performing this prophecy.

Again, please notice the ORDER of this prophecy. The first thing prophesied is that a CHILD will be BORN. That part of the prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus being BORN of the woman, the Virgin Mary. The next part of the prophecy says that a Son would be given. That part of the prophecy was also fulfilled in Jesus, the Son of MAN, being lifted up on the cross to die for the sins of the world. And the rest of the PROPHECY is yet to be fulfilled.

So then, God SPOKE forth his WORD out from his mouth as his word of prophecy. Men of old were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down foretelling of the COMING of the MESSIAH. But God HID this message of his yet coming Son here and there throughout his written word. God hid prophecies of his coming Messiah in his word because God had an ENEMY that was seeking to keep God's PLAN of salvation from coming to pass. Jesus said he CAME OUT FROM God. Jesus said that the Scriptures testify of him.

In the Old Testament, God spoke to us through His prophets to reveal to us who he was. And then, in these last days, God SPOKE his WORD by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to plant the seed of his word in her womb to be MANIFESTED or to be conceived in a woman to be BORN as God's Messiah to FULFILL that part of His PROPHECY. And when Mary believed in agreement with God's WORD, she said, “be it done ACCORDING to your WORD”. And then the Holy Spirit of Almighty God moved upon Mary and the SPOKEN WORD or SAYING OF God was manifested or was conceived in the womb of Mary. The word, the logos, or the SAYING of God was made to become FLESH in the womb of the Virgin Mary just as the spoken word of God prophesied.

The child grew for nine months in Mary’s womb to come forth as a HUMAN child without a HUMAN father. The ONLY UNIQUE Son of Almighty God, the Father, has come in these last days to SHOW us the Father. To be the one true and only ALMIGHTY God who alone is the great I AM THAT I AM or I SHALL BECOME WHO I AM BECOMING.

In other words, Almighty God BECAME what he said he would BECOME through his SPOKEN WORD for thousands of years. And then one day on a certain DAY some two thousand years ago God’s SPOKEN word came to pass when the SAYING or WORD finally BECAME FLESH. This does NOT mean that God became a MAN because Numbers 23:19 says that God is NOT a MAN and neither is God the Son of MAN. Yahweh becomes EVERYTHING that Yahweh creates by SPEAKING them into existence. 

Here is Exodus 3:14 in the Greek Septuagint. Now you do not need to read Greek to follow what I am saying. Simply know and understand that the two Greek words highlighted in yellow mean “I am”. These two Greek words convey the meaning I am SOMETHING. So the SOMETHING that God is saying that he is I will highlight in orange. Please notice that ὁ ὢν, which is the SOMETHING that God is saying that he is, appears TWICE. But the two Greeks words ἐγώ εἰμι meaning “I am” only appears ONE TIME. The English translation is below to help follow along.

“14, καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων· ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν. καὶ εἶπεν· οὕτως ἐρεῖς τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραήλ· ὁ ὢν ἀπέσταλκέ με πρὸς ὑμᾶς.”

“14. And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING; and he said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING has sent me to you.”

In other words, if Jesus would have said, “Before Abraham was,  ὁ ὢν” instead of saying, “Before Abraham was, ἐγώ εἰμι,” then the Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal INTERPRETATION of John 8:58 might have some validity. But Jesus did NOT say, “Before Abraham was, ὁ ὢν”. Or “Before Abraham was, THE BEING. Rather Jesus said. Before Abraham was ἐγώ εἰμι”, which again should have been translated as “Before Abraham was, I am [he]” with the IMPLIED or UNDERSTOOD pronoun [HE] added for clarity. And if it was correctly translated in this way then the meaning of these words of Jesus would mean that Jesus is saying, I am he, [the MESSIAH].

And another possible translation of John 8:58, seeing that there were no commas in the Greek text, would be as follows.

“Before Abraham I was to be”

The order of Greek words in a sentence is not as important as the order of the words in an ENGLISH sentence. And this translation would agree with interpretation #1 where Jesus was PROPHESIED to be before Abraham ever came into existence.

The truth of the matter is that the translators should have added the English implied pronoun “he” to say, “Before Abraham was, I am [he].” And if they would have done so, then there would not have been any confusion as to the TRUE meaning of these words of Jesus. The words, “I am [he]” would have never been connected with the English TRANSLATION of Exodus 3:14 in the King James Version.

The true meaning of John 8:58 means that Jesus was saying, “Before Abraham was, I am [he].” And this means that Jesus was saying that he is the Messiah as the CONTEXT clearly teaches us.

Now let us go back to the larger CONTEXT of John 8:58.

Please read John 8:12-59.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that FOLLOWS shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of LIFE. (Or the teachings that will bring ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come, So Jesus is teaching us the HE has the words that will lead to eternal life IF we will BELIEVE and FOLLOW his words.)

13. The Pharisees, therefore, said unto him, You bear record of yourself; your record is not true.

14. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is TRUE: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but you cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. (Jesus knew that the Scripture prophesied of him and the fulfillment of him being the Messiah that was prophesied to come. Jesus knew that he was born of a VIRGIN having no earthly Father. Jesus knew that God begat him in the womb of his mother Mary through Yahweh’s spoken word sent down from heaven by the Angel Gabriel to speak to Mary. Jesus knew that his ORIGIN was from God)

15. You judge after the flesh; (Or you are judging me by your own reasoning after the flesh that God did not send me) I judge no man.

16. And yet if I judge, my judgment is TRUE: for (Or BECAUSE) I am NOT ALONE, (Jesus is saying that the Father is dwelling IN him telling him what to say and that is why his record and judgment is TRUE) but I AND the Father that SENT ME (The Greek word translated as “sent” here LITERALLY reads SENDING in the present tense. So then the Father dwelling IN Jesus was presently SENDING Jesus moment by moment directly him what to do and say. Jesus was NOT ALONE. Almighty God, the FATHER, was DWELLING IN Jesus as the one who was doing the WORKS that men saw Jesus doing. They knew and understood that no MAN could do such things except God be WITH him. See John 3:2. “The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no MAN can do these miracles that you do, except God be WITH him.” So it is not logical for Jesus to be saying that he is Yahweh himself in verse 58 when Jesus clearly states that God was WITH him in the CONTEXT of that same verse.)

17. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of TWO men is true. (Jesus plainly states that there are TWO that bear witness all the way through this entire passage of Scripture, which teaches us that Jesus is NOT saying that he himself is ALMIGHTY God, the great I AM, who alone is the FATHER. In other words, IF Jesus was truly saying that he himself IS the I AM, then Jesus would be saying that he is the FATHER himself.)

18. I am ONE that bears witness of myself, AND the Father that SENT (Or the Father the one SENDING) ME bears witness OF ME. (In other words, Almighty God the Father is ONE witness. AND Jesus, the SON OF Almighty God, is witness number TWO. And this teaches us that Jesus and the Father are NOT ONE and the SELF-SAME being. But rather they are TWO separate individual persons or beings that AGREE or have the same WITNESS)

19. Then said they unto him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You neither know ME NOR MY Father: if you had known ME, you should have known MY Father ALSO. (Here again, we see Jesus speaking of TWO separate persons. Jesus came to show us or to reveal to us the FATHER. Jesus is NOT saying that he is the Father. If a King sends his Son to speak the King's words in the NAME OF the King that does NOT mean that the Son IS the King that sent him.)

20. These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

21. Then said Jesus AGAIN unto them (Jesus is repeating the last part of verse 14 in different words to explain himself better), I go my way, and you shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, you cannot come. (They cannot come because they do NOT believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied to come. They did NOT believe that God sent Jesus to them. They did NOT believe that Jesus has the words that will lead to eternal life. If they had believed then they would have followed the teachings of Jesus. But the Jews still did not understand that Jesus was going to the cross to die for their SINS. They were seeking a mighty warrior Messiah. And that is why Jesus said that after the Son of man is crucified, that some of them would still be seeking their Messiah, their warrior king Messiah. But they will die in their sins because they did NOT believe the words of Jesus, saying, I am he. The Jews did NOT UNDERSTAND what Jesus was saying to them but yet both Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal Christians dogmatically demand that the Jews knew PERFECTLY that Jesus was saying that he is Almighty God Himself when they picked up stones to stone him in John 8:59)

22. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he said, Whither I go, you cannot come. (Again, the Jews MISUNDERSTOOD almost everything that Jesus was trying to teach them so how could they possibly know PERFECTLY that Jesus was saying that he is Yahweh Himself in John 8:58 as some Christians claim. The Jews also accused Jesus of having a devil so if one believes the Jews OVER what Jesus himself says then they must also believe that Jesus has a devil as well)

23. And he said unto them, You are from beneath; I am FROM above: you are of this world; I am NOT of this world. (Meaning that you and I have an earthly father but Jesus has a heavenly Father. Also, Jesus was born-again spiritually at his baptism. When a person believes in Jesus as being the Son of God, then that BELIEVER in Jesus, as the Christ, the SON OF the living God is no longer OF this world. We become a new creation of God being born-again from ABOVE by the WORD of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please see John 17:14-16 which clearly teaches us that WE are NOT of the world even as Jesus is NOT of the world.   “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.John 17:15 I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil. John 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” So then, to INTERPRET verse 23 as Jesus saying that he came down from heaven would be to say that WE came down from heaven as well because we are NOT of this world in the SAME MANNER the Jesus is not of this world)

24. I said, THEREFORE, unto you, that you shall die in your sins (Or that is WHY I said you shall die in your sins); FOR (Or BECAUSE) if you believe NOT that I am HE, you shall die in your sins. (This verse as well is used by those who teach the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Oneness to say that if you do not believe that Jesus is saying that he is the great I AM that I AM or Yahweh Himself then you shall die in your sins. Yes, the word “he” is not in the original Greek. But the UNDERSTOOD pronoun “he” is in the text much like the understood pronoun “you” is often left out of a particular sentence. However, it is the context of our whole conversation that clearly reveals to us that the subject under discussion is the UNDERSTOOD YOU.

So, in the same way, the pronoun “HE” here in this verse and in verse 58 which was left out is the UNDERSTOOD subject being discussed through this whole passage of Scripture. This is why the translators added the word “he” in verse 24 and why they SHOULD have also added the pronoun “he” in verse 58. Those who understand the original Greek text clearly UNDERSTAND that the pronoun “he” is clearly UNDERSTOOD. However, the TRUTH of the matter is that Jesus is saying that he is the CHRIST, the ANOINTED of Almighty God, which was PROPHESIED to come. Please read the study “JOHN 8:24-IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE THAT I AM HE?”)

25. Then said they unto him, WHO ARE YOU? (In other words, the Jews were asking Jesus the question who are you by saying, he WHO? WHAT do you MEAN when you say I AM he? WHO are you saying that you are when you say I AM HE) And Jesus said unto them, Even the SAME that I said unto you from the BEGINNING (And when we go back to the BEGINNING of the ministry of Jesus, we find in the Gospel of Luke chapter 4, that Jesus said that he was the ANOINTED ONE of Almighty God, the Father, that was SENT or commissioned by the Father the preach the gospel of salvation. Jesus is saying that I have already told you WHO I am at the very beginning of my ministry when I read out of the book of Isaiah and told you that this Scripture is FULFILLED in your ears. Please see Luke 4:18-21 which is right after Jesus was ANOINTED with the Holy Spirit and he BEGAN his ministry. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, Luke 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. Luke 4:21  And he BEGAN to say unto them, This day is this SCRIPTURE is FULFILLED in your ears.” So then, it was at the very BEGINNING of the ministry of Jesus that he BEGAN to tell them that he is the MESSIAH that was prophesied to come. Again, for all the Scriptures please read the study “JOHN 8:24-IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE THAT I AM HE?”)

26. I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that SENT (Or but the one sending) me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of HIM. (In other words, all that Jesus speaks or teaches is from Yahweh his Father. So, if you do not believe the words of Jesus, then you do not believe Yahweh the Father. Please read Deuteronomy 18:18,19. “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto you, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. Deuteronomy 18:19.  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” Again, Jesus is saying that he is the one PROPHESIED to come all the way through this passage of scripture in John chapter 8.)

27. They understood not that he (Jesus) spoke to them of the FATHER.

28. Then said Jesus unto them, When you have lifted up the Son of MAN, then shall you know that I am he, (Now, if so be that Jesus was saying that he himself is Yahweh, the great I AM THAT I AM, in John 8:58 then why does Jesus say that he is the SON OF MAN here in the SAME CONTEXT? Jesus is saying I am HE, meaning I am the Christ, the one prophesied to come. I am he, the prophet like unto Moses, whom God promised that he would raise up from among the people) and that I do NOTHING OF MYSELF; but as MY Father has taught me, I speak these things. (Now again, if so be that Jesus was saying in John 8:58 that he was one and the self-same being as Almighty God the I AM THAT I AM, then Jesus would be able to do anything that he desired to do. But yet the word of TRUTH clearly teaches us that Jesus could do NOTHING in and OF HIMSELF. This truth alone should prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus was NOT saying that he was the great I AM THAT I AM when he said the word in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I am”. Jesus is saying that he is the MESSIAH, the one prophesied to come. It was in God’s plan of salvation for Jesus to speak in parables to the children of Israel. They asked him to tell them plainly if he is the Christ and Jesus answered saying, “I told you and you believed NOT.” See John 10;24,25. “Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long do you make us to doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us plainly. John 10:25  Jesus answered them, I told you, (At the very beginning of my ministry that Isaiah 61:1-3 is FULFILLED in your ears) and you believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.” And I told you again several times in John 8:12-58 but you took up stones to stone me)

29. And he that SENT (Or the one sending) me is WITH me: the Father has NOT left me ALONE; for I do always those things that please Him. (Again, we see TWO separate persons. We see the Father and the SON and not just the I AM THAT I AM who alone is the FATHER. In other words, we see that Yahweh was WITH his SON Jesus by DWELLING IN the Son of man.)

30. As he spoke these words, many believed on him. (Many Jews could believe that Jesus was a prophet with whom God was WITH. But many other Jews were still undecided if Jesus was the Christ. You see, the Jew knew that the Scripture prophesied of an ANOINTED MAN who would come and when Jesus made it clear to them that God was WITH him then many believed on him)

31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word (Which again, are not his OWN words, but rather they are the words of Yahweh that commanded or instructed Jesus what to speak), then are you my disciples (Or learners of me) indeed;

32. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

33. They answered him, We are Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how say you, You shall be made free? (Free from what? Read the context)

34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. (Remember the CONTEXT. Jesus is saying that if they do not believe who Jesus says that he is truly saying that he is then they shall die in their sins. Jesus is saying that they are in BONDAGE to SIN)

35. And the servant abides not in the house for ever: but the SON abides ever.

36. If the SON, therefore, shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.

37. I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you.

38. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do that which you have seen with your father. (Jesus is saying that he is hearing and obeying the voice of Yahweh the Father.  And that they, the Jews, are obeying the voice of their father the devil. Jesus is saying that whom you obey his servant you are. And in order to be set free from the bondage of sin, then you need a MESSIAH who will give you the power to become a son or child of God. Please read the study  “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN?”)

39. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said unto them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.

40. But now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the TRUTH, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. (Again, we see TWO. We see Jesus who is hearing from Almighty God the Father, the one speaking to the Son of man, Jesus.)

41. You do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. (So the Jews called God their Father as well. But they were NOT obeying the words of Almighty God spoken through the prophets who prophesied of a CHILD being BORN of a VIRGIN and THEN a SON who would be GIVEN to die on the cross as a ransom for the sins of the people. The Jews to whom Jesus was speaking to here did not understand the prophecies of the suffering Messiah who would die on the cross for their sins. But rather, they were seeking a mighty warrior Messiah instead. They did not believe that they needed a Messiah to cleanse them from their sins. They trusted their eternal life as being children of Abraham and following Moses)

42. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, you would love me: for I proceeded FORTH and came FROM God; neither came I OF MYSELF, but HE SENT me. (So again, we see that Jesus is NOT identifying himself as BEING the one who is sending himself. Jesus is clearly teaching us that he is being sent BY Yahweh the great I AM THAT I AM who is Almighty God, the Father, ALONE. How many times have you heard preachers say that Jesus volunteered to come down from heaven to become flesh? But this verse says that he did not come of himself. I see Jesus saying that he had to subdue his OWN WILL to become obedient to do his God and Father's will. We will cover the words of Jesus saying, I preceded FORTH and came FROM God further on in this study of whether or not Jesus pre-existed as a co-eternal and co-equal person who was a separate eternal divine person that was with Yahweh at his side.)

43. Why do you not UNDERSTAND my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. (Go back to verse 24, and verse 25 when they asked Jesus the question, WHO are YOU? And Jesus said EVEN the SAME that I have already told you at the beginning of my ministry. I am the CHRIST, the ANOINTED one of God who was PROPHESIED to come! Why do you not understand my speech? Again, they were not looking for a suffering Messiah that would die on the cross for their sins. They did not believe that they needed saving from their sins)

44. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it. (Jesus was telling them straight to their face that they were SINNERS and if they did not believe that he was the Messiah, then they would die in their sins)

45. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not.

46. Which of you convinces me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?

47. He that is of God hears God's words: you, therefore, hear them not, because you are not of God.

48. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that you are a Samaritan, and have a devil?

49. Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honor MY Father, and you do dishonor me.

50. And I seek not mine OWN glory: there is one that seeks and judges. (Here we see that Jesus does not honor himself, but rather Jesus honors his Father. So again we see two separate persons. We see Almighty God, the Father, the great I AM THAT I AM and we see his SON Jesus, the CHRIST, the anointed one of Almighty God, who was prophesied to come. The Scriptures testify of the coming of the Messiah. That is WHO the Jews were waiting for to come.)

51. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keeps my saying, he shall never see DEATH. (This is the CONTEXT of John 8:58. In fact, this is the context of the entire Bible. Jesus is speaking of HIS DAY being the day of HIS resurrection to become the FIRSTFRUIT or the FIRST human being to be resurrected and given eternal life. This is when Jesus became the Messiah. Jesus said that Abraham rejoices to see MY DAY. The day the Messiah would come and conquer death.

Remember verse 28 that they would know who the Son of man was when the Son of man is crucified. They would know that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the Son of the living God because God would raise him from the dead and not leave his soul in hell. This is what got the Jews hot under the collar, so to speak. They did not comprehend that Jesus was saying that he is the Messiah who would suffer and DIE for their sins)

52. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that you have a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and you say, If a man keeps my saying, he shall never taste of death. (Here we see that the Jews saw Abraham as the greatest of all men and all the prophets. And here this man from Galilee was telling them that his teaching was greater than what Abraham and the prophets spoke. And clearly, this angered the Jews.)

53. Are you greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead: who do you make yourself? (They thought that Jesus was exalting himself as someone greater than their father Abraham. But Jesus was exalting the message of the NEW Covenant that he would establish in his shed blood as being greater than the Old Covenant of Moses. The New Covenant has the word that will lead to eternal life. And the Old Testament testified of the coming Messiah who would establish the New Covenant)

54. Jesus answered, If I honor MYSELF, my honor is nothing: it is MY Father that honors me (Again, please notice again that Jesus is speaking of his Father, the great I AM THAT I AM as being a SEPARATE person from himself); of whom you say, that he is your God:

55. Yet you have not known HIM, but I know HIM: and if I should say, I know HIM not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know HIM, and keep HIS saying.

56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see MY DAY: and he saw it, and was glad. (HOW did Abraham see the DAY of the Messiah when the Messiah had NOT YET COME? Abraham understood the words of the prophets and the coming DAY of the MESSIAH. Abraham saw the DAY of the RESURRECTION from reading the Scriptures.)

57. Then said the Jews unto him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? (The Jews misunderstood the words of Jesus all the way through this passage of Scripture. And here they thought Jesus was saying that he saw Abraham rather than Abraham desiring or rejoicing to see the day of the Messiah. They did not understand that Abraham would literally see the Messiah when Jesus descended into the belly of the earth to preach the Gospel to the Saints of the Old Testament of which Abraham was one of those saints. They did not understand that the Son of MAN, Jesus would be glorified with a new immortal glorified body BEFORE Abraham)

58. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, (Or Truly) I say unto you, BEFORE Abraham was, I am. (The LITERAL translation reads, “Truly, truly I am saying to you before Abraham to be coming into being I am [coming into being]” In other words, before Abraham was born I am to be coming into being, as in, I was in God's plan long before Abraham was born. To say this another way, Jesus was PROPHESIED to come into being before Abraham was born. Before Abraham was born MY DAY was prophesied to be.

ALSO, before Abraham is resurrected and given eternal life to never see death I am going to be resurrected from the dead and be given eternal life never to die again as the firstborn from the dead to become the firstborn of every creature. Please read the study  “WHAT DOES FIRSTBORN OF EVERY CREATURE MEAN?”

And as well, Jesus is saying YES, I am before Abraham, as in, I am GREATER than Abraham because the Scriptures testify of ME as being the Christ, the one prophesied to come to save the people from their sins. The root word translated as before also means above or superior to Abraham)

59. Then took they up stones to cast at him: (Not because Jesus was saying that he was ALMIGHTY God the Father, who alone is the great I AM THAT I AM. But rather, because they did NOT believe that Jesus was the Messiah, who would suffer and die on the cross and be resurrected from the dead. They simply thought that Jesus was exalting HIMSELF to be better than Abraham. They were jealous of Jesus having many followers. They saw Jesus as being a self-appointed prophet of God. They said Jesus had a devil. You see the context of the previous chapters teaches us that the Jew wanted to kill Jesus for breaking the Sabbath day by healing the sick on the Sabbath. The truth of the matter is that these Jewish leaders did not want to lose any of their followers to become a follower of Jesus so they picked up stones to stone him for whatever reason they could find), but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”

When some Christians read the English word “SENT” they assume that Jesus is saying that Almighty God sent down his Son from heaven. But the literal meanings of all the Greek words translated as sent in THIS passage of Scripture are in the present tense meaning that God was sending the Son of MAN out into the world to preach the kingdom. And the context in chapter 7, verse 29 supports this meaning as well. The Greek word translated in those verses as SENT means TO COMMISSION.

And according to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word COMMISSION means the act of committing or giving the authority to carry out a task. Or granting certain powers or entrusting. In other words, the Son of man was ANOINTED with POWER and authority from on high to preach the kingdom of God. So the interpretation of Jesus saying that he was sent down from heaven is reading into these verses where God sent the Son. And the INTERPRETATION of John 8:58 of Jesus saying that he is Yahweh, the great I AM THAT I AM is also READING INTO THE TEXT a preconceived belief.

Remember in John 5:33-47 that Jesus said to the Jews that they searched the scriptures to find eternal life? And then Jesus said that the SCRIPTURES they testify of ME. Jesus was saying to the Jews, at that time, the very same thing that he is saying in John 8:12-58. And that is that Jesus is saying, “I am HE”, the one that was the PROPHESIED to come

Here is John 5:33-47, which AGAIN clearly shows us that Almighty God was WITH his Son Jesus performing his word with SIGNS and WONDERS bearing WITNESS that Almighty God was IN the Son of MAN, Jesus. God was bearing witness that Jesus was a true MAN of God that was obeying the voice of his God and Father, the great I AM THAT I AM. Jesus was NOT saying that he was Almighty God Himself. But rather, Jesus was saying that he was not ALONE. For you see, Almighty God through his Holy Spirit DWELT IN his Son of MAN, Jesus. Jesus was saying that he was the ANOINTED ONE sent by Almighty God.

Please read John 5:33-47.

“You sent unto John, and he bares witness unto the truth.

34. But I receive NOT testimony from man: but these things I say, that you might be saved.

35. He was a burning and a shining light: and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

36. But I have greater witness than that of John: (Now Jesus said that John was the greatest of all the prophets. So then, if Jesus had a greater witness than John, then he was also saying that he had a greater witness than Abraham and all the prophets) for the works which the Father has given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me. (Remember that Jesus also said that he could do NOTHING OF HIMSELF and that the works were done by the Father that DWELT IN him by the Holy Spirit OF Almighty God. Also, remember that Almighty God, the Father, IS SPIRIT. In other words, the Holy Spirit OF Almighty God and Almighty God himself, the great I AM, are ONE and the SELF-SAME one Spirit being. But Jesus is the SON OF Almighty God, the great I AM. And thus, Jesus is a SEPARATE being or person from Almighty God the Father, the great I AM THAT I AM)

37. And the Father himself, which has SENT me, has borne WITNESS of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape.

38. And you have not his word abiding in you: for whom he has sent, him you believe not.

39. Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and THEY are THEY which TESTIFY of ME. (This is HOW Abraham SAW the DAY of Jesus the COMING Messiah. Also keep in mind that the New Testament is NOT a LIVE broadcast so to speak, but rather it was written after the fact and the writer sometimes INCLUDED things that happened after the resurrection of Jesus is some of these narratives. What I mean by this is that Abraham rose from the grave WITH Jesus and this was another way that Abraham SAW the DAY of Jesus. Please read the study “WHAT AND WHERE IS PARADISE?” for a deeper understanding of how Jesus PREACHED the gospel of SALVATION to the spirits of the Old Testament saints when Jesus first descended into the lower parts of the earth for three full days and three full nights.)

40. And you will not come to me, that you might have life.

41. I receive not honor from men.

42. But I know you, that you have not the love of God in you.

43. I am come in my Father's NAME, (Remember that the NAME of Jesus means Yahweh SAVES or the SALVATION of Yahweh, Blessed is he who comes in the NAME of the Lord.) and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive (Just as a side note, but an extremely important side note, I believe that this verse may be prophesying the coming of Muhammad, which the seed of Abraham in the lineage of Ishmael received. Please read the study “COULD ISLAM BE THE MARK OF THE BEAST?”).

44. How can you believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that comes from God only?

45. Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom you trust.

46. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: for he wrote OF ME.

47. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words?”

Now plain and simple, any verse that we interpret MUST AGREE with the rest of God’s word. My interpretation of John 8:58 is that Jesus is saying that he is the MESSIAH, the one prophesied to come. And that interpretation AGREES with the word of Jesus in John 5:39 where Jesus says that the Scripture TESTIFY of HIM. My interpretation agrees with Almighty God revealing to Peter than Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. My interpretation agrees with every member of Jesus being formed when they were NOT YET.

Please read Psalm 139:13-17.

“For You have possessed my reins: You have covered me in my mother's womb. 

14.  I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Your works; and that my soul knows right well. 

15.  My substance was not hidden from You, when I was made in SECRET, and curiously wrought in the LOWEST parts of the earth. 

16.  Your eyes did see my substance, YET being UNPERFECT; and in Your book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, WHEN AS YET was NONE OF THEM. 

17.  How precious also are Your THOUGHTS unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!” 

Let us read the last three verses again so you can see that the TRUE Jesus did NOT LITERALLY pre-exist in eternity past as God the Son who was literally with Yahweh as a literally separate person at God’s side.

Psalm 139:15-18.

“My substance (Or my BODY, as in, my whole BEING of spirit, soul, and body as well as my END PURPOSE) was not hidden from You, (Or my body, as in, my whole BEING of spirit, soul, and body as well as my END PURPOSE, was not SECRET from YOU)  WHEN (Or my body, as in, my whole BEING of spirit, soul, and body as well as my END PURPOSE,  was not a secret from you as to when, where, and how)  I was made  (Or my body, as in, my whole BEING of spirit, soul, and body as well as my END PURPOSE, was not a secret for YOU as to when, where, and how I would be brought to pass or PROCURED)  in SECRET, (Speaking of Yahweh’s HIDDEN prophecy kept secret from God’s enemy, Satan)  and curiously wrought (Or my body, as in, my whole BEING of spirit, soul, and body as well as my END PURPOSE, was not a secret for YOU as to when, where, and how I would be brought to pass or PROCURED by you who fabricated me in an unusual way) IN the LOWEST parts of the earth. (Or my body, as in, my whole BEING of spirit, soul, and body as well as my END PURPOSE, was not a secret for YOU as to when, where, and how I would be brought to pass or PROCURED by You who fabricated me in an unusual way by Your spoken word of PROPHECY being FULFILLED or performed by You in the WOMB of the earth. Now, I see two meanings to the phrase “IN the LOWEST PARTS of the earth. Before Jesus ascended out of the grave he DESCENDED FIRST into the heart of the earth or into the LOWEST parts of the earth. But God did not leave his SOUL in Hell as was prophesied. And after God resurrected the Son of MAN, Jesus, God highly exalted him and gave Jesus eternal life to become God’s, ETERNAL Son. That is one meaning. The other meaning is that Jesus had his beginning in the womb of a human woman without an earthly Father)

16.  Your eyes did see my substance, (Or Your eyes looking into the future did see my BODY, as in, my whole BEING of spirit, soul, and body as well as my END PURPOSE) YET being UNPERFECT; (Or yet being an embryo or an unformed mass)  and IN Your book all my members were written, (Or every detail about where I would be born to the END PURPOSE of why I was born are written in Your word of PROPHECY)  which in continuance were fashioned, (Or You formed and molded like a potter) WHEN AS YET was NONE OF THEM. (Or when YET NONE of my being existed in eternity past You kept forming Your thoughts within yourself as to how You desired my end to be like)

17.  How precious also are Your THOUGHTS unto me, O God! How great is the sum (Or how great is the END)  of them!”

Jesus said that the Scriptures TESTIFIED of him. So are we to believe what the PROPHECIES clearly teach us without any need of interpretation? Or should Christians continue to believe the MAN-MADE doctrine of the Trinity and the MAN-MADE doctrine that Jesus IS the Father Himself? For me, I have chosen to be what the PROPHECIES cleary teach us in simplicity.

John 5:39.

“Search the Scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which TESTIFY of me.”

Now read Luke 24:44-49.

“And he (Jesus) said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 

45.  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, (Speaking of the PROPHECIES in the Old Testament Scripture that Jesus EXPLAINED to them)

46.  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 

47.  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 

48.  And you are witnesses of these things. 

49.  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high.” 

Psalm 56:8.  

“You (Yahweh) tell my wanderings: put You my tears into Your bottle: are they not in Your book?

I myself do NOT see ANY PROPHECIES in the Old Testament Scriptures that prophesy of a God the Son being sent down from heaven to be incarnate in the flesh but yet remained the fully Almighty God at the same time having two natures, one divine, and one human.

But I do see prophecies of a HUMAN Messiah coming INTO existence through the SPOKEN word coming OUT FROM the mouth of Yahweh. I see the New Testament writers saying that this was a FULFILLMENT of the Scriptures. I do not know why it is so hard for some Christians to see that John 1:1 is a PROPHECY of the spoken word of God BECOMING a God by becoming FLESH first. And then the human Son of MAN was highly exalted to become be CALLED by the TITLE a Mighty God as prophesied in Isaiah 9:6,7.

Clearly, every Christian sees that Jesus being SLAIN as an innocent Lamb before the foundation of the world was the PLAN of God. So, why is it so hard to see that the word becoming a God was also the PLAN of God? Did not the Son of MAN BECOME a God just as it was PROPHESIED? Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear can clearly see that Yahweh is the God OF his Son Jesus. Please read the study “JESUS SAID WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?”

Another study that I highly suggest that you read is “WHEN DID JESUS BECOME GOD’S ETERNAL SON?” You may be surprised to learn the Bible ITSELF clearly teaches us that God’s Son first came into existence at the virgin birth as God’s HUMAN Son. And then it was AFTER the cross that the Son of MAN Jesus was glorified to become God’s, ETERNAL Son.

Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. 

And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. 

Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands. 

And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels. 

Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels. 

For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here?  Is God at WAR? **.

More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God. 

If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.

For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING! 

And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD! 

At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.

Or you can scroll down to the MORE dropdown menu list to find those studies as well. 

Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. 

And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. 

And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **

And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! ** 

This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.

Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Brother Mark.

My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. 

So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament. 

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