“SHOCK!
HORROR! ITALICS!”
This
article is for the “Eeeek! … the Oh No! … the
Italics Crowd!” … you know the ones when they see italics in The
King James
Bible, it unhinges their ‘brain’ … and foaming at the mouth … they run
off in
all directions shouting “I’ve found some italics … they weren’t in ‘the
originals’ … they’ve been added …” and so on and so on.
Mmmm! Yes
… it’s so sad isn’t it … but there’s
nothing you can do to help them … as they clutch their most prized
possession, their
own intellect, inextricably entwined with their “I’d rather die than
give up my
wilful ignorance” stance.
A case in
point is the “… I am he…”
(John 8: 24, 28) … their claim “it
Two
minutes of study (ouch! study they yelp) would
reveal that in this passage of scripture of John 8:12-57, Jesus is not
ready to
reveal that he is the pre-Abrahamic “I am” of John 8:58 … that
is the
God Almighty Jehovah, himself, in the flesh.
Up till
then Jesus is detailing five specific
qualities (1 - 5) of being the “I am” as the Son of man, which
is
followed by the two reinforcing statements (6, 7) that
Jesus is
the “… he” of these qualities. To wit:
1. “I am the
light of the world” (John 8:12) 2. “I am not alone” (John 8:16)
3.“I
am one that bear witness” (John 8:18) 4. “I am from above”
(John 8:23) 5.
“I am not of this world” (John 8:23) … with the following …
6. “… if ye
believe not that I am he …” (John 8:24) … yes Dear
Reader, the “he”
of 1-5.
7. “… then
ye
shall know that I am he…” (John 8:28) … yes, the “he”
of 1-5.
At this
stage, Jesus is not ready to spring
on them that he is the “I am” of John 8:58 … as Jesus is simply
describing
specific details of himself as the Son of man (John 8:28).
Jesus
wants the scribes and Pharisees to learn of
him as the Son of man … so that “ … ye (they) will know the
truth, and
the truth will make you (them) free.” (John 8:32).
In
essence, Jesus is saying, will you believe that
“The Son of man, me, that I am God Almighty Jehovah in the flesh! …
because if
you do, you will be free from tradition of Moses. Your Messiah has
arrived!
Me!”
Now of
course they don’t, and vehemently argue with
Jesus, that their total sufficiency lies in the fact, that they are
children of
Abraham (John 8:33-57).
Jesus then
pulls out the big gun to blast them away
by saying “Don’t you worry about being children of Abraham because you
are now
my children … “Before Abraham was I am” (John 8:58) … he was quoting
the Old
Testament with “I AM THAT AM” (Exodus 3:14).
Jesus was
slowly peeling the onion as to who he was
… taking off layer upon layer … to finally reveal their total and
wilful
ignorance that he was the “I am” … God in the flesh.
In re-writing the Bible by eliminating the italic “he” (John 8:24, 28), the “Shock! Horror! Italics Crowd” clearly expose their wilful ignorance of the scriptures.
BULLSEYE!
********************************
Harley
Hitchcock
www.
AustralianBibleMinistries
.com
Australian
Bible Ministries, PO
Box 5058 Mt. Gravatt East 4122 Qld, Australia
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com
