The LAMB was slain BEFORE the foundation of the world, but in all actuality it was slain ONLY in the mind of God and his word of PROPHECY that was yet to come. So in this way Jesus was BEFORE Abraham was born.
Revelation 13:8 teaches us that in God's PLAN of salvation his Son Jesus that was NOT YET BORN was SLAIN from the FOUNDATION of the world. So far BEFORE Abraham was ever born Jesus the MESSIAH WAS.
“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
10. If any man have an ear, let him HEAR.”
This is HOW Abraham SAW the DAY of Jesus. Also I highlight the would WAS above, because the original Greek words that are translated as I AM also mean I WAS. In other words, John 8:58 could just have easily been translated as follows:
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I WAS.”
You see the Greek words translated as “I am” are “ego eimi”, where “ego” means I, my, and me. And the Greek word “eimi”, means was, am, it is, be, exist, and have been.
These SAME Greek words are used by Jesus and OTHERS to simple say “it is I”, “I was” and “I am”. It was the TRANSLATORS who made the choice as to which phrase to use. And some translators were so BIASED that they CAPITALIZED the “I AM” to sway readers to their OWN personal INTERPRETATION of God's word. The PARAPHRASED Message Bible goes way beyond the original text to produce a very BIAS translation ADDING "who I am" to the text to say,
"Believe me," said Jesus, "I am who I am long before Abraham was anything."
But just because some translation are BIAS does NOT mean that they are CORRECT. For you see in the very next chapter we read in John 9:9 where a blind man that was healed by Jesus is asked a question if he was the one whom Jesus healed and the blind man said “EGO EIMI” or I AM. Please keep in mind the the word “he”is not in the original Greek, but rather it us UNDERSTOOD just like it is understood in John 8:24, which we will look at in a moment.
Here is John 9:1-9 where the blind man that was healed says, “EGO EIMI”or “I AM”.
“And as Jesus passed by , he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3. Jesus answered, Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work.
5. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
6. When he had thus spoken , he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
7. And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
8. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged ?
9. Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am (EGO EIMI, which is that exact same Greek words that Jesus used when Jesus said before Abraham was I am) he.”
Revelation 13:8 teaches us that in God's PLAN of salvation his Son Jesus that was NOT YET BORN was SLAIN from the FOUNDATION of the world. So far BEFORE Abraham was ever born Jesus the MESSIAH WAS.
“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
10. If any man have an ear, let him HEAR.”
This is HOW Abraham SAW the DAY of Jesus. Also I highlight the would WAS above, because the original Greek words that are translated as I AM also mean I WAS. In other words, John 8:58 could just have easily been translated as follows:
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I WAS.”
You see the Greek words translated as “I am” are “ego eimi”, where “ego” means I, my, and me. And the Greek word “eimi”, means was, am, it is, be, exist, and have been.
These SAME Greek words are used by Jesus and OTHERS to simple say “it is I”, “I was” and “I am”. It was the TRANSLATORS who made the choice as to which phrase to use. And some translators were so BIASED that they CAPITALIZED the “I AM” to sway readers to their OWN personal INTERPRETATION of God's word. The PARAPHRASED Message Bible goes way beyond the original text to produce a very BIAS translation ADDING "who I am" to the text to say,
"Believe me," said Jesus, "I am who I am long before Abraham was anything."
But just because some translation are BIAS does NOT mean that they are CORRECT. For you see in the very next chapter we read in John 9:9 where a blind man that was healed by Jesus is asked a question if he was the one whom Jesus healed and the blind man said “EGO EIMI” or I AM. Please keep in mind the the word “he”is not in the original Greek, but rather it us UNDERSTOOD just like it is understood in John 8:24, which we will look at in a moment.
Here is John 9:1-9 where the blind man that was healed says, “EGO EIMI”or “I AM”.
“And as Jesus passed by , he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3. Jesus answered, Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work.
5. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
6. When he had thus spoken , he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
7. And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
8. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged ?
9. Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am (EGO EIMI, which is that exact same Greek words that Jesus used when Jesus said before Abraham was I am) he.”
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