"I am Christ."
August 15, 2015
G.D.O'Bradovich III
i am christ
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:4-5
And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. Luke 21:8
The traditional understanding of these passages is that Jesus predicts people will come and say that they are the Christ, the anointed. This is not an unreasonable understanding and these individuals would be called “antichrists” or “false prophets”. However, if we read the text without English punctuation:
Take heed that no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:4-5
Take heed that ye be not deceived for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and the time draweth near go ye not therefore after them. Luke 21:8
The understanding of the passages change to:
Many shall come in my name saying I [Jesus] am Christ and shall deceive many.
Matthew 24:4-5
Many shall come in my name saying I [Jesus] am Christ and the time draweth near go ye not therefore after them. Luke 21:8
This understanding would not be possible if the sections were clearly written as:
Many shall come in my name saying they [the many] are Christ .... Matthew 24:4-5
Many shall come in my name saying they [the many] are Christ ... Luke 21:8
As it is written, Jesus correctly predicts to the careful reader that many will come in Jesus’ name and say that Jesus is the Christ and will deceive many.