What Does Matthew 24:23 Mean in the King James?
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The title names the Anointed One; pointing to a location cannot make a claimant’s word trustworthy.
THE MEANING
A claim can place the Anointed One “here” or “there,” but the pointing itself does not make the claim trustworthy. The verse speaks now wherever someone claims to identify him: the location offered is not proof of who is there.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A confident claim that names or points to the Anointed One does not, by itself, prove the identification is true.
THE ROOT
χριστός
Christos
GROWS FROM
χρι- / χρισ- (chri- / christ-)
To anoint; χριστός means the anointed one.
“Christ” in this verse is Christos. The title describes one who is anointed; it is not a surname or a location. The verse separates that nature from anyone who merely claims that the Anointed One is here or there.
ALSO GROWS
chriō: To anoint
χρίω
This verb is the action behind the title: the claim concerns the Anointed One, not simply a person whose location is being announced.
chrisma: Anointing; “unction” in KJV usage
χρῖσμα
This related word keeps the idea of anointing visible within the same word family.
πιστεύσητε
pisteusēte
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
pist-
Trust, confidence, reliance.
“believe” in this verse is pisteusēte. The word carries the force of trust: placing confidence and weight on a claim. The refusal is about what is entrusted with that confidence when someone points to Christ.
ALSO GROWS
pistis: Trust, confidence
πίστις
This noun makes visible the trust that the verse says not to place in the claim.
pistos: Trustworthy, firm, steady
πιστός
The related word points toward the question beneath the warning: whether the claimant’s assertion is worthy of trust.
THE PATTERN
A claim to spiritual authority does not validate itself; the claim still requires discernment.
Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.THE THREAD
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.The same trust-word returns as the warning expands to claims that place him in the desert or in secret chambers. The repeated refusal shows that changing the claimed location does not make the assertion trustworthy.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us