I am going to reply in a more organized way. First, I am going to comment on the discussion between a group of Pharisees and Jesus in John Chapter 8, then I will post follow-up comments on all of the other topics being discussed in this thread:
My Comments on John Chapter 8, in regards to Jesus Christ's use of EGW EIMI ("I AM"):
* In John 8:21, Jesus, in essence, condemned this group of Pharisees to Gehenna ("Hell") by saying that they would 'die in their sins,' or, in other words, they would die without their sins being forgiven by God. Note: The Pharisees did not try to stone Jesus for saying this.
* In John 8:23, Jesus told the Pharisees that He came from above (heaven), and that they were of the world (earthly sinners). Note: The Pharisees did not try to stone Jesus for saying this.
* In John 8:24, Jesus says to this group of Pharisees, " unless you believe that I am [egw eimi], you will die in your sins," or die and go to Gehenna/Hell. The Pharisees did not yet know who He was claiming to be, so they asked Him: "Who are you anyway?" (Amplified Bible) Jesus replied: "I am exactly what I have been telling you from the first." Note: The Pharisees did not try to stone Jesus for saying these things.
* In John 8:26, Jesus told this group of Pharisees that He had a lot more to say to them to judge and condemn them of. Note: The Pharisees did not try to stone Jesus for saying this.
* In John 8:34-36, Jesus says that the Jews are slaves to sin and will die in their sins unless they come to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. Note: The Pharisees did not try to stone Jesus for saying this.
* In John 8:42, Jesus said that He "proceeded (came forth) from God [out of His very presence]." (Amplified Bible) Yet, this group of Jews did NOT try to stone Jesus even for claiming to have proceeded from God and come down from Heaven!
* In John 8:44, Jesus said that this group of Pharisees and other Jews were sons of Satan and that they practice the desires of the Devil. Jesus then said that the Devil was a murderer and a liar. Basically Jesus was implying that the Pharisees were murderers and liars like Satan their father. Note: The Pharisees did not even try to stone Jesus for saying this.
* In John 8:46, Jesus claimed to be sinless. Note: The Pharisees did not try to stone Jesus for saying this.
* In John 8:47, Jesus said to these Pharisees and Jews, "You are not from God." Note: The Pharisees did not try to stone Jesus for saying this.
* In John 8:48, the Pharisees thought Jesus was possessed by a demon, but they still did not try to stone Him.
* In John 8:51, Jesus claimed that if the Pharisees and Jews would believe in Him and His words, they would never die. The Pharisees thought Jesus was possessed by a demon, but they still did not try to stone Him.
* In John 8:53, the Jews asked Jesus the following questions:
1:) "Are you greater than our father, Abraham? He died, and all the prophets died!"
2:) "Who do you make Yourself out to be?"
So, the Pharisees wanted to know WHO this Man claimed to be, this Man who proclaimed that He came down from Heaven from The Father's presence, had the authority to forgive sins committed against God, and claimed to be sinless and to be the Giver of eternal life. In the worldview and belief system of the Pharisees and Jews in the 1st Century, the ONLY One who could do those things was YHWH, Jehovah, the "I AM WHO I AM." But still, they were not 100% sure of WHO Jesus was claiming to be, so before stoning Him, they wanted to make absolutely sure what He was claiming about Himself. That is why they asked Him again, "WHO DO YOU MAKE YOURSELF OUT TO BE?"
The Jews had to be extremely careful about trying to stone someone, because under Roman Law it was illegal for the Jews to carry out the death penalty themselves. The Jews didn't just go around throwing stones at everyone who disagreed with them, or who taught a different religion. From the information above, it is clear that this particular group of Pharisees was relatively tolerant in their reaction toward Jesus, especially when Jesus called them sons of Satan, murderers, and liars.
In John Chapter 8, the Jews ask Jesus twice "Who are You?" and once they ask Him "Are you greater than Abraham?" The main thrust of the discussion is that the Jews are trying to find out WHO Jesus is.
The Jews had been divided over WHO Jesus was -- some thought He was John the Baptist raised from the dead, others thought He was Elijah, or Jeremiah, or another ancient prophet raised from the dead. Some thought He was the Messiah and/or The Prophet. Perhaps some even thought He was an angel, since He claimed to come down from Heaven.
The Jews wanted to know for sure if Jesus was claiming to be one of those ancient prophets, or perhaps an ancient prophet or man of God who lived before Abraham (such as Enoch), or if Jesus was claiming to someone even greater than the greatest person in Jewish history -- Abraham, the one whom 1st Century Jews viewed as their spiritual father. The Jews had the utmost regard for Abraham during the 1st Century.
* In John 8:58, Jesus told the Pharisees, "Truly, Truly I say to you, before Abraham came into being, I AM."
If Jesus was only claiming to have existed from before Abraham's day until the present, how would that have answered the Jews' question of "Who do You make Yourself out to be"? If Jesus only told them, "I existed before Abraham was born," that would not have answered anything. In the Jews' minds, Jesus could have been claiming to be an angel, some other heavenly being (cherub, seraph, archangel, fallen angel), or He could have even been claiming to be a man of God from the days of Abraham (perhaps even Melchizedek) raised up from the dead, or He could have been claiming to be God Almighty Himself. Or, based on what Jesus had said previously about the people who believe in Jesus never dying, they might have thought He was insane and claiming that He was a human being who had lived for thousands of years on earth.
Look at all the confusion that would have caused. If Jesus had only said " I was alive before Abraham was born," it seems very likely to me that this group of Jews' first reaction would have been to ASK Jesus MORE questions about His identity in order to determine what exactly He meant, NOT to immediately pick up stones to kill Jesus with (and thus, break Roman Law and risk being punished by the Romans).
Notice above once again that this particular group of Pharisees and Jews was relatively tolerant and patient with Jesus, even when they thought He was insane, possessed by demons, and when He called them sons of Satan. What would have caused this group to all of a sudden grab some stones and try to kill someone?
It is my belief that the only thing that would have provoked that kind of rage from this group of Jews would have been Jesus claiming to be Yahweh ("I AM") in the Flesh. When the Pharisees saw Jesus, they saw a poor carpenter's Son who did not follow the traditions of the elders, condemned the Pharisees, (in their view) did not follow the Sabbath, did not train at the religious schools, and ate with harlots, sinners, and tax collectors, and told people to pay taxes to Rome.
What do you think would have gone through their minds if they heard Him claim to be Yahweh, the Great I Am Who I Am?
Why else would the Jews have risked breaking Roman Law to stone Jesus all of a sudden? Why would the Jews wait through all of Jesus' other statements, and then, Jesus says EGW EIMI and BAM -- the Jews grab rocks to kill Christ with? How do you explain that?
The Jews knew exactly what Jesus was claiming. That's why they took immediate action to punish this (in their eyes) gross sin of blasphemy (it would have been blasphemy for anyone besides Jesus).
But, if we accept the argument(s) which I have seen set forth by non-Trinitarians (such as the argument from Mondo1), and we accept the claim that Jesus was not claiming to be God in John 8:58, then we are left with the fact that Jesus would have gone through this long, drawn out discussion with the Jews, where the Jews keep asking Jesus "WHO ARE YOU", just to finally end the discussion by saying , basically, "I have been alive for a long, long time."
If Jesus had only said "I existed before Abraham came into being and I still exist," then most likely the Jews would have continued the discussion and would have kept asking more questions about Christ's identity. After all, it was blasphemy under Jewish Law to falsely claim to be God or equal to God, but probably not blasphemy to claim to be an angel or another heavenly being, or even Michael or Gabriel.
If Jesus was only claiming to be a heavenly messenger of Jehovah in human form, the Pharisees, who believed in angels (see Acts 23:8-9), most likely would not have immediately grabbed stones to kill Jesus with and risk (1) breaking Roman Law, and (2) risk throwing stones at an angel of Jehovah! The Sadduccees might have (they didn't believe in angels), but the Pharisees would not have.
Also, if you look at all the other times in the Gospels where the Pharisees tried to kill Jesus, there is ONE common theme -- each time the Jews thought Jesus was claiming to be God and/or to be equal to God. (See John 5:18; John 10:30-33; John 10:38-39; Luke 22:67-71; John 19:7).
Why would John 8:58-59 be any different?
