How to Read The Alphachromatic Edition
The
Alphachromatic Edition is, as the subtitle states, a visual
commentary. The color of the letters
indicates whether God said the words you are reading or He inspired someone
else to say them. If the letters are
blue, God said them as the Father. If
they are red, He said them as the Son.
If they are purple, He said them as the Holy Spirit. If the letters are black, someone else said
the words.
Most of
the verse numbers are black. However,
in many instances, someone quotes God's voice.
In these situations, the verse numbers are colored. For an example, see Acts 13:47:
47 For so hath the
Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou
shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. Is 49:6
The blue
verse number tells you that someone is quoting the Father's voice in this
verse. The blue letters tell you what
the Father said, and the blue cross reference (Isaiah 49:6) tells you where He
originally said it. Similarly, a red
verse number signals a quote of God speaking as the Son, and a purple verse
number indicates a quote of God speaking as the Holy Spirit.
There are
situations in which the Son quotes the Father.
See Matthew 5:27:
27 Ye have heard that it was
said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: Ex 20:14
Here, the words are all red, since
God is speaking as the Son; but the verse number and cross reference are blue,
since He originally spoke some of these words as the Father in Exodus
20:14.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit quotes
the Father in Hebrews 3:8-11:
8 Harden not your hearts,
as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: Ps 95:8
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and
saw my works forty years. Ps 95:9
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation,
and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my
ways. Ps 95:10
11 So I sware in my
wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
Ps
95:11
Here, the
words are all purple, since God is speaking as the Holy Spirit; but the verse
numbers and cross references are blue, since He originally spoke those words as
the Father in Psalm 95:8-11.
The
Father even quotes Himself in II Chronicles 7:18:
18
Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted
with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in
Israel.
Here, the verse number, the words He
spoke, and the cross reference are all blue.
Ps
132:12
Since the
Son quotes Himself in Luke 4:18,19, everything is in red:
18 The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath
sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to
the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, Is 61:1
19 To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. Is 61:2
In a few
cases, especially in Paul's writings, a quote attributed to God is not recorded
elsewhere in Scripture. See Acts
26:14-18:
14 And when we were
all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the
Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for
thee to kick against the pricks. Acts 9:4, 5
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest. Acts 9:5
16 But rise, and stand upon
thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a
minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen,
and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17
Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send
thee, Acts 9:15
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins,
and inheritance among
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Here, Paul is retelling his encounter
with Jesus on the road to Damascus.
Acts 26:14,15, and 17 contain quotes of Jesus from Acts 9:4,5, and
15. However, Acts 26:16 and 18 are new
to us. These words did not appear in
the original account, but Paul attributes them to Jesus. If we remember what John said in John 21:25 (“And there are
also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written
every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books
that should be written. Amen.”), we can
confidently assume that Jesus did in fact say them, and that this was the first
time they were recorded. Therefore, the
letters are red with a black verse number and no cross reference.
A similar
example involving God as the Father is I Samuel 24:4:
4
And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver
thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him
as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose,
and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.
Since this was not recorded elsewhere, there is no cross
reference to list; but we must assume that God did say these words as the
Father.
God often
repeats Himself, especially in the Books of the Law, the Books of History, and
the Gospels. In these passages, the
letters are colored, but there are no colored verse numbers or cross
references. For an example, compare II
Samuel 24:12,13 to I Chronicles 21:10-12:
II Samuel 24:12,13:
12
Go and say
unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of
them, that I may do it unto thee.
13 So Gad came to David, and told him,
and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt
thou flee three months before thine
enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days'
pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that
sent me.
I Chronicles 21:10-12:
10 Go and tell David,
saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of
them, that I may do it unto thee.
11 So Gad came to David, and said unto him,
Thus saith
the LORD, Choose thee
12 Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before
thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three
days the sword of
the LORD, even the pestilence, in
the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of
Israel. Now
therefore advise thyself what word I
shall bring to him that sent me.
Occasionally,
words that were previously spoken by God are not attributed to Him. In such instances, the letters and verse
numbers are not colored, and there are no cross references. For an example, see Ephesians 4:25:
25
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we
are members one of another.
Here,
Paul restates the Father’s words from Zechariah 8:16 (“…speak ye every man the
truth to his neighbour…”)
without giving Him credit.
At times,
quotes are falsely attributed to God.
For an example, see Mark 14:57-59:
57
And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,
58 We heard him say, I will destroy this
temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made
without hands.
59 But neither so did their witness agree
together.
Although Jesus did say, “Destroy this temple, and
in three days I will raise it up.” in John 2:19, these false witnesses were maliciously misquoting the
Son in Mark 14:58. Therefore, the
letters remain black.