<p>8:24 <i>I replied to you, that you shall die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you shall die in your sins</i>- As explained on :21, this dying in sins refers to their final destruction in &quot;the second death&quot; at the last judgment. But they could avoid it, by accepting Him as the &quot;I am&quot;. Just as He so often uses the term, <i>ego eimi</i>, &quot;I am...&quot; (e.g. :23). In :21 He seems to say that because they would crucify Him, they would die in their sins. But they could still have repented of that. His sense was therefore that by doing such a huge sin, they were going to find repentance hard, and He knew many of them would not come to it, for it would require too much sacrifice of vested personal interest and standing. And thus at the last day, they would die in their sins, seeking Him all too late at that day (:21).</p>