- [Narrator] Jesus explained who he was before the creation of the world. There are many mysteries
that Jesus shared with us. Among these are what took place
before the world's creation. This took place in John. The most significant prayer ever prayed by the greatest person who ever
lived is a powerful prayer. Jesus' prayer in John 17 is one of the most significant
chapters in the entire Bible. In it, we can feel the very heartbeat of Jesus as he prays to his Father. The Bible is filled with great prayers. We are impressed with Solomon's
prayer, Abraham's prayerو and Moses's prayer, but this prayer is by
far the greatest recorded in the Bible. Jesus talked about the glory and majesty he shared with God the Father
before the world existed. John 17:1-5. "When Jesus had spoken these things he raised his eyes to
heaven in prayer and said, Father the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that
your Son may glorify you. Just as you have given him power and authority over all mankind. Now glorify him so that
he may give eternal life to all whom you have given him to be his permanently and forever. Now, this is eternal life
that they may know you, the only true supreme and sovereign God and in the same manner
know Jesus as the Christ whom you have said. I have glorified you
down here on the earth by completing the work
that you gave me to do. Now, Father glorify me
together with yourself, with the glory and majesty
that I had with you before the world existed." Before the creation of the earth was God and God had majesty with his Son. Genesis contains numerous beginnings including the creation of
man and other creatures but it is clear that
God does not begin here. God was present at the
beginning of the Bible and it is written that he was present when the universe was created. Before the existence of our universe, there had to be an eternal
something or someone. And the Bible makes it clear
that this person is God. Scripture actually shows this to us in several verses throughout scripture. The Bible teaches that God is uncreated and eternal in his being and that is to say he always
existed and always will exist. In Genesis chapter 1 the singular El is replaced by the plural Elohim which means three or more gods. As a result, the very first
sentence in the Bible, Genesis, uses a plural noun with a singular verb. One could argue that it
is grammatically incorrect but theologically correct, implying that God is three in one. Genuine prayer often reveals
a person's innermost being. John 17 is a unique opportunity to see the nature and heart of Jesus. In this prayer, Jesus will
touch on many of the themes developed in this gospel. Glory, glorify, sent, believe, world, love. Jesus asks to be glorified. "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that your
Son also may glorify you." Before Jesus' hour of
glorification had not yet come. Now the hour has come. Jesus prayed first for himself but his plea was not selfish. His concern for himself was a concern for the glory of the Father. The Son can only glorify the Father if the Father first answers
the prayer of the Son. Glorify your Son. Jesus did not wait until
his work on the cross to glorify God the Father. His entire life glorified
God on the earth. Jesus glorified the Father
through his whole life from his circumcision and
dedication at the temple, through his quiet years
of obedience in Nazareth. Jesus glorified the
Father through his faith, obedience and work through the years of his earthly ministry. Every sermon preached, every
blind or sick person healed, every bit of instruction and
training for the disciples, every confrontation with a
corrupt religious leaders, every question answered,
every loving touch, they all glorified God the Father. We then read, "I have finished the work." Jesus with divine confidence and assurance saw the work on the cross
as already finished. Jesus asked the Father to glorify him but with the same glory
that the Father himself has. Jesus' prayer was in no way
an expression of independence but of utter and continued
dependence upon God the Father. Numerous individuals plead for
their praise and attention. However, their plea for glorification is vastly different from Jesus' prayer. Glorify me together with yourself and the difference is normally between dependence and independence. We also read "with the
glory which I had with you before the world was." Jesus was aware of his
pre-existence and the nature of it. He knew that there was
a time in eternity past when God the Son and God
the Father shared glory. Jesus could not honestly
or sanely pray this if he were not Yahweh himself,
equal with God the Father. In Isaiah chapter 42, verse 8, Yahweh proclaimed that he
shares his glory with no one. If God the Father and God
the Son share their glory, they must both be Yahweh. The Bible commentator noted,
"He had one main petition that the Father would receive him back to the glory he had relinquished
to accomplish his task. This petition for a return to his pristine glory implies unmistakably his preexistence and
equality with the Father. It confirms his claim that
he and the Father are one." John chapter 10, verse 30. The gospel of John has
emphasized the glory of Jesus throughout its record. John was careful to record the many ways Jesus referred to his
own glory in this prayer. The events leading up to the crucifixion had begun with the betrayal. The phrase, "Now the
Son of man is glorified" refers to the reaSon
Jesus came into the world. He would die and then
be raised from the dead as a substitutionary atonement the Son would glorify the Father and the Father when glorify the Son. They would promote each other's glory. Highlighting God's greatness is in fact what Christians
are called to do. Everything we do in
thought, word, and deed is for God's glory. Jesus does not only pray for
himself, he prays for us. In John chapter 17 verse 24, Jesus says, "Father I desire that they
also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me, because you loved me before
the foundation of the world." Whatever we are or become
in our spiritual lives, we owe it all to the Savior
who gave himself for us, who prayed for us that
we might be one with him and who gave us such a
beautiful pattern to follow in our own prayer lives. In the end, we see
Jesus in His glory again in the Book of Revelation. In the book of Revelation
John was to document the things that he had seen. John sees a powerful Jesus that does not compare to any typical man. Revelation 1:12-13. "Then I turned to see the
voice that was speaking with me and after turning I saw
seven golden lamp stands, and in the midst of the lamp stands I saw someone like the Son of man, dressed in a robe reaching to his feet and with a golden sash
wrapped around his chest." This was it. John had seen the Son of man,
the honored Jesus Christ. John described the loud voice he heard as distinct and striking
as a sound of a trumpet. The powerful voice is that
of the alpha and omega, the first and the last, who stands at the beginning
and the end of everything. Because Jesus identified
himself with these names in Revelation 1:18 we know
this was a loud voice of Jesus. The first and the last is the title that belongs to the Lord,
Yahweh, the God of Israel. The title alpha and the omega has the same idea as first and the last. This is one of the New Testament passages where Jesus clearly claimed to be God. We can only imagine what
went through John's mind as he turned. The sound of the voice
he heard most likely did not match up perfectly with the way he recalled
Jesus' voice sounding. John described it as of a trumpet. Revelation 1:10. However, he was aware that it was Jesus because of the voice's
description of itself as the alpha and omega. After spending so much time with Jesus throughout
his ministry on earth John finally had the opportunity
to meet him face to face after all these years. The robe and girdle may evoke images of the high priest from the Bible and they may also imply that
Jesus is the high priest for his people. The only other occurrence
of girdles in Revelation is chapter 15, verse 6, also golden, where it is priestly imagery for angels in the heavenly temple. Thus, Jesus appears not only
as king, but as a priest, a combination of images that grew familiar to Jewish people in the Maccabean period. John then continues,
"His head and his hair were white like white wool,
glistening white like snow and his all-seeing eyes were flashing like a flame of fire
piercing into my being. His feet were like
burnished, white hot bronze refined in a furnace and his voice was powerful
like the sound of many waters." Revelation chapter 1:14-15. This description of his eyes is similar to the narrative
that we get of an angel in the book of Daniel. Daniel, chapter 10 verse 6. "His body also was like
beryl, with a golden luster. His face had the appearance of lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and his feet like
the gleam of burnished bronze and the sound of his
words was like the noise of a multitude of people
or the roaring of the sea." This description of his limbs is similar to the narrative
that we get of an angel in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 1:7. "Their legs were straight and the soles of their feet
were like a calf's hoof and they sparkled and
gleamed like shiny bronze." The angelic characteristics that appear in John's vision of Jesus do not bring him down to
the same level as angels. Rather they most likely serve to emphasize Jesus immense grandeur. He cannot be portrayed as less glorious than a glorious angel. Eyes like fire describe passionate
eyes in Greek literature but they can also depict the
supernaturally flaming eyes of divine beings or angels. Glowing metal may also depict God's glory in Ezekiel chapter 1 verse 27. Yet other features suggest that while John
portrays Jesus glory as no less than that of an angel, it is certainly more
than that of an angel. Jesus' face also shines like the sun. Greek text sometimes portrayed deities shining like the sun or lightning. Jewish texts did the same
for angels and others but also for God himself. John then continues in Revelation 1:16. "In his right hand, he held seven stars and from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword of judgment, and his face reflecting his majesty and the Shekinah glory was like the sun shining in
all its power at midday." Revelation 1:17. "When I saw him, I fell at
his feet as though dead, and he placed his right
hand on me and said, do not be afraid. I am the first and the
last, absolute deity, the Son of God." Even though John was an
apostle who had known Jesus while he was on earth, he
was overcome with wonder after seeing this incredible vision. Even the three years that
John lived on earth with Jesus did not adequately prepare him for the moment when Jesus appeared to him in his heavenly majesty. In that moment, John realized
that the divine power and majesty Jesus gave
up while living on earth. Philippians 2:7. But emptied himself without renouncing or diminishing his deity but only temporarily giving
up the outward expression of divine equality and
his rightful dignity. By assuming the form of a bond servant and being made in the likeness of men, he became completely human, but was without sin, being
fully God and fully man. At this moment, John knew
what a miracle it was that Jesus could shield his glory and authority while he
walked to this earth. Revelation 1:18. "And the ever living one, living in and beyond all
time and space, I died. But see, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of absolute control and victory over death and of
Hades, the realm of the dead." Jesus is the one who lives and was dead and is alive forevermore. He possesses resurrection credentials and lives to never die again. The victory that Jesus achieved over sin and death was eternal. He didn't rise from the
dead just to die again. Jesus is the only one
who possesses the keys to Hades and death. Some believe that the
devil has the authority or power to decide who lives and who dies. They are obviously mistaken because only Jesus has the
keys to Hades and death. In its original form, revelation was known in ancient Greek as
Apokalupsis, apocalypse. The word means a revealing and unveiling. The Book of Revelation is a
revelation of Jesus Christ in the sense that it belongs to him. He is the one doing the revealing. Jesus is the person the
book tells us about. Why do we need a revelation of Jesus? The great fault of many professors is that Christ is to them
a character upon paper, certainly more than a myth, but yet a person of the dim past, a historical personage
who lived many years ago and did most admirable deeds
by the which we are saved but who was far from being a living, present, bright reality. Spurgeon. We read, "Which God gave
him to show his servants." This is a significant reaSon why God chose to reveal this information
about Jesus Christ to humanity. He gave it to show his servants. God revealed this information so that it may be shared with
others and not kept a secret. This is an apocalypse, a revelation, not apocrypha, something hidden. The Book of Revelation is a
book of predictive prophecy. It makes predictions about things that will take place in the future, or at least in the future relative to the period when it was written. Although not all prophecy
may be considered predictive it is abundantly evident
that this prophetic text is. Some would say that we
should not be concerned with prophecy, that it
is a frivolous exercise. But if God was concerned
enough to talk about it, we should be concerned enough to listen. Some tell us that what is yet future ought not to be examined into till after it has come to pass. I can hardly realize that this is seriously meant. Sice.
