John 17:1-10 -- How does anyone look at this and not glorify God the Father?
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come.
The Bible says that God declares the end from the beginning. Think how amazing it is that at 3915 BC we see the first sign of the woman crowned with the 12 stars, clothed in the sun, in travail to give birth to the seed of the woman which will bruise the serpent’s head and then at the end we see the same sign September 23, 2017. The sign has appeared twice, at the beginning and at the end. But at the same time there was a total solar eclipse, signifying God’s judgement on the world, and this eclipse went directly over Washington D.C. So way back when God knew that America would be where it is and Washington D.C. would be the capital. But it is more than that, we had 4 blood moons signifying God’s judgement on Israel on Passover and Sukkot in both 2014 and 2015. It is a sign that the hour has come and Israel will be judged for not recognizing the Messiah when He was crucified on Passover.
Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
We were taught to pray “Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name”. Glorifying Jesus, fulfilling all the prophecies concerning Him, that glorifies God’s name. The fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that He had to spend a season in Egypt, that He would be betrayed, that they would pay 30 pieces of silver, that it would be used to buy the Potter’s field, that He would be falsely accused, hated without a cause, crucified with criminals, buried with the wealthy, that His hands and feet would be pierced, that they would gamble for his clothes, that His bones would not be broken, etc. This glorifies God the Father. Passover is a Holy convocation, that means it was a rehearsal for the Lord’s sacrifice. They examined Him the way the Jews were instructed to examine the lamb, they sacrificed Him at the same time they were to sacrifice the lamb, they laid Him in the tomb, the sinless one, at the same time they were to sit and eat the feast of unleavened bread, and He rose from the dead at the same time they were to wave the sheaf of the firstfruits. How does anyone look at this and not glorify God the Father?
2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
That is the point. Jesus is Lord. He is Lord of all, but the Father has not given Him everyone for eternal life. Paul said that the end would not come until there was an apostasy (falling away from the faith) and until the man of lawlessness was revealed. Jesus is the bright and morning star, you aren’t going to see the bright and morning star until after the long, dark night is over. The apostasy refers to the church. Pergamum had the false prophet, Balaam teaching to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. We have to have teachers in the church telling people they can disregard the word of God and enticing people to sin. Jezebel was even worse with the “deep things of Satan” and by the time you get to Sardis the church is ready to die. Laodicea is puffed up and proud even though they are blind, naked, and poor. This is the apostasy, it is essential, otherwise you would not get faithful servants like Antipas who they killed, nor would you get the church in Philadelphia composed of saints who had been forced out of the apostasy. Some Christians tolerate and make excuses for the false teachers, the faithful ones can’t do that. There are also those in the world denoted by “the lawless one”. He is an “anti” Christ. His glory is in his shame. Jesus glorified the Father, the antichrist glorifies himself. At the crucifixion the world chose the lawless one over the man of righteousness. So that choice will blossom into full fruit by the end of the age.
3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
So then, who is raptured, what is the criteria to have your name written in the Book of Life? Simple, have to know God the Father and Jesus Christ. If the Lord does not know you then the door will be closed in your face.
4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
There is a basis for us to pray “Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be thy name”. These aren’t empty words, there should be works that accompany your faith.
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
This is how we know, and how God knows that we are the Lord’s. We have a revelation of Him and we obey His word. The apostasy will go into great detail about how you don’t have to obey certain words in the Bible, ‘you don’t have to believe this’ and ‘you don’t have to do that’. Not only do they disregard His commands but they teach others also to do that.
7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.
This is the work that Jesus did, He gave us God the Father’s words. He lived them out, He was the express image of those words just like the rays of the sun express the sun and a wax mold of a key expresses the key. Compare that to the apostasy, the light within them is darkness, great darkness. They haven’t been conformed to Christ, they have been conformed to the world. Recently Biden challenged the Catholic church to refuse to let him take communion after his full support for abortion. If the Catholic church compromises on this they are being conformed to the world.
They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
Right now all the believers should be joining with the Lord to pray that we would be found faithful at His appearing.
10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.
This is the point, His church should express Him, glorify Him. There is no glory coming to the Lord from the apostasy. There is no glory when various “Christian preachers” are caught in sin and scandal. There is no glory to the Lord from the pedophile priests in the Catholic church.