“I Have Revealed Your Name”: The Hidden Temple in John 17

There are 8 thoughts on ““I Have Revealed Your Name”: The Hidden Temple in John 17”.

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2. Christ tells us that He has declared the name of God unto His disciples. John 17:6,26. And the Bible tells us that “the whole family in heaven and earth is named” after the Name of God. Ephesians 3:14-15 All have heard of Mankind or the species called Man. When Christ tells us 85 times in the NT that He is the Son of Man, He is declaring His Fathers Name, even the name Man, for Man of Holiness is His name. Moses 6:57

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3. While reading about deification and unification in this paper, particularly how it was said that this was the “ultimate purpose of [Christ’s] mortal ministry,” it reminded me of quotes by Christian theologian C.S. Lewis, many of which are from his classic book Mere Christianity:

   “The Son of God became a man that men might become sons of God.”

   “But supposing God became a man – suppose our human nature which can suffer and die was amalgamated with God’s nature in one person – then that person could help us.”

   “He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has – by what I call ‘good infection.’ Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.”

   “The command ‘Be ye perfect’ is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were ‘gods’ and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him – for we can prevent Him, if we choose – He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said.”

   “Finally, if all goes well, turning you permanently into a different sort of thing; into a new little Christ, a being which, in its own way, has the same kind of life as God; which shares in His power, joy, knowledge and eternity.”

   Such language mirrors the teachings of some of the early Christian Saints:

   St. Athanasius wrote that “God became man so that men might become gods.”

   St. Irenaeus of Lyons stated that God “became what we are in order to make us what he is himself.”

   St. Augustine of Hippo preached “To make human beings gods, He was made man who was God.”

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4. Thank you for a fascinating article. It seems to me that a key to better understanding of the scriptures is to ask myself, What does this have to do with the temple? Once we have the temple template in our minds, we can find evidence and hints that something very similar to that template was in the minds of scriptural authors.
   The Parry brothers have written about how the first three chapters of John’s Revelation correlate to the Garden of Eden, which in turn correlates with the temple. My personal feeling is that the seven episodes that are attached to the names of seven cities with branches of the ancient church western Asia Minor are meant to evoke specific stages of the temple ordinances. Once the stages are completed, John the narrator enters into the throne room of God, the Celestial Kingdom. It is at that point that the veil is opened, and the apokalypsis–opening of the veil or revelation–occurs. A person familiar with the Mormon temple can see in John’s text a string of references to stages of progress through the temple while journeying to God’s presence. For an ancient audience of Christians who were also familiar with the same ordinances, John’s hints could serve as authentication of the author of the book. Each of the seven episodes end with the promise that those who have ears to hear shall listen to what the Spirit says to the seven churches, a formula that in Matthew Chapter 13 says indicates a hidden meaning of parables, a meaning that only is understood by persons who have been given a larger context in which to understand the parables.

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8. What a great way to frame the scriptures. Thank you for sharing this idea.

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