Glory: The Lord’s Prayer
The sacred word “GLORY” echoes down through time in many songs, hymns and chants, most famously sung in Handel’s “The Messiah”:
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.[i]
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in.
Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in.
Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.[ii]
These hymns transcend human existence, transporting the soul to Heavenly Realms, yet the word “glory” here in the hymns and sacred scripture is difficult to explain in human language. A sacred feeling is evoked with the words of the hymns than no human tongue can express. Things of the spirit are communicated by the spirit, like Paul groaning to the Lord with unutterable feelings of the spirit.[iii]
The glory or presence of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ was so bright that it blinded Saul who had to be healed later by a disciple of Christ who baptized him. On the mount of Transfiguration, Peter James and John had to be transfigured to see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. God, the Father told Moses that he would not show him all His works, so glorious are they, because if He did, Moses could no longer remain on the earth to fulfill his mission but would have to stay in the place of glory:
“Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.”[iv]
This glory of the presence of God and the Savior is so earth shattering that one can barely express it even in the most beautiful scripture:
“even the glory of the celestial kingdom; Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son—He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth; Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made; As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made; And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand. And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.”[v]
The Book of Revelations has very symbolic language to describe the glory of God on the throne in heaven, which is so indescribable that the throne imagery is emphasized since it is more comprehensible:
“And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald…. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal….The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”[vi]
In the Old Testament, the glory of the Lord God Jehovah is His glorious presence or Shekinah.[vii] Like Revelations, it is hard to describe the glory of God in human language and understanding. When speaking to Moses on Mt Sinai, God said:
Exodus 33:14 “And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.”
Here Shekinah is the “presence”. Later Moses asks God to show him His presence or glory:
Exodus 33:18 “And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.”
God answers:
“And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand awhile I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”[viii]
So apparently, Moses saw part of the glory of the Lord God Jehovah at this visit. Ezekiel saw the Lord God Jehovah, not face to face like Moses but in a vision. In Ezekiel we read:
Ezekiel 1:26 ¶ And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
Here we see the physical “appearance of the likeness” equated with “the glory” or presence of the Lord.
During the High Priestly prayer that Jesus offered to His Father just before his crucifixion in John 17, we read more about what glory means:
“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”[ix]
The Greek word here, “doxa” or brightness, is not as strong in meaning as the Hebrew word, “Kabod,“ used in the Old Testament for glory[x], but the context gives it enhanced meaning, the fullness of light described in John chapter 1, where Jesus is the all-powerful “Word” who:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.”[xi]
This former “Glory” was so great that He created worlds and everything in them, was in the beginning with God, the Father, and became the light that lights every man that comes into the world and draws them to His goodness and light-filled Glory.
In this context it is easier to understand in some small way, the glorious manifestation on the Mount of Transfiguration:
“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels….And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.”[xii]
Here not only was Jesus Christ transfigured to have His premortal glory, but also Moses and Elias appeared with heavenly glory. When Jesus Christ returns at the Second Coming, He will come with “His own glory,” the glory he had before with the Father when He created all things and all worlds. In the High Priestly prayer, Jesus prayed also that his disciples would receive the same glory He sought:
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:”[xiii]
This was partially fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when:
“they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them”[xiv]
This same event happened at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple:
“Let the anointing of thy ministers be sealed upon them with power from on high. Let it be fulfilled upon them, as upon those on the day of Pentecost; let the gift of tongues be poured out upon thy people, even cloven tongues as of fire, and the interpretation thereof. And let thy house be filled, as with a rushing mighty wind, with thy glory.”[xv]
The glory and the presence theme is fulfilled a week later in the Kirtland Temple when as Malachi prophesied, “the Lord…shall suddenly come to His temple.”[xvi]
“We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.”[xvii]
Who can even imagine the brightness of the glory of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, who when He comes again will cleanse the earth with fire and the Spirit and make it paradisiacal as in the Garden of Eden just by the brightness of His divine presence and glory. The divine Creator returns and then restores the earth to His original creative purity and glory. And all glory, power, might and dominion be to Heavenly Father who gave Jesus Christ all these powers of saving light and redemption from death and hell.
[i] Isaiah 40: 5 from Georg Friedrich Händel MESSIAH (1742) A Sacred Oratorio Words by Charles Jennens copied from http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/libretti/messiah.htm
[ii] Psalm 24: 7-10 from Georg Friedrich Händel MESSIAH (1742) A Sacred Oratorio Words by Charles Jennens copied from http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/libretti/messiah.htm
[iii] Romans 8:26 King James Version “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
[iv] Moses 1:5
[v] D&C 4-13
[vi] Revelations 4:2-3, 5-6, 10-11
[vii] Shekinah “The majestic presence or manifestation of God which has descended to “dwell” among men. Like Memra (= “word”; “logos”) and “Yeḳara” (i.e., “Kabod” = “glory”), the term was used by the Rabbis in place of “God” see http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13537-shekinah
For more studies on this fascinating ancient Hebrew word see: The Cosmic Shekinah: A historical study of the goddess of the Old Testament and Kabbalah. Sorita d’Este. Avalonia (January 2, 2012) Amazon Kindle Edition
“The Shekinah is the manifestation of the Wisdom Goddess of the Kabbalah,the Old Testament and Merkavah Mysticism. She encompasses the primordial light of creation, the wisdom of the serpent and the inspiration of the dove. She is the beauty of the lily and the embodiment of the Tree of Life.
[viii] Exodus 33:19-23
[ix] John 17:4-5 KJV
[x] http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13537-shekinah
[xi] John 1:1-10 KJV
[xii] Luke 9: 26,28-31 KJV
[xiii] John 17:20-22 KJV
[xiv] Acts 2:1-3 KJV
[xv] D&C 109:35-37 KJV
[xvi] Malachi 3:1 KJV
[xvii] D&C 110:2-4