Does ‘the foundation of the world’ refer to the creation of the universe or something else at John 17:24?

Does ‘the foundation of the world’ refer to the creation of the universe or something else at John 17:24?

Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars

Click to get our FREE MOBILE APP and stay connected

| PentecostalTheology.com

               

What semantic and contextual clues do we have to tell us what the ‘foundation’ is that Jesus is talking about in John 17:24?

Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that
they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the
foundation
of the world.

Πάτερ, ὃ δέδωκάς μοι, θέλω ἵνα ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ κἀκεῖνοι ὦσιν μετ’ ἐμοῦ,
ἵνα θεωρῶσιν τὴν δόξαν τὴν ἐμὴν, ἣν δέδωκάς μοι ὅτι ἠγάπησάς με πρὸ
καταβολῆς κόσμου.

Is it the creation of the universe? The coming into being of human society? The foundation of Israel as a distinct human society? The Old Covenant in the the Mosaic law? Something else?

What is the ‘foundation’ here?

Be first to comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.