John's Witness of the Premortal Existence

I’ve generally thought that most of our scriptures that deal with the premortal existence are in the scriptures of the Restoration.  For example, Alma taught about Priesthood holders in the premortal world in Alma 13, Abraham’s writings tell us about the first estate and the Savior’s position there in Abraham 3, the Brother of Jared’s vision in Ether 3 teaches us about who the Savior was even before He came in mortality, and in D&C 93 we learn about how we were intelligences even before our Father in Heaven organized us His spirit children.  So, as I read the scriptures listed in the Topical Guide for Jesus Christ, Antemortal Existence of, I was surprised to see so many Biblical references in particular from the apostle John.  As we read John’s testimony of the Savior it is clear that he wanted us to understand who the Savior was in the premortal existence. 

               We find witnesses of the reality of the premortal existence, especially that of the Savior’s premortal position, throughout the testimony of John.  He opened his gospel with these words of deep import about the premortal world: “In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him” (JST John 1:1-3).  From this we learn that Christ was present with the Father, that He taught the gospel, and that He created the earth.  John similarly testified that Christ was “from the beginning” and “with the Father” in his first epistle (1 John 1:1-2).  John recorded this testimony of the Savior to Nicodemus, “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” (John 3:13).  Christ was already in heaven with the Father—He “came down”—when He was born on earth.  The Savior similarly testified in His Bread of Life sermon, as John recorded, “What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before” (John 6:62).  If that wasn’t clear enough for the people, He later made this bold claim, again given to us by John: “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).  The Savior came before Abraham, not in mortality, but in a premortal sphere.  To the Twelve the Savior emphasized, “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world” (John 16:28).  In His great intercessory prayer He said, “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was” (John 17:5).  Christ’s testimony to the apostles, as given us by John, was that He held a position of glory with His Father before coming to earth. 

               Perhaps the most well-known reference to the premortal world in John’s writings is found in the book of Revelation.  We read, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”  John’s witness to us was not only that Christ existed and was preeminent in the premortal world, but that there was a war in heaven, that Satan fought and was cast down, and that his angels were there with him.  We too were there, for we “overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:7-11).  There are still many details about our premortal existence that we find in other scriptures, but clearly John’s writings give a powerful witness that there was life before earth and that Christ was there in glory.