At least Moses was dead. I am a physicalist in regards to the view of what makes up man, basing my beliefs on Scriptures. It is dust plus breathe of God. So within my theology, how did these greats appear on the mount with Jesus and talk to Him? There are many suggestions, but these are best: 1) Moses the great lawgiver, and Elijah the great prophet, were there summoned from the dead [region of the unknown] to resign their commissions and to lay their homage at His feet.” (Burton Coffman) Or 2) They appeared in vision only of that future day when the saints would be gathered into Jesus' presence forever. I believe that it is the latter.
These two pillars of our faith, from prior generations, appeared alive with Jesus on the Mount. They were last seen as two bodies— a dead corpse and a living being.
First, Moses struck the rock in anger and was not allowed to enter the earthly land. But he was given a glimpse of it, signifying that the heavenly promise belonged to him. And the LORD said to him: “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ (Gen 17:8) I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.‘ So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.” (Deut 34:4-6) “The devil and the archangel had a dispute about his body, Jude 1:9.” (Poole)— "Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” To me this speaks of dispute over his final fate.
As for the Elijah— the living being— as he and Elisha walked and talked, “suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” (2 Kings 2:11) Many believe from this text that Elijah was translated to heaven and did not taste death, as they suppose Enoch did. However, others make the case that the whirlwind, “did not take Elijah beyond this earth's atmosphere, but dropped him down at some distant point on a mountaintop, or in a valley.” (Hoeh— The Plain Truth, January, 1956) And thus Elijah, with a similar nature with Moses, later died; and therefore, before the day of the Transfiguration, he also abode in the dust of the earth awaiting the resurrection of the just.
As far as Enoch- the seventh from Adam- the King James Version of Hebrews 11:5 clearly says, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death.”
But it does not mean that he didn't later die. He did not die a temporal death at that time. The New King James Version translates that “Enoch was taken away.” "Taken away" comes from the Greek word metatithemi, which means “to transfer to another place.” (Vine’s Expository Dict) "This is a reference to Genesis 5:24: 'He [Enoch] was not, for God took him.' So, it seems that God took Enoch from where he was and from a situation in which he likely would have seen death. But, after he was transferred to another place, Enoch died and ceased to be. Genesis 5:23 says that “all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.”
(Are Enoch and Elijah in Heaven? by John Foster)
"Jesus makes an authoritative declaration regarding what happens after death in John 3:13, 'No one has ascended to heaven but He that came down from heaven,' meaning Himself. Who would know better than Jesus? 'No one' certainly includes Enoch. Peter declares in Acts 2:29-34 that one as great as David has not risen to heaven either, but is still in the grave.
Hebrews 11:32 lists several other significant people of faith who served God with zeal. The section concludes, 'And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us' (verses 39-40). These and many more unnamed saints are awaiting the resurrection of the dead and glorification in God's Kingdom. This also applies to Enoch.
The term taken away (NKJV) or translated (KJV) in Hebrews 11:5 simply means 'transferred.' Enoch was transferred or conveyed from one place on earth to another to escape violence aimed against him. In this other earthly place, he died like all men." (Was Enoch Translated to Heaven? by John W. Ritenbaugh)
Matthew 17: The Transfiguration Narrative
"'Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves.’ (1) These three disciples are the ‘some’ of the previous verse (Mt 16:28) to whom He said that they ‘will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom’. In the scene that follows, they get a taste of what it will be like when the Son of Man comes into His kingdom. This event is introduced with the words ‘six days later’. Six days is the period of man’s ordinary working hours on earth (Exo 20:9). When the period of man’s activity is over, the seventh day, the day of rest, comes. The Sabbath, the seventh day, is a picture of the peace of the kingdom of peace. The transfiguration on the mountain gives an impression of this and these disciples are allowed to experience it. The Lord Jesus is the radiant center of that kingdom. All attention is directed to Him.” (G de Koning) — He chose those that they might be witnesses of his transfiguration: two or three witnesses being required by the Scripture to substantiate any fact.” (Adam Clarke) “That Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to the mountain would seem to be reminiscent of Moses taking Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu up Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 24:1, 9).” (Mosaic Imagery in the Gospel of Matthew by Wayne S. Baxter)
“‘And He [Jesus} was transfigured before them.’— I think that this a vision of His post-death resurrection on the third day, according to the Scriptures. “The word μεταμορφωθη implies either that there was a transfiguration made on the substance of his body, according to the import of the word in the best classic writers; (See Phiippians 3:21.) or that the outward appearance only of his body was altered, as seems most probable from the manner in which St. Luke has expressed it.“ (Joseph Benson) “‘His face ‘shone like the sun'— "suggestive of Moses, whose face was said to be radiant.” (Wayne S Baxter)— “‘and His clothes became as white as the light.’ (2) “The glory of the Saviour when on earth was veiled in him humanity; but on the Mount... it shone forth above the brightness of the sun.” (Justin Edwards)
“’And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.”(3) And according to Luke, and they spoke with Jesus "of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." (Luke 9:31) “We may conceive that the law in the person of Moses, the great Jewish legislator, and the prophets in the person of Elijah, the chief of the prophets, came now to do homage to Jesus Christ, and to render up their authority into His hands; as He was the END of the law, and the grand subject of the predictions of the prophets. This appears more particularly from what St. Luke says, Luke 9:31, that Moses and Elijah conversed with our Lord on His death, which He was about to accomplish, (πληρουν to fulfil,) because in it, all the rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices of the law, as well as the predictions of the prophets, were fulfilled.” (Adam Clarke)
But much was still futuristic. Adding to the case for it being a vision, it is interesting also that Luke adds that Moses and Elijah “appeared in glory” (Luke 9:31) when Jesus hadn’t even suffered death yet. "The purpose of the Transfiguration was primarily confirmation. It confirmed several vital facts. One of these was the reality of a future kingdom. The very fact that the transfiguration took place attests this. The presence of Old Testament saints on earth with Christ in a glorified state is the greatest possible verification of the kingdom promises in the Old Testament... The Son of Man was going to come one day to judge the world and establish His kingdom (Matthew 16:27). As an earnest of the coming of the kingdom three disciples were permitted to see the Son of Man in His kingdom (Matthew 16:28). This is exactly the manner in which Peter uses the transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16-21)." (Toussaint, Behold the King, pp. 210-11)
“And Peter answered, and said unto Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here." Peter seems to have understood it at the time as a reality- a meeting with three greats of the faith. He adds, "If thou wilt, I will make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’…(4) The tabernacles (Gr. skenas) Peter suggested erecting were temporary structures that the Jews pitched for the feast of Tabernacles every year. This was a seven-day feast that looked forward to the time when Israel would dwell in permanent peace and rest in the Promised Land (Leviticus 23:42-43).” (Dr. Thomas B. Constable) It anticipated the dissolution of our earthly bodies (booths) and the adoption of our new resurrection bodies (eternal bodies). But Peter does not yet understand much of the glory of the Lord. Here are two zealous mistakes: 1) He makes this vision as a current reality. 2) "He sees all three of them as people through whom God has spoken, without realizing that the Lord Jesus is the God of Moses.” (G de Koning)
“While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!' (5) To teach them that Moses and Elias, the law and prophets, vail bonnet to Christ; that there is but one Mediator, even the man Christ Jesus." (John Trapp) "Jesus is the Prophet like Moses (cf. Acts 3:22; 7:37), and hence, is to be preeminently heard above the likes of even Moses and Elijah....Moses was a prototype of the final Prophet, viz., Messiah (Deut 18:15, 18). Just as Moses commanded obedience to this future Prophet, so God himself now commands similar allegiance to Jesus (v. 5). The respective ministries of Moses and Elijah, then, anticipate and find their ultimate fulfillment in the ministry of Jesus.” (Wayne S. Baxter)
”And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.’ (6) -Luke informs us that the three disciples feared as they (namely, as Moses and Elias) entered into the cloud; but now, at the very moment when they heard the voice coming from the cloud, probably as loud as thunder, (see John 12:29,) and full of divine majesty, such as mortal ears were unaccustomed to hear, they fell flat to the ground on their faces, being sore afraid; an effect which visions of this kind commonly had on the prophets and other holy men to whom they were given. See Genesis 15:12; Isaiah 6:5; Ezekiel 2:1; Daniel 10:8; Revelation 1:17." (Joseph Benson)
But Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Arise, and do not be afraid.’ (7) Christ therefore kills his, that he may quicken them; casts them down, that he may revive and raise them in the opportunity of time ( εν τω καιρω , Hos 6:1-2 1Pe 5:6 ): not so the devil, that destroyer, that hath not his names for nought, Apollyon and Abaddon." John Trapp)
"When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man but Jesus only.’[8]- "Saw no man any more," says Mark, "save Jesus only with themselves," who Immanuel - God with us.
“Now as they came down from the mountain,"-- He will receive glory, "but first He must go through death. The glory of God, the fulfilment of the Scriptures, and the blessing for creatures and creation depend on His death. By descending the mountain again He shows that He is the true Hebrew slave, who says: ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man’ (Exo. 21:5). He... chose to descend and go to Jerusalem, to the cross. Because of His love for His Father, for His church and for all God’s children, He did not want to remain in the glory of the mountain, however much He was worth it personally. If He had remained on the mountain, the Father’s will would not have been completely fulfilled, and He would always have remained alone as Man in heaven." (G de Koning) -- "Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’ (9) They may only do so after His resurrection. Only then will they receive the Holy Spirit, and only then can the content and scope of the vision be understood. There would be no point in telling others about this now because it would not be understood." (G de Koning) It pertains to the next age with no end.
Comments