SUBJECT:  Luke 9 and Matthew 17 - The Vision of Moses and Elijah

QUESTION:  Is this really Moses and Elijah we read of in these chapters?  Are Moses and Elijah in heaven?

ANSWER:

The transfiguration was a vision!

Notice how, just six days before the transfiguration took place, Jesus plainly said that "some" (not all) of His disciples would not "taste of death" till they "see the son of man coming in His kingdom"! (Matthew 16:28). The only way you can understand this plain statement of Jesus Christ is by the transfiguration—a VISION—of "the son of man coming in His kingdom" which took place just six days later!

Otherwise, this would be a clear error—and the very Word of God would appear to contain a colossal mistake.

Every one of the apostles DIED without having seen "the son of man come in His kingdom"!

However, three of them DID see "the son of man coming in His kingdom," IN VISION, just six days later!

Now read the account of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ in Matthew 17 verses 1 through. 8.

Notice that Peter understood that the translucent, glowing, radiant visage of Jesus Christ, Moses and Elijah was as if they were spirit beings, already in God's Kingdom.

Peter suggested that they might "…make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias" (verse 4).

The Feast of Tabernacles (or "booths") foreshadowed the Kingdom of God!

Peter had kept this important annual Holy Day season all his life. So had all believing Jews and Israelites of the house of Israel.

After they heard a booming voice (no doubt from an angel, for Jesus plainly said no man had seen the face, or heard the voice, of God the Father), they ". . . fell on their face, and were sore afraid." Jesus came to them, told them not to be afraid, "and when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only" (verses 6-9).

Now notice the absolute proof, from the Word of God itself, that what they saw was not REAL—but a miraculous VISION!

"And as they came down the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, tell the VISION to no man, until the son of man be risen again from the dead."

Now, Peter, James and John understood they had seen ONLY A VISION! They knew that they had not seen a literal resurrection; and, of course, they KNEW that what they had seen had taken place right there on the mountain, before their startled eyes.

Knowing what the scribes said, and a fair amount of the Scriptures, they asked Jesus, "Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?"

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

"But I say unto you, that Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the son of man suffer of them.

"Then the disciples understood that he spake of them of John the Baptist"! (Matthew 17:10-13).

Note well this important discussion!

The reason James and the others asked Jesus about what the scribes really meant concerning "Elijah must come first" was because they KNEW Elijah had not yet been resurrected! They KNEW that what they had seen was a VISION! Jesus plainly TOLD THEM SO!

Unlike millions of professing, churchgoing Christians today who ASSUME Jesus literally brought Elijah and Moses "down from heaven" to be with Him for a temporary stay, and to let the startled eyes of James, Peter and John SEE these two great men who were allegedly already "up in heaven," the disciples KNEW that they had merely seen a VISION!

HERE IS MORE:

This is a common question and by means of offering a perspective let us take a look at what humans can do.

Humans have invented a number of technologies and practices that portray people and events of the past.  Let us look a just a few.

1. Reenactments on stage

2. Photographs of the actual event

3. Documentary video of the event.

4. Live recording (video) of the event as it took place.

5. Home movies.

6. Movies, especially historically set movies.

7. Holograms--3 dimensional videos

8. Holidecks--an idea in science fiction now but deemed possible by scientist in the future.

Man has been able to create, very convincingly in many cases, images of real events or persons.  With the new technology of Holograms and Holidecks experts feel that your mind will be absolutely convinced of what it is seeing.  It will be possible for you to actually be "present" at a real event that was videotaped with this technology and processed into a Hologram.  You will stand or sit while the Hologram projection starts and you will witness the event as if you were there.  In some lab tests, this has already been done.

Now project this out (if time were to continue) and imagine what man will be able to do in 100 more years of technology in this field.

Now if man can do this, imagine now what God can do.  Is it out of the question that God, with all the power in the Universe, could create a very convincing 3 dimensional vision that mortal men would think is real?  I believe He can and could.

Think about it for a moment.  After we are all in the Kingdom wouldn't you think it appropriate and probable that God would show us the history of mankind in vision, the way history really was.  Don't you think that at Passover time, He would show us in vision, the actual crucifixion?  It seems, based on all the visions we read about in the Bible, that God would continue this practice and let us see what really took place in history and maybe even what is going to happen in the future. 

Now when Jesus took Peter, James and John to the high mountain and they saw Moses and Elijah, was it a vision?

Notice Matthew 17:1-9.  Now the event is described in verses 1-8 but when they are done and coming down from the mountain, read verse 9...

Matthew 17:9

And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

Note:  See how He says, "Tell the vision to no man".  You can only conclude that if Jesus, who was there and made it happen, calls it a vision, then it must have been a vision.  It seems almost strange that man is willing to assume that God has enough power to resurrect these two men and make them appear for a while but does not have enough power to present a vision to the witnesses.  The following excerpt is taken from the booklet, "Where are Enoch and Elijah" by Herman Hoeh:

Was Elijah on the Mount?

The only remaining texts that puzzle people are those relative to the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. The record of the event is found in Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36.

Leaving the mountain, Jesus told his disciples: "Tell the vision to no man (Matthew 17:9)." A vision is not a material reality but a supernatural picture observed by the eyes.

Moses died, and was buried (Deuteronomy 34:5-6). Both he and Elijah were still dead in their graves, but in vision both they and

Jesus were seen in the glory of the resurrection-an event to which Moses and Elijah have not yet attained (Hebrews 11:39).

The vision was granted the disciples after Jesus had spoken of the glory of immortality in the coming kingdom.

How plain the Bible is! Elijah is dead in the dust of the earth awaiting the resurrection of the just. Elijah, some years after being removed in the whirlwind, went to the grave, but will rise again to live forevermore!

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Notice also in Matthew 17:

In verse 5 a cloud appears and they hear a voice.  In verse 6, they fall on their faces, eyes in the dirt...not looking.  In verse 8 they life up their eyes and Moses and Elijah are gone.  Where did they go?  Answer:  the vision was ended.

Notice the commentary on Matthew 17:9

Matthew 17:9

And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man

be risen again from the dead.

 [Tell the vision to no man] This vision was designed particularly to confirm them in the truth that he was the Messiah.

While he was with them it was unnecessary that they should relate what they had seen. When he was crucified they would need this evidence that he was the Christ. Then they were to use it. There were three witnesses of it as many as the law required <Deuteronomy 17:6; Hebrews 10:28>, and the proof that he was the Messiah was clear. Besides, if they had told it then, it would have provoked the Jews and endangered his life. His time was not yet come.

 [Vision] Sight; appearance. What they had seen on the mount.

 [Charged them] Gave them a commandment.

 The sole design of this transfiguration was to convince them that he was the Christ; that he was greater than the greatest of the prophets; that he was the Son of God.

 Mark adds <Mark 9:10>, "they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean." The Pharisees believed that the dead would rise, and there is no doubt that the disciples believed it; but their views were not clear, and, in particular, they did not understand what he meant by his rising from the dead. They do not appear to have understood, though he had told them <Mark 12:40> that he would rise after three days. ~from Barnes' Notes

Notice something else:  This event is often referred to as the "Transfiguration".  Question is, who was transfigured? 

Answer:  Clearly the only one transfigured was Jesus.  The scripture also clearly indicates that the other two "appeared".  Read the scriptures:

Matthew 17:1-3

1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

Note: Jesus was transfigured in verse 2 and in verse 3 Moses and Elijah appear.  Notice the Strong’s Concordance on the key word, "transfigure":

3339  metamorphoo (met-am-or-fo'-o);

from 3326 and 3445; to transform (literally or figuratively, "metamorphose"):

KJV-- change, transfigure, transform.

The verse does not specifically say that Moses or Elijah were transfigured; only that they "appeared".  A proper term for a vision.