Dear Perplexed:
Great question. Thank you for reading your
Bible. Actually, this verse is explained in the very next chapter. Matthew
17:1-3, “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother
of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was
transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became
as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah,
talking with Jesus.” This “transfiguration” is a picture of Jesus coming into
His Kingdom. It is interesting to note that Elijah and Moses were present and
talking with Him. Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets. This is what we call the Old Testament but Jesus referred to these writings as the Law and the Prophets.
Would you like
to know what they were talking about? If you look in Luke 9:30-31 you will find
out; “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with
Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to
fulfillment at Jerusalem.” In other words, they were talking about Jesus’
upcoming death upon the cross. Peter, James and John were seeing Jesus Christ
being glorified in preparation for His sacrifice. The Bible tells us in 1 John
3:2, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet
been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is.” Matthew 17:2, “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became
white as light.” That brilliant, shining light is the glory of God that each
child of God will one day shine and be clothed with. Moses once stood in the presence of God and his face shone with this same light. Remember how he covered his face soon afterward? The 'glory light' began to fade away as soon as he left the nearness of God.
The Apostle Peter,
who was present on that day, gives us more detail about the significance of the
Transfiguration of Christ in 2 Peter 1:16-18, “We did not follow cleverly
invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and
glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory,
saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We
ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the
sacred mountain.” So this “coming” that Peter is referring to is actually a
picture in miniature of the coming Kingdom.
No, my perplexed friend, none
of the original disciples are still alive on the earth and waiting for Christ’s
return. They each passed through the portals of death the same way each of us
will one day pass unless the Lord returns first. In that case, if we are a child of God,
we will be transfigured as well. Listen to what was revealed by Jesus to the Apostle Paul; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, "Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed." The "dead" Paul is referring to are those who have passed on who died as a believer in Christ. This time is also referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17,
“According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who
are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have
fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud
command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and
the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are
left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
May that time come soon!
I sincerely hope that I have
given you a satisfactory answer to your question. Keep up the great work and continue to read your Bible for the time is coming, and, I believe, very soon, that the Lord will come back for those of us who are "alive and remain."
May
the Lord bless and keep you as you study His Word that is "able to make you wise."
God bless!
Pastor Charles…
PS: I am in the process of moving some of my blogs to a new website where there will be a central location for my work, http://underthestainedglassmedia.com . I am making constant improvements to the site and am adding a few conveniences for visitors such as: online Bible reading and links to Christian businesses that deserve the support of the Christian community. No, I am NOT becoming a commercial enterprise that exists for the purpose of extracting money from you. These works are, and will always be free of charge for anyone who will take the time to read and to seek the Lord. Jesus is the true, and only, Author and Giver of Life. It is by His Spirit, that He freely gifts His people for the building up His body, the church. Receiving a gift and reselling is just not my cup of tea. That would be highly impolite and would be a smack in the face to the Giver. However, in full disclosure, the links to the Christian businesses found here, and on my website, will provide a small percentage back for any purchase that you may make while visiting the businesses via the links. Any amounts that come back will be used solely and entirely to reach those who are seeking to know the Truth which will set them free. God bless! Pastor Charles...
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