Matthew 17:1 ¶ 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. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord,
it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles;
one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud
overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they
fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7
And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
8 And when they had lifted up their
eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 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.
10 And his disciples asked him, saying,
Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias
truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 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. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake
unto them of John the Baptist.
I think logically this is a fulfillment of verse 28 of the last
chapter. The Preterist would say that Christ returned within their lifetime to
rule the world but that seems sort of insane considering the way history has
gone since AD70. It just seems more likely that revealing Himself in His glory
to these disciples was His intention by making that statement in the last verse
of the last chapter.
Peter, one of the witnesses, confirms this;
2Peter 1:16 ¶ For we have
not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Regarding verse 2 notice some other contexts.
Revelation 1:14
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his
eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his
feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the
sound of many waters.
Christ’s face glowed like
the sun shining in its power. Notice the verses regarding Moses;
Exodus
34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses
came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand,
when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face
shone while he talked with him. 30 And
when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his
face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. …33 And till Moses had done speaking with them,
he put a vail on his face…35 And the
children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone:
and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
2Corinthians
3:7 But if the ministration of death,
written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel
could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance;
which glory was to be done away:
Moses and Elijah are there which gives
us evidence as to the two witnesses in Revelation.
Revelation 11:3 ¶
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a
thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Peter, who has been forgiven the error he made in the previous
chapter, wants to build three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah and in
this context he is referring to a tent or some other kind of structure like the
boughs of trees for shelter.
Then, verse 5 reveals a declaration from a voice in the cloud
declaring the Sonship of Christ, which terrified the Apostles present. With
Jesus’ touch this also ended their vision.
The Old Testament alludes to the Messiah’s sonship in verses that
refer in context to Israel itself and then prophetically looking forward to the
Messiah to come;
Proverbs 30:4 Who hath
ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists?
who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of
the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?
Exodus 4:22 And thou shalt
say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Psalms 89:27 Also I will
make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
Hosea 11:1 When Israel was
a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
This verse in Hosea is referenced in the gospels regarding Christ;
Matthew 2:15 And was there
until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the
Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
As I explained in my comments on Genesis the son of a king in the
ancient world, as evidenced in many sources, came in the name of the king and
for all acts and purposes was considered in authority as the king he
represented. This is just as the son in an ancient family would inherit the
property as well as the religion of his father.
Indeed, the Jews understood that for Jesus to declare Himself the
Son of God made Him equal with God the Father;
John 5:18 Therefore the
Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath,
but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Paul would confirm;
Philippians 2:6 Who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
The Son of God, uppercase S, then is a reference to God walking in
human flesh, as well, as Jesus declared that He and His father were one;
John 10:30 I and my Father
are one.
And to have seen Him was to have seen the Father;
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by me.7 If ye had known me, ye should
have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen
him.8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew
us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast
thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how
sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Indeed, Paul declares that Christ is the visible image of an
invisible God.
Colossians 1:15 Who is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the
brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all
things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
And remember He is said to be the true God as I interpret this
verse;
1 John 5:20 And we know
that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may
know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
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