In Matthew 17 we are given an interesting account of Our Lord Jesus Christ in a glorified body:
1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 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!” 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” 8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying,“Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”
10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist. (NKJV)
This account is placed in here for us to glean some revelation of glorification:
“Now after six days” is prophetically six thousand years which happens to be our current time period.
Jesus only took a subset of HIS disciples to see first hand this glorification, a representation of the overcomers.
Moses represented the Law which occurred in the past at Mount Sinai; the Old Testament.
Elijah represented the prophets who spoke of future events to come.
Jesus represented the here and now.
Peter suggested that they build tabernacles for all three, a reference to the Feast of Tabernacles where on the eighth day the glorification comes. Then something very interesting occurs. Our Heavenly Father speaks and says “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Our Heavenly Father did not reference Moses (the past) or Elijah (the future), only Jesus in the here and now. Don’t get me wrong, it is important to study the Law and the Prophets but in the end they point to the revelation of Jesus Christ whom we are to emulate. If we only focus on the past and future, then we will produce no fruit today. Jesus was able to take on a glorified body before HIS resurrection. HE was able to communicate and operate in the Heavenly realm talking to both Moses and Elijah. Dare we operate as Jesus operated? As HE is so are we! (1John 4:17b) This is the goal of our Sunday Bible Study.