On the Holy Mount

From: Elijah the Tishbite

Narrator: Chris Genthree

• 7 min. read • grade level: 7

Very few men have been sent back to earth after having left it. Three are noted in Scripture: Samuel was sent (not in response to the call of the witch) to pronounce the doom of Saul (1 Sam. 28); and Moses and Elijah were sent to greet the Father’s well-beloved Son on the Mount of Transfiguration. A great honor for them, and full of meaning for us.

There was a general feeling in Israel that Elijah would come back. Malachi 4:5⁵Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: (Malachi 4:5) was ample authority for this expectation. Among the questions put to John the Baptist was, “Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not” (John 1:21²¹And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. (John 1:21)). When the Lord Jesus challenged His disciples as to what the people were saying about Him, they replied, “Some say thou art Elias” (Matt. 16:13-14¹³When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? ¹⁴And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. (Matthew 16:13‑14)). When He cried out in anguish upon the cross, the bystanders said “He calleth for Elias... let us see whether Elias will come to save Him” (Matt. 27:45-49⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ⁴⁷Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. ⁴⁸And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. ⁴⁹The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. (Matthew 27:45‑49)).

Well Elias (Elijah) did come to our blessed Lord, not to Calvary to save Him, but to the holy mount to honor Him. That wonderful outshining of glory was witnessed by three of His disciples for the strengthening of their faith; for they were perplexed by His lowly bearing amongst men, and also by His references to a cross, all so contrary to what they looked for in the promised Messiah. Peter, when referring at a later date to the great scene on the mount, said, “we have the prophetic word made surer” (2 Peter 1:19¹⁹We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: (2 Peter 1:19) J.N.D.)

Several days before the Lord took Peter and John and James to the mountain top He sought to prepare His disciples for a life of self-denial and daily cross-bearing. For their encouragement He spoke also of a day of recompense when He will come in glory, and then added, “Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom” (Matt. 16:24-28²⁴Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. ²⁶For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. ²⁸Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:24‑28)). These words give us the key to the great vision of glory. It is a picture in advance of the Millennial kingdom, presented more particularly in its heavenly aspect. Matthew and Mark say, “after six days”; Luke says, “about eight days after.” Six is man’s number; it speaks of his week of labor; it is refreshing to know that after all man’s toil and travail there will be an era of rest and glory. Eight is the number of resurrection; the risen Christ will bring the blessing in, and make it divinely secure. Matthew says, “and His face did shine as the sun.” How suited to the Kingdom Gospel! For God’s King, when He appears, will be “as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds” (2 Sam. 23:4⁴And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. (2 Samuel 23:4)). To the God-fearing remnant of that day He will “arise as the Sun of righteousness, with healing in His wings” (Mal. 4:2²But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)). Mark and Luke dwell upon our Lord’s clothing. Mark tells us that “his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.” Mark and Luke present our Lord in His lowly character as Man and Servant; hence the emphasis on that which suggests His perfect purity. John the only one of the four Evangelists who witnessed the glory on the holy mount omits all reference to it; for it was to him given by the Spirit of inspiration to set forth, not our Lord’s conferred glory, but the glory of His divine person.

To the astonishment of the three disciples, Moses and Elijah appeared, and entered into conversation with the Lord. These prophets could enter more than many into the feelings of the rejected Christ; for both suffered severely from those to whose service they devoted their lives. Luke says the theme of conversation was His “decease (exodus) which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” Here we have the only basis of blessing. Moses brought down from God the law to a people to whom He was obliged to say at the close of his life: “Ye have been rebellious against Jehovah from the day that I knew you” (Deut. 9:24²⁴Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you. (Deuteronomy 9:24)). Elijah appeared amongst the people at a critical time and sought to lead them back into the path of obedience. Both Moses and Elijah failed, for flesh is an evil thing. But the One who was about to give His life for sinners could not fail. A Saviour who has passed through death and risen again is the only hope of ruined men. Blessed be His holy name!

Peter was so delighted to see Moses and Elijah in the company of his Lord that he proposed to make three tabernacles, “one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias”; for he would fain prolong this wonderful meeting. Peter meant well; but in his thoughtless outburst he really dishonored the Lord. He was almost putting Him on a level with Moses and Elijah! Yet not long before, in contrast with the gossiping multitude who thought that Jesus might be Elijah or one of the old prophets risen again, Peter said fervently, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:13-16¹³When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? ¹⁴And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. ¹⁵He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? ¹⁶And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:13‑16)). It was true that the three disciples fell asleep when they reached the mountain-top; waking up, they saw the Lord in His glory the glory of the promised kingdom. As Peter spoke, the bright Shekinah cloud enveloped them all, and the voice of the Father was heard, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” It was right to hearken to Moses and Elijah in their day, for they spake from God; but One who was infinitely greater than all the prophets had now come. All others must stand aside, and HE must be heard. Remarkably, when Peter wrote his second epistle, and described the vision on the holy mount, he made no mention of Moses and Elijah being present! He had learned his lesson. God was not exalting mere prophets that day; it was upon His beloved Son, despised and rejected by men, He would put “honor and glory.” “We were eye-witnesses of His majesty,” says Peter enthusiastically, “and the voice Which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount.”

The outstanding elements of the glory of the coming kingdom were present that day. Jesus was seen in His majesty; with Him were two men, Moses representing the saints who have fallen asleep and who will be raised at the Lord’s coming; and Elijah representing those who will be caught up without passing through death at all. A brilliant host of glorified saints will shine forth with the Lord Jesus when He shows Himself once more to the world. The heavenly saints are seen in Moses and Elijah; and the earthly in Peter, James and John. In mortal bodies they beheld the glory of God. The believing remnant of Israel, when they gaze upward at the opened heavens, will say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; this is Jehovah; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (Isa. 25:9⁹And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:9)).

While glory was being displayed on the holy mount, a painful scene was being enacted below. A poor child writhing in agony, possessed with a demon, and the poor father bowed down with grief. The coming down of the Lord Jesus changed everything. Satan’s power was overthrown, and tears gave place to thanksgiving and joy. Even so will it be in the great day for which we wait, and for which the whole creation groans (Luke 9:37-42³⁷And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. ³⁸And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. ³⁹And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. ⁴⁰And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. ⁴¹And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. ⁴²And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father. (Luke 9:37‑42); Rom. 8:17-22¹⁷And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. ¹⁸For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, ²¹Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. (Romans 8:17‑22)).

“Farewell, Elijah! In our meditations we have followed thee through storm and calm up to the rest and peace of the home of God. It was a great day when thou wast carried upwards in the whirlwind; it was a great day when thou wast sent back to earth for a moment to greet the Son of God; it will be a still greater day when in a mighty throng we shall all surround the throne of God and the Lamb, and fall prostrate before the Lamb, and pour forth the new song that will never grow old: ‘Thou art worthy ... for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tribe, and people, and nation’(Rev. 5:9⁹And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (Revelation 5:9)). No more moments of depression and discouragement; no more peevish longings to die; no more self-occupation; all hearts concentrated upon Him who was the center of the glory on the holy hill, and who will be the center of still higher glory forever. AMEN!”

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