Transfiguration of Jesus in the Holy Mount.

Mark 9:2-8

• 2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.
• 3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
• 4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
• 5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
• 6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
• 7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
• 8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

Matthew 17:1-9

• 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.

Luke 9:28-16

• 28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
• 29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
• 30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:
  31 Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
• 32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.
• 33 And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.
• 34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
• 35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
• 36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.

Now Jude 1:9

• 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

He is disputing with Michael, the archangel. Michael = Who is like God; archangel = chief of the angels; angel = messenger or representative. So, Michael the archangel may very well in fact be Jesus Christ himself. Who is the chief representative or messenger of God’s word? Lord Jesus himself.

The vision they three had is described as an event that is occurring at the time they are present in the mount. But, was it? Was it a vision of a future event with Jesus post death and post ascension wherewith Moses could stand before him in his own body being revealed to those three disciples?

If it was occurring simultaneously with they six assembled together at that moment in time, then would Satan be disputing over Moses’ body. It would violate God’s word that Jesus is the first begotten of the dead. (Revelation 1:5) God tells us this. It is not possible for God to lie. (Hebrews 6:17-18) It would be impossible for Moses to be there at that moment in time in his own resurrected body. But, post crucifixion, post ascension, a time taken out of sequence performed by God is yet another miracle performed before the eyes of men. If that indeed explains this mystery. I do not know the answer but am driven to learn this mystery.

Or it could simply be that the vision was of Moses as a shadow of his former self. How would the three disciples recognize him, let alone Elijah? Maybe they heard the conversation. We are told Jesus, Moses and Elijah conversed about how he must die, an event yet to happen during a conversation that according to God’s word, must be occurring post Jesus’ death since Jesus is the first begotten of the dead. How to explain it? We know Moses is dead, had died, was not transfigured and caught up into heaven as Enoch and Elijah.

Deuteronomy 34:5-6

• 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
• 6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

This is a mystery. God tantalizes us with this puzzling mystery. And he wants us to discover the meaning, else why tell us this information? In order to understand it, we have to give some wisdom to Satan. The devil must have heard about or witnessed this event and began disputing immediately. Why should we assume Satan understood this event? Or understood or believed the event violated God’s word? Does Satan not trust God’s word? Does he not believe that God cannot lie? Interesting, what Satan really thinks of God. Maybe we give Satan too much credit. What does he know anyway? We know he knows God’s word very well. Satan may simply be another prating fool we learn so much about in the Book of Proverbs. Satan has no wisdom.

Maybe this disputation told us in Jude has nothing to do with the amazing and miraculous event that occurred as witnessed by three beloved disciples. All we can know for sure is what God tells us is true, accurate, trustworthy and cannot be a lie and what Satan thinks, believes, says or does cannot be truth.