What about the Transfiguration?

lovelylil

Many people wonder about this vision and why the disciples witnessed it and what does the appearance of Moses & Elijah mean? I have my own opinion which I will post later but I was wondering what others thought about it? Lilly

lfcviking

Maybe it wasn't a transfiguration maybe it was the Disciples being high on Acid

tetrapod.sapien

hi lilly! the transfiguration was/is always one of my favorite things about the gospels. i am not sure what to make of it, but it always seemed so beautiful in my minds eye. now that you have asked the question about meaning, i would like to see if i can come up with something that harmonizes with the respect i have for the things jesus said/did/stood for. looking fwd to your thoughts as well.

but i do remember day dreaming about what an experience like that must have looked like. always fascinated me.

off day dreaming again.... thx.

tetra

Stephanus

Okay, I'll repeat the question I asked on the other thread: What's the WBTS take on this passage? Is it really Moses and Elijah, resurrected and then killed again at the end of the session? Holograms?

lovelylil

Stephanus,

I don't remember the WT's view on this. I've been totally deprogramed by Holy Spirit! Maybe someone with the CD Rom will post it for us? Lilly

Woodsman

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w975/15p.11WhenJesusComesinKingdomGlory***

Jesus’

GlorifiedCompanions

9 Jesus was not alone in the transfiguration. Moses and Elijah were seen with him. (Matthew 17:2, 3) Were they literally present? No, for both men had long since died and were asleep in the dust awaiting a resurrection. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Hebrews 11:35) Will they appear with Jesus when he comes in heavenly glory? No, because Moses and Elijah lived before the heavenly hope opened up to humans. They will be part of the earthly "resurrection of . . . the righteous." (Acts 24:15) So their appearance in the transfiguration vision is symbolic. Of what?

Here is another case where the WTS, in order to make sense of their doctrines, states that a passage is half literal and half symbolic.The cloud was real, Jesus was real but Moses and Elijah were fake, they were only "seen" and "heard" by the disciples.

The brightness of Jesus face and clothing was obviously due to the brightness of "the light".The bright cloud was a bright object in the sky.Moses and Elijah came from and went into this " bright cloud". The voice heard coming from the "bright cloud" was obviously transmitted thru some technology.This is the same bright light from heaven, (the sky), that Paul saw in Acts 22. All very supernatural in the first century.

Wordly Andre

Doesn't Professor McGonagall teach Transfiguration?

Star Moore

Lilly,

I'm thinking that Moses, and Elijah were real..now that I'm out..

What's your thoughts???

moggy lover

The Transfiguration is described, with variations in the acounts, by all three Synoptics. Each chooses to tell the account in its own way and according to its paticular purpose.[Matt 17, Mar 9, Lu 9]

The most controversial part of the narrative is, as has been pointed out above, the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and their apparently being alive at this event. This raises the question: Was this simply an auditory/visual sensory perception [a vision] or was it indeed an actual, factual event?

I remember discussing this with several others some years ago, with an Evangelical point of view in mind. I recall someone pointing out how limited our understanding of celestially based events are on our human senses.For instance, one can point to something similar occuring to the apostle Paul. He recounts an incident where a man [probably autobiographical] experienced a deeply moving spiritual occurance, in which he was transported to the "third heaven" [2Cor 12:1]

His inability to distinguish a vision from a factual event when it came to heavenly glory, may well be a parallel to the Transfiguration.To the carnally based opinions of the WTS this is simply a matter of either/or. To them, since Moses and Elijah are non-existant, it had to be a vision. Simple. Therefore what was occuring was in fact an unreality, merely a perception of the senses.

However, the case of Paul shows us how, in the case of celestially based phenomena, there is a third possibility beyond natural human perceptions, hence incapable of any rational explanation. Where the two, vision, and reality actually combine to create something that cannot be explained in human correspondancies. A third possibility that is both vision and fact, a possibility that explains the reality of Moses and Elijah's presence, with the mystification that comes with inexplicability.

So yes, the WTS is right in suggesting the Transfiguration was a vision. But it was'nt only a vision,for behind it, in some way unknown to us, may be a potent reality that unveils the existence of something beyond the physical. Moses and Elijah, who exist in a dimension beyond the normal, could therefore have very well be real, yet appeared, is some way that integrates the normal and the paranormal, as a sensory perception.

Cheers

lovelylil

I personally believe all the old testament prophets will be in the kingdom with Jesus. That being said, the transfiguration was only a vision and not a reality. It represented Jesus as he would be in his glory, but Moses and Elijah, while I believe will be in the kingdom, were present here for another reason entirely.

Up to that point, apparently the disciples did not understand that Jesus fulfilled all that was written about HIM in the Law and by the Prophets and they were still putting him on an equal level to Moses and Elijah. This is evident in that during the transfiguration Peter asked if he could make three tents, one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah. God had to intervene to let Peter know that Jesus in not to be considered on the same level. He spoke from the clouds and confirmed that Jesus was his SON. Also in this vision, Moses and Elijah though speaking to Jesus were shown on his right and left sides with Christ in the middle showing he was superior to them. This was emphasing the Master to the servant type relationship. So the vision was showing Christ in his glory and the fact that he fulfilled all the laws (which Moses depicted) and those things fortold by the prophets (which Elijah depicted) and also showed the new more spiritual ways that Jesus taught would now be important and not the old new testament ways of doing things. The disciples needed to understand that the old law convenant would be replaced by the new conenant.

If any of you would like a copy of my paper which has more details, just email me here: [email protected]

What about the Transfiguration?

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