Automatic Transcript Generated:
Speaker 1
All right, so Russell is asking if death imprisons the person in the grave until resurrection, how were Moses and Elijah able to be at the Transfiguration on the mount?
Speaker 2
Yeah, good question Russell. And a props to figuring out that death is considered imprisonment in the Bible. There are a few Bible verses that use that analogy. One of them is 422, for example, says, they will be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit. And the pit often is a word used to refer to the grave and death. And it goes on to say, and they will be shut up in the prison after many days. They will be punished. So people are in prison and then they will be and it says released to be punished. Kind of like how the record will be raised and then face judgment. We then go to Matthew 17, one to four. And this is about the story of the Transfiguration where Peter, James and John go up with Jesus to this high mountain. This is Matthew 17 and we’re going to pick up at verse two. It says, and he, Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, lord, it is good for us to be here if you wish.
Speaker 2
Let us make here three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. So how do we end up here having Elijah and Moses meeting Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration, what we call that mountain now? Well, we actually are told in the Bible what happened for sure with Elijah. He actually never died. Second kings starting at verse two. Kings two starting verse eleven, says, and it came to pass as they still went on and talked, this is Elijah with Elisha, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder parted Elijah from Elisha. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. So he went up, so his body is taken and he’s taken up and Elisha saw it and he cried, my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and rent them into pieces. So God took Elijah bodily like boom, picks him up. So there was no body left. And Elijah never saw death. So he and Enoch are two people who never ever saw.
Speaker 2
So that’s how we know Elijah ended up in heaven. He actually never was resurrected because he never died. If we go to now Jude, we get to hear a little bit about well actually before we go Jude, let’s talk about Moses’s death. Deuteronomy 34 citing at verse five. Deuteronomy 34, verse five. It says, so Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in a valley so that he can’t be referring to Moses. The only other he there would be the Lord. The Lord actually buried Moses in the valley of the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor, but no one knows his grave to this day. God didn’t let anybody know where he had buried Moses. He didn’t want that become a place of worship. We confer from this text, but the story doesn’t end there. We actually have a little bit from Jude and this actually is starting, I believe, quoting some other books that are not in the Bible, but it appears to be canonical that it reads Jude one nine. It says, Yet Michael the Archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, did not bring against him a reviolent accusation, but says, the Lord rebuke you.
Speaker 2
But key here is, though, is we have the archangel Michael. He’s going down, he’s at the body of Moses and he’s arguing with the devil. Why? What are they arguing about? I think we can infer here again, why would the devil have a problem with the archangel doing something with the body he’s claiming? You got to really read the Bible, but basically the devil is taking advantage of that. When we sin, we are deserving of death to then say he now controls us and we all deserve death. We all should be in a grave. And he’s the accuser. He’s the one that’s trying to drag us down into death. And here God shows up, or Michael the Archangel shows up and he’s going to do something with the body of Moses. Could it be he was resurrecting Moses? And this is how Moses then ends up being able to be with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration. So though Moses died, he becomes one of the first to be resurrected. Kind of like almost a first fruit too, a sign of a proof to us that we can have confidence that God can also resurrect us because he can resurrect, you know, the grave is a grave and it’s like a prison, but it’s not a trap.
Speaker 2
At some point, everybody’s going to be raised as Jesus says, do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. They’ll hear his voice referring to Jesus. Remember we were just talking about the archangel? Who was that archangel first? Thessalonians 416. It says, for the Lord himself. When Paul uses this language, he’s referring to Jesus. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first, so we will have victory over sin in Christ and for Christ. This is nothing to raise the dead. I mean, how many times did he raise people, raised Lazarus, raise kids? And now we see. In Revelation 118, Jesus says, I am he who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades, and death has the keys. He can unlock that prison and set any prisoner free.
Speaker 2
So praise God for that. We serve the Lord of life who does not want us to be trapped in death. That’s the devil that would love for us to stay there. But God is going to set his people free someday. So thank you for asking. Great question. Anything you’d like to add?
Speaker 3
I just thought if I’mistaken but in Jewish tradition, it also says that I think after like three days that Moses was resurrected too. Am I wrong?
Speaker 2
I don’t know. That’s interesting. You could be quite right on that. I always figured it was a short amount of time.
Speaker 3
It’s not in the mean yeah, that’s what I thought. I was trying to look it up and I didn’t see it for I shouldn’t I shouldn’t say anything if I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I understood to be Jewish tradition as well. But yeah, definitely. The Bible does give us a lot of evidence that Moses was definitely resurrected, which I think is really cool because when you look at Jesus, at the Mount of Transfiguration, this is basically Jesus was showing them his glory, a glimpse of his glory. And here you see people that never died or someone that never died and somebody that died and was resurrected. And it’s kind of like a symbol of his second coming, that this is when God’s people who will never die, they’ll see Jesus come and people that were died and resurrected, we’ll all meet Jesus together. Like it says in first thessalonians four, thus shall we the dead in Christ shall rise first and those that are with Him, and then we shall be caught up together with Him, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And so I think this is also symbolic of that special day as well.
Speaker 3
I love that story. So thank you for the question.
For the full episode:
https://youtube.com/live/HGDoWzVa5Ks
Share this video with a friend:
https://youtu.be/AhH683TxQKE
In His Service
BibleAsk Team
