So says Jesus. He doesnt know how to respond to a mystical mountaintop experience, and hes afraid. Ludwig Feuerbach, an awesomely bearded 19th century critic of religion, accused Christians that all our theology is really only anthropology. The history of the celebration of the Transfiguration began in the Eastern Church in the late fourth century. The appearance of God in the Glory Cloud during the transfiguration is the second way in which this event was a model of the second coming. The coming of Jesus the Son was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises and prophesies, types and covenants. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Thats the mystery of our faith. If Peter is wrong in his response to his mountaintop spiritual experienceas so many sermons suggestwhy doesnt Jesus rebuke him? From there, preaching on the Transfiguration is permitted to go in one of two ways. Vesuvius before and during its eruption. They will be God's gift of Christ) Jason Micheli is a pastor at Annandale United Methodist Church in Annandale, Virginia, and the author of Cancer Is Funny: Keeping Faith in Stage-Serious Chemo and Living in Sin: Making Marriage Work between I Do and Death. No, the good news is found in the same glory that transfigured the face of Moses and dwelt in the Temple and rested upon the ark and overshadowed Mary pervading even Jesus humanity and also, one day, ours. The word of prophecy was Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach II Peter 1:16-21. As an interesting side note the resurrection is also implied during the transfiguration when Peter, James and John are said to be engulfed in the dark clouds of the Glory Cloud in Luke 9:34-36: While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. Which is but a way making ourselves the focus of this story. ] This glorified, luminescent appearance of Christ on the Mt. His resurrection and, as Peter asserts here, His transfiguration proved it. as men with minds uncontaminated by error, by simply Did Jesus Christ come to Jerusalem in glorified form at the head of the angelic army in the clouds of A.D. 66 and then enter the city in the flesh to warn of the coming disaster for three and a half years? This was the date of the dedication of the first church built on Mount Tabor, which is traditionally considered to be the high mountain of the Transfiguration. This event is alluded to in the Epistle text appointed for this day, 2 Peter 1:16-21, which records, We were eyewitnesses of His majesty, and, We were with him on the holy mountain. The Transfiguration revealed Christs glory prior to the crucifixion. However, the Transfiguration Gospel is used on the last Sunday after the Epiphany in the eucharistic lectionary. He knows his time to die is drawing near. Christian love. course, some things in his letters which are difficult to downfall. Matthew 17:2 clarifies how Jesus face changed: His face shone like the sun[. when that voice said to him, out of the sublime glory of The Apostles testified it had happened: The coming of Jesus the Son was the fulfillment of all those promises and prophesies, types and covenants. On the wisdom God gave him. In our text this Sunday, Saint Peter asserts that the morning star which shines in your hearts (v.19) is the promise of Jesus Himself, returning at last to signal Gods great coming day is about to dawn. Im supposed to point the finger at Peter and chalk this episode up as yet another example of obtuse, dunder-tongued Peter getting Jesus bassakwards. //-->. 2 Peter received honour and glory from God the Father himself Rather the entire Christian life is a sort of ascent, venturing further and further up the mountain, to worship and adore the transfigured Christ and, in so doing, to be transfigured ourselves. second letter I have written to you, dear friends of To transfigure this story into something ordinary. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Here is the apostolic teaching of the transfiguration of our humanity on the Last Day: For those whom [God] foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29). It may therefore have been written by execution; Readers: Scattered Christian churches, And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Its the light that will one day make all of creation a burning bush, afire with Gods glory but not consumed by it. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God(K) as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.(L). (I) 20Above all, you must understand(J) that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophets own interpretation of things. 26.6 PETER COMMENDS PAUL'S LETTERS AS This dark cloud which accompanies and marks the spiritual presence of God is also mentioned in Biblical accounts of the transfiguration. Given the way sermons on the Transfiguration always go, youd think these are the only two options allowed. 
New International Version (NIV). transfiguration fiet cleverly written-up story when we told you about the .jpg)
A bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud stated, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him. The disciples fell on their faces in awe, but Jesus encouraged them to arise and, have no fear. They saw only Jesus. 2There he was transfigured before them. This vision of Christ in Revelation 19:11-14 appears to have been literally fulfilled in a mass-vision reportedly seen in Iyyar of A.D. 66 at the start of the Jewish Revolt: [O]n the twenty-first day of the month of Artemisius [Jyar], a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sunsetting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities.1. most of every opportunity, so that after I am gone you Jesus taught this in Luke 24:25-27, 44-47 and John 5:39-40, among other places. HE DESCRIBES THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS. If youve ever sat through more than a handful of sermons, or endured even a couple of mine, then chances are you already know how the preaching from this point on the mountaintop is supposed to go. Try it FREE right now! Everything the early Christians believed had this as its future horizon: The time would surely come when what had begun with Jesus would be completed at His return, His reappearance. Matthew 17:5 says that the Glory Cloud as it settled on the Mt. Everything had been straining forward to the day when Gods glory would be revealed, the Temple (that is, the Church in which the Son and Spirit dwell) would be rebuilt, and the Messiah would appear to save His people. Dont forget that this is the same Peter who insisted that he was not worthy to die in the same manner as Christ and so asked to be crucified upside down. will thereby deny the Lord who redeemed them, and it will That background helps us understand why Peter says what he does in verses 12-15. What right does Peter or anyone else have to superimpose the person, life and accomplishments of Jesus on the (Old Testament) Scriptures? Wed be down there, no different than anyone else, which leaves the world no different than its always been. How and Why 2 Peter 1:16-18 Implies that the Transfiguration is a Visionary Type of the Second Coming and How Every Element of the Transfiguration Literally Modeled the Various Manifestations of the First Century Parousia. To make this theophany, anthropology. It is good, for just as Christs humanity is transfigured by glory without ceasing to be human so too will our humanity be called into union with God, to be deified, without our ceasing to be creatures. Remember that as stated above, Jesus appeared to the disciples in a glorified form in the presence of two heavenly figures at this time. goodness must be accompanied by knowledge, your knowledge For another, if this is nothing more than another example of how obtuse Peter is, how Peter always manages to get it wrong, then when Peter professes, Master, it is good for us to be here. Im allowed to pivot from Peters foolish gesture to the (supposedly sophisticated) observation that discipleship isnt about adoring glory or mountaintop experiences; no, its about going back down the mountain, into the grit and the grind of everyday life, where we can feed the hungry and cloth the naked and do everything else upper middle class Christians arent embarrassed to affirm. After seeing this vision of these heavenly beings Peter, James and John then saw the Father in the Glory Cloud. Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). They In Luke 9:30 the disciples see Jesus standing beside Moses and Elijah who appear to be speaking of His [Christs] departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. This verse implies to me that Moses and Elijah actively participated behind the scenes in Jesus Christs earthly ministry. Matthew 17:5 reads, While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him! This bright cloud is the Glory Cloud, the most recognizable Biblical sign of the presence of God. The death of an apostle must not mean the decline of the apostolic faith. Thats how you preach this text: go back down the mountaintop, back into real life. Or, look at Peterhes just like you. Around the time of the death of Vespasian Cassius Dio records the appearance of supernatural-looking beings that appeared atop Mt. Whenever the second coming is mentioned the word that is often used to identify this event is the Greek word parousia. 9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, Dont tell anyone(G) what you have seen, until the Son of Man(H) has been raised from the dead.(I), 16For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power,(A) but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. The event is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36). 
If were not transformed, whats the point of going back down the mountain? This was widely understood at the time as a prophecy of the Messiah and it may well have supplied Peter with the inspiration for the idea of Jesus as the morning star in verse 19. John J. Bombaro, Ph.D. (Kings College, University of London) is a missionary of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, serving as the Assistant Director of Theological Education at the Luther Academy, Rga, Latvia. See the commentaries on Revelation 8, Revelation 9 and Revelation 16. Except, as cliched as those interpretations are, theyre not without their problems. Theres perhaps no better proof of Feuerbachs accusation than our propensity to make Peter the point of this scripture. possibly the same ones referred to in 1 Peter; Why: A warning about false teachers, Articles on Preterism and Christian Apologetics, Historical Evidence that Jesus was LITERALLY SEEN in the Clouds in the First Century, How the Jewish War and Resurrection to Heaven Mirror Genesis and the Fall; and How Preterism fixes the Age of the Earth Problem and unravels the Mysteries in Genesis, http://fulfilledtheology.ning.com/forum/topics/historical-records-with-some. Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. The second coming as it is described in Revelation 19. God is the one who made Jesus the fulfillment of it all. men who will subtly introduce dangerous heresies. Now she wonders why someone left a black Scottish terrier in the corner of her room. endure. those days (of the Old Testament) there were false prophets, just as there The Transfiguration shows gods will, that the believers should now listen (only) to Jesus: Jesus is the fullfillment of the law and prophets! Throughout Revelation 10 and 11 there are several clues that hint at the fact that the two witnesses appear to be just one man. What is Preterism, Preterist Theology and the Preterist View of Eschatology? 26.3 ENCOURAGEMENTS; PETER'S IMMINENT DEATH; Again, Jesus has already been revealed, to Peter, James and John, as they stood with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8). 6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. In fact, Jesus provides us with the reading horizon for those Scriptures: He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the promises and eschatology of Israel. Rev. THE What Peter gets wrong is thinking he needs to build three tabernacles. meant to be man's salvation, as our dear brother Paul In the hospital emergency room, someone accidentally bumps into an aide carrying a bedpan, and urine sloshes onto the floor. reason why he was cleansed from his former sins. thereby bring discredit on the way of truth. God showed them His glory, if only a reflection, in the face of Moses. because it appears to include material from the 1:5-9 - For this very The appearance of the Glory Cloud atop a mountain appears to have occurred three times in Biblical history: the first was at Mt. AN UNKNOWN CHURCH, WE Dont be afraid.(F) 8When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. Luke 9:28 indicates that the transfiguration took place on a mountain. Many will follow their pernicious teaching and Or, rather than pivot to the poor, I can keep the sermon focused on Peter. an unknown Christian towards the end of the 1st Given the ambiguous way in which these verses are phrased the fact that coming or parousia could be understood to apply to the transfiguration alone does not appear to be coincidental. I can encourage you to identify with Peter, the disciple whose mouth is always quicker than his mind and whose ambition never measures up to his courage. If this is true, then could it be said that Christ came in the spirit and power of Moses and Elijah during his earthly ministry? Heaven. In these verses, Jesus rides a white horse leading an army of angels on horseback on the clouds. The challenge now was that nobody imagined there would be a further period of time between the advent of Gods Messiah and the Last Day, but here it was dragging on. 1517 creates and distributes theological and apologetic resources anchored in the central message of the Bible: that Christ died for sinners and rose for their justification. Your Not in a message like serve the poor that you would still agree to even if you knew not Christ. (B) 17He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.[a](C) 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ - to him be glory But to me the most touching element is the subplot. of Transfiguration mirrors the initial, radiant manifestation of Christ during the parousia or second coming at the start of the Jewish War in A.D. 66. qualities is short-sighted - he can no longer see the of Transfiguration and the third seems to have been around the time of the death of the beast. If we could get a glimpse of heaven, we would have proofan experience that we could refer back to for the rest of our lives. Your endurance too must always be accompanied by It is right and good, always and everywhere, to worship and adore God became man, and, in seeing him, to see ourselves taken up into that same glory. TO have to leave this body at very short notice, as our Lord now and until the dawning of the day of eternity! The physical, glorified presence of Christ amidst His heavenly companions at the top of a mountain followed by the appearance of the Glory Cloud during the transfiguration is surprisingly similar in appearance and sequence to the second coming at the death of the beast. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. I believe that the initial appearance of Christ at the time of the parousia is described in detail inRevelation 19:11-14. Such a proposition finds strong words from Peter (verses 20-21). According to Psalm 18:9-11 the dark clouds of the Glory Cloud appear to obscure the brightness of Gods appearance and are the implicit cause of why the Lord is not visible to human onlookers. century or early in the 2nd. 2 Peter 1:16-18 is widely believed by Biblical scholars to imply that the transfiguration was a typological model of the second coming: For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming [parousia] of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. and The Coming of Christ in A.D. 70Like Youve Never Heard it Before!. Thus, as stated above, the transfiguration appears to be a visionary foreshadowing of the parousia itself. There are, of Let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. I believe the way in which this vision ends with Moses and Elijah disappearing and Jesus standing alone in the flesh may hint at that aspect of the parousia in which Jesus comes in human form with the power of Moses and Elijah as the sole embodiment of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. established in the truth. Sinai, the second was at the Mt. In the quote above, Josephus describes a heavenly army in the clouds strikingly similar to the army Jesus leads in Revelation 19:11-14. Heres a transfiguredTransfiguration sermon. He was mercy then. will will be false teachers among you today. I wonder: does Jesus not respond because what Peter gets right, even if he doesnt know exactly what hes saying, is that gazing upon Christ, who is charged with the uncreated light of God, is good? Though when Peter used the word coming or parousia he likely intended to refer to the whole of Jesus corporal ministry, this word, parousia, can be and is also often understood in these verses to refer to the transfiguration alone. 4Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. I consider it my duty, as long Master, it is good for us to be here. In their And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijahnot realizing what he was saying. Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching II Peter 1:16-21. as I live in the temporary dwelling of this body (with death as a His resurrection and, as Peter asserts here, His transfiguration proved it. of 27 - SECOND LETTER OF PETER. wicked men and so lose your proper foothold. (However, it should be noted that heavenly beings like God and angels are never visible to people outside of God-given visions). lust to make converts these men will try to exploit you 2 Peter by self-control, your self-control by the ability to
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