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Moses and Elijah miraculously appeared before Yeshua (Jesus) in a vision known as the Transfiguration. This article will explain that Moses and Elijah were transfigured into spirit beings and transported through space and time to meet with Yeshua (Jesus).

transfigure:
Transform into something more beautiful or elevated [1].

The word ‘transfigure,’ the root word of ‘Transfiguration,’ indicates that Moses and Elijah were transformed into something that they were not. Moses and Elijah were flesh and blood human beings who were temporarily transformed into spirit beings to meet with Yeshua (Jesus) at the Transfiguration.

Moses was communing with God in the tabernacle tent of meeting near Mount Sinai when he was shown the glory of Messiah (Christ):

EXODUS 33:17-23:
So YHWH (the Lord) said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” And he said, “PLEASE SHOW ME YOUR GLORY.” Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of YHWH (the Lord) before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And YHWH (the Lord) said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, AND YOU SHALL SEE MY HINDER PARTS; but My face shall not be seen.”

God the Father and Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) are separately present in the verses of Exodus 33:19 & 20…

EXODUS 33:19:
Then He (God the Father) said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of YHWH (the Lord) (Yeshua / Jesus) before you…”

EXODUS 33:20:
But He (God the Father) said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”

No man can see God the Father’s face and live, but Moses and Jacob did see Yeshua (Jesus), God the Son’s face, as this is clear in Scripture.

GENESIS 32:30:
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God (Yeshua / Jesus) FACE TO FACE, and my life is preserved.”

EXODUS 33:11:
So YHWH (the Lord) spoke to Moses FACE TO FACE, as a man speaks to his friend.

Moses’ spirit was TRANSPORTED IN TIME to the Transfiguration site when Moses went up God’s mountain to receive the 10-Commandments. Moses was shown the hinder parts of the Messiah (Christ); what would happen to Yeshua (Jesus) in the His latter days on Earth as the Messiah (Christ) and His glory (Exodus 33:23). This passage does not mean that Moses saw Yeshua’s (Jesus’) backside. Moses’ spirit being transported through space and time while he was in deep spiritual meditation is how Yeshua (Jesus) spoke with the VISION (not brought down from heaven appearance) of Moses on the mountain in the Transfiguration.

Elijah is transported somewhere, not to paradise, but to the transfiguration:

2 KINGS 2:1:
And it came to pass, when YHWH (the Lord) was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

2 KINGS 2:11:
Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

2 KINGS 2:16:
Then they said to him, “Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of YHWH (the Lord) has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.”

The story of Elijah being taken up by a whirlwind, into heaven, should be understood in a different way than believing Elijah entered paradise. 2 Kings 2:1 and 11 must be understood to mean that Elijah was taken up, into the heavens, or clouds, which is often used in Scripture to describe the extended sky beyond Earth (Genesis 1:8). 2 Kings 2:16 further makes this evident, as it is written that it was believed that the Spirit of YHWH (the Lord) took Elijah up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. Elijah did not go to heaven, the dwelling place of God, as Yeshua (Jesus) declared that no man had yet done so.

JOHN 3:13:
“NO ONE has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.”

Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ), during His 3-year Messianic mission, declared that no one had yet ascended to heaven. Therefore, Moses and Elijah did not come down from heaven to speak with Him at the Transfiguration. The transfiguration was a vision, a spirit-transport communication exchange. Moses and Elijah did not descend from heaven to personally appear before Yeshua (Jesus), but were transported through time to converse with Him.

MATTHEW 17:9:
Now as they came down from the mountain, Yeshua (Jesus) commanded them, saying, “Tell THE VISION to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”

Moses was alive at the time, on the mountain with God receiving the 10-Commandments, as he was transported in time and shown the glory of Yeshua (Jesus). Elijah was taken up by a chariot of fire into the sky and was transported at this time to the Transfiguration. God the Father transported Moses and Elijah through time, in the spirit, and they spoke in the spirit Yeshua (Jesus) outside of the restraints of time and space.

ABSENT FROM THE BODY AND PRESENT WITH THE LORD

2 CORINTHIANS 5:8:
We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be ABSENT FROM THE BODY and to be present with the Lord.

The Apostle Paul experienced being absent from his body to be present with the Lord. Moses and Elijah were absent from their bodies and were supernaturally transported by God through space and time to be present with Yeshua (Jesus) at the Transfiguration.

WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE AND MEANING OF THE TRANSFIGURATION?

There are some who proclaim that the appearance of Moses and Elijah symbolically represented the Law and the Prophets. They say, “God the Father’s voice was heard from heaven saying, ‘Listen to Him!’ clearly showing that the Law and the Prophets must give way to Jesus” [2].

Lawless-minded Christians never seem to miss an opportunity to take a Scripture incident and use it to promote the idea of the law being done away with!

Yeshua (Jesus) never said that the Law and the Prophets must give way to Him. He didn’t come to destroy the Law or the Prophets (or make the Law and the Prophets ‘give way’ to Him). He didn’t come to destroy the Law, but did come to fulfill the Scripture prophecies about Him written by the Prophets (Matthew 5:17-19).

The purpose of the Transfiguration was to support Yeshua (Jesus) in the task that He was about to undergo: His suffering and crucifixion at the hands of evil men for the salvation of mankind. Moses and Elijah were two of His most beloved prophets who visited Him in His time of grief to encourage Him for what He was suffering and dying for.

1. Oxford Dictionaries. Copyright. Oxford University Press,”
<https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/transfigure>
2. Got Questions Ministries, “What was the meaning and importance of the transfiguration?”
<www.gotquestions.org/transfiguration.html>.