On the High Mountain

By Dan & Brenda Cathcart

Moed Ministries International

The video version of this teaching is available at:
https://youtu.be/k52hyExkzgE

Scripture readings for this teaching:
Mark 9:2-13 (Matthew 17:1-13; Luke 9:28-36 

Last week we saw Yeshua healing two blind men and again feeding a multitude of people with what appeared to be meager provisions only to find that there was plenty of leftovers.  After most such busy times, Yeshua would go to a hill or mountain to spend time in prayer.  He sometimes took several disciples with him.  On this occasion he took three, Peter, James and John.  But this time was different; this time something extraordinary happened. 

Mark 9:2-4 from the Delitzsch Hebrew Gospels.  After six days, Yeshua took Petros, Ya’akov, and Yochanan, and brought them up along with him on a high mountain, and he was changed before their eyes.  His clothes shone and became very white like snow; a launderer on earth would not be able to make something so white. Then Eliyahu (or Elijah) and Mosheh (Moses) appeared to them and they were speaking with Yeshua.

On this mountain, on this day, the disciples encountered the very Glory of the divine Yeshua; transfigured before their eyes!  Mountains are a common place for Yeshua and the disciples to find solitude to pray and to seek out divine revelation. The scriptures have many examples.  But what is the significance of this encounter with Moses and Elijah?  What was the purpose of these specific disciples being allowed to see a glimpse of the kingdom of God and the glory and majesty of Yeshua that was yet to come?

Christian church tradition places this transfiguration of Yeshua on Mount Tabor, located at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, not far from Yeshua’s home town of Nazareth.  In the fourth century and later, the Christians made pilgrimages to Mount Tabor.  In the Byzantine era, many churches and monasteries were built on top of Mount Tabor.

But it is unlikely that Mount Tabor would be the actual location of this transfiguration for a number of reasons. One; Yeshua was, just before this event, in the northern Galilee, in or near the city of Bethsaida.  And immediately following was again in the Northern Galilee region.  Mount Tabor is many days journey to the south.

At the time of Yeshua, Mount Tabor was the location of many hundreds of Roman troops as well as the location where the Sanhedrin would place one of the many large bonfires signaling the sighting of the new moon at the beginning of the Biblical months.  Mount Tabor would be quite crowded and not the place to find an isolated spot to pray, as was the custom of Yeshua.  In addition, Mount Tabor was in the territory under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas whom Yeshua was going out of His way to avoid; Yeshua hadn’t entered his territory since the execution of John the Baptist.

The most likely location for Yeshua’s transfiguration would be Mount Hermon, above the city of Caesarea Philippi. Mount Hermon was ell know for mystical associations in Jewish literature.  The Book of Enoch references the patriarch Levi having a vision of seven heavens while at the top of Mount Hermon.[1] The book of Psalms makes some Messianic connections to Mount Hermon.

Psalms 133:1-3 NKJV 1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing-Life forevermore.

As we read in Mark 9:2, Yeshua was transformed before the disciples.  The Greek word translated as “transformed” is number 3339 in the Strong’s Dictionary, metamorphoo; where we get the English word, metamorphosis.  It means to transform or change.  Matthews gospel describes what this change or metamorphosis was like.

Matthew 17:2 NKJV 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

The prophets describe the glory of God as like bright, visible light.

Isaiah 60:1 NKJV 1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.

Also in Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 1:3-4 NKJV 3 the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was upon him there. 4 Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Moses reflected this same radiance of God after spending forty days and nights on the mountain.

Exodus 34:29 NKJV 29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

According to Jewish tradition, Adam and Eve were not naked in the Garden before their sin but were clothed in God’s glory and radiance.  Quoting from the Talmud:

“Adam’s heel outshone the globe of the sun; how much more the brightness of his face”[2] And “Adam’s garments blazed like a torch”[3]

Yeshua told his disciples that at the time of His return, we, too, will be changed and shine like the sun!

Matthew 13:41-43 NKJV 41 "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

But what is the significance of Moses and Elijah appearing at this time with these three disciples being witnesses?  Moses and Elijah may serve the function as two witnesses.  The Torah speaks of the need for more than one witness to establish a matter. Matthew records Yeshua’s own words regarding the necessity of two or more witnesses.

Matthew 18:16 NKJV 16 "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'

Also, in one sense, Moses and Elijah may be representing the Torah and the Prophets respectively as suggested by Malachi.

Malachi 4:4-5 NKJV 4 "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments. 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

Yeshua Himself referred to the dual testimony, or witness, of the Torah and the Prophets.

Luke 24:27 NKJV 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

In another sense, Moses and Elijah represent the witness of both life and death.  Moses, as recorded at the end of the book of Deuteronomy, went up on Mount Nebo in the land of Moab and died.  Elijah, on the other hand, did not die.  He was taken up in a whirlwind as recorded in second Kings 2:11. Both Moses and Elijah were the only ones to climb Mount Sinai and hear God speak!

Luke’s gospel records that Moses and Elijah came to bring a message to Yeshua about the path of suffering that He would take.

Luke 9:30-31 NKJV 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Along with the appearance of Moses and Elijah, Mark’s gospel, in chapter nine verse seven, relates that a cloud enveloped Yeshua and the two guests.  This was reminiscent of the cloud of God’s glory followed the Children of Israel and enveloped the Tabernacle in the wilderness.

Exodus 40:36-38 NKJV 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

This same cloud appeared at the dedication of the Temple which Solomon built.

1 Kings 8:10 NKJV 10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

Jewish tradition associates the cloud of God’s glory with the festival of Sukkot.  In fact, according to an Aramaic Targum, the festival of Sukkot is referred to as the Festival of the Clouds.  The Aramaic word used in reference to Sukkot is Metalaya, which also means “clouds.”

Out of the cloud which surrounded Yeshua, Moses and Elijah came the voice of God!

Matthew 17:5b-6 NKJV 5 … behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.

The Hebrew term for the voice out of Heaven is “bat kol”, which literally translated would be “daughter of the voice.”  It is used most often to describe an echo.  The Talmud uses the term for the voice of an unseen speaker.  There are two other accounts of a voice speaking from heaven in the gospels, one at Yeshua’s baptism, and the other at the triumphal entry.  The apostle Paul heard a voice from heaven speak to him;

Acts 9:3-4 NKJV 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

John also heard the voice from heaven:

Revelation 1:9-10 NKJV 9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,

The voice from heaven here on the Mount of Transfiguration carried the same message as that voice which spoke at the time of Yeshua’s baptism by John in the Jordan river.  The gospels record the exact words a little differently as does Peter in his second epistle, but the message is the same.

Matthew 17:5 NKJV 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"

The words, “my beloved son,” invokes a memory of God’s instruction to Abraham.

Genesis 22:1-2 NKJV 1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

The heavenly voice on this night on the mountain instructed then to “listen to him.”  In Deuteronomy 18, Moses told the people that in the future the LORD would raise up a prophet like him from among His people and that they should listen to that prophet.

Deuteronomy 18:18-19 NKJV 18 'I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 'And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.

The voice from heaven certainly frightened Peter, James and John. So much so that they fell prostrate on the ground. Surely their belief in Yeshua as the Son of God was confirmed and strengthened that night!

As they headed back down the mountain, Yeshua instructed them to tell no one of their experience on the mountain until after he was resurrected.

Matthew 17:9 NKJV 9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."

The disciples assumed that Yeshua wanted them to keep quiet about the experience on the mountain that night until the resurrection of the dead. They questioned Yeshua on their way back down.

Mark 9:11-13 NKJV 11 And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 12 Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 "But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."

The three disciples had just seen Elijah so hadn’t he already come?  The common Jewish understanding is that Elijah will come first and usher in the Messianic age.  But they also saw Elijah depart.  Shouldn’t Elijah be busy at work announcing the arrival of the Messiah?

Yeshua explained as they descended the mountain that Elijah, in his role as a for runner of the Messiah at the onset of the Messianic Age, would also be a forerunner in the suffering of the Messiah as we just read in Mark 9:12-13.  Yeshua was telling them that John the Baptist was Elijah in the role as the forerunner of the suffering Messiah.

Matthew 17:12-13 NKJV 12 "But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

But Elijah’s work is not finished.  He returns a second time as the avenger before the return of Messiah. The largely lost ancient work “The Apocalypse of Elijah,” which was commonly known among the Jewish people and the disciples of the time, speaks directly of Elijah’s return prior to Messiah’s coming to fight against the enemies of Israel and the forces of evil.  First Fruits of Zion in their work, The Chronicles of the Messiah quotes from a fragment of this ancient writing.

Then when Elijah and Enoch hear that the shameless one has revealed himself in the holy place, they will come down and fight with him… The shameless one will hear, and he will be angry, he will fight with them in the market place of the great city. And he will spend seven days fighting with them. And they will spend three and one half days in the market place dead, while all the people see them. But on the fourth day they will rise up and they will scold him saying…[4]

The early Christian historian Tertullian comments:

Enoch was translated and so was Elijah. They did not experience death; it was postponed and only temporarily. They are most certainly preserved for the purpose of suffering of death so that, by their blood, they may extinguish the Antichrist.[5]

As Yeshua, Peter, James, and John rejoin the other disciples at the base of the mountain, they didn’t speak of their experience that night. It was several years later that Peter recounts his experience in his second epistle.

2 Peter 1:16-19 NKJV 16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;

At the time, even Peter didn’t fully understand the lessons which the Master Yeshua was trying to teach him.  Like many of us, he was stubborn and thick skulled.  But like a good, well written mystery, as we read the gospels, we see a critical character, in this case Peter, being given all the clues.  We can see them, but he does not.  It was not until after Yeshua’s resurrection and ascension that Peter put it all together and became the powerful witness for the coming kingdom of God.

Study Questions:

1. The gospel reading from Mark opens with a statement that the Transfiguration event took place six days later, but six days after what?

2. In this account, we see Yeshua climbing a mountain as He often did to pray and consult with God the Father. He also often takes His closest disciples with him. Compare this practice with that of Moses going up Mount Sinai to seek out God. What other time, or times, did Yeshua take these same three disciples along to pray? Compare those events as well.

3. Most Christian teaching and tradition says that the two witnesses who stand guard in the Holy Place during the reign of the Antichrist are a resurrected Moses and Elijah. But as we have seen, evidenced by the ancient writing The Apocalypse of Elijah, an earlier popular understanding is that these witnesses will be Elijah and Enoch. Discuss this interpretation and the implications of the two witnesses being Elijah and Enoch.

4. What is the Biblical, historic, and perhaps spiritual significance of Mount Hermon as the location of the transfiguration as opposed to Mount Tabor? What other Biblical events took place at these locations?

5. In our natural world, we associate clouds with darkness or subdued light. At the Transfiguration, we read of the cloud and exceedingly bright light along with the voice of God coming out of the cloud, discuss the significance of the association of the cloud with bright light and the presence of God? What other places in the Bible describe similar circumstances and manifestations of God?

© 2018 Moed Ministries International.  All rights reserved

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[1] 1 Enoch 6:6. Also found in “The Testament of Levi” 1-3

[2] Leviticus Rabbah 20:2

[3] Genesis Rabbah 20:12

[4] “Apocalypse of Elijah,” in Charlesworth, The old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 747-748

[5] Tertullian, Treatise on the Soul, 50.