From “Feast of Tabernacles,” Chapter 14- Tabernacles – The Feast of His Appearing, continued
TRANSFIGURATION GLORY
It is remarkable that the Lord’s declaration concerning the coming of Elijah followed immediately after the Transfiguration experience, when Moses and Elijah had appeared in glory on the mount. The Lord was “transfigured,” we are told, and Moses and Elijah “appeared in glory” with him. (Lk. 9:31.) The Glory was Christ’s Glory, and He it was that was “transfigured,” but these two men appeared in His Glory. And that, in fact, is exactly what is going to happen when Christ is manifested in the saints; the saints are to appear with Him in Glory! “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” (Col. 3:4.) It is participation in the Transfiguration glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as Moses and Elijah appeared in His Transfiguration glory. The Scriptures teach that this Transfiguration is for us.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (transfigured) by the renewing of your mind . . .” (Rom. 12:2.)
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed (transfigured) into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor. 3:18.)
The open face is the “unveiled” face. The reference is to the veil which Moses wore over his eyes to hide the glory from the sensitive eyes of the Israelites, when he came down from the mountain. But when he went in to speak to the Lord, he took the veil off. Paul, therefore, exhorts the Corinthians to take the veil off. This is the day and hour of God’s great Unveiling–even the Unveiling of the Sons of God! And as our eyes and hearts and minds become unveiled before God, we are going to be transfigured into the same image! These words are unmistakable in clearness. The same image! And this image is developed and manifested as we partake of His Transfiguration, with minds and hearts and eyes unveiled before the Spirit of God.
What Peter beheld, therefore, on the Mount of Transfiguration was a true picture of the “power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” into the midst of His people in this great hour of His power and Kingdom. But it was just a picture; and when the real meaning of the scene is fully revealed to us by way of experience, it will far outshine any attempt to describe it. The best we can do now is to behold some of these truths as through a glass darkly. We have all puzzled over Peter’s strange suggestion: “Let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.” Apparently Peter was so caught away in the ecstasy of the Spirit that he thought they were observing the real Feast of Tabernacles; and his immediate suggestion, therefore, was to erect a little tabernacle or booth for each of them, as they were accustomed to do at this Feast. It certainly was a foretaste of the real Feast of Tabernacles, for which the saints are looking: but coming to himself Peter realized it was but a vision, and the hour of the Feast had not really arrived. GHW
We are in a season of unveiled faces! We are not to hide the transfiguring power that grows within us as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in His sanctifying work within us. To hide what God is doing in us out of fear or hesitation is to be ashamed of Christ and His power. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-27:
“…If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it. “For what good does it do a person if he gains the whole world, but loses or forfeits himself? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels. “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
It was eight days after this that Peter, James, and John were with Jesus on the holy mountain and witnessed a manifestation of the kingdom of God. What was true then is true now and Jesus is saying to us, “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
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