be in the future kingdom of glory, which this scene was
designed to represent. And there then appeared Moses and Elias talking
with Christ. But Moses had died in the land of Moab nearly fifteen hundred
years before, and it is at once concluded that the only way to account for
his appearance on this occasion, is to suppose that he was still alive in
the spirit world, and could appear in a disembodied state, and talk with
Jesus as here represented. But such a conclusion is by no means necessary.
Jesus was there in person, Elias was there in person; for he had not died,
but had been translated bodily from this earth. Now it would be altogether
incongruous to suppose that the third member of this glorious trio,
apparently just as real as the others, was only a disembodied spirit; an
immaterial phantom. Unless the whole scene was merely a vision brought
before the minds of the disciples, Moses was as really there, in his own
proper person, as Jesus and Elias. But there is no way in which he could
thus be present, except by means of a resurrection from the dead; and that
he had been raised, and was there as a representative of the resurrection,
is proved, first by his actual presence on this occasion, and secondly, by
the fact that Michael (Christ, who is "the resurrection and the life,"
John 11:25) disputed with the Devil (who has the power of death, Heb.
2:14) about the body of Moses. Jude 9. There could be no other possible
ground of controversy about the body of Moses except whether or not Christ
should give it life before the general resurrection. But Christ rebuked
the Devil. Christ was not thwarted in this contest, but gave his servant
life; and thus Moses could appear personally upon the mount. This makes
the scene complete as a representation of the kingdom of God, as Peter
says it was (2 Peter 1:16-18); namely, Christ the glorified King, Elias
representing those who will be translated without seeing death, and Moses
representing those who will be raised from the dead. These two classes
embrace all the happy subjects of that kingdom. This view of the matter is
not peculiar to this book. Dr. Adam Clarke, on Matt. 17:3, says: "The body
of Moses was probably raised again, as a pledge of the resurrection."(2)
And Olshausen says: "For if we assume the reality of the _resurrection of
the body_, and its glorification,--truths which assuredly belong to the
system of Christian doctrine,--the whole occurrence presents no essentia