Mark 9:1-5

Mark 9:1 (KJB)
And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

Then the Lord Jesus makes a statement that some of the disciples who were standing there with Him will not die until they see Him coming in His kingdom. This is speaking of the upcoming time on the Mount of Transfiguration because if you notice the words “see” the Son of Man. Some have interpreted this to be the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. This could not be because the Son of Man was not visible to anyone at either of these events, only on the Mount of Transfiguration. They will get a glimpse of the glory of Heaven.

Mark 9:2 (KJB)
And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

Traditionally speaking this high mountain, Mount Tabor, was the site of the transfiguration of Jesus but there is nothing to support it. It is more likely that it was Mount Meron (Jebel Jermuk) which was 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Capernaum which is the area where they were at. Instead of Jesus taking all the disciples with Him, He had only taken Peter, James, and John which is sometimes called Jesus’ inner circle. This was not just a hill but a high mountain. Then Jesus left them a little distance away and was transfigured from an ordinary human being into what He would have looked like in all His glory in Heaven.

Mark 9:3 (KJB)
And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

His face was shining as the sun because of the glory beaming from it and His clothes was as bright as the light. Peter, James, and John had to be qualified to see this or else they would have been consumed by the glory. The glory which Jesus exuded was not coming at Him but rather it was emanating out from Him. For those few moments, He was endowed with His glorified, heavenly body. This event could have happened at night since Luke records that Peter, James, and John were heavy with sleep. (Luke 9:32 KJV) But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. The fuller was a person who did the finishing touches on clothes. They clean it from oils and other impurities and thicken the material. Jesus must have had a very intense glory emanating from Him to be likened to something thickened.

Mark 9:4 (KJB)
And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

(Mal 4:4-5 KJV) Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto 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: Malachi records both the names of Moses and Elijah. It is not specifically known what they spoke about but it is believed they spoke about Jesus fulfilling all the Scriptures in the law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah) who prophesied His coming and death and resurrection. It was a heavenly witness of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 9:5 (KJB)
And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

Then Peter makes one of his understatements in that he stated it was good for them to be there. Peter was looking at this event as some type of permanent event in that he wanted to make tabernacles for them or he wanted to extend the time they were there. It is very interesting that Peter recognizes both Moses and Elijah. No one told him who they were but this may answer a question many Christians have and that is, will we know each other in Heaven? Elijah lived about 900 years prior and Moses lived about 1500 years prior, so how could Peter know who they were unless we will have full knowledge of everyone in Heaven, even those who lived hundreds of years ago. I believe this verse answers the question if we will know each other in Heaven. We must stop thinking earthly and transplanting those thoughts and scenarios to Heaven which will be a perfect environment.

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