Where there is no vision, the people perish. This statement is true. God recognizes the value of vision. God gave Moses a vision at the burning bush. He appeared in vision to Isaiah in the Temple of the great Kingdom Age and gave him his call to the ministry. At various times He gave to His messengers spiritual visions and prophecies. To Peter, James, and John, Jesus gave a vision. In II Peter 1:12-21, the Apostle interprets the Transfiguration scene (Matt. 17:1-13) as a vision of the coming, the power, and the regal splendor of the Lord Jesus Christ when He returns as King of the Jews and reigns over the world. In other words, the Transfiguration scene was a miniature vision, or picture, of the great Kingdom Age.

In this vision Christ was transfigured before Peter, James, and John. Divine glory radiated from His being. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared—talking with Him. When one passes out of this life, he lays aside this body, which the poet calls "this mortal coil," but he continues to live on and on. To Moses at the burning bush God declared that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. At that time those patriarchs had been dead for years. Yet the Lord spoke of His being their God. This statement meant that they were very much alive and conscious, and that He was their God. He is the God of the living only. He is still the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of Moses and Elijah, and of every true servant of God who passes out of this life, as well as of those who are still here in the flesh. Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ and were conversing with Him about His death, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Whether or not the saved ones who go on beyond can come back to this earth, as Moses and Elijah did on this occasion, no one can say dogmatically. But one can be positive that the saved, upon death, go into the presence of the Lord. They can, if they choose to do so, direct their attention toward this earth and can understand certain things, at least, about what is transpiring (Rev. 6:9-11; Heb. 12:1,2).

In this connection one should remember that it is not a serious thing to die, but it is a serious matter to live. In life a person must prepare for the great exchange of worlds. He should be certain that he will be ready when his summons comes. There is a place of bliss and happiness where the redeemed will be with their saved loved ones, with the angels, and with God forever and ever. But the lost, the unsaved, will be banished from the presence and the glory of God forever and ever.

In ecstasy at the Transfiguration Peter exclaimed, "Lord, it is good that we are here; if Thou art willing, I shall make here three tabernacles: one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." In his excitement he did not really know, of course, what he was saying. While he was speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed the group, and a voice out of the cloud said: "This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him." Peter, in his impetuosity, put Moses and Elijah on an equality with Jesus, in that he wanted to build three tabernacles—presumably alike—one to each of the three. Hence the voice commanded the apostles to hearken to Christ—not to Moses or to Elijah. Being the great lawgiver, Moses, of course, stood for the law. Elijah, one of the greatest prophets, stood for the prophets. Instead of turning to the Law and the Prophets now, all people are commanded to turn to the Son and to hear Him. He is the Prophet whom God promised to raise up, as seen in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. God has put His words in this one's mouth, and He is going to require every Hebrew—and all people—to give heed to this Prophet. Those who do not hear and obey Him will suffer throughout all eternity for not having done so. "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him" (Deut. 18:19). Since God has come and has spoken to Israel through the Lord Jesus Christ, men and women must turn to Him if they are to enjoy the salvation of God throughout all eternity. So long as they turn away from Him and still look to Moses as the authority in matters religious, a veil lies over their faces.

12 Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech, 13 and are not as Moses, who put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away: 14 but their minds were hardened: for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remaineth, it not being revealed to them that it is done away in Christ. 15 But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart. 16 But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit (II Cor. 3:12-18).

As Jesus and the three apostles were coming down from the mountain, He urged them not to tell anyone the vision that they had seen until after He would be raised from the dead. Then they asked Him, "Why, then, do the scribes say that it is necessary for Elijah to come first?" Jesus replied, "Elijah comes and will restore all things" (Matt. 17:11). God redeems and fulfills every promise that He makes. In Malachi 4:5,6 He promises to send Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes—before the Tribulation begins.

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come. 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Everyone who knows and believes the Scriptures is convinced that God will send Elijah the Prophet back to this earth before the Tribulation begins, to engage in a special ministry to Israel, that of restoring, according to these verses, the family relations. I should not be surprised to hear reports from Palestine that some unique personage has appeared there who is engaging in social reforms and restoring the family relations. The Jewish people are absolutely right in expecting Elijah to come, as the herald of the Messiah. See such passages as Isaiah 40:3-5 and Malachi 3:1-6; 4:5,6.

After the Lord Jesus had foretold that Elijah would yet come, He declared, "12 ... Elijah already has come, and they did not recognize him, but they did in his case whatever they wished; in like manner also will the Son of man suffer by them. 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist" (Matt. 17:12,13). When the angel appeared to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, he said that the child whose birth he announced would go before the face of the Lord in the spirit and in the power of Elijah. This statement shows that John the Baptist was not Elijah, but a man like Elijah in many respects. When John the Baptist began his ministry, calling the nation to repentance, the Jerusalem authorities sent a delegation of priests, Levites, to interview him concerning his identity. Upon being asked who he was, he confessed and denied not, saying, "I am not the Messiah." They then asked him, "Are you Elijah?" His answer to this question was the categorical statement, "I am not" (John 1:19-21). He certainly knew who he was. He was not Elijah. Then Jesus, speaking of John the Baptist, said that he was Elijah that was to come—that is, he was not the literal Elijah, but he was a man like Elijah. God will yet send Elijah the Prophet to Israel before the great and terrible day of Jehovah.