Our Lord had been speaking about His death and resurrection in the previous chapter, as well as our need as believers to be self-denying and to follow our Lord. It's in that context that our Lord then speaks about the kingdom of God, and we get a glimpse of the glory of Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus Christ is our God and we are to remember it is His kingdom, His power, His glory, His Word that is being fulfilled. Many claim visions of Christ in our day. Those who do feel to properly see Christ by spiritual eyes through God's Word. And to put it bluntly, I don't believe their claims. Just because someone claims something doesn't make me obliged to just believe everything they say. For one thing, if I believed the claims of everybody, I would have to believe completely contradictory things. You can't just believe what everybody says. Which is why we must let God's Word be sufficient Trust what it says to follow it and obey it. Now, I would just like to note that there are some differences regarding Elijah and whether this reference here that we'll come to in our third point in particular, whether this is the fulfillment regarding Elijah or whether there's a fulfillment further to come at the second coming. There are different views on this matter. To avoid tenderhooks, I will tell you now, I view that the prophecy regarding Elijah, which we'll look at later, in Malachi has been fulfilled through John the Baptist. at the time of Christ, and therefore he will not appear again before the second coming of Christ. That's how I will be preaching this passage, but I want it noted that I do appreciate not everybody holds this view. Indeed, it's one of the places where I disagree with J.C. Rylon, and you won't hear me too often saying that from the pulpit. He holds the view that Elijah's still going to come again before Christ's second coming. I do not agree with him there. I only mention this because you may hold a different view on the matter, or you might read or hear different views, and it's not a view that's outside the bounds of evangelical Christianity. Now, that aside, in our passage, we have a glimpse of our Savior in His glory. Let that suffice. If that's not enough, then what more can I say? So our text is Mark chapter 9 verses 1 to 13. Our theme, Jesus Christ is our God. And we have three points, kingdom, transfiguration, and Elijah. So first of all, point one, kingdom. This comes from verse one. And he said, to them, assuredly I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power. Now, for some Christians, this has caused problems because they're thinking, well, surely this hasn't been fulfilled because they link this to the second coming. And because they link it to the second coming, they're then thinking, oh, but these people died. Now, just to be clear, J.C. Ryle doesn't link this verse to the second coming. But it's not talking about the second coming here. Now remember, I said in the introduction that in the context of our Lord speaking about the kingdom of God, it's in that context we have the transfiguration. And the transfiguration was a part of the fulfillment of this verse, for the glory of our Lord is seen. For as lowly as our Lord was in the way that he lived upon earth, He will come in His majesty when the kingdom is fully come, when our Lord returns. But here, this verse is speaking about the kingdom of God present, or present with power. And the kingdom of God is something that's often misunderstood. Because all too often, God's people seek to center it around an earthly kingdom. They think the kingdom of God, the Jews did so, they desired Jesus to become an earthly king, to throw out the Romans, so they took the kingdom of God, meaning the kingdom of Israel. Many today look for Jesus to rule upon earth as an earthly king from Jerusalem. But both of these views miss the point on what the kingdom of God is. The kingdom is His rulership in His children, that is, believers, wherever they are in the world. There's no physical borders, no people, group, or nationalities. It's simply all believers throughout the whole world. That's the kingdom of God. Now, it says, here does it not, There were those who will not taste death or see the kingdom of God present with power. Now Peter, James and John saw the kingdom of God present with power in the Transfiguration. We'll come to that in the next point. But that's not really the central cove of what this verse is speaking about, although I do think it's fair to include that. But it's saying that some of them would live until Christ has fulfilled the whole purpose of His mission and return to glory. And the Holy Spirit would come down to establish the kingdom of God upon earth. That is, they will survive till Pentecost and the Word of God spreads out. That's the kingdom of God coming in that power. And of course, this power is seen when the gospel spreads to many Jews and Gentiles in numerous countries. And many of these people would have survived to see the kingdom of God coming in power at the Pentecost that took place in chapter 2 in Acts, and then they see a similar thing happening with the Samarians, and a similar thing then happening with the Gentiles. Thus all the people, groups of the world, by the Jewish distinction, have now been granted that kingdom of God coming in power, which is why, of course, the gospel is spread throughout the entire world. In other words, this verse in chapter 9 verse 1 has been fulfilled and wonderfully so. The verse does not mean that some of them would live to the time of the second coming. I think that was possibly the way some may have thought of it. It's not improbable because there seems to be that assumption that after Christ rose, an expectation that he would come back very quickly was taken, obviously, a touch longer than they expected. And that's why this verse isn't a problem for Christians. Because it's not talking about the second coming, it's talking about the coming of the Spirit, it's talking about the kingdom of God spreading throughout the world, or the beginning of that process. Jesus Christ is our God, and it's promised This has come true. And this promise came true. And it's still being fulfilled in the sense that the kingdom of God is still spreading. And it is His kingdom that spread throughout the whole earth. And it is this Jesus Christ who is our God who then was transfigured. which is verses two to nine, our second point, transfigured. Now, we're not told which mountain it was, deliberately so, I believe. No doubt if we knew, then there'd be foolish pilgrims heading up this mountain to see if they can get some special blessing by being in the place where this event took place. Likewise, some people go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land. They go on pilgrimages to Israel looking to get some special blessing by being, as they like to say, walking in the footsteps of Jesus. But if you want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, well, obey his word. That's the path that we need to take. If you need to get to Israel to get some extra insight to really catch on to what the Bible's saying, then you've gone too far. I mean, nothing wrong. Go to Israel if you can. Well, maybe not at the moment, of course, when it's more peaceful. But go to Israel if you can. Enjoy the visit. There's nothing wrong with that. But don't attach such importance to it that it becomes a means of somehow or other you understand the Bible better. Because if you need to be physically there for the Bible to come alive, then perhaps you need to reread and remember the lesson of Doubting Thomas. You see, the Word of God tells us what we need to know, so believe it. So after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up on a high mountain, apart by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. So he's led these three, they've gone up this high mountain, and then this event took place, where Jesus Christ is changed. His clothes become shining, exceedingly white, like so, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. A glimpse of the glory of Christ, a glimpse of what He is with the veil being removed." No wonder Peter, as we see, all three of them were greatly afraid because this is obviously suddenly they're seeing our Lord much more as He is without the veil. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Remember Malachi 4, verse 5, Now we'll come to verse 13 soon, which will explain that more. But we have Elijah literally coming here. But more than that, we have Moses. Moses has died. His body was hidden, but he died. Wherever the Lord hid his body, it will have rotted like any other body and gone through the usual processes. And yet here, he is recognizable as Moses, alive and glory. So for one thing, there's no soul sleep. He's awake there. But when we die, we did not fear because we'll be like Moses, because we'll be with God. So death will not separate us from our Savior. And Elijah, of course, did not die. As you know, he was taken up on the chariot like Enoch, who was not. They went straight to glory without having death. So if we're alive when Jesus returns, then we'll be like Elijah. Yes, our body will be changed. but we'll have that security of knowing. So whether we live or whether we die, upon earth that is, before our Lord returns, either which way, the believer will be with their Savior englobing. And this is part of the wonder of this event. Our Lord is transfigured, and there you have these two people there. And then you've got to love Peter's blundering. Peter answered and said to Jesus, Rabbi, Rabbi just means teacher. It is good for us to be here. Well, that is true. It was good for him to be here. And let us make three tabernacles, that is three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Because he did not know what to say. but they were greatly afraid. Well, sometimes when we don't know what to say, we're better to say nothing. So we don't know what Elijah and Moses said to Jesus, that's kept secret. We can see Peter, with all due respect to Peter, but in a sense babbling on in his fear. But then there's the voice which really matters. And a cloud came overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him. Remember, that kind of takes us back to the baptism when it was done more publicly. A voice came, the Father bearing testimony to the sonship of Christ, the eternal sonship. He's eternally the Son, directing the disciples to obey our Lord. Now, we too must obey our Lord. Take heed of this testimony. Remember, the law and the prophets are represented here. We have Elijah. We have Moses. Both, of course, the prophets would be pointing us to Christ. The law under Moses is pointing us towards Christ. Neither of them say a word that we know, but the Father says, obey. Listen to my Son, He says. Then, of course, they came down from the mount. He commanded them that they should tell no one the things that they had seen. So they got a glimpse, a token of the Lord and His glory. A reminder and a sight here of our safety in our Savior. He tells them to tell no one because the time hadn't yet come. If they went down and they said about all of this, you'd probably have another clamour of people trying to tell him, you need to now kick out the Romans. But that's not why he came. So unlike many people, remember, how many people when the Lord says, don't tell anybody, the first thing they went down is they charged out and told everybody and anybody. So they kept this word to themselves. So they kept it between the three of them. Obviously in the end it was written down and then they would have spoken about it after our Lord had gone to glory because then it was time to do so. But here they obeyed our Lord and they kept it to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. Now obviously they understood what literally rising from the dead meant. They'd seen people being raised from the dead. What is meaning here is understanding why our Lord is saying that. what it is that it actually means with regard to the Lord, because remember at this point they were still blinded from understanding that Jesus is to die on the cross and be raised from the dead, so they weren't catching on to what it meant. But we're told to listen to Him. Are we listening to His voice? Do we heed the call to be born again to repent, to trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone? If we don't, then we must. And if we are, then we must keep heeding. We must keep listening. As we're looking at this morning, we're going to God's Word again and again, seeking God's Word to illuminate our mind and our heart and our soul, so that we can walk with our Lord. Our Lord, who is Jesus Christ, who is God. And of course, before Jesus came, John the Baptist came. And when John the Baptist came, he came as a precursor to the Lord to announce his coming. Which leads us on to our third point. Point three, Elijah, verses 10 to 13. Now it's already quoted, Malachi chapter four, verse five. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh. That is the Lord, or Jehovah, using an older translation. Now, it's hardly surprising that our Lord agrees with the Old Testament. After all, He is the Word. So, technically, He's agreeing with what He Himself wrote. And it says that... Sorry, verse 12. And He answered and told them, indeed, Elijah was coming first and restores all things. The period of the law and the prophets will draw to a close. For John was the last, John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets before the Messiah. Jesus restored what is right and hands over to Jesus Christ, who is our God, who is the Messiah and our Savior. This restoration is not about everybody believing, but it's about the true worship being restored. which is what John did. He told them to come and to repent and receive the baptism of repentance. And because they received the baptism of repentance, they were then coming back to what they should be. And what is the true religion and true worship? Well, in the Old Testament we're told clearly to be circumcised in the heart. The only men were circumcised physically, but men and women were to be circumcised in the heart, the cutting away of the sin and turning towards God. But I say to you that Elijah has come. He has come. Elijah did literally come, of course, to the Mount of Transfiguration. He went up there, as it were, whole, without the body dying, and then his body would be changed in Glovi, but then there he is. He's back, alive, because he never died, of course, and in his case, that's more literal than what we normally mean, because we say when we die, we go to Glovi, and then we're alive forevermore. In his case, he literally never died, even in the earthly sense. However, this verse isn't really speaking about that, although I think it is a true point to make. Our Lord makes it clear Elijah had come, not by resurrection, but by John coming in the place of Elijah. That's when it says, but I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him. They chopped his head off. That's what it's talking about. They put him in prison before that. Matthew 11 has Jesus speaking about John the Baptist, and he says of John the Baptist in verse 14, if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. In other words, our Lord is linking back to Malachi 4 and 5. that says Elijah will come and says, this is John the Baptist. In other words, it's not a literal Elijah that's coming, but the one coming in the representative position of what's being promised. Many are not willing to receive it. And to be honest, that includes some good men. So men like J.C. Rowley expect Elijah to come before the second coming. But our Lord here, and in Matthew 11, 14, our Lord makes it very clear that this has been fulfilled in John the Baptist. And I'm afraid a lot of the time the views of the Elijah still to come is because the misguided view of the day of Yahweh or the day of the Lord. For they take that always to be the second coming. However, if you remember, when we went through the book of Joel in the morning service, we saw that in the book of Joel the day of Yahweh was being used in different ways in that book. And it's the same throughout the whole of its use in the Old Testament, because it depends. Sometimes it's used in reference to one thing, sometimes another. Sometimes it can refer to what was going to happen closer to the time in judgment. Sometimes it referred to the first coming of our Lord, and sometimes it does refer to the second coming of our Lord. But because of our Lord speaking about If you're willing to receive it, he that is John the Baptist is Elijah who is to come. It is then fair to say that the Malachi 4.5, the dreadful day of Yahweh, is the Lord's coming at the time of Christ. The safest way to understand Malachi 4, 5 and to understand what was happening with Elijah is from the mouth of the Lord Jesus himself. He gives us the interpretation. He makes it clear, Matthew 11, 14, and here in Mark 9, 13, that John the Baptist has come as Elijah. A different person, to be sure, but nevertheless, John's coming means Elijah has come. Scripture, therefore, has been perfectly fulfilled. Hundreds of years passed and all the prophecies regarding our Lord's first coming came true. And therefore, we can have certainty that all that our Lord in the Old Testament and the New Testament has said regarding the second coming will also come true. When we look at these passages of prophecy in the Old Testament, we need to see and consider carefully how they're actually used in the New. And that means Elijah has come. Jesus Christ is our God. He has told us so. And frankly, that should suffice. In conclusion then, If a passage like this with the transfiguration and a glimpse of the glory of Christ won't lead you to worship and praise God, then I don't know what will. Obviously, if you don't know Jesus as your Savior, then you need to see whom you are rejecting, because Jesus Christ is God. Not Joe Bloggs up the street, not something of our imagination. He is God, a very God, and we must trust in Him and Him alone for salvation. Because the Father has told us to listen to Him. So you must be born again, which is what we're told in John 3. You need to repent and believe the gospel. The good news that he died for our sins, that we can be saved by grace when you turn to him and repent. It is by grace, by God's free gift. And those of us here who believe, of course, we have repented. We believe. and let this passage then root in our heart and mind and soul that Jesus Christ is God and we have seen here a glimpse of Him in His glory and it's a token of the glory and of His power that we can fully rely upon. And with Moses and Elijah being there, not only is that representing the law and the prophets, sometimes the whole Old Testament is divided in that way, Not only that, but it also tells us that if we die before the Lord returns, then as a believer, we'll go straight to heaven and we'll be there with Moses and everybody else. And if our Lord returns and we are still here alive, we'll be like Elijah and we'll be taken up to meet him and have the exact same security whichever way we go. That is, whichever way we go, meaning whether we're alive or whether we've died first before the Lord comes. If we're trusting in Christ, we go to glory because He has promised to never leave nor forsake His people. And when we are part of His kingdom by faith, we will see His kingdoms right through to glory forevermore.