The Encounter
Matthew 17:1–3 (KJV) says
And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
Exodus 34:29 (KJV) says
And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
This moment reveals a prophetic intersection between time and eternity. Jesus brings His inner circle, Peter, James, and John up into the high mountain, where Heaven touches Earth. The glory of the Son of God comes forth, and the veil between time and eternity opens. Moses and Elijah appear, conversing with Him, representing the Law and the Prophets being fulfilled in Christ.
The shining of Moses’ face was the evidence of divine encounter. But the question remains, what did Moses actually see?
The answer lies beyond time. Moses, standing on Mount Sinai, was not merely talking to a formless voice of God, he was standing in the eternal presence of the pre-incarnate Christ, the same One who would later stand on the Mount of Transfiguration.
You see, eternity has no timeline. In the eternal realm, past, present, and future converge. Moses, the prophet, stepped into the future and beheld Christ in glory! The “residue” of that encounter, the glory light of Christ was reflected on Moses’ face.
Elijah too had a mountain encounter in the same moment. When he heard the still small voice, the very Word of the Lord, he wrapped his face in his mantle in reverence. It was the same manifest Word (Miltha) Moses saw on Sinai and Peter saw on the mountain.
When Elijah was later taken up into heaven, his mantle fell upon Elisha (2 Kings 2:11–13). This was a prophetic shadow of Christ’s ascension and the falling of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, anointing the Church in His stead.
At Sinai, the Law was written on tablets of stone.
But At Pentecost, the Law of the Spirit was written upon the hearts of men.
The same fire that once caused Moses’ face to shine and Elijah to hide his face in his mantle, now filled the upper room and rested upon every believer. The mountain of glory had descended into the hearts of the redeemed, the Church.
Every name on the mountain has meaning:
Peter (Petros) – “a piece of the rock.” He represents the revelation of the Rock, Christ Himself.
James (Yacob/Jacob) – The name means “supplanter,” but prophetically, it recalls Jacob who became Israel after encountering God.
John (Yohanan) – Means “Jehovah has been gracious.”
Moses was on the Mountain but Moses seeing Peter, James and John there experienced it as receiving the pieces of the stone tablets that he was going to give to the tribes of Israel, because JEHOVAH HAD BEEN GRACIOUS!!!”
Prayer points
1. Father, let us behold Christ as Moses beheld Him, and let Your glory rest upon our lives.
- Holy Spirit, remove every veil and open our eyes to the eternal reality of Your Kingdom.
- Lord, let the fire of Sinai and the glory of Transfiguration burn within our hearts.
- Write Your law upon our hearts and make us a living epistle of Christ.
- Let the mantle of Christ and the power of Pentecost rest upon us.
- Father, grant us an encounter that leaves us shining with the light of Christ.
- Reveal Yourself to us as the eternal Word, the One who is before all things and above all time.
- Lord, establish us upon the Rock, transform our identity, and pour out Your grace upon us.
- Jesus, let every encounter with You leave us changed, filled with Your glory, and empowered to reveal You to the world.
The GATHERING Place 