It is a sad fact that many who were led by Moses out of the land of Egypt, who “were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea …[who] ate the same spiritual food, and … drank the same spiritual drink” did not enter into the promised land. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”

So also it is today. Not all who are outwardly affiliated with a church — even with a faithful church — not all who have been baptized or who have partaken of the Lord’s Supper will be saved. Why? Because they do not believe! And, if they did once believe, they failed to continue in the hearing of God’s Word and in the reception of Christ’s Supper and their faith in the promises of the Gospel grew weaker and weaker until it died!

This is why St. Paul writes to the believers in Corinth: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

It is why he adds the warning in the following verses (10:6-12): “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.’ Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

And there is the warning in our Gospel reading for today in which the kingdom of heaven is compared to a landowner who hired workers to go out and work in his vineyard, going out early in the morning and agreeing to pay a denarius per day; again at 9 a.m. offering to pay what is right; at noon; at 3 in the afternoon and at 5 p.m. (only an hour before quitting time). And when he graciously paid those who had only worked a short time a denarius, those who worked all day thought they deserved more and grumbled when they were only given a denarius.

What had happened? Those who had gladly accepted the landowner’s gracious offer of a denarius a day now thought they deserved more because of their hard work all day long in the heat of the sun. Instead of being thankful for what they were given and rejoicing that those who came later were also treated graciously, they grumbled and complained and, as a result, were told to take their pay — “what is yours” — and leave.

So also it is in the kingdom of God. God finds us wasting our lives in the marketplace and employs us in His kingdom. Some are baptized as little children and spend their whole lives in God’s service, and others do not come to faith until late in life and serve only a short time before they are called home and stand before God. Yet, because their reward depends not upon their own works but upon the merit of Christ — upon Christ’s holy life and His innocent suffering and death for the sins of the world — those who came to faith late in life receive the same eternal reward, the everlasting joys of heaven!

As Jesus said, “The last will be first, and the first last.” The rewards God gives us are of His grace and mercy in Christ, not of works (cf. Eph. 2:8-10).

And, if we begin to think that God owes us heaven and all its blessings or that we deserve more blessings and glory than others because of all our devotion and service to Christ, we may find that we are cast out. Why? Because of unbelief, because we ceased trusting in Christ and God’s grace and favor for Christ’s sake and began to trust in our own life and works!

As Jesus said, “For many are called, but few chosen.” Though God calls all to repent of their fruitless ways and come work for Him in His kingdom, trusting in His grace and mercy which are offered and given to us for the sake of Christ and His cross, not all believe. Some turn away from Christ in order to continue on in their sinful ways, and some fail to trust in Christ because they feel deserving of God’s favor on account of their own works and service to God. The end result, of course, is the same: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16; John 3:18,36; 1 John 5:11-12).

Many are called. Christ died for all and atoned for the sins of all — He won forgiveness for all. God’s call goes out to all, calling upon them to repent of their sinful ways and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and a place in God’s everlasting kingdom. The Holy Spirit graciously works through the Gospel to bring all who hear it to believe its promises and to place their faith in Christ Jesus that they might be justified, absolved and forgiven of all their sins.

Few are chosen. Only those who, by the grace of God, believe are justified, forgiven and absolved. Through the continued use of Word and Sacraments, they are preserved in the true and saving faith and remain possessors of God’s gifts. And those who are preserved in the true and saving faith through God’s life-giving Word and Sacraments are also those who will be glorified and partake of the eternal joys of heaven!

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30; cf. John 17:1ff.; Eph. 1:3ff.; Col. 1:19-23; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 2 Tim. 1:9-10; Phil. 1:6).

O gracious and merciful God, grant that we hear Your Gospel call and trust in Christ our Savior unto life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Formula of Concord

Epitome

XI. Election.

1] Concerning this article no public dissension has occurred among the theologians of the Augsburg Confession. But since it is a consolatory article, if treated properly, and lest offensive disputations concerning the same be instituted in the future, it is also explained in this writing.

Affirmative Theses.
The Pure and True Doctrine concerning This Article.

2] 1. To begin with [First of all], the distinction between praescientia et praedestinatio, that is, between God’s foreknowledge and His eternal election, ought to be accurately observed.

3] 2. For the foreknowledge of God is nothing else than that God knows all things before they happen, as it is written Dan. 2:28: There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.

4] 3. This foreknowledge extends alike over the godly and the wicked, but it is not the cause of evil, neither of sin, namely, of doing what is wrong (which originally arises from the devil and the wicked, perverse will of man), nor of their ruin [that men perish], for which they themselves are responsible [which they must ascribe to themselves]; but it only regulates it, and fixes a limit to it [how far it should progress and] how long it should last, and all this to the end that it should serve His elect for their salvation, notwithstanding that it is evil in itself.

5] 4. The predestination or eternal election of God, however, extends only over the godly, beloved children of God, being a cause of their salvation, which He also provides, as well as disposes what belongs thereto. Upon this [predestination of God] our salvation is founded so firmly that the gates of hell cannot overcome it. John 10:28; Matt. 16:18.

6] 5. This [predestination of God] is not to be investigated in the secret counsel of God, but to be sought in the Word of God, where it is also revealed.

7] 6. But the Word of God leads us to Christ, who is the Book of Life, in whom all are written and elected that are to be saved in eternity, as it is written Eph. 1:4: He hath chosen us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world.

8] 7. This Christ calls to Himself all sinners and promises them rest, and He is in earnest [seriously wills] that all men should come to Him and suffer themselves to be helped, to whom He offers Himself in His Word, and wishes them to hear it and not to stop their ears or [neglect and] despise the Word. Moreover, He promises the power and working of the Holy Ghost, and divine assistance for perseverance and eternal salvation [that we may remain steadfast in the faith and attain eternal salvation].

9] 8. Therefore we should judge concerning this our election to eternal life neither from reason nor from the Law of God, which lead us either into a reckless, dissolute, Epicurean life or into despair, and excite pernicious thoughts in the hearts of men, for they cannot, as long as they follow their reason, successfully refrain from thinking: If God has elected me to salvation, I cannot be condemned, no matter what I do; and again: If I am not elected to eternal life, it is of no avail what good I do; it is all [all my efforts are] in vain anyway.

10] 9. But it [the true judgment concerning predestination] must be learned alone from the holy Gospel concerning Christ, in which it is clearly testified that God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all, and that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and believe in the Lord Christ. Rom. 11:32; Ezek. 18:23; 33:11; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 John 2:2.

11] 10. Whoever, now, is thus concerned about the revealed will of God, and proceeds according to the order which St. Paul has observed in the Epistle to the Romans, who first directs men to repentance, to knowledge of sins, to faith in Christ, to divine obedience, before he speaks of the mystery of the eternal election of God, to him this doctrine [concerning God’s predestination] is useful and consolatory.

12] 11. However, that many are called and few chosen, Matt. 22:14, does not mean that God is not willing to save everybody; but the reason is that they either do not at all hear God’s Word, but wilfully despise it, stop their ears and harden their hearts, and in this manner foreclose the ordinary way to the Holy Ghost, so that He cannot perform His work in them, or, when they have heard it, make light of it again and do not heed it, for which [that they perish] not God or His election, but their wickedness, is responsible. [2 Pet. 2:1ff ; Luke 11:49. 52; Heb. 12:25f.]

13] 12. Thus far a Christian should occupy himself [in meditation] with the article concerning the eternal election of God, as it has been revealed in God’s Word, which presents to us Christ as the Book of Life, which He opens and reveals to us by the preaching of the holy Gospel, as it is written Rom. 8:30: Whom He did predestinate, them He also called. In Him we are to seek the eternal election of the Father, who has determined in His eternal divine counsel that He would save no one except those who know His Son Christ and truly believe on Him. Other thoughts are to be [entirely] banished [from the minds of the godly], as they proceed not from God, but from the suggestion of the Evil Foe, whereby he attempts to weaken or entirely to remove from us the glorious consolation which we have in this salutary doctrine, namely, that we know [assuredly] that out of pure grace, without any merit of our own, we have been elected in Christ to eternal life, and that no one can pluck us out of His hand; as He has not only promised this gracious election with mere words, but has also certified it with an oath and sealed it with the holy Sacraments, which we can [ought to] call to mind in our most severe temptations, and take comfort in them, and therewith quench the fiery darts of the devil.

14] 13. Besides, we should use the greatest diligence to live according to the will of God, and, as St. Peter admonishes, 2 Pet. 1:10, make our calling sure, and especially adhere to [not recede a finger’s breadth from] the revealed Word: that can and will not fail us.

15] 14. By this brief explanation of the eternal election of God His glory is entirely and fully given to God, that out of pure mercy alone, without all merit of ours, He saves us according to the purpose of His will; besides, also, no cause is given anyone for despondency or a vulgar, wild life [no opportunity is afforded either for those more severe agitations of mind and faintheartedness or for Epicureanism].

Negative Theses
False Doctrine concerning This Article.

16] Accordingly, we believe and hold: When any teach the doctrine concerning the gracious election of God to eternal life in such a manner that troubled Christians cannot comfort themselves therewith, but are thereby led to despondency or despair, or the impenitent are strengthened in their wantonness, that such doctrine is treated [wickedly and erroneously] not according to the Word and will of God, but according to reason and the instigation of the cursed Satan. For, as the apostle testifies, Rom. 15:4, whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. Therefore we reject the following errors:

17] 1. As when it is taught that God is unwilling that all men repent and believe the Gospel.

18] 2. Also, that when God calls us to Himself, He is not in earnest that all men should come to Him.

19] 3. Also, that God is unwilling that everyone should be saved, but that some, without regard to their sins, from the mere counsel, purpose, and will of God, are ordained to condemnation so that they cannot be saved.

20] 4. Also, that not only the mercy of God and the most holy merit of Christ, but also in us there is a cause of God’s election, on account of which God has elected us to everlasting life.

21] All these are blasphemous and dreadful erroneous doctrines, whereby all the comfort which they have in the holy Gospel and the use of the holy Sacraments is taken from Christians, and therefore should not be tolerated in the Church of God.

—————

22] This is the brief and simple explanation of the controverted articles, which for a time have been debated and taught controversially among the theologians of the Augsburg Confession. Hence every simple Christian, according to the guidance of God’s Word and his simple Catechism, can perceive what is right or wrong, since not only the pure doctrine has been stated, but also the erroneous contrary doctrine has been repudiated and rejected, and thus the offensive divisions that have occurred are thoroughly settled [and decided].

23] May Almighty God and the Father of our Lord Jesus grant the grace of His Holy Ghost that we all may be one in Him, and constantly abide in this Christian unity, which is well-pleasing to Him! Amen.

“As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.” Daniel 9:13 (Read Daniel 9)

Have you ever known a church or a church body to admit and confess its sin and seek the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness? Even though they may not claim it to be so, the attitudes and actions of church bodies often give the appearance that they count themselves infallible in their official actions.

Consider what happened to the visible church in the Old Testament — to God’s people Israel. They turned aside from following after the LORD God and from His Word and commandments. Again and again, God warned them and called upon them to repent, but did they heed God’s Word spoken to them by the prophets? Finally, God’s judgments spoken of by Moses in Deuteronomy (see Deut. 28:15ff.) and by the prophets came true and the land was made desolate, the temple and Jerusalem destroyed and the people scattered among the nations.

Daniel recognized from the Scriptures that God was righteous and that it was his own people who had sinned and brought all this evil upon themselves. Thus, He prayed that God would have mercy and forgive the sins of his people and that, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10; 2 Chron. 36:21f.), God would restore them to their land and to true worship and service of God.

How true this is today as well! Not only have we and God’s people sinned as individuals, but we have also sinned as churches and church bodies in departing from the Word of the Lord and from true worship and service to the LORD God who has both created and redeemed us!

Instead of faithfully proclaiming God’s Word and calling all to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus and His blood shed upon the cross for the sins of the world, we have failed to preach God’s Law in all its severity and His Gospel in all its sweetness, leaving people with the false belief that God is satisfied with our own righteousnesses rather than directing people to the only righteousness which avails before God — that which is imputed to us through faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Tit. 3:3-7; Phil. 3:8-9; Rom. 3:19-26).

And, when it comes to teaching all that Christ has commanded us (Matt. 28:19-20), we have often neglected to hold fast to every article of Christian doctrine, conforming to the world and popular opinion rather than following Christ our head and holding fast to His Word (cf. Eph. 5:22ff.; Rom. 12:1-2).

In Daniel, we have a beautiful example — an example for us to follow in regard to our prayers and petitions to the Lord God. We pray, acknowledging not only our sins as individuals but our corporate sins as a congregation, as Lutherans, as members of Christ’s visible church in this world, even as a nation. We confess our sins and pray that God would pardon our sins and turn us from our iniquities and to a right understanding of His truth (cf. 2 Chron. 7:14). We pray for His mercy in Christ Jesus!

O LORD God, have mercy upon us, upon our churches and upon our nation. We have sinned in turning aside from Your Word and from Your salvation in Christ Jesus. You are righteous; we have gone astray. Pardon our sin and restore us to a right understanding of Your truth, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

St. Paul warned Timothy: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (1 Tim. 3:12); and Jesus warned His disciples: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me” (John 15:18-21).

And it’s true, the world is becoming more and more evil. Though many churches are accepted by the world because they no longer preach and teach all that the Bible teaches, believers who hold fast to Christ and His Word are suffering rejection and persecution and may even face death in this world.

And the true preaching of the Gospel? It’s seldom heard in churches any more. The number of faithful preachers has become fewer and fewer so that, in most places, a gospel of “God loves and accepts everybody as they are” is being preached, and the people feel good about their version of Christianity even though they continue on in mortal sin and stand condemned by God! And when the truth about our sinfulness and the condemnation of the Law is preached, and when the Gospel of a righteousness and forgiveness which become ours through faith alone in Jesus Christ is preached, who listens, who cares to hear?

And to those who continue to hold fast to salvation through repentance and faith alone in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, to those who continue to preach the Word of God in its truth and purity and rightly administer the Sacraments, this world has become a pretty discouraging place. We might even be tempted to think all is lost, the Church in this place has been stamped out, all our efforts to preach the truth are for naught.

Now think about what Jesus had just told His disciples. In Matthew 16:21 and 24, we read: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day … If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Jesus had promised eternal life and the glories of heaven to all who placed their faith in Him and now He tells His disciples that He would suffer many things, be killed and be raised from the dead on the third day! And He tells them that they too would be persecuted and suffer as His followers.

So, was all lost? Would there be no heaven and no glory? Was the faith they were preaching without hope!

That’s where Jesus’ transfiguration comes in (Matthew 17:1-9; cf. Mark 9:1-9; Luke 9:28-36): “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Arise, and do not be afraid.’ When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’”

Jesus took Peter, James and John, His inner circle of disciples — perhaps so that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established” (Deut. 19:15) — with Him on a high mountain alone. And there, Jesus’ appearance changed. Instead of seeing Jesus in His humble state in which He did not always or fully use the divine power and glory which were His as the eternal Son of God, Jesus appeared in His divine glory. Mark describes it this way: “He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them” (Mark 9:2,3).

Though Jesus’ disciples had seen glimpses of His divine glory through His miracles, they had not yet seen Him in the glory He possesses as the eternal Son of God — the glory in which we will see Him when He returns on the Last day!

And Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in glory and talked with Jesus about the sufferings and death to atone for the sins of the world which He would accomplish in Jerusalem (cf. Luke 9:29-31).

Moses, through whom God gave the Law (also the human author of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible), led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness. And because of their unbelief and rebellion against God, Moses saw a generation of them die in the wilderness, and he too was prohibited from entering into the land of promise because of his anger against the unbelief of the people (cf. Num. 20:1ff.). He was only allowed to see from across the Jordan, and then he died and was buried in the land of Moab by God (Deut. 34:1ff.).

Elijah, a prophet of God, lived in a time in Israel’s history when most had turned away from following the true God. He challenged the prophets of Baal and proved Jehovah God to be the true God and then had to flee for his life because of wicked queen Jezebel (cf. 1 Kings 18 and 19). Elijah despaired and thought he was the last true believer in Israel until God told him He still had 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). Elijah was taken alive to heaven in a fiery chariot (cf. 2 Kings 2:1ff.).

Moses and Elijah, who called upon God’s people to repent of their sinful ways and directed them to look in faith to the coming Messiah and Savior for forgiveness and life, did not receive glory during their earthly lives and ministries, but on the Mount of Transfiguration, they appeared with Jesus and shared in His glory.

And when “Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’ … a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’”

God the Father testified of Jesus that He is none other than the eternal, beloved Son of God! He exhorted Jesus’ disciples and all of us to hear Him — to listen to His Word of truth and to place our hope and confidence in Him, for He alone is our Savior!

What’s the point of the account? And why do we revisit it each year on Transfiguration Sunday?

1. First of all, it reveals to us who Jesus really is. Though He is true man, born of the Virgin Mary, He is also true God, conceived by the miraculous working of the Holy Ghost. Here on the mount, through the eyewitness account of Peter, James and John which we have recorded for us in the words of Scripture, we see Jesus for who He truly is: Jehovah God in the flesh. His miracles and His revealed glory on the mount prove it!

2. Secondly, lest we become overwhelmed with doubts about ever receiving glory, we see Jesus in glory and we see Moses and Elijah in glory. In this world, they endured suffering and tribulation, but in the world and kingdom to come, glory! It is as St. Paul writes (2 Tim. 4:6-8): “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (Cf. John 16:33; also Rev. 7:9-17 for a similar revelation of the saints in glory.)

3. Thirdly, we have the assurance that our faith rests upon God’s truth — the Holy Scriptures are true. Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:16-21: “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

4. Fourthly, God the Father testifies to the identity of Jesus — His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased — and urges and commands us to listen to and hear Jesus’ words. And, it is through Jesus’ Word and His Sacraments that we are brought to faith and preserved in the faith in Christ Jesus (cf. John 6:63; 8:31-32). Thus, we are to “hear Him” and heed His Word, because only in Him and in the truth of the Gospel is there salvation for sinful human beings like you and like me.

5. Fifthly, even though Peter and his fellow eyewitnesses desired to stay on the mountain and see Jesus in His glory, God had them go down from the mountain into the dark and sinful world below — they were not even allowed to speak of what they had seen until after Jesus’ resurrection. And so, we must live our lives in this dark and sinful world and bear witness to Christ Jesus and the glory that He has prepared for all who trust in Him. Christ still sends His ministers of the Gospel not to mountaintop monasteries but to the nations and peoples below to disciple the nations by proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and baptizing in His name.

It was on a mountain in Galilee, after Jesus’ death and resurrection and just before His ascension, that Jesus said to His chosen disciples: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).

We live in the valley now, in a dark and sinful world that knows little of Jesus and His glory, and that knows little of the salvation He won for all by His atoning sacrifice on the cross. As His Church, we have the command to call and send men to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments in Jesus’ name that the Holy Spirit might bring people to repent of their sinful ways and look to Jesus and His cross in faith for God’s mercy, forgiveness and the everlasting joys of heaven.

In this life, in this world, we can expect no glory — only suffering and persecution from the enemies of the truth. But glory will come when Jesus is revealed again in glory. It will come to all who trust in Jesus’ name, as it came to Moses and Elijah!

God grant that we hold fast to Christ Jesus, trusting in Him alone for pardon, forgiveness and the eternal glories of heaven. And though, in this world, we know no glory, all who trust in Christ Jesus will be glorified with Him when He comes again in all His glory!

O God of all glory, we thank You for revealing to us on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus in His divine glory, and Moses and Elijah with Him in glory. Grant that we hear Him and His Word and bear witness to Him in this dark and sinful world until we too, join Him in glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]