The Transforming Power of a Mountaintop

Dr. Clark G. Armstrong

Description

The Transforming Power of a Mountaintop explores life from the vantage point of one particular mountaintop—the Mount of Transfiguration.



Dr. Clark G. Armstrong, who has pastored four churches and overseen the planting of fourteen more during forty years of ministry, explores the significance of the transfiguration miracle in the life of Jesus, his disciples, and all Christians, including the readers of this study.



The author examines the miracle and uses it as an opportunity to ask questions such as:



• Have you experienced your own Mount of Transfiguration moment of worship?

• Why did Jesus need to be on that mountaintop?

• How did events on the mountaintop confirm Jesus is the Messiah?



Over thirty years later, Peter was still overwhelmed by what he saw on the mountaintop when he wrote about it in his second letter. What he draws the most attention to is the affirmation and endorsement of the Son by His Father. His affirmation was nearly the same as it was at Jesus’s baptism except that, at the transfiguration, the Father added the phrase “listen to him.”

Sujets

• Spiritual Growth
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie
• Mount of Transfiguration
• Miracles of Jesus
• Biblical studies
• Theology
• New Testament
• Glorification
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 02 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664268371
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF A MOUNTAINTOP
 
 
 
 
 
DR. CLARK G. ARMSTRONG
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Copyright © 2022 DR. Clark G. Armstrong.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
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Bloomington, IN 47403
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6836-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6838-8 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6837-1 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022910661
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 07/19/2022
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1 Hos To Phos
Chapter 2 Jesus
Chapter 3 Peter
Chapter 4 Elijah
Chapter 5 What It Means When Elijah Comes On The Scene In God’s Salvation History
Chapter 6 Moses
Chapter 7 Personal Application
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Bibliography
Dedicated to Connie
INTRODUCTION

O h, the intrigue of a majestic mountain! However, I have always been afraid of heights. I know mountain climbing has appealed to many, but it was never for me. I have heard all the reasons for climbing mountains, such as the exhilaration of the view and the sense of accomplishment, and not the least of the simplistic reasons: “because it was there.” But none of these has ever been able to overcome the feeling of fear (more like terror) that I had trying to cross a swinging bridge as a young boy when our family visited Lookout Mountain high above Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Our guide pointed out to us how we could see six states from that spot and that was true. Today, a marker suggests the viewer can see seven states. 1 He told us how a battle of the Civil War helped the South, who fought from the top of the mountain as the Northern troops tried to climb up and take control of it. All I thought was, Why would they fight for control of this mountain? There is nothing here but a few caves and rocks and scraggly trees! At the time of my visit, there was also a little building with a monument and some other things in it, but those weren’t there in 1863 when the battle happened.
This book is about the Mount of Transfiguration and what happened when Jesus took his three closest disciples with him and went up there. Scholars say that it probably happened on Mount Tabor (or possibly on Mount Hermon) in Israel. It had similarities with Lookout Mountain, and also differences. Mountains in Israel were considered to be safe havens against enemy attacks. However, mountains were also considered to be sacred places, and often worship of the gods happened atop these high places, where idols or altars for sacrifice were constructed.
As we explore the significance of this Transfiguration event, we will find some parallels with our opening illustration. There will be an incredible view, but it will not be so much of the surroundings as of the revelation of Christ’s preexistent glory. There will be a tremendous fear, but it will be more a fear of the Lord. There will be a desire to make a monument of remembrance for such a sacred place, but Jesus will put that into a greater perspective.
This narrative is shared in all three of the synoptic gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and is referred to in Peter’s second letter (2 Peter 1:16–18). The full story of the Transfiguration is printed below from the account given by Matthew.
Matthew 17:1–13 New International Version (NIV)
(Mark 9:2–13, Luke 9:28–36)
THE TRANSFIGURATION
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
 
 
 
 
 

CHAPTER 1
HOS TO PHOS

O ne thing about the top of most mountains is that it seems so much brighter up there. Of course, the air may be thinner, and it is probably fresher. But you are likely to be several thousand feet closer to the sun and may well be above the cloud line. In reference to that, there is a dramatic comparison of the sun to the brightness of Jesus’s appearance in the account given by the scripture writers. In the original language, it is a wonderful use of written communication.
The Greek of Matthew 17:2:
ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ( hos ho helios ) = like the sun
ὡς τὸ φῶς ( hos to phos ) = like the light
Jesus’s face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light: hos to phos . He was transfigured before them. It was the purest and brightest light of the glorified Christ. As St. Augustine observed, it was like the divine light that existed and entered the world on day one of Creation (Genesis 1:3–5) before the sun, moon, and stars were created on day four (Genesis 1:14–19) 2 . This may also be the same light that would remain in eternity after the sun would be no more (Revelation 21:22, 22:5). Immediately, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, and they were talking to each other. As they were conversing, a bright cloud surrounded them, and out of it came the voice of God endorsing His Son.
How can we even begin to grasp the significance of this event? Most of the time in the church, we have not even tried. Hopefully this study will open some insights into the magnificent meaning of what happened on that mountain at that moment. One of the questions in a catechism helps us begin to wrap our minds around that glorious and glory-filled miracle.
49. What was the Transfiguration?
The Transfiguration of Jesus added great insight into his identity and messianic ministry. It identified him as the Son of God and God’s spokesperson. We learn in his transfiguration of the special honor and glory Jesus possessed as God’s Son. It connected the earthly with the heavenly and placed Jesus as the One who most clearly revealed the eternal realm to us. It disclosed that his glory would come by way of the cross (Luke 9:31). It connected his baptism, where the Father declared Jesus to be his Son, with his heavenly glory. It anticipated his resurrection and his coming again when his power “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). The appearance of Moses and Elijah reminded us that God “is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Matthew 22:32). It added new insight into the gospel narrative as it joined Jesus’s baptism, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension in revealing Christ’s identity and mission to the world. 3
One idea stands prominent to describe this occasion; in Greek, it is the doxa or glory of God (glorify, glorious, glorification). The most overlooked, underemphasized, least preached, and most taken-for-granted doctrine in the ordo salutis is by far the doctrine of glorification. 4 Yet the ordo salutis makes it the final and culminating work of grace provided by the atonement of Christ. Ordo salutis (Latin: the order of salvation) refers to a series of gradual steps within the Christian doctrine of salvation whereby people are transformed as they respond to God’s grace at work in their lives.
DIAGRAM OF T