Some Greek Church Fathers from Alexandria argued that, when Moses died, two Moseses were seen: one alive in the spirit, another dead in the body; one Moses ascending to heaven with angels, the other buried in the earth. (See Origen, Homilies on Joshua 2.1; Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 6.15.)
Image © The Classic Bible Art Collection – Formerly Standard Publishing at Goodsalt.com
This distinction between the assumption of the soul and the burial of the body might make sense to those who believe in the Greek concept of the immortal soul, but the idea is not in the Bible. Jude 9 confirms the biblical teaching of the resurrection of Moses’ body, because the dispute was “about the body of Moses” and not about any supposed surviving soul.
Deuteronomy 34:5-7 tells us that Moses died at 120 years of age, and the Lord buried him in a hidden place in a valley in the land of Moab. But Moses did not remain for very long in the grave. “Christ Himself, with the angels who had buried Moses, came down from heaven to call forth the sleeping saint. … For the first time Christ was about to give life to the dead. As the Prince of life and the shining ones approached the grave, Satan was alarmed for his supremacy. … Christ did not stoop to enter into controversy with Satan. … But Christ referred all to His Father, saying, ‘The Lord rebuke thee.’ Jude 9. … The resurrection was forever made certain. Satan was despoiled of his prey; the righteous dead would live again.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, Pages 478, 479.
A clear evidence of Moses’ resurrection is found at the Transfiguration. There Moses appeared with the prophet Elijah, who had been translated without seeing death (2 Kings 2:1-11). Moses and Elijah even dialogued with Jesus (see Luke 9:28-36). “And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:30-31, , NKJV). Moses’ appearance, proof of Christ’s coming victory over sin and death, is depicted here in unmistakable terms. It was Moses and Elijah, not their “spirits” (after all, Elijah hadn’t died), who had appeared to Jesus there.
| Moses was not allowed to enter the earthly Canaan (Deuteronomy 34:1-4) but was taken into the heavenly Canaan. What does this teach about how God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20, NKJV)? |
(1)The post Sunday: The Resurrection of Moses first appeared on Sabbath School Net.
The post Sunday: The Resurrection of Moses appeared first on Sabbath School Net.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/sunday-resurrection-of-moses/
