Jesus leads Peter, James, and John up a high mountain (probably Mt. Hermon, elevation 9,232 feet). His face shines like the sun. His clothing becomes a dazzling white. And then Moses and Elijah appear with him in glory, talking with him about his coming ordeal in Jerusalem. Overawed, Peter proposes making three booths (or Feast of Tabernacles shelters), one for Jesus, one for Moses, one for Elijah. This suggestion is still on his lips when a bright cloud overshadows them all. And a voice in the cloud says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matt. 17:5).
The vision of glory on the Mount of transfiguration answers the common question, “Will we know each other in heaven?” Moses and Elijah return from the unseen spirit realm to speak with Jesus. Moses has been dead for 14 centuries, and a whirlwind has whisked Elijah out of this world more than 800 years before. These men, now separated from their physical bodies, still wear their earthly names and are still associated with their earthly lives. Moses is still Moses, and Elijah is still Elijah.
On this earth “we have borne the image of the man of dust,” says Paul. We look like Adam. We have two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth. Every human being is unique, and yet everyone resembles our ancestor. In the world to come, though, we shall “bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Cor. 15:49).
Now, we look like Adam. Then, we shall look like the glorified Jesus. And yes, every saved person will be unique and recognizable: “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor. 15:41-42).