Our paragraph topic is: (On the coming of Elias) Part 1.
They had been to the mountain top and back. They had seen a vision. The disciples had witnessed the transfiguration of Christ. They saw Moses and Elias, their great leaders. What were they to believe? What were they to do? What they to say? They were filled with excitement. They were filled with joy. And then they heard the voice of God the Father speaking to them about his son, Jesus Christ. Their minds and their bodies were filled with the good news that they were going to share with their fellow disciples and all of their brothers and sisters in Christ.
They were in a state of ecstasy. How would you feel? What would you think? What would you say if you had such a vision? Who would believe you? What would people say if you told such a thing? Would they believe you? Would they criticize you? Would they call you crazy? Would they stone you or behead you or put you in a cell and throw away the key? Would they believe that you have lost it and live in a fantasy world of make believe? But you are a disciple of Christ and the people need to know what happened to you. Christ warned his disciples not to speak of the vision until after the sacrifice. And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus cautioned them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one, till the Son of Man has risen from the dead."
People do not believe in visions today. You have to be crazy or out of touch with society when you talk about seeing things that are out of the ordinary, things that others have not seen. And when you tell someone the things that you have seen, you have to have some sort of proof for them to believe that you have witnessed these things. They will not believe without the proof. You will be laughed at, ridiculed, called names, isolated, and made to feel different from everyone else. And who wants to be different? Who wants to be alone and outside?
This is why Christ told his disciples to tell no one of the vision. He did not want them to face the ridicule and scorn of the enemy. For evil was lurking in the shadows, waiting for every opportunity to pounce upon the disciples and scatter them to the four winds. The enemy was waiting for the opportunity to belittle the disciples and to decrease their influence among the people so that the people would not follow Christ. So he told them not to talk of it. He told them to keep it among themselves until the sacrifice was made. He told them not to share it with anyone until they had proof of his resurrection from the dead.
If we had proof of the living God today, would all believe? Would all follow if God sent a sign to show all that he exists? Evil would not allow us to believe. Evil would convince our reasoning to come up with something that would explain what we witnessed or saw, or thought that we believed. And yet it is not for us to make people believe. It is not for us to convince people that there is a God who loves them. It is not for us to make people follow and believe in God. How do you convince a person who does not want to be convinced? How do you persuade a person who does not want to be persuaded? We each have to want to know, want to believe, want to find, want to accept God in order for him to come into our lives.
And so the visions, the miracles, the love, the protection, and all the blessings that come from our heavenly father are for those who seek to know. For evil would have us without knowledge. Evil would have us without belief. Evil would have us dead and unaware of the love that our heavenly father has for us. So, I can not persuade you to believe if you do not want to believe. I can not tell you of the miracles that have been worked in my life if you do not want to hear. I can not make you understand the love and protection and the provisions that God has provided me, if you do not want to understand. I can only write. For it has been given me to write. It has been given to me to write freely what I have read and what I understand from my bible experience. What was freely given to me from those readings I give to those who want to know. I give freely to those who seek, even as I have sought. I give what those readings have done for me.
God is love. He created man in his image and likeness. He gave us life that we may know the awe and the mystery of his love. I pray that you may know his love. I pray that you may experience his protection and his provisions. I pray that you may come to know his wisdom. For the love that he has shown me, I pray that you may come to know. And when you know his love, you will understand. Come! Follow the path. Read what has been laid out before you and you too will know the truth of who you are in Christ. Christ loves you and so do I.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!
