Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
How could they, when he was gone up to heaven in a chariot of fire?
And now in the New Testament, nine hundred years after that chariot of fire, which took Elijah to Heaven, we read of him again on the top of a mountain talking to Jesus while He was on earth!
It was not long before our Lord's death on Calvary that He took His three disciples, Peter, James, and John, up to a high mountain and was transfigured before them.
You will perhaps ask: "What does transfigured mean?" It means—changed, altered—made exceedingly bright and beautiful.
The Lord Jesus had been on earth for thirty-three years. He had gone about when He was young like an ordinary boy, and afterwards like an ordinary man; except that He did no sin, and was perfectly holy and loving; and was full of mercy and kindness to every one He met.
But now the time had come for Him to suffer on the Cross, to bear the punishment of our sins. And our Heavenly Father wished to give those three disciples a glimpse of the glory which Jesus had left when He came to earth, and to which He was going back, when He had done all the work which His Father had given Him to do.
So when they reached the top of the mountain with Jesus, suddenly they found that His face was changed into a face of glory, and His clothes became white and glistening. And soon they saw that Jesus was talking with two men—Moses and Elijah—who had come down from the glory of Heaven to talk with Him about His death which would soon happen at Jerusalem.
Can we not imagine the joy of Moses and Elijah, and the adoring worship of their hearts, as they talked with their beloved Lord? No wonder that Peter said in one of his Letters afterwards in speaking of this scene:
"We . . . were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice from the excellent glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.' And this Voice which came from Heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount."