27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” 
28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 
34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 
36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
— Luke 9:27-36, ESV

Have you ever suspected someone was watching you, someone you could not see, but you believed they could see you?  I’m not talking about a home security camera, FBI surveillance, or some other electronic eye from this present sky.  No, this seemed like a person, invisible, looking on from another world.

If so, I want you to know you are absolutely right, in more ways than one.  Our omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God always has eyes on us (ref. Psalm 146:9).  Apparently, angels have been assigned to watch over the children of God (ref. Hebrews 1:14).  Furthermore, I believe the saints who have passed away before us can appear unseen around the planet, either summoned or permitted by God, just like Moses and Elijah in this text.  We cannot see them, now, in our world.  But, I suspect they can see us from another world.

The transfiguration of Jesus pulls the curtain on another world.  The experience should not be classified as one of His many miracles.  Rather, it was His supreme spectacle.  It was a God-given glimpse into another world.  God the Father was there.  God the Son was there in rarified, glorified air.  Two saints from bygone eras were there, “Moses and Elijah.”  And three of God’s people in plain clothes, “Peter and John and James,” were there, and they saw it all.  What they got was a glimpse of another world.  

Another World Exists

The transfiguration of Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of a previous promise the Lord made to His disciples.  He guaranteed some of them, which came to mean His inner circle, “would not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”  Plainly, the Lord meant “see” in a literal sense.  Sure enough and soon enough, in “about eight days,” Peter and James and John got to “see,” with their own mortal eyes, what immortal souls look like in another world.

“The kingdom of God” is this mysterious and multifaceted world.  It exists, here and now, at least in part, in whomever and wherever Jesus Christ is Lord.  If you are a born again Christian, “the kingdom of God is within you” (ref. Luke 17:21; also John 3:3-5).  If you are engaged in the worship and work of the church, you do so in the kingdom of God, in the presence of the King Himself (ref. Matthew 18:20).  The kingdom of God is in this world, but it was another world witnessed by Peter, James, and John at the transfiguration of Christ.

“The kingdom of God” they saw is the one still in formation.  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are there (ref. Luke 13:28).  Obviously, Moses and Elijah came from there to appear here.  The thief on the cross is there (ref. Luke 23:43).  Paradise is the place people go when they die to take up immediate residency in the eternal “kingdom of God.”  It is for saints, saved people, only.  The unrepentant thief was not welcome.  No unrepentant or unbelieving person will ever be able to get in.  But it is a peek of this true Paradise that Peter, James, and John witnessed (and later Paul, ref. 2 Corinthians 12:3).  Yet, they ain’t seen nothing yet. 

“The kingdom of God” is still to come.  When it does, all souls will see its arrival (ref. Revelation 1:7).  It is the second coming of Christ.  It is the final and eternal separation of the lost and the saved.  It is the seventh angel’s trumpet, sounded when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” in “a new heaven and a new earth” (ref. Revelation 11:15, 21:1).  This is another world you will want to see, on the upside.

Another World Invites

Although the transfiguration of Christ before the Apostles Peter, James, and John was a spectacle, not a miracle, it nevertheless falls into the category of the limited, non-normative, miraculous.  Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and the Apostles could perform miracles.  The rest of us cannot.  Moses, Elijah, and three Apostles got to see Christ’s transfiguration.  The rest of us will not, at least not in this world. 

But there is more to this world than we can see.  Another world exists.  To enter in, like Peter, James, and John, you have to be invited, committed, and obedient.  

The Transfiguration is the second of three times in the Gospels when Jesus personally invited His inner circle of three, Peter, James, and John, to join Him.  The others were the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead and the Garden of Gethsemane.  What a privilege! 

But again, the Transfiguration was an exceptional experience, not the normative.  In a general sense, Christ the King invites all who are willing to follow Him into His kingdom.  These invitations are still being sent today:

“The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
— Mark 1:15

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 10:28

You do not have to be in the inner circle of Apostles to live in another world, the eternal world God is making by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  But, like the three, you have to be a sincerely committed disciple.  Just prior to the dual world experience of Peter, James, and John, Jesus said this about the two worlds:

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
— Luke 9:23-26

The kingdom of God is not for the faint of heart.  It is not for fakes or hypocrites.  It is not for nominals, mere professors of faith, but for those willing to practice faithfulness.  The proof of faith and the fruits of faithfulness are always born in obedience to the word of God.  That’s why God Himself said at the conclusion of the Transfiguration, 

“This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
— Luke 9:35

That’s why Jesus said:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth,.”
— John 14:15-17

The Father says listen to the Son. The Son says listen to the Spirit.  The Spirit breathed every word of Holy Scripture.  Therefore, faith in the gospel and faithfulness to God’s word is your roadmap to another world, a better world, where Christ and His followers will live forever and ever.  

Another World Awaits

Come, embrace the promises of Jesus and join Him as a beloved, blessed disciple.  He will show you, with faith now, and with sight one day, the kingdom of God.  In another world, you are a child of the King, and the King is glorious.

Come, share some time with the great saints of old.  Get to know Moses and Elijah.  Leave your boats and nets behind with Peter, James, and John and follow them as they follow the Lord.  You can learn from them and let them lead you by daily devoting yourself to their stories, which become your story, in the inspired pages of the word of God.  Simon Peter himself placed higher value on sacred Scripture than this exalted experience of seeing another world (ref. 2 Peter 1:16-21).  

Come, walk and talk with Jesus in prayer.  It was a prayer meeting that started this whole spectacle.  While you are still in this world, you can speak to another world.  You can talk, and listen, to Almighty God, anytime you pray.

Come, wake up from your sleep and live fully for the glory of God.  “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (ref. Matthew 6:33).  Live for the King, Jesus.  Join with the saints at the place near and dear to His heart, His church.  Be among the people who praise His name, preach His gospel, and practice His teachings.  

Come, and one day you will go, to the place where you won’t have to build your own tent, or tabernacle, or temple, like Peter foolishly suggested.  You won’t have to build anything.  It’s all being built for you.

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
— Revelation 21:22-23

Be a fully devoted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And the next time you feel like someone is watching over you, you will be right.  Another world exists.  Another world invites.  Another world awaits.  What in the world are you waiting for?