The Transfiguration

Q

Could you please explain Matt. 16:28 to me. Isn’t Jesus speaking to the disciples when he says “some of you standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom”? Is that the Second Coming after the Great Tribulation or is that ‘coming in His Kingdom’ something else?

A

Jesus was referring specifically to His transfiguration that would take place six days later in Matt. 17. The phrase “Coming in His Kingdom” meant He would be appearing just as He would look at the 2nd Coming. When they got to the top of the Mountain, a very significant meeting took place. First, they saw Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, a term for the Old Covenant.

Then a bright cloud enveloped them and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him” (Matt. 17:5). It was the Voice was God, the Cloud was the Holy Spirit, and together with Jesus, they made up the Holy Trinity.

Peter, James, and John, the disciples who were there, stood for the New Covenant, the Church. Later, Peter would say that the topic of discussion among them was the 2nd Coming (2 Peter 1:16-18).