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Matthew 17:5 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Simple logic tells us that this was the voice of God the Father. It could not have been an angel, or the words would be a lie! Although we can accept these gospel accounts as accurate records of what happened, Matthew, Mark, and Luke were not present during the transfiguration. For a firsthand account we must look to Peter, who, along with James and John, was actually there: For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. (II Peter 1:16-18) Although Peter wrote these words around AD 66 or 67—almost forty years after the transfiguration occurred—his excitement about the experience was not dampened at all. But what did he, James, and John see, a glorified Jesus conversing with the ghosts of Moses and Elijah? No. What they saw was a vision of the future. They saw a vision of Jesus Christ in His glorified state in His Kingdom along with two of His resurrected servants, Moses and Elijah. And what did the three amazed disciples hear? They heard the voice "from the Excellent Glory" (some translations render this phrase "the voice of majestic glory," or better, "the voice of supreme glory"). This was not the voice of an angel but that of God the Father! Was it really the Father's voice? Yes, this was the voice of supreme glory, a title that can apply only to the Sovereign God the Father. As stated before, since the voice refers to Jesus as "My Son," it must have been Jesus' heavenly Father speaking.
John Plunkett
The Voice of God
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