Moses and Elijah at the Tomb

I listened to a podcast today in which the speakers quoted two Latter-day Saint scholars who offered an interesting suggestion about who the two angels at the tomb were.  They said, “In Luke we read of Jesus, Peter, James, and John ascending a mountain…on the mount, Luke says, ‘As [Jesus] prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias [the Greek form of Elijah]: who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease [departure, “exodus”] which he should accomplish at Jerusalem’ (Luke 9:29–31). Later, at the end of the Gospel of Luke, we read a story of the empty tomb: ‘Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments’ (Luke 24:1–4). Luke had previously identified the women in this story…But what may be overlooked is that he did the same for the two men (see Luke 9:30); they are most likely Moses and Elias (Elijah). In this case he describes the men in the same terms he used earlier—appearing in glory with shining garments. Finally, at the beginning of Acts, we read of Jesus’ Ascension: ‘And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel’ (Acts 1:9–10). Again, Luke highlights the presence of two men (Moses and Elijah), who this time appear in ‘white apparel.’”  It would certainly make sense that these two great prophets, the lawgiver and the one with sealing power, would be there to declare that Jesus had risen from the dead.

               If these were indeed the two angels present as witnesses of the resurrection, then both were translated beings with physical bodies.  This would make sense because they had bodies and, for example, could physically roll away the tomb.  Presumably that’s why these two were also at the Transfiguration so they could physically lay hands on Peter, James, and John to provide keys to carry on the work.  There is also perhaps significance in the fact that they had in a lesser sense also conquered death; at least, both Moses and Elijah did not die and so they had a quasi-resurrection of their own.  They did not “taste death” as the scriptures put it (Doctrine and Covenants 110:13).  So it is fitting that they would be there for the real resurrection when the Savior would be the very first to be resurrected from the dead.  There are other reasons that their presence would be significant.  Moses was the one who raised up the brazen serpent in the wilderness as a symbol of the Savior being raised up: “Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come” (Helaman 8:14).  Just as Moses lifted up the serpent for the children of Israel to look upon and be healed, so did Christ rise up from the dead so that we all can be healed from physical death. 

It also seems fitting that Elijah, the one who held the sealing power, would be there as a first witness of the Resurrection of the Savior.  Joseph Smith described the power of Elijah this way: “This is the spirit of Elijah, that we redeem our dead, and connect ourselves with our fathers which are in heaven, and seal up our dead to come forth in the first resurrection; and here we want the power of Elijah to seal those who dwell on earth to those who dwell in heaven.”  The spirit of Elijah leads us to redeem our dead so they can come forth in the first resurrection, and this is perhaps in similitude of the Savior who redeemed His own dead body and began the first resurrection at the garden tomb.  It would indeed be natural that Moses and Elijah, the great lawgiver and great prophet of the Old Testament, would be there to announce the resurrection of their Lord.