<P> Many Christian traditions, including the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, commemorate the event in the Feast of the Transfiguration, a major festival . </P> <P> The Transfiguration is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels . This miracle is unique among others that appear in the Canonical gospels, in that the miracle happens to Jesus himself . Thomas Aquinas considered the Transfiguration "the greatest miracle" in that it complemented baptism and showed the perfection of life in Heaven . The Transfiguration is one of the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus, the others being Baptism, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension . In 2002, Pope Saint John Paul II introduced the Luminous Mysteries in the Rosary, which includes the Transfiguration . </P> <P> In Christian teachings, the Transfiguration is a pivotal moment, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where human nature meets God: the meeting place of the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus himself as the connecting point, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth . Moreover, Christians consider the Transfiguration to fulfill an Old Testament messianic prophecy that Elijah would return again after his ascension (Malachi 4: 5 - 6). Gardner (2015, p. 218) states </P> <P> The very last of the writing prophets, Malachi, promised a return of Elijah to hold out hope for repentance before judgment (Mal. 4: 5 - 6)... Elijah himself would reappear in the Transfiguration . There he would appear alongside Moses as a representative of all the prophets who looked forward to the coming of the Messiah (Matt . 17: 2 - 9; Mark 9: 2 - 10; Luke 9: 28 - 36)... Christ's redemptive sacrifice was the purpose for which Elijah had ministered while on earth...And it was the goal about which Elijah spoke to Jesus in the Transfiguration . </P>

What is the meaning of the transfiguration in the bible