Moses, Israel’s great prophet and deliverer presided over the Bible’s next great period of sin and idolatry. In a surprising way, he is also an example of Rapture.
He was adopted into the Egyptian culture, with its hundreds of gods, goddesses, magic amulets and powerful occult priesthood; a type of the world system, closely resembling Enoch’s debased society and our present world. The Lord placed both men into the world during critical times in history, to live above their times.
And like Enoch, Moses’ last days on Earth were highly unusual. In fact, one can make the case that he, too, was taken to heaven alive. Deut. 34:1-7 describes his death, following his blessing of the tribes. He ascended Mount Nebo, where he viewed the Promised Land, and disappeared
It is said that Moses died. However, the nature of his death is quite amazing intriguing:
So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. Deuteronomy 34:5-7
Regarding Moses’ death, it must first be observed that he did not die of “old age,” or of “natural causes.” Apparently, even at the grand old age of a hundred and twenty years, he was as strong and healthy as a young man.
And secondly, the Lord, personally commanded the place and manner of his burial. No man witnessed it. The place of his burial was never known.
So, did Moses actually die? When an ordinary person dies, his body quickly dissolves into water (which evaporates) and a variety of mineral components forms. Given time, these disperse into dust, the stuff from which Adam was made in the first place. The average body is quite worthless; mining its material wealth would produce only a few pennies worth of usable chemicals. Only the soul and spirit are of worth; they live on to be judged by the Lord.
His body was considered to be extremely valuable, as Jude records a struggle between angelic beings for his body:
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignatories. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee (Jude 1:8-9)
The fact that Satan desired the body of Moses makes it clear that he believed he had a legal claim and he considered the body of Moses to be quite valuable!
As already stated, a dead body is worthless. Moses’ body had great worth because he was not “dead” in the usual sense of the word.
On this side of eternity, we can never know what truly transpired on Mount Nebo. But the transfiguration that Peter, James and John witnessed speaks of Moses being taken to heaven alive with his compatriot, Elijah. (Matt.17:1-3).
So, what singled him out? We have to go to the beginning, as documented by Josephus Flavius in The Antiquity of the Jews: Of his father, Josephus wrote:
His name was Amram (exalted people), one of the nobler sorts of the Hebrews, was afraid for the whole nation – he was kingdom focused-lest it should fail, by the want of young men to be brought up hereafter. Hereupon, he betook himself to prayer to God; and entreated him to have compassion on those who had transgressed the laws of His worship – like Nehemiah, like Daniel prayed for the mercy of God, to forgive His people so that His promise to deliver them from captivity could come to pass. See Nehemiah I and Dan. 9 for the type of prayer that brings the promises of God to come alive.
God appeared to him and encouraged him. When they saw the child was goodly – pleasantly prophecy given by the “sacred” scribes that a son would be born to the Israelites who would bring Egyptian dominion “low,” and would raise the Israelites; that he would excel all men in virtue, to fulfil (Num. 12:3, 5-8).