” But I don’t see any dispute that they are real Moses and real Elijah.”
Peter confirms that.
2 Pet. 1:17-18, “For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.”
Has all the makings of The Matrix...illusion, or maybe delusion. However, how does htis explain St. Peter's continued lack of faith? I mean, when the news came that the tomb was empty, St. peter did not raise his hands in the air and proclaimed, "I knew it!"
Right, and especially the surrounding verses where Peter makes sure none of it was "artificial fable" or his "private interpretation". He directly forestalls such thinking.
Also note, Kosta, the reference to "more firm prophetical word" in 2 Peter 1:19, supporting the prophetic nature of the Transfiguration miracle.