The mountain of the Lord and the government of
God.
Nebuchadnezzar
had a dream of a statue made of gold,
silver, brass and iron that the prophet Daniel interpreted as four
empires that would rule their world and end with Daniel 2:35.
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken
to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing
floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for
them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth. Daniel
2:35 is then interpreted in in verses
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45. Forasmuch as you saw that the
stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold..... So
the stone (Jesus)
becoming a great mountain and filling the whole the earth is in fact an
illustration of his government filling the whole earth at the end of the
fourth empire.
There can
be no disputing the meaning of the great mountain in the book of Daniel.
The Bible has already interpreted it for us. It illustrates the
government of God with it's king, the messiah, the descendant of Abraham
enthroned during the fourth empire. Jehovah the Word of God came into the
world as a human being during the reign of the first emperor of that fourth empire, Rome.
The religious leaders of Jesus's day knew this prophecy quite well and
demanded of Jesus, (if he was really who he was claiming to be,) when
this government would come. He gave them an answer they assuredly did
not expect. Most Christians would not expect this answer if
they got the opportunity to ask Jesus the same question today.
Luke 17: 20-21 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the
kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of
God does not come with observation: (visibly) Nor shall they say, Look
here! or, look there! (because it is invisible) for,
behold, the kingdom of God is inside you. This links an
article on Luke 17:20-21. Here is a series of
articles of
Jesus's parables about this mystery concerning this
invisible government of God and how it actually does come.
Keeping the interpretation of Daniel in mind
about this great mountain lets look at some other prophecies about the
mountain of the Lord.
Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in
the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the
hills; and all nations shall flow to it. 3 And many people shall go and
say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the
house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will
walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word
of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and
shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into
plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift
up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. AKJV
There are a number of things worth noticing here.
First, that this is the mountain of the lords house. The New Testament
as shown in as this part of the New Jerusalem
article is replete with references
to the people of faith of all nations being the house of the Lord, the
temple of the Lord, the tabernacle of the Lord, the dwelling place of
the Lord, and the habituation of God. The second thing worth noticing is that
it is not the only mountain. There are other mountains and hills. Other
influences not from God. It just states that the mountain of the Lords
house will be at the top, higher or exalted above them. Here is
where the light bulb should go on in the readers head. Ask yourself a question. When a person wants to get right with God, or
learn of his ways and to follow in in his paths. Where do they go to do
this? The answer: The come to Christ, they come to a church, they go to the Bible,
they hang out with Christians. In other words they come to the mountain
of the Lords house. That is what verse 3 is a prophecy of. Not only did
the Law and the Word of the Lord come into to the world from the
physical city of Jerusalem that sits on the hill of Zion. It continues
to come into the world through what those geographical locations
illustrated in prophecy: Through the New Jerusalem, the city of
the Lord or the mountain of the Lords house as defined in the New
Testament that Mount Zion
symbolized. Verse 4 is prophesying how this will all happen. Gods
providence and judgments but more importantly: The people of faith beat
their swords and spears into instruments of farming. They sow the Word
in peoples hearts and harvest souls. Jesus explained
this as one of the mysteries about this government of God, how the
prophecy's about it will be fulfilled. This is gone over in great detail
in the
first article of a series on
Jesus's parables about the Government of God.
Isaiah 11 1 And
there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch
shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest on
him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And shall
make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall
not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing
of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and
reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the
earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall
he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his
loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and
the calf and the young lion and the fatted calf together; and a little
child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their
young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like
the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and
the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9 They shall
not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain:
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters
cover the sea. 10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which
shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek:
and his rest shall be glorious. AKJV This is a direct prophecy
of the Messiah and his work toward and in the nations who are
illustrated as animals. The people of faith are illustrated as children.
Notice in verse 9 that this transformation of the earth that is
being illustrated comes through the earth being full of the knowledge of
the Lord. How does this
knowledge come about? Isaiah 2 in the previous paragraph says through the mountain of the Lords
house, through the people of faith of all nations.
Isaiah 25:5 You shall bring down the noise of
strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of
a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
6 And in this mountain shall the LORD
of hosts make to all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on
the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well
refined. 7 And he will destroy in this
mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil
that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death in
victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and
the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for
the LORD has spoken it. AKJV The same type of thing is said in
this prophecy that is quoted in Revelation regarding the New Jerusalem.
That it is the mountain of the Lord which represents Gods government,
the Mountain of Gods house that represents Gods people that will take
away the veil that hides God from the nations. That teaches them
righteousness so that they might have the national prosperity
spoken of in verse 6. What else can versus like this next one mean?
Matthew 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be
taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
This was Jesus speaking to the leaders of ancient Israel. The
point is: How can something be taken away if they didn't have it to
begin with? You can see they had it by looking at why it was taken away.
Because they didn't bring forth the fruit of that Kingdom. What
would that fruit be? Some of that fruit would have been just what these verses are
referencing; That that earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. That the covering or
veil over the face of all nations be removed. That with righteousness
the poor and the meek find justice. That the rebuke of his people be
taken of the earth. Luke 12:32 32 Fear not, little flock; for
it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Colossians
1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us
to the kingdom of his beloved Son, Hebrews 12:8 For you are not come to
the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor to
blackness, and darkness, and tempest, (Mt Sinai representing the
1st covenant.)..... 22 But you are
come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, ... 28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let
us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
Isaiah 66
is an astounding prophecy in its precise accuracy as is all Bible
propehcy. Probably very confusing to most though due to the teachings of
some of the dispensationalists who seem to know
little to nothing of the Bibles actual dispensations. Galatians 4:21 Tell me, you
that desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is
written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a female slave, the other
by a free woman. 23 But he who was of the female slave was born after
the flesh; but he of the free woman was by promise. (by divine
intervention)
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the
one from the mount Sinai, which engenders to bondage, which is Agar.
(Hagar the slave woman) 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai
in Arabia, and answers to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with
her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above
is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written,
Rejoice, you barren that bore not; break forth and cry, you that travail
not: for the desolate has many more children than she which has an
husband. 28 Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
AKJV
Isaiah 66: 1 Thus
said the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool:
where is the house that you build to me? and where is the place of my
rest? 2 For all those things has my hand made, and all those things have
been, said the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is
poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word. The
first two verses were laying the groundwork for the realties that were
to be revealed in their time. That the OT temple and the tabernacle were
illustrations of the true temple
and tabernacle to come. Which are
Gods people of faith of all nations. 3 He that kills
an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb, as if he cut
off a dog's neck; he that offers an oblation, as if he offered swine's
blood; he that burns incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yes, they have
chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.
Same thing. The laying of the groundwork that the rites and
rituals of the Mosaic law were merely illustrations of the sacrifice of
the Son of God and the truths to be revealed to the whole world. This
"rejection" of the Old Testament rites and rituals
was prophesied in the book of Genesis over and over. 4
I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears on them;
because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear:
but they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I delighted
not. This is the faith of Abraham in a nutshell. When he calls
down inside the spirit of a human, you answer. You don't reject that
call and instead try to make yourself acceptable by preforming rites and
rituals or even good works. 5 Hear the word of the LORD, you that tremble at his word; Your
brothers that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let
the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall
be ashamed. A promise to the minority, those of faith in Ancient
Israel. 6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a
voice of the LORD that renders recompense to his enemies. 7 Before she
travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of
a man child. 8 Who has heard such a thing? who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be
born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her
children. Verses 6-8, The birth of the messiah, the birth of the
multitude of promises of God to many generations. The birth of the
realties of the government of God that were to come to the world. The
beginning of the fulfillment of the words of the prophets.
9. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth?
said the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? said
your God. Verse 9 is a very important verse.
God is prophesying that the time period in the first century as
the birth of the promises of God not the fruition that the world would
not begin to really see in earnest until the 4th empire ended.
Remember the great trials and tribulations, the great falling
away that occurred in those first centuries? Within a few centuries it
would seem as though the whole enterprise failed to bring the earthly
promises of God into the world. God exhorts them in verses 10- 14
with prophecies of the fruition. 10 Rejoice you with Jerusalem,
(Speaking of the New Jerusalem as parts of these verses are quoted in
Revelation 21-22.) and be glad with her, all you
that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all you that mourn for her: 11
That you may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her
consolations; that you may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance
of her glory. 12 For thus said the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to
her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream:
then shall you suck, you shall be borne on her sides, and be dandled on
her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you;
and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And when you see this, your
heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the
hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation
toward his enemies. 15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and
with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and
his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by his sword will the
LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. 17
They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens
behind one tree in the middle, eating swine's flesh, and the
abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, said the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will
gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape
of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to
Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame,
neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the
Gentiles. Verses 15-19 are a reference to the end of the Old
Covenant Age and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Plus the
believers going out of Judea into the whole world to preach the Gospel.
20 And they shall bring all your brothers for an offering to
the LORD out of all nations on horses, and in chariots, and in litters,
and on mules, and on swift beasts, to my holy
mountain Jerusalem, said the LORD, as the children of Israel
bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
Verse 20 tells of the ministry of the mostly Jewish believers who left
Judea bringing people of all nations to the great and high mountain who
now become the brethren of all the Jewish believers from times past to
present. 21 And I
will also take of them for priests and for Levites, said the LORD.
Verse 21 tells how the Gentile believers would become pastors,
prophets, ministers of the Gospel. 22
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall
remain before me, said the LORD, so shall your seed and your name
remain. Look at the construct of this verse 22 carefully. This
new heaven and earth, quoted in Revelations New Jerusalem has not
arrived yet. It is to come. The time period of the Roman Empire, the
last of the four had just begun. The era of promise was yet far off. So
the Lord is exhorting those who would come to Christ that no matter how
bad things got for them, and it got really bad. That the seed they were
sowing, their lives they were giving towards the cause, their name, the
name Christian would remain until that day that what they sowed could
flourish in the earth. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another,
and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before
me, said the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth, and look on the carcasses
of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not
die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an
abhorring to all flesh. The last two verses are speaking of this
era of promise in pretty heavily coded language about the great wars
that seek to stop the preaching of the Gospel and the growth of the
government of God in the earth but fail. The saints witness of the
divine judgments in the outcome of these wars and maybe even a little
bit about heaven and hell.
Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I
create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be
remembered, nor come into mind. 18 But be you glad and rejoice for ever
in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and
her people a joy. 19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my
people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the
voice of crying. 20 There shall be no more there an infant of days, nor
an old man that has not filled his days: for the child shall die an
hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be
accursed. 21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they
shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not
build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for
as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and my elect shall long
enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, nor
bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the
LORD, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass, that
before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will
hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall
eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my
holy mountain, said the LORD. AKJV
Here we have another direct reference to the
New Jerusalem of Revelation 21-22. The wording here encapsulates the
earthly promises of God made to generations of believers that did not
come to pass in their days yet are being fulfilled in these generations
in many nations on the earth. Again the wolf and the lamb illustrate
different nations, or in this case, could illustrate believers and non
believers together living side by side in peace in nations that have
accepted various degree's of Biblical principle; just as we see today.
Isaiah 57: 12 I will declare
your righteousness, and your works; for they shall not profit you. 13
When you cry, let your companies deliver you; but the wind shall carry
them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that puts his trust in me
shall possess the land, and shall inherit my
holy mountain; AKJV Another reference to those in ancient
Israel who put their trust in the rites and rituals of the Mosaic law
but rejected the faith of Abraham and the promise of inheriting his
mountain to those who would.
Isaiah 56:6 Also the sons of
the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to
love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keeps the
sabbath from polluting it, and takes hold of my covenant;
7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings
and their sacrifices shall be accepted on my altar; for my house shall
be called an house of prayer for all people. 8 The Lord GOD, which
gathers the outcasts of Israel said, Yet will I gather others to him,
beside those that are gathered to him. AKJV A prophecy\promise
of coming into his mountain, his kingdom, and household of God to both
Jew and Gentile who embrace the faith of Christ and enter into his rest.
Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of
entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2
For to us was the gospel preached, as well as to them: but the word
preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that
heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said,
As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although
the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spoke
in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the
seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall
enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remains that some must enter
therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because
of unbelief: 7 Again, he limits a certain day, saying in David, To day,
after so long a time; as it is said, To day if you will hear his voice,
harden not your hearts. 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then would
he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a
rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he
also has ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labor
therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief.
There are many
more chapters and references in the Bible that use this illustration of
this great and high mountain and mount Zion to prophesy\promise the
things that have been unfolding before our eyes for centuries now. They
warrant a whole separate article to themselves.
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