GOD’S HOLY MOUNTAINS
At least five mountains are identified as holy in the Bible.
Mount Moriah
Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb)
Mount Carmel
Mount Tabor
Mount of Olives
Mount Moriah
Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the angel. “Do not do the least thing to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you did not withhold from me your son, your only one.” (Genesis 22:10-12)
Photo is of Temple Mount, the original site of Solomon's Temple, which was built on the spot where it is believed Abraham submitted to God's command to sacrifice Isaac. The site is sacred to the three Abrahamic faiths.
Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb)
On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud blast of the shofar, so that all the people in the camp trembled. But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain. (Exodus 19:16-17)
Mount Carmel
Elijah the prophet came forward and said, “Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord! Answer me, that this people may know that you, Lord, are God and that you have turned their hearts back to you.” The Lord’s fire came down and devoured the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust, and lapped up the water in the trench. (1 Kings 18:36-38)
Mount Tabor
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. (Mark 9:2-8)
Mount of Olives
Going out he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived at the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not undergo the test.” After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him. He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. (Luke 22:39-44)
Camino de Santiago photo is in the public domain.
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PHOTO CREDITS
ReplyDelete“Mount Moriah” photo courtesy of Oleg Moro
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:601.Mount_Moriah.El-Aqsa_Mosque%26Dome_of_the_Rock.Jerusalem.jpg
“Mount Sinai” photo, cropped, courtesy of Berthold Werner
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Sinai_BW_2.jpg
“Mount Carmel” photo is in the public domain.
“Mount Tabor” photo is in the public domain.
“Mount of Olives” photo courtesy of Nemo
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerusalem,_Mount_of_olives_3862.JPG
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MOUNT ARARAT
ReplyDeleteGradually the waters receded from the earth. At the end of one hundred and fifty days, the waters had so diminished that, in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to diminish until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared. (Genesis 8:3-5)
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MOUNT HEBRON
ReplyDeleteThe Lord said to Abram: Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west; all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted. Get up and walk through the land, across its length and breadth, for I give it to you. Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the oak of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord. (Genesis 13:14-18)
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All Israel gathered around David in Hebron, and they said: “Look! We are your bone and your flesh. In days past, when Saul was still the king, it was you who led Israel in all its battles. And now the Lord, your God, has said to you: You shall shepherd my people, Israel; you shall be ruler over my people Israel.” Then all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and at Hebron David made a covenant with them in the presence of the Lord; and they anointed David king over Israel, in accordance with the word of the Lord given through Samuel. (1 Chronicles 11:1)
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Hebron is considered the second holiest city in Judaism. There are four holy cities. Jerusalem is premier among them.
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MOUNT OF THE BEATITUDES
ReplyDeleteWhen he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:1-12)
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MOUNT PURGATORY
ReplyDeleteIn Eden, the garden of God, you lived; precious stones of every kind were your covering: carnelian, topaz, and beryl, chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, garnet, and emerald. Their mounts and settings were wrought in gold, fashioned for you the day you were created. With a cherub I placed you; I put you on the holy mountain of God, where you walked among fiery stones. (Ezekiel 28:13-14)
Was Eden atop a mountain?
“Since water can only flow downhill, the garden of Eden had to be on a mountain. Theologically, that higher ground was the place where heaven and earth met. After the fall of man, God abandoned the earth where Satan now rules, and [God] sits up in the heavens. All through the Old Testament, people were anticipating the reconnection of heaven and earth on a mountain and the return of the garden of Eden. Noah on top of [Mount] Ararat, Abraham with Isaac [on] Moriah, Moses and Sinai...it was all fulfilled in Jesus being crucified on Golgotha.”
“Since this refers to Eden as the former dwelling place of the king of Tyre, it is best understood metaphorically rather than geographically.”
https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/77854/ezekiel-2813-14-was-eden-on-a-mountain
—“Ezekiel 28:13-14 Was Eden on a mountain?” Biblical Hermeneutics, August 8, 2022
Dante Alighieri locates Eden atop Mount Purgatory.
“Dante’s universe is geocentric, a spherical earth enclosed in a series of crystalline spheres in which planetary bodies and the stars are embedded. Beyond the outermost sphere, known as Primum Mobile or “first moved,” is an Empyrean dimension, Heaven.
“[The] world of Divina Commedia [is tripartite.] The pit of Hell is accessed from the earth’s surface—in the story Dante travels directly to the gates of Hell and down a harrowing descent—and from Hell’s bottom exits a passageway emerging into the island of Mount Purgatory, directly opposite Jerusalem on the other side of the spherical earth. At the top of Mount Purgatory is the Biblical Garden of Eden.”
https://poetryofgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-universe-of-dante-alighieris-divine.html
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MOUNT CALVARY
ReplyDeleteWhen they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. (Luke 23:33)
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Let us contemplate the passion and death of the Son of God—it will bring us spiritual blessings—let us not turn our eyes away, let us open our hearts to God’s voice, have no fear of his love, and we will please the Lord.
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IS CALVARY A MOUNTAIN?
DeleteTowards the beginning of the fifth century Rufinus spoke of “the rock of Golgotha”. Since the sixth century the usage has been to designate Calvary as a mountain. The Gospel styles it merely a “place”, (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; Luke 23:33; John 19:17).
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03191a.htm
—Thomas à Kempis Reilly, “Mount Calvary,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908.
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