Moving mountains

Here's an outtake from Sunday evening's study at my church:

Matthew 17: [18] And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

[19] Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
[20] And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

"Removing a mountain is a cataclysmic event; it denotes the world being torn apart. It denotes chaos, an un-creation, and I use that word deliberately because the Lord uses that language in the Old Testament," says Alex Kurz.

"He says, 'Remove.' Why would you want to remove a mountain? I mean, that's a cataclysmic event. It's something abnormal that God doesn't intend to do but God is going to have to do it.

"There are seven prominent mountains in the Book of Matthew. Why does Matthew make a big deal about mountains? Because it's in keeping with the theme, which is the king and His kingdom.

"Numbers of times in the Bible mountains represent kingdoms, nations and peoples. If Jesus talks about a seed of mustard, He's already taught the disciples that the seed is the Word of God. Jesus uses language that is intended to provoke thinking and God does say things about mountains. There are good mountains and bad mountains in the Bible.

Psalms 48: [1] Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

[2] Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

"That mountain is the city of God.

Verse 8: [8] As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.

Verses 11-12: [11] Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.

[12] Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.

"The idea is you conduct measurements. Verse 13: [13] Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.

"God has a city that's called the mountain of the Lord, the mountain of the king. That's a good mountain.

"By the way, in Ezekiel 28, when Lucifer is that anointed cherub that covereth, it says that that creature was on the mountain of God and that was in Edom.

"Let me say this personally, I believe that mountain was on Planet Earth and God removed that mountain and relocated it to the third heaven. God removed it in an act of judgment.

"Jesus is telling these guys in Matthew, "You guys are going to have the authority to pronounce judgment that results in removing a mountain."

Isaiah 66:20: [20] And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.

Jerusalem is described as the holy mountain. 

"In Daniel 2 we're familiar with Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and in this dream there is this stone cut without hands that is going to destroy all of the Gentile systems of governance on earth.

"Daniel 2 describes how God is going to destroy and break in pieces: [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 thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
[46] Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

"There's a good mountain in Daniel 9:16: [16] O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

"There's a bad mountain in Jeremiah 51 where God's judgment is being pronounced on Babylon: [24] And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.

[25] Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
[26] And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.

"Does that sound like He's removing a mountain? He's going to roll the rocks. The Lord, in judgment, is going to uproot this system. The mountain represents the Babylonian system which is a shadow-type and it prefigures the ultimate battle in the Book of Revelation.

Revelation 17: [9] And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

[10] And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
[11] And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
[12] And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
[13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

"The five fallen would be Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia and Greece. That represents the five empires historically who exercised dominion over God's people, the nation of Israel. They're described as five mountains.

"There's a reason why God is threatening the destruction of mountains, but Jesus is telling the disciples, "You guys are going to have the authority to do this."

"Remember, the Lord Jesus is being rejected and He's now concentrating on tribulation events, Second Coming events, and He's ultimately going to provide some information regarding His righteous rule on earth.

"These disciples are going to participate in the dismantling, in the shake-up of the existing world kingdoms when the Lord Jesus returns with a rod of iron. He's trying to tell these guys they are one day going to remove mountains. They're going to dismantle these Gentile systems of governance, and in its place will be the Lord's kingdom."