Grandeur of the Mountains

Dan Holland comments on difficulties in interpreting prophecy …..

God reveals …..

Surely the sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets (Amos 3v 7)

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1v 19-21)

Have you ever visited a mountainous region like the lake district, the Scottish Highlands? Or even further afield like the Rockies in Canada or the Himalayas in Nepal? Maybe you presently have the privilege to live in such an area? I live in flat Cambridgeshire and miss the mountains! They do something to the human soul, reminding us of our mortality and ‘smallness’ in the scope of space and time. They confront us with the awesome magnitude of our creator God.

Ageless giants

These silent ageless giants will remain long after we have gone; the turbulence of world events and political upheavals have no impact on mountains. They are nonchalant and timeless. We are frail humans. Like ants we stand at the bottom staring up, or from the top looking down. Their majesty and grandeur are beautiful and severe at the same time. We watch as the sunset bathes their peaks in a warm golden glow, or in cold wintry light they rise like sharp spurs above the earth. Mountains require respect, we can’t be overly familiar with them, nor do they bend to our will.

Prophecy and prophecy-fulfilment can be compared to a mountain range rather than one single event or fulfilment.  Every generation has interpreted Biblical prophecy, particularly Revelation, Zechariah, Ezekiel and Daniel through its own unique position in history; filtered through its own experiences, good and bad. Some Messianic prophecies have an immediate fulfilment dring the King’s life (i.e. King Ahaz in Isaiah7). But also a future application to the coming King (ie. Jesus the Messiah). And a final fulfilment in the second coming of Christ.

Destiny yet to come

Arguably some of the major spirit beings we find active in apocalyptic prophecy; for instance the beast, the antichrist, the harlot and the two witnesses, are expressed in every generation but the final, most dramatic fulfilment of their prophetic destiny is yet to come. The same angelic and demonic forces manifest in different ways, but are always at work.  Some aspects of the mountain range we see clearly; parts are obscured by clouds, rain and our proximity to the mountain. As we climb, seeking the summit and the stunning views that reward all our effort we realise that the peaks can be deceptive. We think we are nearly there and anticipate a well-earned rest, only to discover over the rise that we have three more horizons to cross. With prophetic words we need both patience and wisdom. Prophecy can seem inaccessible, or even forbidding, and extremely hard for us to see from God’s divine perspective.

Our hand in God’s ….

The vital thing is with whom we make this journey. Let us put our hand firmly into God’s and allow Him to lead us at His speed on His narrow path through the scriptural mountain ranges of prophecy. Doubtless at times we will not understand the route He takes us, but we can trust His changeless nature. And that not only does he know the mountains, but that He created them in the first place!

For we know in part and we prophesy in part,  but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.  For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Cor 13v 9-12)

More to follow …….

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Daniel Holland is a UK missionary with Through Faith Missions. He wrote “Through The Tunnel – Free at Last” published by PUSH Publishing, as his personal testimony. His second book “Prophetic Evangelism – Kingdom Exploits in the Risk Zone” was published January 2021, via Christian Publications International: https://christian-publications-int.com/PropheticEvangelism.html

Daniel’s book is reviewed in Prophecy Today: https://prophecytoday.uk/study/resources/item/2076-review-prophetic-evangelism.html