[03/03/19] Aaron Black brought our message on Sunday. In keeping with last week, we have his prepared thoughts to share for your reading and study.
The Temple and the Mount
Today’s scripture from Luke 9 covers Jesus and some of the disciples ascending a mountain where Christ then meets with the spirits of Elijah and Moses and is transfigured into a glorious divine being briefly before the disciples eyes.
The journey up the mountain to be tested or to be brought into an encounter with divinity is an old one and played out in mythology across the world. Mountains especially in the mythology and world view of ancient residents of the Holy Land functioned as sacred places connected with spiritual manifestations and prophetic interaction with members of the heavenly host. References in much of ancient Near Eastern literature to an “exceedingly high mountain” often suggested a heavenly temple, the traditional meeting place of God’s divine assembly.
Carla Sulzbach, a Semitic historian, observed:
“The events taking place on earth are rigidly informed and determined by heavenly decree; these pertain especially to mountains, traditionally associated with theophanies in many Ancient Near Eastern cultures, and temples or places connected with temples that are directly or indirectly derived from or related to mountains.”
The Bible supports this. For example, in Isaiah 2, he directly links the temple with the “mountain of the Lords house.” As the setting of the celestial temple, the holy mountain appears in early Northwest Semitic conceptions influencing both the Bible and the Book of Mormon as the traditional residence of the divine council of God, and hence the heavenly temple.
In Semitic mythology, the two terms “Great Assembly” and “Divine Mountain” appear as synonymous expressions. This ancient account from the world of the Bible depicts the assembly of El, the high god in the Canaanite pantheon, meeting on a mountain:
“The messengers depart, they do not delay. Immediately they head to the divine mountain. To the Great Assembly.”
Ancient Near East audiences reading a description of being led up an exceedingly high mountain would connect this experience to a prophetic interaction with the divine council.
The Bible also supports this cosmology of a heavenly council that governed the affairs of the universe. “God has taken his place in the divine council,” reads Psalm 82. The ancient Semitic view that places the divine council on a holy mountain also appears in Deuteronomy 33:2, which reads:
“The Lord came from Mount Sinai. He beamed forth from Mount Seir. He shone from Mount Paran. With him were myriads of Holy Ones.”
God and the heavenly hosts often acted as witnesses as well as judge. The view of the council and/or its members serving as a judicial institution appears prominently in ancient Near Eastern thought. In one of the Akkadian literary texts from Ur, the invocation of the gods of the assembly to act as witnesses in a judicial decision assumes an important role in the appeal made by Kuzulum against his adversary Elani. Kuzulum said “I am doing you no wrong. These gods are my witnesses.” in pleading his case.
For Kuzulum, as members of the divine assembly, the gods could be invoked as witnesses of his “righteousness.” In Israelite thought, the heavenly judges mirrored the functions and purposes of the earthly judges. Several texts from the Bible parallel the view of the heavenly host operating as a judicial court featured in Psalm 82, including the account of the “angel of the Lord” in Genesis 22.
The holy mountain was a divine representation of the earthly temple. As Solomon held his court of wisdom and judgement in the Temple on earth, so does God hold hers on the mountain with the prophets and heavenly hosts as her witnesses and council.
The following are six stories set throughout the history of Abrahamic faith. Starting with Abraham himself. I’ve added audio and a visual to each one as an example of the language these peoples might have spoken and what ancient and more modern artists imagined these encounters looking like.
Abraham’s Story (circa 2100 BC in Egypt)
Abraham lived in Egypt and the surrounding lands with his wife Sarah; servant Hagar; and two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. God frequently spoke with Abraham. One day, Abraham was called to test his loyalty to God. Abraham felt he had to go up the mountain with his son Isaac. So he took Isaac and two men and set out to ascend the peak. They traveled for three days to reach the top. The two men stayed behind with the donkeys near the summit as Abraham finished the journey with Isaac. When they reached the top, Abraham took out a knife. Isaac piled some wood for the pyre to roast what was left of the beast after the kill. Isaac asked where the lamb to be slaughtered was. Abraham told him not to worry. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham loved his son very much. He did not want to sacrifice him. But Abraham wanted to obey God. He held the knife over Isaac. Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son. But an angel appeared in glory and spoke to Abraham. He told Abraham not to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham had obeyed God and needed go no further. God loved Abraham and Isaac both. Abraham was shown a ram in the bushes nearby. He offered the ram for the sacrifice in Isaac’s stead. God told Abraham he would bless his family. Abraham and Isaac descended the mountain and went home together.
Mose’s Story (circa 1440 BC in Egypt)
The Israelites had been traveling in the desert for about 3 months after fleeing Egypt when they came to Mount Sinai. They were going to stay there for a while because of excellent shelter from the mountain. Moses unpacked and decided to walk up the mountain to talk to God. God knew that Moses was coming. God told Moses to tell the Israelites to prepare themselves for her. The people were commanded to have a bath and to clean all their clothes. By doing this they were getting prepared to hear important words from God. On the third morning, the Israelites were busy making their breakfast when all of a sudden there was a large rumble and a flash of light over the mountain. Anyone who was still sleeping was startled and woke up suddenly. Everyone went out to look and just over the mountain there was lightning and thunder, and a very thick cloud hung so you couldn’t see the top of the mount. The Earth shook and the sound of trumpets could be heard blasting louder and louder. So Moses went up the mountain to hear from God once again. This time God told Moses, “Go down to the people and tell them not to follow you up the mountain, the mountain is a special place because I am here.” So Moses warned the people not to touch or go to close to the mountain. After that Moses went back up the mountain alone. But this time he stayed there for a long time (40 days and 40 nights), God had a lot to tell him. Moses descended the mountain with tablets on which were written the commandments of the Lord. God wanted to instruct people on how to live. By following Her rules they would have less sadness in their lives.
Nephi’s Story (circa 600 BC near Jerusalem)
Nephi and his brothers were lost in the wilderness. Their father Lehi had seen visions and God had told him to flee the Holy Land. But they didn’t know what other fate awaited them. One day while pondering his father’s vision, Nephi prayed to God for guidance. The Spirit of the Lord took him up to the top of a high mountain. The Spirit spoke to Nephi and asked if Nephi believed his father had seen the Tree with Good Fruit in a vision as he said. Nephi said that he did. The Spirit then shouted with a loud voice “Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God.” and told Nephi he was blessed for believing in the coming Christ. The Spirit showed Nephi the tree. It was beautiful beyond measure. The Spirit asked if Nephi understood what the Tree was. Nephi replied “It is God’s love. Desirable above all things.” Then the Spirit showed Nephi the iron railing that leads to the fountain of living waters and the Tree of Life. The Spirit explained that the mists around the path were the devil’s temptations and lies that blind people’s faith. Across a great canyon from the Tree stood a building full of people. These were people who had lost their way from the path. He then showed Nephi the city of Jerusalem and more cities. He showed Nephi the Virgin Mary and Christ. And a vision of Christ’s crucifixion. Even the torment that Christ’s apostles would endure. When the last apostle fell, so did the building across the canyon. Then Nephi saw his children and grandchildren and many more things that would befall the world. Having been shown all this, Nephi was brought back down from the mountain and returned to his father’s tent.
Christ’s Story (circa 30 AD near Jerusalem)
Jesus had been preaching around the Holy Land. One day, he took with him Peter, James, and John and went up on a mountain to pray. While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear before them in a spectacle of glory. Moses and Elijah began to speak with Christ about his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. A heavy urge to sleep fell on the disciples. The two glorious figures vanished and Jesus led his disciples down the mountain. As they were walking down, Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” without realizing he had said it. A cloud came and overshadowed the disciples; and they were terrified as they entered it. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken the clouds parted and they saw Jesus. They kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
Muhammad’s Story (circa 570 AD in Jerusalem)
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) was sleeping at the Ka`aba one night. He was awoken by the Angel Gabriel. With Gabriel was a winged horse. At Gabriel’s urging, Muhammad mounted the Pegasus, whose name is Buraq. Flying on its back, Muhammad accompanied Gabriel on a flight into the night sky. They drifted high up and eventually settled far away—high atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. There waiting for him were all the other Prophets who had come to teach God’s religion before Prophet Muhammad. They greeted each other and Muhammad led them in prayer. But the journey was not over yet. It was time to ascend to Heaven. Angel Gabriel guided Prophet Muhammad onto his winged steed, Buraq, once again and they travelled upward beyond the clouds and stars and even past the darkness beyond into the glory of Heaven. As they moved into the Heavens, the Muhammad met several of other prophets at various levels of glory and they exchanged greetings of peace with him. At the top of the ascent, Prophet Muhammad met Abraham, who was leaning on the Lute Tree. This tree is said to be the end of worldly knowledge – and that reminds us how only Almighty God knows everything there is to know about the universe. Beyond the tree, God revealed to Muhammad that believers were to engage in 50 prayers every single day and taught him other great lessons. Muhammad took what he had learned and began his descent back through the Heavens. As he was on his journey down, he met with Prophet Moses, who worried at the large number of daily prayers. Moses told Muhammad that 50 daily prayers were too many for mortals, and so Prophet Muhammad decided to negotiate for a reduction from Almighty God. Almighty God reduced it to 5 prayers. Muslims are forever grateful for such a beautiful and simple way to worship!
Joseph Smith’s Story (circa 1827 AD in rural New York)
The Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. had been laboring in his father’s fields one day. As he walked back to his house, he fell helpless to the ground and fainted. He woke up to a voice speaking his name. Looking up, he saw a figure from the past—the Angel Moroni—standing over him surrounded by light. The Angel commanded Joseph to go tell his father of his vision. Joseph first went and told his father what he had been shown by the Angel. Then Joseph climbed the nearby hill where he had been told Golden Plates full of ancient records and scripture were buried. On the west side of the hill, he found a stone of considerable size. He dug around the stone and then used a branch to wedge the stone away. Beneath it, he found golden plates of scripture, the Urim and Thummim, and an ancient breastplate. The Angel stood near him and forbid Joseph from removing the plates. The Angel said that Joseph should ascend the hill to this spot every year at this time for the next four years. Each year, Joseph climbed the hill and met the Angel there who imparted instruction and intelligence to him in regards to what God had planned for both Joseph and the world. Finally, on the fourth year, the Angel told Joseph he could take the plates of scripture and other devices he found on the hill under the condition that he keep them safe and be responsible for them. Joseph departed the hill with revelations from the Lord for all people.