Exodus 19:1-2 In the third month when the sons of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the wilderness of Sinai. 2 And they journeyed from Rephidim, and came to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness. And Israel camped there in front of the mount.
Ras Sufsafeh, Mt Catherine and the convergence of two valleys from Jebel Musa where the Israelites might have camped
The traditional Mt. Sinai is now called Jabal Musa (Mountain of Moses) in the Sinai Peninsula. The traditional Mount Sinai, located in the Sinai Peninsula, is actually the name of a collection of peaks, sometimes referred to as the Holy Mountain peaks which consist of Jabal Musa, Mount Catherine and Ras Sufsafeh. The highest mountain peak is Mount Catherine at 8,550 feet. Jabal Musa, at 7,497 ft, is not much further behind in height, but is more conspicuous because of the open plain called er Rachah or Raaha (“the wide”). The Plain of ar-Raaha adjacent to Jabal Musa could have accommodated the Israelites. F. W. Holland stated (Recovery of Jerusalem, 524): “With regard to water-supply there is no other spot in the whole Peninsula which is nearly so well supplied as the neighborhood of Jabal Musa. … There is also no other district in the Peninsula which affords such excellent pasturage.” Mount Catherine and Jabal Musa are both much higher than any mountains in the Sinaitic desert, or in all of Midian. There is evidence that prior to 100 A.D., well before the Christian monastic period, Jewish sages equated Jabal Musa with Mount Sinai. Graham Davies of Cambridge University argues that early Jewish pilgrimages identified Jabal Musa as Mount Sinai and this identification was later adopted by the Christian pilgrims. In the second and third centuries BC Nabataeans were making pilgrimages there, which is indicated in part by inscriptions discovered in the area. In the 6th century, Saint Catherine’s Monastery was constructed at the base of this mountain at a site which is claimed to be the site of the biblical burning bush. The Elijah narrative appears to suggest that when it was written, the location of Horeb was still known with some certainty, as Elijah is described as travelling to Horeb on one occasion, but there are no later biblical references to it that suggest the location remained known; Josephus specifies that it was “between Egypt and Arabia”. Josephus wrote that “Moses went up to a mountain that lay between Egypt and Arabia, which was called Sinai.” Josephus says that Sinai is “the highest of all the mountains thereabout,” and is “the highest of all the mountains that are in that country, and is not only very difficult to be ascended by men, on account of its vast altitude but because of the sharpness of its precipices”. The Pauline Epistles are even more vague, specifying only that it was in Arabia, which covers most of the south-western Middle East. Some scholars believe that Mount Sinai was of ancient sanctity prior to the ascent of Moses described in the Bible. Sinai in part derived its name from the word for Moon which was “sin” (meaning “the moon” or “to shine”). Arabian heathens were still celebrating moon feasts there in the 6th century.Artifacts discovered indicate that “the establishment of the moon-cult in the peninsula dates back to the pre-dynastic days of Egypt.” She says the main center of Moon worship seems to have been concentrated in the southern Sinai peninsula which the Egyptians seized from the Semitic people who had built shrines and mining camps there. Robinson says that inscriptions with pictures of Moon worship objects are found all over the southern peninsula but are missing on Jabal Musa and Mount Catherine. This oddity may suggest religious cleansing. – excerpts from Wikipedia
The next contender for Mt. Sinai means the Israelites had to travel across the Sinai Peninsula (modern times, on modern roads, it was 262 miles which would take 18 days of walking at 15 miles a day in the wilderness to traverse) and crossed the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba on the east side of the peninsula instead of the Gulf of Suez on the west side of the Sinai Peninsula.
Exodus 19:3-25 3 And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah called to him out of the mountain, saying, You shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 And now if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all the nations; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel. 7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which Jehovah commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together and said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people to Jehovah. 9 And Jehovah said to Moses, Lo, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever. And Moses told the words of the people to Jehovah. 10 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And be ready for the third day. For the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. 12 And you shall set bounds to the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves. Do not go up into the mountain, or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death. 13 There shall not be a hand to touch it, but that he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, it shall not live. When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain. 14 And Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people. And they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, Be ready for the third day. Do not approach a woman. 16 And it happened on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain. And the voice of the trumpet was exceedingly loud, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the lower part of the mountain. 18 And Mount Sinai was smoking, all of it, because Jehovah came down upon it in fire. And the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and became very strong, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. 20 And Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go down. Command the people, lest they break through to Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish. 22 And let the priests also, who come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them. 23 And Moses said to Jehovah, The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. For You commanded us, saying, Set bounds around the mountain, and sanctify it. 24 And Jehovah said to him, Away! You go down, and you shall come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah, lest He break forth upon them. 25 And Moses went down to the people, and spoke to them.
The third month was called Sivan, and answers to our May.
The young eagles attach themselves to the back of the mother eagle and are protected as they are carried. Any arrow from a hunter must pass through the mother eagle before it could touch the young eagle on her back. – David Guzik
Strong’s
“peculiar treasure” – segûllâh – H5459 – Feminine passive participle of an unused root meaning to shut up; wealth (as closely shut up): – jewel, peculiar (treasure), proper good, special.
Strong’s
“sanctified” – qâdash – H6942 – A primitive root; to be (causatively make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally): – appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, (be, keep) holy (-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify (-ied one, self), X wholly.
BDB Definition:
“sanctified” – qâdash – H6942 – 1) to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to be set apart, be consecrated
1a2) to be hallowed
1a3) consecrated, tabooed
The Israelites were chosen by God to be set apart from other nations and to be His sacred nation through which He would present Himself to the world. They were to represent God to the nations and serve Him according to His Will and Purposes. They were to be highly favored and blessed in every way IF they kept the Covenant, stayed in relationship with God and obeyed Him. There was no downside to keeping Covenant with God. He would preserve them as though they were His special possession or treasure. He would value and love them, precious in His sight.
Psalm 148:14 He also lifts up the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints, even of the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise Jehovah!
Hebrews 8:1-13 Now the sum of the things which we have spoken is this: We have such a High Priest, who has sat down on the right of the throne of the Majesty in Heaven, 2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One have something to offer also. 4 For if indeed He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the Law, 5 who serve the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was warned of God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For, He says “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you in the mountain.” 6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much He is also the Mediator of a better covenant, which was built upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been without fault, then no place would have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, He said to them, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, and I will make an end on the house of Israel and on the house of Judah; a new covenant shall be, 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,” because they did not continue in My covenant, and I did not regard them, says the Lord. 10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My Laws into their mind and write them in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 And they shall not each man teach his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more.” 13 In that He says, A new covenant, He has made the first one old. Now that which decays and becomes old is ready to vanish away.
1 Peter 2:6-10 Therefore also it is contained in the Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner Stone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him shall never be ashamed.” 7 Therefore to you who believe is the honor. But to those who are disobedient, He is the Stone which the builders rejected; this One came to be the Head of the corner, 8 and a Stone-of-stumbling and a Rock-of-offense to those disobeying, who stumble at the Word, to which they also were appointed. 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 you who then were not a people, but now the people of God, those not pitied then, but now pitied.
The people had to prepare themselves. Washing their clothes would also mean washing their bodies. These were outward signs of inward humility, repentance and purity. Clean hearts are required when we come near God. For one’s vestment is a kind of outer self. When Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph, men put their garments under their chief to express their own subjection (Matthew 21:7).
The boundary was either a ditch, berm, a wall or fence. If anyone passed the boundary he was to be killed. And they were so unholy they were to be killed from a distance. Another human being couldn’t go inside the boundary to punish the person by hand. They had to be stoned or killed by bow and arrow so as not to touch the unholy person in any way. “No hand shall touch him” (the individual who passed the barrier and touched the mountain), i.e., no one was to follow him within the appointed boundaries, but he was to be killed from a distance either by stones or arrows. They could come up to the boundary, but no further, upon pain of death. He warns them ahead of time for their safety! They must know, experience, realize, how holy God is and how awful it is to try to enter His Presence without His prescribed preparation. This should make us fall on our knees in gratitude for what Jesus did for us! We have access to the Holy of Holies, into God’s very Presence, because of how Jesus prepared us with His own Sacrifice, by His own Blood and Broken Body. We can only enter God’s Presence through Jesus Christ who is our High Priest, our Sacred Altar, our Sacrifice, our Laver of washing in the Water of Life and the Water of the Word, our Blood Sprinkling, our Incense, our Bread of Life, our Light, our Entrance and our Mercy Seat. Praise be unto God, His Son and His Spirit!
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
Represents God’s glorious and awful majesty and His voice.
Strong’s Concordance
Thunders – qôl – H6963 – From an unused root meaning to call aloud; a voice or sound: – + aloud, bleating, crackling, cry (+ out), fame, lightness, lowing, noise, + hold peace, [pro-] claim, proclamation, + sing, sound, + spark, thunder (-ing), voice, + yell.
Lightening – bârâq – H1300 – From H1299; lightning; by analogy a gleam; concretely a flashing sword: – bright, glitter (-ing, sword), lightning.
Though the voice was thunderous, loud, it was a voice that spoke their language so they could understand. Every Israelite would have heard this voice and understood what was being said… that in the day before sound systems!!
Psalm 18:10 -14 And He rode on a cherub, and flew; yea, He soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His secret place, His pavilion around Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
At the brightness before Him, His dark clouds passed through, hailstones and coals of fire passed.
Jehovah also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave forth His voice; hailstones and coals of fire.
Yea, He sent out His arrows and scattered them; and He shot out lightnings and crushed them.
Psalm 97:4 His lightnings lit up the world; the earth saw and trembled.
Psalm 135:6-7 Every thing Jehovah pleased, He did in the heavens and in earth, and in the seas and all deep places.
He causes the vapors to rise from the end of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings wind out of His storehouses.
Jeremiah 10:12-13 He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His judgment.
When He utters His voice, there is a noise of many waters in the heavens. He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings with rain, and brings forth the wind out of His treasures.
Zechariah 9:14 And Jehovah shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth like the lightning; and the Lord Jehovah shall blow the ram’s horn, and shall go out with the windstorms of the south.
Luke 17:23-24 And they shall say to you, Lo, here! or, behold, there! Do not go away, nor follow.
For as the lightning which lights up, flashing from the one part under heaven, and shines to the other part under heaven, so also shall the Son of Man be in His day.
Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne came lightnings and thunderings and voices. And seven lamps of fire were burning in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.
“In the Scriptures it is used: (a) indicating the power of God: The power of God is shown in His command of the forces of Nature, and He is the only one who knows the secrets of Nature: ‘He made … a way for the lightning’ (Job 28:26); ‘He directeth … his lightning’ (Job 37:3 the King James Version); ‘Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go?’ (Job 38:35); ‘Ask ye of Yahweh … that maketh lightnings’ (Zechariah 10:1). See also Psalm 18:14; Psalm 97:4; Psalm 135:7; Job 36:32; Jeremiah 10:13; (b) figuratively and poetically: David sings of Yahweh, ‘He sent … lightnings manifold, and discomfited them’ (Psalm 18:14); used for speed: ‘The chariots … run like the lightnings’ (Nahum 2:4): ‘His arrow shall go forth as the lightning’ (Zechariah 9:14); ‘The living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning’ (Ezekiel 1:14). The coming of the kingdom is described by Jesus as the shining of the lightning from one part of heaven to another, even ‘from the east unto the west’ (Matthew 24:27; Luke 17:24); (c) meaning bright or shining: Daniel in his vision saw a man and ‘his face (was) as the appearance of lightning’ (Daniel 10:6). See also Revelation 4:5; Revelation 8:5; Revelation 16:18.” – ISBE (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
“Lightning is associated with the appearance of God (Exodus 19:16), and He alone can control it (Job 38:33, Psalm 18:14). With lightnings as with arrows, God scatters His enemies (Psalm 144:5 etc.). A radiant face (Daniel 10:8), and gleaming garments (Matthew 28:3), are like lightning. There is vivid suggestiveness in the comparison of Satan’s overthrow with the descent of lightning (Luke 10:18).” – Hastings Dictionary of the Bible
“Lightning and thunder are indications of the power of Yahweh and His might. “The thunder of his power who can understand?” (Job 26:14); “The God of glory thundereth” (Psalm 29:3).” – ISBE
“To the Hebrews, thunder was regarded as the voice of Jehovah, Job 37:2; Job 37:4-5; Job 40:9; Psalm 18:13; Psalm 29:3-9; Isaiah 30:30-31, who dwelt behind the thunder-cloud. Psa 81:7. Thunder was, to the mind of the Jew, the symbol of divine power, Psalm 29:3. etc., and vengeance. 1 Samuel 2:10; 2 Samuel 22:14.” – Smith’s Bible Dictionary
CLOUD
Strong’s – Cloud – ‛ânân – H6051 – From H6049; a cloud (as covering the sky), that is, the nimbus or thunder cloud: – cloud (-y).
Deuteronomy 4:11-13 “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom. Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice. “So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.”
Psalm 97:1-6 Jehovah reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are all around Him; righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne.
A fire goes before Him and burns up His enemies round about.
His lightnings lit up the world; the earth saw and trembled.
The hills melted like wax at the presence of Jehovah, at the presence of Jehovah of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory.
Isaiah 19:1 The burden against Egypt: Behold, Jehovah rides on a swift cloud and comes into Egypt. And the idols of Egypt shall tremble at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in its midst.
Matthew 26:63-64 But Jesus was silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, I adjure you by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus said to him, You said it. I tell you more. From this time you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of the heavens.
Acts 1:9-10 And saying these things, as they watched, He was taken up. And a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Luke 21:25-27 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars. And on the earth will be anxiety of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men fainting from fear, and expecting those things which have come on the earth. For the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Revelation 1:7-8 Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him will see Him, and all the kindreds of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.
I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 14:14 And I looked, and behold, a white cloud. And on the cloud sat one like the Son of man, having a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand.
“Its nebulous haze typifies His hiding Himself, even while revealing Himself (Isaiah 45:15); unfolding only a small part of His ways to our finite faculties (Job 26:14; 1 Timothy 6:16).” – Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
“The Hebrew so rendered means “a covering,” because clouds cover the sky. The word is used as a symbol of the Divine presence, as indicating the splendour of that glory which it conceals (Exodus 16:10; Exodus 33:9; Numbers 11:25; Numbers 12:5; Job 22:14; Psalm 18:11).” – Easton’s Bible Dictionary
“A bright cloud is the symbolical seat of the Divine presence (Exodus 29:42-43; 1 Kings 8:10; 2 Chronicles 5:14; Ezekiel 43:4), and was called the Shechinah (q.v.). Jehovah came down upon Sinai in a cloud (Exodus 19:9); and the cloud filled the court around the tabernacle in the wilderness so that Moses could not enter it (Exodus 40:34-35). At the dedication of the temple also the cloud “filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:10). Thus in like manner when Christ comes the second time he is described as coming “in the clouds” (Matthew 17:5; Matthew 24:30; Acts 1:9, Acts 1:11).” – Easton’s Bible Dictionary
“The cloud indicates the presence of God, and at the same time veils the insufferable brightness of His glory (Exodus 16:10; Exodus 19:9 etc.). Similarly the bright cloud betokens the Father’s presence, and His voice is heard speaking from it (Matthew 17:5). But a dark cloud would effectually hide Him, and thus furnishes a figure for displeasure (Lamentation 3:44). At Revelation 10:1 the cloud is an angel’s glorious robe… The cloud alternates with the cherub as Jahweh’s chariot (Psalm 18:10, Isaiah 19:1). Indeed, the cherub is a personification of the thunder-cloud. The Messianic people and the Messiah Himself sweep through the heaven with clouds (Daniel 7:13, Mark 14:62, Revelation 1:7), or on the clouds (Matthew 26:64)… The saints are to be caught up in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The Messiah’s throne is a white cloud (Revelation 14:14).” – Hastings Dictionary of the Bible
Isaiah 4:5 And Jehovah will create over all the site of Mount Zion, and on her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for on all the glory shall be a defense.
Revelation 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His authority. And no one was able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
“We have the outer displays of the divine presence, in ordinances, and means of grace, and the blessed Scriptures of truth, like Israel’s cloud. And we have the inward tokens, in the Lord himself in the midst, to bless and make himself known in his soul-comforting manifestations. This indeed, is the new creation the Lord promised upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon all her assemblies.” – Hawker Commentary
TRUMPET
Strong’s – Trumpet – shôphâr – H7782 – From H8231 in the original sense of incising; a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn: – cornet, trumpet.
A trumpet sounded, not from the camp, but from heaven itself. The sound of the trumpet blast became longer and louder and longer and louder.
Zechariah 9:14 And Jehovah shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth like the lightning; and the Lord Jehovah shall blow the ram’s horn, and shall go out with the windstorms of the south.
Matthew 24:30-31 And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory.
And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Jesus speaking after the Triumphal Entry
John 12:27-31 And My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this cause I came to this hour.
Father, glorify Your name! Then there came a voice from the heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.
Then the crowd who stood by and heard said that it thundered. Others said, An angel spoke to Him.
Jesus answered and said, This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sakes.
Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to Myself.
But He said this, signifying what kind of death He was about to die.
Acts 9:1-4 And Saul, still breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to Damascus to the synagogues; so that if he found any of the Way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
But in going, it happened as he drew near to Damascus, even suddenly a light from the heaven shone around him.
And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?
Acts 26:12-15 In which pursuit also traveling to Damascus with authority and power of decision from the chief priests, at midday, along the highway, O king, I and those with me saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun; shining around me.
And all of us falling to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.
And I said, Who are you, lord? And He said, I am Jesus whom you persecute.
The voice of God speaking in our own language so that we can hear and understand… AWESOME!!!
Yet, for some reason, all we seem to hear is Charlie Brown’s adult voices, “Wa Wa Wa Wa”. God has written His Word down for us. He has assured much of the world has free education to be able to read it. He has miraculously sent people to translate His Word in every known tongue and in many translations for our modern ears. He has sent missionaries to present the gospel to people of all languages and nations. We have trained expositors known as preachers and teachers, authors and scholars who write reference materials and resources. We have it available audibly, on paper, digitally, visually on TV and we do what with His Word?!? We remain ignorant. God forgive us. We refuse to take advantage of what God has given us. We are lazy and ungrateful and handle His Word as though it had no value or worth.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Behold, I speak a mystery to you; we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord.
Revelation 4:1-2 After these things I looked, and behold, a door was opened in Heaven. And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you what must occur after these things.
And immediately I became in spirit. And behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and One sat upon the throne.
Torrey’s New Topical Textbook – Trumpet is ILLUSTRATIVE OF
God’s power to raise the dead
1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16;
The proclamation of the gospel
Psalm 89:15;
The bold and faithful preaching of ministers
Isaiah 58:1; Hosea 8:1; Joel 2:1;
The latter day judgments
Revelation 8:2; Revelation 8:13
EARTHQUAKE
The “mountain quaked greatly” and it doesn’t say the rest of the area suffered an earthquake, only the mountain.
Psalm 68:7-8 O God, when You marched before Your people, when You walked through the wilderness; Selah.
The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
Psalm 77:18 The voice of Your thunder was in the sky; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
Psalm 97:2-6 Clouds and darkness are all around Him; righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne.
A fire goes before Him and burns up His enemies round about.
His lightnings lit up the world; the earth saw and trembled.
The hills melted like wax at the presence of Jehovah, at the presence of Jehovah of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory.
Psalm 104:31-32 The glory of Jehovah shall endure forever; Jehovah shall rejoice in His works.
He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the hills, and they smoke.
Psalm 144:5-6 Bow down Your heavens, O Jehovah, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Cast forth lightning and scatter them; shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.
Parenthesis mine
Psalm 114:5-8 What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan (River when it parted to let them pass into the Promised Land), that you turned back,
O mountains that skipped like rams, O little hills like lambs?
Earth, tremble at the presence of Jehovah, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters. (When God brought water out of a rock at Rephidim)
Despite experiencing this terrifying and dramatic scene, not forty days from this, the whole nation will be practicing an orgy around a golden calf, praising it as the god that brought them out of Egypt.
Chadwick says, “Awe is one thing: the submission of the will is another.” Israel had plenty of awe, but little submission of their will.
David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary –
Hebrews 12:18-24 tells us loud and clear that under the New Covenant we come to a different mountain, that our salvation and relationship with God is centered at Mount Zion, not Mount Sinai.
• Sinai speaks of fear and terror, but Zion speaks of love and forgiveness.
• Sinai is in a dry desert, but Zion is the city of the Living God.
• Sinai, with all its fear and power is earthly; but the Mount Zion we come to is heavenly and spiritual.
• At Sinai, only Moses could come and meet God; at Zion, there is an innumerable company, a general assembly.
• Sinai had guilty men in fear, but Zion has just men made perfect.
• At Sinai, Moses is the mediator, but at Zion, Jesus the mediator.
• Sinai put forth an Old covenant, ratified by the blood of animals; Zion has a New Covenant, ratified by the blood of God’s precious Son.
• Sinai was all about barriers and exclusion; Zion is all about invitation.
• Sinai is all about Law, Zion is all about grace.
Therefore, we shouldn’t come to Zion as if we were coming to Sinai. We must put away our hesitation and get bold in coming to God. Nevertheless there is much for us to learn at Mount Sinai. We learn of God’s holy requirements and what we have to do before we can come to Him. In a similar manner to those at Mount Sinai, there are things we must to do meet with God.
We must receive God’s word.
We must be set apart, sanctified,
We must accept God’s boundaries.
We must be cleansed.
We must restrain the flesh.
We must know we come to a holy God.
Hebrews 12:18-29 For you have not come to the mountain that might be touched and that burned with fire, nor to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words (which voice they who heard begged that a word should not be spoken to them any more, for they could not endure the thing commanded, “And if so much as a beast should touch the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with a dart,” and so fearful was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake).
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are written in Heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
You have come to Jesus—the one who brought the new agreement from God to his people. You have come to the sprinkled blood that tells us about better things than the blood of Abel.
Be careful and don’t refuse to listen when God speaks. Those people refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth. And they did not escape. Now God is speaking from heaven. So now it will be worse for those who refuse to listen to him.
When he spoke before, his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised, “Once again I will shake the earth, but I will also shake heaven.” The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was created will be destroyed—that is, the things that can be shaken. And only what cannot be shaken may remain. So we should be thankful because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And because we are thankful, we should worship God in a way that will please him. We should do this with respect and fear, because our God is like a fire that can destroy us.
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