"Ekklesia: Revelation of the Rock Mountain"
by Dr. Patti Amsden
by Dr. Patti Amsden
Against the large rock wall of Mt. Hermon, kingdoms exhibited their prowess. The magnificent temple built by Herod and dedicated to Augustus Caesar that was later enlarge by Herod Phillip and dedicated to Tiberius Caesar not only displayed the claimant deity of the Caesars but also flaunted the dominance of the kingdom of Rome. Perhaps not as prominent but still represented was the empire of the Greeks. The structures visible to Jesus, to His disciples, and to anyone who passed by testified to the strength of human sovereignty.
Against that backdrop, Jesus announced another rock mountain. Within the pages of scripture and has already been discussed, the metaphor of a rock is frequently used as a type of God, representing God’s immovable, immutable, and impenetrable faithfulness. The rock mountain is also used in scripture as a symbol of a kingdom. Listen to the following passages:
"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King" (Ps. 48:1-2).
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem"
(Is.2:2-3). This text is also found in Micah 4:1-2.
"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. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroys 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" (Jer. 51:24-25).
"So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more" (Joel 3:17).
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done" (Mt. 21:21).
The above passages equate the idea of a nation or a kingdom being a mountain. Zion is identified as the holy mountain or a mountain of holiness. Babylon is called a destroying mountain. The last days would find the mountain of the Lord’s house – meaning His kingdom – exalted above all mountains – meaning all other kingdoms. In the Matthew 21 passage, Jesus instructed His followers to speak to the mountain of the Jewish religious kingdom to be cast into the sea. A.D. 70 saw the fulfillment of the dispersion of that religious mountain into the seas of humanity when the surviving Jews scattered into other nations. Every kingdom can be referred to as a mountain but only the Kingdom of God is the dominant kingdom mountain.
Jesus always demonstrated, taught upon, and built the Kingdom of God. When Jesus proclaimed that He would build His ekklesia, He was not shifting gears nor changing His focus. Stating that He would build His ekklesia was equivalent to calling out His holy nation to be the managers or the stewards of His kingdom. His church was called to co-labor with Him in demonstrating, teaching upon, and building the Kingdom of God. As Jesus stood before Mt. Hermon, before the massive structure of the Roman Empire, before the architecture demonstrating the domain of Greece, He had the supremacy of another kingdom within His mind. His proclamation revealed His intentions.
“Upon this rock, I will build.” Jesus stated. Upon Himself, Jesus would build. He was not only the rock foundation but His kingdom was the rock mountain. And, His mountain would overshadow, outlast, and overcome every other kingdom built by men. Remember the revelation that God gave to Daniel. Daniel, who was taken into exile in the days of Israeli captivity and made to be a servant for the King of Babylon, was called upon to interpret a disturbing dream of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king. In the dream, the potentate had seen a great image with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron with feet of iron and clay (Daniel 2). Daniel explained to the king that the statue was a representation of four world empires. Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon were likened unto the golden head. After them would follow three other kingdoms that would be inferior but would still rule over the earth.
The dream not only spoke to the future kingdoms that would have dominance but also spoke to the destiny of the kingdoms of men. Within the dream, the king saw a small stone that struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay causing the statue to fall and be crushed into such small pieces that the mighty structure appeared like chaff or the hulls from harvested grain. A great wind arose and blew away the chaff-like remnants until there did not remain a trace of the former statue. As the king observed this phenomenon in his dream, the stone that crushed the toes grew and grew until it became a huge mountain that filled the whole earth.
History has verified that the world empires that followed Nebuchadnezzar were Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. In keeping with the dream, one would expect that during the days of the fourth empire, the iron and clay empire, or the Roman Empire, that a stone would appear. Daniel described the stone as “cut without hands.” In other words, this stone was not produced by the work of men. This stone was cut by the Hand of God. Doubtless, this stone is a reference to Christ, whose body was crafted miraculously by the hand of God in the womb of Mary but whose being was eternally the everlasting Rock. Jesus came into the earth and into history during the days of the Roman Empire. Although, at His entrance, He may have appeared to just be a small stone, He came to crush the authority of all humanly and demonically built systems and to establish a kingdom that would have no end. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, . . .” (Is. 9:6-7, KJV).
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation forecast the day when Jesus, the stone cut without hands, would come upon the scene to set up His everlasting kingdom. Listen to Daniel 2:44-45:
"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. Forasmuch as thou saw 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" (Dan 2:44-45).
As Jesus stood at the base of Mt. Hermon releasing His declaration about the rock upon which He would build, Jesus had in view the mountain known as the Kingdom of God, the Mountain of the Lord’s House (Is. 2:2), the government that would rest upon His shoulders (Is. 9:6), and the stone of Daniel that grew until it filled the whole earth (Dan.2: 35). At the call of His ekklesia, Jesus was identifying the stewards of His kingdom and the nature of the kingdom-mountain that His church was being called to manage. “I will build,” indeed!
Against that backdrop, Jesus announced another rock mountain. Within the pages of scripture and has already been discussed, the metaphor of a rock is frequently used as a type of God, representing God’s immovable, immutable, and impenetrable faithfulness. The rock mountain is also used in scripture as a symbol of a kingdom. Listen to the following passages:
"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King" (Ps. 48:1-2).
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem"
(Is.2:2-3). This text is also found in Micah 4:1-2.
"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. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroys 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" (Jer. 51:24-25).
"So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more" (Joel 3:17).
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done" (Mt. 21:21).
The above passages equate the idea of a nation or a kingdom being a mountain. Zion is identified as the holy mountain or a mountain of holiness. Babylon is called a destroying mountain. The last days would find the mountain of the Lord’s house – meaning His kingdom – exalted above all mountains – meaning all other kingdoms. In the Matthew 21 passage, Jesus instructed His followers to speak to the mountain of the Jewish religious kingdom to be cast into the sea. A.D. 70 saw the fulfillment of the dispersion of that religious mountain into the seas of humanity when the surviving Jews scattered into other nations. Every kingdom can be referred to as a mountain but only the Kingdom of God is the dominant kingdom mountain.
Jesus always demonstrated, taught upon, and built the Kingdom of God. When Jesus proclaimed that He would build His ekklesia, He was not shifting gears nor changing His focus. Stating that He would build His ekklesia was equivalent to calling out His holy nation to be the managers or the stewards of His kingdom. His church was called to co-labor with Him in demonstrating, teaching upon, and building the Kingdom of God. As Jesus stood before Mt. Hermon, before the massive structure of the Roman Empire, before the architecture demonstrating the domain of Greece, He had the supremacy of another kingdom within His mind. His proclamation revealed His intentions.
“Upon this rock, I will build.” Jesus stated. Upon Himself, Jesus would build. He was not only the rock foundation but His kingdom was the rock mountain. And, His mountain would overshadow, outlast, and overcome every other kingdom built by men. Remember the revelation that God gave to Daniel. Daniel, who was taken into exile in the days of Israeli captivity and made to be a servant for the King of Babylon, was called upon to interpret a disturbing dream of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king. In the dream, the potentate had seen a great image with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron with feet of iron and clay (Daniel 2). Daniel explained to the king that the statue was a representation of four world empires. Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon were likened unto the golden head. After them would follow three other kingdoms that would be inferior but would still rule over the earth.
The dream not only spoke to the future kingdoms that would have dominance but also spoke to the destiny of the kingdoms of men. Within the dream, the king saw a small stone that struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay causing the statue to fall and be crushed into such small pieces that the mighty structure appeared like chaff or the hulls from harvested grain. A great wind arose and blew away the chaff-like remnants until there did not remain a trace of the former statue. As the king observed this phenomenon in his dream, the stone that crushed the toes grew and grew until it became a huge mountain that filled the whole earth.
History has verified that the world empires that followed Nebuchadnezzar were Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. In keeping with the dream, one would expect that during the days of the fourth empire, the iron and clay empire, or the Roman Empire, that a stone would appear. Daniel described the stone as “cut without hands.” In other words, this stone was not produced by the work of men. This stone was cut by the Hand of God. Doubtless, this stone is a reference to Christ, whose body was crafted miraculously by the hand of God in the womb of Mary but whose being was eternally the everlasting Rock. Jesus came into the earth and into history during the days of the Roman Empire. Although, at His entrance, He may have appeared to just be a small stone, He came to crush the authority of all humanly and demonically built systems and to establish a kingdom that would have no end. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, . . .” (Is. 9:6-7, KJV).
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation forecast the day when Jesus, the stone cut without hands, would come upon the scene to set up His everlasting kingdom. Listen to Daniel 2:44-45:
"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. Forasmuch as thou saw 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" (Dan 2:44-45).
As Jesus stood at the base of Mt. Hermon releasing His declaration about the rock upon which He would build, Jesus had in view the mountain known as the Kingdom of God, the Mountain of the Lord’s House (Is. 2:2), the government that would rest upon His shoulders (Is. 9:6), and the stone of Daniel that grew until it filled the whole earth (Dan.2: 35). At the call of His ekklesia, Jesus was identifying the stewards of His kingdom and the nature of the kingdom-mountain that His church was being called to manage. “I will build,” indeed!
