The original question was:
In your answer on Mt Everest you referred to the prophet Amos 4:13, but aren’t statements about God causing the mountains to rise in Amos irrelevant because Amos was writing in a previous dispensation?
Answer by John Mackay
Amos wrote:
For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The Lord God of hosts is His name. (Amos 4:13)
There is no doubt Amos was writing within a particular time period in history, but the God he was referring to is not, was not and never can be locked within the period Amos occupied. So when we try to apply a dispensational view of God in this verse, we strike the same problem dispensationalism produces everywhere.
Let me demonstrate. God first raised up the mountains on Day 3 of creation, a time prior to the existence of any Jewish nation (Genesis 1:9-12). The second time God raised the mountains was at the end of Noah’s flood, as described in Genesis 8 cross referenced to Psalm 104. The verse being studied in the fourth chapter of the prophet Amos dates to the time of the existence of both Israel and Judah during Amos’ lifetime, long after Noah’s day. But God’s ability to raise mountains has nothing to do with Amos, Israel, Judah, Noah or Adam, or any man, place or time.
The Word of God reports that God himself tells us in Malachi 3:6 “I am the Lord, I change not!” This statement is reinforced in the New Testament when we read that Jesus is unchanging (Heb 13:8) and the Father is unchanging. (James1:17)
Therefore, we must avoid binding God or His abilities to any particular time period in history. He is the ‘God with us’ for whom Moses forsook all the riches of Egypt for “the sake of Christ,” as the writer to the Hebrews reminds us (Hebrews 11:24-26). Our God is the Creator Jesus Christ, who remains the same yesterday, today and forever, the triune Spirit God who formed the mountains, and still is the sustainer God who forms mountains, and will continue to be the mountain forming God when as judge He triggers the impossibly huge earthquakes and hair raising mountain uplifts at the end of time, as described in the Bible’s final book: “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.” Revelation 16:17-18.
The reference to there never having been an earthquakes as large as this final one since man was first on earth is intriguing. So what does it mean? Consider the fact that on Day 3 in Genesis 1, the first mountains were uplifted from under the waters which covered the whole of the newly created earth. That would have involved horrendous uplift, and therefore, earthquakes. But there was no damage to living things because no plants, sea creatures, land animals, birds, or human beings were on the earth. Likewise when the land was lifted up again at the end of the flood everyone living was safely floating in the Ark, and protected from the event.
The psalmist also refers to mountain making to remind us to praise the power of the God: “Who established the mountains by His strength.” (Psalm 65:6) and linked this God ability to His provision for man, as described in the rest of the psalm.
This constant reminder of the continuous and overwhelming power of the Creator God, is why Jesus Christ told his Jewish disciples they could pray “Our Father…” and ask for such a tiny thing as their daily bread. Its why the apostles could pass down the same message to us Gentile disciples, so that we saints can give thanks in everything as implore our heavenly Father for all our needs, because the eternal mountain raising God actually can provide all our needs; which includes, safety during and from earthquakes, blessings in rain, provision of food and His welcome ever-presence with His people.
No matter how you like to divide history, e.g. pre-Israel, Israel or Post-Israel, don’t trap God, Father-Jehovah/Yahweh-Spirit-Christ into any dispensation. He remains the same unchanging Triune Lord and Master of the universe. Beware the dispensationalist conundrum: whenever we lock God’s recorded abilities within any particular dispensation, we limit God intentionally or unintentionally, and the devil wants us to do just that! The end result is that instead of rightly dividing the word of truth, we end up eliminating all which Paul reminds us was written for our learning, (Romans 15:4). We shrink God, and shrink His Word to the point of being unusable. At the very same time we pride ourselves on being wise, we are actually being the opposite.
Related questions:
NOAH’S FLOOD OR CREATION? What is Psalm 104 about? Answer here.
MOUNT EVEREST? Is it the same size today as it was before Noahs flood? Answer here.
MOUNTAINS? Are the high hills and mountains in Genesis 7 the same? Answer here.
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