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THE MOUNT OF OLIVES THE KINGDOM OF BLESSING

“And His [Jehovah’s] feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”— Zechariah 14:4

THIS text refers to the closing of the Day of Trouble and the manifestation of God’s Power in connection with that trouble. The literal Mount of Olives may have, and probably will have, somewhat to do with the matter. It is referred to here as experiencing a great earthquake. No doubt the Israelites will be gathered at Jerusalem at this time, and no doubt the Lord’s favor will be manifested to them there. This will be at the close of “Jacob’s trouble,” from which the Lord will be present to deliver them. Our thought is that this will be after the Church shall have passed into glory. The execution of what is here described seems to be a part of the work of the glorified Church.

We understand that the Ancient Worthies will then appear, and that God’s favor will have returned to the Jews, and that Israel’s temporal blessings will there begin. This would imply that the Jews will then be under the New Covenant arrangement, and hence that the Church must have been completed.

Symbolically, a mountain represents a kingdom. The Scriptures elsewhere declare that Jehovah will make the place of His feet glorious. The word olive always associates itself in the minds of the people of the Orient with the thought of light and nourishment. The olive oil they use regularly instead of butter. As the olive furnishes both light and food, the Mount of Olives would represent the Kingdom of God. Olive oil was poured upon the head of the Jewish kings and priests, and symbolized thus the Holy Spirit. God’s Kingdom will be for the blessing of mankind. It will be of two phases—the Heavenly and the earthly—and all people may eventually come under its blessed condition.

See STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, Vol. 4, pp. 649-656, for further elucidation of this passage.

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— April 1, 1914 —