Biblical Insights, Geographical Parables, Part 1: Mt. Tabor (A Picture of Heaven With Judgment in View)
Mount Tabor, Israel…which overlooks the river Kishon and the valley of Megiddo/Jezreel.
Introduction
Concerning end-times prophecy, you can pick up almost any book on the subject today and you’ll find many references to “the Battle of Armageddon” (mentioned in Revelation 16:16). In those books you’ll often find a description of some future earthly/physical battle that the authors believe will take place between various nations of the world and national Israel in the literal physical location of the plain of Megiddo in northern Israel. Is there any validity to this interpretation? We need to take a closer look at what God has to say in Judges chapters 4&5, focusing in particular on the roles of Deborah and Barak in the destruction of the Canaanites and the implications that they hold for us today.
And as we proceed in this post, looking only at one geographical location of the Bible, Mount Tabor, please bear in mind that the Judges 4 account is entirely prophetic! Although the events in the account actually occurred in history, and are accurately recorded in the Bible, the account nonetheless foretells what will occur in the short period just prior to the end of the world and Judgment Day when Jesus returns from Heaven on the clouds of Glory and destroys this world and all who hate God and His Word.
Barak, serving as a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, came down from Mount Tabor with Deborah and 10,000 men (who are together “Types” of the Eternal Church of God, the “Saints”) with Barak to destroy all the Canaanites (“Types” of the enemies of God, the unsaved of the world ) at the River Kishon in the Valley of Megiddo (Jezreel) (Which altogether develop a “Type” of Judgment Day).
This post is an excerpt of a larger exposition on Judges 4&5. It shows how perfectly God uses allegories to convey spiritual truths that can be understood if God graciously gifts us the eyes to see (and if we make the effort to look, by prayerfully reading the Bible, as God lovingly instructs us).
Mount Tabor, a Portrait of Heaven with Judgment in View
As a mountain, we know that there is at least the possibility that mount “Tabor” (תָּבוֹר (tāḇôr)) H8396, a prominent dome-shaped mountain (whose meaning in Hebrew is simply “Mount”) could represent “Heaven“. This is because of what we read in Psalm 121:1&2 {A Song of degrees.} “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (from הַר (har)) H2022 in Hebrew, which can also be translated “mountains” or “mount”), from whence cometh my help.My help [cometh] from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. And shortly afterward, we read in Psalm 123:1, “¶[[A Song of degrees.]] Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.“
Moreover, we read in Psalm 3:4 “I cried unto the LORD with my voice,and he heard me out of his holy hill (הַר (har)) H2022. Selah.”
Psalm 15:1, “[[A Psalm of David.]] LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?“
Psalm 2:6, “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.“
We can also see this relationship expounded to us in Psalm 68:15&16, “The hill (הַר(har)) H2022of God [is as] the hill (הַר (har)) H2022of Bashan; an high hill (הַר (har)) H2022 [as] the hill (הַר (har)) H2022of Bashan. Why leap ye, ye high hills (הַר (har)) H2022? [this is] the hill (הַר (har)) H2022[which] God desireth to dwell in;yea, the LORD will dwell [in it] for ever.”
Psalm 87:1 “¶[[A Psalm [or] Song for the sons of Korah.]] His foundation [is] in the holy mountains (הַר (har)) H2022.”
Our Only Help is From God, and God Is Upon His Holy Hill, Which Can Only Be Pointing Us to Heaven.
Then in Psalm 123:1 {A Song of degrees.}, we read, “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.” We also know from Psalm 11:4“The LORD [is] in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne [is] in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.” However, we also find God’s use of allegory, with hills and mountains being representative of Heaven, such as we find in Psalm 24:3 “Who shall ascend into the hill (הַר(har) H2022) of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place” and Psalm 48:1 “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain (הַר (har) H2022) of his holiness.“
Psalm 43:3, “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.”
Psalm 87:1 “e¶[[A Psalm [or] Song for the sons of Korah.]] His foundation [is] in the holy mountains (הַר (har) H2022).“
Psalm 99:9, “Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God [is] holy.“
Psalm 125:2, “As the mountains (הַר (har) H2022 [are] round about Jerusalem, so the LORD [is] round about his people from henceforth even forever.“
And we should also consider that while both Isaiah 2:2–4 and Micah 4:1–5 were temporally referring to the earthly Jerusalem, they both were actually, spiritually, pointing to the eternal Heavenly Jerusalem. “…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 (be lighted by it).”
We are assured that this is the case because of what we read in Revelation 21:2 “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.“
It is not entirely clear what is the true derivation of the meaning of the word “Tabor” (תָּבוֹר (tāḇôr)) H8396. There do seem to be a number of somewhat conflicting explanations. One explanation is that it is derived from the root word that means to be “broken in pieces” (תְּבַר (tᵊḇar)) H8406 , or something akin to broken rocks as can be found in a rock quarry. In that case, perhaps it could be an indirect reference to a place where believers are found before God, given that believers are referred to as “lively stones” (1 Peter 2:5) who are also “broken” in terms of the heart (Psalm 34:18,“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”) as well as the spirit (Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.“). Another explanation is that it is related to the root word “taher” (טָהֵר (ṭāhēr))H2891 , meaning to be “pronounced clean” or “purged” and “purified”. Without doubt, Heaven is entirely “Pure” and all believers who ascend to Heaven are made spiritually “clean” and “purged of sin” and “purified” through sanctification by the Holy Spirit as a result of Jesus Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice.
It is also interesting to note here that mount Tabor is generally considered to be the leading candidate for the site of Jesus’s Transfiguration (The “Mount of Transfiguration“)…and while we can’t confirm or deny that assertion from the Bible; we can say that based on what we can learn in the course of this study, it would not be surprising if it was. For the record, Mt. Hermon is also considered to be a prime candidate for the location of Jesus’s Transfiguration.
More Evidence that Mt. Tabor Represents Heaven
It is also noteworthy that we do find mount Tabor in association with “the heavens” as we read in Psalm 89:11&12, “The heavens [are] thine, the earth also [is] thine: [as for] the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermonshall rejoice in thy name.” The “heavens” and “earth” are mentioned together, and then immediately following so too we find a counterpoint, with “the north and the south” being representative of this created earth, and the high mountains, specifically mount Tabor and mount Hermon, representing “the heavens” that “rejoice“. Psalm 89:11&12 therefore provides a clear correlation in the Bible between mount Tabor with heaven!
And is this not also consistent with what we read in Matthew 5:12, where Jesus said, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” and Luke 6:23, “Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward [is] great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.” Finally in Revelation 18:20, “Rejoice over her, [thou] heaven, and [ye] holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.“
Note: From a topological perspective, mount Tabor is only 575 m (1,886 ft) above sea level, while mount Hermon, the highest point in Israel (which even now includes a ski resort, as it is generally snow capped in winter) is 2,236 m (7,336 ft) in elevation. However, mount Tabor, while only a quarter as high as mount Hermon, is uniquely prominent in that it is a singular peak rising abruptly as unique mound from the surrounding Megiddo plain as shown in the photo at the top of this post.
Mount Tabor is also mentioned in a somewhat different way in Judges 8:18 in that when Gideon asked the two remaining Midianite kings the following question and their reply (just before Gideon had them killed), “Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men [were they] whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou [art], [so were] they; each one resembled the children of a king.” The children of a king refers to the believers who are the children of God. For more about the meaning of “children of a king”, please see: mephibosheth-and-a-covenant-of-grace/
Note also that these Midianite kings, Zebah (זֶבַח (zeḇaḥ) H2078) which means “sacrifice“, and Zalmunna (צַלְמֻנָּע (ṣalmunnāʿ) H6759) which means “deprived of protection“, had earlier killed the brothers of Gideon, evidently at the foot of mount Tabor, and were themselves then killed by Gideon. Note also that in Psalm 83:9-12, where we read of the death brought to the enemies of God, “Do unto them as [unto] the Midianites; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin, at the brook of Kison (Kishon) [Which] perished at Endor (Endor, the same that was the home of a witch 1 Samuel 28:7, is located in the valley of Megiddo): they became [as] dung for the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.”
The other two Midianite kings, who Gideon also slew, were named Oreb (עֹרֵב(ʿōrēḇ)H6159) means “Raven” (an unclean “fowl of the air”), and Zeeb (זְאֵב(zᵊ’ēḇ)H2062) means “Wolf”, [which the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, protects His flock from, remembering also in Matthew 7:15 “¶Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”].
Therefore, in Psalm 83:9-12, God is clearly equating Barak and Gideon, because they both defeated and killed those named individuals who were clearly identified as “enemies” of God as stated in Psalm 83:2. Moreover, we can see more clearly how Barak and Gideon are spiritual representations of Jesus, Who, on Judgment Day, will defeat the devil and his accomplices, the false teachers who have sought to subdue the Church of God (take “the houses of God in possession”) through apostasy. “They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.” Psalm 83:3.
It should also be noted that the plain of Megiddo and its environs have been recorded as the location of two great tragedies that befell National Israel:
1) the death of Saul and his sons on Mt. Gilboa, which is where the River Kishon begins in the south east corner of the valley of Megiddo (1 Samuel 31:8) and
2) the death of King Josiah who was killed by the Pharaohnechoh, king of Egypt in the valley of Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29-30 and 2 Chronicles 35:22).
Conclusion
In this study we have seen yet another case where God has masterfully crafted history, and the recording of it, and in this case particularly the use of geography, to prefigure the return of the Lord Jesus Christ on Judgment Day. Judgment Day will be the last event in history when the Lord Jesus Christ will come back in the clouds of Glory from Heaven (as “Typified” by Mount Tabor) to destroy all wickedness, and send all of the unsaved to an eternity in Hell, and put an end to this entire creation, which is under the curse of sin. It will mark the end of time and the beginning of eternity wherein righteousness will dwell in new heavens and a new earth forever.
In 2 Peter 3:10 we read, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” But thankfully in 2 Peter 3:13 we read, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.“
Today’s Application: Are You Ready?
Jesus is the only Way of escape from the just penalty for our sins. All other ways that man can devise will lead only to Hell come Judgment Day. You are either with God or against God. Have you made peace with God through Jesus Christ? Please pray to God for mercy through Jesus Christ and He will show you mercy. Judgment Day is for any individual only a heart beat away, but for the world it is coming very soon, given all of the signs of the times that we are currently all living in.
Explore posts in the same categories: Bible Studies
Bereansearching Bible Studies 
Leave a comment