The phrase "high places" is used in scripture more than two hundred times. There is a Hebrew word for the phrase, "bamah", which is recorded over one hundred times in the Hebrew texts. Most of these references to high places, or mountain tops, are not good. The first reference is in Leviticus:
Lev 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
Far from being a friendly verse, this was spoken from the mouth of a fed-up God. The ancient peoples had associated the high places of the world as the dwelling places of their gods. Most of us have had some exposure to the gods of Greek and Roman cultures, and without fail, the temples to these gods were built on high places. Walking the streets of Athens, one must look up at the Parthenon, the home of Athena. From Mount Olympus in Greece to Mount Meru in Bolivia, the gods lived on the high places. Why? Is this coincidence?
The story of God (HIS-story) is written in a circular fashion. Everything started in the garden in Genesis and ended in another garden in Revelation. Let's not forget the garden in the middle, either: Gethsemane, where Jesus appeared as a gardener. God wanted us to realize that where we have been is where we are going.
"Isa 46:9-10 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, (10) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure"
Eden was the "garden of God" (Ez 28:13), but it was also God's dwelling-place on earth. It was a mystical place where heaven and earth met, and citizens of both realms could be found. Rarely, though, do we find it described as the "mountain of God" (Ez 28:14). Indeed, before the flood it might have been truly a high, mist-covered mountain - a cloud forest. Solomon, in his wisdom, selected the temple mount to build God's dwelling-place within Israel. The psalmist in Psalms 48 wrote of his vision of the city of God - Mount Zion - the pride of the earth and the location of the "city of God". In Revelation, John wrote of his vision of the New Jerusalem:
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God
John saw a mountain, yes, and a city, and a garden with a river and a tree that had already made an appearance in scripture: the tree of life. The plan is simplistic, beautiful, and assured. God has reclaimed and recreated His high place. He has re-opened Eden, and while we are in the process of "the already and the not yet", we can know that our dwelling-place is with Him in His ever-expanding mountain-garden home.
