The significance of mountains as spiritual high places

God created the heavens and the earth along with all their high mountains. When God appeared to Moses in a burning bush on Mount Horeb, the Lord warned Moses that he was stepping on holy ground. Throughout the Bible, hills and mountains are shown to be sacred places where heaven and earth meet. Mount Horeb, one of the “mountains of God”, may be a physical location on earth but it is also a spiritual “high place”. The Garden of Eden is also situated on a spiritual high place called the “holy mountain”. If certain mountains are considered holy, are there any that are not?

(简体中文 > 山峦作为属灵高地的意义 | 繁體中文 > 山巒作為屬靈高地的意義)

Psalm 95:4-5 NKJV  In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.”

Exodus 3:1,5 NKJV  Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

Ezekiel 28:13-14 NKJV  You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering … “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.  

God’s mountains

God’s Word shows us that there are certain mountains on earth that He prefers to dwell in, compared to others.

Psalm 68:15-16 NKJV  A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan. Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.

On quite a number of occasions, our Creator met His people on mountains in Israel to establish covenants with them and to give them divine revelation, both in the physical and spiritual realms. Perhaps this is why King David wrote in Psalm 121 that he looked up to the hills to seek the Lord for help.

Psalm 121:1-2 NKJV  I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

Physical mountains

God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai (also known as Mount Horeb) on quite a number of occasions. It is where God appeared to him in the burning bush, gave him the tablets with the Ten Commandments written with His own Hand (Exodus 31:18, Exodus 34:1,4), pronounced judgment on the people for creating the golden calf (Exodus 32:30-34), renewed His covenant with the people, and so on. 

God appeared to king David on Mount Moriah, identified as the same mountain where the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, Isaac. It is on this mountain that king Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 3:1  Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Another significant mountain is the Mount of Olives. It was here that Jesus would often retreat to pray alone and also from where He ascended into heaven.

Matthew 14:23 NKJV  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

Luke 6:12 NKJV  Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Luke 22:39 NKJV  Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.

Here are some other mountains where God encountered His people.

1. Mount Ararat (Genesis 8): God renewed His covenant with Noah, as the Ark rested on this mountain range after the flood. 
2. Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18): God sent fire from heaven after Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal.
3. Mount Nebo / Pisgah (Deuteronomy 34): God showed Moses the Promised Land from here before he died.
4. Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17): Jesus brought Peter, James, and John up this mountain and they heard God say out from a cloud, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
5. Golgotha / Calvary (Matthew 27): Jesus was crucified here.

Some people were physically transformed after their encounters with God on a mountain. Moses’ face glowed when he came down from Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:29-30). Jesus was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). Some prophets came down the “hill of God” and imparted the Holy Spirit to Saul as he encountered them.

Exodus 34:29 NKJV  Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 

1 Samuel 10:5-6 NKJV  After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

Mountains in the spirit

The Bible shows us that there are also high places in the spirit. God brought the prophet Ezekiel to a “very high mountain” in a vision to give him instructions for the new temple (Ezekiel 40:2). The apostle John had a similar experience where he was taken in a vision to a “great and high mountain” and shown the new Jerusalem. 

Revelation 21:10  And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Mountains used as high places for other gods

Unfortunately, mountains are also associated with pagan idolatry. “Sacred mountains” that serve as significant spiritual, cultural, and historical sites for other gods can be found around the world. Such spiritually defiled high places provoke God to anger. 

Psalm 78:58 NKJV  For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.

2 Kings 17:11 NKJV …And there they burned incense on all the high places, as the nations had done whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger.

Other gods worshipped on mountains in the Bible included Baal (and local variations like Baal-Hermon), Chemosh of Moab, Molech/Milcom of the Ammonites, Asherah, and later Pan:

1. Mount Hermon & Mount Tabor: Ancient Canaanite sanctuaries, specifically linked to Baal worship (Baal-Hermon and Baal-Tabor).
2. Mount of Olives: Altars for Chemosh and Molech were built here by king Solomon (1 Kings 11:7)
3. Mount Carmel: Site of Baal worship and the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19)
4. Mount Nebo / Pisgah: Places of idol worship (Isaiah 46:1)

1 Kings 11:7 NKJV  Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.

Isaiah 46:1 NKJV  Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, A burden to the weary beast.

Demonic activity in high places is not unusual. In fact, the devil took Jesus up an “exceedingly high mountain” and tried to show the Lord all the kingdoms of the world and tempt him to worship him. Elijah went up Mount Camel, a place of Baal worship, to challenge the prophets of Baal.

Matthew 4:8-9 NKJV  Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Many cultures recognise mountains as sacred sites and resting places for their gods and goddesses and/or high places to set up altars for making offerings to these gods and even to the dead. Mountains are also seen as spiritual high places that hermits, gurus, witches, and spiritual masters go to separate themselves from the world in order to meditate and achieve enlightenment or “absorb” spiritual power. Entire mountains can be covered with shrines and act as temple grounds for other gods. Many of these are all considered major tourist destinations today. We may step into these massive “temples” without even knowing it, unless we take the time to research and find out more.

Here is a testimony.

Testimony: Experiencing insomnia after visiting scenic mountains

“For these past two years, I have had some unusual experiences with traveling and especially when going up some mountains. I usually sleep as sound as a baby but when I visited a couple of mountain sightseeing spots, I couldn’t sleep afterwards. The torment of being unable to sleep was horrific. 

In the first experience, I went up some mountains that I subsequently found out was where lots of people committed suicide. I also visited places in the surrounding area where there were lots of Tibetan Buddhism worship. 

In the second experience, I went up a mountain thinking that it is just a beautiful place to visit without realising that it is called “gate of heaven” for the locals. There were multiple steps which lead up to the gate which resemble a mini-pilgrimage. The entire area was filled with idol worship and Taoist shamanism.

Both times, I failed to fall asleep afterward and would twist and turn the entire night. I cried out for help and a friend from church told me that perhaps my ancestors were very steeped in worshipping Buddhism and Taoism. When those sins were not repented and confessed, it left an opening for the enemy to interfere with my sleep once I physically entered their territory. At the end of the trip, I had to pray and confess the Buddhist, Taoist, shamanic and witchcraft practices my ancestors may have been involved in. I also had to confess the sins of my ancestors of worshipping various spirits on mountains and for bowing down to mountain gods. 

I then realised that over the years, so much worship would have been conducted on mountains as people generally like to seek for their gods and would feel closer to their gods when they are on high places. The spiritual atmosphere on these mountains would have been considered “sacred” from their angle. (It also helped me understand why South Korean Christians make pilgrimages to their prayer mountain and say that they have spiritual experiences there.)

After confessing and renouncing all the sins of my ancestors that were related to the worship on those mountains, praise God I was able to regain my sleep. I am so thankful for God’s healing over me!”

May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love the Lord with all your heart and worship Him in spirit and in truth.