Upon That Mountain

If you travel I-5 southbound out of Grants Pass there comes a time, within about 20 or 25 minutes, after you have crested Blackwell Hill, that you see one of the volcanic peaks in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It sits proudly in the Cascade Range of Southern Oregon. It is north of Mount Shasta and south-southeast of Crater Lake. It’s Mt. McLoughlin, many know it as Mount Pitt, but it wasn’t always known by either name.

American explorer Peter Skene Ogden came upon this mountain in 1827 and called it "Mt. Sastise" after the Shasta Native Americans that helped him reach the Rogue Valley.

However, this name was later swapped with Mount Shasta in northern California, then called "Pit Mountain".

Mt. McLoughlin was officially renamed in 1905 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly after Dr. John McLoughlin, a factor for the Hudson's Bay Company noted for helping American settlers in the 1830s and 1840s. John McLoughlin was an important figure in the local fur trade and was known as the "Father of Oregon". (Source: Wikipedia dot com)

I learned today that a ‘factor’ was a type of trader who received and sold goods on commission, and John McLoughlin was one.

I believe it was 2018 when Wendell and I took a flight out of Seattle. At one point we could see the beauty of five volcanos: Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Hood, Mt Adams, Mt. St Helens, and Mt. Rainier, all at the same time. It was spectacular!

I don’t drive to Jackson County often, but when I do, I look for that mountain as I come up over the rise on Interstate 5. It is something I have done for as long as I can remember. Is there snow? Is it covered in clouds? Is it bare? One would never know unless you left Grants Pass and traveled almost half an hour, or would they?

Imagine my utter amazement 4 years ago while traveling east bound on Redwood Avenue in Grants Pass, when I looked up and saw this majestic mountain off in the distance. I did a double take. I was truly confused. I could not reconcile seeing a large, snowcapped mountain from Grants Pass. But there it was. So, for those that don’t know, on a clear day, if you are in the right position in about a 1-mile stretch of Redwood Avenue, you can see Mt. McLoughlin from Grants Pass.

I want to talk about one more mountain today. The main peak is 2,652 feet above sea level, so, not a tall mountain as far as mountains go.

According to Britannica.com, it’s a multi-summit limestone ridge just east of the Old City of Jerusalem and separated from it by the Kidron Valley.

There is a lot of mention of it in the Bible; a lot of history, but, perhaps the best story from the Mount of Olives has not yet occurred.

It is referred to in the book of Zechariah in the prophecy of the end of days. Let’s turn to chapter 14.

“…On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward…Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him…And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” Zechariah 14 ESV

The New King James Version titles this chapter “The Day of the Lord”.

The New International Version titles it “The Lord Comes and Reigns”.

And the English Standard Version titles it “The Coming Day of the Lord”.

It’s clear, this chapter has yet to take place and it’s all about Jesus returning to earth. Big things will continue to happen on the Mount of Olives. It is rich with history, and it’s not over. We’ll look at more tomorrow.

by Jeanette Stark – Monday, April 24, 2023