literalists, need some help?

Question

Matthew 4:8
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

i don't remember from geography class the mountain where you can see the whole world from the top. i was wondering what it was called again?

if it's a metaphor, then what else is?
and if it doesn't mean the whole world, then what else is meant differently?

Answer 1

An exceeding high mountain - It is not known what mountain this was. It was probably some elevated place in the vicinity of Jerusalem, from the top of which could be seen no small part of the land of Palestine.

The Abbe Mariti speaks of a mountain on which he was, which answers to the description here. “This part of the mountain,” says he, “overlooks the mountains of Arabia, the country of Gilead, the country of the Amorites, the plains of Moab, the plains of Jericho, the River Jordan, and the whole extent of the Dead Sea.” So Moses, before he died, went up into Mount Nebo, and from it God showed him “all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, and the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar,”
Deu_34:1-3.

This shows that there were mountains from which no small part of the land of Canaan could be seen; and we need not suppose that there was any miracle when they were shown to the Saviour.

All the kingdoms of the world - It is not probable that anything more is intended here than the kingdoms of Palestine, or of the land of Canaan, and those in the immediate vicinity. Judea was divided into three parts, and those parts were called kingdoms; and the sons of Herod, who presided over them, were called kings. The term “world” is often used in this limited sense to denote a part or a large part of the world, particularly the land of Canaan. See Rom_4:13, where it means the land of Judah; also Luk_2:1.

Answer 2

You may have missed the point. God is omniscient, which of course means all-knowing. This includes all-seeing. Jesus, his Son, would therefore be able to see the entire world from your street corner if he wanted to. The mountaintop was there but wasn't necessary. The temptation was the point. This could have occurred from atop a rock in a desert.

Many people read more than is necessary into the Bible and some don't read enough of the Bible.

Answer 3

don't know dear, but telescoping vision from a very high mountain would certainly have served the purpose. Not because of the mountain but because of the telescoping effect of visions.

Answer 4

The mountain was not named because it was a metaphor.

Answer 5

There is no such place. You can't see the whole world at one time even from space.

Answer 6

Probably Mt. Arafrat(?). But they had good eyes, too.