Jehovah’s ancient descent on Mount Sinai put God’s people in awe of him as they witnessed his display of power. To Israel’s elders who ascended the mount with Moses, on the other hand, Jehovah was a personable and accessible God in whose presence they ate and drank. In the end-time version of these events, the enemies of God’s people are the ones who quake before him at a distance while the elders of his people are privy to his glorious presence.
Isaiah 64:1–3O that you would rend the heavens and descend, the mountains melting at your presence — as when fire is lit for boiling water, which bubbles over from the heat — to make yourself known to your adversaries, the nations trembling at your presence — as when you performed awesome things unexpected by us: your descent [of old], when the mountains quaked before you!
Isaiah 31:4As a lion or a young lion growls over the prey when the shepherds muster in full force against him, and is not dismayed at the sound of their voice nor daunted by their numbers, so shall Jehovah of Hosts be when he descends to wage war upon Mount Zion and upon its heights.
Isaiah 30:30Jehovah will cause his voice to resound, and make visible his arm descending in furious rage, with flashes of devouring fire, explosive discharges and pounding hail.
Isaiah 24:23The moon will blush and the sun be put to shame, when Jehovah of Hosts manifests his reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and [his] glory in the presence of his elders.