ROMANS UNWRAPPED 187

"And so all Israel, shall be saved; as it is written,  THERE SHALL COME OUT OF ZION THE DELIVERER."   Romans 11v26

It is important that we understand the true meaning of Zion in scripture.   This quotation is taken from Isaiah 59v20-21.   In the Hebrew version of the Old Testament it says  "The Redeemer shall come to Zion."   The New Testament Septuagint version (the Greek speaking equivalent) says that the Deliverer will come from Zion.   There is no real difference between the two, because He (Christ) must come to Zion, and to achieve His purposes, must come from Zion.   All this raises the question, what is this Zion which seems to be so important in the Bible?  

According to the free dictionary by FARLEX,  " Zion in the Bible is defined as the city of David.   Originally the name referred to the Jebusite fortress conquered by David on the south eastern hill of Jerusalem.   Zion was later applied to the hill where the temple stood and in time came to denote the temple area itself.   Zion is symbolic of Jerusalem, the centre of the promised land, signifying Israel's utopia and of heaven, or God's dwelling place with His people. "   The heavenly view of Zion is described in Hebrews 12v22-24.   Writing to Hebrew Christians the Holy Spirit inspires these words  "Ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innnumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly,  (this just means a full gathering of angels) and to the church of the firstborn which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant."

The significance of Zion is not so much the place but the person who is ruling there.   The heavenly Zion, described in Hebrews chapter 12, will be transferred from heaven to earth, because Jesus the redeemer, the Deliverer of Israel will come to earth.   The prophet Zechariah in chapter 14v1 - 11 says that He will first come to the Mount of Olives.   The Psalmist gives another picture in Psalm 24 v 7-10 where he says that Messiah, otherwise known as the King of Glory, shall enter the everlasting gates and take His place in Israel.   The prophet Malachi 3v1 says  "The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple."   The prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 2v1-4 that the Messiah will establish his earthly kingdom with Jerusalem (Zion) as its centre  "And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.   And many people shall go and say Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."  

Thus Zion is Jerusalem when the true King (the Messiah, Jesus Christ) is on the throne, and the rule of God, and the worship of God is set up in Jeruslaem.   Quite how so many people are going to congregate in this area, we don't know, but it seems there will be some kind of topographical change, as indicated by Isaiah 2v2 and Revelation 20v9 and Zechariah 14v10-11.   Thus Israel will be restored when they receive their Messiah, and give Him His place and He will take away their sins, and will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.   Israel will become the head of nations as is stated in many places in the Bible, and in the course of things, all living and all dead will be judged by the man who sits upon the throne.   All destinies of all people will thus be determined by their attitude to the King of glory who rules from Mount Zion.   This is Zion in Holy Scripture.