Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
Psalm 78:67-68
Full confession: I call myself a Christian Zionist. A little history: I have done so for about fifty-years. So when some modern Christian comes along and shouts in my face, “You can’t be a Christian and a Zionist” I am tempted to pull a Bill Clinton and say… well, ask really since I prefer Chesterton… “Doesn’t that depend on what you mean by ‘Zionist’? Is it possible that that word gets used differently by different people?”
Obviously if my interlocutor is free to search through everything that any person calling themselves a Zionist has said… or to cut and paste from any and all statements by anti-Zionists… then they can find lots of statement that not only would I disagree with, but would, on their face, be contradictory to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I would remind them, because I hope they know this already, that I could do the same thing with ‘Christianity’. I could find dozens of quotes from Christians (or, at the very least people who call themselves Christians) and hundreds from people who are anti-Christian talking about Christianity… all of which do a pretty good job of contradicting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
God will save Zion
For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
Psalm 69:35
But my adherence to Zionism does not come through examining the writings of anyone and everyone who has ever called themselves a Zionist. Still less does it come from pouring over the writings of every anti-Zionist. My adherence comes from two things. The second is the way that the term has historically been used in American religious discourse… going all the way back to before the State of Israel was founded.
Indeed, going back to the writing of many of the reformers who, full confession, probably didn’t use the full word ‘Zionist’, but weren’t all that shy about using it’s root ‘Zion’.
The second is doing the same thing going back to the Scriptures. Because before the word ‘Zionist’ was used, the word ‘Zion’ was. And used a lot.
Words, Words
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
Psalm 137:1-6
The first issue we have to deal with is that the word ‘Zion’ is not the only word, umm, for Zion. First of all we have two different spellings: Zion and Sion. Secondly the word is treated as a pretty direct synonym of Jerusalem; in that “Jerusalem” the city, and “Zion”, the mountain upon which Jerusalem sits, are used pretty interchangeably. Kind of like ‘D.C.’, ‘The Administration’, and ‘Washington’ can be inserted for each other in modern political speech a large amount of the time.
Thus really this study should include every use of the word ‘Jerusalem’ as well as ‘Zion’ or ‘Sion’. But that would be incredibly voluminous, and perhaps distract the faint of heart, so I have included here only those passage translated ‘Zion’ or ‘Sion’ (not the time ‘Sion’ was used for Mount Hermon, which is a different Hebrew word.)
The second issue would be to divide the passages into the different theological directions that the point:
Zion in History
Sometimes, obviously, the Scriptures merely speak of Zion as a matter of fact: this thing happened in the area of Jerusalem.
2Sa 5:7 Nevertheless David took ( ) the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.
1Ki 8:1 Then Solomon assembled ( ) the elders of Israel, and( ) all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers H1 of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up ( ) the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
1Ch 11:5 And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took ( ) the castle of Zion, which is the city of David.
2Ch 5:2 Then H227 Solomon assembled ( ) the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers H1 of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up ( ) the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
Sng 3:11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
Judgement upon Zion
Many times judgement is called down upon the Jews, and often the term ‘Zion’ is used as the focal point of that judgement.
2Ki 19:21 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
2Ki 19:31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.
Isa 3:16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
Isa 3:17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.
Jer 4:6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring H935 evil from the north, and a great destruction.
Jer 4:31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised H270 the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 37:22 This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
Mic 3:10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Mic 4:11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.
Amo 1:2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
Amo 6:1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! H935
Mic 1:13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
Lam 5:11 They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.
Lam 5:18 Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
Jol 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Jol 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Isa 49:14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Isa 64:10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
Jer 51:35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
Lam 1:4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.
Lam 1:6 And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.
Lam 1:17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them.
Lam 2:1 How hath the Lord covered ( ) the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger!
Lam 2:4 He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire.
Lam 2:6 And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger H639 the king and the priest.
Lam 2:8 The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together.
Lam 2:10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.
Lam 2:18 Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
Blessings of Zion
And many times blessings are called down upon the nation of Israel, including specifically the area of Jerusalem.
Psa 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 9:11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
Psa 9:14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
Psa 48:2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Psa 48:11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.
Psa 48:12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
Psa 50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Psa 51:18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto( ) Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Psa 87:2 The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Psa 65:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, H430 in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
Psa 76:2 In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.
Psa 78:68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
Psa 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
Psa 97:8 Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD.
Psa 99:2 The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.
Mat 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Jhn 12:15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Psa 126:1 A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again ( ) the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
Psa 132:13 For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired H183 it for his habitation.
Psa 133:3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded ( ) the blessing, even life for evermore.
Psa 134:3 The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.
Psa 135:21 Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
Psa 147:12 Praise ( H853 ) the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.
Psa 149:2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Isa 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
Isa 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs H226 and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
Isa 12:6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
Isa 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Isa 33:5 The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.
Isa 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Mourning for Zion
When in captivity, the Jews mourn for their land, specifically mentioning Zion.
Psa 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered ( ) Zion.
Psa 137:3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
Zion as the Future
But, and here lies much of the controversy regarding this term, many many times the word ‘Zion’ is used in conjunction with some prophecy. A prophecy concerning the Gentiles… and prophecies concerning the Jews.
Psa 14:7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
Psa 53:6 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
Psa 20:2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;
Psa 69:35 For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
Psa 74:2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Psa 87:5 And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
Psa 102:13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
Psa 102:16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
Psa 102:21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
Psa 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
Psa 125:1 A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.
Psa 128:5 The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
Psa 129:5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
Psa 146:10 The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.
Isa 1:27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
Isa 2:3 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.
Isa 4:3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
Isa 4:4 When the Lord shall have washed away ( ) the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
Isa 4:5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
Isa 10:12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his( ) whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
Isa 10:24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
Isa 10:32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
Isa 14:32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
Isa 16:1 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
Isa 18:7 In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
Isa 24:23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
Isa 29:8 It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.
Isa 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
Isa 31:4 For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
Isa 31:9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
Isa 33:20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle H168 that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
Isa 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Isa 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isa 37:32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.
Isa 46:13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
Mic 4:13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
Zep 3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Zep 3:16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.
Zec 1:14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zec 1:17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort ( ) Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
Zec 2:7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
Zec 2:10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
Zec 8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
Zec 9:13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, H669 and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
Zec 8:3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
Zec 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Mic 3:12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
Mic 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Mic 4:7 And I will make ( ) her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
Mic 4:10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
Oba 1:17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess ( ) their possessions.
Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the( H853 ) mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.
Isa 62:11 Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
Jol 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you( ) the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
Jol 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as H834 the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
Jol 3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
Jol 3:17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
Jol 3:21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.
Isa 40:9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; H408 say H559 unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! H430
Isa 41:27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
Isa 51:3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Isa 51:11 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
Isa 51:16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
Isa 52:1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Isa 52:2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
Isa 52:8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
Isa 59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
Isa 60:14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Isa 62:1 For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
Isa 66:8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth H776 be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? H259 for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth ( ) her children.
Jer 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jer 6:2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.
Jer 6:23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
Jer 8:19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
Jer 9:19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.
Jer 14:19 Hast thou utterly rejected ( ) Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!
Jer 26:18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
Jer 30:17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
Jer 31:6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.
Jer 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
Jer 50:5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, H935 and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
Jer 50:28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion ( ) the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.
Jer 51:10 The LORD hath brought forth ( ) our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion ( ) the work of the LORD our God.
Jer 51:24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea ( ) all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
Lam 2:13 What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?
Lam 4:2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
Lam 4:11 The LORD hath accomplished ( ) his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured H398 the foundations thereof.
Lam 4:22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.
Christian Zionism
First, THERE IS TO BE A POLITICAL RESTORATION OF THE JEWS.
Israel is now blotted out from the map of nations; her sons are scattered far and wide; her daughters mourn beside all the rivers of the earth. Her sacred song is hushed; no king reigns in Jerusalem; she bringeth forth no governors among her tribes. But she is to be restored; she is to be restored “as from the dead.” When her own sons have given up all hope of her, then is God to appear for her. She is to be re-organised; her scattered bones are to be brought together. There will be a native government again; there will again be the form of a body politic; a state shall be incorporated, and a king shall reign. Israel has now become alienated from her own land. Her sons, though they can never forget the sacred dust of Palestine, yet die at a hopeless distance from her consecrated shores. But it shall not be so for ever, for her sons shall again rejoice in her: her land shall be called Beulah, for as a young man marrieth a virgin so shall her sons marry her. “I will place you in your own land,” is God’s promise to them. They shall again walk upon her mountains, shall once more sit under her vines and rejoice under her fig-trees. And they are also to be re-united. There shall not be two, nor ten, nor twelve, but one—one Israel praising one God, serving one king, and that one king the Son of David, the descended Messiah. They are to have a national prosperity which shall make them famous; nay, so glorious shall they be that Egypt, and Tyre, and Greece, and Rome, shall all forget their glory in the greater splendour of the throne of David. The day shall yet come when all the high hills shall leap with envy, because this is the hill which God hath chosen, when Zion's shrine shall again be visited by the constant feet of the pilgrim; when her valleys shall echo with songs, and her hill-tops shall drop with wine and oil. If there be meaning in words this must be the meaning of this chapter. I wish never to learn the art of tearing God's meaning out of his own words. If there be anything clear and plain, the literal sense and meaning of this passage—a meaning not to be spirited or spiritualized away—must be evident that both the two and the ten tribes of Israel are to be restored to their own land, and that a king is to rule over them. “Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon June 16, 1864
Scripture: Ezekiel 38:1-10
From: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 10
So what is Christian Zionism? Or what is the definition that I have used, that I have held to, for fifty years?
It is, first of all, the proposition that God is not done with Zion. Christ is not done with Zion. The Lord still has a plan, and that plan includes… Zion. That is what I mean by ‘Christian Zionism’. Israel shall rise… with Christ as her king. And so all Israel will be saved.
When Spurgeon spoke in 1864, he said he had no idea how it was that God would carry out His plan for the national restoration of Israel. Nor more do I.
He writes:
THE MEANS OF THAT RESTORATION. Looking at this matter, we are very apt to say, “How can these things be? How can the Jews be converted to Christ? How can they be made into a nation? Truly, the case is quite as hopeless as that of the bones in the valley! How shall they cease from worldliness, or renounce their constant pursuit of riches? How shall they be weaned from their bigoted attachment to their Talmudic traditions? How shall they be lifted up out of that hardness of heart, which makes them hate the Messiah of Nazareth, their Lord and King? How can these things be?” The prophet does not say it cannot be; his unbelief is not so great as that, but at the same time, he scarcely ventures to think that it can ever be possible. He very wisely, however, puts back the question upon his God—“O Lord God, thou knowest.” Now some of you are very sanguine about this to-night, and you are expecting to see the Jews converted very soon, perhaps in a month or two. I wish you may see it as soon as your desires would date it. Others of us are not very sanguine, but take a more gloomy view of a long future of woes. Well, let us both together come before God to-night, and say, “O Lord God, thou knowest; and if thou knowest it, Lord, we will be content to leave the secret with thee; only tell us what thou wouldst have us to do; we ask not food for speculation, but we do ask for work; we ask for something by which we may practically show that we really do love the Jew, and that we would bring him to Christ.”
Ibid
Amen and Amen.
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Appendix
(Strong)
צִיּוֹן
tsı̂yôn
tsee-yone'
The same (regular) as ; Tsijon (as a permanent capital), a mountain of Jerusalem: - Zion.
Total KJV occurrences: 154
(Strong)
Σιών
Siōn
see-own'
Of Hebrew origin []; Sion (that is, Tsijon), a hill of Jerusalem; figuratively the Church (militant or triumphant): - Sion.
Total KJV occurrences: 7
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