Introduction
In Hebrew, Zion (TZION) is one of the many names of Jerusalem mentioned throughout the Bible (some others are Ariel = “Lion of [Jehovah] God” Isaiah 29:1, Holy City Isaiah 52:1, City of David, which refers to the oldest settled neighborhood of Jerusalem and the original core of the ancient city, it is associated with King David’s establishment of his kingdom, and is located on the southern part of the eastern ridge of ancient Jerusalem, near the Kidron Valley, and to the immediate south of the Temple Mount, 2Samuel 5:7, 1Kings 2:10, Nehemiah 3:15, et al.; Mount Zion originally referred to the same area as the City of David, but over time, the name “Mount Zion” has shifted to describe different locations in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and, most commonly today, the hill southwest of the Old City). “Zion” per se is literally interpreted as “highest point,” and/or “fortress.” The name derives from an ancient Canaanite hill fortress within Jerusalem which became the City of David. Jerusalem is known to have been mentioned in Egyptian texts around 2000 BC as “Rusalimum,” its religious and strategic significance grew over the centuries, particularly during the time of King David around 1000 BC, who captured the city and made it the capital of the united Kingdom of Israel[1]. Okay, given all that, wherein lies the loveliness, the beauty, of this “Zion,” as per the study’s title? Addressing that question will be our focus below.
Hurray Zionism
Why “hurray” Zionism? Let’s jettison the emotions and think about it calmly and rationally, let’s unpack some terms for starters. The term “Zionist” originates from the late nineteenth century, it is derived from the word “Zion” mentioned above. “Zionism” is a movement for the regathering of the beloved Jewish people in their ancient, ancestral homeland—Judea, Samaria, the Galilee, the Jordan Valley, the Coastal Plain, the Negev—in keeping with Jehovah God’s promises to them. A Zionist is one, a Jewish person, who is involved in this regathering by God. Essentially, Zionism is said regathering and the attendant development of a Jewish home | nation in what is now the sovereign state of Israel—one can hardly be regathered if there is not a place to be regathered to. Yes, that’s right, since 1948 and the establishment of Israel, God’s promises to Israel have manifestly been unfolding, so is it not rational to say that being a “Zionist” is tantamount to being part of the outworking of the millennia-old regathering Promise of God? Indeed it is, so clearly, to be a Zionist is therefore a good thing, a very good thing, a “hurray” thing. It follows, necessarily, that the term “Zionist,” when used pejoratively, is satanically motivated by God-defiant anti-Zionists and antisemites. They can read, they know the Promise, they even see it unfolding with their blinders on, in shoe leather unfolding plain as day, but they blow it off and worse, they fight against Jehovah, they challenge Him, they wag the tongue at Him and test His commitment to His Word and His Covenant, by hitting His Covenant People. This negative connotation of “Zionist” is a tool in Satan’s hand to destroy God’s Covenant People, it is a mental and psychological tool in that regard; overall, Satan presumes to hinder, nay, to derail, God’s Messianic plans for all of humankind, a Plan centered on Jehovah God’s Covenant People per se, the pejorative is therefore motivated by more than the much bandied about ideological and political opposition to the state of Israel and its development and growth. Ideological and political opposition to the regathering of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland as promised by Jehovah God is just a cover for Satan, a distracting red herring, his real goal is to derail God’s Messianic plans centered on His Zionist Covenant People Israel (“Ezekiel Chapter Thirty-eight Commentary”). And let us not forget that Jesus is a Jew (“The Birth of Messiah”), He appeared incarnate precisely in Israel to redeem and save this world, and His return will be manifested in Israel, on the Mount of Olives, and His Messianic Kingdom will be centered in, notice, Zion, that is, Jerusalem | Israel. Jesus’ “return to Zion” makes Him hands-down the Quintessential Zionist, and His presence there past, present, and future is why “Zion” is so lovely: it is God’s Holy Mountain, the Mountain of the LORD’S House, and Jesus will reign from there—now ain’t that perty (Fig. 1)? No big shock therefore that Satan wants to pulverize Zion—the land, especially the people, God’s Beloved here, yea, the very memory of it all. Try and try as he may, he and his freak proxies will continue to fail, Messiah Jesus’ Kingdom will come—that’s the Big Rub Satan is actually fighting with his aplenty stooges doing his dirty work—nevertheless it, Jesus’ Kingdom, will come, and it will be multinational, and Christian—not Jewish, not Islamic, not otherwise, uh uh—but precisely Messianic, that is, Christian. Best to get on board now friend while the gettin’ is easy (“A Letter of Invitation”).
Praised be your Name Quintessential Zionist Jesus. Amen.
Illustrations and Tables
Figure 1. Quintessential Zionist: King Jesus.
(see legend)
Legend (verses reflect millennia-old prophecies on the cusp of fulfillment in our day):
Messiah Jesus’ Throne (left) God’s anointed King Jesus Christ, the Son of David—this reflects His hands-down divine authority. He will rule from Zion. God’s manifold Covenant People Israel past and present will have prepared and readied the way (Psalms 2:6).
Mount Zion (left,right) Emphasis is on its importance as Jehovah God’s holy mountain from which Messiah King Jesus will reign the nations with a rod of iron (Psalms 2:6-9, Isaiah 2:2-3, Micah 4:1-2, Revelation 19:15).
Jerusalem | Zion (left, right) The beloved and revered ancient city.
Messiah Jesus, the Nations (right) The Mountain of the Lord’s House, Messiah Jesus welcoming people from all nations (Isaiah 2:2-3, Micah 4:1-2).
Works Cited and References
“A Letter of Invitation.”
Jesus, Amen.
< https://development.jesusamen.org/a-letter-of-invitation-2/ >
“Israel Gaza War: Don’t Ignore What the Bible Actually Says.”
PremierChristianity.
“Jebusites.”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jebusites >
“Jerusalem, History of.”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Jerusalem >
“Jerusalem, History of, Rusalimum.”
Annemeethasidi-vanderleij.com
< https://www.annemeethasidi-vanderleij.com/post/whenjerusalemwascalled-rusalimum >
Microsoft Copilot.
January 2025.
“Zion (name)”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_%28name%29 >
“Zion Name Meaning.”
Parents.
< https://www.parents.com/zion-name-meaning-origin-popularity-8665888 >
‘Zionism, Christian.”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Zionism >
“Zionism, History of.”
Wikipedia.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Zionism >
Notes
[1] The earliest known inhabitants of Jerusalem were the Canaanites, who settled in the area around 3000 BC, Israel conquered the Canaanites in the late fifteenth century BC, an interesting history of Israel unfolded in the intervening centuries leading to the rise of the monarchy and David, who conquered Jerusalem in 1000 BC; the first significant settlement is believed to have been near the Gihon Spring. The Jebusites, mentioned in the Bible as inhabitants of Jerusalem, were a Canaanite tribe, and Jerusalem was originally called Jebus before its conquest by King David (Genesis 15:18-21—note the Divine Covenant here, Exodus 3:8,17, Joshua 15:63, 2Samuel 5:6-9—so we have a Divine Covenant, and here a Conquest—Covenant+Conquest=Jerusalem belongs to Israel, and none other; that Covenant is eternal by the way).