If you understand what is taking place in our world today, you know what motivates the enemies of Israel, what unites anti-Semites across the globe, and even confuses the loyalties of some evangelical leaders—it is the single word Zionism.
ZIONISM is a belief in God’s promise of the land (Eretz Israel) to His Chosen People.
Numbers 34:1-2: “And the LORD spake unto Moses … this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof…”
Standard history records Theodor Herzl as the founder of Zionism, but that is not correct. Zionism was declared and decreed by God Almighty, El Shaddai, the God of Abraham.
Thus said the Lord God: …you, O mountains of Israel, shall yield your produce and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for their return is near. For I will care for you: I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will settle a large population on you, the whole House of Israel; the towns shall be resettled, and the ruined sites rebuilt. I will multiply men and beasts upon you, and they shall increase and be fertile, and I will resettle you as you were formerly, and will make you more prosperous than you were at first. And you shall know that I am the Lord. I will lead… My people Israel to you, and they shall possess you. You shall be their heritage, and you shall not again cause them to be bereaved. (Ezekiel 36:7-12).
Mount Zion is where Abraham offered up Isaac as God directed. The word Zion occurs over 150 times in the Bible. It essentially means “fortification” and has the idea of something that is “raised up” as a “monument.” Zion is described both as the city of David and the city of God. As the Bible progresses, the word Zion expands in scope and takes on an additional, spiritual meaning.
The word Zion is also used in a theological or spiritual sense in Scripture. In the Old Testament, Zion refers figuratively to Israel as the people of God (Isaiah 60:14). In the New Testament, Zion refers to God’s spiritual kingdom. We have not come to Mount Sinai, says the apostle, but “to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22). Peter, quoting Isaiah 28:16, refers to Christ as the Cornerstone of Zion: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).
Zionism is God’s prophetic plan for the future of our world.
