The End Time Bible Commentary

Zion was originally equated with the City of David, which David captured from the Jebusites:

2 Samuel 5:7 "But David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the city of David)". (NET)

Zion is described as the holy mountain of the Lord in Jerusalem:

Joel 2:1 "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear, for the day of the LORD is about to come. Indeed, it is near!"

Joel 3:17 "You will be convinced that I the LORD am your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy – conquering armies will no longer pass through it".

Zion is the place where the Lord will dwell:

Joel 3:20-21 "But Judah will reside securely forever, and Jerusalem will be secure from one generation to the next. I will avenge their blood which I had not previously acquitted. It is the LORD who dwells in Zion!"

Zion is the place where Jesus will be installed as king, and from where he will rule:

Psalm 2:6 "I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill.”

Psalm 9:11 "Sing praises to the LORD, who rules in Zion! Tell the nations what he has done!"

Isaiah 24:23 "The full moon will be covered up, the bright sun will be darkened; for the LORD who commands armies will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor."

Zion is where David prophesied the temple would be located:

Psalm 20:2 "May he send you help from his temple; from Zion may he give you support!"

Zion will be rebuilt by Jesus after he reveals his splendour (glory):

Psalm 102:15-16 "The nations will respect the reputation of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will respect his splendor, when the LORD rebuilds Zion, and reveals his splendor"

Zion will be God's eternal resting place on earth, and that of the ark:

Psalm 132:7-8 "Let us go to his dwelling place! Let us worship before his footstool! Ascend, O LORD, to your resting place, you and the ark of your strength!"

Psalm 132:13-14 "Certainly the LORD has chosen Zion; he decided to make it his home. He said, “This will be my resting place forever; I will live here, for I have chosen it."

Zion will be the location of the millennial temple, and will be raised up as the mountain of the Lord:

Isaiah 2:2-3 "2 In the future the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure as the most important of mountains, and will be the most prominent of hills. All the nations will stream to it, 3 many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the temple of the God of Jacob, so he can teach us his requirements, and we can follow his standards.” For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; the Lord’s message will issue from Jerusalem."

Zechariah 14:10 "All the land will change and become like the rift valley from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem will be raised up and will stay in its own place from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate and on to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses."

Although Zion was originally equated with the City of David (2 Samuel 5:7), today it is generally associated with the Temple Mount, which most scholars identify as the location of the first and second temples. The Temple Mount is located just above and to the north of the City of David. In a prophetic sense, Zion may refer to the whole of millennial Jerusalem, or possibly to the location of the millennial temple, more specifically.

In 2014, Bob Cornuke published his book 'Temple', which presents compelling evidence for the theory that the Temple Mount (as known) was actually the Roman Fort of Antonia, and that the temples were actually located about 600 feet to the south in the City of David, near the Gihon Spring.