What is Mt. Zion?

Answer 1

Mt. Zion is the place where the fortress of the City of David once stood. == == Mount Zion (root meaning "landmark" often translated as "fortress") is located in Israel's capital city Jerusalem, and has both historical and religious significance to the Jewish as well as to Christian denominations. Historically, this is where the Jebusite fortress once stood and was conquered by King David. According to prophecy, Mount Zion is set as a landmark where the "remnant of Jacob" or God's chosen ones are gathered to a "refuge" before the "Great Day of the Lord" and his final judgment. With its use in context of scriptures, Mount Zion is usually taken as a symbol of "the church" or as a symbol of those who "know God and are known by God"-- the elect. Therefore, Mount Zion is still viewed as a city otherwise called "The City of the Righteous," as written in the book of Isaiah. Great significance is placed on this mountain as "The Mount of the Lord" and as "His Holy Hill." In the near beginning, Moses was given the Law initially as the Ten Commandments were inscribed on Mount Sinai, which spiritually would be taken as a foreshadowing of the establishment of absolute Law on Mount Zion to the end. King Solomon--David's son--built the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant remained in "The House of the Lord" on Mount Zion. That temple was destroyed, rebuilt, and destroyed again in 70 AD by the Romans. The significance of the Temple is clear in religious context, and even more as it was built upon Mount Zion where God's presence was then established on a solid foundation. At the end of time, this is where the Second Coming of Jesus begins His Kingship--as seen in the book of Revelation--and where the Kingdom of Heaven is supposed to be established as "The New Jerusalem" comes down out of the heavens onto the earth. The opposite of Zion is Babylon, respectively, which is seen as the oppressing and overwhelming evil or chaos in this world. Zion appears at the end of time as a city of light, not just as the mountain, and "Babylon the Great" referenced as a mystery, is then cast down to ashes. Zion (not as Sion) is mentioned 154 times in The Bible, yet it is considered one of the major proper nouns utilized along with Israel, Jerusalem, and the many identifying names of God.