The Deliverer From Zion

March 5th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Romans 11:26-27 …and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

Paul backs up his claim that “all Israel will be saved” in v. 26 by quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures which prophesy a “Deliverer” coming “from Zion.” Zion was the fortress of Jerusalem that King David took from the Jebusites (2 Sam. 5:6-7) circa 1000 BC. Thought to be on the eastern side of Jerusalem and slightly south of the temple, the name “Zion” came to signify the mount on which the Jewish temple stood. It was called God’s “holy hill” in Psalm 2:6, and later all of Jerusalem itself came to be referred to as Zion (Isa. 1:27). Though a literal location, spiritually speaking Zion refers to the eternal heavenly city of Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22; Rev. 14:1) where Jesus, after ascending into heaven, sat down at God’s right hand (cf. Heb. 1:1-2).

The Hebrew Scriptures (OT) foresaw a coming Messiah, and in passages like Psalm 14:7 the writer longed for the salvation of Israel to come “out of Zion” or “from Zion.” This would reflect the idea that a king from David’s line would deliver Israel, the very thing Israel expected. Now Isaiah 59:20-21, the one in which Paul quotes in Romans 11:26-27, specifically says that the Deliverer (Messiah) will come “to” Zion, not “from” Zion as Paul quotes it. There is also a line from Isaiah 27:9 and a slight hint of Jeremiah 31:34 in Paul’s quote hinting at God’s new covenant with Israel when He takes away their sins. Paul therefore, under the Spirit’s inspiration, conflates three passages and even changes “from Zion” to “to Zion.” Why?

By Paul’s day Isaiah 59:20-21 had been fulfilled, for the Messiah (Jesus) had come “to Zion” (aka, Jerusalem) and was crucified there. Having ascended to heaven—the spiritual Zion —after His resurrection, and having promised to return, Paul could therefore change the text to make his theological point about the Messiah’s second coming when He returns “from” the heavenly Zion (cf. Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). Jesus is, after all, “the Deliverer,” and when He returns, “He will remove ungodliness from Jacob,” Jacob being Israel (cf. Gen. 32:28), the father of Israel’s 12 tribes. So, “Jacob” is a reference to Israel, and when Christ comes again He will “remove” Israel’s ungodliness in that He will forgive their sins (Isa. 27:9) and give them a new circumcised heart as promised in the new covenant (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; cf. Ezek. 36:26-27).

In sum, Paul’s message was that Israel’s future was full of hope. Beyond her unbelief was a time in which her people would turn to Christ and believe in Him in great numbers. In so doing, they will unite themselves with the faithful remnant of believing Gentiles and join the family of God. This will be their “fullness” (11:12), their “resurrection from the dead” (11:15).

Food For Thought
The dispensational, premillennial viewpoint sees Israel coming to faith in droves during the future Tribulation (Rev. 6-19), seven years that follow on the heels of the Rapture of the church. The Lord will seal 144,000 of the sons of Israel (Rev. 7:4), and through their preaching Israel will come to faith. This final “seven” (cf. Dan. 9:24-27) is a future time when Israel will know her Messiah, repent of sins, and be saved (Zech. 12:10). “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for impurity” (13:1). This will lead into the Millennium where “the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one… and there will be no more curse… then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations… will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 14:9, 11, 16). Satan will be bound, the earth renewed, justice will triumph, and worldwide righteousness will rule the day. All Israel will be saved!