What does it mean that the Deliverer will come from Zion?

Explanation:

Paul explained earlier in this letter that salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ, whom God put forward to make reconciliation by his blood (Romans 3:21–26).³ Jesus Christ died on the cross in order to take away our sin and guilt. When we put our faith in him, we are saved. Now, in Romans 11:26–27 Paul writes that the Deliverer will come from Zion to banish ungodliness and take away their sin. Given that the Deliverer will take away their sin, and the fact that sin is taken away through the death of Christ on the cross, we can see that the Deliverer coming from Zion has to do with Jesus becoming incarnate to die on the cross for our sins.

Counterargument:

The problem here is that Paul uses the future tense of the verb to come: the Deliverer will come from Zion. That does not suit the notion that the Deliverer has already come as the incarnate Jesus Christ. In other words, the future tense suggests that Paul has something future in mind, namely, Christ’s second coming.⁴

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument overlooks the fact that Paul is quoting Scripture. He writes, as it is written, before combining two quotes from the prophet Isaiah.⁵ The first is from Isaiah 59:20 and says that a Deliverer will come to Zion. It is important to notice that the verb to come is in the future tense in the Septuagint version of Isaiah 59:20. Thus, the reason to come is in the future tense is not because Paul has Christ’s second coming in mind, but because he retains the tense from the original prophecy found in Isaiah.

It is hard to see what the weakness of this view might be.

Explanation:

Paul says that all Israel will be saved before quoting Isaiah 59:20: The Deliverer will come from Zion. Likely Paul has in mind a tradition that associates Zion with the heavenly Jerusalem. We find this tradition in Hebrews 12:22 where the author refers to Mount Zion as the heavenly Jerusalem.⁸ Of course, Jesus is currently in heaven at the Father’s right hand. Thus, if Mount Zion is the heavenly Jerusalem, then when Paul writes that the Deliverer will come from Zion, he has in mind that Jesus will return from heaven. So he is saying that all Israel will be saved when Jesus returns from heaven.⁹

Counterargument:

Scripture uses the term Zion to refer not only to Mt Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem but also to Israel. For example, Matthew explains that the prophecy of Zechariah is fulfilled that says, Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold your king is coming to you, humbled and mounted on a donkey (Matthew 21:5). This use of Zion refers not to the heavenly Jerusalem but to Israel. Also, in Romans 9:33 Paul quotes from Isaiah 28:16 where it says that God lays in Zion a stumbling stone. Again, the reference is not to the heavenly Jerusalem, but to the nation of Israel. Finally, we know that Isaiah’s original use of Zion, which Paul quotes, refers to Israel, not the heavenly Jerusalem, because Paul actually slightly alters the original text, which originally says that a Deliverer will come to Zion (Isaiah 59:20).

Response to counterargument:

While it is true that Zion can refer to the heavenly Jerusalem or Israel, the context determines between these. In the case of Romans 11:26, Paul has just written that all Israel will be saved. Likely he means that when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, the nation of Israel as a whole will turn to Christ in faith.¹⁰ Of course, we might wonder how the nation of Israel could suddenly turn to Christ in faith, which is plausibly explained by Christ’s return from heaven. When the Deliverer comes from the heavenly Jerusalem this will prompt the faith of the Israelites.

Explanation:

Paul quotes from Isaiah in order to show that Scripture affirms that all Israel will be saved. The quote from Isaiah refers to the Deliverer, originally referring to Yahweh, and now referring to Jesus Christ. That Paul uses a quote that refers to Christ as the Deliverer suggests that when Paul says the Deliverer will come from Zion, he has in mind Christ’s second return. This is so because elsewhere, Paul associates deliverance with Christ’s second coming. For example, in Romans 7:24 Paul asks, Who will deliver me from this body of death? Also, in his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes that Jesus delivers them from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).¹¹ Likely, being delivered from death and from the wrath to come is a reference to what Jesus will do when he returns again. Given that deliverance has to do with what Jesus will do when he returns again, and that Paul refers to Jesus as the Deliverer, Paul is referring to Christ second return when he says that the Deliverer will come from Zion.

Counterargument:

In Romans 7:24, Paul’s cry, Who will deliver me from this body of death? arises from his reflection on the power and persistence of sin. His immediate answer, Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, indicates that this deliverance is already secured in Christ. In other words, Paul is asking who can rescue him from his bondage to sin, and the answer is Jesus Christ through his redemptive work in the cross and resurrection. This suggests that the deliverance in view is not future and eschatological, but already accomplished.

Likewise, in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 Paul writes that Jesus delivers from the wrath to come. Of course, one can easily argue that Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come because of what he accomplished on the cross. So deliverance in the sense of 1 Thessalonians 1:10 is not deliverance at Christ’s second coming. Of course, if these verses of deliverance are not related to Christ’s second coming, then Paul referring to Christ as the Deliverer in Romans 11:26 does not imply that the Deliverer coming from Zion refers to Christ’s second coming.

The one weakness of this view is that it does not take into account the fact that Paul quotes from a prophecy that originally used the term Zion to refer to Israel, not the heavenly Jerusalem.