The expectation of a future city of God runs throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. According to Hebrews, the patriarch Abraham looked forward to “the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10, NIV). The expectation of a transformed Jerusalem is a dominant theme in the oracles of the Old Testament prophets. 

Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God.” These are the opening words of one of the best-known hymns of John Newton (1725–1807), a slave trader turned abolitionist. Drawing on various biblical passages, Newton highlights how the name Zion has come to denote the eternal city of God, the goal of God’s creative and redemptive activity. Zion, also known as the new Jerusalem, is the holy metropolis where God’s ethnically diverse people will live in his presence, liberated from the pain, suffering, and death of this present world.

Zion serves as a powerful biblical symbol of hope and restoration, anchoring God’s ultimate plan for a renewed creation.

City of David

Zion first appears in the Bible in 2 Samuel 5:6–7, which speaks of David’s capture of “the fortress of Zion” (NIV) Since the fortress formed part of ancient Jerusalem, “Zion” often denotes Jerusalem. When the temple is built, Mount Zion, with its high citadels and solid ramparts, becomes the “city of the great King” (Ps. 48:2).

Yet despite Zion’s unique status as God’s holy city, all wasn’t well within it. Over time, its inhabitants abandoned God. Around the end of the 8th century BC, the prophet Isaiah declared, “The faithful city has become a prostitute” (Isa. 1:21, NIV). Pulling no punches, Isaiah delivered to the people of Jerusalem a series of chilling pronouncements that predicted the city’s destruction.

Isaiah looks beyond judgment and speaks of a restored Jerusalem. He foretells the rebuilding of earthly Jerusalem despite its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BC. This restoration will come through a Persian king called Cyrus (44:28). Strikingly, Isaiah portrays Cyrus as a Gentile messiah who comes to Jerusalem’s aid (45:1).

New Cosmos

Isaiah also anticipates that a future Davidic Messiah will play a central role in constructing a new Jerusalem (e.g., 9:6–7; 11:1–5). Crucially, this will involve the king being a suffering servant who lays down his life to atone for the sins of those who’ve gone astray (50:4–9; 52:13–53:12). This new Zion will differ significantly from the corrupt city of Isaiah’s day. It’ll be a righteous city that’s no longer deserted or desolate; it’ll be a crown of splendor in God’s hand, according to Isaiah 62:3–4. The new Jerusalem will be a cosmopolitan metropolis with citizens from the world’s nations.

Emphasizing the city’s thoroughly transformed nature, Isaiah links the new Zion to the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. God promises,

See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.

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