A song of ascents.

¹ When the Lord restored the fortunes of^[^a^] Zion,
We were like those who dreamed.

Psalm 126: 1

Torino, Italy, 13 April 1980

We live in an age of tremendous material progress, but it is also a time of unprecedented denial of God. Humankind allows God to “die” in himself and others. Entire philosophical systems and social, economic, and political programs serve this purpose.

Why is humanity afraid?

Perhaps precisely because, as a result of that denial of God, one ultimately remains alone: metaphysically alone, inwardly alone.

Why fear?

If humankind lets God die, he may also lose the solid inhibition to kill another.

Excerpted from the writings of Pope John Paul II

Read the original Vatican text

Editor’s Note

Zion’s meaning extends beyond a single entity, simply meaning ‘fortification’ and serving as the seat of power for both the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the [Spiritual] Kingdom of God.

· It also refers to Jerusalem, the ‘City of David,’ often overshadowed by its title as ‘the City of God.”

· Isaiah 52:1-2 calls it the “City of God,” where God’s people become the “Light among nations.”

· Jeremiah 31:6 says, “Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.” Mount Zion symbolizes the spiritual Kingdom of God, as Hebrews 12:22 states: “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” — the New Jerusalem that will descend from heaven (Revelation 21:10-26), representing a ‘heaven on earth.’

van Kempen, Abraham A. Christian Zionism ... Enraptured Around a Golden Calf - 2nd Edition: Evangelicals Rediscovering New Testament Revelations (p. 16). (Function). Kindle Edition.

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The Evangelical Saint Pope John Paul II

Zionism – Return to God!