What Will Happen to Christendom’s Holy Places?
PUBLISHERS of the book Holy Places of Christendom, by archaeologist Stewart Perowne, ask: “Who, whatever Christian tradition he comes from, can stand on Calvary in the Church of the Resurrection [or, Church of the Holy Sepulcher] at Jerusalem without a sense of awe: for here in a place venerated and even fought over for centuries, is the very centre of Christendom.”
Nobody has been able to prove that this church was built on Calvary, where Jesus Christ died. In fact, before Roman emperor Constantine decided to build a church there, a pagan temple occupied the site. Moreover, Jesus said: “God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) Such worshipers do not revere material “holy” places.
At one time, Jerusalem was the location of God’s temple and thus the center of pure worship. Because of the unfaithfulness of the city’s inhabitants, however, Jehovah God abandoned it, as Jesus foretold. (Matthew 23:37, 38) Jesus also foretold the desolation of that religious center, which many continued to view as a holy place. His words were fulfilled when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 70 C.E.—Matthew 24:15, 21.
Jesus’ prophecy will soon have a greater fulfillment upon the entire religious realm of Christendom, which she claims to be a holy place. Christendom and her sacred sites now face destruction by an antireligious force called “the disgusting thing that is causing desolation.” (Daniel 11:31) Jehovah’s Witnesses will gladly provide information about how this shocking event will take place.
[Picture on page 32]
A chapel inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
[Credit Line]
Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.