Fox News
As Israel fights to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the Holy Land, the new virus is shutting down historic sites, sacred to the major religions.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed by pilgrims to be the site of Jesus’ tomb in Jerusalem’s Old City, closed its doors for the first time since the Black Plague, according to the keeper of the keys to the now-locked church. More
…it’s bull cookies anyway. Everything in Jerusalem was leveled by the Romans in 70 AD except for “David’s Tower” (to show what a strong fortress they conquered) and the Western wall of the Temple (To provide shelter for the legion assigned to mop-up, now the Wailing Wall). This includes everything Jesus, from around 32 AD, ever sat in, lay in, or walked on.
Nice sentiment, though.
But the ONLY thing you REALLY need to know about Jesus’ tomb, whether this is it or NOT, is THIS.
HE’S NOT THERE.
…knowing THAT is the IMPORTANT thing, not a pile of stones in a squalid city…
He’s not there.
He rules in Heaven.
…and Glory to God for THAT, as the ONLY hope for salvation for Mankind…
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
Matthew 28:6
Amen, SNS!
This is an issue of church history in the Holy Land and the importance of historic “place”.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built at least as far back as the fourth century, and has been a holy place of pilgrimage and remembrance since that time. People gave their lives to maintain and rescue it from the Muslims during the era of the Crusades. It has deep meaning for people across the whole Christian spectrum.
It is not an artifact to be worshiped. It is a symbol of historic importance, memorializing the unique events that happened there over two thousand years ago.
I for one am sorry to see it closed. I hope it will not be a permanent closure, which is of course what the Muslim world fervently hopes.
…I was at the cemetery this weekend, to pay homage to my father for his birthday, which I still mark with my family including my mother, though he left this world decades ago.
I know for a fact his bones are there, beneath my feet.
I ALSO know for a fact his SOUL is NOT there, but is present with my Lord.
This is ONLY possible because HIS tomb is EMPTY.
…I can’t visit the Lord in a cemetery. There is no crypt that holds His remains. No urn with His ashes, no osuary with His bones, no mausoleum contains MY Lord, because HE’S NOT DEAD!
“5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
Luke 24:5-7
….the fact of that vacant grave is how I can visit my father’s empty vessel in remembrance and hope instead of fear and loathing. Cemetaries are places where the living mourn their loss, but the dead in Christ can celebrate the Lord that defeated even DEATH for them, the day He walked from the tomb and conquered that which Man most fears, and even TODAY rules from on high to give US hope that WE, too, will pass through death, into life eternal, to be with Him always.
And all THAT from a tomb with no bones in it.
My father is truly not in that grave, either, but it was ONLY made possible one Easter Sunday, when the Lord quit HIS.
And THAT’S something to praise about!
“55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Corinthians 15:55-57
NO tomb could EVER hold MY Lord.
It would have to be as big as the Universe itself…
People go to church to pray and worship. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church; people go there to pray and worship. The closing or destruction of ANY Christian church is unfortunate.
That in no way negates or diminishes the fact that our faith is alive and rooted in our hearts. We do not NEED churches to believe and be Christians. But churches are places to come together—congregate, hence the word “congregation”—and pray and worship together. We are the Body of Christ across nations and borders, but it is a good thing to see and experience the Body of Christ in whichever church you attend or visit. We are also people of our physical senses. Being together with fellow believers is a good thing. Churches enable that.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is also a place where Christians of many denominations, races, and nationalities come together. And THAT is a powerful witness to and reminder of the universality of our faith.
Yeah man, I heard about the Black Death in school. That was some bad sh*t, man
I mean didnt that kill 100 people per million. Thats like twice as bad as whats happening now, thanks to that fascist Drumpf
The church is the people not the building.
It will open Again.
Keep the faith in your hearts.
Safe & Hopeful Easter & Passover to All!