Jerusalem and eschatology

Jerusalem holds pride of place in the eschatological imagination of the three monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All agree that the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment will take place in Jerusalem, and that this is where the Kingdom of Heaven on earth will be launched. Unlike the date of these events, which has been a matter of constant speculative calculation, their venue, Jerusalem, enjoys wide consensus. Moreover, unlike most holy places, which derive their sanctity from past events, the sanctity of Jerusalem, although rooted in the distant past, is magnified by expectations for the sublime, also terrifying, future. Although other places competed for the honor, there is little doubt as to Jerusalem being the arena of the events of the End. Jerusalem’s place in eschatological teachings can be seen as kind of an anchor, a stabilizing factor, fixing in present geography events never experienced by human beings. It is a firm component in an otherwise variable sequence of events, introducing, through the familiar landscape, some kind of present certainty to the uncertainty of the future.