Dear friends:
In my e-mail the other day about the Ark of the
Covenant, I promised to reveal some of the popular theories about the
whereabouts of the ark. Here it is.
What happened to the Ark of the
Covenant?
The ark was used by the Israelites for
hundreds of years and suddenly it was no longer mentioned in history. Scholars
believe that it was lost when the Babylonians captured Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
But what was its fate? Was it destroyed, or was it kept and hidden by its
captors? Or did something else happen? Because it was so holy, would God
actually allow its desecration and destruction?
Because it was so
revered, it is very strange that no one mentioned it again. And, of course, it
reportedly has never been found by archaeologists. It has been a great mystery
for over 2,500 years.
Popular theories. The whereabouts of the
ark is not without many opinions, theories, and speculations. Below are some of
the more popular ideas where it may be:
1. Some claim the ark is
presently known by Israeli authorities to be in a tunnel beneath the historic
Temple Mount in Jerusalem, hidden there by temple priests just before the
Babylonian invasion. A Muslim mosque currently sits on that site and they say
the ark cannot presently be revealed due to the sensitive political situation.
Orthodox Jews have, in fact, already made specific plans for a new temple on
that historically Jewish sitethe Third Templeand the ark supposedly will be
brought forth at the appropriate time. But if revealed now, they say, Muslims
would go ballistic at the suggestion their mosque would be destroyed and
replaced by a temple for the Jews. Muslims even deny that the Jews ever
occupied that piece of real estate, sacred land the use of which goes back about
4,000 years in Jewish history, whereas Islam itself only goes back about 1,400
years, with no interest in that area until years later.
2. In his 1988
book, Armageddon: Appointment With Destiny, author Grant R. Jeffrey
claims to document that the ark has been in Ethiopia since Solomon’s day, taken
there by Solomon’s son from the Queen of Sheba, Menelik, to preserve it during a
time of apostasy in Israel. In its place, the book says that Menelik left
behind a replica. Jeffrey provides some interesting documentation, with
photos. (It is possible, of course, that Menelik unknowingly took a replica
himself.) By the way, black Jews comprise a large community in Ethiopia,
referred to as Beta Israel (the house of Israel), and many have emigrated to
Israel. Operation Solomon, a two-day Israeli airlift of 14,310 Ethiopian Jews
to the Holy Land, occurred in May 1991. This is all very interesting history.
This aliyah (emigration of Jews to Israel) is part of a modern-day, world-wide
phenomenon foretold by the ancient prophets, such as Ezekiel, when he wrote to
“the house of Israel” about something that never happened until the 20th
century:
- For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the
countries and bring you back into your own land (36:24).
This
Ethiopian connection reminds us of the story in the New Testament about the
Ethiopian eunuch visiting Jerusalem to worship and was encountered by Philip, as
recorded in the book of Acts, chapter 8.
3. Author and publisher J.R.
Church of Prophecy in the News magazine also has said that the ark has
been in Ethiopia, but Church believes the ark was taken there through Egypt and
a different route by exiled Jews.
(I have the highest respect for the scholarship of both Grant
Jeffrey and J.R. Church)
4. The apocryphal book, 2 Maccabees,
chapter 2, verses 4-8, records that the prophet Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave
on Mount Nebo, the place where Moses had been allowed by God to look into the
Promised Land. The passage says that Jeremiah’s companions later went back to
mark the location but could not find it. It is recorded that Jeremiah then made
a most interesting prophetic statement:
- The place shall remain unknown until God finally gathers His people
together and shows mercy to them. Then the Lord will bring these things to
light again, and the glory of the Lord will appear with the cloud…
While 2 Maccabees is not generally accepted or canonized as inspired
Scripture, it does not mean the information about the ark is necessarily
incorrect. That reported prophecy by Jeremiah is intriguing, especially since
God has been gathering His people Israel together in the land for the past few
decades for the first time in almost 2,000 years.
5. Some believe the
Roman Catholic Church has the ark hidden in the Vatican, but I am not aware of
any evidence of this.
6. The most bizarre claim, as mentioned in my last
message, is that of the late archeologist Ron Wyatt, who claimed that he found
the ark while digging beneath Golgotha where Jesus was crucified. Below the
location of the cross, he claimed, is a crack in the rock structure through
which Jesus’ blood seeped, and blood was found on the Mercy Seat below, where it
had dripped. Blood tests reportedly show the blood to be a person without a
human father, which of course would have been the virgin-born Jesus, the Lamb of
God. If the ark is there, Israeli authorities probably know about it. This is
a fascinating claim, believed by many, but frankly I do not know whether or not
it is credible. Wyatt’s materials are available at Wyatt Archeological
Research, Inc. in Cornersville, Tennessee. Since my message the other day I
have had communications with a friend I respect who knew Ron Wyatt, who traveled
with him to Israel, observed his operation, and who is absolutely persuaded that
he and his claims were genuine.
The Islamic Mahdi. The devil
always has a counterfeit! Some Islamic scholars believe that when their
messianic figure, the Mahdi, comes, he will locate the ark. According to a
leading Islamic authority, “The coming of the Mahdi is established doctrine for
both Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, and indeed for all humanity.” One Islamic source
states that the discovery of the ark will help the Mahdi win converts from both
Christianity and Judaism prior to “eradicating” the remainder who do not convert
to Islam, a part their plan of world conquest. Some Christian scholars believe
this Mahdi may be the antichrist of the Bible, or connected with him. If so,
that explains the “eradication” attempt probably during the Great Tribulation
prophesied in the Bible to occur at the end of the age. At this writing, Iran's
leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, believes the Mahdi will arrive in the very near
future and he hopes to start a world conflict to trigger his arrival.
A heavenly possibility?
There is one
more interesting and compelling possibility. All the above theories
notwithstanding, I may have discovered the actual location of the famous ark!
If so, it is cared for, specially preserved, and in absolutely perfect
condition.
What is this location?
I have evidence that the
ark is actually located in heaven!
This is not just a personal
opinion. I discovered it in the Bible. I was shocked when I found this, but
it’s very clear. The Book of Revelation tells us:
- God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark
of his covenant (Revelation 11:19)
How did it get there? It could
have been literally “taken up” into heaven the same way that Enoch and later
Elijah were suddenly taken up from earth to heaven.
The ark just might
be in heaven, right now, and not just later! That would explain why it has been
considered “lost” and why it is such a mystery. No wonder it hasn’t been
found. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be found.
One of the above theories 1
through 6 may also be correct, but even so, I know we will eventually see it in
heaven.
Even if there are claims that the ark has been found, we may
never know if it is the original, genuine ark, or only a replica, as Jeffrey
posits in his book mentioned above.
I once shared this opinion of the
ark’s whereabouts with a friend who had an advanced degree in biblical studies.
He replied, “But I always thought that verse was metaphorical and not
literal.”
I said, “Well, maybe, but I’ll tell you what. Let’s just
see. I’ll bet you that when you get to heaven you will find the ark there just
like it says.” He didn’t have an answer or take the bet. Of course, I was
joking about a bet, but it made my point. I have no reason to suspect that the
description is not literal. I know we will see the ark in heaven.
Why
would God take the ark and its contents directly to heaven, or why will we
eventually find it there? Well, no one knows, but I have a good idea. First, I
believe it is because the ark and its contents, the tablets of the Ten
Commandments, are so sacred. But more importantly, I believe it is God’s plan
for the presence of the ark to be an eternal testimony for the citizens of
heaven - a testimony of the eternal blood covenant. It will be a reminder that
He gave His own blood to “cover” the accusations of the law against His people.
Not a bad reminder.
I hope it is there, for whatever reason. I want
to see it. Then I want to say, “Thank you, Lord, for all that you did for us.
It’s really great to be here.”
Jim