The Ark of the Covenant… You’ve Got to Read This!!!

Years ago, I remember being fascinated with the adventurous movie, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Certainly, an entertainment thriller, wondering what it must have been like to go on such an exciting adventure. Although the movie was designed for our entertainment, I’ve have always been intrigued with the Ark.

So, did this ark really exist? What did the ark contain? Did it possess magical powers? Where is the ark today? Well, lets consider some of the facts and evidence available today and try to answer some of these questions.

Let’s start at the beginning, and explore the biblical writings that tell us about the Ark of the Covenant, specifically in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 25:10-22). God gives Moses detailed instructions on how to construct the Ark.

Exodus 25:10-22

¹⁰ And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

¹¹ And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold  round about.

¹² And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.

¹³ And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

¹⁴ And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.

¹⁵ The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.

¹⁶ And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.

¹⁷ And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

¹⁸ And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

¹⁹ And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

²⁰ And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

²¹ And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

²²And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”

It was to be made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, and was to be carried with poles through rings attached to its sides. The Ark was designed to be a sacred symbol of God’s presence among the Israelites, and it would be placed in the Tabernacle (a portable sanctuary) during their journey through the wilderness.

To give us a visual picture of its size, a cubit was generally considered to be the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.

Length: 2.5 cubits (about 3.75 feet)

Width: 1.5 cubits (about 2.25 feet)

Height: 1.5 cubits (about 2.25 feet)

After reviewing this information, it’s much smaller than I had originally visualized.

So indeed the Ark was real. God told Moses to build this with specific instructions. But what was it to be used for? Let’s look again to the scriptures.

Hebrews 9:4

“Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant.”

Here, we are able to see what was actually contained inside of the ark:

*The Tablets detailing the 10 Commandments, carved by the hand of God.

*Aaron’s Rod, that Moses used to Part the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to

escape.

*A gold pot containing Manna.

Manna was a form of edible substance that appeared on the ground every morning, except on the Sabbath. It was described as being small, white, and like coriander seed in appearance, with a taste like wafers made with honey. The Israelites collected it each day, but only enough for one day’s food. If they tried to keep it overnight (except for the Sabbath), it would spoil and become maggot-infested. On the sixth day, they were instructed to gather a double portion, as none would appear on the seventh day.

Do I have your attention now? Not only is the Ark of the Covenant real, but it would contain three tangible items that are directly tied to Gods interaction with mankind here upon the earth. Evidence, if you will, to remind those at the time of God’s love for them, and His desire to see them through their mortal journey.

Was the ark used in battle? Did it possess special powers? I think that you might find these answers surprising, as they might challenge your current believes.

Battle against the Philistines

The Israelites brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them against the Philistines, hoping that God’s presence in the Ark would ensure their victory. However, the Israelites were defeated, and the Ark was captured by the Philistines. This event marked a tragic moment in Israelite history, showing that merely having the Ark did not guarantee success if the people were not following God’s will.

1 Samuel 4:3
“And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.”

Did that catch you off guard? The ark was not a magical power that could be used to demonstrate dominance for those who possessed it. However, this certainly fits the character of God that most of us are aware of. God’s power in unmatchable when He desires to use it, as demonstrated by the contents of the ark, but it must be exactly that… “God’s will”.

This scripture also gives us some insight that the ark would change hands throughout history, as the Philistine’s would now possess it, but not for long. It caused great misfortune for these people, leading them to return the ark to Israel. Here are some notable scriptures detailing the events that occurred during the transfer of the ark’s possession:

1 Samuel 5:6

“But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.”

2 Samuel 6:6-7

⁶ And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.

7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.”

1 Kings 8: 3-4, 6

3 “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

⁴ And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

⁶ And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

After the ark was placed in the temple of Solomon, what happened to it? Scripture detail seems to stop here, but why? This was the most significant spiritual object upon the earth. Did it just vanish?

The fate of the Ark of the Covenant after it was placed in King Solomon’s Temple remains one of the great mysteries of biblical history. According to the Bible, the Ark was placed in the Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctum of the Temple. However, after this event, there are no clear records in the Bible about what happened to the Ark, and it disappears from the historical narrative.

I did find a scripture that seems to answer what God had planned for the ark after this time. Let’s check it out.

Jeremiah 3:16

“And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.”

I believe that it was God’s intention to hide it from humanity until He desires to bring it forth once again. So… is this the end of the story here…

NOT EVEN!!

I’ve recently discovered something that has reignited my incredible excitement regarding the ark of the covenant.

For those of us who are interested in following the “End Times,” we know that Israel, and the Jewish people, are worth keeping up to date with. They seem to hold the “Next step” in the end times narative. Hold on to your shorths for this one…

https://backtojerusalem.com/the-ark-of-the-covenant-has-been-rebuilt-for-first-time-in-over-2000-years/

The article listed above states:

“A replica of the Ark of the Covenant has been painstakingly constructed to exact specifications of the Torah, and was displayed in Jerusalem for the first time last month during the intermediate days of the Sukkot holiday.

The rebuilding of the Ark was no small project. It took 17 volunteers from several countries three-and-a-half years to build it. It is made of gold and three tons of Egyptian Acacia wood.”

What are these craftsmen up to? They took 3.5 years to create an exact replica of the ark of the covenant??? REALLY? But why would they invest so much time, and I’m sure, considerable expense to duplicate something that already exists?

We have all learned that satan often mimics God in the things that He does. The Ark of the Covenant has been duplicated by people today with the exactness of the original one… but here’s where it gets a bit strange.

https://israel365news.com/397284/historic-ark-replica-makes-its-jerusalem-debut-during-sukkot-festival/

Here is a paragraph taken from the article listed above:

“It, (the ark) was a project designed to bring peace to the world and to bring victory to the Land of Israel, and to bring peace and kindness to America again.”

Are you with me here? Remember, the original ark did not guarantee peace during war, and certainly, a replica would not have magical powers to win a war, right? Well… let’s use this a clue to explore it’s intent of existence.

The Jewish people, like Christians, are waiting for the Savior (Missiah) to return. We Christians also know that the anti-Christ will soon return, claiming that he is the anticipated Messiah.

The anti-Christ will use spiritual events, and “props” to twist and make them fit his narrative in order to create an illusion of who “he” is in order to deceive the righteous.

This replica of the ark that has just been built will likely be the anti-Christ’s prop, and used as a source of his power. Another grand illusion created to convince many that he is something that he truly is not.

Those of us who know the significance of the original ark, know that it is symbolic of the power of God. It contains precious evidence that He has been involved in the lives of mankind. We see the ark as a direct connection with God

For those not paying attention, this replica of the ark, associated with the anti-Christ, would give him some credibility, leading to their deception.

Now that you know of its existence, should people start tying it directly to someone who has risen to power, and even brought peace to Israel, as indicated in this article, do not be deceived. Through continual prayer, and the desire to be informed as to what the enemy is up to, is certainly our best defense toward this deception. Oh my goodness, what a story!

I have also just heard “chatter” that some are even claiming this new replica to be the genuine ark. I am not substantiating that yet, but will continue to post should I find that to be the case. It’s all part of the deception. Trust only God!

It’s ironic that somedays, we do feel like Indiana Jones being chased by this huge round rock, as we try to get closer to the treasures of the gospel. But it’s comforting to know that, “God is waiting for us in a floating plane”, ready to be there for our rescue from the evils of this world.

I look forward to the continual adventures that await us, as the Last Days unfold. Let’s enjoy being able to see this movie play out right before our very eyes. Knowing how things end is certainly a… Happily Ever After!

You can find more of River Wilde’s ”End Time” articlles at www.riverwilde.blog