My Google Alert to Jerusalem Archaeology brought it all back: “The lost Ark: are the Germans on its trail?” Of course, the content of the article which reported that a researcher from the University of Hamburg claimed to have found the remains of the palace of the Queen of Sheba in Axum, Ethiopia and an altar that may have held the Ark, made me file it away in my file called “Weird.” Here, I tuck away some of the more outrageous snippets on Biblical Archaeology that come my way, together with some of the wackier emails I receive. The Ark of the Covenant is overwhelmingly the subject of most of these enquiries. Since my first involvement in the Temple Mount Excavations in 1973, not a week has gone by without some enquiry into its location. Invariably the writer has an idea of his/her own – one of the wackiest suggestions was that the Ark was hidden inside the Black Stone of Mecca!
As readers of this blog will know, my research into the Temple Mount over the years has led to the finding of the location of where the Ark stood in Solomon’s Temple. I believe that this is as close as we may ever come to the finding of the lost Ark. Now, with the latest Indiana Jones movie due out next week, after a gap of 19 years, people’s minds go back to the original Raiders of the Lost Ark movie made in 1981. This, together with the latest claim in a long line of claims of finding the Ark, reminds me of the links (many inadvertently!) we have had to this search.
Thought that readers might find some of these links interesting or at at least a bit of light relief!
My wife, Kathleen was brought up from age 1 to 8 near the Hill of Tara, in County Meath, Ireland where certain believe the Ark to have been buried by the prophet Jeremiah after the fall of Jerusalem. Here is a picture of her, taken on a visit in 1997, on the hill of Tara next to the illegal excavations carried out by a group searching for the Ark of the Covenant:
• We lived for 4 years in the Ethiopian Quarter in Jerusalem where the devout Ethiopian Orthodox residents took it for a fact that the artefact so carefully guarded by the monks at Axum was indeed the Ark of the Covenant. “Did we not know that a group of Israeli soldiers had twice tried to wrest it from the Ethiopians and recover it to Israel?”
• During the eighties, we worked on a design project with Vendyl Jones, the Texan self-styled archaeologist who claimed to be the inspiration for Indiana Jones. His claim has been debunked, with the honour going to the dog of George Lucas (co-producer of the film), who was with him when he wrote the story.
• The original opportunity for me to measure and draw up Warren’s Gate in 1981, came from a group of rabbis’ illegal excavation of this gate for the purpose of finding the Ark deep beneath the Temple Mount.
(Now they get a bit more ridiculous!)
• When we were recently leaving Australia for the UK, I tried to leave behind my battered fedora, veteran of many Israeli digs and Aussie bush expeditions, but my son Joel would not let me, even though I had a new Akubra!
• Finally, I can’t stop some wags from playing the theme tune from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” when I walk in to give a lecture!
BTW, for an overview of the story of the journeyings of the Ark see our book: “From Sinai to Jerusalem”.
Dr. Ritmeyer:
Do you have any idea what it *is* the Ethiopian monks have? It seems to me they have something- not the Ark, of course, but some sort of stone tablet. Has anyone outside of the monks seen it?
As long as we’re on the ark- I once saw a drawing of the first temple that suggested that the Ark had no cherubim on the cover at the time- that the large cherubim were meant to replace them, so to speak. Do you think this holds water?
The Ethiopians claim to have the Ark of the Covenant in Axum, but that cannot be verified.
By the way, all Ethiopian Orthodox Churches have a replica of the Ark, called a tabot, in a special place they call the Holy of Holies. Once a year these replicas are carried about in a procession.
About the cherubim, I do not believe that the cherubim were removed from the Ark when it was placed in Solomon’s Temple below the two massive cherubim.
Hi Leen — Warm regards. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to meet you here in New York a few weeks ago.
1. I ordered your Herodian Temple Mount model four years ago and continue to enjoy. Several years back you hinted that you wanted to design a model of the temple compound itself for general sale. I hope that you are still planning to do this. I would also hope that such a model would expose the inner chambers (Ha-Kodesh and the Dvir) from the outside (like or similar to the model displayed at Yeshiva), and show the foundation rock as it actually looks (looked).
2. I’ve seen several pictures of the Temple Mount and noticed a number of marble columns rolled up together and corinthian capitals layed out. Is it possible that they were part of the Herodian Temple?
Thanks – Keep up the great work.
“Is it possible that they were part of the Herodian Temple?”
I believe that’s the general consensus- not the Temple itself, but certainly Herodian, such as from the outer courtyards.
Thanks for the response, Nathan. I feel so bad that they are just laying there, exposed to the elements. I know the Muslim Waqf would probably oppose it but I believe the Govt. of Israel should display them properly in a museum dedicated to the Temple Mount.
Hi Dr. Ritmeyer,
In Revelation 11:19 John says he saw the Ark in the throne room of God. I believe at some point the Ark was removed from Earth. Of course it could also still be here and will be taken to Heaven at a later time.
Hi, I read that you believe that the Ark is buried inside the Temple Mount. Why do you believe this, if in fact you do have this in mind. I understand that you found the Holy of Holies and that there was a section cut out of the ground that would fit the dimensions of the Ark, but why inside the Temple Mount? Why not by the Dead Sea or in Ethiopia? Could you email me your reply to jbtaylor892@yahoo.com ? Thanks, I really hope to hear from you!!
I think you should post more often, I have enjoyed this so far. Added to my reader. SusanO
You’re right Susan, but it is a matter of having the time. For the last 9 months or so I have been very busy providing and editing illustrations for the new ESV Study Bible, see: http://www.esvstudybible.org/
It is going to be a fantastic tool for Bible Study. I hope to have more time soon to post.
OK, you can call me KA-RA-ZEE, but here is my take on the Ark. First off, the question of where the Ark is cannot be answered until we first discuss “WHAT” it is. We all know the casing of the Ark was wood, and was supposed to house the Tablets given to Moses by G*d. I think the Ark was that AND MORE. I believe that Bible accounts of people dying upon touching the Ark if they were not wearing ‘special’ shoes with rubber soles, was due to its electrical properties. The Ark had many functions ~ a way to speak with G*d, the power to destroy (weapon), etc. Which, if you accept Biblical accounts, then it was a highly technologically advanced device, which would had to have come from an advanced civilization either here or off world. I believe that the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Knights Templar and it was the “thing” that they found under Solomon’s Temple. This would explain what would have given them such power over the church/King of France, the greatest powers on the Earth at that time. What would have struck such fear of the Templars? It would have taken something that disproved religious doctrine in order to have allowed them to blackmail the church. Perhaps upon opening the device it booted up a screen or who knows what, but enough to disprove ALL religions on our planet. Now, as to where the Ark is ~ if you believe the Knights Templar found it ~ One: the church/King of France took possession of it on the 13th when they rounded up the Knights Templar (I believe with torture someone may have cracked and would have given up the location) and they either destroyed it to keep the lie and power, or it was moved somewhere. I believe this was the true intention of ‘arresting’ the Templars, to find the location of the Ark, that which gave them power over the church/King, and not because the King of France couldn’t repay the Templar’s loan. If the church/King of France did gain possession of the ‘object’ they may have been afraid to try and destroy it ~ maybe they used its power or hoped to align themselves with the creators of the object. Two: they did not find it and the Knights Templar moved it and only a few know of its whereabouts today – or – Three: it is still hidden, as only a few Templars may have known of its original location and they took the secret with them to the grave and it is yet to be discovered ~ um, not too sure on this ~ remember ~ torture… I believe IF this object did truly exist it would have been made out of a material not easily destroyed (can anyone say UFO crash in Roswell) or would have had some sort of protection feature built into it, and as such, it is still in existence today. It is said any nation that carried the Ark in front of it could not be defeated or would be all powerful in the face of their enemies, ergo, can anyone say America? The Ark is in America maybe brought over by Christopher Columbus on his ships (by the by – didn’t his ships have red crosses on the sails? hhmmmm….). Ah, the search goes on…..
Hi,
Would it be OK for me to take a whack at JB’s question concerning Revelation 11:19?
If you read the account in Exodus, Moses was commanded to make a “replica” of things that were in Heaven with God. According to the pattern shown he made them, from the Tabernacle to the Menorah and other Holy objects Moses made perfect copies of something Holy in Heaven. The Ark that Moses made was also a copy of the one seen in Rev 11:19 which actually is the original.
So Moses’s Ark was a Holy replica built after the pattern he had been shown in Heaven. By recreating a copy of His Heavenly Temple on Earth, The Lord Himself could walk and dwell in His physical Glory among men on Earth in His “Tabernacle in the wilderness” AKA Moses Tabernacle.
The Ark that Moses built was always a replica and therefore was patterned after something purely Holy in Heaven. The Ark that was housed in the Tabernacle and in the First Temple was one built by man’s hand by the grace of the Lord, while the one mentioned in Rev 11:19 is the original devine piece.
That means that the Ark that Moses built, the one that stood in the Temple in Jerusalem is very likely hidden on Earth until such time as God sees fit to pull it from its hiding place and return it to a new house (third Temple?) and bless His children Israel.
Of course this is just my opinion, for I know nothing by Christ crucified.
Lord Bless,
Shane
Thank you Shane,
That is a very sensible reply and one I would agree with. I also look forward to the time that, by God’s Grace, the Ark of the Covenant will be found and put into the new Jerusalem temple, which is described in the prophecy of Ezekiel.
It is interesting to note that the man who was put in charge of the Ark (Num. 3.30) was called Elizaphan, which means ‘My God has hidden’ and therefore it will be found when God decides that there is no longer any need to hide it.
HI, I’M NEW. NEVER REALLY CHAT MUCH. BUT I FELT MOVED TO RESPOND TO SHANE. I BELIEVE IT WILL BE FOUND, WHEN GOD ALLOWS. BUT I’M CONCERNED THAT CORRUPT MEN WILL USE IT WITH SIGNS AND WONDERS TO DECEIVE MANY. THE TRUE HEAVENLY ORIGINAL WILL BE BROUGHT TO EARTH ONLY AFTER JESUS HAS RETURNED TO PUT AN END TO THE EVIL AND DECEPTION IN THE WORLD. IT SERVED GOD PURPOSES FOR SACRIFICE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. CHRIST INNOCENT BLOOD WAS THE LAST BLOOD SACRIFICE NECESSARY. SO ANY SACRIFICE MADE UPON THE ALTER MOSES WAS INSTRUCTED TO BUILD SINCE JESUS CHRIST’S SACRIFICE IS DONE IN VAIN. GOD’S WORD TELLS US THAT THE SACRIFICE WILL BEGIN AGAIN IN THE TEMPLE THE ANTI-CHRIST WILL SET IT UP TO DECEIVE MANY. THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE MESSIAH. THE ANTI-CHRIST IS PLANNING TO MAKE HIMSELF LIKE GOD.
THEREFORE, I WOULD BEWARE OF ANY NEW ESTABLISHED TEMPLE OR SACRIFICE ALTER-EVEN IF THEY USE THE ORIGINAL MAN-MADE ONE. GOD WILL PLACE HIS ORIGINAL SOMETIME AFTER JESUS BINDS SATAN.
LOOK UP FOR HIS RETURN JUST AS HE LEFT SO SHALL HE RETURN.
Just wanted to say that after reading your blog, I’m really looking forward to seeing your illustrations in the new ESV Study Bible.
Less than a month to wait.
Heather,
Lets understand the divine nature of Jewish desires to rebuild God’s Holy Temple on God’s Holy Mountain (aka Temple Mount). Ezekiel 40 clearly describes a Temple that has not been constructed yet and many scholars clearly refer to this as the “Third Temple”. We know that this future temple will be both blessed by God (Ezek 43:5) and its altar will contain sacrifices “when” it is built (Ezek 43:18) alluding to a future construction or physical presence.
Also, Jesus himself describes the event that the anti-christ in Mathew 24:15 of the temple causing the “abomination of desolation” that the prophet Daniel spoke about is defining moment, by “stopping the sacrifice”, not initiating it (Daniel 11:31). Jesus clearly shares with us that this event was still yet future and not yet fulfilled. Unless something be “blessed” you cannot cause “abomination” to it. Since this house is clearly built for the Lord Himself then it is He who must sanction and glorify it, otherwise there would be no abomination caused by the anti-christ’s actions in it that would not be any more unusual than his declarations elsewhere and therefore need no special mention in scripture.
While certainly Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is sufficient, yet there will be such a time the Lord tells us in scripture that He will fulfill a promise to make Israel a glorious nation among nations, even gathering them temporarily in unbelief. “…I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me.” (Isaiah 45:5)
This is characteristic of Christ’s overall message throughout scripture (Romans 5:8). While Christ’s mission of salvation was expanded beyond Israel’s border to include you and me (Isaiah 49:6), nevertheless, Israel’s Messiah – Yeshua Hamashiach will also fulfill His divine promise to Israel (Isaiah 45:17).
So my fellow gentile brothers and sisters in Christ, when you see this temple begin its planning and construction do not think it is by the hand of evil men, for evil cannot build things destined for desecration. Nor can a Holy vessel such as the Ark of the Covenant fall into the hands of evil men for evil’s purpose (1 Samuel 4) As for the sacrifices themselves, some believe that even during the millennium reign there will be sacrifices made (Ezekiel hints at this), not to atone for sin, but remind us of Christ’s sacrifice. Be careful not to pass judgment on one-another, let the Rightous One, the Holy One of Israel judge His own. Paul warns the “grafted” branches (saved gentiles through Christ), not to pass judgment on God’s people Israel; the “natural” branches (Romans 11). We cannot know the mind of God, nor fully understand His ways (Rom 11:33-34). Careful not to call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).
I have always been fasicinated by the Ark and its history.
However, I once saw a documentary – itsmust be 20 years ago – and at the end, it was mentioned that a group of Univserity students – in the USA – had taken on the task – suggested by their professor – to rebuild the Ark in all its glory. However, on being completed, the Ark generated such a great deal of electric shock, that the model was taken by the U.S. government, moved to storage in Washington, DC and is there today. As a secret weapon?
Is there any truth in this story? Wouldn’t it be interesting to actually duplicate the Ark – instead of chasing around the world looking for it?
Retired Psychologist and Fiction Author.
I think you are mixing up fiction with fiction. I don’t know about students building the Ark, but the movie (not a documentary) you saw was Indiana Jones – the Lost Ark. Totally fictitious!
I would not encourage the building of the Ark, remembering what happened to the man who touched it, see 2 Sam.6:6-8.
Hi,
I am an Irishman and have been involved with the whereabouts of the ARK for many years. Having the gift of visions enables me to see where the Ark is and lately I have seen the location on several times but cant seem to pin point the exact location in Israel. I pray about it but it doesnt seem to be the time yet for this great discovery. I have the definite inclination to say that the Ark was moved in the year 622 prior to the defilement of the Temple and stored in a cave where water is flowing. In praying further about it I have a special location that I’m continuing to pray about for confirmation. I dont seem to be able to let it go although I’ve tried many times. I see this cave and the steps up to where the Ark is stored but the location has not been divulged yet. Anyway I just wanted to let you know that it is something that I cant let go of because I feel that one of these days the location will come to me and I will be able to go and find the ARK. That time will be Gods time and not mine but I feel the time is getting closer. God Bless: Hugh McHugh
Isn’t it possible the Ark is in heaven already? I am not a scholar by any means, but according to Rev.11:19 when the temple of God was opened in Heaven there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant. So I guess it is safe to say, if you believe the Bible and all things yet to come, maybe God’s will is that no man will find the Ark, IF it is still here on earth, for it has future use in Heaven very soon. Just a thought. Blessings…………..