The Ark of the Covenant

The holy scriptures does not give any indication of what happened to the ark of the covenant. There are many legends out there, but I have found one in particular that makes the most sense and seems really solid and I would like to share it with you. I actually was not looking for this information, but rather I just stumbled across it.

It is not necessary for the believer today to understand these things, but it does make fun bible study.

The last days are upon us and the ark will seem to play a significant role during Daniel’s seventieth week.

First of all let’s look at a few of the legends of what might have happened to the ark. Here is what I have found so far by using wikipedia:

Fate of the Ark

Guesses as to the ultimate fate of the Ark include:

1. Capture by the Pharaoh Shishak when he sacked Jerusalem (Pharaoh Shoshenq I, founder of the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt, reigned from 944-924 BC. It has also been speculated that he may have been Ramses III). Reportedly, he took it back to Tanis, Egypt (15 miles outside present day Cairo). This is the theory followed by the Steven Spielberg film Raiders of the Lost Ark.

2. Intentional concealment by the priests under the Temple Mount;

3. Intentional removal from Jerusalem in advance of the Babylonians (this variant usually ends up with the Ark in Ethiopia);

4. The removal of the Ark by the Ethiopian prince Menelik I (purported son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba);

5. Removal by Jewish priests during the reign of Manasseh of Judah, possibly taken to the Jewish Temple at Elephantine in Egypt;

6. The miraculous removal of the Ark by divine intervention (Cf. 2 Chronicles); and even

7. The destruction of the original ornate Ark under King Josiah's reforms (when it may have been seen as violating the commandment against graven images) and replacement with a simple wooden box, easily lost when the Temple fell.

Rumored Present Locations

1. The Temple Mount of Jerusalem
2. Ethiopian Orthodox Church
3. Southern Africa
4. Mt. Nebo
5. Calvary Escarpment
6. Qumran
7. Languedoc
8. England
9. Ireland

It is very difficult for me to believe that the ark is in anyone’s possession today. If they really had the ark, why don’t they reveal it? These are things of legends.

But I did find one of these legends in particular that caught my eye and after checking it against the scripture it gave me the most solid evidence of the present location of the ark.

And by the way, it’s not lost. It’s hidden.

Now here’s a big question:

If you were the Lord and you wanted to hide the Ark of the Covenant would you hide it in a city with hundreds of thousands of people passing through it or would you hide it out in the wilderness where nobody goes? Would you put it in someone’s possession to be handed down through the ages or would you put it to where no one knew where it was and no one could find it until you wanted it revealed?

The latter seems to make the most sense. I do not believe anyone human alive knows the EXACT location of the ark. But it might be possible to know the general location of the ark and when it will be revealed.

Sometimes the things we teach are not found in the holy scriptures. For instance: the date of the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem but he did not give a date in the holy scriptures. To come up with this date we have to go outside of the holy scriptures.

You have to be very careful when you do this. I do not take history books as the holy scriptures. I take the holy scriptures as fact, truth and without error, but a history book can be kind of iffy. If a history book matches the holy scriptures then I can take that information and use it very carefully but if it goes against the holy scriptures, then I know to throw that information out.

On the destruction of Jerusalem it is commonly taught that it happened in 70 A.D. This does not come from the holy scriptures but rather history books. It does not go against scripture, and we know for a fact that Jerusalem was destroyed, so it is very common to hear bible preachers and teachers say that Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D.

Even though this information is not in scripture, it does give people that study a basic idea of when Jerusalem was destroyed. Now is 70 A.D. the exact date that Jerusalem was destroyed? I don’t know. All we have are history books to go by. The date doesn’t go against scripture, so it is commonly used to teach.

So one of the first things to check out information that is outside the scripture is this: does it go against scripture? If it does, chunk it.

Here’s a short (but not full) list of how to test info outside of scripture.

1. Does it go against scripture?
2. Does it match the scripture?
3. Does the information enhance the scripture?
4. Does the scripture enhance the information?

What it boils down to is that the information and the scriptures have to work hand in hand. Here is another example:

In Isaiah 20 it says,

“1 In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;”

Here in this scripture is the mention of an Assyrian king named Sargon. At one time the holy scriptures was the only place to find this name. There were no history books that ever recorded Sargon king of Assyria.

Many people felt the bible was in error. Nowhere in the world was this king’s name mentioned except in the holy scriptures. No history books, nothing.

Then in the 1800’s the city of Nineveh was excavated. When they found the king’s palace it had bricks in it with the name “Sargon” inscribed in them plus plenty more information on him was found.

So what we have here is the holy scriptures were enhanced by the finding of this information and the information on King Sargon was enhanced by the holy scriptures. They worked hand in hand.

So any information outside of the holy scriptures has to work with the holy scriptures or you can throw it out the window.

And this is the situation we have here about the ark of the covenant. The scriptures do not reveal to us of what happened to the ark. The scriptures do not say it was destroyed, hidden, lost, stolen or anything else. There is just no information on it at all.

So if we are to have an understanding of what happened to the ark we have to go outside of the holy scriptures to get this information, but this information has to work hand in hand with the holy scriptures to be of any benefit for teaching to the saints.

When teaching the saints, there are things that they NEED to know and things that they WANT to know. I keep it a high priority to first teach the saints the things they need to know and after that I teach them things they want to know.

Teaching about the ark is just something that the saints want to know. It is not necessary for us to know this to do our work in the ministry. Teaching about the ark of the covenant is just one of those fun and interesting bible studies.

Anyway, let’s get going on this thing. I actually was not looking for this information, I just happen to stumble across it, tested it against the holy scriptures and found it very amazing how much it lines up with scripture.

The information is found in the Apocrypha in 2nd Maccabees chapter 2. And before you ask, NO I do not accept anything in the Apocrypha as HOLY scripture, but some of it could possibly be decent history information. When the King James Bible was put together in 1611 the Apocrypha was in it, but it was eventually taken out. Nor do I believe the translators took it as holy scripture. So anything taken from the Apocrypha, as with any history book, the information must be tested against the holy scriptures.

Now we know from the scripture that the ark of the covenant was put into the holy of holies when Solomon had the temple built. And when Nebuchadnezzar had Jerusalem destroyed the temple was destroyed also.

There is no record in the holy scriptures of what happened to the ark. Nebuchadnezzar took many items from the temple but the ark is never mentioned as being one of them. So we have the mystery of the ark of the covenant.

As mentioned before, there are many legends of what happened to the ark but to me the information in 2nd Maccabees stands out above the rest so let’s go ahead and look at it. In chapter 2 it says,

“1 Now it is found in the descriptions of Jeremiah, the prophet, that he commanded them that went into captivity, to take the fire, as it hath been signified, and how he gave charge to them that were carried away into captivity.

(The descriptions... That is, the records or memoirs of Jeremiah, a work that is now lost.)

2 And how he gave them the law, that they should not forget the commandments of the Lord, and that they should not err in their minds, seeing the idols of gold, and silver, and the ornaments of them.

3 And with other such like speeches, he exhorted them that they would not remove the law from their heart.

4 It was also contained in the same writing, how the prophet, being warned by God, commanded that the tabernacle and the ark should accompany him, till he came forth to the mountain where Moses went up, and saw the inheritance of God.

5 And when Jeremiah came thither he found a hollow cave: and he carried in thither the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door.

6 Then some of them that followed him, came up to mark the place: but they could not find it.

7 And when Jeremiah perceived it, he blamed them, saying: The place shall be unknown, till God gather together the congregation of the people, and receive them to mercy.

8 And then the Lord will show these things, and the majesty of the Lord shall appear, and there shall be a cloud as it was also showed to Moses, and he showed it when Solomon prayed that the place might be sanctified to the great God.”

By the way, this writing from 2nd Maccabees is taken from the old English Douay-Rheims bible. The King James is very similar. It doesn’t matter to me, I take neither one as holy scripture. If you prefer the King James Maccabees here it is:

“1 It is also found in the records, that Jeremy the prophet commanded them that were carried away to take of the fire, as it hath been signified:

2 And how that the prophet, having given them the law, charged them not to forget the commandments of the Lord, and that they should not err in their minds, when they see images of silver and gold, with their ornaments.

3 And with other such speeches exhorted he them, that the law should not depart from their hearts.

4 It was also contained in the same writing, that the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God.

5 And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door.

6 And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it.

7 Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy.

8 Then shall the Lord shew them these things, and the glory of the Lord shall appear, and the cloud also, as it was shewed under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honourably sanctified.”

So what we have here are writings that tell us that, by the commandment of God, Jeremiah took the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle and the altar of incense and hid them in the same mountain that Moses climbed to look at the promised land.

Now if this were in the holy scriptures I would believe it right away, but it’s not. So what we have to do is test this against the holy scripture to see if it goes against the holy scripture.

First, let’s get the location cleared up. In Deuteronomy 34 it says,

“1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,

2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,

3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.

4 And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.”

So according to the scripture, Moses saw the promised land from Mt. Nebo and the writings in 2nd Maccabees indicates that this is the same place that Jeremiah hid the ark of the covenant.

Now the last mention of the location of the ark is in 2nd Chronicles. The temple was in need of repair and king Josiah commanded that the repairs be accomplished. In 2nd Chronicles 34 it says,

“8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.

10 And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house:”

Because the house of the Lord was being repaired, it seems that they moved the ark of the covenant out of the way to keep it safe for king Josiah later told the priests in chapter 35,

“3 And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel,”

From this scripture, we know that at this time the ark was still in possession of the children of Israel. This is approximately 16-18 years before the first year of king Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah was also receiving prophecies from the Lord at this time.

TEST #1

Now for our first test we ask the question:

“Is there any scriptural evidence that the ark, the tabernacle or the altar of incense ever made it to Babylon?”

Now when Nebuchadnezzar came into Jerusalem he took many items out of the temple and brought them back to Babylon. In 2nd Chronicles 36 it says,

“7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.”

But Nebuchadnezzar on his first time ransacking Jerusalem, did not take all of the items out of the house of the Lord. In Jeremiah 27 it says,

“18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.

19 For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city,

20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

21 Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;

22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.”

There are several places in the scripture that records what these items were that were taken. One of the notable ones are:

Jeremiah 52

“17 Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.

18 The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.

19 And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away.

20 The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.

21 And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow

22 And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.

23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.”

Now what we are looking for here is to see if the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, or the altar of incense made it to Babylon. In all the scriptures that record the items that were taken from the temple to Babylon there is no mention of the ark, the tabernacle or the altar of incense.

2nd Maccabees declares to us that Jeremiah took these three items and hid them in mount Nebo.

So what we have here is that this simple test passes the test of whether or not the information about these three items goes against the scripture.

If there was mention of any of these three items in the holy scripture that they ended up at Babylon, then we would have to claim the info in 2nd Maccabees as false. So far, so good. Let’s continue with our testing.

TEST # 2

Now the writings of 2nd Maccabees declares that Jeremiah went to mount Nebo.

So here is the next test. Do we have any scriptural information that tells us that Jeremiah went to mount Nebo or passed by Mount Nebo?

Yes we do. In Jeremiah 25 it says,

“1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;

15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.

16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

17 Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;

19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;

20 And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,

21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,”

We will stop right here, even though the list of where Jeremiah was sent by the Lord continues, the information we need is right here in verse 21.

Jeremiah was told to go out to these other nations to tell them of the news that the king of Babylon would be reigning over them. This was told to Jeremiah in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. Now how long it took him I do not know nor does the scripture reveal the answer, but to travel all these places might have taken him a couple of years.

But anyway, we do know that he was sent to the children of Ammon. Now let’s look at this map:

MAP

This map shows us the route from Jerusalem to the land of the children of Ammon. Mount Nebo is on the way there. In 2nd Maccabees 2 it says,

“4 It was also contained in the same writing, how the prophet, being warned by God, commanded that the tabernacle and the ark should accompany him, till he came forth to the mountain where Moses went up, and saw the inheritance of God.”

This writing says that the ark should accompany him. So from the scripture we know for a fact that Jeremiah went to the children of Ammon and passed right by mount Nebo to get there.

So it is very possible that Jeremiah took the ark, the tabernacle and the altar of incense with him and it accompanied him on his trip to see the children of Ammon and hid it in Mount Nebo before he got to his destination.

Test number two passes. Jeremiah was definitely in the vicinity of Mount Nebo before Nebuchadnezzar went in and destroyed Jerusalem.

TEST # 3

Test number 3 is just a thinking question about something making plain sense. We had mentioned this earlier and we are going to go into a little more detail

Question:

If you were the Lord and you wanted to hide the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle and the altar of incense, would you put it in a major city where hundreds of thousands of people pass through?

Would you hand it to a person that could pass it down from generation to generation?

Would you put it in some type of church or synagogue?

Or would you hide it in the wilderness where nobody dwells and cannot find it?

The latter would seem to make the most sense. If you want to hide something simply put it where nobody dwells and do not tell anyone it’s exact location.

This writing in Maccabees also to my knowledge is the only info about the ark that God commanded it to be hid and God will be the one to reveal it at the time he has chosen.

This makes much more sense than someone taking the ark into their own possession and passing it down from generation to generation.

So what we have so far is:

1. The scripture does not tell us that the ark, the tabernacle, and the altar of incense went to Babylon with the rest of the things from the temple.

2. The scriptures tell us that Jeremiah did pass by Mount Nebo before the destruction of Jerusalem.

3. Hiding the ark in the wilderness makes more sense than hiding it in a city, with people watching over it.

So the possibility of Jeremiah hiding the ark in Mount Nebo is very real. What makes it even more believable is when it is going to be revealed. Back again in 2nd Maccabees 2 it says,

5 And when Jeremiah came thither he found a hollow cave: and he carried in thither the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door.

6 Then some of them that followed him, came up to mark the place: but they could not find it.

7 And when Jeremiah perceived it, he blamed them, saying: The place shall be unknown, till God gather together the congregation of the people, and receive them to mercy.

8 And then the Lord will show these things, and the majesty of the Lord shall appear, and there shall be a cloud as it was also showed to Moses, and he showed it when Solomon prayed that the place might be sanctified to the great God.”

Here we have Jeremiah stating that the place where the ark is hid shall be unknown, TILL…

In other words, it will not be found by man at any random time. God has hidden the ark. If man had lost the ark, then there is a possibility that man could find it again. Several legends say that a man took it or other such things but this one states that the ark was hidden by God and God will be the one to reveal it when the time is ready.

This tells me that those people that are searching for the ark will never find it. They are treasure hunters looking for a treasure. The place of the hidden ark will not be known until God reveals it. They are wasting their time and other people’s money.

This makes perfect sense to me. This tells me that it will not show up at any random time but rather a specific time that God has already planned. Let’s continue:

“7 And when Jeremiah perceived it, he blamed them, saying: The place shall be unknown, till God gather together the congregation of the people, and receive them to mercy.”

Here Jeremiah tells us exactly when the ark will be revealed, when God gathers Israel and receives them to mercy.

With this information we can pinpoint the timeframe when the ark will be revealed. But first we need some background on when Israel became Loammi, not my people. If you are unfamiliar with Israel becoming Loammi, Please read this article:

http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/WhenIsraelBecameLoammi.htm

If you are already familiar with Israel becoming Loammi, then let’s continue.

For over 1900 years the nation of Israel has been in their Loammi state. Soon their state of being Loammi will be over and they will become God’s people again.

When they became Loammi, Israel was cut off of the good olive tree as the apostle Paul explains to us in Romans 11. In that same chapter, Paul explains that they will one day be grafted back into the good olive tree. This is when their time of Loammi will be over and they will be God’s people again.

The prophecy of the 70 weeks of Daniel was interrupted by their time of being Loammi. The prophecy was given in 3 sections, a 7 week section, a 62 week section and a 1 week section.

When Israel fell and became Loammi not my people, the prophecy stopped and the dispensation of grace was given to the Gentiles. This separated the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel’s prophecy. When the dispensation of grace is over, Israel’s time of being Loammi will be over also and they will become God’s people again and the prophecy of the 70 weeks will resume.

The prophecy CANNOT resume until Israel becomes God’s people once again.

In the scripture, God has given us the time frame and a special event that will take place that will show us when Israel’s time of Loammi is complete. This is found in Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39. These two chapters reveal unto us a battle that will take place in the northern mountains of Israel. We will talk more of this battle later but for right now we will take a verse from chapter 39 which is very, very important.

“22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.”

On the day of this battle, this will be the day that the Lord becomes their God again and they become God’s people again. On the day of this battle, Israel’s time of Loammi will be over. They will be grafted back into the good olive tree as Paul said in Romans 11.

Once this happens, that they are God’s people once again, the prophecy of Daniel’s 70 weeks can now resume and the 70th week, commonly know as the tribulation, will start. This will be the beginning of the 484th year of Daniel’s prophecy.

Never again will Israel be not God’s people, but from this day forward they will be God’s people forevermore.

Let’s look at this chart:

CHART

This chart represents Daniel's 70th week and shows the last seven years from year 484 through 490. The day of this battle will be the day that Israel becomes God's people again and the prophecy of the 70 weeks will resume.

Now that they are God’s people once again some very special things will happen. Let’s continue reading in Ezekiel 39,

“23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.

24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.

25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;

26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.

27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;

28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.

29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.”

There is plenty of info in these few scriptures but for this study we want to put emphasis on a couple of things. In verse 25 it says,

“25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have MERCY upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;”

Please notice that now that Israel is God’s people again that he will be having MERCY upon them.
Now in other verses:

"27 When I have brought them again from the people, and GATHERED them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;

28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have GATHERED them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there."

Please notice that now that Israel is God’s people again that he is going to GATHER them together back into the land of Israel.

So now that they are God’s people again he is going to have MERCY upon them and GATHER them back into their land. Now let’s go back to 2nd Maccabees and see when the ark is going to be revealed:

“7 And when Jeremiah perceived it, he blamed them, saying: The place shall be unknown, till God gather together the congregation of the people, and receive them to mercy.”

Please notice the writing says that the place where the ark was hidden will be unknown “…till God GATHER together the congregation of the people, and receive them to MERCY.”

So what we have here is a match from Ezekiel 39 we know that when Israel becomes God’s people again he will GATHER them and have MERCY on them and here in 2nd Maccabees it says that the ark will be hidden until God GATHERS Israel and has MERCY upon them.

By taking this match, it looks like God is going to reveal the location of the ark when Israel comes out of their state of Loammi and becomes God’s people again.

This makes perfect sense.

We know for a fact that the temple will be built because halfway through the 70th week the antichrist will go into it and set himself up as God.

Now what could possibly cause the temple to be rebuilt?

How about the revealing of the ark of the covenant?

So what I am about to do is put together a possible scenario of how this could all happen. Please understand what you are about to read is speculation. It is not possible for me to accurately predict the future, but like just about everyone else, I can make a guess at it by using the holy scripture, world events, and 2nd Maccabees. Of course, this would require the writings in 2nd Maccabees to be accurate which is an iffy proposition.

Nevertheless, just for the fun of it, here it goes:

Speculation

Iran (Persia) just this past week, successfully tested a medium range missile that could reach Israel (week of May 18-22, 2009). Iran is also building up a stockpile of nuclear fuel that they could use to make nuclear weapons. Of course, Iran claims that their nuclear projects are for peaceful purposes. (Why would a country that has all the free oil and gas they want to make electricity want to spend billions on making nuclear powered electricity? Go figure.)

http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2009-05-22-voa5.cfm

Anyway, Israel is not buying it. They do not believe Iran is building up it’s nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes and neither do many other countries.

Israel has already said that if the U.N. or the United States does not do anything about it, they will. Israel is planning on bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Also this week, Israel did a military exercise test run of bombing Iran.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,521177,00.html?test=latestnews

So something is definitely going down. Israel cannot wait until Iran develops a nuclear missile by then it will be too late. Iran has already stated many times that Israel should be “wiped off the map.”

So Israel doesn’t really have a choice in the matter. They can wait until Iran has a nuclear missile and just take their chances with it or they can wipe out Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Either way, it is not going to be a pretty scene.

More than likely, Israel will be bombing Iran very soon. Possibly by the end of this year or sometime early next year. They know within about two more years, Iran could have a nuclear weapon. They have to act now or be annihilated later. They have no choice.

So Israel will be bombing Iran. Of course, to the world this will look like an unprovoked attack on Iran and many countries will be very angry with them.

Iran will definitely retaliate and get help in doing so. This is where the prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 kicks in. Starting in 38:1 it says,

“1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.”

So here in Ezekiel 38 it lists the people that will come against Israel in the latter years which is as follows:

The land of Magog (probably Russia)
Persia (this is definitely Iran)
Ethiopia
Libya
Gomer and Togarmah (Turkey)

Russia and Iran are very tight, like two peas in a pod, so it would make perfect sense that Russia will come to aid Iran in this battle.

So this great army alliance will consist of Russia, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya and Turkey. They will attack Israel from the north, which are in the mountains of Israel.

By the way, before we go any farther I have to mention that there are some believers that believe that this battle of Ezekiel 38-39 is the battle of Armegeddon. It is not. This battle takes place in the mountains of Israel but the battle of Armegeddon takes place in a valley, the valley of Armegeddon. The battle of Armegeddon takes place at the end of the 70th week, the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 takes place at the beginning of the 70th week.

The battle of Ezekiel 38-39 the armies will gather to battle Israel. In the battle of Armegeddon the armies will gather to battle the Lord.

Two different locations, two different times, two different battles. They are not the same. Let’s continue.

You can see here that to attack Israel from the north they will have to gather together north of Israel so they can go into the mountains of Israel. Now let’s go back to the scripture and see what happens when they attack. In Ezekiel 38 it says,

“15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.

19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.

22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

This is going to be a major world event. Just as when we had the Gulf war and now the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan you can rest assured that the news media will be there with there cameras rolling recording as much stuff as they can.

But the Lord will be the one fighting this battle for Israel. He will cause a great shaking in the land, which more than likely will be a major earthquake, he will cause pestilence (disease) to come upon them, overflowing rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone.

The army will be is disarray. They will be confused and start to fight each other and kill one another.
The Lord will cause all of this to come upon the army that attacks Israel. Israel will not have to lift a finger, the Lord will handle it.

Now you can imagine when the world sees this, they are going to know that Israel has their God back. In verse 23 it says,

"23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD."

Many nations will know at this time that the Lord has done this and the Lord will be magnified and sanctified in their sight. Let’s continue in chapter 39,

“1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee:
I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.”

So this great army will fall upon the mountains of Israel.

Now here is something that is pure speculation. In verse 6 it says,

“6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

What does this mean that the Lord will send fire on Magog and them that dwell carelessly in the isles? On this I ask myself, what people on this earth dwell carelessly more than any other people?

The United States of America.

We dwell more carelessly than anyone else in the world and when you compare the Untied States unto the entire continent of Asia, we are nothing but an isle protected by vast oceans on either side.
Now here is a possible scenario no matter how far fetched it may sound:

Russia goes to attack Israel. The United States tells them to back down or else. Russia could care less what the U.S. says, they are going to attack Israel. The arguments get very heated. On the day that Russia attacks Israel, the United States and Russia have a nuclear exchange. The result?

“6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

The world superpower that the United States was will be gone in one day. In other words, the United States could be put out of the picture as a single major power. This will make way for the antichrist.

If knocking a few buildings down in New York caused total chaos in the United States and caused it to shut down, just think what a few nuclear bombs would do.

Because this is the start of the tribulation this also would be a good cover up for the rapture and why so many people are missing. For those of you that would like to see more information on the rapture (or the adoption as Paul calls it) and why it takes place at the beginning of the tribulation, please check out this article:

http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/AdvancedSeriesDoc/TheAdoptionPart1.htm

But truthfully, I do not know what the Lord means to send fire on Magog and them that dwell carelessly in the isles. Gog is the leader of Magog. Magog is the land. The fire will be going upon the land of Magog.

If there was going to ever be a nuclear exchange recorded in scripture, this would probably be it. But all this is pure speculation, just a guess. I really do not know what it means. All I know is that fire is hot and the land of Magog is going to get it along with them that dwell carelessly in the isles.

Anybody’s guess is just as good as anybody else’s. Now let’s get back to the battle in Israel.

“9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:

10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.”

Please notice here that Israel will be burning the weapons for seven years. This matches the time frame for Daniel’s seventieth week perfectly. They will be burning these weapons throughout the entire tribulation period.

The next few verses tell us of the burying of the slain. Let’s skip to verse 21 which says,

“21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.”

The heathen of this world will know that something is going on in Israel. And the heathen will also know why Israel went into captivity, but first once again verse 22,

“22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.”

Once again, the day of this battle is VERY significant. From this day forward they will be God’s people again and he will NEVER hide his face from them again. In verse 29 it says,

“29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.”

So the day of this battle is the start of the tribulation period, Daniel’s seventieth week, when Israel is God’s people again and the prophecy of the 70 weeks can now resume.

Now back to the ark. After this battle takes place God will be magnified and sanctified in the eyes of the heathen. He is going to gather his people and have mercy upon them. Once again, if the writings in 2nd Maccabees are solid, then this is when the ark will be revealed.

Now let’s back up to Ezekiel 38 and I would like to put emphasis on something for a minute.

“19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a GREAT SHAKING in the land of Israel;

20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, AND EVERY WALL SHALL FALL TO THE GROUND.”

Now one of the major obstacles for rebuilding the temple is the temple site. There seems to be a mosque built over it. Now whether or not the Dome of the Rock is the exact site of the original temple I do not know, but many claim it is.

But on the day of this battle there is going to be a great shaking in the land of Israel and it says that every wall shall fall to the ground.

Is it possible that the walls of the Dome of the Rock will come tumbling down? Yes, it is a very good possibility. The Dome of the Rock gets completely destroyed and Israel didn’t have a thing to do with it. So the Moslems cannot get mad at Israel for the destruction of the Dome of the Rock.

If this happens, it will pave the way for the rebuilding of the temple.

Now here is the scene:

Israel bombs Iran.
Soon afterward Iran with Russia and others go to attack Israel.
The Lord destroys them in the mountains.
All the heathen see that God destroyed them.
The Dome of the Rock is destroyed by the great shaking in the land of Israel.
The ark of the covenant, the tabernacle and the altar of incense are revealed on that day or shortly thereafter.

Wow! What a day!

God will magnify and sanctify himself before the heathen and they will know that he is the Lord. The ark will also be revealed by a supernatural means. The writings in 2nd Maccabees says,

7 And when Jeremiah perceived it, he blamed them, saying: The place shall be unknown, till God gather together the congregation of the people, and receive them to mercy.

8 And then the Lord will show these things, and the majesty of the Lord shall appear, and there shall be a cloud as it was also showed to Moses, and he showed it when Solomon prayed that the place might be sanctified to the great God.”

The ark will be revealed by a cloud as Moses saw.

Very soon afterward the antichrist makes a 7 year treaty with Israel (confirms the covenant for one week). He hands over the temple site and allows them to build the temple.

Now let’s say you are a Jew and you live halfway around the world. You see the land of Israel attacked and the enemy is defeated by God in a very supernatural way. The Dome of the Rock is destroyed. The ark of the covenant is revealed. They start to rebuild the temple.

What would you think?

I’M GOING HOME!

God will begin to gather his people just as it says in Ezekiel 39. So it is very possible that this battle fought by the Lord himself, the revealing of the ark and the rebuilding of the temple is the calling card for all Jews to work their way home.

But there’s more. As you know, the daily sacrifices will begin again when the temple is rebuilt. In Daniel 8 it says,

“13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

So from the time that the daily sacrifices start unto the cleansing of the sanctuary at the end of the 70th week will be 2300 days. This is approximately 6.3 years. This gives about .7 years to rebuild the temple, which is approximately 8 months.

So from the beginning of the seventieth week when the temple starts to be rebuilt to the time they start doing the daily sacrifices is about 8 months for the rebuilding of the temple.

Halfway through the 70th week (3 1⁄2 years) the antichrist will cause the abomination of desolation and at this time the Lord told the children of Israel to flee. In Matthew 24 it says,

“15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:"

Now where did the Lord tell them to flee? To the mountains.

This is also recorded in Revelation 12, which says,

“6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”

The one thousand two hundred and threescore days equals three and a half years, which is a time, times and half a time. So from the time that the antichrist does the abomination of desolation thing, the Jewish believers will flee to the mountains and be nourished there for 3 1⁄2 years till the end of the 70th week when the Lord comes back.

Question: Where does the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 take place? In the mountains of Israel. At the halfway point the Jewish believers will flee to those mountains and be nourished there. God will prepare a place for them.

I don’t believe the Lord will be building condos in the mountains of Israel so more than likely the children of Israel will be camping in the mountains and living in caves for 3 1⁄2 years.

Remember the weapons? How long will they be burning the weapons? For the full 7 years. Will the children of Israel have to go gather any firewood out of the forests? No. They will have all the firewood they need from the battle that will take place from Ezekiel 38-39 right there in the mountains of Israel.

What about food?

When the great army attacks from the north and is destroyed whatever they carried with them will be left in the mountains of Israel. Now American soldiers are given MRE’s (meals ready to eat) and I am told that these MRE’s are good for about 8 years.

What about the Russians, the Iranians, the Libyans, the Turks and the Ethiopians? What kind of supplies will they carry into battle? MRE’s? Canned goods? Bottled water? If these countries are sending their armies into battle then they must also send provisions for them. They will need truckloads of provisions for a very great army. But since they will be destroyed, they will not need their provisions. They will all be left behind to nourish the children of Israel when they flee from the antichrist.

So what we have here was a fun little bible study about the ark of the covenant and what role it will play during the last days. Of course, as I mentioned no one knows the future but the Lord. All this is just one case scenario about the way it could happen. It very well could be completely different.

But the writings about the hiding of the ark and when it will be revealed look pretty solid. It does not go against scripture and it actually blends in with the holy scripture. But does 2nd Maccabees have any merit? That is for the individual to decide. It’s not holy scripture, but it could very well be a very important piece of history.