Ark of God: The Incredible Power of the Ark of the Covenant

CHAPTER ONE

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

"Jones, archeology is like a religion,

but you and I have fallen from the true faith."

—French archeologist Belloq to Indiana Jones,

Raiders of the Lost Ark

The World Explorers Club, of which I am the founder, took a trip to Ethiopia, and during the two weeks that our group was there we had the chance to visit the northern city of Axum in Tigray Province. It is here in a small church protected by a heavy iron fence that Ethiopians believe the biblical Ark of the Covenant is kept.

Upon returning to the United States from that trip in early November 2014, I was surprised to receive a message from a friend that linked to the following article on the website worldnewsdailyreport.com. The headline was Ethiopia: Ark of Covenant Reported Stolen by Church Authorities (my friend, knowing I had just been to Ethiopia, asked facetiously if I had anything to do with the strange heist):

Axum: The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, His Holiness Abune Mathias, announced this morning that the most prized biblical treasure in the world, the Ark of Covenant, was stolen last night from the catacombs of the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. The guardians of the artefact were allegedly put to sleep through the use of chemical weapons, before the robbers entered the crypt and stole the precious Holy item.

The criminal operation was reportedly executed by a team of 12 to 16 highly-trained professionals who travelled aboard two black military helicopters. They landed less than 500 meters away from their objective after allegedly arriving from the East. The men were dressed in black military-style uniforms and seemed to function as a well coordinated army unit. They were equipped with night-vision equipment and armed with high caliber weapons, giving them an incredible advantage over the local security forces.

The protection of the Ark was left to a group [of] untrained volunteers with AK-47s. The Church did not see any need for more security as the Ark was expected to protect itself from people with impure intentions.

The 11 guards and armed volunteers present on the site to defend the Ark were neutralized by the thieves, using some high technology grenades that released a rare opium-based soporific gas. The robbers then went into strenuous labor, using jackhammers and explosives to enlarge the corridors in various locations inside the catacombs leading to the Ark, in order to be able to remove the large chest from its underground vault.

The entire operation was over in less than an hour, an incredibly short time considering the number of obstacles that had to be overcome. This amazing efficiency suggests that the thieves had repeated the operation and had carefully prepared their crime.

Few signs of the crime were visible this morning on the site, but a lot of damage was reported inside the catacombs under the building.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant in a chapel in the small town of Axum, in their country’s northern Highlands. It arrived nearly 3,000 years ago, they say, and has been guarded by a succession of virgin monks who, once anointed, are forbidden to set foot outside the chapel grounds until they die. No one except the Guardians are ever allowed to see the Ark, not even the Patriarch of the Church.

The story is told in the Kebra Nagast (in Ge’ez language, Glory of the Kings), Ethiopia’s chronicle of its royal line: the Queen of Sheba, one of its first rulers, traveled to Jerusalem to benefit from King Solomon’s wisdom; on her way home, she bore Solomon’s son, Menelik. A few years later, Menelik went to visit his father, and on his return journey was accompanied by the firstborn sons of some Israelite nobles—who, unbeknown to him, stole the ark and carried it with them to Ethiopia.

When Menelik learned of the theft, he reasoned that since the ark’s frightful powers hadn’t destroyed his retinue, it must be God’s will that it remain with him. It was then presumably kept in the islands of Lake Tana for about four hundred years and finally taken to Axum, where it was kept safe for more than two thousand years.

The disappearance of the Ark is certainly dramatic news for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, as much of its prestige came from the possession of the relic and many of its rituals were centered on it. His Holiness Abune Mathias was visibly emotional when he made the announcement [and] many of the journalists and faithfuls present for the press conference, burst into tears when they heard the news.

This was a fascinating story, but having just been to this church, I could not picture it being real. Some details like the opium-based sleeping gas and general military assault on the church just didn’t ring true, and indeed, it turns out that the worldnewsdailyreport website is in fact a hoax news website similar to The Onion humor website. The rather fantastic stories on the worldnewsdailyreport website are written in such a manner as to be believable, and its subtle humor is lost on many people who think that the stories are genuine news articles.

Many quite incredible stories are released by authentic news outlets daily and the only thing that is fabricated in this amazing story is that an assault team stormed the church in Axum and stole the Ark. The Ethiopian Church does indeed claim that the famous Ark of the Covenant of the Bible is kept in that small church—a church that has a single priest as its caretaker. A tall and heavy iron bar fence surrounds the church and other priests occupy several larger churches nearby. No one, not even the Prime Minster of Ethiopia, may enter the church. All Ethiopians are aware of this church and its importance.

Indeed, because the Ark of the Covenant is kept in this small church in Axum the mayor of the town will not allow any mosques to be built inside the city limits. Mosque building is a relatively new activity in this part of northern Tigray province and mosques have recently been built in nearby towns. When asked about this prohibition, the mayor of Axum was reported to have said, When they let us build a Christian church in Mecca we will allow them to build a mosque here.

Ethiopia is a rugged, fertile and mountainous country with a rich and mysterious history that includes the belief that they have the biblical relic. How did it get to Ethiopia anyway? But first, what is the Ark of Covenant?

Indiana Jones and the Ark of the Covenant

It has recently come out that the most re-watched actor is Harrison Ford and the most re-watched movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark. This movie, one of the most popular films ever made, is about an archaeologist, Indiana Jones, who is enlisted by the US Government just prior to World War II to find the Ark of the Covenant. It would be found inside an Egyptian temple at the lost city of Tanis in the Nile Delta. After many adventures, Indiana Jones and his friends discover the resting place of the Ark, but the Nazis who are also after the Ark take it away from them.

Indiana gets the Ark back, and attempts to take it via ship to the United States, but the ship is captured by the Nazis, and the Ark is taken to an island in the Mediterranean where it is opened after a Qabalistic ritual. The opening of the Ark unleashes an unholy power that proceeds to destroy all who look upon it—and then the Ark reseals itself. At the end of the movie, the Ark is taken to a gigantic warehouse in Washington D.C. where it is crated and stored at the Smithsonian Institution—presumably lost forever in a secret warehouse. Indiana Jones rediscovers this lost crate briefly at the beginning of the fourth movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

A scene featuring the Ark from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

So what was the Ark of the Covenant, anyway? The Ark of the Covenant first appears in the Old Testament story of the Exodus. This book says that after about a year of wandering in the Sinai desert, Yahweh (in the form of a thick cloud) communicated with Moses on Mount Sinai during his 40-day stay upon the mountain (Exodus 19:20; 24:18). Yahweh supposedly showed Moses the pattern for the tabernacle, a sort of mobile temple the people would use to worship in the wilderness. Yahweh also gave him the detailed instructions for the construction of the Ark of the Covenant to be made of shittim (acacia) wood to house the Tablets of Stone upon which were written the Ten Commandments.

The Book of Exodus says that the wooden Ark is to be 2½ cubits in length, 1½ in breadth, and 1½ in height (approximately 52×31×31 inches). It is to be plated entirely with gold, and a crown or molding of gold is to be put around it. Four rings of gold are to be attached to its four legs, and through these, two staves of shittim wood overlaid with gold for carrying the Ark are to be inserted— one on each side—and these are not to be removed. The box that is the Ark is therefore three boxes together: an inner box of gold, a middle box of wood, and an outer box also made of gold.

A poster for promoting Raiders of the Lost Ark products.

On top of the gold and wood box is to be placed a large gold statue called a kapporet (traditionally known as the Mercy Seat in Christian translations). This gold statue was to be of two angels— cherubim—facing each other and holding a shallow golden bowl in the center of the lid. Upon this golden bowl supposedly dwelt a cloud of light known as the Shekinah Glory. The complete assembly of golden box and cherubim statue is finally to be placed behind a veil (Parochet) in the tabernacle—a series of tent-walls that mark off the priestly area around which the huge Israelite community of tens of thousands is encamped—a full description of which is given in Exodus 26.

When carried, the Ark was also hidden under a large veil made of skins and blue cloth, always carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the priests who carried it. The veiled Ark was carried about 2,000 cubits in advance of the larger group by the Levite priests when the people were on the move. Moses during this period began wearing a veil to cover his face, as it was strangely illuminated after his encounter with Yahweh on Mount Sinai.

During the early sojourns with the Ark it levitates and flies; it kills hundreds of people; it causes a skin disease on one of Aaron’s wives; it parts rivers…it does many things—some credible, some not.

In Numbers 16 we are told the strange tale of a group of 250 Israelite noble sons of various tribes who have decided to rebel against Moses and his brother Aaron and their long, arduous trek to the Promised Land.

Moses and Aaron gather up these rebellious tribal leaders and tell them that they should let the holy Ark of the Covenant decide who should command the great host of Israelites. The 250 rebellious young leaders agree to this, and Moses and Aaron lead them inside the Holy of Holies tent that is within the very large tabernacle enclosure.

With each person holding an incense censer of brass, the group enters the Holy of Holies (Numbers 16:17-18). Yahweh tells Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the rest of the group, which they do, and then fall flat upon their faces. Everyone else in the tent is consumed by fire from the Ark of the Covenant and killed. Later Moses tells their fathers and the elders of Israel, touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins (Numbers 16:26).

After the death of Moses, Joshua leads the Israelites down to the Jordan River. When the Ark was carried by the Levite priests into the bed of the Jordan River, the waters parted as God had parted the waters of the Red Sea, opening a pathway for the entire host to pass through (Joshua 3:15–16; 4:7–18).

Joshua then led the Israelites into Canaan where they laid siege to the city of Jericho. There, Joshua says that God spoke to him, telling him to march around the city once every day for six days with seven priests carrying ram horns in front of the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day Joshua told them to march around the city seven times and then the priests were to blow their horns. At this point Joshua ordered the people to shout, and the walls of the city collapsed so that the Israelites were able to charge directly into the center. The city was completely destroyed, with every adult, child and animal in it slaughtered by Joshua’s army. Only a woman named Rahab and her family were spared and this was because she had hidden two spies sent by Joshua in her home. Afterward, Joshua had the remains of the city burned and cursed any man who would rebuild Jericho to do so at the cost of his firstborn son (Joshua 6:4–20).

After this the Ark was taken to an ancient city called Shiloh. Shiloh, north of Jerusalem, became the first capital of Israel and held the Ark until the First Temple was built at Jerusalem by King Solomon. After that it was placed in a special room in the temple tabernacle known as the Holy of Holies, likened to a throne room, where one entered the divine presence of God. The Holy of Holies was located in the westernmost end of the temple building, being a perfect cube: 20 cubits by 20 cubits by 20 cubits. The inside was kept in total darkness and contained the Ark of the Covenant, in which was placed the Tablets of the Covenant. According to Hebrews 9:4 in the New Testament, Aaron’s rod and a pot of manna were also placed inside the Ark.

An old print of the Israelites carrying the Ark of the Covenant.

Theoretically the Ark remained in the Holy of Holies inside the tabernacle at Jerusalem for about 350 years until 586 BC when the huge Babylonian army of Nebuchadnezzar attacked the city. The Babylonians were jealous of Israel’s wealth and power, and had for many generations sought to destroy the country, which was at the crossroads of most of the major trade routes of the day, with ports on both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Jerusalem could not withstand the siege, and finally the city fell. The temple was looted and destroyed, and the Israelites were taken into captivity in Babylon. Yet, where was the Ark? Was it destroyed or taken back to Babylon? This seems unlikely, as such an important artifact as the Ark would have been mentioned as part of the spoils, which it was not. In Jeremiah 52 the spoils taken from the temple in Jerusalem are enumerated, but the Ark of the Covenant is not listed. It would seem that such an important object would have been mentioned if the Babylonians were now in possession of the Ark and the gold statues of its lid.

Apparently the Ark of the Covenant was not in the temple at the time that the Babylonians sacked it. Had it been removed to a secret cave beneath the temple or to some other place outside of Jerusalem? Perhaps it had vanished from the Holy of Holies at some time between 950 BC and 600 BC. The Ethiopian book the Kebra Nagast makes this claim, as does the theory that the Ark was taken to Ireland and Scotland by the Jewish-Egyptian Queen Scota. Both of these stories will be examined carefully in later chapters.

So, what became of the Ark? When did it actually disappear from the temple? Was it destroyed or taken to some secret location yet to be found? What was this object and why was it so important anyway? Perhaps the whole story of the Ark of the Covenant is a mere myth—how could these events have occurred as described in the Bible?

But, for all of the biblical tales, movies, and strange adventures in search of the fabled object we are still led to wonder—what exactly is this Ark of the Covenant? What strange power—a power of the god Yahweh—did the wood and metal device have? How could the Ark fly through the air? Was there some other machine that was part of the Ark? In the next few chapters we will examine the stories and the power of the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant with the tabernacle in the wilderness.

An artist’s conception of the Ark of the Covenant.

CHAPTER TWO

THE HISTORY SURROUNDING THE ARK

Any sufficiently advanced technology is

indistinguishable from magic.

—Arthur C. Clarke

The Holy of Holies and the Tabernacle

There are two different tabernacles that are referred to in the Old Testament. One is the tabernacle in King Solomon’s Temple, which was made of stone with a special room to house the Ark of the Covenant. Before this, while the Ark was on the move, it was kept in a series of tents and fabric walls that was known as the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.

The Holy of Holies was the inner sanctuary within the tabernacle and temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. The Holy of Holies was located in the westernmost end of the temple building, which we will see later in the chapter was a pretty interesting location. The inside was in total darkness and contained the Ark of the Covenant, in which was placed the Tablets of the Covenant, otherwise known as the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod and a pot of manna. The Mercy Seat was where the Divine Presence would manifest. At times the Divine Presence would speak to Moses, but at other times it would discharge some powerful energy and literally zap the people who stood around the Ark.

The Holy of Holies was entered once a year by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), to sprinkle the blood of sacrificial animals—a bull offered as atonement for the priest and his household, and a goat offered as atonement for the people. The priest also offered incense upon the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat which sat on top of the Ark in the First Temple. The Second Temple had no ark and the blood was sprinkled where the Ark would have been and the incense was left on the Foundation Stone. The animal was sacrificed on the Brazen Altar and the blood was carried into the most holy place. Golden censers were also found in the most holy place.

An artist’s conception of the pillar of smoke and fire.

Visitors went into the tabernacle entering by way of the East Room. The room was without windows and was illuminated solely by light created by what was known as the Golden Candlestick. The Candlestick, also known as a menorah, had six branches and a shaft, upon which rested seven lamps. The purest olive oil was used in the lamps and they burned continuously.

Inside the East Room to the right stood a table upon which were arranged 12 loaves of shewbread. There were two piles, each containing six loaves of the unleavened bread. The bread was representative of the service of mankind, which culminated in the planting and harvesting of this grain, and symbolized the 12 tribes of Israel.

The tabernacle was to contain:

An old print of the 12 tribes of the Israeliites in their camp around the tabernacle.

1)A wooden Ark, gilded inside and outside, for the Tablets of the Covenant, with a pure gold cover as the Mercy Seat for the Divine Presence;

2)A gilt table for the shewbread;

3)A golden menorah, a lampstand of seven oil lamps for a light never to be extinguished;

4)The dwelling, including the curtains for the roof, the walls made of boards resting on silver feet and held together by wooden bolts, the purple curtain veiling the Holy of Holies, and the outer curtain;

5)A sacrificial altar made of bronzed boards for its korban;

6)The outer court formed by pillars resting on bronze pedestals and connected by hooks and crossbars of silver, with embroidered curtains;

7)The recipe for preparation of the oil for the lampstand.

The Urim and Thummim and the Second Temple

In 586 BC, the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem and destroyed Solomon’s Temple. A large portion of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the surrounding area was taken into captivity in Babylon. They were released some years later and returned to Jerusalem circa 536 BC. However, there is no record of what became of the Ark in the biblical books of Kings and Chronicles.

The Second Temple was built around 516 BC and lasted until about 70 AD when it was mostly destroyed by the Romans. Since some of the original artifacts were lost after the destruction of the First Temple, the Second Temple lacked the following holy relics: the Ark of the Covenant containing the Tablets of Stone, the Urim and Thummim (divination objects contained in the High Priest’s breastplate, or Hoshen); the holy oil; and the sacred fire. The golden censers may have been replaced and would be standing in the Holy of Holies, and the sacrificial blood was sprinkled where the Ark would have been and the incense was left on the Foundation Stone.

The mysterious Urim and Thummim are not well described in the Bible, and there has been much speculation as to exactly what they were. From the contexts in which they are mentioned, it is implied that they are some kind of objects used in a yes-or-no prophecy game. The Jewish Encyclopedia describes them as:

A High Priest of Israel wearing the special garments with gold thread and gems.

Objects connected with the breastplate of the high priest, and used as a kind of divine oracle. …It is called a breastplate of judgment (ḥoshen ha-mishpaṭ); it is foursquare and double; and the twelve stones were not put inside the ḥoshen, but on the outside. It is related in Lev. viii. 7-8 that when, in compliance with the command in Ex. xxix. 1-37, Moses consecrated Aaron and his sons as priests, He [Moses] put upon him [Aaron] the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the cunningly woven band [A. V. curious girdle] of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him: and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim. Deut. xxxiii. 8 (R. V.), in the blessing of Moses, reads: And of Levi he said: Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy godly one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah.

Thummim is widely considered to mean innocent, while Urim comes from a root word meaning lights, so some kind of reference to revelation and truth might be inferred. Wikipedia says that most of the Talmudic rabbis, and the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, follow the belief that divination by the Urim and Thummim involved questions being answered by great rays of light shining out of certain jewels on the breastplate. Some even believed that the 12 stones, which were inscribed with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, each stood for certain letters, and words might be formed from the succession of lights displayed. Most people think it was a simpler affair than that, and as indicated above, was more of a yes-or-no proposition. In this sense, drawing out the Thummim from behind the breastplate might mean innocent, and the Urim guilty. Or one meant yes and one no.

The Urim and Thummim were kept inside the breastplate, so some scholars think that they were relatively small items. I tend to think they could be somewhat sizeable, and were probably pieces of crystal. 1 Samuel 28:6 reads: He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. This has been widely interpreted to mean there were three specific ways the Lord communicated with the people—through dreams, prophets and the Urim and Thummim. Crystals are well known for their electrical and optical properties, and are widely used in communications devices today. Maybe the high priests had an actual crystal communications device to learn the will of god.

The whole subject of what the priests wore, which was very strictly detailed in the Bible, is interesting. As referenced in the above quote from the Jewish Encyclopedia, Moses had minute instructions as to how to outfit the priests. The usual priestly vestments had eight components: linen trousers, a linen tunic, an intricate belt or sash (called in early Bible translations the curious girdle), a robe, an apron called an ephod, the breastplate, a turban, and a metal band attached to the turban with a blue sash.

As we have touched upon and will see in greater detail soon, the Ark had an unfortunate habit of harming people in its vicinity. Is the special garb the priests were to wear