Posted on 06/28/2009 8:04:05 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A few days ago it was reported that an Ethiopian Patriarch was considering revealing the secret of the Lost Ark, and the Ark itself, and how his church has been holding it for thousands of years, and would likely do so on Friday in Italy.
Turns out he preferred keeping the secret (or had nothing to show) and said nothing on Friday. He had not even scheduled a press conference.
World Net Daily has the whole story. Nobody knows what is true and what is not, but it is definitely a fascinating story....
The agency had reported an announcement would be made at the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome, and a hotel spokeswoman told WND Pauolos had been in residence there, but no news conference or event was scheduled.
"The Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia for many centuries," said Pauolos in the report. "As a patriarch I have seen it with my own eyes and only few highly qualified persons could do the same, until now."
Bob Cornuke, biblical investigator, international explorer and best-selling author, has participated in more than 27 expeditions around the world searching for lost locations described in the Bible. A man some consider a real-life Indiana Jones, he has written a book titled "Relic Quest" about the Ark of the Covenant and participated in History Channel production called "Digging for Truth."
Next week, Cornuke will travel to Ethiopia for the 13th time since he began his search for the Ark. He told WND he believes it is possible Ethiopia could have the real artifact.
"They either have the Ark of the Covenant or they have a replica that they have believed to be the Ark of the Covenant for 2,000 years," he said.
Cornuke said, if it is genuine, there's a plausible explanation of how the Ark may have come to the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Ethiopia.
"The Ark could have been taken out of the temple during the time of the atrocities of Manasseh," he said. "We have kind of a bread crumb trail that appears to go to Egypt, and it stayed on an island there for a couple hundred years called Elephantine Island. The Ark then was transferred over to Lake Tana in Ethiopia where it stayed on Tana Qirqos Island for 800 years. Then it was taken to Axum, where it is enshrined in a temple today where they don't let anybody see it." Cornuke said he traveled to Tana Qirqos Island and lived with monks who remain there even today.
"They unlocked this big, four-inch thick wood door," he said. "It opened up to a treasure room, and they showed me meat forks and bowls and things that they say are from Solomon's temple. When the History Channel did this show, they said it was one of the largest viewed shows. People were fascinated."
He said Ethiopians consider the Ark to be the ultimate holy object, and the church guards the suspected artifact from the "eyes and pollution of man."
"In Ethiopia, their whole culture is centered around worshipping this object," Cornuke said. "Could they have the actual Ark? I think I could make a case that they actually could." [...] Cornuke explained that a special guardian lives inside the church which reportedly holds the Ark and never leaves. Once a guardian is appointed, he stays until he dies and another man replaces him.
"We know for a fact that there have been 30 guardians in history who have never left that enclosure," Cornuke said. "I know the guardian. When CNN and BBC went over there, he wouldn't see anybody but me. So I went and talked to him, and he's getting very aged. He told me they have the real Ark and he worships 13 hours a day in front of it. When he gets through, he is covered in sweat and he's exhausted."
He said he met a 105-year-old man who claimed to have seen the Ark 50 years ago when he was training a replacement guardian.
"It frightened him to death when he got a glimpse of it."
Cornuke said he also met with the president of Ethiopia nearly nine years ago and had a one-on-one conversation with him in his palace. He asked if Ethiopia had the Ark of the Covenant.
According to Cornuke, the president responded: "Yes, we do. I am the president, and I know. It's not a copy. It's the real thing."
IIRC, from Revelation ... it is under the seat of Jesus, now sitting at the right hand of the Father.
I’ve always wondered about Revelations 11 verse 19:
“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”
If the ark is in heaven, how did it get there? Does that mean the ark of ancient times is no longer on this earth?
G*D knows!
For those interested in the Ethiopian connection to the Ark of the Covenant, I’d recommend the following book. “The Sign and the Seal” by Graham Hancock. I don’t know whether it’s still in print.
There's yer trouble.
“The Sign and the Seal” is a very interesting read, almost like a novel. It is well researched and shows the possible path from Solomon’s Temple during the time of Manasseh. It was during this time that Manasseh was bringing pagan idols into the Temple and the Levitical priests were thought to have removed the Ark away from this sacrilege. It is interesting also that there is no mention in the Bible of the Ark after the time of Solomon. It is also interesting that is archaeological evidence of a Jewish Temple on Elephantine Island in Egypt.
According to the Dems, the Ark resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC in a bedroom where the Messiah sleeps ...
It ain’t in Ethiopia.
Just out of curiosity, you know this how?
It’s probably best to consider such reports as merely reports, until further Scriptural study and doctrinal guidance is developed.
Wrt your question, we associate the exposure of the AntiChrist with an event known as the Abomination of Desolation, identified with an event where the AntiChrist is standing in the Temple and identifies himself as God.
Some have deduced from this position that the Temple sacrificial system is re-established prior to this Prophecy being fulfilled.
This identifies the Temple as a sacred building indwelt by God.
It isn’t as simple, though, as man going out and building an ornate structure, then it gets called the temple.
God provides for His Perfect Environment. He doesn’t need man to provide that for Him. On the contrary, He has very strict protocols on the exact procedure for being able to have relationship with Him, and He makes provision for those logistical mechanics.
In the case of the Arc of the Covenant, nobody is allowed to touch the Arc, without immediately being judged for perfect righteousness and perfect justice. (the 2 cherubim oeither side of the Mercy Seat, the lid of the Arc, represented Perfect Justice facing Perfect Righteousness).
It is recorded in the Old Testament, that when the Ark was moved, once it nearly fell over, and a priest moving it attempted to steady it, who was immediately consumed. When the ark fell into enemy hands, the heathen force who had heard about it, opened its cover and some 50,070 of their nation present, were immediately stricken and died.
The Ark was placed in the Holy of Holies, which was only approachable by the Holy Priest, after appropriate ceremony, cleansing and proper thinking.
Today there are no sacred buildings, for God has chosen during this Church Age to indwell each and every believer. He provides the Temple.
Today, each and every believer is able to approach God through faith in Christ. The protocols used in Temple worship were types of the Protocol used today in how we as priests are able to have relationship with God by His provision.
Yeah, it takes really high "qualifications" to look at something.
I use to think this was the biggest unsolved mystery of all time, but now I think we’ll find the Ark before we find Obama’s original birth certificate.
I use to think this was the biggest unsolved mystery of all time, but now I think we’ll find the Ark before we find Obama’s original birth certificate.
Nah, don’t believe it.
bttt
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