Posted on 05/29/2005 1:28:15 PM PDT by wagglebee
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" is one of my all-time favorite movies, filled with mystery and adventure. It focuses on the search for a biblical artifact and treasure called The Ark of the Covenant. What makes the movie particularly exciting is how closely it mimics (with some added Hollywood flair) the real life hunt for the lost Ark.
History has it that the original Ark was where God manifested His presence on earth beginning in the days of Moses. The Ark was designed as a chest made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. It had four golden rings. Each one attached to a corner. These rings provided a means to carry the Ark by inserting two wooden bars (also overlaid with gold) on either side. Atop the Ark were two golden cherubim spreading their wings over the Ark's cover also known as the mercy seat.
The Ark itself contained the Ten Commandments and was housed in the innermost room of the Jewish Temple called the Holy of Holies. Here it was the center of worship, although actual access to the Ark was permitted only once a year on the Day of Atonement called Yom Kippur. On that day, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies with the blood of a goat to make atonement for the sins of the Israelites.
Other contents of the Ark included Aaron's rod and a golden pot of manna. Additionally, the Ark is renowned for its mysterious powers. According to the Bible, when the Ark was carried by the people of Israel into battle, it protected the Israelites, supernaturally defeating any adversaries that came before them.
This explains why in the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" the Nazis were intent on obtaining it. Their theory (as the story line goes) was that they would be unbeatable if they possessed the Ark and could harness its mysterious powers. Of course, as both the movie and history would have it, things didn't quite work out for the Nazis.
But what of the Ark?
It is believed to have disappeared with the destruction of the First Temple by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon in 586 B.C. The exact whereabouts of the Ark have remained a mystery ever since.
One theory is that the Ark was taken from ancient Jerusalem by Prince Menelik of Ethiopia. Menelik was the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Menelik purportedly brought the Ark to his country for safekeeping where it currently remains housed in a church in Axum.
Another theory is that the Ark was hidden in a secret chamber housed beneath Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The alleged secret chamber was created by either King Solomon, who built the First Temple, or a subsequent king before the temple was plundered by Nebuchadnezzar.
One version of this theory suggests that in the early 12th century a group of nine Frenchmen known as the original Knights Templars excavated beneath the site of the old Temple of Jerusalem. They retrieved the true Ark of the Covenant and secreted it away.
A second more popular version suggests the Ark is still located in a vault somewhere in the miles of tunnels carved beneath the city of Jerusalem. It is believed the location of the Ark will be revealed when the time is right for the Jewish Temple to be built for the third time.
One famous adherent to this theory is Dr. Vendyl Jones. He is a modern-day explorer and teacher and the true inspiration for the Indiana Jones series. Startling the world, he announced last week on Israel National Radio that he actually knows the location of the Ark.
He says according to ancient documents the Ark is hidden in a secret passage that runs 18 miles south of the Temple Mount into the Judean Desert. Before dismissing his claim as a lark, it is worth noting that Jones published a book in 1959 predicting the precise outbreak of the Six Day War.
He calculated the war in 1967 by analyzing the sequence of events in the First Temple period and transposing them on the Third Temple period. The First Temple period began with its original construction in the days of King Solomon. The Third Temple period began according to Jones with the Jews founding an independent state in the land of Israel in 1948.
Now Jones is convinced that with the help of ancient documents found in Qumran, he has pinpointed the location of the Ark. And armed with the blessing of religious leaders, Jones hopes to reveal the location of the Ark by Aug. 14, which marks the Fast of Tisha B'Av. This holy day commemorates repeated tragedy in Jewish history including the destruction of both the First and the Second Holy Temples.
Jones' plan is simple. It is to drill a borehole into the chamber containing the Ark, drop a pin-camera in and reveal the historic treasure to a watching world.
If Jones is right, many predict this event will turn the world upside down. Jones says this will bring an end to the government's plan to uproot Jews of Gaza and northern Samaria. It also will bring the very idea of any Palestinian state to a screeching halt. In fact, Jones predicts quite the opposite will occur. With the discovery of the Ark, the Jewish people will have the greatest motivation of all time to return to Israel from around the world and rebuild the Temple to house this holy treasure.
Of course, whether Jones actually uncovers the Ark is not the sole issue. Equally compelling is proving once more through science that the Bible is more than just a collection of parables. Are you ready for this?
This is the wrong time and place for a dispute over eschatology. The issues are the discovery and typology of the Ark, not whether there remains seven years to the Jewish dispensation.
"This is the wrong time and place for a dispute over eschatology. The issues are the discovery and typology of the Ark, not whether there remains seven years to the Jewish dispensation."
I responded to what was posted.
If you wish to rebuke someone, then rebuke the original poster.
The Ark was a type, a pre-figure or picture, of Christ (acacia wood symbolized His humanity, overlaid gold represented His deity, etc.). God laid down strict ordinances which the Jews were to follow when transporting from place to place. He did not hold others as accountable in following the laid out procedures as He did the Jews. In fact, prior to the rise of the monarchy (eg. Saul, David, Solomon, et. al.) the Philistines captured it in battle. They were not immediately struck dead as was done later to the Jew, non-priest, Uzzah, who dared to steady it as it wobbled on an oxcart.
The Philistines soon learned that whichever city kept the captured Ark, the people would be plagued with hemorroids. So they were anxious to move it from one city to another. Finally, they returned it to Israel on a cart.
Christ was the fulfillment of the foreshadow of the Ark and the Old Testament sacrifices. They are no longer regarded with the importance as they once were. It would be the same as giving adoration to a picture of your wife -- yet she is sitting across the room from you.
Sorry.
That is very good advice. I am getting way too bit bitchy on this thread. It's time for a long walk.
No problem.
I understand that you want to keep the discussion going the right way and I will honor your request.
You seem to ascribe to the heretical view that Christ had two beings, that he was a man who became God, rather than God who became man with both a Divine and human nature. Please correct me if I am wrong.
1. Did John see God the Father and the stone tablets? In which case he saw the OT ark.
or
2. Did John see God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ? In which case the OT ark is a non-issue. And keep in mind that Mary's care was entrusted to John and arguably he would have been very close to her.
Well, that's all well and good, but I cannot quite see the significance of John's vision to archaeological questions about the Temple Mount.
Dglang, how exactly then do you approach the verse from Luke that I posted (#156). Anti-Catholics seem to avoid this as a matter of course.
Notwithstanding that it's a mosque and not a temple you're looking at there...if the national will existed to wipe the Dome of the Rock off the face of the earth, I estimate its lifespan at about ten minutes from the time the decision is made.
However, it would take an event of truly cosmic importance to unify Israel to that degree.
How many 500#ers would it take?
There are three distinct Covenants in Scripture:
1. The Flood: God made a Covenant with Noah to never again destroy all living creatures. The ark carried the people and animals to repopulate the earth.
2. The Law: God made a Covenant with Moses and gave him the Law inscribed on stone tablets. The ark carried the law.
3. Redemption: God made a Covenant with mankind through the Death and Resurrection of Christ. Mary was the ark that carried the Lord.
It is plain to many that there are three Covenants and three arks.
Oh...silly me! I thought your post had something to do with the thread topic. My bad.
No, I was originally responding to post #35, which had nothing to do with the thread topic.
I'm sure that we could get a work party put together.
I'll bring my Sawzall and wrecking bar.
Anyone else?
"The slaying of unbelieving priests who ministered is off as well"
Sorry .. you have the wrong person .. I never mentioned anything about "unbelieving priests".
Oh .. and by the way .. you and your tag-team mate are both rude. Who the HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME "I'VE GOT TO HANDLE SCRIPTURE BETTER" ..?? Such arrogance!!
No. I hold the orthodox view on the hypostatic union.
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