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?
I don't play cards with cheats.
And I'm still interested for your response to Luther, et al.
Is "mother" to be taken as some sort of cultural metaphor? I don't think so. Jesus speaks in context. All 3 (brother, sister, mother) are meant to be family terms, not simply social terms.
I'm not sure I'm following you. Obviously here, Jesus is speaking in spiritual terms.
All 3 (brother, sister, mother) are meant to be family terms, not simply social terms.You are absolutely right. He takes familial terms (his mother and brothers)and applies them in a spiritual context (devoted believers).
"That BELONGS in a MUSEUM...."
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Are you merely being cynical, or do you have concrete information? Consider all the Jews named Levi, Levine, Levitz, etc.
No, I sometimes enjoy their inability to understand that it was anti-Marian rhetoric that developed in the mid-19th century, not traditional Marian beliefs. Luther, Calvin, Wesley and most all of the original Protestant Reformers held Marian beliefs that were nearly identical to Catholicism's; however, they prefer to disregard these in favor of Jack Chick's comic books.
Most Jews that I have met are best described as "non-practicing;" however, as you pointed out, they are generally aware of their heritage and ancestry.
I have heard (though I don't know if it's true) that it was Ms. Morgenstern who proposed the line "Why is this night different from all other nights?" near the beginning of the film. The tie-in to the Passover seder is ecclesiastically correct, artistically elegant, and emotionally resonant.
You hear the voices of generations of Jewish children echo the line as she says it...and all those years of remembrance of the past and anticipation of the future are about to come alive.
Cohen and Cohn are also levitical names, as I understand it.
Scripture doesn't say what happened to the Ark. Nebuchadnezzar did indeed raid the Temple, carrying off "all the treasures" before burning it. II Kings 25 lists many of the treasures, but nothing about the ark, perhaps intimating that it was no longer there.
The question, therefore, is whether the Ark was still in the Temple when the city fell.
With ample warning that Jerusalem was under attack, it's entirely possible that it was moved and hidden. I've always been entrigued by the possibility that it's sitting in a cave in the Judean hills, much like the Dead Sea scrolls did for centuries.
Many Jewish refugees also fled to Egypt.
Anyone trying to move it would have had to observe the Law's commands regarding its handling (poles, priests, etc.) or face sudden death.
Interesting speculation.
You know, the only way I tolerated Methodist Sunday School ages ago was that they passed out colored funny papers of Bible stories. That was just right, for about age 10 or so. As adult Christians though, it's time to grow up and do some serious study about the origins of our faith and its tenets, not take some TV huckster's word for it. You have to realize that they are terribly disadvantaged in this, binding themselves with sola scriptora and then only the "correct" sola scriptora according to an "authority" like Jack Chick.....
It's time to remind ourselves that we pray for all Catholics, all Christians, all believers in God, and all atheists. And most especially for our separated brethren. Pax Christi.
"ALL" includes the Ark only if the Ark was still in the Temple at the time. Speculation is that it may have been moved by priests to hide it from the Babylonian invaders. Jeremiah had, after all, given ample warning that Judah and Jerusalem were doomed.
I posted earlier that there are three distinct Covenants in the Bible:
1. God's Covenant with Noah to never again destroy all living creatures, and those which were to repopulate the earth were carried in an ark.
2. God's Covenant with Moses, and the Ten Commandments were carried in an ark.
3. God's Covenant with mankind for Salvation through the Death and Resurrection of the Lord, who was also carried in an ark, the Blessed Virgin Mother.
Good point. The Lord was quicker to judge the Jews, however, as In David's first attempt to bring the Ark up. The Philistines seemed to have suffered discomfort rather than death after they captured it.
Man. This thread has some really far out stuff on it, so I think I'll join in --
Remember the plagues (boils, was it? can't remember.) that were visited on the Philistines because they captured the ark? The discomfort was bad enough that they gladly returned it to Israel. Is it possible that the ark sits somewhere today, still causing problems for the nations harboring it? Aids, Ebola, West Nile virus, many others -- maybe it really IS in Africa!
This is easily the most outrageous and offensive post I've ever made.
Of course,it could be just the opposite. After David's failed first attempt to retrieve it, Obed-edom took care of it. He was greatly blessed because he treated it with respect. The Discovery Channel (?) did a piece once about the Ark in Ethipia. The caretakers treat whatever it is with the utmost regard. No lookie-loos alowed. A special building. Sounds like Obed-edom treatment.
You are coming across as disingenuous. I think you know that "Your mother and brothers are waiting outside for you" is not just a spiritual term.
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