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Oh I’m definitely not a new ager! Consider why the ancient Hebrews sprinkled some of the blood sacrifices(for the atonement of sins) directly onto the ark’s “mercy seat” and consider why the blood of our Lord Jesus was poured out for the remission of our sins...upon which “mercy seat” was it poured out upon if not upon our very hearts and minds(which makes us clean and acceptable to the father so that we might be in dwelt by the Holy Spirit)? Why was the temple veil rent in twain upon the death of Jesus Christ?

Why does the Bible call us “temples of the Holy Spirit”?

The Old Testament was really full of visions of the New Testament of the new covenant and vice versa! I din’t mean to overly symbolize the Ark, other than to point out that it was a vision of their present of a coming glorious future, not just for the Hebrews, but for all men who cry out for the salvation of Jesus Christ!(The only name under Heaven by which we can be saved)

Jesus Christ, the son of the ONLY LIVING GOD. What other minor differences you might have with my jargon...please don’t call me a new ager.(and don’t call me Shirley...;})

Then please forgive me that it struck me a little that way, re new ager; we do seem to be more or less on the same page as near as I can discern. I used to think about these things a lot more but am not in religious/theological mode now, have reached a plateau, want to keep my faith and understanding that I have left as unpolluted as possible, but I think I'm more tolerant of other POV's than I was for a time. We all want to be right because it costs us each individually to go out on a limb and exercise the faith we do have; most manifestations in our lives are subjective and experiential, and it is hard to convince others on the basis of our individual experiences, so I try not to annoy people unless they happen to be interested and some could be the evil one tricking me anyway. Sometimes I hear or read something someone else has experienced that strikes me as genuine.

Cicero brought out a good point about the fulfillment of Judaism. He is right. My only feeling about the Jews is that God intended there would be a remnant until the return of Christ (they wouldn't see it that way). I tended to think of Christianity as superseding Judaism, so I'll have to work on my exclusive attitude about that. I've always believed that God is still with the Jews, even though they have had some terrible calamaties, many due to Christians or quasi-Christians and it isn't just Christians who have caused them so much grief.

That is a good page about Shekinah, at one time I wanted to know more about it and there it all is, too much to absorb right now, but thank you for the link.

The ark could have been under the spot where Jesus was crucified, and that is a tantalizing mystery, but just another theory AFAIC unless we have more information. If it exists, surely it is in the safekeeping of those who will not reveal it to the world. I wouldn't consider myself worthy to be privy to such knowledge or gaze upon it.

Here's where I'm at right now, in worldly mode. For reading material, I bought 9 old Edward Rowe Snow's books. In one chapter of one of them, he tells of two different individuals having been swallowed by whales, the whales died and surfaced the same day, and the men were saved out of them if that much is to be believed. Here I had just decided that the Jonah story was allegorical; now I believe again that it could very well have been literal as I had always believed before.