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what do you think?
What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?
The Ark of the Covenant was one of the greatest religious artefacts and said to contain the power of God. It has been lost for centuries and, it is claimed, when it is found once more, a new age for humanity will be ushered in. It was even the subject of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. So what exactly was the Ark of the Covenant?
The Ark was the chest that contained the tablets of stone on which God wrote the Ten Commandments. It was a goldplated acacia, designed by God himself, for the people of Israel. It was 21 cubits long and 11 cubits wide. It had a golden cover, surmounted by cherubim and carried by golden poles and rings.
It was so holy and sacred to the Israelites in Old Testament times that it was covered with a protective veil so none could see its true glory. The Ark was filled with divine power and any unworthy person who touched it would die instantly. For 40 years, as the Israelites journeyed across the desert during the Exodus, priests carried it ahead of them. With its power, they were able to part the waters of the River Jordan and after being paraded around Jericho it famously enabled the walls of the city to crumble and fall.
Captured
When the Exodus was over, the Ark was set up in the sacred site of Shiloh. Many years passed and the Israelites took the Ark into battle against the Philistines, but the Philistines won and captured the Ark. Interestingly, the scriptures report that the Philistines soon handed the Ark back to the Israelites after the statues of their gods were mysteriously destroyed and their people became ill with boils.
Later, the Israelites placed the Ark at the centre of the great Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, in a special spot known as the ‘Holy of Holies’. It was said that the temple was then filled with a cloud, reflecting the glory of God. But in 597 BCE, the temple was sacked by the Babylonians. They took the Ark and it has not been seen since — lost, apparently, forever.
Lost?
But is the Ark truly lost? There are several groups who claim to have it secretly in their possession. The ancient Book of Maccabees states that the prophet Jeremiah buried the Ark in a cave on Mount Nebo, where it still lies hidden. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Orthodox claims that it possesses the Ark and keeps it under strict guard at a treasury in Axum near the Church of our Lady Mary of Zion. Some believe that the Ark was brought to England in the Middle Ages and buried somewhere in Warwickshire. There were even some scholars who believed that the Ark was part of Tutankhamun’s tomb treasures.
The Ark has the power to change the world. Is it really lost, or just waiting for the right time to appear again? What do you think?
