I just came back from my summer vacation visiting "Morfessa". I like visiting with my family down south because every time I do, Morfessa and I have some deep talks about various mysteries of the Bible. Oftentimes, he loans me his books which I feverishly read and soak up before I depart back home--- and let me tell you, this recent book was 500 pages which at best is a challenge to read in about ten days. Also, although I place just my handle name on the messages, you ought to be aware by now that what I teach is influenced by these discussions we have. I only put my name on the messages so that people respond to me and so as not to give my brother any flack from any respondents based on a message that I put into final words. In other words, he influences me, but the final composition is my words. Therefore, I do not want him to have to answer for something I said (it's unfair). Nevertheless, Morfessa's book I read dealt with the question as to the location of the Ark of the Covenant. Its author focused on the Ethiopian theory and indeed the book was as good as any detective story can get. It's too bad I only had time to do some "serious skimming" of the book before having to leave for home. I may buy a copy of it someday.

My jury is still out as to the location of the Ark of the Covenant. Nobody really knows. And although I do believe it will have its place in the millennium, the Bible seems to downplay its role as expressed in Jeremiah 3:16-17 that says, " And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart." These end-time verses, whether one wants to believe it has elements of the 'gospel age', the millennium or both, seem to indicate that the LORD will completely drown out any shekhinah glory of the Ark with His own glory from His personal presence. Notice this verse does not indicate whether it exists or not, but rather that the people do not seem to "give a hoot". In Revelation 11, the Ark is said to actually be in heaven. A fellow Bible student pointed this out to me and based his belief on its location according to this passage. I could not argue that point, but let me say that Revelation chapter 11 is yet future and as such does not mean the Ark cannot presently be on the Earth and later transferred to heaven in the same manner the church is translated before the Tribulation. To put it bluntly, the Ark is not mentioned much past the historical Old Testament books, and it is rarely mentioned in the New Testament.

This is not meant to be a message elaborating on each detailed theory, but I want to highlight some general theories so that you are at least aware of them. I know of at least six theories off the top of my head as to the location of the Ark. Two locations are what I call "local". These are merely secret places that the Jews hid the Ark while they were being invaded. Two more theories I call "regional" where the Ark is just outside the Holy Land. The last two I call "distant" where the Ark was supposedly taken a very long distance."

Let's start with the local theories. The first one is that the Ark simply rests in a secret cavern under the Rock foundation where the temple once stood. This took place in Josiah's timeframe and was hidden due to the impending Babylonian invasion. Some Jews accept this theory and a few have actually claimed to have seen the Ark. The inability to access it rests in the fact that the Dome of the Rock presently exists on that site and to excavate further to remove it implies religious (and political) repercussions.

A similar theory comes from a gentleman explorer and amateur archeologist (now deceased) by the name of Ron Wyatt. This fellow is not widely known, but is a familiar name to certain Christian groups that teach similar things we do here. This is not to say he did not do some serious research and excavating. I find it appalling just because somebody is not a "big name" that sides with the establishment that their research is not taken seriously. The story goes that he had a revelation about "Jeremiah's Grotto" underground at the site of the crucifixion. The Ark was supposedly hidden there. Ron claims to actually have seen the Ark after excessive excavation under the site of the crucifixion and believed the blood of Christ dripped down from his body into a crack (probably caused by the earthquake) below the cross and into this cavern so that it came in contact with the mercy seat! Those of you who know what we teach here can relate to that significance. At the very least, the theory is very appealing if you understand the prophetic significance of the Ark. In good faith, this is the link that takes you to the site that gives this story www.anchorstone.com/wyatt/arkofcovenant.html. As you read it, you will find that there was much sensitive information that Ron and the authorities felt best not to reveal as more was learned due to the ramifications. In addition, no-so-honorable people would "help" Ron out while they had their own agenda. Again, He actually claims to have seen the Ark (it was found in a stone encasement), but he left the area undisturbed and covered up again. The story is fantastic, and it has as much mystery and "covered-up" atmosphere that any UFO story has--- at least later on in his work when greater details came in.

Now for the regional theories. The most widely known one is the Ethiopian theory. Supposedly, King Solomon had a child through the Queen of Sheba. You can find the story of her visit to Solomon in I Kings 10.

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.

The story ends with her being very overwhelmed by this wise king over the empire of Israel:

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.

When it said there was "no more spirit in her", we'd say today that she was left breathless. Later in this chapter we read:

And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

Does that include sex? If I have any straight-laced person out there reading this who thinks this would below Solomon's dignity and morality, think again. I mean, anybody with as many wives and concubines as Solomon would have no problem adding one more! That brings us to a legend. Through the Queen of Sheba Solomon had a son--- prince Menelik of the ancient Ethiopian monarchy. Supposedly (from the royal chronicles of Ethiopia), King Solomon had a replica of the Ark made for his son Menelik before his departure when he was 19 years old. Instead, the replica of the Ark was switched with the real one and Menelik managed to take the real Ark unbeknownst to the Israelites who thought he had the replica. If this seems far-fetched, consider the Scripture regarding the Queen of Sheba's amazement that said, " and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD." Obviously, Solomon's spiritual side was shown to the Queen to her amazement. They would have known about the Ark and its powers. And on that line, I would venture to say that such an object would be an item of envy (and valuable to boot). Today, it is supposedly housed underground in the Church of Zion of Mary in Axum. Certainly the Ethiopians believe they have it especially since a guardian of the Ark is appointed for life to watch over it! When I read Morfessa's book, the author researched this legend seriously. He found a lot of resistance in Ethiopia when it came to answering his questions coupled with much secrecy and obscurity. Needless to say, the Ethiopian priests keep much under wraps but many, many churches throughout Ethiopia have tabots, supposed stone replicas of the Ark. As the author stated, if you want to hide a tree, put it in a forest. These were diversionary tactics no doubt to focus one's attention away from the location of the true Ark (or cover something up altogether).

Another "regional theory" I hold comes simply from the apocrypha in II Maccabees 2:1-8. Quoting from the RSV (Oh horrors!)

One finds in the records that Jeremiah the prophet ordered those who were being deported to take some of the fire, as has been told, and that the prophet after giving them the law instructed those who were being deported not to forget the commandments of the Lord, nor to be led astray in their thoughts upon seeing the gold and silver statues and their adornment. And with other similar words he exhorted them that the law should not depart from their hearts. It was also in the writing that the prophet, having received an oracle, ordered that the tent and the ark should follow with him, and that he went out to the mountain where Moses had gone up and had seen the inheritance of God. And Jeremiah came and found a cave, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense, and he sealed up the entrance. Some of those who followed him came up to mark the way, but could not find it. When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and declared: "The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy. And then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear, as they were shown in the case of Moses, and as Solomon asked that the place should be specially consecrated."

Although I do not usually quote another version than the KJV, the essence of the story is purely historical. Notice first of all that the story is written in the records and shows a second-hand telling. This does not mean it was the Ark's final resting place. However, Jeremiah hid it in a cave at Mount Pisgah, the location Moses viewed the Promised Land. Some curiosity seekers who originally followed Jeremiah tried marking the way but Jeremiah rebuked them saying that the Ark would remain hidden until the end times. Keep this thought in mind when we come to a later theory. If they tried marking the way, the implication may have been that Jeremiah could have moved the Ark again. However, at face value, this Scripture indicates it was hidden East of Jerusalem. Ironically it was this very Scripture that supports Ron Wyatt's excavations in the area of the crucifixion. The consideration was that this Scripture was mistranslated and the mountain that the Ark was hidden in was the one seen from, NOT at Mount Pisgah! This was, in turn, where our Lord was crucified and the cave Ron excavated was underneath.

Now for the "far away" theories. The first of them I will not elaborate in much detail except to say that the Knights Templar know the whereabouts and have the Ark. They obtained the Ark during a quest to the Holy Land (the author of Morfessa's book I read during my vacation claimed that their quest lead them to Ethiopia as well). I remember seeing a TV program about the Templars showing secret sealed stone chambers (actually there were several) all claiming to have the Ark. That happened a long time ago before or during the 'crusades' timeframe. Although I am not very well versed in this theory, there are various times and outcomes told as to their quest and retrieval of the Ark.

Lastly, the theory I like best (but can't prove) is that the prophet Jeremiah took the Ark to Ireland along with the harp of David (the national symbol of Ireland) and the stone Liafail. (You can find that information in "Judah's Sceptre/Joseph's Birthright" by J.H. Allen) It would make sense to me that the Ark would remain with the children of Israel, especially the 'birthright' tribes ruled by the house of David. Mind you, I have nothing against the Ethiopians or anyone else for that matter. But except for the royal connection in the case of Prince Menelik, the Ethiopians had no major national identity with Israel beforehand and as such were not the people of the covenant. But who knows for certain? God works in mysterious ways.

So there you have it. There are enough theories there for you to explore for the next few months. But wherever the Ark ended up, I must admit it was a fantastic 'piece of furniture' that left an impression on the children of Israel long after anybody remembered what happed to it.

Back to Great Pyramid and Sacred Measure Index

Home