WHAT AND WHERE IS
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

Exodus 25:10-22 Have them make an Ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and half cubits high. Overlay it with pure gold inside and out, and make a golden molding around it. Cast four golden rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, two rings on one side and two on the other. Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.Then take the poles and put them through the rings on the sides of the Ark in order to carry it. Keep the poles inside the rings of the Ark. Don't remove them.Then take the Testimony and place it inside the Ark. Then make the Atonement Cover, out of pure gold, two and half cubits long, one and half cubits wide.And make two Cherubim, out of hammered gold at each end of the Cover. Make one Cherub on one end of the Cover and another Cherub on the other. Make the Cherubim out of the same piece as you make the Cover, at the two ends. The Cherubim are to be turned toward each other with their faces toward the Cover and their wings spread upward so that the Cover is overshadowed by them. Place the Cover on top of the Ark and place the Testimony, which I'll give you, inside it. There I'll meet with you and speak to you of My commandments for the Israelites, there, above the Atonement Cover and between the two Cherubim on top of the Ark of the Testimony.

The Ark of the Covenant was the first piece of the tabernacle's furniture for which precise directions were delivered (Exodus 25). It appears to have been an oblong chest of shittim (acacia) wood, 2 1/2 cubits long by 1 1/2 broad and deep. Within and without gold was overlaid on the wood, and on the upper side or lid, which was edged round about with gold, the mercy-seat was placed. The ark, when transported, was enveloped in the "veil" of the dismantled tabernacle, in the curtain of badgers' skins, and in a blue cloth over all, and was therefore not seen (Numbers 4:5,20). Its purpose of object was to contain inviolate the Divine autograph of the two tables, that "covenant" from which it derived its title. It was also probably a reliquary for the pot of manna and the rod of Aaron. It was also the support of the mercy-seat, materially symbolizing, perhaps, the "covenant" as that on which "mercy" rested.

Biblical History of the Ark
Ark is to be made according to God's instructions. (Exodus 25:1, 10-15)
Philistines return the Arc (Joshua 3:14-17)
Arc remains at Kiriath-Jearim for 20 years (Joshua 6:6-20)
Ark is used to divide the river Jordan (1 Samuel 5:1)
John sees the Ark in God's temple in heaven (1 Samuel 6:1-16)
Ark is brought to Obed-edom's house (1 Samual 7:1-2)
Ark is carried in the march around the walls of Jericho (2 Samuel 6:10)
Ark in brought to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:12-15)
Philistines take the Ark (1 Kings 8:1-6)
Ark is placed in Solomon's temple (Revelation 11:19)

Theories
Great Pyramid and the Arc of the Covenant
What may have the Ark looked like?

In The United States? Buried in a government warehouse?
The fictional movie "Raiders Of The Lost Arc" ends with the Ark being stored in a huge secret warehouse full of boxes that say "Do Not Open."

In Ethiopia? The Sign And The Seal
This book by Graham Hancock, East Africa correspondent for The Economist, is summarized on the One World Magazine site. The Ethiopians have a story (history, they say, not a myth) that Prince Menelik, son of Solomon and The Queen of Sheba, brought The Ark to Ethiopia for safe-keeping and that it is in St. Mary's Chapel in Axum.
Grant Jeffrey has a section on this also in his book, Armageddon: Appointment With Destiny.

In France? The Lost Ark, the Shroud of Turin, and Enough Rope to Hang Myself
From the June 2, 1997 issue of PropheZine, James BeauSeigneur contributes an article adapted from his book, In His Image: Book One of The Christ Clone Trilogy, from Selective House Publishers. He relates the Ark to the Shroud of Turin and wonders if they weren't hidden in the tunnels under the Temple and later taken to France by the Knights Templars. The Shroud moved on to Turin, Italy, but, as the author points out, "...there is a secret society in France called the Prieure de Sion, which traces its origins to the Knights Templar. The head of the society has been quoted as saying that he knows where the Temple treasures are and that they will be returned to Jerusalem 'when the time is right.'"

In Heaven? The Missing Ark
John F. Elliott of Grace Ministries points out that In The book of The Revelation John saw the Ark in the Heavenly Temple. Is that the same Ark or a Heavenly Version?

On Mt. Nebo? The Prophetic Telegraph - No.78 January 1996
This article, though favoring another view, reports that in 1982, a team which included Tom Crotser, Jim Bollinger, and the astronaut Jim Irwin, claimed to have found and photographed the Ark in a cave in Mount Nebo, the mountain where Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death.

In The Dead Sea Caves? The Qumran Legacy
Archaeologist Vendyl Jones believed the Ark would be found near the place the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
In Jerusalem? Is the Ark in the Dome of The Rock?
Jack Van Impe reports in the August '96 edition of his Intelligence Briefing report that an English archaeologist may have found the Ark in a stone niche there.

At Calvary? Another possibility
Ron Wyatt proposes the theory that the Ark of the Covenant is buried in a cave under the place of the crucifixion of Christ where His blood would drip onto the mercy seat.
The January 1996 issue of the Prophetic Telegraph relates the same information.
See also: "Discovered" - Jonathan Gray

Under The Temple Mount? Where Is The Ark?
Thomas McCall says that Rabbi Shlomo Goren and Rabbi Yehuda Getz, the rabbis in charge of the Western Wall area, are convinced that the Ark has been hidden in a cave in the Temple Mount directly under the site of the Holy of Holies. Wherever it is, the intense interest in it by Jewish Rabbis is a sign of the nearness of the Rapture. Zola Levitt's Letter, January 1997.

Where Is The Ark Of The Covenant Now? (February '97)
Written version of a recent broadcast by John Ankerberg. His guests included Dr. Jimmy De Young who claims that a prestigious Rabbi told him he had actually seen the Ark under the Temple area, but that they wouldn't bring it out yet because there is not Temple into which to place it.