What Happened to the Ark of the Covenant?

Question

There's nothing religious aout whether the Ark existed, that's a piece of history. I believe that, last we heard of it, it was in the hands of the Philistines. That may have been the single most valuable, and feared, treasure the world had ever known. Besides the fact it was made with a ton of gold (not a literal ton), it was what the Jewish people credited with all their seemingly miraculous military victories against far superior armies, and the Philistines believed it. So, naturally, it would have been a really highly treasured and guarded heirloom. With all that in mind, do you think it may still exist somewhere?

Answer 1

The Ark of the Covenant was in the Temple at the time of the Prophet Jeremiah. Remember, the Philistines had it, but returned it. (I Samuel 6:11-12)

In the book of Jeremiah, he recounts to us the future of the Ark of the Covenant, as the people are returned from the exile. "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." (Jeremiah 3:16)

Answer 2

Well, It was made out o wood overlaid with gold, so unless i ended up in a glacier smehwere under ice, the wood most likely decayed, and the gold that covered it... well, it may have formed an empty shell with the rotten wood still inside, but the point is the ark almost certainly doesn't exist in the way it used to anymore.

Answer 3

Some people say it's located somewhere in Ethopia or maybe it is buried under the rock of the dome that the Muslims pray in, in Jersualem. It has been said that muslims do take over the sites of other religious faith if they aren't using them. It's been rumor that the second temple is buried under the rock of the dome. Or if you want to see a fun movie on this subject go see Indian Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Answer 4

It was in the hands of the Philistines? Then it got dismantled and made into Jewelry. It, like any other tool had to be used in a certain way for it to work...like your computer, or even your cellphone. Its not intact in a warehouse or basement somewhere, that's fictional imaginings. If it was buried perhaps then only by chance will it be found and used correctly. Like the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Answer 5

I read a story from a Masonic Rabbi, that it had been found, and the red heifers have been bred and the materials for the temple gathered, for the rebuilding and sacrifices re established. I guess that this will take place during the 7 year tribulation. The Anti Christ will deceive a lot of people, but when he does the abomination of desolation it will be in the temple.

Answer 6

The Bible doesn't say. King Josiah commanded that it be returned to the temple in 642 BCE according to 2 Chronicales 35:3. Josiah had extensive repairs done to the temple, so he may have moved it at that time. It wasn't listed among the temple articles taken to Babylon, but Jeremiah foretold of a time when it woud "be no more" at Jeremiah 3:16,17. It was referred to at Revelation 11:19 where it says: "And the temple [sanctuary] of God that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple [sanctuary]."

Answer 7

Nobody really knows for sure but God right now. It is somewhere but where is the big question. I believe it will be discovered before Jesus comes again but that is just my thought on that. Wouldn't that be great to be able to see the actual ark? And especially what is on the inside of it, the tables that were written with the finger of God.

Answer 8

The Ark of the covenant, as you pointed out is the most valuable artifact on earth. It is a physical link between God and humanity. And you are right, God would never allow it to be destroyed. It lies, right now in the most amazing place you could EVER imagine. Therefore sealing, forever, the fact that God is in COMPLETE control over EVERYTHING. Nature, people, EVERYTHING. To read where it is, go to this web site : http://www.dccsa.com/greatjoy/ark.html
and be prepared to be amazed.....

Answer 9

The Temple was destroyed in the 6th century BCE. What do you think the enemies would have done with something of such value?

When the 2nd Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, there was nothing in the Holy of Holies.

Where did God go? I like to think that God became Jesus for the Christians and resides in the words of Torah for Jews.

Answer 10

Ethiopian Orthodox Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Axum, Ethiopia claims to still possess the Ark of the Covenant. Local tradition maintains that it was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I following a visit to his father King Solomon. Although it was once paraded before the town once each year, it is now kept under constant guard in a "treasury" near the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, and only the head priest of the church is allowed to view it. Most Western historians are skeptical of this claim.

Dr Bernard Leeman, in his 2005 book "Queen of Sheba and Biblical Scholarship" (Queensland Academic Press) accepts the Ethiopian traditions. He argues that the Ge'ez narrative of the Sheba-Menelik Cycle of the Kebra Nagast supports the case that ancient Judah was in west Arabia not Palestine and that Menelik's escape with the Ark follows landmarks and place names in Asir,Yemen, and Eritrea. Second, Leeman draws attention to the Ark culture of Arabia (detailed in Munro-Hay and Grierson's works), the "Hebrewisms" in the Ancient West Arabian language, the word for Ark in Ge'ez (which is taken from pre-Babylonian captivity Hebrew), inscriptions in Sabaean near Mekele that speak of Hebrew resident there ca. 800 B.C. ruled by three queens of Sheba, and the continued presence in the region of a Hebraic remnant group, the Ibro (or Yibir) of northern Somalia.