The Ark of the Covenant Found? ‘This Isn’t Raiders of the Lost Ark’

This isn’t fantasy, and it’s not “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” End times expert Michael Snyder says Israeli officials—among others—know exactly where the Ark of the Covenant is located, and there will come a time soon for that location to be revealed.

And once that location is finally revealed, Snyder says, “the Israeli people will see an immediate need to construct a new temple for it.” And the construction of a third temple will fulfill Bible prophecy, as the Messianic Bible reads “that the Hebrew prophets all proclaimed that in the last days, the exiles of Israel would return to the Promised Land and that the Temple would be rebuilt.”

Ezekiel 37:28 reads, “Then the nations will know that I, the Lord, make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.

Free Messianicbible.com says “These phenomenal end-time events are unfolding before our very eyes!”

Snyder says the “truth is that the location of the Ark of the Covenant has actually been known for decades.

For those who aren’t familiar with what the Ark of the Covenant is, Britannica.com defines it as: the ornate, gold-plated wooden chest that in biblical times housed the two tablets of the Law given to Moses by God. The Ark rested in the Holy of Holies inside the Tabernacle of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem and was seen only by the high priest of the Israelites on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

One reader told Snyder that the Temple Institute “has even publicly admitted that they know exactly where the Ark of the Covenant is. The following excerpt comes from the page where the Temple Institute answers frequently asked questions:

“The Ark of the Covenant is one of the most fascinating of all Temple-related subjects. There are many theories about what happened to the Ark of the Covenant, and speculation abounds as to its actual location. Some people think it was taken to the Vatican, together with other Temple vessels, such as those depicted on the Roman monument, the Arch of Titus. There are many authentic, ancient historical chronicles and even more popular legends, that attest to many sacred vessels having been taken away to Rome. However, this does not apply to the most holy feature of the First Temple, the Ark.

“While some claim to have evidence that the ark is in Ethiopia, and of course, moviegoers were treated to a fanciful version of the story in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” in reality, the expression ‘lost’ ark is not an accurate description for the Jewish people’s point of view—because we have always known exactly where it is. So the Ark is ‘hidden,’ and hidden quite well, but it is not lost.

“Tradition records that even as King Solomon built the First Temple, he already knew, through divine inspiration, that eventually it would be destroyed. Thus Solomon, the wisest of all men, oversaw the construction of a vast system of labyrinths, mazes, chambers and corridors underneath the Temple Mount complex. He commanded that a special place be built in the bowels of the earth, where the sacred vessels of the Temple could be hidden in case of approaching danger. Midrashic tradition teaches that King Josiah of Israel, who lived about 40 years before the destruction of the First Temple, commanded the Levites to hide the Ark, together with the original menorah and several other items, in this secret hiding place which Solomon had prepared.

“This location is recorded in our sources, and today, there are those who know exactly where this chamber is. And we know that the ark is still there, undisturbed, and waiting for the day when it will be revealed. An attempt was made some few years ago to excavate towards the direction of this chamber. This resulted in widespread Moslem unrest and rioting. They stand a great deal to lose if the Ark is revealed—for it will prove to the whole world that there really was a Holy Temple, and thus, that the Jews really do have a claim to the Temple Mount.”

Snyder says he disagrees with the Temple Institute about who hid it. Instead of King Josiah, Snyder says he believes Jeremiah hid it in order to keep it from being captured by the Babylonians.

“But we all agree where it is right now,” Snyder says. “It is in a cave under the Temple Mount, and it will stay there until the time comes for it to be revealed. And, that could happen a lot sooner than you think.”

Once it is finally revealed, it will be just a matter of time before Jewish leaders start conducting sacrifices. In fact, the Temple Institute says that such offerings could actually begin before the building of the Temple itself.

There are other explanations by other scholars and experts.

Watch this video to see Barfield’s extensive explanation on why he and others believe that the Ark of Covenant is in Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered recently. Qumran is located on the northwestern shore of the dead Sea in the Judean Desert, between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.

Snyder says, in his opinion, that the “public revelation of the Ark of the Covenant could be the catalyst” of the building of the Third Temple. “Once the entire world sees that the Ark of the Covenant still exists, that will change everything,” Snyder says.

And, he says, it will be the “greatest archaeological bombshell in human history.” {eoa}

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Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.