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Ark of the Covenant Discovery, Part 2
The Apocrypha
Before we continue, there ARE two references in non-biblical sources
which are interesting. In the Apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees, we read:
2:2 The records show that it was Jeremiah who... 4,... prompted by a
Divine message, the prophet gave orders that the Tent of Meeting and the
Ark should go with him. Then he went to the mountain from the top of
which Moses saw God's promised land. 5 When he reached the mountain,
Jeremiah found a cave-dwelling; he carried the tent, the Ark, and the
incense altar into it, then blocked up the entrance. 6 Some of his
companions came to mark out the way, but were unable to find it. 7 When
Jeremiah learned of this he reprimanded them. `The place shall remain
unknown', he said, `until God finally gathers His people together and
shows mercy to them. 8 Then the Lord will bring these things to light
again, and the glory of the Lord will appear with the cloud, as it was
seen both in the time of Moses, and when Solomon prayed that the shrine
might be worthily consecrated.
The writer in this letter to "Jewish kinsmen in Egypt, the Jews who
are in Jerusalem, and those in the country of Judea," explains where he
received this information:
"These same facts are set out in the official records and in the
memoirs of Nehemiah. Just as Nehemiah collected the chronicles of the
kings, the writings of prophets, the works of David, and royal letters
about sacred offerings, to found his library, so Judas also has
collected all the books that had been scattered as a result of our
recent conflict. These are in our possession, and if you need any of
them, send messengers for them."
Also worthy of note: the quote in 2 Maccabees, above, could have been
mis-translated over the years and originally have stated that the Ark was
hidden NOT in the mountain Moses was ON when he viewed the promised land
(Mt. Nebo, Deu. 32:49), but instead it could mean that the Ark was hidden
IN the mountain that Moses SAW when he viewed the promised land. From Nebo
he would have been able to see Jerusalem because of its high altitude.
In the Pseudepigraphal book called "The Paralipomena of Jeremiah"
(meaning "the remaining words of Jeremiah") it is also written that
Jeremiah, in obedience to God's command, hid the sacred objects from the
temple just before the destruction of Jerusalem. Neither of these
books are to be trusted as completely accurate - however, they do show a
strong tradition that has Jeremiah hiding, or having someone else hide,
the Ark and other objects from the temple. Is there any truth in these two
books? Perhaps. Since Jeremiah WAS the prophet in Jerusalem during the
time of Josiah (when the Ark was brought back into the temple) and he
continued through to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, it is
logical to believe it possible that God directed him to have the Ark and
other sacred items hidden. Also, Jeremiah wrote:
JER 3:16 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.
The implication here is that at the time he wrote this (during the
reign of Josiah, v. 6), they still had the Ark in their possession. This
entire passage, which begins with verse 6, is a plea to turn from their
apostasy, although their captivity was already foretold by Isaiah.
Therefore, could this above verse about the Ark of the Covenant be a
prediction that they no longer will have it when they return from
captivity? Just two verses later, he writes:
JER 3:18 IN THOSE DAYS the house of Judah shall walk with the house
of Israel, and THEY SHALL COME TOGETHER OUT OF THE LAND OF THE NORTH to
the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
The "land of the north" was Babylon where they would soon spend 70
years in captivity. If this understanding is correct, it indicates that
Jeremiah DID have knowledge that they would no longer have the Ark when
they returned from Babylon. But also important to note is that he CLEARLY
indicated that "neither shall that be done ANYMORE", which is proof that
there is no promise of it ever being reinstated. In fact, in Ezekiel, when
he gives the instructions for the temple, he gives NO instructions which
included the Ark. It was never mentioned.
Since Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonian siege wall during the
time the Ark seemed to have disappeared, Ron believed it may have been
possible for someone to have taken it to a location within the siege wall
and not be detected. The quotes we read above agree with the "time," but
we just don't know for sure - and again, these books are not inspired so
we cannot rely on them.
The Location of the Site
Jerusalem is situated on two hills, traditionally referred to as "Mt.
Moriah" and Mt. Zion". Moriah is the one on the right, while Zion is on
the left (although the Bible refers to the entire city as "Zion"). To the
extreme right can be seen the beginning of the Mt. of Olives. "Moriah" is
mentioned only twice in the Bible - first as the place Abraham was told to
take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice, and second as the place where the
temple was built:
GEN 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom
thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there
for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee
of.
2CH 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at
Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his
father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of
Ornan the Jebusite.
The quarry which contains the site Ron was to excavate, is part of the
northern extension of Mt. Moriah. On the east, south and west sides of
Jerusalem are very deep valleys which protect the city from foreign
invaders. But on this north side, they were vulnerable. Therefore, a "dry
moat" or trench was quarried out of "Mt. Moriah" on the north
side to prevent an enemy from being able to simply reach and break through
the wall along this ridge. Then, at some unknown point in time, the
northern portion of Moriah, now separated from the city, was used as a
stone quarry. Starting on the south end of this now separated part of Moriah,
on the western side, stone was cut out of the mountain, lowering the
ground level to that of the trench which extends just outside of the north
wall.
The site Ron pointed to was along the quarried face (escarpment) of
Mt. Moriah. This cliff-face is referred to by some as "the Calvary
escarpment" because it contains the "skull-face" that many believe was
"Golgotha" or "Calvary" where Christ was crucified. It also contains the
site traditionally called "Jeremiah's Grotto", the "Garden Tomb" (where
many believe Christ was buried) and St. Etienne which contains a large
complex of Jewish tombs dating to the first and second temple periods cut
into the side of the mountain. The escarpment is many hundreds of feet
long. And it was Ron's belief that this WAS the general area of the
crucifixion, and the Garden Tomb, he also believed, was indeed that of
Joseph of Arimathaea which had once held the body of Christ. But these
things were not related to this project. He was now searching for the Ark
of the Covenant.
Next Page:: The Ark
of the Covenant, Continued
INDEX
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