The Final Blasphemy to the Face of an Angry God

By Gary Brannock

Just what was the Lost Ark of the Covenant? Was it just an
elaborately designed golden layered box that carried the Ten
Commandments? The Bibles book of Exodus states that God
communed with His chosen people by speaking through Moses
when he sat on the mercy seat of the Ark.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462878321

Book preview

Chapter 1

A Search for the Lost Ark

This journey begins as a curious and cryptic search for the Lost Ark of the Covenant. The reasons for this search will be more than just an attempt to find out what happened to the Ark. There will also be an attempt to better understand the Ark’s mystical powers and how it gave the Israelites an advantage in times of war over all their enemies.

The Bible’s book of Exodus tells the story of God’s chosen people being held as slaves in the land of Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramsess II from the years 1290-1224 BC. After leading the Lord’s people out of Egypt Moses meets with God on Mount Sinai. Upon his return from the mountain Moses brings back the laws of God to the Israelites carved into stone tablets. What is odd is that the Bible doesn’t explain why, but states that when Moses returned from the mountain top he had such an eerie glow about him that his people are afraid of him, and some texts state that his hair had turned white.

This should make one pause and ask, just what was Moses exposed to while he was on Mount Sinai? What could cause a man’s hair to turn white and make his whole body glow? In today’s world it would seem as though Moses had suffered a severe exposure to radiation. But this did not happen in today’s world, it happened three thousand years ago. And anyone who had received enough radiation to cause them to glow would surely die, but Moses lived another forty years.

Next the Lord instructs Moses to have the Israelites build an Ark from precise measurements and to place the stone tablets with His laws inside of it. The size of the Ark varies depending how one translates cubits to feet. It is estimated to have been four feet four inches long, two feet seven inches wide, and two feet seven inches tall.

Again, why would God have the Israelites construct an Ark considerably larger than needed to house the stone tablets?

God also gives specific instructions for the type of wood, known as shittim, to be used in the construction of the Ark. This wood is very hard and durable much like the bones in a physical being.

Next God has the Israelites to completely cover the Ark in gold inside and out.

Why would God want the Ark to be covered in gold? Was it to show that He was wealthy in a worldly sense?

The book of Exodus states that when Moses sat on the mercy seat between the two golden cherubims that he and God were able to communicate with one another.

Were those two gold cherubims on top of the Ark merely a semblance to heavenly angels, or were they there for some other unknown purpose?

In today’s electronic world crystals are used in all communication devices because they can be cheaply massed produced by growing them in a lab environment. But during the time of Moses for one to communicate from a great distance in a literal sense, gold would be the best conductor in making it possible.

On top of the Ark’s gold plating was another cover of tach-hash which is thought to be the skin of an animal that became extinct not long after the Ark was made. It’s said this was done to keep the Ark from harming those that got close to it. So, this leaves one to question, was the Ark covered in this manner to keep an unknown force trapped inside?

Is it possible there was an object in the Ark other than just those stone tablets? An object not of this world that allowed Moses and God to communicate in a literal sense? An object only God and Moses knew about? An object that could cause an electrical shock or a radiation burn?

After all, the book of Exodus states only certain anointed ones could carry the Ark; and those who were not could be harmed or even killed if they got to close and touched it.

Upon reaching the promised land the Israelites were forced to protect their new land by fighting for their God given right to be there from other tribes and forces. They were able to defeat all who came against them by obeying God, which was to consult the Ark and taking it with them when going into battle. So, as long as they had the Ark and were in God’s favor the Israelites could not be defeated by their enemies.

Although the Bible does tells of a time when the Philistines take possession of the Ark and take it back to Palestine. While in their possesison they have disastrous luck whenever they get close to the Ark. They are inflicted with tumors and boils and their land is overrun with huge rats. In fact the Philistines had such bad atrocities happen to them that they gladly gave the Ark back to the Israelites with offerings to insure that its curse on them would go away.

Why did the Philistines give the Ark back to the Israelites? They knew it gave the Israelites the power to win all wars against their enemies, so why didn’t they just destroy the Ark? Could they not get close enough to destroy it? And why did they give it back with offerings of their own? Did they see or hear something come from the Ark that made them afraid of it?

Once the Israelites got the Ark back from the Philistines they hid it in a wooded area nine miles outside of Jerusalem where it remained until David was crowned king.

It is believed that David was King of Israel from 1003 BC till 970 BC. At the beginning of his reign David had the Ark of the Covenant brought out of its hiding place to the land of Zion by the Levites. The Bible states that David was so happy to have the Ark that he danced like a man possessed all the way to Zion. There he built a temporary temple and made sacrifices to it and gave the responsibility of watching over it to the Levites. King David wanted to build a temple in Jerusalem to house the Ark, but had to become a warrior king and fight to hold on to the promised land for his people for most of his life. He was promised by God that his son Solomon would build the Holy Temple in which to house the Ark in his place.

After King David’s death his son Solomon was crowned King of Israel around the year 970 BC and he ruled for forty years.

Just as God had promised David it became Solomon’s job to build the sacred Holy Temple of God. This Temple was to be built on the very same spot that Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac which today is known as Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. Once again precise measurements and details were given as to how theTemple was to be built.

Once the Temple was ready there was a big ceremony of burnt offerings and worshipping God and making animal sacrifices to Him as the Ark was brought into the Temple. Once the Ark was in its proper place, according to the Bible, the Holiest of Holies came down from Heaven in Spirit consumed in smoke and dwelled inside the Temple and communed with His chosen people.

That was the last known time in the history of the world that God was able to descend from Heaven and commune with mankind on earth.

From the moment man was deceived by Satan, God could no longer return to earth because He is the opposite of sin. So the hearts and minds of all the people in Jerusalem on that day had to be totally in tune with God with no impure thoughts on their minds or in their hearts. What a feat that was for them to accomplish!

According to the Bible King Solomon was a very wise ruler and in great favor with God as the King of Israel. In fact he was blessed with so much wealth he had to hide much of his treasures in secret caves known as mines under his kingdom and under the Temple Mount.

But, it is said in some ancient texts that he turned away from God in his later years over his lust for a woman named Makeda the Queen Of Sheba from Ethiopia. It was rumored that Makeda had a son by King Solomon who she named Menelik. When the Queen’s son was old enough she revealed to him that King Solomon was his father. Menelik then made the trip to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon.

It is here that these texts are various as to what happens next. One version is that Solomon welcomed Menelik into his fold and when it’s time for him to return to Ethiopia, Solomon gives Menelik the Ark as a gift to take back with him.

Another version is that Menelik, under the cover of darkness, finds and steals the Ark and takes it back with him to Ethiopia.

Yet a third explanation is that King Solomon had a replica of the original Ark made and gave that to Menelik to take back to Ethiopia.

Since there is no way of knowing for sure what happened a logical and practical approach must be used to distinguish which one of these three versions was most likely to have taken place.

First, it’s hard to believe that Solomon would have allowed