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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



While the Temple in Jerusalem obviously represented the very center of Jewish spiritual life during the First Century, it should be noted that the primary component which even gave the Temple such great importance to Jews both within as well as without Israel, was lacking. To understand this, we need to travel back in time about fifteen hundred years prior to the First Century, to the time of Moses, and the following events which are described for us in the pages of the Torah:

"And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel."


"And thou shalt put it [the altar] before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee."


"And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it: And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about. And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat; One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims."


"And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat."


"And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"


As you can see from the previous verses, the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat represented an important nexus between our physical world and the Spirit World where God the Father, Jesus Christ, Angels and other entities dwell. It was in fact the communication center where God spoke with the Israelite nation; first through Moses, and then later through the high priest of the Levitical priesthood. Moses himself was the first high priest, and was then followed by his brother Aaron. As these verses reveal, the Lord would appear between the two cherubim which adorned the left and right sides of the Mercy Seat that sat on top of the Ark of the Covenant. Thus, the golden Mercy Seat represented God's presence on Earth. This point is very important, so please remember it as we continue our discussion.

Equally important, as its name implies, it was in front of the Mercy Seat that the chosen high priest would find Mercy and Forgiveness from our Heavenly Father for the sins of the Israelite nation, once each year. In effect, the Mercy Seat also represented the Throne of Grace of our Heavenly Father on Earth.

The Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat were carried about by the Israelites, supported by two poles. Whenever they took their rest, the Ark of the Covenant had a special place where it was kept inside the Tabernacle, behind the veil in the Holy of Holies. Later, once the Tabernacle had been replaced by the Temple which King Solomon built, the Ark of the Covenant was moved to the Holy of Holies within the Temple, which was also called the Oracle, or the Most Holy Place, for there it was that God communicated with the High Priest. These events are again confirmed by the following verses:

"Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God."


However, hundreds of years and many kings later, something very important happened to the Ark of the Covenant when God sent the Babylonian armies of King Nebuchadnezzar to destroy both Jerusalem and the Temple, as a result of the Jews' deep apostasy, around the year 586 BC. I discuss these issues in other articles such as "The Fruits of Disobedience". In a word, any mention of the Ark of the Covenant in the Books of the Old Testament just disappears after the Book of Jeremiah. As I note in other articles, the Prophet Jeremiah was still prophesying against the Jews of Jerusalem at the time of the final invasions by the Babylonians. The very last mention of the Ark of the Covenant is found in the following prophetic verse:

"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."


This verse seems to be saying that the Ark of the Covenant will be totally forgotten, and that the high priests will no longer visit it, or seek God's counsel in its presence. According to Jewish tradition -- which is not confirmed by the accepted Biblical Canon -- sometime prior to the final assault against Jerusalem, the Prophet Jeremiah supposedly hid the Ark of the Covenant in a cave somewhere in the city of Jerusalem -- being as the city was under siege and they could not leave it -- and sealed the entrance to the cave with stones.

As I mention in the article entitled "Faith and the Shroud of Turin: No Sign Shall Be Given", certain archeologists -- such as the now-deceased Ron Wyatt -- claim to have actually discovered the Ark of the Covenant. Regarding Wyatt, he says in some of his videos that the Ark is located in a cave that is situated directly below the actual Crucifixion site, which he claims is outside of the ancient perimeters of Jerusalem. Some people accuse Wyatt of being a fraud. While I personally have some reservations regarding the many claims that Wyatt made concerning his archeological discoveries, I must admit that in watching portions of one of his Ark of the Covenant videos, he did seem like an honest man who was sharing his Christian faith in a sincere manner with others. I did not detect any noticeable deception in his voice, or in his manner of comporting himself. I will say no more than this as I never knew the man personally.

Other people claim that the Ark of the Covenant is somewhere in Ethiopia, or hidden in a cave that is located at the base of Mount Nebo in Jordan. Another theory proposes that the Babylonians carried it off to Babylon, being as it would have been considered a valuable prize of war, since it was covered with plated gold both within and without. However, I consider this highly unlikely, being as any unauthorized person who touched the Ark either died immediately, or else received a plague of one sort or another, as we can easily determine by the following verses:

"And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven."


"Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God."


Whatever the case may be, the basic fact is that the Ark of the Covenant went missing following the Babylonian invasions. As I mention in the series "Sorry . . . Jesus is Not Coming at Any Moment", there are those Jews and Christians who are of the belief that a third and final Temple will be built on the summit of Mount Moriah in East Jerusalem, at some point in the near future. These people believe that at the right moment, once this final Temple has been built, the Orthodox Jews will present the Ark of the Covenant to the world once again. Is there any truth to this doctrine? Do the Israelis truly know where the Ark of the Covenant is now located? Are they purposely keeping it a secret until the opportune time arises? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that other than a brief mention of the Ark of the Old Testament period in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the only other New Testament verse that I am aware of is the following one that is found in the Book of Revelation:

"And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."


There are two ways that we can look at the previous verse. We can propose that it means that the physical things which are on this Earth, are merely temporal reflections of the eternal things which exist in Heaven; or we can theorize that perhaps for reasons which are only known to God, the actual Ark of the Covenant and Mercy Seat which were constructed by the ancient Israelites under Moses' direction, were in some way actually transported to Heaven prior to the final Babylonian invasion which resulted in the destruction of both Jerusalem and the Temple.

Regardless of what happened to the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat, the main point to consider here is that since the days of the Prophet Jeremiah, including at the time that Christ died on the Cross, they were missing from the Holy of Holies in the Second Temple, which was also known as Herod's Temple. While we have already examined the spiritual nature and implications of the Temple veil being torn in twain, as I mentioned earlier, I believe that there may be other reasons why God allowed this to happen as well. For one thing, this event no doubt signaled to the Jewish religious leaders that God was sorely displeased with them. Furthermore, perhaps it served as an omen that the oppressive religious power which they exerted over the common people would soon be ripped out of their hands, exactly as Jesus had prophesied in verses such as the following:

"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."


So maybe the Jewish religionists realized that the Temple veil being rent in twain was a sign from God, that their days as the spiritual leaders of Israel were in fact numbered. As we already know from history, they were indeed numbered, and their number was up in 70 AD when General Titus and the Roman legions laid siege to Jerusalem during the First Jewish-Roman War, and ultimately destroyed both Jerusalem and the Temple.

Furthermore, by ripping the Temple veil in half, God exposed the deception, and revealed that the Ark of the Covenant was nowhere to be found. Now, if we stop to consider everything that I have stated regarding the precise function of the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat, it is easy to understand why the Jewish religious leadership would not want this truth to be revealed. As we have seen, the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat represented the Lord's actual presence amongst the Jews. That the Lord in some way descended and appeared upon the Mercy Seat, and communicated with the Jewish high priest, demonstrated His favor with the Jewish nation.

Now please consider the previous thoughts in reverse, and you will quickly realize how serious of an issue this must have been for the Jewish religious hierarchy. In other words, the absence of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies was a clear indication that God had in fact abandoned their false religion centuries before. He grew tired of their idolatry, their sacrifices to other gods, and their spiritual whoredoms. However, the common people of the day may not have known that the Ark was missing from the Temple, because the Scribes and the Pharisees purposely kept them in the dark concerning it. The Temple veil being torn from top to bottom exposed what a dead, hollow, spiritless religion the Jewish hierarchy was forcing upon the people.

Please note that while I have stated that the Lord's Presence no longer appeared in the Holy of Holies in the Temple, this does not signify that He had abandoned the Jewish people as a whole. After all, the hundreds of Messianic Prophecies had to be fulfilled. Thus, there was still hope for them, and a great Light would soon shine on the horizon in the manner of Jesus Christ. However, the main point I would like for you to think about here, in addition to the spiritual symbolism regarding the Temple veil representing Christ's own flesh which was torn on the Cross, is that God's Spirit no longer abided, appeared or communicated with the Jewish high priest in the Temple. It was a dead, meaningless religion which was based on traditions and the doctrines of men, as Jesus Himself stated in verses such as the following:

"In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."


"Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."


"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."


"He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."


Now we are going to delve into some even deeper revelations which tie into that last thought. Not only was First Century Judaism -- or Pharisaism -- a dead religion, it was in fact a very devilish religion. While the absence of the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat signified the departure of the Lord's Spirit from the Temple, this does not mean that it departed entirely from the Earth. More correctly, we can say that, if anything, during the First Century, the Divine Spirit of our Heavenly Father was in fact present in all of its fulness and without measure into the very body of Jesus Christ. This truth is plainly revealed in these verses:

"For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him."


"For it pleased the Father that in him [in Jesus] should all fulness dwell;"


"For in him [in Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."


Now, if the Lord's Spirit no longer manifested itself in the Holy of Holies in the Temple as it had done in ages past; and if it now revealed itself in all its power and fulness by way of the many miracles which Jesus performed -- such as turning water into wine, multiplying food on occasions, healing the sick, raising the dead, walking on water, calming the seas, casting out demons, etc. -- what kind of conclusion can we draw regarding the spirit which inhabited the Temple on Mount Moriah? Do I really need to tell you? If you have any doubts about this, then please consider the indisputable truth which is revealed in the following verses:

"Ye [speaking to the Jewish leadership] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."


"I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."


"Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."


You see, it is my belief that the departure of God's Spirit from the Temple resulted in a spiritual vacuum being created. That vacuum apparently did not remain for very long. While the Jews who eventually returned from the Babylonian Exile and the Seventy Years of Captivity in Babylon -- Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, Ezra, et al -- started off on the right foot by rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple, and by inspiring their Jewish brethren to return to God and to forsake their sinful ways, at some point in time, the self-righteous, legalistic Scribes and Pharisees, as well as the Sadducees, took over the Temple compound. When they did this, it is evident that someone else took up residence with them as well. This was the situation that existed at the time that Jesus walked the Earth.

I propose that it may for this very reason, that this someone was in fact able to transport Jesus to the Temple compound, place Him on a pinnacle of the Temple, and there tempt Him to cast Himself down, as we see in the following verses.:

"Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."


"And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."


It seems to me that if the Temple was still hallowed ground, if God's Presence still resided or manifested itself there, Satan would not have been able to do this. Thus, based upon the previous verses, I conclude that the Devil now owned the place. The Temple compound became his turf. That explains why he possessed the power to move the Scribes and the Pharisees to indirectly murder Jesus. If you really think that Satan had no interest in controlling the Temple compound, then let me provide you with the final piece to this amazing Biblical jigsaw puzzle:

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?"


Please go to part six for the continuation of this series.

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