Ark of the Covenant

There are people today who believe they will find the ark of the covenant somewhere on this earth. Members of the Temple Mount claim to know where it is.   If these people were to read Scriptures and believe in God they would learn the Ark of the Covenant was seen in God's Temple in the heavenlies.  Therefore, it is not on this earth.

Hebrews 9:1-4 describes the physical House of God - 

Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room were the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

Revelation 11:19 refers to the spiritual House of God - 

Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.

When was the last time it was written of?

1 Chronicles 15:28

.... all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh with shouting, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and with cymbals and the music of harps and lyres.

King David prepared a place for the ark in Jerusalem as the House of God had not been built yet. When Solomon became king, he had his palace and the temple built. When it was finished:

1 Kings 8

Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of God to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles. 9-There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where Yahweh had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.

The jar of manna and Aaron's staff were no longer present inside the ark. This temple was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of the Babylonian Empire in 587 BC. What I have learned so far is that no remains of the destroyed temple have ever been found.

2 Kings 24:10 -

At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon.

So, in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive. As Yahweh had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off all the treasures from the house of God and the royal palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple .... He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.

Somewhere from the time there is no longer any mention of the ark in Scriptures to this verse in Revelation Yahweh must have removed the ark of the covenant from this earth. A lot of gold treasures are mentioned as being taken to Babylon (Iraq) but there is no specific mention of the ark. No matter who took it or tried to hide it, the Ark of Covenant was seen in His heavenly temple.

Atonement

Leviticus 16

:32 ~ The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments and make atonement for the Most Set Apart Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the assembly. This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement once a year for the people because of all their sins. And all this was done as Master Yahweh had commanded Moses.…

Atonement was necessary because of the impurities and rebellious acts of that mixed multitude that came out of Egypt in regard to all their sins. It is just as necessary for us today and it is Y'shua the Anointed One, Son of the Heavenly Father, who shed his blood for the atonement of our sins. 

Atonement is the act of making amends, offering expiation for a wrong or injury which reconciles believers to Yahweh through the death of His Son, Yahshua, who said no-one comes to the Father except through him. This isn't a catch-all or end game scenario. Y'shua's shed blood only covers those who abide by YHWH's Instructions and have the testimony of His Son. When we come into covenant with our Creator we agree to the terms of that covenant. If we don't we shall not be part of the first resurrection at the return of Y'shua.

In Matthew 26 Y'shua told his 12 apostles: 

"This is my blood of the renewed covenant, which for the sake of many is shed for the forgiveness of sins."

For the sake of many, not for the sake of everybody.

And in John 10 Y'shua tells them: 

"There is no love that is greater than this, that a man lay down his life for the sake of his friends. You are my friends if you do all that I commanded you everything that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

He laid down his life for those who live by all that he has taught which is everything he has heard from our Creator aka YHWH's Instructions (Genesis through Deuteronomy). This is the blood of the renewed covenant, the writings found in what is commonly called the New Testament.

Revelation 12:11- And they overcame (Satan, the Accuser), because of the blood of the Lamb, (Y'shua, whom they acknowledge openly); and they loved not their own lives, even to death. In Leviticus 17:11 Yah says- "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have assigned it to you for making atonement for your lives. It is the blood, as life, that effects atonement."

When we spend time reading Scriptures it becomes clear as to what our responsibilities are if we desire to spend a thousand years with Y'shua as our king and high priest and have eternal life.  How many times have I thought to myself, "O, to have been there to hear him speak! To reach out and touch the hem of his garment and be healed!" Well folks, in order to be sharing the earth with Messiah for a thousand years there are rules and regulations set forth by the Father. It is by His Set Apart Spirit we see these truths and choose Life, the Blessing, the promise YHWH made with Abraham. We come into covenant with our Creator.  It is a choice, not automatic inclusion. It is made possible by His Son who taught us the Good News of the Kingdom to Come, wherein we find comfort.

Love Yah first and foremost, love your fellowman as yourself and let His Set Apart Spirit comfort you with all truth.  Accept Yahweh and have eyes to see the spoken word and ears that hear the written word. Humble yourself and allow YWHW to lift you up in due time. Recognize the need for atonement, accept the blood of the renewed covenant as necessary for the life of your soul.  We were once carnal Gentiles but are no longer slaves to our old sin nature because we have the testimony of Y'shua Son of Yahweh, and we are in convent with the Creator.  

Let us cling to the Rock of our Salvation.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

What is a covenant?
It's an agreement between two or more persons, also known as:

contract - promise - pact - understanding

When Elohim makes a promise it is to bring about a relationship between Himself and His people.  He explains what is expected (the terms) and then we choose whether or not to accept His Terms.  If we agree with His terms then we must uphold our end of the deal.

When we accept and agree to do as He says, we are to abide by the 'Terms of the Contract'.  In order to know the terms we need to read Scriptures, beginning with Genesis, wherein YHWH explains what is expected of His People.

Genesis 2:15 - YHWH Elohim took Adam and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.  And He commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die."

This was the understanding between Yah and Adam.

Genesis 3 - Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts... He said to the woman, "Did Elohim really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?"  Eve replied, "We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden. It is only  about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden Elohim said 'You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.'  And the serpent said to her, "You are not going to die, but Elohim knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad."

Thus, the serpent caused Eve to doubt the Word of Elohim and also convinced Adam to do likewise.  They betrayed the understanding between them and their Creator. YHWH banished them from the Garden.  Their faith, their trust in the Creator was tested - they did not resist temptation; the devil did not flee from them.

Fast-forward to the time of Noah.

In Genesis 6 YHWH tells Noah He's going to put an end to all flesh because of how corrupt the earth had become, filled with lawlessness.  He instructs Noah in the building of the ark because of the flood to come.

Genesis 6:17 - For My part, I am about to bring the Flood... to destroy all flesh under the sky... everything on earth shall perish. But I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark with your sons, your wife and your sons' wives...
Genesis 9:9 - I now establish My covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing that is with you... all that have come out of the ark, every living thing on earth.  I will maintain My covenant with you: never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.
Genesis 9:12 - This is the sign that I set for the covenant between Me and you... for all ages to come.  I have set My bow in the clouds and it shall serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.  When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living creature among all flesh, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.  When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between Me and all living creatures, all flesh on earth.  That shall be the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and all flesh that is on earth."

The promise here is that Elohim will not flood the world again in order to destroy all flesh.  He calls this an everlasting covenant which means it is still in effect in this day and age.  Think about this next time you see a rainbow.

Moving along, in Genesis 12 YHWH makes a promise to Abram.  He tells Abram to leave 'home' and travel to the land He will show him.

Genesis 12:2 - I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you." (the terms of the contract)

Abram left and took his wife and his nephew Lot and all their belongings with him.  When they arrived in the land of Canaan YHWH appeared to Abram and told him, "I will assign this land to your offspring."

Eventually Abraham and Lot go separate ways.  

In Genesis 13:14 YHWH reminds Abraham that the land he sees belongs to him and his offspring forever - generation after generation. This covenant is still in effect.

Genesis 15:18 - On that day YHWH made a covenant with Abram saying, "To your offspring I assign this land 

Genesis 17 - I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between me and you and I will make you exceedingly numerous.  This is My covenant with you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; kings shall come forth from you.  I will maintain My covenant with you and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding.  I will be their Elohim. 

Genesis 17:9 - As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. Such shall be the covenant... every male among you shall be circumcised... that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.  Throughout the generations every male shall be circumcised at the age of eight days... Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact. If any male fails to do so he shall be cut off from his kin because he has broken My covenant. 

Genesis 17:19 - Sarah your wife shall bear you a son and you shall name him Isaac and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring to come... Ishmael I will bless... but My covenant I will maintain with Isaac.

Years go by and Abraham stays true to Elohim. Even so, YHWH tests him.  He tells Abraham to take his favorite son, Isaac, and offer him as a burnt offering.  Abraham's faith is as such that He obeys the command and totally trusts Yah to know what He's doing.  He proceeds to the place as instructed.  Of course YHWH stops Abraham from slaying his son and now commits to blessing Abraham.

Genesis 22:17 - I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command.

In Genesis 26, YHWH tells Isaac about fulfilling the oath He swore to his father, Abraham, about the land and his descendants and the blessing -

26:5- Inasmuch as Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge: My commandments, My laws and My teachings (the terms of the covenant = obey the Creator).

In Genesis 28, YHWH meets Jacob and lets him know that He is the Elohim of Abraham and of Isaac. He reaffirms the covenant, points out the land that is his and his offspring and tell  him that He won't leave him until He has done what He has promised.

Genesis 35:10 -  You whose name is Jacob, you shall be called Jacob no more, but Israel shall be your name.  I am El Shaddai. Be fertile and increase; a nation, yes an assembly of nations, shall descend from you.  Kings shall issue from your loins.  The land that I assigned to Abraham and Isaac I assign to you; and to your offspring to come will I assign the land.

We learn that the Creator, our heavenly Father, made a promise long ago, an everlasting covenant with a select group of people:

Any one who obeys His Instructions and

Have the testimony of His Son

Life is in the Blood

We are instructed not to eat flesh with its life-blood in it (Genesis 9:4); not to partake of the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood (Leviticus 17:14); and a third time we are told: the blood is the life, and you must not consume the life with the flesh (Deuteronomy 12:23) pour it on the ground like water.

And in reading the following we discover Yah's Covenant truly is Everlasting.

Blood of the Covenant: 

Exodus 24:8 Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that Yahweh now makes with you concerning all these commands." 

Blood of the Renewed Covenant: 

Luke 22:20 And likewise also concerning the cup, after they had eaten supper, he said, "This is the cup of the renewed covenant in my blood which is shed for your sake."

Life is in the blood.
Life is the Blessing and Death is the Curse.

Deuteronomy 30:19- I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life if you and your offspring would live by loving Yahweh Elohim, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and long endure.

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We read beginning in John 6:48 that Y'shua says- I am the Bread of Life. This is the Bread that has descended from heaven that a man may eat from it and he will not die! I am the Living Bread who has descended from Heaven. And if a man should eat from this Bread, he will live forever. And the Bread that I give is my body which I give for the sake of the life of the world. 

Matthew 26:26- while they were dining, Y'shua took bread and blessed it, broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, "Take, eat. This is my body." And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them and said, "Take, drink from it, all of you (his 12 disciples). This is my blood of the renewed covenant, which for the sake of many is shed for the forgiveness of sins."

In John 10:11 Yahshua says he is the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the flock.  Then, in John 15:13 he says, "There is no love that is greater than this, that a man lay down his life for the sake of his friends. You are my friends if you do all that I commanded you - everything that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."

And what did Y'shua the Anointed One eventually do? He willingly fulfilled his part in the divine plan and was led to his death, without argument, without resistance. He laid down his life for his friends, those who abide by the Father's Instructions. His blood was shed for our sake, for atonement.

Revelation 12:11- And they overcame (Satan, the Accuser), because of the blood of the Lamb, (Yahshua, whom they acknowledge openly); and they loved not their own lives, even to death.  Leviticus 17:11 Yah says- "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have assigned it to you for making atonement for your lives. It is the blood, as life, that effects atonement."

In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses speaks to the people and tells them that Yahweh, "subjected you to the hardship of hunger and then gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had ever known, in order to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but may live on anything that Yahweh decrees". 

Matthew 4:4- Y'shua replies to the Accuser: It is written that the Son of man does not live by bread alone, but by all the Words that proceed from the mouth of Elohim.

The original Bread from heaven was 'manna'. This was a lesson being taught: Deuteronomy 8:3- He subjected you to the hardship of hunger and then gave you manna to eat in order to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but may live on anything that Yahweh decrees.

Who is the Word made Flesh? Who is the Living Bread from heaven? Who shed his blood for the sake of renewing the covenant and to save us from death?

As in the various types and shadows throughout the (OT), we are shown the physical events which point towards the spiritual applications for our lives in today's world. For example, there was the physical bread, the manna, which sustained His People in the wilderness and now, by means of the Renewed Covenant, we have the spiritual Bread of Life through Yahshua, which sustains us by Faith.

I'm seeing a harmonious cycle formed by having Faith in the One who created us as we abide by His plan to save us from death and adversity.  He had to do all of this because Satan became a thorn in His Side which will be removed. And Doubt is a thorn Satan tries to stick into our thoughts continually.  As you know, Satan caused Eve to Doubt the Instructions of Yahweh way back when, and paradise was placed just out of reach.  If we want to get back to the Garden we must choose Life and all the rules and regulations that go with it according to the Creator who had it all written down in His Owner's Manual = Scriptures.