The Ark of the Covenant is said to be a gold plated wooden chest that contains a number of sacred artifacts, most famously the two stone tablets of which the ten commandments were written on. It was created by the Israelites around the year 1000 BC apparently in gods design, and has been a major piece of their religion right up until it vanished. The ark was said to be present for the 40 years the Jews were wandering the desert, and was carried with them the whole time.
It also made an appearance at the siege of Jericho, when the Israelites carried it round the city for a week before the walls suddenly fell down. There are many stories attributed to the ark and its powers, and it was undoubtedly the single most important symbol of hope and faith for the Jewish people.
After several successes for the Israelites, they placed the Ark on display in King Solomons temple it Jerusalem were it stayed for a number of years. In 597 BC the neighbouring Babylonian empire declared war on the Israelites and attacked the city of Jerusalem.
The Jews lost the city but managed to evacuate many of their people before they did so. After the Babylonians had left they returned to the city to find the Ark and all of their other treasures had gone. The ark was last seen by the Jews as the Babylonians make no mention of it within their records, probably not knowing what it was and stripping the gold off it.
The was the last time anyone mentioned the ark and it hasn’t been seen since, but there’s the big question of if it even existed in the first place. One such claim on the arks location is in Ethiopia within the St. Mary of Zion cathedral in the town of Aksum.
The only problem with this claim is that the church doesn’t allow anyone other than the guardian of the ark to see it, and no one has been allowed to verify its authenticity. If it did exist then the wood is guaranteed to have been destroyed by now, but the gold and artifacts within could still exist. The main problem is that in order to believe the ark could still be out there you would first have to believe the stories within the religion, as this is the basis of its creation.
Recent Comments