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TERM PAPER Table of Contents  i. Introduction & Thesis Statement  2-3 The Physical Ark  3-5 History of the Ark  5-7 Theory's about the Ark  8-9 Clues in Revelation & My Father's Views  9-10 Conclusion  ii. Works Cited/Footnotes "The Search for the Ark of the Covenant" By, Michael S. The Ark of the Covenant is one of the greatest mysteries of all-time. It is the only physical representation mentioned in the bible of God on Earth, besides Jesus Christ. The Ark is known throughout the bible to cause devastating famines and deadly plagues, destroy whole armies, and strike fear into the hearts of great men. It has been sought after throughout all of human history by the Jews, by powerful warlords, by Knights during the Crusades of the 15th century, and by determined archeologists and treasure hunters all over the world. Many have made claims and some even swore that they have seen the actual Ark, but none of them can show any clear evidence of their findings. Is the Ark meant to be hidden? Is it the will of God himself to conceal the location of the Ark for all time? If the Ark does still exist, where is it now and what happened to it? These are just a few of the questions I have tried to answer throughout my research. Today, I have (page 2)---> embarked on my own personal search for the greatest artifact in human history, "The Ark of the Covenant." Enjoy&ldots;   I will start off by telling you a little bit about the Ark, as a physical entity. The Ark is made of gold-plated setim wood. The Israelites used the gold that they had melted down from the Egyptian idols to construct the Ark. It is shaped much like any large, rectangular, wooden chest that you would see today. It is approximately 2 ft 3 in high, and 3 ft 9 in long. It has 8 holes carved into its roof and its base. (Two holes on either side.) In order to transport the Ark, 4 large, gold, poles were slid into the holes so that it could be carried from place to place. On the roof of the Ark rest 2 gold cherubim, which are said to guard the contents of the Ark. The Ark is said in the bible to contain 3 objects: Aaron's Rod, a pot of manna (unleavened bread), and the crushed stone tablets on which God, himself wrote the Ten Commandments.   Some archeologists believe that the Ark may have worked as an ancient electrical capacitor, or perhaps a battery of some sort that could've exerted high volts of electricity. This could explain the stories of the Ark's mysterious powers and effects on the people who had possession of it. (page 3)--->Could the Hebrews have mistaken the electrical power of the Ark as Godly intervention? Noone knows for sure.   At around 1400 BC, a complete description of the Ark was given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai. Not only did God tell Moses the dimensions of the Ark and what was supposed to go in it, but he also told Moses the specific person he wanted to build the Ark and what materials should be used in constructing it. The man who was chosen to build the Ark was a Hebrew carpenter named Bezaleel ben Uri, whose name appropriately means, "In the Shadow of El(God), the Son of my Light." After the Ark was built, the Hebrews took it with them from Mt. Sinai to the Great desert, where they wandered for 40 years.   During this time, the Ark was held in a tabernacle, which the Hebrews built when they made camp, and than dismantled when they were ready to move on. A cloud filled this tabernacle by day and fire, by night. This was the presence of God. God told Moses that when the cloud was over the tabernacle, the Hebrews could move-on, but when the tabernacle was filled with the cloud, they were to remain at camp.   (page 4)--->The Ark remained with them for the 40 years, and on several occasions, was used to show God's anger towards the faithless Hebrews. When they reached the Promised Land, Canaan, the Hebrews built a new tabernacle for the Ark in the town of Ephraim.     The Ark remained in Ephraim for many years until it was taken as war-booty when the Philistines defeated the Hebrews in 1050 BC. The Philistines took the Ark back to their home city of Ekron. When they placed it in their temple, the idol of their god, Dagon was found the next morning with its head and hands mysteriously gone. The Philistines themselves were afflicted with painful leprosy-like sores until the Ark was returned to the Hebrews. The Philistines feared the Ark and its powers so much, that they placed the Ark on a carriage, latched it to a donkey, and released the donkey into the desert in the direction of Canaan. Miraculously, the Ark found its way back to the Hebrews, who took care never to let it out of their sight again.   In 1000 BC, King David brought the Ark to Jerusalem, where its presence helped reinforce the city as the political and religious center of the nation and helped unify the tribes of Israel. Then, 50 years later, David's (page 5)--->son, Solomon built the First Temple to house the Ark. It was placed within the Holy of Holies, the temple's innermost sanctuary, which could only be entered by the high priest on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On this day, the high priest would sacrifice a newborn lamb or a calf, and sprinkle its blood over the Ark.   During his reign as King, Solomon had an affair with the Queen of Sheba, who bore him a son, whom she named Menelik. When he was old enough to visit his father, Menelik left his home in Sheba (present-day Ethiopia) and traveled to Jerusalem. When he arrived, his father, Solomon held a feast for him and invited him to stay for a few days. When his stay was over, Solomon sent Menelik back to Sheba with 2 priests who were to guide him out of Jerusalem. It is believed by some that when they were far along their journey, the priests revealed to Menelik an object they had stolen from the temple. To his surprise and disbelief, they had taken the Ark of the Covenant! At first, Menelik wanted to take it back to Jerusalem, but then he thought that if they were able to simply take something so sacred and powerful, that it must be the will of God that they have it with them. So, he supposedly took the Ark with him back to Sheba, where he placed it in a temple in a small town, which is believed to be present-day Axum, Ethiopia. (page 6)--->This is one theory about the Ark of the Covenant and what may have happened to it.   Some believe that the Ark could be in Egypt. This theory is based on the bible story about the pharaoh, Shishak, whom archeologists believe was actually Ramses III. This great pharaoh, called in the bible "Shishak," threatened to destroy Jerusalem, unless it gave up all of its treasures. Jerusalem, in order to avoid yet another war, handed over every one of its treasures, which very well could've included the Ark. Shishak may have built an underground temple in Egypt to house his greatest treasure, the Ark. The movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," is based on this story.   This theory could very well be true because at around 586 BC, Babylonian Emperor Nebuchadrezzar II sacked and destroyed the First Temple, as a prelude to enslaving the Hebrews. And In the detailed biblical list of all the war-booty that the Babylonians took back with them to their homeland, the Ark is not mentioned, which suggests that by then it had already disappeared.   (page 7)--->Many including the Knights Templar of France looked for the Ark during the Crusades of the 15th century. There are many stories surrounding the Knights Templar, including one that they found the Ark in Jerusalem and hid it in a cathedral in France. But the significance of this story is very far-fetched, however, because it does not name the cathedral they hid it in, nor give any clues as to where it might've been.   During World War II, Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler also searched for the Ark of the Covenant. He sent teams of archeologists and researchers all over the world to search for the Ark, as well as many other biblical artifacts, which he believed held great power. In the bible, any army that marched with the Ark before it was invincible, which is one reason Hitler may have desired it. Hitler was not successful in his attempts to find the Ark, but he did find several religious relics, which have only recently been discovered by Archeologists.   There are several other suggested locations of the Ark of the Covenant. Some believe it might be hidden in a cave, near the Dead Sea, like the Dead Sea Scrolls. Or, buried beneath the Dome of the Rock, which, many believe, is the sight of the original Temple built by Solomon. The (page 8)--->Muslims believe that the Dome of the Rock is built at the exact location where the prophet, Muhammad ascended to Heaven. If the Ark of the Covenant is there, it will probably stay there, because the Israeli and Palestine governments will not allow archeological excavations anywhere near their holy sights, which include the Dome of the Rock. In fact, recently a group of rabbis who claimed they found a secret, underground chamber containing the Ark were interviewed on CNN. They said that they had discovered a network of tunnels near the Western Wall of the 1st temple in Jerusalem. As they were excavating, the rabbis say they came upon a wall with large cracks and openings in it. They knocked out the wall and found a secret chamber, which they claim to have held the Ark of the Covenant and several other religious artifacts. The rabbis said that when the Israeli and Palestine governments got wind of their discovery, they filled the opening to the chamber with cement! The rabbis believe that the Israeli and Palestine governments are afraid that if the Ark is found, under the Western Wall, then the Jews will have proof that it is their holy sight, and they will most likely begin the building of the third temple.    This could be true, because before the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem and destroyed the First Temple, the high priests, under the order (page 9)--->of Solomon, may have dug several underground chambers in which they hid all the religious valuables of the temple, which very well could've included the Ark. Solomon believed that he would store the temple's things underground and than dig them up for when he rebuilt the temple, which, as we know, never happened.   I definitely think that the Ark will be found, eventually. It says in the book of Revelation that the Ark will, indeed, be revealed to us at the end of days, when good rises up against evil, and Jesus Christ returns for the final showdown with the antichrist.   My Father, who is an avid reader of the bible, also believes that the Ark of the Covenant will eventually be found.   I have come to the conclusion that the location of the Ark, as of yet, is unknown, but there are many theories that are still being investigated, including the CNN story about the rabbis who were excavating in Jerusalem. I know, for sure, that the Ark will eventually be seen again, although I don't know exactly when. In doing my research, I learned so many interesting things about the Ark that I didn't know before. I never knew that the maker (page 10)--->of the Ark was a Hebrew carpenter named Bezaleel Ben Uri! Or that the Ark could only be seen once every year, on the Day of Atonement, by the Jewish high priests. I think that at this point, and after reading this paper, you will agree that I am an expert on the Ark of the Covenant! Well, I hope that you've enjoyed reading my research and investigation about the Lost Ark and It is my hope that we may see it again in our lifetimes! THE END Works Cited   1. New American Bible. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1992.   2. Kiger, Patrick J. "The Lost Ark." [Online] Available http://www.tlc.discovery.com/tlc pages/ark/ark.html March 9, 2001   3. Kiger, Patrick J. "The Lost Ark." [Online] Available http://www.tlc.discovery.com/tlc pages/ark/ark.html March 10, 2001   4. Kiger, Patrick J. "The Lost Ark." [Online] Available http://www.tlc.discovery.com/tlc pages/ark/ark.html March 20, 2001   5. Biblical Mysteries: The Lost Ark. NBC. NBC 10, N.J. 4 March. 2001   6. "Ark." Merriam - Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. 1993   7. Stirm, Michael. The Ark of the Covenant. Bordentown, NJ. March 15, 2001   8. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Video Cassette. Lucas Film LTD, 1981. 115 min.