The Real Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Ark

In 1982, unknown to the rest of the world, kept secret by the Israeli government for political and religious reasons, the Ark of the Covenant was uncovered by archaeologists. Even today the discovery is kept secret, but information has leaked out. The Ark was a case, built in the days of Moses to carry the Tablets, upon which was written the Ten Commandments. It is said that the Ten Commandments were engraved in the stone tablets by God's own hand. The Ark was a holy symbol for God's people from that day on. It was placed in a special part of the temple called the Holy of Holys. The lid of this casket was made from gold, and either side were depicted Chrubim, a creature which God always used as guadians. The Ark was considered the Throne of God on Earth, and was said to be illuminated by a supernatural glowing light above it. The lid was names the Mercy Seat, as the blood of a sacrifice was poured on it to receive the forgiveness of sins.

Abraham's Sacrifice

In Genesis we read of Abraham, who was asked by God to take his only son up to Mount Moriah and sacrifice his son to Him. Not without heart wrenching emotion, Abraham was obedient to God, and he took his son up to the mount. And when his son, Isaac realised that there was no lamb to sacrifice, he asked his father, "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (Ge 22:5) Abraham replied, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." (Ge 22:6) But Abraham took his son and bound him to the altar. Fighting back the tears, trying not to look into his bewildered son's eyes, he rose the blade to strike the life from his beloved son. But as he did, God intervened, saying through an angel that He was pleased, and that Abraham had proven himself faithful and obedient. Instead, God provded a lamb caught in the bushes for Abraham to sacrifice.

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Around 30 AD, Jesus Christ was crucified just outside of Jerusalem in Israel, a city that had been built on that same mountain that Abraham had nearly sacrificed his own son, Mount Moriah. Archaeologists digging for the Ark of the Covenant uncovered an area which has since been proven to be the actual crusifixion site of Jesus Christ, not on a hill top but by a busy highway as was the common practice in those days, to set an example to all passers by. This site now consisted only of the peg holes in which the crosses were set into.

Believers of the Christian faith believe that Christ was God in the form of a man, who was born as a man so that He might die as a man, and by His death be the eternal sacrifice by which all man's sins could be forgiven. Upon the cross, Christ not only endured the physical pain of crusifixion, but the far greater pain of the complete separation from God (the Father) as He took upon Himself the burden of all of mankind's sin.

Linking the Finds

The archaeologists' dig went on in search of the true prize, the Ark of the Covenant. It is said that the Ark was hidden under the city of Jerusalem just before it was conquered by the Romans some 500+ years before Christ. It was the case in those days that a city would simply be rebuilt over the ruins of the old, plundered one. And so the city having been rebuilt, the archaeologists knew they had to dig even further down than they had found the Crucifixion site. Needless to say, they eventually came across the Ark in a small cavern. It was located in a stone case, the top of which was cracked open. Upon further investigation, it was found that above the crack in the case, in the ceiling of the cavern was another crack. The archaeologists inserted a rod into this crack, and continued to push it as far as it would go. The end of the rod was located - the path of the crack was found. It was a completely vertical crack that ran from the peg hole in which Christ's cross stood to the Ark of the Covenant itself. It is believed that from the cross, where a Roman soldier pierced Christ's side with a spear to make certain that He was dead, blood ran to the base of the cross and continued to run, either through a crack already in the ground, or by hollowing it's own way supernaturally down to the Ark of the Covenant below. Forensic scientists have indeed found traces of blood throughout this crack below Christ's cross. Christ is said to be the Lamb of God; the ultimate sacrifice. His death was to end all sacrifices, that we might gain access to the Kingdom of God by merely accepting this sacrifice that has already been made on our behalf. The blood of Christ Himself trickled down onto the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant, as you will recall is the appropriate place for the blood of a sacrifice. The crucifion was performed at the same place that centuries prior it was prophecied by Abraham that "God will provide Himself a lamb" (Ge 22:6).