Page 103 - Eschatology - Masters revised

When Israel became a nation in 1948, she enjoyed a close relationship with Emperor Haile Selassie, who
helped the infant nation with considerable technical and financial support. During the final days of his
reign, Israel made an agreement with Emperor Selassie to move the Ark to Israel, however he was killed
before an exchange could be made. Israeli intelligence agents brokered a deal with Ethiopia’s Marxist
generals and agreed to exchange tens of millions of dollars for the Ark. Ransom was delivered, but the
civil war failed for the generals and the Ark was not retrieved. Israel, predicting such, had paid the
ransom in counterfeit US dollars. Israel then took the real money raised to obtain the Ark and
negotiated an exchange with the new Ethiopian government who were in desperate need of funds to
solidify their economy. An elite team of Israeli Special Forces flew an unmarked cargo plane into the
northern province of Gonder and secretly entered the city of Aksum at night and exchanged the real Ark
for a replica. The Ark was taken to a secure location near Jerusalem, where it resides today until the
time comes to place it within the Holy of Holies in the reconstructed Third Temple.

2. During the Babylonian invasion in 586 BC, priests took the Ark and hide it under the Temple Mount in
one of the hundreds of subterranean structures. During the excavation of the Western wall, Rabbi
Yehuda Getz claims that his research explored a secret tunnel under the 35 acre Temple structure. On
May 15, 1992, CBS television network broadcast a two-hour special called the “Ancient Secrets of the
Bible.” The narrator claimed that Rabbi Getz discovered the Ark of the Covenant in one of these
chambers. He did not enter the chamber because he felt it too holy a place to enter, however saw the
Ark from the illumination of flashlights from a distance of 50 feet. Within hours the Arabs broke through
the tunnel from overhead and prevented the researchers from examining the object. Immediately the
Arabs used concrete to seal the opening of the tunnel to prevent further Jewish exploration.

The Ark’s Prophetic Role

So, what’s the big deal about finding the Ark of the Covenant? Several prophecies indicate that the Ark
will be brought back from Ethiopia in the last days and that act ushers in the Messianic kingdom.

A. Isaiah 18 says “Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia … All ye
inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign (i.e., the ark) on
the mountains… In that time shall the present (i.e., the Ark) will be brought unto the Lord of hosts to
the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion. (18:1, 3, 7)

B. Zephaniah 3: 9-10 says that His people shall return from Ethiopia and bring the Lord’s offering along
with the Hebrew language.

C. Jeremiah 3:16-17 says that once the millennial kingdom has commenced, Israel will stop talking
about the ark, stop thinking about the ark, and stop visiting the ark. The reason is that the Ark of the
Covenant will no longer be as important as King Jesus, whom they will worship. This prophecy does not
make sense unless the lost Ark is rediscovered and that it plays a pivotal role in the spiritual life of the
nation.

101