Update: Ark of the Covenant – October 5, 1998

In 1978 Ron Wyatt was walking along the Calvary Escarpment when something happened to him that so far only occurred once in his life. While walking with a member of the Israeli Department of Antiquities his left arm raised up and pointed to the escarpment and the words came out of his mouth, “That’s Jeremiah’s Grotto and the Ark of the Covenant is buried in there”. Ron had no control of what he said, it was the Lord giving him those words to speak. This man then said, “That’s wonderful! We will not only furnish you a permit, we’ll put you up in a place to stay, have your laundry done and furnish your meals”!

Ron and his sons came back several times over the next few years and spent hundreds of hours digging at that location. Ron finally found and entered the cave that contained the Ark of the Covenant on January 6, 1982.

On that trip his two sons became sick and had to return home early. Ron continued working in the cave system with only a young Arab boy as his assistant. He found a narrow vertical crevice in a rock wall too narrow for him to fit through but with a little work it was “just right” for his helper. The boy squeezed into the opening. But before Ron could hand him a flashlight to look around with the lad came scurrying out of that chamber as fast as he could saying, “What’s in there? What’s in there??” He was scared to death! From that point forward young boy refused to ever again to enter into the cave system. He now lives outside Israel and because of governmental visitor regulations he cannot reenter the country.

During Ron’s excavation in this area, he found the location of Christ’s crucifixion. Christ was crucified up against what is known as the Calvary Escarpment, very near Golgotha and the Garden Tomb. When Christ died on the cross, ” the rocks were rent”. That earthquake split the escarpment! There is a vertical crack directly behind where the cross was placed. When Ron excavated down approximately 14 feet below present ground level at that location, he found the cross hole. It was 13 inches by 14 inches in width, and 23 ½ inches deep, and there was a stone “plug” in the top of it that was squarish and approximately 8 inches thick. But most importantly, there was a very sizable split in the rocks on the left side of the cross hole!

When Christ died on the cross and the centurion stabbed him in the side with his spear, Christ’s blood and water flowed out. Christ’s blood went into the large crack in the ground at the base of the cross, and it continued underground through the split in the rocks caused by the earthquake, and the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God went upon the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant that was buried in the cave that is approximately 20 feet right below the crucifixion site! (The prophecy in Daniel 9:24 foretold of this very wonderful and special event! The “most holy” place was anointed with Christ’s blood!)

When Ron entered that cave at 2:00 p.m. on the afternoon of January 6, 1982, this is what he saw: There was very little room to crawl around because the things placed in the cave left only about a foot and a half of crawl space between them and the ceiling of the cave. There were rocks on top of boards, on top of animal skins. When he shined his flashlight down between the rocks, he saw that much of the wood and fur were rotted away and he saw “gold” glittering down underneath the rocks. Then at the far side of the cave he saw a stone box.

The lid of the box was cracked and the smaller portion of the lid was moved aside a short distance. At this point Ron realized what had taken place there nearly 2000 years ago! Overwhelmed with the emotion of this revelation, Ron passed out for 45 minutes in that chamber.

The Blood

Hopefully within a year or so it will be time to reveal the Ark of the Covenant to the entire world. When the Lord says, “It is time”, Ron will return and re-enter that cave and take along with him a camera crew and one or more genetic scientists. We will see them take a sample of Christ’s blood (their is a dried pool of it on the Mercy Seat!), and we will see the test results of that extremely unique blood! Ron has already tested his own sample and he knows what the results will be. Remember, Ron works as an anesthetist in several hospitals and he has seen lots of blood.

Christ’s blood has only 24 chromosomes!!!

Normal human blood has a total of 46 chromosomes. When a child is conceived 23 chromosomes come from the mother (all of these are “X” chromosomes), and 23 come from the father. If a child is to be a male child a “Y” chromosome is provided by the father and that chromosome designates the child will be a male.

Christ’s blood has only 24 chromosomes! There are 23 from his earthly human mother and only one “Y” chromosome from His heavenly Father! No other human blood like this has ever existed on the earth! The scientific term for this is “ploidy” or “haploidy”. There have been known examples of females born with only half the normal chromosome count – 23 – but never a male child, because the father has to provide that distinctive “Y” chromosome! Praise the Lord! God will scientifically prove beyond all reasonable doubt that Jesus was no mere “good teacher” or “just a good man”. Jesus Christ was the divine Son of God!

The Ten Commandments

We will also see the Ten Commandments removed from the Ark of the Covenant! Hopefully they will go on display and travel around the world like the King Tut Exhibit and you and I will get to actually see them in person! Ron says that he has seen the Ten Commandment stones. He says that they look as if someone wrote in soft butter with their finger and then turned them to stone!

A number of very important artifacts are there in that cave. In the back of the Ark is the “book” that Moses wrote – the first five books of the Bible. They are written on a leather scroll that is as fresh and supple as the day it was written! Just as the shoe leather of the Israelites did not wear out in the desert, this leather has also remained in perfect condition and shows no deterioration. Several other artifacts from the first temple are in that cave, including the table of shewbread, the seven-branched candlestick and a 5′ 2″ sword that most likely was Goliath’s sword!

When the Lord wills it, the whole world will see these things. And Ron hopes that we might be able to temporarily display the Ten Commandments in the Wyatt Archaeological Museum in Tennessee.

The Significance of the Ark of the Covenant

The key to understanding what the Ark is and its significance to us today lies in studying the sacrificial system which was established by God when man fell and was cast out of the Garden of Eden.

All of the objects in the earthly tabernacle, in the Sanctuary, were “patterns of things in the heavens.” Hebrews 9:23. The Ark represented God’s throne where His presence was evident among the people. This throne was a copy of the great throne in heaven. The Ark resided in the second apartment of the Sanctuary – “The Most Holy Place.”

The sacrificial system was designed to show the awful results of sin and how God Himself would ultimately offer His Son as the Sin bearer to atone for the sins of mankind. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” Hebrews 9:22.

A sinner would bring a lamb or a dove to the Sanctuary, confess his sins, then take the life of that innocent animal. In this act the sin did not vanish, the sin was transferred to the Sanctuary. This happened all year long and then once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would make a very special sacrifice that would ultimately “cleanse the sanctuary.” Lot were cast over two goats. According to the outcome one was sacrificed and the other was ushered out into the wilderness after ALL THE SINS which had accumulated in the Sanctuary were placed upon this “scapegoat,” where it would die in the wilderness. (Leviticus 16) This goat represents the ultimate punishment of Satan.

Christ represented “the perfect lamb of God” and He died on the cross and shed His blood to atone for the sins of all mankind. Currently Jesus is our “High Priest” and He is officiating on man’s behalf in the heavenly Sanctuary. On the earthly Day of Atonement the goat’s blood was sprinkled on the top of the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant. At His death on the cross, CHRIST”S BLOOD fell upon the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant! This scenario NEVER occurred to Ron before he entered that cave in 1982 and saw what had happened with Christ’s blood. No other story about the Ark of the Covenant makes more sense than this one. This scenario is the ONLY one that truly accomplishes God’s holy purpose in regard to the Sanctuary service!

The Ark and the various other items from the first temple were hidden in this cave below the Calvary Escarpment when Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in 586 B.C. There is a list of the things taken to Babylon (2 Kings 25), but the Ark was not included! Temple priests were led by God to hide the Ark directly under the place where His Son would die approximately 600 years later!