The End Time Church: From the Cathedrals to the Catacombs

By Dan L. White

Copyright 2021 by Dan L. White, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB) which is in the public domain.

Chapter 90

Finding the New Ark in the New Temple

People have not seen the Ark of the Covenant for over 2600 years, and have not had a Temple to Yahweh for almost 2000 years.

So what?

The first and second Temples were both destroyed. After the first Temple burned, seventy years passed without a Temple. After the second Temple burned, nineteen and a half centuries passed without a physical Temple.

That takes us up to now.

The Jews thought Hadrian was rebuilding the Temple when he was actually building a temple to Jupiter. Julian the Apostate did try to rebuild the Temple, and that effort got nowhere. Apparently apostates don’t make good Temple builders. So for all these centuries, there has been no physical Temple.

Like the physical Temple that was burned into oblivion, might the physical Ark no longer be relevant?

After the second Temple burned in 70, the Jews went to the synagogues with their “rabbis.”

And the Christians?

The early Christians were fine without a physical Temple. Most observed the Bible Feasts where they were, not at the Temple. Later, most Christians went with pagan Rome and wound up keeping the same days as the pagans, just renamed. No one was very concerned about not having a physical Temple or a physical Ark of the Covenant.

There is a future time when the Ark will not even be mentioned or remembered.

Jer 3
16) It shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land, in those days,” says Yahweh, “they shall say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh!’ neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember it; neither shall they miss it; neither shall it be made any more.
17) At that time they shall call Jerusalem ‘The throne of Yahweh;’ and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem. Neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

The Ark will not be mentioned or remembered because it represents the throne of Yahweh on earth. At the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy, the throne of Yahweh will be on earth.

But–

As you probably noticed, that hasn’t happened yet.

The Ark of the Covenant has been out of sight for over 2600 years. The second Temple that stood from 516 BCE until 70 CE functioned for nearly six centuries without the Ark. For the last 19+ centuries there hasn’t even been a Temple. Do we even need to wonder where the physical Ark is?

Originally the Ark in the Tabernacle contained the Ten Commandments, a pot of manna and Aaron’s rod. About four centuries later when Solomon put the Ark in the Temple, it held only the Ten Commandments. About five centuries after Solomon, when the second Temple was finished, the Ark itself was missing. About six centuries still later, Rome sacked Jerusalem, and then the Temple itself was gone.

Missing the manna and the rod, then missing the Ark, then missing the Temple –

Do we see a pattern there?

Yes, a pattern of decline.

In the wilderness, the cloud of Yahweh’s spirit came down into the Tabernacle. It rested there when Israel was camped, and rose up and led them when Israel moved. The spirit of Yahweh was right there with them, wherever they were.

Exod 40
34) Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.
35) Moses wasn’t able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed on it, and Yahweh’s glory filled the tabernacle.
36) When the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys;
37) but if the cloud wasn’t taken up, then they didn’t travel until the day that it was taken up.
38) For the cloud of Yahweh was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

When Solomon finished building the first Temple, that cloud filled the building.

1 Kings 8
4) They brought up Yahweh’s ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent. The priests and the Levites brought these up.
5) King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle, that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.
6) The priests brought in the ark of Yahweh’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, even under the cherubim’s wings.
7) For the cherubim spread their wings out over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above.
8) The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary; but they were not seen outside. They are there to this day.
9) There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10) It came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled Yahweh’s house,
11) so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house.

In that same Temple but much later, Ezekiel was shown these abominations.

Eze 8
1) In the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, the Lord Yahweh’s hand fell on me there.
2) Then I saw, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his waist and downward, fire; and from his waist and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal.
3) He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the sky, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looks toward the north; where there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.
4) Behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the appearance that I saw in the plain.
5) Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and saw, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
6) He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But you will again see yet other great abominations.”

Those abominations caused Yahweh to go far off from His sanctuary.

Eze 8
3) Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
4) Yahweh’s glory mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Yahweh’s glory.

18) Yahweh’s glory went out from over the threshold of the house and stood over the cherubim.
19) The cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight when they went out, with the wheels beside them. Then they stood at the door of the east gate of Yahweh’s house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

Eze 11
1) Moreover the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of Yahweh’s house, which looks eastward. Behold, twenty-five men were at the door of the gate; and I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
2) He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who give wicked counsel in this city;

21) But as for them whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way on their own heads,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”
22) Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels were beside them. The glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
23) Yahweh’s glory went up from the middle of the city, and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

Yahweh went east to the Mount of Olives and left the Temple, left His sanctuary.

Soon that first Temple was burned. Yahweh was not there. He had left.

A second Temple was finished 70 years later, but the Ark was not in it.  Also the Bible never explicitly says that the cloud of Yahweh’s spirit filled the second Temple.

Yahweh Himself commanded Israel to build that Temple.

Hag 1
8) Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,” says Yahweh.

Zech 1
16) Therefore thus says Yahweh: “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it,” …

Nehemiah speaks of a joyful time in that second Temple.

Neh 12
40) So stood the two companies of those who gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me;

43) They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.

But there is no mention of Yahweh’s spirit – the cloud – filling the second temple as it had the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple.

The Ark was not in the second Temple and apparently the cloud wasn’t there, either. And as stated, eventually the Temple itself was not there.

Again, we see a pattern of decline.

The Kingdom of Judah also saw a steady decline. The kingdom under David and then Solomon was a glorious kingdom. Nineteen kings later, that kingdom ended in destruction and deportation. After some of the Jews returned from captivity, they were again a nation in the Holy Land, but they were under Gentile kings. The Hasmoneans had a period of quasi-independence, but that ended when Rome conquered Jerusalem. Finally, Rome killed and captured most of the Jews there, so the Jews were no longer even a unified nation and most Jews were not even in the Holy Land.

Steady decline.

Saul’s life had a similar pattern.

First, Yahweh’s spirit came mightily on Saul.

1 Samuel 10
6) Then Yahweh’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man.

10) When they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him [Saul], and he prophesied among them.

But when Saul broke the first Commandment by putting himself first instead of God, Yahweh’s spirit departed from Saul and went to David.

1 Samuel 16
13) Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the middle of his brothers. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
14) Now Yahweh’s Spirit departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh troubled him.

This resulted in Saul and his dynasty, or family, losing his kingdom, even though Jonathan his son, who would have been the next king, was a kindred spirit with David.

In all those examples we see a pattern of decline, in the Ark and the Temple; in Judah’s kingdom; and in the personal story of the first king of Israel, Saul.

What’s missing there, in all that decline?

What’s missing is Perfection, not gradually getting farther and farther away from Yahweh God Almighty.

Matt 5
48) Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Yahweh’s spirit had left Saul and moved to David. Finally that spirit was on a descendant of David.

Isaiah 42
42) Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.

Isaiah 61
1) The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to those who are bound,

The cloud that was with Israel in the wilderness and in Solomon’s Temple came as a dove.

Luke 3
21) Now when all the people were baptized, Yeshua also had been baptized and was praying. The sky was opened,
22)  and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”

A few years later the cloud also came on the flock that followed that descendant of David.

Acts 2
4) They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.

16) But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
17) ‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.  Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams.
18) Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.

This flock is the new Temple. This is where the cloud is, on God’s servants and handmaids, except the spirit did not come as a dark cloud, but as bright tongues of fire.

Acts 2
1) Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2) Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3) Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.
4) They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.

A new temple, with a cloud in it, except it was tongues. And what is the focal point of this new Temple?

The focal point of this Temple is the new Ark of the Covenant.

Remember that the Ark was just a wooden box overlaid with gold. A fancy box, to be sure, but it was just a box, something to hold the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod, and a pot of manna. The new Temple, with the cloud, has a new Ark or vessel of the Covenant. And this new Ark also contains the Ten Commandments, the rod, and the manna. This new Ark is at the heart of the new Temple, right there with the mercy seat.