part0007

Analogy has been made to God’s prophetic clock and His chosen nation, Israel. Israel, in this analogy, is the hour hand. The attempted peace process between Israel and its enemy neighbors is the minute hand. The desired Third Temple construction is the second hand.

No issue on the geopolitical landscape holds the potential for planet-rending devastation as that of war and peace involving Israel. Daniel the prophet gave the following about God’s chosen people—the Jews—in scriptural passages familiar to all students of Bible prophecy.

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:27)

The old prophet was told to proclaim that Jerusalem and Israel will be at the center of the most horrific conflict ever perpetrated upon mankind, and that the conflict will culminate in the catastrophic consummation of human history at the time of Christ’s Second Advent.

This prophecy, of course, could not be in view for the present generation, if Israel weren’t back in the land as a nation. We know from our daily news—no, now it is our hourly news —that not only is Israel again a nation, but that it is constantly in the spotlight of world news reporting.

Israel is the most hated nation on earth, as manifest by the overwhelming, anti-Semitic balloting of most nations within the United Nations every time a vote is taken involving the Jewish state. Jerusalem has become the “cup of trembling” and “burdensome stone” prophesied by Zechariah (Zechariah 12:1–3).

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 began the process of prophetic fulfillment at the time World War I was in full rage. The “war to end all wars,” as WWI was called, began in 1914 between Great Britain and its allies and Germany, Austria, Hungary, and, later that year, the Ottoman Empire.

The Islamist Ottoman Empire, which controlled the area constituting what became known as the Holy Land, was on the losing side of the great first worldwide conflict. The Balfour Declaration finally incorporated into the Sèvres peace treaty the terms that would begin bringing God’s chosen people back into the land as a nation.

The document was signed by the British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour on November 2, 1917. It was issued to Baron Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community. The letter was for Rothschild to transmit to the Zionist Confederation of Great Britain and Ireland.

The gist of the notice was as follows: His Majesty’s government would view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use its best endeavors to achieve this, it being clearly understood that nothing would be done that might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

This all appeared well and good. However, many treacheries developed as the Jews began to re-enter their God-promised homeland. The British reneged on their promises in ways that caused the struggle to become one of survival for the Jewish people as they sought to reclaim the hostile, swampy land. All of Islam eventually swarmed against the effort to reestablish a Jewish state.

Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.

But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 26: 44–45)

And I will bring again the captivity of My people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink their wine; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord , thy God. (Amos 9:14–15)

The hour hand of God’s prophetic clock, Israel, is nearing midnight. The second hand is the peace process being forced upon that nation. The diplomatic world, in total disregard of biblical truth, willfully, if unknowingly, long ago set the timer of the Armageddon timebomb.

President Donald J. Trump, elected in 2016, has been a friend to Israel and is embraced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president championed moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and is a staunch supporter of the Jewish state, while the world of UN diplomats views Israel as the holdup to peace.

A news story reported that President Donald Trump said as part of an interview that he was “not necessarily sure” Israel was seeking to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians. The American president once before denounced the Palestinians for what he views as their refusing to negotiate. At the same time, he, in general, hasn’t been critical of Israel in the matter of negotiations that haven’t come to fruition.

Trump previously has stated he intends to get the Israelis and Palestinians together in the “ultimate deal”—thus to work toward resolving the seemingly never-ending conflict. However, he wondered whether negotiations would be possible at present.

“I don’t know frankly if we are going to even have talks,” Trump said. “We will see what happens, but I think it is very foolish for the Palestinians and I also think it would be very foolish for the Israelis if they don’t make a deal. It’s our only opportunity and it will never happen after this.”

Palestinian leaders are adamant that there will be no talks with the American administration until there is reversal on Jerusalem, which they see as their capital. Add in to the pressures to bring Palestinians to the negotiating table, President Trump is withholding many millions of dollars from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

The man-made peace process, in every case, involves the requirement that Israel give up land that is theirs according to God’s covenant promises. The following Scriptures involve those promises. These are key to understanding the unalterable truth wrapped up in God’s prophetic Word. These land promises will be reemphasized in a later chapter of this book.

The peace process being foisted upon God’s chosen people, then, is likened to the minute hand on God’s prophetic timepiece. With that minute hand moving steadily toward merging at the 12 with Israel, the hour hand, it is appropriate to look carefully at the second hand, which is moving incrementally toward the final instant at the midnight hour of fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

To begin looking at developments moving toward the building of the Third Temple, consider the words of one of the foremost authorities on the subject. Dr. Randall Price, author, Bible scholar, university professor, and world-renowned biblical archaeologist, gives this brief introduction to matters involving efforts to rebuild the Temple on Moriah:

The importance of rebuilding the Temple to Orthodox Judaism lies in its conception of the redemption of the world, which they believe can only take place once the Temple is rebuilt. Gershon Salomon, Director, Temple Mount Faithful, an organization that has been trying to prepare Israeli society to accept and promote the rebuilding of the Temple through demonstrations at the Temple site, the construction of a cornerstone for the Third Temple, and the making of various Temple-related utensils, has said: “[Building the Third Temple] is an act which must be done to complete the redemption of the people of the Bible in the Land of the Bible. I cannot imagine an Israeli State or Israeli life in this country without the Temple Mount in the center of this life.”

However, many religious Jews do not support this idea because they have adopted a Diaspora mentality and a spiritualized way of thinking, which sets aside hope in a literal fulfillment of the biblical prophecies regarding a future Temple. For them, the present political situation on the Temple Mount with Muslims controlling the site is acceptable. Jewish leaders in the Temple movement understand that the Jewish people are not living on the spiritual level God intended because of the absence of the Shekinah (Divine Presence) from the world. Rabbi Chaim Richman, Director of the Temple Institute which has produced all the ritual vessels necessary for the function of the Temple and works to train priests for this future work, says there is a connection between the need for a new level of spiritual attainment and the rebuilding of the Temple: “The Shekinah is brought about only through the Temple.…in terms of our mission as a people, we cannot in any way reach our spiritual status without the Temple.” So, for Orthodox Judaism, the present problems of the world, and especially the Jewish People, can only be solved by the rebuilding of the Temple.

But, are we any closer to the rebuilding of the Temple today? The world is radically opposed to Israel’s claims in Jerusalem, much less their contested ownership of the Temple Mount. On a practical level, Jews are banned by Israeli law from praying at the site, and those who visit are daily accosted by Muslims (such as the Women in Black who maintain a constant vigil on Jewish presence at the site). In addition, the Islamic authorities officially deny that a Temple ever existed at the site. Nevertheless, recent developments have taken place that contribute to the Temple Movement’s goals and the realization of the rebuilding of the Temple in our lifetime.

Answering the charge of Temple denial, archaeologists discovered in decades old research, that the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque, believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham, was once a place for Jewish ritual preparation for entering the Temple. The evidence for this came from a filed report by British archaeologist Robert Hamilton who had documented excavations of the mosque’s foundations after it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1927. He discovered beneath the floor of the mosque the remains of a Jewish miqveh (ritual pool used for purification). It dated to the time of the Second Temple when Jews immersed at this site before entering the Temple precincts. These findings, hidden deep in the British Mandatory archives department because they embarrassed Muslim officials, now provide evidence that the ancient Temple stood on the modern Temple Mount and was a place of Jewish presence.

Concerning the preparations for the Temple service, the Sanhedrin has taken steps necessary to reinstating the future Temple service. One project Update on the Rebuilding of the Third Temple. [56]

The Lord did appreciate the thought, though, obviously. He told David that he couldn’t build a place where God could dwell among men in that fashion. David had too much blood on his hands from all the wars he had fought to defend Israel and acquire land God had given the chosen people. Instead, God told David that Solomon, David’s son, would build God such a dwelling place. The Temple that Solomon built had at its heart the Holy of Holies, a fifteen-foot-cubed inner sanctum that housed the Ark of the Covenant, the elaborately prepared container wherein the shekinah glory, the very presence of God, would dwell.

The Temple and the Holy of Holies constituted God’s touchstone to humanity—and particularly to the Jews. It is where Abraham went to offer Isaac before God intervened with the ram caught by its horns in a thicket, thus providing the sacrifice Abraham made to the God of Heaven.

Not far from the spot of the Holy of Holies is Golgotha, where Jesus Christ hung on the cross. When Christ died, the veil in the Temple’s Holy of Holies tore from top to bottom, giving man direct access to God the Father through that sin sacrifice, God’s only begotten Son.

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it in 587 BC, and a Second Temple was completed in 516 BC, following Israel’s Babylonian captivity. This structure became known as Herod’s Temple, because it was commissioned by the king to be greatly expanded and beautified to the extent that it was considered magnificent by those who looked upon it.

This Temple was destroyed by the Roman military in AD 70, when Roman Emperor Vespasian sent his son, General Titus, to put down insurrection in Jerusalem. This fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy (see Daniel 9:26–27) and Jesus’ foretelling (as recorded in Matthew 24:1–2).

The Third Temple is foretold to be in place during the last seven years of human history prior to Christ’s return. Daniel prophesied about Antichrist: “In the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27b). This last, vicious tyrant will enter the Third Temple and desecrate it.

Paul the apostle says of that future Temple and Antichrist: “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).

Many who study the Third Temple believe its planning and construction must be begun well in advance of the Tribulation era. Its completion, they believe, will take quite some time. Others hold that the Jews are even now considering building a tent-like structure similar to Moses’ Tabernacle. They believe that worship, with sacrifices reinstituted, could be going on in such a place while the more grandiose Temple is constructed around the temporary structure.

Currently there are two major obstacles to the reconstruction of The Third Temple. One pertains to its location. The next temple can only be built where the two previous temples stood because the Holy of Holies must be on the exact same spot. But no one knows for sure where the previous temples were located on the Temple Mount. Most scholars believe that they stood where the Dome of the Rock currently stands. That conclusion may be wrong, but there is no way to prove the exact location without conducting archeological excavations on the Temple Mount, something which is currently prohibited by the Muslims. If the Third Temple is to be built where the Dome of the Rock now stands, then that Muslim structure must first of all be removed either by Man or God. It could, of course be burned to the ground by a saboteur, or it could be destroyed by an earthquake.

The second obstacle is the attitude of the Jewish people and their leaders. Currently, there is no desire among [most of] them to build a third temple. The average Israeli is very secular. He knows that any attempt to build a third temple would result in immediate war with the Muslims. Only a handful of ultra-Orthodox Jews have a passion for The Third Temple. They are the ones who have made all the preparations. But they have no popular support. Something will have to happen to create a surge of nationalistic pride that will demand a new temple. This catalytic event could be the discovery of the Ark of the Covenant. [57]

Reagan’s comments about “a surge of nationalistic pride” and “the discovery of the Ark of the Covenant” are intriguing, because the original Temple built by King Solomon was to be God’s dwelling place on earth and the repository of the Ark of the Covenant. Such a discovery (or unveiling, if the Ark has already been recovered and is in safekeeping) in modern times would ignite international support for a new Holy of Holies—and thus a Third Temple—to house the gold-covered, sacred wooden chest of the ancient Hebrews.

Some argue that the Ark rests beneath the Temple Mount directly below the Dome of the Rock, where the original Holy of Holies existed. When the Babylonians destroyed the first Temple, they hauled away many of the sacred vessels. But the location of the Ark of the Covenant was unknown, reportedly because King Josiah hid it from the Babylonians who sacked the Temple. Some say this secret location remains below the original resting place of the Ark in the Temple of Solomon.

When Solomon built the Temple, he was aware that it would ultimately be destroyed. [Therefore,] he constructed a chamber, in which the ark could be entombed below [the Temple building] in deep, maze-like vaults.

King Josiah commanded that [the Ark] be entombed in the chamber built by Solomon, as it is said (II Chronicles 35:3): “And he said to the Levites who would teach wisdom to all of Israel: ‘Place the Holy Ark in the chamber built by Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel. You will no [longer] carry it on your shoulders. Now, serve the Lord, your God’”

When it was entombed, Aaron’s staff, the vial of manna, and the oil used for anointing were entombed with it. All these [sacred articles] did not return in the Second Temple. [58]

Whether that location beneath the Temple Mount will produce the Ark of the Covenant, the ancient Jewish midrash promises, “When the Jewish people are gathered in from the exiles from the four corners of the world [officially began in 1948], they will suddenly find the holy vessels of the Temple.” [59]

Most researchers consider the Ark lost from view after the narrative of Solomon’s temple in the Bible, and various theories have been proposed as to the Ark’s fate through history. Many historians speculate that because Babylon destroyed the Temple of Solomon, it also removed the Ark to Babylon. There it is said the Ark was eventually destroyed along with the other artifacts from the temple, the gold melted down and set into coins for their treasury. It is difficult to imagine that the Babylonians would have destroyed it however, if they’d even captured it at all.

The Book of Daniel makes specific mention of the golden menorah from the temple of Jerusalem in the palace of Belshazzar. The Babylonian king had preserved it, a major artifact from the Jewish temple, in an attempt to demonstrate the superiority of Babylonia’s gods to the God of the Hebrews. That the menorah was set on display in this manner underscores how unlikely the Babylonians would have been to destroy the Ark, the greatest symbol of the God of the Hebrews. It would have been considered an ultimate statement of the superiority of the Babylonians if it had been obtained. The Bible documents the menorah having remained intact until the last night of Babylonian rule. Its light illuminated the scene of the writing on the wall in the book of Daniel. After the fall of Babylon, the Medes and Persians were friendly to the Jews and allowed them to rebuild the temple. It is most likely that the menorah was returned along with the other furnishings and vessels that had been captured by Nebuchadnezzar. However, the Ark was mentioned as not existing in the second temple of Zerubbabel, the raised foundation stone was the only feature inside the Holy of Holies. [60]

Certain tracts of the Midot in the Jewish Talmud dealing with temple laws, practices and rituals allude to the creation of more than one Ark, the second made as a decoy to protect the original. It claims that certain articles of the temple furnishing including the true Ark remain in a secret vault underneath the temple mount in Jerusalem. [61] However, it seems highly unlikely that the Ark would have been left to fate under the temple mount, open to any treasure hunter with the motivation to merely dig. It is difficult to explain how the location could remain secret, as Jerusalem remained open for excavation and plundering for hundreds of years after its fall to the Romans in AD 70. Motivated treasure seekers over the ensuing centuries have had ample time to excavate the area underneath the temple.

The recovery of the Temple treasure of Solomon was the highest goal of the Knights Templar that established their center on the Temple Mount during the crusades. The fact was documented in 1884, when the British conducted an ordinance survey of the Jerusalem and discovered Templar artifacts, left in extensive tunneling beneath the temple mount. [62] As to the extent of the underground features, a later publication of the British survey explained:

Various Judaic sects of Ethiopia believe that the Ark has been guarded and kept in the city of Axum in their country for thousands of years. [64] The legend claims that it was brought to Axum by the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Prince Menelik I. It has been said that Menelik removed the Ark from the Temple at the behest of his father in order that it be kept safe after the division of his kingdom (into Judah and Israel), because Solomon knew that the dissolution of his kingdom was inevitable after his death. First Kings 11:9–12 says that the Lord Himself told Solomon that…

…the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice.…Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: [but] I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. [65]

Though intriguing, the legend of Menelik I is not consistent with the biblical record, as will be shown in this chapter. If the Ark was not moved to Ethiopia, it is speculated that after the division of the Kingdom of Solomon, Rehoboam, King of Judah, gave the Ark to the Egyptian Pharaoh Shisak (Sheshonk I, ca. 929 or 924 BC) to avoid the destruction of Jerusalem by his armies, ca. 940 BC.

Some historians believe that the Egyptians took the Ark and hid it underground in the city of Tanis, Egypt, the seat of Shishak’s dynasty. The location was lost over the course of history. [67] Because it was written that Shishak “took all” the articles of the Temple, many researchers conclude that the Ark was among the spoils taken to Egypt. However, after Judah’s conflict with Shishak, the Temple was ransacked again seventy years later by Jehoash, king of Israel. At that time, the Temple treasures were removed to Samaria. [68] In this instance, as with the encounter with Shishak, the Bible again uses the phrase, “All the temple treasures were removed.” Despite these two accounts, the Ark appears again in the biblical narrative when King Josiah ordered the return of the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple. [69] This occurred more than two hundred years after the pillage of the Temple by Jehoash, and three hundred years after the pillage of Shishak.

This one biblical passage renders the legends of the Ark’s present location in Axum, Ethiopia, or in Tanis, Egypt, completely impossible, as both theories place the hiding of the Ark several hundred years before the reign of King Josiah. It was a central feature of the Temple of Jerusalem and reinstitution of worship during the reign of Josiah.

It is noteworthy, also, that the Bible is extremely detailed concerning the only account of the Ark’s capture by the foremost enemy of Israel, the Philistines. After the vessel had been captured by the Philistines, their entire country was afflicted by God. The judgment was so great that the people begged their lords to find a respectful way to transport the Ark back to its rightful place, and it was returned. It is illogical that the same judgments would not have befallen any other country that removed the Ark from the Israelites. Although God allowed its capture by the Philistines due to the idolatry of Israel, the pagan Philistines were certainly not able to abide its presence. For that matter, either Babylon—the epitome of world idolatry—or Egypt would survive the Ark’s presence. Certainly, if one of these countries had captured it, the account would be as notable as the removal by the Philistines. Yet, no scriptural record of such an event exists.

Robert Jamieson’s biblical commentary explains the Ark’s location before its return to the Temple in the reign of Josiah, king of Judah:

Some think that it had been ignominiously put away from the sanctuary by order of some idolatrous king, probably Manasseh, who set a carved image in the house of God (2 Chronicles 33:7), or Amon; while others are of opinion that it had been temporarily removed by Josiah himself into some adjoining chamber, during the repairs on the temple. In replacing it, the Levites had evidently carried it upon their shoulders, deeming that still to be the duty, which the law imposed on them. But Josiah reminded them of the change of circumstances. As the service of God was now performed in a fixed and permanent temple, they were not required to be bearers of the ark any longer; and, being released from the service, they should address themselves with the greater alacrity to the discharge of other functions. [71]

An amazing story follows the reinstitution of the Ark to the Temple of God in the account of Josiah’s death:

After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, what have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? [I come] not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from [meddling with] God, who [is] with me, that he destroy thee not. Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. [72]

This supports Vilikovski’s claim that the Egyptian pharaohs revered the God of Abraham in the time of the kings of Israel and Judah. Although King Josiah and the people of Judah had a strong bias for alliance with Egypt, during the reign of Manasseh, the country had become a vassal of Assyria. Josiah thought himself bound to support the interests of Assyria. Therefore, when “Necho King of Egypt” came up to fight Carchemish, Josiah went out against him. Bible commentators are not agreed whether Necho had been given a divine commission by the God of Israel, or whether he merely used the name of God as an authority that Josiah would not refuse to obey. [73] However, it appears likely that God was a benefactor to the pharaoh, as the Bible records Josiah’s death by Necho’s archers. [74]

Jeremiah the prophet lamented the death of Josiah when his body returned after the battle. In 2 Chronicles 35:25, Jeremiah had been a major force in Josiah’s restitution of the Ark to the Temple of Solomon. He was also the main player in the most well documented and biblical account of the fate of the Ark and theory of its present location.

The book of 2 Maccabees 2:4 explains that before the destruction of Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonians in 587 BC, the Ark was hidden by the prophet Jeremiah in a cave at the base of Mount Nebo in the Pisgah range of Jordan. Second Maccabees, as well as other apocryphal works, are retained in modern Catholic Bibles as well as the Septuagint and Vulgate. [75] It is found in the records…

…that Jeremy the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God. And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door.

And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it. Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy. Then shall the Lord show them these things, and the glory of the Lord shall appear, and the cloud also, as it was showed under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honourably sanctified. [76]

This account of the Ark from 2 Maccabees is also mentioned in the Jewish Talmud, in Huriot 12A and Tractate Yoma 72a. These texts explain that the Ark’s location would not be recovered until the Jews were brought back to Israel following the Diaspora, an event that miraculously did occur in 1948. The pseudepigraphic book, 2 Baruch, written near the first century, repeats the prophetic age in which the Ark would be recovered:

Oh earth…guard them [the Temple vessels and the Ark] until the last times, So that, when thou art ordered, thou mayst restore them, So that strangers may not get possession of them. For the time comes when Jerusalem also will be delivered for a time, until it is said, that it is again restored for ever. [77]

According to prophecy, the Jews of the end time would return to Israel from all the nations of the Earth. Isaiah 11:11–12 explains that Israel would be populated by exiles that formerly lived in every part of the world. This has been the situation since 1948, and is not related to the first return of Jews to Israel after the Babylonian exile:

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the L ord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people…. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Amos 9:14–15 declares that after the second return of the exiles, they would never again go into dispersion: “And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.”

The legendary accounts of Jeremiah and the Ark provide a hidden clue to its location at Mount Nebo. This is a symbolic link that exists between the names of the Babylonian king who threatened to destroy the Ark and the mountain where it was hidden by Jeremiah. Both “Nebuchadnezzar” and “Nebo” stem from the Semitic root nebu , meaning the god “Mercury.” This was also intimated in the prophecies of Ezekiel condemning Jerusalem (chapter 2). The name “Nebuchadnezzar” means “the prince of the god Merucury.” [78] The Hebrew word nebo is from the root neba (“to prophesy” and also “a prophet”). [79] In the same role as the prophets of the God of Israel, Nebo was worshiped as the celestial scribe of the Assyrians, the “interpreter of the gods, and declarer of their will.” [80]

According to the Bible, the greatest prophet of all time was Moses: “And there arose not a prophet [neba ] since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” [81] Ironically, Mount Nebo was the site of the death of Moses:

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that [is] over against Jericho. And the L ord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan…. And the L ord said unto him, This [is] the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see [it] with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of the L ord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the L ord . [82]

The Hebrew words nobe , meaning “high place,” and nabab , meaning “to hollow out,” “gate,” or “pupil of the eye,” also correlate with the location for the resting place of the Ark in a “hollow cave” on Mount Nebo, described in 2 Maccabees. [83]

The Talmud explains that the tower of Babel was dedicated to Nebo, son of Marduk (Greek Jupiter) and that its destruction coincided with the confusion of languages and forgetfulness of knowledge. [84] The emblem of Mercury, a snake entwined on a pole, was first recorded in Exodus, which was the brazen serpent on a pole lifted by Moses to cure the rebellious Israelites of a plague of snakes (Numbers 21:9). [85]

The serpent on the pole was used as a Messianic symbol, and was illustrated by Christ Himself, as told in John 3:14: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” However, this object was preserved and later worshiped as Mercury—Nebo by the Israelites—until being destroyed by King Hezekiah ca. 725 BC, when “he broke into pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had burned incense to it; it was called Nehushtan.” [86]

It is fitting with the cryptic name of Mount Nebo that a modern sculpture in metal of a serpent on a pole stands at its summit near the Church of Moses. [87] If the Ark was hidden in Mount Nebo, it was to remain forgotten until the end of days. This prophecy has remarkable similarities to the theme of Mercury as god of knowledge and forgetfulness. Its recovery sometime before the return of Christ fits the prophetic scheme of Sir Isaac Newton wherein a rebuilt temple, the Ark, and a world rule by “Babylon the Great” predominate.

Although Babylon’s power over Israel resulted in the loss of the Ark and the destruction of the Temple, the resurgence of Babylon as a spiritual force that governs the world at the end of days will accompany the rebuilding of the structure and the discovery of the Ark.

As Moses viewed the Land of Promise from Mount Nebo, but was prevented from entering, the Ark’s location upon Mount Nebo is seen, but not yet been obtained. However, according to prophecy, Moses will walk in Jerusalem in the end times, having finally gained access to the land viewed from atop Mount Nebo. As he waits for his designated time to enter the Promised Land, the Ark waits until the hour chosen by God.

The Bible records that the “glory of the Lord” moved into the Holy of Holies at the first installation of the Ark in Solomon’s Temple. [88] Ezekiel, the prophet who warned of the destruction of Solomon’s Temple while exiled in Nippur, Babylonia, had witnessed the glory of the Lord move away from the Temple to the east, directly in line with Mount Nebo. This was in reference to God abandoning the Temple to its enemies, and is stated in Ezekiel 11:23: “And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which [is] on the east side of the city.” [89] Later, Ezekiel was shown the vision of the restored Temple of the future in which the glory of the Lord returned from the east, stated in Ezekiel 43:4: “And the glory of the Lord came into the Temple by the way of the gate whose prospect [is] toward the east.” [90]

The “glory of the Lord” was a distinct feature of the Ark between the cherubim. Translated, “glory” is shekinah in Hebrew, meaning “presence.” This presence of God was in form of a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of smoke by day during the travel of the Israelites in the desert. Whenever the glory of the Lord moved from the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the people followed. As the pillar of fire or smoke stood above the Ark, the Israelites stopped and set up camp. The glory of the Lord stood in a vertical column extending from Heaven to the surface of the Ark. The book of Exodus records that the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle had no lamps, largely because none were needed due to the intense glow of the Ark itself. In fact, when Moses went into the Holy of Holies to speak to God at the mercy seat, his face glowed so intensely that the Israelites were afraid to come near him unless he wore a veil [91] (Exodus. 34:35). These descriptions associate the Ark with the glory of the Lord. When the Philistines captured the Ark and removed it from Israel, the daughter-in-law of Eli, the high priest, referred to the Ark as the glory of the Lord itself, saying, “The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.” [92]

The Apocalypse of 2 Baruch provides the direction in which the Ark may rest in relation to the Temple. While the Babylonians began their siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC, Jeremiah the prophet threw the keys of the Temple and its sanctuary towards the sun:

But taking the keys of the temple, Jeremiah went outside the city and threw them away in the presence of the sun, saying: I say to you, Sun, take the keys of the temple of God and guard them until the day in which the Lord asks you for them. For we have not been found worthy to keep them, for we have become unfaithful guardians. [93]

This legend is found with variations in the Jewish Talmud and pertains to the destruction of the First and Second Temples. [94] As the sun rises in the east, throwing the keys of the Temple to the sun implies this direction. It is remarkable that the story of the keys and the hiding of the Ark are both connected to Jeremiah. This story is also significant metaphorically. The “keys” of the Temple represent both the stewardship of the priests of God and the sacred knowledge embodied by the Temple and its rituals. In the Talmud versions, the Levites or the high priest climbed to the structure’s roof and threw the keys into Heaven, from whence a divine hand caught them and disappeared into a cloud. [95]

Jewish mystics believe that this act represented the loss of the correct pronunciation of the name of God, or the knowledge of Solomon. When viewed from this perspective, the “lost key” story represents the priscia theologia of the Temple of God as a divine receptacle of pure knowledge. It is a line of reasoning that Newton certainly had perused.

The Ark, representing the whole of the Law, was a designed using the Sacred Cubit. Because the 25.20-inch Sacred Cubit is a ratio of the Earth, being a fractal of 2,520 (and 2,520 x pi is earth’s diameter), the Ark reflects this geo-metry (literally, “earth-measure”). The solution for determining its present location might be found in the very word used for the divinely chosen resting place of the Ark, the naus or navis , the origin of the word “navigation,” which is the skill of measuring the Earth. As an expert in the Law, Jeremiah may have reasoned that if the Ark could not dwell in the Temple that was designed as its permanent resting place, it might at least remain in alignment with it, which suggests a specific navigational process for locating the Ark.

A measuring line extended directly towards the east from the foundation stone of the Temple Mount must remain on the latitude of the foundation stone where the Ark rested in the Holy of Holies, which is north 31 degrees, 46 minutes, and 43 seconds. Its length must also be related to the Sacred Cubit, which is exactly 25.20 nautical miles. The result at the end of the measuring line touches the north slope of Mount Nebo less than a mile from its summit.

That 2,520 is a constant is incredible. The terminus of this measuring line touches a point on the north slope of Mount Nebo 1,260 feet above sea level, which is half of 2,520, and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem rests on a hill 2,520 feet above sea level. [96] In fitting with the altitude of the location of the Ark on Mount Nebo, the letters of the name of Solomon in Greek equal 1,260; it is revealed that it was he who built the First Temple and established the Ark in the Holy of Holies.

These values are consistent with Newton’s scheme of the Temple’s prisca theologia , based on 25.20 of the Sacred Cubit and 2,520 of time recorded in the book of Daniel and Revelation. This numeric signature of prophecy and law is redundantly apparent in the proposed location of the Ark, situated in an area corresponding to the only description found in the biblical texts of its hiding place. Current satellite maps of the area reveal no modern settlements or excavations. In addition, the geology of the area is similar to the Qumran region of the Dead Sea, in which many caves exist. It would have been an extremely favorable location to deposit the Ark and furnishings of the Temple of Solomon.

There are questions that arise concerning the exposure of the location of the Ark, if this calculation is accurate. Is it wise to uncover it? Will it fall into the wrong hands? Will the Ark be present in the rebuilt Temple of the end times?

It is reasonable that God would not provide information to find the Ark unless it was part of His divine plan. Although the acacia wood comprising it may have disintegrated, the gold overlaid around it, as well the solid gold of the mercy seat and cherubim, would have certainly withstood the effects of time. Its recovery would follow the precise design of God from the beginning. If the Ark’s location has been revealed, then it is God’s intention that it be discovered in this age. One specific detail must be worked out, however. The site of Ark of the Covenant on Mount Nebo is dependent on the exact location of the foundation stone on the Temple Mount. There are several theories concerning this question, the most promising is, significantly, linked to the Eastern Gate of the Temple. [97]

David Flynn’s reasoning is spectacular to be sure, but one thing is certain: If the Bible is to be accepted as God’s Word on the matter, the Third Temple will be built and the revealing of the Ark of the Covenant and other Second Temple Treasures could—any day now—ignite global impetus for its construction.

In the fascinating article, “Oklahoma Noahide on the Trail of Temple Gold” by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz for Breaking Israel News , we learn exactly where the Temple treasures may be hidden. The report is based on the Copper Scroll Project work by SkyWatch TV friend Shelley Neese, and Adam gave me permission to include his report here:

After nearly a decade of writing, the remarkable story of one man’s quest to decipher the ancient map leading to the gold and silver Temple vessels is being published.

Shelley Neese, vice president of the Jerusalem Connection, became involved in the story over a decade ago and has spent nearly eight years writing the Copper Scroll Project, the story of an unlikely hero who may have unraveled one of history’s most enduring mysteries.

In 2007, Neese was the editor for Jerusalem Connection Magazine and she met Barfield at a Christian conference in Texas.

“I was unfamiliar with the Copper Scrolls, and at first I didn’t believe his story about treasure maps, gold, and the Jewish Temple,” Neese, told Breaking Israel News . “All the alarm bells in my head went off. But after I looked it up, I realized that he hadn’t embellished it at all.”

Discovered in 1952 near Qumran on the shores of the Dead Sea, the Copper Scroll is unlike the other Dead Sea Scrolls which are mostly religious manuscripts written on parchment. The Copper Scroll, as its name suggests, is engraved on a thin sheet of copper. And, in contrast to the others, the Copper Scroll is a list of gold and silver items and the 64 locations where they can be found.

Many archaeologists believe the Copper Scroll is an inventory from the Second Temple. In addition to gold and silver, Temple vessels and priestly vestments are listed. No archaeologist has ever succeeded in deciphering the directions contained in the Copper Scroll and finding the treasure.

The book follows the efforts of Jim Barfield, a man who, at first glance, seems entirely unsuited to search for the Temple artifacts, but whose unique skills may have solved one of history’s most enduring mysteries. Barfield, a Noahide who speaks no Hebrew, also has no background in archaeology. A retired criminal investigator for the Oklahoma Fire Department, Barfield was used to patiently sifting through the ashes to find the truth.

In 2006, Barfield was interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls and their relevance to Bible study. At first, he was uninterested in the Copper Scroll which had no theological significance. Barfield’s fascination turned into a burning desire after he met Vendyl Jones. Jones, a Texas preacher turned Biblical archaeologist, believed Qumran to be the hiding place for the Temple vessels and spent 30 years searching for them using the Copper Scroll as a guide. Jones discovered a small vial of persimmon oil used to anoint kings and high priests, and a large quantity of what he believed was Temple incense. Barfield met with Jones, now deceased, and Jones suggested he revisit the Copper Scroll.

“Vendyl told Jim the Copper Scroll had more prophecy in it than any of the other Dead Sea Scrolls,” Neese said.

Barfield’s curiosity turned into passion and he returned to deciphering the Copper Scroll. He searched maps for the “ruins of the Valley of Achor” mentioned in the scroll. The valley is believed to be near Jericho but the precise location is unknown. As a young man, he had piloted helicopters for the U.S. Army. Using his map-reading skills to triangulate, he was able to pinpoint locations on an aerial map of Qumran. Very quickly, pieces of the puzzle began falling into place.

“It’s really not revolutionary what he did,” Neese said. “He figured it out using available sources in his office in Oklahoma, relying on his skills as an arson investigator.”

In one case, the scroll described steps, 40 cubits long, heading east. Barfield did indeed find stairs. The archaeologist reported the stairs to be 60 feet, or precisely 40 cubits. He also discovered the remains of a pool, precisely 40 cubits long, exactly where the scroll said it would be. He believed he had found many of the locations listed on the scroll but to verify his theories, he needed to visit the site.

In 2007, Barfield travelled to Israel to do exactly that, but to pursue his investigation, he needed the approval of the Israel Antiquities Authority to search Qumran. Barfield met with Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) director Shuka Dorfman. Dorfman was unreceptive at first, but as Barfield laid out his proofs, explaining the signposts described in the Copper Scroll, Dorfman became enthusiastic and arranged a meeting with veteran archaeologist and Qumran expert, Yuval Peleg.

Peleg agreed to dig some exploratory holes at the site with Barfield. Less than an hour after beginning shallow test pits, Peleg received a phone call and without any explanation, Peleg shut down the dig.

This was the beginning of many bureaucratic stone walls preventing Barfield from verifying his theory. He purchased a sophisticated metal detector that could penetrate 50 feet while differentiating between ferrous and non-ferrous metal, i.e. gold and silver. Barfield applied to the IAA, asking to run a non-intrusive scan of a few spots in Qumran. His request was denied.

In 2013, Barfield was in New York where he was introduced to Moshe Feiglin who, at the time, was a Likud Member of Knesset. Feiglin was a strong advocate for the Temple and became enthused when he heard Barfield’s story, even offering to accompany him on a tour of the site. A few weeks later, the two were wandering around the tourist site, a large duffel bag in tow. They visited five spots that Barfield felt were most likely repositories for Temple treasure.

One hour later, Barfield ran the data from the metal detector through his computer. Every spot was a hit and one locus especially so.

“It showed up on the metal detector like Fort Knox,” Neese said.

The Israeli government is still not permitting Barfield to investigate and there has been a moratorium on archaeological digging at Qumran.

“It is in area C and different laws apply to the archaeology than in other parts of Israel,” Neese said. “It is disputed territory and anything that comes out of the ground can be disputed. It is possible that the Israeli government is concerned that if they dig up this massive treasure, Jordan or the Palestinian Authority will sue for it. Even if it comes from the Jewish Temple.”

In fact, the Copper Scroll, an ancient artifact inscribed in Hebrew, is currently in a museum in Amman, Jordan.

In an interview with Breaking Israel News last year, Barfield stated his motives.

“I am a Noahide,” he explained to Breaking Israel News. “I want to return the Temple artifacts to the Jewish People. It’s time.”

If Barfield is successful, it will bring the Third Temple much closer.

Not only does Neese chronicle this amazing story, but she was an integral player in much of it. A native of Louisiana, she first came to Israel in 2000 with her husband, a U.S. Air Force physician. With no knowledge of Israel, she became intensely curious about the country and received her M.A in Middle Eastern Studies from Ben Gurion University. She spent the months leading up to the Gaza disengagement in 2005 in Israel, working with a team of negotiators. When she went back to the U.S., she became the assistant to the Consul General at the Consulate of Israel to New England. [98]

Though translations differ, the Copper Scroll does not directly reference the holiest Temple furniture, says Neese: the menorah, table of showbread, or altar for incense. Nevertheless, the Copper Scroll’s language points to other sacred furniture, including a possible cryptic reference to the Ark of the Covenant that may coincide with David Flynn’s research cited earlier in this chapter. Neese notes in her research:

Wolters reads the final hiding place, In the cavern of the Presence [Shekinah] on the north of Kokhlit—its opening is north and tombs are at its mouth. Shekinah, when used in the Bible, designates the divine radiance as it dwells in the Holy of Holies, both in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem. The Shekinah is the spirit or presence of God. At least to me, the cavern of the Presence sounds like a cleverly worded reference to a cave hiding the Ark. (emphasis added) [99]

Of course, as stated earlier, there are those who believe the Ark of the Covenant is buried under the Temple Mount, perhaps directly beneath where the Holy of Holies once stood (would make sense), and goals by such organizations as the Mitzvah Project see building the Third Temple a realizable objective once the Ark materializes. They are raising funds now with a plan to “search the tunnels under the Temple Mount in order to find the Golden Ark and other important artifacts.” [100]