 THE
ARK OF THE COVENANT
There are four "ARKS" mentioned in the Bible. (1) the
ark of Noah. (2) the ark that Moses was put into by his mother and floated on the river.
(3) The ark of wood that God told Moses to make to hold the 10 commandments when he
brought them down from Mt. Sinai. (4) the Ark of the Covenant covered on all sides with
gold that was in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle of Moses. Three of the arks were
associated with Moses. The Ark of the Covenant stands alone as the most holy of all the
items in the Tabernacle. It was the Ark that represented the very Presence of God. The Ark
was a box that contained the 10 commandments. The Ark itself had no top lid but was
covered with the Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat was called "the propitiatory" and
was the place the blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement. The Mercy Seat had two
Cherubim made one piece with it. They stood with their wings spread over the Mercy Seat.
God said He would meet with Moses and speak with him from between the two Cherubim, above
the Mercy Seat above the Ark of the Covenant. The cloud of glory that covered Israel
during their travels in the wilderness descended into the Tent of Meeting and stood above
the Ark. The presence and the glory of God was associated with the Ark of the Covenant and
the Most Holy Place. EXO 25:10 "And they shall construct an ark of acacia wood two
and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.
EXO 25:11 "And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay
it, and you shall make a gold molding around it. EXO 25:12 "And you shall cast four
gold rings for it, and fasten them on its four feet, and two rings shall be on one side of
it and two rings on the other side of it. EXO 25:13 "And you shall make poles of
acacia wood and overlay them with gold. EXO 25:14 "And you shall put the poles into
the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them. EXO 25:15 "The poles
shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. EXO 25:16
"And you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you. EXO 25:17
"And you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and
a half cubits wide. EXO 25:18 "And you shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of
hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. EXO 25:19 "And make one cherub at
one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim {of one piece} with
the mercy seat at its two ends. EXO 25:20 "And the cherubim shall have {their} wings
spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces
of the cherubim are to be {turned} toward the mercy seat. EXO 25:21 "And you shall
put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I
shall give to you. EXO 25:22 "And there I will meet with you; and from above the
mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will
speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel. The
pure gold speaks about God's person, God's nature and character and God's purpose. The
gold speaks about divinity while the wood speaks about humanity. We could say the Ark
speaks to us about humanity clothed with Divinity. The Mercy Seat was made of pure gold
and contained no wood. This reveals that mercy is wholly from God. We have no revelation
of the two Cherubim that were one with the Mercy Seat. They were pure gold with no wood.
Therefore, they are not human in origin. We reject any interpretation that they represent
two of the trinity because God forbid Israel to make any images or representations of God.
DEU 4:15 "So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day
the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, DEU 4:16 lest you act corruptly
and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or
female, We know that the Ark speaks to us of Jesus Christ but is not an image of Jesus
Christ. REV 11:19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His
covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals
of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm. We also know that Jesus was Immanuel
or God with us. God spoke to Israel through Jesus Christ. HEB 1:1 God, after He spoke long
ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, HEB 1:2 in these
last days has spoken to us in {His} Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through
whom also He made the world. Jesus Christ was TRUE HUMANITY CLOTHED WITH DIVINITY. This
cannot be said of the Father or the Holy Spirit. The poles were forbidden to be removed
from the Ark. This indicates that the Ark had not reached it's final resting place in the
Tabernacle of Moses. The poles were not removed when the Ark was put into the temple of
Solomon. This indicates that the Ark had not reached it's final resting place in Solomon's
temple. 2CH 5:8 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, so that the
cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles. 2CH 5:9 And the poles were so long
that the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen in front of the inner sanctuary, but
they could not be seen outside; and they are there to this day. Jeremiah had the
revelation that the physical, earthly Ark of the Covenant would no longer be sought after
or held in such high esteem. He saw that the reality and the fulfillment of the Ark would
come. JER 3:16 "And it shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased
in the land," declares the Lord, "they shall say no more, 'The ark of the
covenant of the Lord.' And it shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor
shall they miss {it,} nor shall it be made again. JER 3:17 "At that time they shall
call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the Lord,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to
Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor shall they walk anymore after the stubbornness of
their evil heart. The only piece of furniture in the Most Holy Place was the Ark of the
Covenant, with the Mercy Seat which included the two cherubim. We see the eternal
fulfillment of the Ark is Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called "the Throne of
God". The Ark was the place of God's earthly throne in the Tabernacle of Moses and
the Temple of Solomon. In future days Jerusalem will be called "the Throne of
God". This will be true in the Millennium rule of Christ but will also be true of the
New Jerusalem which will be the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle of God. The throne of
God will be there. REV 22:1 And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as
crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, REV 22:3 And there shall no longer
be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, ( the New Jerusalem)
and His bond-servants shall serve Him; REV 22:4 and they shall see His face, and His name
{shall be} on their foreheads. It is little wonder that when the Throne of God is
manifested no one will miss the Ark of the Covenant which was made with human hands. The
final fulfillment of the reality of the Ark of the Covenant, which was shadow, will not
come until the New Earth, the Heavens, and the New Jerusalem are manifest. When the
Tabernacle of God is complete, the New Jerusalem will be the Most Holy Place and the
Throne of God. The whole study of the New Jerusalem may be included with this study of the
Ark of the Covenant. This is seen in the study called "The Glorious
Presentation". However, we should investigate the mercy seat as a picture of Jesus
Christ. The Covenant being only fulfilled in the New Covenant. We should note that the two
cherubim are pure gold with no wood and that God speaks between these two and that is the
place of ground zero of the glory of God. They both face the mercy seat and are
continually looking upon that seat of mercy. The blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat on
the Day of Atonement as a covering for the corporate sins of Israel done in ignorance.
Over the mercy seat we see three presences. One cherubim on the left, the glory of God in
the middle and the second cherubim on the right. It is logical to believe that they each
speak of the presence of God since only pure gold is mentioned with no wood. While Israel
was forbidden to make any idols depicting God's form all was hidden from the sight of all
Israel by several coverings. We know there was a certain power manifested by the presence
of the Ark because Israel carried it into battle. As long as Israel was serving God in an
acceptable manner the power of the Ark was manifested in Israel's favor. It only seems
reasonable that the cherubim and the glory speak of the Spirit of Christ, the glory of the
Father and the Holy Spirit. No other explanation can fit into the facts presented. All
this is beyond the realm of angels and men. Probably the dumbest interpretation is that
the two cherubim speak of some ministry done by men. I.E. Prophets and Apostles in full
agreement with Christ who is the mercy seat and that God speaks between these two
ministries. If they were made of wood that might be something to consider. We know that
the Ark is Jesus Christ because that is revealed in Rev. 11:19. We also know that Jesus
Christ is our propitiation or mercy seat. ROM 3:25 whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood through faith. {This was} to demonstrate His righteousness,
because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 1JO 2:2
and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for
{those of} the whole world. 1JO 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He
loved us and sent His Son {to be} the propitiation for our sins. The
"propitiatory" is translated as "the mercy seat". Since Jesus Christ
was fully man the Ark was wood covered with gold. Since He was the perfect sacrifice the
Mercy seat is pure gold with no wood. However, we have to ask why the Cherubim are pure
gold with no wood? They must be The Eternal Word of God (the Spirit of Christ) and the
Eternal Spirit of God ( the Holy Spirit). Between these the Glory of God appears and God
speaks. PSA 80:1 (For the choir director; {set to} El Shoshannim; Eduth. A Psalm of
Asaph.) Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, Thou who dost lead Joseph like a flock; Thou who
art enthroned {above} the cherubim, shine forth! PSA 99:1 The Lord reigns, let the peoples
tremble; He is enthroned {above} the cherubim, let the earth shake! In both these
references to the cherubim the word "above" has been added and not part of the
original language. That gives a whole different perspective. God the Father certainly
speaks by the Eternal Word and He speaks by the Eternal Spirit. While Jesus Christ is
fully human overlaid with Divinity, the Word of God made flesh, The Eternal Word of God is
fully Divine, the same as the Holy Spirit. JOH 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. JOH 1:2 He was in the beginning with God. The
Word is God but He is not the Father and He is not the Holy Spirit. God is seen as the
Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. Could that suggest The Glory with the two Cherubim?
Since the Most Holy Place is speaking of the fulfillment of all that God foreordained
before the foundation of the world, it alone takes on a unique position. This is seen more
clearly in the reality which is the New Jerusalem, the wife of the Lamb. However, if the
bride was the interpretation of the one cherubim and Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, the
other cherubim, there would have to be wood someplace in the cherubim. I don't believe
" sitting on the throne with Jesus" is depicted in the cherubim. The writer of
Hebrews said he couldn't talk about the Cherubim in detail but says nothing at all. From
this we can learn that it probably will not affect our lives or our eternal destiny if we
don't know exactly what they mean. However, mysteries are for revealing. PRO 25:2 It is
the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
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