Where Is The Ark Of The Covenant?

Name: Adele Coulas
Question: Why did God send the ark of the covenant to earth? My husband asked that, and if it was still on earth, I answered him that God took it back to heaven, which I believe it is written, but I can’t find it.

Answer: Thank you for the question Adele.

“The Ark of the Covenant” or “The Ark of the Testimony” as it is called in Exodus 25 was actually constructed here on earth. In fact, God told Moses how it should be constructed in Exodus 25:10-22.

Not only are we going to explain where the Ark is today, but we will discuss what the Ark is, its purpose, and even explain what’s inside of it.

Let’s get started.

What Is The Ark Of The Covenant?

The Ark of the Covenant is a large wooden box that is overlaid with gold, inside and out. On each of the four corners, there are four golden rings that hold two wooden polls on each side, also overlaid with gold. These polls are used to carry the Ark, (Exodus 25:10-15).

The Purpose Of The Ark

The Ark had a two-fold purpose.

It was to contain items that would remind the Israelites of God’s mighty works, as they quickly forgot the works He performed for them on their way out of Egypt. The Ark would also be the place where God would commune with Moses.

Let’s hear it from our Heavenly Father as He spoke it to Moses.

Exodus 25:21
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

See: Exodus 31:18, 34:29

This “testimony” is specifically the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 25:22
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

What did God have Moses place inside of the Ark?

The Contents Of The Ark

Turn your Bible with me to,

Hebrews 9:4
Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant.

These were tangible items that would remind the Israelites about their past. These items would remind the Israelites where they came from, and they would document God’s miracles and preserve His Law.

The three items:

• The golden pot with manna, (Exodus 16:33).
• Aaron’s rod that budded, (Numbers 17:6-10).
• The two tables of stone, (Ten Commandments, 1 Kings 8:9).

So where is the Ark of the Covenant today?

The Ark Of The Covenant Is In Heaven

Adele, you were spot on, the Ark of the Covenant is in Heaven.

Let’s prove that.

Revelation 11:19
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

I want you to make note of the word “Testament” which means,

A contract, covenant, testament.

“The Ark of His Testament” is “The Ark of the Covenant”. It is the same Ark.

In a moment, we are going to cover the eight names given to the Ark. You will notice, it is “His Ark”, “His Testament”, further solidifying the point.

To provide some added context for the verse we covered. We are reading about the events of the Seventh Trumpet.

However, we are simply told “The Ark of His Testament” was already there, it was simply “seen in His Temple”. That is why we will never find The Ark of the Covenant on earth, it is already with our Heavenly Father.

Now let’s cover the other names that are used to identify the Ark of the Covenant.

The Eight Names For The Ark

The Ark actually has eight different names, let’s cover those.

1. The Ark of the Testimony – Exodus 25:22
2. The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD (Jehovah) – Numbers 10:33
3. The Ark of Lord (Adonai) GOD (Jehovah) – 1 Kings 2:26
4. The Ark of the LORD (Jehovah) – Joshua 3:13
5. The Ark of God (Elohim) – 1 Samuel 3:3
6. The Holy Ark – 2 Chronicles 35:3
7. The Ark of Thy Strength – Psalms 132:8
8. The Ark of His Testament – Revelation 11:19

For the record, the Ark was more often than not called, “The Ark of Jehovah”. It is our Father’s Ark, which is why He took it to Heaven, as it could no longer be trusted with man.