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Is the ark of the covenant mentioned in

Revelation 11:19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. ( ESV )

same as the ark of shittim wood mentioned in

Exodus 25:10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. (KJV)

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As to the ark of shittim wood and gold, Jeremiah says of it :

They shall say no more 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord' neither shall it come to mind : neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall it be done any more. Jeremiah 3: 16.

Nor was it, for scripture mentions it no more after his words.

But such things - the artefacts made in the wilderness and constructed in Jerusalem - the writer to the Hebrews describes as :

... the pattern of things in the heavens [Hebrews 9 : 23, KJV.]

And he says that :

Christ is now entered into heaven itself. [Hebrews 9 : 24, KJV]

What John saw in vision is not another pattern, nor a material construct in heaven. He saw a vision. The vision is imagery given that we may have a concept in our mind. Else, we cannot process things through our mind.

It is a concept. Not material.

For heaven is a spiritual place and Christ, himself, is now there.

But such things are beyond our comprehension so we are given imagery, just as before - all men upon earth were given the visible artefacts, the pattern, the representation.

There shall be new heavens and a new earth but of them we are told that eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor hath it entered into the heart of men to conceive of such things, I Corinthians 2 :9, KJV.

Till then we have the written record of artefacts and we have the imagery given to John.

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According to 2 Macc 2, the prophet Jeremiah hid the ark just before the final siege of Jerusalem where it is supposed to be still be hidden. There are several other competing theories about what happened to the ark, and no one knows for sure. The Maccabees account appears to be the most credible but we are not sure.

In any case, there are two possibilities about the ultimate fate of the earthly ark originally constructed by Moses during the Exodus:

  • It remains hidden somewhere (Jerusalem or taken to Babylon??)
  • It was captured by one of the invading armies but later destroyed.

This was the earthly ark of the covenant that was some sort of representation of the heavenly (Ex 25:9, 40, 26:30, Acts 7:44, Heb 8:5). Whether this earthly ark was a copy of the literal actual or was some kind of symbolic representation is not clear. In either case, the heavenly ark would have been greater and grander and not part of this creation (Heb 9:11).

Thus, the ark seen Rev 11:19 was either the actual heavenly ark in the heavenly temple or a symbolic representation of it. In either case, it was not the actual earthly ark of the covenant. By John's time, the earthly ark may have been destroyed.

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  • Is there a heavenly temple with materials like the ark and so on? Because Hebrews 8:5 says " They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things." And Revelation 21:22 says "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb." – Siju George Apr 14 at 11:38
  • Good question. In Rev 11:1, 2, 19, 14:15, 17, 15:5, 6, 8, 16:1, 17, we still see the temple in heaven. However, in the New Jerusalem which comes down from heaven to earth (Rev 21:1, 2) there is no temple (Rev 21:22) because the Lamb is the light of the city. Further, Heb 9:11 says that the heavenly temple is not part of this creation. – user25930 Apr 14 at 21:30
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Is the “ark of the covenant” mentioned in Revelation 11:19 same as the “ark” mentioned in Exodus 25:10?

In short "Yes".

John saw the Ark in a vision in the heavenly Temple of God, not in an earthly temple. The Ark was the visible presence of God with his people,the Israelites, first in the Tabernacle then in the Temple build by Solomon. It was kept in the Most Holy and was only seen by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement.(The other were not allowed to see it)

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  • Isn't the ark of this old creation? ( shittim wood ) and Old of Covenant. Wasn't it said about the old covenant that "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." Hebrews 8:13 ESV – Siju George Apr 14 at 10:56
  • Also will not all things in this old universe be burnt with fire? 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 6:14; Revelation 20:11; Revelation 21:1; Matthew 24:35. Will something of this old creation be found in new creation? – Siju George Apr 14 at 11:00
  • Or is it just symbolic of something? – Siju George Apr 14 at 11:01
  • Siju George : The Law covenant given to Moses became “obsolete”, Heb.8:13,Jeremiah 31:31-34. The Law covenant was canceled with Jesus death ,Colossians 2:14. The new covenant replaced it ,Hebrews 7:12, 9:15, Acts 2:1-4 – Ozzie Nicolas Apr 14 at 20:34
  • Siju George :" But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells".(2 Peter 3:13) This is symbolic , the old heavens and earth, that is the corrupt governments and the wicked earthly society under their control, will be gone. They will be replaced by “new heavens and a new earth”, that is the Kingdom under Christ and a new earthly society. It does not refer to the physical earth or the heavens.Psalm 78:60, 119:90 – Ozzie Nicolas Apr 14 at 20:35

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