My perspective about the historical and prophetic significance of the Mercy Seat. 510-1 - 2 - 1

The Ark of the Covenant with its Mercy Seat is the only furniture allowed within the Holy of Hollies. The ark was a chest made of acacia wood with a gold overlaid both inside and out. It was to hold three items: a golden pot of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written.

“The atonement cover was the lid for the ark. On top of it stood two cherubim (angels) at the two ends, facing each other. The cherubim, symbols of God’s divine presence and power, were facing downward toward the ark with outstretched wings that covered the atonement cover. The whole structure was beaten out of one piece of pure gold. The atonement cover was God’s dwelling place in the tabernacle. It was His throne, flanked by angels.”

[http://the-tabernacle-place.com/articles/what_is_the_tabernacle/tabernacle_ark_of_the_covenant]

Years ago, I was shopping in a Christian bookstore in which was papier-mâché facsimile of the tomb in the garden. I looked in and saw the empty slab on which Jesus's body would have rested. While shorter than the resting place of Jesus, is the bare slab and the two angles a facsimile of the mercy seat? Would the Mercy Seat be a fitting throne for Jesus on the Bema Judgment seat and during the Millennium? Absolutely, as perhaps His blood was still dripping onto the original garden slab. No more requirement for blood from sacrificed animals as Jesus paid the final price!

Paul tells of being like the wise master builder, 1 Corinthians 3:11, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." All else is wood, hay, and straw which will be burnt. Thinking freely, all that is worthwhile is the Mercy Seat of pure gold as the wood in the Ark would decay do as wood, hay, and straw. As for the gold overlay, not long lasting as I can attest to with jewelry.

Jesus will be seated on the Mercy Seat as He judges the survivors of the Tribulation. On this, the Bema Seat of judgment, Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats depending on their treatment of Israel. Believers will have their Inheritances and Rewards judged/ burnt as being analogous to gold, silver, and precious stones or wood, hay, stubble.

As an aside, CM lists five Biblical references to the Bema seat of Judgment. The first four are pass and the final judgment is yet to come. Maranatha!

“• Pilate judging Christ, Matthew 27:19

• Herod (smitten by worms), Acts 12:21

• Gallio sentencing Paul, Acts 18:16,17

• Festus: trial, sentencing Paul, Act 25:6,10,17

• Judgment Seat of Christ, Romans 14:10”

[CM's Inheritance & Rewards]

King David and Uzzah mishandled the Ark, fear of God? You bet! 505 - 2 - 4

2 Samuel 6:3, “And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.” This was in error as God dictated that the ark was to be carried via two poles so there would be no touching of the ark. In verse 6 we learn that the ox shook the ark and Uzzah attempted to steady it. 2 Samuel 6:7, “And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.”

2 Samuel 6:9” And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?” So King David offloaded the ark to the “house of Obededom the Gittite” for three months.

As an aside, there is a price to be paid for disrespecting the ark of God. 1 Samuel 4 shares that the Philistines captured the ark. 1 Samuel 4:21, "And she named the child Ichabod, saying, the glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband." Strong's H350 - there is no glory, that is, inglorious; Ikabod, a son of Phineas.

1 Samuel 6:6, “And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.” During those seven months the ark was passed from one city to another during which time the anger of God was manifest. First “Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord.” And “there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.” Add to that, the people suffered with emerods. Finally the Philistines wanted to return the ark and included a trespass offering of “five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.”

Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” To me this is not fear in the usual sense rather it is having a right relationship with God, of being absolutely in awe of God, holding him in complete respect and being obedient to His will.

There are many warnings of coming judgment in the Old Testament for disobedience. Warning passed on by Isaiah, Joel, Ezekiel, Job and others. Isaiah 2 speaks to judgment beginning in verse 1 with “a rod out of the stem of Jesse” and in verse 2 “knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” With thanks to Strong’s H3374, here fear is infinitive; morally reverence; dreadful, exceedingly, fearfulness.

There is still the possibility of redemption. 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Added later:

Uzzah not only had the ark placed on a cart, he touched it, both actions in direct disobedience to God's command. IMO, this has relevancy to our/ other countries' treatment (touching) of the State of Israel since her rebirth and before. The Gaza disengagement pushed by the US/ Hurricane Katrina is just one correlation. The sun now sets of the British Empire, In 1939, Great Britain reneged on the Balfour Declaration.

The Ethiopian Treasurer was confused when arriving in Israel and heating of the crucified Jesus 533-1 - 6 - 3

 The saga of the Ark of the Covenant reads like a soap opera. The Ethiopian version begins with the Levites who sought to protect the ark from the evil King Manassah and Pharaoh Necho, an Ethiopian, was given custody of the ark. However the good king Josiah wanted the ark returned to Israel and fought his ally Pharaoh Necho for it. Unfortunately King Josiah was killed in battle in the ark has remained an Ethiopian custody all these hundreds of years.

According to legend, the Ark of the Covenant was to be presented to the Messiah “When He rules on Mt. Zion.” Fast-forward several hundred years and the Ethiopian Treasurer traveled to Israel likely under orders from Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia to investigate the rumors of the appearance of the long sought Messiah. When the Ethiopian treasure arrived in Israel he found out that the prospective Messiah had been crucified. One can only imagine his confusion, how could the man who was crucified possibly be the Messiah?

When one considers that the disciples of Jesus who lived and shared his ministry for 3 ½ years still did not fully understand the mission of Jesus it certainly makes sense that the Ethiopian treasurer was very confused.

God arranged a divine appointment between the Ethiopian treasurer and the deacon Philip. The Ethiopian had started out on his arduous 1500 mile trip home and was resting in his chariot and reading from the Book of Isaiah. Philip joined the Ethiopian and his chariot. Philip taught the Ethiopian from Isaiah chapters 52 and 53. The correlation between Isaiah 53 written hundreds of years before the crucifixion of Jesus was obvious to the Ethiopian. He became a believer and was baptized in the nearby river. Acts 9:39, “And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.”

Why did Pharaoh Necho believe God was on his side? How could Necho claim to have heard from the mouth of God? 512 - 16 - 3

This discussion question goes close hand in glove with DQ#4. “Why did Josiah persist in pursuing Necho? Is there a spiritual lesson behind this event?”

To prevent King Manasseh from destroying the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat Pharaoh Necho was entrusted with their care and protection. Whether the actual sacred items were delivered to him or a facsimile has been bandied about for thousands of years. Pharaoh Necho was not Egyptian, rather he was Ethiopian, the very people rumored to be fulfilling the trust of protection of the genuine and sacred items. It is the belief of the Ethiopians that these will be turned over to the Messiah when He comes to earth to reign.

It is thought that Josiah wanted the Ark of the Covenant and Mercy Seat returned to Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 35:20, “After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.”

However, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob apparently, spoke to Pharaoh Necho through the Ark, saying that the Ark was to stay in Ethiopia. 2 Chronicles 35:22, “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.”

I can readily understand why Pharaoh Necho believed that the God of Israel was on his side. By confronting Pharaoh Necho King Josiah was going against the dictates of God and was fatally wounded.

Pharaoh Necho believed that the voice issuing from the Ark was “from the mouth of God.” I wonder if this was a life changer for him, as it certainly would have been for me. 

What was so confusing for the Ethiopian Treasurer? How does today’s Jew interpret the passage that gave the Ethiopian treasurer so much trouble? 512 - 16 - 6

Sometimes it seems that the Bible is just a snapshot in time, a rather two-dimensional image of what should be at least four. Just enough information to really wet the appetite and cause us to dig deeper. This discussion question ties directly into two others in this session dealing with Pharaoh Necho and Jonah; events from hundreds of years earlier.

In Acts 8:26 Philip was called to witness to the man known as the Ethiopian eunuch. As a eunuch this Ethiopian would keep himself pure and be qualified to handle/ care for sacred articles. He was in Jerusalem representing the Ethiopian Queen Candace. He apparently had charge of her treasures and it has been theorized these could include the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. For 2400 years Ethiopians have had the legend that they are holding something extraordinary that is to be presented to the Messiah upon his appearance. Perhaps 2000 years ago the rumor had reached Ethiopia that the Messiah was in Jerusalem and Queen Candace dispatched the eunuch to confirm His presence before bringing the sacred objects to Him.

Imagine the confusion on the part of the eunuch when he arrived in Jerusalem and found out that the man rumored to be the Messiah had been crucified. The eunuch was reading from Isaiah 53 when Phillips was transported to witness to him of Jesus. Perhaps Philip told him how the crucifixion of Jesus played out verse by verse with the prophecies in Isaiah 53. As a result the eunuch was baptized and went back to Ethiopia no doubt to continue with the protection of their most holy trust.

So how does today’s Jew interpret the passage that gave the Ethiopian treasurer so much trouble? I gave a Jewish friend a list of all the Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus and all I got was a rolling of the eyes. Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear should be able to understand the correlation between Isaiah 53 and the passion of Christ. In addition, Psalm 22 could have been dictated at the foot of the cross. With blindness proclaimed by Jesus against the Jews 2000 years ago, perhaps it’s understandable that either there will be a rolling of the eyes or just a total rejection of these verses. Perhaps denial is far easier to bear than the knowledge that your ancestors had a part in the death of the long awaited Messiah. 

Added Later:

In his article on the rapture ready website "Dual Covenant Theology" Daymond Duck writes:

"Are the Jews saved under one covenant and the Gentiles saved under another or is Jesus the only way to be saved? Are the Jews saved under the everlasting covenant God made with Abraham or do they have to believe in Jesus (Genesis 17:7-8)? The answer seems clear to me, but some Christians have heard someone they respect say today’s Jews are saved even though they haven’t accepted Jesus as their Messiah. That confuses many people and the controversy just won’t go away.

http://www.raptureready.com/featured/duck/dd107.html

I find his conclusion to be rather discouraging as he doesn't seem to hold out hope for Jews who are in unbelief today, however, at the second coming the remnant will become believers. All well and good for the remnant, but what about the 6 million human beings murdered in the Holocaust. Those below the age of accountability, most likely are with the Lord but what about the others. I realize it's for God to sort out but I pray that he is merciful.