Ark of the Covenant Story was Bad Translating, Hype
World Net Daily reported late Wednesday that Patriarch Pauolos of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church would reveal to the world the true Ark of the Covenant today, Friday, June 26. Pauolos is reported to have said in Rome, excerpt:
Abuna Pauolos, in Italy for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this week, told the news agency, “Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses and the center of searches and studies for centuries.”
The announcement is expected to be made at 2 p.m. Italian time from the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome. Pauolos will reportedly be accompanied by Prince Aklile Berhan Makonnen Haile Sellassie and Duke Amedeo D’Acosta.
It is currently about 7:00 p.m. in Rome and no ark.
I’ve been trying to track down whether and to what extent this is a hoax. The World Net Daily article is based on a report from from a news agency in Italy, Adnkronos. The first problem with the WND report is that what they report as the Patriarch’s words is actually only the original Italian article’s lede:
Roma, 17 giu. (Adnkronos) – Presto il mondo potrà ammirare l’Arca dell’Alleanza descritta nella Bibbia come il contenitore delle Tavole della Legge che Dio consegnò a Mosè e al centro, nei secoli, di ricerche e studi.
Secondly, the Italian article is dated June 17, so the forthcoming Friday was June 19, not today.
Patriarch Pauolos actually did have a press conference June 19 where according to Adnkronos, he backed off saying:
Non sono qui per dare delle prove che l’Arca sia in Etiopia, ma sono qui per dire quello che ho visto, quello che so e che posso testimoniare. Non ho detto che l’Arca sarà mostrata al mondo. E’ un mistero, un oggetto di culto.
Or roughly:
I am not here to give evidence that the Ark is in Ethiopia, but I am here to say what I saw, what I know and I can testify. I did not say that the Ark will be shown to the world. It is a mystery, an object of worship.
Hat tip to blogger Richard Bartholomew for finding the second report from Adnkronos.
The original World Net Daily story was a matter of bad translation and not even looking at datelines. The story got legs, Bartholomew reported in previous posts, because of Christian Zionists eager to hasten the Second Coming. I would also note that WND was hawking a two DVD set on the ark along with the story.http://catholickey.blogspot.com/2009/06/ark-of-covenant-story-was-bad.html
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 By, Newton 2012
The Ark was not taken by the Sishak, as it is seen again in the time of Josiah some 300 years later. The account of the Ark being taken to Eithiopia by son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba can also be discounted because that would have occurred even before Shishak’s time. Jeremiah lived in Jerusalem and witnessed its destruction in 587 BC by the Babylonians. He alone would have been the best choice of God to remove the Ark from the temple. Ezekiel ( who predicted the destruction of Jerusalem) lived during this time also but was in exile in Nippur, 587 miles from Jerusalem.
If there is an Ark in Eithiopia it is a forgery… and it is revealed and placed in the temple when it is rebuilt, it will be consistent with the trappings of the Antichrist. It makes the most sense that the true Ark was taken by Jeremiah because of the whole Western cannon, the only mention of its location is 2 Maccabees. Catholics and Orthodox consider the work to be canonical and part of the Bible. 2 Maccabees, along with 1 and 3 Maccabees, appears in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible completed in the 1st century BC. 2 Maccabees was part of the King James Bible for 274 years until it was removed by the Arch bishop of Canterbury in 1885.
It is of considerable importance that this situation has surfaced. There would be great contention between religious Jews that hold to the authenticity of the fake Ark from Eithiopia and the two witnesses, knowing the location of the true Ark. This may indeed be the reason they will be at odds with the religious authority in Jerusalem during the last 7 years of history.
http://watcher.boardzero.com/the-time-is-now-f5/ark-will-not-be-made-again-t1378.html
All of these things seem to point to some evil undercurrent in the supposed announcement. ‘A great delusion’ may be what this is all about. Let us all be prayerfully aware of this ‘event’ as it unfolds.
Be watchful as we do live in perilous times. Blessings, Hannah
*EDIT* m0k3d*
I found this video while looking into this. I found it very interesting so I thought I would share it.
