Inside the Ark

 

In the previous page I showed how the Ark of the Testimony was buried within the opening verses of Genesis. Four word strings proceeding from the beginning of the NIV Bible reveal the ark, the cherubim, the atonement cover and the altar of incense (which according to the book of Hebrews was held in the Most Holy Place, the inner sanctuary). Having uncovered the lost ark, we can now open it to reveal its treasures.

Before reading this page, you might like to read the previous page The Ark of the Testimony.

 

Inside the Ark

It is popularly supposed that inside the ark were three sacred items, as displayed in the photograph above:

1. Aaron's staff: the budding staff that confirmed Moses' brother Aaron was God's choice as high priest (Numbers 17).

2. The jar of manna: a jar containing the God-given food that had sustained the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16).

3. The Testimony: the two stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments (Exodus 25).

There is some uncertainty, however, over the location of the staff and manna, based mainly on two verses in the Bible: 1 Kings 8.9 and Hebrews 9.4.

According to 1 Kings 8.9 only the tablets were inside the ark.

There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. I Kings 8.9

However, Hebrews 9.4 states that all three items were present .

. . . which had the golden altar of incense and the gold covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded,and the stone tablets of the covenant. Hebrews 9.4

The staff and manna may have been lost when the ark was captured by the Philistines or at some other point in its long history, which could explain the apparent discrepancy. Another possibility is that the staff and jar of manna may have been placed beside the ark, rather than inside it.[1] The encodings you are about to see appear to take account of these uncertainties, as well as including an object the Bible certainly does say was placed beside the ark: the Book of the Law, or Torah.

 

The Ark

The first table puts these encodings in context, showing the ark of the testimony and its features.

 

I will keep the word block encoding 'ark of the testimony' in the following tables, so that you can see the locations of the encodings of the sacred items relative to it.

 

The Testimony

Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. Exodus 25.16

The only items that we are certain were contained within the ark are the Testimony, the formal name given in the NIV (1984) to the two inscribed stone tablets. This word is encoded within the boundaries of the encoding of 'Ark of the Testimony', just as the tablets themselves lay within the ark.

 

 

The Ten Commandments

Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. Exodus 34.28

On the two tablets of the Testimony were written the Ten Commandments, given to Moses on Mount Sinai. These were a concise summary of God's laws, the ethical standards by which His people were, and are, expected to live.

 

So within the ark we have the Testimony, and on the Testimony are the Ten Commandments, all beautifully depicted within the Genesis Watermark.

 

Aaron's Staff and the Jar of Manna

The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Numbers 17.8

. . . This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron' staff that had budded and the stone tablets of the covenant. Hebrews 9.4

It is not known with certainty whether these two items were kept inside the ark or beside it. As you can see this is reflected in the encodings, which show them only partially coinciding with the ark!

Another interesting feature, which we also saw with the encodings of the ark and its structure, is the word strings for the three sacred objects coinciding at the same point, which also happens to be the beginning of a verse.[2] For three objects which were found together in the ark, to also find them together with each other and with the ark and its features is impressive evidence of design.

 

The Book of the Law

Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. there it will remain as a witness against you. Deut. 31.26

Deuteronomy 31.26 clearly states that another object was present beside the ark: the Book of the Law, or the Torah. In modern synagogues a copy the Torah is held inside a duplicate of the ark of the testimony and taken out for readings on holy days. Here we see it within the same word string that encodes 'ark of the testimony'.

So all of the items the Bible associates with the ark of the testimony are to be found encoded in word strings that either entirely or partially coincide with the encoding of the ark itself. In every case the wording is that which was used in the NIV Bible (1984), the vehicle for the New Bible Code.

Nothing more needs to be said here. In fact the appropriate response is silence, because truly this is a wonder to behold!

The next page is here.

 

Bill Downie 22/7/15

 

Notes

1. This issue is centred around the meaning of the Greek word Hou, which can mean both 'within' and 'beside'.

2. Verse 3 perhaps reflects that there are three sacred items.