Observations by the Editor Blessings As you will see on page 19, this past year proved to be the best financial year in the history of this ministry, de- The Lamplighter spite the national financial crisis. God greatly blessed our cost-cutting decisions, is published bi-monthly and He motivated our supporters to re- by Lamb & Lion Ministries spond generously to our needs. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 919 We plan to use the surplus the Lord Dr. David R. Reagan McKinney, TX 75070 provided in two major ways: first, by Telephone: 972/736-3567 providing funds to other ministries; and From Austin Lowry in Homestead, Fax: 972/734-1054 second, by financing the translation of Florida: Sales: 1-800/705-8316 our materials into other languages, partic- Email: [email protected] Hi! My name is Austin Lowry. I ularly Spanish. We will also be looking Website: www.lamblion.com am 11 years old. My mom tivo’s for opportunities to expand our television b b b b b b b b b outreach. your TV show, and we watch it together. Last year, I got into a Chairman of the Board: Jerry Lauer One of our greatest blessings over the debate about creation with a kid years has been to serve as a channel of in my class. He thought that we Founder & Director: David R. Reagan financial support to other ministries. We evolved from monkeys. I kept have helped to establish four other Bible telling him that God created us Web Minister & Evangelist: Nathan Jones prophecy ministries, and, as you will see and everything around us, and on page 16, we provide monthly support that the “big bang” had nothing Administrative Minister: Gary Byers to many other ministries, both domestic to do with it. We love your show, and foreign. and I am so excited to learn more Administrative Minister: George Collich, Jr. Another source of blessings to us are so I can share the truth with oth- ers. Executive Secretary: the letters and email messages that people Kay Bien send us in which they tell about the im- From Janice Davis in Central Texas: Media Minister: pact of the ministry on their lives. Here Larry Watts are some samples: I recently came across your web- site while looking for a place to Assistant Media Minister: Trey Collich From Lisa Wisley in Dallas, Texas: enjoy jazz music. I have now been on the site for HOURS! I Media Assistant: Our whole family wants to thank Jack Smith you for your ministry! We pur- feel like I have just opened a treasure chest of truth that re- Media Assistant: chased your children’s book Jesus Heather Jones is Coming Again at a conference sounds in my spirit as never be- fore in my journey as a Christian. Director of Operations: in 2008. We debated whether or Leo E. Houck not to buy the book, but it has Thank you! I can’t wait to tell others what I have discovered! Mail Room Supervisor: been one of our best investments! Cathie Grubb Our just-turned 6 year old daugh- From Cathy Arnwine in Knoxville, Administrative Assistant: ter says it is her favorite book. In Tennessee: Rachel Houck fact, she chose to have the book I simply cannot get enough of read at her birthday celebration at your television program and your school last week. When friends teaching ministry. I never miss come by to play, she follows them any programs, and I access your around the house reading your website regularly to print out book to them! commentaries on various topics. We also enjoy your television pro- May God bless you and your gram, and my husband watches teaching. Thank you from the each episode with me (as does his bottom of my heart.] The Lamplighter can be viewed free of mother). My husband’s family has charge on the ministry’s website at www. known Dr. Jobe Martin and his lamblion.com. It can also be received free of charge via email. The printed version is family for several years, and it Our cover photo this month was supplied available by subscription. Contact us for was a wonderful surprise to see by iStockphoto.com. The cover design information on rates and the publication him on your show, as we highly was done by Keith Fink of The Master’s schedule by calling 972-736-3567. respect his work and ministry. Press in Dallas, Texas. page 2 The Lamplighter March - April 2010 The Ark of the Covenant What was it? What happened to it? Will it ever be found? And does it really matter? Dr. David R. Reagan was the story. The writer evidently shared my skepticism because the It was in the mid-1980’s, and I headline read: “Thar’s an Ark in was hosting a pilgrimage group Them Thar Hills!” on a tour of the Holy Land. We had A Suspect Discovery made the long drive from the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem and had ar- The story was right out of Alice rived in “the city of the Great King” in Wonderland. Some end-time sect exhausted. from Winfield, Kansas, calling it- self the Institute for Restoring An- It seemed like I had hardly gone cient History International, had to sleep when I was jolted awake by issued a statement claiming to have the telephone. Assuming it was my discovered the Ark in a sealed pas- wake up call, I lifted the receiver sageway inside Mt. Pisgah. and mumbled, “Thank you.” They offered no evidence, even I was surprised to hear a familiar though they claimed to have taken voice on the other end. “Hello, Da- photographs. They also refused to vid, I’m calling from Texas!” reveal the exact location of their “From Texas!” I replied. “All find. the way from Texas?” The leader of the group, who “Yep,” answered my friend, had a reputation for being “and guess what? They’ve found anti-Semitic, said he was going to the ark!” prove his good will toward the Jews by turning all his evidence over to “The what?” David Rothschild. “The ark!” When asked why he had “Noah’s?” selected Rothschild, he replied that he considered Rothschild to be the “No, dummy, the Ark of the leader of the Jews (an old Covenant.” anti-Semitic attitude!). He also ex- Needless to say, that statement (Illustration used with permission of Cactus Game Design, Inc.) plained that he felt Rothschild had really woke me up. the power to help his group in deal- ing with the Jordanian government and the Vatican. A Startling Discovery A Provocative Discovery My friend proceeded to explain that he had just read in the Dallas Morning News about the discovery of the lost Ark of the The headlines have since subsided. The Kansas group has Covenant. It had supposedly been found on Mount Pisgah (Mt. returned to its anonymity in the wheat fields. And the movie, Nebo) in Jordan by a religious group from Kansas. Raiders of the Lost Ark, has become an adventure classic. It all sounded a little far out to me. I suspected that someone But the incident and movie motivated a lot of questions, some had lost touch with reality after having seen the currently popular of which relate to end time events. What was the Ark of the movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Covenant? Why was it so important to the Jews? What happened to it? Will it be found again? Is it essential for the rebuilding of Nonetheless, I rushed down to the hotel lobby to get the latest the Jewish temple? copy of The Jerusalem Post. Sure enough, there on the first page March - April 2010 The Lamplighter page 3 The Bible and the Ark The mercy seat was also a symbol that pointed to the Mes- siah. It was representative of the fact that the work of Jesus on The origin of the Ark is to be found in Exodus 25:10-22. God the Cross would cover the Law of God with His mercy, making ordered Moses to build the Ark to house the tablets of stone on it possible for those who put their faith in Jesus to be reconciled which He had written the Ten Commandments. The Ark was a to God. It is an illustration of how the divine throne was trans- box approximately 4 feet long, 2½ feet wide, and 2 ½ feet high. formed from a throne of judgment into a throne of grace by the It was made of acacia wood and was overlaid with gold inside atoning blood that was sprinkled on it. and out. The Ark’s Pilgrimage The lid that covered the box was called the “mercy seat.” It was made of pure gold. Two gold cherubim were mounted on the As the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 lid, one on each end. The cherubim faced each other, and their years, the Ark was carried before them on golden poles by the wings were spread out toward each other, overshadowing the priests, following “the cloud of the Lord” in order “to seek out a mercy seat. resting place for them” (Numbers 10:33). The Ark was carried into Canaan when the Israelites crossed the Jordan, and it was instrumental in their victory over Jericho (Joshua 6). During the 400 year period of the Judges, the Ark was housed in the Holy of Holies at the Tabernacle that was erected at the religious center of Shiloh (Judges 18:31 & 1 Samuel 1:3). During the latter part of the period of the Judges, when apostasy was rampant in Israel, the decision was made to carry the Ark into a battle against the Philistines as a good luck charm (1 Samuel 4:1-4). This desecration of the sacred Ark enraged the Lord, and He allowed the Philistines to win the battle and capture the Ark (1 Samuel 4:5-11). The Philistines took the Ark to Ashdod where they placed it in the Temple of Dagon. But the Ark proved to be a hot box for the Philistines. When all sorts of calamities began to afflict them, According to Hebrews 9:4, two other items were later added they decided to return the Ark (1 Samuel 5 & 6). to the contents of the Ark. One of these was a pot of manna, the It was first taken to Gath, but when the men of the city were miraculous food that God supplied the children of Israel in the afflicted with tumors, it was sent to Ekron where similar afflic- wilderness (Exodus 16). The other item was Aaron’s rod that tions broke out. At that point it was loaded onto a cart pulled by budded (Numbers 17). And according to Deuteronomy 31:24-26, two cows and pointed in the direction of Israel. The cows the Ark also contained the Pentateuch of Moses (the first five wandered about until they arrived at the village called Beth- books of the Hebrew Scriptures.) shemesh. When the people of that town ventured out of curiosity Later, these additional items must have been removed from the Ark, because when the Temple of Solomon was dedicated, the Ark contained only the tablets of stone with the ten com- mandments engraved upon them (2 Chronicles 5:7-10). The Ark was housed in the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered that Holy of Holies and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat to atone for his sins and the sins of the nation of Israel (Leviticus 16 and Hebrews 9). Because God had promised Moses that He would commune with Israel “from above the mercy seat” (Exodus 25:22), the concept developed that the Lord of Hosts was enthroned on the cherubim of the Ark (see 1 Samuel 4:4 and Isaiah 37:16). The Symbolism of the Ark Much has been made of the symbolism of the Ark, and rightfully so. Suffice it to say that every aspect of the Ark point- (Illustration from the book From Sinai to Jerusalem by Leen Ritmeyer.) ed to Jesus. to look inside the Ark, a great number were struck dead (1 Sam- The acacia wood symbolized our Lord’s humanity. The gold uel 6:19-21). They quickly decided to allow the Ark to continue overlay denoted His deity. The Ten Commandments and the its journey. It ended up at the village of Kiriath-jearim, located Pentateuch inside the Ark pictured Jesus with the Law of God in just a few miles northwest of Jerusalem (1 Samuel 7:1-2). It His heart, living in perfect obedience to it. The pot of manna remained there for almost 70 years in the house of Abinadab. spoke of Jesus as the Bread of Life or our life sustainer. Aaron’s (The 70 years were the last 20 years of Samuel’s judgeship, the rod that budded obviously prophesied the resurrection. 40 years of Saul’s kingship, and the first seven years of David’s reign in Hebron, before he moved to Jerusalem). page 4 The Lamplighter March - April 2010 When David arrived in Jerusalem, traditionally rested. This rock was called the first priority of his administration “the foundation stone.”2 The fact that the was to provide the Ark a proper resting Holy of Holies remained barren of the place because He was anxious to bring Ark is attested to by the Roman histo- the symbol of the presence of God back rian, Tacitus. He states that when the into the life of the nation (Psalm 132: Roman general, Pompey, conquered 1-5). The Ark’s return was an occasion Judah in 63 BC, he entered the Holy of for great rejoicing (1 Chronicles 15:25- Holies and found it completely empty.3 29). David placed it in a tent on Mount The Jewish sages counter-argue that Moriah (today’s Temple Mount) where the reason the Ark was never restored to it remained until his son Solomon built the Holy of Holies in the Second Tem- the Temple. The Holy of Holies in that ple is because the Jews were never inde- Temple became the final resting place of pendent after they returned to their land. the Ark (1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5). First they were under Persian control, The Lost Ark and then they were conquered by the Romans. They maintain that because of No one knows for sure what hap- this foreign domination, the Ark was left pened to the Ark. The last time it is in its hiding place during the Second mentioned in Scripture is in 2 Chroni- Temple period (516 BC to 70 AD). cles 35:3. That passage makes it clear that the Ark was still in existence at the The Jewish Tradition time of the spiritual revival led by the As indicated above, the Jewish tra- boy king, Josiah. Within 22 years after dition is that the Ark was placed in an Josiah died, Judah fell to the Babylo- underground vault at the time of the nians (586 B.C.), and the Ark disap- Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, and it peared. (Internet illustration. Artist unknown.) remains there to this day. This tradition The majority of scholars believe it was simply destroyed is affirmed by several passages in the Talmud. The Jewish sages when the Temple was burned. Others believe it was captured as also believe that entombed with the Ark are other Temple trea- a prize of war, taken to Babylon, and probably melted down for sures such as the Tabernacle of Moses (the tent temple used its gold. But many believe it survived and is hidden somewhere during the wilderness wanderings and the period of the Judges), today. the incense altar, Aaron’s rod, the pot of manna, and the tablets The Destruction Theory of Moses.4 Those who believe the Ark was lost when the Babylonians In 1967 during the Six Day War the Jews regained control of conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple point to 2 Kings the Old City of Jerusalem for the first time in modern history. 24:13 and the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 36:18. Both assert Hopes soared among many of the Orthodox Jews that this mo- that “all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the mentous event would give them the opportunity to explore un- treasures of the house of the Lord” were taken to Babylon. But derneath the Temple Mount to find the vault containing the Ark. the Jewish sages have always argued that King Solomon anti- However, General Moshe Dayan, acting on his own authority, cipated attacks on Jerusalem and the Temple and that he there- decided almost immediately to surrender control of the Mount fore constructed a vault for the Ark that was located deep within back to the Muslim authorities. He did this to prevent any the temple Mount and protected by mazes and false passage- attempt to destroy the Dome of the Rock. He also felt that such ways.1 Further, they point out that when the Jews were released a gesture would indicate to the Arabs that the Israelis wanted to from Babylonian captivity by Cyrus, the Ark is not mentioned in live in peace with them. Dayan was a secular Jew, and the the list of Temple treasures that were given to those who were Temple Mount meant little to him. returning to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5-11). Ever since that time, Israel has had sovereignty over the The idea of a secret vault beneath the Temple Mount is Temple Mount, but has relinquished control of it to Muslim certainly plausible. Furthermore, the existence of such a hiding authorities. This has made it impossible for the Jews to conduct place is implied in 2 Chronicles 35 where we are told that King any archeological excavations on or under the Temple Mount. Josiah ordered the Levitical priests to restore the Ark to the In 1981 some Jewish rabbis started clearing debris from an Temple. It had evidently been removed during the reign of the area next to the Wailing Wall area in order to set up a synagogue. evil King Manasseh who desecrated the Temple with altars In the process they discovered what is called Warren’s Gate. It devoted to foreign gods (2 Chronicles 33:1-5). was a gate that had been discovered a century earlier by the Further evidence that the Ark may have been destroyed by the British explorer Charles Warren during an underground probe, Babylonians is the fact that the Ark was never restored to the but had never been fully excavated. This was believed to be the Holy of Holies when the Second Temple was built after the re- gate that led to the area closest to the Holy of Holies. The gate turn of the Jews from Babylonian captivity. Each year at Yom was sealed, but the rabbis broke it open and started tunneling Kippur when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, he under the Temple Mount toward the area that would be beneath would sprinkle the blood on a portion of bedrock that protruded the Holy of Holies. But before they could get very far, they were from the floor — supposedly the rock on which the Ark had discovered by the Muslim authorities and were forced to stop. March - April 2010 The Lamplighter page 5 The current Jewish Rabbinate takes the position that the Ark is definitely located in a vault under the Temple Mount but they have ruled that no Jew can enter the vault until the Messiah appears and reveals the exact location of the Holy of Holies.6 One of Christendom’s foremost authorities on the Ark is Randall Price, a Bible prophecy expert and a professor of Judaic Studies at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has concluded that the Ark is still in existence and is located under the Temple Mount.7 The Jeremiah Tradition One of the oldest and strongest traditions regarding the fate of the Ark is one that is found in the apocryphal book of 2 Mac- cabees which was written during the inter-Testamental period. It contends that Jeremiah fled Jerusalem with the Ark and buried it in a cave in Mount Nebo which is located in the modern day nation of Jordan. The Church of the Ark of the Covenant in modern day Abu Gosh, the biblical town of Kiriath-jearim. The church marks the site The narrative in that book says: where the Ark rested in a farm house for nearly 70 years during a . . . the prophet, warned by an oracle, gave orders for the time of great apostasy in Israel — the last 20 years of Samuel, the 40 years of Saul’s reign, and the first 7 years of David’s kingship. tabernacle and the ark to go with him when he set out for (Photo by the author.) the mountain which Moses had climbed to survey God’s heritage. On his arrival, Jeremiah found a cave-dwelling, thus have been too heavy for one or two persons to carry it on into which he brought the tabernacle, the ark, and the altar their shoulders, as the frieze depicts. of incense, afterwards blocking up the entrance” (2 Mac- cabees 2:4-5). The theory is that the Temple treasures, including the Ark, were brought back to Rome and ultimately ended up in the vaults The two books of Maccabees are not part of the accepted of the Vatican after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Over the biblical cannon and are therefore not considered to be inspired of years, the Vatican has staunchly denied that it has possession of God. The story about Jeremiah could be true, or it could simply any of the Temple treasures. be a legend. The Ethiopian Tradition There has been a rumor for many years that the Ark of the Covenant is in the Saint Mary of Zion Church in Axum, Ethio- pia. In recent years this idea has been popularized in the writings of Grant Jeffrey, a Canadian Bible prophecy writer. This rumor is based on a bizarre story that the Ark was smug- gled out of Jerusalem by Menelik I, the supposed son of a union between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. Supposedly, a replica of the Ark was left in the Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem. The motivation for moving the Ark was to protect it from King Manasseh, one of the most ungodly kings in the history of Judah.7 A section of a frieze from the Arch of Titus in Rome showing Jewish captives marching into the city carrying artifacts from Jerusalem, including a huge menorah. (Internet picture. Photographer unknown.) The Vatican Tradition There are some people who believe the Ark of the Covenant is in the Vatican. They base this belief on the fact that the arch that was built in Rome to honor Titus’s victory over the Jews contains a frieze that shows Jewish captives carrying a large menorah, which is a seven-branched candelabrum. Many assume the menorah is the one from the Temple, but that is unlikely for several reasons. First, its base is octagonal in shape with graven images. The Temple menorah is always de- scribed in Jewish literature as having a three-legged or triangular base. And no item in the Temple would have had any graven images on it. That would have been considered gross idolatry. Saint Mary of Zion Church located in Azum, Ethiopia. Also, the Temple menorah was made of solid gold and would page 6 The Lamplighter March - April 2010 There are all kinds of problems would be replaced in the Holy of with this legend. For one thing, it is “Jerusalem is the center of the Holies when the Lord’s Millennial doubtful that the Queen of Sheba ruled Temple is built. world. The Temple Mount is in the over Ethiopia. It is more likely that her But Jeremiah says point blank that realm was modern day Yemen. center of Jerusalem. The Temple is “the ark of the covenant of the Lord . in the center of the Temple Mount. Regarding Menelik I, he ruled over . . shall not come to mind, nor shall Ethiopia around 950 BC, according to The Holy of Holies is in the center they remember it, nor shall they miss tradition. Manasseh did not become it, nor shall it be made again” (Jere- of the Temple. And the Ark is in king of Judah until 253 years later. miah 3:16). The context of this pas- Therefore, Menelik’s supposed re- the center of the Holy of Holies.” sage is the Millennial reign of Jesus, moval of the Ark from Jerusalem so it does not rule out the possibility of — Midrash Tanhuma, Kedoshim 10 could not have had anything to do a discovery prior to that time. Con- with trying to protect it from King ceivably, the Ark could be discovered, Manasseh. and Satan could use its discovery to incite the rebuilding of a Temple where an apostate sacrificial Harry Atkins, an Ethiopian historian, contends that there is no system would be re-instituted. We know that such a Temple will record of this legend in Ethiopian history until the end of the be built, but I doubt if its construction will be motivated by the 13th Century. At that time there was a dispute over who should discovery of the Ark. be king, and one of the contenders claimed to be a descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Atkins says it was at that point that the legend of the Ark entered into Ethiopian history.8 The Heavenly Theory Another theory regarding the fate of the Ark is that it was translated or raptured, being taken up to Heaven to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Babylonians. This theory is based upon a reference to the Ark in Revelation 11:19. This passage is a flash-forward to the end of the Tribulation when Heaven opens and Jesus returns in wrath. The writer states that when Heaven opened “the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple.” Those who reject this theory argue that the Ark seen in Heaven in this passage is the heavenly reality of which the Ark of the Covenant was only an earthly shadow or copy (Hebrews 8:5). The Dome of the Spirit on top of the Temple Mount is the place some archeologists believe was the actual site of the Holy of Holies, for three reasons: (1) it is in perfect alignment with the ancient Eastern Gate; (2) it is the only place on the Temple Mount where solid bedrock is exposed; and (3) the dome stands 330 feet north of the Dome of the Rock, allowing enough room to rebuild the Jewish temple on this site if one would “leave out the court which is outside the temple” as God instructed John in Revelation 11:2. (Photo by Don McGee of Crown & Sickle Ministries.) The Non-Essential Ark The important point to keep in mind here is that the rediscov- ery of the Ark is not essential to the rebuilding of the Temple. After all, the Temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel following the Babylonian captivity, and the Ark had already been lost by that time. There was no Ark in the Holy of Holies during the time An artist’s depiction of the Heavenly Tabernacle being revealed to when Jesus worshiped in the Temple. Moses on Mount Sinai. Moses was instructed to pattern the earthly tabernacle after it, including the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25: Nor is the Ark needed for the Millennial Temple. Ezekiel 8-9). (Artist unknown.) describes the Temple in great detail (chapters 40-42), and he The Forgotten Ark never mentions the Ark. There is a Holy of Holies (Ezekiel 41:4), but it is empty, and it is not separated from the Holy Place by a Regardless of what happened to the Ark, the Scriptures veil. suggest that it will never be found again. This comes as quite a shock to some Christians who have assumed that the Ark must Jesus has already entered the heavenly Holy of Holies in our be found before the Tribulation Temple can be built and animal behalf (Hebrews 4:14-16, 8:1-6). He has torn away the veil that sacrifice re-instituted. Others have simply assumed that the Ark separated us from God, and He serves as our High Priest, having March - April 2010 The Lamplighter page 7 offered His own blood as the perfect sacrifice for our sins The Blasphemous Ark (Hebrews 9:11-16). He serves as our Mediator before the Fath- er’s throne (Hebrews 9:24-28). The Ark of The New Age Covenant Thus, during the Millennium, there will be no need for a Ben Rast of Contender Ministries human high priest or an Ark with a mercy seat. Jesus will serve as both king and high priest, and in that capacity, He will con- (http://contenderministries.org) tinue to serve as humanity’s mercy seat. (Zechariah 6:12-13). The True Ark With regard to this concept of Christ as our mercy seat, let me add a penetrating insight which I picked up from John MacAr- thur, one of this country’s greatest preachers. He pointed to a simple historical verse that contains a profound truth about Jesus being our mercy seat. The verse is John 20:12. Speaking of Mary looking into the empty tomb of Jesus, the verse says, “she beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.” What Mary saw, MacArthur observed, was the new mercy seat, the perfect mercy seat. Consider again what Mary saw. She witnessed two angels, one sitting at each end of the slab which had held the broken body of our Lord. That scene points us back to the Ark of the Covenant where two cherubim hovered over its blood splattered Thousands of years ago, the Ark of the Covenant was built to mercy seat! house the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God. Standing in stark and sacrilegious contrast is the Ark of Hope — There is no more need for the Ark. Jesus has fulfilled all that a modern day vessel designed to carry the Earth Charter. The the Ark stood for. He was deity who took on flesh. He rendered Ark of Hope has been seen throughout the Northeastern U.S. as complete obedience to the Law, being made perfect and becom- its Vermont designers and a crew of “ark walkers” escort the ark ing the source of our salvation (Hebrews 5:8-9). His blood was from town to town, raising support for their cause. From the shed for our sins, and His victory is attested by the fact and the outward appearance of the Ark itself, to its New Age and occult power of His resurrection. contents, this demonic vessel should give every Christian pause. Just as the Ark was designed to be a symbol of the presence In many ways, the Ark of Hope was designed as a Satanic, of God in the midst of His people, Jesus is the ultimate expres- half-price knock-off of the Ark of the Covenant. It is a wooden sion of God’s love and care and presence. He is our Ark. He is chest constructed from a single plank of sycamore, and is our Law. He is our Manna. He is our Budded Rod. And, thank 49”x32”x32” in dimensions. The four sides have various artwork God, He is our Mercy Seat. ] and represent the four directions (north, east, south, and west), and also four elements (earth, water, fire, and air). The top of the Notes: ark also features artwork, and represents the fifth element: spirit. Around the edges of the top are a variety of religious and cultic 1) Randall Price, Searching for the Ark of the Covenant: Latest symbols, including the occult pentagram! The ark has four rings Discoveries and Research (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House through which two carrying poles are inserted. The poles are Publishers, 2005), p. 142. designed to represent “unicorn horns which render evil ineffec- 2) Price, pp. 144-145. tive.” The Ark was designed and painted by Sally Linder of 3) Tacitus, Historiae, 5.9.1. Vermont. 4) Babylonian Talmud, Yomah 52b and The Tosefta, Sotah 13:2) The attempt to blaspheme the Ark of the Covenant is no chance occurrence. Former Soviet Premier and President of the 5) Price, p. 150. Green Cross International, Mikhail Gorbachev, who also 6) Ibid., p. 147. co-chairs the Earth Charter Commission, is quoted as saying, 7) “Menelik I,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menelik_I. “Do not do unto the environment of others what you do not want done to your own environment . . . My hope is that this charter 8) Harry R. Atkins, “Ark of the Covenant: Not in Ethiopia,” Queries & Comments, Biblical Archaeology Review (November-Decem- will be a kind of Ten Commandments, a ‘Sermon on the Mount’, ber, 1993), p. 78. that provides a guide for human behavior toward the environ- ment in the next century.”1 Maurice Strong, a founding co-chair- man of the Earth Charter Commission concurred, “The real goal of the Earth Charter is that it will in fact become like the Ten Commandments.” Lest anyone doubt the religious sincerity of Mr. Gorbachev, he has made it clear, “Cosmos is my God. Nature is my God.”2 page 8 The Lamplighter March - April 2010 The contents of the Ark are as dark as its design, and include been strong proponents of population control measures like the Earth Charter written on papyrus, “Temenos Earth Masks,” China’s one-child policy. In the Earth Charter, this is echoed in and over 300 “Temenos Books” designed by artists and school the seventh principle: “[Nations must] ensure universal access to children from Vermont. health care that fosters reproductive health and responsible reproduction.” This is a euphemistic way of endorsing population Temenos is a concept developed by psychiatrist Carl Jung to control, and consequently abortion as part of family planning. denote a magic circle, a sacred space where special rules and energies apply. Some of the Temenos Books were created within Under the auspices of the Earth Charter, Christians could find this magic circle by children, who filled them with visual affir- themselves committing a violation of law by evangelizing to mations for “Mother Earth. Fash- non-Christians. The charter states ioned with the “earth elements,” the that nations must “eliminate dis- Temenos Earth Masks were also crimination in all its forms, such as worn and created by children. The that based on race, color, sex, sex- Ark of Hope official website states, ual orientation, religion, language, “Teachers involved in the [Teme- and national, ethnic or social ori- nos] project engaged their students gin.” While the wording sounds in discussion of the Earth Charter noble, this clause could be inter- principles, generating the kind of preted to mean that evangelism is a internal reflection that can lead to a form of discrimination based on change in attitudes, values, and be- religion. What of our religious free- havior.”3 doms? The authors of the Earth Charter recognized that many will The Earth Charter itself is a The Ark of Hope being unloaded from a ship in New York harbor. be reluctant to give in to all these relatively short document that sets (Photo from the Ark of Hope website: www.arkofhope.org.) new demands, but “. . . we must forth the means for establishing a find ways to harmonize diversity with unity, the exercise of global government based on communist ideology and New Age freedom with the common good.” In other words, if the United beliefs. It also possesses the means to curtail Christian evange- Nations deems that your freedoms are contrary to the common lism and to promote and even mandate abortion . . . good, your freedoms will be sacrificed. I’d be willing to bet Mr. The Earth Charter Initiative was launched in 1994 by Maurice Gorbachev had his hand in writing that portion of the charter. Strong, his newly formed Earth Council, and Mikhail Gorbachev, The Ark of Hope is a blatant and blasphemous affront to Jews acting in his capacity as president of Green Cross International. and Christians alike. It places a sacred status on the Earth In 1997, the Earth Council and Green Cross International formed Charter, and attempts to replace the divine law of Yahweh with an Earth Charter Commission to give oversight to the process. man-made rules that will pave the way for the Antichrist. The Earth Charter Commission issued a final version of the Earth Charter in March 2000. These worshipers of “Mother Earth” would do well to open a Bible and read Romans 1:22-25: The Earth Charter is unabashedly New Age and Humanist in its ideology. The preamble of the charter affirms belief in evo- Although they claimed to be wise, they became lution: “Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe . . . Earth fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God has provided the conditions essential to life’s evolution.”4 The for images made to look like mortal man and birds first of the sixteen principles of the charter states that nations and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them must “Affirm faith in the . . . spiritual potential of humanity.” over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual This spiritual potential is one based on New Age beliefs in the impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one potential for spiritual evolution and “Christ consciousness” another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, inherent in each person. and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen. The charter’s preamble lays the groundwork for a one-world (Emphasis added) ] government, “We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society . . . We urgently need a shared vision of basic values to provide an ethical foundation for the emerging world Notes: community.” To facilitate this goal, nations must “avoid military activities damaging to the environment” (6th Principle), and 1) Mikhail Gorbachev, The Los Angeles Times, May 8, 1997. “demilitarize national security systems to the level of a non- 2) Mikhail Gorbachev, on the PBS “Charlie Rose Show,” provocative defense posture, and convert military resources to October 23, 1996. peaceful purposes, including ecological restoration” (16th Prin- ciple). Obviously, any bomb dropped and any bullet fired can 3) http://www.arkofhope.org. result in damage to the environment. In line with United Nations’ 4) This and all remaining quotes taken from the Earth Charter, objectives, these principles will effectively eliminate the military http://www.earthcharter.org. powers of nation-states, and excesses will be redistributed to underdeveloped nations. In the interest of fostering “sustainable economic develop- ment,” the United Nations and associated organizations have March - April 2010 The Lamplighter page 9 Television Update “Christ in Prophecy” Broadcast Schedule National Networks Peter Marshall Interviews In mid-January we had the privilege of hosting Reverend Peter Daystar Network John Marshall for a weekend. He is the son of two very fam- DirecTV Channel 369 DISH Channel 263 ous parents, Dr. Peter Marshall and Catherine Marshall. His On cable networks throughout the nation. father was one of the best-known and respected preachers of the first half of the 20th Century. His mother became a highly ac- Zone Pacific Mountain Central Eastern claimed author after her husband’s death in 1949 when she wrote Day Wed. Wed. Wed. Wed. an autobiography of him entitled, A Man Called Peter. Time 4:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm In 1977 our speaker stepped out of the shadows of his two famous parents when he published his sem- Inspiration Network inal study of the Christian heritage Available on cable networks of our nation. It was titled, The DirecTV Channel 364 DISH Channel 259 Light and the Glory. He has since become recognized as one of Chris- Zone Pacific Mountain Central Eastern tendom’s greatest authorities on the religious heritage of our nation. Day Fri. Fri. Fri. Fri. Time 9:00am 10:00am 11:00am Noon He has written many subsequent books for both adults and children. He has produced many video pro- The Church Channel grams. And he has assembled a DirecTV Channel 371 remarkable collection of audio re- cordings of his father’s sermons. Zone Pacific Mountain Central Eastern Most important, God has anointed Peter to be a prophetic Day Sat. Sat. Sat. Sat. voice to remind this nation of its Judeo-Christian roots and to call Time 6:30pm 7:30pm 8:30pm 9:30pm it back to those roots in repentance. His essays on his website provide insightful and challenging analyses of current American moral issues. National Religious Broadcasters Network We conducted three television interviews with Peter and then DirecTV Channel 378 sponsored a conference featuring him speaking on America’s Christian heritage. The programs will be broadcast in July during Zone Pacific Mountain Central Eastern the celebration of this nation’s independence. Day Sun. Sun. Sun. Sun. Time 2:00pm 3:00pm 4:00pm 5:00pm Regional Networks “Christ in Prophecy” is broadcast through- out southern Louisiana on the Family Vision Network at various times. See: www.kajn.com/familyvision. New Mexico Family Stations is a network consisting of two stations in Albuquerque: KAZQ, Channel 32 and KTVS, Channel 36. Our program is broadcast on Thursday at 11:00pm and on Saturday at 3:00pm. Dave Reagan and Peter Marshall You can find a complete listing of the books and videos of The Internet Peter Marshall on his website: http://petermarshallministries. You can access our weekly television program through our com. You can also contact him through that site to arrange website at www.lamblion.com. Go to the home page, scroll speaking engagements. We encourage you to pray for his min- down to the bottom, and click on “Current TV Show.” You can istry and to consider providing him with financial support. ] also watch our TV programs on the Tangle website at www. tangle.com/lambandlion. ] page 10 The Lamplighter March - April 2010