The Ark of His Testament | Part 2 (Inside)

The Sapphire Review Vol. 1 | No. 8 • July 16, 2024

Jul 16, 2024

And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Revelation 11:19

In the first part of this series, we saw that there is a physical temple in heaven, and that the temple contains a physical ark. In this writing we will move on to our second of the four points related to this verse.

1. There is an ark in heaven

2. There is something inside the ark

3. There is an authority

4. There is an application today

That There Is Something Inside The Ark

We need not for John to have specifically described what was in the ark for us to know what is there. Scripture provides us with sufficient evidence to come to a proper conclusion on this matter.

The box that Moses was led to construct, standing by itself, was simply an “ark.” We see it referred to as such in its empty and pre-construction states in Exodus 25:10,14-16, 35:12, and 37:1-5. Though there are a few times where “the ark” is used, even after it was filled, we nevertheless do not see the first use of “the ark of the testimony/covenant” until after instructions had been given regarding what it was to contain.1

UNDERSTANDING “OF”

In John’s vision, he saw the “ark of his testament.” The use of the word “OF” provides a clue that we need. Here an example of something we can all clearly understand will be helpful in working through this clue

Suppose we were at a meal, and someone asked to pass “the bowl.” This would be easy to understand if there were only one bowl on the table. Now consider the same statement where multiple bowls of food are on the table; we would need more information before we could respond to the request. However, if someone asked to pass “the bowl of salad,” we would have clear instructions and would know exactly which bowl needed to be passed. We also understand that the word “of” in this case is a statement of relationship between the object (bowl) and that which the object contains (salad).

Now we can apply this principle back to our verse. Knowing that it was the ark OF his testament that John saw, we can conclude that a “testament,” or rather something pertaining to a testament, is inside of the ark. The word “of” is again describing a relationship between the object (ark) and that which the object contains (something pertaining to a testament). Otherwise, it would just be an ark, like a bowl of salad would just be a bowl if it did not contain the salad.

WHAT TESTAMENT?

Next, we must determine the following question: what is this “testament”? In the first part of this series, we saw that Moses constructed the tabernacle and the vessels within it after a pattern that was given to him from God. This understanding will allow us to determine what was in the ark in heaven that John saw in his vision.

We can use Septuagint (the Old Testament written in the Greek language), to see how this same Greek word is applied to different texts in the Old Testament. In English, what was used by John for “testament” is typically translated as “covenant” in the Old Testament. Though not limited to these alone, we do see this same Greek word being used in the following significant scenarios:

Pertaining to the rainbow with Noah;2
Pertaining to circumcision with Abraham;3
Pertaining to the ark with Moses;4
Pertaining to the tables of stone with Moses;5
Pertaining to the words of the ten commandments.6

Regarding examples 4 and 5 above:

We know from Deuteronomy 4:13 that the “tables of the covenant” in Deuteronomy 9:9 are none other than the ten commandments, written by the finger of God.7
We see that the ten commandments are the “words of the covenant.” These commandments form the very legal foundation that God’s covenant with His people is built upon.8

Websters 1828 dictionary defines “covenant” as the following:

A writing containing the terms of agreement or contract between parties; or the clause of agreement in a deed containing the covenant

The ten commandments were placed inside of the ark which Moses had constructed. Thus the ark then received the designation of “the ark of the covenant” because it contained the “tables of the covenant.” These tables were engraved with the “words of the covenant,” which we know to be the ten commandments. Without the ten commandments, it was simply “the ark.” Only with the ten commandments could it then become “the ark of the covenant”.9

We also see these tables of stone being called the “tables of testimony.” As a result of this, we see at times, the ark being called the “ark of the testimony,” and the temple/tabernacle being called the “tabernacle of the testimony.”10

In Hebrew, the word for testimony is related to witness or proof. The ten commandments then serve as evidence of who the only true God and Creator is, and as a witness to His authority. The fourth commandment, regarding Sabbath, highlights this more than any other.11

LIMITATION OF PATTERN’S EXTENT

Note in Exodus 25:10, Moses is given the instructions for building the ark after the pattern he was shown. Next, in Exodus 25:16, he is instructed to put the testimony (ten commandments) into this ark. There is no mention of the “book of the law” that was later placed beside the ark. God audibly spoke the ten commandments to the Israelites in Exodus 20:1, and presented some additional laws (including feast keeping) to Moses in chapters 21-23, which he wrote down in a book/scroll.12

The book of precepts that Moses presented to the people was sprinkled with blood before Moses even went up Mount Sinai to receive the tables of stone.13 For we see that after the sprinkling with blood, “then went up Moses...”14 to receive “tables of stone”15 and a pattern for the sanctuary and its vessels.16

Moses’ book of the law, containing carnal ordinances,17 was not part of the pattern (heavenly standard), but simply served, in part, as a shadow/type which continued until its fulfillment in Christ as the substance/anti-type. That which was in the earthly ark, however, was made after a pattern which stands in the heavenly sanctuary where Christ is now serving as our high priest.18

CONCLUSION

Using this information, we can conclude that the ark of the testament (covenant) that John saw in heaven, must contain two tables of the ten commandments. The earthly tables of stone that Moses received were simply a replica after the pattern of that which is in heaven. Just as with the earthly ark, it is only by containing these two tables that “the ark” in heaven can be called the “the ark of his testament.”