Lost Ark of The Covenant? Found?

I heard a story this morning on NBC Today Show with Matt Lauer. He was speaking with a professor Tudor Parfitt that is claiming to have located the lost Ark of the Covenant. The interesting twist about his story is that he says that the Ark is located in a museum and that curators are unaware of what they have and its significance.

Most of us are familiar with the Biblical account of the Ark as mentioned in Exodus 25. We know that it was representative of the 'Presence' of God to the Nation of Israel as they wandered in the desert , kept in the Tent of Testimony and eventually was carried into battles and into Temples.

"And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more" (Jeremiah 3:16)

The point was that Jesus was a better Covenant that the Ark and there would no need for the Ark any longer.

The last mention of the Ark was in 2 Chronicles 35:3 where the priests were advised not to carry the ark on their shoulders any longer. Now from this point most of what we hear and read about the Ark is extra biblical, and I want you to know that the following information is based solely on that information: It is surmised that the Ark was then taken from placed to place spirited away by priests, kings, and raiders in attempts to hide and or preserve the Ark.

Jewish tradition holds that the priests hid the Ark before King Nebuchadnezzar plundered the temple and the Only Jesus would reveal its location upon His return thus proving Himself to be the true Messiah.

Another twist:

The professor Tudor Partiff on the Today Show, said that the Ark he is referring to is actually a temporary Ark that Moses had fashioned as a stand in until the Ark we read about in Exodus was designed and place in the Most Holy Place in the Tent of Meeting.

His version of the Ark he claims was a tub shaped case that was built over the remnants of the previous Ark by a lost Tribe of Israel the a Southern African tribe called the Lemba who he has used DNA to prove their ties to their Egyptian origins.

Hmmmm? I don't want to attempt to answer for you whether or what this artifact is that he has located, but I would ask you to consider this:

If you were in the possession of an ancient relic such as the Ark of the Covenant or a the Shroud of Turin or a hunk of wood from the cross of Christ or the spear that was thrust into the side of Christ on the Cross; well you get the point. What would it do for you?

Would you be compelled to bow in its presence and thus treat it as an idol? Would you cast it aside and say I have the real thing in Christ? Would you rush to e-bay?

I guess the real question what have you done with Christ? Jesus in His fullness is revealed to us. We have direct access to the throne of God because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. What do we do with that?

-Blessings,

John M

D-NOW 2008

What a Weekend to remember! The students of Eastside have a lot to think about after a marathon Study of the Life of David.

This past Thursday evening on Valentines Day the Youth Group began this year's installment of D-Now. (Disciple Now) which is a retreat/camp/bible study/fun-packed weekend.

I want to say thank you to our church members who helped by participating and those who contributed to the scholarship fund. Blessings!!!!

Several months ago the Lead planning team for

D-Now made up of Renee Tompson, Brian and Alexis Daley, Toni Marie Rigsby began their journey. Originally the event was to take place in the early fall of 2007, but after some discussion and the fact that I would be gone for Chaplain training, we decided to move it to February.

As planning progressed, several more adults were added to the team: Ryan and Amie Franklin, Paul Thompson, Gen Ennis, Marianne Christlieb, Steve McMullin, and Brad Kinch.

Tom Velasco, one of the youth pastors at Calvary Chapel Boise, was our speaker and little did we realize how intensively knowledgable Tom would be. We later found that Tom is also the Director and lead teacher of the School of Ministry for his church - After hearing him teach, this makes total sense.

We were taught well and the students fed upon the Word of God in a rich manner.

Fourteen of our students attended and I am convinced that they came away with Biblical training that was timely.

I can't express to our church the depth of thanks I have and that our students have for how you support what we did, other than to say "THANK YOU!"

-John M

A Night to Remember

I had a wonder night with my eldest daughter Jessica on Saturday evening. We attended the "Father - Daughter Ball" and it was a blast.

Recently we began to hear about this event over the radio and posters around town as a findraiser for a local Women's Shelter "Jubilee House".

We decided it was something we wanted to do together and so Jessica went out with her mother and bought a semi formal dress and I bought the tickets and we went on a father-Daughter date.

I will remember this night and cherish it as a golden memory.

-John

Believable or Not?

When it come to the Bible , does it really matter whether some of its parts are true or not? Honestly, in matters of names, locations, and miniscule issues throughout that Bible that don't truly seem to rival the core of what Christians believe, are these really "live-or-die" concerns?

Let me give you an example. "Inspiration". Is it that critical that we believe God's Word was actually transmitted into the hands of the writers of the books of the Bible ultimately becoming canonized scripture? Let me put it another way: Couldn't the Bible be acceptable as a guideline as long as it tells us to be good and not do bad?

What about whether Jesus was actually God and man at the same time at His birth or even at the conception: "Fully God and Fully Man". Could it be alright if at some point after Jesus the man-child was born that He became God when the time was right?

What about other issues like if Mary was actualy a Virgin the entire time until Jesus was born. Or if tiny little errors relating to a word tense or or grammatical issue.

Lots of tough questions and lots of deep issues to deal with in just a short BLOG.

So let me brief, well sort of brief.... I believe that it all comes down to one main issue:

"Authority".

Simply put: Something that contains errors or mistakes cannot be authoritative and have any right to say or claim anything if parts of the whole are wrong.

Lets Explore:

• First of all, the Bible touts it's own inspiration: The written sriptures we hold today are 'God - Breathed'. 2 Tim 3:16 tells us they are "...without error..".
• True and false prophets are dealt with harshly and without mercy in Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:20-22 when what they say does not 100% of the time come true; The same applies to the Bible.
• The Bible proclaims it's own "Authority". It would be impossible to do this if there were errors. Matthew 5:17-20 and John 10:34-35 ; in short: Jesus did not come to abolish the law and prophets but to fullful... not one jot or tiddle will disappear.. until everything is accomplished. In other words, the Bible essentially uses itself as its own judge, jury, and witness.
• Scripture uses scripture to interpret scripture . If the Bible does not extend to every minute detail, the scripture loses it's force and reliablity.
• God cannot lie, and therefore if the Bible is the very breath of God and it does not support itself, then it is not a true representation of the character of God or in the other case God can lie.

I love what I have heard our Pastor say from time to time in a sermon. And Paul, please forgive the in accuracy of my quote: "If the scripture seems to contridict itself, the problem is not with the scripture, it is with my interpretation of the scripture."

So ultimately, what we are faced with is NOT let me repeat, NOT reading the Bible so as to make it fit our understanding, we have to conform our understanding to the Bible. This will take time and it will take effort and it will be worth it.

-John Martinez