My brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, the ark of the covenant is still in the same place it has always been, ever since it was last put there by the Levites:
And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel, 2 Chronicles 35:3
The word of God is true forever:
And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. 1 Kings 8:8
And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. 2 Chronicles 5:9
The word of God says:
For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. Jeremiah 33:17,18
That means there has always been a man of the lineage of David to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel since that was written, and there have been priests the Levites that have gone in and offered burnt offerings, kindled meat offerings, and done sacrifice continually before the LORD since that was written. That means the first temple, that Solomon built, still stands, in the place it was built. Yes it was burned, and covered up:
And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. Jeremiah 9:11
And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Nehemiah 4:2
But the LORD chose it. It remains in the place it was built:
And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 1 Kings 9:3
And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. 2 Chronicles 7:12
Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 2 Chronicles 7:15,16
The word of God says:
Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem; They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place. Jeremiah 27:21,22
And they were already restored to the temple:
Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods; Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives, Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand. All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem. Ezra 1:7-11
And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; And said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place. Ezra 5:14,15
- to the temple that was still there:
Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. Ezra 3:8
And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God. Ezra 6:5
- just as it was prophesied:
Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD'S house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. Jeremiah 28:6
The second temple was just built directly on top of it, since it was buried. And the location of the center of the holy of holies of the temple is 250 great cubits (Ezekiel 40:21 [50 great cubits],23 [100 great cubits],36 [50 great cubits],47 [50 great cubits]) due south of what is called the Foundation Stone today, then 120 great cubits (Ezekiel 40:47 [50 great cubits],49 [20 great cubits], 41:2 [40 great cubits],4 [10 great cubits]) due west of there.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said it is still there when he said:
But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. Matthew 12:6
and
And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. Matthew 23:21
And his words will never pass away:
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:35
So he could not have been talking about the second temple, because it is no longer there. He was talking about the first temple, that there is a passageway to that the Levites still enter in and serve, buried under the dirt and rubble on the southwest corner of the Temple Mount - where the temple about to be built, from Ezekiel 40 - 48, will be constructed - in the same way the second temple was built - directly on top of it.
They have known this temple is on the southwest corner of the Temple Mount:
https://templemountlocation.com/earlyMapsTempleMount.html
And the ark of the covenant of the LORD will continue in its place, in that temple, into the next world, at the end of the 1,000 year reign of Jesus.
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
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