Jericho: Countdown to Oblivion - Chapter 6: The Ark of the Testimony

THE ARK AS A WEAPON

Whatever else the Ark might be, one thing is certain in the Bible: it is dangerous. It is so dangerous that the greatest king of Israel was scared to death of it. Everyone was. The Israelites relied on the Ark to win many of their battles and called for it to be brought into a battle they were losing against the Philistines with disastrous consequences: they lost the battle, and also the Ark. But, when it was captured by the Philistines, they could not wield its awesome power and were perplexed regarding the fate of this very beautiful yet terrifying artefact, so they moved it to several different cities where it brought a plague of tumours and mice upon their people, thus it was removed from their kingdom entirely (1 Samuel 6:5-12).

     The story of the Ark’s removal is even more fantastic: carried by two cows, and left to its own devices, it mysteriously guided itself back to Judea, and there are similar, strange stories about the Ark from other sources outside of the Bible including the ‘Kebra Nagast’. This highly regarded ancient text among the Ethiopian people also reports that the Ark had a mind of its own, and the ability to levitate both itself and an entire caravan on their homeward journey from Jerusalem to Ethiopia following its mysterious disappearance from the Holy of Holies inside the Temple of Jerusalem.

     During Joshua’s conquest, it was believed to be the most powerful object in the world. So powerful was this awesome weapon, that none but the Israelites dared use it. But even they were not permitted:

And when they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen stumbled.

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:6-7)

     Just to clarify, God did not hate Uzzah for touching the Ark, but He had no choice, it would have set a precedent. Any general would have done the same thing lest there be insubordination among the troops, which then leads to disrespect. This was often the case in the Old Testament and was the reason for a lot of the smiting. The message was made perfectly clear to everyone that day.

     Anyone who gazes upon the Ark when not permitted is smitten by the LORD and thousands have died from doing so (1 Samuel 6:19). This thing is lethal. There are also stories to this day of impure men who, upon approaching the Ark, are killed. The only man presently allowed to access it is supposedly an Ethiopian priest at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksûm, Ethiopia, where the Ark is said to currently reside. And it is believed by the Ethiopians to have been brought there by Solomon’s firstborn son Menyelek—this information and many more revealing facts about the Ark can be found in the ‘Kebra Nagast’. According to this book, once Menyelek had reached adulthood, he returned to Jerusalem to meet with his father and later brought the Ark back with him to Ethiopia.

“The Ark is a thing of fire.” 

—Aba Tesfa Marium, so called “Guardian of the Ark” in Aksûm, Ethiopia


—Adam Cherrington, Author of Jericho

Jericho: Countdown to Oblivion - Chapter 7: Seven Trumpets

 

YELLOWSTONE: THE BIG-BANG OF THE TRIBULATION 

The last super eruption from this volcano occurred around 640,000 years ago. The eruption before that was roughly the same amount of time, and before that it was 800,000 years between eruptions. These figures are irrelevant, however. What is much more relevant is the activity at the site itself, which is very active. Geophysics professor Robert B. Smith at the University of Utah claims the recent activity at Yellowstone National Park suggests the chamber of its super volcano is filling with magma. So although we may have thousands of years before the next “Big One”, volcanologists claim we are, in fact, overdue a super eruption, making this site a very likely candidate for the first trumpet sound of the angels of the Book of Revelation.

     The rate at which the caldera is rising has tripled since records began, lifting 6-8 centimetres per year, and there are increasing concerns as scientists monitoring the Yellowstone site from Wyoming now believe a super eruption is imminent. Emergency evacuation procedures have been formulated in and around the area for such an event, but the truth of the matter is, the only way to survive a super eruption at Yellowstone would be to leave the U.S. entirely (the last super eruption is estimated to have devastated everything within a 4,000 kilometre-squared radius).

     Although over 2,000 miles away from the “Big City”—which is also mentioned in Revelation—the effects of this eruption will completely obliterate most of North America as a pyroclastic ash cloud travelling undoubtedly in excess of the typical 300 miles an hour pummels most of the continent. The volcanic depression (caldera) alone of this volcano is between thirty-four and forty-five miles—this being the radius of its eruption, which will be so huge the entire volcano will subside.

     Oftentimes, when volcanoes collapse due to a large eruption, a large part of the mountain will fall into the sea, create a tsunami, and turn the water a different colour, and in many cases the mountain will disappear completely. This is precisely what happened the last time Yellowstone erupted; it subsided by thousands of feet and the entire mountain was gone.

     There is no denying it, Yellowstone is ready to blow. Recent seismic activity which has caused the buffalo in the region to flee for their lives is further evidence that something catastrophic may be dawning on us (animals have been known to sense natural disasters before they occur and will flee to safety well in advance).

     The first trumpet sound from the angels could be a super eruption, raining ‘fire mingled with blood’ all over the world with its enormous volcanic ash cloud and pumice. This would then blot out the sun and cover a large percentage of the earth in total darkness, as is later mentioned in Revelation 8:12:

And the fourth angel sounded; and a third part of the sun was smitten, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, and a third part of them were darkened, and the day did not appear a third part of it, nor the night. (Revelation 8:12)

     Knowing this eruption has been confirmed by scientists studying the recent activity at the Yellowstone site, and that it would fit very nicely on the Revelation timeline, what is of most concern? In the apocalyptic sense, it would be the giant earthquake and continental shift preceding this eruption, and as devastating as a super eruption would be, the upcoming earthquake should be of more concern considering our present location on the Revelation Timeline.

     Once the great earthquake causes islands to move out of their places and all the kings of the earth flee to the mountains and underground bunkers, prepare for the super eruption of Yellowstone. Following this eruption, John says the great mountain burning with fire will be cast into the sea making it like blood and destroying a third of all sea life and a third of all ships. This is unfitting with Yellowstone super volcano because it is nowhere near the sea. However, there is another volcano in a very densely populated city near the sea which is much more likely to erupt before Yellowstone. And it too, is overdue an eruption.

The great mountain, seven stades around
After peace, war, hunger, flood
Will roll far, destroying great swathes of country
Even antiquities, and mighty foundations.

 —Nostradamus C1:Q69

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding count the number of stades, for this is the height thereof. There will be no point in running during this chaos; the only option will be to pray.

     ‘Hail and fire mingled with blood’ (Revelation 8:7) (or lava) will devastate the U.S. This eruption will be so huge a large portion of the volcano itself will be cast into the sea and turn it red, as with many eruptions, including Krakatoa, where the landslide created a megatsunami. The devastation following this eruption of the world’s largest super-volcano could trigger other eruptions worldwide, quite possibly destroying one third of the creatures and ships in the sea (Revelation 8:9).

      Yellowstone and its aftermath alone may well be responsible for not only the first, but the second and forth trumpet sounds of the angels, and boy will we hear them.

—Adam Cherrington, Author of Jericho