After 1967, the Temple Mount was turned over to the Jordanian governing authority called the Waqf. The Arabs will riot if they think there is any digging being done on the Temple Mount. So, in secret, a tunnel was made along the western wall of the Temple. This is called the Western Wall Tunnel. Dan Bahat, an archaeologist in Jerusalem, was in charge of this excavation. It was so secret that dirt was carried out of this tunnel at night. They discovered Warren’s Gate again, but something else happened.
If you “Google” the name “Rabbi Goren” and go to a site like Wikipedia, you will find that he was the Chief Rabbi of the Israeli army. He wanted to blow up the Dome of the Rock in 1967, along with the Al-Aqsa mosque, when Israel gained control of the Temple Mount. After that he wanted to start rebuilding the Temple. Some archaeologists, along with Rabbi Goren and Rabbi Getz (he was Chief Rabbi of the Kotel, or Western Wall) said that when they opened up Warren’s Gate tunnel in 1983, they claimed to have seen the chamber where they believed the Ark was stored (he illegally excavated). Because trouble ensued, the tunnel was discovered and it was filled in with concrete by the Israeli police. The sealed entrance can still be seen in the Western Wall tunnel that was opened to the public in 1996.
This chamber would be under the southwestern corner building in the Azarah called Beit Ha Otzrot and the Deir Ha Etz, and it was made by King Solomon to store the Ark. This is probably where Josiah placed it when repairing the Temple in 2 Chr 35.1-3. There was also something else that is very remarkable. There is a series of four stones called the “Master Course” and these stones are massive. The Great Pyramid has stones weighing 5 tons. Herod placed these four stones here, and they run from Wilson’s Arch to Warren’s Gate. One of these stones weighs 628 tons and is 44.6 feet long. It is heavier than a fully loaded passenger jet. It is 20 feet above the Herodian street level. The others are 7 feet long, 39.5 feet long and 26 feet long. The stones are about 14 feet high.
Rabbi Getz claimed that there was a chamber on the other side of these stones, right behind them. Dan Bahat says they did a radar scan along the walls and it tells them how thick the walls are and if there are any structures on the other side and things like that. These are the largest building stones discovered in history. Bahat says they discovered a huge vault on the other side of these massive stones. It is believed that the Ark is there, and in addition, all types of Temple vessels and possibly the Mishkan (Tabernacle) of Moses.
It is not coincidence that we have rules of kedusha and how the priests were to safeguard the Temple and its furnishings and vessels according to these rules. We know that Jeremiah moved the Ark, and other items, and would have followed the rules of kedusha while doing it. That rules out the Mt Nebo story. It is believed that the Ark was moved, following the rules of kedusha, to the massive chamber behind these massive stones under the Beit Ha Otzrot (House of the Treasuries) that Solomon had built. At this point in time, there is no way in there, but that can be a good thing. When the time comes, and it is coming, the Ark will be revealed and it will be brought out if it is in there. The Jewish people know where it is.
By taking the Scriptures, and from what we know of the Temple, this all becomes very simple. We can follow it and understand it. The Ark has to be in a place with the appropriate kedusha. We have given many examples where the rules of kedusha are followed, whether it be the priestly garments, the defiled stones of the altar during the Maccabean war or the storing of the Dead Sea Scrolls that had the name of God in them. The Word of God was written for man and it is a simple document to read. It has many layers to peel off, but the Lord wrote it for man. The Temple was one of the first commands given to man at Mt Sinai. We are to look at all the commands of God through the lens of the Temple, and if we do, everything will fall into place.
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