Somewhere in the Middle East, a mysterious, golden chest has been hidden from the human eye for thousands of years. No one knows its location, but many have searched for it, hoping to be the one to solve the mystery: “Where is the ark of the covenant?”

The story of the ark begins, not in its creation under the direction of Moses in the desert, but in heaven, in the midst of the war between Satan and God. The fruit of that war was a fallen earth, and the answer to our salvation is part and parcel of why the ark was made. The contents of the ark of the covenant are the center of the life filled with the grace of Christ.

Someday, when Jesus comes again and reveals the ark’s hidden location, long-held mysteries will be solved. But, in the meantime, here is the story of the golden ark, its special contents, and its impact, not only on those who beheld it but on those of us in this world at the end of time.