As we know, Jesus is the new Moses, and what He did on Earth was to initiate a new Exodus with a new Passover. He is also the new Manna, the  new High Priest and the new Covenant.
So where is the new  Ark of the Covenant? 

Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament

The old Ark of the Covenant was the most important part of the Jewish faith. In the Old Testament, their whole worship was centred around the tabernacle, which consisted of:

• Inner Sanctuary (Holy of Holies)
  • Ark of the Covenant
• Outer Sanctuary (the Holy Place)
  • Menorah 
  • Bread of the Presence
  • Altar of Incense 
• Outer Court

Old Testament Manna is the preshadow of Jesus, the New Manna. Old Testament Bread of the presence is Jesus, the Bread of the presence, that is, Holy Eucharist. 
Aaron was the high priest according to the order of the Levite priesthood, and his budded rod was a symbol of the authenticity of his priesthood. In the New Testament, Jesus is the High Priest  according to the order of Melchizedek.

Inside the Ark of the Covenant:

• Manna = New Manna, which   is Jesus.
• Aaron’s budded rod,  which is the symbol of High priest = the New High Priest is Jesus Himself.
• The Tablets of the Covenant is the Old Law = Jesus Himself is the new Law.

The Ark of the Covenant carried these three. Therefore, the Ark of the Covenant is the preshadow of Mother Mary who carried Jesus the New Manna, New High Priest and New Law. Therefore, Mother Mary is considered as the New Ark of the Covenant.

What was the Ark covered with?

Well, we all know Mother Mary’s signature colour is blue – in every apparition she is seen covering herself with a blue cloak. If you read the Old Testament, you’ll see that the Ark too was covered with a ‘cloth of pure blue;’ . Numbers 4:6, “Then they shall put on it a covering of fine leather, and spread over that a cloth all of blue, and shall put its poles in place.”

What happened to the Ark? 

The Ark was captured by the Philistines, but wherever they put it, there was famine and plague, so they became afraid and brought it back to the Israelites. But the Israelites were also afraid, so they kept it in the house of one person (Abinadad) for 20 years. 

Comparative study between Ark of the Covenant and Mother Mary

1. The Ark was in Judah, and when David became King, he went there to bring it back. (2 Samuel 6:2).
   When Mary heard that Elizabeth was with child, she went up to Judah to visit her. (Luke 1:39).
2. David said, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Samuel 6:9).
   Elizabeth cried out and said, “And how does this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
3. When the Ark of the Lord came into the city of David, he leaped and danced. (2 Samuel 6:16).
   When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb. (Luke 1:41)
4. The Ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom (in Judah) for 3 months. (2 Samuel 6:11).
   Mary remained with Elizabeth (in Judah) for 3 months.

Where is the Ark of the Covenant now? 

During the Babylonian exile, the Babylonians came and destroyed everything, including the Jerusalem temple. However, before this happened, God warned Jeremiah, who hid the Ark in a cave on Mount Nebo. It is written, “It was also in the same document that the prophet, having received an oracle, ordered that the tent and the ark should follow with him, and that he went out to the mountain where Moses had gone up and had seen the inheritance of God. Jeremiah came and found a cave-dwelling, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense; then he sealed up the entrance.  Some of those who followed him came up intending to mark the way, but could not find it.  When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and declared: “The place shall remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy.  Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear, as they were shown in the case of Moses, and as Solomon asked that the place should be specially consecrated.” (2 Maccabees 2:4-8).

How will we know that it really is the Ark?

He declared that ‘the place shall remain unknown until God gathers His people together again and shows His mercy (Coming of the Messiah).’. Or in other words, when the Messiah comes to gather the 12 scattered tribes of Israel, the Ark of the Covenant will be made known. The sign of the time is when the “glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear,”, that is, when the Ark will be revealed. We know from the Word of God that the angel Gabriel came and told Mother Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.” (Luke 1:35). According to Jeremiah,  ‘Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord will be seen in the cloud.’ . When the Ark is revealed, the glory of the Lord and the cloud will overshadow it. 

So, who is the Ark of the Covenant? 

Now remember, the Ark of the Covenant was hidden on Mount Nebo – the same place where Moses had died and was taken up, and from there, the Ark was also taken to heaven. After Jeremiah hid it, that was the last we heard of it – it disappeared. 

Then the next we hear of it is in Revelation 11:19 – “‘Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the Ark of His Covenant was seen within His temple.”’. The next line describes “‘a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars”’ – this is none other than Mother Mary. 

We realise that the Ark was revealed during the annunciation, when the Angel said to Mary, ‘the power of the Most High will overshadow you.’. This is exactly what Jeremiah had prophesied – when the Messiah is revealed, the glory of the Lord will overshadow the Ark of the Covenant, and then it will be made known. 

In conclusion, if Jesus is God, then Mother Mary is the Ark of the Covenant because the Ark of the Covenant is the dwelling place of God.
The Jews used to bow down before the Ark – not because they were worshipping it, but because the glory of the Lord was upon it. We bow down before Mary for this same reason.
Anyone who honours Mother Mary honours the divinity of Jesus. In the Old Testament, wherever the Ark was, the presence of God was there, and ‘the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord’. If Mother Mary is in your home, the presence of God will be in your home. 

Transcribed by Richa George

If you would like to listen to the full talk, please click this link: https://youtu.be/Ac3vRxjjv50 or search ‘Series of talks on Mother Mary Epi 2’ on YouTube 😊