Revelation 11:19; There Was Seen in His Temple the Ark of His Testament

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Revelation 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. 

The Ark of the Covenant is the most sacred of furniture in the Tabernacle. It stood at the furthest end of the holy of holies. It was the place over which the bright shining light, called the Shekinah, which was the token of the presence of God, shone forth. The Tabernacle was, in fact, built to house the Ark of the Covenant so that God could dwell among His people. It is the first furniture that Moses recorded for construction (Ex. 25:8-10). The ark was symbolic of God’s throne and presence. Exodus 25:10-22 records God’s instruction for the construction of the Ark (v10-16) and the Mercy Seat that is above the ark (v17-22).  God said to Moses that it is at the ark of the testimony that He will meet with him.

Exodus 25:10-22 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall bein the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. 

Hebrews 9:4 tells us that in the ark is placed three objects: 

Hebrews 9:4 …and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein wasthe golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant.

The mercy seat was basically the lid of the ark. On top of the ark, at each end, stood two cherubim of gold facing each other but looking down toward the mercy seat with their wings touching each other as they were stretched out over its top.

The mercy seat was made a place of propitiation when the sacrificial blood was sprinkled on it once a year. The blood of the sacrifice would be sprinkled on the mercy seat. The purpose was to make atonement for the impurities or sins of the Israelites. In English, propitiation has the idea of appeasing or placating the anger of a god. The mercy seat, typifies the divine throne of God. Just once a year, the high priest entered beyond the veil and, there, with blood of atonement, bowed in the presence of the great and invisible God.[1]The throne of judgment is transformed into a throne of grace.

God said He would meet with Moses from between the two cherubim. God is above the mercy seat. When He looks down, He sees the law, the 10 Commandments, that the Israelites are guilty of breaking. But then He sees the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat, making atonement for those sins.

[1] David M. Levy, The Tabernacle: Shadows of the Messiah, The Friends of Israel Gospel Mnistry, 1993, 96.