[I was going through some old video tapes of mine when I came upon a documentary series I had taped in the early 1990’s called: The Ancient Secrets of the Bible. It then showed some film footage of a press conference called in 1981 about the discovery of a tunnel under the temple mount. It spoke of the possibility that the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments were lying there under the Temple Mount where they had been hidden by a Jewish king thousands of years ago.

I told a friend about this, and he then dug around on the internet and found this article below written by one of the rabbis who was involved in this discovery.

According to Biblical prophecy, the Jews will rebuilt their temple on the Temple mount and the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments will also be found again. Jan]

Searching for the Ark of the Covenant

The article below is by Gershon Salomon and
The Temple Mount Faithful. Surely the time

For rebuilding God™s House is not far off!

How Israel Almost Discovered The Ark of the Covenant Through Rabbi Getz, z™l, the Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Temple Mount

Gershon Salomon had the privilege of being in the tunnel which led to the
hidden location of the Ark of the Covenant underneath the Temple Mount
It was twenty years before the destruction of the First Temple when King
Josiah, one of the most righteous kings of Israel and very faithful to the G“d of Israel, felt that the destruction of the Temple was soon to take place and that it was his duty to hide the Ark of the Covenant so that the Babylonian enemy would not capture it. He commanded the high priest to hide it in one of the many secret rooms underneath the Temple Mount.

When the Second Temple was built they did not relocate the Ark of the
Covenant in the Holy of Holies, where it was in the First Temple, but left it in the secret room where it was hidden by King Josiah. They were afraid that when the Second Temple was destroyed the Ark of the Covenant might be captured or damaged and preferred to keep it for the Third, end-time, Temple which will be an eternal Temple for the G“d of Israel.

With the liberation of the Temple Mount and Jerusalem by the Israeli forces together with the miracles of G“d in 1967, and the founding of The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement for the cause of the rebuilding of the Temple, an awakening started all over Israel for the need of the rebuilding of the Temple and the rediscovery of the Ark of the Covenant which will be relocated in the Holy of Holies of the Third Temple.

In 1981 an exciting event took place which could have been a major
historical and godly step on the way to the rebuilding of the Temple. While clearing the Hasmonean Tunnel, known also as the Rabbinical Tunnel, along the western wall, Rabbi Yehuda Getz, z™l, the rabbi of the Western Wall who planned and led the workers who cleared the tunnel, discovered a gate. The gate had a beautiful arch which had not been blocked by the original Herodian stones but by stones that had been laid a long time later. The stones were removed and the gate was opened by Rabbi Getz. Here he discovered a beautiful and impressive arched tunnel. He immediately knew that this was the Tunnel of the Priests which led to a place which is called in Hebrew œthe Spring of Eitan, the place to where the priests who had become unclean came from the Temple area to immerse themselves in a mikvah and purify themselves before returning to the Temple to continue their worship. It was also a special entrance for the priests to enter the Temple without coming into contact with the other pilgrims and worshippers and thus to keep their perfect purification. Rabbi Getz also knew that this tunnel would lead him to the secret room underneath the rock of the Temple Mount beneath the Holy of Holies where he knew the Ark of the Covenant and other vessels of the Temple were hidden. This tunnel underneath the Temple Mount led directly to the location under the Holy of Holies. The tunnel was filled with much mud and dirty water as the Arabs had, over history, used it as a place where they could pour out their unclean water and thus had desecrated this holy place. Rabbi Getz immediately started to clean the tunnel. His plan was to come to the end of the tunnel to the location of the Ark of the Covenant and the vessels of the Temple and to recover them to be used in the Third Temple which he desired and believed would soon be rebuilt.

On more than one occasion this righteous man of G“d showed his support and encouragement for the Temple Mount Faithful Movement for the rebuilding of the Temple. He told me that his desire and prayer was to no longer be the rabbi of the Western Wall but to be the rabbi of the Temple Mount. Rabbi Getz often stayed awake all night praying near the gate of the Tunnel of the Priests which is the closest place along the western wall to the Holy of Holies. This exciting story was written in a book which was published in 2003 almost 8 years after this righteous rabbi passed away. Rabbi Getz dealt much with Kabala and the Temple Mount and the tunnels under it became for him like his main home. He was an officer in the Israeli Army and dedicated his life to the Temple, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall and gave much to charity. He was a mystic in his clothes and deeds and had a special spiritual attitude towards life. He wore a special white coat and always had a Tanach in his pocket and a gun on his belt. He was among the first Jewish re-settlers of the Old City of Jerusalem and had 11 children most of whom live in the Jewish re-settlements of Judaea, Samaria and Gaza.

One of his sons, Avner, fell in the battle for the liberation of the Old
City of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War. Another was killed in the 80’s in
Samaria in an Arab terror attack. I had the privilege of being close to
this man of G“d and to be inspired and encouraged by him. When we decided
to bring a cornerstone for the Third Temple for the first time in 1989 he
allowed me to do so and even encouraged me to bring it to the Temple Mount through the Western Wall plaza. This the Israeli authorities did not allow because of fear of the Arab reaction.

At the centre of his complete dedication to the project of clearing the
Western Wall tunnel was his deep and strong desire to discover the Ark of
the Covenant and the Temple vessels. He was sure that their discovery would hasten the redemption of Israel. He always looked forward to the
opportunity of doing so and his opportunity came when the Tunnel of the
Priests was discovered. Originally his plans were to dig underneath the
western wall and to open a new tunnel through which he would come to
underneath the Holy of Holies where he knew the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple vessels were hidden. He shared his plans with and asked the advice of Rabbi Avraham Chanan who had supernatural powers to see places which are not visible to normal sight. Years previously, Rabbi Chanan had marked on a map an unseen tunnel which went from outside the southern wall of the Temple Mount to the northwest to the area which was part of the Temple complex called Solomon™s Stables. The archaeologists later discovered this tunnel which Chanan had marked. When the project for the clearing of the western wall tunnel began to make progress, Chanan showed the place where, according to his deep feelings, the vessels of the Temple were hidden. Rabbi Getz knew that the Ark of the Covenant was hidden in the same place.

The Ark of the Covenant which has not been seen since the destruction of
the First Temple was the most important item in the Temple. It was where
the Shekinah dwelt behind its Cherubim as G“d had promised Israel. In the
Mishnah, in Tractate Shkalim, it is written: œA priest in the Second Temple saw a section the floor which was different from the other floors and he understood that in this place there was an entrance to an underground tunnel and he came and shared it with his friend. Before he could finish sharing what he had seen with his friends, he died. They then knew very clearly that that was the place where the Ark of the Covenant was hidden.

Rabbi Maimonides, one of the greatest rabbis of the 12th Century who wrote much about the building of the Temple in the end-times wrote that when King Solomon built the Temple, he knew from prophecy that it would be destroyed. For this reason, he built a special house in very deep and devious ways underneath the Temple Mount and where nobody knew about. King Josiah later commanded that the Ark of the Covenant be hidden in the place which King Solomon had specially prepared for it. In Jewish sources it is written that the Ark of the Covenant will be discovered close to the coming of the messiah. Rabbi Nachmanides, who also lived in the 12th Century, wrote that the Ark of the Covenant will be discovered when the Temple is rebuilt or in the end-time wars before the coming of the king-messiah.

Rabbi Getz knew that we are already living in these times and that the
discovery of the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple vessels will hasten the coming of the redeemer, the messiah. First he wanted to discover the place where the altar was located in the First and Second Temples. He knew that there are 2 signs for the location of the altar. The first was that the altar was located on a flat surface while the Temple Mount is built on various levels. He knew that if he could find a flat area which is different to the other characteristics of the Temple Mount it would provide the location of the altar. Secondly, he knew that underneath the location of the Temple where the sacrifices were offered in the First and Second Temples there was a floor which is a mixture of lime and zinc. His
conclusion was that if he should find even one crumb of zinc he would know the location of the altar and it would help him very much in his plans to discover the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple vessels. The rest on his path to discover the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple vessels happened in a miraculous way.

In July 1981, while Rabbi Getz was preparing a place for a Torah Ark at the blocked gate, a large hole was discovered. Through the hole he saw a large tunnel quarried in the rock running in an easterly direction underneath the Temple Mount. The size of the tunnel was very impressive — 28m (93ft) long and 6m (20ft) wide. As we wrote above, the tunnel was filled with mud and water. The workers opened the wall at the gate and for the first while Rabbi Getz could not enter the tunnel because he was filled with so much excitement. For an hour he sat helpless at the entrance, with tears running from his eyes he was so excited by the sight. Finally he collected his strength and entered the tunnel. He sat on the steps of the tunnel and prayed a special prayer to the G“d of Israel.

I will never forget the great moment when I received a call from Rabbi
Getz. He could almost not speak to me. With great excitement he told me —
œThe miracle happened. We have discovered the Tunnel of the Priests which
will lead to the Ark of the Covenant and to the Temple vessels. Come
immediately! It was late at night when I arrived at the site full of
excitement and entered the tunnel together with Rabbi Getz. We could only
do one thing and that was to weep with the tears covering our clothes. With respect for the holy place, we hugged each other. We felt the presence of G“d and His spirit which covered the holy place. Deep in our hearts we could feel the significance of this major moment. We knew that this was the place, the tunnel through which our forefathers, the priests, used to walk on their way to the Temple and we were there. I felt the significance of the exciting and miraculous moment that G“d had given us; the privilege that He gave us to again be at this holy place and to feel and hear the sound of the steps of the priests walking to the Temple. Our eyes and hearts were immediately drawn to the end of the tunnel under the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant and Temple vessels were hidden almost 2600 years previously. I had felt the same feeling when 14 years earlier I had stood in front of the Holy of Holies and the rock of Abraham and Isaac on the day of the liberation of the Temple Mount and Biblical Jerusalem in the Six-Day war of 1967 also with tears in my eyes. Such moments can only happen once in a hundred generations. Again I felt deep in my heart the G“d of Israel speaking to us saying, œBuild My house. The time of redemption has come. Redeem My holy mountain, the Holy Ark of the Covenant and the Temple vessels and place them again in My house. It had been a dream of 2000 years after the destruction of the Second Temple which now became a reality.

Rabbi Getz also shared the discovery of the tunnel with the Chief Rabbis of Israel, Shlomo Goren and Ovadiah Yosef. Rabbi Goren, who since the Six-Day War as the chief rabbi of the Israeli army, had made every effort to redeem the Temple Mount, was also very excited. He understood that the tunnel would be an important instrument in the discovery of the exact location of the Holy of Holies, the most holy place in the Temple and the world, where only the High Priest was allowed to enter to pray to the G“d of Israel and that only once a year on Yom Kippur. He knew that it would help the Jews who did not allow themselves to enter the Temple Mount because of fear of walking on the Holy of Holies. A few years earlier I had met the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzak Nissim and he told me that we are allowed to walk even on the place of the Holy of Holies even if we would know without doubt its location because as long as the Temple Mount is still not redeemed and is controlled by foreigners and the Temple is still not rebuilt we are allowed to walk on any place on the Temple Mount even the Holy of Holies because Halakah states that in such circumstances we are allowed to go up on the Temple Mount and any place on it and it is even a duty to do so with the intention of liberating it and of rebuilding the Temple. He also said that if we do not walk on the Holy of Holies but only in other places on the Temple Mount, the enemies on the Temple Mount and the nations will think that the most holy place is not holy and important to us because we do not walk there. He was really a man of G“d and a proud Jew who understood exactly the significance of the major prophetic time in which we are now living and the privilege and duty of our generation to rebuild the Temple.

Seven weeks after the discovery of the tunnel, which had been kept a
secret, the media came to hear about it and the news was broadcast.
Journalists from all the world came to see this exciting godly end-time
event. At the end of the Hebrew month of Av, on the night of Shabbat, the
Arabs on the Temple Mount opened a hole in the paving of the Temple Mount
which was actually the roof of the tunnel and started to pour water into
the tunnel and to demonstrate. The UN also showed solidarity with the Arabs and passed a resolution demanding the closure of the tunnel. It was mainly the weakness of the Israeli Government which decided to close the tunnel being concerned about the Arab, Moslem and international reaction if the work were to continue and Israel were to enter under the Temple Mount to the most holy place of the Jewish people. The Israeli Government again did not listen to the Word of G“d to redeem His holy mountain and rebuild the Temple and the great opportunity that He gave them and again they missed one of the major moments in the process of the redemption of Israel. Sadness covered the people of Israel who were disappointed in the spiritual and practical weakness of their leaders who again did not trust the almighty G“d of Israel Who promised that He would stand with them and
defeat and judge their enemies even if all the world were to come against
Israel.

Rabbi Getz and I, together with many others, felt the bitterness in our
hearts. Immediately I made a petition to the Supreme Court against this
terrible decision to close the tunnel. I tried everything to explain to
them the significance of this sinful decision but unfortunately the Supreme Court was not courageous enough to make a decision that would stop the decision of the government to stop the work in the tunnel and to block the entrance. It was not only my tears and the tears of many others in Israel but I felt that G“d Himself was weeping when He saw how His children wasted the great moments that He gave them. Immediately I decided not to be broken but to be even more encouraged to continue the struggle and campaign for the redemption of the hill of G“d and the rebuilding of His house in our lifetime. I decided to dedicate my life even more intensively to this cause and to educate the Israeli leadership, the people of Israel and all the world about the duty of our generation to rebuild the house of G“d and to open the door for the coming of Mashiach ben David and for the establishment of the kingdom of G“d on His holy mountain to be the eternal focus of Israel and all the world.

In the book about Rabbi Getz, the feelings of Rabbi Getz when the tunnel
was closed and the historic opportunity to recover the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple vessels was missed are recorded. œThere is a bitterness in my mouth. Never before have I felt a humiliation that I had never felt before. I pray that it will be an end of the exile mentality. It is so sad to see the running wild of the media and the hatred against this godly event. My feeling now is like the feeling of my forefathers who saw for themselves the flames rising from the house of our G“d at the time of the destruction of the Temple. Now I hear the voices of the Arabs coming from the tunnel while they are blocking the holy tunnel with a heavy concrete wall. Every voice and sound that comes is like a dagger in my heart. (152)˜Then I cried O God, nations have come into your inheritance; your holy temple have they defiled;™ (Psalm 79:1) but I am strong; I will not break; I will continue my task even if I stand alone in the battle. It is so special and it expresses his heart that he called himself not just the rabbi of the Western Wall but the rabbi of the Western Wall and the Temple Mount. It expressed his great dream and desire.

The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement will continue its
battle for the recovery of the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple vessels
with the inspiration of Rabbi Getz, this faithful man of G“d. We shall
continue our campaign for the purification of the hill of G“d and the
rebuilding of the Temple as a reality in our lifetime even more
intensively. We shall do everything not to allow such godly historical
moments to be missed again and the G“d of Israel will be with us.

The Arabs and everyone who tries to prevent the complete redemption of
Israel and the world, the rebuilding of the Temple and the coming of the
messiah should know that nothing can prevent this prophetic godly event. A few hundred years ago the Arabs located a cemetery in front of the Eastern gate. They believed that in this way and by blocking the Eastern gate they could prevent the messiah from coming through the Eastern gate to the rebuilt Temple. G“d showed us that they had bitter illusions and they now have bitter illusions. Israel is again a nation in the same land of the Covenant; the Jewish people, the people of G“d, is again gathered to the land and the land has come back to life. We are again on the Temple Mount and in Biblical Jerusalem and all the other parts of the holy land of the G“d and people of Israel. The G“d and people of Israel are marching in these critical days towards the rebuilding of the Temple. No wall, no matter how solid, will prevent the G“d and people of Israel from recovering the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple vessels and the coming of Mashiach ben David. All of this is soon to come in our lifetime. This is the prophetic Word of G“d and we trust it completely.