The Prophetic Telegraph - No.91

NOVEMBER 1996 NEWSLETTER

THE RON WYATT TOUR OF BRITAIN

Manjit Biant and Emma Keogh, of Advent Truth, Derby arranged for Ron Wyatt to come to Britain in October this year, and many people were looking forward to this with great interest. In retrospect, it was a "whistle stop" tour, with very little time for the team to rest and relax inbetween, but the Lord upheld them throughout their punishing schedule, and the hundreds of miles of driving required to get from one venue to another.

Here at Oxleigh, we were greeted by telephone by a number of people who wanted to tell us about the meetings they attended, and their reactions. We were not to see Ron until November 1st, when he reached Grimsby.

The tour started in London on Saturday 19th October, and proceeded from there to Clacton on Sea, Oxford, Ammanford (South Wales), Birmingham, Sheffield, Derby, Worcester, Newport (Wales), Torquay, Taunton, Eastbourne, Gravesend, Norwich, Grantham, Manchester, Grimsby, 2nd visit to Norwich, Cambridge, Southampton, and finally Haslemere on Sunday 3rd November.

I can only comment in detail on the Grimsby meeting, and further conversation that we had with Ron as he stayed overnight with us before travelling back to Norwich on November 2nd.

The Town Hall at Grimsby was nearly full. I tried to assess the number present, and it could have been between 400 and 500. The whole company of those present were interested in Ron's story, without there being a single dissenting voice during question time. The whole atmosphere of the meeting was most cordial and uplifting.

To start the meeting we were shown Ron's latest Video, which was perhaps the best we'd seen yet in its excellence of presentation. The subjects were as follows:- An investigation into the means whereby the ancient Egyptians raised the huge blocks of limestone used in building their pyramids. Based on a quotation from Herodotus, Ron found some timbers in Egyptian antiquities, which had never been understood as to their purpose, and from these he re-constructed a simple device which was able to raise 2-ton blocks with ease from course to course. We saw this lever device in action at the base of one of the pyramids, and it was seen to be completely effective. So simple was it, that it could easily be lifted up to the next course for further lifting. This did away with all the bizarre theories of men who envisaged huge ramps being built, which would have been as difficult, and as time-consuming, as the building of the pyramids themselves. After this we saw some excellent footage of the Noah's Ark expedition, followed by strange and eerie shots of Sodom, from the ground view, and also from the air. Then we went to the Sinai Peninsula and followed the route taken by the Israelites on their way to Mount Horeb in Arabia. The underwater shots of chariot wheels were fascinating, and one wonders why some people are still dragging their heels and disbelieving what their eyes reveal to them. And the two tall stone pillars, engraved by men of Solomon's day, to record the place of the crossing, makes the identification complete. This was followed by shots of Horeb, and the places associated with Moses whilst the children of Israel camped under the Mountain.

Finally, the subject of the Ark of the Covenant was dealt with, but of course there were no definitive shots of the Temple furniture, which is still in the cave where Ron found it, in the Calvary escarpment, just outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. However, the matter was dealt with in respect of the years of work that went into this project, from 1979 until quite recently.

After the 80-minute Video ended, Ron gave a most interesting talk, lasting another 45 minutes, in which he covered most of the questions which people normally ask him on tour. This was followed by question time, and as a result, we were to learn a few additional bits of information about the Ark of the Covenant, the topic which most people find the most fascinating, and the most important of all his finds.

It is to this subject that I also addressed some questions over breakfast the next morning, and Ron tells me that it is in order for me to put this in print at this stage. However, before I do that, I should like to refer to my own observations of this tall, white-haired, white bearded American, who could easily have passed as Moses in our midst! At 63 years of age, he is still sprightly, and in full command of his faculties, indeed, I shouldn't be at all surprised to hear that he's off on some further expedition before long. His whole life is devoted to finding evidences that uphold the veracity of God's word, and this is a driving force of his nature, whereby he combines a knowledge of archaeology with a clear, and forceful Gospel message, that cannot be missed in its impact by any audience. I found him to be a man of great sincerity, and humility. I am greatly pleased to be able to write about him with great confidence in his integrity.

After the meeting, and when most people had left the Town Hall, I spoke to Ron as we leaned against the stage together. I said, "Ron, a man who listened to you in London, phoned us to say that your performance was great, but that you had made it all up to draw attention to yourself." He turned and bent down to face me, almost whispering, with tears developing in his eyes. "Arthur," he said, "How could I do such a thing? What would I say to my Lord when I meet Him face to face?" I saw the agony in his face, and I realised that he is a man who has been troubled by a great deal of mockery and outright accusation by "specialists" in various fields, people who ought to know better. It is one thing to disagree, and simply to say so, stating the grounds for disagreement, and quite another to mount a campaign to vilify a man, to assassinate his character, merely because of professional jealousy. That is exactly what as been happening on the Internet. Not a Christian act. Returning now to the subject of the Ark of the Covenant, I learned that Ron is the only man ever to enter the cave and remain unscathed. The first man to enter was a slightly built Arab friend of Ron's, who dashed out as fast as he could and never uttered a word about what he saw. The second man, connected with the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, fell at the entrance, and had to be helped to hospital with severe pains in his back. He vowed that he would never try to make a second entry. After this, the Antiquities Authority allowed Ron to further his investigations alone, and for a long time, all knowledge of his find has been kept more or less secret.

I'll not go over the story in detail. That has already been done in Ron's own publication, and in a reduced form in the Prophetic Telegraph No.78. Ron gradually cleared the chamber of all the stones, rotted timbers and skins, and even the stone case that surrounded the Ark itself. It was a long and difficult job, due to the size of the entrance, and its position near the ceiling of the chamber. When everything had been cleared out, the Israelis had a steel door constructed to ensure security. We sense that it would have been dangerous for anyone to enter, and this was equally as important in the construction of the door, as in preserving intact the treasures of Solomon's Temple. Ron said that four Angels guard the Ark of the Covenant. He mentioned this in answer to a question at the end of the Grimsby meeting. No doubt Ron has seen these Angels, but was subsequently reluctant to speak about them further.

When asked about the timing of the actual display of the contents of the chamber, he said that he had made a Video of all the furniture, and he was the only one as yet to see it. He doubted whether the Ark would ever be moved from its home in that cave. But he knew that the time was now very near for the Video to be seen, and of perhaps more immediate interest, the stone tablets of the law are to be put on display very shortly now. In London, Ron said that they would probably be displayed in America. Asked why not Israel, he replied, "It is too sensitive an area. Who knows what might be triggered off? Look how quickly people responded to the opening of a cave entrance recently. That was a very minor thing. But this - ." But over breakfast that Saturday morning, we asked him again about it, and he said he was wondering whether to bring them first to Britain, and asked us where the most central place would be, so that nobody would have to drive too far to see them. We looked at a map and suggested Derby. More than that I cannot say, because Ron was reluctant to enter into further discussion. I presumed he would have to be accompanied by Israeli guards, and he agreed. We all wondered just what would happen when the full truth emerges.

I asked Ron about the scrolls of the law, and he was excited about this. "They are still in wonderful condition, almost as if they'd been made yesterday. They are written on soft leather, four scrolls, perhaps Genesis is there, I don't know, maybe it's rolled up with one of the others. It's amazing. The blood on the mercy seat, and the scrolls of the law, in perfect condition, but the wooden beams and the skins that covered the other furniture, all rotted away. The important things God has preserved intact. I found this verse in Acts, quoted from the Psalms. 'Thou wilt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.' Jesus' body never saw corruption, because He was raised from the dead on the third day. And His blood has likewise been preserved by God until these days, when once again the knowledge is required by mankind. Too many professors and clerics are denying the truths of God's word now, and God wants to bring to the man in the street the evidence he needs to know, and to believe. That's why I have been allowed to find these things, not for my benefit, not for my glory, but for God's purposes." And as we listened to him, we all sensed the truth in what he was saying. His whole manner is focussed God-ward. He never allows anyone to erect pedestals for him. I was most impressed. This is surely how it should be by all of us who believe. Our Master never wanted that kind of attention Himself, and if we are His servants, neither shall we.

I asked Ron about the sword that he found in the chamber. "What did you think of my theory, that it might be Goliath's sword?" "Well, I suppose it could be. It has no markings on it to identify it, but it's five feet one and seven eighths inches long, and that's quite a size to handle. David used it to cut off Goliath's head, so he must have been a strong man. I read about him trying on Saul's armour. He never said that it was too large, simply that he'd not tried it, not accustomed himself to it, so he must have been on a par with Saul, a man head and shoulders above his fellows. Have you ever thought about that?" We hadn't. It was a new and interesting insight into a well-known passage of Scripture. So maybe it was Goliath's, after all.

Returning to the subject of the Mercy Seat on the Ark, I said that Jonathan Gray had written about it, saying that it was solid gold, nine inches thick. "I cannot accept that," I said. "I worked out the weight of the structure, and came out with a figure of around three tons. Two thin acacia-wood poles would have snapped off in trying to lift that, even supposing four men could have lifted it, which is impossible." Ron said that in fact the Mercy Seat was just three and a half inches thick, and could have been made of wood, covered by thick gold plate, which extended to the cherubim, which were probably hollow, or else made of wood as well. This all made sense. No theory can be sustained which doesn't match up to logic and common sense. Ron said that he had no way of telling. It looked like solid gold.

I asked him about Jim Bollinger and Tom Crotser, and their supposed find of the Ark in Mount Nebo, about the same time as Ron was entering the cave in Calvary. He said, "Have you seen the pictures of what they found?" We all shook our heads. "Then I'll see if I can find them, and you'll see straight away that it couldn't possibly be the true Ark. The mercy seat was not on top of the Ark but by itself, and the box was the wrong shape and size. What they had there is anyone's guess, but it certainly wasn't what Moses put in the Tabernacle in the wilderness."

Finally I asked about the story of the Ark that was spread about by Henry Gruver, a man that Ron met when in the hotel in Jerusalem. He had listened to Ron, and travelled with him in Israel, and made a tape recording of conversation, but when it came to the subject of the Ark-find, his battery ran out, and so he had to compile the rest from memory. "He's a good chap, Henry Gruver," Ron said, "But the facts are as you've written them up in your bulletin number 78, not his account." And with that I shall close this newsletter.