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| Artist's Rendition of the Ark of the Covenant |
On August 11, 2012, I first watched the video by Ron Wyatt about the discovery of the ark of the covenant (
see here). I was so excited about this discovery that I posted a blog about it (
see here). But two days later, I called and spoke to the president of Wyatt Archeological Research, Richard Rives.
Richard Rives told me that Ron believed he had discovered the ark, but that he (Richard) had not been able to verify any of Ron’s claims. He said, "Ron Wyatt did say he found the ark of the covenant, and he did believe that he found it. But I have been back to that site and done more excavation there since 2003. And I’ve been unable to find any cave under it." He stated that he has used subsurface radar to search for any cave that could even be possibly filled in, and he could find nothing. He went on to say, "I'm not saying Ron didn't find it. I'm just saying that we could not confirm it." He pointed out that they do have Ron's testimony posted on their site at
Wyatt Museum.
However, he emphasized that they have a caveat statement posted there that states: "At this time, Wyatt Archeological Research can provide no conclusive evidence regarding the discovery of the ark of the covenant.” Needless to say, this was a very disappointing conversation.
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| Ron Wyatt |
Therefore, I determined that I needed to find out what kind of character Ron had. Could I trust the claims that he made? Soon after this I did some research to try and determine the character of Ron Wyatt from people who knew him. I had seen
a Prophecy Club video on You Tube featuring Michael Rood, who vouched for Ron’s character. Michael said he had seen a video about Ron Wyatt’s discovery of the ark that amazed him. And then he subsequently spent a weekend with Henry Gruver, a man who has worked and ministered for the Lord in over 70 countries around the world, and who knew Ron Wyatt. Henry’s testimony about Ron Wyatt persuaded Michael that he had to meet Ron in person. He had to know if Ron was a liar or a man who tells the truth. So he sold the last of his worldly possessions, in order to make the trip to visit Ron at his home, and spent a week with him. This is how Michael could personally vouch for Ron’s character.
So I decided to call Henry Gruver myself, and left a message for him. However, I saw on his website that he had just left for a missions trip to Japan. So in my message, I asked that he call me when he returned from Japan. But as months went by, I was busy with my own ministry, so I forgot about Henry Gruver and the message I had left for him.
On November 27, 2012, I felt led to try and reach Henry Gruver again. So I called him and I introduced myself. He did not recall getting my message, but he was very kind and said he was available to speak with me now. I asked about his trip to Japan, and he said he had only returned from that trip two days ago, and he was still overcoming jet lag. So the Holy Spirit had led me to call him back at just the right time.
After brief introductions, I explained why I was calling. I said that I had been so excited when I saw the videos of Ron’s testimony about discovering the ark of the covenant, but that when I had subsequently spoken to Richard Rives, the new head of the Wyatt Archeological Research, I was disappointed when he told me he could not confirm the ark discovery. I mentioned to Henry what Richard had told me about his core drilling on top of the mount, and his use of sub surface radar to try and find any cave beneath the three cross holes where Ron Wyatt claimed he found the ark. I wanted to know what he could tell me about Ron Wyatt with respect to his character and integrity. We were on the phone for 49 minutes, and he shared his testimony about Ron. Here is Henry’s testimony:
Testimony of Henry Gruver
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| Judith and Henry Gruver |
Around 1990 in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship (FGBMF), Southwest Regional Convention, I was at the table when Demos Shakarian, founder of the FGBMF. Demos had assembled a special meeting with Ron Wyatt. An attorney and a document specialist were present. The purpose of the meeting was to validate the certificates he had received from the laboratories, proving the authenticity of the samples taken from his discoveries.
Ron had with him a blue, three-ring binder containing those certificates in plastic document protectors. It included certificates from six labs – three in the USA, one in Jerusalem, one in Germany, and other certificates of his lab testing throughout the years.
One of the lab result certificates pertained to the chromosomes of the dried blood Ron discovered in the cave beneath the cross holes that had flowed down onto the ark of the covenant. Another lab result pertained to Ron’s discovery of Noah’s ark, and confirmed that the specimen was in fact a piece of “petrified, laminated wood” with “rosins” in between, which are “presently unknown to man.”
When Ron opened his blue, three-ring binder, the document specialist asked for permission to remove the certificates from their plastic folders. Ron reluctantly granted permission to remove them from the document protectors, as long as he didn’t tamper with the documents or perform ink tests on the signatures.
The man removed them from the plastic and looked at each certificate carefully. He had a very large, thick book with him that was eight by eleven inches and about six inches thick. In it he had brought with him the names and data for all the labs in the countries where Ron had lab tests done. He was able to look up each lab in his book, as well as the record numbers. He had all the signatures in his book, and compared them with the ones on the certificates. He was also able to validate the record numbers from each certificate. He looked at each signature with a magnifying glass like a jeweler uses.
When he finished examining each one carefully, he said, “I would verify the authenticity of these documents to the top court in this land.” And he was a registered document specialist in the nation at that time.
Demos Shakarian just smiled when he heard that, and then he invited Ron to be the keynote speaker at the upcoming meeting of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship. But Demos wanted me to give my testimony of meeting Ron Wyatt for the first time in Jerusalem, and then introduce Mr. Wyatt at the convention.
I got to know Ron over the years. In fact, I traveled with him in Turkey, the Middle East, and the United States. Ron would never take any of the credit for his amazing discoveries. He always gave all the credit to Jesus Christ.
Ron once said, “If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can’t be saved.” He was not a Seventh Day Adventist, but he did adopt Friday night Shabbat services.
He was a thorough man. For example, one time in Kaddesh-barnea, it had just rained, and Ron discovered a stone the size of a goose egg, which had carvings in it. He told me to hold it, so I did. Ron then pulled out of the ground a stone that was smaller than a basketball, but bigger than a soccer ball. With his finger he cleared the dirt out an eyelet in the round stone.
He asked me if I knew what I was holding, and I could only guess it might be a boat anchor. Then Ron told me to observe the cuttings in the stone. They were the same as the one I had in my hand, except mine was smaller.
Ron explained that it was a tent anchor carved by the Hebrews during their 40 years journey in the wilderness. He said, “This helps me track the wandering of the Hebrew people through the wilderness.” He then noted the date and exact time he found the tent anchors, the longitude and the latitude where they were standing, and a description of the stones. He was very thorough, and he was consistently like that all the time.
He had earned the respect of the Israeli Antiquities department. In 1984, after all the digging he did, he was only able to peer into the cave and see the ark, but was not yet able to go in. In 1985 his excavation permit expired, but he needed to renew it, so that he could continue the archeological dig, and get into the room containing the ark. When his permit had expired, he took his crew to Ashkelon swimming.
In the water, Ron stepped on a smooth object. So he went under the water and pulled it up. It was a vase! So he went back under the water and discovered many other vases. He registered this discovery with the Antiquities department. When they looked into it, they found that this was the ancient burial site of the Philistine fish god. This fish god had the head of a fish and the body of a man. And the vases contained bones and artifacts that verified the time of the dynasty of the Philistines.
The head of the Antiquities department had these examined, and due to this miraculous discovery, Ron was given a permit to continue the dig for ark. He was able to get into the cave, where he discovered the ark. Up until then, Ron had only peered into the room.
I once personally asked Richard Rives, “Where is the three-ring folder of all the certificates.” Richard said he’d seen it. I said, “Ron carried it with him in a briefcase everywhere he went.” Richard admitted he’d seen the blue folder once. But he doesn’t know where it is now.
I have no doubt Ron discovered the ark, and that it’s down there. I have Ron on video telling the details of the ark discovery. In fact, I have around 40 videos of him. In fact, the Lord spoke to me in prayer years ago about this through Psalm 85. He said, “Truth shall spring out of the earth.” In God’s timing, that ark will be found again.
Henry Gruver
[end of Henry Gruver’s testimony]
Putting it All Together
There will always be those who try to discredit godly men. They did that to Jesus, and they are still doing it today. But after speaking with Henry Gruver, and listening to his testimony about Ron Wyatt, I am convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that Ron’s discoveries are authentic. Henry’s testimony about Ron is consistent with that of Dr. Kent Hovind (
see here) and Michael Rood, who have personally met Ron and spoken with him about this discovery. But Henry’s testimony is even more significant, because of how he traveled with Ron extensively and grew to know Ron.
Ron had an anointing from God for making significant biblical, archeological discoveries. He was a man of prayer, who heard from the Lord, and was guided by God’s voice during his expeditions. He was a thorough man that documented everything accurately and meticulously. He earned the respect of the Israeli Department of Antiquities. Yet he was a humble man, who shunned the limelight and never took any credit for his amazing discoveries, which many others across the world have sought to find at the risk of their lives. He always gave all the glory to Jesus Christ. And he proclaimed that it is impossible to be saved, unless you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. It’s easy to see why God chose him to make this significant discovery, and many other important ones, too.
Ron did find the ark of the covenant beneath the cross holes on top of the mount where Jesus was crucified. His discovery scientifically verifies the biblical account of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which was God’s atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind. The discovery of the ark verifies that Jesus is the Son of God, and that His sinless blood has been applied to the mercy seat atop the ark of the covenant. That blood was scientifically analyzed*, and the amazing results were lab certified.
The lab certificates were authenticated by a certified document specialist in America in the presence of an attorney and other credible witnesses, including Henry Gruver. This verifies that the Bible is true when it teaches us that only the blood of Jesus has the power to save you from sin. He is the Lamb of God that was slain, who takes away the sins of the world! He is risen from the dead! He sits at God’s right hand and lives forever. He loves you and wants you to have a relationship with Him, and to live forever with Him in His glorious heaven.
If you have not already done so, please read "
Ark of the Covenant Has Been Found - Part 1". Another excellent article to read is "
Who is Ron Wyatt?" by Kevin Fisher.
Also see these videos:
“
Ron Wyatt Against Accusations by Israeli Antiquity”
"
Ron Wyatt’s Character"
"
Blood of Yeshua HaMashiach Recovered"
"
Ron Wyatt Speaks on The Blood of Jesus"
*Note: Somatids are the tiniest life form. They are visible in living human
blood, as well as reconstituted dried blood. When healthy blood is
viewed in an electron microscope, somatids appear as little dots of
light, which seem to dance around the motionless red blood cells. They
are living and indestructible, which means they cannot be killed either
by heat or by any chemical product.
Author's Note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this
blog available through the Main Directory. You may also access
my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "
Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________
Len Lacroix is the founder of
Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission.
www.dmiworld.org.
