Knights Templar in 250 Facts

[RolandVT]

Unlike the whole Exodus story (which is basically a fairy tale inspired by still unknown historical events), the story of God providing the Jews (via Moses) with The Law and ordering them to build the Ark appears to be true to a ‘t’.

One of the most interesting passages (if not the most interesting) in this story is Exodus 19:6 (Douay-Rheims Bible):

“And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation”

This is a loud and clear statement of the fact that God, indeed, chose the Jewish people to be a conduit of Divine Grace (every priest is such a conduit) to the whole world. And, thus, a genuine savior of the whole humanity from Hell on Earth.

Now God begins to prepare Moses and the Jews to receive The Law (Exodus 19:9 - Didache Bible):

“And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you for ever”

Sounds authentic to me – that’s what I would have expected from God.

Another interesting passage is Exodus 19:10-13:

“And the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and be ready by the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

And you shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, 'Take heed that you do not go up into the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death; no hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.”

Sounds like severe radiation poisoning to me. Not surprisingly, God delivered on His promises (Exodus 19:16-22 – Didache Bible)

“On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. And the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to gaze and many of them perish. And also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out upon them”

Sounds like severe radiation warning to me… well, if emission of Divine Grace is sufficiently powerful, it might affect a human being just like gamma rays. When Moses did what he was told by God, the latter gave Moses Ten Commandments and the rest of Mosaic Law for transmission to the Jews.

And then, of course, gave Moses something physical – Tablets of the Law (Exodus 24:12; 15:18 – Didache Bible):

“The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tables of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.

Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the sons of Israel. And Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”

Very impressive, I must admit.

Now it was time to give orders to build the Ark of the Covenant… but first God ordered Moses to create a sanctuary for Him (Exodus 25:8):

“And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst”

In practical terms, it means that the sanctuary will become an immensely powerful source of Divine Grace – vital salvific energy for the Jews and the whole mankind.

Instructions for building the Ark of the Covenant were predictably quite detailed (Exodus 25:10-22):

“They shall make an Ark of acacia wood; two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, within and without shall you overlay it, and you shall make upon it a molding of gold round about.”

In modern units, the size of the Ark of the Covenant is estimated at approximately 52×31×31 inches (130×80×80 centimeters). Its weight is estimated at being about 200 pounds (90 kg) which does make it possible to be carried by four strong men on their shoulders.

Acacia wood was chosen for its durability: experts estimate that laden with gold, it will last for at least 5,000 years. Rabbinical Judaism calculated a lifespan of Moses corresponding to 1391–1271 BC; consequently, the Ark was build sometime in late 13th century BC and so will last for 1,700 more years or so.

“And you shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. 13You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark by them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. And you shall put into the ark the covenant which I shall give you.

Then you shall make a mercy seat o of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.

Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.

And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the covenant, I will speak with you of all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.”

[RolandVT]

After its creation by Moses, the Ark was carried by the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. The Ark was carried in the lead, preceding the people, and was the signal for their advance. Whenever the Israelites camped, the Ark was placed in the tent of meeting, inside the Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle (also known as the Tent of the Congregation or the Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God (portal of Divine Grace) used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan.

God instructed Moses at Mount Sinai to construct and transport the tabernacle with the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness and their subsequent conquest of the Promised Land. After 440 years, Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem replaced it as the dwelling-place of God.

The Tabernacle was built around its core – the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary, where God dwelled). Holy of Holies was defined by four pillars that held up the veil of the covering, under which the Ark of the Covenant was held above the floor.

An outer sanctuary (the “Holy Place”) contained a gold lamp-stand or candlestick. On the north side stood a table, on which lay the showbread. On the south side was the Menorah (seven-branched candelabrum) holding seven oil lamps to give light.

Since ancient times, Menorah has served as a symbol representing the Jewish people and Judaism in both the Land of Israel and the Diaspora. It eventually became the State of Israel’s official emblem after its founding in 1948.

On the west side of the Tabernacle, just before the veil, was the golden altar of incense. It was richly furnished with valuable materials taken from Egypt at God’s command. Tabernacle was built by the same team as the Ark – by Bezalel, Oholiab and a number of skilled artisans.

According to Book of Joshua, when the Israelites, led by Joshua toward the Promised Land, arrived at the banks of the River Jordan, the river grew dry as soon as the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touched its waters.

And remained so until the priests—with the Ark—left the river after the people had passed over. As memorials, twelve stones were taken from the Jordan at the place where the priests had stood.

Sounds like a fairy tale, sure… but miracles do happen. Especially when God wants them to happen.

[RolandVT]

According to Book of Joshua, the Battle of Jericho, the first battle fought by the Israelites in the course of the conquest of Canaan. According to biblical account, the walls of Jericho fell after the Israelites marched around the city walls once a day for six days, seven times on the seventh day, with the priests blowing their horns daily and the people shouting on the last day.

And the Ark of the Covenant made a decisive contribution to this vital victory.

According to the Book of Joshua, when the Israelites were encamped at Shittim opposite Jericho, ready to cross the river, Joshua, as a final preparation, sent out two spies to Jericho.

The spies stayed in the house of Rahab, a local prostitute. The king of Jericho sent soldiers who asked Rahab to bring out the spies. Instead (apparently, she was scared of Israelites), she hid them under bundles of flax on the roof.

After escaping, the spies promised to spare Rahab and her family after taking the city, if she would mark her house by hanging a red cord out the window. Which she promptly did.

Walls of the city look impenetrable… however, it appears that God found a way to solve this problem. He commanded Joshua to go around the walls of Jericho for six days, once every day, and seven times on the seventh day.

The assault team consisted of seven priests blowing horns, with the Ark of the Covenant in front of them and all the people behind the Ark of the Covenant. They encircled the wall of Jericho once a day for the first six days, and then encircled the city seven times on the seventh day. After the shofar (horn) sounded a great blow, the Israelites shouted, and the city walls fell beneath them.

Fortunately, this battle (and the fall of Jericho) never happened. Extensive excavations at Tell es-Sultan (the biblical Jericho) have failed to find any traces of a city at the relevant time (end of the Bronze Age), which has led to a consensus among scholars that the story has its origins in the nationalist propaganda of much later kings of Judah and their claims to the territory of the Kingdom of Israel.

Fortunately, because, according to biblical account, the Israelites killed every man and woman, the young and the old, as well as the oxen, sheep, and donkeys. Only abovementioned Rahab, her parents, brothers and all her relatives were spared. Joshua then cursed anybody who rebuilt the foundations and gates, with the deaths of their firstborn and youngest child respectively.

Joshua’s decision to kill every living soul in Jericho was based on the commandment of Herem (cherem). This term has two meanings: the religious and the military.

The religious meaning is defined as “rendering harmless, anything imperiling the religious life of the nation” and the military “the total destruction of the enemy and at the conclusion of a campaign”.

When you combine these definitions – as you should – you get “render harmless everything that imperils the religious life of your nation by total destruction of your enemy after a victorious military campaign”.

Although the Fall of Jericho is a figment of imagination of the author(s) of the Book of Joshua, the commandment of Herem was followed to a ‘t’ on a number of occasions by different nations.

In the case of Israelites, God commanded Joshua to kill every human being in Jericho (in reality, animals were obviously spared) apparently because they all were devil-worshippers (followers of Baal/Moloch cult) and God (obviously) feared that if spared they would convert the Jews back to devil worshipping.

Not an excuse for a “Holocaust in Canaan” for a modern mindset… but those times were very, very different. I personally think that there was a far more humane solution to this existential problem… but God apparently thought differently.

[RolandVT]

The conquest of the city of Ai in Canaan is not one, but two horror stories… and both are most likely historical fiction (albeit, as usual, inspired by yet unidentified true stories).

The Ai’s ruins are commonly thought to be in the modern-day archeological site of Et-Tell. Excavations revealed a large urban settlement dating back to around 3100 BC, with cycles of destruction and rebuilding until roughly 2400 BC. It remained uninhabited until a small village emerged in the Early Iron Age.

In light of these findings, scholars interpret the biblical account of Ai’s conquest as… well, historical fiction – similar to the Fall of Jericho (very possibly written by the same author – and with the same objective in mind).

According to Book of Joshua, it all started with… well, theft committed by a character by the name of Achan (or Achar). Achan pillaged an ingot of gold, a quantity of silver, and a “beautiful Babylonian garment” from Jericho, in contravention of Joshua’s directive that

“… all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord“.

This act resulted in the Israelites being collectively punished by God, in that they failed in their first attempt to capture Ai, with about 36 Israelites lost. The Israelites used cleromancy (rolling of the dice… sort of) to decide who was to blame.

They identified Achan, and stoned him, along with his children and livestock, to death (a genuine horror story indeed). Their remains were burnt and stones piled on top. God’s anger against Israel later subsided… and they took the city.

However, Book of Joshua mentions that the latter lamented and prayed before the Ark of the Covenant and, being an intelligent living being with supernatural powers, it told him how to do the job right the second time. Or God told him via the Ark… the specifics do not matter actually.

What matters is that Ai suffered the same fate as Jericho. After Joshua and his men took the city, 12,000 men and women were killed, and it is razed to the ground. The ruler of the city was captured and hanged on a tree until the evening. His body was then placed at the city gates and stones were placed on top of his body. The Israelites then burned Ai completely and “made it a permanent heap of ruins.”

Interestingly enough, Joshua took the city precisely Hannibal-style… about a millennium before Hannibal won Battle of Cannae this way.

[RolandVT]

King David had a special devotion for the Ark of the Covenant (almost like a close relationship with a living being… which the Ark was).

At the beginning of his reign over the United Monarchy, King David removed the Ark from Kirjath-Jearim amid great rejoicing. On the way to Zion (Jerusalem), Uzzah, one of the drivers of the cart that carried the Ark, put out his hand to steady the Ark, and was struck dead by God for touching it. Apparently, some very serious electricity was involved… somehow.  

David was afraid to bring the Ark any further, and placed it in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months. The Lord then blessed Obed-edom and David went and brought up the ark of God into the City of David (Jerusalem).

David had the Ark brought to Zion by the Levites (who were appointed to minister before the Ark), while he himself, "girded with a linen ephod danced before the Lord with all his might" and in the sight of all the public gathered in Jerusalem, a performance which caused him to be scornfully rebuked by his first wife.

In Jerusalem, David put the Ark in the tent he had prepared for it, offered sacrifices, distributed food, and blessed the people and his own household. David used the tent as a personal place of prayer.

David wanted to “build a house for the Lord” (for the Ark of the Covenant, actually) and was initially supported in this endeavor by influential prophet Nathan.

However, that night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, instructing him to tell David that it would not be he who would build the temple, but his offspring (future King Solomon).

Instead, God promised to establish David's house and kingdom forever: "Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever". And fulfilled His promise – Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the descendant of King David.

The Ark was with David’s army during the siege of Rabbah (now Amman - the capital and the largest city of Jordan); and when David fled from Jerusalem at the time of Absalom's conspiracy, the Ark was carried along with him until he ordered Zadok the priest to return it to Jerusalem.

[RolandVT]

This biblical story sounds authentic (the place of the first battle has even been conclusively identified) – and it proves beyond the reasonable doubt that by itself the Ark of the Covenant had no magical powers. All power was God’s – the Ark was only the conduit of that power at best.

According to the biblical narrative, elders of Israel decided to take the Ark out of its sanctuary at Shiloh onto the battlefield to assist them against the Philistines, having recently been defeated at the battle of Eben-Ezer. It turned out to be a very bad decision on their part.

For an unknown reason, they suffered another defeat – this time a genuinely catastrophic one. According to the biblical narrative, they lost 30,000 men (in reality probably much fewer but still suffered disastrous losses).

Both Hophni and Phinehas (acting High Priest and his assistant) were killed in the battle and Ark of the Covenant was captured by the victorious Philistines (pagans of Greek origin who resided in southern Canaan).

Prior to their death in battle, Hophni and Phinehas were criticized for engaging in illicit behavior, such as appropriating the best portion of sacrifices for themselves, and having sexual relations with the sanctuary’s serving women.

Transgressions of both kinds happened (and still happen) in just about every religion with no serious consequences for the perpetrators, but it appears that this time their sins got out of bounds… so God arranged for their defeat and death.

Interestingly, in the Talmud, In the Talmud, some commentators argue that Phinehas was innocent of the crimes ascribed to him and that Hophni alone committed them.

Jonathan ben Uzziel (a famous Jewish sage) declared that neither was wicked, and that this part of the biblical narrative, in which the crimes are imputed to them, should be regarded as having a figurative meaning. So, the jury is still out on these two – and on the true cause of the defeat of Israelites by the Philistines.

The Philistines took the Ark to several places in their country, and at each place misfortune befell them. At Ashdod it was placed in the temple of Dagon (regarded as the “father of gods” in Philistine mythology).

The next morning the statue of Dagon was found prostrate, bowed down, before it; and on being restored to his place, it was on the following morning again found prostrate and broken. This time, and this time its head and hands had also been broken off.

The people of Ashdod were smitten with tumors; and a “plague of rodents” (most likely, the bubonic plague) befell on the land of the Philistines. After the Ark was moved to Gath and then to Ekron, the “tumor curse” followed it.

Finally, the Philistines decided that they had enough – and returned the Ark to its rightful owners, But not before consulting their sages on the right way to do it to make sure that their misfortunes will end for good.

On the advice of these diviners, the Philistines made a guilt offering of five golden tumors and five gold mice (representing the five Philistine rulers). They then placed the gold along with the ark on a cart drawn by two milch cows, who head straight for Israel and do not waver.

The Ark was set up in the field of Joshua of Beit Shemesh, and the people of Beit Shemesh offered sacrifices and burnt offerings. According to the biblical narrative, out of curiosity, the people of Beit Shemesh gazed at the Ark, and as a punishment, God struck down seventy of them (powerful radiation appears to be involved).

It is important to mention that the Israelites often consulted the Ark (actually, God via the Ark of course) before each major battle – i.e., when they were planning to attack the Benjaminites at the Battle of Gibeah.

However, although under King Saul, the Ark was with the army before he first met the Philistines, Saul was too impatient to consult it before engaging in battle. Later the practice of consulting the Ark before the battle apparently fell out of favor.

[RolandVT]

Solomon’s Temple (the First Temple) is something like a Great Phantom: everybody knows that it existed… but no one knows where exactly. No remains of the destroyed temple (or any evidence of its existence) have ever been found.

Though most modern scholars do agree that the First Temple existed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by the time of the Babylonian siege, and there is significant debate among scholars over the date of its construction (most believe that it was 10th century BC) and the identity of its builder.

Not everyone is convinced it was biblical King Solomon… or that the latter existed at all As is the case with most biblical personages in the middle era of Israelite society, the historicity of Solomon is hotly debated to this day.

Although the exact location of the Temple is unknown. It is believed to have been situated upon the hill that forms the site of the Second Temple and present-day Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock is situated.

According to biblical narrative, Solomon’s Temple was built specifically to house the Ark of the Covenant to replace a modest mobile sanctuary used for centuries. This decision makes complete sense as the Temple (like any religious building) is a powerful amplifier of spiritual energies (in this case, Divine Grace).

According to Old Testament, construction of the First Temple was completed in record seven years (in reality it most definitely took much longer). Construction of the adjacent Palace of Solomon took 13 years which sounds far more realistic.

The core of Solomon’s Temple was a special inner room inside the Tabernacle, named Holy of Holies, which housed the Ark of the Covenant. When the priests emerged from the holy place after placing the Ark there, the Temple was filled with a cloud, “for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord”.

The parochet, a brocade curtain with cherubim motifs woven directly into the fabric from the loom, divided the Holy of Holies from the lesser Holy place.

The Holy of Holies was situated somewhere on Temple Mount; its precise location in the Mount being a matter of dispute, with some classical Jewish sources identifying its location with the Foundation Stone, which sits under the Dome of the Rock shrine.

According to the Bible, the Holy of Holies was covered by a veil and no one was allowed to enter except the High Priest, and even he would only enter once a year on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), to offer the blood of sacrifice and incense.

[RolandVT]

The sad story of Babylonian exile and preceding catastrophic events for the Jews (including but not limited to destruction of the First Temple) proves beyond the reasonable doubt that by itself the Ark of the Covenant had (and has) no magical powers whatsoever. Only God does.

It also proves beyond the reasonable doubt that the Jews usually brought catastrophic events on themselves by committing disastrous – almost suicidal – blunders. In fact, their whole Babylonian ordeal was essentially a prequel to a similar “Roma ordeal” of 70 AD (including the destruction of their Temple).

It all started in 601 BC when Jehoiakim, king of Judah (not an especially bright monarch) started a revolt against Babylon – its superior state (Judea at the time was the vassal state of a Neo-Babylonian empire).

He started the revolt ignoring repeated warnings from prophet Jeremiah who again and again called this endeavor genuinely suicidal for both the Jewish state and the Jewish people.

The rebels surprisingly held for four years; however, in 597 BC, the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, and the city surrendered. Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II pillaged Jerusalem and deported Jeconiah and other prominent citizens to Babylon; Jeconiah’s uncle, Zedekiah, was installed as king.

A decade later, encouraged by the Egyptians, Zedekiah launched a second revolt (not a very smart move). The revolt was predictably (and brutally) crushed by Nebuchadnezzar II. Jerusalem fell after a 30-month siege, following which the Babylonians systematically destroyed the city and Solomon’s Temple. The Kingdom of Judah was dissolved and many of its inhabitants exiled to Babylon.

Contrary to a popular misconception, the exile was not total (not even close). According to the most reliable estimates, the population of Judah before the Babylonian destruction was about 75,000.

Taking the different biblical numbers of exiles at their highest, 20,000, this would mean that perhaps 25% of the population had been deported to Babylon, with the remaining majority staying in Judah.

And they needed religious and spiritual support – so there is little (if any) doubt that the Temple priests continued to perform religious rituals in underground Temple, underground Tabernacle and underground Holy of Holies.

Using the Ark as the key component of “Jewish channel” of Divine Grace.

[RolandVT]

Different sources provide radically different theories of what happened to the Ark after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple in 587 BC. And destroyed they did – following the fall of Jerusalem, the Babylonian general Nebuzaradan was specifically tasked with completing its destruction.

The city and Solomon’s Temple were plundered and destroyed, and most of the Judeans were taken by Nebuzaradan into captivity in Babylon, with only a few people permitted to remain to tend to the land.

Archaeological evidence confirms that the city was systematically destroyed by fire. It also indicates that towns close to the kingdom’s western border and small villages in Jerusalem’s near vicinity were destroyed as well.

An ancient Greek version of the biblical third Book of Ezra suggests that Babylonians took away the vessels of the ark of God, but does not mention taking away the Ark. Some rabbis concur that it must have been carried off to Babylon.

I find it totally inconceivable: the Ark of the Covenant and the whole “Jewish channel” of Divine Grace were of such existential importance to the Jewish people that the measures to save them from being captured by the enemy had been taken during the construction of the First Temple.

Solomon, being very, very wise individual undoubtedly foresaw the possibility of Jerusalem falling to its enemies – and constructed essentially an underground “replacement Temple” where the Ark, the Tabernacle, and the Altar of Incense would be relocated in case of an imminent fall of Jerusalem.

The Book of 2 Maccabees 2:4–10, written around 100 B.C. practically confirms that. It states that the prophet Jeremiah, following “being warned by God” before the Babylonian invasion, took the Ark, the Tabernacle, and the Altar of Incense, and buried them in a cave (“replacement Temple” looked like one), saying:

“The place shall remain unknown until God finally gathers his people together and shows mercy to them. The Lord will bring these things to light again, and the glory of the Lord will appear with the cloud, as it was seen both in the time of Moses and when Solomon prayed that the shrine might be worthily consecrated”

Religious rituals were conducted there until the erection of the Second Temple in 516 BC. However, by that time priests got so used to this “replacement temple” that they decided to keep using it instead of the Second Temple. So, the Ark stayed underground (under Holy of Holies of the First Temple) right until Jerusalem was hopelessly besieged again. By the Romans in 70 AD.

[RolandVT]

For way over a millennium, the Israelites were an integral part of a “Jewish channel” of Divine Grace – and thus genuine saviors of mankind from genuine Hell on Earth. Unfortunately, by roughly 5 BC or so, the situation had changed radically.

For decades if not centuries (mostly due to subversive activities of the Church of Moloch) this channel of vital, salvific energy got weaker and weaker and weaker. This process accelerated substantially after 63 BC when Jerusalem (and the whole Jewish state) were occupied by pagan Roman empire.

After that, Jews – and especially their religious leaders were concerned, first and foremost, with getting their independence back, rather then being the saviors of mankind and our civilization.

When the power of the “Jewish channel” got critically low, God the Heavenly Father had no choice but to resort to something really drastic. He sent His only begotten Son to remedy the situation (sorry, folks, there was no First Coming of Christ in initial plan – God’s hand was forced on this one).

Unfortunately for everyone, God (always being a radical) decided to use this situation to radically reengineer our world into a “New Eden” (“Kingdom of Heaven on Earth”) – and use the Israelites as His primary “reengineering tool”.

This radical reengineering (for many reasons) was unacceptable for the world in general and for the Jews in particular – and it became the primary reason why the Jews rejected Christ as their Lord and Messiah.

Although pressure from the Church of Moloch (which by that time almost took spiritual control over the Israelites) and – especially – refusal of Jesus Christ to lead the Jews to independence from Rome also played an important part.

Jesus Christ was the begotten Son of God and thus automatically was a part of a “Jewish channel” of Divine Grace. Consequently, by rejecting Jesus, the Israelites automatically rejected (shut down) the whole channel of Divine Grace.

Some radical Christians claim that by rejecting Jesus the Jews automatically got connected to “Devil’s channel” of demonic energies, that Rabbinical Judaism (as opposed to Judaism of Old Testament) is religion of the Devil (and that Jews are thus the Servants of the Devil).

I wouldn’t go that far – but one consequence of rejecting Jesus and the whole “Jewish channel” of Divine Grace was that Jews automatically rejected the Ark of the Covenant – so after that event it became totally useless to the Israelites.