The Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Shroud of Turin, and the Cross--What is the Truth about These Objects

Many religious legends and fables have been concocted through the centuries. Their purpose was to legitimize the grand lie that became a new religion during the reign of Constantine, when Christian names were attached to pagan celebrations and beliefs. As for the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Shroud of Turin, and the Cross, none of these objects are physically used or mentioned in the New Testament after the original events in which they were involved—and two of them never existed.

The Ark of the Covenant disappeared before Babylon conquered Jerusalem and destroyed its temple. When the Babylonians ransacked the temple prior to burning it, the Ark was nowhere to be found. Is it possible that God disposed of it to prevent misuse if it were captured or idolized inappropriately?

One thing is certain: Jeremiah declared that the Ark’s relevance would no longer be consequential once the original temple was gone. It had served its purpose. The prophet Jeremiah wrote the following about the Ark’s future:

"And it shall come to pass, when ye shall be multiplied and become fruitful in the land in those days, declareth Yahweh, they shall say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ Neither shall it come to mind, neither shall they remember it, neither shall they miss it, neither shall it be made any more."—Rotherham Emphasized Bible (Jeremiah 3:16)

When the Israelites returned from exile in the days of Cyrus the Great, rebuilt the temple, and multiplied in the land, there was no mention of the Ark of the Covenant—just as Jeremiah had foretold. Roman General Titus ransacked the temple before destroying it for a second time in 70 C.E. No Ark of the Covenant was depicted on the arch he built to commemorate his destruction of the Jewish temple. Therefore, can anyone legitimately claim to possess the Ark of the Covenant today? As for searching for it, such efforts will prove futile.

The Bible does not mention the cup later known as the Holy Grail beyond the account of the Lord’s Last Supper. To true Christians, the physical cup that held the wine was no more important than the plate upon which the unleavened bread rested. The wine and the unleavened bread carried the significance—not the vessels that contained them. Simple as that.

This is what the true account recorded by John says concerning Jesus’ burial and resurrection in John 20:3–8:

"Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and they were going unto the tomb; and the two were running together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came first unto the tomb; and stooping aside beholdeth lying the linen-bandages, nevertheless he entered not. So Simon Peter also cometh following him, and entered into the tomb and vieweth the linen-bandages lying, and the napkin which was upon his head not with the linen-bandages lying, but apart folded up into one place. Then entered therefore the other disciple also who had come first unto the tomb, and he saw and believed."—Rotherham Emphasized Bible

According to John’s account, linen bandages were used to wrap the body of Jesus, and a separate cloth covered the head. There was no mention of a single-piece body shroud. Luke’s account supports John’s testimony (John 19:39–40; Luke 23:53; Luke 24:12). As seen in the account of Lazarus, this was the practice:

"When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice: ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The man who had been dead came out with his feet and hands bound with wrappings, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them: ‘Free him and let him go.’"—John 11:43

Based on the biblical accounts, what is the truth concerning the Shroud of Turin? The Shroud of Turin was a shrewd fake created to deceive people. If you want to know the truth about anything religious, look to the Bible for the correct answer.

Today, some claim to possess pieces of the object on which Jesus was executed—mistakenly translated as a cross. This claim originates from the story of Constantine’s mother, who was said to have been sent to the Holy Land to search for it and allegedly found it. For that to be possible, someone would have had to preserve the object for over three hundred years. Yet nowhere in the New Testament, after the fateful day of Jesus’ execution, is there any mention of anyone possessing the physical object. The fact is that the instrument of Jesus’ execution in the form of a cross never existed. Why can this be said?

The Greek words used by the gospel writers to describe the object upon which Jesus was executed were stauros and xylon. According to Greek scholar W. E. Vine, stauros “denotes, primarily, an upright pale or stake. On such malefactors were nailed for execution. Both the noun and the verb stauroō, to fasten to a stake or pale, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two‑beamed cross.” A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament defines xylon as “a piece of timber, a wooden stake.”

The apostles and disciples of Jesus, who came to be called Christians, followed the edict recorded in 1 Corinthians 10:14: “Flee from idolatry.” True worshipers of God did not idolize or attach any kind of spiritual power to physical objects, for to do so was considered a form of idolatry. Idolatry was a practice common in paganism and in the corrupted version of Christianity that arose during Constantine’s reign, when the cross was the Roman symbol for “The Invincible Sun.”

Final Analysis: These are the true facts about the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Shroud of Turin, and the Cross. What will you choose to believe? More importantly, how would God want you to choose?