The Ark of the Covenant

John 20:11-14 (New Testament)
But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”  She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”  Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there..

Exodus 25:18-20 (Old Testament)
And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.

God meets us at the mercy seat.
Exodus 25:22 (Old Testament)
And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

What was inside of the Ark ?
Hebrews 9:3-5 (New Testament)
and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

Fallen man is east of the tree of life, precisely where God waits for us to come to Him.
Leviticus 16:14 (Old Testament)
He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side.

Genesis 3:24 (Old Testament)
So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

The Ark is a copy of a heavenly thing.
Hebrews 8:5 (New Testament)
...who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

Revelation 11:19 (New Testament)
Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.

Touch me not.
John 20:16-17 (New Testament)
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.  Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Exodus 29:37 (Old Testament)
Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy.  Whatever touches the altar must be holy.

1 Chronicles 13:10 (Old Testament)
Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.

Jesus the tree of Life.
Genesis 2:17 (Old Testament)
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

John 6:54 (New Testament)
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

HEAVEN'S MERCY SEAT

Mary looked and saw. She saw two angels, one at the head, one at the feet where the body of Jesus had laid. The stone between them, stained with His blood. This is the Mercy seat, where God meets us, through the death and resurrection of His son. Through the wilderness of their history, Israel carried a depiction of what Mary was to witness centuries later. "The Ark of the Covenant", was a copy and shadow of a heavenly thing. It was a reflection forward through time to the resurrection of Jesus.  God's Judgement seat became His Mercy seat with the New Covenant forever. Let our eyes be opened to the sacrifice of our redeemer Jesus Christ, and may we meet Him there, at the Mercy seat, to bring Him praise and thanksgiving.

~Chris
The word "ark" in Hebrew means "coffin".

The Ark contained:

Manna - Jesus, the Bread of Life.  His body broken for us.

The tablets of the covenant - Jesus fulfilled the law.  He will write the law on our hearts (Heb 8:10).

Aaron’s rod that budded - The resurrection of Jesus.  Resurrection to a new life everlasting, the tree of life.

There is no longer a need for the ancient Ark.  Jesus has fulfilled all that it stood for.
Jeremiah 3:15-17 (Old Testament)
And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
“Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the LORD, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.
“At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

Hebrews 9:22-24 (New Testament)
And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these...

~Thank you for the insight John MacArthur~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL0nDrEYDnk