Field Guide: Ron Wyatt: Supernatural Claims

PLEASE NOTE:

This webpage is a section of a much longer profile of Ron Wyatt's claims (about Noah's Ark, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Ark of the Covenant and much more) on this Field Guide website. Click here to go to the beginning of the Overview of the Archaeological Claims of Ron Wyatt. Some sections below make reference to the book Holy Relics or Revelation by Colin and Russell Standish, Seventh Day Adventist authors who have provided extensive documentation investigating Wyatt's many claims. See the Bibliography section at the end of the Overview for details on this book.

In a Nutshell

The late amateur archaeologist Ron Wyatt claimed during his lifetime to have discovered … or identified conclusively for the first time in modern times … scores of significant Biblical sites and objects, including Noah's Ark, Sodom and Gomorrah, Mt. Sinai, the remains of Pharoah's army at the bottom of the Red Sea, the Ark of the Covenant, the Ten Commandment stones and much more. The news of these claims has been widespread, and many in Christian circles have swallowed them whole. They are unaware that almost all of Wyatt's most flamboyant claims are highly controversial and hotly contested.

Wyatt also claimed during his lifetime to have experienced a number of supernatural manifestations in connection with his alleged discoveries. Since his death in 1999, supporters and promoters of his archaeological claims have continued to spread stories regarding these supernatural manifestations. It would seem that tales of these manifestations have been shared with audiences by both Wyatt and his promoters at least in part as "validation" of the claims regarding his archaeological "discoveries". This webpage provides documentation and evaluation regarding these supernatural claims.

The accounts of some of these supernatural claims have been told and retold by both Wyatt and many of his promoters and supporters for a decade and more. Various versions of the stories appear on a variety of websites, sometimes as actual quotations from Wyatt himself, sometimes as re-telling by his associates who claimed to have been told the details by Wyatt himself, sometimes as second and third and tenth-hand repetitions by enthusiastic supporters.

Thus, the exact details in the versions may vary … sometimes a little bit, sometimes glaringly. Unfortunately, it is not just in versions told second and third and tenth-hand that the stories have troubling differences in the details. In quite a few cases, Ron Wyatt himself changed the details of the stories in recounting them over the years. An attempt has been made to provide quotations in the material in this overview that represent not just vague rumors about what Wyatt may have said, but legitimate sources that might be expected to have the details as accurate as possible.

Red highlighting has been added to some quotations below to emphasize the relevant points.

The Claims

Wyatt himself, and his promoters both before and after his death, insisted that one of the proofs of his archaeological claims was the "supernatural events" that seemed to offer "God's endorsement" of his activities and claims. The most significant of these supernatural claims include:

 How Wyatt came to know where to begin digging to find the Ark of the Covenant: It was alleged that he "spontaneously" and to his own surprise pointed to the site while walking in Jerusalem with an Israeli archaeological official, and said "The Ark of the Covenant is there." It was several years later that he actually began digging at the site. The implication was obviously that God had "inspired" Wyatt to utter the statement and supernaturally guided his hand to point.

 The response of the Israeli official: In spite of the fact that Wyatt gave no reason for the claim spontaneously made, the official responded enthusiastically and offered to help Wyatt do the excavating.

 A physical appearance by, and discussion with, a being Wyatt claimed was Jesus Christ Himself: While involved in a dig in Jerusalem, a "stranger" was alleged to have "blessed" his work and noted to Wyatt that he was "on the way from South Africa to the New Jerusalem." Although the being did not identify himself, Wyatt stated categorically that it was Jesus.

 An encounter with angels in the "chamber" in which Wyatt claimed to have found the Ark of the Covenant: Wyatt alleged that after several visits to the chamber which was filled with debris, he came back one day to find it cleaned and the "Temple furnishings" including the Ark of the Covenant, arranged in the room just as they would have been in the Temple. He then realized there were four angels in the chamber with him, who had done this work. He spoke with one of them, they removed the mercy seat from the Ark and had him remove the Ten Commandment stones.

The Allure

People want to believe in the supernatural. The popularity of themes including angelic intervention in books, movies and TV shows in recent years emphasize this. It gives hope that "somebody bigger than you and I" is "out there" watching over us.The Bible does reassure Christians that God is watching over their lives, and that angels are his messengers and agents of blessing and caring for His people. But even the Bible includes very few actual instances, in either the Old or New Testament, in which people became directly aware of those angels. Christians must, in general, "take on faith" the fact that these things are so, based on the promises of the scripture and the occasional "circumstances" which seem to be more than time and chance, such as a "miraculous" near-miss in traffic.

But for many, this really isn't enough to satisfy their need for reassurance. They want to have real, tangible evidence that angels exist and that they can, at times, interact with humans even in the modern 21st century. Wyatt's claims offer the notion that such evidence is available.

Concerns

Wyatt's claims of the supernatural are just that ... claims. He offers absolutely no proof or corroboration for these claims. And there are a number of reasons to doubt the veracity of the claims.

The Israeli official to whom he claimed to have made the spontaneous utterance about the site of the Ark of the Covenant categorically denies the incident.

There are conflicting reports among Wyatt supporters--including his own wife--on whether he actually did claim to have seen "Jesus Himself."

There are conflicting reports on the matter of the angels in the chamber. Although Wyatt is directly quoted from transcripts of talks he gave telling details about his encounters in the chamber, "official" descriptions of the excavation of the site--including one by his wife--don't even mention the angels.

The supernatural claims about Jesus and the visits with the angels are portrayed by Wyatt as corroborating the teachings of Ellen G White, alleged "prophetess" of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Most non-Adventist supporters of Wyatt have no idea just what those teachings are ... and how far they may be from their own understandings of scripture in a number of very important matters.

Players

Who's Who of Ron Wyatt's World

Trying to sort through the conflicting claims of Ron Wyatt and his promoters, and the critiques and criticism of his detractors, can be a complicated task. Trying to keep track of the names of various "Israeli authorities," amateur and professional archaeologists, scientists, authors, rivals and associates whose paths crossed Wyatt's during the years of his expeditions can easily lead to confusion.

Click here to go to a Who's Who in the World of Ron Wyatt that provides a brief description of a number of the significant of the players in this ongoing saga.

Examination of the Claims and Concerns

Finding the site to dig for the Ark of the Covenant

From wyattarchaeology.com (No longer posted on that site since 2007. See NOTE on WAR below)

One day, in 1978, Ron decided to go sightseeing near the Damascus Gate, in Jerusalem. Walking along an ancient stone quarry, known to some as "the Calvary Escarpment," he was talking with a local authority about Roman antiquities. Without warning, Ron's left hand pointed to a site being used as a rubbish dump and said, "That's Jeremiah's Grotto and the Ark of the Covenant is in there."

Even though these words had come from his own mouth and his own hand had pointed, he had not consciously said or done these things. The man with him, quite out of character, also reacted strangely. He said, "That's wonderful! We want you to excavate, and we'll grant you your permits, put you up in a place to stay and even furnish your meals!"

The "man with him" has been identified in other re-tellings of this event as Dr. Daniel Bahat, a senior archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Department. Bahat categorically denies witnessing this action and hearing these words from Wyatt, and denies making the response credited to him by Wyatt.

From: Holy Relics or Revelation, p. 270.

On March 25, 1999, Russell rang Dr. Bahat in Jerusalem. Dr. Bahat had acknowledged in a previous telephone conversation with Russell that he had met with Ron Wyatt on between five and ten occasions in the late 1980s. He clearly recalled accompanying Ron to the vicinity of the Garden Tomb. Dr. Bahat was very open in his remarks. These remarks possessed no detectable animosity toward Ron Wyatt. Indeed, Dr. Bahat spoke kindly of him as being a soft-spoken and gentle person. Nevertheless, Dr. Bahat stated that he had absolutely no recollection of the incident to which Ron Wyatt referred.

Encounter with "Jesus"

Here is an excerpt from the transcript (original errors in the transcript as posted have been left in) posted on the website below of "Ron Wyatt answers questions at Grants Pass, 4/6/1996". (Wyatt is describing a period of discouragement during one of his projects in Jerusalem.)

http://www.arkdiscovery.com/Talk4-6-96.htm

I had nothing to live for people. Have you ever been in that situation? Anyway I heard this voice say, "God bless you in what your doing here." Well, the owner of that voice knew everything that I was doing. I could tell by the way that he said that. I was shocked because there was not supposed to be anybody there that knew that. I looked up [a pause as he became filled with emotion, close to tears] and there stood Jesus. I was not having a dream or a vision because afterward the doctor piped up and said, "Ron, do you suppose we have been talking with an angel?" He looked exactly like E.G. White had described Him, tall dark hair, dark beard, dark brown eyes, rather light complexioned for having dark hair and eyes, and the kindest expression I have ever seen in [his voice breaks again and is close to tears] my whole life.

I knew it was Jesus, but I'm a researcher and I thought I would ask a few questions and make sure. So I said, "Sir, do you live around here?" He said, " No!" You see the outfit he was wearing was like of similar to what Arabs still wear today, but not exactly because His garments were hand woven rather than machine woven. I asked Him if he was a tourist, He said, "No!" I couldn't think of anything else to ask Him, so I just sat there and looked at Him. He then said, "I am on my way from South Africa to the New Jerusalem." Do you remember Jacob's dream. He was a little ways North of Jerusalem and he saw the ascending and descending, and he said, "Is not this the gate of heaven?" Jesus was on His [way] from South Africa to the New Jerusalem, and the prophet said that it was the gateway to heaven.

I just sat there. I did not know what to say. I was dumbfounded, I was not even sure I was breathing by then. He looked at me again with that kind expression and said, "God bless you in what you're doing here." [Again filled with emotion so he had to pause] That folks was the most precious moment of all of this, and the most precious moment of my entire life.

In other accounts regarding this incident, Wyatt implied he wasn't sure if this was Jesus or an angel. This is reflected in some re-tellings of the story by others:

Suddenly one day, when Ron Wyatt was digging at the bottom of the trench, he looked up and standing there above him was a very tall man dressed in typical flowing Arabic garments.

"God bless you, Ron Wyatt, for what you are doing."

"Who are you? How did you know what we are doing?"

"I know it all. "

"D'you live round here?"

"No I don't."

"How d'you know my name? where d'you come from?"

"I've Just come from South Africa, and I'm on my way to the New Jerusalem. God bless you."

Ron jumped up as the man walked away. Reaching the top of the trench he asked the other two which way the man went. They said that they hadn't seen anyone. It was then that Ron realised an Angel had been sent to give them encouragement, to spur them on.

But Wyatt's wife Mary Nell clarifies that from her understanding of the situation, Wyatt did not believe it was "just an angel." The following comment is from her "official" re-telling of the events surrounding Wyatt's claimed discovery of the Ark of the Covenant. This statement is regarding the phone call he made to her right after the alleged encounter.

And then Ron told me that he believed it was more than just an angel- he was deeply impressed that it may have been Christ, Himself.

And then again, it seems that Mary Nell Wyatt is somewhat hesitant to accept unreservedly her husband's certainty.

Whether Christ, or an angel, the experience was enough to encourage Ron and convince him that his efforts had NOT been in vain, and that he WAS still in God's will.

Discussions with an Angel

The following was written by arkdiscovery.com site owner Kevin Fisher.

In Mr. Wyatt's last visit to the cave he was stunned to see all the rock, boards, and other unnecessary items removed. The furnishings were placed in their proper configuration. Heavenly messengers had cleaned out the cave. The wall in back of the Ark is pure crystal and reflects the colors of the rainbow. (The heavenly Ark has a rainbow over it.) After seeing the cave cleaned out, Ron's thoughts turned to considering how to open the ark and retrieve the Ten Commandments. This would be a difficult task since the five ft. tall angels and the Mercy Seat were solid gold and would weigh approximately 500 pounds. At this point four angels appeared next to the Ark. They were in the form of men. They asked Ron to position his video camera to film what was to happen next. The four angels lifted up the top of the Ark and said, "Reach in, take the Ten Commandments out. When a world-wide law is passed forcing men to violate the Law of God, then they will be shown to mankind." Mr. Wyatt laid the 10 C's on a shelf in the cave along with the video showing their removal. The Ten Commandments are on two tablets of stone and have writing on both sides. They are written in Proto-Aramaic.

Mr. Wyatt has theorized that the cave housing the Ark will be an eternal resting place for it, and may be part of the temple of the New Jerusalem where the 144,000 will visit when the earth is made new.

Bill Fry of Anchorstone.com wrote of this same incident, with the description posted on the same site as that above. Below are a few excerpts, with more details than the description above.

As he entered through the same opening he had always used to access the chamber, he immediately recognized that something was very different. The rocks that were always there inhibiting his path were no longer in place. In fact he was able to enter the chamber and drop all the way to the floor. At this point a light came on in the chamber, the source of which he cannot fully explain. Ron then saw that the chamber had been completely cleared of all the rocks and debris, a task Ron had known would need to be done but which would take a long time to accomplish. But now the job was already completed! The chamber was completely clean with no sign of the any of the debris and the Ark of the Covenant was out of the stone case.

As you can imagine Ron was stunned by what he saw. The Ark had been placed against the eastern wall of the chamber directly underneath the crack in the ceiling where Christ's blood had flowed onto the Mercy Seat. The other temple furnishings were set in their proper place relative to the Ark. The rest of the items were set off to one side.

A number of very important artifacts are there in that cave. In the back of the Ark is the "book" that Moses wrote - the first five books of the Bible. They are written on a leather scroll that is as fresh and supple as the day it was written! Just as the shoe leather of the Israelites did not wear out in the desert, this leather has also remained in perfect condition and shows no deterioration. Several other artifacts from the first temple are in that cave, including the table of shewbread, the seven-branched candlestick and a 5' 2" sword that most likely was Goliath's sword!

Although he cannot explain how, the wall directly behind the Ark had the appearance of crystal and was glowing with the color pattern of a rainbow. It appeared to Ron that the rest of this crystalline wall was the source of the light which was illuminating the chamber. As he was taking in the sight he suddenly realized that he was not alone in the chamber. Ron stated that he could "feel in his body that he was in the presence of angels."

He saw that there were four young men in the chamber with him. They did not look like angels but appeared as young men dressed in normal "street clothing." But Ron knew that they were angels. He stood there frozen for a few moments unable to move or even speak. He wanted to ask them what they were doing in there but he was not able to do so.."

"He then walked back over to Ron and told him two things. The first was that if Ron remained faithful, he would have a part in bringing out the tables of stone so that they might be put on display. The second was that the Ark was not to be revealed to the world or the tables of stone put on display until shortly after a law was passed that would attempt to enforce the mark of the beast upon people.

Mr. Fry obviously understood the dilemma that this portion of the story would pose after Wyatt's death, since he couldn’t possibly have a part in putting the stones on display while in his grave.

So Fry offered a solution to the dilemma. Below in the next indented section is the text of this explanation by Fry as it appeared on the website several years ago, while Fry was still alive.

BUT NOTE FIRST: Visiting the same website in 2011, several years after his death, I was surprised to find that there had been a slight editing of the text you will read below as it was in my archives. Someone involved with the website had altered the wording just slightly … so that all mention of “The Sabbath” was eliminated, along with a reference to Ellen White, Seventh Day Adventist prophetess, and mention of the Mark of the Beast being … Sunday Keeping!

Also eliminated was Bill Fry’s speculation on just how it could be said that Ron would “have a part in bringing out the tables of stone.” Fry had suggested a resurrected Ron Wyatt might do the job. The modern editor evidently decided that was too much for reader’s to “buy,” so suggested instead that an old videotape by Ron would be used instead! These modern editings are shown in brackets [ ] below within the text of the original Fry document.

I assume that the elimination of reference to Sabbath keeping as being what would get people put to death by the beast power, and thus Sunday keeping being “the mark of the Beast,” was to avoid alienating all the Sunday keepers who have been supportive of the claims of Ron Wyatt… and have bought so many Wyatt videos and such from the various organizations selling them. Evidently commerce trumps revelation.

Bill Fry:

This statement by the angel is most interesting in that Ron died on August 4, 1999. If "he was to have a part in bringing out the tables of stone," what did the angel mean? There are two possibilities. One is that Ron would have to be resurrected to do this, the other is that the angel meant that Ron's work in finding the ark (his part) would be brought to light when the tables would be put on display. Only the first one is really feasible to me, for the angel said that "if he remained faithful he would have a part." Now Ron was faithful to the end of his life, therefore, the second possibility is not applicable, for they will be brought out whether Ron was faithful or not. Time will tell. [NOW reads: “Ron died on August 4, 1999, so the method that will involve his revealing the Ark of the Covenant to the world involves a video tape he left in the cave of himself, removing the Ten Commandments from the Ark. The entire world will see Ron Wyatt removing the Ten Commandments from inside the Ark.”]

The second part of the angel's comment "that the Ark was not to be revealed to the world or the tables of stone put on display until shortly after a law was passed that would attempt to enforce the mark of the beast upon people." If Ron is to be raised up to be a part of this scenario, this means that it would have to be at the time of the first Sunday law. [ NOW bolded section about Ron being raised, and about the “first Sunday Law” has been removed.] The angel said that the tables of stone would be put "on display SHORTLY AFTER a law was passed that would attempt to enforce the mark of the beast upon people."

Shortly there will follow a death decree against all true Sabbath keepers [ NOW reads “Shortly there will follow a death decree against all true 10 Commandment keepers] and the time described as the time of Jacob's trouble would commence. This ends in the deliverance of the saints who refuse to receive the mark of the beast by keeping Sunday. [NOW bolded words have been eliminated.]

At that time we are told by Ellen White, all those since 1844 who died keeping the third angel's message will be raised from their graves with their immortal bodies. [NOW reads “At that time the Special Resurrection will take place, where all those since 1844 who died keeping the third angel's message (Rev. 14) will be raised from their graves with their immortal bodies–eliminating mention of Ellen White.]

This would of necessity be after the time of Jacob's trouble and at the time of the deliverance of the saints from the death penalty connected with the Sunday law and the mark of the beast. [NOW reads “the deliverance of the saints from the death penalty connected with the mark of the beast law.”]

Thus if Ron is to have a part in the bringing out of the tables of stone, It seems like it would have to happen before the first resurrection of the saints after the death decree is issued. This would mean that he is to be raised before the others are raised. Again, time will tell! [NOW bolded section, about Ron Wyatt, has been removed.]

Mr. Fry then goes on to describe more of the specific details of the alleged encounter:

Then one of the angels stepped forward (this is the only one of the four that would speak to him) and told Ron that they were the ones whose job it was to guard the Ark of the Covenant. They had done this since Moses had first placed the tables of stone in it. He told him that God wanted people to see all of these things at a particular point in time. He then instructed Ron to set up his tripod and video camera in a certain place and turn it on.

Once Ron had done this the four angels went over to the Ark, lifted off the Mercy Seat and placed it beside the Ark. The angel that had spoken to him beckoned him forward and told him to take out the tables of stone. Ron leaned over and picked up the ten commandment stones. He then backed away a few steps and the angels placed the Mercy Seat back on the Ark. After a few awkward moments the angel reached out and took the tables of stone from Ron, walked over to a niche in the chamber wall that looked like a shelf and placed them on it. This "shelf" was close to the original entrance that was used by those that had hidden the Ark there over 2500 years ago.

When the time comes we will see the Ten Commandments removed from the Ark of the Covenant! Hopefully they will go on display and travel around the world like the King Tut Exhibit and you and I will get to actually see them in person! Ron says that they look as if someone wrote in soft butter with their finger and then turned them to stone!

After that encounter Ron gathered up his camera equipment and left the chamber through the original entrance. By following this tunnel he was able to find his way out of the cave system and back onto the street. He immediately rushed to his hotel room where he played back the tape of the event. He had to see if the Ark, the angels and the tables of stone showed up clearly on the video. To his amazement everything showed up clearly. He was very excited. But suddenly his excitement turned to dread. He realized what he had in his hands, yet the angel had told him that these things were not to be revealed until the mark of the beast law was passed. What was he to do with this tape? It was undoubtedly the most important video ever recorded. Where would he put it? How would he keep it safe!?

Having no clear answer to these concerns, he finally decided that the best way to proceed was to go back to the chamber and ask the angel what he should do. He went back into the chamber and the four angels were there. The angel that spoke to him earlier stepped forward and asked him what he wanted. Ron told him that he did not have a safe place to keep the tape. Then the angel reached out and took the tape from Ron's hand. He walked over to the place where the tables of stone were still sitting on the niche in the chamber wall and placed the video tape on top of them. To the best of Ron's knowledge that is where everything remains to this day.

While this was the extent of what the angel told him, Ron said that he came away from this experience knowing more than he had been told in words. He was strongly impressed that while the video he recorded in the chamber would be shared with the world and that the tables of stone on which God Himself had written His Law would be put on display, the Ark of the Covenant would remain in the chamber where it is.

The most puzzling aspect of this whole matter is the public position of the official Wyatt Archaeological Research (WAR) organization and Wyatt's wife Mary Nell Wyatt regarding the incident described above. For they seem to have no position! The WAR website includes an extensive description by Mary Nell of the chronology of the discovery of the Ark of the Covenant. But nowhere in this description do the elaborate scenes shared by Bill Fry above appear. It's as if … they never happened.

Note in particular the following excerpts from Mary Nell's article:

All his attempts to photograph anything in the chamber resulted in photos or slides that looked like a complete blur, so he concluded that he simply wasn't supposed to take any photographs.

This, in spite of the fact that Fry claims that Ron did get a good video of the whole chamber, including the Ark and the angels! And that this video is now waiting inside the chamber, ready to be shown at the time of the Mark of the Beast.

And then there is Mary Nell's description of the contents of the chamber:

During his several visits to the chamber, he tried to thoroughly explore the contents. He measured the chamber and found it to be 22 feet long by 12 feet on 2 sides, while the other 2 sides followed the line of the cliff-face, forming a chamber that narrowed down in one corner.

The objects he saw in that chamber that he feels confident in identifying are: the Ark of the Covenant in the Stone case, the Table of Shewbread, the Golden Altar of Incense that was in front of the veil, the Golden Censer, the 7-branched Candlestick holder, (which didn't have candles but had tiny, bowlike golden oil lampst with are built into the tips of the candlestick, a very large sword, an ephod, a Miter with an ivory pomegranate on the tip, a brass shekel weight, numerous oil lamps, and a brass ring which appeared to be for hanging a curtain or something similar. There are more objects, but these are all Ron could positively identify. All of these objects were covered by the dry-rottted wooden timbers on top of the skins, and finally the large rocks piled over everything.

What happened to the angels cleaning out the chamber and "setting everything in order"? What about the Ark being removed from the stone case?

And what about the detail of the "Book of the Law"?

The Tables of Stone are still within the Ark, under the Mercy Seat. On the back of the Ark is a small open cubicle which still contains the "Book of the Law" and is presumably the one Moses, himself, wrote. To the best of his knowledge, the Book of Genesis is not there - only Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy. The thing that amazed Ron was that these Scrolls, written on animal skins, are in perfect condition today.

What about Fry's claim that the Book of the Law was one scroll, and that it contained five books? " In the back of the Ark is the "book" that Moses wrote - the first five books of the Bible. They are written on a leather scroll that is as fresh and supple as the day it was written!"

Mary Nell also makes no mention of the stones of the Ten Commandments. For, of course, if Wyatt did not open the Ark (which he couldn't have by himself) and there were no angels there to do it for him and instruct him to take out the stones, there would be no way he could have claimed to have seen … and handled … the stones.

She also seems oblivious to how Ron Wyatt got the information that the Ark itself would remain in the chamber, and only the Ten Commandment stones be brought out:

Everything is still where Ron found it, completely hidden and very well guarded.

Notice that there is no mention by whom it is "very well guarded"!

Will EVERYTHING be shown publicly? I don't know - I know that Ron's greatest desire was to excavate the entire area, exposing the site of the crucifixion down to the chamber, but now that he is gone, I doubt that will ever happen.

I have learned that no matter how I believe events will occur, they ALWAYS happen differently. "But surely the Ark will be brought out, won't it?", people ask. I don't know if it ever will - it is deep in the earth and getting it and the other objects out at this time seems almost impossible without some Divine assistance. Ron had concluded several years ago that it would probably remain right where it is, with only the Tables of Stone being brought out. But I don't know.

She is evidently correct that Ron "concluded" that the Ark would remain hidden, even though she ignores the alleged reason why he "concluded" that … communication from an angel of God. But it makes sense that she would add "I don't know" … for it appears that WAR intends to go back to attempts to re-discover the location of the chamber.

One such attempt was made in 2005. In a new introduction on the WAR website to Wyatt's description of his alleged adventures in the underground chamber, Richard Rives writes:

Even so, at this time it is important to state however that Ron’s account of his discovery of the Ark of the Covenant cannot be confirmed and that recent exploration reveals unexplained discrepancies in that account. The Bible states that in the mouth of two or three witness is every word established. Ron had no second witness and provided no conclusive evidence as to the location of the Ark of the Covenant; therefore, his account as follows is not an established fact.

Ron Wyatt has been dead since 1999. His various promoters have had plenty of time to "compare notes" and "get their stories straight" about both his scientific claims and his supernatural claims.

Since the goal of all of them is to spread those claims, it is obvious that the reason they cannot "harmonize" the various versions of the claims and answer the questions arising from those discrepancies … is that those discrepancies cannot be reconciled. The inability of even those closest to Wyatt during his lifetime to agree upon the facts of his claims brings into further question the credibility and integrity of those claims.

Current WAR position on the Ark of the Covenant Claims

The following is posted in 2011 on the official website of Wyatt Archaeological Research .

The excavations of 2005 and 2006 at the Garden Tomb, in Jerusalem, did not completely confirm the findings as stated by the late Ronald E. Wyatt during his periods of excavation during the years 1979 to 1989. We no longer have the personal account of Ronald Wyatt to help guide us. For these reasons, until further research, the Ark of the Covenant materials presented by Wyatt Archaeological Research prior to 2005 have been removed from circulation.

...Dr. Jerome Niswonger and Eric Lembcke

As per the unanimous decision of the Board of Directors,
Wyatt Archaeological Research
Mary Nell Wyatt Lee
Eric Lembcke
Jerome Niswonger
Richard Rives

This appears to have been posted, however, on an “old” page of the website that just hasn’t been taken down yet. Starting at the home page of the site, there is a whole section on the history of Wyattt’s Ark of the Covenant claims going back to 1978, so they seem to no longer be sticking to the “have been removed from circulation” position. At the very beginning of the “new” Ark section there is a notice, though …

AT THIS TIME, WYATT ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH CAN
PROVIDE NO CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE REGARDING THE
DISCOVERY OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.

This fact, however, evidently no longer stops them from providing inconclusive … and totally unsubstantiated …. claims .

For further examination of the rift and confusion among Wyatt's promoters since his death, see Who's Who in the World of Ron Wyatt.

Avid Wyatt supporter Devon Grey has attempted to answer criticism of Wyatt's scientific and supernatural claims in an article posted on the Biblerevelations.com website. Below is an examination of some of his arguments.

IN DEFENSE OF RON WYATT by Devon Grey (Written as a result of listening to Wyatt's final public presentation on 1/9/1999)

As of late, there have been many detractors claiming that Ron Wyatt is a liar, cheat, charlatan, and at best an honest deluded man who is hallucinating, or fabricating evidence. Many in the scientific community have joined the tour-de-force reporting gross errors in his research findings and methods. This resistance to his witness is maybe the greatest evidence there is as to who has been behind Ron's work and who is against it. The things he has uncovered is the most damaging evidence possible against the enemy and his lies. It would seem most logical that he would do his best to discredit Ron's findings, for they blow the enemy's cover completely.

Documentation and commentary throughout this profile of the work of Ron Wyatt offers evidence that "the things he has uncovered" are often not at all what he claimed for them. And in spite of Mr. Grey's attempt to paint anyone who questions Wyatt's findings as Satanic, there really are "gross errors in his research and findings and methods". No, Ron Wyatt's "findings" have not "blown the cover" of Satan. Grey continues:

It is not the intent of this defense to take each of these and try to disprove them.

This is certainly understandable, as none of Wyatt's promoters seem to have made an honest attempt to address the honest questions of those who have found "gross errors in his research and findings and methods." It would appear that the reason that they have not, is that they cannot. More from Grey:

Rather, we would appeal to the reader to consider some of the supernatural events that guided and steered Ron in all his undertakings.

Mr. Grey is here asking that people take totally unsubstantiated accounts of "supernatural events" as proof of the validity of the scientific validity of Ron Wyatt's findings. And at the same time, he is insisting that the supernatural events are proof because the findings that they led to are so important. This is totally circular reasoning.

His starting point was always the Bible first and what it said. The next criteria was an inspired book called Patriarchs and Prophets written by a true servant of the Lord.

This "true servant of the Lord" was Seventh Day Adventist "prophetess" Ellen G White. Was the book cited here truly "inspired" … and was Ellen G White a "true servant of the Lord"? If these two facts are not substantiated, then they are worthless as validation of the work of Ron Wyatt. For an examination of the credentials as "prophetess" of Ellen G White, and evidence of the source of the "inspiration" of the Patriarchs and Prophets book, see Profile of the Seventh Day Adventist Movement elsewhere on this Field Guide website.

Everything that Ron discovered, he was led to by unseen hands. It matters not what his detractors say or the evidence they present to discredit Ron's work. It will do them no good, for if divine providence was leading Ron, which appears to be the case, they are fighting against God Himself and will be held accountable for hindering His cause. The truth is going to be self-evident very soon. Ron passed away on August 4, 1999. Before he died he asked the Lord to take him if his being present would in anyway hinder the dispersion of what he was led to discover. All who knew him, with one accord say that he was the most humble of men, never taking any credit for what he had done, always giving God the credit. He had a single focus, that of following where God led him. His burning desire was to reach out and share with people to bring them to the knowledge of God.

Humility and sincerity cannot make up for "gross errors in research and findings and methods." Few people question that Wyatt believed his own claims. The question is, were his claims credible?

There is more than enough evidence in his findings to convince anyone who wants to believe. As he so often said, "God has uncovered every major event in history that proves God and the Bible are the truth," and this in preparation for earth's final conflict with the powers of darkness where millions are in the valley of decision not knowing what is truth.

The following is a list of the three most noteworthy of several supernatural events that played a part in Ron uncovering the things he found. Events over which he had no control, and which indicate divine intervention and help.

1. Noah's Ark - The major supernatural event connected with this finding was an earthquake that occurred just around the site. This dropped off the earth around the outside, exposing the framework. It also opened up a crack right down the middle allowing them to sound into the cavity and find more evidence that it was a manmade structure.

[For an examination of Wyatt's claims regarding this alleged "Noah's Ark," see the webpage elsewhere in this profile Overview of the Claims of Ron Wyatt regarding Noah's Ark. If these claims are disproved, then the evidence gathered because of the earthquake is irrelevant. Which means that the earthquake was just that … an earthquake, not a "supernatural event." Earthquakes are common in the part of the world where the alleged Ark resides.]

2. Sodom & Gomorrah - Beyond Ron's impression (many of which came from the Lord) that that area which he had passed many times was Sodom; they knew they needed more evidence to prove it to people. The very night they hiked into the area looking for evidence, it rained in a place that gets 1/4 inch of rain a year. This rain washed the rocks and the ash away which permeates the area, exposing millions of sulfur balls which is the Biblical brimstone, and which God used to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

3. Ark of the Covenant - Ron was walking outside the North wall of the city of Jerusalem with the director of antiquities for the museum discussing Roman artifacts. Suddenly his arm went up and his finger pointed to the Calvary escarpment. Out of his mouth came words that he did not speak. They were, "That's Jeremiah's Grotto. The Ark of the Covenant is in there." This startled Ron for he felt goose bumps go up and down his back. He knew that either God or the enemy had done this, which one he did not know. His friend the director said, "That's wonderful. We will provide you with a place to stay, food and do your laundry for you." Ron declined because he had never even entertained the idea of looking for the Ark. He went home and studied it out from Scripture. He found out that it was possible, and that is when he returned the next year and started digging. He dug for several years until 1982 when he finally found it.

The claims about what "his friend the director said" are addressed above … his "friend" denied the whole incident. So we are left with only Wyatt's word that this incident occurred. As, indeed, we are left with only Wyatt's word about the Ark of the Covenant, that he "finally found it." For he never provided any evidence of any kind for the claim. For an examination of the claims regarding the discovery of the Ark, see the main page of this profile of Wyatt, Overview of the Archaeological Claims of Ron Wyatt.