I'm watching on the History Channel one of those more-or-less silly shows on the fate of the Ark of the Covenant.
Inevitably, it is a British production. These Englishmen speculate "Was it taken by Nebuchadnezzar? Was it taken by the Egyptians? Is it maybe in Ethiopia?"
Thay are all stumped by the Bible's apparent silence on the fate of the ark of the covenant.
Well, maybe if their ancestors hadn't excised seven books from the Old Testament while they were simultaneously burning down monasteries during the Reformation, they might have a clue.
Because in every Catholic and Greek Orthodox Bible in the world is the answer. In 2 Maccabees.
1 You will find in the records, not only that Jeremiah the prophet ordered the deportees to take some of the aforementioned fire with them, 2 but also that the prophet, in giving them the law, admonished them not to forget the commandments of the Lord or be led astray in their thoughts, when seeing the gold and silver idols and their ornaments. 3 With other similar words he urged them not to let the law depart from their hearts. 4 The same document also tells how the prophet, following a divine revelation, ordered that the tent and the ark should accompany him and how he went off to the mountain which Moses climbed to see God's inheritance. 5 When Jeremiah arrived there, he found a room in a cave in which he put the tent, the ark, and the altar of incense; then he blocked up the entrance. 6 Some of those who followed him came up intending to mark the path, but they could not find it. 7 When Jeremiah heard of this, he reproved them: "The place is to remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy.
In other words, Jeremiah removed the ark and hid it -- presumably on the mountain where God saw Moses, which is either Mt. Horeb or Mt. Sinai. As he did not choose to reveal the ark during the time of Christ's life, passion, and resurrection, we must assume it will be revealed in time when God sees fit.
Of course, anyone who is familiar with Catholic biblical typology will realize the many parallels between 2 Samuel and The Gospel of Luke, which also points out parallels between Mary and the Ark.
In my opinion, as God transformed the Law, so he transformed the Ark. There is no need to look for a box of acacia wood, covered in gold. The Ark has been replaced.
UPDATE: Actually, Jeremiah may not have ascended Mt. Horeb. I'm probably misreading the passage from 2 Maccabees. The mountain where the ark was hidden is probably Mt. Nebo -- the mountain where God showed Moses the land of the Canannites, the inheritance of Jacob. If you want to look for the Ark, you'd start on Mt. Nebo.
Of course, you'll only find it if God so desires it.
UPDATE 2: Of course, someone has already claimed to have found it there.
UPDATE 3: Pictures of the Franciscan monastery on Mt. Nebo. You know, no one ever thinks the Franciscans are really the guys behind all the conspiracy theories. Maybe it's because they are far smarter than anyone thinks. It's not the Jesuits . . . not the Dominicans . . . not the Templars . . . not Opus Dei . . .no, my friends, the folks really running the world are the Friars Minor . . .