When did god take the ark of the covenant to heaven?

A:The existence of the Ark of the Covenant is shrouded in mystery. The Bible says it was constructed during the forty years of wandering after the Exodus from Egypt. It held the tablets of the Ten Commandments and was topped by a mercy seat on which God rode as his people wandered. On each side of the mercy seat were golden cherubim, sphinx-like creatures with human heads, the bodies of lions and two wings.

In 1 Samuel chapter 4, the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines, who killed the two sons of Eli, the priest. In verse 4:4, this was clearly identified as the ark of the Exodus legend, with the mercy seat on which the Lord of hosts sat between the two cherubim. Either Yahweh had tired of the lavish extravaganza that he had required the fleeing Hebrews to build and was not interested in protecting it, or he was not powerful enough to prevent the ark's capture. Or, petulantly, he was willing to sacrifice this national religious treasure just to punish the two sons for their religious beliefs. In any event, the Philistines realised the Ark was too dangerous for them and allowed it to be returned to the Israelites.

In 1 Samuel 6:14, the Levites placed the sacred Ark of the Covenant upon a stone in a field belonging to Joshua the Bet-Shemite.

The Ark of the Covenant continued to play a role in the legend of the United Kingdom. According to Psalm 132, this most sacred artefact of the Hebrews was found abandoned in a field! 2 Samuel chapter 6 describes how David moved the ark to its place in the tabernacle. Yahweh must have had a renewed interest in the ark: for example he killed Uzzah just for touching the ark in order to steady it while it was being transported on a cart. The author had no doubt that Yahweh was seated 'between the cherubim', with frequent references such as David dancing 'before the Lord', and God blessing a household for hosting the ark.

Presumably, there the Ark of the Covenant lay unnoticed for centuries until the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. There is no history, but legends say it was taken away by the Babylonians, hidden somewhere in Jerusalem or even taken to Ethiopia.