Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

But when they entered the temple the following day, they saw a
sight that filled them with dismay and confusion. Dagon had fallen
on his face before the ark of the Lord. The priests reverently lifted
the idol and restored it to its place.
But the next morning they found it strangely mutilated, again
lying on the earth before the ark. The upper part of this idol was like
that of a man, and the lower part like a fish. Now every part that
resembled the human form had been cut off, and only the body of
the fish remained. Priests and people were horror-struck--they saw
this as an evil sign, predicting destruction to themselves and their
idols before the God of the Hebrews. They removed the ark from
their temple and placed it in a building by itself.
The people who lived in Ashdod were struck with a distressing
and fatal disease. Remembering the plagues inflicted on Egypt, the
people blamed the presence of the ark among them for their
sufferings. It was decided to take the ark to Gath. But the plague
followed, and the people of that city sent it to Ekron. Here the
people received it with terror, crying, "They have brought the ark of
the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!" The work of the
destroyer went on, until "the cry of the city went up to heaven."
Afraid to keep the ark any longer among their homes, the
people then placed it in the open field. A plague of mice followed,
which infested the land, destroying the crops in the storehouse and
in the field. Complete destruction now threatened the nation.
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