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Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:06,060 A sacred golden chest that contained the power of God. 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:10,980 A lost chalice that held the blood of Jesus Christ. 3 00:00:12,220 --> 00:00:17,440 And a spear that makes its wielder unbeatable on the battlefield. 4 00:00:19,460 --> 00:00:23,580 We've all heard stories from the Bible that include powerful spiritual objects, 5 00:00:23,700 --> 00:00:26,780 such as the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail. 6 00:00:27,310 --> 00:00:31,950 Is it possible that these objects were not merely fictional creations, but 7 00:00:31,950 --> 00:00:36,230 rather actual pieces of history that have been lost for centuries? And if so, 8 00:00:36,490 --> 00:00:41,870 could some of these artifacts really possess incredible powers, as the Bible 9 00:00:41,870 --> 00:00:42,870 tells us? 10 00:00:43,890 --> 00:00:48,150 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 11 00:01:03,530 --> 00:01:09,450 In eastern Turkey, some 200 miles southeast of the Black Sea, there's a 12 00:01:09,450 --> 00:01:12,970 volcano that is known as Mount Ararat. 13 00:01:14,510 --> 00:01:20,090 At a height of nearly 17 ,000 feet, Mount Ararat is the highest point in 14 00:01:21,210 --> 00:01:25,530 For centuries, this peak has been considered sacred, because according to 15 00:01:25,530 --> 00:01:31,550 Bible, after God sent the great flood to cleanse the earth, Mount Ararat is the 16 00:01:31,550 --> 00:01:35,070 location. where Noah's Ark finally came to rest. 17 00:01:37,210 --> 00:01:41,690 The story of the great flood and Noah's Ark is one of the most famous stories in 18 00:01:41,690 --> 00:01:48,470 the Bible. The story goes that God is so disappointed at the 19 00:01:48,470 --> 00:01:54,070 sinfulness of all of humankind that he's going to flood the earth. 20 00:01:55,490 --> 00:01:59,010 He's basically going to destroy everything. 21 00:02:01,580 --> 00:02:06,920 And he finds one righteous human, Noah. 22 00:02:07,380 --> 00:02:13,920 And what God wants Noah to do is build this massive 450 -foot -long ark 23 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:20,840 with three levels on it and fill it with all of the animals of the earth and his 24 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:25,660 family, and those will be the only survivors of the flood. 25 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:28,120 As the story goes... 26 00:02:28,380 --> 00:02:32,780 Noah loaded his family and two of every kind of animal onto the ark. 27 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:41,180 And then God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights, flooding the earth so 28 00:02:41,180 --> 00:02:44,340 even the highest mountains were covered with water. 29 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:52,260 After the water subsided, Noah, his sons, and their wives left the ark 30 00:02:52,260 --> 00:02:55,340 and proceeded to repopulate the earth. 31 00:02:56,300 --> 00:02:57,760 The newest flood story. 32 00:02:58,140 --> 00:03:03,240 is this really powerful story, because here's this transcendent God who loves 33 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,640 us, who's created human beings, but also has a way for us to behave in the 34 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:11,740 world. And when we don't behave in the right way, this God will punish us. 35 00:03:12,780 --> 00:03:18,780 That's the power of God, sometimes doing extraordinarily horrific kinds of 36 00:03:18,780 --> 00:03:22,420 things, sometimes doing wonderful things. 37 00:03:23,620 --> 00:03:27,280 Historians have long debated whether the story of Noah, the ark, and the great 38 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,700 flood, is only a myth, or if it was based on real events. 39 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:37,300 There are some scholars who believe it's possible that a massive deluge did in 40 00:03:37,300 --> 00:03:38,320 fact take place. 41 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:43,760 And as evidence, they point to the fact that the Bible isn't the only ancient 42 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:47,260 text that contains an account of a great flood. 43 00:03:47,820 --> 00:03:52,380 The flood story in the Bible isn't the oldest flood story. 44 00:03:52,940 --> 00:03:57,020 The oldest flood story that we have in the Western tradition is in the 45 00:03:57,020 --> 00:04:03,380 story, in which there's this old man, Utnapishtim, who has survived a flood, 46 00:04:03,460 --> 00:04:08,880 where it's rained for 40 days and 40 nights. And this happens also in the 47 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:14,040 of Noah. So for many of us looking at these stories across cultures, there's 48 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,600 idea that, yeah, clearly this happened at some point in human history, this 49 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,480 flood that people remember, and they write about in different ways. 50 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:30,060 In addition to historical accounts, might there also be geological evidence 51 00:04:30,060 --> 00:04:32,160 suggest that the Great Flood actually happened? 52 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:39,040 In 1997, geologists William Ryan and Walter Pittman published a study which 53 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,620 concluded that the biblical story may have been describing a massive 54 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:48,660 of the Black Sea that took place in the 6th century BC. 55 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,680 The idea that Noah's Flood was triggered when the Black Sea flooded, It's rooted 56 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,280 in the basic geological observation that at the end of the last ice age, when 57 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:01,260 the ice melted off the poles, it raised sea level. 58 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,660 And what happened when sea level rose? The Mediterranean overtopped the 59 00:05:05,660 --> 00:05:07,680 and spilled into the Black Sea. 60 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,920 That event raised the level of the water in what's now the Black Sea by about 61 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:15,460 150 feet within weeks to months. 62 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,680 It would have been catastrophic to the peoples at that time. It would have 63 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:22,060 literally flooded the world known to them. 64 00:05:22,850 --> 00:05:25,250 Perhaps it actually stated the story of Noah's flood. 65 00:05:27,350 --> 00:05:32,230 Was the biblical flood based on the actual deluge of the Black Sea? 66 00:05:32,610 --> 00:05:34,230 It's an intriguing notion. 67 00:05:35,030 --> 00:05:40,050 But if the flood really took place, then is it possible that we might be able to 68 00:05:40,050 --> 00:05:41,050 find Noah's Ark? 69 00:05:41,610 --> 00:05:46,650 Well, some researchers argue that the Ark may have actually been rediscovered 70 00:05:46,650 --> 00:05:50,610 a number of aerial photographs that have been taken at the foot of Mount Ararat. 71 00:05:51,770 --> 00:05:56,110 The photos reveal a boat -shaped formation embedded in the surface of the 72 00:05:56,110 --> 00:05:57,110 mountain. 73 00:05:57,490 --> 00:06:01,870 There are those who believe that this rocky structure was once Noah's Ark, and 74 00:06:01,870 --> 00:06:08,430 that the wood hardened and turned to stone over time, a process that is known 75 00:06:08,430 --> 00:06:09,430 petrification. 76 00:06:11,030 --> 00:06:15,270 It's a streamlined, boat -shaped object that's sitting there, and there's 77 00:06:15,270 --> 00:06:19,390 nothing else in the region that matches that, so this is a very distinct object. 78 00:06:20,780 --> 00:06:25,900 According to the Bible, the Ark landed in the mountains of Ararat. And Genesis 79 00:06:25,900 --> 00:06:29,660 chapter 6, the Ark was 300 cubits long. 80 00:06:29,940 --> 00:06:35,860 Now, if you do the conversion, 300 cubits equals 515 feet. And that is 81 00:06:35,860 --> 00:06:37,680 the length of this boat formation. 82 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:43,820 Does the remarkable similarity between this rocky structure and what's written 83 00:06:43,820 --> 00:06:48,140 in the Bible suggest that it is the remains of Noah's Ark? 84 00:06:49,070 --> 00:06:54,410 Since 2019, a group of archaeologists leading the NOAA's ARC scientific 85 00:06:54,410 --> 00:06:59,710 have used new technology to learn more about this mysterious formation. 86 00:07:00,430 --> 00:07:05,950 We hired an American ground penetrating radar team to create 3D images of what 87 00:07:05,950 --> 00:07:06,950 is below the ground. 88 00:07:07,710 --> 00:07:11,670 About 20 feet down, they found what looked to be three different layers. 89 00:07:11,950 --> 00:07:14,230 In the Bible, the ARC had three decks. 90 00:07:15,370 --> 00:07:20,490 And according to these scans, you can see the three decks that the Bible says 91 00:07:20,490 --> 00:07:21,790 that the giant boat had. 92 00:07:22,610 --> 00:07:27,090 We are hoping what will happen next year is the Turkish government would then 93 00:07:27,090 --> 00:07:31,650 proceed on with a small -scale excavation of the site to show what 94 00:07:31,650 --> 00:07:32,650 at below the surface. 95 00:07:34,270 --> 00:07:40,650 This would be a very exciting worldwide headline discovery if this is proven to 96 00:07:40,650 --> 00:07:41,650 be Noah's Ark. 97 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:45,280 If you could find evidence for this story, that would actually improve the 98 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,580 biblical account and maybe get people more interested in what is written in 99 00:07:49,580 --> 00:07:50,580 these holy books. 100 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:56,100 For the faithful, the search for definitive evidence of either Noah's Ark 101 00:07:56,100 --> 00:07:58,580 Great Flood is not only about archaeology. 102 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:06,040 It's also a quest to understand how the power of God works in our world. 103 00:08:06,620 --> 00:08:11,100 An act of God is precisely something that we cannot explain in rational, 104 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:12,460 scientific terms. 105 00:08:13,420 --> 00:08:18,180 The Bible tells us that Noah was a righteous man. It tells us God orders 106 00:08:18,180 --> 00:08:21,640 build the ark, but doesn't tell anyone else. 107 00:08:22,060 --> 00:08:28,500 It's this miraculous act of God that, by definition, goes beyond the flooding of 108 00:08:28,500 --> 00:08:32,100 the earth, where God allows God's chosen people to live. 109 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,799 And so there are these astonishing kinds of things where God intervenes in your 110 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:41,380 ministry. So it's that balance of the divine favor with the divine wrath. 111 00:08:48,580 --> 00:08:49,800 Cleveland, Texas. 112 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:56,640 In this small town, located on the outskirts of Houston, stands the King of 113 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:57,640 Saints Church. 114 00:08:59,020 --> 00:09:02,780 On the surface, it looks like any number of churches scattered throughout the 115 00:09:02,780 --> 00:09:03,780 region. 116 00:09:03,860 --> 00:09:08,040 But inside, there's something that makes it stand out from the rest. 117 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:15,680 Within this church is a remarkably accurate reproduction of the Ark of the 118 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:16,680 Covenant. 119 00:09:17,070 --> 00:09:20,290 My father and I built this replica of the Ark of the Covenant because it makes 120 00:09:20,290 --> 00:09:24,470 the Scripture come alive in a new and unique way because you're not just 121 00:09:24,470 --> 00:09:29,590 a description in a book or seeing a picture. This is 3D built according to 122 00:09:29,590 --> 00:09:30,730 specifications in the Scripture. 123 00:09:32,350 --> 00:09:37,310 Exodus chapter 25, Moses gives the blueprint or the detailed instructions 124 00:09:37,310 --> 00:09:38,310 to build the Ark. 125 00:09:39,310 --> 00:09:42,050 And that's the instructions he used to build this with all the dimensions. 126 00:09:43,130 --> 00:09:45,050 The Bible describes two... 127 00:09:45,650 --> 00:09:47,350 which are winged sphinxes. 128 00:09:48,110 --> 00:09:51,190 And they're facing each other, as we see here according to the scriptures. 129 00:09:51,650 --> 00:09:56,630 And the cherubim had the body of a lion, the face of men, the wings of an eagle. 130 00:09:57,350 --> 00:10:01,150 In other depictions of the Ark of the Covenant, you see humanoid angels with 131 00:10:01,150 --> 00:10:02,750 wings, or cherubs. 132 00:10:02,990 --> 00:10:07,790 But this reflects the description of cherubim as we find in the book of 133 00:10:08,170 --> 00:10:12,150 And they look upon their mercy seat, which is the cover of the Ark of the 134 00:10:12,150 --> 00:10:13,150 Covenant. 135 00:10:13,290 --> 00:10:17,950 Our congregation sees this Ark as a unique way to show that God is King and 136 00:10:17,950 --> 00:10:22,930 through the Ark, which represents the kingship of God and also represents a 137 00:10:22,930 --> 00:10:26,590 that God spoke spiritually into his written word. We have this replica of 138 00:10:26,590 --> 00:10:28,630 Ark of the Covenant as a symbol of that importance. 139 00:10:30,650 --> 00:10:33,970 Throughout history, the Ark of the Covenant has been one of the most sacred 140 00:10:33,970 --> 00:10:36,610 artifacts in the Judeo -Christian tradition. 141 00:10:37,470 --> 00:10:40,690 But just what exactly is the Ark? 142 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:48,560 The Ark of the Covenant is fascinating because it's the most important ritual 143 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:51,700 object that Judaism has ever had. 144 00:10:52,300 --> 00:10:58,420 The Ark is first introduced scripturally in the Book of Exodus, where God gives 145 00:10:58,420 --> 00:11:02,780 Moses instructions to build an ark for carrying the Ten Commandments. 146 00:11:04,940 --> 00:11:07,120 It has very detailed instructions. 147 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:12,040 It should be two and a half cubits long, like one and a half cubits tall, and 148 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:15,600 one and a half cubits wide, and it's plated with gold inside and out. 149 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:22,220 The Ark was covered by this gold lid called the Mercy Seat. 150 00:11:22,900 --> 00:11:28,400 Now, it's also known as the Throne of God, mainly because we have a passage in 151 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:33,800 Samuel 4 .4 that mentions how God is enthroned between the cherubim. 152 00:11:34,510 --> 00:11:39,950 So this indicates to us that this mercy seat was in fact understood as the 153 00:11:39,950 --> 00:11:40,950 throne of God. 154 00:11:42,570 --> 00:11:48,190 The Ark of the Covenant for a time was the center of the Israelite religion. 155 00:11:48,590 --> 00:11:54,730 It represented the presence of the Hebrew God, Yahweh, on earth. 156 00:11:55,310 --> 00:12:00,730 Meaning, if there was a question that needed to be answered. 157 00:12:01,180 --> 00:12:06,340 The Ark was the place that you would go and petition God. 158 00:12:06,860 --> 00:12:12,420 If you went into battle, the Ark would be taken, marched into battle. 159 00:12:12,940 --> 00:12:19,060 As long as the presence of God represented by the Ark was with Israel, 160 00:12:19,300 --> 00:12:20,740 they couldn't be conquered. 161 00:12:21,020 --> 00:12:27,200 The Ark of the Covenant was God in the midst of the Israelites. 162 00:12:29,260 --> 00:12:33,200 The presence of God himself held within a golden chest? 163 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:38,420 Certainly a profound notion, which is perhaps the reason why the Ark has long 164 00:12:38,420 --> 00:12:42,420 inspired worldwide fascination and reverence. 165 00:12:43,180 --> 00:12:48,200 The Ark of Covenant is arguably the most important and intriguing artifact in 166 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:53,340 human history because we're talking about something made by human hands that 167 00:12:53,340 --> 00:12:54,900 contains the power of God. 168 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,480 In fact, the word Ark means sacred container. 169 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:03,980 So this is fascinating, this idea that humans could build something that could 170 00:13:03,980 --> 00:13:08,140 contain or create this kind of extraordinary divine connection. 171 00:13:09,260 --> 00:13:14,640 It was an extremely powerful thing. When the Israelites were wandering through 172 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:19,160 the desert for 40 years, they not only carried the Ark with them, the Ark kind 173 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:24,280 of led the way. It was their ancient navigational device, the Israelite 174 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,120 GPS, that showed them where to go. 175 00:13:27,420 --> 00:13:32,640 And the legend says it would zoom up into the sky, move three days ahead, and 176 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:34,760 then the people would follow along behind it. 177 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:40,380 Many people are familiar with the famous story of the parting of the Red Sea 178 00:13:40,380 --> 00:13:43,840 during the Exodus narrative when the Israelites were escaping Egypt. 179 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:49,180 A lot of people aren't familiar with the story in Joshua 3 of the parting of the 180 00:13:49,180 --> 00:13:50,180 Jordan River. 181 00:13:51,300 --> 00:13:56,630 The priests who are carrying the Ark of the Covenant just touched their toes 182 00:13:56,630 --> 00:14:00,890 into the Jordan River, and the Jordan River itself parted. 183 00:14:01,830 --> 00:14:06,550 And the Israelites are able to march into the Promised Land. 184 00:14:07,290 --> 00:14:13,230 So the whole story is designed to tell the reader, this is God at work here. 185 00:14:13,730 --> 00:14:18,030 What's interesting is that there's this great debate. Was the Ark of the 186 00:14:18,030 --> 00:14:22,490 Covenant real, or was it just made up? I actually think it was very real, and 187 00:14:22,490 --> 00:14:23,970 the reason I think it's real 188 00:14:24,780 --> 00:14:28,400 is that it's such a central part of the Israelite religion. 189 00:14:30,260 --> 00:14:33,700 Did the Ark of the Covenant actually exist? 190 00:14:34,940 --> 00:14:39,460 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining an archaeological discovery 191 00:14:39,460 --> 00:14:41,720 was made in the heart of the Holy Land. 192 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:52,220 Central Israel, 15 miles west of Jerusalem, here on a small, 193 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:53,780 rocky mound. 194 00:14:54,250 --> 00:14:58,370 lie the ruins of an ancient Hebrew city known as Beth Shemesh. 195 00:14:59,470 --> 00:15:05,190 According to archaeologists, Beth Shemesh has a profound connection to the 196 00:15:05,190 --> 00:15:06,190 of the Covenant. 197 00:15:06,810 --> 00:15:13,550 Beth Shemesh has a long history of being a religious center. According to the 198 00:15:13,550 --> 00:15:18,470 story that we have in the Bible, when the Ark of the Covenant was taken to 199 00:15:18,470 --> 00:15:22,570 Shemesh, the Israelites take the Ark and they put it on a stone table. 200 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:29,680 The understanding was that it was venerated by all Israelites. We have 201 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:34,560 one object, the Ark of the Covenant, that represents God on earth. 202 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:39,280 Could the Ark of the Covenant have actually been kept at Shemesh? 203 00:15:41,060 --> 00:15:47,060 Well, recently archaeologists have uncovered evidence which suggests that 204 00:15:47,060 --> 00:15:50,700 biblical story is, in fact, true. 205 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:59,000 In 2019, a team led by archaeologists from Tel Aviv University made a 206 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,000 startling discovery. 207 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:07,320 They found a room in which it seems to have evidence of where the Ark of the 208 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,920 Covenant was kept when it was brought here at Beit Shemesh. 209 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:19,000 There's a big flat slab of stone that is exactly the same dimension, proportion. 210 00:16:20,030 --> 00:16:21,510 It's the Ark of the Covenant. 211 00:16:24,350 --> 00:16:30,090 This slab of stone is not some column that fell on its side. It was 212 00:16:30,090 --> 00:16:36,750 placed here and its dimensions, its dimensions fit what the book of Exodus 213 00:16:36,750 --> 00:16:40,210 tells us were the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant. 214 00:16:40,570 --> 00:16:44,990 It says it was a cubit and a half on two cubits and a half. 215 00:16:45,190 --> 00:16:47,670 A cubit is the size of a human arm. 216 00:16:48,030 --> 00:16:49,030 Watch. 217 00:16:49,310 --> 00:16:54,970 A cubit and a half on two 218 00:16:54,970 --> 00:17:01,670 cubits and a half. Just a bit bigger, maybe by 10, 219 00:17:01,730 --> 00:17:07,390 20%. So the Ark would be placed on it in the most possible stable way. 220 00:17:08,390 --> 00:17:13,369 And everything dates to the time frame of when the Ark was placed at Beth 221 00:17:13,369 --> 00:17:15,790 Shemesh. Everything falls into place. 222 00:17:16,990 --> 00:17:22,410 Not only does this discovery indicate that the Ark was kept here, it's much 223 00:17:22,410 --> 00:17:25,030 more. It actually indicates the Ark existed. 224 00:17:25,930 --> 00:17:31,770 This discovery is possibly the most significant find ever made in the 225 00:17:31,770 --> 00:17:34,950 the quest of the Ark of the Covenant. 226 00:17:47,590 --> 00:17:53,730 By the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, which was once the capital of 227 00:17:53,730 --> 00:17:54,730 Babylonian Empire. 228 00:17:55,870 --> 00:18:01,790 At its height in 600 BC, Babylon was estimated to have been the largest city 229 00:18:01,790 --> 00:18:05,190 the world, with a population of more than 200 ,000 inhabitants. 230 00:18:07,070 --> 00:18:12,530 Perhaps the most intriguing ruin that remains in Babylon is the foundation of 231 00:18:12,530 --> 00:18:15,070 ancient crumbled brick tower that was known as... 232 00:18:15,630 --> 00:18:17,470 The Etemananki Ziggurat. 233 00:18:18,370 --> 00:18:22,210 And there are those who believe that the giant ziggurat may have actually been 234 00:18:22,210 --> 00:18:25,270 the Tower of Babel. 235 00:18:26,470 --> 00:18:32,710 The real Tower of Babel, from which the account in the Bible derives, was built 236 00:18:32,710 --> 00:18:38,630 by King Nebuchadnezzar II at the beginning of the 6th century BC. 237 00:18:38,910 --> 00:18:40,950 If you go to Babylon today... 238 00:18:41,580 --> 00:18:48,220 You can easily see on the ground where the ziggurat was because it is a 239 00:18:48,220 --> 00:18:55,060 rectangular ditch with a kind of black square full of mud and oily 240 00:18:55,060 --> 00:19:01,260 water which delineates the entire profile of this great tower of which 241 00:19:01,260 --> 00:19:03,120 else is left. 242 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:06,720 The tower was made of mud brick. 243 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:10,120 The building was seven storeys. 244 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:11,860 with a little temple at the top. 245 00:19:12,300 --> 00:19:17,940 And there was a brick staircase without banisters so that King Nebuchadnezzar II 246 00:19:17,940 --> 00:19:21,640 could mount the staircase and go up and up to the very top. 247 00:19:22,220 --> 00:19:27,360 So it was definitely the national monument of the greatest amount of 248 00:19:28,860 --> 00:19:33,540 Historians have estimated that the ziggurat stood nearly 300 feet high, or 249 00:19:33,540 --> 00:19:36,220 roughly as tall as the Statue of Liberty. 250 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:38,320 But is it possible? 251 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:43,400 that this Babylonian structure was in fact the real Tower of Babel? 252 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:48,940 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining the story that is recorded in 253 00:19:48,940 --> 00:19:54,600 Bible. In Genesis chapter 11, you have the story of the Tower of Babel. Human 254 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:59,840 beings are united. They speak the same language. They build this tower 255 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,980 to go up into the heavens. 256 00:20:04,430 --> 00:20:08,450 But then you have God saying, wait a minute, what are these people doing? 257 00:20:08,550 --> 00:20:11,470 They're going to build this and they're going to come up to where I am. 258 00:20:12,930 --> 00:20:18,570 And so God basically confounds these people by having them speak different 259 00:20:18,570 --> 00:20:21,590 languages. So they're not able to understand each other. 260 00:20:22,790 --> 00:20:25,930 God says, let's scramble their languages. 261 00:20:26,150 --> 00:20:28,550 And then they won't be able to communicate with one another. 262 00:20:29,590 --> 00:20:33,150 This is one of the most famous stories of the Bible. 263 00:20:33,660 --> 00:20:37,260 I think that the Tower of Babel is based on a ziggurat. 264 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:44,940 If you're an ancient Hebrew, an Israelite, and you walk up to one of 265 00:20:44,940 --> 00:20:49,760 large ziggurats, you're going to be overwhelmed, right? You've never seen 266 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:51,140 anything like this. 267 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:56,960 It's very possible that the ziggurat of Babylon may be associated with the Tower 268 00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:57,659 of Babel. 269 00:20:57,660 --> 00:20:58,880 A lot of parallels. 270 00:20:59,620 --> 00:21:00,860 One is the location. 271 00:21:01,300 --> 00:21:03,020 Babel is another name for Babylon. 272 00:21:03,610 --> 00:21:07,530 That's more of a Semitic name. So the location is certainly correct, and it 273 00:21:07,530 --> 00:21:10,870 certainly was a very tall tower, as suggested by biblical sources. 274 00:21:11,970 --> 00:21:16,150 Some archaeologists claim that the most intriguing connection between this 275 00:21:16,150 --> 00:21:22,590 structure and the Tower of Babel can be found in the remaining bricks from the 276 00:21:22,590 --> 00:21:23,950 foundation of the Zirat. 277 00:21:25,270 --> 00:21:31,030 Some of the bricks that we have have on the upper or lower surface a thick black 278 00:21:31,030 --> 00:21:32,030 deposit. 279 00:21:32,910 --> 00:21:37,410 And this is the remains of bitumen, which, when the original building was 280 00:21:37,410 --> 00:21:39,730 together, functioned as cement. 281 00:21:40,690 --> 00:21:46,890 And in the account in Genesis, it is pointed out that the Tower of Babel was 282 00:21:46,890 --> 00:21:49,530 built of mud brick with bitumen in between. 283 00:21:50,710 --> 00:21:55,770 So this is a very convincing piece of evidence that the one building is 284 00:21:55,770 --> 00:21:57,110 predicated on the other. 285 00:21:58,610 --> 00:22:03,420 But if this ziggurat was the Tower of Babel, then how is it destroyed? 286 00:22:04,340 --> 00:22:09,180 According to an ancient Hebrew text known as the Book of Jubilees, God was 287 00:22:09,180 --> 00:22:13,700 angry with humans for building the Tower of Babel that he summoned a mighty wind 288 00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:15,420 to knock over the tower. 289 00:22:16,820 --> 00:22:21,920 Is it possible it was brought down by the power of God? 290 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:28,360 Some experts believe that the story of the Tower of Babel and its destruction 291 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:30,600 God is based on... 292 00:22:30,890 --> 00:22:31,930 An historical event. 293 00:22:32,770 --> 00:22:35,750 An earthquake in ancient times. 294 00:22:36,910 --> 00:22:42,370 In fact, quite a few ancient towers in the city of Babylon, in what's now Iraq, 295 00:22:42,690 --> 00:22:44,250 were destroyed by earthquakes. 296 00:22:46,110 --> 00:22:52,570 Archaeologists know that that area was and still is prone to earthquakes 297 00:22:52,570 --> 00:22:59,210 in the year 2017, there was the largest magnitude earthquake 298 00:22:59,210 --> 00:23:00,210 in the world. 299 00:23:00,730 --> 00:23:07,190 in that year, and the epicenter was only 100 miles from what was the ancient 300 00:23:07,190 --> 00:23:08,570 city of Babylon. 301 00:23:09,750 --> 00:23:15,010 If an earthquake did destroy the ziggurat, that could lend support to the 302 00:23:15,010 --> 00:23:18,590 that it was the legendary Tower of Babel. 303 00:23:19,750 --> 00:23:24,870 But many experts believe the true power of the Tower of Babel story is that 304 00:23:24,870 --> 00:23:30,520 thousands of years later, its warning about the consequences of challenging 305 00:23:30,780 --> 00:23:32,520 still endures. 306 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:39,100 The story of the Tower of Babel is absolutely fascinating because you have 307 00:23:39,100 --> 00:23:43,780 basically curse all of humankind by scrambling all of the language. 308 00:23:44,020 --> 00:23:47,300 And the moral to the story being, you're not supposed to show that kind of 309 00:23:47,300 --> 00:23:48,300 arrogance. 310 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:51,000 You shouldn't try to be like God. 311 00:23:53,450 --> 00:23:58,270 While the Tower of Babel is a monument to humanity's doomed ambition to rival 312 00:23:58,270 --> 00:24:02,990 God, there are other biblical artifacts which many Christians believe offer a 313 00:24:02,990 --> 00:24:09,630 direct connection to the divine, like a lost chalice that is perhaps 314 00:24:09,630 --> 00:24:12,670 the most sought -after relic in history. 315 00:24:18,130 --> 00:24:20,050 Akra, Israel. 316 00:24:22,070 --> 00:24:28,210 Located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, this bustling port 317 00:24:28,210 --> 00:24:33,690 contains remarkable ruins that date back thousands of years. 318 00:24:34,970 --> 00:24:39,210 And there are those who believe that one of the most sought -after treasures in 319 00:24:39,210 --> 00:24:42,750 history may lie hidden within these ancient ruins. 320 00:24:44,590 --> 00:24:46,190 The Holy Grail. 321 00:24:48,750 --> 00:24:52,170 For archaeologists, Acre is hugely significant. 322 00:24:52,430 --> 00:24:59,210 It's one of the oldest continuously inhabited places on Earth, going back 5 323 00:24:59,210 --> 00:25:00,210 ,000 years. 324 00:25:00,770 --> 00:25:04,850 There's literally layers of history there still being discovered. 325 00:25:05,530 --> 00:25:11,370 But also, the significance is that it's the last place that the Holy Grail is 326 00:25:11,370 --> 00:25:13,430 believed to have ended up during the Crusades. 327 00:25:15,290 --> 00:25:16,850 The Holy Grail? 328 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,820 the chalice that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. 329 00:25:22,340 --> 00:25:28,100 For centuries, many have embarked on quests in search of this sacred 330 00:25:28,500 --> 00:25:34,300 not only because it would be priceless, but also because it is thought to 331 00:25:34,300 --> 00:25:36,040 possess divine power. 332 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:42,000 While many have sought to find the Holy Grail, it's believed that this precious 333 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,840 relic was once in the hands of a group of medieval warrior monks known as... 334 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:54,400 The Knights Templar The Knights Templar were a very curious order of 335 00:25:54,400 --> 00:26:01,020 monks. They were sworn, in fact, to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land in the 336 00:26:01,020 --> 00:26:06,260 Crusades. They were professional soldiers, the elite fighting force of 337 00:26:06,420 --> 00:26:12,020 and they became immensely wealthy and immensely powerful. 338 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:17,740 But many believe that the Templars had, if you want, an ulterior secret mission. 339 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:23,440 And that was to look for the Holy Grail and other sacred relics all over the 340 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:24,440 Holy Land. 341 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:30,480 If they did find the Holy Grail, there was nowhere better for the Knights 342 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:37,180 Templar to bring their treasure securely than to Acre, which was a safe... with 343 00:26:37,180 --> 00:26:42,660 big thick walls around it and 12 towers to defend the citizens from external 344 00:26:42,660 --> 00:26:43,660 attacks. 345 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:50,380 If it's true that the Knights Templar brought the Holy Grail from Jerusalem to 346 00:26:50,380 --> 00:26:54,780 Acre, could it still be hidden in the ruins that lie within the city? 347 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:00,480 Eliezer Stern is an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority. 348 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:06,320 For nearly three decades, he has overseen excavations of a massive 349 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:11,360 Templar fortress that lies beneath the church of St. Andrew in Accra. 350 00:27:13,660 --> 00:27:19,120 We are now in the old city of Accra and in the premises of the St. Andrew's 351 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:20,120 church. 352 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:24,540 This church is very, very interesting. 353 00:27:25,370 --> 00:27:30,870 because it's built in the 18th century, but it's built on foundation and the 354 00:27:30,870 --> 00:27:36,130 ruins from the 13th century, from the Crusader and the Templar periods. 355 00:27:39,230 --> 00:27:43,670 Under the church, Stern has been investigating a sprawling network of 356 00:27:43,670 --> 00:27:45,350 century tunnels and crypts. 357 00:27:45,930 --> 00:27:51,810 These passages may reveal valuable information about the Templars' 358 00:27:51,810 --> 00:27:52,810 Acre. 359 00:27:53,550 --> 00:27:59,150 Now we are 800 years before what we've seen above us. 360 00:27:59,690 --> 00:28:02,610 Here we are in the form of the Templar Quarter. 361 00:28:03,250 --> 00:28:09,210 We understand that they use it as the treasury of the Templars. They used to 362 00:28:09,210 --> 00:28:14,210 bring a lot of money into the treasury out in this tower. 363 00:28:16,360 --> 00:28:21,420 The Knights Templar had this brilliant system. They actually built tunnels to 364 00:28:21,420 --> 00:28:22,840 what they called a treasure tower. 365 00:28:23,260 --> 00:28:27,300 So when there was a siege going on, they would take the treasures that they've 366 00:28:27,300 --> 00:28:31,840 come across throughout their occupation and their fighting down the tunnels and 367 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:32,840 into the tower. 368 00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:41,300 In addition to excavating the Templar treasury, Cern and his team have 369 00:28:41,300 --> 00:28:45,240 more chambers that are located approximately 10 feet beneath the main 370 00:28:46,060 --> 00:28:50,840 But these monumental discoveries have revealed only a fraction of this 371 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,240 mysterious medieval city. 372 00:28:53,620 --> 00:28:57,960 We find now only two or three percent of the city. 373 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:04,540 There is another 90 percent of the Crusader building and the Crusader city. 374 00:29:04,540 --> 00:29:10,900 lay beneath the Ottoman that's still waiting for covering in the future. 375 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:17,660 For grail hunters, any new excavations in Acre is obviously tremendously 376 00:29:17,660 --> 00:29:23,480 exciting. And it's a city that's still yielding up its secrets. And so there is 377 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,900 a very good chance that some of the treasure of the Templars, including the 378 00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:30,240 Grail, are there waiting to be discovered. 379 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:36,040 Is it possible the Knights Templar chose to hide the Holy Grail within the ruins 380 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:39,660 of the Templar fortress beneath the church of St. Andrew? 381 00:29:41,110 --> 00:29:46,430 Uncovering the Grail here or wherever else it may be hidden would be a 382 00:29:46,430 --> 00:29:47,870 of profound importance. 383 00:29:49,250 --> 00:29:53,130 Because for Christians around the world, the Holy Grail is much more than just 384 00:29:53,130 --> 00:29:54,250 an ancient chalice. 385 00:29:55,030 --> 00:29:58,630 It is an object touched by God. 386 00:29:59,230 --> 00:30:03,810 Strictly speaking, we talk about the Holy Grail in technical terms as a cup. 387 00:30:04,270 --> 00:30:09,650 But really the Holy Grail is something much more profound, much more sacred, 388 00:30:09,950 --> 00:30:10,950 holy. 389 00:30:11,430 --> 00:30:16,930 There can be no doubt if the Holy Grail was found, this would be hugely 390 00:30:16,930 --> 00:30:23,090 significant for millions of Christians all over the world to have a direct 391 00:30:23,090 --> 00:30:25,370 connection to Jesus Christ. 392 00:30:32,830 --> 00:30:34,150 June 21st, 2015. 393 00:30:36,150 --> 00:30:41,610 Inside the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the leader of the Roman 394 00:30:41,610 --> 00:30:48,330 Church, Pope Francis, prays before a 14 -foot -long ancient linen cloth. 395 00:30:49,930 --> 00:30:55,370 The occasion attracts media attention because it is the first time that the 396 00:30:55,370 --> 00:30:58,450 cloth has been shown publicly in over five years. 397 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:06,840 Christian holy relic is referred to as the Shroud of Turin. 398 00:31:08,260 --> 00:31:13,360 The Shroud of Turin is this amazing relic. At bottom, it's a piece of cloth. 399 00:31:14,060 --> 00:31:17,700 It shows a very faint sort of image of a crucified man. 400 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:23,740 And the crucified man calls us to remember Jesus' death and resurrection. 401 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,720 The Bible talks about the burial cloth. 402 00:31:31,530 --> 00:31:36,950 All four of the Gospels mention that Jesus was taken down from the cross. He 403 00:31:36,950 --> 00:31:39,850 wrapped in linen and then his body was put in the tomb. 404 00:31:40,770 --> 00:31:45,950 According to the legend, the shroud is the cloth that his dead body is wrapped 405 00:31:45,950 --> 00:31:46,950 in. 406 00:31:47,230 --> 00:31:52,950 And because of the contact with the body of Jesus, that 407 00:31:52,950 --> 00:31:57,750 transforms and leaves a lasting mark on the cloth. 408 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:06,280 And so the shroud is believed to be a holy relic because you don't get much 409 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:08,780 holy than the actual blood of Jesus. 410 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:15,620 After the resurrection, the shroud completely disappeared. 411 00:32:18,820 --> 00:32:23,300 The first appearance of the shroud in the written record is 1389 in France. 412 00:32:24,740 --> 00:32:28,980 It was kept in the capital of the Duchy of Savoy. 413 00:32:29,470 --> 00:32:30,790 a place called Shambury. 414 00:32:31,270 --> 00:32:37,490 It had been moved around from time to time, but in 1578, it was brought from 415 00:32:37,490 --> 00:32:38,790 there to Turin. 416 00:32:39,530 --> 00:32:44,030 And so it's a way for people to be in the presence of Jesus. 417 00:32:44,990 --> 00:32:50,010 While people all over the world have been struck by its stunning imprint of 418 00:32:50,010 --> 00:32:56,830 face of Jesus Christ, not everyone's convinced that the shroud is a genuine 419 00:32:56,830 --> 00:33:02,680 relic. Ever since the shroud first really appears in history, there's been 420 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:06,180 controversy about it, and there have been questions about its authenticity. 421 00:33:07,020 --> 00:33:12,800 In 1988, a group of scientists were able to get permission to get a sample from 422 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:17,260 the shroud and to subject it to radiocarbon dating. 423 00:33:18,420 --> 00:33:25,300 And then they announced, with a 95 % degree of certainty, that the shroud 424 00:33:25,300 --> 00:33:26,300 was medieval. 425 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:34,840 Suddenly, there's this carbon -14 dating, and they say that it dates to 426 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:35,880 13th century. 427 00:33:36,220 --> 00:33:41,920 And, wow, that's a tremendous blow to everybody who thought that the shroud 428 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:42,920 might be real. 429 00:33:43,220 --> 00:33:49,420 But then, as time went on, experts began to look at it, and it was finally 430 00:33:49,420 --> 00:33:56,120 determined that the test was taken from the very end of the shroud, not... 431 00:33:56,350 --> 00:34:03,250 where the image is, and it really turned out to be a patch 432 00:34:03,250 --> 00:34:08,949 that had been woven by ancient weavers. They weaved it back together on that 433 00:34:08,949 --> 00:34:10,070 particular area. 434 00:34:10,469 --> 00:34:15,770 When those guys came out with their carbon -14, they tested the wrong piece. 435 00:34:16,030 --> 00:34:17,670 Nobody's proved it a fake yet. 436 00:34:19,210 --> 00:34:23,770 Despite the questions about the shroud's credibility, many Christians have faith 437 00:34:23,770 --> 00:34:25,469 in its divine nature. 438 00:34:26,219 --> 00:34:32,040 And as evidence, they point to numerous accounts of the Shroud's supposed 439 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:33,159 healing powers. 440 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:41,199 Perhaps the most compelling case is the story of the recovery of a young British 441 00:34:41,199 --> 00:34:44,340 girl named Josie Woolham in 1955. 442 00:34:46,030 --> 00:34:52,790 Josie Willem was a young girl who, at the age of five, developed a 443 00:34:52,790 --> 00:34:55,350 terrible degenerative bone disease. 444 00:34:55,969 --> 00:35:02,690 And after five years of suffering this, she basically was approaching her 445 00:35:02,690 --> 00:35:03,690 final days. 446 00:35:04,290 --> 00:35:11,250 Then Josie made a pilgrimage to Turin, and she actually had a chance to put 447 00:35:11,250 --> 00:35:12,490 her hands on the shroud. 448 00:35:13,150 --> 00:35:17,290 There was no immediate reaction, no miracle cure on the spot. 449 00:35:19,110 --> 00:35:22,710 But her health kept improving and kept improving. 450 00:35:23,690 --> 00:35:25,930 Eventually, she actually got better. 451 00:35:26,550 --> 00:35:29,070 The story of Josie Wallen, it's extraordinary. 452 00:35:29,630 --> 00:35:33,890 So you've got this documented miraculous healing in the 20th century, which of 453 00:35:33,890 --> 00:35:37,250 course raises the question, does the shroud cause a miracle? Or is there 454 00:35:37,250 --> 00:35:38,250 something else there? 455 00:35:38,430 --> 00:35:40,390 That's what's really fascinating about this. 456 00:35:47,850 --> 00:35:51,790 While the Shroud of Turin has been venerated by Christians for thousands of 457 00:35:51,790 --> 00:35:57,830 years, it's just one of several holy objects that are believed to be 458 00:35:57,830 --> 00:36:00,170 with the death of the Son of God. 459 00:36:02,330 --> 00:36:08,530 One of these artifacts is a spear that was reportedly wielded by a Roman 460 00:36:08,530 --> 00:36:11,610 during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 461 00:36:12,210 --> 00:36:15,930 The origin of the spear comes from... 462 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:18,580 The Gospel of John. 463 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:20,620 Jesus is on the cross. 464 00:36:20,900 --> 00:36:24,180 The Romans are trying to figure out whether he's dead because there's a lot 465 00:36:24,180 --> 00:36:25,780 pressure to get him down and bury him. 466 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:31,800 There was a Roman soldier who someone told him, stab this guy, finish him off, 467 00:36:31,940 --> 00:36:33,040 make sure he's dead. 468 00:36:34,460 --> 00:36:39,220 The Christian tradition says the name of this Roman soldier who pierces Jesus is 469 00:36:39,220 --> 00:36:40,220 Longinus. 470 00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:45,440 And there's a story that developed that he's blind or he's nearsighted. 471 00:36:46,110 --> 00:36:51,930 And so when he pierces the side of Jesus, the blood and the water comes 472 00:36:51,970 --> 00:36:55,890 That lands on his eyes, and it makes him able to see. 473 00:36:56,750 --> 00:36:57,810 It's this miracle. 474 00:36:58,730 --> 00:37:02,270 Because, of course, the blood of Christ is this miraculous sort of thing. 475 00:37:03,750 --> 00:37:10,610 According to Christian belief, when this ordinary spear touched Jesus, it became 476 00:37:10,610 --> 00:37:12,030 a sacred relic. 477 00:37:13,100 --> 00:37:18,200 and was referred to as either the Holy Lance or the Spear of Destiny. 478 00:37:22,220 --> 00:37:29,040 Because this was the only weapon that is said to have pierced the body 479 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:35,440 of Christ, the legend got going that if you had the Spear of Destiny, the Holy 480 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:41,440 Lance, you could not be stopped. You were invincible. 481 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:46,460 And a whole series of leaders wanted to get their hands on it, perhaps believing 482 00:37:46,460 --> 00:37:49,920 God would then be on their side and they would prevail. 483 00:37:51,620 --> 00:37:55,700 After Jesus' crucifixion, one of the rulers who reportedly came into 484 00:37:55,700 --> 00:38:01,780 of the Spear of Destiny was the 8th century French king, Charlemagne. 485 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:08,900 Charlemagne, Charles the Great, carried the lance in 47 victorious 486 00:38:08,900 --> 00:38:10,100 campaigns. 487 00:38:11,210 --> 00:38:15,970 and spread his control over much of France and Germany all the way into what 488 00:38:15,970 --> 00:38:18,510 would now be Slovakia and Hungary. 489 00:38:19,230 --> 00:38:25,490 And so Charlemagne at 800, on Christmas Day, is crowned by the Pope as Emperor 490 00:38:25,490 --> 00:38:26,490 of the West. 491 00:38:27,470 --> 00:38:31,390 And there were a lot of people who believed that the Spear of Destiny 492 00:38:31,390 --> 00:38:32,390 his success. 493 00:38:33,230 --> 00:38:39,350 Is it possible that the Spear of Destiny actually gave Charlemagne the power to 494 00:38:39,350 --> 00:38:40,350 vanquish his enemies? 495 00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:42,200 Perhaps. 496 00:38:44,100 --> 00:38:48,780 But if so, then such power apparently came at a heavy price. 497 00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:56,600 Legend says that if you drop the Spear of Destiny or lose it or even really 498 00:38:56,600 --> 00:39:01,540 back from it, all of your great victories are going to be as nothing. 499 00:39:01,540 --> 00:39:02,479 just fall. 500 00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:07,100 And that's what happened, apparently, when Charlemagne carried it into battle 501 00:39:07,100 --> 00:39:08,100 and dropped it. 502 00:39:08,410 --> 00:39:11,970 He lost that battle even though with it he'd won 47 battles. 503 00:39:12,710 --> 00:39:18,490 Was the Spear of Destiny responsible for both the rise and fall of Charlemagne? 504 00:39:19,730 --> 00:39:24,190 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining the fate of two men who 505 00:39:24,190 --> 00:39:26,650 the spear during the 20th century. 506 00:39:30,010 --> 00:39:31,850 March 12th, 1938. 507 00:39:33,410 --> 00:39:35,850 German troops march into Vienna, Austria. 508 00:39:36,380 --> 00:39:38,060 and take control of the capital city. 509 00:39:39,220 --> 00:39:45,680 Hitler orders his soldiers to storm the Royal Hofburg Palace and seize 510 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:47,620 the Spear of Destiny. 511 00:39:49,260 --> 00:39:54,020 The Spear of Destiny appears in the modern stage in March of 1938 when the 512 00:39:54,020 --> 00:39:57,180 Republic of Austria is annexed to the German Reich. 513 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:04,440 The Republic of Austria had acquired the Spear some centuries before. 514 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:11,280 And that spear is taken from there, and it is taken back to Nuremberg in Germany 515 00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:12,280 proper. 516 00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,580 And there it remained until 1945. 517 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:24,920 On April 30, 1945, Allied forces, under the command of U .S. General George S. 518 00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:28,020 Patton, captured the German city of Nuremberg. 519 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:33,360 In the aftermath of the fighting, American soldiers discovered the Spear 520 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:34,360 Destiny. 521 00:40:35,150 --> 00:40:37,890 Patton himself took possession of the spear. 522 00:40:38,790 --> 00:40:43,110 He liked to imagine himself being the reincarnation of all kinds of previous 523 00:40:43,110 --> 00:40:47,810 military leaders, some of which might have had the Spear of Destiny with them. 524 00:40:48,490 --> 00:40:54,630 After Patton acquired the spear, events transpired which suggested that the 525 00:40:54,630 --> 00:40:58,310 legends about the sacred relic might be true. 526 00:40:59,250 --> 00:41:02,530 It is said that basically the day before, 527 00:41:03,430 --> 00:41:09,450 Hitler shot himself, the Americans found the Spear of Destiny and General Patton 528 00:41:09,450 --> 00:41:10,450 took it. 529 00:41:11,310 --> 00:41:13,270 And that's what set Hitler off. 530 00:41:13,770 --> 00:41:20,530 And then Patton himself, he put it back into the Hofburg Museum and shortly 531 00:41:20,530 --> 00:41:22,310 after that he died in a car crash. 532 00:41:24,030 --> 00:41:28,510 So all of these things look like, yeah, there's something to this legend. 533 00:41:30,990 --> 00:41:36,270 Did the spear of destiny really sway the fate of nations for centuries, as some 534 00:41:36,270 --> 00:41:42,070 believe? And what about lost relics, like the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy 535 00:41:42,070 --> 00:41:44,730 Grail? Will they ever be found? 536 00:41:45,970 --> 00:41:47,470 Ultimately, it's hard to say. 537 00:41:48,710 --> 00:41:50,330 However, one thing is certain. 538 00:41:51,550 --> 00:41:56,770 People will keep trying to uncover the truth about these mysterious objects 539 00:41:56,770 --> 00:41:57,790 for the moment remain. 540 00:41:59,920 --> 00:42:00,940 Unexplained. 49299

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