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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:05,589 --> 00:00:06,922 SHATNER: The Ark of the Covenant. 2 00:00:07,008 --> 00:00:09,291 The sacred golden chest 3 00:00:09,385 --> 00:00:12,794 that had the power to level cities. 4 00:00:12,888 --> 00:00:17,016 In biblical times, it guided and protected millions of people. 5 00:00:17,101 --> 00:00:20,894 And then it vanished. 6 00:00:23,441 --> 00:00:25,482 Throughout history, many have searched 7 00:00:25,609 --> 00:00:28,736 for the lost Ark of the Covenant. 8 00:00:28,821 --> 00:00:30,195 And who could blame them? 9 00:00:30,281 --> 00:00:32,531 After all, according to the Old Testament, 10 00:00:32,616 --> 00:00:37,745 God himself instructed Moses to build the Ark. 11 00:00:37,830 --> 00:00:41,248 And this golden chest was believed to have held 12 00:00:41,333 --> 00:00:44,710 the power of the Almighty. 13 00:00:44,795 --> 00:00:48,255 But how could such a coveted religious artifact 14 00:00:48,340 --> 00:00:50,966 just disappear? 15 00:00:51,052 --> 00:00:53,552 And is there a chance that the lost Ark 16 00:00:53,637 --> 00:00:56,138 could actually be found? 17 00:00:56,223 --> 00:01:01,810 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 18 00:01:01,896 --> 00:01:03,896 ♪ ♪ 19 00:01:20,956 --> 00:01:24,124 In this small town located on the outskirts of Houston 20 00:01:24,210 --> 00:01:27,544 stands the King of Saints Church. 21 00:01:27,671 --> 00:01:29,963 On the surface, it looks like any number 22 00:01:30,049 --> 00:01:33,041 of churches scattered throughout the region. 23 00:01:33,135 --> 00:01:36,178 But inside, there's something that makes it stand out 24 00:01:36,263 --> 00:01:37,379 from the rest. 25 00:01:37,473 --> 00:01:39,473 Within this church 26 00:01:39,558 --> 00:01:42,810 is a remarkably accurate reproduction 27 00:01:42,895 --> 00:01:45,395 of the Ark of the Covenant. 28 00:01:45,523 --> 00:01:47,889 STEPHEN MISSICK: My father and I built this replica of the Ark 29 00:01:47,983 --> 00:01:49,691 of the Covenant because it makes the Scripture 30 00:01:49,777 --> 00:01:52,394 come alive in a new and unique way, 31 00:01:52,488 --> 00:01:54,396 because you're not just reading a description 32 00:01:54,490 --> 00:01:56,064 in a book or seeing a picture. 33 00:01:56,158 --> 00:01:59,034 This is 3D-built according to the specifications 34 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:00,369 in the Scripture. 35 00:02:01,497 --> 00:02:03,405 Exodus chapter 25, 36 00:02:03,499 --> 00:02:05,907 Moses gives the blueprint or the detailed instructions 37 00:02:06,001 --> 00:02:08,168 of how to build the Ark. 38 00:02:08,254 --> 00:02:09,920 And that's the instructions we used to build this 39 00:02:10,047 --> 00:02:12,080 with all the dimensions. 40 00:02:12,174 --> 00:02:15,083 The Bible describes two cherubim, 41 00:02:15,177 --> 00:02:18,587 which are winged sphinxes, and they're facing each other, 42 00:02:18,681 --> 00:02:20,681 as we see here according to the Scriptures, 43 00:02:20,766 --> 00:02:23,767 and the cherubim had the body of a lion, 44 00:02:23,894 --> 00:02:26,261 the face of men, the wings of an eagle. 45 00:02:26,355 --> 00:02:28,430 In other depictions of the Ark of the Covenant, 46 00:02:28,524 --> 00:02:32,100 you see humanoid angels with wings, or cherubs, 47 00:02:32,194 --> 00:02:34,936 but this reflects the description of cherubim 48 00:02:35,030 --> 00:02:36,938 as we find in the Book of Ezekiel. 49 00:02:37,032 --> 00:02:39,283 And they look upon the mercy seat, 50 00:02:39,410 --> 00:02:42,244 which is the cover of the Ark of the Covenant. 51 00:02:42,329 --> 00:02:44,788 Our congregation sees this Ark as a unique way 52 00:02:44,915 --> 00:02:48,458 to show that God is king and Lord through the Ark, 53 00:02:48,586 --> 00:02:51,453 which represents the kingship of God and also represents 54 00:02:51,547 --> 00:02:54,798 a way that God spoke spiritually and through his written word. 55 00:02:54,925 --> 00:02:56,633 We have this replica of the Ark of the Covenant 56 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:58,468 as a symbol of that importance. 57 00:02:59,763 --> 00:03:01,597 SHATNER: Throughout history, the Ark of the Covenant 58 00:03:01,682 --> 00:03:03,765 has been one of the most sacred artifacts 59 00:03:03,851 --> 00:03:06,393 in the Judeo-Christian tradition. 60 00:03:06,478 --> 00:03:10,230 But just what exactly is the Ark? 61 00:03:10,316 --> 00:03:12,941 BARRY LEFF: Well, the Ark of the Covenant is fascinating 62 00:03:13,027 --> 00:03:18,813 because it's the most important ritual object, 63 00:03:18,908 --> 00:03:20,908 uh, that Judaism has ever had. 64 00:03:20,993 --> 00:03:24,953 The Ark is first introduced scripturally 65 00:03:25,039 --> 00:03:28,415 in the Book of Exodus, where God gives Moses instructions 66 00:03:28,500 --> 00:03:32,753 to build an ark for carrying the Ten Commandments. 67 00:03:33,631 --> 00:03:36,131 It has very detailed instructions. 68 00:03:36,217 --> 00:03:38,833 It should be two and a half cubits long, 69 00:03:38,928 --> 00:03:40,719 like, one and a half cubits tall 70 00:03:40,804 --> 00:03:42,346 and one and a half cubits wide, 71 00:03:42,473 --> 00:03:46,058 and it's plated with gold inside and out. 72 00:03:46,143 --> 00:03:49,561 The Ark was covered by this gold lid, 73 00:03:49,647 --> 00:03:51,813 um, called the mercy seat. 74 00:03:51,899 --> 00:03:54,683 Now, it's also known as the throne of God, 75 00:03:54,777 --> 00:03:58,612 mainly because we have a passage in 1 Samuel 4:4, 76 00:03:58,697 --> 00:04:03,358 that mentions how God is enthroned between the cherubim. 77 00:04:03,452 --> 00:04:06,328 So this indicates to us that this mercy seat 78 00:04:06,413 --> 00:04:10,749 was, in fact, understood as the throne of God. 79 00:04:12,002 --> 00:04:13,168 ROBERT CARGILL: The Ark of the Covenant, 80 00:04:13,254 --> 00:04:18,039 for a time, was the center of the Israelite religion. 81 00:04:18,133 --> 00:04:20,467 It represented the presence 82 00:04:20,552 --> 00:04:24,212 of the Hebrew god Yahweh on Earth, 83 00:04:24,306 --> 00:04:29,884 meaning if there was a question that needed to be answered, 84 00:04:29,979 --> 00:04:35,941 the Ark was the place that you would go and petition God. 85 00:04:36,026 --> 00:04:38,059 If you went into battle, 86 00:04:38,153 --> 00:04:42,230 the Ark would be taken, marched into battle. 87 00:04:42,324 --> 00:04:46,735 As long as the presence of God, represented by the Ark, 88 00:04:46,829 --> 00:04:50,405 was with Israel, they couldn't be conquered. 89 00:04:50,499 --> 00:04:56,753 The Ark of the Covenant was God in the midst of the Israelites. 90 00:04:58,215 --> 00:05:00,582 SHATNER: The presence of God himself 91 00:05:00,676 --> 00:05:03,084 held within a golden chest? 92 00:05:03,178 --> 00:05:06,087 Certainly a profound notion, which is perhaps the reason 93 00:05:06,181 --> 00:05:08,089 why the Ark has long inspired 94 00:05:08,183 --> 00:05:12,761 worldwide fascination and reverence. 95 00:05:12,855 --> 00:05:15,564 The Ark of the Covenant is arguably the most important 96 00:05:15,649 --> 00:05:17,983 and intriguing artifact in human history, 97 00:05:18,068 --> 00:05:21,945 because we're talking about something made by human hands 98 00:05:22,072 --> 00:05:24,272 that contains the power of God. 99 00:05:24,366 --> 00:05:28,243 In fact, the word "ark" means "sacred container." 100 00:05:28,329 --> 00:05:30,412 So, this is fascinating, this idea 101 00:05:30,497 --> 00:05:33,290 that humans could build something that could contain 102 00:05:33,417 --> 00:05:38,453 or create this kind of extraordinary divine connection. 103 00:05:38,547 --> 00:05:41,790 LEFF: It was an extremely powerful thing. 104 00:05:41,884 --> 00:05:43,300 When the Israelites were wandering 105 00:05:43,427 --> 00:05:45,927 through the desert for 40 years, 106 00:05:46,013 --> 00:05:47,462 they not only carried the Ark with them, 107 00:05:47,556 --> 00:05:48,930 the Ark kind of led the way. 108 00:05:49,016 --> 00:05:51,633 It was their ancient navigational device, 109 00:05:51,727 --> 00:05:56,938 the Israelites' ancient GPS that showed them where to go. 110 00:05:57,024 --> 00:05:59,474 And the legend says it would zoom up into the sky, 111 00:05:59,568 --> 00:06:01,276 move three days ahead, 112 00:06:01,362 --> 00:06:05,072 and then the people would-would follow along behind it. 113 00:06:05,949 --> 00:06:07,240 CARGILL: Many people are familiar 114 00:06:07,326 --> 00:06:09,317 with the famous story of the parting of the Red Sea 115 00:06:09,411 --> 00:06:11,078 during the Exodus narrative, 116 00:06:11,163 --> 00:06:13,488 when the Israelites were escaping Egypt. 117 00:06:13,582 --> 00:06:17,250 A lot of people aren't familiar with the story in Joshua 3, 118 00:06:17,336 --> 00:06:19,378 of the parting of the Jordan River. 119 00:06:20,589 --> 00:06:22,664 The priests who are carrying 120 00:06:22,758 --> 00:06:25,667 the Ark of the Covenant just touch their toes 121 00:06:25,761 --> 00:06:30,722 into the Jordan River, and the Jordan River itself parts. 122 00:06:30,808 --> 00:06:36,520 And the Israelites are able to march into the Promised Land. 123 00:06:36,647 --> 00:06:40,348 So the whole story is designed to tell the reader, 124 00:06:40,442 --> 00:06:42,517 "This is God at work here." 125 00:06:42,611 --> 00:06:46,071 What's interesting is that there's this great debate: 126 00:06:46,156 --> 00:06:49,449 was the Ark of the Covenant real, or was it just made up? 127 00:06:49,535 --> 00:06:51,192 I actually think it was very real, 128 00:06:51,286 --> 00:06:53,453 and the reason I think it's real 129 00:06:53,539 --> 00:06:58,208 is that it's such a central part of the Israelite religion. 130 00:06:59,503 --> 00:07:03,422 SHATNER: Did the Ark of the Covenant actually exist? 131 00:07:03,507 --> 00:07:06,341 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining 132 00:07:06,427 --> 00:07:09,094 an archaeological discovery that was made 133 00:07:09,179 --> 00:07:11,638 in the heart of the Holy Land. 134 00:07:14,977 --> 00:07:19,554 Central Israel, 15 miles west of Jerusalem. 135 00:07:19,648 --> 00:07:23,892 Here, on a small rocky mound, lie the ruins 136 00:07:23,986 --> 00:07:27,988 of an ancient Hebrew city known as Beit Shemesh. 137 00:07:28,073 --> 00:07:31,399 According to archaeologists, Beit Shemesh 138 00:07:31,493 --> 00:07:35,454 has a profound connection to the Ark of the Covenant. 139 00:07:35,539 --> 00:07:38,573 CARGILL: Beit Shemesh has a long history 140 00:07:38,667 --> 00:07:41,075 of being a religious center. 141 00:07:41,170 --> 00:07:44,245 According to, uh, the story that we have in the Bible, 142 00:07:44,339 --> 00:07:48,175 when the Ark of the Covenant was taken to Beit Shemesh, 143 00:07:48,260 --> 00:07:50,218 the Israelites take the Ark, 144 00:07:50,304 --> 00:07:52,304 and they put it on a stone table. 145 00:07:52,389 --> 00:07:58,018 The understanding was that it was venerated by all Israelites. 146 00:07:58,103 --> 00:08:01,596 We have this one object, the Ark of the Covenant, 147 00:08:01,690 --> 00:08:04,098 that represents God on Earth. 148 00:08:04,193 --> 00:08:07,027 SHATNER: Could the Ark of the Covenant have actually been kept 149 00:08:07,112 --> 00:08:09,571 at Beit Shemesh? 150 00:08:09,656 --> 00:08:12,273 Well, recently, 151 00:08:12,367 --> 00:08:15,535 archaeologists have uncovered evidence which suggests 152 00:08:15,621 --> 00:08:21,783 that the biblical story is, in fact, true. 153 00:08:21,877 --> 00:08:25,712 In 2019, a team led by archaeologists 154 00:08:25,797 --> 00:08:29,257 from Tel Aviv University made a startling discovery. 155 00:08:29,343 --> 00:08:34,963 They found a room in which it seems to have evidence 156 00:08:35,057 --> 00:08:37,632 of where the Ark of the Covenant was kept 157 00:08:37,726 --> 00:08:40,477 when it was brought here at Beit Shemesh. 158 00:08:40,604 --> 00:08:43,647 There's a big, flat slab of stone 159 00:08:43,774 --> 00:08:48,902 that is exactly the same dimensions, proportions, 160 00:08:48,987 --> 00:08:51,571 as the Ark of the Covenant. 161 00:08:53,408 --> 00:08:55,408 This slab of stone 162 00:08:55,494 --> 00:08:58,203 is not some column that fell on its side. 163 00:08:58,288 --> 00:09:00,655 It was deliberately placed here. 164 00:09:00,749 --> 00:09:02,824 And its dimensions, 165 00:09:02,918 --> 00:09:06,160 its dimensions fit what the Book of Exodus tells us 166 00:09:06,255 --> 00:09:09,464 were the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant. 167 00:09:09,550 --> 00:09:11,841 It says it was a cubit and a half 168 00:09:11,969 --> 00:09:14,177 on two cubits and a half. 169 00:09:14,304 --> 00:09:17,005 A cubit is the size of a human arm. 170 00:09:17,099 --> 00:09:22,644 Watch: a cubit and a half... 171 00:09:22,729 --> 00:09:27,691 on two cubits and a half. 172 00:09:27,818 --> 00:09:31,686 Just a bit bigger, maybe by ten, twenty percent. 173 00:09:31,780 --> 00:09:33,947 So the Ark would be placed on it 174 00:09:34,032 --> 00:09:36,741 in the most possible, stable way. 175 00:09:36,827 --> 00:09:40,528 And everything dates to the time frame 176 00:09:40,622 --> 00:09:43,031 of when the Ark was placed at Beit Shemesh. 177 00:09:43,125 --> 00:09:45,533 Everything falls into place. 178 00:09:45,627 --> 00:09:49,037 Not only did this discovery indicate 179 00:09:49,131 --> 00:09:51,372 that the Ark was kept here, it's much more. 180 00:09:51,466 --> 00:09:54,968 It actually indicates the Ark existed. 181 00:09:55,053 --> 00:09:58,263 This discovery is possibly the most significant find 182 00:09:58,348 --> 00:10:02,392 ever made in the context of the quest 183 00:10:02,519 --> 00:10:04,227 of the Ark of the Covenant. 184 00:10:06,982 --> 00:10:09,724 If the Ark of the Covenant was a real artifact 185 00:10:09,818 --> 00:10:13,153 that was actually kept at Beit Shemesh, 186 00:10:13,238 --> 00:10:16,397 then it begs the question, 187 00:10:16,491 --> 00:10:18,867 where is the Ark now? 188 00:10:18,952 --> 00:10:23,121 There are those who believe that the answer lies... 189 00:10:23,206 --> 00:10:26,074 15 miles to the east, 190 00:10:26,168 --> 00:10:29,169 in the holy city of Jerusalem. 191 00:10:35,552 --> 00:10:37,636 SHATNER: Since its humble beginnings 192 00:10:37,721 --> 00:10:41,181 as a small settlement around 3000 BC, 193 00:10:41,266 --> 00:10:44,643 the city has been built, destroyed and rebuilt 194 00:10:44,728 --> 00:10:46,436 numerous times. 195 00:10:46,563 --> 00:10:51,483 Today it remains a holy site for three major world religions, 196 00:10:51,568 --> 00:10:56,437 Judaism, Christianity and Islam. 197 00:10:56,531 --> 00:10:59,199 But aside from its religious importance, 198 00:10:59,284 --> 00:11:03,444 Jerusalem is also significant for another reason. 199 00:11:03,538 --> 00:11:07,832 It is the last known location of the Ark of the Covenant. 200 00:11:09,878 --> 00:11:11,119 LEFF: Jerusalem has been 201 00:11:11,213 --> 00:11:14,964 the most important place in-in Judaism 202 00:11:15,092 --> 00:11:19,427 going back to King David, 1000 years BCE, 203 00:11:19,513 --> 00:11:21,888 when he decided to move 204 00:11:21,973 --> 00:11:26,300 the center of the Israel state to Jerusalem, 205 00:11:26,395 --> 00:11:29,470 and all worship ended up being centralized there. 206 00:11:29,564 --> 00:11:35,402 CARGILL: David's son Solomon decides to build a temple in Jerusalem. 207 00:11:35,487 --> 00:11:38,980 The idea behind the temple is that 208 00:11:39,074 --> 00:11:42,483 "We are no longer a nomadic people." 209 00:11:42,577 --> 00:11:44,703 The Israelites were no longer a people 210 00:11:44,788 --> 00:11:47,414 that wanders around without a land. 211 00:11:47,499 --> 00:11:50,166 Now that the Israelites are a landed people, 212 00:11:50,293 --> 00:11:52,919 they want a landed home for their God. 213 00:11:53,004 --> 00:11:56,631 So from Beit Shemesh, they're going to take, 214 00:11:56,717 --> 00:11:59,000 ultimately, the Ark of the Covenant, 215 00:11:59,094 --> 00:12:00,835 and put it in Jerusalem. 216 00:12:00,929 --> 00:12:04,973 LEFF: Solomon built the temple on the Temple Mount, 217 00:12:05,058 --> 00:12:09,269 and the center of the temple was the Holy of Holies, 218 00:12:09,354 --> 00:12:12,439 and inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark. 219 00:12:12,524 --> 00:12:14,566 And that was the only thing that was inside 220 00:12:14,651 --> 00:12:17,318 that central, most sacred spot. 221 00:12:17,404 --> 00:12:19,279 SHATNER: According to the Bible, 222 00:12:19,364 --> 00:12:21,948 the Ark of the Covenant remained in the Temple of Solomon 223 00:12:22,033 --> 00:12:25,526 for nearly four centuries. 224 00:12:25,620 --> 00:12:28,863 That is, until 586 BC, 225 00:12:28,957 --> 00:12:32,041 when the Babylonian army sacked Jerusalem. 226 00:12:33,378 --> 00:12:36,087 They demolished Solomon's Temple, 227 00:12:36,173 --> 00:12:39,874 including the Holy of Holies, 228 00:12:39,968 --> 00:12:44,929 and the Ark of the Covenant simply vanished. 229 00:12:45,015 --> 00:12:47,265 CARGILL: So, what happened to the Ark of the Covenant? 230 00:12:47,350 --> 00:12:49,142 It just disappears, 231 00:12:49,227 --> 00:12:52,061 and we don't have a biblical record 232 00:12:52,189 --> 00:12:54,063 of what happened to it, 233 00:12:54,191 --> 00:12:56,941 leading to all kinds of speculation 234 00:12:57,027 --> 00:13:01,821 as to where it went and where it may be today. 235 00:13:01,907 --> 00:13:06,067 One legend is that the Babylonians took it 236 00:13:06,161 --> 00:13:08,787 and they hauled it off to Babylon. 237 00:13:08,872 --> 00:13:10,622 But the reason why it seems not likely 238 00:13:10,707 --> 00:13:12,573 it was carried off by the Babylonians, 239 00:13:12,667 --> 00:13:13,875 'cause the Babylonians made a great inventory 240 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,411 of everything they took, and the Ark wasn't on the list. 241 00:13:17,506 --> 00:13:19,580 So clearly, if they took something 242 00:13:19,674 --> 00:13:23,343 that valuable, that important, it would have made the list. 243 00:13:23,428 --> 00:13:26,888 MISSICK: There's no record in Scripture or in Babylonian texts 244 00:13:26,973 --> 00:13:28,807 about the Ark being taken by the Babylonians 245 00:13:28,892 --> 00:13:31,142 or being destroyed, so that means it's possible 246 00:13:31,228 --> 00:13:33,478 it was taken away and hidden. 247 00:13:33,563 --> 00:13:35,730 SHATNER: If the Ark of the Covenant was indeed hidden 248 00:13:35,816 --> 00:13:37,941 before the Babylonians could capture it, 249 00:13:38,068 --> 00:13:42,153 then the question is, where was it concealed? 250 00:13:42,239 --> 00:13:47,283 It's a question that drives archaeologists to this very day, 251 00:13:47,410 --> 00:13:48,943 and some believe the coveted relic 252 00:13:49,037 --> 00:13:50,745 remains hidden in Jerusalem. 253 00:13:50,831 --> 00:13:55,708 Or, to be more precise, below Jerusalem. 254 00:13:55,794 --> 00:13:57,585 CARGILL: According to the story, 255 00:13:57,671 --> 00:14:00,296 King Zedekiah, as soon as the Babylonians 256 00:14:00,423 --> 00:14:03,958 were about to destroy the temple, hid the Ark somewhere. 257 00:14:04,052 --> 00:14:06,177 Maybe in a vault beneath the temple, 258 00:14:06,263 --> 00:14:07,929 maybe somewhere else. 259 00:14:08,014 --> 00:14:10,431 We have no idea. 260 00:14:10,517 --> 00:14:14,811 MULLINS: Jerusalem, particularly around the area of the Temple Mount, 261 00:14:14,938 --> 00:14:19,473 has lots of cisterns, uh, dating to different periods of history. 262 00:14:19,568 --> 00:14:22,986 There are all kinds of caves and tunnels. 263 00:14:23,113 --> 00:14:25,989 BENA MANTEL: There are caves literally everywhere in Jerusalem. 264 00:14:26,116 --> 00:14:28,149 They are littering the whole city, 265 00:14:28,243 --> 00:14:30,410 on the inside, on the outside, 266 00:14:30,495 --> 00:14:32,486 and those are just the ones that we know of. 267 00:14:32,581 --> 00:14:34,822 There are probably many other caves 268 00:14:34,916 --> 00:14:35,832 that we don't even know about, 269 00:14:35,959 --> 00:14:38,626 whether they have been purposely concealed, 270 00:14:38,712 --> 00:14:42,297 or we just lost the entrances to those locations, 271 00:14:42,382 --> 00:14:44,591 but they're everywhere. 272 00:14:44,676 --> 00:14:47,302 HERMAN: One cave, which is really big in size, 273 00:14:47,387 --> 00:14:52,640 north of the Temple Mount is called Zedekiah's Cave. 274 00:14:54,561 --> 00:14:57,845 By a Jewish tradition, it's the very cave 275 00:14:57,939 --> 00:14:59,847 King Zedekiah himself used 276 00:14:59,941 --> 00:15:02,016 to sneak, to escape out of the city 277 00:15:02,110 --> 00:15:04,694 as the Babylonians reached it. 278 00:15:04,821 --> 00:15:09,357 If so, maybe during his escape, he also made sure 279 00:15:09,451 --> 00:15:14,528 that the most valuable holy item of Judaism was hidden there, 280 00:15:14,623 --> 00:15:16,706 the Ark of the Covenant. 281 00:15:18,001 --> 00:15:21,535 SHATNER: Located 30 feet beneath the streets of Jerusalem, 282 00:15:21,630 --> 00:15:24,923 Zedekiah's Cave is believed to have been first quarried 283 00:15:25,008 --> 00:15:27,708 in the tenth century BC. 284 00:15:27,802 --> 00:15:32,713 Today, many believe that further exploration of this labyrinth 285 00:15:32,807 --> 00:15:37,268 might reveal the location of the Ark. 286 00:15:37,354 --> 00:15:40,897 HERMAN: We are, right now, underneath Jerusalem's Old City. 287 00:15:41,024 --> 00:15:44,150 We know for a fact, from 19th-century surveys, 288 00:15:44,235 --> 00:15:48,062 that there are about 30 underground water reservoirs 289 00:15:48,156 --> 00:15:50,865 and other facilities underneath the Temple Mount. 290 00:15:50,951 --> 00:15:54,994 Unfortunately, since then, they have not been investigated again 291 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,205 nor excavated in any way. 292 00:15:59,042 --> 00:16:01,334 But this site especially intrigues me 293 00:16:01,419 --> 00:16:04,912 because it is so big, it has so many passages, 294 00:16:05,006 --> 00:16:08,758 and about a quarter of it is still waiting to be exposed. 295 00:16:08,885 --> 00:16:11,219 This cave is known since the mid 19th century, 296 00:16:11,304 --> 00:16:12,420 and to this day, 297 00:16:12,514 --> 00:16:16,683 we still don't know the full size of this space. 298 00:16:16,768 --> 00:16:19,427 And maybe, if this cave was in use 299 00:16:19,521 --> 00:16:22,063 in the time of King Zedekiah, 300 00:16:22,148 --> 00:16:25,400 it could have been used also for hiding the Ark of the Covenant. 301 00:16:27,404 --> 00:16:29,237 LEFF: If you go exploring 302 00:16:29,322 --> 00:16:31,772 under the Temple Mount, and I've been back 303 00:16:31,866 --> 00:16:34,325 in some of the caves under the Temple Mount, 304 00:16:34,411 --> 00:16:36,911 there are miles of these caves filled with tons of rubble. 305 00:16:36,997 --> 00:16:39,947 And especially since it's sitting 306 00:16:40,041 --> 00:16:42,542 right under the third-holiest site in Islam, 307 00:16:42,627 --> 00:16:45,453 we can't go digging around under there looking for it, 308 00:16:45,547 --> 00:16:49,048 because it would create a major international incident. 309 00:16:49,134 --> 00:16:53,970 So I totally believe the Ark could easily be hidden 310 00:16:54,097 --> 00:16:56,305 in one of these caves or tunnels under there. 311 00:16:59,227 --> 00:17:00,968 Was the Ark of the Covenant 312 00:17:01,062 --> 00:17:04,972 once hidden in a cave deep below Jerusalem? 313 00:17:05,066 --> 00:17:06,974 It's a distinct possibility, 314 00:17:07,068 --> 00:17:11,145 and archaeologists exploring the very same network of caves 315 00:17:11,239 --> 00:17:14,866 recently made a compelling discovery. 316 00:17:16,327 --> 00:17:18,453 A discovery which not only suggests 317 00:17:18,538 --> 00:17:21,414 that the Ark may have been kept there 318 00:17:21,499 --> 00:17:24,876 but also offers tantalizing clues 319 00:17:24,961 --> 00:17:28,212 as to where it might have been taken next. 320 00:17:34,304 --> 00:17:36,220 SHATNER: Almost 1,700 years 321 00:17:36,306 --> 00:17:38,556 after Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians, 322 00:17:38,641 --> 00:17:42,310 the holy city once again is occupied, 323 00:17:42,395 --> 00:17:46,064 this time by an army of European Crusaders 324 00:17:46,149 --> 00:17:49,108 known as the Knights Templar. 325 00:17:49,194 --> 00:17:50,568 TIM McMAHON: The Knights Templar were 326 00:17:50,653 --> 00:17:53,521 an order of holy warriors, essentially, 327 00:17:53,615 --> 00:17:56,023 set up during the Crusades. 328 00:17:56,117 --> 00:17:57,691 And from the very beginning, 329 00:17:57,786 --> 00:18:00,495 they were noted for their secrecy, 330 00:18:00,580 --> 00:18:02,580 for their secret initiation rites, 331 00:18:02,665 --> 00:18:05,625 for the mystery that surrounded their activities. 332 00:18:05,710 --> 00:18:08,702 They set themselves up to protect pilgrims 333 00:18:08,797 --> 00:18:12,706 coming into Jerusalem from attack by bandits, 334 00:18:12,801 --> 00:18:16,544 but they also insisted on being based on the Temple Mount, 335 00:18:16,638 --> 00:18:19,347 which they believed was the remains 336 00:18:19,432 --> 00:18:21,641 of the Temple of Solomon. 337 00:18:21,726 --> 00:18:24,560 And why was the Temple of Solomon important? 338 00:18:24,687 --> 00:18:27,313 Because it had a room within the temple 339 00:18:27,398 --> 00:18:31,025 where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. 340 00:18:32,278 --> 00:18:35,071 KATHLEEN McGOWAN: The Knights Templar home base was the Temple Mount. 341 00:18:35,198 --> 00:18:37,064 But it wasn't just their home base. 342 00:18:37,158 --> 00:18:39,742 They were looking for something. 343 00:18:39,869 --> 00:18:43,454 The Templars were obsessed with finding spiritual relics. 344 00:18:43,540 --> 00:18:45,665 Relics related to Christianity, 345 00:18:45,750 --> 00:18:48,409 but also relics of the original temple. 346 00:18:48,503 --> 00:18:51,129 Of all the artifacts 347 00:18:51,214 --> 00:18:53,414 that the Knights Templar were looking for, 348 00:18:53,508 --> 00:18:56,634 I think it's safe to say that their greatest obsession 349 00:18:56,719 --> 00:18:59,086 was with finding the Ark of the Covenant. 350 00:19:00,056 --> 00:19:01,806 SHATNER: The Knights Templar occupied Jerusalem 351 00:19:01,891 --> 00:19:04,425 for almost 100 years. 352 00:19:04,519 --> 00:19:06,352 During this time, they controlled not only 353 00:19:06,437 --> 00:19:11,765 the Temple Mount but also the area below it. 354 00:19:11,860 --> 00:19:13,434 One of the fascinating secrets of the Templars 355 00:19:13,528 --> 00:19:14,652 is their use of tunnels. 356 00:19:14,737 --> 00:19:18,072 So we know now, through a lot of archaeological digs, 357 00:19:18,158 --> 00:19:20,074 uh, both in the Middle East and in Europe, 358 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,451 that there are tunnels that were connected 359 00:19:22,579 --> 00:19:26,247 to Templar sites, particularly Templar strongholds, 360 00:19:26,332 --> 00:19:30,117 for potentially hiding treasure or for moving treasure. 361 00:19:30,211 --> 00:19:33,287 SHATNER: One of the secret tunnels in cave systems 362 00:19:33,381 --> 00:19:38,301 used by the Templars was none other than Zedekiah's Cave, 363 00:19:38,428 --> 00:19:40,928 and recently, archaeologists discovered 364 00:19:41,014 --> 00:19:45,466 a Templar structure located within the cave. 365 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,311 This is, undoubtfully, work of the Crusaders. 366 00:19:48,438 --> 00:19:52,899 This style of architecture, these slits for the arrows. 367 00:19:54,569 --> 00:19:57,978 This is not a ventilation window. 368 00:19:58,072 --> 00:20:00,364 This is definitely a tactical window, 369 00:20:00,450 --> 00:20:03,659 so you could, uh, shoot arrows 370 00:20:03,786 --> 00:20:06,037 towards an enemy approaching you. 371 00:20:08,708 --> 00:20:11,158 This definitely had a protective purpose, 372 00:20:11,252 --> 00:20:15,254 like a guardhouse in the middle of Zedekiah's Cave. 373 00:20:15,340 --> 00:20:18,007 The Crusaders definitely created this 374 00:20:18,134 --> 00:20:20,501 to protect their way out of Jerusalem 375 00:20:20,595 --> 00:20:23,837 and perhaps, also, a passage to a place 376 00:20:23,932 --> 00:20:28,017 where they could hide their most valuable items. 377 00:20:28,144 --> 00:20:30,844 We know for a fact that the Templars was 378 00:20:30,939 --> 00:20:34,181 a military order that held the Temple Mount, 379 00:20:34,275 --> 00:20:36,567 which is at the end of this cave, 380 00:20:36,653 --> 00:20:38,686 and on the surface. 381 00:20:38,780 --> 00:20:41,689 While the Templars were controlling the Temple Mount, 382 00:20:41,783 --> 00:20:43,866 they probably poked around it. 383 00:20:43,993 --> 00:20:46,527 Who knows what they may have found? 384 00:20:46,621 --> 00:20:50,248 Some scholars suggest that they may have even found the Ark. 385 00:20:51,292 --> 00:20:53,200 SHATNER: Is it possible that the Knights Templar 386 00:20:53,294 --> 00:20:56,671 discovered the Ark of the Covenant in Zedekiah's Cave? 387 00:20:56,756 --> 00:20:59,882 And if so, could this fortified structure 388 00:21:00,009 --> 00:21:03,711 be the place where they kept and protected it? 389 00:21:03,805 --> 00:21:08,724 Some scholars theorize that if the Templars found the Ark, 390 00:21:08,851 --> 00:21:10,977 they would have brought it to the very heart 391 00:21:11,062 --> 00:21:14,188 of the Catholic Church: 392 00:21:14,274 --> 00:21:16,148 Rome. 393 00:21:18,152 --> 00:21:20,611 McMAHON: The Knights Templar were answerable 394 00:21:20,697 --> 00:21:23,406 directly to the pope himself. 395 00:21:23,533 --> 00:21:26,066 You have to remember that the Vatican is sitting 396 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,903 on 2,000 years' worth of treasures, 397 00:21:29,998 --> 00:21:32,239 documents and secrets, 398 00:21:32,333 --> 00:21:36,243 and it's under no obligation to share any of that with us. 399 00:21:36,337 --> 00:21:39,714 And documents that have been kept under wraps for centuries, 400 00:21:39,799 --> 00:21:43,417 including details on the Knights Templar, 401 00:21:43,511 --> 00:21:46,587 have only recently came fully to light. 402 00:21:46,681 --> 00:21:49,473 McGOWAN: The Catholic Church has lots of secrets. It always has. 403 00:21:49,559 --> 00:21:54,520 We can't even begin to guess at what is happening 404 00:21:54,605 --> 00:21:56,522 in the basement of the Vatican Library, 405 00:21:56,607 --> 00:21:58,098 held under Saint Peter's, 406 00:21:58,192 --> 00:22:00,151 and all of these other locations in the Vatican. 407 00:22:00,236 --> 00:22:02,936 And certainly, if the Church wanted the Ark of the Covenant 408 00:22:03,031 --> 00:22:05,323 and were aware that the Templars had found it, 409 00:22:05,408 --> 00:22:08,284 they certainly would have been able to obtain it. 410 00:22:09,245 --> 00:22:11,162 SHATNER: Did the Knights Templar bring 411 00:22:11,247 --> 00:22:14,114 the Ark of the Covenant to Rome? 412 00:22:14,208 --> 00:22:19,420 Well, in 2019, a surprising clue was unearthed 413 00:22:19,505 --> 00:22:22,048 in the pages of a medieval manuscript 414 00:22:22,133 --> 00:22:25,926 that connects the Ark directly to the pope. 415 00:22:26,012 --> 00:22:29,963 According to the text, starting around the year 1100, 416 00:22:30,058 --> 00:22:34,602 the Ark was kept at the Saint John Lateran Church in Rome. 417 00:22:36,981 --> 00:22:39,565 McGOWAN: The Church of Saint John Lateran is arguably 418 00:22:39,650 --> 00:22:42,526 the most important church in Rome. 419 00:22:42,612 --> 00:22:43,986 Most people don't think that. 420 00:22:44,113 --> 00:22:45,145 Most people think of Saint Peter's 421 00:22:45,239 --> 00:22:46,146 as the most important church, 422 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,491 but Saint John Lateran is actually 423 00:22:48,618 --> 00:22:53,871 the seat of the bishop of Rome, which is, in fact, the pope. 424 00:22:53,956 --> 00:22:57,833 The Church of Saint John Lateran is an archbasilica. 425 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,795 This designation of a basilica means 426 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,331 that an important relic exists within this church. 427 00:23:04,425 --> 00:23:06,801 So if the church had obtained the Ark, 428 00:23:06,886 --> 00:23:08,719 then it makes sense that they would have taken it 429 00:23:08,805 --> 00:23:10,971 to Saint John Lateran. 430 00:23:11,057 --> 00:23:13,766 The legend is that the Ark of the Covenant was there 431 00:23:13,851 --> 00:23:15,976 for 600 years. 432 00:23:16,854 --> 00:23:19,814 McMAHON: And then, in the year 1745, 433 00:23:19,899 --> 00:23:23,684 Pope Benedict XIV turns up at Saint John the Lateran 434 00:23:23,778 --> 00:23:25,319 on a pastoral visit, 435 00:23:25,405 --> 00:23:28,689 and he sees the Ark of the Covenant under a glass case. 436 00:23:28,783 --> 00:23:31,325 For some reason, he didn't like what he saw, 437 00:23:31,411 --> 00:23:33,861 and he ordered it to be taken away, 438 00:23:33,955 --> 00:23:37,531 and it was never returned and it disappeared. 439 00:23:37,625 --> 00:23:40,751 McGOWAN: All evidence of the Ark of the Covenant 440 00:23:40,837 --> 00:23:43,036 ever even being in Saint John Lateran 441 00:23:43,131 --> 00:23:44,880 completely disappears the next day, 442 00:23:45,007 --> 00:23:49,042 and no one ever speaks of it again. 443 00:23:49,137 --> 00:23:51,220 So this question of Pope Benedict XIV 444 00:23:51,347 --> 00:23:53,097 removing the Ark from Saint John Lateran 445 00:23:53,182 --> 00:23:55,549 is-is a really fascinating one. 446 00:23:55,643 --> 00:23:59,603 Did he remove this artifact, which may have been the Ark, 447 00:23:59,689 --> 00:24:03,983 because he was protecting it, because he wanted to possess it, 448 00:24:04,068 --> 00:24:06,735 because he wanted to take it somewhere else? 449 00:24:07,780 --> 00:24:09,029 We don't know. 450 00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:12,992 The idea that the Ark of the Covenant 451 00:24:13,077 --> 00:24:18,831 was secretly kept within a basilica in Rome 452 00:24:18,916 --> 00:24:23,085 for 600 years, it's a fascinating notion. 453 00:24:24,839 --> 00:24:27,247 But the search for the Ark is not only motivated 454 00:24:27,341 --> 00:24:30,634 by the desire to find where it's located, 455 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:35,088 it's also a quest to rediscover its awesome power, 456 00:24:35,183 --> 00:24:40,811 a power that some want to harness as a weapon. 457 00:24:44,525 --> 00:24:46,692 SHATNER: Southwest France. 458 00:24:46,777 --> 00:24:50,103 This mountainous region is more than 500 miles from Rome 459 00:24:50,198 --> 00:24:52,698 and almost 2,000 miles from Jerusalem. 460 00:24:53,743 --> 00:24:56,619 According to yet another legend about the Ark of the Covenant, 461 00:24:56,746 --> 00:24:59,780 the Ark was once hidden not in Rome 462 00:24:59,874 --> 00:25:03,116 but in a 13th-century French fortress 463 00:25:03,211 --> 00:25:05,211 located in this remote area, 464 00:25:05,296 --> 00:25:08,839 the Château de Montségur. 465 00:25:08,925 --> 00:25:11,625 Throughout France, there are legends from north to south 466 00:25:11,719 --> 00:25:14,970 about the Ark of the Covenant being in the land there 467 00:25:15,097 --> 00:25:16,722 at different periods of time. 468 00:25:18,226 --> 00:25:20,476 One of the potential resting sites 469 00:25:20,603 --> 00:25:22,636 of the Ark of the Covenant in France 470 00:25:22,730 --> 00:25:25,523 was on the mountaintop of Montségur, 471 00:25:25,608 --> 00:25:30,653 and it was a stronghold of the Cathar people. 472 00:25:30,780 --> 00:25:32,988 Now, the Cathars were a Christian sect 473 00:25:33,115 --> 00:25:34,982 that lived in France in the Middle Ages 474 00:25:35,076 --> 00:25:38,702 and they had strong spiritual convictions. 475 00:25:38,788 --> 00:25:42,039 So there is an idea that because these treasures 476 00:25:42,124 --> 00:25:44,625 that were brought back from the Holy Land were spiritual, 477 00:25:44,710 --> 00:25:47,586 and the Cathars were deeply spiritual people, 478 00:25:47,672 --> 00:25:50,130 that the Church may have brought these treasures, 479 00:25:50,216 --> 00:25:52,341 including the Ark of the Covenant, 480 00:25:52,468 --> 00:25:55,261 to the Cathar people. 481 00:25:55,346 --> 00:25:59,506 The Ark of the Covenant in Southern France? 482 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:01,725 It's an intriguing possibility, 483 00:26:01,811 --> 00:26:05,012 one that, in 1936, caught the attention 484 00:26:05,106 --> 00:26:09,316 of the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany, 485 00:26:09,402 --> 00:26:11,852 Heinrich Himmler. 486 00:26:11,946 --> 00:26:16,574 Himmler and Hitler were both obsessed with obtaining relics. 487 00:26:16,659 --> 00:26:19,368 During the occupation of France, 488 00:26:19,495 --> 00:26:21,704 there were a number of Nazi brigades that were 489 00:26:21,831 --> 00:26:25,624 actually dispatched throughout the region of the Pyrenees 490 00:26:25,710 --> 00:26:29,295 into Montségur in search of the Ark of the Covenant. 491 00:26:29,380 --> 00:26:32,339 There are still tracks in the mountains today 492 00:26:32,425 --> 00:26:34,258 from where the Nazis were mining, 493 00:26:34,343 --> 00:26:37,210 essentially, in the mountains, 494 00:26:37,305 --> 00:26:39,713 looking for these potential artifacts. 495 00:26:39,807 --> 00:26:41,682 They truly did believe that the Ark 496 00:26:41,767 --> 00:26:44,351 may have still been there in those mountains. 497 00:26:44,437 --> 00:26:48,439 McMAHON: Heinrich Himmler was obsessed with occultism, 498 00:26:48,524 --> 00:26:50,891 and you have to remember that the occult 499 00:26:50,985 --> 00:26:54,561 had had a massive influence on Nazi ideology. 500 00:26:54,655 --> 00:26:57,072 And it may seem crazy, but he sent people out 501 00:26:57,199 --> 00:27:01,118 of these quests to find these sacred items. 502 00:27:01,203 --> 00:27:05,238 SHATNER: The Nazis never found the Ark at Montségur. 503 00:27:05,333 --> 00:27:07,041 But what compelled them to invest 504 00:27:07,126 --> 00:27:10,419 so much time and effort into finding it? 505 00:27:10,546 --> 00:27:14,006 Were they simply trying to find a magnificent golden chest? 506 00:27:14,091 --> 00:27:17,584 Perhaps, but there are many who believe 507 00:27:17,678 --> 00:27:21,889 that the Nazis had an ulterior motive. 508 00:27:21,974 --> 00:27:23,724 McMAHON: The Ark of the Covenant 509 00:27:23,809 --> 00:27:25,926 was particularly coveted by Heinrich Himmler 510 00:27:26,020 --> 00:27:29,021 because it possessed enormous power, 511 00:27:29,106 --> 00:27:32,441 and it was carried by the Israelites 512 00:27:32,568 --> 00:27:35,268 in the long exodus to the Promised Land. 513 00:27:35,363 --> 00:27:37,771 So when they fought their enemies 514 00:27:37,865 --> 00:27:39,907 in order to establish their homeland, 515 00:27:39,992 --> 00:27:42,910 the Ark of the Covenant would be carried before them 516 00:27:42,995 --> 00:27:49,449 and would emit terrible power, smiting their enemies. 517 00:27:49,543 --> 00:27:51,251 It brought down the Walls of Jericho 518 00:27:51,337 --> 00:27:53,453 simply by its presence. 519 00:27:53,547 --> 00:27:56,456 It emitted thunderbolts at the enemy, 520 00:27:56,550 --> 00:27:59,885 and in the eyes of a Nazi, what was not to like? 521 00:27:59,970 --> 00:28:05,516 They believed that this would usher in the 1,000-year Reich. 522 00:28:05,601 --> 00:28:07,643 LEFF: If you watch the movie 523 00:28:07,770 --> 00:28:10,688 Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, 524 00:28:10,773 --> 00:28:13,306 all that magical stuff the Ark does, you know, 525 00:28:13,401 --> 00:28:15,192 Steven Spielberg didn't make that up. 526 00:28:15,277 --> 00:28:18,812 That's all in the Midrash. That's all in Jewish legends. 527 00:28:18,906 --> 00:28:20,480 It's like a nuclear weapon. 528 00:28:20,574 --> 00:28:25,819 So by legend, the Ark had these tremendous powers. 529 00:28:25,913 --> 00:28:28,497 And that's why people wanted to take it with them into battle, 530 00:28:28,624 --> 00:28:32,659 because it was powerful and dangerous. 531 00:28:32,753 --> 00:28:35,662 According to, uh, the story that we have in the Bible, 532 00:28:35,756 --> 00:28:38,665 when the Ark is coming up to Jerusalem, 533 00:28:38,759 --> 00:28:41,009 this cart that it's on hits a bump or something 534 00:28:41,137 --> 00:28:42,469 and it starts to tip. 535 00:28:42,555 --> 00:28:45,005 And this nice guy named Uzzah reaches out 536 00:28:45,099 --> 00:28:49,852 to keep it from tipping over, but because he touched the Ark, 537 00:28:49,979 --> 00:28:51,603 God strikes him dead, 538 00:28:51,689 --> 00:28:54,514 so everybody is terrified of this thing. 539 00:28:54,608 --> 00:28:58,018 It has so much power it can just zap people dead. 540 00:28:58,112 --> 00:29:02,189 SHATNER: Struck down by the wrath of God? 541 00:29:02,283 --> 00:29:04,357 Perhaps. 542 00:29:04,452 --> 00:29:07,494 But there are some who claim that there is a more 543 00:29:07,580 --> 00:29:09,163 scientific way to explain 544 00:29:09,248 --> 00:29:12,124 this extraordinary account from the Bible. 545 00:29:12,209 --> 00:29:15,702 TRAVIS TAYLOR: The Ark of the Covenant is a fascinating story 546 00:29:15,796 --> 00:29:17,204 and concept, for that matter. 547 00:29:17,298 --> 00:29:20,132 You have, in the biblical Scripture, 548 00:29:20,217 --> 00:29:23,210 a description of a device. 549 00:29:23,304 --> 00:29:26,880 It's got specific dimensions, specific materials 550 00:29:26,974 --> 00:29:29,892 and specific structures and shapes. 551 00:29:30,019 --> 00:29:34,354 So what the device is for is a whole other question, 552 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:36,389 but it sounds like a technological device 553 00:29:36,484 --> 00:29:39,059 to store energy, like a modern-day capacitor, 554 00:29:39,153 --> 00:29:42,529 because it is coated with a conductor, gold. 555 00:29:42,615 --> 00:29:45,282 Then there is another material inside that 556 00:29:45,367 --> 00:29:47,659 that is a nonconductor, wood. 557 00:29:47,745 --> 00:29:51,121 And then it's got another layer of gold on the inside. 558 00:29:51,207 --> 00:29:54,458 And that's exactly how we build capacitors. 559 00:29:54,543 --> 00:29:56,585 There's a conductor, an insulator, then a conductor. 560 00:29:56,712 --> 00:29:59,379 And then, on top of the Ark 561 00:29:59,465 --> 00:30:02,249 are these wing-shaped pointing structures. 562 00:30:02,343 --> 00:30:04,417 If you look at modern-day Tesla coils 563 00:30:04,512 --> 00:30:06,053 and Van de Graaff generators, 564 00:30:06,138 --> 00:30:08,514 we always put a probe on the top of it, 565 00:30:08,599 --> 00:30:10,849 like a little needle or a little metal arm, 566 00:30:10,935 --> 00:30:13,060 so that lightning can jump off of that. 567 00:30:13,145 --> 00:30:16,396 It's a point of which the energy is transmitted from. 568 00:30:16,482 --> 00:30:19,599 This sounds a lot like the Ark of the Covenant. 569 00:30:19,693 --> 00:30:23,403 ARIEL BAR TZADOK: It has long been believed that the Ark of the Covenant 570 00:30:23,489 --> 00:30:27,941 had some type of electromagnetic energy. 571 00:30:28,035 --> 00:30:30,077 A power that is not supernatural 572 00:30:30,162 --> 00:30:35,874 or spiritual in nature but very much technological. 573 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,418 So, the powers that it had, 574 00:30:38,504 --> 00:30:41,454 the abilities that it was able to manifest, 575 00:30:41,549 --> 00:30:45,342 to this day, is still a mystery. 576 00:30:46,470 --> 00:30:49,963 Was the Ark of the Covenant a piece of ancient technology 577 00:30:50,057 --> 00:30:52,966 that was thousands of years ahead of its time? 578 00:30:53,060 --> 00:30:57,637 Perhaps, but according to the members of a church 579 00:30:57,731 --> 00:31:01,775 located in Ethiopia, 580 00:31:01,861 --> 00:31:04,611 the mysteries of the Ark can be best understood 581 00:31:04,697 --> 00:31:07,364 not by turning to science 582 00:31:07,449 --> 00:31:11,785 but rather by embracing faith. 583 00:31:15,457 --> 00:31:16,832 (gunfire) 584 00:31:19,753 --> 00:31:22,838 SHATNER: A bloody civil war rages across the nation between 585 00:31:22,965 --> 00:31:25,632 government soldiers and rebel militia. 586 00:31:26,802 --> 00:31:30,503 The fiercest fighting is in the northern city of Axum, 587 00:31:30,598 --> 00:31:34,266 where 800 Ethiopians give their lives 588 00:31:34,351 --> 00:31:37,519 defending the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. 589 00:31:39,607 --> 00:31:42,065 But why did so many 590 00:31:42,151 --> 00:31:44,818 give their lives to protect the church? 591 00:31:44,904 --> 00:31:49,448 Their sacrifice was made to defend an important relic 592 00:31:49,533 --> 00:31:51,825 believed to be kept within a small chapel 593 00:31:51,911 --> 00:31:54,411 adjacent to the church, 594 00:31:54,496 --> 00:31:57,331 the Ark of the Covenant. 595 00:31:59,627 --> 00:32:01,201 MISSICK: The Ethiopian Christians 596 00:32:01,295 --> 00:32:03,203 claim to have the Ark of the Covenant 597 00:32:03,297 --> 00:32:06,048 in the Church of-- called Saint Mary of Zion, 598 00:32:06,175 --> 00:32:08,258 and their tradition of how the Ark of the Covenant 599 00:32:08,344 --> 00:32:10,710 made its way to Ethiopia 600 00:32:10,804 --> 00:32:13,805 is found in ancient texts called the Kebra Nagast. 601 00:32:14,975 --> 00:32:19,353 The story is that the Queen of Sheba is Ethiopian, 602 00:32:19,438 --> 00:32:22,389 and she hears of the wisdom and power of Solomon, 603 00:32:22,483 --> 00:32:26,401 so she goes to the land of Israel to try him 604 00:32:26,528 --> 00:32:30,364 with hard questions, and she is seduced by Solomon 605 00:32:30,449 --> 00:32:32,616 and impregnated by him, 606 00:32:32,701 --> 00:32:36,244 and she goes back to Ethiopia and has a son named Menelik, 607 00:32:36,372 --> 00:32:38,905 who becomes the emperor. 608 00:32:38,999 --> 00:32:42,242 COLLINS: The story that the Ethiopians tell us is that 609 00:32:42,336 --> 00:32:45,879 when Menelik came of age, he returned 610 00:32:45,965 --> 00:32:49,466 from his homeland of Ethiopia, uh, 611 00:32:49,551 --> 00:32:52,594 to see his father, to meet his father, 612 00:32:52,721 --> 00:32:56,890 and eventually, Menelik took the Ark 613 00:32:56,976 --> 00:33:01,937 back to Ethiopia, which is where it remains to this day. 614 00:33:03,691 --> 00:33:05,932 BOB CORNUKE: The last emperor, Haile Selassie, 615 00:33:06,026 --> 00:33:07,767 builds this bunker-like building 616 00:33:07,861 --> 00:33:10,320 that they call Saint Mary's of Zion Church, 617 00:33:10,406 --> 00:33:13,198 and that's where the Ark is resting today. 618 00:33:13,283 --> 00:33:14,908 They say. 619 00:33:14,994 --> 00:33:17,244 Now, do they have the Ark? 620 00:33:17,329 --> 00:33:19,446 That's the, that's the big question. 621 00:33:19,540 --> 00:33:23,291 We don't know. That's the biggest mystery of all time. 622 00:33:23,419 --> 00:33:25,752 I think they have something that they believe to be the Ark, 623 00:33:25,838 --> 00:33:27,454 and they believe it with all their souls, 624 00:33:27,548 --> 00:33:29,256 and they believed it for a couple thousand years. 625 00:33:29,341 --> 00:33:31,291 So they have something that they believe. 626 00:33:31,385 --> 00:33:33,793 (people chanting) 627 00:33:33,887 --> 00:33:36,221 SHATNER: There are more than 30 million Christians 628 00:33:36,306 --> 00:33:38,631 living in Ethiopia today, 629 00:33:38,726 --> 00:33:42,561 and they strongly believe that the Ark of the Covenant 630 00:33:42,646 --> 00:33:45,188 is kept in Axum. 631 00:33:45,274 --> 00:33:47,640 They also practice many of the same traditions 632 00:33:47,735 --> 00:33:49,609 that the ancient Israelites did 633 00:33:49,695 --> 00:33:53,989 in order to show their reverence for the Ark. 634 00:33:54,116 --> 00:33:56,816 MISSICK: Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity 635 00:33:56,910 --> 00:33:58,535 has strong Jewish links, in their language, 636 00:33:58,620 --> 00:34:00,454 which is a language closely related to Hebrew, 637 00:34:00,539 --> 00:34:01,538 but also in their culture, 638 00:34:01,623 --> 00:34:03,323 they preserve many ancient Jewish texts. 639 00:34:03,417 --> 00:34:06,585 They claim to be of Jewish descent themselves, 640 00:34:06,670 --> 00:34:08,920 and they keep other Jewish traditions. 641 00:34:09,006 --> 00:34:12,924 The Ethiopian language is called Ethiopic or Ge'ez. 642 00:34:13,010 --> 00:34:16,002 Their language is very similar to Hebrew and Aramaic, 643 00:34:16,096 --> 00:34:18,430 the languages of the Old Testament. 644 00:34:18,515 --> 00:34:21,391 A lot of ancient, lost Jewish texts 645 00:34:21,477 --> 00:34:23,977 that used to be part of the Bible, like Enoch and Jubilees, 646 00:34:24,063 --> 00:34:26,480 were preserved by the Ethiopian Christians. 647 00:34:26,565 --> 00:34:29,182 And they also claim to preserve and keep 648 00:34:29,276 --> 00:34:31,568 the one true Ark of the Covenant. 649 00:34:32,613 --> 00:34:34,696 SHATNER: Is it possible that the Ark of the Covenant 650 00:34:34,823 --> 00:34:38,992 is kept within the Church of Saint Mary of Zion in Ethiopia? 651 00:34:39,078 --> 00:34:42,028 That's a fascinating idea. 652 00:34:42,122 --> 00:34:44,247 But one that is hard to prove, 653 00:34:44,333 --> 00:34:49,002 because Ethiopians believe that only one person 654 00:34:49,088 --> 00:34:52,372 should be allowed to be in the presence of the Ark, 655 00:34:52,466 --> 00:34:56,593 a belief that was also held by the ancient Israelites. 656 00:34:58,639 --> 00:35:00,880 What the Ethiopians have done is they've copied everything 657 00:35:00,974 --> 00:35:01,881 that's in the Bible. 658 00:35:01,975 --> 00:35:04,884 They mirror everything in history 659 00:35:04,978 --> 00:35:07,053 that the ancients did in the temple, 660 00:35:07,147 --> 00:35:10,390 and they do it the same way. 661 00:35:10,484 --> 00:35:13,059 So they have one man, the guard of the ark. 662 00:35:13,153 --> 00:35:15,904 He never leaves Saint Mary's Zion Church. 663 00:35:16,031 --> 00:35:19,491 His job is to be the guardian of the Ark. 664 00:35:19,576 --> 00:35:21,901 And he's sort of the representative 665 00:35:21,995 --> 00:35:24,737 of what the high priest would be. 666 00:35:24,832 --> 00:35:27,574 LEFF: In the Jewish tradition, the only person 667 00:35:27,668 --> 00:35:30,752 that was allowed into the presence of the Ark 668 00:35:30,879 --> 00:35:33,913 was the Kohen Gadol, the high priest. 669 00:35:34,007 --> 00:35:36,416 The high priest had a very, very special uniform 670 00:35:36,510 --> 00:35:39,344 that he used, and he had 671 00:35:39,429 --> 00:35:42,430 a very, very elaborate ritual he had to go through. 672 00:35:42,558 --> 00:35:45,258 He'd have to immerse in a ritual bath multiple times, 673 00:35:45,352 --> 00:35:47,060 he'd have to be in a state 674 00:35:47,146 --> 00:35:49,896 of perfect physical and spiritual purity 675 00:35:49,982 --> 00:35:55,101 before entering into the presence of the Ark. 676 00:35:55,195 --> 00:35:58,938 CARGILL: This high priest would go in to visit the Ark of the Covenant 677 00:35:59,032 --> 00:36:01,941 one day a year, and that was it. 678 00:36:02,035 --> 00:36:04,611 No one else was supposed to go into-- 679 00:36:04,705 --> 00:36:08,540 upon pain of death-- uh, see the Ark of the Covenant. 680 00:36:08,625 --> 00:36:11,334 And this is part of this tradition 681 00:36:11,420 --> 00:36:14,713 of this sacredness of the Ark 682 00:36:14,798 --> 00:36:18,791 that we, the profane, right, we people can't touch 683 00:36:18,886 --> 00:36:22,554 even the object that represents God on Earth. 684 00:36:22,639 --> 00:36:24,890 CORNUKE: The Bible says the one thing about the Ark 685 00:36:24,975 --> 00:36:27,767 is that God had it specifically made 686 00:36:27,853 --> 00:36:30,020 in the way he wanted it, and he wanted it to be used 687 00:36:30,105 --> 00:36:31,521 the way he wanted it. 688 00:36:31,607 --> 00:36:34,307 And the Ethiopians really accept this, 689 00:36:34,401 --> 00:36:37,027 because they have been told since they've been little kids 690 00:36:37,112 --> 00:36:39,946 that this is from God. 691 00:36:40,032 --> 00:36:43,742 According to the writings, this object has been given 692 00:36:43,827 --> 00:36:46,745 to the Ethiopians 693 00:36:46,830 --> 00:36:51,291 and they are the holy keepers of the Ark, 694 00:36:51,376 --> 00:36:54,920 and they are willing to give their lives that fast 695 00:36:55,005 --> 00:36:56,504 if someone is gonna come and try and take 696 00:36:56,632 --> 00:36:58,665 the Ark of the Covenant. 697 00:36:58,759 --> 00:37:00,667 That's exactly what happened. 698 00:37:00,761 --> 00:37:04,638 Military went in there with the guns and the people rallied. 699 00:37:05,641 --> 00:37:09,768 People came by the hundreds to protect the Ark of the Covenant. 700 00:37:09,853 --> 00:37:15,181 The Ethiopians believe with all their mind, heart, soul 701 00:37:15,275 --> 00:37:20,695 that this is a holy object of God. 702 00:37:21,740 --> 00:37:24,857 If the Ark reveals its secrets only to those 703 00:37:24,952 --> 00:37:27,360 who are trained to be in its presence, 704 00:37:27,454 --> 00:37:30,497 perhaps that explains why it has remained so well hidden 705 00:37:30,582 --> 00:37:32,415 for thousands of years. 706 00:37:32,501 --> 00:37:35,335 But what would happen 707 00:37:35,420 --> 00:37:38,672 if the Ark is actually rediscovered? 708 00:37:38,757 --> 00:37:41,207 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining 709 00:37:41,301 --> 00:37:45,136 an ancient biblical prophecy 710 00:37:45,222 --> 00:37:49,599 which claims that the Ark will soon return. 711 00:37:54,481 --> 00:37:56,773 SHATNER: Although the search for the lost Ark of the Covenant 712 00:37:56,858 --> 00:38:00,568 continues all over the world to this day, 713 00:38:00,696 --> 00:38:03,730 many believe that our best hope of finding the Ark 714 00:38:03,824 --> 00:38:06,232 is by not looking for it at all. 715 00:38:06,326 --> 00:38:09,703 Instead, all we need to do is wait, 716 00:38:09,788 --> 00:38:12,747 because according to a biblical prophecy, 717 00:38:12,874 --> 00:38:17,002 one day, the Ark will return. 718 00:38:17,087 --> 00:38:18,753 MISSICK: It's interesting 719 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:21,089 that the Ark of the Covenant is not just mentioned 720 00:38:21,216 --> 00:38:22,582 in the Old Testament, 721 00:38:22,676 --> 00:38:24,384 it's mentioned throughout the Bible. 722 00:38:24,469 --> 00:38:26,419 It's found in the Book of Hebrews but also 723 00:38:26,513 --> 00:38:28,254 in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, 724 00:38:28,348 --> 00:38:30,056 where the Ark of the Covenant appears 725 00:38:30,142 --> 00:38:33,259 as a testament to the revelation and the end of the world 726 00:38:33,353 --> 00:38:35,261 and the culmination of all things. 727 00:38:35,355 --> 00:38:38,315 MULLINS: According to the Book of Revelation, 728 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:40,600 chapter 11, verse 19, 729 00:38:40,694 --> 00:38:42,819 the Ark of the Covenant will not be revealed 730 00:38:42,904 --> 00:38:44,988 until the end times. 731 00:38:45,073 --> 00:38:48,775 Revelation 11:19, "Then God's temple in Heaven 732 00:38:48,869 --> 00:38:51,202 "was opened, and within his temple was seen 733 00:38:51,288 --> 00:38:53,279 "the Ark of his testament. 734 00:38:53,373 --> 00:38:55,915 "And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, 735 00:38:56,001 --> 00:38:59,461 peals of thunder and earthquake, and severe hailstorm." 736 00:38:59,588 --> 00:39:04,049 In that passage, um, the Book of Revelation describes 737 00:39:04,134 --> 00:39:07,260 the lightning, the thunder that'll take place 738 00:39:07,346 --> 00:39:10,013 when the Ark of the Covenant is revealed. 739 00:39:10,098 --> 00:39:12,932 MISSICK: In Israel, there's a place called Tel Megiddo, 740 00:39:13,018 --> 00:39:15,769 which is also known as Armageddon, right? 741 00:39:15,854 --> 00:39:18,063 This is the place where the end-of-the-world battle 742 00:39:18,148 --> 00:39:19,138 is supposed to take place. 743 00:39:19,232 --> 00:39:20,973 So at the city, from the time 744 00:39:21,068 --> 00:39:22,475 of the judges in the Old Testament, 745 00:39:22,569 --> 00:39:24,611 many people feel that in the last days, 746 00:39:24,696 --> 00:39:26,979 the Ark of the Covenant will be rediscovered there 747 00:39:27,074 --> 00:39:29,449 in fulfillment of the-- these, uh, ancient prophecies. 748 00:39:29,534 --> 00:39:32,869 SHATNER: Is this the place where the Ark of the Covenant 749 00:39:32,954 --> 00:39:35,822 will one day reappear? 750 00:39:35,916 --> 00:39:38,491 Only time will tell. 751 00:39:38,585 --> 00:39:42,545 But if and when that day ever comes, 752 00:39:42,631 --> 00:39:44,163 one thing is certain, 753 00:39:44,257 --> 00:39:48,000 the world would never be the same again. 754 00:39:48,095 --> 00:39:50,470 The world that we live in today, we must remember, 755 00:39:50,555 --> 00:39:52,931 is not a world that believes in miracles. 756 00:39:53,016 --> 00:39:56,342 By and large, this Western society that we're a part of 757 00:39:56,436 --> 00:39:58,353 does not believe that the Ark has the ability 758 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:02,181 to flatten mountains down and kill all the enemies. 759 00:40:02,275 --> 00:40:05,017 So if the Ark is found today, 760 00:40:05,112 --> 00:40:09,155 and it actually carries any kind of divine properties, 761 00:40:09,241 --> 00:40:11,691 this is gonna have some monumental effect 762 00:40:11,785 --> 00:40:13,410 on the way that we see 763 00:40:13,495 --> 00:40:15,787 and think about the world that we live in. 764 00:40:17,332 --> 00:40:18,832 CARGILL: I think the reason 765 00:40:18,917 --> 00:40:21,534 that people are always looking for relics, 766 00:40:21,628 --> 00:40:23,703 objects, the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, 767 00:40:23,797 --> 00:40:25,296 Noah's Ark, 768 00:40:25,382 --> 00:40:27,215 is they're looking for tangible evidence 769 00:40:27,342 --> 00:40:29,134 that will confirm their faith. 770 00:40:29,219 --> 00:40:32,637 We have archaeology, and sometimes, 771 00:40:32,722 --> 00:40:35,181 archaeology confirms the stories in the Bible, 772 00:40:35,267 --> 00:40:36,724 and sometimes it doesn't. 773 00:40:36,852 --> 00:40:38,217 But if we had the Ark, 774 00:40:38,311 --> 00:40:41,729 somehow, people feel that that would just say, 775 00:40:41,857 --> 00:40:45,066 "Aha, now I know that my faith is true, 776 00:40:45,193 --> 00:40:47,226 that it's real, that it's confirmed," 777 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:49,028 and people want that. 778 00:40:50,073 --> 00:40:52,866 McGOWAN: I think, for all people of faith around the world, it would be 779 00:40:52,951 --> 00:40:55,326 a-a fascinating experience 780 00:40:55,412 --> 00:41:00,123 to see this idea that something made by human hands 781 00:41:00,208 --> 00:41:04,169 was able to contact God or even to possess the power of God. 782 00:41:04,254 --> 00:41:07,079 But on the other hand, are we ready 783 00:41:07,174 --> 00:41:09,466 to possess the power of God? 784 00:41:09,551 --> 00:41:11,584 Is it a good thing in this day and age 785 00:41:11,678 --> 00:41:16,088 to even play with the idea that such an artifact exists 786 00:41:16,183 --> 00:41:18,391 that could have that kind of power? 787 00:41:18,477 --> 00:41:23,021 Maybe it's for the best that the Ark remains hidden. 788 00:41:26,526 --> 00:41:29,235 What do you believe? 789 00:41:29,321 --> 00:41:31,938 Is the Ark of the Covenant a divine object 790 00:41:32,032 --> 00:41:35,074 that contains the power of God, 791 00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:37,610 or is it a myth, 792 00:41:37,704 --> 00:41:41,206 designed to inspire reverence for the Almighty? 793 00:41:41,291 --> 00:41:43,833 Well, it's safe to say that no matter where 794 00:41:43,919 --> 00:41:47,453 the Ark is, or what it is, 795 00:41:47,547 --> 00:41:52,458 people will continue searching for it in the hope that someday, 796 00:41:52,552 --> 00:41:57,180 the mystery of the lost Ark will no longer be... 797 00:41:57,265 --> 00:41:59,298 unexplained. 798 00:41:59,392 --> 00:42:01,184 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS 64763

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