The UnXplained: Unearthing the Ark of the Covenant's Secrets

God created the heavens and the Earth. He said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Then darkness.

The firmament, the oceans. Plants and trees. Animals that fly and slither and swim.

And last but not least, male and female. The Book of Genesis. It's a nice story, of course.

One that we're all undoubtedly familiar with. But could it be true? TZADOK: Some people say that they believe that there should never ever be any conflict between science and religion.

But if we accept Genesis as being historical, which according to faith, of course we do, then we need to ask the other realistic questions: how and what really happened? SHATNER: While mainstream scientists are understandably skeptical that God, as described in the Old Testament Book of Genesis, created the Earth and everything on it in only six days, there is surprising evidence to suggest that the second book of the Bible, Exodus, is based on historical fact. EHRMAN: In the Book of Exodus, the, uh, children of Israel have been enslaved in Egypt and God has told Moses to go and set his people free.

Moses demands that Pharaoh lets the people free. Pharaoh refuses, and so God empowers Moses to do plagues against the Egyptians, and finally the Pharaoh relents, lets the people go. JAMES HOFFMEIER: Israel's origins as a slave nation is not the sort of thing people would make up.

So even many of the most critical, historical scholars of the Bible would say, "There's something to this. " We do know from Egyptian history, both from ancient texts and archaeological evidence through excavations, that somewhere around 1700 to 1650 BC, there was an influx of foreigners into Egypt. They spoke a dialect very similar to Hebrew.

And when Ramesses II comes along in the 13th century, he decided to move his base of operations to a new city that he named Ramesses, Pi-Ramesses, the House of Ramesses. And according to the Book of Exodus, that's why I would place this event in the 13th century, sort of as they finally get fed up with years and years of being abused and used to build Pharaoh's projects. SHATNER: But if the Book of Exodus was based on real events and people, then wouldn't there be some kind of physical evidence left behind-- a relic of their journey out of Egypt-- that would validate this incredible story?

According to some scholars, such a relic could actually exist: the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant is probably one of the best-kept mysteries in the world today. We know, according to the biblical description, that the Commandments which Moses brought down from Mount Sinai were placed inside the Ark.

As well as a portion of the manna, which they collected in the desert, and Aaron's rod, which had blossomed with almonds in the great test of the tribes. TZADOK: It was a box of gold which had inside it a box of wood. And then another box of gold with a golden cover.

The Ark of the Covenant represents the giving of the Torah at Sinai from God. It's the holiest object that ever existed in the Jewish tradition. And there are people who, because their belief somehow needs to be palpable and physical, feel as though if they could see it, that would prove God's will in this world.

SHATNER: But if the Ark of the Covenant was not only real but still exists, where could it be? According to the Hebrew Bible, the Ark was once housed inside a secret inner sanctuary of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. But after the temple was destroyed around 586 BC, the whereabouts of the Ark and its precious contents became unknown.

HOFFMEIER: One tradition, of course, is that it was simply destroyed by the Babylonians when the temple was burnt and melted and that's the end of it. MULLINS: However, because the Ark never showed up again, people have often wondered what really did happen to the Ark. SHATNER: For centuries, the search for the Ark of the Covenant has consumed both archaeologists and Bible scholars.

If it were ever found, it would not only prove that the biblical accounts in the Book of Exodus were based on historical events, it could also unleash incredible power. I'm a great believer in trying to find out as much as we can archaeologically about what happened in biblical history, and the way in which we can validate it, as long as we're intellectually honest. Some things we'll be able to prove, some things we will disprove.

and much we will never know. SHATNER: In recent years, some scholars and theologians have suggested that the Ark isn't lost, but was deliberately hidden. Kept away from those who might wish to exploit its awesome power.

For many, to find a relic like the Ark of the Covenant is extremely important. It was viewed as God's throne, and these ideas are most likely connected to scriptures that refer to the Ark being carried into battle and the enemies are scattering before them. TZADOK: It is said that the Ark housed<i> kavod,</i> or glory of God.

Now, this in quote "glory of God" was not something symbolic, it was something actual, something tangible, something energetic. What are we missing here in the biblical understanding of this mysterious box? It was clearly far more than just a religious icon.

There was a technology involved, and that is what makes the Ark, to this day, one of the greatest mysteries of our history. In this small town located on the outskirts of Houston stands the King of Saints Church. On the surface, it looks like any number of churches scattered throughout the region.

But inside, there's something that makes it stand out from the rest. Within this church is a remarkably accurate reproduction of the Ark of the Covenant. STEPHEN MISSICK: My father and I built this replica of the Ark of the Covenant because it makes the Scripture come alive in a new and unique way, because you're not just reading a description in a book or seeing a picture.

This is 3D-built according to the specifications in the Scripture. Exodus chapter 25, Moses gives the blueprint or the detailed instructions of how to build the Ark. And that's the instructions we used to build this with all the dimensions.

The Bible describes two cherubim, which are winged sphinxes, and they're facing each other, as we see here according to the Scriptures, and the cherubim had the body of a lion, the face of men, the wings of an eagle. In other depictions of the Ark of the Covenant, you see humanoid angels with wings, or cherubs, but this reflects the description of cherubim as we find in the Book of Ezekiel. And they look upon the mercy seat, which is the cover of the Ark of the Covenant.

Our congregation sees this Ark as a unique way to show that God is king and Lord through the Ark, which represents the kingship of God and also represents a way that God spoke spiritually and through his written word. We have this replica of the Ark of the Covenant as a symbol of that importance. SHATNER: Throughout history, the Ark of the Covenant has been one of the most sacred artifacts in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

But just what exactly is the Ark? BARRY LEFF: Well, the Ark of the Covenant is fascinating because it's the most important ritual object, uh, that Judaism has ever had. The Ark is first introduced scripturally in the Book of Exodus, where God gives Moses instructions to build an ark for carrying the Ten Commandments.

It has very detailed instructions. It should be two and a half cubits long, like, one and a half cubits tall and one and a half cubits wide, and it's plated with gold inside and out. The Ark was covered by this gold lid, um, called the mercy seat.

Now, it's also known as the throne of God, mainly because we have a passage in 1 Samuel 4:4, that mentions how God is enthroned between the cherubim. So this indicates to us that this mercy seat was, in fact, understood as the throne of God. ROBERT CARGILL: The Ark of the Covenant, for a time, was the center of the Israelite religion.

It represented the presence of the Hebrew god Yahweh on Earth, meaning if there was a question that needed to be answered, the Ark was the place that you would go and petition God. If you went into battle, the Ark would be taken, marched into battle. As long as the presence of God, represented by the Ark, was with Israel, they couldn't be conquered.

The Ark of the Covenant was God in the midst of the Israelites. SHATNER: Southwest France. This mountainous region is more than 500 miles from Rome and almost 2,000 miles from Jerusalem.

According to yet another legend about the Ark of the Covenant, the Ark was once hidden not in Rome but in a 13th-century French fortress located in this remote area, the Château de Montségur. Throughout France, there are legends from north to south about the Ark of the Covenant being in the land there at different periods of time. One of the potential resting sites of the Ark of the Covenant in France was on the mountaintop of Montségur, and it was a stronghold of the Cathar people.

Now, the Cathars were a Christian sect that lived in France in the Middle Ages and they had strong spiritual convictions. So there is an idea that because these treasures that were brought back from the Holy Land were spiritual, and the Cathars were deeply spiritual people, that the Church may have brought these treasures, including the Ark of the Covenant, to the Cathar people. The Ark of the Covenant in Southern France?

It's an intriguing possibility, one that, in 1936, caught the attention of the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany, Heinrich Himmler. Himmler and Hitler were both obsessed with obtaining relics. During the occupation of France, there were a number of Nazi brigades that were actually dispatched throughout the region of the Pyrenees into Montségur in search of the Ark of the Covenant.

There are still tracks in the mountains today from where the Nazis were mining, essentially, in the mountains, looking for these potential artifacts. They truly did believe that the Ark may have still been there in those mountains. McMAHON: Heinrich Himmler was obsessed with occultism, and you have to remember that the occult had had a massive influence on Nazi ideology.

And it may seem crazy, but he sent people out of these quests to find these sacred items. SHATNER: The Nazis never found the Ark at Montségur. But what compelled them to invest so much time and effort into finding it?

Were they simply trying to find a magnificent golden chest? Perhaps, but there are many who believe that the Nazis had an ulterior motive. McMAHON: The Ark of the Covenant was particularly coveted by Heinrich Himmler because it possessed enormous power, and it was carried by the Israelites in the long exodus to the Promised Land.

So when they fought their enemies in order to establish their homeland, the Ark of the Covenant would be carried before them and would emit terrible power, smiting their enemies. It brought down the Walls of Jericho simply by its presence. It emitted thunderbolts at the enemy, and in the eyes of a Nazi, what was not to like?

They believed that this would usher in the 1,000-year Reich. LEFF: If you watch the movie <i> Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark,</i> all that magical stuff the Ark does, you know, Steven Spielberg didn't make that up. That's all in the Midrash.

That's all in Jewish legends. It's like a nuclear weapon. So by legend, the Ark had these tremendous powers.

And that's why people wanted to take it with them into battle, because it was powerful and dangerous. According to, uh, the story that we have in the Bible, when the Ark is coming up to Jerusalem, this cart that it's on hits a bump or something and it starts to tip. And this nice guy named Uzzah reaches out to keep it from tipping over, but because he touched the Ark, God strikes him dead, so everybody is terrified of this thing.

It has so much power it can just zap people dead. SHATNER: Struck down by the wrath of God? Perhaps.

But there are some who claim that there is a more scientific way to explain this extraordinary account from the Bible. TRAVIS TAYLOR: The Ark of the Covenant is a fascinating story and concept, for that matter. You have, in the biblical Scripture, a description of a device.

It's got specific dimensions, specific materials and specific structures and shapes. So what the device is for is a whole other question, but it sounds like a technological device to store energy, like a modern-day capacitor, because it is coated with a conductor, gold. Then there is another material inside that that is a nonconductor, wood.

And then it's got another layer of gold on the inside. And that's exactly how we build capacitors. There's a conductor, an insulator, then a conductor.

And then, on top of the Ark are these wing-shaped pointing structures. If you look at modern-day Tesla coils and Van de Graaff generators, we always put a probe on the top of it, like a little needle or a little metal arm, so that lightning can jump off of that. It's a point of which the energy is transmitted from.

This sounds a lot like the Ark of the Covenant. ARIEL BAR TZADOK: It has long been believed that the Ark of the Covenant had some type of electromagnetic energy. A power that is not supernatural or spiritual in nature but very much technological.

So, the powers that it had, the abilities that it was able to manifest, to this day, is still a mystery. High in the mountains of northern Ethiopia, a mile and a half above sea level, lies the city of Lalibela. Each year, tens of thousands of worshippers make the arduous journey here, despite its remote location, to visit 11 of the strangest holy places on Earth.

Lalibela is one of Africa's most mysterious sites. It's a complex of 11 monolithic churches that are hewn right out of the bedrock. Most churches are built on the surface, and they're built from the bottom up.

Whereas in Lalibela, they're built from the top down. It's the only place on the Earth that has cathedrals that are built underground as opposed to being built on the surface. WHITEHEAD: A very curious thing at Lalibela is that there are some very unique carvings there, some very interesting symbols that are carved into these churches.

Do they mean something if you put them together? COLLINS: In the church of St. Mary at Lalibela, there is the Star of David, and this, along with a number of other mementos and designs, are extremely indicative of the presence of the Knights Templar.

This has suggested to many that they may well have been present during the construction of the churches at Lalibela. TOK THOMPSON: Now, the Knights Templar were a very interesting religious order that became very powerful during the Middle Ages, but what people don't often realize is they were very interested in building, in, uh, geometry, in, uh, numerology, uh, and so, they're at once very practical and pragmatic, and on the other hand, also very spiritual and mystic. WHITEHEAD: The Knights Templar had a great amount of knowledge in masonry and architecture and building structures.

Now, it's debated as to whether or not the Knights Templar would have been in Ethiopia at this time. But there's some interesting evidence that an Armenian geographer at the time documented seeing men with red and white regalia, blonde or reddish hair, long hair, which could indicate that he's talking about Templars. So, it could be that the Templars themselves were the ones that built Lalibela or that they helped King Lalibela build the site.

SHATNER: Could Templar stone masons have influenced the construction of the churches at Lalibela? And if so, for what purpose? COLLINS: If you look around Lalibela, there are altars there that have spaces in them that would precisely fit the Ark of the Covenant, which was approximately four feet in length, two feet wide, and around two feet in height.

It has been suggested that the rock-cut churches at Lalibela were built to house the Ark of the Covenant. SHATNER: The lost Ark of the Covenant-- the gold box which contained the original Ten Commandments-- could it have been hidden at Lalibela centuries ago? During the Crusades, we know that the Templars occupied the Temple of Solomon.

And so, it could be that they were the keepers of the Ark of the Covenant. And the more you look at Lalibela and given the fact that we see that it's built underground, you start to think, here we have these churches that are hewn out of these megalithic rocks. They're built like defensive structures.

They have all kinds of interesting symbolism there that indicate Templars. And you start getting the impression that this is actually some kind of defensive fortress to protect something.