Original subtitles

Now what are you going to do?

Up to your old tricks, huh?

Well, you just watch this.

Check.

Never underestimate the advantage about living your opponent, my darling.

Why am I not afraid?

Because you know who I am.

Wait. Can you give me a minute?

I've got something to do.

Sure.

It happens all the time.

Well, the things that we leave to the last minute.

I don't want to keep you, but this... This is important.

Or do you already know that?

Well, I pretty much work on a need -to -know basis.

Well... Somebody needs to know about this.

This has just been sitting in a suitcase in Springfield?

Since... Since 1947.

Can't let it sit here anymore or it'll just end up on eBay with everything else

around here.

I have four children.

12 grandchildren, 16 great -grandchildren, and only one of them is

dinker's damn.

I don't suppose that you could swing by the post office for me, could you?

Sure.

I better sit down for this.

been an angel?

About 6 ,000 years, give or take a century.

Have you always been a caseworker?

No, no, no. I was in annunciations.

Then I was in the choir, briefly, and search and rescue.

The choir sounds nice.

I don't even know if I can sing.

Learn to sing.

I also need to learn rollerblading, get a cell phone, and acquire a thorough

understanding of human reproduction.

Gloria, you will find as you go along that God will give you what you need to

know when you need it.

The talent to sing, the skill of a surgeon, the eye of a photographer.

Why, he's already given you the mind of a computer.

I have an unlimited capacity to process and store data and retrieve memory.

I can tell you all the components of that rose over there, but... But?

I can't tell you why it's beautiful.

Although I did read this morning that a thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Gloria, you've only been an angel for six days.

You need to learn patience.

I need to learn everything.

Yes, you do. And Monica and I have decided that an angel in training should

a solid background of the classics.

You have a wonderful 21st century sort of mind, but...

Well, it's hard to be a techno angel without some context in history.

History, of course. I need to learn the history of the cell phone before I start

actually using one. We were thinking of something a little more historical.

We were thinking Genesis, Exodus, the Ten Commandments.

Ten? Is that all?

Look, there's Andrew.

And you actually saw it.

I wrapped it for her.

Then you'd better mail it.

And Monica, you just got your assignment.

What about the Ten Commandments?

Don't worry about it, baby. You'll learn them.

You might even see them.

I will ride And I will walk with you I'll

walk with you Till the sun don't even shine Walk

with you Every time I tell you I'll walk with

you Believe me, I'll walk with you

So remember, don't ask any questions. Just sit there and take the class. And

whatever you do... I wish we had had more time.

Whatever you do, do not tell him that you're an angel.

Nobody's supposed to know. Sit.

Sit in here.

There. For some have entertained angels unaware.

You see?

We're the angels. They're unaware.

Okay? Okay.

And another thing, if you see me, you don't know me.

I don't? No, not until we meet.

Then I know you? Right.

Okay.

I'm going to college.

A hundred years ago, Las Vegas didn't exist.

Four hundred years ago, New York couldn't be found on a map. But three

years ago, the Egyptian pyramids were already ancient history.

Read the Bible. Read the works of Herodotus and Josephus.

and then read the morning newspaper.

You'll see the same names, the same places, even the same bloodshed going on

the same Palestine, the same Jerusalem, the same River Jordan, the same Temple

Mount where Solomon built his temple and where the Ten Commandments may even be

buried in the Ark of the Covenant.

Do you really think the Lost Ark is still out there?

The Israelites actually carried the Ark with them as they wandered through the

desert. With Moses? Right. And it contained all kinds of sacred objects,

including the tablets with the Ten Commandments that Moses actually brought

from Mount Sinai. It ended up in Solomon's temple. And then around 586

the temple was destroyed, the Ark just disappeared.

Now, some say it was taken to Ethiopia.

But most others still believe that it is hidden underneath the Temple Mount in

Jerusalem.

And, oh my goodness, I'm sorry, I've gone over.

We'll get to the syllabus next Friday. Nice to meet you all.

If they think it's still there in Jerusalem, why don't they just go dig it

Well,

the whole history of Israel is in that question. Who controls the Temple Mount?

The Jews?

The Muslims?

You got a minute? Can I show you something?

Uh, office hours two to four, Paul. See you then.

Um, I'm sorry, if you need to see me, my office is in Doolin Hall, room 115,

hours two to four.

Professor North, my name is Monica. I'm from the Vandermeer Institute.

Oh, oh, good.

Well, since I hardly know you, either of you, really, I'll just be going.

I've been expecting you.

The Institute has every confidence in your ability to complete your book. And

that's why they sent you?

Well, they have made a rather large grant, so they want some assurance that

work on the political ramifications of material archaeological evidence of the

Temple Mount will be complete on schedule.

It's coming along nicely.

Good. I look forward to reading what you have before I leave.

Oh, gosh, you know...

I'd love that, but I really... I've got another class to go to. I've got student

meetings. Then there's this darn faculty cocktail party thing.

Dr. Hardwick.

Well, I'm going, too, so we can talk tonight.

Oh, good.

Great.

I'll see you then.

And then this is waiting for me when I got back.

I mean, she must have mailed it the day she died.

I've never seen it before, but my grandfather, he spent a lot of time in

Middle East in the 40s.

He must have brought it back then. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Well, I don't know what it is, but if it's something important, it'd be nice

know.

It's Aramaic, right?

Or is it Hebrew?

It's Aramaic.

Well, I really can't say right now.

No, probably somebody took some paper and E and passed it off to your

grandfather as an ancient document.

Happened a lot before they started cracking down on that sort of thing.

But it looks so old.

Why don't you leave it with me for a bit? I'll send a sample off for carbon

dating, maybe try and translate some. It probably says, welcome to Tel Aviv or

something.

Okay, all right.

Thanks, Professor.

These look good.

Thank you. You're welcome.

She's here because I'm the department chairman. I approve the matching funds.

And if she sees that I'm not worried, maybe she won't worry. I did you a

Favor? She wants to see the book.

Well, if you'd actually written it instead of blowing all that grant money

Israel looking for the Ark of the Covenant, Tommy, this wouldn't be a

Is that my sister -in -law talking or my boss?

I'm still trying to explain where the university's half of that grant went.

Honestly. I can't cover for you anymore.

You're becoming a laughingstock.

Not to mention, if you don't publish something, something legitimate, you're

going to get tenure.

I should have gotten tenure a long time ago.

How can you expect the department to take you seriously with this lunatic

archaeology you insist on pursuing?

It's only lunatic until I find it.

The Ark of the Covenant.

Annabelle, listen to me.

Not again.

No, you know the third theory, the one about Jeremiah hiding the Ark in the

desert. On Mount Nebo. It's an obscure reference in 2 Maccabees. Come on,

Thomas. No historian takes that book seriously.

Yes, but the author of 2 Maccabees claimed to have other documents that

corroborated his account, remember?

The memoirs of Nehemiah.

But nobody's ever found them. They may not even exist.

What if I told you that I had seen a 1st century B .C. copy?

of Nehemiah's memoirs. And they mention Jeremiah and Mount Nebo and the Ark.

I'd say you have something worth writing a book about.

But not enough to start digging up a mountain range looking for a box.

Well, it's enough to shift my focus from Jerusalem to Mount Nebo.

Oh, for heaven's sake.

Mount Nebo is full of caves.

Hundreds of them.

You'll be dead before you've ever even explored a tenth of what's there.

Tommy, I love you. I know why this means so much to you. And everyone has to

have a dream, I know that.

You know what my dream is?

That you find some peace.

Not in Jerusalem.

Not on Mount Nebo.

But here.

Gloria, why aren't you in the library?

Well, I heard there was a history department party, and I'm studying

so... Yes, but this party is for faculty. It's not for students.

Monica.

Ginger ale, right?

Thank you.

This is Gloria. I believe she's a student of yours, Professor.

Yes, we met.

After we spoke this morning, I went to the library and read the Bible.

What for?

Well, the whole thing, actually. But something in Ezekiel struck me in

particular regarding your interest in the Ark of the Covenant. I was admiring

the egg on the mantle.

Is it Fabergé?

In Ezekiel, chapter 10, he describes a vision of the glory of God on his throne

in Jerusalem.

But he sees the glory leaving out the eastern gate, through the Mount of

east into the desert.

But it was a vision of glory. It was a dream he had.

It was possibly a hallucination.

Yes, and he never actually mentioned the Ark.

I love this ginger ale. But the Ark always followed the glory of God. And

seen the glory of God. It's hard to miss, really.

You're saying you believe Ezekiel? What if God's glory is code for the Ark

hidden in a vision that only a true believer would take seriously?

Out the eastern gate, through the Mount of Olives, east into the desert,

You.

Thomas, it looks like you've found another convert.

Good luck this semester, Gloria. There's President Chandler.

Did I help you?

Yes, Gloria.

You did.

Jerusalem, Temple Mount, out the Eastern Gate, through the Mount of Olives,

across the desert, across the Dead Sea to Mount Nebo.

So it's genuine.

I didn't say that. I said that it carbon dated at 2100 years old.

I read Aramaic, Professor.

I know what you think you have there.

Is that right?

This scroll appears to confirm the theory that Jeremiah took the Ark of the

Covenant and hid it in a cave.

On Mount Nebo.

First of all, nobody believes that theory.

And second, if they did, they'd have to be nuts to go digging around Mount Nebo

without some sort of map.

Well, what if someone did figure out a map?

They might be crazy enough to think they could find that ark, and that would be

a shame.

No, that would be the greatest archaeological discovery in the history

world.

Oh, really?

What would be the greatest?

The fame it would bring the finder, or the war that would be fought over it?

You see, Professor, they keep calling it the Lost Ark.

It's not lost.

It's hidden.

And there's a good reason for it to stay hidden.

It's not a movie.

It's real.

And it's holy.

How much do I owe you?

It's on the house.

But you think about what I've said to you, or you might find it'll cost you

than you can even imagine.

Carbon dating says it's fake.

It's worthless.

Yeah.

Yeah, I figured.

So much for dreams of glory, huh?

It wasn't glory I was after.

See, I was just hoping... My grandmother had all these grandchildren and great

-grandchildren. And out of all of them, she wanted me to have this girl.

You know, it's funny. Everyone always thought that she was crazy.

And I was just hoping that she wasn't, because out of everyone in the family,

she was the only one that was a little bit like me.

Well, um... Maybe this will cheer you up.

How would you like to be my TA?

Take over my class for a couple of weeks.

Me? They're screaming for me to finish this article, and I'm going to Israel,

and you can make some money.

Well, yeah, that'd be great.

Sure, thanks.

Good, I'll set up with Dr. Hardwick right away.

Annabelle, I need to talk to you, all right?

Go ahead, I'll catch up.

Annabelle?

No, dinner. Tonight.

So he's going after the Ark.

It looks like it. I tried to stop him.

Maybe we should tie him up.

Oh, that's a wonderful idea.

And then we'll hit him in the head with a frying pan.

That seems excessive.

You don't even know if the document is real. Oh, it's real.

The carbon dating proves it. And nobody else knows but you and me. What about

the student who brought it in? I told him it was a fake. I can't have anyone

else involved.

You lied to him?

Thomas. You know what this means to me.

She was my wife, Annabelle.

And she was my sister, Tommy.

You're not honoring her by lying and stealing?

The answer is no.

You can't stop me. I can take two weeks off any time I want during the semester.

But I don't have to cover for you?

And this isn't going to look good to the tenure committee? It will if I come

back with the Ark. After years of searching, you think you can go back to

and find the Ark of the Covenant in two weeks? Yes.

I've got a way now to narrow down the search to two, three caves, tops.

You know what it's like over there right now. You could get killed.

So what?

You're crazy.

And even if you're not crazy, you're broke.

You've already sold your car and everything else of any value to pay for

other wild goose chases. I'll get the money. I have. to do this arabelle you

really are out of your mind hold on

hello oh

yes why

should

the institute spend another dime to send you to israel I'm not asking for

anything. I rustled up the money on my own. I'm going.

Mount Nebo is in Jordan, and you cannot get from Jerusalem to Jordan with the...

I still have my credentials from my last visit.

Credentials that verify you as a scholar working for the Vendemere Institute of

Archaeology. The Institute paid for those credentials, and I have the right

ask that they be returned immediately.

But you're not going to.

No.

You're a desperate man, and you'll use desperate measures to get what you want.

So you can keep the credentials under one condition.

What's that?

That I go with you.

You need an expedition party. You can't afford it.

I'll set it up.

We'll use my contacts.

Any additional costs will be picked up by the Institute with the understanding

that regardless of what you find or don't find, you'll return to the

in two weeks.

Yes.

Okay.

Let's do it.

Thanks to have you back so soon, Professor Mark.

Great to be back, then.

There was a gentleman asking for you.

Oh, there he is.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I need to take coordinates from the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olive, so

need GPS capability.

That's already on the jeep.

So we'll cross the Jordan on the Alamy Bridge, head up Base Camp in the Valley

of Peor, up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah.

I've got the permits, but they're only going to be good for five days, short

notice. Well, we'll do the best we can.

One other thing.

I need a gun.

I don't look like one.

Come on, there are guns in every corner around here.

I'll provide you all the protection that you need No guns Fine

See you tomorrow morning

There must be 50 caves up there.

Monica, where are those specs we took at the eastern gate?

They're right here.

Thank you.

I just want you to know how much it means to me to be on this expedition,

that you've taken my Ezekiel theory so seriously.

But upon further reflection, I'm beginning to think that finding the Ark

such a good idea.

I mean, isn't there something else you could do to become a famous

archaeologist?

We have no idea why.

Ah, that's it.

Lines up exactly.

Cave A57.

That's the one.

Andrew!

Pack us in.

That's it. There.

Stop.

Stop in the name of Almighty God.

Get out of the way.

Some sort of fanatic out here protecting the Dead Sea Scrolls or something?

You don't want to do this, Thomas?

I don't want to do it, but I will.

Well, death means little to me.

But becoming a murderer would have great significance for you.

Remember, I tried to warn you.

The desert's full of religious nuts like that. That's why I had to get a gun.

Oh!

What was that?

They used to be my glasses, I think.

You better wait here, Gloria. Stay with this man until we come back for you.

But think of it as an opportunity to learn something.

Follow me.

You eat.

Still tracking.

You really have killed that nun back there.

Andrew, there's three different ways to go.

We're going to continue straight ahead. Open it.

I don't suppose you have any tape.

Tape? No, I can't say that I do. I haven't been off this mountain for such

long time.

You must get very lonely.

That I don't mind, but I haven't had a real conversation for years.

Tell me, what's been going on in the world?

Oh.

Well, I...

I don't really know that I can tell you anything because I haven't been around

that long.

What do you mean?

I'm an angel.

I was just created two weeks ago. You're an angel?

No kidding.

My name is Gloria.

I'm Micah.

We must be below sea level by now. We've been heading downhill for hours.

TPS won't pick up a signal anymore. We're on our own.

We're turning south.

Andrew, we're going to head south.

Andrew?

Andrew, do you read me?

Monica?

Monica, are you there? Come in.

God created me, and then I met Monica.

She's the one that went into the cave.

She's an angel, too.

She likes coffee.

So she took me to this cafe to try some, and I met Tess there.

She's also an angel.

And then I met Madeline, who was not an angel.

She was just a little girl who was my friend, and I fixed her little

dog.

And then...

We saw Andrew with a bunch of other angels, and they went into this

and then the building blew up.

And then we found Madeline, and she was hurt.

So I went to the hospital, and I stayed with her until she died.

She was the only friend I ever had.

Except for the angels, of course.

May I be your friend?

Okay.

I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry.

Whoa, thanks.

Can you jump it?

Yeah. Good.

I'll go first.

Hey, that's what we in the archaeological business call a leap of

Well, on day two, we're going to have to start rationing our food and water.

Sorry, Monica.

I didn't think it would take this long.

Would it have made any difference?

You seem determined to find it, no matter what.

Five years ago, I was on a survey in Jerusalem. We were mapping out the

Palace. But as usual, I was off researching the Ark.

Laura, my wife, was five months pregnant.

I should have been back in the States with her, but I wasn't.

So she decided to come and visit me.

She was killed in a taxi that crashed on the way to the airport.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

We were kids together, and when Rage is the Lost Ark came out, she went with me

to see it four times.

And when I told her that I wanted to be an archaeologist and that I wanted to

find the Ark for real, she said she didn't care if we lived in the past or

future, as long as we lived it together.

She would have never been in that car if I hadn't been here so damned determined

to make a name for myself.

Thomas, finding the Ark won't bring your family back.

She believed in me. She believed in what I was trying to do. If I don't find it,

then what did she die for?

I understand why it's so important to you.

But you're searching for the Ark of the Covenant.

The real Ark that contains the real Ten Commandments.

And who knows how many you have broken just coming this far.

You sound as if you actually believe that God put the commandments down on a

mountaintop. I do.

Look, Monica, there's a spot.

It's narrow, but I think we can fit it.

All right.

Leave everything.

Monica, hurry!

Get in here!

Monica, quick!

Hold the light. See it? Huh? Look.

Look.

You see that?

Look. Look.

You are standing on holy ground.

standing on holy ground.

But this morning, Jeremiah, over here, over here,

the law, Yahweh,

my God, this is it.

This is it.

The man -made wall.

This rock around it looks like it's ready to go.

Fuck.

Thomas, we should think about this before... Think? Think about what? This

what we came for.

You came to find peace. You won't find it violating a holy place.

That isn't a holy place. This is a cave.

Wouldn't it be something if we were under Jerusalem after all?

There are just so many things to do. And I know angels are supposed to live in

eternity, but an eternity doesn't seem long enough.

I mean, look at this list of things I have to do already.

Rollerblading, cell phones. You've got plenty of time for all these things.

But if you could learn to sing, it might come in handy today.

Are you a good learner?

I have unlimited memory and an excellent capacity for information retrieval.

Well, good. Let's give it a try, shall we?

Now listen very carefully.

Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me.

You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you.

You're very funny, and you're going to do just fine.

I'm going to do what just fine?

Hello, Micah.

Andrew, nice to see you again.

Where's Tess? She's on her way.

You?

Stop where you are, Thomas Edward North.

Who are you?

I am Micah, an angel of the Most High God, the God of Abraham and of Isaac

and of Jacob, the God of Moses, who placed the tablets of the law in this

which I protect.

Micah, are you seeing this?

Monica! Be not afraid, Thomas.

You are in the presence of angels.

What? You've been surrounded by angels all along the way.

We try to discourage you from coming this far because anyone who stands in

holy place bears a heavy burden for the rest of their lives.

But you are here.

And we're here to help you heal and to understand what you're about to see.

Is that true?

Yes. It is the Ark of the Covenant that sits behind this veil.

It contains the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the staff of Aaron, and a

of the manna that God provided for his children in the wilderness.

It is where the presence of God came to rest.

To comfort his lost children.

And God promises that one day the ark will be restored to the temple. And his

presence will again descend onto the ark.

Until that time, his people will continue to wander.

And his presence will come to rest in the only kind of ark that can rise and

follow him now.

In the hearts of his people.

And in your heart, Thomas.

That is where God will come to rest.

If you will make a place for him.

That is where you will find peace.

Why should I find God?

After what he did to Laura. After what he did to me.

Humble yourself in the sight of your God, Thomas.

He's not my God. He's your God. And you can have him.

Just let me see that.

I hate you.

I hate you. Oh, God, I hate you.

Show me who you are.

What do you want from me?

Thomas, stand up.

Please, stand up.

With the very commandments that are hidden in this room, Thomas, God has

you what is good and right.

And what does he ask of you?

To do justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly

with your God, to love him, to wait patiently for him to

work in your life, and to trust.

That the peace of God that passes all understanding will be yours by his love

and his mercy.

You may never understand why your precious Laura was taken from you.

But from this moment on, you will always know that she lives now with the one

who loves.

The one who is love.

And who loves you so much that he has allowed you to be present in this

Down at your feet, O Lord, in the most high

place, in your presence, Lord, I seek

your face,

I seek your face.

Down at your feet.

For there is no higher calling, no greater honor

than to bow and kneel before your throne.

I'm amazed at your glory.

Remember your heart is an ark and when the presence of God rises from its rest

What does an arc do?

Follow.

I'm not here to ask for tenure. I don't expect it. I don't even expect to have

my job.

I have lied and cheated and stolen from you and from my students and even from

my family.

to accomplish a dream that some would call frivolous or lunatic or fanatic.

And I know that if I told you that I did find something in that cave, something

better than the Ark,

that I found God,

that I found peace.

it would be met with cynicism and ridicule. But it is true.

And it is a heavy burden to bear because once you know the truth, you are

responsible for it.

I see now what I was and what I must become.

And all I ask of you is your forgiveness and your good wishes.

And I will be on my way.

Hey. Hey, Professor North. Welcome back. How'd it go? Fine, just fine.

You want to get a cup of coffee?

I've got something to tell you about your grandmother.

Yeah, sure.

It was a rough start, but a great finish, Gloria.

We're really proud of you.

So what do we do now?

What do you think?

We follow?

We follow.