All language subtitles for The.UnXplained.S03E03.The.Search.for.the.Ark.of.the.Covenant.720p.WEB.h264-KOMPOST

SHATNER:
The Ark of the Covenant.

The sacred golden chest

that had the power
to level cities.

In biblical times, it guided and
protected millions of people.

And then it vanished.

Throughout history,
many have searched

for the lost Ark
of the Covenant.

And who could blame them?

After all,
according to the Old Testament,

God himself instructed Moses
to build the Ark.

And this golden chest
was believed to have held

the power of the Almighty.

But how could such
a coveted religious artifact

just disappear?

And is there a chance
that the lost Ark

could actually be found?

Well, that is what we'll try
and find out.

♪ ♪

Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.

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:
The presence of God himself

held within a golden chest?

Certainly a profound notion,
which is perhaps the reason

why the Ark has long inspired

worldwide fascination
and reverence.

The Ark of the Covenant
is arguably the most important

and intriguing artifact
in human history,

because we're talking about
something made by human hands

that contains the power of God.

In fact, the word "ark"
means "sacred container."

So, this is fascinating,
this idea

that humans could build
something that could contain

or create this kind of
extraordinary divine connection.

LEFF: It was an
extremely powerful thing.

When the Israelites
were wandering

through the desert for 40 years,

they not only carried
the Ark with them,

the Ark kind of led the way.

It was their ancient
navigational device,

the Israelites' ancient GPS
that showed them where to go.

And the legend says
it would zoom up into the sky,

move three days ahead,

and then the people would-would
follow along behind it.

CARGILL:
Many people are familiar

with the famous story
of the parting of the Red Sea

during the Exodus narrative,

when the Israelites
were escaping Egypt.

A lot of people aren't familiar
with the story in Joshua 3,

of the parting
of the Jordan River.

The priests who are carrying

the Ark of the Covenant
just touch their toes

into the Jordan River, and
the Jordan River itself parts.

And the Israelites are able
to march into the Promised Land.

So the whole story is designed
to tell the reader,

"This is God at work here."

What's interesting is that
there's this great debate:

was the Ark of the Covenant
real, or was it just made up?

I actually think
it was very real,

and the reason I think it's real

is that it's such a central part
of the Israelite religion.

SHATNER: Did the Ark of
the Covenant actually exist?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining

an archaeological discovery
that was made

in the heart of the Holy Land.

Central Israel,
15 miles west of Jerusalem.

Here, on a small rocky mound,
lie the ruins

of an ancient Hebrew city
known as Beit Shemesh.

According to archaeologists,
Beit Shemesh

has a profound connection
to the Ark of the Covenant.

CARGILL:
Beit Shemesh has a long history

of being a religious center.

According to, uh, the story
that we have in the Bible,

when the Ark of the Covenant
was taken to Beit Shemesh,

the Israelites take the Ark,

and they put it
on a stone table.

The understanding was that it
was venerated by all Israelites.

We have this one object,
the Ark of the Covenant,

that represents God on Earth.

SHATNER: Could the Ark of the
Covenant have actually been kept

at Beit Shemesh?

Well, recently,

archaeologists have uncovered
evidence which suggests

that the biblical story
is, in fact, true.

In 2019, a team led
by archaeologists

from Tel Aviv University
made a startling discovery.

They found a room in which
it seems to have evidence

of where the Ark of the Covenant
was kept

when it was brought here
at Beit Shemesh.

There's a big, flat slab
of stone

that is exactly the same
dimensions, proportions,

as the Ark of the Covenant.

This slab of stone

is not some column
that fell on its side.

It was deliberately placed here.

And its dimensions,

its dimensions fit what
the Book of Exodus tells us

were the dimensions
of the Ark of the Covenant.

It says it was
a cubit and a half

on two cubits and a half.

A cubit is the size
of a human arm.

Watch: a cubit and a half...

on two cubits and a half.

Just a bit bigger,
maybe by ten, twenty percent.

So the Ark would be placed on it

in the most possible,
stable way.

And everything dates
to the time frame

of when the Ark was
placed at Beit Shemesh.

Everything falls into place.

Not only did
this discovery indicate

that the Ark was kept here,
it's much more.

It actually indicates
the Ark existed.

This discovery is possibly
the most significant find

ever made in the context
of the quest

of the Ark of the Covenant.

If the Ark of the Covenant
was a real artifact

that was actually kept
at Beit Shemesh,

then it begs the question,

where is the Ark now?

There are those who believe
that the answer lies...

15 miles to the east,

in the holy city of Jerusalem.

SHATNER:
Since its humble beginnings

as a small settlement
around 3000 BC,

the city has been built,
destroyed and rebuilt

numerous times.

Today it remains a holy site
for three major world religions,

Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

But aside from
its religious importance,

Jerusalem is also significant
for another reason.

It is the last known location
of the Ark of the Covenant.

LEFF:
Jerusalem has been

the most important place
in-in Judaism

going back to King David,
1000 years BCE,

when he decided to move

the center of the Israel state
to Jerusalem,

and all worship ended up
being centralized there.

CARGILL: David's son Solomon
decides to build a temple in Jerusalem.

The idea behind the temple
is that

"We are no longer
a nomadic people."

The Israelites were
no longer a people

that wanders around
without a land.

Now that the Israelites
are a landed people,

they want a landed home
for their God.

So from Beit Shemesh,
they're going to take,

ultimately,
the Ark of the Covenant,

and put it in Jerusalem.

LEFF: Solomon built the
temple on the Temple Mount,

and the center of the temple
was the Holy of Holies,

and inside the Holy of Holies
was the Ark.

And that was the only thing
that was inside

that central, most sacred spot.

SHATNER:
According to the Bible,

the Ark of the Covenant remained
in the Temple of Solomon

for nearly four centuries.

That is, until 586 BC,

when the Babylonian army
sacked Jerusalem.

They demolished
Solomon's Temple,

including the Holy of Holies,

and the Ark of the Covenant
simply vanished.

CARGILL: So, what happened
to the Ark of the Covenant?

It just disappears,

and we don't have
a biblical record

of what happened to it,

leading to all kinds
of speculation

as to where it went
and where it may be today.

One legend is that
the Babylonians took it

and they hauled it off
to Babylon.

But the reason
why it seems not likely

it was carried off
by the Babylonians,

'cause the Babylonians
made a great inventory

of everything they took,
and the Ark wasn't on the list.

So clearly,
if they took something

that valuable, that important,
it would have made the list.

MISSICK: There's no record in
Scripture or in Babylonian texts

about the Ark being taken
by the Babylonians

or being destroyed,
so that means it's possible

it was taken away and hidden.

SHATNER: If the Ark of the
Covenant was indeed hidden

before the Babylonians
could capture it,

then the question is,
where was it concealed?

It's a question that drives
archaeologists to this very day,

and some believe
the coveted relic

remains hidden in Jerusalem.

Or, to be more precise,
below Jerusalem.

CARGILL:
According to the story,

King Zedekiah,
as soon as the Babylonians

were about to destroy the
temple, hid the Ark somewhere.

Maybe in a vault
beneath the temple,

maybe somewhere else.

We have no idea.

MULLINS: Jerusalem, particularly
around the area of the Temple Mount,

has lots of cisterns, uh, dating
to different periods of history.

There are all kinds
of caves and tunnels.

BENA MANTEL: There are caves
literally everywhere in Jerusalem.

They are littering
the whole city,

on the inside, on the outside,

and those are just the ones
that we know of.

There are probably
many other caves

that we don't even know about,

whether they have been
purposely concealed,

or we just lost the entrances
to those locations,

but they're everywhere.

HERMAN: One cave,
which is really big in size,

north of the Temple Mount
is called Zedekiah's Cave.

By a Jewish tradition,
it's the very cave

King Zedekiah himself used

to sneak,
to escape out of the city

as the Babylonians reached it.

If so, maybe during his escape,
he also made sure

that the most valuable holy item
of Judaism was hidden there,

the Ark of the Covenant.

SHATNER: Located 30 feet
beneath the streets of Jerusalem,

Zedekiah's Cave is believed
to have been first quarried

in the tenth century BC.

Today, many believe that further
exploration of this labyrinth

might reveal the location
of the Ark.

HERMAN: We are, right now,
underneath Jerusalem's Old City.

We know for a fact,
from 19th-century surveys,

that there are about 30
underground water reservoirs

and other facilities
underneath the Temple Mount.

Unfortunately, since then, they
have not been investigated again

nor excavated in any way.

But this site
especially intrigues me

because it is so big,
it has so many passages,

and about a quarter of it is
still waiting to be exposed.

This cave is known
since the mid 19th century,

and to this day,

we still don't know
the full size of this space.

And maybe,
if this cave was in use

in the time of King Zedekiah,

it could have been used also for
hiding the Ark of the Covenant.

LEFF:
If you go exploring

under the Temple Mount,
and I've been back

in some of the caves
under the Temple Mount,

there are miles of these caves
filled with tons of rubble.

And especially since
it's sitting

right under the third-holiest
site in Islam,

we can't go digging around
under there looking for it,

because it would create
a major international incident.

So I totally believe the Ark
could easily be hidden

in one of these caves
or tunnels under there.

Was the Ark of the Covenant

once hidden in a cave
deep below Jerusalem?

It's a distinct possibility,

and archaeologists exploring
the very same network of caves

recently made
a compelling discovery.

A discovery which
not only suggests

that the Ark
may have been kept there

but also offers
tantalizing clues

as to where it might have
been taken next.

SHATNER:
Almost 1,700 years

after Jerusalem was conquered
by the Babylonians,

the holy city
once again is occupied,

this time by an army
of European Crusaders

known as the Knights Templar.

TIM McMAHON:
The Knights Templar were

an order of holy warriors,
essentially,

set up during the Crusades.

And from the very beginning,

they were noted
for their secrecy,

for their secret
initiation rites,

for the mystery that surrounded
their activities.

They set themselves up
to protect pilgrims

coming into Jerusalem
from attack by bandits,

but they also insisted on being
based on the Temple Mount,

which they believed
was the remains

of the Temple of Solomon.

And why was the Temple
of Solomon important?

Because it had a room
within the temple

where the Ark of the Covenant
was kept.

KATHLEEN McGOWAN: The Knights
Templar home base was the Temple Mount.

But it wasn't just
their home base.

They were looking for something.

The Templars were obsessed
with finding spiritual relics.

Relics related to Christianity,

but also relics
of the original temple.

Of all the artifacts

that the Knights Templar
were looking for,

I think it's safe to say
that their greatest obsession

was with finding
the Ark of the Covenant.

SHATNER: The Knights
Templar occupied Jerusalem

for almost 100 years.

During this time,
they controlled not only

the Temple Mount
but also the area below it.

One of the fascinating secrets
of the Templars

is their use of tunnels.

So we know now, through
a lot of archaeological digs,

uh, both in the Middle East
and in Europe,

that there are tunnels
that were connected

to Templar sites, particularly
Templar strongholds,

for potentially hiding treasure
or for moving treasure.

SHATNER: One of the
secret tunnels in cave systems

used by the Templars was none
other than Zedekiah's Cave,

and recently,
archaeologists discovered

a Templar structure
located within the cave.

This is, undoubtfully,
work of the Crusaders.

This style of architecture,
these slits for the arrows.

This is not
a ventilation window.

This is definitely
a tactical window,

so you could, uh, shoot arrows

towards an enemy
approaching you.

This definitely had
a protective purpose,

like a guardhouse in the middle
of Zedekiah's Cave.

The Crusaders definitely
created this

to protect their way
out of Jerusalem

and perhaps, also,
a passage to a place

where they could hide
their most valuable items.

We know for a fact
that the Templars was

a military order
that held the Temple Mount,

which is at the end
of this cave,

and on the surface.

While the Templars were
controlling the Temple Mount,

they probably poked around it.

Who knows what they
may have found?

Some scholars suggest that they
may have even found the Ark.

SHATNER: Is it possible
that the Knights Templar

discovered the Ark of the
Covenant in Zedekiah's Cave?

And if so, could this
fortified structure

be the place where they kept
and protected it?

Some scholars theorize that
if the Templars found the Ark,

they would have brought it
to the very heart

of the Catholic Church:

Rome.

McMAHON: The Knights
Templar were answerable

directly to the pope himself.

You have to remember
that the Vatican is sitting

on 2,000 years' worth
of treasures,

documents and secrets,

and it's under no obligation
to share any of that with us.

And documents that have been
kept under wraps for centuries,

including details
on the Knights Templar,

have only recently
came fully to light.

McGOWAN: The Catholic Church
has lots of secrets. It always has.

We can't even begin to guess
at what is happening

in the basement
of the Vatican Library,

held under Saint Peter's,

and all of these other locations
in the Vatican.

And certainly, if the Church
wanted the Ark of the Covenant

and were aware that
the Templars had found it,

they certainly would have
been able to obtain it.

SHATNER:
Did the Knights Templar bring

the Ark of the Covenant to Rome?

Well, in 2019,
a surprising clue was unearthed

in the pages
of a medieval manuscript

that connects the Ark
directly to the pope.

According to the text,
starting around the year 1100,

the Ark was kept at the Saint
John Lateran Church in Rome.

McGOWAN: The Church of
Saint John Lateran is arguably

the most important church
in Rome.

Most people don't think that.

Most people think
of Saint Peter's

as the most important church,

but Saint John Lateran
is actually

the seat of the bishop of Rome,
which is, in fact, the pope.

The Church of Saint John Lateran
is an archbasilica.

This designation
of a basilica means

that an important relic
exists within this church.

So if the church had
obtained the Ark,

then it makes sense
that they would have taken it

to Saint John Lateran.

The legend is that the Ark
of the Covenant was there

for 600 years.

McMAHON:
And then, in the year 1745,

Pope Benedict XIV turns up
at Saint John the Lateran

on a pastoral visit,

and he sees the Ark of
the Covenant under a glass case.

For some reason,
he didn't like what he saw,

and he ordered it
to be taken away,

and it was never returned
and it disappeared.

McGOWAN: All evidence
of the Ark of the Covenant

ever even being
in Saint John Lateran

completely disappears
the next day,

and no one ever
speaks of it again.

So this question
of Pope Benedict XIV

removing the Ark
from Saint John Lateran

is-is a really fascinating one.

Did he remove this artifact,
which may have been the Ark,

because he was protecting it,
because he wanted to possess it,

because he wanted to take it
somewhere else?

We don't know.

The idea that the Ark
of the Covenant

was secretly kept
within a basilica in Rome

for 600 years,
it's a fascinating notion.

But the search for the Ark
is not only motivated

by the desire to find
where it's located,

it's also a quest to rediscover
its awesome power,

a power that some want
to harness as a weapon.

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

Indiana Jones and the Raiders
of the Lost Ark,

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.

Was the Ark of the Covenant
a piece of ancient technology

that was thousands of years
ahead of its time?

Perhaps, but according
to the members of a church

located in Ethiopia,

the mysteries of the Ark
can be best understood

not by turning to science

but rather by embracing faith.

(gunfire)

SHATNER: A bloody civil war
rages across the nation between

government soldiers
and rebel militia.

The fiercest fighting
is in the northern city of Axum,

where 800 Ethiopians
give their lives

defending the Church
of Our Lady Mary of Zion.

But why did so many

give their lives
to protect the church?

Their sacrifice was made
to defend an important relic

believed to be kept
within a small chapel

adjacent to the church,

the Ark of the Covenant.

MISSICK:
The Ethiopian Christians

claim to have the Ark
of the Covenant

in the Church of...
Called Saint Mary of Zion,

and their tradition
of how the Ark of the Covenant

made its way to Ethiopia

is found in ancient texts
called the Kebra Nagast.

The story is that the Queen
of Sheba is Ethiopian,

and she hears of the wisdom
and power of Solomon,

so she goes to the land
of Israel to try him

with hard questions,
and she is seduced by Solomon

and impregnated by him,

and she goes back to Ethiopia
and has a son named Menelik,

who becomes the emperor.

COLLINS: The story that
the Ethiopians tell us is that

when Menelik came of age,
he returned

from his homeland
of Ethiopia, uh,

to see his father,
to meet his father,

and eventually,
Menelik took the Ark

back to Ethiopia, which is where
it remains to this day.

BOB CORNUKE: The last
emperor, Haile Selassie,

builds this bunker-like building

that they call Saint Mary's
of Zion Church,

and that's where the Ark
is resting today.

They say.

Now, do they have the Ark?

That's the,
that's the big question.

We don't know. That's the
biggest mystery of all time.

I think they have something
that they believe to be the Ark,

and they believe it
with all their souls,

and they believed it
for a couple thousand years.

So they have something
that they believe.

(people chanting)

SHATNER: There are more
than 30 million Christians

living in Ethiopia today,

and they strongly believe
that the Ark of the Covenant

is kept in Axum.

They also practice many
of the same traditions

that the ancient Israelites did

in order to show their reverence
for the Ark.

MISSICK:
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity

has strong Jewish links,
in their language,

which is a language
closely related to Hebrew,

but also in their culture,

they preserve
many ancient Jewish texts.

They claim to be
of Jewish descent themselves,

and they keep
other Jewish traditions.

The Ethiopian language
is called Ethiopic or Ge'ez.

Their language is very similar
to Hebrew and Aramaic,

the languages
of the Old Testament.

A lot of ancient,
lost Jewish texts

that used to be part of the
Bible, like Enoch and Jubilees,

were preserved
by the Ethiopian Christians.

And they also claim
to preserve and keep

the one true Ark
of the Covenant.

SHATNER: Is it possible
that the Ark of the Covenant

is kept within the Church of
Saint Mary of Zion in Ethiopia?

That's a fascinating idea.

But one that is hard to prove,

because Ethiopians believe
that only one person

should be allowed to be
in the presence of the Ark,

a belief that was also held
by the ancient Israelites.

What the Ethiopians have done
is they've copied everything

that's in the Bible.

They mirror
everything in history

that the ancients did
in the temple,

and they do it the same way.

So they have one man,
the guard of the ark.

He never leaves
Saint Mary's Zion Church.

His job is to be
the guardian of the Ark.

And he's sort of
the representative

of what the high priest
would be.

LEFF: In the Jewish
tradition, the only person

that was allowed into
the presence of the Ark

was the Kohen Gadol,
the high priest.

The high priest had a very,
very special uniform

that he used, and he had

a very, very elaborate ritual
he had to go through.

He'd have to immerse
in a ritual bath multiple times,

he'd have to be in a state

of perfect physical
and spiritual purity

before entering into
the presence of the Ark.

CARGILL: This high priest would
go in to visit the Ark of the Covenant

one day a year, and that was it.

No one else was supposed
to go into...

Upon pain of death...
Uh, see the Ark of the Covenant.

And this is part
of this tradition

of this sacredness of the Ark

that we, the profane, right,
we people can't touch

even the object
that represents God on Earth.

CORNUKE: The Bible says
the one thing about the Ark

is that God had it
specifically made

in the way he wanted it,
and he wanted it to be used

the way he wanted it.

And the Ethiopians
really accept this,

because they have been told
since they've been little kids

that this is from God.

According to the writings,
this object has been given

to the Ethiopians

and they are the holy keepers
of the Ark,

and they are willing
to give their lives that fast

if someone is gonna
come and try and take

the Ark of the Covenant.

That's exactly what happened.

Military went in there with
the guns and the people rallied.

People came by the hundreds to
protect the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ethiopians believe
with all their mind, heart, soul

that this is
a holy object of God.

If the Ark reveals its secrets
only to those

who are trained to be
in its presence,

perhaps that explains why
it has remained so well hidden

for thousands of years.

But what would happen

if the Ark
is actually rediscovered?

Perhaps the answer
can be found by examining

an ancient biblical prophecy

which claims that the Ark
will soon return.

SHATNER: Although the search
for the lost Ark of the Covenant

continues all over the world
to this day,

many believe that our best hope
of finding the Ark

is by not looking for it at all.

Instead, all we need
to do is wait,

because according
to a biblical prophecy,

one day, the Ark will return.

MISSICK:
It's interesting

that the Ark of the Covenant
is not just mentioned

in the Old Testament,

it's mentioned
throughout the Bible.

It's found in
the Book of Hebrews but also

in the last book of the Bible,
the Book of Revelation,

where the Ark
of the Covenant appears

as a testament to the revelation
and the end of the world

and the culmination
of all things.

MULLINS: According to
the Book of Revelation,

chapter 11, verse 19,

the Ark of the Covenant
will not be revealed

until the end times.

Revelation 11:19,
"Then God's temple in Heaven

"was opened, and within
his temple was seen

"the Ark of his testament.

"And there came flashes
of lightning, rumblings,

peals of thunder and earthquake,
and severe hailstorm."

In that passage, um,
the Book of Revelation describes

the lightning, the thunder
that'll take place

when the Ark of the Covenant
is revealed.

MISSICK: In Israel, there's
a place called Tel Megiddo,

which is also known
as Armageddon, right?

This is the place where
the end-of-the-world battle

is supposed to take place.

So at the city, from the time

of the judges
in the Old Testament,

many people feel
that in the last days,

the Ark of the Covenant
will be rediscovered there

in fulfillment of the...
These, uh, ancient prophecies.

SHATNER: Is this the place
where the Ark of the Covenant

will one day reappear?

Only time will tell.

But if and when
that day ever comes,

one thing is certain,

the world would
never be the same again.

The world that we live in today,
we must remember,

is not a world
that believes in miracles.

By and large, this Western
society that we're a part of

does not believe that the Ark
has the ability

to flatten mountains down
and kill all the enemies.

So if the Ark is found today,

and it actually carries
any kind of divine properties,

this is gonna have
some monumental effect

on the way that we see

and think about the world
that we live in.

CARGILL:
I think the reason

that people are always
looking for relics,

objects, the Holy Grail,
the Ark of the Covenant,

Noah's Ark,

is they're looking
for tangible evidence

that will confirm their faith.

We have archaeology,
and sometimes,

archaeology confirms
the stories in the Bible,

and sometimes it doesn't.

But if we had the Ark,

somehow, people feel
that that would just say,

"Aha, now I know
that my faith is true,

that it's real,
that it's confirmed,"

and people want that.

McGOWAN: I think, for all people
of faith around the world, it would be

a-a fascinating experience

to see this idea that
something made by human hands

was able to contact God or even
to possess the power of God.

But on the other hand,
are we ready

to possess the power of God?

Is it a good thing
in this day and age

to even play with the idea
that such an artifact exists

that could have
that kind of power?

Maybe it's for the best
that the Ark remains hidden.

What do you believe?

Is the Ark of the Covenant
a divine object

that contains the power of God,

or is it a myth,

designed to inspire
reverence for the Almighty?

Well, it's safe to say
that no matter where

the Ark is, or what it is,

people will continue searching
for it in the hope that someday,

the mystery of the lost Ark
will no longer be...

unexplained.

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