Seducing the Knight (25 page)

Another theory surrounding the ark’s disappearance from the temple is that it had been smuggled out of Jerusalem prior to the Babylonian conquest and spirited away by Solomon’s son Melenik, the founder of the Ethiopian royal dynasty. Melenik was supposed to have brought the ark with him upon returning to the Ethiopian homeland of his mother, the Queen of Sheba.

Today, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians believe the ark resides in the Church of Saint Mary of Zion in Axum, Ethiopia. The sanctum where the ark supposedly is kept is guarded by a priest, and no outsider is allowed to enter, so the claim is impossible to substantiate.

Based on ancient Jewish writings, some have suggested the ark is hidden on Mount Nebo on the Jordan River’s east bank. This site is presently in the modern nation of Jordan and there is no hint of the ark’s presence there. Others suggest the ark is hidden somewhere near the Dead Sea, on the Jordan River’s west bank. This location is usually considered in association with the
ancient site of Qumran and the people of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The ark and other artifacts are believed buried in one of the region’s caves, like the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Another view suggests the ark is located beneath Jerusalem, in a carved stone tunnel. Some say it is beneath the suggested site of the Crucifixion, Calvary. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem’s Old City, an Ultra-Orthodox organization dedicated to rebuilding the Jewish temple, says the ark is under the Temple Mount and will be revealed when the temple is rebuilt.

While some ponder the whereabouts of the ark, others search for a scientific explanation of its miraculous powers. It has been proven that the ark’s components of wood and gold, in the dimensions specified in the Bible, could accumulate and release an electrical charge strong enough to strike someone dead, as it might have done to Aaron’s sons when they touched the ark.

And what about the strange manifestations of light documented in the Bible? Such as when God appeared to Moses upon Mount Sinai in a cloud of devouring fire (Exodus 24:15–17). Modern-day researchers have had similar experiences in the Sinai wilderness.

In 1993 a team of British archeologists were working around a shrine on the summit of Jebel Madhbah when they were caught in a rare thunderstorm. They were hurrying to get off the mountain when they saw a red ball of fiery light, estimated to be around six feet in diameter, hovering over the temple ruins. It was visible for about five minutes and moved slowly back and forth before vanishing. Some scientists explain the phenomenon as ball lightning, spheres of highly charged particles created by the electrified atmosphere of a thunderstorm. However, ball lightning tends to be bluish in color, not red, is not larger than a football, and is usually only visible for a few seconds.

Another explanation, which fits better with what was observed in 1993, is a rare electromagnetic anomaly known as geoplasma.

Plasma is an electrically charged gas that has been altered by an external energy source. The plasma can then ignite into an ionized “cold flame.” It is capable of hovering in the air as a sphere or column of luminous gas that can move or remain static, depending on conditions, and can continue its state for several minutes. Geoplasma is believed to be caused by geodynamics. It occurs when certain types of rocks are rubbed together by seismic activity, ionizing the air above them.

Strange lights such as those reported at Jebel Madhbah have been reported at various locations throughout the world, usually in areas prone to earthquakes and tremors and in areas that host large amounts of rocks that contain arenite sandstone and carnelian granite.

Most geoplasma phenomena are also reported during or after heavy rainfall. The event on Jebel Madhbah included heavy rainfall, which was also the case in the appearance of the “glory of the Lord” as witnessed by the ancient Israelites. Exodus 19:16 reports “thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount.” Was it geoplasma or a divine visitation?

In the pages of
Seducing the Knight
, I had to make many educated guesses about the Ark of the Covenant’s location after it disappeared from the Temple of Solomon, about whether the Templars really had possession of the artifact at some point in history, about the location of the Mount Sinai mentioned in the Bible, about strange lights, guardian angels, and what powers the ark truly possessed. However, I believe this book is true to the essence of what the Ark of the Covenant was and how important it still is to millions of people worldwide.

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TO TEMPT A KNIGHT

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