7/27/2019 47389987 Frank Joseph Commentary Opening the Ark of the Covenant

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SweefWtferjof tiftBy FrankJoseph, uthor of

OpeningheArh of the Couenant

"THE ARK OF THE COVENANTis something everyone has heard about, but noone is sure what it was." The psychict responseto my question was disappointing. I felt likegetting up and leaving right then, but didnt.You know how it is: You dont want to seemrude to a kindly sffanger, especidly one claimingpersonal connections, however dubious, with theOther Side."I'm quoting now," she said, "The seat of the soulis where the inner and outer worlds meet. Thatis where you will find the Ark." I pressed her,"Could you be a little more specific?" was unableto resist, but her inward concentration remainedunbroken. As though in defiance of my question,sheresponded,still "quoting," I presumed,"It is anintelligible spherewhose center is EverywhereandcircumferencesNowhere. SearchEverywhere.NotNowhere." I could hear the capitd "E's and "N'sin her deliberatepronunciation. "In other words,"she carefi.rlly explained like a testy teacher to herslow-witted student, "do not waste your time inthe wrong place.Follow the bread-crumbsso someday you can sing, 'Oh, sweetmystery of life, at lastI've found you!"' Her unexpectbdoutburst into theold Victor Herbert song made me jump."Oh, at last I know the meaning of it all! All theyearning, striving, waiting, yearning,longing,the idle hopes that..." Her singing sputtered out,as she seemed to have forgotten the rest of thewords, or so I hoped she had. At any rate, I gotthe point, maybe. She nodded once on her amplechest, then appeared o doze off in that positionfor a few moments before snapping back into fiillconsciousness.

"There! I m in the so-called real world' again," shesaid sweedy,signifying the sessionwas over. "Letme know if you find it!""\il7hat?Oh, thatt right, the Ark."Contrary to arry false impressions my 1985encounter may give, this book is not the resultof eny paranormd insights. Nothing hasbeen "channeled," at least not consciously. Ihad no further recourse to psychics, andmention meeting the self-described intuitivelady only becauseshe brought up some pointsstill worthy of consideration. As she said, itdoes indeed seem "remarkable" that thefuk of the Covenant should have such anenduring, popular allure, when so little isknown about it. The sibylt reputation as ^genuinely gifted seer had prompted meto consult her about it at a time when thesacred object seemed about to disclose itssecrets, only to fade back behind its veil ofuncertainty.At that point, I was open to guidance'whatever the source.

7/27/2019 47389987 Frank Joseph Commentary Opening the Ark of the Covenant

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\Whileshegaveme no usefirldetails o checkout, I did"followthe bread-crumbs." hey edme o manyoftheplaces escribedn this book-Tenerife, Delos,Delphi,Ilios,Giza,Cuzco,Teotihuacan, ara,anddozensmorebesides-largely unfamiliar namesspreadaround theglobe, utallknownatonetimeoranotherastheNavel fthe \7orld."The term surfaced early during my research(a cover word for "obsession") into the lostcivilization of Atlantis, beginning spring 1980.At that time, few beliwed the place had actuallyexisted, and I was not entirely sure myself. In theyears since then, my four books on the subjectwerepublished in a dozen foreign editions, joiningmore material releasedabout Platot sunken citysincehe first spoke of it twenty three hundred yearsago. These numerous volumes, compact discs,magazines, lectures, television productions, andfeature films reflect unprecedented, internationalinterest in Atlantis.During late 2006, sociologistsat Baylor University'sInstitute for Studies of Religion, in \Vaco, Texas,conducted "by far the most comprehensivenational religion survey to date," according toCathy Lynn Grossman, a writer for USA Today.Their surveyrevealed hat 40 percent ofAmericansnow believe Atlands actually existed before thedawn of recorded history.'Well, what has all that got to do with the Arkof the Covenant? Atlantis is one of the "bread-crumbs," an unsuspectedclue to the mystery likeso many others-aJesuit priest, the Great Pyramid,a deformed pharaoh, Canada, a Japanesescubadiver, a thousand-year-old tree, a famous Russianpainter, a famous French painter, an infamousFrenchcardinal,American Indians, secretsocieties,an Illinois woodworker. Individually incongruous,they nevenhelesscomprise a vast mosaic spanningnot only the world, but the entire history of man.The image emerging from their combinedrelationship is wonderful and horrible,

with transfiguration, heroism, genius and beaurycontrasted by deceit, terror, madness, and mass-murder. It is an unexpectedpicture I did not paint.I only found it after twenty six yearsof continuousinvestigation.This book is the summary and outcome of thatlong labor of love. I was aided in its discovery bysomeone without whom my work would havebeen woefully incomplete. If there is such a thingas destiny, her appearance was perfecdy timed.\X4rile in the midst of researching he man whoestablished he Order of the Knights Templar inJerusalem,both Laura Beaudoin and I learnedthatshe is his linear descendant. We then found thatshe s directly related to several other key players inthe Ark drama, from a figure in the Old Testamentto what may have been the sacred objectt 17thCentury steward. Never interested in genealogy,and emotionally incapable of boasting about herfamily ffee, she provided absolutely unique insightinto the darkestcorners of medieval politics.Laura dso owned a rare document, a privatelypublished Beaudoin family history preservedbyher mother, Doloris. Thanks to this one-of-a-kindmanuscript, we may read a hitherto unknownchapter in the lost history of the Ark of theCovenant. That, in essence, s the result of ourcombined effort: the first history of this supremelyenigmatic artifact. its pre-biblicd origins. trueidentiw. and impact on the world. Mv psychicfriend was right after all. The Ark of the Covenantis the "sweetmystery of life."

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