The Solomon Key (42 page)

However, my research has led me across some ancient texts that suggest an alternative to even the Ethiopian account, giving some credibility to both historical views — that of the Ark being carried away and that of it being hidden below the Temple. Whether or not the records can be trusted is known only by God. I know only what they say, and they say that Benaiah, the captain of Solomon’s army, assisted Menelik in escorting the Ark to Ethiopia. Only he could not bear to actually take the Ark from Jerusalem. So, unknown to Menelik and all those traveling with them, he did not switch the Ark. Instead, they transported the replica to Ethiopia — this being something that only Benaiah knew about at the time. Conceivably, his purpose was to create an air of mystery around the fate of the Ark, keeping Israel’s enemies guessing as to its true location, while the Ark itself would never be in danger of becoming lost.

But could this actually be true? Did Benaiah deceive Menelik and, in so doing, thousands of people throughout the ages? I cannot know for sure, but it is worth noting that I have been able to find other documented sources connecting Benaiah to the mysterious fate of the Ark of the Covenant (though admittedly this is somewhat confusing since some scholars insist upon four different Benaiahs all living within the same timeframe).

Regardless of my own opinions and the subjectivity of the records I have found, I am fully convinced that years and years later, just before Israel was invaded by Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark and the Temple treasures around the city. And though I believe he hid the Ark in a secret chamber (along with the other holy instruments) beneath the Temple, I cannot be sure as to whether or not they remain there still. Many seem to think that Second Maccabees actually suggests Jeremiah hid the Ark in a cave on Mount Nebo, but from my own studies I believe that view ignores an in-depth analysis into that passage. Some believe that Jeremiah had Haggai and Zachariah construct a pair of unique scrolls that together would reveal his true hiding places. And though I have not found any evidence to support this, the scrolls undoubtedly do exist and have indeed been found (Copper Scroll). It is also clear that whoever designed them did so in such a way that they were both needed to interpret the other. For this reason, they were hidden separately. Perhaps Jeremiah’s thinking was that only the high priest would know where both scrolls were hidden, trusting him to determine when the treasures should be revealed. But if the Ark was sealed under the Temple, is it possible that the record contained in Maccabees (as concerning Jeremiah’s hiding of the Ark) was nothing more than another preventative, a false lead held out to those not of Levitical standing who might try to locate the Ark before the appointed time?

Haggadic legend tells that Solomon sent Benaiah to go after Ashmedai (or Asmodeus, king of demons) with a chain holding a ring. Supposedly the Tetragrammaton was engraved onto the ring and enslaved Ashmedai once it was thrown around his neck. Benaiah then took him back to Solomon, where Solomon had him build the Temple. In addition to this legend, I have found scattered pieces that, once put together, may suggest Benaiah did indeed have one of these rings on his person while escorting the replica ark to Ethiopia with Menelik. If that be the case, then this ring, one of the two fashioned by Solomon needed to unlock the Ark itself, would have been lost along with Benaiah, sharing the same mysterious fate. Or, was the fate of the ring actually known by the priesthood and passed down to Jeremiah’s day?

Eventually, Israel was taken into captivity and the Ark was never seen again. The most important Jewish relic, mentioned about 194 times between the books of Exodus and Second Chronicles, suddenly drops off the pages of history with no explanation at all, except from what we can only assume through fractured legends and obscure documents. The next Temple that was built (Zerubbabel/Herod) was without the presence of the Ark, so the Ark was obviously taken somewhere. It was not recorded as taken by the Babylonians, and one would certainly think it would have been had they indeed found it. But history says they found brass, not gold. Herod’s Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD when they burned it and later pulled every brick apart to get the melted gold that settled between the cracks. History makes no mention of the Ark being found by them either.

Many years later, Constantine became emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and declared Christianity to be the state religion, thus granting the church with unprecedented powers. Christians at this time believed that the nation of Israel had been replaced by the church, and so the church took an extreme interest in the Holy Land, a land they now viewed as theirs — The Kingdom of God. Then war broke out with the Muslims and the Crusades were underway. The Muslims were able to take control of Jerusalem, and they built a mosque over the holy site. But then the Crusaders beat them out of Jerusalem and built a church overlooking the Temple Mount.

When the Crusade ended, the soldiers returned to England to spend their booty, leaving behind many bitter Muslims who would attack pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land. A handful of knights then appeared on the scene, presenting themselves to King Baldwin of Jerusalem, offering to protect the pilgrims. Impressed by their piousness, Baldwin housed them over the very site on which Solomon’s Temple once stood. I believe, as many have suggested over the years, that it was here that the knights were able to go about their true mission, perhaps one drawn up by the Pope himself — the search for the lost Temple treasures (the same ones that Jeremiah hid around the city) and particularly the Ark of the Covenant.

For seven years they excavated the site, and somehow along the way, they managed to accumulate a surge of wealth that made them one of the most powerful societies of their day. While some of their fortune could be explained by generous contributions, tax exemptions, and land donations, the fact that no one knows just exactly what they were doing for seven years and how they so suddenly became one of the most powerful forces in the world, seems to lend some level of credibility to the claims of discovery. But just what exactly did they discover?

I have uncovered, within the Vatican’s secret archives, a document that makes mention of the diary kept by one of the original Knights Templar — Gondamer. While it tells of their search for Temple treasure, it is silent as to whether they found any. However, it does mention two peculiar discoveries: a scroll made of copper (that seemed to them to be an inventory of hidden treasure) and a mysterious ring. The writing gives the impression that Gondamer was weary of the ring, that it troubled him for some reason (though there was nothing more specific as to why that would be so). Perhaps there was an element of truth to the apocryphal accounts of the supernatural properties of the ring. Though Tobit was never considered an integral part of the Tanakh, Hebrew fragments of it were discovered in Cave IV in Qumran in 1955, and it is considered part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon (Council of Carthage and Council of Trent).

Scott flipped the page, his mind suddenly and mysteriously captivated by what he was reading. He couldn’t believe that Mayhew had this on him the entire time they were together. All the guessing as to why the ring was so important had been right next to him for two whole days. He wondered if he would have done anything differently had he known this from the start, if
this
was what he opened up in the restaurant instead of all that other stuff about demons building the Temple. He silently cursed Mayhew before going on to read what Father Baer had intended for him to read all along.

It is not far-fetched to assume that the scroll they found led them to chambers full of hidden treasure. That would account for their sudden great wealth and power. Also in Gondamer’s account, he mentioned another scroll that they found, one speaking of the ring’s purpose. Though that scroll is most likely gone or still being kept with the scroll of copper they found, I believe it explained exactly how the rings worked. They never found the other ring or the other scroll of copper, so they were never able to properly interpret the scroll of copper they did find, leaving them clueless as to where the secret resting place of the Ark was and the means by which to unlock it. I believe that they spent the remaining time there searching for the other ring and the other scroll, and that this is the true reason the Crusades continued after the Muslims retook Jerusalem.

There is not much known about the Urim and Thummim, as they are never specifically described. Exodus 28:30 and Numbers 8:8 suggest that they were stones placed in the breastplate of the high priest, something that he wore when entering into the presence of God to determine His will. Some believe that they were used as lots to be cast, the result being God’s answer to a particular question or matter. And yet another theory is that they served as a symbol of the high priest’s authority in seeking God’s will, which was revealed through an inner illumination of sorts. The words in Hebrew mean “lights” and “perfections.”

Some scholars believe that “Urim” is derived from the Hebrew term “Arrim” which means “curses” and that Urim and Thummim mean “cursed or faultless” within the context of someone accused. It appears in the Vulgate as “revelation and truth.” The Septuagint version of First Samuel 14:41 states that the Urim would indicate Saul and Jonathan while the Thummim would indicate the people (see account). Some even believe that they could have been tablets of wood or bone. Most Talmudic rabbis (and Josephus) believed that “Urim” meant “lights” and thus argued that the Urim and Thummim involved questions being answered by great rays of light shining out of certain jewels within the breastplate. They believed that each jewel represented different letters and that sequences of light would spell out an answer. It is interesting that Joseph Smith claimed an angel named Moroni appeared to him and provided him with a pair of stones bound together by silver bows that functioned as a set of spectacles, for he later claimed that these stones were the Urim and Thummim and that they helped him interpret the Golden Plates into the Book of Mormon.

Whatever they were and however they functioned, the scroll I found claims that they were fashioned into the two rings. It is possible, according to some writings, that one appeared as a black stone while the other was white. Gondamer’s diary hinted at the ring they found being of a dark color, set in bronze with Hebrew script engraved around the band. He also claimed that Hugues de Payens put the ring on. Giving his troubled feelings about the ring and the Templars’ sudden involvement with the Occult, perhaps there was a curse ascribed to those who had no business handling the priestly objects (as was the case with the Ark). The breastplate the Urim and Thummim were inserted into was commonly referred to as the breastplate of judgment, and assuming that the ring was passed down through the secret societies of which the Templars were their root, perhaps the ring provided a stronghold for Satanic influence. But I am only speculating at this point. I do find it interesting, however, that Solomon claimed (at the end of the Testament) that his experience with the Occult and the mystery religions of his pagan wives had made him the sport of demons. Perhaps this ring somehow turned the Templars and their successors into the sport of demons as well.

Scott thought about the ring he’d once held in his hand. A clear gem, transparent, like a lens. Could it be meant for the passage of light, and if so, how could it possibly be used as a key?
Could I have held in my hands the Urim or Thummim?
He tried to remember all the things Isaiah said about the rings, about the Copper Scroll and its duplicate… the last line, the key needed to interpret it…

The Copper Scroll was found in 1952, and the world went on a treasure hunt. But they never found the second scroll. My suspicion is that it never left the possession of the Templars. I know that many of them escaped the King of France before the 13th and that they made their way to Scotland with some eighteen ships (unless they sunk during the journey). I know that Rosslyn Chapel connects the Templars to both Freemasonry and the New World. So it is not outside the realm of possibility that the ring and the scroll went with them. If so, after 1952, three of the four elements needed to locate and unlock the Ark of the Covenant would have been accounted for. The only one remaining would be the other ring. But which one? Lights or perfection, cursed or faultless, revelation or truth? And where could that other ring be? Where could Benaiah have taken it? Could it still be connected to the chain, wrapped around a skeleton somewhere in the desert, buried beneath thousands of years of sand? Or was Benaiah somehow able to pass it down through the priesthood?

Though the document I found tells of a scroll the Templars found, explaining how the rings function together as a key, I have found no such things and thus have no idea how the rings could possibly work as such.

That’s how the section ended, indicating to Scott that whatever turned them away from pursuing the Ark had taken place between the priest’s letter to Benjamin and this entry. Turning the page, he found another unsent letter.

A squirrel skittered by and ran up a nearby tree, paused, and stared at him. It reminded him of Jennifer, of how terrified she was of the bushy-tailed rodents. He threw his eyes back into the book before they could fill with tears.

Benjamin, I must write you now to tell of a sudden conviction, one that has shaken the very ground I walk on. It appears as though your Protestant brother may be right, leaving you and I standing on opposite sides of the truth. I have stumbled across something big, whispers echoing down the halls of the Vatican. Maybe you have heard similar things from within the Knesset.