6:2

In the Old Testament God commanded Israel to build an extravagant place of worship. Within this place of worship, in the most sacred spot referred to as the “holy of holies”, lied the arc of the covenant. The Arc of the Covenant is supposed to hold some of the most sacred items known to Judaism, the tablets on which the ten commandments were written, Aaron’s (Moses’ brother) rod, and some of the manna from heaven. The Arc was made with the plunders the Israelites took from Egypt out of acacia wood and gold and had two winged cherubium on top. The Arc lead the way through the desert as well as through battles when the Israelites entered into Canaan.

After the exodus out of Egypt, the Arc made quite a few trips. The Philistines stole the arc after a battle and returned it seven months later. The Philistines then stole it a second time at another battle. Everywhere the Philistines brought the Arc, misfortune followed. Boils infected the people and a plague of mice fell upon the land. Eventually the Philistines returned the covenant back to its original owners. Also, throughout the years many of the Kings of Israel moved it to wherever each saw fit. The Arc disappeared for it’s final time when King Nebuchadnezzer and the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem.

Now the Arc of the covenant is almost as illusive as the Holy Grail. Some believe the Arc was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzer, therefore there never was and never will be a mystery to its location. Others believe that the Priest in charge of the Arc brought it out of its last known home, the Temple of Solomon, for safekeeping. These Priests, particularly the High Priest, whole lives revolved around the place of worship, and the correct treatment of the Holy of Holies, and most importantly the Arc of the Covenant. There is a place in Ethiopia that claims to have the Arc, and the Priests themselves delivered it to them. The problem with this is the Ethiopians will not allow anyone to see their Arc. Without tangible proof that they even have an object at all, no one can truly believe they have the biblical Arc. It also very well may still be in the Temple of Solomon. The problem with proving that theory is the Temple is now in Muslim control as a holy land and an archeological dig is not, and will likely never be approved by their community.

Only a handful of people have ever seen the Arc of the Covenant. If it was to be found, the fear of the religious community is that the most sacred object known to man would be defiled by science and its experiments. It is possible that having the Arc in a lab could bring biblical destruction or blessings upon those who house it. The truth of the story is there once was an Arc of the Covenant, but the mystery lies in if it still exists. The bible mentions that Arc one last time, in the book Revelation- the end of the world. “Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.” -Revelation 11:19 NIV. Those eager to find the Arc of the Covenant may just have to wait until the end of this world as we know it.

6:1

Where is Atlantis?

Plato wrote about a wondrous land that reflected as much of a utopian society as this world has ever seen, called Atlantis. For many years this place was seen as a fantasy world derived from pure fiction. After other places that were previously thought to be of fiction, like Troy, were discovered, some began to wonder if Atlantis was once a real place as well.

Atlantis, according to legend, is the parent to modern society. Plato describes it as being west of the Pillars of Hercules, known to us as the Straight of Gibraltar. It consisted of a sophisticated people that were knowledgeable on astronomy, machinery, and had a developed written language. After Atlantis was devoured by water it is said that a few men defied death and brought civil society to an uncouth world. Atlantis yields many questions. Where is Atlantis? Who populated this advanced land? How advanced was its society? Did it even exist?

There are many hypothesis as to where Atlantis is. Nearly every place on earth has been accused of being the home of Atlantis at one time or another. The following are some of the most famous and controversial homes of Atlantis:

• The Caribbean
• Bimini Islands
• Crete
• Sardinia
• Cyprus
• Troy
• Canaan
• Santorini
• South pole

Archeology as a whole rejects the idea of Atlantis, but it wouldn’t be the first time experts were wrong concerning their field. The existence of Atlantis would answer some questions, like why there are pyramids in Egypt and South America? Why do both of these societies have hieroglyphics instead of an alphabet? Did Atlantians teach both of these societies astronomy?

Since Atlantis was flooded by water, the obvious place to look for it is at the sea floor. Bimini Road, an underwater seemingly man-built road, is most likely the closest we have ever been to finding Atlantis. It is named as such due to its proximity to Bimini Island. This underwater secret highway was discovered in 1968, the same year that a psychic from the early 1900’s, Edgar Cayce, said Atlantis was to be found. For devout followers of psychics and futuristic predictions that evidence is all they need to hear to believe in Atlantis. For the common man, what is needed is the city that this road leads to. Some account that they have seen pyramids in the seas surrounding Bimni Island, but this has not been proved as of yet.

Another common theory is that the Atlantians were actually the Minoans. The Minoans lived in Crete, which lies east rather then west of the Straight of Gibraltar. Descriptions of Atlantis parallel descriptions of the Minoan society. They were both considered advanced and knowledgeable civilizations. There is also evidence that a powerful tsunami hit Crete, which would align with Plato’s works that say Atlantis was destroyed by water. The mystery of Atlantis will not be laid to rest until it is found. That is only possible if it truly exists, so believers may be searching for this fascinating society for centuries.

5:3

The Mayan society was mysterious society that meets its end in around 1300 AD. They were an intellectually advanced society and tracked the orbit of the planets almost 1000 years prior to Galileo’s time. Compared to Europe, they were geniuses. They prospered during Europe’s dark ages when Europe was simply trying to survive. The Mayans lived in a large area spanning Southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Somehow this society managed to disappear off the face of the earth without a trace.

It is hard to find out too much of the Mayan History because when the Europeans first came to South America they destroyed much of the Maya’s records. The Mayans wrote in hieroglyphics, which covered their buildings and made up their documents. Just as our phonetic language is everywhere in our present day world, the Mayan world was surrounded by their own form of communication. The Christian Europeans saw these hieroglyphs of the to be a devilish work from a pagan society and were determined to destroy all traces of them. So their own personal records, as of yet, does not give any answers on the civilization’s demise.

Some theories of what happened to the 15 million people that made up the Mayan society include:

• Climate changes
• The people left
• Outbreak of diseases
• Warfare
• Alien abduction

Most intellectuals now agree that the most likely of these explanations is climate change. It is a common belief that the Maya caused their own downfall through their system of farming. They continuously destroyed the beautiful and rich land they occupied through slash and burn techniques. This explanation would force the people to leave their home in order to survive. It would also explain the lack of mass amounts of dead bodies. Three large droughts, lasting almost ten years each occurred within an one hundred year time frame in the Mayan territory. Draughts would have been prolonged or intensified by the harsh treatment that was already inflicted onto the land.

Some say that the Maya people simply left. They may have left because of the draughts, problems with other tribes, or problems within their own government. Disease could have also hit the society harsh enough to wipe them out. Warfare was a huge part of South American tribes at this time. It is possible that the Mayans were defeated and obliterated by a rival tribe. Some even say that Mayan carvings indicate men preparing to leave the earth in a contraption with an interior similar to that of a rocket ship. These people believe that the Mayan were advanced due to their exclusive contact with aliens. These aliens eventually abducted the 15 million Mayans and brought them to their planet. No one really knows what happened to the Mayan society. The mystery that is left is what possibly happened to 15 million people that disappeared without a trace.

5:2

Aviation has been an exciting field ever since the Wright brothers took their historic first flight on December 17, 1903. Since then the world of flying has expanded and grown beyond expectation. Flight is now used to defend the countries of the world, expand businesses, transport cargo, get to vacation sites, and visiting friends and family. This invention has helped form the world that we know and enjoy. It has exploded beyond what the Wright brothers could have ever conceived.

Amelia Earhart was an explorer of the skies in a time where few had the opportunity. She was famous for a number of things including being the first woman to receive the “Distinguished Flying Cross,” the first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and setting numerous records. She expanded the horizons of aviation and captured the world with her sense of adventure.

Amelia Earhart’s mystery centers around the date she disappeared, July 2^nd 1937. The accomplished aviator had set an ambitious goal: she was going to circumnavigate the globe. Circumnavigating, according to Mr. Webster, is to go completely around (as the earth) especially by water. To make this trip she was to follow close to the equator flying her custom-built Lockheed Model 10E Electra. She attempted this feat twice, the first ended quickly after she crashed in Hawaii. For the second attempt she decided to reverse her original flight pattern. The second trip was not without mishaps either. She became ill in present day Indonesia after being forced to stop due to monsoon weather. Some needed repairs were made at this time on long distance instruments that had been acting up. After these issues were taken care of she continued on with her dangerous flight.

Pictures of her at her next landing site, Lae, New Guinea, revealed a woman who still looked sickly. When Amelia and her personal navigator, Fred Noonan, left their last documented location they had already traveled an amazing 22,000 miles. They were three-fourths the way through their landmark flight and had only 7,000 miles remaining. The travelers were so close yet so far. On July second they made a few radio transitions claiming to be near their destination, but they never arrived. After their disappearance President Roosevelt sent a search team. The huge search team consisted of 40,000 men divided into 10 ships and 65 airplanes. A total of $4 million was spent to find the 39-year-old aviator and her navigator.

There are many theories on Amelia’s disappearance including:

· She safely landed on a island and lived there until her death

· She committed suicide by driving her plane into the ocean

· She was captured by the Japanese and became one of the voices of Tokyo Rose

· She was really on a spy mission

· The plane ran out of fuel

No trace of the world’s heroine was ever found. Amelia and her plane’s final resting place is still a mystery, fascinating aviation junkies all over the world.