Yemen is about the size of California. The people
are Islamic and Arab, but it wasn't always that way.
Prior to 1948 there was a very large Jewish population that lived and thrived
in Yemen. There were Temples and Jewish neighborhoods next to Mosques.
Children and adults of both faiths and traditions enjoyed eachothers
companionship and commerce.
In 1948 the State of Israel was formed in the land occupied for millennia by
the Palestinians. The welcome mat was out for any Jewish people who wanted to
come to their new homeland and most of the Jews in Yemen left. It was a sad
time for most Yemenis and the economy struggled to adjust with the sudden
loss of such fine craftsmen. Even today, Yemen is famous for its filagree
silver jewelry yet it is no longer manufactured because of the loss of the
Jewish artisans.
In Yemen you can see countless examples of Jewish Stars, incorporated in the
architecture of stone buildings and mausoleums. It was a testament to an era
when there was no religious conflict. But that all changed when the new State
of Israel forced out and killed the Palestinians, burnt and bulldozed their
farms and orchards and continued to mistreat their Arab neighbors. Gradually,
like most Arab nations in the world today, they grew intolerant and hostile.
Yemen's ancient architecture owes much to its past Jewish population. The
city of Sana'a -- the capital -- is unique in its design and appearance. I
spent many weeks there while visiting the surrounding villages associated
with discoveries of stones and artifacts containing the ancient language. The
people are especially friendly and have extremely strong family and tribal
ties that far exceed their allegiance to their country. In fact, in the
Northern regions of Yemen, near the archaeological site of Sheba in Marib,
the national government was largely insignificant.
Yemen is the most heavily armed country in the world. There are between 3 and
4 AK47s for each man, woman and child. Children as young as 8 can shoot these
weapons like a sniper and often have their own weapons (loaded) decorated
with colored twine and smurf stickers.
Most of the country outside the metro region is mountainous. Small villages
were built in the time of the Crusaders on top of steep inclines and resemble
castles. There is usually only one entrance which can be easily defended from
attack and just about everything is made from stone.
I was told there were only two types of crime in Yemen -- auto theft and
revenge. The accidental killing of a family member -- perhaps by one of
America's drones -- requires that the family take a life. It's an honor
thing, as old as time itself. One can easily see how the indiscriminate
bombing that took place in Iraq, and continues in Afghanistan, would have a
domino effect, quickly turning the entire peaceful Yemeni population into a
heavily armed death squad.
But that's not the reason America should think twice about making Yemen the
next war front. There are more prophecies written in the old language that
seem to have foreseen the events of today.
More prophecies with the Ark
Let me summarize what I learned from the translations. I've had time to learn
who was "the son" or "the lord" and especially what was
"the box of El." Here is the story:
Menelek, the only son of Queen Saba (i.e. Queen Sheba) and Solomon, was
depressed when he learned that his father's kingdom had been overcome and the
Temple in Jerusalem was sacked. His grief was deep ("...the happiness of
the Son was poisoned...") and this worried his mother. Shortly after
this invasion of Jerusalem, Menelik received word that the Ark of the
Covenant (the "box/cell of the Lord" AT-EL), formerly housed in
Solomon's Temple, was relocated for its protection.

The text refers to an "oath" that was
taken by Menelik to protect the Ark, apparently consumated by a ring that was
given to Menelik when he visited Solomon as a young man. Menelik also
received a warning from Nathan, his half-brother, that the Ark could be
harmful to his health and that it had caused vision problems and
"trembling" when Nathan had attempted to interact with it. Menelik
retrieves the Ark but has none of these adversities and eagerly interacts
with this "box of El", eventually constructing a special
underground chamber where he stores the Ark and converses through it with the
Lord.
As the danger of invading enemies becomes real for
the kingdom of Saba, Menelik announces that the Lord has instructed him to
enter the underground chamber with the Ark, and to have the entire
construction covered with sand to conceal it from hostile forces. Menelik
informs his mother, Queen Saba, that he will remain buried with the Ark for a
long period of time, until a "friendly" nation is overhead.
Following her only son's instructions, Menelik is buried with the Ark.
However, his mother has a smaller chamber constructed adjacent to the Ark
chamber with a secret peephole ("...aperture...") so that she can
monitor his condition. She secretly plans to open the chamber and rescue her
son should he be in danger and has had one of the chamber walls constructed
without mortar.
On many occasions, Queen Saba viewed her son inside
the chamber. She mentions that he received a future revelation from the Ark,
which sounded to her like thunder. As she watched Menelik interact with the
Ark, she noted that he trembled and shook from the visions that were being
shown to him.
As time passed, the thundering noise and movement of her son ceased. Upon
opening the secret peephole, the Queen saw a worm crawl out. This suggested
that maybe Menelik had died. The Queen was determined to open the chamber and
rescue her son but she recalled his faith and remembered his words, that he
would be buried for "a long time." She wept ("...cried an ocean
of tears...") that his vision of the future also included the revelation
that she had doubted his word and she prayed that he would forgive her for
her doubts.
Determined to honor her son's wishes, Queen Saba has
the chamber reinforced with more stone and mortar. She consults with the
builders and masons to design an enclosure that would protect the buried
chamber from future earthquakes, floods, salt (?) and other natural
disasters. The chamber was thus made more sturdy and a large dam was
constructed around the buried chamber to protect it from water and floods.
This oval dam bares the story, inscribed in the old language.
The Queen then "dimmed" her kingdom [see right Translation: The
Mother (M) dimmed (AMYM) her nation(LM) because
of (YN) the good Lord's (ligature-EL) goodness/sign
(TV).] in Yemen and moved her entourage to Ethiopia, confounded her
language to Himyaritic, a copy of the Ark was made and she allowed the buried
palace and its courtyard to be consumed by the desert sands. There it
remained for almost 3000 years until it was discovered by Wendell Philips,
ironically the character on whom Indiana Jones was based in the movie, Raiders
of the Lost Ark.
(Inscription [right] describes the mother "M" dimming her nation
for the Lord.)
DO NOT OPEN -- a warning
In the Yemen museum there is another stone which dictates the conditions
that should exist prior to any attempt at opening the chamber. These include
the occupation of the land by a "friendly" nation and the warning
that the Ark must not be moved and should not be used for any national or
personal benefit. The Ark is to be used for the benefit of all mankind and
petitions (asking for special favors) to the Lord are to be made by
collective prayer in the area of the buried Chamber and through the "priests"
of the Ark (Menelik?).
Following the burial of the chamber and the surrounding temple, Queen Saba
"dimmed her kingdom" and moved to Ethiopia with the prohibition
that the area where the Ark and Menelik were buried should be forgotten, lest
future hostile nations and "blind prophets" should seek it out.
Is the Ark still there? The courtyard was never excavated. In the Summer of
2001, the University of Calgary scanned it with ground penetrating radar and
located the chamber. But then the events of September 11, 2001 forever
changed the politics of Yemen, and all Arab nations. The sand has again
claimed the site, which is now under tribal control.
Recently, some Italian tourists attempted to visit the site and were killed
by an improvised explosive. This sent a strong message to all outsiders that
the site was off limits. The area is also subject to Yemen's separatist
movement with the local tribes wishing to return to a divided Yemen and Aden,
where their tribal influence will remain supreme.
Who needs the Ark?
The Jewish temple was built around a special chamber
-- the Holy of Holies -- which contained the Ark of the Covenant. This was
the raison d'etre of the temple. The Ark represents a direct
link to God. Without the Ark the temple is just a building.
The Ark is needed for the construction of the future Third Temple -- a
building which is connected with the belief that the Messiah will return to
Earth to rule all men -- which is to be built on the site of the past
temples. This location is currently occupied on the Temple Mount by a very
important Islamic Mosque.
The Third Temple is a necessity for both Jews and Messianic Christians and is
especially relevant in what many perceive as the "end times."
Is this why America, acting as proxy for Israel, is anxious to invade Yemen?
I honestly think so. How else would the Ark be retrieved from such a heavily
armed population. Why else would war be declared on these friendly and
extremely independent people? What will happen if the Ark is moved -- against
all the written warnings?
We shall see.
Comments:
Gary,
As a former member of the Epigraphic Society and a working acquaintance with
Bill McGlone, I find your story most fascinating and provocative. But what
about the Al Qaeda? The only mention of the group is in the title. Surely not
all the men of northern Yemen, each with four automatic rifles, are
terrorists. Is Al Qaeda operating and training on or near the Marib site? Is
there a race between Al Qaeda and Allied forces to secure the alleged Ark of
the Covenant for obvious military reasons? I'd like to read your take on Al
Qaeda in Yemen.
Best regards,
DonC.
As the BBC recently reminded everyone, the
organization "Al Qaeda" (literally meaning "the
database") is a concept invented by the American government to describe
many different individuals who adhere to a militant and extremist form of
Islam. It is similar to the term "VC" or "gorilla" or
"insurgent" which attempts to make anyone with a specific ideology
appear to be part of an organized group. In Yemen, as in Iraq, ordinary
people have become angry at the policies of America with regards to Arabs and
Islam -- specifically with their one-sided support for Israel against the
Palestinians. With rampant poverty, unemployment and the exposure to Al
Jazera News (which daily televise the mistreatment of Palestinians) you have
a perfect recipe for spontaneous rebellion.
The area surrounding Marib was heavily armed and controlled by tribes who are
devout Moslems. They were like this for hundreds of years and are not members
of anything like Al Qaeda. Often their anger has been directed towards their
own national government. It is mere semantics to now claim they are members
of an organized anti-American group.
The separatist movement in Yemen has recently resulted in the bombing of
tribes in the North by the US backed Saudi Arabian air force, with the
consent of the US backed Yemeni national government. Again, indiscriminate
killing requires revenge and the cycle continues and escalates.
Gary Vey
Thanks, Gary. I hadn't heard about the BBC
definition of 'Al Qaeda'.
donC
Yes, they documented the first time the phrase was
used. It was back in mid-90s when they were attempting to prosecute the
people who did the first WTC bombing. They needed to charge the alleged
leaders, not only the men who were responsible for renting the van etc. They
had to use an old law that was written to prosecute the bootleggers and
organized crime, and they needed to have an "organization" to make
the charges stick. So they took a CIA database that contained a list of
potential terrorists, from many different nations, and the Arabic name for
"the database" is "al qeada."
At the time, the BBC article reminds us, Osama bin Laden was actually working
for and with the American government. His family was the "guest" of
the government. You will recall that after 911, the same day, the only half
dozen planes allowed to fly were those taking the binLaden family back to
Saudi Arabia at special orders from Bush.
The binLaden family, including Osama, were partners with Bush senior in his
company that sells arms -- the Carlyle Group.
Osama made a statement right after the 911 attack that he didn't know who Al
Qaeda was and had never heard of them. Yet he was supposedly the head of the
group! We were not, at the time, allowed to hear this message because it was
alleged to contain secret words to "cells" in America. Later it was
released but the media never made it an important story. By then the myth of
Al Qaeda was already part of our culture.
Gary
Hello Gary Vey. I am Michael, you have done very
good work. I am writing to you because I have known people whom have been
looking for the Ark all their lives. I was shown petrogyghs and how to read
them many years ago. In the southern part of Utah and the northern part of
Arizona these petroglyghs tell of old testament stories. There is also Celtic
writings. Just a few years ago I noticed writings in other parts of the world
that matched these writings in Utah and Arizona. The top scholars on this
subject were in Utah and Arizona for seven years straight because of a
meeting I helped set up by direction. I want you to know that you can put
your life in great danger if your not careful. These people are obsessed with
finding not only the Ark but also a place called the treasure of treasures.
You are clear over your head of what you have stumbled onto. Please be
careful of everything you do and not be naive. You
have been told,
michael.