PHENOM - The Search for the Ark of the Covenant

by Jim Plautz

Robin had prayed for Matthew several times since she came on duty two hours ago. She had been a nurse for sixteen years and prayed for all her patients. It was a simple prayer asking the Lord Jesus Christ to watch over this soul and, if this was their time, accept them into His everlasting Kingdom. Robin also said a quick prayer for her four-year old daughter who was diagnosed several months ago with terminal cancer. She crossed herself and rose from her knees when she heard someone say Amen. Matthew opened his eyes and placed his hand on her shoulder and spoke to her in a gentle voice; “thank you for your prayers, Robin.”

  She was startled, but felt a strange calmness as she looked into the patient’s eyes. “Oh my, you are awake; I’m so happy. Let me get the doctor.”

  “Not yet; please sit with me a moment and talk to me about Rebecca. You love her a lot, don’t you?”

  Tears came to her eyes at the mention of her daughter’s name, and for the next five minutes she spilled out her pain to Matthew. Robin never stopped to question how the patient knew about Rebecca. “More than anything,” she answered. “Rebecca is so young, with her entire life ahead of her. I would do anything if I could trade my life for hers.”

  Matthew took her hands in his; “Robin, I believe the Lord would want you to be here to guide her. Go home tonight and pray for her as you do every night. Do this and tomorrow you will find that Rebecca’s cancer is gone.”

  There was no doubt in Robin’s heart that her daughter would be cured. “What can I ever do to thank you?”

  “Teach your daughter the power of prayer and the power of faith; that’s all I ask of anyone.”

  “Let me get the doctor, now, “Robin sobbed as she wiped tears from her face and left the room. It took her a few minutes to find the doctor and when the doctor entered he found Matthew sitting upright. After a ten-minute examination the doctor pronounced him fit.

  “I can’t find a thing wrong with you, young man. Even the bruises on your body from the explosion have disappeared. I’ve never seen anything like this before. How do you feel?”

  “I feel great, doctor. Thank you and your staff for helping me these past three days.”

  “You’re welcome, but I’m not sure we did anything to help you. Your sudden and complete recovery is almost like a miracle. We didn’t give you any treatment that would explain this.”

  “Your nurse gave me exactly what I needed. Ask Robin about the power of prayer sometime.”

  “I will, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. She said she had an emergency at home and took the rest of the night off. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “Yes, please open the window and tell the crowd outside that I will speak to them in fifteen minutes.”

  “I can’t do that, the windows in patient’s rooms are sealed.”

  “Please try.”

  The doctor started to argue, but something in the patient’s voice made him stop. He decided instead to demonstrate that the windows were locked. He pulled back the drapes and lifted up on the sill and to his amazement the window opened easily. Four stories below the mourners quieted expectantly as they saw the drapes pulled back and the window slide open. The doctor looked back at Matthew who just nodded.

  The doctor was succinct. “Matthew Wilson has made a complete recovery and will speak to you in fifteen minutes.”

  The crowd was momentarily stunned as they absorbed his words and then erupted in roar usually heard in sporting events for a last minute touchdown, a grand slam home run in the ninth inning or a last second basket to send a game into overtime. It was all of these things to Matthew’s classmates, and more. The roar slowly subsided and replaced with tears of happiness as former classmates hugged and cried without shame. Jerry Hayes and his wife had been kneeling in prayer when the doctor delivered the good news. Hayes was a big man, but couldn’t stop crying as he exchanged congratulations with his wife and friends.

  Rosann and I were having dinner with former high school Principal Bill Hawkins in the hotel dining room, when the commotion began. There were no TVs in the dining room and our first clue was hearing a roar from outside, but none of us made the connection. Cell phones started to ring, but there was no need to answer. Peggy Jones, the former cheerleader coach, poked her head into the room and proclaimed the good news.

  “Matthew is okay and will speak to us in fifteen, no twelve, minutes,” as she checked her watch. The dining room and lounge could not have emptied any faster if a fire alarm went off and people saw the flames. Credit cards were thrown on the tables as everyone raced to the door. Principal Hawkins was no longer a young man, but I had to hurry to keep up. Behind me I heard the dining room manager instruct his staff to guard the credit cards and keep the dinners warm.

  Elevators couldn’t handle the crowd and many took the stairs. The street was bedlam as crowds from every hotel and restaurant poured out and race towards the hospital. I thought this must be what it was like the during the 1849 gold rush as the miners raced to discover the mother lode. Rosann and I reached the hospital with minutes to spare as we waited silently for Matthew to appear. The crowd became silent as the time approached.

  Five thousand eyes focused on the window together with the lenses of cameras from every major television network including the BBC, which would broadcast this event worldwide. I later found that ratings far exceeded any sporting event including the Super Bowl, NCAA finals or the World Cup. More than two-thirds of all television sets in the world were tuned into this real life drama.

  Matthew spent the fifteen minutes before his address with two people, Father Sean McGinnis and Amar Rashad. I learned later that Matthew did most of the talking; outlining his vision for a new, unified church. Amar was in complete accord.

  “It’s time,” Matthew announced as he walked alone to the balcony outside his window. The crowd erupted again in cheers, but quieted quickly as Matthew raised his hand for silence.

  “If you ever need me, I will be there for you. This is what we promised each other ten years ago. All of you remembered and fulfilled your promise to me, and for that I am eternally thankful.” The crowd listened in silence.

  “Because of you, and for you, I am back to serve you. Jerry, thank you for trusting my message and spreading the word to everyone here; you are indeed the leader I knew you would become. President Bush, thank you for your efforts in getting a few of our servicemen here in time. John Smith, you were fired from your job because of me. You could get your job back, but instead, you might contact Michael O’Leary about starting your own firm. The two of you two will do well together. Last of all I want to thank Mrs. Reynolds, one of my favorite teachers. She was told this trip might kill her, but she wanted to come anyway. She is with me now and teaching again.”

  Sobs came from her daughter as she noticed her mother was no longer breathing. “There is no need to mourn, Mrs. Fields, your mother is happy. Remember her as a great teacher, loving wife and mother and a great Christian. There is no need to mourn. She is with her God.”

  I watched and listened in awe as I slowly realized what Matthew was saying. The boy that I had coached in basketball, had dinner with at our home and traveled to Jerusalem with to visit the Dome of the Rock now claimed to be the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Could it be true?

  Matthew stood in the window and the lights behind him dimmed and were replaced by an aura that framed his head. “Bless you my classmates and friends, and rest assured that I will always be there for you when you need me. I am the Lord Jesus Christ and all you need to do to talk with me is to kneel and pray.” The crowd fell to their knees.

  We discovered later that the television cameras recorded nothing of Matthew’s conversation with his classmates, nor were his words heard by the people in attendance that were not at the graduation ceremony. Ken and Rosann were not at the ceremony and did not hear Matthew’s claim to be the Lord Jesus Christ. The first words they and the world audience heard were:

  “These people saved my life, and I will be forever t
hankful to them; the world will be forever thankful to them. I have come back to finish a mission that was started 2,000 years ago. Together we will create the world that God envisioned when he created the Garden of Eden. Will you support me in this hour of need?” he asked, looking directly into the television cameras. The roar of the crowd below was representative of the response he received from hundreds of millions watching from around the world.

  “I wish to introduce a dear friend of mine, Father Sean McGinnis, whom I have asked to found a new church that is open to all people of faith that believe in me. It is a Christian church, but it is not Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian or any other established religion. We are open to Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and all existing religions as long as they forsake false gods and recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Father McGinnis.”

  “I promise you that this church will be a reflection of the Lord and will be open to everyone. It will be a reflection of Jesus Christ’s teaching and the laws handed down by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. It will be a reflection of the life and leadership of Matthew Wilson.” The crowd applauded and was not surprised when Father McGinnis knelt down and kissed Matthew’s hand. The television audience was surprised, as were the television moderators.

  “David, is he claiming to be the second coming of Jesus Christ?” Chet Huntley of CBS asked.

  “He hasn’t said so directly, but he is sure acting like it.”

  “Unbelievable,” the cameras heard Huntley mutter when he thought his microphone was off. “The most watched program in history and we get a kook who thinks he is J.C. reincarnated.”

  Matthew continued. ‘The next person I will introduce has many names, but all Muslims will know him as the Mahdi, or ‘guided one’. I introduce to you Mohammad Abdul Qasim from the House of Mohammad in the line of Imam Hasan.”

  There was no rain, but the heavens roared with thunder that reverberated through the heavens as Amar appeared on the balcony and stood beside Matthew.

  “That’s the basketball player from Turkey,” another analyst said; “the one that Wilson played against Sunday.”

  “What is a Mahdi,” Huntley asked his religious advisor. “Help me out here.”

  “Muslims believe he is the 12th Imam. The coming of the Mahdi is to the Muslims what the return of Jesus is to Christians.”

  “Oh no, now we have two kooks,” Huntley muttered, not caring that the microphones picked up his every word. He looked at his religious advisor who was staring raptly at Amar standing alongside Matthew.

  “Scripture says that the Mahdi will join forces with Jesus Christ to defeat the Dajjal, and lead his people to peaceful times. His coming will be announced by a loud wailing from the sky.”

  “Was that thunder we just heard?” Brinkley asked. “It didn’t sound like any thunder I have heard before. It sounded like someone calling from the heavens.”

  “Oh my, it is really Him” the religious advisor whispered.

  The Mahdi began to speak. “I am Muslim, but I speak to all People of the Book, Muslim and Christian alike. I speak to you of peace and the words handed down to Mohammad by Allah while he resided in Mecca.” Amar hesitated as some in the crowd applauded.

  “That is huge,” the BBC religious network expert almost shouted. “It wasn’t until Mohammad moved to Medina that his message became militant and there was talk about jihad and decapitating non-believers.”

  “Muslims, I ask you to join forces with the Christians and defeat the armies of the false prophet, Dajjal.”

  “What is a Dajjal?” a confused Brinkley asked.

  “Al-Dajjal is the Muslim word for antichrist, or imposter Messiah, who many Muslims and Christians believe will be slain by Jesus. This will signal the appearance of the Mahdi who will then change the world into a perfect and just Islam society.”

  Muslim stations across the world watched attentively, but there were many disbelievers. “Show us proof,” one Turkish commentator pleaded. “We need something more than a thunder clap.”

  Matthew stepped forward and put his arm on the Amar’s shoulder, and the Mahdi did likewise, before speaking. “Many Muslims are asking for proof that I am the guided one, the one that will guide you and show the way to hidden secrets. We now offer you that proof. We have found the Ark of the Covenant.”

  My shock was different than that of others who were stunned by the announcement. Everyone had their own opinion as to what this meant, but everyone knew it was the harbinger of good times.

  Muslims everywhere accepted that finding the Ark meant that the Mahdi, the 12th Imam, or leader, had indeed arrived. Finding the Ark would remove all doubts that this was indeed the Mahdi, the Guided One. There would no longer be any doubt except in the minds of militants that believed in the warlike suras uttered by Mohammad after he fled to Medina.

  Christians knew the Ark was a symbol of power and would devastate the enemies of Christ. The Knights Templar, a warrior offshoot of the Catholic Church, had searched for the Ark for eight hundred years, knowing that possession of the Ark would make them all-powerful.

  Jews remembered the role the Ark played in their history and prayed that its power would allow them to return to Jerusalem.

  I wondered why Matthew had allowed the Mahdi to announce the discovery, but the more I thought about it the more I understood. It was for the same reason he had allowed Yao Ming to block his shot which allowed the China National Team to beat Matthew’s all stars; there are almost two billion Muslims in the world.

  The Mahdi continued. “The Ark contains more than just the tablets containing the Ten Commandments handed down by God to Moses; the Ark also contains Hadiths and Torahs that correct many errors and misconceptions in established religions.”

  “What does he mean?” Brinkley asked. Huntley didn’t answer. He was too busy licking his wounds.

  The religious expert couldn’t contain himself. “They seem to be opening up the possibility of rewriting the Koran, and possibly the Bible. Muslims believe scriptures will be found with the Ark. This new information will be so convincing that all Jews and Christians will want to convert to Islam.”

  “Doesn’t the Koran also say that people who don’t convert to Islam will be killed?”

  “Yes, but the Mahdi had already disavowed the violence in the Koran. Mohammad wrote these suras only after he gained strength and migrated to Medina. The Mahdi is repudiating the part of the Koran that advocates violence.”

  Matthew stepped forward to emphasize that the following words were his alone: “There is evil in this world that must be stopped. It must be stopped, now: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, your reign of terror has ended. You have desecrated the Dome of the Rock. My Father is destroying your false temple as we speak.”

  “He is accusing Ahmadinejad of being the Dajjal, or antichrist,” the BBC announcer proclaimed what listeners already knew.

  Matthew paused as the crowd gasped.

  “What is he talking about?” Huntley asked his news desk.

  “Nothing on the wires,” a journalist reported. “Wait; hold on, we just received word of a giant earthquake centered on the north side of Jerusalem.”

  “That’s where the Dome of the Rock is located; any injuries?”

  “It’s too early to tell, but our reporter on the scene says that the Temple Mount has been flattened, but the Al-Aqsa Mosque is still standing.”

  “Could it be terrorism?”

  “We don’t know for sure, but they don’t think so. It looks like an earthquake and electrical storm, but there has never been an earthquake of this magnitude in the Far East.” The broadcast booth was silent as each man evaluated what they were witnessing.

  “Chet, do you still have doubts that these two men are who they claim to be?”

  “No, David, I’m convinced.”

  The Mahdi stepped forward alongside Matthew and was joined by Father McGinnis as Matthew spoke. “Next week Amar and I will start our journey to return the Ark of the Covenant to its rightful plac
e to a new temple on the Dome of the Rock that will be the headquarters of our new church. Go in peace, my children. Tonight we celebrate and tomorrow we begin a journey towards a better understanding of God’s wishes as expressed in both the Holy Bible and the Koran.”

  “Amen,” said Father McGinnis.

  “Amin,” said the Mahdi.

  Matthew appeared at the celebration party that night and was the same person I knew five days ago, or ten years before. His high school friends were still his friends, and he went from one person to the next until he had thanked each person for living up to their promise and saving his life. He made everyone feel important.

  “Speech, speech,” the crowd shouted and Matthew reluctantly took the stage.

  “People asked me to give another ‘We Kick Ass’ speech, but I figured Gus Edwards and the TV networks will get on me again,” he joked, pointing at Edwards and smiling his appreciation for the work Edwards had done. “They would say it probably isn’t the type of thing a man in my position should do, but I do have one memory I would like to leave you with.”

  The music started and the crowd erupted before the second drum beat was played. It was déjà vu all over again as I watched Matthew and Jennifer recreate the magic they had captured ten years ago. None of us would ever tire of hearing them sing “Simply the Best”.

  It was Mary’s first chance to see the live performance and she was awestruck. “The video and movie are good, but this is better,” she gushed. “Now I know what you all must have felt at the time.

  “And maybe a little bit about why 100% of his classmates are here today,” I added.

  The noise finally abated and Matthew spoke again. “Jennifer and I have an announcement to make,” Matthew said with that sly grin of his. “Jennifer, please do the honors.”

  Jennifer didn’t need to say a word, but simply held up her left hand displaying a simple, but beautiful diamond engagement ring. I couldn’t help but wonder what impact this would have upon traditional views of celibacy in Rome and the Catholic Church.

  The music started and everyone danced to the music Jennifer had chosen for this occasion; Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “I don't know how to love him,” as sung by Mary Magdalene in JC Superstar.”