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The Ark of the Covenant was likely whispered fearfully on the lips of ancient Israelites and Canaanites throughout the oral tradition long before it was ever first documented in Exodus 25, written roughly 2600 years ago. Ever since then, people around the world have been fascinated by the idea of it and the prospect of finding the ark that contains the fabled stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod, and a pot of manna. It was supposed to be one of the holiest objects for the Israelites, and was not touched or opened but instead carried using staves. Most people recognize the Ark thanks to the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Who can forget the melting faces of those men who thought they could stare at God?
Well, it seems like the CIA thought they could, too. Declassified files reveal that, in the years after Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Central Intelligence Agency actually attempted to locate that Lost Ark using a psychic, one of my instances in which the agency engaged in pseudoscience. It was called Project Sun Streak, and it consisted of allegedly clairvoyant “viewers” who could psychically navigate reality in a kind of astral projection. You can see the declassified CIA files on Project Sun Streak here.
The declassified papers from Dec. 5, 1988, highlight someone known as “Viewer #032,” who was tasked with locating “Target #0209,” or the Ark of the Covenant; they supposedly didn’t know what they were trying to find. The viewer’s report reads as follows: “Target is a container. This container has another container inside of it. The target is fashioned of wood, gold, and silver. Similar in shape to a coffin and is decorated with seraphim.”
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Viewer #032 continued, sometimes referencing drawings they had made on different pages:
“This target is located somewhere in the Middle East as the language spoken by individuals present seemed to be Arabic. Visuals of surrounding buildings indicated the presence of Mosque Domes (?), (see page 12). Individuals in the area were clothed in virtually all white, had black hair and dark eyes – one figure I homed in on wore a moustache. The target is hidden — underground, dark and wet were all aspects of the location of the target. The purpose of the target is to bring a people together. It has something to do with ceremony, memory, homage, the resurrection. There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons and historical knowledge far beyond what we now know.”
2:42
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According to CIA Reports, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ Was Kind of Right
CIA
What’s fascinating about “Viewer #032” and their account of the “target” is how it lines up with Raiders of the Lost Ark, which might be corroborating evidence, or may just mean they have seen the movie… The subject directly mentions the consequences of opening the Ark the wrong way, saying that people who do so would be “destroyed.” They didn’t mention face-melting, but they were meticulous:
“The target is protected by entities and can only be opened (now) by those who are authorized to do so — this container will not / cannot be opened until the time is deemed correct. Once it is time to open the container — the mechanics of the lock system will be found to be fairly simple. Individuals opening the container by prying or striking are destroyed by the container’s protectors (see page 17) through the use of a power unknown to us.”
In the report on Project Sun Streak, a CIA agent singles out this specific viewer and praises their supposed psychic abilities. “Viewer #032 attained excellent site contact. Doing very well with Stage IV structure. Viewer also exhibits the ability to keep AOL to a minimum. Have to be careful with editing though. This does not seem to be a problem at this time, just something to watch for.”
6:53
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It may be worthwhile to take all this with a grain of salt. U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Joe McMoneagle was one of the first people recruited by the CIA for “remote viewing,” and actually received the Legion of Merit for supposedly psychically identifying a Russian warship. McMoneagle doubts the accuracy of Project Sun Streak, telling The New York Post:
“Using remote viewing against any target for which ground truth does not exist or is impossible to obtain, such as UFOs, UAPs, the surface of Mars, or the locations of historical relics, is a waste of time and resources. If someone claims that remote viewing proves the existence of something, such as the Ark of the Covenant, they must produce the Ark to substantiate their claim. “In this case, it is a training target done on a whim. I would challenge the entire practice session as bogus. No one attempted to ascertain the ground truth of the material, and everything said was accepted on its unknown and unverified merit.”
Still, it’s kind of cool. If you want to see the Ark of the Covenant melt some faces, Raiders of the Lost Ark is streaming on Disney+ and Paramount+.
You can view the original article HERE.
