Let us Talk of Many Things; of Books and Queens and Pirates, of Mystery and Kings...: My weekend spotlight guests: Corjan Mol & Christopher Morford

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About the Book

What if the founding fathers of the United States worked with France to smuggle a real historic treasure to North America?

A few years ago, while researching for the TV show The Curse of Oak Island, we ran into the long forgotten memorial for a little known English Prime Minister in an overgrown garden on the outskirts of London. We were astounded to find that it contained several clues with regards to the Jewish Menorah. It is one of the world’s most sacred artefacts, a man-size lampstand with seven arms, made from a single block of gold by Moses from God’s own specifications. The Menorah is an iconic symbol for the Jewish people. King Solomon placed it in the inner sanctum of the Temple of Jerusalem, but by the 5th century AD, all trace of it had disappeared from the official record, and it was assumed lost. We weren’t looking for this. But here it was. The discovery marked the beginning of a real-life Da Vinci Code that led us across 3 continents, chasing over 1,000 years of forgotten and secret history.

Our book is about to shine a new, 7-fold light on the foundation of the United States of America. The world’s most sacred treasure was re-discovered in the Middle Ages by the order of warrior-monks, the Knights Templar. The Menorah was smuggled to France with the help of the Royal House of France to eventually end up in North America after intervention of the founding fathers during the French Revolution.

We discovered that the Menorah was dug up from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in the time of the Crusades by the Medieval order of warrior monks, the Knights Templar, and smuggled to France with the help of the French King Louis IX. From there it was taken to Portugal, to end up in North America after interventions by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. The secret was hidden in plain sight in both France and North America, on a scale so big that it took 800 years for it to be discovered.

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A shred of secret history lies hidden in one of Paris’ most fashionable areas. Tucked away between the high fashion stores of Hermes, Valentino and Saint-Laurent lies the rather dull façade of one of the city’s largest churches. Most luxury shoppers and tourists pass it without giving it any thought. However, the church of Saint Roch in the Rue Saint-Honoré, is well worthy of attention. The building has a long, colorful history as well as tight bonds with the Royal House of France and their Republican and Imperial successors after the French Revolution. The 15 year old Sun King Louis XIV of France laid the first stone in 1653. The 26 year old Napoleon Bonaparte fought French royalist troops on its steps, a century-and-a-half later. The bullet holes from the event can still be touched today.

The church of Saint Roch in Paris, on the Rue Saint-Honoré, lies close to the Palais Royal and what used to be the Palace of the Tuileries, now destroyed. Both palaces were prominent residences for French royals, their families and courtiers. The church was a special place for the Royal House of France and they frequently visited it. Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI would watch religious ceremonies here with their queens from two invisible lodges, hidden high up to the left and right of the altar, accessible only using a secret staircase in the walls. The churchgoers wouldn’t have known their king and queen were attending. The caretakers of the church whisper of a secret tunnel that led into the crypt under the church from the Palais Royal, providing unseen access for the royal audience who would come all the way from Versailles to attend mass here. Queen Marie-Antoinette’s silver crucifix is still waiting for her in the church’s sacristie. She wasn’t allowed to collect it on her way to the guillotine.

Once you enter the doors of Saint Roch, a vast space opens up, beautifully decorated with paintings, statues and stained glass. To be buried here was a rare honor, extended to only few. Marie Anne de Bourbon, the love and beloved child of the young King Louis XIV and his first mistress Louise de La Vallière was laid to rest here. So was the playwright Pierre Corneille and the philosopher Diderot.

Perhaps most notably, this church is the last resting place of France’s most famous gardener André LeNôtre. Already a legend in his own time, LeNôtre defined the French garden. His designs were all about harmony and creating lines of sight that would emphasize the best features of the landscape, elongating views and broadening horizons. His greatest legacy are the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, in which he redefined vastness and applied his skill on a scale never seen before and rarely since. In the 39 years of their cooperation, this modest, methodical gardener became a friend and trusted adviser to the highly ambitious builder King Louis XIV, 25 years his junior. With the Sun King on his side, LeNôtre deployed thousands of workers, forever changing lakes into forests and forests into lakes, realizing the grand vision of his young master to translate the glory of France into the biggest royal domain on the planet.

The Château of Versailles and its gardens span 2,200 acres around a 3 mile long central axis at the heart of the estate. Yet, it seems Louis XIV’s plan was greater still. In the first years of his adult reign, he gathered a team around him of Europe’s best scientists. Astronomers, mathematicians, engineers and cartographers combined their knowledge and skills to help lay out the gardens of his domain. When it was finished in 1685, the ground plan had the shape of a giant 7-armed menorah, formed like the sacred lampstand fashioned by Moses according to the Bible. Made from one solid block of gold, the man-size Jewish menorah, a candelabra with seven oil lamps, was placed in the First Temple of Jerusalem by the legendary King Solomon around 957 BC. On a clear day, if one flies over Versailles, the shape of the giant menorah is still clearly visible on the landscape from the sky. Once you have seen it, you can never unsee it again. Three avenues form its perfect 60 degree tripod, leading up to the front gate of the domain, branching out into 7 paths further down the central axis.

But was this really the Sun King’s intended shape for his garden? There might be a clue in the angle and direction of the Château’s central axis. This 4 kilometer long lane, or should we say, 4 kilometer tall central stem of the menorah, points to Jerusalem. If one would leave the Château’s main gate and kept walking in a straight line, one would walk straight to Temple Mount, where King Solomon originally installed the menorah in the First Temple. It is an alignment with eerie precision. Is it a coincidence that the world’s biggest menorah points at the original menorah’s original location in Jerusalem? There are no known records in the archives that support this theory, but it appears a further secret clue is hidden in the church of Saint Roch in Paris.

Enter any church and all the statues will face you. Not so in Saint Roch. André LeNôtre, the Sun King’s gardener died in 1700 and was buried inside the church. Most of his tomb was destroyed during the French Revolution and only his bust remains. It was created by renowned sculptor Antoine Coysevox, with the instruction to turn LeNôtre’s head slightly to the right. As a result, André LeNôtre’s eyes face away from the viewer and are fixed on a spot in the back of the church.

The king’s gardener, the man who spent his life creating ideal lines of sight and who we think is responsible for hiding a giant menorah in plain sight at Versailles, is forever staring at a life-size replica of Moses’ and Solomon’s biblical menorah.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

CORJAN MOL is a Dutch entrepreneur and historical researcher, who has featured in several TV documentaries, including BBC’s Forbidden History series. He is a recurring cast member and researcher of the #1 rated American cable reality TV show The Curse of Oak Island.

CHRISTOPHER MORFORD is a 32nd degree Freemason, Gnostic Bishop, and occult historian and restaurateur from South Carolina, who is a featured theorist and consulting researcher on The Curse of Oak Island reality TV show.

website: https://thejerusalemfiles.com

buy the book:

https://www.thejerusalemfiles.com/#preorder

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