PRIORY OF SION ( DaVinci Code )
There is an explosion of interest in a world-wide hoax that has been made into a movie, titled, THE DAVINCI CODE. Of course, the liberal media and intelligentsia, are giddy with delight at anything which attacks the divinity of our Lord, Jesus, the Christ. Below is my attempt to expose the fraud for the nonsense which it is. This whole preposterous fraud does not deserve the attention of any Christian, except that we might pray for God's justice upon those who perpetrated it and those who promote it. Leave it to God. Amen.
The basis for this fraud can be traced back to the ancient religion of Paganism, with its elitists and its magic, which has existed from the time of Cain's Nimrod, Semiramis, and Tammuz about 4,500 BC. See my article PAGANISM . Along side the practice of the mother-goddess Paganism today in the Roman Catholic Church, it has also risen its spectral head in 1956 as the Priory of Sion. The elitist members of the occult Priory of Sion claim they descended from a marriage of Jesus with Mary Magdalene. In 1956 they registered in France, under the name "Order of Our Lady of Sion," as an association which provides "studies and mutual aid to members." (Note: the "Lady" for Priorists is Mary Magdalene, the same as today's blasphemous Mary Mother of god) Further information about the group is gotten from seven mysterious documents, known as the "Dossiers Secrets," that were given to the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris in 1964. These papers have stimulated various researchers on a quest through France (mostly) to check information that was alluded. Most information regards the genealogy of the Merovingian dynasty of kings which ruled France from 496 till 752 when supplanted by Carlovingians (Charlemagne the Great). The center of attention finally focuses on the remote Languedocian village of Rennes-le-Chateau. While the Secret Dossier papers appear at first glance to be nonsense, there is enough information to attract serious efforts by researchers. A couple, of many, books which intelligently present research into this subject are The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln, and Templar Revelation by Picknett & Prince. It seems the historical claims of the secret papers go back to the eleventh century, providing the names of Grand Masters of the ancient secret society of Priory of Sion. Many of the Grand Masters were affiliated with organizations such as the Freemasons and Rosicrucians. Other evidence seems to support the existence of such a secret group back as far as the twelfth century. From their research, the authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail conclude that Priorists claim Jesus had been married to Mary Magdalene, and that it was their offspring which led to the founding of the Merovingian dynasty. They allege that Jesus either survived the cross, or faked it as someone else was crucified, and that Mary fled with the children to what is now southern France. Jesus must have followed her there. Of course, we know that first century apostles believed He was dead.
A Christian might immediately ponder that without death, Jesus did not actually fulfill the sacrificial act required by God in order to settle the breach of the Old Covenant. Thus, Jesus would be no redeemer at all. Well, the divinity of Jesus matters NOT to the Priory of Sion, or it seems, to those who are publishing books about it. What matters is their belief that Jesus inherited the rulership of the throne of David, and as His descendants they claim the rightful RULERSHIP OF THIS WORLD. What they don't realize is that God had long ago done an end run around them by continuing the throne of David in Ulster about 580 BC, which then went to Scotland, and in 1296 AD to London. David's throne has never been vacant, just as God promised, so there is no need for any descendants from Jesus to fill such a need. In ignorance, they have grasped in vain! Further studies about this group connect them with present day "globalists" who want world rulership under one head.
It does seem convincing that such a secret society did exist during the middle ages, and that some of their symbolism might well be in the paintings and statues of Leonardo da Vinci and others, and that we shouldn't be surprised at such occult groups being born out of that terrible period of history known as the "dark ages," portrayed most poignantly by the Brueghel artists of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper shows Jesus with twelve disciples. It appears that da Vinci incorporated some symbolism into the painting which is related to the occult religion in which he was a serious player. Some interpret the painting to have only eleven disciples plus Mary Magdalene sitting at Jesus' right, presumably instead of St. John. The third person from the far left has a dagger pointing at his belly, held by a hand that couldn't belong to any person there. To Jesus' left, one points upward with his index finger, supposedly the "gesture of John the Baptist." Further to the right of the picture, one has turned his back to Jesus. I think it was said that Leonardo stated he had painted himself as that person. It is strangely consistent with other paintings of his where one person had his back turned to Jesus, purportedly expressing his anti-Jesus feelings during a time of Papal Inquisitions when painters dared not do it openly. Many works of da Vinci were commissioned by the Church, but he reputedly included symbolic messages of his own beliefs which the Church did not recognize. Regarding da Vinci and his symbolic paintings, perhaps he really was part of the occult movement of the Knights Templar, and the Priory of Sion around 1500 AD. The Knights Templar had been operating since the Crusades in the eleventh century. That the genius da Vinci was part of the occult religion is not surprising, nor does it make Paganism more acceptable to Christians. Leonardo da Vinci was evidently no friend of Christianity.
Priory of Sion. "Prior" means leader or ruler, he who goes first. The Priory of Sion is an elite line of people who claim descendancy from Jesus and Mary Magdalene. There seems to be some evidence that the group has existed since 1099, the time of the first crusade. The Priory of Sion, closely allied with the Knights Templar and often ruled by the same Grand Master, included Sir Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Victor Hugo, Claude Debussy, and Jean Cocteau. The alleged descendants of Jesus include the Jewish Habsburgs who ruled the Holy Roman Empire for several centuries, until the early 1900s, and the present Jewish King of Spain, Juan Carlos. Most people of this line identify themselves as Jews, presumably of the Sephardim group who were Edomites that migrated to Spain when Rome evicted them from Jerusalem in 70 AD and again in 135 AD. It was Edomites whom Jesus addressed in John 8:44!
While the occult elitists attempt to support their claim of lineage from Jesus, there is no credible early Christian literature that mentions any such relationship between Jesus and Mary M. Keep in mind that Jesus' ministry began when He was about 30 years old. It was during those three years that He said, "birds have nests and foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head." Obviously He was not married with a home and children at that time. Many people interpret the woman whom Jesus saved from stoning (John 8:1-11) to be Mary Magdalene. [Note: the story of the adultress, called the "pericope de adultera," did not exist in any Bible manuscripts of the early Christian centuries.] Even if it did happen, it happened during Jesus' ministry, so He couldn't have been married to her during previous years. And if He married her during His ministry, it would surely have been mentioned by N.T. writers. Some present day conjecturers want to interpret the woman who anoints Jesus feet with expensive oil as Mary Magdalene, making that anointing part of their marriage ceremony. But, Jesus clearly said at the time that the anointing was for His burial. So, those who claim to be Jesus' descendants are left with their only other possible explanation, that Jesus never really died but sneaked away to France where He and Mary raised their sons. That means Jesus kept the fraud secret from His mother and four brothers (James was leader of the Jerusalem Christians; Jude wrote a N.T. book), His disciples, and all the others who loved Him. That means the entire New Testament was written by people who were duped by their leader into believing all the things He said during His ministry, and that He was only a "Son of God" in some metaphorical manner while really being no more divine than anyone else. That also means that Jesus' sons continued the fraud and never connected themselves to the flourishing Christian movement which was spreading across all of Europe. That means that the Priorists ignore Jesus' claim that His kingdom is not of this world. So, if the Priory of Sion elitists are correct, and were really destined to be rulers of the world, why don't they reveal themselves along with proof of their claim? They claim they were forced to stay hidden because of the power of the developing Christian movement. However, the Roman Catholic Church did not really become powerful politically until about 600 AD with the first Pope, Gregory the Great. If those elders of Sion were destined to be a line of rulers, why wouldn't they step forth to take their position while Christianity was in its birth throes? Ironically, the Merovingians seemed unaware of any such lineage from Jesus as they worshiped the goddess Diana, not the Mary Magdalene whom later medieval Priorists venerated. We might note that of the multitude of early centuries' fictions about Jesus, including many fantastic tales, none of them ever imagined such an outrageous idea as a marriage between Jesus and Mary M. or that their offspring might someday rule the world. That would have been beyond credibility and wouldn't be considered even by authors who had Jesus jumping over buildings and once even selling His disciple Thomas as a slave to an Indian. Lacking any real evidence to support their claim, the hidden movement of Priorists has found its momentum in nothing more than a hunger to be elitists and to practice Pagan magics in order to attain their ultimate goal, rulership of the world through a one-world government.
Jesus told His followers that they would have to suffer the same things He suffered, and they should be humble servants of their fellow members of the body of Christ. Since Jesus promoted exactly the opposite of earthly rulership, it is no wonder his alleged descendants despise Him, and quite twisted that they would even wish to claim lineage from Him. They are grasping for worldly power, the very thing which Jesus warned against. They care nought for spiritual Truth which can set one free. At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, He was tempted in the desert where the devil offered Him all the worldly riches and power but He rejected it. There are two lessons from that incident: first, that Jesus' values were something different than worldly wealth and power, and second: that those things were really the devil's to give because he is the rightful ruler of World until Jesus' second coming. Once we realize the conflict of values between Jesus' spiritual movement and the elitists' world-power movement, we must conclude that the elitists despise Jesus because they have aligned themselves with His counterpart, the devil, who really does rule this kingdom of World. If you read some of the many books newly published on this subject, you will find connections between the Priorists and the Egyptian religion of Isis (ancient Paganism) and other occult groups and secret societies.
It might well be that a line of people from the eleventh century have maintained a secret society, and that they believe they are descendants of Jesus, and that they are powers today behind the illuminati/globalist movement. I can easily accept that such a group exists for the goal of political power. During this kingdom of World, while Satan rules, it is natural and appropriate that Satan exercises his rulership through many diverse media. It was probably easy to start such a secret society during the dark ages of ignorance and illiteracy, when superstitions governed nearly every aspect of life, and some people sought an alternative to the corrupt and wicked Roman Catholic tyrants. No one at that time would research the validity of their outrageous ancestral claims. Today, in the light of reason and with a better understanding of Jesus' purpose and accomplishments, we can easily see how such groups as the Priory of Sion stand in dark contrast to the Light of Jesus, our true Lord.
Finally, new evidence has been found, in May 2006, that the "Dossiers Secrets," upon which the whole fraud was based, was actually planted in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris by a man named Plantard, who was presenting himself as the rightful claimant of the Royal Kingship of France because he had lineage from Jesus. He engineered an elaborate scheme which has certainly stirred many of the followers of the true Jesus, of which I am one. I can only conclude that Satan's vermin are crawling out from under all the rocks in these end times to attack our Lord.
The movie The DaVinci Code has been released and is now playing in theaters worldwide. It has received so much publicity in all the media that it is a blockbuster hit. Christians are now confronted with arguments against Jesus that they don't know how to defend. This is good because Christians are being forced to think about their faith, to ask questions about the divinity of Jesus, and to choose which side of the line where they will stand. One man has already filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Church for claiming that Jesus was divine, and now he learned from the movie that it wasn't true. I see God's hand in all of this, first of all, forcing Christians to think about something, and secondly, separating the goats from His sheep. Many will fall away from the church and be culled from His flock, exactly as should happen. Some will question and reconfirm their faiths, and be stronger than before. Preachers will be forced to find answers through research. Christianity will be greatly improved because some of us awaken to stand against the dragon who wishes to destroy us.
One of the new arguments being proposed by the attackers is that the Emperor Constantine rewrote the New Testament to make the mortal Jesus into a Divine Lord. Emperor Constantine I (274-337) became a Christian 313AD, and called the Council of Nicaea 325AD. He sent his wife to the Holy Land, whereupon she commissioned the building of churches at sites which commemorate Jesus, namely the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Church of the Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and the Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives. He also commissioned scribes to create a large number of copies of the Bible, in Greek as they had been. The so-called Hebrew Masoretic Text would not appear until nearly 1,000AD. The Greek Septuagint was still the only Bible available at the time of Constantine. Okay, here's the problem: because Constantine commissioned the scribes to create many copies of the Bible, modern critics are suggesting that he, as a worshipper of Jesus, revised the texts which presented a mortal man into texts which present Him as Divine. The critics are claiming that Jesus was considered a great leader of their new movement, but only mortal, until Constantine influenced the scriptures.
Wrong! Outside of the Bible books, there were many other writings from early Christians which clearly present Jesus as Lord and even as God. These materials could not have been affected by any Constantine revisions. Here are a few examples: First Clement, (aka: The Letter of the Romans to the Corinthians) is from about 90 to 100 AD. In paragraph 16, it reads: "For Christ is with those who are humble, not with those who exalt themselves over his flock. The majestic scepter of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. . ." and in paragraph 24: "Let us consider, dear friends, how the Master continually points out to us the coming resurrection of which he made the Lord Jesus Christ the firstfruit when he raised him from the dead."
Second Clement, (an ancient Sermon) from the same time period as First Clement, about 100AD. It begins, "Brothers, we ought to think of Jesus Christ, as we do of God, as 'Judge of the living and the dead.'"
The Letters of Ignatius, from about 107AD. He was a leader of the Antioch church group, arrested and taken to Rome to be martyred, probably into the arena with lions. During his trip to Rome, under guards, he wrote letters. He begins a letter to the church at Ephesus by identifying himself as the writer, and includes this phrase: "united and elect through genuine suffering by the will of the Father and of Jesus Christ our God. . ." He certainly saw Jesus as Divine!
Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians, from around 110AD. Polycarp was an important figure in the early church development. He was a disciple of St. John (whose home was Ephesus, near Smyrna where Polycarp became a bishop). He was born 70AD and martyred 156AD. In this letter, he writes in the first paragraph: ". . .still perseveres and bears fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured for our sins, facing even death, whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of Hades. . ."
Martyrdom of Polycarp, written by eyewitnesses, describes in gruesome detail the arrest, trial, and execution of Polycarp, the beloved 86 year old pastor of the church at Smyrna. Appearing before the magistrate in the stadium, "But when the magistrate persisted and said, 'Swear the oath, and I will release you; revile Christ,' Polycarp replied, 'For eighty six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"
The Epistle of Barnabas, written between 70 and 132 AD. Excerpts from it: Chap 2: " . . .in order that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is free from the yoke of compulsion. . ." and in chap 5: "then he revealed himself to be God's Son. For if he had not come in the flesh, men could in no way have been saved. . ." and in chap 7: "If, therefore, the Son of God, who is Lord and is destined to judge the living and the dead, suffered in order that his wounds might give us life, let us believe that the Son of God could not suffer except for our sake."
There is a sampling of evidence that the early Christians truly DID look to Jesus as the Divine Son of God, not as to a mortal. For further evidence, I would refer you to the many early writings included in the collection which is published under the Title of The Apostolic Fathers. Also, you can find a multitude of other early writings in the ten volume set called, Ante Nicene Fathers, which is part of a larger set that includes 28 volumes of Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers.
Finally, it doesn't matter that all this evidence is available to disprove Satan's representatives, because people will cling to whatever appeals to them. The true Sheep who recognize Jesus as our living Shepherd will feel outraged at the blasphemous attacks against Him. Those pretenders and charlatans will strut proudly, and with national media favor, that they were right all along, and that Christianity is a fraud. Jesus tells us, in Revelations 22:11, to "Let the unrighteous still be unrighteous and the filthy one still be filthy, and let the righteous one still do righteousness, and let the holy one still be holy." You see, there really isn't anything to worry about. He is coming to us soon, riding on a white charger, victorious over His attackers, and He will not have lost a single one of those whom the Father has given Him. Be comforted in your own faith, and rejoice that God's plan is being accomplished exactly as it should be. Amen.