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The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ
The most closely guarded secret of the western world is about to be revealed—and you will never see Christianity in the same light again.
In a remarkable achievement of historical detective work that is destined to become a classic, authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince delve into the mysterious world of the Freemasons, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, and the occult to discover the truth behind an underground religion with roots in the first century that survives even today.
Chronicling their fascinating quest for truth through time and space, the authors reveal an astonishing new view of the real motives and character of the founder of Christianity, as well as the actual historical—and revelatory—roles of John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene.
Painstakingly researched and thoroughly documented, The Templar Revelation presents a secret history, preserved through the centuries but encoded in works of art and even in the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, whose final chapter could shatter the foundation of the Christian Church.
In a remarkable achievement of historical detective work that is destined to become a classic, authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince delve into the mysterious world of the Freemasons, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, and the occult to discover the truth behind an underground religion with roots in the first century that survives even today.
Chronicling their fascinating quest for truth through time and space, the authors reveal an astonishing new view of the real motives and character of the founder of Christianity, as well as the actual historical—and revelatory—roles of John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene.
Painstakingly researched and thoroughly documented, The Templar Revelation presents a secret history, preserved through the centuries but encoded in works of art and even in the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, whose final chapter could shatter the foundation of the Christian Church.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
December 29, 2020
Once again I'm reading weird stuff... What would it say about my adventurousness? Nothing good, I hope.
Well, if one reads this work as one of pure fiction and alternative history, no butthurt ensues. If one tries to pick out what could be true and what not - well, it becomes an irritating read. Basically, if we take some things and ideas and choose to look at them in precisely particular light under a very particular angle - we wind up with some bonkers theories. The main thing is to remember that we were cherry-picking for our entertainment and were not precisely looking for assurance that things happened in a certain way historically.
Well, if one reads this work as one of pure fiction and alternative history, no butthurt ensues. If one tries to pick out what could be true and what not - well, it becomes an irritating read. Basically, if we take some things and ideas and choose to look at them in precisely particular light under a very particular angle - we wind up with some bonkers theories. The main thing is to remember that we were cherry-picking for our entertainment and were not precisely looking for assurance that things happened in a certain way historically.
March 31, 2008
Yes, I too was on the "Leonardo and his secret mysteries" bandwagon. This is one of my casualties. Picknett and Prince are rather proud of their scholarly achievements and make sure to tell you about it. They also enjoy taking a wobbly theory and weaving historical fact around it like a gruesome Tiffany lamp. Of course, that's just me. Why 3 whole stars then? Well, I guess it entertained me on a certain level, because the book is engrossing. Just try not to get too caught up in certain theories that are provided as fact.
April 16, 2016
Awful.
Totally awful.
Bad. Bad like the Hindenburg. Bad like the Black Plague. Bad like Nicki Minaj's speaking voice.
Bad, bad, bad.
Such a disjointed, disconnected, hodgepodge collection of drivel it's offensive.
This book is so badly written, structured and presented as to be both wholly not credible as a possible revelation of buried historical fact, and to be so badly written as to fail as an unintended example of historical fiction.
Contrary to many other reviews here, I found it to be horribly researched, glaringly unsubstantiated, full of such esoteric conjecture as to border on whimsy vs. theory, and ultimately just an excruciating exercise in self-torture to continue reading.
To do proper justice and deliver the volume of scathing rhetoric this 461-page abomination of literary vomit warrants, I'd need to write my own 461 pages of incendiary rage, scorn and disdain for the work, the authors, and most likely anyone who gave favorable reviews to this towering dung heap of text.
Suffice to say that this steamer now enters the hallowed halls of my All Time Worst list, joining such other wastes of tree pulp as Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, The Scarlet Letter and Atlantis: The Antediluvian World.
I'm now going to go read a thesaurus so I can find new and interesting words to describe how much I hate this book, and then update my review.
Save yourself the agony of reading it - go get a blunt, rusty spoon and gouge your eyes out now. . .
Totally awful.
Bad. Bad like the Hindenburg. Bad like the Black Plague. Bad like Nicki Minaj's speaking voice.
Bad, bad, bad.
Such a disjointed, disconnected, hodgepodge collection of drivel it's offensive.
This book is so badly written, structured and presented as to be both wholly not credible as a possible revelation of buried historical fact, and to be so badly written as to fail as an unintended example of historical fiction.
Contrary to many other reviews here, I found it to be horribly researched, glaringly unsubstantiated, full of such esoteric conjecture as to border on whimsy vs. theory, and ultimately just an excruciating exercise in self-torture to continue reading.
To do proper justice and deliver the volume of scathing rhetoric this 461-page abomination of literary vomit warrants, I'd need to write my own 461 pages of incendiary rage, scorn and disdain for the work, the authors, and most likely anyone who gave favorable reviews to this towering dung heap of text.
Suffice to say that this steamer now enters the hallowed halls of my All Time Worst list, joining such other wastes of tree pulp as Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, The Scarlet Letter and Atlantis: The Antediluvian World.
I'm now going to go read a thesaurus so I can find new and interesting words to describe how much I hate this book, and then update my review.
Save yourself the agony of reading it - go get a blunt, rusty spoon and gouge your eyes out now. . .
August 5, 2011
Another work of scholarship tarnished by over reaching. The conclusions the author comes to are so absolutely unfounded and vaguely supported that the whole house of cards collapses under even casual observation. I cannot express my horror at watching what was a competent piece make absolutely unfounded leaps that are so utterly ridiculous as to be almost laughable.
April 24, 2025
One or two stars...
First of all, I have a confession to make: I liked "The Da Vinci Code" when it was published. I was new to the genre and found it to be fast-paced with lots of interesting historical facts sprinkled throughout the story. Back then, I thought it was great entertaining fiction.
Now, this book was apparently one of the books from which Dan Brown got his ideas. The authors consider themselves serious investigators, but I found this book to be a disorganized collection of facts and speculations presented as truth.
It goes like this: There is a painting of, let's say, the Last Supper of Leonardo da Vinci. There are some odd things to be seen there. One of the disciples looks like a woman (he actually does), there is a knife, there is an M-shape, and Leonardo put himself in the scene as well. Suddenly, another painting with an M-shape is found. M-shapes are all over the place. Then we go to the 1960s, where a mural is painted in a church in London by Jean Cocteau. Oh, there's an M-shape there as well, and Cocteau added himself to the scene too, looking back at the audience (lots of painters did these kinds of things over the years). The M must have a meaning; it must be Mary Magdalene, obviously. A list is produced from a dubious origin about grand masters of a dubious occult organization. Both names, Da Vinci and Cocteau, are on it, and this also must mean something. The authors come up with some possible theories, but a few chapters later, the word "possible" disappears, and the posed theory is quietly taken as the truth and on to the next.
Gradually, all kinds of societies, markings, Black Madonnas, Templars, and pagan rites of Isis are connected in the way described above, and before you know it, you are looking at one great conspiracy by the church to suppress some secret knowledge that would harm Christianity if it ever came to light.
Don't get me wrong, I am not defending Christianity here, as what it is based on is just as unlikely as the book "Picknett and Prince" produced. There are interesting facts here and there, and in the second half of the book, they expose some vulnerabilities within the Orthodox Christian heritage, especially on the way the current Bible was "compiled." Then they go wild on speculations about John the Baptist and to wrap it up, of course, the Templars knew it all and that's why they were suppressed, together with other heretic groups. The knowledge that all such occult groups are guarding is so explosive, it would turn society as we know it upside down. It would place a bomb under 2000 years of Christianity.
So now the authors have exposed the "hidden secrets"...what happened? Dan Brown made millions of it and that's about it.
This book could have been entertaining if it had been presented as an "alternate history" story, but in the end, it was tedious and annoying.
First of all, I have a confession to make: I liked "The Da Vinci Code" when it was published. I was new to the genre and found it to be fast-paced with lots of interesting historical facts sprinkled throughout the story. Back then, I thought it was great entertaining fiction.
Now, this book was apparently one of the books from which Dan Brown got his ideas. The authors consider themselves serious investigators, but I found this book to be a disorganized collection of facts and speculations presented as truth.
It goes like this: There is a painting of, let's say, the Last Supper of Leonardo da Vinci. There are some odd things to be seen there. One of the disciples looks like a woman (he actually does), there is a knife, there is an M-shape, and Leonardo put himself in the scene as well. Suddenly, another painting with an M-shape is found. M-shapes are all over the place. Then we go to the 1960s, where a mural is painted in a church in London by Jean Cocteau. Oh, there's an M-shape there as well, and Cocteau added himself to the scene too, looking back at the audience (lots of painters did these kinds of things over the years). The M must have a meaning; it must be Mary Magdalene, obviously. A list is produced from a dubious origin about grand masters of a dubious occult organization. Both names, Da Vinci and Cocteau, are on it, and this also must mean something. The authors come up with some possible theories, but a few chapters later, the word "possible" disappears, and the posed theory is quietly taken as the truth and on to the next.
Gradually, all kinds of societies, markings, Black Madonnas, Templars, and pagan rites of Isis are connected in the way described above, and before you know it, you are looking at one great conspiracy by the church to suppress some secret knowledge that would harm Christianity if it ever came to light.
Don't get me wrong, I am not defending Christianity here, as what it is based on is just as unlikely as the book "Picknett and Prince" produced. There are interesting facts here and there, and in the second half of the book, they expose some vulnerabilities within the Orthodox Christian heritage, especially on the way the current Bible was "compiled." Then they go wild on speculations about John the Baptist and to wrap it up, of course, the Templars knew it all and that's why they were suppressed, together with other heretic groups. The knowledge that all such occult groups are guarding is so explosive, it would turn society as we know it upside down. It would place a bomb under 2000 years of Christianity.
So now the authors have exposed the "hidden secrets"...what happened? Dan Brown made millions of it and that's about it.
This book could have been entertaining if it had been presented as an "alternate history" story, but in the end, it was tedious and annoying.
February 19, 2009
كتاب عجيب بكل ما فيه من حقائق غريبة وتساؤلات أغرب.. انه يثير الأسئلة أكثر مما يجيب عليها.. تقرأه فتعجب من هذا الكم من الخرافات التي يحيكها البشر حول أي شيء مهما كانت قيمته. وتعجب أكثر من القدر الذي يمكن أن ينحرف به فكر الإنسان إن لم يكن لديه ما يهديه. الكتاب يتناول في الأساس من يطلق عليهم فرسان المعبد والذين اجتمعوا لحماية سر معين لا أحد حتى الآن يملك دليلا على كنه هذا السر، مما شجع على الترويج لأنهم يعملون على حماية نسل السيد المسيح من مريم المجدلية!!
المحزن في هذا الكتاب كم الهرطقات التي تقال على سيدنا المسيح -عليه وعلى نبينا السلام- حتى أنك تشعر بالأسى لهذا المخلوق الرائع.
الحقيقة أن الكتاب ملئ بالتفاصيل التي قد تبدو مملة في كثير من الأحيان.. خاصة عندما تشعر أنك لم تصل من كل ما قرأته من سرد الى حقيقة ما.. فهم فقط يجعلون القارئ يفكر ... وفقط.!!
أدهشني كم الرموز التي تحتويها الأعمال الفنية لدافنشي، وكيفية تحليلهم لها.. أدهشني كم الروابط التي أوجدها الباحثان بين رموز المسيحية والرموز الوثنية.
ولكن هذا الكتاب جسد لي حقيقة واحدة ماثلة أمام عيناي.. أن الاسلام جاء حقيقة ليمحق كل ما سبقه من خرافات وأعمال تتنافى والعقل بل والفطرة أيضا.. فالحمد لله على نعمة الإسلام وكفى.
المحزن في هذا الكتاب كم الهرطقات التي تقال على سيدنا المسيح -عليه وعلى نبينا السلام- حتى أنك تشعر بالأسى لهذا المخلوق الرائع.
الحقيقة أن الكتاب ملئ بالتفاصيل التي قد تبدو مملة في كثير من الأحيان.. خاصة عندما تشعر أنك لم تصل من كل ما قرأته من سرد الى حقيقة ما.. فهم فقط يجعلون القارئ يفكر ... وفقط.!!
أدهشني كم الرموز التي تحتويها الأعمال الفنية لدافنشي، وكيفية تحليلهم لها.. أدهشني كم الروابط التي أوجدها الباحثان بين رموز المسيحية والرموز الوثنية.
ولكن هذا الكتاب جسد لي حقيقة واحدة ماثلة أمام عيناي.. أن الاسلام جاء حقيقة ليمحق كل ما سبقه من خرافات وأعمال تتنافى والعقل بل والفطرة أيضا.. فالحمد لله على نعمة الإسلام وكفى.
May 7, 2021
I picked up this book after stumbling upon its reference in my favourite book, 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown. Internet tells me that this book was a major source of inspiration for Robert Langdon's character explaining the hidden pagan symbolism in 'The Last Supper' to Sophie Neveu and many other thematic concepts covered in the book. I couldn't resist myself from picking it up, primarily out of sheer curiosity and secondarily by being tempted to read anything which even remotely sounds like a conspiracy theory. (Guilty as charged, I am a theorist at heart who loves conspiracies about anything and everything.)
After reading it for two months, I realised, that this book is a shocker. Simply put, it will question your existing notions of Christianity and turn the mainstream story about Jesus, his divinity, the Christmas tale and every other thing on its head. It would be an understatement if I told you that readers are going to be shaken when they come across the amount of academic literature already existing in scholarly world about the very foundations of Christianity. My background of Da Vinci Code, did give me an idea that the book revolves around the true identity of Mary Magadelene, who is portrayed as a whore turned saint by salvation through Jesus, in mainstream Christian theology.
The theories backed with investigative research and in-depth scrutiny of existing scholarly works , has left me speechless. Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince have produced a compelling, remarkable and intriguing piece of work through this book.
Beginning from understanding Leonardo Da Vinci's art and hidden symbolism in his paintings, to taking the readers through a tour of Southern France for a journey in heresy and erstwhile esoteric world of secret cults and societies, to shedding light on who Mary Magadelene actually was and her role in Jesus's life, to making us question the Jesus-John The Baptist relationship, this book gives us much food for thought and makes a reader stretch the conventional notions associated with Christianity.
Clive Prince and Lynn Picknett stop at nothing, questioning, debunking, contradicting, compiling and analysing very strand of evidence or written word existing on the Jesus-Mary Magadelene relationship, which is worthy of immense praise. I personally loved reading about how the very concept of sexuality and a mortal God has been twisted infinitely by The Church to ensure that Mary Magadelene's historical significance and power is effaced completely. A chapter titled "Sex: The Sacred Sacrament" is particularly interesting considering how impressive and shocking the theories given therein are. Not only does one get attracted to the narrative built by the authors, bringing up Knight Templars, Priory of Sion and Masonic rites, but the inter-disciplinary approach in considering every concept approached in this book is commendable. From architecture, symbolism, history, thread-bare analysis of Gospels, contemporary literature, centuries old European sources (almost all of which I had never heard about) make this book an absolutely enriching experience.
Though I found this book really approachable in terms of its language and flow, the topic of the book is not meant for everyone. It is heavy and challenging, since it requires some degree of concentration and commitment from a reader. One may get easily lost in the terminologies and there are high chances that those not adept with Christian theology (like myself) or with Biblical knowledge may find themselves grappling at placed. But with some help from the internet, it should be a smooth sailing.
It is really praise-worthy how unabashed and objective this book has been while still questioning the edifice of The Church as we know now. There are extremely compelling arguments made by the authors, and it is impossible to write anything about the book without giving in too much of the contents. But I don't want to a be dampener of the fun, and therefore I am restraining myself from writing the actual theory brought about in the book.
It has been an enriching and an eye-opening experience reading about something which already been understood as taken. Though theories are just theories, since we cannot prove with certainty the veracity of narrative built in the book as true, it has nonetheless made me interested in reading more about the secret cults, paganism, feminine principle, feminine worship and the alternative schools of interpretation to Christianity's origin, all of which this book covers with extraordinary ease.
After reading it for two months, I realised, that this book is a shocker. Simply put, it will question your existing notions of Christianity and turn the mainstream story about Jesus, his divinity, the Christmas tale and every other thing on its head. It would be an understatement if I told you that readers are going to be shaken when they come across the amount of academic literature already existing in scholarly world about the very foundations of Christianity. My background of Da Vinci Code, did give me an idea that the book revolves around the true identity of Mary Magadelene, who is portrayed as a whore turned saint by salvation through Jesus, in mainstream Christian theology.
The theories backed with investigative research and in-depth scrutiny of existing scholarly works , has left me speechless. Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince have produced a compelling, remarkable and intriguing piece of work through this book.
Beginning from understanding Leonardo Da Vinci's art and hidden symbolism in his paintings, to taking the readers through a tour of Southern France for a journey in heresy and erstwhile esoteric world of secret cults and societies, to shedding light on who Mary Magadelene actually was and her role in Jesus's life, to making us question the Jesus-John The Baptist relationship, this book gives us much food for thought and makes a reader stretch the conventional notions associated with Christianity.
Clive Prince and Lynn Picknett stop at nothing, questioning, debunking, contradicting, compiling and analysing very strand of evidence or written word existing on the Jesus-Mary Magadelene relationship, which is worthy of immense praise. I personally loved reading about how the very concept of sexuality and a mortal God has been twisted infinitely by The Church to ensure that Mary Magadelene's historical significance and power is effaced completely. A chapter titled "Sex: The Sacred Sacrament" is particularly interesting considering how impressive and shocking the theories given therein are. Not only does one get attracted to the narrative built by the authors, bringing up Knight Templars, Priory of Sion and Masonic rites, but the inter-disciplinary approach in considering every concept approached in this book is commendable. From architecture, symbolism, history, thread-bare analysis of Gospels, contemporary literature, centuries old European sources (almost all of which I had never heard about) make this book an absolutely enriching experience.
Though I found this book really approachable in terms of its language and flow, the topic of the book is not meant for everyone. It is heavy and challenging, since it requires some degree of concentration and commitment from a reader. One may get easily lost in the terminologies and there are high chances that those not adept with Christian theology (like myself) or with Biblical knowledge may find themselves grappling at placed. But with some help from the internet, it should be a smooth sailing.
It is really praise-worthy how unabashed and objective this book has been while still questioning the edifice of The Church as we know now. There are extremely compelling arguments made by the authors, and it is impossible to write anything about the book without giving in too much of the contents. But I don't want to a be dampener of the fun, and therefore I am restraining myself from writing the actual theory brought about in the book.
It has been an enriching and an eye-opening experience reading about something which already been understood as taken. Though theories are just theories, since we cannot prove with certainty the veracity of narrative built in the book as true, it has nonetheless made me interested in reading more about the secret cults, paganism, feminine principle, feminine worship and the alternative schools of interpretation to Christianity's origin, all of which this book covers with extraordinary ease.
July 15, 2009
Claiming on the front cover to be an expose about the "true identity of Christ," the book comes to this conclusion on pages 352–3:
After reaching this point in the book, I put it down in disgust, something I am not wont to do (particularly after I've spent hour after hour plowing through a text), and decided to write this review.
This book is offensive, not necessarily because of its radical and unsubstantiated claims about Jesus, but because it, like so many others of its ilk, confuses a constellation of conjecture, speculation, supposition, and allegation with EVIDENCE as it seeks to support a very unconventional hypothesis.
From its first chapter, in which authors Picknett and Prince discuss the secret symbolism of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings (symbolism that most professional art historians consider spurious, by the way), the following pattern is established:
I can't honestly say that the book was worthless; it was occasionally a fun read and the authors' ruminations contain lots of interesting, if unsupported, speculations about varied topics. The first half of the book does a fair job of showing possible connections between various esoteric and occult groups in Western history, such as the Knights Templar, the Hermeticists, and the Freemasons. As well, the second half of the book, which focuses on the "true identity of Christ," is also interesting, if only because it offers a challenge to those whose knowledge of Christian origins and history is sorely wanting. (Didn't know that the New Testament was put together by a committee of bishops and their representatives? Well now you do.) And the chapter on the Mandaeans of Iraq was also very interesting and made me want to read more about this vanishing remnant of Gnostic religion. Having said that, the authors' tendency to conflate speculation with fact and their lack of hesitancy in passing the former off as the latter ruined this book for me as anything other than a work of fiction.
Read it if you must, enjoy it if you can, but please remember that speculation and fact are two different animals. Just because Picknett and Prince have written it, doesn't make it so.
Jesus was not the Son of God, and neither was he of the Jewish religion—although he may have been ethnically a Jew... John did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. He may well have baptized him, because Jesus was one of his disciples, perhaps even rising through the ranks to become his second-in-command. Something went wrong, however: John changed his mind and nominated Simon Magus as his successor. Shortly afterwards John was killed. Mary Magdalene was a priestess who was Jesus' partner in a sacred marriage...
After reaching this point in the book, I put it down in disgust, something I am not wont to do (particularly after I've spent hour after hour plowing through a text), and decided to write this review.
This book is offensive, not necessarily because of its radical and unsubstantiated claims about Jesus, but because it, like so many others of its ilk, confuses a constellation of conjecture, speculation, supposition, and allegation with EVIDENCE as it seeks to support a very unconventional hypothesis.
From its first chapter, in which authors Picknett and Prince discuss the secret symbolism of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings (symbolism that most professional art historians consider spurious, by the way), the following pattern is established:
- Explain away the fact that reputable and knowledgeable parties don't agree with your observations by linking these parties with the "conspiracy" you're attempting to expose.
- Ask a question like, "what other possible explanation could there be?" and then refuse to seek explanations different from your own pet theory.
- Use qualifiers like "perhaps," "could," "suppose," "might," or "conjecture" when establishing a speculative data point, and then forget about that qualifier when you bring up that same data point, as an established fact, in the next chapter to bolster the next data point.
- Connect all your dots and claim that the picture you've just drawn is the REAL DEAL, all the while ignoring the fact that the dots you connected were all of your own design.
I can't honestly say that the book was worthless; it was occasionally a fun read and the authors' ruminations contain lots of interesting, if unsupported, speculations about varied topics. The first half of the book does a fair job of showing possible connections between various esoteric and occult groups in Western history, such as the Knights Templar, the Hermeticists, and the Freemasons. As well, the second half of the book, which focuses on the "true identity of Christ," is also interesting, if only because it offers a challenge to those whose knowledge of Christian origins and history is sorely wanting. (Didn't know that the New Testament was put together by a committee of bishops and their representatives? Well now you do.) And the chapter on the Mandaeans of Iraq was also very interesting and made me want to read more about this vanishing remnant of Gnostic religion. Having said that, the authors' tendency to conflate speculation with fact and their lack of hesitancy in passing the former off as the latter ruined this book for me as anything other than a work of fiction.
Read it if you must, enjoy it if you can, but please remember that speculation and fact are two different animals. Just because Picknett and Prince have written it, doesn't make it so.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2016
I've tried to give this book away, but nobody that has borrowed it will keep it.
It almost deserves a second star. Almost. It starts off reasonably, and makes some interesting points. Points that are reasonably likely to be valid. But before long it gets bogged down in overreaching points where the authors claim clear foundations for beliefs where the gaps in the logic and supporting evidence would accommodate an average sized cruise liner.
Another relatively boring part of this book, and sadly quite a lot of its similar genre is the "so what?" factor. E.g. does it in fact matter whatsoever if Christ had a wife, or progeny, even to believers? Why in fact should it, if one sets aside the default hysterical reaction? It would seem to have no meaningful impact on his ministry whatsoever, if one believed it to begin with.
As a result the book is just kind of sensationalist nonsense, which I actually get the impression the authors believe to be a well founded and argued thesis.
It almost deserves a second star. Almost. It starts off reasonably, and makes some interesting points. Points that are reasonably likely to be valid. But before long it gets bogged down in overreaching points where the authors claim clear foundations for beliefs where the gaps in the logic and supporting evidence would accommodate an average sized cruise liner.
Another relatively boring part of this book, and sadly quite a lot of its similar genre is the "so what?" factor. E.g. does it in fact matter whatsoever if Christ had a wife, or progeny, even to believers? Why in fact should it, if one sets aside the default hysterical reaction? It would seem to have no meaningful impact on his ministry whatsoever, if one believed it to begin with.
As a result the book is just kind of sensationalist nonsense, which I actually get the impression the authors believe to be a well founded and argued thesis.
July 25, 2010
Knights Templar, Cathars, Mary Magdalane, John The Baptist, Church cover ups, Secret Societies and Ancient Egypt - this book contained lots of subjects that I usually find interesting but I found this book to be very dry and uninspiring. It could be that I've read to many books on the subject matter but for me this book didn't contain anything I hadn't read elsewhere.
If you are going to out the word revelation in your title it might be an idea to have a big revelation in your book. Mary Magdalane and Jesus were lovers has been claimed already in numerous books, the Catholic Church picked the gospels that supported their version of Jesus's life of course they did every organisation or even person picks the version of events that best suits their purpose. Or how about this for a big revelation - Jesus was not the Son of God but actually a human being who along with all his human flaws and weaknesses also had some good ideas about how we should treat our fellow human beings.
If you are going to out the word revelation in your title it might be an idea to have a big revelation in your book. Mary Magdalane and Jesus were lovers has been claimed already in numerous books, the Catholic Church picked the gospels that supported their version of Jesus's life of course they did every organisation or even person picks the version of events that best suits their purpose. Or how about this for a big revelation - Jesus was not the Son of God but actually a human being who along with all his human flaws and weaknesses also had some good ideas about how we should treat our fellow human beings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2015
Authors get into the mysterious world of the Freemasons, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, and the occult to discover the truth behind an underground religion with roots in the first century that survives even today. Chronicling their fascinating quest for truth through time and space, the authors reveal an astonishing new view of the real motives and character of the founder of the Christianity, as well as the actual historical—and revelatory—roles of John the Baptist and Marry Magdalene.
The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ claims that an ancient religion was suppressed by the Catholic Church because itwas telling a different story, than that the Church fathers wanted to impose upon the masses. Going through the history of the southern France, especially through that of Languedoc, history of the heretical Cathars comes to attention. Almost every church in the region is dedicated to either John the Baptist or Mary Magdalene. Suddenly folk legends describing Mary’s voyage (with two children) to this region come to mind. Holy Grail in French is St.Graal (which sounds very much like Sang royal-holy blood/bloodline)
Picknett and Price first draw readers’ attention to some of the works of Leonardo da Vinci, specifically to “The Last Supper” to show that people just see what they want to see. Leonardo is only perceived as a devoutly Christian artist, but in the depth of his works Church failed to see the heresy it was fighting against. “Yet there is no wine in front of Jesus (a mere token amount on the whole table). Could it be that those spread hands are making what, according to the artists, is essentially an empty gesture?”(p.20) It is that Jesus was a mystical figure and Mary the Magdalene was a very important person in his “ministry”, a work trying to resurrect the Egyptian rites among Jews. Only reading the New Testament with a Christian bias we can say that Jesus was building upon a foundation of Judaism. Baptism was nothing but a rite performed by the Egyptian priests in the Nile, since those wishing to convert into Judaism are self-baptized. It is interesting to analyze Leonardo’s works one of which “Virgin of the Rocks” (there two variants of this picture) reiterates heretical teachings that said that John was the original anointed one and Jesus just took his place. “…Mary’s child is kneeling in subservience”. (p.30) After all who most profited from John’s death? Who said the phrase recoded in the eleventh verse of the eleventh Chapter of the Gospel of Mathew? Who but the followers of Jesus could have invented the execution of the prophet by the king; who (if we believe Mathew 21:26) was so popular, that his death would speak even louder that his life. Washing of feet and anointing of the head was an ancient rite performed by the priestess over the priest, later they joined their bodies in love. In such rites the king was symbolically killed and after spending tree days in the world of the dead was resurrected, being greeted by his beloved at the grave. The whole Gospel story is some historical accounts made fiction by those who profited from that version of the story. Cruel Roman Governor that did not hesitate to massacre thousands of hated and stubborn Jews suddenly starts listening a Jewish rebel and tries to persuade elders not to kill one of their own. After the man is convicted on the charges (of treason to Rome) Pilate performs an ancient Jewish custom washing his hands!
The only Crusade against fellow Christians was that against the Cathars, who had their own Gnostic version of Christianity. We dread Friday the thirteenth because on that day in the fourteenth century a knightly order by the name of Templar was suppressed by the French king with the help of the pope, because of their money and partially because of their beliefs. Originally organized by several European families and consisting of only 11 knights the order grew to become the richest institution in Europe of those days. They introduced travelers’ checks to Europe. Picknett and Price suggest that in A.D. 140 when Jerusalem was going trough its last days, priests from the Temple went into a refuge and promised to return one day to take with them the riches and the scrolls hidden under the Temple. Thirteen centuries latter their descendants persuaded the pope of the necessity of the crusade. The Templar order was organized to protect the pilgrims en route to the Holy Land, but for the first seven years it did nothing but excavations under the place where they had stables--the ruins of the Herod’s Temple. Latter, as authors claim, some of the treasures were transported to the recently built by the Sinclair family (one of the eleven knights), Rosalyn Chapel in Scotland. After the suppression of the order those men organized a secret society which with time become known as Freemasonry. The organization that has Jewish Temple allegory in all of its rituals.
The book brought to attention some of the unknown facts that have been hidden for many centuries. How often we understand history this or that way just because we are told that it is so. After all who writes history? Those who win wars and have power.
The book presents very interesting, controversial and provocative material. Historical facts have been researched to great depths and connections between different facts and epochs have been built. Most of the facts are historically established and could be checked in the works cited. Nevertheless some of the important links in the book are taken from conversations with some individuals or from some books in some libraries, never giving any reference.
But history is this way; some things go so deep that we can’t be sure as to what really happened. Other things are facts just because several people agree on it. No religion has absolute historical facts about its past, and yet people are born and die believing that their faith is the right one; armies of crusaders and missionaries march this earth not because of historical validity, but because of conviction.
On the whole it seems as if The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ is made up of several parts dealing with several topics that could be united in the mind of reader, but are separate logically.
The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ claims that an ancient religion was suppressed by the Catholic Church because itwas telling a different story, than that the Church fathers wanted to impose upon the masses. Going through the history of the southern France, especially through that of Languedoc, history of the heretical Cathars comes to attention. Almost every church in the region is dedicated to either John the Baptist or Mary Magdalene. Suddenly folk legends describing Mary’s voyage (with two children) to this region come to mind. Holy Grail in French is St.Graal (which sounds very much like Sang royal-holy blood/bloodline)
Picknett and Price first draw readers’ attention to some of the works of Leonardo da Vinci, specifically to “The Last Supper” to show that people just see what they want to see. Leonardo is only perceived as a devoutly Christian artist, but in the depth of his works Church failed to see the heresy it was fighting against. “Yet there is no wine in front of Jesus (a mere token amount on the whole table). Could it be that those spread hands are making what, according to the artists, is essentially an empty gesture?”(p.20) It is that Jesus was a mystical figure and Mary the Magdalene was a very important person in his “ministry”, a work trying to resurrect the Egyptian rites among Jews. Only reading the New Testament with a Christian bias we can say that Jesus was building upon a foundation of Judaism. Baptism was nothing but a rite performed by the Egyptian priests in the Nile, since those wishing to convert into Judaism are self-baptized. It is interesting to analyze Leonardo’s works one of which “Virgin of the Rocks” (there two variants of this picture) reiterates heretical teachings that said that John was the original anointed one and Jesus just took his place. “…Mary’s child is kneeling in subservience”. (p.30) After all who most profited from John’s death? Who said the phrase recoded in the eleventh verse of the eleventh Chapter of the Gospel of Mathew? Who but the followers of Jesus could have invented the execution of the prophet by the king; who (if we believe Mathew 21:26) was so popular, that his death would speak even louder that his life. Washing of feet and anointing of the head was an ancient rite performed by the priestess over the priest, later they joined their bodies in love. In such rites the king was symbolically killed and after spending tree days in the world of the dead was resurrected, being greeted by his beloved at the grave. The whole Gospel story is some historical accounts made fiction by those who profited from that version of the story. Cruel Roman Governor that did not hesitate to massacre thousands of hated and stubborn Jews suddenly starts listening a Jewish rebel and tries to persuade elders not to kill one of their own. After the man is convicted on the charges (of treason to Rome) Pilate performs an ancient Jewish custom washing his hands!
The only Crusade against fellow Christians was that against the Cathars, who had their own Gnostic version of Christianity. We dread Friday the thirteenth because on that day in the fourteenth century a knightly order by the name of Templar was suppressed by the French king with the help of the pope, because of their money and partially because of their beliefs. Originally organized by several European families and consisting of only 11 knights the order grew to become the richest institution in Europe of those days. They introduced travelers’ checks to Europe. Picknett and Price suggest that in A.D. 140 when Jerusalem was going trough its last days, priests from the Temple went into a refuge and promised to return one day to take with them the riches and the scrolls hidden under the Temple. Thirteen centuries latter their descendants persuaded the pope of the necessity of the crusade. The Templar order was organized to protect the pilgrims en route to the Holy Land, but for the first seven years it did nothing but excavations under the place where they had stables--the ruins of the Herod’s Temple. Latter, as authors claim, some of the treasures were transported to the recently built by the Sinclair family (one of the eleven knights), Rosalyn Chapel in Scotland. After the suppression of the order those men organized a secret society which with time become known as Freemasonry. The organization that has Jewish Temple allegory in all of its rituals.
The book brought to attention some of the unknown facts that have been hidden for many centuries. How often we understand history this or that way just because we are told that it is so. After all who writes history? Those who win wars and have power.
The book presents very interesting, controversial and provocative material. Historical facts have been researched to great depths and connections between different facts and epochs have been built. Most of the facts are historically established and could be checked in the works cited. Nevertheless some of the important links in the book are taken from conversations with some individuals or from some books in some libraries, never giving any reference.
But history is this way; some things go so deep that we can’t be sure as to what really happened. Other things are facts just because several people agree on it. No religion has absolute historical facts about its past, and yet people are born and die believing that their faith is the right one; armies of crusaders and missionaries march this earth not because of historical validity, but because of conviction.
On the whole it seems as if The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ is made up of several parts dealing with several topics that could be united in the mind of reader, but are separate logically.
May 22, 2017
If you've read The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail then this book is a must read. I'm not sure I'm wholly convinced by some of the theories in this book but it does make very interesting reading and the authors do write in an extremely approachable style. I think there are plenty of questions still to be answered such as what exactly the Priory of Sion are up to and what secrets they are concealing. Though of course many secrets, when revealed, do turn out to be not at all earth shattering when finally revealed.
I thought the information about the Knights Templar was interesting and for a relatively short lived order of chivalry they do seem to have cast a long shadow across Europe ever since their dissolution. If you enjoy investigating strange happenings and are not averse to having received wisdom potentially turned on its head then this is well worth reading. I think one of the most interesting points the book makes is that Jesus, if he was a Jew, would have been married as at the time it would have been inconceivable for him not to have been married and it would have been mentioned in the Gospels if for some reason he was single.
But maybe Christ wasn't a Jew? Perhaps he had grown up in Egypt and been educated in one of the mystery schools and learned Egyptian magic - which would certainly have explained the miracles. Whatever the truth, and we will probably never know the exactly what hapened, Christ or the Gospel writers had a way of translating ideas into parables which could be understood by everyone whether they were well educated or not.
I thought the information about the Knights Templar was interesting and for a relatively short lived order of chivalry they do seem to have cast a long shadow across Europe ever since their dissolution. If you enjoy investigating strange happenings and are not averse to having received wisdom potentially turned on its head then this is well worth reading. I think one of the most interesting points the book makes is that Jesus, if he was a Jew, would have been married as at the time it would have been inconceivable for him not to have been married and it would have been mentioned in the Gospels if for some reason he was single.
But maybe Christ wasn't a Jew? Perhaps he had grown up in Egypt and been educated in one of the mystery schools and learned Egyptian magic - which would certainly have explained the miracles. Whatever the truth, and we will probably never know the exactly what hapened, Christ or the Gospel writers had a way of translating ideas into parables which could be understood by everyone whether they were well educated or not.
February 25, 2013
I was so intrigued by the premise of Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code" I put this book on my Christmas List several years ago but have just now gotten around to reading it. WOW! The data (views) presented give a well thought out (and researched) invitation for the reader to incorporate the information into one's own belief system and remodel personal beliefs to accurately reflect one's own views, without being forced to accept someone else's beliefs, based on someone else's older beliefs, based on someone else's older, older beliefs. . . back to the beginning of time. I grew up in a Christian country (the good old U.S.A), but I never could accept/adopt/swallow the "faith" I was expected to accept - now I know why: the religious figures in my life accepted someone else's beliefs and never questioned the validity thereof. I was born thinking for myself and the religious training I received never made sense to me; I appreciate it when I find thoughts that test the programming I received as a child - this is that kind of a book!
March 6, 2017
Fascinating (albeit blasphemous) alternative account of the lives of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. This book puts the case of the early heretics. There are also links with Egypt, The Crusaders, Mandeans, Priory of Sion and Freemasons. However, there is far too much conjecture and it does not change my belief that Christ is the Messiah and the original account in the Holy Bible is the true one. The writers have imaginations that run away with themselves. I'm a Catholic and this is not a book for Christians. I will be doing Christians a favour by warning them not to read this book. Although, I am giving this book 5 stars I do not recommend it and don't read it.
June 23, 2018
Another "research" book showing John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, and Christ were Egyptian pagans.
January 19, 2025
This was a difficult book to get through. Not because of personal bias or opinions, but because of the writing style, composition of "evidence" and just overall wordiness. It took almost a year for me to finish because I had to force myself through the chapters and then to even open the book again and press on; I don't believe in not finishing a book. With that said, there were a few times the authors were able to ensnare me enough to actually be interested in what they were trying to say. When they stick with presenting the information and explaining its relevance, the arguments they present are of sound reason to question the current religious status quo. Anyone that considers themselves religious but has an open enough mind to question what they're being told, would benefit from parts of this text. Many Christians are unaware that their celebrations and rituals are of pagan descent or tyrannical kings of the past/the catholic church/others that have changed the Bible today from the Bible of 100 years ago, 200 years ago and so on.
The authors struggle with completing an idea. They deliver a concept, give the reason for it and then fall short of creating a sound hypothesis before shooting off to another idea and half explained proofs. This had the potential to be a good book but was poorly executed, scatterbrained and lacking succintion. Worth a read if you're interested in religion (western and worldly), the occult and paganism, historic societies and the like. Just wouldn't recommend it for more than a once over.
The authors struggle with completing an idea. They deliver a concept, give the reason for it and then fall short of creating a sound hypothesis before shooting off to another idea and half explained proofs. This had the potential to be a good book but was poorly executed, scatterbrained and lacking succintion. Worth a read if you're interested in religion (western and worldly), the occult and paganism, historic societies and the like. Just wouldn't recommend it for more than a once over.
February 16, 2018
I liked this book but not for the reason I got the book and started reading it.
First, let me start that the book gets high marks for being entertaining. Now - this makes me a bit nerdy. It's not funny. It's very dense in info. I kept going to Wikipedia. I now have a list of stuff to research because I want to know more about the topics to get a feel for the veracity of the claims made here.
In short, this book made me want to research the topic. I have a theologian friend and a history buff friend I want to have read it as well. To help me navigate it.
I'm not sure how much I'm buying all of it as I don't get sucked into conspiracies without evidence. But I did like it.
I recommend it in general for some history of middle eastern cult activity around the time of Jesus. Even for more about John the Baptist. But treat it the way Thomas Jefferson treated the Bible. Remove the intrigue/miracles.
I felt that I did not learn much about the Templars. That was a bummer. That is why I read the book in the first place.
First, let me start that the book gets high marks for being entertaining. Now - this makes me a bit nerdy. It's not funny. It's very dense in info. I kept going to Wikipedia. I now have a list of stuff to research because I want to know more about the topics to get a feel for the veracity of the claims made here.
In short, this book made me want to research the topic. I have a theologian friend and a history buff friend I want to have read it as well. To help me navigate it.
I'm not sure how much I'm buying all of it as I don't get sucked into conspiracies without evidence. But I did like it.
I recommend it in general for some history of middle eastern cult activity around the time of Jesus. Even for more about John the Baptist. But treat it the way Thomas Jefferson treated the Bible. Remove the intrigue/miracles.
I felt that I did not learn much about the Templars. That was a bummer. That is why I read the book in the first place.
December 27, 2025
Fantastic book based around 3 areas: Recent works by multiple distinguished Church scholars but largely unknown to most worshipers, Lynne's extensive research, Lynn's drawing together these 2 strands to present a totally different picture to that presented in the 4 gospels. What exactly is the story behind told in all of Leonardo's paintings? What is the story presented in the other, equally valid gospels? Where was he before turning up in Galilee? Why did the Catholic Church commit genocide in the Languedoc southern France? What is the meaning of Jean Cocteau's black sun in the Crucifixion scene in the the Roman Catholic church of Notre Dame de France? There is a lot of research into the various secret societies that existed in medieval France ... do not be put off by it, the most interesting aspects of the come immediately after it.
February 11, 2025
★ ½
Well, what to say?
There might be two different approaches on evaluating this book:
1. if we consider it a source of information: just don't, it's all conjecture, based on other conjectures and on fictional observations. Also, things don't even add up in the end, so... 0 stars in this case
2. if we consider it as a fun read, fictional: it is written in an engaging way, the conjectures are fun to read and it is not boring. 3 stars in this case
why am I reading it? it is a book that has been gifted me a long time ago ("The Da Vinci Code" hype, rings any bell for you?) together with other ones on the Templar/Graal topics. I am demolishing my physical tbr pile, so it is time to read them, just to see what it's all about, having a bit of fun with conspiracy conjectures and so on.
Well, what to say?
There might be two different approaches on evaluating this book:
1. if we consider it a source of information: just don't, it's all conjecture, based on other conjectures and on fictional observations. Also, things don't even add up in the end, so... 0 stars in this case
2. if we consider it as a fun read, fictional: it is written in an engaging way, the conjectures are fun to read and it is not boring. 3 stars in this case
why am I reading it? it is a book that has been gifted me a long time ago ("The Da Vinci Code" hype, rings any bell for you?) together with other ones on the Templar/Graal topics. I am demolishing my physical tbr pile, so it is time to read them, just to see what it's all about, having a bit of fun with conspiracy conjectures and so on.
January 27, 2022
I hate giving a poor review, but as a scholar of the Magdalene, I found this book a disappointment. Clinging to the unfounded idea of a royal lineage. This work (and all others like this) missed the entire point of the Magdalene which is that she, like Jesus became fully self-actualized and then went on to support others in doing the same. To dwell on the idea of a royal lineage does a disservice to the Magdalene's true and enduring work - in my opinion. If you are interested in books on the Magdalene, there are scholarly works that have been accomplished through sound scientific methods that are easily accessible. I highly recommend the works of Jean-Yves LeLoup and Cynthia Bourgeault.
July 7, 2022
This book was a wild rollercoaster ride from the first to the last page. Jesus and the Gospels, Gnostic texts, Templars, Cathars, the history of Freemasonry, to name a few. 2000 years of western history packed into a few hundred pages. This book will hurt the feelings of anyone thinking that the bible is the word of God. Even if one does not agree with all the drawn conclusions this book delivers lots of food for thought, lots of directions where and what to reading next, and lots of information to digest. I will reread the book at one point. Four stars for being repetitive at times but none the less a very good book.
September 9, 2020
I persereved through this book which read more like a travelogue of the authors travels than of research. It was disappointing with how much build up about the unveiling of the information they had about the Templars and their secrets.
While the actual information presented was interesting, the style was very ego-centric to the authors. I must say I do prefer books of non-fiction to be presented with less this is the journey of our discovery and more substance about the discovery itself or in this case the revelation about the Templars.
While the actual information presented was interesting, the style was very ego-centric to the authors. I must say I do prefer books of non-fiction to be presented with less this is the journey of our discovery and more substance about the discovery itself or in this case the revelation about the Templars.
July 17, 2021
Este livro, mais que um teste derradeiro, aos dogmas religiosos judaico-cristão, representa um desafio cultural que impregnou toda a herança religiosa do ocidente. Uma mensagem de bondade e compaixão imposta pela força das armas. A leitura aberta das palavras deste livro, assim como das teses que o sustentam, é um desafio a cada um e a cada uma de nós, sobretudo aos que impregnados dum Cristianismo oficial nos pensamos livres e abertos à diferença. Que o conhecimento impregne o nosso ser e inunde, a nossa alma, e a nossa mente. Saibamos reconhecer a herança que nos guia.
January 1, 2023
Found this book after reading 'When God had a wife' by the same author and I found it fascinating. Early Christianity, Gnosticsm & Alchemy are of particular interest of mine and this book does not disappoint. It takes you on a journey connecting the above with Egypt, Cathars, Templars, Mandeans, Priory of Sion and Freemasons. It is very clear that the author is extemely knowledgeable and thorough in her research. Ultimately you will either love or hate this book, if you are a dogmatic, orthodox christian then this book is not for you. If you are a spiritual seeker, you will love it.
January 24, 2023
Not for the closed-minded and die heart traditionalist. This book introduces the reader to details and knowledge that the Christian church, especially Catholism, has cast aside and left followers with 'their' interpretation and decision on what merits the foundation and dogma of modern-day Christianity. In addition, the authors are candid in their lack of proof in their research but make the point of providing circumstantial evidence. After reading this book, a lot of my suspicions are addressed, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who has harbored these suspicions. Open-minded? Recommend.
May 7, 2024
Phenomenal on every level
The most thought provoking, inspiring and engaging book I’ve read on Templar and surrounding theories. Paired with gorgeous tones and performance of the narrator David Timson and this book is spectacular. Couldn’t put it down.
Never liked multi-cast audio books until this one
Fantastic choice of voices and great performances from the narrators. Utterly captivating and a beautiful listen.
The most thought provoking, inspiring and engaging book I’ve read on Templar and surrounding theories. Paired with gorgeous tones and performance of the narrator David Timson and this book is spectacular. Couldn’t put it down.
Never liked multi-cast audio books until this one
Fantastic choice of voices and great performances from the narrators. Utterly captivating and a beautiful listen.
June 23, 2019
Someone did a lot of travel/research but the results were ???
Writing was disorganized and sometimes repetitive, where was the editor?
Many, many typos- not spelling, the wrong words - too much spellcheck and not enough live editing.
Kindle font size sometimes varied on the same page, ...each paragraph smaller than the previous one, until I couldn't read it. I've never seen anything so bad.
Writing was disorganized and sometimes repetitive, where was the editor?
Many, many typos- not spelling, the wrong words - too much spellcheck and not enough live editing.
Kindle font size sometimes varied on the same page, ...each paragraph smaller than the previous one, until I couldn't read it. I've never seen anything so bad.
February 2, 2020
The book has relevant and we’ll know theories. However, as it is written it is too much circunstancial wand speculative without solid references. For that I recommend other authors like Freddy Silva with a more academical and referenced approach. Also, It is boring since it repeats a lot of the ideas and statements in difference forms and with no solid proofs. Too bad.
April 18, 2020
Don’t bother unless to enjoy as entertainment
This book is like the Ancient Aliens of Christianity. It starts with an assumption then forces all the few facts to the assumption rather than a simpler explanation. If you are a fan of Occam’s Razor don’t bother. If you like entertainment (I like Ancient Aliens as entertainment) its OK. Not a scholarly work.
This book is like the Ancient Aliens of Christianity. It starts with an assumption then forces all the few facts to the assumption rather than a simpler explanation. If you are a fan of Occam’s Razor don’t bother. If you like entertainment (I like Ancient Aliens as entertainment) its OK. Not a scholarly work.
December 23, 2021
Lots of rambling research. Lots of speculation. Dense and at times unreadable. Surely the sign of true scholarship is being able to assemble an argument and present it clearly and concisely. In one respect Iagree with the authors: their discoveries should have shredded mainstream Christianity. But they haven't. I wonder why. This is a long, dense and ultimately unsatisfying read.
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