In justification for issuing his Papal Bull banning Catholics from becoming Freemasons in the mid-1800s, Pope Pius IX accused the Knights Templar of secretly being Johannites—that is, worshipers of John the Baptist rather than of Jesus. Pius, believing that Freemasonry evolved from the Templar order, ascribed the same belief to Freemasonry. I first researched the Templar/Masonic connection to Johannism while writing Thief on the Cross, released in 2013. I learned that the Dead Sea Scrolls spoke of a prophecy during the time of Jesus which declared that there would be two messiahs rather than one—Jesus and John the Baptist, with John the Baptist (not Jesus) being the one chosen eventually to sit at God’s right hand. Apparently the Templars, having learned of this prophecy, began to worship John the Baptist. You may recall that the Church turned on the Templars in 1307, accusing them of heresy. In particular, the Church accused the Templars of worshiping a head known as Baphomet. Was this an accurate charge? In particular, were the Templars—as Johannites—worshiping the head of John the Baptist, beheaded in the first century by King Herod? (Baptist … Baptism … Baphomet?) And is that the reason the Freemasons—even today known as “John’s Brothers”—venerate John the Baptist and reserve his June 24 birthday for special occasions and ceremonies? A decade later, I am revisiting that research. Specifically, the Mandaean people of southern Iraq and Iran recently have been displaced by ugly wars in their region. The Mandaeans are the only known sect of Johannites in the modern world. Due to their displacement, Mandaean sacred texts have come to light. These texts—including eye-opening passages describing Jesus as “the evil usurper”—offer fresh insights into Johannism. One tantalizing possibility is that Mary Magdalene may have been a Mandaean priestess. In fact, she and John the Baptist may even have been husband and wife. As part of this research, I am taking a fresh look at Leonard da Vinci’s paintings. As Dan Brown famously wrote, da Vinci was purportedly part of a secret society intimately tied to the Templars (some even say he was a Templar Grand Master). I have been focusing in particular on the five depictions of John the Baptist I have found in da Vinci’s paintings. They all feature the so-called John gesture, in which John the Baptist is pointing to the heavens with his forefinger, as if to say, “I am ascending.” Here is one example:

Even da Vinci’s students seem to have carried on this tradition. Here is a sculpture by Giovanni Fransesco Rustici, who was living with da Vinci during the time of this work:

I have been thinking about this gesture, wondering what else could it mean?