John's Brother - John the Baptist - Freemasons, Templars & Leonardo DaVinci

Hello all! I have been studying and researching the freemasons ever since i read Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code and their history and background fascinates me.

After reading a few books i am starting to see an important figure to freemasonry and also the Knights Templars - John the Baptist. It almost seems like the Templars and Masons hold John the Baptist as a more important person than Jesus the Christ.

Today i came across something very interesting that is not discussed anywhere on the internet. I was reading an old Freemason Encyclopedia and found this mention when i tried to look up John the Baptist, in which there was nothing there:

John's Brothers
In the Charter of Cologne, it is said that before the year 1440 the society of Freemasons was known by no other name than that of John's Brothers (Joannaeorum fratrum); that they then began to be called at Valenciennes, Free and Accepted Masons; and that at that time, in some parts of Flanders, by the assistance and riches of the brotherhood, the first hospitals were erected for the relief of such as were afflicted with Saint Anthony's fire. In another part of the Charter it is said that the authors of the associations were called Brothers consecrated to John, or in Latin fratres Joanni Sacros, because "they followed the example and imitation of John the Baptist."

This is the main subject i want to discuss. In France it appears that freemasons were followers of John the Baptist! What is the Charter of Cologne? It appears to be a document from the 1600's that some think is a forgery.

Here is some more information on John the Baptist throughout modern history:

Leonardo Da Vinci & John the Baptist
There are reports that Leonardo Da Vinci was also a huge fan of John the Baptist. There are people that also believe that Leonardo was a grand master ofof the Priory of Sion, in which Leonardo left many clues in his paintings (you would be familiar with this if you have read or watched the Davinci Code). In fact, Davinci's last painting was of John the Baptist, in which it shows him making the famous "John Gesture". This gesture can be seen in a few of his paintings, most notably The Last Supper.

Adoration of the Magi
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/d9d0d2b02c1dd2b0.jpg[/atsimg]

You can find the "John Gesture" in his unfinished painting "Adoration of the Magi". This painting shows people worshiping baby Jesus in the foreground, but right behind the Virgin Mary and Jesus you can see that the focal point is the single tree. Right at the base of the true is a person whom we can assume is John the Baptist making the "John Gesture". All around John are young and good looking people while all the followers and worshipers of Jesus look old and almost like ghosts. People also believe that Da Vinci included himself in the painting, which he was known to do. Leonardo is on the very bottom right looking away from Jesus. When he put himself in the Last Supper he also is facing away from Jesus.

More information on the Adoration of the Magi
High quality image of Adoration of the Magi


Virgin of the Rocks
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/870295e5b090745f.jpg[/atsimg]

Leonardo's "Virgin of the Rocks" is another strange painting that shows Jesus, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist with an Angel. There were two paintings made, the original is in the Louvre and the second painting which may or may not have been done by DaVinci is in London currently. The painting shows the Virgin Mary sitting and holding onto a baby whom is praying to the other baby. What makes this strange is that you would assume that the Virgin Mary would be holding her own son, Jesus, and the angel would be holding and protecting John the Baptist. Since there aren't name plates to tell you who is who you have to decide for yourself who each baby is. I would assume that the baby being held by Mary is Jesus, and that would mean Jesus is worshiping John the Baptist. The strangest thing about the painting is the fact that the original version had the angel protecting "John the Baptist" giving the John Gesture right over the baby we would assume to be "John the Baptist" but it points to what we would assume to be Jesus. This makes things very confusing. Also, Mary is making a VERY strange gesture with her left hand. It almost looks like she is holding an invisible head while the angel makes the John Gesture right at the neck of the invisible head. Could this be a hint at the beheading of John the Baptist? This is a very interesting painting with many areas to consider.

More information on the Virgin of the Rocks
High quality image of Virgin of the Rocks - Louvre Version - First Painting
High quality image of Virgin of the Rocks - London Version - Second Painting
Recent article on the painting - july 14th-2010


The Last Supper
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/c62eccebd7fa166b.jpg[/atsimg]

And lastly you will notice in the Last Supper a figure to the left of Jesus making the John Gesture. The figure is very strange, it almost appears he is lunging out towards Jesus and shoving his finger in his face. There are obviously other strange things in the painting which i will not get into, mainly the Mary/John controversy and Peter holding a knife and threatening mary/john.

More information on The Last Supper
High Quality image of the Last Supper

The Knights Templar & The Worshiping of a Severed Head
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/b6e74a0e77229801.jpg[/atsimg]
There are reports that when in France many of the Templars were rounded up and interrogated that many templars admitted to worshiping a severed head. No one knows if this is true or not or which head it was, but there is a theory that it was John the Baptist's head or a fake head of his:
Templar History

Saint John the Baptist, who was beheaded, is said also to be the source of Templar idolatry. As ludicrous as this may at first seem, it is commonly known that several bogus John the Baptist heads were around during this time. Could the Templars have possessed one of these heads? It is possible, as the Templars were said to possess many of the religious relics of the time. As supposed Poor Knights of Christ it is quite possible that the head of St. John the Baptist would be an object of devotion and guidance since his feast was to be celebrated by the command of the Templar Rule of Order.

St. John the Baptist & Knights Templars - John the Baptist head at Amiens Cathedral


Freemason's York Rite & the Head of John the Baptist

The freemasons also have an interesting connection with John the Baptist in the York Rite degrees. I do not want to get into this, others can, but it is very interesting and can be found by doing some google searches. If you look this up it seems to be connected with the Knights Templars heavily.

Google search for John the Baptist & York Rite

[edit on 1-9-2010 by BeastMaster2012]

So what do you guys make of John the Baptist regarding the Templars, Leonardo and Freemasonry?

Some people believe that the priory of sion is a real group while many think it is a complete hoax. It does appear that Leonardo DaVinci was into the Occult and had a great hatred for the church, but had to conceal his feelings and only give hints of it into his paintings. Is Leonardo trying to tell us something about John the Baptist?

If so, what should we be discussing about John the Baptist? I honestly do not know much about him and would like to know why he could be seen as such an important figure to the Templars and even Freemasonry? Why were the first Freemasons called John's Brothers? Is this common knowledge or a hoax in itself?

If the early Freemasons were infact called John's Brothers, maybe the supposed severed head was John the Baptist? There are so many questions that need answers! Damn those tricky Templars!

very interesting, I realy wouldnt no? I do no that every lodge is dedicated to the St John. So there must be something to it.

reply to post by humbleseeker


I didn't know that about the lodges. I wonder if it's the John the Apostle that the Knights Hospitalars followed or John the Baptist.

Interesting that in Da Vinci's Last Supper John the Apostle could be seen as Mary Magdalene, which i believe it's Mary and not John.

I believe the lodges of A.F.& A.M. are dedicated to the holy st John. I believe that is john the baptist. If I am wrong maybe a more knowledgable Freemason can correct me.

I know there are several possibilities on how Freemasonry came about, most of the members of my lodge tend to believe in the basic explanation that the craft came from the old Stone Mason's while I will admit there is much truth in that, especially if you are a Freemason you would no that. But I peronally think that there is more to it than meets the eye I can not explain ritual on the net, but I do wonder how ancient stone masons formed the rites that are within Freemasonry.

I think that the KT could have had a large impact on Masonry especilly when they were on the run for there lives. Stone Mason lodges could have been a perfect way to hide out.

I have also heard of the KT worshiping the head of John the baptist, so there could be something to that.

If you live close to a Grand Lodge, most have free libraries that anyone Mason or non mason can use.

John the Baptist - it makes sense that Masonic lodges are dedicated to him. If you trace John the Baptist properly and thoroughly, you will find out why. Hint: Hermes

Sir, you've completely missed some details in Virgin of the Rocks. The one baby is not praying to the other. He's showing that there are TWO of them; Two hands entwined. The one on the left is Jesus, because he's holding a cross in one of the paintings. The one on the right is holding up TWO fingers, meaning there are TWO of us. Mary is emcompassing both children and her middle section is highlighted and showing you something. Notice the 'shape' of the blanket. They BOTH came from her womb.
en.wikipedia.org...

(To be technical, Jesus was born in a grotto. At that time, a grotto was a cave and Mary in is a cave with monoliths above. This is a specific location.)

I posted more in another thread. I'll see, if I can find it. I was very disappointed when I was watching the documentary on the Da Vinci Code. When this painting was shown, the one twin is completely left out.

I could say more concerning The Last Supper. The figure to Jesus' right gets his head chopped off. See the hand?
en.wikipedia.org...:%C3%9Altima_Cena_-_Da_Vinci_5.jpg

The woman is standing over the left of Jesus. She WAS holding a baby.

I think the skull shown in other paintings does tie in with the Templars.

[edit on 1-9-2010 by Onboard2]

[edit on 2-9-2010 by Onboard2]

You make some good points

The medieval occultists did secretly worship the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist as symbols of older gods.

BTW, Galileo was persecuted by the Church because he named his discoveries after the pagan Roman gods.

Originally posted by Onboard2
The one on the right is holding up TWO fingers, meaning there are TWO of us.

I thought anyone in those days depicted holding up two fingers, means they were teaching.

Originally posted by BluePillOrRedPill

Originally posted by Onboard2
The one on the right is holding up TWO fingers, meaning there are TWO of us.

I thought anyone in those days depicted holding up two fingers, means they were teaching.

That could be, but I don't think that is what Da Vinci wanted to say in this particular painting.

The position of Mary's arms encompassing both children and her midsection is showing they are both hers.

The position of St. Urial's fingers do remind me of the Masonic square and compass.

Could the 'John' symbol also show that he ascended?

Isn't it the Rosslyn Chapel that has depictions of Joseph and Mary both holding a child?

The twin theory has been speculated by others. In the documentary on the Da Vinci Code, we are led to believe it's a woman sitting by Jesus in the Last Supper. Doesn't look like a woman to me with a hand at her throat.

"Poussin and Teniers hold the key"

In the second painting I think there is the 'John' symbol again. There is a skull on the desk with the staff pointing toward Rosslyn Chapel.

www.fortunecity.com...

Whoops, I made a mistake. Is that Renne Le Chateau?

Well, here it is again.

In this painting by Poussin, St. Elizabeth is making the symbol. The babies look identical.

Click on this painting to enlarge. (Sorry, don't know how to embed it myself.)
www.lib-art.com...

There's more than one version of this painting.

[edit on 2-9-2010 by Onboard2]

Originally posted by Onboard2
Whoops, I made a mistake. Is that Renne Le Chateau?

Yes it's Rennes Le Chateau. I am also fascinated with the whole Rennes le Chateau mystery, it's all pretty fascinating. I really think there is something special there. There are many strange things in the church there with the art work changed by the priests request. There was also a hidden passage to an underground crypt which is currently hidden behind the book case. The documentary Bloodline is a great movie for anyone interested in this subject!

Originally posted by CodyOutlaw
John the Baptist - it makes sense that Masonic lodges are dedicated to him. If you trace John the Baptist properly and thoroughly, you will find out why. Hint: Hermes

Thanks for the lead :-D

I used to have a burning desire to know. Blue apples don't tell anything, lol. I guess I'll never know. (sigh)

I guess King Dagobert II will keep his secret.

Originally posted by BeastMaster2012
I didn't know that about the lodges. I wonder if it's the John the Apostle that the Knights Hospitalars followed or John the Baptist.

Freemasons, at least in my state, are dedicated to both "the holy saints John"... John the Baptist AND John of Jerusalem. Their respective feast days (June 24th and December 27th) figure in to the Masonic calendar in various ways as well.

I, for one, fall on the side of the "Priory of Sion" being a hoax contrived by Plantard. I mean, he's even admitted as much, so I'm surprised when people still take up that aspect of Holy Blood, Holy Grail as significant.

Can anyone explain why a priest would install a statue like this, with the words, "This place is terrible" in a church?

www.trekearth.com...

Originally posted by BeastMaster2012
So what do you guys make of John the Baptist regarding the Templars, Leonardo and Freemasonry?

If you care to look at the various Pseudegraphic and Gnostic texts (to which the Templars may have had unusual access), a curious story can be pieced together involving Jesus, his cousin John the Baptist, and his aunt, Salome.

What it basically involves is Jesus -- who has some claim to royal lineage through his mother, Mary -- trying to set himself up as the new King of the Jews by having Salome get John the Baptist out of the way. Jesus then "appropriates" the teachings of John, who was a real prophet and actually closer to the throne than Jesus. Jesus subverts the sayings, however, while also incorporating an unhealthy degree of sorcery, in order to position himself for political power. Unfortunately, it all backfires on him, and he fails miserably. Salome ends up crying at Jesus's cross and tomb.

John is the true sacrificial Lamb, and his symbol is the red cross that he carries as a staff. Perhaps the Templars, and later the Freemasons, had documents that made this more specific.

A very interesting read. The patron saints of Freemasonry are St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. At least under the Grand Lodge of Idaho, all Lodges must have their formal installations done before St. John's Day (December 27th).

There is some fascinating reads out there about St. John the Baptist and how some sects believe he was the true Messiah and not Jesus the Christ. Did the Crusading Templars find something of this nature? Who knows? I am currently in the midst of some training so my free time is very small and I will have to fully read the rest of your OP later, but I am very intrigued by it.

Also, the Red Cross of Constantine (a York Rite invitation only appendant body) is officially called "The Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Orders of the Holy Sepulchre and St. John the Evangelist". Although the Orders of Holy Speulchre and St. John the Evangelist are called Appendant Orders. For further info on Appendant York Rite bodies see here.