FACT: The Priory of Sion –a European secret society founded in 1099 –i s a real organization.

1. IS THEDA VINCI CODETRUE? FACT: The Priory of Sion–a European secret society founded in 1099–is a real organization. In 1975 Paris's Bibliotheque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci. The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic sect that has been the topic of recent controversy due to reports of brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as "corporal mortification." Opus Dei has just completed construction of a $47 million National Headquarters at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City. All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate. Click to continue… Everyone enjoys a good story, but Dan Brown's, Da Vinci Code (DC), claims to be more than just a story. Just look at his FACT page: This presentation is designed by Triston Jacobsohn and is for free distribution. www.NeverEndingHope.com This presentation is largely based on the book, The Da Vinci Code: A Quest For Answers, by Josh McDowell www.davinciquest.org All Da Vinci Code citations in this presentation are from the April 2003 hardback edition

2. Wow! Serious stuff! Except that many of the key facts are fiction! Take for example, this reference to the glass pyramid at the Louvre Museum, Paris. DC Fiction 1: Louvre Pyramid "He wondered if Fache had any idea that this pyramid, at President Mitterrand's explicit demand, had been constructed of exactly 666 panes of glass–a bizarre request that had always been a hot topic among conspiracy buffs who claimed 666 was the number of Satan."The Da Vinci Code, p.21 Verifiable Fact: The Louvre's Pyramid contains 603 diamonds and 70 triangles which equals673 panes of glass![1] So much for serious research! As you go through this presentation, please notice the references at the bottom of the slides.The Da Vinci Codelacks any solid references. So, please enjoy, Da Vinci Decoded ;-) 1. The Louvre's official website and http://www.glassonweb.com/articles/article/94/

3. Please select a subject… The Priori, Documents, & Knights The Mona Lisa “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.” Matthew 24:35 The Bible Jesus’ Divinity The Holy Grail Last Supper: Mary Magdalene Jesus’ Marital Status Concerning 1st Century Bachelors Opus Dei The Real Jesus

4. Verifiable Fact: • Les Dossiers Secrets were proved fraudulent in the 1990's by a series of French books and the BBC. [1] • -The Priory of Sion is a real organization that was founded just over 50 years ago and not in 1099. Da Vinci therefore could not have been a member of the Priory of Sion. [2] • -According to The Da Vinci Code, the Knights of the Templar were the military arm of the Priory of Sion. This is not possible since the Priory of Sion did not exist at that time. [See above 2 points] DC Fiction 2: The Priory of Sion, Les Dossiers Secrets, & the Knights of the Templar “The Priory of Sion–a European secret society founded in 1099–is a real organization. In 1975 Paris's Bibliotheque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci.” The Da Vinci Code, FACT page 1. H. Hannegraaff and P. L. Maier. The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004),12. 2. Laura Miller, "The Da Vinci Con," The New York Times Book Review (Sunday, February 22, 2004): 23.

5. Verifiable Fact: • -The Bible only contains 4 Gospels because these were all written within 50 years of Jesus ministry and are the oldest Christian records. The excluded gospels were all written 100 years or more after Jesus. • There are other non-Biblical gospels in existence, their number however is nowhere near 80. [1] • The Coptic Scrolls of Nag Hamadi contain only 5 gospels, namely: Truth, Thomas, Philip, Egyptians, and Mary.[1] • The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the winter of 1947, not the 1950's.[2] They haven’t a single gospel.[3] • 150 years before Constantine, Irenaeus, a church father, wrote, ”[T]he Gospel is quadriform, meaning of course, four in number."[4] • The Council of Nicea made 20 rulings. None of them pertained to the contents of the Bible.[5] • The Bible as we have it is inspired by God. [6] DC Fiction 3: Re. the Bible "Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ's human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike." The Da Vinci Code, p.234 "More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion–Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John among them." The Da Vinci Code, p.231 "Fortunately for historians," Teabing said, "some of the gospels that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed to survive. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1950's hidden in a cave near Qumran in the Judean desert. And of course, the Coptic Scrolls in 1945 at Nag Hamadi." The Da Vinci Code, p.234 1. D. Bock, Breaking the Da Vinci Code (Nashville: T. Nelson, 2004), 61-62. 2. "Dead Sea Scrolls." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2006. 3. Michael Baigent, The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception, (NY: Simon Schuster, 1991) 4. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.11.8. 5. Lutzer, Da Vinci Deception, 14,15. D'Holbach wrote Ecce Hommo where he claims the Council of Nicaea changed the Bible. His source is an anonymous document called, "Vetus Synodicon," from A.D. 887, 550 years after the Nicaea Council. 6. 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21

6. DC Fiction 4: Regarding the Divinity of Jesus "My dear," Teabing declared, "until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet... a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal." "Not the Son of God?" "Right," Teabing said. "Jesus' establishment as "the Son of God" was officially proposed and voted on by the council of Nicaea." "Hold on. You're saying Jesus' divinity was the result of a vote?" "A relatively close vote at that," Teabing added...." The Da Vinci Code, p.233 Verifiable Fact: "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven." Matthew 16:16,17* “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”John1:1* "For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"John 3:16* - The Council of Nicaea did not vote on whether Jesus was mortal or divine, but on whether He was coeternal with the Father.[1] - The outcome of the vote was 300 to 2. [1] * Written 200+ years before the Council of Nicaea 1. Hank Hannegraaff and Paul L. Maier. The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004),15.

7. DC Fiction 5: The Mona Lisa The Da Vinci Code claims Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa and then hid a secret code in the name. "Amon" and "Isis," a god and goddess of fertility. AMON + ISIS = MONA LISA. "Langdon nodded. "Gentlemen, not only does the face of Mona Lisa look androgynous, but her name is an anagram of the divine union of male and female" The Da Vinci Code, p.121 • Verifiable Fact: • Leonardo Da Vinci never named the painting, "Mona Lisa." In fact, that name was never used in his lifetime. It was first used 300 years later as a description. "Mona," short for "madonna" or lady, and "Lisa," after the probable subject in the painting, Lisa Gherardini.[1] • - In Italian–Leonardo’s native language–the painting is known as, "La Gioconda," which is Lisa Gherardini's maiden name.[1] 1. http://books.guardian.co.uk/lrb/articles/0,6109,675653,00.html

8. DC Fiction 6: The Holy Grail While looking at “The Last Supper” painting, Teabing "stuns" Sophie by showing her that there are 13 glasses on the table and not one Holy Grail. "Teabing was grinning smugly. Sophie looked down at the painting, seeing to her astonishment that everyone at the table had a glass of wine, including Christ. 13 cups. Moreover, the cups were tiny, stem less, and made of glass. There was no chalice in the painting. No Holy Grail. "Teabing's eyes twinkled. "A bit strange, don't you think, considering that both the Bible and our standard Grail legend celebrate this moment as the definitive arrival of the Holy Grail. Oddly, Da Vinci appears to have forgotten to paint the cup of Christ"" The Da Vinci Code, p.236. • Verifiable Fact: • The Bible never “celebrates or even mentions a Holy Grail. During the Last Supper, Jesus took a cup and some bread. Christians do the same today in memory of Jesus. The cup is never mentioned again in any context but the Last Supper. It most certainly was never used to catch Jesus blood. [1] • Since the Priory of Sion didn't exist until the 1950's, Leonardo Da Vinci could never have been a member and so could not have received "secret information” to plant in paintings. [2] • - Leonardo's "Last Supper" painting is in fact quite accurate. Jesus announces His coming betrayal. The Apostles are shocked. Peter leans over and asks John–who is sitting next to Jesus– to ask Jesus who the betrayer is. [3] 1. Run a Bible search on the "Holy Grail.” It is not there. Read the Bible accounts of the Last Supper. See 3, below 2. See Menu, The Priori, Documents & Knights 3. Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-38; John 13:1-30

9. DC Fiction 7: The Last Supper, Mary Magdalene The Da Vinci Code claims that the person on Jesus' right is not John, but Mary Magdalene. [1] • Verifiable Fact: • There were 12 apostles at the Last Supper. If Mary Magdalene is at the table, then which apostle is missing? [2] • Please consider this quotation from Slate: • "Look closely at the figure to Jesus' right, Brown says; it's obviously a woman. What any art historian could tell him is that the figure, always thought to be St. John the Apostle, resembles other Leonardo portraits of biblical figures as effeminate men. If Da Vinci thought John looked like a girly man, that's one thing. But a girlish-looking figure in the painting isn't proof that Mary was present at the Last Supper, let alone that Jesus and Mary were married. (And, by the way, If Mary was sitting in John's seat at the Last Supper, where was John?)”[3] 1. The Da Vinci Code, p.243 2. Luke 22:14 3. Sian Gibby, "Mrs. God," Slate, November 3, 2003, www.slate.com/id/2090640

10. Verifiable Fact: • There is not one historical reference that says Jesus was married. • The gospel of Philip was written in the 3rd century and so is historically removed from Jesus' life. [1] • But, if the gospel of Philip was reliable–which it isn’t–it never says Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. If Jesus was married to her, why would they ask Him why He loved her more than them? After all, isn't it normal for a husband to love his wife more than anyone else? • Click for more… • DC Fiction 8: Jesus’ Marital Status • Sir Leigh Teabing was still talking. • "I shan't bore you with the countless references to Jesus and Magdalene's union. That has been explored ad nauseam by modern historians" • The Da Vinci Code, p.247 • Teabing pointed to a passage. • "The gospel of Philip is always a good place to start." • Sophie read the passage: • "And the companion of the Savior is Mary Magdalene. Christ loved her more than than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, "Why do you love her more than all of us?" • The Da Vinci Code, p.246. 1. See Menu, The Bible

11. Verifiable Fact: • Dr. Paul Maier, a man who has spent his academic life researching ancient history wrote: • "In sober fact, Jesus never wed anyone, but for years sensationalizing scholars and their novelistic popularizers have played the roles of doting mothers trying to marry off an eligible son. Now, if there were even one spark of evidence from antiquity that Jesus may have gotten married, then as a historian, I would have to weigh this evidence against the total absence of such information in either Scripture or the early church traditions. But there is no such spark–not even an scintilla of evidence (emphasized by the author)–anywhere in historical sources. Even when one might expect to find such claims in the bizarre, second century, apocryphal gospels–which the Jesus Seminar and other radical voices are so desperately trying to rehabilitate–there is no evidence that Jesus ever got married." • DC Fiction 8: Jesus’ Marital Status • Sir Leigh Teabing was still talking. • "I shan't bore you with the countless references to Jesus and Magdalene's union. That has bee explored ad nauseam by modern historians" • The Da Vinci Code, p.247 • Teabing pointed to a passage. • "The gospel of Philip is always a good place to start." • Sophie read the passage: • "And the companion of the Savior is Mary Magdalene. Christ loved her more than than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, "Why do you love her more than all of us?" • The Da Vinci Code, p.246. Hank Hannegraaff and Paul L. Maier. The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004),16.

12. Verifiable Fact: • It was not abnormal for Jewish males to be unmarried. • Paul the apostle was unmarried and encouraged others to remain unmarried.[1] • The Jewish historian, Josephus wrote in admiration of the Essenes, A Jewish sect who "neither marry wives nor are desirous to keep servants."[2] • On the cross, Jesus asked John to take care of His mother. He says nothing of a wife. [3] DC Fiction 9: Regarding First Century Bachelors "Because Jesus was a Jew," Langdon said, taking over while Teabing searched for his book, "and the social decorum during that time virtually forbid a Jewish man to be unmarried. According to Jewish custom, celibacy was condemned, and the obligation for a Jewish father was to find a suitable wife for his son." The Da Vinci Code, p.245. 1. 1 Corinthians 7 2. Josephus, The Works of Flavius Josephus, 531 3. John 19:26,27

13. Verifiable Fact: • Opus Dei are a group of serious-minded people with some extreme practices. • Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses too have extreme practices, but this does not mean they are bent on hiding ancient secrets and world domination. • The main villain in The Da Vinci Code is an albino monk from Opus Dei. • Opus Dei has no monks. DC Fiction 10: Opus Dei The Vatican prelature known as Opus Dei is a deeply devout Catholic sect that has been the topic of recent controversy due to reports of brainwashing, coercion, and a dangerous practice known as "corporal mortification." Opus Dei has just completed construction of a $47 million National Headquarters at 243 Lexington Avenue in New York City. - The Da Vinci Code, FACT page

14. The REAL JESUS Napoleon made this extraordinary statement about Jesus while in exile on St. Helena. He said: “I know men; and I tell you Jesus Christ is no mere man.” “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded His empire upon love; and at this hour, millions of men would die for him.” [2] The key to Jesus is love, and He wants all to follow in His love.[3] Click to continue… Jesus is a Person of profound influence. He was born in a barn, and became a traveling teacher. He only taught 3 years. He never held office or wrote a book, yet our dating system is based on Him. TIME magazine stated: "It would require much exotic calculation, however, to deny that the single most powerful figure–not merely in these last two millenniums but in all human history–has been Jesus of Nazareth."[1] 1. TIME, December 6, 1999 2. Philip Schaff, The Person of Christ (New York: George H. Doran Company, 1913) pp. 137, 138 3. Matthew 11:28

15. God’s Law is Right. God is light. Sin is darkness. [3] Just as it is impossible for darkness to approach the light; so too we cannot be with God if we die with sin. [4] We are self condemned. [5] But God didn’t created us to condemn us. He loves us. [6] Law provides moral choice. Right and wrong; good and bad. Moral choice makes us free moral agents. [7] Law brings order to society. Law provides free moral choice. But law also condemns. [8] God knew we couldn’t live perfect lives. So, He condemned Himself to save you. [9] Click to continue… What is actually so bad about following Jesus? Jesus teaches us how to love our parents, spouses, kids, and neighbors. He tells us not to kill, steal, lie or commit adultery. He wants you to pay your taxes, work and study well and enjoy life. [1] All His laws actually build lives, families and societies. They are positive and practical. Not one of His laws are made to hurt you. Not one. 1. John 10:10 2. Matthew 25:41 3. 1 John1:5 4. 2 Thessalonians1:9 5. Romans 5:12 6. John 3:16,17 7. Genesis 2:16 8. Romans 7:14 9. Romans 8:3,4

16. How do we accept Him? BY BELIEVING IN WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE HAS DONE. “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) God commands all who want follow Jesus to… “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”Acts 2:38 The Holy Spirit brings wonderful changes to our life. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”Galatians 5:22,23 God’s promise: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. He will personally see to your needs. Ask Him. This presentation is designed by Triston Jacobsohn and is for free distribution. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) -oOo- Please read Luke and John for a true historical understanding of Jesus, and Acts for an understanding of the history of the first Christians.