The Why Files: Operation Podcast

Episode 628: Templars, Atlantis, and the Ark of the Covenant | Basement #003 Tim Hogan

Date: February 15, 2026
Guest: Tim Hogan (Knights Templar Grandmaster, 32nd Degree Mason, esoteric author)

Overview

This episode goes deep into the secret and alternative history of the Knights Templar, exploring their origins, esoteric knowledge, archaeological activities, and connections to ancient technologies and civilizations. Host AJ is joined by Tim Hogan, a Templar Grandmaster and prolific researcher, to explore topics including the true mission of the Templars, the Ark of the Covenant as ancient technology, the lost civilization of Atlantis, cross-cultural connections, the order’s hidden legacy in America, and the dramatic claim that the Templars possess the bones of Jesus.

Tim Hogan’s storytelling, family history, and direct initiatory lineage add credibility and intrigue. The conversation blends legend, fringe history, and emerging science, supported by notable recent academic developments.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tim Hogan’s Background & Templar Lineage

• Family legacy: Tim’s ancestry includes General Joseph Warren (who initiated Paul Revere) and significant Masonic activity, with deep roots in Templarism and Masonry.
  (03:00–04:00, 19:03–24:23)
• Early initiation: Initiated into knighthood tradition at age 8, only later learning his family’s secret involvement.
  Quote:

  "I went through this program, and then by the age of 18, I had attained this rank of Sir Knight within it." – Tim Hogan (20:01)

2. The True History and Purpose of the Templar Order

• Official history: Founded in 1118 by Hugh de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer, officially to protect pilgrims in Jerusalem.
  (03:46–06:18)

• Real agenda: Their true purpose was archaeological and esoteric—conducting secret digs under the Temple Mount, acquiring advanced pre-diluvian (pre-flood) knowledge.
  Quote:

  “This is more of a cover story. They were actually doing what we would refer to as archaeology now.” – Tim Hogan (04:55)

• Early banking system: Templars innovated safe-money transfers, became fabulously wealthy, and gained the Pope's protection, allowing them freedom to build cross-cultural alliances.
  (06:18–08:10)

3. Suppression and Survival: Friday the 13th & Underground Templarism

• Suppression: King Philip IV of France, in debt to the Templars, orchestrated mass arrests on Friday, October 13, 1307. Most Templars and their treasure vanished the night before by ship.
  Quote:

  “The night before, on October 12, 1307, the fleet disappears, along with all the wealth of the Grand Commandery of Paris.” – Tim Hogan (08:32)

• Friday the 13th and the curse of Jacques de Molay: The executed Grandmaster allegedly cursed both the Pope and King to die within a year—they did.
  (17:51–18:11)

• Underground traditions: Templar knowledge and artifacts persisted secretly, merging with and influencing movements like Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry.
  (28:39–30:17)

4. Secret Templar Initiations & the Denver Airport Connection

• Family involvement: Tim’s father (mayor of Aurora, CO) was central in developing Denver International Airport (DIA), including its Masonic/Templar symbolism and the infamous time capsule.
  Quote:

  “For the longest time that braille plaque was actually a plastic plaque... I was involved… actually dealing with that thing.” – Tim Hogan (25:41)

• Urban legends: No lizard people or Nazi bunkers, but rumors persist of presidential emergency bunkers at DIA.
  (26:20–27:47)

5. The Advanced Civilization Before the Flood (Atlantis)

• Flood myths & lost technology: The Templars pieced together global cataclysm stories, positing an advanced civilization—Atlantis—existed and seeded the world post-flood.
  Quote:

  "The Templars... believed that there was a very advanced civilization that had existed prior to this cataclysm." – Tim Hogan (31:40)

• Plato & Bacon: Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis described technological knowledge inherited from Atlantis; Bacon was secretly a Templar, and the “College of Solomon” in his story mirrors Templar aims.
  (36:42–38:16)

6. Archaeological Missions & The Ark(s) of the Covenant

• Multiple Arks: Dozens of “arks” existed in Egypt and elsewhere, serving as ancient electrostatic capacitors rather than singular Biblical relics.
  Quote:

  “They found six arks, but there was probably a hundred arks in antiquity. Every temple in Egypt had one of these arks...” – Tim Hogan (40:11)

• Ancient technology: Arks worked by exploiting gold, acacia wood, and monoatomic gold (manna); produced electricity and (possibly) antigravity effects, which accounts for Biblical miracles and legends.
  Quote:

  “Monoatomic gold... is superconductive… When you put it in [the ark]… it generates a tremendous amount of electricity.” – Tim Hogan (42:57)

• Cross-cultural connections: “Manna,” “Vimana,” “Shimana” refer to the same power substance in diverse cultures. Carrying the Ark—normally impossible—was enabled by its levitation properties.
  (45:15–49:37)

• Grounding and danger: Failure to properly ground or discharge the Ark resulted in lethal electric shocks, echoing the Biblical account of Uzzah.
  (54:14–55:26)

7. Egyptian, Mayan, and Global Templar Links

• Egypt–Maya connection: Templar expeditions discovered evidence of contact between ancient Egyptians and Mayans—shared artifacts, iconography, and possibly genetics.
  Quote:

  “There’s a temple… shows Mayans trading beads with Egyptians.” – Tim Hogan (64:23)

• Stargates: The arks may have powered “stargates” referenced in Egyptian inscriptions, used for pharaonic initiation and mythic contact with gods.
  (61:20–63:00)

8. Relocation of Artifacts and Templar Vaults in North America

• Templar voyages: The Order mapped North America before Columbus, traded with the Mayans, and secreted their most prized artifacts in the New World.
  Quote:

  “By the time the order was suppressed… they had already mapped all of North America.” – Tim Hogan (86:27)

• Columbus & Templar knowledge: Columbus married into a Templar family to access their maps, wore Templar crosses, and intentionally invoked Templar rapport among native peoples.
  (89:39–90:51)

• Vaults: Seven vaults (now two) once guarded technology and relics—including “arcs” and human remains—in Montana and a public park in Washington, D.C.
  Quote:

  “One of the vaults is in Washington, D.C.... the other [is] in Montana… Lewis and Clark… were… checking on that vault.” – Tim Hogan (92:24–93:50)

9. The Bones of Jesus and Mary Magdalene

• Talpiot Tomb: Templars claim to have removed bones from ossuaries found in a Jerusalem tomb, believed to correspond to Jesus, Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, and their children, and secreted them to America.
  (99:40–101:52)

• Gnostic interpretation: Jesus and Mary Magdalene’s relationship follows Gnostic themes—Sophia and Christos—emphasizing personal spiritual awakening and reincarnation, not church dogma. Quote:

  “From a Gnostic standpoint, the Gnostics believed in reincarnation.” – Tim Hogan (107:45)

10. Ancient Templar Mysteries, Initiations & Alchemy

• Universal mystery rites: A symbolic death-and-raising ceremony, found identically among Egyptians, Mayans, Druze, Sufis, and the Templars, indicates a common pre-flood heritage.
  Quote:

  “The exact same initiation ceremony and the exact same secret handshake.” – Tim Hogan (123:55)

• Alchemy and the Philosopher’s Stone: Templar rituals and color symbolism (black, red, white) encode alchemical transformation stages; “mana” as monoatomic gold was the alchemist’s hidden goal.
  (124:08–127:53, 131:29–133:06)

• The Emerald Tablet and Hermeticism: Rooted in Egypt (Siwa Oasis), influential over Newton and esoteric science; Templars and early Christians valued Hermetic gnosis alongside Biblical texts.
  (136:02–146:53)

11. Science Catches Up with the Legends

• Emerging evidence: Recent academic studies support parts of the fringe narrative, including the Younger Dryas impact, the electrical properties of ancient monuments, and the plausibility of Ark-as-capacitor. Quote:

  “Mainstream research keeps catching up to ideas that used to be fringe.” – Host, summary (167:02)

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On Templar missions:
  "Their main focus was actually establishing connections with these different traditions so they could gain their knowledge and bring that knowledge back to Europe, really, to try to get Europe out of the Dark Ages." – Tim Hogan (06:18)

• On the Ark’s technology:
  "What they were is they were electrostatic capacitors, and they would be set up at certain node points around the planet..." – Tim Hogan (40:37)

• On monoatomic gold:
  "When you create the conditions for it to come back... it enters in this monoatomic state where every grain of this gold is one atom thick... it becomes superconductive." – Tim Hogan (42:24)

• On the Ark’s levitation:
  "When you subject it to a weak electrostatic or electromagnetic field, it causes the vessel containing it to start to weigh less than nothing. This is really how a couple people with rods could carry the Ark of the Covenant, which would have weighed several tons." – Tim Hogan (48:15)

• On ancient civilizations:
  "There was clearly a worldwide advanced civilization that was going on..." – Tim Hogan (72:28)

• On Gnostic interpretation of Christ:
  “He was not coming as a savior. He was coming to give the example of how to live and how to bring that light outside of ourselves...” – Tim Hogan (111:06)

• On the Emerald Tablet & mind-matter:
  "Hermeticists believe that… the only way that you could create is within your own mind. And therefore everything that we see around us… is just mind stuff." – Tim Hogan (146:47)

• On the Templar legacy:
  "My take is that Tim Hogan is either sitting on secrets that rewrite history or he's the most committed storyteller I've ever met. What I can't shake is how much of what he says lines up where the actual science is heading." – Host (167:02)

Timeline of Major Segments

| Segment | Topic | Timestamp | |---|---|---| | 1 | Introduction to Tim Hogan & Templar lineage | 01:01–04:00 | | 2 | Mundane Templar history | 03:46–11:10 | | 3 | Templar suppression & Friday the 13th | 08:32–11:10 | | 4 | Tim’s initiation & family secrets | 19:03–24:23 | | 5 | Denver Airport, Masonic connection | 24:23–28:31 | | 6 | The secret history, Atlantis, ancient tech | 30:17–38:16 | | 7 | The search for & function of the Ark(s) | 39:02–55:58 | | 8 | Egyptian–Mayan–Templar contact | 63:44–69:17 | | 9 | Templars in America, Columbus, vaults | 86:27–98:29 | | 10 | The bones of Jesus, Gnostic Christology | 99:40–107:54 | | 11 | Alchemy, Hermeticism, Emerald Tablet | 124:08–149:56 | | 12 | Summary and fact-check | 164:23–167:02 |

Memorable Moments

• AJ’s skepticism and playful banter throughout (e.g., "That’s like getting a DLC for secret society Simulator. Is that a real game?"; (01:01))

• Host’s factual roundup connects Tim’s claims with current academic research—demonstrating the show's “mysteries, myths, and legends” approach with careful vetting.
  (164:23–167:02)

• Tim on the universal Templar handshake:
  "The exact same initiation ceremony and the exact same secret handshake." (123:55)

• Revelation about the American vaults:
  "One of the vaults is in Washington, D.C. The other is in Montana... Lewis and Clark... were checking on that vault." (92:24–93:50)

Additional Resources

• Tim Hogan’s books: "The Templar Legacy," among others, available on Amazon.
• Tours: Templar Travel Tours (Facebook group, templarcollegia.org)
• Monoatomic gold products: Templar Made (Tim’s company)

Final Thoughts

The episode straddles the line between rigor and the fantastic, blending historical record, fringe claims, and rapidly evolving science. Whether or not every claim is accepted as fact, the narrative showcases the enduring allure—and increasing plausibility—of ancient mysteries and the Templar legacy, all delivered with warmth and humor.

For more, search “The Why Files: Operation Podcast” Episode 628, or follow Tim Hogan's tours and publications.