On Friday, October 13, 1307, the King of France, Philip IV, ordered the French Knights Templar be arrested. He claimed that the Templar initiation ceremonies forced recruits to deny Christ, spit on the Cross, worship idols, and engage in homosexual practices. The next month, Philip pressured Pope Clement V into arresting the remaining Knights Templar, seizing their assets, torturing the knights into confessions, then burning them at the stake. Philip was deeply in debt to the Knights Templar and used these persecutions to clear that debt.

Seven years later, as Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay burned at the stake in 1314, he claimed, “God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death.”

One month later, Pope Clement died. Eight months later, Philip suffered a stroke during a hunting trip and died a month after.