That's a wild read. He does cover the sensationalist speculation that the Templars merged with the Assassins (in the Middle East during the Crusades) and later reappeared as the Jesuits, doesn't he? An ironic joke of sorts. Like the early Rosicrucian manifestoes. The part about the Nazi search for the kabala tattoos pointing to the directions to the subterranean entrance to Agartha (Tibet) was a howler!
Now, that's a novel that would make a bizarre film!
Well, he COVERS a lot of wild speculation without actually endorsing it.
Anyway, being a skeptic I liked the central plot twist of Pendulum. It might annoy others, though.