Masonic
Ricardo Byrd
Masonic
Ricardo Byrd
Ricks' Research Tablet
THE DEADLY DECEPTION
Beware
Appendix A
The heart of Freemasonry is the Blue Lodge with its three degrees. The climactic degree (and the final one for most Masons) in the Blue Lodge is the Third, or Master Mason Degree. The heart of the Master Mason Degree, the thing that gives it both meaning and substance, is without any doubt the reenactment of the Legend of Hiram Abiff. It is this central figure in the legend, this Hiram the "Widow's Son," the "Tyrian Architect," this 'First Grand Master' who is impersonated by every man who is initiated as a Master Mason. It is Hiram who is at the very heart of the foundation of all of Masonry. His true identity and nature become, then, matters of extreme significance. Just who -- and what -- was this man, Hiram Abiff?
1. The Masonic Tradition
According to the Masonic legend, Hiram Abiff was a man of Tyre, the son of a widow, and the chief architect of the Temple built by King Solomon. He was the central character in the building of the Temple and one of three leading characters along with King Solomon and Hiram, King of Tyre. Hiram Abiff, Masonry teaches, was the only one on Earth who knew "the secrets of a Master Mason," including the most important secret of all, the "Grand Masonic Word," the name of God. Since, in occult lore, knowing the name of a spirit is a key to having its power, there was a very great power in knowing this word. Knowing the other "secrets of a Master Mason" would enable the masons/workmen working on the Temple project to go out on their own, working as Master Masons and earning Master Mason's wages."
This Hiram had promised to reveal the "secrets of a Master Mason," including the name of God ("Grand Masonic Word"), upon completion of the Temple, and to make the workmen Master Masons, able then to go out on their own as masters (they were, as yet, only "fellowcraft" Masons). One day Hiram went, as was his custom, into the unfinished Holy of Holies at noon ("High Twelve") to worship and to draw up the work plans (on his "trestleboard") for the workmen to follow the next day. The workmen were outside the Temple for their lunch break ("…the craft were called from labor to refreshment…")
As Hiram was leaving the Temple he was accosted by three "ruffians," in succession, who demanded that they be given the secrets immediately (without waiting for the Temple to be completed). He was handled roughly by the first ruffian (Jubela), but escaped. Accosted and handled roughly by the second ruffian (Jubelo), he again refused to divulge the secrets and again escaped. The third ruffian (Jubelum) then accosted him and, when Hiram again refused to divulge the secrets, killed him with a blow to the forehead with a setting maul. The body was hastily concealed under some rubbish in the Temple until midnight ("low twelve") when it was taken out to the brow of a hill and buried. The grave was marked by a branch of Acacia (an evergreen tree common in the Middle East), and the three ruffians attempted to escape the country. Denied passage on a ship out of the country, they retreated into the hills to hide. Meanwhile, back at the Temple, it was noticed that Hiram was missing and King Solomon was notified. Solomon immediately ordered a search in and about the Temple with no success. At this point 12 "fellowcrafts" reported to the King that they and three others (the three "ruffians") had conspired to extort the secrets of Hiram Abiff but they had repented and refused to go through with the murderous plan. They reported that it was those other three who had murdered Grand Master Hiram and King Solomon then sent them out in groups of three to search in all directions.
After questioning the sea captain who had refused the murderers passage, three of the searchers then followed the murderers' path and discovered the grave with its Acacia at the head. Digging down and recognizing the body, they reported back to Solomon. Solomon sent them back to locate the grave, positively identify the body as Hiram and to attempt to raise it from the grave with the grip of an Entered Apprentice. They relocated the grave but were unable to raise the body because decomposition had caused the flesh to cleave to the bone.
Reporting back to Solomon, they were told to return to the grave and attempt to raise the body with the grip of a Fellowcraft. When this failed because the skin slipped away, they reported back to Solomon who, himself, went to the grave and raised the body up with the grip of a Master Mason, the "Strong Grip of a Lion's Paw." Hiram was not only brought up out of the grave, but restored to life. The first word he spoke was the replacement for the "Grand Masonic Word" lost at his death and that word is the one passed down to Master Masons to this day. (1) This, then, is the Masonic legend of Hiram Abiff, and most Blue Lodge Masons believe that it is a factual, scriptural and historical account. It is generally believed, in spite of the fact that the Masonic authorities and writers of doctrine agree that it is not only a myth, unsupported by facts, but acknowledge that it is but a retelling of Isis and Osiris.
2. The Bible Record
Does the Bible record such as person as Hiram Abiff? Definitely not, although part of his identity is taken from the Bible. The Scriptures record two men named Hiram concerning the building of the Temple by King Solomon; one is Hiram, King of Tyre, who was supportive of Solomon and who provided materials and workmen for the project. The other Hiram, called "a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali," was a worker in brass, not the architect of the entire Temple. He made the brass pillars, the brass lavers, shovels and basins. The Scriptures record that this Hiram, the widows son, completed all the work that he had come to do on the Temple. Presumably, he then returned to his home in Tyre, safe and sound (there is no indication in the Bible of anything to the contrary). (2) Concerning the Masonic claim that Hiram, the widow's son, was chief architect of the Temple, the Bible is clear in establishing that he was no such thing. The Bible reveals that God, Himself, was the designer and architect of the Temple, that He gave the plans in minute detail to David and that David gave them to Solomon, (3) along with most of the materials. To claim that anyone but God was the Chief Architect of the Temple is unfounded and, I believe, blasphemous.
To be continued ......
There is much speculation on the religious nature of the United States of America as it was founded. Many Christians assert that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and, therefore, it is not only our right but our duty to reclaim it for God. But is America a Christian nation in the true sense of the word?
To call anyone or anything "Christian," whether an individual or a nation, certain criteria must be met. If we are speaking of an individual, the Biblical requirements are that he must be born again by the Spirit of God, understanding all that this entails.
If we are speaking of a nation, its purpose must be that of ministry in the name of Jesus Christ alone, without regard to any other gods. Its primary charter must be the Bible, and all who hold positions of authority must be individuals who meet the criteria necessary to call themselves Christians. A true Christian nation would be a theocracy governed by God through His prophets. His law would reign supreme in the hearts and minds of that nation's founders, and all who founded the nation would have to meet the criteria necessary to call themselves Christians. Just as important, the nation would have to have been created in response to a covenant initiated by God with those who founded it.
As a point of information, the Pilgrims did not found the United States; they founded a small colony that eventually got swallowed up by the states and the newly formed federal government.
The belief that the Mayflower Compact was the basis for a Christian nation has caused many to attempt to reestablish what never existed: a Christian nation based upon Biblical precepts and founded upon a covenant relationship with God. What is overlooked is that the Mayflower Compact reaffirmed loyalty to the King of England; its framers never intended to found an independent state.
Ignoring, and even twisting the facts of history, "Christian" dominionists quote some of the founding fathers whose words seem to indicate faith in Jesus Christ. But many quoted were Freemasons who highly regarded Jesus as a man who attained the highest degree of moral enlightenment.
The words of many Freemasons might lead the uninformed to believe that they are true brethren in Christ. An example is this statement from a Masonic publication:
God may have other words for other worlds, but His supreme Word for this world, yesterday, today, forever, is Christ! He is the central Figure of the Bible, its crown, its glory, its glow-point of vision and revelation. Take Him away and its light grows dim. He fulfilled the whole Book, its history, its poetry, its prophecy, its ritual, even as He fulfills our deepest yearning and our highest hope. Ages have come and gone, but He abides-abides because He is real, because he is unexhausted, because He is needed. Little is left today save Christ-Himself smitten and afflicted, bruised of God and wounded-but He is all we need. If we hear Him, follow Him, obey Him, we shall walk together in a new world wherein dwelleth righteousness and love-He is the Word of God (Joseph Fort Newton, "The Great Light in Masonry,"
Unless we recognize that the theosophical philosophy of Freemasonry attributes its own definitions to Biblical language, we won't understand the author's meaning. We might welcome him as one of our own.
Only the most naive would not know that many who claim to be Christians do not meet the required criteria. Such is the case with Freemasons. While Freemasonry has an outward show of religious faith, the tenets of Freemasonry preclude any truly born-again believer from belonging.
Space doesn't allow for a full treatise on Freemasonry's religious philosophy, but true Christians will recognize from another statement in the same publication that the Faith is not compatible with Freemasonry:
Into Freemasonry have been poured the irradiations of the mystical schools of antiquity. Particularly is this so in the higher degrees of the Order, such as the Scottish Rite, where undeniable traces of Cabalism, neo-Platonism, Rosicrucianism, and other mystical cults are plainly discernible. I do personally contend that Freemasonry is the direct descendent of the Mysteries, but that our ritual makers of the higher degrees have copied the ancient ceremonies of initiation so far as the knowledge of those ceremonies exists
Because most Christians today are unaware of the manner in which Christianity was melded with the esoteric philosophies of theosophy and Jewish Cabalism to produce a hybrid mystery religion known as Freemasonry, they offer quotes from many of our founding fathers as evidence that they were Christians. Indeed, some were even clerics. But just as one of today's most famous clerics, Norman Vincent Peale, was a Freemason (prelate of the Grand Encampment of the Knights Templar of the United States), many of the nation's founding fathers were also Freemasons who used peculiar definitions of Biblical language in asserting their beliefs.
This is not to say that they were not noble men. Freemasons pride themselves in their noble attitudes and adherence to strict moral codes. These are not "evil" men in the classical sense. But they are blinded to the true revelation of God's Word, and their religious philosophy embraces all religions as valid. To be a Freemason, one must believe in a supreme being, but he need not be a Christian.
Based upon the evidence of Masonic influences in the establishment of this nation, there is no doubt that the criteria necessary to classify the United States as a Christian nation were not met. An objective study of the Masonic affiliations of the founding fathers must cause Christians to reevaluate their own political philosophy. For if the United States is not a Christian nation then we must choose to whom we will commit "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" -- our Lord or our country.
20 GREATEST NAMES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Summary: 10 Masons, 3 probable Masons, 1 Humanist, 2 Advocates of Freemasonry, 4 no record of connections.
SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Known Masons (8): Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Joseph Hewes, William Hooper, Robert Treat Payne, Richard Stockton, George Walton, William Whipple
Evidence of Membership And/or Affiliations (7): Elbridge Berry, Lyman Hall, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Nelson Jr., John Penn, George Read, Roger Sherman
Summary: 15 of 56 Signers were Freemasons or probable Freemasons.
It's true that this represents only 27% of the total signers. But this 27% included the principle movers of the Revolution, most notably Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, the primary authors of the Declaration. The former was a Freemason, the latter a deist and possible Freemason. If one were to analyze the Declaration, he would see the humanistic influences.
In any event, there is no evidence that even 27% of the signers were true Christians. In considering whether or not this is a Christian nation, it isn't the number of Masons that is as important as is the number of founders overall who were non-believers.
SIGNERS OF THE CONSTITUTION
Known Masons (9): Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Blair, David Brearly, Jacob Broom, Daniel Carrol, John Dickinson, Benjamin Franklin, Rufus King, George Washington
Evidence of Membership And/or Affiliations (13): Abraham Baldwin, William Blount, Elbridge Gerry, Nicholas Gilman, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Lansing, Jr., James Madison, George Mason, George Read, Robert Morris, Roger Sherman, George Wythe
Those Who Later Became Masons (6): William Richardson Davie, Jr., Jonathan Dayton, Dr. James McHenry, John Francis Mercer, William Patterson, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
Summary: 28 of 40 signers were Freemasons or possible Freemasons based on evidence other than Lodge records.
MASONIC INFLUENCES IN EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY
- Lafayette, French liaison to the Colonies, without whose aid the war could not have been won, was a Freemason.
- The majority of the commanders of the Continental Army were Freemasons and members of "Army Lodges."
- Most of Washington's Generals were Freemasons.
- The Boston Tea Party was planned at the Green Dragon Tavern, also known as the "Freemasons' Arms," and "the Headquarters of the Revolution."
- George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States by Robert Livingston, Grand Master of New York's Masonic Lodge. The Bible on which he took his oath was from his own Masonic lodge.
- The Cornerstone of the Capital building was laid by the Grand Lodge of Maryland.
Even if the initiators of the Revolution had been Christians, the fact remains that the Revolutionary War and the nation's government were structured by the tenets of Freemasonry, not God's Word. It was an unholy alliance at best.
Scripture tells us that God has made one nation of all: the Church. It is the Church that is our "Christian nation," not the social and political institutions of the world.
We can thank our heavenly Father that we enjoy the freedoms that this republic grants us. But as citizens of Heaven, our allegiance is first to our brethren in foreign countries. Otherwise, we may find ourselves killing true Christians for political causes.
We must be vigilant to the dangers of becoming embroiled in political and social causes in the name of Christ. Else we will find ourselves unequally yoked, storing up for ourselves wood, hay, and stubble for the day of judgment.
* This material has been excerpted from a 6/90 Media Spotlight Special Report -- "A Masonic History of America," by Al Dager.
This Article is an excerpt from "En Route to Global Occupation" by Gary H. Kah, published by Huntington House. This important book deserves a place in your library.
After months of getting nowhere, a door finally opened. One Sunday evening in 1986 while sharing at a church in northern Indiana, I met an elderly lady who introduced herself to me at the close of the service. She inquired whether I knew anything about Freemasonry and its influence on the New Age. I told her I was aware of its involvement but that I still did not understand exactly what role the Masonic Order played in the overall scheme of things.
She went on to share that she had been researching the Masonic movement for the past twenty years and had quite a collection of materials on the Order (much of which she had obtained from widows of deceased Masons who were unaware of the significance of the Order and its literature). She would make her materials available to me if I wanted them and explained that she had been unsuccessful at getting anyone to listen to her because of her age and the lack of a fancy job title. We ended up meeting several times at her home to sort through her materials on Freemasonry. Whatever this elderly saint did not have, it seemed she knew where to get it.
In the months that followed, l received quite an education while combing through the major Masonic reference works. I found a repeated mention of such orders as the Illuminati, the Knights Templars, and the Rosicrucians, along with other cultish groups, which I had previously thought to be only myths. But I soon became convinced to the contrary, not only learning that they existed, but that Freemasonry was a modern-day continuation of Gnosticism and of the ancient mystery religions.
 |
While most
sources placed the official birth of Freemasonry at 1717, Masonic
references clearly indicated that the organization's history went back
much further than this.
The adjacent diagram, based on my research in both Masonic and non-Masonic sources, depicts the roots of the Order along with its historical and modern-day lines of influence. (A number of other false religions and subversive movements have also had an influence on the Masonic Order. However, those depicted are the main sects and religions to which the existence of Freemasonry and the New |
The history of Freemasonry, I discovered, was also the history of the secret societies, and the history of the secret societies is the history of organized occultism -- particularly in the Western world. Perhaps the most complete history of organized occultism has been provided by Albert Pike in his 861 page occult classic entitled Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (more commonly referred to by Masons as simply Morals and Dogma). Drawing from the sources available to him as the long-time leader of Freemasonry (1859-1891), Pike was able to trace the chronological growth and spread of the Mysteries over the face of the earth from ancient Babylon down to the present-day Masonic Order.
In reference to the esoteric doctrines of the Mysteries, Pike states:
The communication of this knowledge and other secrets, some of which are perhaps lost, constituted, under other names, what we now call Masonry, or Free, or Frank-Masonry . . . The present name of the Order, and Its titles, and the names of the Degrees now in use, were not then known . . . But, by whatever name it was known in this or the other country, Masonry existed as it now exists, the same in spirit and at heart . . . before even the first colonies emigrated into Southern India, Persia, and Egypt, from the cradle of the human race (Morals and Dogma, p.207-208).
Pike goes on to remark, "We teach the truth of none of the legends we recite. They are to us but parables and allegories, involving and enveloping Masonic instruction; and vehicles of useful and interesting information. They represent the different phases of the human mind, its efforts and struggles to comprehend nature, God, the government of the Universe, the permitted existence of sorrow and evil. To teach us wisdom, and the folly of endeavoring to explain to ourselves that which we are not capable of understanding, we reproduce the speculations of the Philosophers, the Kabalists, the Mystagogues and the Gnostics. Every one being at liberty to apply our symbols and emblems as he thinks most consistent with truth and reason and with his own faith, we give them such an interpretation only as may be accepted by all." (Ibid, p.329). Dozens of supporting statements are scattered throughout the same volume, leaving no doubt that Pike meant what he said. Other Masonic reference works provide a similar account of the Order's roots. The Freemason's Monitor, for example, explains:
"Our records inform us, that the usages and customs of Masons have ever
corresponded with those of the Egyptian philosophers, to which they bear a near
affinity. Unwilling to expose their mysteries to vulgar eyes, they concealed
their particular tenets, and principles of polity, under hieroglyphical figures;
and expressed their notions of government by signs and symbols, which they
communicated to their Magi alone, who were bound by oath not to reveal
them"
I discovered that historical documents pertaining to the beginnings of Freemasonry and the spread of organized occultism had been preserved in a number of Masonic libraries throughout the world. In Europe, for example, a sizable collection can be found in Freemason's Hall located on Great Queen (i.e. Semiramis) Street in the heart of London. In the United States, on the other hand, a large depository of Masonic writings is located at the Grand Lodge of Iowa in Cedar Rapids. The most extensive collection by far, however, can be found at the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C.
Along with serving as the headquarters for the Mother Supreme Council of the World (the governing body of Freemasonry) and containing a vast, exquisite Masonic shrine, the House of the Temple also houses a universally renowned Masonic library. Henry C. Clausen, the former Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite referred to this library in his book, Masons Who Helped Shape Our Nation written in 1976.
"A priceless treasure of The Supreme council is its Library. One- third of the 175,000 volumes which it contains deal with Freemasonry in all its branches, forming one of the most comprehensive collections on this subject in the entire world."
"The Archives in the House of the Temple supplement the Library. More than two-and-a-half million papers, giving details of the history of Masonry and of the Scottish Rite are carefully filed and indexed." (Henry C. Clausen, SGM, Masons Who Helped Shape Our Nation. San Diego: Neyenesch Printers.
Another prominent Masonic writer, H.L. Haywood, confirms these figures, claiming the existence of "fifty or sixty thousand Masonic books" (H.L. Haywood, Famous Masons and Masonic Presidents. Richmond, VA: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co., p.97).
If Freemasonry were nothing more than a social organization, as it publicly claims to be, then how could one account for the incredible number of books existing on the Order? What kind of social organization would possess an archive of two-and-a-half million documents along with a library of sixty thousand books containing its history? The mere existence of such a collection suggested that Freemasonry was more than a large group of citizens organized for community service.
As a result of my research, I finally came to conclude that a careful history of the occult had been maintained by the ancient priests wherever the mysteries were practiced. This information was probably initially passed along chiefly by word of mouth and possibly assisted by the use of hieroglyphics and other forms of primitive writing developed among the ancient civilizations. However, as time progressed, this knowledge of the secret rituals, beliefs and practices of the occult priesthood, was put into writing on manuscripts, providing a permanent record of these Luciferic activities.
Much of this ancient knowledge was allegedly first recorded by some of the Greek and Roman philosophers, whose philosophical societies existed as special extensions of the occult priesthood. According to Masonic sources, this information has been miraculously preserved ever since, having been passed from one generation to the next through an unbroken line of occult priests. The Masonic Order claims to be the latest in a succession of occult orders who have served as the guardians of this ancient knowledge.
Many specifics of the Order's diabolical legacy have been revealed in the works of Masonic historians such as Pike, Mackey, Haywood, M.P. Hall, and others who have provided summaries of Masonic/occult history. While some discrepancies exist among the various accounts, there is, nevertheless, a remarkable degree of uniformity and consistency considering the complexity of the subject. However, to understand the Masonic Order's complete role and where it fits in, a bit of world history is required.
