The Gods of the Lodge

by Reginald Haupt Jr

  Mithra

  The Mysteries of Mithra and the Mithriac Initiation could consume an entire chapter, and will be discussed briefly in another part of this work. However, because of his importance in Masonry he is identified here along with what he symbolizes. Mithra is the God and Lord of Heavenly Light and is portrayed in the Freemason’s Encyclopaedia on page 387 as a winged young man plunging his sacrificial knife into the heart of a bull.

  The Pentagram and the Blazing Star

  The grand and universal symbols of Freemasonry are the Pentagram and the Blazing Star. To the uninitiated they appear the same, but to the Masonry student they are different. Both are a five-pointed star. However, they are distinguished by the Blazing Star having five wavering rays and the Pentagram has five points. Since each have common meanings we will discuss them together.

  First, the Blazing Star is a Masonic variant of the Pentagram. Their Encyclopaedia at page 108 of Volume II states:

  “The voice of Masonry offers several explanations of the emblem (Blazing Star) adopted by the Order in 1735. It is (1) the Star of the Magi... (3) Divine Providence... (6) the sign of a true Mason... (the Dog-Star, or Star of Anubis, and in fine (10) it is Nature regarded as a volatile spirit animated by the Universal Spirit.”

  The Pentagram in the same Encyclopaedia in Volume II at page 109 is defined in Masonry as:

  “...(5) that it expresses the mind’s domination over the elements; (6) that it is the Star of the Magi, the Blazing Star of the Gnostic Schools, the sign of intellectual omnipotence and autocracy.”

  As you see, both are symbolic of the Star of the Magi, among other important meanings. But, it is the Star of the Magi symbolism that the Christian must concern themselves with. The reference to Gnostism is equally important, but that will be discussed in a chapter devoted to religion. That it represents Gnostism in Masonry is all that needs to be remembered at this point.

  The Magi, from whom the word “magic” was derived, were the priests of the ancient religion of the Persian Empire known as Zoroastrianism. In the book entitled The Occult, written by Colin Wilson, cited above, an attempt is made to define this religion of the Magi. He says that their original God, Ahura Mazda, created two twins, who produce reality and unreality; both were positive thinkers and eventually became good and evil. The religion was one of positive consciousness from which a person draws power. Negative thought drew the opposite: weakness.

  The magian religion had no temples, no altars and no images of gods. They ascended to the mountaintops and offered sacrifices to the elements of nature, such as the sun, moon, fire, water, winds and the earth. The Persians later developed the worship of the sungod, Mithras, who was considered as a savior. At the time of the rebuilding of the Temple under the rule of Cyrus, the Magi had degenerated into a cult that dominated Persian society.

  What is known of the Magi is scant, except that their beliefs were close to the Hindus, and that they believed in the transmigration of the soul and were skilled in the interpretation of dreams. Eliphaz Levi, an occult authority recognized by the much mentioned Masonic Encyclopaedia, speaks of the Magi as having possessed “secrets that gave them mastery over the occult powers of nature.” They are also credited with having knowledge of mathematics and astrology and were skilled in divination. 11

  What does this leave us with in discussing Freemasonry? Simple. The star, usually red in color, symbolizes an ancient cult of priest known as the Magi. It has nothing to do with the star that appeared over Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ as Blue Lodge Masonry is led to believe. It is an acknowledged sign of the occult or the “black arts” as the Magi practiced it. It represents the depths of the evil one, and not the heights of the blessed birth of the Messiah. The Blazing Star or the Pentagram is therefore the sign of the mystic and not the sign of a Christian. Perhaps the best clue to this conclusion should have been the much published symbol of the Shriners. Their real name is “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,” and their logo is the red Blazing Star hung from the head of a dead pharaoh. The word, “Mystic,” is signified by the star. On the following page is the sign that appears all across this country in the name of good.

  The Hexagram

  The Hexagram is a double triangle making a six-pointed star. It is known as the Star and Seal of Solomon and is the sign of the Macrocosmos, which is the great world. The Mason’s Encyclopaedia at page 110 of Volume II defines the Hexagram as symbolizing:

  “...(1) the sign of generation, (2) of divine fruitfulness and (3) of creative potency, the reason being that (4) the number six was consecrated of old to Venus.

  “According to Magus Eliphas Levi, the conception of the infinite and the absolute is expressed by this sign, which he terms the ‘Grand Pentacle.’ That is to say, it is the most simple and complete abridgement of universal science.”

  Thus, the symbol of the “great world.”

  The Cubic Stone

  The diagram below of the Cubic Stone and the interpretation herein is taken from the Freemason’s New Encyclopaedia, Volume II, pages viii and 112. It will be seen that the four arms of the cube, or cross as the Masons like to refer to it as, contain (1) a Masonic cipheralphabet; (2) an alphabetical square, reminiscent of the so-called Enochian Tablets and said to contain mysterious words or names referable to the Cherubim; (3) a set of geometrical designs and the key thereto, referable to the four quarters, the four seasons and their philosophical correspondences; (4) a circle representing the diurnal (daily revolution) course of the sun and containing three interlaced triangles, variously inscribed, exhibiting the invariable order of all principles. It is also seen that the four squares, within the four arms, are surmounted by triangles, recalling the Masonic Apron, with the flap forward. In the midst of the Cosmic (harmonious system of the universe) Cross is a five-pointed star (the Blazing Star), enclosed within a square and a circle, while the star itself contains the letter “G.” This represents a double symbolism, God in man, and Geometry.

  Geometry? Yes, and the Masonic authorities attribute the science as an “art” upon which the entire system of Masonry is built upon. Although we will discuss this subject a little further in another chapter, it is important to note that the letter “G” as it appears to the public on pins and belt buckles, does not necessarily mean “God.” As Wilmshurst puts it on page 89:

  “Geometry, therefore, is synonymous with self-knowledge, the understanding of the basic substance of our being, its properties and potentialities... Masonry is the science of the attainment of that supreme knowledge and is, therefore; rightly said to be founded on the principles of Geometry as thus defined.”

  Accordingly, the big “G” does not support the conclusion that Masonry credits God for its principles and morals. The art and science of Geometry does, and it rightly forms the center of the cubic stone and all other high symbols of Masonry where the “G” appears. On the following page is the “cubic stone”:

  Chapter 7: The Master Builder

  In Masonry there are three so-called master builders. They are: King Solomon, who laid the plans for the Temple, King Hiram of Tyre, who provided the materials and workmen, and Hiram Abif, who the Masons give credit as to being the architect, or the one who supervised the construction. Wilmshurst at page 69 compares these three master builders to “the Holy Trinity of the Christian religion”:

  “Hiram Abif being the chief architect, he ‘by whom all things were made’ and ‘in whom [as St. Paul said, using Masonic language] the whole building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.’”

  The perfect Temple was to be built and all the ingredients were in place. But, something happened that wrecked the scheme and delayed the fulfillment of the plan indefinitely. A conspiracy took place to kill Hiram Abif among the craftsmen. This event began the legend of Masonry and formed its doctrine. Again Wilmshurst is the Masonic authority that explains the importance of this event on page 70:

  “This was the Fall of Man; the conspiracy o
f the craftsmen. Turn to the book of Genesis, you will find the same subject related in the allegory of Adam and Eve. They were intended, as you know, for perfection and happiness, but their Creator’s project became nullified by their disobedience to certain conditions imposed upon them. I will ask you to observe that their offence was precisely that committed by our Masonic conspirators. They had been forbidden to eat of the Tree of Knowledge; or in Masonic language, they were under obligation ‘not to attempt to extort the secrets of a superior degree’ which they had not attained. Now the Hebrew word Hiram means Guru, teacher of ‘supreme knowledge,’ divine light and wisdom, and the liberty that comes therewith. But this knowledge is only for the perfected man... But just as Adam and Eve’s attempt to obtain illicit knowledge caused their expulsion from Eden and defeated the divine purpose until they and their posterity should regain the Paradise they had lost, so also the completion of the great mystical Temple was prevented for the time being by the conspirators’ attempt to extort from Hiram the Master’s secrets, and its construction is delayed until time and circumstances we create for ourselves restore to us the lost and genuine secrets of our nature and of the divine purpose in us.

  “The tragedy of Hiram Abif, then, is not the record of any vulgar, brutal murder of an individual man. It is a parable of cosmic and universal loss; an allegory of the breakdown of a divine scheme. We are dealing with no calamity that occurred during the erection of a building in an eastern city, but with a moral disaster to universal humanity. Hiram is slain; in other words, the faculty of enlightened wisdom has been cut off from us. Owing to that disaster mankind is here today in this world of imperfect knowledge...The temple of human nature is unfinished and we know not how to complete it. The want of plans and designs to regulate the disorders of individual and social life indicates to us all that some heavy calamity has befallen us as a race.”

  Then Wilmshurst makes an astonishing statement that should make every Christian Mason question what they are into. On page 71:

  “The absence of a clear and guiding principle in the world’s life reminds us of the utter confusion into which the absence of that Supreme Wisdom, which is personified as Hiram, has thrown us all, and causes every reflective mind to attribute to some fatal catastrophe his mysterious disappearance. We all long for that light and wisdom which have become lost to us.”

  Unfortunately, there is more.

  “Hiram Abif is slain. The high light and wisdom ordained to guide and enlighten humanity are wanting to us. The full blaze of light and perfect knowledge that were to be ours are vanished from the race, but in the Divine Providence there still remains to us a glimmering light in the East.” (Note the Masonic symbol of the East and the description of the “Conquering Light.”)

  Now, who is the Master? Jesus Christ? No! Read on:

  “Where is Hiram buried? We are taught that the Wisdom of the Most High—personified as King Solomon—ordered him to be interred in a fitting sepulchre outside the Holy City, “in a grave from the centre 3 feet between N. and S., 3 feet between E. and W., and 5 feet or more perpendicular.” Where Brethren, do you imagine that grave to be? Can you locate it by following these minute details of its situation? Probably you have never thought of the matter as other than an ordinary burial outside the walls of a geographical Jerusalem. But the grave of Hiram is ourselves. Each of us is the sepulchre in which the smitten Master is interred. If we know it not it is a further sign of our benightedness. At the centre of ourselves, deeper than any dissecting knife can reach or than any physical investigation can fathom, lies buried the ‘vital and immortal principle,’ the ‘glimmering ray’ that affiliates us to the Divine Centre of all life, and that is never wholly extinguishing however evil or imperfect our lives may be. We are the grave of the Master. The lost and guiding light is buried at the centre of ourselves.”

  The legend of Hiram Abif is the great allegory of Masonry. This is proclaimed without contradiction by all Masonic authorities this writer could find. It is stated as a basic fact in the New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry at page 366 of Volume I.

  He is proclaimed the Master-Builder, “The Master,” the “glimmering ray,” the “vital and immortal principle.,” and the “lost and guiding light. “ Each of these titles are quoted from Wilmshurst cited above. No Masonic authority refutes the high status of Hiram.

  For the edification of the Christian reader it is important to discuss the role given to Hiram, the widow’s son, as the great allegory of Masonry. First, the legend assumes that the man was an architect. This is not true! As the writer brought out at the beginning of this work, he is only mentioned in two portions of Scripture of the Holy Bible. He is referred to in 2 Chronicles 3:13-14 and in 1 Kings 7. He was described as a widow’s son and a skilled craftsman. He worked on only one portion of the Temple and that dealt with the brass. What work he did he finished.

  “And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 7:40).

  The legend says that Hiram was assassinated before he finished his work and that the Temple was not completed. Both of these assumptions are incorrect. Hiram was not assassinated and the Temple was completed.

  “Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished” (2 Chronicles 5:1).

  “So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 7:51).

  Yes, the Temple was completed and Hiram, the worker in brass, finished his task and was not killed. Hence, the legend is false! No authority, Masonic or otherwise, can point to one shred of evidence from history that lends credence to the truth of the legend.

  But what about the teaching that the legend gives? To the Masons it is vital. To the Christian it is another Gospel. The great fall of man was not Hiram, it was Adam. Hiram was not resurrected, Jesus was. Hiram is not the Master, Jesus Christ is! Hiram is not buried within us. To the contrary, Jesus lives within us (the Christian, that is). The “guiding light” is not lost to us. We have that light:

  “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

  To the Christian there can be no other light or hope of another way of light. Certainly, not the absurd notion of a light glimmering from a brass worker that lived 3,000 years ago with no record of his beginning nor ending. No. A Christian cannot partake of such a doctrine or entertain someone who does.

  Concerning the Temple it should be stated that the legend makes its completion the primary goal of Masonry. But since the Temple of Solomon was completed, then what temple are they speaking of?

  “The temple, brethren, that is still incomplete and unfinished is none that can be built with hands...it is the collective body of humanity itself” (Wilmshurst, p. 69).

  Hence, Masonry’s objective is to perfect the collective body of humanity. In layman’s terms, the temple is humanity, and Masonry is an attempt to make this earth and the people within it perfect. Yes, a brotherhood of all religions, nations and creeds. And this perfection of the soul, or this quest for Divine Wisdom, is done, or accomplished, by becoming a Master Mason. The first three degrees of Freemasonry is the key to this perfection of the soul, or the completion of the temple. The cross of calvary and the resurrection of God’s only Son has no place in this perfection of mankind. Doesn’t this offend a Christian? Isn’t this another gospel? Isn’t this Gnosticism?

  There appears to be a lot of questions in this writer’s mind at this point. Does all of humanity include women? How about black people in the United States? If so, then why are there no women Masons, or why have blacks been excluded from Masonic Lodges in America? Sure, women can be members of the Eastern Star, and black males may become members of the Order of Prince Hall. Both of these organizations are known as “clandestine” or “adoptive.” Neither are part of the Free and Accepted Masons or come within the term, “Masons.” Neither
are under the authority of the Grand Lodge of England.

  Perhaps this is the best opportunity this writer will have in revealing a Masonic message inscribed on certain stones known as the “Guide Stones.” These stones are of granite and consist of four sixteen feet high smoothly carved stones approximately four feet wide. They are located in Elbert County, Georgia, and are entitled, “The Age of Reason.” This appears to be a menu of the’ ‘Perfect Temple” of humanity. Below is a photograph of the stones taken in November 1988. The inscription is on the following page.

  These stones are in Elbert County, Georgia, and are inscribed in Russian, English, Hebrew, Greek, Chinese, Aramic, Swahilie and Islam. They bear Masonic symbols at the top of the structure and also contain the phrase, “The Age of Reason.”

  Adolph Hitler could not have written a more restrictive plan for a master race. Limiting humanity to a population of a mere 500,000,000 would be tantamount to the extermination of over two billion people on this earth. The inscription says that this is necessary in order to keep humanity in perpetual balance with nature. It says to “guide reproduction wisely—improving fitness and diversity,” and to “unite humanity with a living new language.”

  It is inconceivable that intelligent leaders who double as church leaders could be a part of such a doctrine. It is inconceivable that Jews in this country and in Europe could ever partake of this definition of “perfect humanity” in view of the death camps in World War II that were the results of the same thoughts of prominent men in Germany during Hitler’s time. But, it is now rising in our country within a secret society with a prominent name and membership role. All in the name of “goodness,” and “brotherly love.” Yes, in brotherly love that excludes an entire race of citizens in this country.