Rosslyn Treasury

by P. L. Snow

  Their plotting was overheard by a young apprentice called Benoni, who went to Solomon straight away to warn him. Solomon, already listening to the promptings of jealousy, did nothing.

  The three, Fanor the Syrian mason, Amru the Phoenician carpenter and Methusael the Hebrew miner, knew that a great work was in hand, the casting of the Molten Sea. This was a mighty work to stand in the Temple precincts, and would show, in a dynamic form of different metals, movement in stillness. It was in the form of a lily, and rested on the backs of twelve sculpted bulls. The casting of this demanded the most careful handling; the mixing of the metals had to be done with the strictest precision. The three interfered with the work so that the molten metals spread over the rim of the cast, endangering those who watched. Hiram tried desperately to stem the molten tide using water, but this only made matters worse. A deadly rain of boiling water and molten metal fell in hissing clouds, and the people fled before the catastrophe.

  Hiram, in the midst of his despair, suddenly heard a voice: it was his ancestor, Tubal Cain, calling him and telling him to dive into the flames.

  ‘Come, my son. Be without fear. I have rendered thee impervious to fire. Cast thyself into the flames.’

  ‘Where do you take me?’

  ‘Into the centre of the Earth, the soul of the world, into the Kingdom of great Cain, where liberty reigns with him. There the tyranny of Adonai ceases. There we can be, despising his anger. We can taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. There is the home of thy fathers.’

  ‘Who, then, am I? And who are you?’

  ‘I am the father of thy fathers. I am the son of Lamech. I am Tubal Cain.’

  Hiram was led to the presence of Cain, the author of his race, who appeared surrounded by a light like that of Lucifer, Son of the Morning. He was told by the son of Tubal Cain and Naamah that he, Hiram Abiff, would have a son, whom he would not see, but whose descendants would perpetuate his race.

  Hiram was at last restored to the more familiar surroundings of the Temple precincts. He had been given the hammer and the help of the genii of fire, to put right the molten sea. This he accomplished in a single night, and the people were happy to see it. Balchis exulted.

  Hiram Abiff and Balchis

  One day after this, Balchis and her nurse Sarahil were walking, and they came in sight of Hiram. In the course of his work, he made again the sign of the Tau, and Had-Had, the hoopoe, a particular pet of Balchis, flew up, circled Hiram’s head three times, and alighted on his wrist. When Sarahil saw this, she exclaimed: ‘The oracle is fulfilled! Had-Had recognizes the husband which the genii of fire destined for Balchis. She dare accept the love of none but him!’

  This was in harmony with the promptings of her heart, but Balchis had exchanged rings with Solomon. She was able, while the King was overcome with wine, to take the ring from his finger, and so she was free to accept the love of Hiram.

  When Solomon awoke, he noticed the loss and guessed what had happened. In his jealousy, he hinted that if there were any who wished Hiram harm, he would do nothing to prevent it. This the three journeymen learned, and they lay in wait for Hiram. They took up their places each by a gate of the Temple precincts, the gates called Strength, Beauty and Wisdom. It was Hiram’s custom to worship the Most High, and knowing this, they lay in wait.

  Hiram came to leave by the east gate, where the first of the journeymen accosted him, demanding to be given the Master Word and the secret of the Shamir, the stone-splitting serpent. Again, Hiram told him that his patience and industry would be rewarded when the time was ripe. The journeyman struck Hiram a blow to the throat with a twenty-four inch gauge. Hiram fell to his left knee, but raised himself up and fled to the south gate. There the next journeyman awaited him, and angrily demanded the same as the first. Hiram again refused, and was struck a second time, and he fell to his right knee. He ran to the west gate, passing by the well, dropping in to it as he passed the golden triangle that he wore round his neck, with the Master Word engraved on it. At the last gate, however, he was accosted for the third time and struck again with a gavel to the right temple. Now he fell dead. Thus, Balchis, the Queen of Sheba, was widowed, and the son of Hiram was in truth a Son of the Widow.

  The three now hastened to rid themselves of the body of Hiram, carrying it out by the west gate, and dug a shallow grave in the side of a hill. One placed a branch of acacia over the place where they buried Hiram; then they fled.

  The discovery of the body of Hiram

  After seven days, Solomon was forced to agree to send a party to search for Hiram, whose life was by now despaired of. Foul play was suspected, and it was agreed to change the Master Word to the first word that was spoken when the body of Hiram was discovered. Twelve of the most trusted of the crafts were sent out, three to the north, three to the south, three to the east and three to the west.

  They found his corpse beneath the acacia, and attempted to lift it with the grip known to the members of Hiram’s craft. But as they moved the body, the flesh fell away. One said: ‘Macbenach!’ (‘The flesh is off the bones!’ Or, according to others, ‘The brother is smitten!’) This now became the new Master Word. Only the Master grip, the Lion Grip, could be used to lift the body.

  In time, the heads of the three were brought to Solomon. The golden triangle, too, was discovered, and Solomon caused it to be placed on a triangular altar set up in a secret vault beneath the most retired part of the temple. This triangular altar was further concealed by a cubical stone on which was engraved the sacred law of Moses.

  None but the twenty-seven elect of the crafts knew where the altar stood. When all was done, the place was walled up.

  Zerubabel and the rebuilding of the Temple

  The temple, then, was built in the midst of severe tensions and tragedy. Fourteen generations after the temple was built, it was destroyed by the Babylonians, who came to carry the children of Israel into captivity, into the land of Babylon, or Persia.

  Now, many years later, in the days of King Darius, the Hebrews had become assimilated in various ways into the life of Persia, but had not abandoned their God or their way of life. One man had risen to an important position in the court of Darius, and this was Zerubabel, who was an important and trusted member of the king’s bodyguard.

  One day, King Darius summoned his bodyguards, and set them the task of deciding the following question: What is the strongest power in the world? The answers were to be written, and put under his pillow, as he slept. Thus Darius was able to test, not only the wisdom of the men whom he most needed to trust — so close were they to his royal personage, and armed at all times — but also their literacy, and their ability to enter his chamber silently, without waking him.

  The bodyguards went their separate ways to consider the question, and to make ready for the task of silently entering the king’s sleeping quarters. As the night wore on, three of them succeeded in placing their answer under the king’s pillow.

  In the morning, the king summoned his household, and demanded of each man to justify his choice of the strongest power. The first man had written: Wine, for it could scatter the wits of all; even, he dared to suggest, the king himself. It could lay strong men low, and rob them of their memory.

  Darius then called upon the next to substantiate his claim, which was for the king himself.

  The second man stood and told the audience that no man had more power than the king: he could ordain the life or death of any in his realm; he was chosen and blessed by the gods, and none could gainsay him.

  Darius now summoned Zerubabel to defend his answer, which was twofold.

  ‘There is a power yet greater than the king,’ said Zerubabel. ‘I have seen the king subordinate his power to a pretty woman, doing all he could to satisfy her smallest whim. Therefore, I say that women are a strong power in the world, but I say this as well: that truth bears all away before it; the strength of kings, the wishes of women, and even the effects of wine are as nothing before the power of truth.’
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  ‘I like this answer well,’ said Darius, ‘and I give you the prize. Ask me what you will, and I shall reward you with your heart’s desire.’

  ‘Truly, you are a wise and just king,’ said Darius, ‘and if you grant me my heart’s desire, you are indeed great among the kings of the world. For know, O king, that my greatest wish is to return to the city of Jerusalem with others of my people, there to rebuild the Temple that was built by Solomon.’

  The court was silent, waiting for Darius to speak. Would he be true to his word, or had the Hebrew demanded too much of a generous king?

  Finally, Darius spoke. ‘What I have promised I shall do,’ he said. ‘Zerubabel and his people shall indeed go to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.’

  So it was that a great procession of the Children of Israel returned to Jerusalem, singing and making music as they went, and when they arrived they set to work rebuilding the temple.

  ***

  Some say that the carving in the south west of the chapel, high to the left over the door, is not the apprentice Tam Nimmo, but Hiram Abiff himself, with the first wound in his temple clearly marked. Looking at this carving, one can see where there is damage to the jaw. An apprentice would not have been permitted to grow a beard, and the carving could have had a beard smashed away. Another carving not far away is traditionally called ‘The Widow’, and associated with Tam Nimmo’s mother. Could we also see Balchis in the sorrowing face?

  Sadly, the rebuilt temple was not to last. In 70 AD, the Romans all but destroyed it. It was this ruin that the first Templar Knights discovered in the year 1118, but that belongs to another chapter.

  The Head of the Apprentice, said by some to be the head of Hiram Abiff. The wound to the upper right temple is clearly visible, and in Victorian times was picked out in red ochre paint.

  8. Elijah

  To the left of the Victorian baptistery, high on the external west wall there is a mutilated and weathered carving that represents Elijah’s assumption into heaven in a fiery chariot. Although we are concentrating here mostly on the carvings inside the chapel, Elijah is too important a personality to miss out.

  On the site of Rosslyn some two thousand years ago, there was a Roman temple of Mithras. The Biblical scholar and researcher Emil Bock pointed out a strong resonance between the Mithraic initiation and the life of Elijah. The initiation path followed by those Roman soldiers faithful to Mithras was sevenfold. First was the rank of Raven, or Corax; he who was open to the promptings of the spirit. Elijah’s nourishment was brought from the skies by ravens. Second came the level of the Hidden One, or Occultus. We saw earlier how Elijah appeared sometimes through the voice of another, himself remaining hidden from the eyes of the people. The third rank was that of Soldier, or Miles. Elijah was indeed a warrior of the spirit. The fourth rank of initiation was that of the Lion, or Leo. This, in the story of Elijah, was represented by his entry into the cave, wherein he underwent a profound change. At the fifth stage of initiation, the postulant would be seen as a true representative of his people. As the Mithras initiation took its origin from Persia, the rank was called Persa, though for Elijah it would be a true Israelite, once he was sent to anoint the kings. For those soldiers camped in Scotland, their nationalities would have been honoured if any attained the fifth rank. There may even have been some true Scots among them. The sixth rank was that of Runner of the Sun, or Heliodromos. This is how Elisha experienced Elijah when he asked for the mantle of prophecy to pass to him. When Elijah did indeed let fall his mantle on to the shoulders of Elisha, he had attained the rank of Father, or Pater. ‘My father, my father!’ cried Elisha. ‘The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’

  The story of Elijah

  In the days when Ahab was king, he moved the centre of government from Jerusalem to Shechem. His queen, Jezebel, was a high priestess of the goddess Asherah, and instituted the worship of Baal and Asherah among the people. Many turned away from the worship of Jahweh, including the king.

  This was a time of drought. The springs ran dry and the land became arid and barren, even the green fields around Galilee were affected. In these hard conditions, when food and drink was scarce, the people were astonished to see the prophet Elijah fed by ravens, who brought him sustenance.

  Elijah was a great fiery force for righteousness in the land. His capacity to travel great distances was a riddle to many. The king, Ahab, was taken aback when Elijah appeared before him and spoke to him in a public place, saying: ‘I swear that, unless I tell you otherwise, there shall be neither rain nor dewfall, by the life of the Lord God of Israel, whose prophet I am.’

  Elijah then left Shechem and went to dwell by the stream of Kerith, where the ravens fed him, and the water still flowed for him to drink. Yet, in time, that too, dried up, for there was no rain. The power to influence the elements lay not in Elijah’s hands. He could see that the time was not come that the people should turn away from their spiritual destiny and embrace the gods of others. The fact that this had happened brought about an imbalance in the spiritual worlds that transferred itself to the world of nature.

  The word of God came to Elijah to leave that place and go to Zarephath on the coast. It was a long journey, and he felt the suffering of the people as he went, and did not hold himself aloof from it, but took it upon himself.

  In Zarephath he took lodgings with a poor widow, whose sufferings during the time of drought were great.

  ‘Woman, will you bring me a little water and a small cake of bread to eat?’ he asked her. She wrung her hands and replied: ‘Alas, I have only a handful of flour and a little water. A few drops of oil remain in the bottom of the flask. Even now I am fetching a few sticks with which to light a fire, but what I shall cook on the fire I cannot yet see.’

  Elijah sympathized with her, and he said: ‘Make me the cake, as I bid you. I promise that the flour shall not run out as long as the famine lasts, nor will the oil.’

  She did as she was bidden, and it was as Elijah said; neither the flour nor the oil ran out while the troubles of the people lasted.

  But now another calamity befell the woman. Her son, who was sick unto death, died. She came to Elijah in her grief, saying: ‘I took you into my house, and you have shown up my sins to the Lord. Look, he is dead.’

  Elijah took the body of the youth to the roof, and called upon the Lord God to help him. Then, he breathed upon the boy, and called him back to life. The youth lived indeed.

  Now Jezebel the queen had caused many of the priests of Jahweh to be put to death, but there was a man in the household of King Ahab called Obadiah, and he worshipped Jahweh in secret, and arranged for many priests to be hidden away in safety, with enough food and drink to sustain them. Ahab now called Obadiah to search the kingdom for whatever food and victuals were to be found. It was while Obadiah was working at this task that he met Elijah, coming from Zarephath.

  ‘Go to Ahab,’ commanded Elijah, ‘and tell him that the drought is coming to an end.’

  Obadiah was horrified, anxious that a message from Elijah would betray him as a secret worshipper of Jahweh. His fears were overcome, however, and indeed, the drought came to an end, and the rain began to fall. But now Elijah stood up before the people and said to them: ‘The time has come to choose. You cannot serve Jahweh and Baal. Let us see whose god is the more powerful. Let the priests of Baal place a quartered ox on their altar, and see if the fire comes from heaven to burn it, and I shall set up an altar in the place where the altar of the Lord God was torn down, and I shall place upon it a quartered ox, and call upon fire from heaven.’

  Elijah and the priests of Baal

  This was a challenge that the priests of Baal at once accepted. Their altars stood in fine temples, and the priestesses came and danced around them in yellow robes, tied at the waist with purple sashes, as they called down the fire from heaven. The priests wore blue robes as they invoked their gods to send fire from above. Meanwhile, Elijah went to the place where the ruins of the altar of Jahweh stoo
d, and put together twelve rough stones, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, contrasting greatly with the smooth edifices of Baal and Asherah. Sing and dance as they might, no matter what throes of ecstasy they fell into, the priests and priestesses of Baal and Asherah were not rewarded with fire to burn their sacrifice. King Ahab watched with increasing dismay as the efforts of the Priests of Baal accomplished nothing.

  ‘Sing a little louder,’ called Elijah; ‘Perhaps he cannot hear you. He is a god, and far away.’

  Still they danced and sang; they beat themselves with swords and spears until their blood ran freely, but no fire fell from heaven.

  ‘Is your god asleep?’ called Elijah; ‘is he away visiting other gods?’

  All the ritual and blood-letting was in vain. No fire fell. Then it was his turn. Elijah called the people to follow him to where he had set up the altar of twelve rough stones. He ordered the people to pile the altar with sticks and to pour water over it all. This they did, and again Elijah commanded that water be poured over the whole. This, too, was done as he ordained, but he told them a third time to pour water over the altar and the sacrifice, which they did, until the trench that stood before the altar was filled with the water that overflowed. Then Elijah called on the Lord his God to send down the fire from heaven, and his prayer was answered.

  Elijah then sent Ahab home, and sent his servant out to look for the signs of a coming rainstorm. The servant went out seven times, in all directions, before he could at last report that he saw a cloud no bigger than a man’s hand in the west. At last, the storm came. The sky grew black with clouds, and Ahab rode his chariot to the city of Jezreel to report to the queen what had happened, but such was the power of the divine within him that Elijah arrived there before him.