Gunshots echoed all through the tunnels they rapidly crossed, and the red lights of gunfire pinpointed the location of the shooters. A daunting obscurity surrounded them, and they had to rely on the fading light of the flashlights Dr. Hanna had provided for them, as they had entered the great city of Ur. It was paramount that he knew the layout of the Sumerian fortress very well, or they would end up among the dead.
Almost half an hour later, zigzagging through the tunnels—a tactic he’d learned and put to practice—puzzled the screaming chasers, and made them lose direction in their own labyrinth—a maze that the Babylonian Brotherhood had built thousands of years ago. One of the tunnels the three men entered had a secret door encrusted into the wall, and Dr. Hanna was one of the very few men alive who knew about it. As he carefully followed the concealed signs stamped into the wall, he managed to open it at last, walking into a vast Secret Room that led their way out of the Ziggurat and, ultimately, out of the city of Ur.
“That Secret Room had been the Assembly Room of the chiefs of the Babylonian Brotherhood,” Dr. Hanna informed them, sitting beside Mikhail, speeding down the road in his Toyota Corona. “They were the Chaldean-Babylonian priests, who used to confer meetings with Persian officials at the time of Cyrus II, and later, after him—during the reign of Darius II—when the final wave of migration of the Aebirou-al-naher occurred.”
Sitting in the back seat, still feeling nervous, Paul listened attentively to what was being said by Dr. Hanna. A question he deemed important still lingered in his mind. He looked at Dr. Hanna, and addressed him, “I just thought about the bizarre name you gave the Babylonian Brotherhood. You called them the Pharisees! Why?”
Dr. Hanna turned his head back to face Paul. His sharp brown eyes, covered by thick eyeglasses, glittered. “You will know the answer to that question in Washington DC,” he stated through a witty smile on his round face. The small amount of hair remaining on his almost bald head flew around with every blow of air coming through the window of the car… racing against time.
.41.
Lebanon, New Jersey
Wednesday, November 24, 05:17 PM
On the way back to Dr. Hanna’s house on the outskirts of the city of Ur, the three men exhaled a sigh of relief, at last. They then inhaled deeply; they were safe. When asked about the tragic fate, bestowed upon the wooden crates collected in the chamber—holding thousands of ancient historical books, cuneiform tablets, and scrolls—Dr. Hanna turned his eyes to Paul.
“I have them all saved on computer disks,” he smiled.
The trip to the United States, four days later, had a particular meaning to Paul. He had been there almost five years ago, on a book-signing tour for his work on Phoenician History. He had enjoyed his time, journeying through the East Coast, where he had met Lebanese-Americans and Americans, whom he had come to greatly admire during his stay, which lasted two months.
He had left the Iraqi territory on Monday afternoon after three, taking flight ME323 to Beirut’s International Airport, reaching it just before five. He had a one-hour layover before his second flight, and he planned to meet Maya at the Airport cafeteria for half an hour. During that brief meeting he had asked her to visit Padre Joseph, on account of an urgent matter. She knew this was important, and Paul couldn’t say much, besides checking on her and the rest of the team. They were all doing ok; she had informed him with a smile. The ‘BB’s secret agents hadn’t gotten to them, and they figured they’d been lucky. His second flight on Jordan Air RJ406 took off prior to six, reaching Amman almost an hour later. His five-hour layover was a bit boring and tiring, as he waited for flight DL33 to New York’s JFK Airport, arriving on Tuesday morning around 05:30 AM.
Dr. George Hanna had informed him where to go, in the US, to find the answer to his query, regarding the Pharisees. He had given him a reference to initiate contact with Mr. Edward Gibson, a scholarly member in the Society of Keepers—instituted thousands of years ago in the New World, when the Phoenicians had discovered it. Mr. Gibson had been a former Freemason at the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, and—for reasons only known to him and to his brothers in the Society of Keepers—had left the Brotherhood and disappeared from sight for personal security reasons. The secrets he had unearthed about Freemasonry were kept hidden in his secret shelter in Lebanon, New Jersey.
The encounter between the two men took place in the afternoon, the next day, Wednesday, at Mr. Gibson’s wooden cottage near a beautiful lake. Paul had contacted him the day before, and introduced himself as a brother of the Society of Keepers, informing him about his quest on the Pharisees and his long-time interest in freemasonic secrets.
From behind his small brown desk, something in the bookcase cracked with an odd sound that caught Paul’s attention. Mr. Gibson had just opened a drawer, taking out an old book. With a swift blow, he cleared the dust away. Underneath the dust, some bizarre shapes and inscriptions took form. He sat behind his desk, and opened the book in front of him. Paul gave him his undivided attention.
With the pleasant aroma of green tea spreading through the office, Mr. Gibson began, “The Old Testament reveals that inside the Temple of Solomon, the altar carried the Ark of the Covenant, religiously known as the ‘agreement between the God Yahweh and his chosen people.’” His blue eyes, under thick eyebrows, shone with power. Mr. Gibson had a strong physique, a round-shaped face, and wore his hair long, neatly arranged in a ponytail. “On the other hand, in a Freemasonic Lodge, the altar held a Sacred Book; close to it, an important symbol of the Brotherhood, the alphabetical letter ‘G’, engraved between a compass at the top and a square at the bottom,” he paused for a sip of tea.
Could the letter ‘G’ stand for the city of Gebel; the German word Gott; or yet the English word God? What could the compass and the square really represent, anyway? Paul pondered over the matter. The Compass… the Square… the Sacred Book! They would probably stand for the three main elements of freemasonry, known as the ‘Three Great Lights of Masonry,’ he reasoned.
Reassured by the privacy of this deserted calm lake when the sun was going down, Mr. Gibson allowed himself to deliberate aloud, “The Sacred Book of the western lodges could be no other than the so called Holy Bible; the Old and New Testament combined together. Freemasonry is, after all, a Judeo-Christian organization,” he confirmed, and continued, “Other lodges around the world refer to any book they identify as holy, such as the Qur’an in the Muslim world.”
Understanding that, Paul shifted his focus to the symbols in his mind for a moment. “The Compass would serve to draw a circle,” he muttered under his breath, and continued his analysis in a low voice, “The Square would measure right angles, and produce perfect lines. In this context, the letter ‘G’ could only mean… the science of Geometry!” He directed his eyes towards Mr. Gibson, who seemed to have heard what his guest was mumbling.
“Very well,” Mr. Gibson said with a grin. “Now, if you join the Compass to the Square, it would symbolize the necessity for the neophytes, adhering to that secret society, to keep their life in square as they expand, using the compass—their relationship with the brothers of the Craft. The square could also represent the material world, the compass—the spiritual world, while the letter ‘G’ could only mean God.” He halted for a thought before he added, “Following that line of thought, the square symbolizes the female, while the compass—the male.” He took a sip of his tea, and looked at Paul squarely in the eyes, “What could be the meaning or, let’s say, the linking role of the letter ‘G’ in such a context?”
That was a serious riddle for Paul to uncover; he remained silent. His mind was at work.
“Each of the two pillars of Solomon in Scottish Freemasonry carried a globe; one representing the Sun, the other, the Moon,” Mr. Gibson explained. “In the York Rite of British Freemasonry, on the other hand, the sun and the moon disappeared in lieu of a world map, represented by the globe of the Earth, and a globe, depicting the map of the Heavens or the Universe.”
> While Mr. Gibson laid his cup of tea back on the desk, Paul forced himself to find an answer. Although Paul had majored in ‘Ancient History & Religion’ at the Lebanese University, and had always been in love with great civilizations such as the Egyptian’s and the Phoenician’s; he had never turned away from knowledge, his inquisitive mind wanted to learn about secret organizations, and especially about Freemasonry. And now… relaxing inside that warm wooden cottage, enjoying the view of the calm lake outside, he began recollecting what he had found in his extensive research.
“The Sun and Moon—the two luminaries of day and night—respectively represent the white and black pillars, standing at the entrance door of the Temple of Solomon,” he said, finding courage to express his knowledge. “In addition, a white and black checkered pattern decorates the ground floor of the lodge, and the twin pillars depict sculptures of Pomegranates!” he mumbled, more to himself than to Mr. Gibson, as he tried to put the clues together.
Again, the differences between the authentic Pillars and these replicas of freemasonry remained a major component of the construction itself. The original ones of the Great Temple of Baal-Melkart, in Tyre, stood out for the use of precious materials: one, built from Hajjar al Urjouwan—the Purple stone—the other, from Pure Gold—shining like Crystal! In fact, these Pillars seemed precisely like the ones found in the Mystery Chamber in the city of Gebel! Purple… Crystal… As he probed the new correlation, he remembered that the Left Pillar was topped with a golden stone and had an ear of wheat, while the Right Pillar was crowned with a purple stone and had the vine. Wheat and Vine instead of Pomegranates. Such a fact confirmed the strong connection between the two Phoenician cities of Gebel and Tyre. Yet, the historical and symbolical relation with the Temple of Jerusalem—mentioned in the Old Testament, and later, in freemasonic history—hung about unproven or improbable.
“Jews and freemasons knew the right pillar as Joachim, or Jachin—the first high priest of the Temple. The left one was called Boaz, in reference to the great grandfather of Solomon—King of Israel,” Mr. Gibson expounded. “Legend has it that King Solomon had wanted to pay homage to his ancestors, so he chose the colors, the decorations, and the names of the two Pillars.”
“To freemasons,” Paul uttered calmly, recalling from memory, “Joachim stands for ‘Righteousness’, whereas Boaz represents ‘Judgment’—two essential traits, which every higher-degreed freemason must have in order to rule and reign. Fine… but why black and white pillars? Why the Pomegranates?” his words sounded more like self-questioning than a question directed to his host. Pomegranates… he thought deeply. His eyebrows lifted.
Mr. Gibson didn’t answer, he simply looked at his guest with a wide smile on his face, somehow confident he would reach an answer, if given a valid clue. Although an educated man, Paul could never know the fundamental secrets of freemasonry, and how could he, if he had not been Initiated into the Craft? Mr. Gibson thought. Repositioning himself on his seat, he said, “The Pomegranates are basically linked to the planet Venus.”
Still perplexed, Paul stayed there, waiting for his thoughts to align, like the final thread of the falling sun on the horizon he could see through the window. Then, it all dawned on him.
“Aha!” he exclaimed, loud enough to be heard by the water on the lake. “This fruit refers to planet Venus, and is mostly associated with sexual relationships. A sexual fruit… hmmm… yes, of course. The Sun represents the male, whereas the Moon symbolizes the female, and hence, the engraved Pomegranates reflect the basic notion of a sexual relationship between the two opposite genders,” he paused for a breath. “That was exactly what King Solomon was trying to accomplish by his union with the Queen of Sheba; a sexual ritual like that of the two pillars, the King and Queen who keep the door of the Temple protected, the door that leads to the Holy of Holies, where Yahweh resides!”
Paul smirked at the idea, and continued, “The concept of dualism—Good and Evil, White and Black, Male and Female—is quite evident here, as a Judeo-Freemasonic belief. Other organized religions, like Christianity and Islam, support the concept of dualism as well. It was clearly mentioned in their religious texts, albeit only to a certain extent. In fact, Solomon, as pictured in the Old Testament, had hundreds of mistresses and sexual relationships. Hence, he did not at all conduct an ascetic and celibate life. Asceticism and celibacy definitely were, and still are, the path for every true prophet, the way of the saint, seeking entrance into the Spiritual Temple of God,” he ended his deduction with a nod of satisfaction.
Mr. Gibson looked at his watch; the time had come for him to take a walk by the lake, smoke a cigarette, and enjoy the breeze that always blew with the coming of the night. They decided not to delay any longer, and stepped outside the wooden cottage, onto the path by the lake, surrounded by beautiful trees, displaying a mixture of red and orange colors. A strange light appeared, floating in the middle of a soft mist that enveloped them.
“Life in the Cosmos and, precisely here, on the physical plane—Earth,” Mr. Gibson murmured calmly to the sea breeze, like a philosopher, “It is bound to the concept of dualism. However, within all the creatures that lived, evolved, and prospered on Earth, Humanity is currently the most qualified to escape this duality, the way it happened in both the Egyptian and Phoenician religions.” He lit his cigarette, smoked, and continued, “Egyptians had Horus—born from Osiris and Isis, whereas Phoenicians had Adonis—begotten from Al and Anat. Their synthesis—the son and holder of the germ of duality—died, to sacrifice dualism within him, and then, resurrected into a new life, to become a savior—a son of God, after, of course, achieving Oneness with the Supreme God. Indeed, Christianity generated from these twin systems: Egyptian’s and Phoenician’s. By dying on the cross, Jesus had renounced the duality in him, and achieved Resurrection into the realm of the One—Abba—the Father,” he explained eloquently.
“Wonderful!” Paul reacted directly. “That was definitely a much-more-evolved theological system than the ones other nations had endorsed at the time,” he suggested, fascinated by the details.
“Absolutely true!” Mr. Gibson said in approval. “On the other hand, the Brotherhood believes that Unity (One) is only manifested by means of the Binary (Two). Hence, in their mind, the natural and human unity could only be completed by the union of the male and female—the black and white squares that decorate the floor of a lodge—the left and right dual bronze towers of the alleged Temple of Solomon, or the twin columns that stand in the Freemasonic lodges.”
“Joachim and Boaz…” Paul suggested in a murmur.
“Yes! And do you know what some Scottish Freemasons secretly call the two pillars?” he asked his guest with a witty smile on his face.
Paul gave his host a quizzical stare, shook his head, and then, looked at the water of the lake beneath him, in an attempt to clear his mind for a wild guess.
“Alright… alright,” said Mr. Gibson, obviously amused. “I’ll give you a small hint. The letter ‘J’ in Joachim stands for Jerusalem… so the ‘B’ in Boaz stands for…?” he winked at Paul.
“Babel!” he exclaimed in a sharp-pitched tone.
“That’s right!” Mr. Gibson replied. “The BBB, the Babylonian Brotherhood Bloodline. The Brotherhood invented all these tales, in order to relate their origin to Egypt; hence, they considered themselves the chosen people who would one day live in the new Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers, the new land to them—the Land of Canaan-Phoenicia, situated between the Euphrates River and the Nile River! They’ve always wanted, and still aspire, to take the entirety of the Land—in defiance to the British mandate of the Balfour declaration—and change it into Eretz Israel, the Greater land of Israel, often mentioned by David Ben Gurion—the first Israeli Prime Minister—known as the Armed Prophet!” he declared.
Paul stood speechless under a tree, as Mr. Gibson moved farther ahead towards the lake, and said, “In the 26th degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, a deg
ree known as the Prince of Mercy or the Scottish Trinitarian, the Senior Warden asks a Junior Warden questions about the Triple Covenant. What is the second of the three Covenants? Naturally, the answer comes from Genesis 17:1-8, ‘That which God made to Abraham; when he said, “I am the Absolute Uncreated God. I will make my Covenant between Me and thee, and thou shalt be the Father of Many Nations, and Kings shall come from thy loins. I will establish My covenant between Me and thee, and thy descendants after thee, to the remotest generations, for an everlasting Covenant; and I will be thy God and their God, and will give thee all the Land of Canaan (not only Palestine) for an everlasting possession.’”
Paul made a gesture of dismissal with his hand at the colonial mentality the Brotherhood displayed.
“You are undoubtedly aware that Abraham—the first Hebrew Patriarch, mentioned in the Old Testament—was a native of the Chaldean city of Ur. He is said to have crossed the river to the Land of Canaan. Yet, historical facts state that the Chaldeans were in Babylon sometime between the 7th and 6th century BC, and consequently, the Biblical Chaldean Abraham of around 2000 years BC could be nothing but a false historical figure.”
Paul nodded.
“And in concordance with that period,” Mr. Gibson added, “The famous edict—issued by the Persian Emperor, Cyrus II, in the 6th century—is a valid historical fact; an edict in which he gave the promise, to a few chosen Babylonian people, of a homeland in the Land of Canaan.”
The Old Testament’s promise of God was, in fact, that of Cyrus... Paul gasped inwardly at the immensity of such a blunder.
“In addition,” Mr. Gibson resumed, “The Temple of Solomon had never occupied the first place in the Scottish-Templar Freemasonic Order. The tradition spoke of another Temple, highly related to the Temple of Jerusalem.”
“What?” Paul exclaimed, intrigued. He knew Mr. Gibson could not be referring to Phoenician Temples.
The Phoenician Code Page 36