“Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God
it has been granted; but to others it is made known through parables … “
Luke 8:10
In each of the three degrees of Blue Lodge Masonry, the candidate acknowledges his obligation not to reveal the manner and method used by Masons to impart knowledge of the hidden mysteries of Masonry to anyone who has no right to receive them.
Throughout history, that “Masonic obligation” has been the source of scathing accusations leveled at the fraternity that it is a dangerous secret society or, alternatively, that it has heretical secrets known only to its members. Those accusations have led to attempts by non-Masons to marginalize the Art and attribute devil worship to its followers.
Even so-called kings and holy men have been urged to hunt, burn, torture, and kill Freemasons. However, if the world had known what is known today, that Freemasonry does not hide anything that is not fully available to all men, women and children, perhaps such cruelty would not have occurred.
During the journey towards the discovery of the Masonic gifts of the hidden mysteries valued by the Masons, one inevitably comes across that mystical sect known as the Essenes. Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, although much of that information has yet to be made publicly available, a great deal of material about this sect is now in the public domain. For example, we now understand that the Essenes belonged to the eclectic sect of philosophers and held Plato in the highest esteem. They believed that true philosophy, God’s greatest gift to man, was spread throughout all sects and that it was man’s duty to gather it up and present it as the unified word of the Almighty.
The writings of the Essenes were laced with mysticism, parables, riddles, and sophisticated allegories. They studied the esoteric and exoteric meanings of the Holy Scriptures, which they found in the Old Testament just as the Gnostics found in the New Testament. Christian writers, as well as supposedly Jesus himself, recognized that all scriptures had an internal meaning as well as an external truth.
The passage of Scripture taken from the Gospel of Luke at the beginning of this article makes it very clear that the public teachings attributed to Jesus were different from the private teachings he imparted to his inner circle of apostles. Even within that inner circle, some are said to have received a light that was not otherwise given to other Apostles. That light represents what the world now calls the hidden mysteries, because it is not freely distributed to those in the outer circle; those left to decipher the kingdom of God for themselves from the various allegories, stories and parables that are set forth in the Holy Scriptures.
In some intellectual circles, as well as in certain Masonic literature, it is hinted that Jesus was murdered because he improperly disclosed the hidden mysteries that he had promised to hide and never reveal. Under that belief, he was not killed simply because he defied the Roman government or the religious dogma taught by the Pharisees. Consequently, the question is frequently asked: Did Jesus practice Freemasonry? The answer depends on your own assessment of the available solid evidence.
Jesus participated in the baptism of Saint John the Baptist, who is considered by the Masons as a patron of brotherhood. While he often criticized the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus never mentioned the Essenes, whose doctrines bear a striking resemblance to the teachings of Jesus, as well as the teachings of Freemasonry. It is also claimed that at the time of his arrest, Jesus was in the process of conferring a Masonic degree on a candidate. “A young man followed him and fled wearing nothing but a canvas around his body.” Mark 14: 50-51.
That particular passage does not appear in any of the other three accepted gospels and no further explanation has been added in the Holy Writings to help us understand precisely what was happening between Jesus and the anonymous young man at this critical point in the life of Jesus. . Perhaps Freemasons discern a similarity to an aspect of Masonic ritual, perhaps not. To understand the nature of the hidden mysteries, it is not essential that the question be answered one way or another.
Writers who have woven Masonic themes into fiction and non-fiction literary works, while perhaps legitimately speculating on matters of public concern such as whether or not Jesus married Mary of Magdalene (Masonic Gifts: Dan Brown, The Davinci Code), or that the original Knights Templar discovered the Holy Grail, have contributed to public fascination with the prospect that Freemasonry continues to conceal something that is extraordinarily valuable to all of humanity. In fact, the Freemasons hide something great and glorious, but it has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus, Mary Magdalene or the Holy Grail. And although that “something” is and will always remain hidden, it is equally available to non-Masons. Anyone who takes the time to travel the right path will discover what is hidden without the need for any Mason to violate his obligation.
The forms and ceremonies used by the Essenes were symbolic, just as they are today in Freemasonry. According to Philo, they had four degrees; they were Jewish by birth; and they felt a greater affection for each other than did members of any other sect. Before there was a Christian religion, they kept the Christian law, “Love one another.” They despised riches and ensured that no member had more material goods than any other member, all of which were held in common. Their piety towards the one living God was incomparable, and they ritualized in mysterious ceremonies and initiations of which very little is known. However, like Freemasonry, it was within the symbolism of those ceremonies that the hidden mysteries could be revealed.
This extraordinarily well-disciplined and highly organized sect did not simply appear on the scene around the time Saint John the Baptist preached, but Masonry broke in in 1717 with a completely mechanized ritual. The Dead Sea Scrolls passages reveal that members of the sect wrote about Pharaoh Akhenaten and monotheism and most likely practiced forms and ceremonies related to the only living God at a time long before even the patriarch Jacob. Other passages make clear the fact that the hidden mysteries could only be accessed through the specific use of certain arts, parts and points similar to what has been described from the ceremonial practices of the mystic High Priest and King of Salem, Melchizadek. Due to the relationship of Saint John the Baptist as the patron of Freemasonry, it is fair to conclude that the Office has at least a strong affinity with the Essenes.
When the relationship of the Essenes to Freemasonry is thus understood, it is also easier to understand why the form, sequence and method of Masonic ritual are only explained to those who are initiated into the fraternity. In other words, although the hidden mysteries are not kept private, the way in which the Masons employ to know and study them is something that can only be learned by a member of the Art. But what are those hidden mysteries? Why should any man, woman or child know and understand them? The best way to answer both questions is to start with an explanation of what it takes for anyone to fully understand the Mysteries.
It is not enough for a person to simply get drunk on God. As long as the mind remains disorderly, ignorant, and poorly disciplined, any effort to understand the hidden mysteries will be in vain. Due to the need for a higher level of consciousness to allow a more sophisticated synthesis of all that God has made available to man for study, Freemasonry has adopted the Pythagorean system, whom Masonic writers have described as if he himself was a Mason. Under this system grammar, rhetoric and logic are taught to cultivate and improve the mind. Mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy are also inculcated and a system of symbols is derived from them. This scheme for the cultivation of intellectual perception must be strictly followed.
However, cultivating intellectual perception is not enough. One step remains to be taken during which the warning scriptural account of the Tower of Babel must be heeded. Man builds his intellectual powers in the hands of human workers until he reaches the top floor of that tower. Here, communion with the Supreme Architect of the Universe takes over, because no man can look behind the veil that hides hidden mysteries unless God allows it. Therefore, the steps anyone should take include educating the mind on all that God has created and then clearing the mind to receive direct instructions from Deity through meditative prayer, rather than asking for prayer.
Ask and it will be given to you; search and find; knock, and the door will be opened to all understanding of the hidden mysteries. You simply need to know how to ask, where to look, and how you are expected to call.