Global Freemasonry
The Templars and the Kabbalah
A book written by two Masons, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, entitled The Hiram Key reveals some important facts about the roots of Freemasonry. According to these authors, it is evident that Masonry is a continuation of the Templars. Though, in addition to this, the authors also examined the origins of the Templars
A TEMPLAR-MASON TEMPLE: ROSSLYN CHAPEL
The church known as "Rosslyn Chapel" near Edinburgh in Scotland is recognized as a symbol of the heretical pagan beliefs of the Templars. In the course of the construction of this edifice, Masons and Rosicrucians, the successors of the Templars, were employed, and decorated the whole chapel with symbols representative of their pagan philosophy.
In a publication of Turkish Masonry, the magazine Mimar Sinan, the Masonic origins and the pagan elements of the chapel are described in these words: The most convincing proof of the unity of the Templars and the Masons in Scotland is the castle and chapel in the village of Roslin, 10 km. south of Edinburgh and 15 km. from the ancient Templar center at Balantrodoch. The Templars lived in this region and in this castle especially after 1312 under the protection of the Barons of St. Clair.
...The chapel was built between 1446-48 by Sir William St. Clair who was one of the most prominent nobles of the time in Scotland and even in Europe. Masons and Rosicrucians worked on the construction. The chief architect of the work was the Templar Grand Master, Sir William St. Clair who brought itinerant mason architects and stone masons from every part of Europe. New houses were built in the near-by village of Roslin and a lodge was opened…
The plan and decoration of the chapel is unique. There is no other such example in Scotland or even Europe. It captured the atmosphere of Herod's temple very well and every part of it was decorated with Masonic symbols. Among the symbols were reliefs on the walls and arches depicting the heads of Hiram and his murderer,
a relief of an initiation ceremony, the keystones of the arches, and compasses? Apart from the fact that the chapel was constructed in a marked pagan style with Egyptian, Hebrew, Gothic, Norman, Celtic, Scandinavian, Templar and Masonic architectural elements, and that it contains very rich examples of stone work, one of the most interesting aspects of it is that the tops of the columns are decorated with cactus and corn motifs, besides various other plants figures. …
There are so many pagan decorative elements inside the chapel that a priest, writing an account of the baptism he performed of the Baron of Rosslyn in 1589 complained, "because the chapel is filled with pagan idols, there is no place appropriate to administer the Sacrament. In August 31, 1592, as a result of pressure exerted on Baron Oliver St.Claire of Rosslyn, the chapel's pagan-style altar was destroyed. (Tamer Ayan, "The Oldest Known Masonic Institution-the Scottish Royal Order," Mimar Sinan, 1998, No.110, pp.18-19)
According to their thesis, the Templars underwent a great change while they were in Jerusalem. In the place of Christianity, they adopted other doctrines. At the root of this lies a secret that they discovered in the temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, whose ruins they had set out to investigate. The writers explain that the Templars used their purported role as protectors of Christian pilgrims visiting Palestine as a pretense, but that their real aim was quite different:
…There is no evidence that these founding Templars ever gave protection to pilgrims, but on the other hand we were soon to find that there is conclusive proof that they did conduct extensive excavations under the ruins of Herod's Temple…12
The authors of The Hiram Key were not the only ones who found evidences of this. French historian Gaetan Delaforge makes this similar contention: The real task of the nine knights was to carry out research in the area in order to obtain certain relics and manuscripts which contain the essence of the secret traditions of Judaism and ancient Egypt.13
At the end of the nineteenth century, Charles Wilson of the Royal Engineers, began conducting archeological research in Jerusalem. He arrived at the opinion that the Templars had gone to Jerusalem to study the ruins of the temple. Wilson found traces of digging and excavation under the foundations of the temple, and concluded that these were done by tools that belonged to the Templars. These items are still in the collection of Robert Brydon, who possesses an extensive archive of information concerning the Templars.14
The writers of the Hiram Key argue that these excavations of the Templars were not without result; that the order discovered in Jerusalem certain relics that changed the way they saw the world. In addition, many researchers are of the same opinion. There must have been something that led the Templars, despite the fact that they had previously been Christian and came from a Christian part of the world, to adopt a system of beliefs and a philosophy so completely different from that of Christianity, celebrate heretical masses, and perform rituals of black magic.
According to the common views of many researchers, this "something" was the Kabbalah.
The meaning of the word Kabbalah is "oral tradition." Encyclopedias and dictionaries define it as an esoteric, mystical branch of Jewish religion. According to this definition, the Kabbalah investigates the hidden meaning of the Torah and other Jewish religious writings. But, when we examine the matter more closely, we discover that the facts are quite something else. These facts lead us to the conclusion that the Kabbalah is a system rooted in pagan idolatry; that it existed before the Torah, and became widespread within Judaism after the Torah was revealed.
This interesting fact about the Kabbalah, is explained by just as interesting a source. Murat Ozgen, a Turkish Freemason, maintains the following in his book, Masonluk Nedir ve Nasildir? (What is Freemasonry and What is it Like?):
We don't know clearly where the Kabbalah came from or how it developed. It is the general name for a unique, metaphysically constituted, esoteric and mystical philosophy particularly connected with Jewish religion. It is accepted as Jewish mysticism, but some of the elements it contains show that it was composed much earlier than the Torah.15
The French historian, Gougenot des Mousseaux, explains that the Kabbalah is actually much older than Judaism.16 The Jewish historian, Theodore Reinach, says that the Kabbalah is "a subtle poison which enters into the veins of Judaism and wholly infests it."17 Salomon Reinach defines the Kabbalah as "one of the worst aberrations of the human mind."18
The reason for Reinach's contention that the Kabbalah is "one of the worst aberrations of the human mind" is that its doctrine is connected in large part with magic. For thousands of years, the Kabbalah has been one of the foundation-stones of every kind of magic ritual. It is believed that rabbis who study the Kabbalah possess great magical power. Also, many non-Jews have been influenced by the Kabbalah, and have tried to practice magic by employing its doctrines. The esoteric tendencies that took hold in Europe during the late Middle Ages, especially as practiced by alchemists, have their roots, to a great extent, in the Kabbalah.
The strange thing is, that Judaism is a monotheistic religion, incepted with the revelation of the Torah to Moses (peace be upon him). But, within this religion is a system called the Kabbalah, that adopts the basic practices of magic forbidden by the religion. This substantiates what we have presented above, and demonstrates that the Kabbalah is actually an element that has entered Judaism from the outside.
But, what is the source of this element?
The Jewish historian Fabre d'Olivet says that it came from Ancient Egypt. According to this writer, the roots of the Kabbalah stretch back to Ancient Egypt. The Kabbalah is a tradition learned by some of the leaders of the Israelites in Ancient Egypt, and passed down as a tradition by word of mouth from generation to generation.19
For this reason, we must look to Ancient Egypt in order to find the basic origins of the Kabbalah-Templars-Freemasonry chain.
The Magicians of Ancient Egypt
The Ancient Egypt of the pharaohs was one of the most ancient civilizations of the world. It was also one of the most oppressive. The magnificent monuments that still remain from Ancient Egypt-the pyramids, sphinxes and obelisks-were constructed by hundreds of thousands of slaves, worked to the point of death, under the whip and threat of starvation. The pharaohs, the absolute rulers of Egypt, wanted themselves to be represented as gods and to be worshipped by the people.
One of our sources of knowledge about Ancient Egypt is their own inscriptions. These were discovered in the nineteenth century and, after intense labor, the Egyptian alphabet was deciphered, bringing to light much information about the country. But, because these inscriptions were written by official state historians, they are filled with biased accounts designed to praise the state.
For us, of course, the best source of knowledge about this matter is the Qur'an.
In the Qur'an, in the story of Moses, we are given important information about the Egyptian system. The verses reveal that there were two important focal points of power in Egypt: pharaoh and his inner-council. This council tended to exercise an important influence over pharaoh; Pharaoh would often consult them and, from time to time, follow their suggestions. The verses quoted below show the influence that this council had on Pharaoh: Moses said, "Pharaoh! I am truly a Messenger from the Lord of all the worlds, duty bound to say nothing about God except the truth. I have come to you with a Clear Sign from your Lord. So send the tribe of Israel away with me."
He said, "If you have come with a Clear Sign produce it if you are telling the truth."
So he threw down his staff and there it was, unmistakably a snake.
And he drew out his hand and there it was, pure white to those who looked. The ruling circle of Pharaoh's people said, "This is certainly a skilled magician who desires to expel you from your land, so what do you recommend?"
They said, "Detain him and his brother and send out marshals to the cities, to bring you all the skilled magicians." (Qur'an, 7: 104-112) It should be noticed that mention here is made of a council that advises Pharaoh, that incites him against Moses, and recommends to him certain methods. If we look at the records of Egyptian history, we see that the two basic components of this council were the army and the priests.
There is no need to explain the importance of the army; it constituted the basic military power of the regimes of the pharaohs. But, we should look more closely at the role of the priests. The priests of Ancient Egypt were a class referred to in the Qur'an as magicians. They represented the cult which supported the regime. It was believed that they had special powers and possessed secret knowledge. By this authority they influenced the Egyptian people, and ensured their position within the administration of the pharaohs. This class, known from Egyptian records as the "Priests of Amon," focused their attention on practicing magic and administering their pagan cult; in addition, they also studied various sciences such as astronomy, mathematics and geometry.
This class of priests was a closed order possessed (so they thought) of a special knowledge. Such orders are commonly known as esoteric organizations. In a magazine called Mason Dergisi (Masonic Journal), a publication distributed among Turkish Masons, the roots of Freemasonry are stated as going back to this kind of esoteric order, and special mention is made of the Ancient Egyptian priests:
As thought develops in human beings, science advances and as science advances, the number of secrets increases within the lore of an esoteric system. In this development, this esoteric enterprise, which began first in the East, in China and Tibet, and then spread to India, Mesopotamia and Egypt, formed the basis of a priestly knowledge that had been practiced for thousands of years and formed the basis of the power of the priests in Egypt.20
How can there be a relationship between the esoteric philosophy of the priests of Ancient Egypt and present-day Freemasons? Ancient Egypt-a classic example in the Qur'an of a godless political system-disappeared thousands of years ago. Can it have any influence today?
To find the answer to these questions, we must look at the Ancient Egyptian priests' beliefs with regards to the origin of the Universe and of life.
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BELIEF IN MATERIALIST EVOLUTION
In their book The Hiram Key, the English Masonic authors Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas argue that Ancient Egypt has a very important place in regards to the origins of Masonry. According to these authors, the most important idea that has transpired to modern Masonry, from Ancient Egypt, is that of a universe existing by and of itself, and evolving by chance. They explain this interesting notion in these words:
The Egyptians believed that matter had always existed; to them it was illogical to think of a god making something out of absolutely nothing. Their view was that the world began when order came out of chaos, and that ever since there has been a battle between the forces of organization and disorder…This chaotic state was called Nun, and like the Sumerian …description …, all was a dark, sunless watery abyss with a power, a creative force within it that commanded order to begin. This latent power which was within the substance of the chaos did not know it existed; it was a probability, a potential that was intertwined within the randomness of disorder.21
It will be noticed that the beliefs described here are in harmony with the assertions of the present-day materialist establishment, which are promoted by the agenda of the scientific community with such terms as "the theory of evolution," "chaos theory," and the "essential organization of matter." Knight and Lomas continue their foregoing discussion by saying:
Amazingly, this description of creation perfectly describes the view held by modern science, particularly "chaos theory" which has shown intricate designs which evolve and mathematically repeat within completely unstructured events.22
Knight and Lomas claim that there is a harmony between Ancient Egyptian beliefs and modern science, but what they mean by modern science, as we have stressed, is materialist concepts, such as the theory of evolution or chaos theory. Despite the fact that these theories have no scientific basis, they have been forcibly imposed on the field of science over the past two centuries, and are presented as scientifically justified. (In the following sections we will examine those who have imposed these theories on the scientific world.)
Now, we have come to an important point in this stage of the book. Let us summarize what we have discovered so far:
We began the discussion by discussing the Order of Templars which is thought to be the origin of Masonry. We have seen that, although the Templars were founded as a Christian order, they were affected by some secret doctrines that they discovered in Jerusalem, totally abandoned Christianity and became an anti-religious organization practicing heretical rites.
When we asked what this doctrine was that influenced the Templars, we found that it was basically the Kabbalah. 3. When we examined the Kabbalah, we found proof that, however much it may resemble Jewish mysticism, it is a pagan doctrine older than Judaism, that later entered the religion, and that its true roots are found in Ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egypt was governed by the pagan system of Pharaoh, and there we found an idea that forms the basis of the modern atheistic philosophy: that of a universe existing of its own accord, and evolving by chance.
All this surely paints an interesting picture. Is it by chance that the philosophy of the priests of Ancient Egypt still thrives, and that there exist traces of a chain (Kabbalah-Templars-Masonry) that has been responsible for maintaining the supremacy of this philosophy to the present day? Is it possible Masons, who have made their mark on the world's history since the eighteenth century, fomenting revolutions, promoting philosophies and political systems, can be the inheritors of the magicians of Ancient Egypt?
In order to make the answer to this question clearer, we must first examine more closely the historical events that we have now only briefly outlined.
The Inside Story on the Kabbalah
Exodus" is the title of the second book of the Torah. This book describes how the Israelites, under the leadership of Moses, left Egypt and escaped the tyranny of Pharaoh. Pharaoh made the Israelites work as slaves and would not consent to set them free. But, when confronted by the miracles God performed through Moses, and the disasters He inflicted on his people, Pharaoh relented. And so, one night the Israelites gathered en masse, and began their emigration from Egypt. Later, Pharaoh attacked the Israelites, but God saved them through a further miracle He performed through Moses.
But, it is in the Qur'an that we find the most accurate account of the exodus from Egypt, because the Torah underwent much textual corruption after it was originally revealed to Moses. An important proof of this is that in the five books of the Torah-Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy-there are many contradictions. The fact that the book of Deuteronomy ends with an account of the death and burial of Moses is indisputable proof that this portion would have to have been added after Moses' death.
In the Qur'an, in the account of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, as in all other stories related in it, there is not the slightest contradiction; the story is recounted soundly. Moreover, as with other stories, God reveals much wisdom and many secrets in the course of what is related. For this reason, when we examine these stories closely, we can extract a number of lessons from them.