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THE ORIGIN OF MASONRY
V. The Holy of Holies and the Resurrection

by Cromwell Mensch 32 degree

THE NEW AGE - NOVEMBER 1948


The Holy of Holies of King Solomon's Temple was called the Oracle, and
was sometimes entirely different and apart from thee room called the
"middle chamber" of the Temple. The Temple itself was a stone building,
60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. Around the outside
of the main structure were three chambers, superimposed one above the
other. These three chambers were designated as the nethermost, the
middle, and the third chambers, respectively. They were narrow,
corridor-like rooms, for the nethermost was 5 cubits wide, the middle 6
cubits, and the third, 7 cubits wide. The nethermost was on the ground
floor level, and evidentl y served as a rob ing room, as well as a place
for the storage of implements and vessels used in the ceremonials. The
middle chamber was one flight up, and served as a storage vault, as did
the third chamber above it. Estimates as to the value of gold, silver,
and other valuables stored in these upper chambers of the Temple, run
all the way from five to ten billions of dollars. In short, this middle
chamber of the Temple served as the storage vault for the material
wealth which fou nd its way into the coffers of the priesthoo d. These
chambers were an innovation peculiarly adapted to the Temple, for there
was nothing comparable to them in the original Tabernacle.

The Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle was a perfect cube, formed of the
veil, and the 4 pillars which supported it. This cube was the central
theme of its design, and the unit of measurement by which all parts of
the Tabernacle were apportioned. For practical purposes, one edge of
this cube was divided into 10 equal parts, and each of these parts was
called a cubit. In other words, the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle was
10 cubits long in each of its three dimensions. The Oracle of the
Temple, on the other hand, measured 20 cubits in each of its three
dimensions. This increase in size destroyed the perfect harmony of
design which had prevailed in the Tabernacle. In the Tabernacle, the
Holy of Holies was placed in the middle of the structure, and the
celestial angle of 23 1/2 degrees was brought down to the center of the
cubical room. This descending angle was the essential ingredient of
Jacob's ladder, and below the center of the cubical it exactly subtended
the 1 1/2 cubits of the Ark of the Covenant in section. It also did the
same for the Ark in longitudinal section. The 7th ordinate of Jacob's
ladder intersected the Arc in its exact center, and joined the celestial
an d terrestrial spheres. It was the axis about which the Tabernacle
formed a symmetrical design. These celestial ingredients set the Holy of
Holies up as a material token that the Tabernacle was indeed none other
but the House of God. This did not hold true of the arrangement in the
Temple, for its Oracle was at the rear of the main room, and its
volumetric displacement was 8 times that of the Tabernacle's Holy of
Holies.

The resurrection, or raising of the body from the dead, was exemplified
as a ritual long before Moses came onto the, scene. The very temples
where he was initiated into the mysteries contain graphic illustrations
of this ceremony. The central figure is Osiris, who was raised from his
bier at the command of Horus. The departed soul of Osiris is shown as a
graven image in the form of a bird, perched in the Erica tree at the
head of the bier. Moses transposed this into a nobler conception , by
coupling the rebirth of nature with the phenomenon of the spring equinox
in the celestial. This position he gave to Reuben the first born, as the
beginning of Israel's strength, the excellency of dignity, and the
excellency of power, Genesis 49:3. But Reuben was unstable as water, and
destined not to excel, because he wentest up to his Father's bed, and
then defiledst he it, Genesis 49:4. The tribe of Reuben corresponded
with the constell ation of Taurus, the bull. This bull was called Apis b
y the Egyptians, and was part of the animal worship and deification
practiced by them. The doctrine of Moses pointed out that the
beneficence of God came from the celestial sphere, and this figure of
Apis the bull in the constellation of Taurus defiled his Father's bed.
Reuben was named as the firstborn because at the time of the Exodus the
spring equinox occurred in the constellation of Taurus. The rebirth is
now symbolized by the Aca cia, instead of the Erica tree.

It was this paganism of the bull in Taurus that caused Moses to shift
the leadership to the tribe of Judah, from whence comes the strong grip
of the Lion's paw. As a matter of fact, the 12 tribes of Israel
originated in the Father's house, for they all correspond with the
characteristics of the 12 constellations of the Zodiac. Every third one
of these constellations contains one of the 4 guardian stars of the
heavens; namely, Aldebaran in Taurus, Regulus in Leo, Antares in
Scorpio, and Fomalhaut in connecti on with Aquarius. Reuben corresponded
with Taurus, who defiled his Father's bed. Judah represented Leo, the
lion, with the guardian star of Regulus. Regulus is described in Genesis
48:10 as the lawgiver, which shall not depart from between his (Leo's)
feet until Shiloh come. The next guardian star is Antares, in the
constellation of Scorpio. It was represented by Dan; for he was to be a
serpent by the way, that biteth the horse heels, Genesis 49:17. This
designation comes from the fact that the scorpion is the only "serpent"
whose striking range is limited to the heel of the horse. The fourth
guardian star is Fomalhaut, actually in the constellation of Pisces
Austrinus; but the stream of water which flows from the jar of Aquarius
is inseparable from Fomalhaut in this mythological presentation.
Aquarius was represented by Ephraim, one of the sons of Joseph, who
Genesis 49:22 says was a fruitful bough by the well. These 4 tribes,
which corresponded with the c onstellations containing the 4 guardian
stars, occupi ed the 4 corners of the encampment about the Tabernacle.
The other eight were interspersed between - these four encamped at the
corners.

The rendition of the so-called Hiramic legend has a great deal more fact
in it than fiction. All that is needed is to replace the Temple with the
Tabernacle. It was Moses who lived under the tyranny of Ramses II, and
it was such a tyrant as he who struck first at the free speech of the
individual. This is the episode that is enacted at the first station. If
this blow at the power of guttural expression failed to quench the fire
of independent thought, sterner measures were taken by striking at the
very hear t of such characters as Moses. Finally, the lash and the
burdens were increased to the point where the workmen literally fell
dead at their feet. The three stations which epitomize these episodes
may be identified with the three stations in the Tabernacle; namely, the
Altar in the east, the Candlestick in the south, and the Table of
Shewbread in the north. The 12 tribes are still preserved in the 12
fellowcraft, who are assigned to the same positions in which the tribes
were encamped about the Tab ernacle. A ccording to Chapter 2 of the Book
of Numbers, 3 of the tribes were encamped in the east, 3 in the south, 3
in the west, and 3 in the north."

It is a common error to confuse that which was lost with the so-called
"lost" word. This word is one of the most peculiar words in the
dictionary, which gives it a prominence no lost word could ever assume.
That which was really lost are the secrets of the Tabernacle's design,
although, in a broader sense, they were merely concealed in the cabalism
of the writings of Moses. As a matter of fact, the layout of the modern
lodge room more closely follows the design of the Tabernacle than it
does that of the Temple. The central feature of that design was the Holy
of Holies, and the Ark of the Covenant, which was subtended below its
center by the angle of the ecliptic. The modern altar is in the
identical position occupied by the Ark in the Tabernacle, which was in
the exact center of the structure. The token of the "Word" is now on top
of the Altar, whereas in the Tabernacle it was deposited inside the Ark.
The Candlestick still stands at the south, although its lights have now
been reduced to 3. The Golden Altar in the east still retains its
position as the station of the master of ceremonies. The Table of the
Shewbread originally was in the north, but this station has now been
shifted to the west. The modern master of ceremonies would be somewhat
at a loss in an attempt to arrange the 10 candlesticks and the 10 tables
specified for the Temple of Solomon, I Kings 7:49. He would be a little
more successful with the "lost" word, for a clue to both it and the
design of the Tabernacle is to be found in the cabalism of Moses, when
he changed the name of Abram to Abraham, and the name of Jacob to
Yisrael.