With the events of Charlottesville still fresh in many people’s minds I was wondering how many of you recognize the bronze figure headlined in this blog post. Even though you may not recognize him, if you’ve read the articles in this series you should be familiar with his views on Masonry and religion.
The man was so influential in Masonry that even though he was a racist and confederate war criminal (pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, a fellow Freemason), he is the only confederate figure or military officer honored with an outdoor statue in Washington, D.C.
The man in question is Albert Pike, the Sovereign Grand Commander of Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction of Freemasonry from 1859-1891. To give you a sense of Albert Pike’s view on race in America, the following is an excerpt from his editorial in the Memphis Appeal (which Pike owned and published) dated April 16, 1868. The editorial which can be read on page 2 here was entitled The Ku-Klux Klan:
“…With negroes for witnesses and jurors, the administration of justice becomes a blasphemous mockery. A Loyal League of negroes can cause any white man to be arrested, and can prove any charges it chooses to have made against him. …The disenfranchised people of the South … can find no protection for property, liberty or life, except in secret association…. We would unite every white man in the South, who is opposed to negro suffrage, into one great Order of Southern Brotherhood, with an organization complete, active, vigorous, in which a few should execute the concentrated will of all, and whose very existence should be concealed from all but its members.”
Though not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, some claim that Pike was one of the founding members of the Klan. This aside, his racial views are reprehensible. I bring this up is because Pike’s world view was at the root of his racism. Pike, as with many who hold some version of humanism, see mankind as evolving into gods. This evolutionary path (they believe) favors some races and individuals over others. That is why those who share Pikes world view can commit evil against their fellow man without compunction. All these abuses as described in previous posts in this series are classic examples of the religion of Mystery Babylon. Only when we see each and every individual as endowed by YHWH with intrinsic value can a society function in a manner which does not lead to these types of abuses.
I do not support the rewriting of history, no matter which side is doing it. We must learn from the evils of the past. The Spanish/American poet, George Santayana (1863-1952) summed it up succinctly :
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Let us never forget the evils of those who abuse their fellow mankind no matter what form it may take. If we erase every vestige of the Civil War and slavery from American public life, three, four, or ten generations from now, those abuses and their lessons from this dark era in American history will be lost and the ground will be fertile for such evil to spring up once again.
Let me give you another example of the dangers of rewriting history when the context of the past has been forgotten. This example relates directly to our subject at hand namely, Symbols of the Harlot.
I recently had the pleasure of reading an excellent book by Jeff Kinley title, The End of America? – Bible Prophecy and a Country in Crisis. In the book Mr. Kinley provided a well written elucidation of the greatness and the failings of America. He showed that indeed many of America’s founders believed in the importance of Judeo-Christian principles, but he also acknowledged that early America was made up of men and women from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds and they too influenced what became the United States of America. If you care to read my full book review you can do so here: A Squandered Heritage.
But to my point. In the book Mr. Kinley takes his evidence for the America’s “uniquely Christian foundation” much too far. So far in fact, that he ends up providing evidence for those skeptics who claim Christianity is just a repackaged form of ancient sun worship. On page 55-57 Mr. Kinley asks and then answers the following:
“And where else might we find evidence of our uniquely Christian foundation? Perhaps nowhere is this reality more documented than in, of all places, Washington, DC itself….
The Washington Monument – Atop the east side of this grand 555-foot marble/granite structure can be found an inscription on the aluminum capstone that reads, “Laus Deo,” which is Latin for “Praise be to God.”
This is a well-meaning but unfortunate example. First of all, symbols such as the Washington Monument must be seen within the context of their time and place. They cannot be separated from this context.
The Washington Monument is an obelisk which is a rather vulgar ancient representation of the phallus or male reproductive organ. Its 555’ height (6660”) makes it the tallest free standing stone obelisk in the world. In fact when it was completed it was the tallest man-made structure in the world. By law, no building in Washington, D.C., can be taller. The Washington Monument’s capstone is 3300 pounds crowned with an aluminum tip which was a marvel of metallurgy of its day.
In the category of truth is stranger than fiction, William Frishmuth, a secret agent for Abraham Lincoln during the Civil war, was the metallurgist who cast the pyramidion. For those who appreciate additional symbolism, aluminum is the 13th element and it comes from the Latin word meaning “bitter salt”. (a bit ironic as you will see) The construction supervisor/engineer on the project was Freemason Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Lincoln Casey.
Before I share with you the meaning of the obelisk in Masonic symbolism, I think a bit of Biblical context is important.
He shall break also the images [matstsebah – pillars] of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire. – Jeremiah 43:13
Bethshemesh is the Hebrew word for house or temple of the sun. This Bethshemesh of Egypt was also known as On in the Bible or the Greek Heliopolis of Egypt. This city was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt and it was the center of cultic sun worship in its day. One of the chief symbols of this cult was the obelisk. Wikipedia describes Heliopolis this way:
“Heliopolis is the latinized form of the Ptolemaic Greek name Hēlioúpolis (Ἡλιούπολις), meaning “City of the Sun”. Helios, the personified and deified form of the sun, was identified by the Greeks with the native Egyptian gods Ra and Atum, whose principal cult was located in the city.”
In ancient Israel, the chief Canaanite object of worship was the Canannite sun-god Baal. As we know from the Old Testament, Israel was often plagued with the idolatry of Baal worship. One of the most egregious examples is found in Numbers 24 & 25 where Israel partook in the lascivious rites of Baalpeor. If you want a real eye-opener run down the meaning of Baalpeor. In any case the following verses describe some of the idolatrous practices of ancient Israel:
And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against YHWH their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. And they set them up images [pillars] and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: – 2 Kings 17:9-10
And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom YHWH had charged them, that they should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of YHWH their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. – 2 Kings 17:15-16
And they brought forth the images [pillars] out of the house of Baal, and burned them. And they brake down the image [pillar] of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. – 2 Kings 10:26-28
In summary, the obelisk was the object of sun worship in ancient Egypt. The Baal worship of ancient Israel also involved sun worship, fertility rites, and the setting up of pillars or images although the exact nature of these pillars is not certain. What both had in common though were objects related to sun worship and fertility rites.
Now let’s turn to the Masonic view of the obelisk. Here too we will find common thread of idolatry:
THE POINT WITHIN A CIRCLE
The point within a Circle is another symbol of great importance in Freemasonry, and commands peculiar attention in this connection with the ancient symbolism of the universe and the solar orb….
Perfectly to understand this symbol, I must refer, as a preliminary matter, to the worship of the Phallus, a peculiar modification of sun-worship, which prevailed to a great extent among the nations of antiquity….
But the Phallus or Lingam was a representation of the male principle only. To perfect the circle of generation it is necessary to advance one step farther. Accordingly we find in the Cteis of the Greeks, and the Yoni of the Indians, a symbol of the female generative principle, of co-extensive prevalence with the Phallus. The Cteis was a circular and concave pedestal, or receptacle, on which the Phallus or column rested, and from the centre of which it sprang.
The union of the Phallus and Cteis, or the Lingam and Yoni, in one compound figure, as an object of adoration, was the most usual mode of representation. This was in strict accordance with the whole system of ancient mythology, which was founded upon a worship of the prolific powers of nature.
Now, this hermaphrodism of the Supreme Divinity was again supposed to be represented by the sun, which was the male generative energy, and by nature, or the universe, which was the female prolific principle.81 And this union was symbolized in different ways, but principally by the point within the circle, the point indicating the sun, and the circle the universe, invigorated and fertilized by his generative rays. (p. 40 – 41 The Symbolism of Freemasonry, A. Mackey)
*In the Mysteries was also taught the division of the Universal Cause into an Active and a Passive cause; of which two, Osiris and Isis,–the heavens and the earth were symbols…
These two Divinities, the Active and Passive Principles of the Universe, were commonly symbolized by the generative parts of man and woman; to which, in remote ages, no idea of indecency was attached; the Phallus and Cteis, emblems of generation and production, and which, as such, appeared in the Mysteries. The Indian Lingam was the union of both, as were the boat and mast and the point within a circle: all of which expressed the same philosophical idea as to the Union of the two great Causes of Nature, which concur, one actively and the other passively, in the generation of all beings: (Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma p.259)
*Phoenician Cosmogony…
“Man had fallen, but not by the tempting of the serpent. For, with the Phoenician, the serpent was deemed to partake of the Divine Nature, and was sacred, as he was in Egypt. He was deemed to be immortal, unless slain by violence, becoming young again in his old age, by entering into and consuming himself. Hence the Serpent in a circle, holding his tail in his mouth, was an emblem of eternity. With the head of a hawk he was of a Divine Nature, and a symbol of the sun. (Albert Pike , Morals and Dogma p.179)
They say a picture is worth a thousand words:
Do you see now the dangers of associating such ancient idolatry with Christianity? Such mixing of the sacred and the profane has several unintended consequences.
• It provides cover for the workings of Satan.
• It dilutes the gospel message by mixing paganism and Christianity.
• It provides the skeptic with the opportunity to claim Christianity is but a form of ancient sun worship.
• It legitimizes the idolatry of ancient sun worship and its related fertility rites.
• It provides the next generation an unbalanced view of American iconography and symbolism, thus blinding them to true nature of such symbols.
If I haven’t made it plain enough, the Washington Monument is not a symbol of America’s Christian roots. On the contrary it is a symbolic three dimensional representation of the religion of secular humanism, a form of ancient sun worship and what in our “scientific” world view is now called biological evolution.
And just so you are not confused about the true nature and symbolism of the Washington Monument I leave you with a couple of final pictures. As you consider these images keep in mind Satan’s ancient promise of enlightenment – which as we have learned in this series was the genesis of the religion the Bible identifies as Mystery Babylon.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. – Genesis 3:4-5
Courtesy of Wikipedia
The Mystery Babylon Series
Part 1 The Mother of Harlots
Part 2 The Religion of the Harlot
Part 3 Babylon and the Harlot
Part 4 Conspiracies of the Harlot – Part I
Part 5 Conspiracies of the Harlot – Part II
Part 6 Symbols of the Harlot – Part I
Part 7 Symbols of the Harlot – Part II
Part 8 Symbols of the Harlot – Part III
Part 9 Symbols of the Harlot – Part IV
Part 10 Symbols of the Harlot – Part V
Part 11 Homo Deus
* * *
In Part III – Symbols of the Harlot we will look at an example of Washington, D.C.’s symbolism which exemplifies the secular humanistic goal of human deification. We will also look at the Great Seal of the United States, the most notorious symbol of American iconography, one which most conspiracy theorists attribute to the Illuminati. Are their claims fact or fiction? The history of this symbol may surprise you.
And finally, we will put Masonry’s influence over our nation’s affairs on bold display which will leave you speechless. If you are still doubting that Masonry intended to establish secular humanism as America’s official state religion and undermine its Judeo-Christina roots you’ll find it nearly impossible to do so after Part III of Symbols of the Harlot.
YHWH willing we’ll continue the adventure…
