Typically good and thorough research,
@Karlysymon. I read both sources, the point and the
(Freemasonic) counter-point. In the former, written, apparently, by Christians, there are plenty of corroborating quotations, if they can be taken at face value and not reconfirmed, that show, from legitimate sources, that Freemasons are not only involved in ritually building a temple "not made with hands," but also Solomon's physical temple at Jerusalem. It's not a stretch to think they are also awaiting the reincarnation of Solomon to enter that temple once it's built. I think this quote is particularly telling:
"... in the High Grades [of Masonry] we hear of a secret intention to build yet another temple at Jerusalem." [Author, Edward Waite, p. 486-7, "A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and of Cognate Instituted Mysteries: The Rites, Literature and History", Volume II, reprinted in 1970 by Weathervane Books].
An odd thing, to me, and again assuming this quotation is legitimate, is how or why it is that Waite can here "reveal" a secret apparently reserved for the high grade initiates with impunity when he, himself, is presumably forsworn to secrecy. But that is an aside, and the quotation is fascinating. Thank you for finding and posting it.
I don't find it that strange that some Christians and Freemasons would share the same or similar end-time belief, and that not because they are necessarily influenced by each other. On the contrary: Christians could hold that the "messiah" Freemasons are working to produce is their antichrist, and I think many do.
I felt that the Freemasonic counterpoint was a bit weak but they did some interesting name-dropping (Lord Northampton, DR. T. E Allibone, DR. Asher Kaufman, Sir Charles Warren) and if these individuals privately had anything to do with the creation of the state of Israel or if they were Zionists, then maybe there might be something to it?
Further, you asked a worthwhile question.
Furthermore, are international Freemasons, at the upper levels, working in concert with Jewish religious to rebuild Solomon's Temple and re-institute all of the related rites and rituals, including animal sacrifices for atoning purposes? Again, I do not know and cannot answer.
If the Jewish Kabbalists want the temple rites reinstituted, does that have any bearing on what the Freemasons believe and want? What does/ what would the sacrificial system mean to the Masons and do they secretly hold such beliefs? If that information came to light, it would definitely be a shocker.
My pov is that the Temple is nothing without the office of the High Priest or the priestly class. Imagine the tabernacle in the wilderness without Aaron and his sons or for that matter the subsequent structures that replaced it. It was central to Jewish life (Luke 2:22-24) and now I think that this office is the key to understanding why the Kabbalists and (possibly the) Freemasons so desperately want the Temple erected.
This is my theory:
In the
“An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry 1916 Vol 1: A.G Mackey” i found this:
“The Lodge, technically speaking, is a piece of furniture made in imitation of the Ark of the Covenant, which was constructed by Bezalel, according to the form prescribed by God himself and which after the erection of the Temple was kept in the Holy of Holies. As that contained the table of Laws, the Lodge contains the Book of Constitutions and the Warrant of Constitution granted by the Grand Lodge. It is used only in certain ceremonies such as the constitution and consecration of new lodges.” Page 482
And
“This dress [garments of the Levitical High Priest] as the Rabbins describe it consisted of 8 parts***……As these garments are to a certain extent represented in the vestment of a High Priest of a Royal Arch Chapter.” Page 348 (also pg 169)
***edited out the descriptions, iam sure everyone is familiar with the ephod, breastplate etc.
Now, I don’t know that many religions which meticulously pattern their houses of worship (in this case, the Lodge/Masonic Temple) after the Tabernacle. I don’t think the Synagogues come even close. So there is definitely something more to this Freemasonic obsession with it, down to the garments.
From a Christian perspective, the gathering of the Kohanim and reinstituting the sacrificial system is a blatant rejection of the Cross and Christ’s priestly ministry because according to the book of Hebrews, God already has His own High Priest ministering in a greater Tabernacle, so whatever humans are up to down here, is something else, in which He has no part. So this begs the questions, why would the Kabbalists and presumably the Masons cling to this? Have they taken the way of Cain? (Jude 11)
I read somewhere that the defining issue at the end of the age will be the same as at the beginning….Worship: rather who or what you worship. It shattered the First family and the same drama will be played out at the end (Rev 13:15). Apparently, Cain’s offering of some (not even the best) of the “fruit of the soil” (Gen 4:3) was an explicit rejection of Christ’s (future) atonement typified by offerings that demanded the shedding of blood and that is why God looked at Abel’s offering with favor. So, is the rejection of Christ’s priesthood, the modern version of taking ‘the way of Cain’?
Last I checked on this board, acknowledging Christ’s priesthood was called a heresy. Anyway, speaking of Cain, how much does he or his progeny feature in Masonic literature?
I recently came across this interesting comment:
Though living in an age of ecumenism, Protestants would do well to remember the terrible persecution of the past because, according to prophecy, something similar, but only worse, will happen again.
Now, if the human family is going to be split again into two camps over the issue of worship, I guess its time to get well acquainted with the would-be persecutors. The question here though is: will the authority that will take its seat in Jerusalem permit religious tolerance? And what will the Christian Zionists think when they are thrown under the bus?
Also, in quoting Dr. Horn, if the Freemasons are this fixated on the Temple of Solomon, is it really such a stretch to believe that they really want the 3rd temple rebuilt? I guess that it would be the Grand Lodge of all Grand Lodges and the Mason would have to make a pilgrimage as the muslim does to Mecca.
And I think that this is where Trump comes in as a Trojan horse for the Evangelicals who are dispensationalists. While it may seem as though he is following the “biblical mandate” to “bless” Israel, he is merely fulfilling the wishes of another entity. So, is the eschatological timeline of: Israel is created in ’48—gets Jerusalem all to itself with expanded borders—temple gets built--christ descends to reign out of Jerusalem for the Millenium….is that God-ordained or Kabbala scripted?
Also, as often or widely this interpretation of the verses is, ….
"While not all Evangelicals agree, some dispensationalist students of prophecy recognize the importance of such plans as signaling the coming of Antichrist and view Old and New Testament Scriptures as explaining that a false Jewish messiah will appear, enthroning himself as God in the Temple in Jerusalem, but afterward, he will defile the holy place by setting up a sacrilegious object—perhaps an image of himself—in the Temple and ordering the sacrifices and offerings to cease (see Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4). For any of this to occur, it is necessary for the Temple to be rebuilt,"
I think it is a null and void interpretation. There is nothing HOLY about an edifice raised up and run fundamentally on the basis of rejection of God and His Love for man (exhibited at and through the Cross). And who designated it as holy? So, Whether the anti-Christ shows up and the sacrifices and offerings cease, its pretty much just a show because the sacrifices and offerings that he will be stopping are already a statement of rejection of God, Christ’s death and Priesthood. So, what is the whole point of ordering the cessation when they further his agenda? He is the ANTI-CHRIST afterall! The book of Hebrews, alone, destroys that interpretation. So, I think that while the Freemasons may not be all-in with the idea of reinstituting sacrifices, they probably acquiesce to the philosophy behind it…rejecting Christ’s priesthood and all it entails.
“
Anyone who rejected the Law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him and who has insulted the spirit of grace?” Hebrews 10:28-29
Sorry , long response.
Understood. It might be important, in this case, to separate Orthodox Judaism from Kabbalah. While it's true that, as I only superficially understand, some Orthodox Jews, the Hassidim in particular, put stock in Kabbalah, not all do. At any rate, I think the author of the apparently Christian source you provide above suggests a plausibility:
"To finally realize this dream, control of Jerusalem generally, and of the Temple Mount, especially, must pass from Israeli control; but it must not pass to Arab control. Rather, control of Jerusalem must pass to the Illuminized International Community."
I think, in some ways, just as traditional, "doctrinal" Christianity is essentially upended by those who hold this notion of a Merovingian king as a descendant of Jesus, normative, rabbinic Orthodox Judaism, when its emphasis is on Talmud over the Kabbalah, will be upset by the joining of the said king to the Throne of David.
I do take note of your corrections but I tend to lose my head and run with generalizations as iam not well-versed with all the sects in Judaism and their respective inclinations.
@elsbet So who is the author of the Book of Enoch, since Cain's entire line was wiped out and Enoch(Seth) was translated long before the flood?