The Cryptic Degrees
RE Comp Gary Kerkin G Lec.

Presented in Waikato Cryptic Council No 22, Thursday 31 March 2011

Origins

The origins of the Cryptic Degrees are not particularly clear. RE Comp Tony Waters writes (Waters GSE, 2003) that no one really knows the answer to the question, but that there are a number of theories. He looked at just two—“the Stuart Theory and the Scottish Rite Theory”. Of the Stuart Theory he writes:

The Stuart family ruled England from 1603 till 1688 with a break from 1649 to 1660. In 1649 Charles I was executed by Parliament under Oliver Cromwell. The Stuarts returned with James II on the throne in 1660 and he was deposed in 1688. The Hanoverian family came to the English throne in 1714 with George I. In 1715 and again in 1745 the Stuarts invaded England from Scotland trying to regain the throne but both attempts failed. The Stuarts and many of their supporters fled to France. They were sometimes called the “Jacobites” which is the Latin form of the name James. A number of these Jacobites were Masons and some of the Lodges in France were made up entirely of Jacobites. James II’s grandson was “Bonnie Prince Charlie” and he was an active Freemason. The Jacobite Masons considered the death of Hiram Abiff represented the execution of Charles I and the raising of Hiram Abiff as the restoration as to the return of the Stuarts to the English throne. So the Degree of “Royal Master” was the Stuart claimant to the throne and the secret vault was where the Jacobites plotted their return to power. One can visualise the Degree of “Select Master” as that of a secret political movement where the closest companions of the “Young Pretender” Charles Edward Stuart who we know as “Bonnie Prince Charlie” made their secret plans for their return. His father James Francis Edward Stuart was known as “The Old Pretender.”

Of the Scottish Rite theory he writes:

The more likely is the Scottish Rite Theory. This suggests that the Cryptic Degrees, that is the “Royal Master” and “Select Master,” were conceived in France, while the “Super Excellent Master” was developed in the U S A and are combined into the Scottish Rite. I’m not sure this is correct because today we see the Cryptic Degrees associated with the York Rite.

It may be of interest to note that the York Rite in North America includes the degrees of the Royal Arch and the four Cryptic Degrees (which includes Most Excellent Master), but some jurisdictions do not include the Super Excellent Master Degree.

The chronology of the allegories adopted by Craft, Royal Arch and Cryptic structures indicates the progression:

Entered Apprentice	The building of King Solomon’s Temple
Fellowcraft	The building of King Solomon’s Temple
(Master Mason)†	(The introduction of the myth of Hiram Abiff)
Mark Degree	The building of King Solomon’s Temple
Select Master	The building of the Secret Vault and the depositing of the artefacts
Royal Master	The death of Hiram Abiff
Most Excellent Master	Organisation and control of the Temple following the death of Hiram Abiff
Super Excellent Master	The destruction of Jerusalem and King Solomon’s Temple and the captivity in Babylon
Excellent Master	The return of the Jews to Jerusalem to assist with the building of the second temple
Royal Arch	The discovery of the secret vault and the recovery of the lost Word and its method of pronunciation.

^†  The Master Mason Degree has no place in this chronology other than introducing the story of Hiram Abiff and the symbolism and moral lesson associated with his assassination. There are reasonable grounds to believe that elements of the Fellowcraft Degree as it existed prior to about 1723 were incorporated into the Third Degree leaving it as we experience it today. The historical importance of the Second Degree, however, is preserved in the ritual of Installation of a Master of a Lodge wherein the Master elect takes his Obligation and affirms his adherence to the principles of Freemasonry in the Second Degree.

The name, Cryptic Council is derived from the metaphor on which the first two degrees are based—namely that of a crypt, or vault. It has nothing to do with cryptic crosswords!

The First Six Degrees

The first three degrees in Freemasonry, the Craft Degrees, are based on an allegory of the building of the Temple of King Solomon, but it is not until the Third Degree that the Candidate becomes directly involved with the symbol. Prior to that he is presented with a stone building as a metaphor for the way he should build his life.

In the First Degree he is introduced to the concept of a strong work ethic based on accuracy, labour and perseverance and he finds himself titled an Entered Apprentice, but is not informed as to whom he is apprenticed. He is also told about the philosophy of Freemasonry although it is doubtful that he fully realises it at this stage. Typically, so much goes on in the degree that it is not until much later he begins to appreciate what he has been presented with.

In the Second Degree he is informed that the work ethic to which he has been introduced has to be sustained by knowledge and intellect and he is introduced to the concepts of equality, justice and fairness as underpinning the way in which he should conduct himself. He is titled a Fellow Craft but, again, he is given no indication as to what this might mean.

In the Third Degree he is introduced to the allegory of King Solomon’s Temple and an elusive, mythical character, Hiram Abiff, and the concepts of integrity and honesty. He is presented with the spiritual nature of Freemasonry and in particular an understanding of his own mortality and its implications in his life. He finds himself titled a Master Mason and, presumably, a fully-fledged speculative Freemason, but one saddled with imperfect tools. Curiously, few ask the question about their entitlements as a Master Mason. A common misconception is that it enables them to take the Chair of a Lodge. It is probably some time, if ever, before the implications of “merit” become evident.

The three degrees of the Royal Arch lead to the restoration of the perfect tools which the Master Mason lacks and do so in three plays which reinforce the symbolism the Candidate has already been exposed to.

The Mark Degree is set in the context of the building of Solomon’s Temple, the play in particular being set in the quarries and the making of a particular stone. It explains the ethic of the First Degree and the knowledge, intellect, justice and fairness of the Second Degree and details much of the information the Candidate did not receive in those two degrees. It informs him about the control and payment of the labour force; the quality control of the work; and reinforces the necessity of intellect as well as skill and ability to fully comprehend the nature of the work. It tells him why a Lodge has a Master and two Wardens; it tells him how and why passwords and pass grips arose; and it reinforces the concept of reward for honest, skilful and intelligent labour.

The Excellent Degree shifts the scene some 470 years to Babylon and prepares the Candidate for the scene of the final degree, informing him as to the historical antecedents for the secrets in the degrees. It expands on some of the virtues he has been presented with in the preceding degrees and informs him how and why certain secrets were adopted. It is curious in that two of words communicated to the Candidate are biblical characters (Bezaleel and Aholiab) who may be found in the book of Exodus and who were two men recommended by God to Moses as assistants in building the Tabernacle. Curious, because the description of these two men is nearly identical to that ascribed to Hiram Abiff.

The Royal Arch Degree gives the Candidate the perfect tools he has lacked and explains exactly why the secrets were lost by the death on Hiram Abiff. In a play which shifts the emphasis from the building of King Solomon’s Temple to the preparation of the ground for the foundations of the second, Zerubbabel’s, Temple it subtly shifts from the metaphor of a temple to preparing for a metaphor of a crypt, which will be explored in the degrees of the Cryptic Council.

Select Master Degree

The Select Master Degree is set during the building of King Solomon’s Temple and concentrates on the Secret Vault—the crypt—in which the lost secrets will be found. It too emphasises secrecy reinforced by a play in which an acquaintance of Solomon inadvertently ventures in looking to assist in the project. It shows the Candidate how the artefacts that will be discovered in the Royal Arch Degree were deposited.

You will recall that in the Discovery Charge in the Royal Arch Degree the new Companion is told “… and you see that the world is indebted to Masonry for the preservation of the Book of the Law. Had it not been for the Masonic wisdom and precaution of our first Grand Master in constructing a secret vault under the temple—which remained proof against the destroying flames and the fury of the enemy—this, the only remaining ancient copy of the Law, would have been lost at the destruction of the temple.”

It necessarily follows that if the vault was to remain a secret, then its design and construction should have to be kept secret, and it would have been imperative that its existence be known only to a few who were sworn to secrecy. Thus, in the catechism of the opening of a Council of Select Masters our attention is drawn, twice, to working at a time when “prying” eyes are, or should be, asleep. We are also reminded that there should be at least 9 present (presumably OSH was active in those days!) and no more than 27 at labour—reinforcing the concept of a secret restricted to a few.

Is there some sort of precedent for the allegory in which the volume is discovered? It so happens that there is.

Philostorgius, in his Ecclesiastical History he writes of Julian rebuilding Jerusalem (Walford MA, 1855):

When Julian bade the city of Jerusalem to be rebuilt in order to refute openly the predictions of our Lord concerning it, he brought about exactly the opposite of what he intended. For his work was checked by many other prodigies from heaven; and especially, during the preparation of the foundations, one of the stones which was placed at the lowest part of the base, suddenly started from its place and opened the door of a certain cave hollowed out in the rock. Owing to its depth, it was difficult to see what was within this cave; so persons were appointed to investigate the matter, who, being anxious to find out the truth, let down one of their workmen by means of a rope. On being lowered down he found stagnant water reaching up to his knees; and, having gone round the place and felt the walls on every side, he found the cave to be a perfect square. Then, in his return, as he stood near about the middle, he struck his foot against a column which stood rising slightly above the water. As soon as he touched this pillar, he found lying upon it a book wrapped up in a very fine and thin linen cloth; and as soon as he had lifted it up just as he had found it, he gave a signal to his companions to draw him up again. As soon as he regained the light, he showed them the book, which struck them all with astonishment, especially because it appeared so new and fresh, considering the place where it had been found. This book, which appeared such a mighty prodigy in the eyes of both heathens and Jews, as soon as it was opened showed the following words in large letters: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In fact, the volume contained that entire Gospel which had been declared by the divine tongue of the (beloved) disciple and the Virgin.

This would appear to be the story on which who drafted the Royal Arch ritual drew. There is also biblical precedent. Josiah (649 – 609 BC), who was King of Judah from 641 BC until his death, is credited with instituting major reforms, including religious reforms. In the eighteenth year of his rule, Josiah ordered the High Priest Hilkiah to use the tax money which had been collected over the years to renovate the temple. While he was clearing the treasure room of the Temple he found a scroll described as “the book of the Law”. In 2 Kings, Chapter 22:

3 And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying,

4 Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people:

5 And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house,

6 Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.

7 Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.

8 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD.

10 And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.

12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying,

13 Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.

The story is repeated in 2 Chronicles, Chapter 34. I cannot find, however, any writings about the book of the law being further secreted.

The ceremony has two important themes: the nature of friendship and the honouring of important promises; and the preservation of important artefacts.

In the first part of the ceremony Zabud, the son of Nathan and a friend of King Solomon, wanders into the secret vault under the impression that Solomon had invited him. The vault is, of course, very securely guarded and he immediately finds his life is in peril because he has no knowledge of the password required for anyone to gain entry. When the business is sorted out, Solomon acknowledges his fault in the matter but raises an immediate dilemma—Zabud could not be admitted a member of the group because the ranks are already filled. Hiram Abiff points out that one of their number is asleep at his post and therefore in dereliction of his duty and promise. In keeping with the harshness of the times the problem is resolved by eliminating the offender. He could not, of course, merely be dismissed from his position … they could not guarantee his silence.

In the second part of the ceremony the new Select Master is shown how the artefacts discovered by the Sojourners in the Royal Arch Degree in the secret vault—the altar, the scroll, and the circle and triangle on top of the altar, and why the jewel is found on the ground near the altar.

It may be of interest to note that I can find no reference in the Old Testament to the executed guard, Achishar—as it is spelt in the ritual. However the guide to the ritual suggests that the name is pronounced Ahishar—possibly, but not explicitly, with a glottal stop on the “h”. Ahishar can be found. 1 Kings, chapter 4, verse 6—“And Ahishar was over the household, …” If this is the same person, then the penalty exacted was even more severe since Ahishar had an important position in the King’s household.

Royal Master Degree

The Royal Master Degree straddles the death of Hiram Abiff with the protégé of Hiram, Adoniram seeking information as to when he will receive the “word”.

Adoniram is an important figure in the Old Testament and in various Masonic rituals. The same reference to 1 Kings, chapter 4, verse 6 also includes the name—“And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute. In 1 Kings, chapter 5, verse 14 we find—“ And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.” Hiram Abiff (or, more accurately, King Solomon), therefore, gave charge of more than a quarter of his work force to Adoniram.

Craft Masons do not encounter him until, and if, they are installed as a Master of their Lodge. The older Craft rituals, however, do carry a reference to him. Roy A Wells (Wells, 1977) wrote:

We have no record that the WORD was ever used in Craft ritual but it does appear on the “Master’s Floor Plan” printed in various Exposures dated c.: 1745. The Word is there prominently displayed on the coffin and in the Index is described as the “Former Word of a Master”. In the “Master’s Catechism” of that same period (Le Sceau Rompu—1745) we find the following:

Q. What come you here to do?
A. To seek for that which was lost.
Q. What is that which was lost?
A. The Master’s Word.
Q. How was it lost?
A. By three great knocks, or the death of Adoniram.
Q. How was our very worthy Master Adoniram assassinated?
A. By three ruffians, who conspired to extort the word from him or take his life.

This catechism goes on until the final question which is:—

Q. What did he order to be placed on his tomb?
A. A gold Medal, in triangular form, on which was engraved the word JEOVA (sic) which is the name of God in Hebrew.

You will note that there is a substantial difference between this and the catechism we utilise in the opening of a Lodge in the Third Degree. It is not Adoniram who is mentioned, but Hiram Abiff; and we do not refer to the “Master’s Word”, but to the “genuine secrets”. You may recognise another important point—that there is a connection here with the story recited by Philostorgius, above. In that he describes the scroll found in the vault as containing the words “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is the opening verse of the Gospel according to St John, and suggests to me that the catechism described by Wells predates 1723, when the Third Degree ritual was introduced, and reflects the earlier Christian nature of Masonry, before references to the New Testament were removed, presumably by the Reverend James Anderson at the behest of Desaguliers, Grand Master in 1719.

The implications of mortality implicit in the Third Degree are elaborated in one of the finest charges in Masonic ritual, one which is presaged by a passage in the Working Tools of the Second Degree. Adoniram receives his advancement as the successor of Hiram Abiff, and the new Royal Master is shown a sign, the broken triangle, which positively establishes why the secrets were “lost” with the death of Hiram Abiff. Even though he has been shown what the “secret” was in the Royal Arch Degree—a word (or two, more precisely) and the particular method of pronouncing them (again, explained in the Discovery charge), it is unlikely, without further enlightenment, that he will fully understand why it was they were lost because of the death of one of the three who knew them. Now it is fully clear—“Alas, poor Hiram”. Curiously, though, does this imply that Adoniram never received them? Or were they only necessary during the building of the Temple? I guess we will never know!

So, the Royal Master Degree re-emphasises the lessons of the earlier degrees—reward for faithful labours; recognition of integrity and loyalty—and finally explains the implications of the “secrets” which are left hanging in those degrees.

It is worth noting the thoughts expressed by ME Comp J N Anderson PGZ in the Transactions of the Research Chapter of New Zealand No 93 (Anderson PGZ, 1960):

In the Craft Degrees we learn that to build is our chief purpose in life and the lesson is driven home through the analogy of the magnificent Temple of Solomon. If we would build for the approval of the GAOTU nothing short of perfection will suffice and because, throughout the history of Israel, the Temple of Solomon was the one perfect and outstanding achievement, it has been adopted as the gauge of Masonic perfection. As shown in the Mark Degree we must each word our masterpiece according to our own conception of the Great Architect’s plans and must not be put off even though our work is rejected by the fallible judgement of men. When the work of the Temple was almost completed the word was lost because of the avarice, selfishness and cruelty of the three ruffians. Surely a salutary lesson for everyone. It must be reiterated that the central theme of the Royal Arch Degree is discovery. The discovery is possible only because the work done by the individual as a Craftsman and as a Mark Master. It is here that we connect the theme of the Royal Master. Each on has symbolically constructed the secret vault of his own temple. The secret vault of the soul. Within that secret vault lodges the spirit of God which is of such a personal nature that man cannot communicate it to man. In the soliloquy H.A.B. leaves the candidate in no doubt. It is not that the word MAY be found but that it WILL be found.

He writes that by itself the degree of Royal Master is a challenge but when considered in context of the preceding degrees it is inspirational, quote Job chapter 32 verse 8: “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”

Most Excellent Master Degree

The Most Excellent Master Degree explains the reasons for the building of the Temple—as a permanent “home” for God, and a repository for the sacred relics and symbols. It provides an answer as to how those who give outstanding service are rewarded.

It is not easy to ascertain when and where the degree originated. Some sources claim it to be an American invention while others suggest it to be Scottish in origin but possibly developed, or further developed in York. Certainly it has been appropriated to the York Rite in North America, but in other places it has been associated with the Cryptic Degrees. The earliest references to York suggest it was a degree which followed that of Master Mason symbolically recognising the faithful labourers for their skill and ability in completing the Temple of King Solomon. This implies that it came before the elevation of a Master Mason to the Chair of a Lodge suggesting that even though we do not now refer to that ceremony as such, none the less it once considered a degree in its own right—the Chair Degree. Other Orders do recognise this situation.

At the opening of a Council of Most Excellent Masters, which opens in the form of a Lodge, the Volume is opened at the first book of Kings, chapter 7. This is the chapter which describes the temple which Solomon built (it is the chapter from which the description of the temple presented in the Tracing Board of the Second Degree is drawn). Allegorically, however, the degree is associated with chapter 8 which describes the dedication which took place when the temple was completed. “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.” (verse1) “And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.” (verses 6 and 7).

The element of reward is contained in this chapter: “And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.” (verse 30)

There is another curious excerpt—or at least one I find curious—in which Solomon refers to strangers:

41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake;

42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;

43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

I find this curious because the Israelites were not known for being friendly to others, and yet here is Solomon holding out the hand of friendship. Is this, then, the origin of the Masonic desire to allow all men of any faith which requires a belief in a Supreme Being to join? Is it this that led to the removal of references to the New Testament from our rituals?

The period of celebration extended over some 8 days; the offerings offered up by Solomon had to be burnt in the forecourt, there being too much for the altar in the middle chamber.

This section also indicates why the High Priest was the only person ever to enter the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year. Presumably he was particularly purified because “And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.” (verses 10 and 11).

Super Excellent Master Degree

The Super Excellent Master Degree completes the quartet of Cryptic degrees, but it is of a nature completely different to anything encountered in any of the preceding 9 degrees. In those, there is a constant theme of building and development—either based on allegories associated with Solomon’s temple, or associated with the establishment of Zerubbabel’s. The symbolism is directed at growth and the optimism it engenders. But here, to the contrary, we have a spectre of destruction and despair all, we are told, as a penalty resulting from infidelity.

The degree fleetingly spans a period of 400 years culminating in the sacking of Jerusalem by the forces of Nebuchadnezzar. But it is not just this that gives rise to despair. We could have felt more optimistic had the temple survived in its conception to this time, but in fact it maintained its original intent only during the lifetime of King Solomon and a little after. ME Comp J P Glenie PGZ described the events as follows (Glenie PGZ, 1960):

So the Temple stood in all its glory and the Super Excellent Degree recounts that it stood for 33 years after its dedication. To understand this period we must realise that the Temples experienced two ceremonies of dedication, the first soon after the completion of the Sanctuary buildings, and the second thirteen years later when the whole vast area, some 36 acres of solid masonry, was completed. For the last twenty eight years of his reign, Solomon’s Temple stood as a symbol for the twelve tribes of the Jewish race, but with the death of Solomon, the untied Monarchy of David and Solomon was divided. Jeroboam, son of Nephat, an overseer of the forced labour in Ephraim, and Rehoboam, son of Solomon became rival pretenders to the Throne, and in result Rohoboam was crowned King in Judah and over the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin while Jeroboam, who previously had led an unsuccessful revolt against Solomon, ruled the remaining ten Tribes of Northern Israel.

The peace was an uneasy one, and the troubles between the two divisions of the Monarchy were accentuated for Judah when in the fifth year of the reign of Rehoboam, Shishak, King of Egypt under the 22^nd Dynasty, conquered Jerusalem and forced Rehoboam to pay tribute. The Temple suffered is first despoliation and in I Kings, 15, we read that not only the treasures but even the golden shields were removed to pay the ransom. The shields were later replaced by Rehoboam in brass and so the inevitable decline of the Temple had begun. The 28 years under Solomon and the five years under Rehoboam make of the 33 years referred to in the Ritual. Throughout the four hundred years of the Temple’s existence these periodic plunderings by a successions of conquerors continued, but the Temple still stood as a symbol of the eternal faith of the Jewish race.

The Degree passes lightly over those 400 years during which both Assyria and Egypt in turn dominated and lost Judah and extracted their tribute from the Temple. Finally a great new Power arose, and Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar invaded Palestine at the beginning of the Sixth century B.C. Jehoiakim, then King of Judah transferred his allegiance from Egypt to Babylon and for three years remained loyal. In 598 B.C. however Nebuchadnezzar was occupied elsewhere and Jehoiakim yielded to Egyptian intrigue and withheld his tribute. As soon as he could do so Nebuchadnezzar led his armies against Judah, and Jehoiachin who by now had succeeded his father Jehoiakim, surrendered to the Babylonians as Jeremiah had foretold. With Jehoiachin and his mother, there went into exile at Babylon, several thousand of the leading craftsmen and citizens of Judah, and the seventy years of the captivity began.

In Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar installed on the throne a puppet King known as Mataniah or Zedekiah as he came to be called. Zedekiah was the brother of Jehoiachin’s father, but still a young man of twenty-one years when placed on the throne. He was a very weak character and no longer had the sound advice which had been available to his predecessors before the older nobility had been taken into captivity. He reigned for eleven years, but like Jehoiachin, also intrigued with Egypt, and this the powerful Nebuchadnezzar could not allow. The armies of Babylon therefore marched into Assyria and headquarters were set up at Riblah on the River Orontes, far to the North. From there the armies of Nebuchadnezzar marched to capture the cities of Judah and to lay siege to Jerusalem itself. With one short interval the city was besieged for eighteen long months before it fell to the invaders. Zedekiah endeavoured to make his escape by way of the King’s garden, but was captured on the plains of Jericho and brought before Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah. There Zedekiah’s sons were slain before his eyes. and his own eyes then put out before he was finally taken captive to Babylon. Thus though he lived and died in the city, his eyes were never to see it.

Shortly after the capture of Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar sent his general Nebuzaradan to destroy the Temple utterly, and so he hoped for ever to crush the power of Judah. Further captives were taken to Babylon, and Judah finally and completely paid the price of her immorality and decadence. But she was still an important outpost of Babylon, and her good will was therefore important. To keep Judah loyal to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar chose as Governor a Judean nobleman named Gedaliah, who had been an important figure even in the reign of Zedekiah and who had often cast the mantle of his protection over the prophet Jeremiah.

Gedaliah ruled as Governor for five years and order gradually returned to the stricken country. The degree shows us Judah sad at heart with its Babylonian exiles thinking with longing and sorrowful hearts of their beloved Jerusalem so far away. At Mispah, new capital of Judah, Gedaliah recounts before his companions the great days in the wilderness when the great Jewish nation was first born. All Israel prayed for the rise of its nationhood once again.

But the rule of the noble and generous Gedaliah was cut short by the assassin’s knife, and once more Nebuchadnezzar was forced to intervene. Further captives were seized and carried to Babylon, and unhappy Judah was finally and entirely captive or dispersed.

So is the despair and unhappiness made manifest and we have to ask “to what end?”

It is so unlike the hope and optimism expressed in the ceremonies of Freemasonry – particularly in the Craft and Royal Arch degrees. But joy is to follow because in the time-line of these degrees the Excellent Degree will set the returning Jews on the path to Jerusalem, and the Royal Arch Degree will lead to the recovery of the lost Word – to knowledge of our Supreme Being, and ourself.

And so we reach the final moral: that no matter how strong an edifice we build—physical or symbolic—it cannot be maintained without care and devotion and that we can only achieve that by strict attention to the moral code by which we live our lives.

Bibliography

Anderson PGZ, J. N. (1960). The Degree of Royal Master. Transactions of the Research Chapter of New Zealand , 1 (18), 3.

Glenie PGZ, J. P. (1960, August 31). The Degree of Super-Excellent Master. Transactions of the Research Chapter of New Zealand No 93 , 4.

Walford MA, E. (1855). Translation of The Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius by Philotius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Retrieved 2010, from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/philostorgius.htm, Chapter 41

Waters GSE, T. (2003). Some of the Messages to be found in Cryptic Masonry. Talk delivered to the St Augustine Council No 1 of Royal and Select Masters.

Wells, R. A. (1977). “The Royal Arch as the Perfection of the Masters Degree”, An Inaugural Address given to the London First Principals’ Chapter No 2712. Transactions of the Research Chapter of New Zealand No 93 (reprint) , 6 (9), 132.

Copyright © Gary N Kerkin, SGRACNZ, 2011

SGRACNZ
royalarch.org.nz