An analysis of Solomon's
Temple involving the Knights Templar, ancient wisdom and Freemasons
Gnosis:
The Secret of Solomon's Temple Revealed
by Philip Gardiner
Life
is a journey we all have to take. We are born with no knowledge
whatsoever other than some minor genetic memories, and many of us
simply follow the patterns that life and our peers throw at us. We
subconsciously assume we must do as our forefathers; we must follow
in their footsteps; we must marry, have children, get a job, step
onto the roller-coaster of commercialism and the greed oriented rat
race we know as capitalism or even communism. There is seemingly no
way out of this life and anyway, most of us are enthused by the
chase.
All of this is perfectly
natural. We are, after all, apes with less hair. We strive to be the
alpha male and female; to fit in with the society or "tribe" that
surrounds us. And often that society is just a larger version of our
selves; it is created by groups of selves.
But, in the times gone by,
our ancestors saw through all of this and recognized that there was
another way. They discovered that in-order for man to elevate
himself above the level of the grind-stone, he needed to alter his
internal dialogue. Man needed to understand himself and the forces
that drive him.
This unique understanding -
that there could be a higher goal for mankind, whether collectively
or individually - evolved into what we now know as Gnosticism. Of
course this is a massive oversimplification and we should always
take into account the mystics - those who have experienced what we
would call other-worldly emotions or visions. Also, regardless of
popular perception, the Christian's were not the only Gnostics and
mystics. Gnostic comes from the Greek word gignoskein meaning simply
to know. It was applied to "one sect of so-called philosopher's in
the first ages of Christianity."
However, the term is now
being used more loosely and I personally see the term slightly
differently to others and probably in a controversial light.
To me the Greek term implies
all-knowledge. This is a kind of knowledge gained much like plugging
ones mind into the world wide web and being able to download every
single piece of data in an instant. In the same way, the true
Gnostic, much like the mystic, could understand all things in a
unique way. Whether this is the mind tapping into the collective
unconscious, the Akashic records, or any other name given to the
process, does not matter for the purpose of this article, the fact
remains, it was believed. And because of this belief, physical
manifestations of the internal belief system emerged the world over.
In this way, the temples of man, were exactly that - Temples of Man.
Gnosis then, means knowledge
of the most esoteric kind and this is the story that has been hidden
from our eyes for too long. This is the truth of the secret
societies that we on the outside are supposedly too worldly to
comprehend.
The Temple
So, let us now try our best
to comprehend the Temple of Solomon and in doing so, let us walk
upon Holy ground, trodden only by the initiated.
In the years of my own
searching there were times when I would be found at the feet of the
Magi, sitting and listening to the wise words of the Sufi, joining
in the debate at some Freemasonic Lodge. All the time I was learning
and viewing the process with an open ear and an open eye, and yet
also balancing it all with the knowledge of modern day science and
reductionism. Both worlds, the one of the esoteric and the one of
science are useless apart - both are needed today if we are to truly
understand and believe.
And so down to facts about
the Temple of Solomon. Well, unfortunately we are sadly lacking in
any archaeological evidence, regardless of what you read on some
literal fundamentalist website. What we are told is that in the 10th
century BC, the wise King Solomon erected a great Temple to the
Lord. Unfortunately, if any of this is true, then we actually find
that it was a Temple, which encompassed many pagan religions.
According to Professor James
Pritchard in his book, Solomon and Sheba (1974, p.35): ".. the
so-called cities of Megiddo, Gezer and Hazor, and Jerusalem itself
were in reality more like villages.. Within were relatively small
public buildings and poorly constructed dwellings with clay floors.
The objects reveal a material culture which, even by the standards
of the ancient Near East, could not be judged sophisticated or
luxurious.. The 'magnificence' of the age of Solomon is parochial
and decidedly lackluster, but the first book of Kings implies
exactly the opposite."
In fact and in the bright
light of day, what we actually have, and what most writers are
afraid to say, is no evidence whatsoever for Solomon's Temple. In
fact, we have no evidence for Solomon, other than these peculiar
Biblical texts. Neither do we have any evidence for the Queen of
Sheba, or any of the other characters involved. Instead, there is
more depth than could ever be imagined, more meaning than we would
dare to believe.
John Michell in The Temple
at Jerusalem: A Revelation, (Gothic Image) gives us an insight to
the real meaning.:
"Legends of the Temple
describe it as the instrument of a mystical, priestly science, a
form of alchemy by which oppositely charged elements in the earth
and atmosphere were brought together and ritually married. The
product of their union was a spirit that blessed and sanctified the
people of Israel."
How right Michell is. The
Temple is an instrument of mystical and priestly science or even
magic. The secret unravels before our eyes the more we learn. You
see the true Gnostic, the true disciple or perfect one, must be a
man or woman of balance. He or she must unite the two sides of the
mind, the male and female principles as they are called. We are all
both male and female and the alchemists used this concept of balance
and revealed it in their images of the Hermaphrodite, half man and
half woman.
Solomon, was no real man,
and Sheba was no real woman. Instead they were symbols of this
internal and often external process. The whole story of Solomon,
Sheba and the Temple, which is the perfectly formed body, both
physical and spiritual, is the story of our own psyche. It is an
esoteric truth, misunderstood in its exoteric form.
Hiram
Hiram was the son of a
Jewish mother and a Phoenician father and is credited with the
decoration of the Temple of Solomon. He was said to have been the
"son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali... He cast two bronze
pillars" 1 Kings 7:13-15.
We must also note something
of interest mentioned in 1 Kings 16:
"Then he made two capitals
of cast bronze, to set on top of the pillars. The height of one
capital was 5 cubits; and the height of the other capital was five
cubits. He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for
the capitals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one
capital and seven for the other capital."
These pillars became known
as Jachin, meaning "he establishes" and Boaz, which means "in him is
strength" and these are now familiar to most modern Freemasons as
central to their own Lodge or Temple. Copies of these can be clearly
seen at the infamous Rosslyn Chapel as we shall discover.
But, what is interesting
here is the original text about these pillars. Firstly bronze is
used for the capitals, just as bronze is used for the "Brazen
Serpent" of Moses and is indicative of the fiery aspect of the
serpent as one of the channels in the Kundalini process. Their
"heights" were 5 cubits, matching the five hooded cobras seen across
India and atop many pillars, although the Bible calls them Lilies,
which are symbols of balance anyway.
Leading up to these capitals
then were "wreaths" of "chainwork", seven on each pillar. Strangely
these chains were "for the capitals," and so we conclude that these
seven levelled chains (coils) were pointing towards the head
(capital) just as the serpents of the Kundalini do.
There are more real links
between Hiram and the serpent. For instance, we noted above that he
was of the Tribe of Naphtali. The standard of the Tribe of Naphtali,
according to Jewish tradition, is a serpent or basilisk and this
could have come from Egyptian origins, as Jewish tradition states
that Naphtali was the brother of Joseph, chosen to represent the
family to Pharaoh.
"And now I have sent a
skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram [Hiram] my master
[father] craftsman, (the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and
his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver,
bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and
crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which
may be given to him, with your skilful men and with the skilful men
of my lord David your father." 2 Chronicles 2:13-14.
Here, Hiram is said to be a
son of the Tribe of Dan and even the tribe of Dan had an emblem,
which was amazingly also the serpent, this time with a horse.
Incredibly there is also a
hidden truth and repetitive pattern in this little statement about
the real skills of this literary character. Follow this pattern:
Hiram is skilled in:-
1 gold and silver, 2 bronze
and iron, 3 stone and wood, 4 purple and blue, 5 fine linen and
crimson, 6 and to make any engraving 7 and to accomplish any plan
which may be given to him.
Note that there are seven
'balanced' elements to the skill of the man who will build the
Temple! This is a real clue to the Temple's secret indeed.
According to this book of
Chronicles Hiram was a cunning man (a word used for the serpent)
endued with understanding, skilful as we can see in the work of
gold, silver, brass, stone and timber. But he was also credited with
certain tools, which could pierce stone. Stone, as I show in Gnosis
is symbolic of wisdom and foundation. Hiram's tool therefore pierced
the veil or even the very root of wisdom.
According to the book of
Kings the Temple was built of stone (or wisdom) before it was
brought to the site. Something like a prefabricated building. It was
said by tradition that neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron
was used in the building. So how was it built? This in itself is a
paradox, which can only be answered by the true secret of the Temple
being revealed.
According to Rabbinical
teaching the prefabrication of the Temple was performed by the
Shamir, a giant worm or serpent that could cut stones (incidentally
worm means serpent). Not dissimilar to Norse and Celtic beliefs
where Valhalla and Camelot were built with the fire of the dragon
and in China where building is aided by the serpent energy.
This is a universal concept
as can be seen in India, where it was the serpentine linked Naga's
of fable who escaped their country and took the architectural wisdom
abroad. The architect gods, such as Thoth of Egypt, are linked
strongly with the serpent wisdom because they are linked with the
building of "Temples of Wisdom" inside our SELVES.
The Shamir, according to one
legend had even been placed in the hands of the Prince of the Sea (Shamir
by Wilhelm Bacher & Ludwig Blau), which of course is symbolic of the
Prince of Wisdom.
In essence what we really
have here is the Temple of Wisdom being built by the serpent and
that serpent is none other than that of, or similar to, the internal
Kundalini, later to be developed into the Kabbalah. This is a
psychological training manual; a method of self-improvement; a way
for society to become One; a multi-layered method of getting closer
to the deity which resides in each and everyone of us; a deity, that
the ancients saw as being the same in each of us.
The whole process repeats
again and again throughout the Bible. The Temple is reduced (like
the alchemical method) and is remade. Then again and again, until
finally the Christ is the Temple which is reduced (killed) and then
rises again for the last time. And now, according to the texts, we
can all meet with this Christ and we can all have the knowledge. We
just need to understand that the true Christ is all and in all.
But this wasn't the end of
the story ...
Philip Gardiner is the
author of
The Serpent Grail: The Truth Behind the Holy Grail, the
Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life,
Gnosis: The Secret of Solomon's Temple Revealed,
The Shining Ones: The World's Most Powerful Secret Society Revealed
and
Proof? Does God Exist? He is hosting the
Philip Gardiner’s Forbidden Knowledge Conference UK (FKCUK) in
July 2006. The authors websites are
www.philipgardiner.net,
www.gardinerosborn.com,
www.serpentgrail.com,
www.theshiningones.com
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