Gnosis: The Secret of Solomon's Temple Revealed
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 .........