The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

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Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols
whereas Jewish brethren claim the right to dedicate their lodges to His Holy
Name. 324
The lodge room has different denominations in the three degrees,
corresponding to the contents of the lectures. Thus, in the First Degree, the lodge
is termed by the Masons "the Ground Floor of King Solomon's Temple," in the
Second Degree, it is named "the Middle Chamber of King Solomon's Temple,"
and in the Third Degree, it is called "the Sanctum Sanctorum, or, Holy of Holies
of King Solomon's Temple." 325 A particular female lodge has adopted this
symbolism for its use: thus, the androgynous order of the Heroines of Jericho, an
order for African American women, claims that the Masons call a Heroine's
Court "Ladies' Palace of King Solomon's Temple." 326
Previous to the beginning of the 18 th century, the key date in Masonic
cosmology was the erection of the Tower of Babel, and not the building of King
Solomon's temple. In the Regius Manuscript, King Nemrod as the builder of the
Tower of Babel is referred to as "the first and most excellent master," having
given to the Masons their rules of conduct and distinguishing signs, and
organizing them as a craft. For many years, King Solomon and King Nemrod
both played a role in the tradition. In the 1700s, Freemasonry began to accept
King Solomon alone as "the first Grand Master."
Speculative Masons, who were concerned with social respectability and
had no desire to threaten the establishment, finally rejected the "Legend
of the Craft" which honoured the Tower of Babel, a pagan edifice
constructed in open defiance to heaven. Instead of the Promethean or
Faustian Nemrod, they preferred "our wise King Solomon" [...]. 327
As Béresniak puts it, King Solomon's temple is a well chosen Masonic
metaphor, because with its history of destruction and rebuilding it represents the
fate of humankind:
Solomon's temple, which was destroyed, rebuilt, then destroyed again,
is the scene of a story which synthesises and symbolises all of history
and each of our personal histories. This is why it provides Freemasons
with so many useful pointers and illustrations, stimulating thoughts
about the future of human mankind, for it is a place where possibility
reigns, where promise and danger intertwine. 328
The temple and, consequently, the lodge are symbolically furnished. Hereby,
the columns and the pavement play an important role. Thus, the two pillars at the
entrance of King Solomon's temple, which are merely ornamental and of no
324 Cf. Simons, p. 40/41.
325 Cf. Duncan, p. 7/9.
326 Cf. Ritual and Guide of the Grand Court of Heroines of Jericho, p. 34.
327 Béresniak, p. 26.
328 Ibid, p. 28.