Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry.pdf - FatimaMovement

some of Zerubbabel's workmen. But there is no
ground for this belief; for if the secret of the vault
had been known to Josiah, it must have been
known also to his idolatrous predecessors. who
would doubtless have plundered it of its valuable
contents, and exposed them to the world, in
contempt of the true God to whom they referred,
and whom these degenerate monarchs had wholly
renounced. It is much more probable, that in the
latter years of Solomon, when he had almost
forgotten God, his visits to this vault were
discontinued, and the entrance being curiously
concealed among the caverns underneath his
palace. the secret died with him, and the
communication was forever closed. It is certain,
however, if the tradition of this vault be correct,
that the Ark of the Covenant was not found in it; p.
247 for it was one of the invaluable gifts of God
which the second Temple did not contain, and
consequently it could not have been preserved by
Josiah.--Historical Landmarks, vol. ii. p. 436.
249:1 The author of Ahiman Rezon has stated that
he could convey his mind to an ancient Mason in
the presence of a modern Mason, without the
latter knowing whether either of them were
Masons. He further asserted that he was able,
with a few Masonic implements, i.e., two squares
and a common gavel or hammer, to convey any
word or sentence of his own, or the immediate
dictations of a stranger, to a skilful and intelligent
Free-mason of the ancient order, without
speaking, writing, or noise; and that to any
distance, when the parties can see each other, and
at the same time be able to distinguish squares
from circles. This Masonic system of cipherwriting
is now well understood.--Origin of the
English Royal Arch, p. 42.
250:1 The WORD of the Royal Arch Degree, as