Blanchard J (anti-masonic) - Scotch Rite Masonry Illustrated Part I

414 “BELIEVE A LIE THAT THEY ALL MIGHT BE DAMNED’gree are Jewish ;—the Scriptures read are Jewish;—theapron given by Cyrus is of the pattern worn by thebuilders of Solomon’s temple, and Solomon himself isreferred to by nanie four or five times in this degree.In short, the degree came from the brains of Jesuits;strained through the brains of ex4ewa, whose motive indestroying Christianity, like that of Judas, in betrayingChrist, was money.But, in Note 171, as if to crown the infamy of thisdegree, and its fellows, we have these remarkable wordsfrom Mackey:—“Some of these legends have the concurrent support ofScripture; some are related by Josephus; and some appearto have no historical foundation.”Now if a rational, deliberate, artful design was formedto destroy popular confidence in the Bible, this was theway to do it :—To form a mass, or degree, made up ofinspired Scripture, uninspired human history, and mereprofessed fiction, all mixed and mingled together indiscriminately;and to go through solemn repetitions ofthis mixture, night after night, for weeks and monthsandyears; attended with oaths, solemnities and prayers;with promises and threats of murder, by mangling, if thesacred thing should be revealed f—in short, to do justwhat is done in the actings, and repctitions of this andother degrees; and to charge and collect vast sums ofmoney for them ;—together, forms a compound of jugglery,deceit, fraud, swindling, and profanation, whichdevilsonly could have invented, and bewitched men onlycould practice. It contains the swindling of lotteriesand mock auctions. It blends Bible with fiction, andtreats them as alike true and sacred. And the dupeswallows the compound and ruins his soul as the bedvis ruined by eating sawdust in meat, or sand in sugar.If the Meson believes it, he trusts in lies. If he dish.-lieves it, he despises the Bible. And while the HolySpirit is grieved and insulted and driven away by itsprayers, the devil enters the worshippers who are left“to believe a lie that they afl miqht be damned.TMCHAPTERXXVIISIx’rERNnI DEGREE OR PRINOES op JUuSAIZM.’”DECORATIONS :—Two apartments are used in the cereinonyof reception.FIRST APARTMENT :—Called the hail of the West,representing the hall of the Knights of the East orSword at Jerusalem, hung with yellow colored hangings.The East represents the interior of the SanctumSanctorurn, with the sacred furniture in its properplace; in the first part of the reception a large curtainor veil is drawn across in front of the entrance to it, inthe third part of the reception this curtain or veil isdrawn aside. In front of said curtain in the East is acanopied throne elevated on five steps, covered with yellowcolored cloth; near it is an altar covered with thesame on which is a sceptre, sword, trowel and scales.A bal;ince held by a hand is painted on the front of saidaltar. All the officers occupy small thrones covered withthe same cloth. The hall in the last part of the receptionis illuminated by twenty-five lights, in groupsof flue each.Mote 176.—’‘Prince of Jeruislem. The lath degree of the Ancient andAn•ept.ul rite. Tt,e history of this degree is founded Upon the ineldeotsttWI .. .srr,d during tbe building of the second temnpi.’. at whieb timethe Je~a were much annoyed by the eot,staggt and malIcIous iuterteregmceof taint itomaritans tbeir ahcP’ut enemies. This degree Is ilosely eon.he. led oith, and a continuation of. the degree of the Knight of the Eastend ~~~ord. to ~tbleh the reader Is reterr..d for a more detailed sl,,tetneimt.‘th..r,’ at,,.uld be too principal apartments in addition to the snie•rnom.‘Ib- liret uptitment represents the eourt of Zerulihabel at J.’rusaicm.Ti,.• imangiugs are of seliron color, except the East. whIch is hung withhhite. i,lu,•. red and violet colors. in stripes. The sceond apartmentr.~preae,,ta the couueil “h.~anber of Darius. King of Persia. The hangIngsare green. time thr,,ne anti canopy sagron color. In It Is no Masonicftrnlt,.re —Macaye Enoyclopaedla ~ndDictionexy of Preeaaaonsy. AillolePrises of Jaqaiem.