The Origin of Freemasonry and Knights Templar ... - Lodge Prudentia

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARcaptivity of the Jews at Babylon. In 626 B. C.the empire and city of Babylon was conqueredby Nabopolassar, a trusted Assyrian general ofKing Sarsacus of Assyria. He was born ofa nomadic race and his home was in the Caucasianmountains. He turned traitor after becomingviceroy of Babylon, and joined forceswith Cyaxares, king of Media, and overthrew theAssyrians. The empire was broken up and eachof the confederates took his allotted portion. Assyriaproper fell to the Medes, and Nabopolassarreceived the kingdom of Babylon, to which wereannexed Susiana on the east, and the valley of theEuphrates and the whole of Syria on the west.In the year 610 B. C. Pharaoh Necho of Egyptinvades Syria and captures Jerusalem, and makesJehoiakim king of Judah. Nabopolassar, alarmedby the loss of Syria, determines to recover whatNecho has taken from him. After the army wasraised and equipped, however, the aged king foundhimself unable to conduct the expedition, and sothe command was given to his son Nebuchadnezzar.The prince pushed boldly into upper Syria,where the Egyptians had established themselvesin full force to hold the country, and completelyrouted them. Every vestige of Egyptian resistancemelted away. Proceeding towards the west, hepaused for a short time in Palestine, where he receivedthe submission of Jehoiakim, whom PharaohNecho had set up, and then continued his triumphantcourse to the gateway of Egypt.It wasduring this expedition, in the year 606 B. C., thatDaniel and his friends were made captives at Jerusalemand taken to Babylon, with many of the