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Article THE HISTORICAL DEGREES; ← Page 10 of 15 →
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The Historical Degrees;
fleet with wlpeh , aided by mariners from Tyre , he traded to Ophir for valuable comtnbdities and the precious metals . His extended power and influence at length corrupted his virtue ; he plunged into all manner of licentiousness , and the latter actions of his life inflicted
a deep disgrace on his character : he took wives and concubines from among the idolatrous nations around him , who perverted his heart so that lie worshipped Ashtoreth of the Sidoniahs , Moloch of the Ammonites , and Chemosh of the Moabites , to whom he built temples on the Mount of Olives ; and ^ to neglected the worship of the true God for that of idols . The Gteand
Elect and Perfect Masons saw this , and were sorely / grieved ^ afraid that his apostacy would end in some \ dreadful consequences , and bring upoii them those enemies whom Solomon had before defied . The day of the vengeance of the Most High did couie ; Jeroboam headed a rebellion against the King ; and thirty years after the com * pletion of the Temple Solomon died , and Rehoboam , his son by one
of his Ammonite wives , succeeded ; ten of the tribes revolted , and Shishak , King of Egypt , dame with an army , carried off the treasures Of the Lord ' s house and all the King ' s gold and silver , laying waste the whole country . After the lapse of four centuries from the death of Solomon , Nebuchadnezzar , the King of Babylon , sent his general jNehuzaradan with art army which desolated Judsea with fire and
sword ; they took and sacked Jerusalem , razed the wall of the city , and destroyed the Temple . The conquerors carried the people captives to Babylon , leaving only a remnant of the lower class to till the land . The holy things of the Temple , its gold and silver vessels , were borne away . "
All the degrees which we have thus described are in the United States conferred in a body called the Lodge of Perfection . In England they are acknowledged by the Supreme Council when the the Rose Croix is given , and included in the certificate of that degree . It is scarcely necessary for us to mention that the Royal Arch
degree , as such , forms no part of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , but its principles are doubtless to be found in the 13 th and 14 th degrees ; and although the present ritual differs very much from that in use previous to 1813 , the Royal Arch , as far as we can discover , has for a very long period formed part of Masonic ceremonial in Great Britain .
In the Degree of Perfection , as practised in the United States , among the decorations of the Lodge room is a transparency , placed behind the chair of the Master , representing a burning bush enveloping a triangle , and the letters mrv in the centre of the fire . In the west is a pillar of beauty . The pedestal is formed from the fragr ¦ y » ~| -. 19 * 11 1 * 11 ' _ £ ~ l " Jl 1 1 nients of Enoch which found in the ruins
's pillar , , being , were put together for that purpose . Other curious things , which were also found there , are disposed in convenient situations * The position of the companions , when seated , forms a triangle ; and the twenty * four lights are placed three , and five in the west , seven in the south l and nine behind the Master ' s chair .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Historical Degrees;
fleet with wlpeh , aided by mariners from Tyre , he traded to Ophir for valuable comtnbdities and the precious metals . His extended power and influence at length corrupted his virtue ; he plunged into all manner of licentiousness , and the latter actions of his life inflicted
a deep disgrace on his character : he took wives and concubines from among the idolatrous nations around him , who perverted his heart so that lie worshipped Ashtoreth of the Sidoniahs , Moloch of the Ammonites , and Chemosh of the Moabites , to whom he built temples on the Mount of Olives ; and ^ to neglected the worship of the true God for that of idols . The Gteand
Elect and Perfect Masons saw this , and were sorely / grieved ^ afraid that his apostacy would end in some \ dreadful consequences , and bring upoii them those enemies whom Solomon had before defied . The day of the vengeance of the Most High did couie ; Jeroboam headed a rebellion against the King ; and thirty years after the com * pletion of the Temple Solomon died , and Rehoboam , his son by one
of his Ammonite wives , succeeded ; ten of the tribes revolted , and Shishak , King of Egypt , dame with an army , carried off the treasures Of the Lord ' s house and all the King ' s gold and silver , laying waste the whole country . After the lapse of four centuries from the death of Solomon , Nebuchadnezzar , the King of Babylon , sent his general jNehuzaradan with art army which desolated Judsea with fire and
sword ; they took and sacked Jerusalem , razed the wall of the city , and destroyed the Temple . The conquerors carried the people captives to Babylon , leaving only a remnant of the lower class to till the land . The holy things of the Temple , its gold and silver vessels , were borne away . "
All the degrees which we have thus described are in the United States conferred in a body called the Lodge of Perfection . In England they are acknowledged by the Supreme Council when the the Rose Croix is given , and included in the certificate of that degree . It is scarcely necessary for us to mention that the Royal Arch
degree , as such , forms no part of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , but its principles are doubtless to be found in the 13 th and 14 th degrees ; and although the present ritual differs very much from that in use previous to 1813 , the Royal Arch , as far as we can discover , has for a very long period formed part of Masonic ceremonial in Great Britain .
In the Degree of Perfection , as practised in the United States , among the decorations of the Lodge room is a transparency , placed behind the chair of the Master , representing a burning bush enveloping a triangle , and the letters mrv in the centre of the fire . In the west is a pillar of beauty . The pedestal is formed from the fragr ¦ y » ~| -. 19 * 11 1 * 11 ' _ £ ~ l " Jl 1 1 nients of Enoch which found in the ruins
's pillar , , being , were put together for that purpose . Other curious things , which were also found there , are disposed in convenient situations * The position of the companions , when seated , forms a triangle ; and the twenty * four lights are placed three , and five in the west , seven in the south l and nine behind the Master ' s chair .