14th

Tatenn Ra

The first division of our Degrees, from the Fourth to the Fourteenth, includes those known as the Ineffable Degrees. This is because their principal purpose is the investigation and contemplation of the ineffable name of Deity. The word 'ineffable' derives from Latin ineffabilis which means something which should not be spoken. The ineffable name of God was and is known as the TETRAGRAMMATON. Tetra means 4. Gramma means letter. In Greek, it signifies, a word of four letters. It is the title given by the Talmudists to the name of God, Jehovah, which in the original Hebrew consists of four letters, JHVH. The vowels were added to form a pronounceable word. The Jews, who reverently avoided the pronunciation of the sacred name Jehovah, were accustomed, whenever that name occurred, to substitute for it the word Adonai. As used in these degrees, it refers to the belief of ancient Judaism that the name of God was not to be spoken. This concept forms a metaphor (An implied comparison between two different things; figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily means one thing is applied to another thing in order to suggest a likeness between the two.) for the Scottish Rite teaching. Each degree has for its sacred word one of the substitute names of the Deity, expressive of his attributes. The Ineffable Degrees of the Scottish Rite are built upon the legend that forms the basis of the 3rd Degree Ritual of the Symbolic Lodges. The Scottish Rite elaborates on this legend. First some clarification should be made concerning the difference between factual history and Masonic tradition. In school we were not properly taught about Myths or Legends. A Myth we must remember is not mere fiction; it may be truer than written history; it is a great truth embodied in a pictorial symbolic form. All symbols in the story are employed with a definite meaning; we need therefore, to know the true meaning of the symbols in order to read the true meaning of the Myth. The phrase 'Masonic tradition informs us' is an indication that we are not as much concerned (MASONICALLLY) with the details of historical fact as we are with the opportunities of symbolic instruction that are provided in the historical narrative. Thus the Biblical account of the story of Hiram is occasionally at variance with the legend as told in 1 Kings 7:40 that Hiram finished all the work he had been commissioned to do by King Solomon and presumably returned to his own country. But Masonic tradition asserts the death of Hiram during the construction of the Temple. The Ineffable Degrees continue to elaborate this Masonic legend, occasionally extracting from the Bible certain portions which are beneficially used to create characters, sets and themes.

The death of the Master Hiram is mourned for an appropriate time and then the work is continued on the House of the Lord with the responsibilities of Hiram's duties being apportioned among several of the best craftsmen. The search is begun for the assassins, all of whom are captured and receive the due reward of their deed.

The threads of legend dealing with Solomon and the Temple are then merged with an even older legend dealing with Enoch, one of the earliest of the Hebrew Patriarchs. It is discovered that Solomon's Temple has been built near the ruins of an ancient temple erected by Enoch and a Secret vault is discovered which is part of that original temple.

The legend of the Ineffable Degrees ends in triumph and disaster: the Temple is finished, the sacred name of Deity is discovered, and the Perfect Elus are created; Solomon, however, departs from the ways of the Lord and begins to sacrifice to other gods on high places and the majority of the people follow him into this apostasy. The Perfect Elus maintain the true faith in the face of much adversity and continue to transmit with scrupulous purity the knowledge of the true God. As a punishment against the people for turning from God, Israel is conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and the Jews are led away to captivity in Babylon. The Temple, so spacious and magnificent, does not escape the unsparing ravages of barbarous force. The holy vessels are carried away and the immense brazen pillars, Jachin and Boaz, are torn down and melted to serve the needs or desires of the conquerors.

You now take your first step into our sanctuary in search of truth and knowledge, the most genuine and real of human treasures. You have been told that truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue. You were told that to be good and true is the first lesson you are taught in Masonry. In this endeavor you must learn to seek, read, study, reflect, digest and discriminate. The light of knowledge develops the soul of man and assures the reward of his aspirations for continuance after death. In the faithful pursuit of these ideals you will serve yourself, your fellow members, and mankind.

I stated that the concept of the ineffable name forms a metaphor for the Scottish Rite teaching. If this is the case, what is actually being taught in the Lodge of Perfection? What does the symbolism mean? This is where passing on knowledge comes in to play. It is one of the lamentable weaknesses of Masonry that the newly initiated candidate is left to shift (manage) for himself, and not instructed that there is more to Masonry than just a few grips, signs, and passwords. He has received the key, the degrees (AN OUTWARD DISPLAY OF AN INWARD FACT), and it is necessary if he desires more, to leave the rut of ritualistic routine and inform himself on the nature and character of the institution. He must enter the recesses of its caverns with Masonic pick and shovel, in search of the jewels hidden there, and invest himself with the rich fruits of Masonic knowledge.

The esoteric meaning of our Scottish Rite degrees is not definitively interpreted. That is they must be studied from the standpoint of the science of symbolism. You may do this for yourself. Secrets are hidden from all but the discerning few and are revealed only through fuller and deeper study. For example, in ancient mythology a square is the symbol of the material and principle (law, rule of action). A cube, the symbol of the material man. A triangle is the symbol of Deity and, by association, off all things divine and of the spiritual. Hence, a triangle within a square or upon the face of a cube which appears similar, symbolizes the divine within the material. This is symbolized in the Master Mason's apron. A triangle in a square.

In the Lodge of Perfection we find the Ineffable Name of God engraved on a triangle of gold and sunk into the side of a cube of agate, and buried underground in a secret vault.

Now lets delve into this symbolism. The Lodge of Perfection meets in a place representing the sacred vault of King Solomon's Temple. This sacred vault represents the place inside each one of us where the spirit of God resides. The seat of God's throne in us. The triangle is a symbol of Deity. The cube the symbol of man. The gold represents wisdom. Buried underground means descended from heaven to earth. Agate stone is symbolic of acquired truth. We are seeking truth remember. What is the ultimate truth? God. So what do we have? Lets look deeper. Enoch was a man of perfect virtue to whom God revealed his name. The symbolism behind knowing the name of something is that you know the nature and character of it. The symbolism of Enoch is that each one of us can be Enoch and can acquire the knowledge of God through a virtuous life. The cube which he buried underground with the plate of gold stamped into the side with the name of God engraved upon it is man on earth. Symbolically the underground is earth and above ground is heaven. Man is on earth with the spirit of God inside him. Agate symbolizing acquired knowledge. The cube of agate symbolizes man made perfect through acquired knowledge. We seek to become perfect ashlars. When you say you are a Master Mason you are saying I have developed through the acquired knowledge of God. You were in the third degree given a pass and token of the pass. When ask for the pass you say __________. In other words you founded the art and science of smith craft of gold, silver, and iron. Metals are symbols of higher and lower qualities; as gold, wisdom; silver, higher mental; iron, lower mental. The metals all figure truths; gold and silver, those which are more precious and spiritual; brass and iron, those of an inferior class connected with the outward world. This name also signifies a masons labors to acquire truth. It further is a symbol of the dawn of the intellect with its incisive powers of analysis and discrimination. Incisive is having the quality of cutting into anything; in other words sharply and clearly expressive. Analysis is a resolution of a thing into its elements. Discriminate is making a distinction. These are the things we use to acquire truth. The ultimate truth being God. In the Lodge of Perfection Yod He Vau He. The metaphor for the teaching of the Lodge of Perfection. This ends the introduction to the Lodge of Perfection. My brothers come off the porch and lets walk in the Temple.

THRICE POTENT MASTER

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