Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist was the son of a Priest who ministered in the Temple at Jerusalem. He preached baptism, charity, justice, liberality, equity, fair dealing, peace, truth, contentment, to accuse none falsely, and to lead a virtuous life.
In the Dead Sea region John led a spiritual community known as the Essenes. The Essenes were devout mystical Jews who refused to live under Roman occupation of Jerusalem and occupied the caves around the Dead Sea. They prayed for a Messiah (meaning “anointed one”) from the royal bloodline of King David to liberate the Jewish people from Roman domination. Many of the Essenes, including John the Baptist, came from a priestly family. They kept the Sabbath more rigorously than the Jews. Before sunrise they never spoke about profane matters and prayed and sang hymns. They were peaceful and had a greater affection for each other than the members of any other sect, fulfilling the commandment to “Love one another.” They cultivated the science of medicine, and had their own courts. They dressed in white robes. They had initiations into their mysteries in four Degrees. The Candidate promised that he would ever practice fidelity to all men, and especially to those in authority, “because no one obtains the government without God's assistance.”(3)
The Essenes spoke in terms of light and darkness, and they believed the souls of men to have fallen from the regions of purity and light into the bodies which they occupy.(4) Jesus’ doctrines are in many points in perfect resemblance to the doctrines of the Essenes.(5) It is believed that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was an Essene, and of course we know from New Testament scriptures that Jesus was a cousin of John the Baptist.
John, who was often consulted by King Herod, denounced Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife as unlawful. For this he was imprisoned, and he was beheaded before Jesus began to preach. Many of the people, especially among the working classes, believed John to be a prophet, though the priests and Pharisees did not.(6) Jesus declared that John was a prophet, and more than a prophet—the return of Elijah, and that no greater man had ever been born. In Matthew 11:9-14, Jesus said to the multitudes concerning John:
"But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
In the Middle East there is an ancient sect of Gnostics known as the Mandeans, who are also known as the “Wise of John” and “Christians of John.” They are believed to have originated in Jordan where John the Baptist preached. The mystical doctrine of the Mandeans was said by legend to have been transmitted from the Therapeutae of Egypt to Moses, who transmitted it to the Essenes where John the Baptist is said to have received it. The Mandeans regarded John the Baptist as the Initiator of Jesus, who transmitted the Light to the John the Evangelist, Masonry’s other patron saint.(7)
There are remarkable similarities between the Essenes and the earliest Christians. They lived in communal societies, practiced baptism, faith healing, and the sacred communal meal of bread and wine. The tradition of the Last Supper can be traced back to this communal meal of the Essenes. The Essenes’ practice of communion is said to go back to a key figure in Judaism known as Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “teacher of righteousness.” In the Old Testament, Melchizedek is the High Priest who served the communion of bread and wine to Abraham. The Templars considered the Essenes to have been heirs and guardians of the Priesthood of Melchizedek. Like the Mandeans, the Templars also held a tradition that John the Baptist, Jesus, and their parents were Essenes and guardians of the Priesthood of Melchizedek.(8)
A curious similarity between the Mandeans and Templars is the significance of the severed head. It was one of the peculiar symbols of the Mandeans, a reminder of the martyrdom of John the Baptist. In connection, it is noteworthy that during the Holy Inquisition, one of the many accusations against the Templars was that they venerated a severed head, and in fact many Templars did allude to the head of an old bearded man as the symbol of their Grand Master.(9)
Finally, in the first of the Philosophical Degrees of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, the Knight of the East and West, there is significant attention on the mixing of the Essenes of the Dead Sea and the Therapeutae of Egypt, which were strikingly similar in their ideas. This is the beginning of the course of instruction said to unveil “the heart and inner mysteries of Masonry,” which begins by saying:
“We are about to approach those ancient Religions which once ruled the minds of men, and whose ruins encumber the plains of the great Past, as the broken columns of Palmyra and Tadmor lie bleaching on the sands of the desert. They rise before us, those old, strange, mysterious creeds and faiths, shrouded in the mists of antiquity, and stalk dimly and undefined along the line which divides Time from Eternity…”(10)
Sources:
1 Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Charleston, 1906).
2 William Jones, The History of the Christian Church: From the Birth of Christ to the Eighteenth Century, Including the Very Interesting Account of the Waldenses and Albigenses, Vol. 1 (London, 1819), lxxiii.
3 Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Charleston, 1906).
4 Ibid.
5 Tau Charles Harmonius II. “Major Synods of the Gnostic Church in the 19th Century,” Eglise Primitif Chretien & Eglise Gnostique Universelle.
6 John Cole. “The Sons of Zadok and The Christian Gnosis.”
7 Tau Charles Harmonius II. “Major Synods of the Gnostic Church in the 19th Century,” Eglise Primitif Chretien & Eglise Gnostique Universelle.
8 Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Charleston, 1906).
In the Dead Sea region John led a spiritual community known as the Essenes. The Essenes were devout mystical Jews who refused to live under Roman occupation of Jerusalem and occupied the caves around the Dead Sea. They prayed for a Messiah (meaning “anointed one”) from the royal bloodline of King David to liberate the Jewish people from Roman domination. Many of the Essenes, including John the Baptist, came from a priestly family. They kept the Sabbath more rigorously than the Jews. Before sunrise they never spoke about profane matters and prayed and sang hymns. They were peaceful and had a greater affection for each other than the members of any other sect, fulfilling the commandment to “Love one another.” They cultivated the science of medicine, and had their own courts. They dressed in white robes. They had initiations into their mysteries in four Degrees. The Candidate promised that he would ever practice fidelity to all men, and especially to those in authority, “because no one obtains the government without God's assistance.”(3)
The Essenes spoke in terms of light and darkness, and they believed the souls of men to have fallen from the regions of purity and light into the bodies which they occupy.(4) Jesus’ doctrines are in many points in perfect resemblance to the doctrines of the Essenes.(5) It is believed that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was an Essene, and of course we know from New Testament scriptures that Jesus was a cousin of John the Baptist.
John, who was often consulted by King Herod, denounced Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife as unlawful. For this he was imprisoned, and he was beheaded before Jesus began to preach. Many of the people, especially among the working classes, believed John to be a prophet, though the priests and Pharisees did not.(6) Jesus declared that John was a prophet, and more than a prophet—the return of Elijah, and that no greater man had ever been born. In Matthew 11:9-14, Jesus said to the multitudes concerning John:
"But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
In the Middle East there is an ancient sect of Gnostics known as the Mandeans, who are also known as the “Wise of John” and “Christians of John.” They are believed to have originated in Jordan where John the Baptist preached. The mystical doctrine of the Mandeans was said by legend to have been transmitted from the Therapeutae of Egypt to Moses, who transmitted it to the Essenes where John the Baptist is said to have received it. The Mandeans regarded John the Baptist as the Initiator of Jesus, who transmitted the Light to the John the Evangelist, Masonry’s other patron saint.(7)
There are remarkable similarities between the Essenes and the earliest Christians. They lived in communal societies, practiced baptism, faith healing, and the sacred communal meal of bread and wine. The tradition of the Last Supper can be traced back to this communal meal of the Essenes. The Essenes’ practice of communion is said to go back to a key figure in Judaism known as Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “teacher of righteousness.” In the Old Testament, Melchizedek is the High Priest who served the communion of bread and wine to Abraham. The Templars considered the Essenes to have been heirs and guardians of the Priesthood of Melchizedek. Like the Mandeans, the Templars also held a tradition that John the Baptist, Jesus, and their parents were Essenes and guardians of the Priesthood of Melchizedek.(8)
A curious similarity between the Mandeans and Templars is the significance of the severed head. It was one of the peculiar symbols of the Mandeans, a reminder of the martyrdom of John the Baptist. In connection, it is noteworthy that during the Holy Inquisition, one of the many accusations against the Templars was that they venerated a severed head, and in fact many Templars did allude to the head of an old bearded man as the symbol of their Grand Master.(9)
Finally, in the first of the Philosophical Degrees of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, the Knight of the East and West, there is significant attention on the mixing of the Essenes of the Dead Sea and the Therapeutae of Egypt, which were strikingly similar in their ideas. This is the beginning of the course of instruction said to unveil “the heart and inner mysteries of Masonry,” which begins by saying:
“We are about to approach those ancient Religions which once ruled the minds of men, and whose ruins encumber the plains of the great Past, as the broken columns of Palmyra and Tadmor lie bleaching on the sands of the desert. They rise before us, those old, strange, mysterious creeds and faiths, shrouded in the mists of antiquity, and stalk dimly and undefined along the line which divides Time from Eternity…”(10)
Sources:
1 Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Charleston, 1906).
2 William Jones, The History of the Christian Church: From the Birth of Christ to the Eighteenth Century, Including the Very Interesting Account of the Waldenses and Albigenses, Vol. 1 (London, 1819), lxxiii.
3 Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Charleston, 1906).
4 Ibid.
5 Tau Charles Harmonius II. “Major Synods of the Gnostic Church in the 19th Century,” Eglise Primitif Chretien & Eglise Gnostique Universelle.
6 John Cole. “The Sons of Zadok and The Christian Gnosis.”
7 Tau Charles Harmonius II. “Major Synods of the Gnostic Church in the 19th Century,” Eglise Primitif Chretien & Eglise Gnostique Universelle.
8 Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Charleston, 1906).