The Tabernacle in the Wilderness

MANLY HALL From the book "The Secret Teachings of All Ages"
There is no doubt that much of the material recorded in the first five books of
the Old Testament ritual is derived from the introduction of the Egyptian Myster
ies. The priests of Isis were deeply versed in occult knowledge, and the Israeli
tes during their captivity in Egypt learned from them many things about the sign
ificance of the Godhead and how to worship. The authorship of the first five boo
ks of the Old Testament is generally attributed to Moses, but if it was the real
author of them or not is a matter of controversy. There is considerable evidenc
e to substantiate the hypothesis that the Pentateuch was compiled at a much late
r date, the oral traditions. With regard to the authorship of these books, Thoma
s Inman makes a rather surprising statement: "It is true that we have books that
appear to be the books of Moses, so there are, or have been, books that appear
to be written by Homer, Orpheus, Enoch, Mormon, and Junius, but the existence of
the writings and the belief that they were written by those whose names they ar
e sold, not actual evidence of the men or the authenticity of the work referred
to by their names. It is also true that Moses is spoken occasionally at the time
of the first kings of Jerusalem, but it is clear that these passages are writte
n by a later hand, and have been introduced in places where they are, with the d
efinite intention of making it appear that the legislature was known of David an
d Solomon. " (See Ancient Faiths embodied in Ancient Names.) While this noted sc
holar undoubtedly had much evidence to support his belief, it seems that this st
atement is too radical in character. It is apparently based on the fact that Tho
mas Inman doubted the historical existence of Moses. This doubt was based on the
meaning of the word like Moses to the old name of the sun. As a result of these
deductions, Inman sought to prove that the legislator of Israel was merely anot
her form of the ubiquitous solar myth. While Inman demonstrated that by transpos
ing two of the ancient letters the word Moses ( ) ‫ השמ‬became Shemmah ( ,) a name
‫ המש‬celestial globe, seems to have overlooked the fact that in the ancient Myst
eries with often gave the names synonymous with the sun started to symbolize the
fact that he had been the redemption and regeneration of solar power within the
ir own natures. It is much more likely that the man we know as Moses was an accr
edited representative of the secret schools, working - as many other emissaries
have worked - to instruct the early races in the mysteries of their immortal sou
ls. The real name of the Great Father of Israel who is known to history as Moses
probably never find out. The word Moses, when understood in its esoteric Egypti
an sense, means it has been admitted into the Mystery Schools of Wisdom and has
started to teach the ignorant about the will of the gods and the mysteries of li
fe, as these mysteries were explained within the temples of Isis, Osiris, and Se
rapis. There is much controversy regarding the nationality of Moses. Some say he
was a Jew, adopted and educated by the ruling house of Egypt, others
support the view that it was entirely Egyptian blood. So some believe that it wa
s identical to the immortal Hermes, because these two illustrious founders of re
ligious systems were tables of heaven supposedly written by the finger of God. T
he stories told about Moses, his discovery in the boat of reeds by the daughter
of Pharaoh, and his adoption into the royal family of Egypt, and later revolt ag
ainst Egyptian autocracy coincide exactly with certain ceremonies through which
passed Egyptian Mysteries candidates in their ritualistic pilgrimages in search
for truth and understanding. The analogy can also be traced in the movements of
celestial bodies. It is not strange that the erudite Moses, initiated in Egypt,
should teach the Jews a philosophy containing the most important principles of E
gyptian esotericism. Religions of Egypt at the time of the Israelite captivity w
ere much older than the Egyptians themselves realizing it. The stories were diff
icult to compile in those days, and the Egyptians were satisfied to trace their
mythological race to a period when the gods themselves walked the land and their
own power established the Double Empire of the Nile The Egyptians did not fanta
size that these divine parents were the Atlanteans, who,€forced to abandon its s
even islands due to volcanic cataclysms, had immigrated to Egypt - then an Atlan
tean colony - where they established a great philosophical and literary center o
f civilization that would later profoundly influence in religions and races and
countless science peoples. Today, Egypt is forgotten, but things Egyptian will a
lways be remembered and revered. Egypt is dead - but lives immortal in its philo
sophy and architecture. As Odin founded his Mysteries in Scandinavia, and Quexal
coatl in Mexico, so Moses, then working with the nomadic peoples of the twelve t
ribes of Israel, established in the midst of them his secret and symbolic school
, which has become known as The Mysteries of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle of t
he Jews was merely a church designed like the temples of Egypt, and transportabl
e to meet the needs of this provision of the wandering Israelites who were famou
s. All parts of the Tabernacle and the enclosure that surrounded it were symboli
c of a great natural or philosophic truth. To the ignorant it was but a place to
bring offerings and in which to make sacrifices for the wise was a temple of kn
owledge, sacred to the Universal Spirit of Wisdom. While the greatest minds of J
ewish and Christian worlds have realized that the Bible is a book of allegories,
few seem to have taken the trouble to research its symbols and parables. While
Moses instituted his Mysteries, is said to have returned to a few chosen initiat
es certain oral teachings which could never be written but had to be preserved f
rom one generation to the next by word of mouth transmission. These instructions
were in the form of philosophical keys, through which were allegories to reveal
their hidden meaning. These mystic keys to their sacred writings were called by
the Jews Qabbalah (Cabala, Kaballah). The modern world seems to have forgotten
the existence of those unwritten teachings explain satisfactorily the apparent c
ontradictions of the Scriptures written, or remember that the pagans designated
their two-faced Janus as custodian of the key to the Temple of Wisdom. Janus has
been metamorphosed into St. Peter, so often symbolized in the hand holding the
key to the gate of heaven. Gold keys
Silver "Vicar of God on Earth," the Pope, symbolizes this "secret doctrine" whic
h, when properly understood, opens the treasure chest of Jewish and Christian Ka
bbalah. The temples of Egyptian mysticism (of which the Tabernacle was copied) w
ere - according to their own priests - miniature representations of the universe
. The solar system was always considered as a big temple of initiation, which ca
ndidates entered through the gates of birth, after walking through the winding p
assageways of earthly existence, he finally approached the veil of the Great Mys
tery - Death "through the door again disappeared in the invisible world. Socrate
s subtly reminded his disciples that Death was, in fact, the great initiation, a
nd that his last words were: "Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius; are you going to
agree to pay the debt?" (As the rooster was sacred to the gods and the sacrific
e of the bird accompanied the introduction of the candidate in the Mysteries, So
crates implied that he was about to take his great initiation.) Life is the grea
t mystery, and only those who successfully pass through their evidence, correctl
y interpreting and extracting the essence of the experience there, achieve true
understanding. So temples were built in the shape of the world and their rituals
were based on life and its myriad problems. Not only the Tabernacle itself was
designed according to Egyptian mysticism, his utensils were also the ancient and
accepted form. The Ark
THE ANCIENT OF DAYS.
Antiquities of Montfaucon. It is in this way than is generally imagined by the K
abbalists Lord. The drawing is intended to represent the Demiurge of the Greeks
and Gnostics, called by the Greeks "Zeus," The Mortal Immortal, and the Hebrew "
YHWH."
p. 134
Alliance itself was an adaptation of Egyptian Ark, even in the kneeling figures
on its cover. The bas-reliefs in the Temple of Philae show Egyptian priests that
bear his Ark - which closely resembles the Ark of the Jews - on their shoulders
by means of rods such as those described in Exodus. The following description o
f the Tabernacle and its priests is based on the story of its construction and c
eremonies recorded by Josephus in the Third Book of his Antiquities of the Jews.
€The references in the Bible is a Bible "Breeches" (famous for his portrayal of
the seventh verse of the third chapter of Genesis), printed in London in 1599, a
nd references are reproduced in their original spelling and punctuation.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE
Moses, speaking for the Lord God of Israel, appointed two architects to oversee
the construction of the Tabernacle. They were Besaleel, son of Uri, of the tribe
of Judah, and Aholiab, Ahisamach son of the tribe of Dan. The popularity was so
great that they were also the unanimous choice of the people. When Jacob on his
deathbed blessed his sons (see Genesis xlix), assigned to each symbol. The symb
ol of Judah was a lion, the Dan a snake or a bird (possibly an eagle). The lion
and the eagle are two of the four beasts of the Cherubim (the fixed signs of the
zodiac), and the Rosicrucian alchemists maintained that the mysterious Stone of
the Wise (the Soul) consisted of assistance from the Red Lion's Blood Gluten of
the White Eagle. It seems likely that there is a hidden mystical relationship b
etween fire (Red Lion), water (White Eagle), as used in occult chemistry, and re
presentatives of these two tribes whose symbols were identical to those elements
of alchemy. As the Tabernacle was the dwelling of God among men, just as the so
ul body in man is the abode of his divine nature, around which a constitution me
ets twelve times more material in the same manner in which the tribes of Israel
camped around the enclosure sacred to Jehovah. The idea that the Tabernacle was
really symbolic of an invisible spiritual truth beyond the comprehension of the
Israelites is substantiated by a declaration made in the eighth chapter of Hebre
ws: "And they serve as models and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was warned
by God when he was about to finish the Tabernacle. " Here we find the physical
place of worship material called "shadow" or symbol of a spiritual institution,
invisible but omnipotent. Tabernacle specifications are described in the book of
Exodus, chapter twenty-five: "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, and said, Speak to
the children of Israel to bring me an offering of all the men who voluntarily di
eren of heart, you shall take the offering for me. And this is the offering whic
h ye shall take of them, gold and silver, and copper, and blue silk, and purple,
and scarlet and fine linen and goat hair. And rams' skins dyed red , and badger
s' skins, and acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and the
fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones to set, for the ephod, and for the bre
astplate. They will also make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell among them. A
ccording to all that I show you the design of the Tabernacle, and the design of
all its furniture, so you shall make. " The atrium of the Tabernacle was an encl
osed area, fifty cubits wide and one hundred cubits long, circumscribed by a wal
l of linen curtains hung from brass pillars, five cubits apart. (The elbow is an
old standard of measurement, its length is equal to the distance between the el
bow and the extreme point of the index finger, approximately eighteen inches.) T
here were twenty of these pillars on each long side, and ten at the most short.
Each pillar had a base of copper and silver capital. The Tabernacle always place
d with the longer sides facing north and south and the shorter sides facing east
and west, the east entrance, showing the influence of the primitive sun worship
. The outer court served the main purpose of isolating the Tabernacle tent itsel
f, which was in the middle of the enclosure. At the entrance to the courtyard, w
hich was on the eastern side of the rectangle was the Altar of Incense, fact
copper plates on wood and ornamented with the horns of bulls and rams. Further i
n, but in line with this altar, was the source of purification, a large receptac
le containing water for priestly ablutions. La Fuente was twofold in its constru
ction, the top was a large bowl, probably covered, which served as a source of s
upply for a lower basin in which the priests bathed before participating in vari
ous ceremonies. It is assumed that the source was embedded with metal mirrors of
the women of the twelve tribes of Israel. The dimensions of the Tabernacle itse
lf were as follows: "Its length, when it was erected, was thirty cubits, and its
breadth was ten cubits. One of the walls is in the south, and the other was exp
osed to the north and the left rear of the west.€It was necessary that its heigh
t is equal to its width (ten elbows). "(Josephus.) is the custom of dividing bib
liological inside the Tabernacle into two rooms: one room ten cubits wide, ten c
ubits high, and twenty cubits long, which was called the Holy Place contained th
ree special units, namely the SieteBrazos Chandelier, the Bureau of the Loaves a
nd the Altar of Incense, the other room ten cubits wide, ten cubits high, and te
n cubits long, which was called the Holy of Holies and contained a single piece
of furniture - the Ark of the Covenant. The two rooms were separated by an ornam
ental veil upon which were embroidered many types of flowers, but no animal or h
uman figure. Josephus gives an indication that there was a third compartment whi
ch was formed by subdividing the Holy Place, at least hypothetically, into two c
hambers. The Jewish historian is not very explicit in his description of this th
ird room, and most writers seem have gone from completely overlooked and ignored
this point, although Josephus emphatically states that Moses himself divided th
e inner tent into three sections. The veil that separated the Holy Place of the
Holy of Holies was hung on four pillars, which probably indicated in a subtle fo
ur elements, while the entrance of the tent proper the Jews placed seven pillars
, which referred to the seven senses and the seven vowels of the Sacred Name. Th
at later only five pillars are mentioned may be explained by the fact that at th
e present time man has only five developed senses and five active members. The o
ld Jewish writer of The curtains Baraitha is as follows: "It had provided ten cu
rtains of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen . As they say, 'Moreov
er thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely woven linen and bl
ue, and purple, and scarlet. " * * * It had provided eleven curtains of goat hai
r, the length of each was thirty cubits, * * *. Rabbi Judah said, 'There were tw
o blankets the bottom of rams' skins dyed red, and the top of sealskin. '"Calmet
is of the opinion that the Hebrew word translated as" badger "really means" dar
k purple "and therefore did not refer to any particular animal, but probably to
a laboriously woven fabric waterproof and dark inconspicuous. During the time of
Israel's wandering through the desert, it is assumed that a pillar of fire hove
red over the Tabernacle at night, while a column of smoke traveled with him duri
ng the day. This cloud was called by the Jews the Shekhinah and was symbolic of
the Lord's presence. In one of the first Jewish books rejected at the time of th
e compilation of the Talmud, the following description of the Shekhinah:
"Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord fi
lled the Tabernacle. And that was one of the clouds of glory, which served the I
sraelites in the wilderness forty years. A right, and the left, and before them,
and behind them. And one of them, and a cloud dwelling in the middle (and the c
loud, the Shekhinah was in the shop), and the pillar of cloud moved to them, mak
ing them low to the high places, and making them high to high places, and killin
g snakes and scorpions, and burning thorns and roots, and guiding it straight. "
(From The Baraitha, the Book of the Tabernacle.)
THE FURNITURE OF THE TABERNACLE
There is no doubt that the Tabernacle, its furnishings and ceremonials, when con
sidered esoterically, are analogous to the structure, organs and body functions.
At the entrance to the outer court of the Tabernacle was the Altar of Incense,
five cubits long and five cubits wide but only three cubits high. Its upper surf
ace was a bronze grill on which the sacrifice was placed, while downstairs there
was a space for the fire. This altar was supposed
High Priest's breastplate.
Dictionary of the Holy Bible Calmet. The order of the stones and the tribe over
which each were administered, according to Calmet, as in the diagram above. Thes
e gems, according to the Rosicrucians, were symbolic of the twelve great qualiti
es and virtues: Light, Love, Wisdom, Truth, Justice, Peace, Balance, Humility, F
aith, Strength, Joy, Victoria.
p. 135
a candidate, when you first enter the precincts of the sanctuary, must offer on
the altar of bronze is not a poor harmless bull or ram, but his correspondence i
n his own nature. The bull, being symbolic of strength, dense represented its ow
n constitution which must be burned by the fire of his Divinity. (The sacrifice
of beasts,€and in some cases of human beings on the altars of the pagans was the
result of his ignorance of the fundamental principle behind the slaughter. They
did not realize that their offerings must come from within his own nature to be
acceptable.) Further west, in line with the Brazen Altar, was the source of Pur
ification already described. It meant the priest should clean not only your body
but also the soul of all impurity spots, and none which are not clean in both b
ody and mind can enter the presence of the Divine and live. Beyond the Source of
Purification was the entrance of the Tabernacle proper, facing east, so that th
e first rays of the rising sun and light could enter the chamber. Among the pill
ars embedded could see the Holy Place, a mysterious chamber, its walls hung with
magnificent drapes embroidered with the faces of cherubs. Against the wall on t
he south side of the Holy Place was the great candlestick, or lamp, of beaten go
ld, believed to weigh about one hundred pounds. From its central axis is off six
arms, each ending with a cup-shaped depression in which stood an oil lamp. Ther
e were seven lamps, three on the arms of each side and one on the central stem.
The Candlestick was ornamented with seventy-two almonds, embossed buttons, and f
lowers. Josephus says seventy, but wherever this round number is used by the Jew
s really means seventy-two. In front of the Candelabra, against the north wall w
as a table with twelve loaves of bread in two stacks of six loaves each. (Calmet
is of the opinion that the bread was not stacked but scattered on the table in
two rows, each containing six loaves.) On the table were also two lighted incens
e, which were placed on top of piles of bread so that the smoke of incense aroma
could be acceptable to the Lord, carrying with him in his ascent the soul of th
e Pan In the center of the room, almost against the partition leading to the Hol
y of Holies, stood the Altar Incense, made of wood veneer with golden plates. It
s width and length were each a cubit and its height was two cubits. This altar w
as symbolic of the human larynx, of which the words of the man's mouth as an off
ering amount acceptable to the Lord, because the larynx is ranked in the constit
ution of man between the Holy Place, which is the trunk of his body, and the Hol
y of Holies, which is the head with its contents. No one could enter the Holy of
Holies except the High Priest, and he prescribed only at certain times. The roo
m contained no furniture except the Ark of the Covenant, which was against the w
estern wall, opposite the entrance. In Exodus gives the dimensions of the Ark as
two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half its width and a cubit and a half
its height. It was made of acacia wood, plated with gold inside and out, and co
ntained the sacred tablets of the Law given to Moses on Sinai. The cover of the
Ark was shaped like a gold plate on which they knelt two mysterious creatures ca
lled Cherubim, facing each other, with wings arched over his head. It was on thi
s seat of grace
between the wings of heaven that the Lord of Israel descended when he wanted to
communicate with their High Priest. The furnishings of the Tabernacle were made
to be conveniently portable. Each altar and implement of any size was supplied w
ith rods that could be: through rings, by this means could be lifted and carried
by four or more carriers. The rods were never removed from the Ark of the Coven
ant until he was finally placed in the Holy of Holies of the Everlasting House,
the Temple of King Solomon. There is no doubt that the Jews of earlier times rea
lized, at least in part, that the Tabernacle was a symbolic structure. Josephus
realized this and while it was severely criticized because he played the Taberna
cle symbolism according to Egyptian and Greek paganism, his description of the s
ecret meanings of your curtains and furniture are well worth consideration. He s
ays: "When Moses distinguished the tabernacle into three parts, and allowed two
of them priests, as an accessible and common, he symbolized the land and sea, th
ese being generally accessible for all, but distinguished the third division God
, because heaven is inaccessible to men. And when he ordered twelve loaves were
placed on the table symbolized the year, as distinguished in as many months. The
 branch candlestick into seventy parts,€he secretly intimated the Decani, or sev
enty divisions of the planets, and with respect to the seven lamps on the candle
sticks, they referred to the course of the planets, of which this is number. The
veils, too, that were composed of four things, they declared the four elements,
because the plain linen was proper to signify the earth, because the flax grows
out of the earth, the purple signified the sea, because that color is dyed by b
lood of a marine crustacean, the blue is appropriate to signify the air, and the
scarlet will naturally be an indication of fire. "Since the High Priest's dress
is made of linen, signified the earth, the blue denoted the sky, being like lig
htning in its pomegranates, and the sound of the bells that seemed to thunder. A
nd for the ephod, showed that God made the universe of four (elements), and as f
or the gold interwoven, * * * was related to the splendor by which all things ar
e illuminated. He also appointed the breastplate as the place in the middle of t
he ephod, which resembled the land, the very place that has half the world. And
the belt wrapped around the high priest meant the ocean, as it goes around and i
ncludes the universe. sardonyx Each declares us the sun and the moon those, I me
an, they were in the nature of the buttons on the shoulders of the High Priest.
And as for the twelve stones, if we understand them months, or if we understand
the same number as the signs of that circle that Greeks call the Zodiac, we are
not mistaken in their meaning. And as for the miter, which was blue, I think tha
t means the sky, for how else could register the name of God in it? That was als
o illustrated with a crown, and also was of gold, is because of that splendor wi
th which God is satisfied. " It is also symbolically significant that the Tabern
acle was built in seven months and dedicated to God at the time of the new moon.
The metals used in the construction of the Tabernacle were all emblematic. Gold
represents spirituality, and the golden plates placed on the acacia wood were e
mblems of the spiritual nature which glorifies human nature symbolized by the
wood. The Mystics have taught that the physical body is surrounded by a series o
f invisible bodies of diverse colors and splendor. In most people the spiritual
nature is hidden and imprisoned in the material nature, but in a few this intern
al constitution has been externalized and the spiritual nature is outside, so th
at surrounds man's personality brilliantly. Silver, used as capitals for the pil
lars, is a reference to the moon, which was sacred to Jews and Egyptians alike.
The priests held secret ritualistic ceremonies at the time of the new moon and f
ull moon periods being both sacred to the LORD. Silver, and taught the ancients,
was gold with sunshine swung inward instead of being externalized. While gold s
ymbolized the spiritual soul, silver represented man's human nature purified and
regenerated. The copper used in the external altars was a composite substance c
onsisting of an alloy of precious and base metals. That represented the average
individual's constitution, which is a combination of both upper and lower elemen
ts. The three divisions of the Tabernacle should be of particular interest to Fr
eemasons because they represent the three degrees of Blue Lodge, while the three
orders of priests who served the Tabernacle is preserved in modern Masonry as t
he Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. The Hawaiian Islander
s built a Tabernacle not unlike the Jews, except that their rooms were on one an
other and not one after another, as in the case of the Tabernacle of the Israeli
tes. The three rooms are also three major chambers of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
DRESS FOR THE GLORY
As explained in the quotation from Josephus, the costumes and ornaments of the J
ewish priests had a secret meaning, and even until today there is a hidden encry
ption religious language in the colors, shapes, and uses of sacred garments, not
only among priests Christians and Jews but also among the pagan religions. The
vestments of the Tabernacle priests were called Cahanææ; those of the high pries
t called Cahanææ Rabbæ. On the Machanese, an undergarment resembling short trous
ers, used the Chethone, a finely woven linen robe that reached to the floor and
had long sleeves tied to the arms he used it.€A brightly embroidered sash, twist
ed several times around the waist (a little higher than is usual), with a pendan
t in the front slope and a very tight linen cap called Masnaemphthes, completed
the costume of a common priest .
THE GARMENTS OF GLORY.
From Mosaize Historie der Kerk Hebreeuwse. The dress of the High Priest of Israe
l was often called "The Garments of Glory" because they resembled the regenerate
d and spiritualized nature of man, symbolized by a dress that everyone should we
ave the threads of character and virtue before they can become High Priests afte
r the manner of the Order of Melchizedek.
p. 136
The vestments of the High Priests were the same as those of lower grades, except
that it added certain clothes and ornaments. Over the tunic of white linen fabr
ic especially the High Priest wore a habit seamless sleeveless blue-sky and down
to his feet. Meeir was called and was ornamented with golden bells alternating
edge and grenades. In Ecclesiastes (one of the books rejected from the modern Bi
ble) describes these bells and their purpose in the following words: "And he sur
rounded himself with grenades, and with many golden bells around her, that as ha
ppening, produced a sound and a noise that could be heard in the temple as a mem
orial to the children of his people. " The Meeir also was girded with a girdle f
inely embroidered and streaked with gold filament inserted through the embroider
y. The ephod, described by Josephus short dress like a coat or jacket, worn over
the top of Meeir. The strands of which were on the ephod was woven of many colo
rs, probably red, blue, purple, and white, like the Tabernacle curtains and rugs
. Also fine gold filament woven into the fabric. The ephod was fastened on each
shoulder with a large onyx in the form of button, and on these stones were engra
ved the names of the twelve sons of Jacob, six on each. It was assumed that thes
e powers were onix buttons oracle, and when the High Priest had some questions,
they emitted a celestial brightness. When illuminating the onyx on the right han
d man, meant that the Lord answered affirmatively the question of the High Pries
t, and when he shone the left, indicating a negative answer to the question.
In the middle of the front surface of the ephod was a space to accommodate the E
ssen, or Breastplate of Righteousness and Prophecy, which, as its name indicates
, was also an oracle of great power. This breastplate was approximately square a
nd consisted of an embroidery frame on which were placed twelve stones, each hel
d in a pocket of gold. Due to the great weight of the stones, each of which was
of considerable size and immense value, the breastplate was held in position by
special golden chains and ribbons. The twelve stones of the breastplate, and ony
x stones on the shoulders of the ephod, had the mysterious power of light with D
ivine Glory and thus serve as oracles. With regard to the strange power of these
flashing symbols of Israel's twelve tribes, Josephus writes: "However I will me
ntion what is even more wonderful than this: As God declared beforehand by those
twelve stones which the high priest put on his chest and were inserted into his
breastplate, when they should be victorious in battle, because as great splendo
r shone from them before the army began to march, the whole town was sensitive t
o the presence of God to his aid. Where happened that those Greeks, who were ven
erated by our laws, because they could not possibly contradict this, called the
breastplate, 'the Oracle'. " The writer then adds that the stones ceased to ligh
t up and shine some two hundred years before he wrote his story, because the Jew
s had violated the laws of Yahweh and the God of Israel was no longer pleased wi
th His chosen people. The Jews learned astronomy from the Egyptians, and it is u
nlikely that the twelve jewels of the breastplate were symbolic of the twelve co
nstellations of the zodiac. These twelve celestial hierarchies were admired as j
ewels that adorned the breastplate of the Universal Man, the Macroprosophus, ref
erred to in the Zohar as The Ancient of Days. The number twelve often appears am
ong ancient peoples, which in almost every case had a pantheon consisting of twe
lve demigods and goddesses presided over by The Invincible Man, who was himself
subject to the All-Father Incomprehensible. This use of the number twelve is esp
ecially noticeable in the writings of Jews and Christians. The twelve prophets,
twelve patriarchs, the twelve tribes, and the Twelve Apostles - each group has a
certain hidden meaning,€as each refers to the Divino twelve, or twelve times hi
gher Deity, whose emanations are manifested in the tangible created Universe thr
ough twelve individualized channels. The Secret Doctrine also captivated the pri
ests that the jewels represented centers of life within their own constitutions,
which when deployed in accordance with the esoteric instructions of the Temple,
were capable of absorbing within itself and radiate again the Divine light of t
he Godhead . (The flowers of lotus of eastern India have a similar meaning.) The
Rabbis have taught that each twisted linen thread used to weave the Tabernacle
curtains and ornamentations consisted of twenty-four separate threads, reminding
understood that the experience gained over twenty-four-hour (symbolized in Maso
nry by the rule of twenty-four inches) is converted into strands which are woven
the Garments of Glory.
The Urim and Thummim
On the back of Essen, or breastplate, was a pocket containing mysterious objects
- the Urim and Thummim. Besides the fact that were used in divination, little i
s known about these objects now. Some writers argue that they were small stones
(resembling the fetishes still revered by certain aboriginal peoples) which the
Israelites had brought with them from Egypt because of their belief that they po
ssessed divine power. Others believe that
Urim and Thummim was in the form of dice, used to decide events being thrown on
the floor. Some have maintained that they were merely sacred names, written on p
lates of gold and worn as talismans. "According to some, the Urim and Thummim si
gnify 'lights and perfections,' or 'light and truth" which presents a striking a
nalogy with the two figures of Re (Ra) and Themi in the breastplate worn by the
Egyptians. " (The World Fes Gardner.) No less surprising than the garments of th
e High Priest was his hat, or headdress. On the plain white cap of the common pr
iest this dignitary wore a blue canvas exterior and a gold crown, the crown cons
isted of three bands, one above the other like the triple miter of the Persian M
agi. This crown symbolized that the High Priest ruled not only over the three wo
rlds which the ancients had differentiated (heaven, earth, and hell), but also o
n the threefold division of man and the universe - the worlds spiritual, intelle
ctual, and material. These divisions are also symbolized by the three department
s of the Tabernacle itself. At the top of the headdress was a tiny golden cup, m
ade with a flower shape. This meant that the nature of the priest was receptive
and had a bowl in his own soul, as a drink, was able to capture the eternal wate
rs of life pouring upon him from heaven. This flower on the crown of your head i
s similar in its esoteric meaning to the rose that grows from the skull, so famo
us in Templar symbology. The ancients believed that the spiritual nature to esca
pe the rising body through the crown of the head, so the flower calyx, or cup, s
ymbolized also the spiritual consciousness. On the front of the golden crown wer
e inscribed in Hebrew, Holiness unto the Lord. Through the clothes and ornaments
to enhance the respect and veneration of the Israelites for their High Priest,
such traps meant nothing to the Lord. Therefore, before entering the Holy of Hol
ies, the High Priest took off his finesse on earth and entered the presence of t
he Lord God of Israel stripped of clothing. He could dress himself with his own
virtues, and their spirituality should decorate a garment. There is a legend to
the effect that anyone who ran the risk of entering the impure in the Holy of Ho
lies was destroyed by fire, lightning Seat divine grace. If the High Priest had
one selfish thought, would drop dead. Since no man knows when an unworthy though
t may cross your mind, you should take precautions in case the High Priest dropp
ed dead while in the presence of the Lord. The other priests could not enter the
sanctuary therefore, when their leader was about to enter and receive orders fr
om the Lord, tied a chain around one of his feet so that if it was shot down whi
le behind the veil, they could drag the body out.
The headdress of the priests.
From Mosaize Historie der Kerk Hebreeuwse. On the plain white cap of the ordinar
y priests the High Priest wore a blue cloth and a gold band. On the front of the
gold band inscribed the Hebrew words were "Holiness to the Lord." This illustra
tion shows the arrangement of the hat both with and without the golden crown.
THE ARK WITH YOUR CHERUBINO.
Dictionary of the Holy Bible Calmet.
Josephus says that the Cherubim were flying creatures but different in appearanc
e from anything seen on earth and therefore impossible to describe. Moses is sup
posed to have seen these beings kneeling on the footstool of God when he was ele
cted and brought to the Presence of Jehovah. It is likely to resemble, at least
in general appearance, the famous Cherubim of Ezekiel.