Knights Templarism and the Holy Bible

The military order called the Knights Templar, or "soldiers of the temple" was founded in 1119 to protect pilgrims traveling in the Holy Lands towards Jerusalem.  The order lasted almost 200 years fighting in many crusades to free the Holy Lands from its Arabic invaders.  To trace the order through the Bible would have no historic basis, and would actually be a travesty of the truth, but, in looking at the symbols of the order, and some of its mottoes, we can find a liberal meaning of the order.

In searching the Bible for "spiritual substance" we must look first at the deltas that make up the Templar Cross which is composed of four equilateral triangles, commonly called deltas.  A curious thing happens if you make a Templar Cross of flexible material, and take it by the center, it becomes a pyramid, which we will explore too.  When the cross is resting on a flat surface, hence the pyramid, you see the "pattern of the temple" unfold (3, 4 and 5; Exodus 25:1-37).  Pythagoras also used the same numbers of 3, 4, 5 to unlock the mystery of the pyramid, little knowing of the patterns given to Moses for the altar, tabernacle, etc., which all was based on the composition of man, the living temple.

The whole pyramid is the "Oneness of God, but in three parts (Genesis 1:1-3) if the interpretation thusly is used:

When viewed from a straightforward position, the delta is equal on all sides and in all angles, giving the highest powers of God:

This comes down to us in a more simpler form in Freemasonry which we view as Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty.  The ancient priests saw this triune god-head as, Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer; some as Father, Mother, Son or Child; we, as Christians see this as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.  The equilateral triangle is found in all degrees of Freemasonry, more especially the Royal Arch, Council Degrees, Knights Templar, Consistory and the Shrine.  It is even found in the Eastern Star Degrees as a sign.  The unique thing about the triangle or delta, is that the Entered Apprentice Mason makes the triangle with his feet on the left side, does it again as a Fellowcraft, and completes it as a Master Mason.

The Templar Cross is composed of four (4) of these triangles, and we have to go to Numbers 2:1-29, to see the make-up of the Camp of the Israelites as it was to move in the wilderness.  There were four principal tribes, each with two other tribes for support.  (The triangle is composed of one base and two sides.)  Each verse in Numbers 2 tells us how many there were on each side.  One of the curious things that face us is the particular verses that tell about Judah, the Lion and his "sides" Issachar and Zebulun:  The verses are Numbers 3,5, and 7, a collection known to all Masons.  The other principal tribes and their sides are:

The four also represent the elements:

The four also gives us direction of the wind and consequently, the geographic points.

When you multiply the four triangles and all their sides, the result is twelve, the number of many things, which we will take up later.

Five is the last of the pattern numbers, giving us the complete formula of the pattern of the temple and Pythagoras; equation of the pyramids.  By five, we see the number of the colors in the tabernacle; two times five, the number curtains in the tabernacle.  All five sections were connected by ten times five loops or fifty.  The pattern of the 3,4,5 is all over the tabernacle, and consequently, the Temple of Solomon.

When you ad the first two numbers of the pattern, you get seven, the number of man's completion, hence seven Masons make a perfect and just Lodge.  Seven is the number of the ancient planets; seven is the number of man's reckoning of time, seven days.  After seven times seven years, there is a Jubilee Year when all is set free, land and men.  Seven is the number of the Patriarchs of the Bible:  that lived over 900 years, that is.

  1. Adam, 930 years old............Genesis 5:5

  2. Seth, 912 years old...............Genesis 5:8

  3. Enos, 905 years old..............Genesis 5:11

  4. Cainan, 910 years old...........Genesis 5:14

  5. Jared, 962 years old.............Genesis 5:20

  6. Methuselah, 969 years old....Genesis 5:27

  7. Noah, 950 years old.............Genesis 9:29

By adding all three numbers of the pattern, you get twelve, the number of many things:

  1. Angels...Revelation 21:12

  2. Apostles...Revelations 21:14

  3. Baskets...John 6:13

  4. Brazen Bulls...Jeremiah 52:20

  5. Brethren...Genesis 42:32

  6. Cakes...Leviticus 24:5

  7. Cities...1 Chronicles 6:63

  8. Cubits...1 Kings 7:15

  9. Foundations...Revelations 21:14

  10. Fountains...Revelations 21:4

  11. Months...Daniel 4:29

  12. Tribes...Genesis 35:22

  13. and many, many more.

Going back a little, there are seven cuts in the Templar manual, the points where a knight's armor joined together, the only vulnerable places on him:  his neck, left and right, his under carriage, left and right; his waist, left and right; and his head, which could not withstand the blow.  Seven again is a mystical, for there are seven "gates" to the head:  two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and one mouth.  There are seven branches to the candlesticks that sat in the temple, after the Tree of Life.

There are two sets of numbers that will establish a Quorum in a commandery, twelve and nine.  The twelve have already been explained, so let us look at the nine.  They are:

Concerning the oaths of a Knights Templar, there is Biblical background for the giving of such oaths.  Every Mason is bound to the Lodge or whatever Masonic body by oaths, and to say that there is profanity in them is denying the bond that makes us all as one.  These are the Oaths of God:

Oaths were fulfilled in the New Testament:

These are the expressions of oaths:

The Biblical purposes of an oath were:

*Consider this when you take an oath in the Masonic Lodge.  Without you being true to your word as a Mason, your oath is soundless and you are guilty of infidelity.

There is a sacredness about an oath when the giver is sincere in giving it:

As with all things, there are two sides, a good and bad.  Therefore there are prohibitions concerning oaths in the Bible.  You should not take an oath:

*Jesus warns about "swearing" in Matthew 5:33, "but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths."

In Masonic degrees, it is not always the number that counts, but the knowledge the holder of the degrees has.  Therefore, the number thirty-three is most interesting to the Illustrious Peer, but also to the Sir Knight, who is on the same level with the peer, for both have risen to the "top of the heap."

The conclusion of the matter is, my brethren, Love God, Love thy Fellowman.  On these rest the Law and the Prophecy.

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