Mason hand sign

Originally posted by NetStorm
A question for those who say they are Masons
Is this one of their secret signals/hand signs or whatever you would like to call it........




from what I can gather it is the sign for Melquisedek
who a reference to can be found in Gen. 14:18-20.

Funny thing is...any info I can find on Melquisedek, is in spanish...(of course you can ask for the results in English, but you would think that they were availiable in English)


Can anyone tell me what G:.A:.D:.U:. is......
Thoughts?


[Edited on 19-4-2004 by NetStorm]

GADU is Spanish for GAOTU (Great Architect Of The Universe)

Topical Subject.

The Grip of a first degree mason is given by pressing the thumb on a brothers index knuck. this degree is essencially concerned with secrecy. in older rituals the new initiate is given a new masonic name: Caution. This index finger is then associated with secrecy and caution. this finger placed at the lips was a sign of Horus's brother Harparkrat, who was born dumb (unable to speak). Many old panitings of Saint John the Baptist (a patron saint in masonry) shows him holding this finger up with a smirk on his face.

The second degree grip is given in the same manner, but with the thumb pressed on the knuckle of a brother's middle finger. The name of this degree is Fellow craft. and is associated with science, knowledge, and brotherhood. this finger then is associated with these qualities. many old painting of jesus shows him holding up his index and middle finger. alluding to a commandment he once gave: Love one another as I have Loved you..."

In the Bible, Mary once refered to Jesus as "Rabboni." The word does not mean Master, as "Rabbi" means master or teacher. Rabboni is a composite of two hebrew words: Rab: meaning "Master" and Boni: meaning "Mason." A Master Mason is a 3rd Degree Mason. In the original Greek Christ is also called a "Tekton"
which has been mistranslated into english as "carpenter" when infact it means a Builder or Mason - from where we get the word archTEKT.

Both John the Baptist and Jesus were associated with a group called the Essenes, who were responsible for writing the Dead Sea Skrolls found at Qumran. This group originated in Egypt and was founded by Pharaoh Akenaton, the one who founded the Religion of the Aton, which is the root word for the hebrew "adonai'' meaning God. This group in the Copper Skroll kept a record of the royal treasure and jewels they inherited from Akenaton.

The Essense were divided into 3 levels or grades of membership. each grade with its own initiation ceremony and secret teachings. Members called themselves Boni meaning Builder or Mason; and the group used as its symbol a Trowel - which is still used today by Freemasony as a symbol.

In a extrabiblical gnostic gospel called the Secret Gospel of Mark (found in the 1950's, which is older than the biblical book of Mark) the Secret gospel describes a strange event concerning Jesus and Lazarus. Lazarus is said to be the brother of Mary of Bethany who comes from a wealthy family. He is laying in his house when his sister Mary approaches Jesus and tells Jesus that her brother is ready to be raised from the dead. Jesus then raises Lazarus from the dead, and instructs Lazarus to come to him in the evening girdled with an apron whereupon "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven'' will be imparted to him in secret...

Freemasons still raise people from the dead to this day in the third degree. Gives a new meaning to that statement Jesus said when he went amok at the Temple: if this temple were destroyed, he would raise it in 3 days...

Originally posted by Ursa Major
Freemasons still raise people from the dead to this day in the third degree. Gives a new meaning to that statement Jesus said when he went amok at the Temple: if this temple were destroyed, he would raise it in 3 days...

Nowhere in Masonic ritual is anyone "raised from the dead."

In the third Degree Hiram is murdered, and the perpetrators bury his body in a grave they dug in order to hide their crime. The body is raised from the grave for proper interrment; no mention is ever made of Hiram coming back to life.

nowhere in the masonic ritual is Hiram ever given a "proper interrment." if i am not mistaken, the ritual of the Master Mason degree ends when Hiram is raised and the Word is wispered in the new initiates ear...

and why is it that Masters and past Masters wear 3 Tau Crosses on there aprons; which looks like an inverted capital T. when asked or when one does research into the meaning of this symbol it represents "Hiram being raised from a dead horizontal, to a living perpendicular" ???

Originally posted by Ursa Major
nowhere in the masonic ritual is Hiram ever given a "proper interrment." if i am not mistaken, the ritual of the Master Mason degree ends when Hiram is raised and the Word is wispered in the new initiates ear...

No, the subsequent events are explained.

Our Master was ordered to be reinterred as near to the Sanctum Sanctorum as the Israelitish law would permit; there in a grave from the centre three feet East and three feet West, three feet between North and South, and five feet or more perpendicular.

You should also be aware of:

...all Master Masons are raised from a figurative grave...

Please understand that much of freemasonry is symbolic. Taking things too literally, or out of context, will result in incorrect conclusions.

and why is it that Masters and past Masters wear 3 Tau Crosses on there aprons; which looks like an inverted capital T. when asked or when one does research into the meaning of this symbol it represents "Hiram being raised from a dead horizontal, to a living perpendicular" ???

You might be interested in reading this essay on the subject.

Originally posted by Ursa Major


and why is it that Masters and past Masters wear 3 Tau Crosses on there aprons;

We don't. We wear those in the Chapter (it's the apron of a Royal Arch Mason, not a Past Master).

Originally posted by Masonic Light

Originally posted by Ursa Major


and why is it that Masters and past Masters wear 3 Tau Crosses on there aprons;

We don't. We wear those in the Chapter (it's the apron of a Royal Arch Mason, not a Past Master).

This is not the case in the English Constitution, where Masters and Past Masters wear three levels on their aprons in place of rosettes to signify their rank within the Craft.

Originally posted by Trinityman

Originally posted by Ursa Major
nowhere in the masonic ritual is Hiram ever given a "proper interrment." if i am not mistaken, the ritual of the Master Mason degree ends when Hiram is raised and the Word is wispered in the new initiates ear...

No, the subsequent events are explained.

Our Master was ordered to be reinterred as near to the Sanctum Sanctorum as the Israelitish law would permit; there in a grave from the centre three feet East and three feet West, three feet between North and South, and five feet or more perpendicular.

You should also be aware of:

...all Master Masons are raised from a figurative grave...

Please understand that much of freemasonry is symbolic. Taking things too literally, or out of context, will result in incorrect conclusions.

and why is it that Masters and past Masters wear 3 Tau Crosses on there aprons; which looks like an inverted capital T. when asked or when one does research into the meaning of this symbol it represents "Hiram being raised from a dead horizontal, to a living perpendicular" ???

You might be interested in reading this essay on the subject.

That was actually an interesting essay on the triple tau. i like the mathamatical meanings. Thanks.