Rito Escoces Antiguo y Aceptado

Grado 15º R.·.E.·.A.·.A.·.

Caballero del Este, de la Espada, o del Águila

HISTORY

"Now, in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia," says the compiler of the
Sacred Book of Chronicles, "(that the word of the Lord by the mouth of
Jeremiah might be accomplished), the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, King
of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his Kingdom, and also in
writing, saying: Thus sayeth Cyrus, King of Persia: All the kingdoms of the
Earth, hath the Lord God of Heaven given me: and he hath charged me to build
him an House in Jerusalem in Judea. Who among you are of his people? The
Lord his God be with him, and let him go up."

The dream which you have heard described in the ceremonies of this degree,
and the earnest solicitations of Zerubbabel, a Prince of the House of Judea, and

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one of those held in captivity in Persia, (who had served in the Persian wars,
and on one occasion had saved the life of Cyrus in his youth, and who had
recently returned from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,) coupled with the
interpretation of the dream by the Prophet Daniel, the Chief of the Sarakim
or Presidents set by Cyrus over the one hundred and twenty Princes of Persia,
who denounced against the King the anger of God, and his own speedy
destruction, if he dared to disobey the mandate conveyed to him in his dream,
produced this Proclamation-- the liberation of the captives and the restoration
of the Holy Vessels of the Temple.

Ten Chiefs or Sagons of the Hebrews accompanied Zerubbabel to Jerusalem;

among whom were Jeshua the son of Josedech, the High-Priest, and Nehemiah,
the Scribe. And in all there went from Persia and Assyria, at that time, to
Jerusalem, forty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty Hebrews, besides
servants and their maids.

Zerubbabel, with the Sagons who accompanied him, and a large force of the
People, ascending the Euphrates to pass round the northern end of Arabia
Deserta, and thence journeying by the way of Damascus, reached in safety the
river Ahava. Over this he threw a bridge; but was attacked in crossing, by a
large force of the Babylonian Colonists of Samaria, and a bloody battle ensued,
resulting in the defeat of the enemy and the safe passage of the Hebrews,
Zerubbabel losing in the battle the decoration which Cyrus had given him, as
the badge of his rank and dignity as Satrap of Persia and Viceroy of Judea.

After the destruction of the City by Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, his General,

left many of the poorer people in the land of Judea, and assigned those
vineyards and fields. He also liberated Jeremiah the Prophet, the zealous
partisan of the Assyrians against the Egyptians, and gave him permission to
remain at Jerusalem, furnishing him the means whereby to live. He made
Gedaliah the son of Ahaikam, Governor over the cities of Judea, and placed him
over the poor people not carried away to Babylon.

After the Assyrian forces had marched homeward, the, Jewish troops that had
been in the field and at posts distant from the City, and all the Jews that had
sought refuge from the storm of Assyrian war in Moab, and among the
Amunites, and in Edom and elsewhere, returned to Judea, and gathered grapes
and summer-fruits on which to live.

When Ishmael, of the blood royal, had murdered Gedaliah, after eating bread
with him, and had also killed the Assyrian troops that had been left as guards for
the Governor, and had then himself fled to the Amunites, Johanan the son of
Kareah, succeeded to the command over the people, and removed them near to
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the frontier of Egypt, fearing the anger of the Assyrian King, whose troops had
been treacherously murdered. And soon afterwards, notwithstanding the urgent
advice of Jeremiah, who warned them that, if they went into Egypt, they tumid
die by the sword, by famine and by the pestilence, Johanna and the other
captains led the whole remnant of the people into that country. There they
embraced the worship of the Goddess Neith, and sacrificed to her. But
Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt with a great army; and conquered it, and
shattered the images, and burned the Temples of the gods, and destroyed most
of the expatriated Israelites. A small number escaped, and returning to Judea,
settled about Jerusalem; and there remained, wretched and miserable, and
exposed to constant attacks from relentless enemies on all sides.

There, while Ezekiel was seeing visions and prophesying on the banks of the
Chaldean river Chebar, and Daniel was being educated at the Court of Babylon,
the few fugitives at Jerusalem increased continually, by the arrival of others; but
leaving little record of their suffering, their disasters and their successes,
struggled to maintain a national existence. Among them were a few Initiates
who, recognizing each other, met in secret to practice the ceremonies of
Masonry. They explored the ruins until they discovered the entrance to the
Secret Vault, entering which they reached the vault, and found the Cubical
Stone, and the fragments of the plate, from which the Sacred WORD had been
erased. The pedestal still stood in its place.

Finding the plate broken up, and no trace of letters upon it, they melted it down,
and broke to pieces the cubical stone and pedestal, whose fragments they buried
deep in the earth, that no trace of their Mysteries might remain. Thenceforward
the WORD was transmitted orally. Still hoping one day to begin their labors
upon the Temple, and to rebuild it, they endeavored to reorganize the body
politic of the Nation, by the election by the people of a Governor, with whom as
Councilors they associated Adonikam, a Priest not wearing the Aurim and
Themin, and Hatosh a Scribe, with others initiated by them into the Order of
Architects, or of the Faithful.

The law and ceremonial prescribed by Moses were lost, except so far as they
were preserved by tradition; and the people were governed by these traditions
and by such brief statutes as were indispensable to civil order and organization
for defense.

When the captivity ended, Hananiah was the Ruler of this unfortunate and poor
people. How he was superseded by Zerubbabel the Tarshatha, and how the
rebuilding of the Holy House was authorized to be begun, is recounted in the
Book of Ezra.

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When those labors were commenced the people and workmen, continually
harassed by enemies on every side, were compelled to be every moment
prepared to defend themselves, and worked at all times with their arms by them;
so that they were, by a natural exaggeration, said to labor with the Sword in one
hand and the Trowel in the other.

After the return from the captivity, in the seventh month, Jeshua the son of
Josedech, and his brethren the Priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, and
his brethren, rebuilder the A1tar of God, and kept the Feast of the Tabernacles,
and offered burnt-offerings, of the new moons and regular feasts, from the first
day of the seventh month. They hired masons; and employed men from Tyre
and Sidon, as Salomon had done, to bring cedars from Lebanon to Joppa.

In the second year after their return, they laid the foundation of the Second
Temple; and set the Priests in order, in their vestments, with trumpets, and the
Levites with cymbals, to praise the Lord; and sang together, praising and
thanking the, Lord, for His goodness and His eternal mercy. And all the people
shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation
of the House of the Lord was laid. And many Priests, and Levites, and Chiefs
of the Fathers, who were old men, and had seen the first Temple, wept aloud
when they saw the foundation laid, and many of them shouted for joy.

The prophets had said: "This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saying the Lord of Hosts. What
art thou, O great Mountain? Before Zerubbabel, a plain; and he shall bring forth
the corner-stone, while the people shout, 'BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL! IS IT!'
The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this House; his hands
shall finish it also; and ye shall know that the Lord of Hosts, hath sent me unto
you... Persevere, Zerubbabel! saith the Lord. Persevere, Jeshua, son of Josedech,
the High Priest! Persevere, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work;
for I am with you; saith the Lord of Hosts. The glory of this latter House shall
be greater than that of the former; and in this place will I give prosperity. In that
day will I take thee, 0 Zerubbabel, my servant, son of Salathiel, and will make
thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of Hosts. Take silver and
gold and make crowns, and set one upon the head of Jeshua the son of Josedech,
the High Priest; and say, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Behold the Man whose
name is The Germ; he shall grow up out of his place, and build the Temple of
the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his Throne; and
he shall be a Priest upon his Throne."

Notwithstanding these promises, the people of the land weakened the hands of
the people of Judea, and troubled them in building, and hired counselors against
them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus, King of Persia, even until
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the reign of Darius, King of Persia. These troubles, and the ultimate success of
the enterprise will be more particularly spoken of in the degree which you are
next to receive, some- times improperly said to constitute the second part of
one degree of which this is the first part.