What are the great lights in the Royal Arch? During my research I have found ... I
have researched several different outlets which include rituals (ours (old and ...
The Great Lights in the Royal Arch Comp Michael Post
What are the great lights in the Royal Arch? During my research I have found several answers to this question. With these answers I believe that I am more confused as to what we are doing, what we should be doing and why we are doing it the way we are. In this edition I will not try to say what we are doing is right or wrong but to provide information and hopefully some meaning. I have researched several different outlets which include rituals (ours (old and new) and other jurisdictions and countries) books and lectures. The following are some of the answers that I have come across as to what the great lights are:
The Holy Bible Square and Compass One lit candle Lampstand or Menorah Three great lights and three lesser light……
What I will attempt to do is give information on what they represent and what place they have in Royal Arch Masonry, if any. If you were to read only our ritual you would see that it is very vague on this subject. Some might just dismiss this as nothing more than a minor procedural matter or just a wild goose chase to find meaning in something that is not there. So where should we start this journey? I think we should start with the tabernacle due to the fact that our Chapters today represent the tabernacle. Were there any “lights” in the tabernacle? Yes, there was light in the tabernacle. One was provided by a lamptand or Menorah the other, the iridescent glow of Shekinah or Divine Presence of God within the Holy of Holies. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: . . .Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts Zech. 4:2,6. As seen from above we know that there was a Menorah in the second temple but why did they have a lampstand? Because it was directed by God.
Make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms shall be of one piece with it. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand--three on one side and three on the other. Ex.25:31-32 The first direct mention and detailed description of the candlestick (Menorah) is found in Exodus 25:31-40. Moses had just returned from Mount Sinai where he had been in communion with God. It was there that he had been instructed to make the candlestick. Not only had he received detailed instructions concerning the critical design of this instrument of light to be placed in the Tabernacle, but also of the various other implements that would be used for service in God's divine worship system. God informed Moses that the Menorah was to be located in what was known as the "Holy Place" in the sanctuary of God. Throughout the many years of Temple worship, it was tended to on a daily basis being trimmed every morning and lighted by the ministering priests. It was the only source of light in the wilderness tabernacle as it continued to be in all future Temples except for the annual glowing of the Shechinah glory visitation in the Holiest of Holies. The lampstand occupied a place of great prominence among the instruments used in worship The Menorah is an ever present symbol of truth and of universal enlightenment. The menorah is said to represent the burning bush which Moses saw. The seven branches allude to the branches of human knowledge, represented by the six lamps inclined inwards towards, and symbolically guided by, the light of God represented by the central lamp. The menorah also symbolizes the creation in seven days, with the center light representing the Sabbath. So what does this have to do with the great lights in the Royal Arch? Well, for starters let’s look how we set up or Chapters (Although what we call the east is in fact historically the west, but that is for another time) If you look at where the altar is placed it is near or the exact place where the lampstand or menorah would be placed in the tabernacle. So, what does or ritual say about the great lights and/or the menorah? Well depending on what year and revision it will be…. less than straight forward. In our current ritual is states that in the opening “PSJ, attend to the altar and Display the Great lights” And during the ceremony we lead the candidate in position in front of the burning bush ( in which above we read that the Menorah is a representation of the burning bush). I know what you are thinking “it does not say the Menorah” .Be patient as the ceremony goes further and right before the candidates are admitted to the Grand Council we see the following instruction: “The pot of incense on the altar in the northeast and the seven branched candlestick in the south east of the sanctuary are now lighted before the candidate are admitted.” Authorized ritual for the Capitular degrees, PHA Copyright 1967 Revised – July 2003 Pg149
Where did that come from? I am of the opinion of that it always been there and that perhaps through time, rituals and revisions the Menorah has slowly slipped out of sight of the Royal Arch. We now know that historically that there were lights in the Tabernacle, that our alter is in or at the same proximity as the Manorah , that we explain and show representation of the burning bush ( in which the Menorah is a symbol of ) and that we are instructed to light the Menorah before the candidates are admitted to the Grand Council. So if we are not using the Menorah, why not? Masonically we know what the Great Lights are. Early in our Masonic journey we were introduced to the Great lights of Freemasonry: The Holy Bible, Square and Compass. Now, while I am not adverse to this general term I think that this phrase might be…somewhat miscued. If were to look at the 21st Landmark attributed to Bro Albert Mackey in his book, Jurisprudence of Freemasonry we see that: “It is a Landmark, that a "Book of the Law" shall constitute an indispensable part of the furniture of every Lodge. I say advisedly, a Book of the Law, because it is not absolutely required that everywhere the Old and New Testaments shall be used. The "Book of the Law" is that volume which, by the religion of the country, is believed to contain the revealed will of the Grand Architect of the universe…. Freemasonry does not attempt to interfere with the peculiar religious faith of its disciples, except so far as relates to the belief in the existence of God, and what necessarily results from that belief...” I am not trying to say what we do is in err but that in my opinion the phrase should be “the Great lights are the VSL, Square and Compass”. Furthermore, “we do know that the V.S.L. was considered a part of the furniture of the lodge long before the Revival, though it was not made a Great Light until 1760, or thereabouts. “ Although, as Prince Hall Masons, or even further the American system of Freemasonry, is deeply rooted in Christian ways we as Mason are taught that Masonry in nonsectarian and that we should embrace all religious beliefs, Masons and Masonic methods Now back to the Great lights of the Royal Arch represented by the VSL, Square and Compass. In our “American” system of the Royal Arch the Great lights are situated in the same place that the Menorah would be placed in the Tabernacle. Are the Great lights of Freemasonry to represent the Menorah? Are the six points of the Square and Compass (The hexagram, Also representing the Shield of David, the signet of Solomon and the 12 equal sides representing the 12 Tribes…) equal to the six branches held up by the VSL that would represent “Shamesh” ( in the Judaic sense. In other cultures Shamesh is the sun god of Assyria and Babylonia who coincidentally with his father and goddess formed an astral triad of divinities) and or “Western lamp”? The Western lamp was the one that was kept constantly burning and from which the other lamps were lit. This Western Lamp is also said to wisdom, word of God “Ner Elohim” and the Sabbath. Whether or not this was the aim of our ritualist I do not know. The information above could be the case or it can be simply be the explanation of the Great lights of Masonry we were taught early in our Masonic journey.
The next use of the Great lights comes from the English and Irish and Scottish workings of the Royal Arch. In their Chapters there are six lights. “In this Degree we acknowledged six lights; the three lesser representing together the light of the law and the prophets, and, by their number, alluding to the patriarchal, Mosaical, and prophetical dispensations; the three greater representing the sacred name itself, and the creative, preservative, and annihilative power of the Deity. These lights are placed in the form of an equilateral triangle, each of the lesser bissecting the line formed by two of the greater, thus geometrically dividing the great triangle into three lesser triangles on the extremities, which, by their union, form a fourth triangle in the centre, and all of them equal and equilateral, emblematical of the four points or divisions of Masonry…” Also, “The six lights around the altar owe much to the spiritual significance long since associated with candles, and, further, exemplify by their disposition the mystical importance given to the triangle, both plain and interlaced. In the quite early Craft lodges, certainly as far back as the 1730’s, candles were placed to form simple triangles, and from them developed ultimately the present chapter arrangements of lights…” Could this setup of the Great lights ( with the lesser lights) be the same symbology that we discussed earlier but with a special emphasis on the Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David and that of the signet of Solomon? In both cases the Great and lesser lights are illuminating the altar. Is the alter to represent that center or western lamp? During this edition and the last we have discussed several different ways in which the Great lights are defined in the Tabernacle, our Chapters. What is the correct way and explanation of thereof? I guess it is what our particular customs are today these customs along with their explanations are superfluous. Although our customs change with the times I believe we should do what our ritual suggest in the first place, that our chapter represent the Tabernacle and If our chapter are set up as tabernacle why do we not have a menorah ….or do we? Why do we come with elaborate schemes to represent the burning bush when in the tabernacle the menorah is a true representation of this and other magnificent things that God has given to us? Should we use the Masonic traditions or should we use what was directed by God for the Tabernacle or should it be a combination? Lastly, in the ancient craft we never open the VSL without light so why should we do that in the HOLY Royal Arch? _______________________________________________________ 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
The Menorah- The Lamp of God - by: Robert Somerville Book of Jewish Concepts. Birnbaum, Philip (1975). Symbolical Masonry, by H.L. Haywood, [1923] .http://www.stichtingargus.nl/vrijmetselarij/ovokg_re.html Freemasons' Book of the Royal Arch, Bernard E. Jones (1998)
