"Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God
has been granted to you; but to the rest they are made known through parables..."
Luke 8:10
In  each of the three degrees of Blue Lodge Masonry the candidate  acknowledges his obligation not to reveal the manner and method used by  Masons to impart knowledge of the hidden mysteries of Freemasonry to  anyone who is not entitled to receive them.
Throughout history  that "Masonic obligation" has been the source of scathing accusations  hurled at the fraternity that it is a dangerous secret society, or in  the alternative, that it has heretical secrets known only to its  members. Those accusations have resulted in attempts by non-Masons to  marginalize the Craft and attribute devil-worship to its followers.
So-called  holy men and kings have even been prompted to hunt down, burn, torture  and kill Freemasons. Yet, if the world had known then what is known  today - that Freemasonry conceals nothing that is not wholly available  to every man, woman and child - perhaps such ruthlessness would not have  occurred.
During the journey toward discovering the masonic gifts  of hidden mysteries valued by Freemasons, one inevitably encounters  that mystical sect known as the Essenes. Since the discovery of the Dead  Sea Scrolls in 1947, even though much of that information has not yet  been made publicly available, a great deal of material about this sect  is now in the public domain. For example, we now understand that the  Essenes were of the eclectic sect of philosophers and held Plato in the  highest esteem. They believed that true philosophy, the greatest gift of  God to man, was scattered throughout all sects and that it was man's  duty to gather it together and present it as the unified word of the  Almighty.
The writings of the Essenes were laced with mysticism,  parables, enigmas and sophisticated allegories. They studied both the  esoteric and exoteric meanings of the Holy Writings, which they found in  the Old Testament just as the Gnostics found in the New Testament.  Christian writers, as well as allegedly Jesus himself, recognized that  all scripture had an inner meaning, as well as an outer truth.
The  passage of scripture taken from the Gospel of Luke at the head of this  article makes it abundantly clear that the public teachings attributed  to Jesus were different from the private teachings he imparted to his  inner circle of Apostles. Even within that inner circle, it is reputed  that some received a light not otherwise given to other Apostles. That  light represents what the world now refers to as the hidden mysteries,  because it is not freely meted out to those in the outer circle; those  who are left to decipher the kingdom of God for themselves from the  several allegories, stories and parables set forth in the Holy Writings.
In  some intellectual circles, as well as in certain Masonic literature, it  is insinuated that Jesus was killed because he improperly divulged the  hidden mysteries which he had vowed to conceal and never reveal. Under  that belief, he was not killed merely because he challenged Roman rule,  or the religious dogma taught by the Pharisees. Consequently, the  question is frequently asked: did Jesus practice Freemasonry? The answer  depends upon one's own assessment of the available hard evidence.
Jesus  did participate in the baptism of Saint John the Baptist, who is  regarded by Masons as a patron of the fraternity. While he often  criticized the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus never once mentioned the  Essenes, whose doctrines bear a striking resemblance to Jesus'  teachings, as well as to the teachings of Freemasonry. It is also  asserted that at the time of his arrest Jesus was then in the process of  conferring a Masonic degree upon a candidate. "Now a young man followed  him and fled wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body." Mark  14:50-51.
That particular passage does not appear in any of the  other three accepted gospels and no further explanation has been added  anywhere in the Holy Writings to help us understand precisely what was  going on between Jesus and the anonymous young man at this critical  point in Jesus' life. Perhaps Freemasons discern a similarity to an  aspect of Masonic ritual, perhaps not. To understand the nature of the  hidden mysteries, it is not essential that the question be answered one  way, or the other.
Writers who have woven Masonic themes into  literary works of fiction and non-fiction, while perhaps legitimately  speculating upon matters of public interest such as whether or not Jesus  married Mary of Magdalene ( Masonic Gifts: Dan Brown, The Davinci Code),  or that the original Knights Templar discovered the Holy Grail, have  contributed to the public fascination with the prospect that Freemasonry  continues to conceal something that is extraordinarily valuable to all  mankind. Indeed, something great and glorious is concealed, or hidden by  Freemasons, but it has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus, Mary of  Magdalene, or the Holy Grail. And even though that "something" is and  always will remain hidden, it is equally available to non-Masons. Anyone  who takes the time to journey down the proper path will discover what  is hidden without the need for any Mason to violate his obligation.
The  forms and ceremonies used by the Essenes were symbolical, just as they  are today in Freemasonry. According to Philo, they had four degrees;  were Jews by birth; and held a greater affection for each other than was  true of members of any other sect. Before there was a Christian  religion, they fulfilled the Christian law, "Love one another." They  despised riches and made certain that no single member had more material  goods than any other member, all of which were held in common. Their  piety toward the one living God was without compare, which they  ritualized in mysterious ceremonies and initiations about which very  little is known. However, like Freemasonry, it was within the symbolism  of those ceremonies that the hidden mysteries could be revealed.
This  extraordinarily well disciplined and highly organized sect did not  simply appear on the scene at about the time Saint John the Baptist  preached than did Freemasonry erupt in 1717 with a fully mechanized  ritual. Passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal that members of the  sect wrote about the Pharaoh Akhenaton and monotheism and quite likely  practiced forms and ceremonies related to the one living God at a time  much earlier than even the patriarch Jacob. Other passages make clear  the fact that the hidden mysteries could only be accessed through  specific use of certain arts, parts and points similar to what has been  described of the ceremonial practices of the mystical High Priest and  King of Salem, Melchizadek. Owing to the relationship of Saint John the  Baptist as a patron of Freemasonry, it is fair to conclude that the  Craft bears at least a strong an affinity to the Essenes.
When the  relationship of the Essenes to Freemasonry is so understood, it is also  easier to understand why the manner, sequence and method of Masonic  ritual is only explained to those who are initiated into the fraternity.  In other words, while the hidden mysteries are not held private, the  manner Masons employ to know and study them is something that can only  be learned by a member of the Craft. But what are those hidden  mysteries? Why should any man, woman, or child care to know and  understand them? The best way to answer both of those questions is to  begin with an explanation of what it takes for any person to fully  comprehend the Mysteries.
It is not enough for a person to simply  become God-intoxicated. As long as the mind remains disorderly, ignorant  and ill-disciplined, any effort to comprehend the hidden mysteries will  be in vain. Because of the necessity for a higher level of  consciousness to enable a more sophisticated synthesis of all God has  made available for man to study, Freemasonry has adopted the system of  Pythagoras, whom Masonic writers have described as having himself been a  Mason. Under that system grammar, rhetoric and logic are taught to  cultivate and improve the mind. Mathematics, geometry, music and  astronomy are also inculcated and a system of symbols is derived  therefrom. This outline for the cultivation of intellectual insight  should be strictly followed.
However, the cultivation of  intellectual insight is not enough. There remains a step to be taken  during which the cautionary scripture tale about the Tower of Babel  should be kept in mind. Man builds his intellectual powers at the hands  of human workmen until he reaches the top story of that tower. Here,  communion with the Supreme Architect of the Universe takes over, for no  man can peer behind the veil concealing the hidden mysteries unless  permitted to do so by God. Thus the steps for any person to take include  educating the mind about all that God has created and then clearing the  mind for direct instructions from the Deity through meditative prayer,  as opposed to petitioning prayer.
Ask, and it shall be given you;  seek, and you find; knock, and the door to all understanding of the  hidden mysteries will be opened for you. You simply need to know how to  ask, where to seek and the manner in which you are expected to knock.
                             John Heisner is the author of several masonic books about  symbolism in Freemasonry and has extensively researched the Masonic  Symbolism. He has been a Master Mason since 1968; served as Chaplain,  Senior Deacon, Junior Warden, Senior Warden and Worshipful Master of  Amity Lodge No. 442 in San Diego, California, and serves presently as an  Inspector for Division IX of the Grand Lodge of California. He has  written two Masonic Symbolism Books  is a member of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in San Diego, where he  currently serves as an officer in the Lodge of Perfection and has thrice  been awarded the Albert Pike trophy for excellence in the performance  of Scottish Rite ritual; a member of Al Bahr Shrine since 1976; a member  of the York Rite Bodies, Knights Templar, Allied Masonic Degrees, York  Rite College and the Knights of the Red Cross of Constantine. Mr.  Heisner is also a member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Civitibus  Foederatis.
John is a practicing attorney in the State of  California since 1973 and is currently a partner and trial specialist in  a San Diego law firm where he emphasizes complex business litigation,  trade secret litigation, real estate and probate litigation. He formerly  served as an Assistant District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney and  Special Assistant United States Attorney. As a criminal prosecutor, Mr.  Heisner investigated and prosecuted organized crime, public official  corruption and major fraud matters.
In his professional capacity,  Mr. Heisner has also chaired several committees for the San Diego County  Bar Association and been a member of various criminal justice  committees.
Within his community, Mr. Heisner has served as  president and director of his homeowner's association, participated in  the immigrant nationalization process as a member of Kiwanis. He is  married, father to four adult children and grandfather of five young  children.