The Hiram Key Revisited: Freemasonry: A Plan For a New World Order

The Hiram Key #1

by Christopher Knight, Alan Butler

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND COMPELLING BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT THE SECRET SOCIETY THAT SHAPED THE MODERN WORLD

Freemasonry, with its arcane rituals, occult symbols, and labyrinthine hierarchy, has mystifi ed the outside world for centuries. But it has become apparent that even the most senior Freemasons do not understand its ancient origins or purpose. So what is this powerful and arcane organization really for?

In this eye-opening account, two seasoned researchers show that today’s Freemasons are the spiritual descendants of an ancient priesthood that was forced to act in secrecy. They predicted the birth of the coming Messiah, and Jesus Christ was part of their mission. Soon after the Crucifi xion they were nearly wiped out by a program of mass genocide conducted by the Romans; later, in feudal Europe, they grew to a position of unparalleled power before being branded as heretics and forced underground. But they could not be stopped, and they continued to work in subtle, sometimes subversive, always anonymous, ways to pursue their objective—a new world order that put God above, and yet out of, human affairs.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Occult, Religion, Conspiracy Theories, Ancient History, Alternate History

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Christopher Knight is an author who has written several books dealing with pseudoscientific conspiracy theories such as 366-degree geometry and the origins of Freemasonry.
In an interview about the book Who Built the Moon?: 2005 Knight stated that the moon is an artificial construction probably built by humans with a message in "base ten arithmetic so it looks as though it is directed to a ten digit species that is living on Earth right now - which seems to mean humans." He believes that it was created to make life on Earth possible, including humans, and that the most likely builders were humans of the future using time travel.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

the authors are both masons and amateur historians who have done quite a bit of research. However, the more amazing the claim, the more proof is required. This book should have had at least 20 pages of bibliography of primary and secondary source material, along with an 'Additional reading" section if it wants to be taken seriously. There was no bibliography of any kind, and what references the authors make as the basis for their claims were done using footnotes throughout the text, without so much as even a page number or even year of publication. This type of casual scholarship will not get their claims looked at by the historian community, which is a shame as the authors have put years of work into their very interesting claims linking modern freemasonry with the Scottish knights templar and early stonemasons, linking back to the templars of the crusades, who, the authors think, uncovered scrolls in Jerusalem which contradict the Roman Catholic view of the life of Jesus, and which, the authors claim, link back the rituals used by modern masons all the way back to an ancient king-making ritual used in ancient Egypt. Stunning stuff, but without it being presented in the correct form, the authors have considerably les chance of getting their views taken seriously.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this at an interesting period of my life where things I know I no longer know if I know for sure. This book only added to questions I have about life, God, and what we really know about history.

Although, the purpose of the book is to show the lineage of the Masonic order, which it does convincingly, it also discusses iconic biblical figures such as Abraham, Moses, Joseph, and, extensively, Jesus. This book illustrates these acnient figures, who I have been taught to revere and resepect, in a comepletely new light. Shedding light on any subject only helps us have greater knowledge and while some of the theories the authors spout as fact are really only personal theories, they do provide enough tentative evidence for the reader to really question what they know as truth.

Very interesting and almost comes off as a Dan Brown conspiracy only much more convincing and better researched than a novel, but still lacking solid scientific evidence in a lot of the areas they pass off as absolute fact.

p.s. They provide convincing evidence of an additional group of men discovering the "America's" before Columbus in addition to the Vikings and the Chinese.

[Chuột Thổ cẩm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lịch sử của Tam Điểm - hội nhóm nổi tiếng nhất thế giới được 2 tác giả (đều là Freemason) tóm lược trong cuốn sách dài chưa tới 500 trang, kéo dài qua các mốc lịch sử đặc biệt từ thời Sumer tới Ai Cập cổ đại kéo qua sự hình thành của dân tộc Do Thái rồi lại tới sự hình thành của Qumran Community và rồi là Jerusalem Church rồi Roman Catholic Church, hội Hiệp sĩ dòng Đền và kết quả là hội Tam Điểm to khủng bố như hiện nay. Điểm lý thú (nhất) của cuốn sách là những nghiên cứu dựa trên các dữ kiện lịch sử dựa trên Kinh thánh - được biết đến như là cuốn fiction nổi tiếng nhất mọi thời đại. Những thông tin kiểu như có tận 2 Đấng cứu thế rồi thì Chúa của dân Do Thái là kẻ ác đủ khiến những đứa vô thần như mình ngã lên ngã xuống vì shock, còn các bạn theo đạo chắc muốn đốt cuốn sách này, đốt cả tro cho tan vào hư vô luôn. Sách bị mình chấm có 3 sao vì thiếu nhiều các dữ liệu gốc và cơ sở, hai vị tác giả chém hơi bị "bay" quá, và có một xíu xíu tự đề cao cái hội của các vị ghê lắm. Nhưng nói chung là nên đọc, vì cuốn sách giải trí quá xá!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning revelations! Really enjoyed it!

[Kateryna Krotova · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was advised this book by my boss.. who is mason (or actually he advised my brother to read it few months ago. And few times was asking me, did he read it? - answer was no. Anyway, I was thinking, if he doesn’t want to read it, why not me? Who loves to read? And who actually loves conspiracy theories.). So here I found this book, downloaded it and started to read. I put 4 stars because with not everything I would agree… (My boss tells that in Vatican they offer millions of dollars whoever will prove this book wrong). And no one yet could prove it wrong. But let’s be clear: it’s not like I disagree.. But there is not enough proof for what they say. Authors looking for some answers and trying to make them up with their theories (at least this is what I feel).
But still I found a lot of interesting points in this book! About freemasonry itself (I heard about it, but nothing clear. That it is secret organization. That basically all the world is ruled by masons. And that they have incredible wealth and power.. and knowledge.)
Now I understand why our boat is called Ma’at (meaning something more comprehensive than justice. It was originally used in a relative sense: it meant “aligned, orderly and symmetrical,” like the foundation of a temple. The term later came to mean rights, truth, honesty, harmony, justice and moral improvement. Ma'at represents the most important values ​​of life, namely: knowledge of science, beauty, art and spirituality of theology.) Also my boss told me story about Egyptian goddess Ma’at who is on the boat, and takes souls across the river. She has a feather, and weights it with the soul’s heart. If the person was pious, he goes to heaven. If not - goes to hell. Ma’at represents itself is all the principles of masonry.
I really like the saying (Solomons wisdom): “The wine is strong, the king is even stronger, the women are even stronger, but the truth will overcome everything!”
In the book there are a lot about Jesus Christ (that he was just a normal person, not Son of God, that he never ascended to heaven, that he had brothers and sisters. One of his brothers, was Joseph). A lot was said about Templar’s.. that they were same as masons now. That US was created by masons, that if we take US dollar, it has lots of masons signs: pyramid, eye, itself symbol of dollar: letter S, crossed twice.
To know more about pyramids was quite fascinating. I always loved Egyptian history and mythology (was very happy to visit Pyramids in 2021).
A lot can be said about this book. It was worth reading. But maybe not if you are Christian…

[Tyler Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're looking to see where Dan Brown stole all of his dim-witted bulls#!t from for that debacle of a book that has wasted more paper than the IRS, read this book! I give it two rather than one star, because at least it's a hoot to read. But these guys have absolutely no grasp of any structure for research or historical method, and it jumps from one completely hapless and misguided "ergo" to the next. Air is 21% oxygen, ergo Freemasonry was formulated by ancient Egyptians. You get the idea.

I don't recommend this book, because it is full of crap but offers itself as history. If you're interested in crackpot lunacy, this should be on your shelf. If you're interested in Freemasonry, you should talk to your grandpa or uncle, or to the guy at work.

[J.P. Ashman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love being able to read about such subjects when other people have gone to great lengths to research ;-)

[Andrew Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional piece of work. Sadly so much information has been lost but it helped me understand why we do the things we do in the Lodge.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an interesting historical look at religious, and ancient rites that may/may not represent the origins of Free Masonry. Starting in ancient Egypt they would find something similar to their ritual and immediately decide the similarity PROVED their origin theory. Definitive proof takes much more than I was offered in this book-- start to finishGood read, great pictures, but not the book thr authors claim they wrote.

[Rafael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very interesting and of very entertaining and agile reading. The authors know the art to express their ideas in a simple, straightforward and compelling way. You could almost say that it reads like an adventure novel.
They present theories very consistent and logical at first glance about several mysteries such as:
-The origin of Masonic rites dating back to ancient Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.
-The legend of the murder of the temple of Solomon´s builder, Hiram Abif, is based on a true story.
-The life and work of Jesus Christ was totally different than the Bible tells us.
-The Knights Templar are the direct ancestors of the first Masonic lodges emerged in Scotland and England in the seventeenth century.
-The Shroud of Turin actually reproduces the image of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Temple.
-Beneath the Rosslyn Chapel are hidden treasures to be discovered.
However, these theories seem rather mere speculations, as the authors have very few sources and bibliography, and although the book presents these hypotheses as a consistent and solid all, would have been better if it had more opinions from the experts, which the authors are not. Other books dealing with similar themes have more than one hundred bibliographic sources, this barely reaches twenty.
"The Secret of Hiram Key" is a work to start on the themes of the history of the Masons and the Templars, but not for someone who seeks a more serious study about them. Personally, I think one only have to read this book by Knight and Lomas and then move on to more prestigious authors such as Laurence Gardner.

[Anthony Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book which touched on so many subjects that ultimately made me feel almost overwhelmed. The information came in like bullets, 'there is a second jesus', 'the shroud is from a templar' etc.
Though, most of the book is based on the imaginary connection between 2,000 years of symbolism. The biggest mistake that they make in my view is that over time, symbolism, even if held in strict hidden social societies, has been consistent to them. This is by far the truth. Sure symbolism can hold a similar meaning, though the interpretation and its 'popular' views of the time it represents may become deluded to the now scholar. By the end one realizes that the scrolls are wishful thinking, though that they have had indeed pointed out some small threads as leads for their assumptions. Most of their evidence is a single thread of almost opinion, which allows their research to unfold.
I would like to see a more detailed version of this work with more references and multiple threads of possibilities for their many conclusions.

The reason why I give them 4.5 stars, is because going through all of the unknown history and able to bring together a plausible reality to the past is simply remarkable and very creative. It definitely is a book that will get you to think and will add new ideas to old views of religion and symbology in general.

[Dick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago and over time had contact via email with the authors Chris Knight and Robert Lomas. In fact the first two books they wrote together –starting with this one are signed by both authors. Being a 32nd degree Mason and a history buff, this book caught my attention right away.

The authors, both Masons, set out to find the origins of freemasonry they had no idea they would find themselves unravelling the true story of Jesus Christ and the original Jerusalem Church. Or at least that is part of the case they make in this book. They do make a reasonable case for many of the Masonic rituals and the parallels with the early – New Testament Bible. Are Jesus Christ and his disciples somehow directly connected with the freemasons? I am not convinced.

They did a vigorous analysis and comparison of ancient Egyptian records and compared them to the Old and New Testament as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls. I cannot comment on how versed they are in ancient languages, so it is hard for me to really conclude how accurate these comparisons are. The do seem to make a decent case for early Christian rituals and some of the Masonic rituals, however. The biggest problem I ran into was their claim that the Christian Church was a political creation and had really had no connection with Jesus Christ. I reject that having been a practicing Christian for well over 20 years now, with far too many personal encounters with the Holy Spirit (including Christ).

We do know that the early Christians buried their most precious scrolls beneath Herod's temple shortly before they and that city were destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Those records were lost for over 1,000 years, at which time they were quietly uncovered and then interpreted by the Knights Templar. Those rituals were then adopted into the Templar’s teachings and rituals. So, the authors claim.

There are a number of conclusions in this book including a link from the freemasons of today to the actual masons and builders of the Egyptian Pyramids.

It was a fascinating read and raised my interest in more Masonic history. Being an amateur historian and former private investigator I am one to be convinced by hard evidence where possible and then circumstantial evidence if necessary, but not so much in theories.

[Margaret Galbraith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for the extensive research these two authors have completed to write this book. It’s certainly a game changers for everyone who has read the bible but is it here-say and what do we really believe. I’ve no doubt despite being brought up in a Christian home and going to church each Sunday, there are errors and ‘romanticism’ for want of a better word, in the Bible. The New Testament for me, was read more as the Old Testament was very hard to comprehend. There are many versions of the Bible nowadays but I’ve had mine since I was 4 months old. It was a sign of protection in a Scottish Protestant house.

This book is basically two FreeMasons researching way back as far as they could go and I applaud them even if I don’t agree with all their views. If you are curious like I was it’s very interesting. I was given this to read and voice my views by a friend so no doubt we are in for a lengthy discussion. I did find it a bit too heavy so I skimmed some chapters and read the conclusions of each one. At the end there is a prologue and many notes for reference. I’d be interested to read what many if you think of this even if the authors are not Historians they did an excellent research here. Are they biased due to their FreeMasons connections, perhaps a little.

I do know a bit about FreeMasons as I’m a life member of The Order of the Eastern Star of Scotland (ladies version but men can join too) along with my mum as my grandfather and many family members all were members of the FreeMasons. I’m not sure about today’s rules but you could not join Eastern Star unless your grandfather or father was a Mason that was your letter of introduction. I’ve not been to many meetings since immigrating to South Australia and my last one was in Whyalla SA. We did a lot of charity work in Scotland and they helped mum a lot too 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Rubberboots · Rating 1 out of 5]

This a non-fiction book about research done on the history of Free-Masons - which really takes you back to early civilization. There are some interesting bits but by and large, the writing is atrocious (for a non-fiction / research / history book). Very difficult to follow, to understand and digest the information presented.

[Neveen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected a story and history of the freemasons, yet, I have found numerous arguments trying to prove its roots within different cultures.

Two stars for the first two chapters.

[Franca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jaren geleden aan begonnen en er niet door kunnen komen, dus weggelegd. Een poos geleden weer eens opgepakt en nu lukte het me probleemloos. Ineens was het een boeiend boek met een mooi stuk geschiedenis, andere invalshoeken en toch wel wat (voor mij) nieuws. Genoeg om door te lezen op deze achtergronden.

[Steve Cran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this one. The book starts off with the authors tryign to figure out the origins of masonry and the rituals there in. Thier journey takes them back through time all the way to Egypts when the Hebrews were still slaves in Egypt. Apparentally Sequenare the Pharoah of Thebes during Hyskso occupation had the secret ritual that officailly made one king of Egypt. Appophis sent some to geet the secret from him but Sequenare would not budge. He was killed. Later Masonic ritual depicts that wwothout knowing the origins. The secret diws with Sequnare so substitute ritual is made. Moses an Egyptions paases it on to the hebrews. As the Hebrew relgion developes the Rabbis recasst the legend and king making ritual to that of Hiram Abif who wass th architect of Slomon;s teemple. Now he was killed to gee the secret. THe book elucidates Jesus and his role stating thaat he was part of the militant Essen community meant to drivee the Romans out of Juda wheer in he woulld bee king.



In this book one learns about the concept of Me at, thee twin pillars and King Makig rituals. We also learn that the Templars perform excavation n th temaple mount and recovere Israaelitee Rituals



Well worth the read

[Laura Weakley · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book which continually touts its scholarship, well... if it was turned in as High School Thesis, I would give it an F. There were many mistakes made, and not even close to enough references as to where information came from. This is because not only did the authors make a lot of conjectures, but they also were not logical assumptions. Funny how throughout the book, they keep writing about how they asked others if their conjectures were logical, and how they did a lot of research.
I marked it a three star, because their mistakes made me think, and jot a lot of notes for writing a book about the subject if I decide to. I hold out hope that at least the information about the Masons is true, because they are both Masons. By the way, they made a mistake on when the Declaration of Independence was written two times! Such an obvious error can make one doubt the entire contents. They did, however, spark my interest in more research myself, so I am glad I read the book.

[John Szalasny · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a novel, it's more a four star book. As a book that has claims to historical research, it's a two star book. The dichotomy of the ratings is entirely based on the lack of documentation - footnotes are rare, and usually not from a scholarly source (one, for example, comes from the guide book for Roslyn Chapel) . The authors, however, present a plausible explanation for the foundations and rituals of Freemasonry.

Their research takes them back through Biblically recorded Judeo-Christian history from the time of Moses and the time of Jesus through the time of the medieval Knights Templar. Each carries a tradition which starts in Egypt through to today, with Masonic rituals that have lost meaning to its initiates, and seem cartoonish to those outside the Masonic Lodge.

Despite the length of time I post to read the book (due to too many things to enjoy in the summer!), it is an easy read (definitely not written with language for the scholar) and was worth the 50 cent find in a church garage sale. But, it is disappointing that Knight & Lomas did not present verification of the "discoveries" and definitely did not show proof that they"rediscovered" the lost scrolls that follow their historical adventure in the previous chapters.

[Kelly Feldcamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am interesting read. Knight and Lomas weave a convincing "history" of freemasonry starting with Ancient Egypt, through King Solomon's Temple, to Jesus Christ, through the Knights Templar and on to modern Freemasonry, with plenty of more stops along the way.
In reality, the "history " they weave is built on a great deal of speculation, combined with hints at evidence. Like many pseudo-historians, however, they mistake evidence for proof. Many of their threads can easily have gone in other directions while they are adamant that they can be only interpreted in one way. They're fond of taking evidence which is coincidence and assigning a "cause and effect" relationship where there is none. On a few occasions they made statements like "coincidence can definitely be ruled out" without supporting why it can be.
I really enjoy their theory and think it would be cool if a genuine history of thousands of years for Masonry could be proven. For now, I'll accept it as a nice little fantasy that is fun to think about but is not grounded in any evidence close to certain.
The read was fun and very thought provoking but hardly the proof of Masonic History that they proclaim it to be.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's take the freemasons and the origins of things like the Knights Templar and put together a conspiracy theory that is interesting. Despite this, their arguments lack proof. The proof they do provide is sketchy and not completely verifiable. They also paint their ideas to seem like fact when they need to do a better job of pointing out that this is just a thought, belief , idea, theory that they developed. They paint a different picture of Jesus as " one of the pillars of the qumran church" to the Nasorean scrolls 'discovered' by the Knights Templar and eventually to their destruction as an organization. Although I dont believe in the traditional, original story given to us about Jesus, Mary, and his disciples , this book does not do a good job of discouraging that belief. In addition, they do a poor job of connecting the destruction of the Knight's Templar to the original founding members of the Freemasons. Their is little evidence connecting these two. It lacks objectivity and a scientific study of inquiry.

[Chris Craddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

What? No Rosicrucians? Also no Atlantis, but all the other occult and secret societies were checked off: The Essenes. The Gnostics. The Shroud of Turin. Francis Bacon. Isaac Newton. James, Brother of Jesus. Thomas, Twin of Jesus. Joseph, son of Jacob. Ezekiel. Origen. Bishop Clement of Alexandria. Constantinople. Moses. Jethro. Jacques De Molay and the Knights of Templar. George Washington. Benjamin Franklin. Abraham. The Egyptians. The Sumerians. Mesopotamia.
Actually, really a lot of good information, well documented, and coherently presented.

Only one thing: They said that the scrolls found by the Knights of Templar are most likely in Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. They made it sound like they were going to go there any minute and reveal their secrets to the world and the sky would fall. But I haven't heard anything about it. Is this like Geraldo and Al Capone's vault? A big build up of hype and then nothing? I hope not. Not holding my breath.

[David Nicol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a while back. The story and investigation are quite interesting but the so called Hiram Key? the crux is that the whole of Freemasonery is made up (but they kind of just ignore that part) by going into detail about this big secret that was the origin to freemasonery until some jealous guys killed the Grand Master without learning the real secret from him.

Zip zap zoop, join up some dots later, sprinkle in some cabalistic secret societies and voila, fresh pressed Freemasons, claiming their roots all the way back to.... nothing.

tl;dr? - The key was lost thousands of years ago. All the rest is dressing up in a secret club.

It is interesting to read about Freemasonery, written by Freemasons, nonetheless.

[Arnaldo Ibarrientos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because a mentor/friend in Freemasonry, many years ago, had a tendency of throwing this book across the room since it showed a few "secrets". It's an okay read, nothing too special. The "secrets" can be easily googled, but there's more to Masonry than what's in this book. But the fraternal brotherhood, all the benefits (along with the politics and drama) are exclusive to the brethren and each lodge. Freemasonry had a hand in shaping history behind the scenes (which not many people know about) and that's all I'll say on this. Sadly that mentor passed away and this phase for me has ended as well.

[Nichelle Seely · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love ideas that involve thinking outside the box. Ergo, I have a soft spot for alternative history, especially that involving religion, secret societies, and events beyond the canon of history we are taught in school.

Therefore, I found this book to be an interesting and plausible account of the history and origins of Freemasonry. However, there is very little in the way of serious scholarship here -- no citing of sources, no bibliography, and some of the leaps they take and the connections they make are giant steps indeed.

So, the book is entertaining, plausible as far as it goes, but unless some further discovery is made, still extremely speculative.

[Ann444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I found the book tedious at tunes due to the very detailed research, and skipped to the end of the chapter conclusions, it pulled together many ideas I had from contemplating past readings. The authors are not professional researchers and I sometimes disagreed with their conclusions, but I admire their hard work and how well they pulled together a vast amount of ideas and information.
Organized religion has deliberately deceived it followers; this read can be a real eye opener even if you don't agree completely with the authors.

[Michal Gregor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am happy to say that I have seldom read anything as stupid as this. To this day I feel rather sorry for supporting the authors by buying this rubbish of theirs. Their argument is quite ridiculous, inconsistent, contradictory and unsupported by any evidence whatsoever.

That being said, you may find reading this rather entertaining if you happen to enjoy Däniken, Arnošť Vašíček, Ivo Benda and similar geniuses.

[Hugh Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, not an easy read, but marvelous and extremely important. Those who have read the Bible and wondered what on earth (or heaven) had been going on, can enjoy a reasoned, plausible explanation. Those that want to see the light and be informed rather than faithfully follow should read this book. Probably more enlightening for non-Masons and useful to debunk negative myths about Freemasonry.

[Makhosonke Collin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think for me this book dealt a fatal blow to any pretence at being an christian.
A very good read that makes one question everything that you have been thought. Although I never cared much about Freemasons, that time I was reading this I got better clarity about them.
And its very informative with regards to religious symbolism contained in most Southwestern Asia Religions and left over in Christianity and the present rites of freemasons.

1 question still remains, Rosslyn chapel!

[Karim Koussa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is not as I have expected. I was hoping to read something about Hiram Abiff, the Phoenician Architect, but the book turned out to show a theory that is highly unacceptable about Hiram by identifying him as Egyptian! The 2nd disappointment is that it shows that Jesus was a political leader in an orthodox Jewish entourage (the Qumran Community) who was set to rebel by the sword against the Jewish temple of Jerusalem rather than a Spiritual Savior to all mankind.