Book cover preview of "The Hiram Key" ("Pharaohs, Freemasons and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus"):

The Hiram Key is a book that will shake the Christian world to its very roots.

When Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, 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. As a radically new picture of Jesus and his ultra-Jewish sect started to emerge, the authors came to the controversial conclusion that the key rituals of modern Freemasonry were practiced by the sect as a means of initiation into their community.

Rigorously analyzing and comparing ancient Egyptian records, the Old and New Testaments, early Christian and Rabbinical texts, the Dead Sea Scrolls and rituals of Freemasonry, the authors have been able to recontruct the lost story of Jesus and his brothr James and describe their struggle to establish the 'kingdom of heaven' upon earth using Masonic-style rituals. The establishment of the Cristian Chruch is shown to be a political invention that has little connection with the man we call 'Christ'.

The early Christians buried their most precious scrolls beneath Herod's temple shortly before they and the city was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Lost to the world for over a millennium they were clandestinely unearthed and interpreted by the infamous Order of the Knights Templar who adopted these ancient teachings and the rituals as their own.

The book reaches its exciting climax with the authors deciphering precise clues concealed within Masonic ritual that turned out to be the key to unlocking the secret of the final resting place of the scrolls of Jesus: A magnifecient shrine that is a detailed reconstruction of the ruined temple of Herod-built by the descendants of the Templars and the first modern Freemason over 500 years ago.

The true teaching of Jesus have survived and waiting excavation! (end)

While not a Mason, the book was a fascinating account of the history of Freemasonry and its Egyptian/Christian roots. I learned the origin of the word "amen" (Egyptian) and that "America", the word, didn't come from Amerigo Vespucci. (I can tell you, but you should find out for yourself!)