Decoding the Past: Mysteries of the Freemasons (2006)

Mysteries of the Freemasons: The Beginning

Mysteries of the Freemasons - The Beginning: Suspected throughout their long history of plotting to overtake the world, accused of fomenting revolution, and reviled as devil worshippers that stole King Solomon's treasure, the Freemasons claim they're merely a civic-minded fraternity, bound together by harmless rituals. Our high-energy cocktail of dramatic reenactment, expert interviews, and on-location footage entertains historians Akram Elias, Stephen Bullock, and Brent Morris to retell the Freemasons' central myth concerning Hiram Abiff, mythical builder of Jerusalem's Temple of Solomon. During construction, he was killed by three workers who believed his "secret" would impart magical powers--representing the three evils against which Freemasons believe they're still struggling: ignorance, fanaticism, and tyranny. Today, the world's 2.5 million Freemasons meet to reenact the ritual of Hiram's murder as the initiation ceremony for the main rank of Master Mason.

They claim they’re merely a civic-minded fraternity, bound together by harmless rituals. But throughout their long history, the Freemasons have been reviled as devil worshippers, accused of provoking revolution, and suspected of plotting to take over the world. Witness in MYSTERIES OF THE FREEMASONS the untold story of the world’s oldest secret society as clandestine codes, patterns in the sky, and murder reveal a radically new picture of the nation’s founding fathers. Dramatic reenactments, expert interviews, sophisticated CGI, and original location documentary footage transport viewers back to the time when Freemasons led the Revolution, framed the Declaration of Independence, designed our nation’s capital and, in the early years of the Republic, grew to unmatched heights of influence and power. HISTORY™ exposes the origins of this underground society, from the stealing of King Solomon’s treasure to the three evils against which Freemasons believe they’re still struggling: ignorance, fanaticism, and tyranny, to a present-day initiation ceremony attended by 2.5 million Freemasons from around the world. Featuring historians Stephen Bullock, Dan Burstein, Brent Morris, Akram Elias, and author David Shugarts.

Source: History Channel