Royal Black Jesuit Connection
The Jesuits
There are some remarkable similarities between the higher degree initiations found within both the Black and Masonic camps and the secretive Roman Catholic sect of Jesuits. This can be seen by carefully scrutinising the Jesuit initiation ceremony. Material on the internal Jesuit ceremonies is particularly difficult to obtain. Like the Royal Black Institution the Jesuits have succeeded in guarding their secrets for centuries. However, the Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge quotes from an old revealing Jesuit MS held in the French library at the Rue Richelieu at Paris entitled Histoire des congregations et sodalites jesuitiques depuis 1563 jusqu’au temps present 1709.
This Encyclopaedia is said to be one of the most important reference books of its kind in English and it reveals the Jesuit initiations in vivid detail. We see the candidate (for the initial inferior Jesuit degree) being tested for his preparedness for advancement in the Jesuit order. When he has been proved worthy in the first he is advanced to the second degree.
We learn, “At the initiation into the second degree (Scholastici) … the candidate, again prepared for them by long fastings, was led with his eyes bandaged into a large cavern, resounding with wild howlings and roarings, which he had to traverse, reciting at the same time prayers specially appointed for that occasion. At the end of the cave he had to crawl through a narrow opening, and while doing this, the bandage was taken from his eyes by an unseen hand, and he found himself in a square dungeon, whose floor was covered with mortuary cloth, on which stood three lamps, shedding a feeble light on the skulls and skeletons ranged around. This was the Cave of Evocation, the Black Chamber, so famous in the annals of the Fathers…”
The significance of this practice is solemnly outlined during the Masonic first degree initiation, when the candidate is told: “At your entrance into the Lodge, this sword was presented to your naked left breast, so that had you rashly attempted to rush forward, you would have been accessory to your own death by stabbing. Not so with the brother who held it; as he would have only remained firm to his duty” (Masonic Manual p. 9).
The similarities between the Jesuits and the different Black associations are remarkable. The comparable ghoulish surroundings, including the open display of human remains to reinforce its beliefs and obligations, reveal the same underlying ceremony. While the Jesuits call their initiation room “the Black Chamber” or “the Cave of Evocation,” the “Protestant” Knights of Malta and the Scottish Rite Masons consider their hall as “the Chamber of Reflection.” The Knights of Malta say this represents “the tomb of the Pharaohs.”
Nothing could be more chilling than these eerie settings that are constructed behind closed doors. The names may differ slightly, but the whole character, thrust and atmosphere of these ceremonies are the same. They are carefully designed to sober the member and make him more amenable to the demands of the respective religious orders. The whole Black ethos seems to closely correlate with the Jesuits and their common source of inspiration – the Crusading Knights Templar.
The Jesuit account continues: “they took off all his clothing, which they cast on a pyre in one corner of the cave, and marked his body with numerous crosses, drawn with blood. At this point, the hierophant with his assistants entered, and, having bound a red cloth round the middle of the candidate’s body, the brethren, clothed in bloodstained garments, placed themselves beside him, and drawing their daggers, formed the steel arch over his head.”
We do not want to run ahead of ourselves in this examination, as it is the subject of deeper examination later in the sixth Royal Green degree where the Blackman suffers a similar humiliation. It is sufficient to say at this juncture, the mortified Black candidate is covered in a green apron whereas the Jesuit recruit is covered in a red cloth. We will look at this in more detail in our examination of that degree.
The Jesuit member is then required to take a vow. “In the name of Christ crucified, I swear to burst the bonds that yet unite me to father, mother, brothers, sisters, relations, friends; to the King, magistrates, and any other authority, to which I may ever have sworn fealty, obedience, gratitude, or service. I re¬nounce…the place of my birth, henceforth to exist in another sphere. I swear to reveal to my new superior, whom I desire to know, what I have done, thought, read, learnt, or discov¬ered, and to observe and watch all that comes under my notice. I swear to yield myself up to my superior, as if I were a corpse, deprived of life and will. I finally swear to flee temptation, and to reveal all I succeed in discovering, well aware that lightning is not more rapid and ready than the dagger to reach me wherever I may be.”
This will immediately strike a chord with the Blackman, reminding him of his vow of loyalty in the preparatory Royal Arch Purple degree, where he swears: “I would keep and conceal the secrets of my Royal Arch Purple brethren within my breast, as well as my own, murder and treason excepted.” The Royal Arch Purple candidate climbs three steps symbolising Jacob’s ladder. At the top of this ladder, the blindfolded candidate is made to kneel upon a representation of a coffin. The candidate is then told: “With my knees upon a representation of a coffin, my toes extended over the earth, to testify that I was duly prepared to suffer death and all its penalties, before I would divulge anything I had received, or was about to receive.”
Another additional likeness is found in the Royal Arch Purple degree, which is the preceding degree before the Royal Black degree we are looking at in this section. Like the nervous Jesuit aspirant, the Arch Purple candidate is faced with a mystical three-branched candlestick flickering before his eyes. He is told that it represents “the three great lights.”
For lucidity, we should list the opening Loyal Orders degree format:
Orange degree
Plain Purple degree
Royal Arch Purple degree
Royal Black degree (which we are currently looking at)
Finally, we learn of the Jesuit ceremony: “The new member having taken this oath was then introduced into a neighboring cell, where he took a bath, and was clothed in garments of new and white linen. He, then, finally repaired with the other brethren to a banquet, where he could with choice food and wine compensate himself for his long abstinence, and the horrors and fatigues he had passed through.” The Jesuit candidate is rewarded for enduring his prolonged trial by being endowed with a white garment. Whilst the initiate into the Knights of Malta White degree is adorned with a white robe, this is not exactly replicated in the Black Institution although the Blackman becomes qualified to wear white when he attains the 5th Royal White degree.
Another description of a Jesuit Induction is recorded in the Journals of the 62nd Congress, 3rd Session, of the United States Congressional Record (this can be found on Dr Ian Paisley’s website www.ianpaisley.org). It records, “When a Jesuit of the minor rank is to be elevated to command, he is conducted into the Chapel of the Convent of the Order, where there are only three others present, the principal or Superior standing in front of the altar.”
The account continues, “When a Jesuit of the minor rank is to be elevated to command, he is conducted into the Chapel of the Convent of the Order, where there are only three others present, the principal or Superior standing in front of the altar. On either side stands a monk, one of whom holds a banner of yellow and white, which are the Papal colors, and the other a black banner with a dagger and red cross above a skull and crossbones, with the word INRI, and below them the words IUSTUM, NECAR, REGES, IMPIOUS. The meaning of which is: It is just to exterminate or annihilate impious or heretical Kings, Governments, or Rulers. Upon the floor is a red cross at which the postulant or candidate kneels. The Superior hands him a small black crucifix, which he takes in his left hand and presses to his heart, and the Superior at the same time presents to him a dagger, which he grasps by the blade and holds the point against his heart, the Superior still holding it by the hilt, and thus addresses the postulant.”
The Royal Black Institution was taken its inititation and catechism style from the Jesuits:
Q: Who commands you?
A: The successor of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus or the Soldiers of Jesus Christ.
Q: Who received you?
A: A venerable man with white hair.
Q: How?
A: With a naked dagger, I kneeling on a cross beneath the banners of the Pope and of our sacred Order.
Q: Did you take an oath?
A: I did, to destroy heretics and their governments and rulers, and to spare neither age, sex or condition. To be as a corpse without any opinion or will of my own, but to implicitly obey my superiors in all things without hesitation or murmuring.
Q: Will you do that?
A: I will.
Q: How do you travel?
A: In the bark of Peter the fisherman.
Q: Whither do you travel? A: To the four quarters of the globe.
Q: For what purpose?
A: To obey the orders of my General and Superiors and execute the will of the Pope and faithfully fulfill the conditions of my oath.
In the preparatory degree for the Black – the Royal Arch Purple – a sharp instrument is pressed into the heart of the initiate to extricate a similar vow of loyalty. Whilst the Jesuits press a dagger into the breast, the Royal Arch Purple normally uses a sword. There, the RAP candidate enters the Chapter room, and a sword or other sharp object is immediately pressed into his bare breast. The Protestant Truth Society booklet of 1925 revealed: “The oath taken, the candidate is branded with the Seal of the Lodge upon his bare chest – the seal, if a metal one, having been previously heated for the impression.” The reason for such an action is explained during the Royal Arch Purple lecture.
Q. “How were you admitted? Or upon what?
A. On the point of a sword, spear, or some other warlike instrument pointed to my naked left breast.
Q. Why to your naked left breast?
A. Because it was nearest my heart.
Q. Did you feel anything?
A. Three sharp pricks to my naked left breast.
Q. What did these three sharp pricks to your naked left breast signify?
A. As they were a prick to my flesh in the meantime, so may they be a sting to my conscience hereafter, if ever I should divulge anything I had received or was about to receive.”
The Jesuit candidate then swears unswerving allegiance to the Jesuits by way of a bloody vow and seals the same when he receives “the wafer from the Superior and writes his name with the point of his dagger dipped in his own blood taken from over his heart.” The Superior then instructs the Jesuit candidate on how he should make himself known to fellow members of the Society of Jesus belonging to the same rank. He “with his right hand makes a circle around his head, touching it; the other then with the forefinger of his left hand touches the left side of his body just below his heart; the first then with his right hand draws it across the throat of the other, and the latter then with a dagger down the stomach and abdomen of the first.”
Anyone familiar with the activities of the Royal Arch Purple Order and the Royal Black Institution will immediately recognise the Jesuit ritual and will identify with the procedures being described, including the signs and penalties. This is amazing when you consider that these two camps outwardly appear to be sworn enemies. Many Blackmen will probably be shocked at how closely the Black replicates this shadowy Roman Catholic order. The emblems in the two are the same. What is more, both drape their proceedings in the black banner – black being the principal colour of each organisation. Both have the red cross and the skull and cross-bones as their chief insignia. In fact, these two symbols would be the most recognisable forms of identification within their respective areas of influence, along with the motto IHS (although the Masonic square and compass would also be prominent in the Black).
Whether on banners, badges, certificates or internal emblems these two motifs are found to the fore of all the Royal Black Institution symbolism. In fact, the whole Masonic Templar movement (including the Knights of Malta) are identified with the colour black and the red cross and the skull and cross-bones. The Black definitely cannot claim originality for these as both the Jesuits and the Templars pre-date the Royal Black Institution by many years. The Black has obviously acquired these from the older orders, although they parade them around as if they somehow have a Protestant origination. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The ceremonial threat to the Jesuit’s heart, throat, stomach and abdomen should they break their vow, is repeated in the Royal Arch Purple ceremony, through which every Black candidate must travel before being initiated into the Black Order. The three great and solemn penalties of a Royal Arch Purpleman are that I “would suffer my throat cut across from ear to ear,” “my left breast torn open, my heart and vitals taken therefrom,” and finally “my body severed in two” before I would betray the Order.
The likenesses between the two are obvious. The existence of this evidence must deeply concern evangelicals who strongly oppose the perilous encroachments of the Jesuit movement. Clearly the fingerprints of this secretive Roman Catholic group can be discerned throughout the symbolism, teaching and practices of the Loyal Orders. The activities and imagery of the Black closely correlates with that of the Jesuit order – thus showing a possible origin for the Black Preceptory and “Protestant” Knights of Malta. Could it be that the Jesuits have craftily infiltrated Protestantism through the Masonic Trojan horse?
The Royal Black Institution has also taken the Jesuit motto In hoc signo vinces and made it their own. It seems that from whatever angle we look on this matter, whether procedure, symbolism, teaching or logo, the Black mirrors the Jesuit order in extraordinary detail. The usage of the exact same trappings cannot surely be a coincidence?
There is no doubt that Reformers of old would have stood firm in repudiating the Jesuit activities contained within the domain of the Royal Black of our day. They would have denounced the ritualistic activities and rejected the pagan practices that have attached itself to Protestantism. They would have resisted the sinister encroachments of any subversive order that intended to penetrate evangelical Protestantism. They believed in those sacred words found in Romans 12:9, which say, “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” This should be the motto of every professing believer. If it was, the Black Institution would surely be devoid of any sincere God-fearing members.
Lodges Examined by the Bible by John R. Rice
The Black Gospel
The address declares, “Shortly before Joseph died he made his brethren take a vow that they would carry up his bones to the Promised Land. These are not the bones of Joseph, but they are the nearest representation we can get. You can see they are human bones. To the outside world they are known as the skull and cross-bones but to us they are known as the Black Knights crest. They are symbolic and emblematic of mortality. Death may come and seize the mortal tenement of the soul, shrouding it in the coffin, mouldering it in the dust – the soul still lives on. Thus when a Sir Knight receives the summons to appear before the Grand Lodge above he gets the going pass for the Tyler of eternity.”
And continues, “What is this world but the tyling room of heaven, what is death but the door to that eternal lodge room where our Great Grand Master and departed brethren are waiting to receive us with songs of joy and victory. These emblems of mortality, how forcibly do they serve to remind us of the state to which we are all fast hastening. Once animated, like any of us, they have ceased to act or think, their vital energies have fled. Their powers of life have discontinued their operations, all is now dark. Thus when the sands of life have run and our frail and mortal bodies like these mementos become sepulchral dust and ashes, our disembodied spirits may soar aloft to those regions above wherein dwelleth life, light and immortality for ever and ever more.”
The teaching involved in this initiation is shared with the Black’s sister Templar order – the Knights of Malta. Like the Black member, the Knights of Malta candidate solemnly stands before an actual human skull and bones and hears the same instruction about death and the afterlife. Furthermore, the peculiar allusion to Joseph in the Black is also found in the mystical teaching of the Knights of Malta.
The Knights of Malta candidate is taught, “You there see before you the emblems of mortality. That skull and crossbones – emblematic of the bones of Joseph, which were carried by his brethren to the Promised Land – were once portions of the human body, and, animated with flesh and blood, stood up in life as full of vigour and health as any who stand here tonight. The day, my Companions, is not far distant when we who now enjoy health and strength, shall be reduced to the same form as those sacred relics. But how wonderful and incomprehensible the power of the Almighty! How cheering and happy the belief in a glorious resurrection, and that when the last trumpet shall sound and the graves shall give up their dead, not only those patriarchs of old, but all of the human race, of every kindred creed and tongue, shall in their spiritual bodies, and arrayed in immortality, stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
Whilst we have noted the influence of the Jesuits with regard to the various procedures before us, we know that this underground Roman Catholic grouping is not so foolish to infiltrate Protestantism under its own banner. They are much more subtle than that. They are notorious through the centuries for using secret surreptitious means to secure their aims. It is likely that the vehicle they have used to breach the Ulster Protestant defences was the Masonic Knights Templar. We will look at this matter in more detail when looking at the history of the Order. The immediate origins of this teaching can be traced back to the Masonic Knights Templar initiations. It is here that we find all the same accessories and teaching on the brevity of life, death and the afterlife. And like the Black Institution and the Knights of Malta, the Masonic Templars employ actual human remains to impress this teaching on their candidates.
The Masonic Knights Templar teach candidates, “Pilgrim, how striking is this emblem of mortality once it was animated like ourselves, but now it ceases to act or think; its vital energies are extinct, and all the powers of life have ceased their operations. To such a state, Sir Knights, we all are hastening: therefore let us gratefully improve this present opportunity, that when our weak and frail bodies, like this memento, shall become cold and inanimate, our disembodied spirits may soar aloft to the blessed regions of light and life eternal” (Masonic Manual p. 212).
This, almost certainly, is the immediate source of the Black teaching and the influence behind its use of human bones. These practices were first exercised by the Masonic Templars before being adopted by the Black Knights. Most informed historians accept that this higher degree Masonic grouping is the mother-Order of most secret chivalry societies known throughout the world today. Its influence can be seen in the widely shared teaching, symbolism, and modes of ceremony worked within the many similar associations. The one central theme that marks out Templarism is its fixation with death and the symbols of death.
When we consider the philosophy behind this ceremony we find language and teaching that is utterly at variance with the simple Gospel message. The Bible student will note that its whole mode and tenor is unrecognisable when compared to that of Scripture. When the Black touches the vital subject of heaven and the way of access to the eternal domain, it uses typically ambiguous Masonic language. God is “the Tyler of eternity” or “our Great Grand Master” and heaven is “the Grand Lodge above” or “that eternal lodge room.” These terminologies are not supported by Scripture.
Entry is depicted as automatic to the Black Knight. It is taken for granted that all Sir Knights go to heaven. The “departed brethren” (speaking of the dead Sir Knights) of the Black are portrayed as enjoying the wonderful bliss and glory of heaven. Access to heaven is depicted in Masonic vernacular: “When a Sir Knight receives the summons to appear before the Grand Lodge above he gets the going pass (or password) for the Tyler of eternity.” Heaven, here, is not entered by grace, through faith alone that is found in Christ alone, as the Bible explicitly says, but by Black membership and the possession (and use) of a bizarre secret society mystery that is wrapped up in ritualism.
The Royal Black is constantly giving the impression that all Black Knights go to heaven. We see this in the Annual Demonstration Booklets of the City of Belfast Grand Black Chapter (August 2004 and 2005). On its memorial pages dedicated to all the Black Knights who have died over the preceding year, it asserts: “It is with deepest sorrow that we again record the deaths of our fellow Sir Knights and friends who were called to the Heavenly Chapter during the past year.” This memorial characterises the liberal attitude that permeates the Black Institution in regards to salvation. This short epitaph gives the undoubted impression that all Blackmen automatically enter the golden shore. It is noticeably made without any due qualification. We must say, it is dangerous and misleading to insinuate that membership of the Black and the acceptance of its forms and rituals guarantees eternal life. It does not and cannot.
Although the various secret fraternities use slightly different terminologies, they expound the same core gospel. The Black articulates the same underlying message that Masonry and its coexisting offspring expound. The presentation of this can only result in myriads of men being seduced away from the purity and simplicity of the Word of God into the mysteries of the secret underworld.
Where in any of these secret addresses do we find God’s condition for reaching heaven? There is not one reference to the biblical requirements for reaching the celestial shore; there is no mention of the necessity of the new birth in order to enter glory. Black membership seems adequate to secure a man entry to that eternal home. There is no revelation of the biblical stipulation of faith in Christ and His shed blood at Calvary in order to conquer the grave. Repentance is totally ignored. There is no caution about hell-fire for those who refuse to accept Christ as personal Saviour. In fact, hell is never presented as a possibility for the Blackman.
This Black teaching is at flagrant variance to the Gospel message. It is truly a deceptive man-made seeker-sensitive alternative message that requires nothing but Black membership and good works. It is a secret doctrine built upon a spurious foundation. It is “another gospel.” Like the Roman Catholic Church, which it professes to oppose, the Black gives its members a false assurance of heaven and a bogus means of entry. Many Blackmen never darken the doors of evangelical churches and are therefore never subjected to the true Gospel message. These lectures in effect are often the only source of spiritual instruction for many. Unfortunately, many candidates end up believing this false gospel. They imagine they can somehow become acceptable before God through their secret society membership and their own religio-ritualistic attainments.
The Preceptory’s secret password is the essential means by which a member obtains entry into any functioning Black meeting. It is the Tyler’s job in the Preceptory meeting to challenge each member and acquire the established password. Furnishing the Tyler with the correct password is his clearance into the meeting. This is used as a type and figure of man’s entry into heaven. The way by which a “Sir Knight” gains approval from the heavenly Tyler (Almighty God) and therefore entry into the heavenly abode is likened unto this secret society ritualistic procedure. This is a total misrepresentation of the Gospel message. The Bible tells us: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The Black Order refuses to proclaim that only the born again Christian is promised heaven and consequently is relieved from the ultimate punishment for sin – hell and eternal wrath. In his penitent state, the Christian has acknowledged his sinful state before a holy God and thrown Himself upon the mercy of God in faith and repentance. Having done so, he is forgiven for his sin, brought into a newness of life and given an eternal hope. The destiny of the believer has become heaven and not hell. As the famous words of Fanny J. Crosby state:
“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.”
The born again believer alone can say, in the words of 2 Timothy 1:12, “For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” This is the promise that every Christian can rest upon.
1 Peter 1:3-5 also demonstrates the hope of the believer: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Assurance only comes through Christ and is exclusive to those who believe the Gospel and are truly saved.
We would recommend a revealing book written by David W Daniels – Should A Christian Be A Mason:
Biblical analysis of the Royal Black degree
All the Black Degrees
The Royal Black Institution consists of eleven degrees, as follows: –
(1) Royal Black degree – exposed and biblically examined
(2) Royal Scarlet Degree – exposed and biblically examined
(3) Royal Mark degree – exposed and biblically examined
(4) Apron and Royal Blue degree – exposed and biblically examined
(5) Royal White degree – exposed and biblically examined
(6) Royal Green degree – exposed and biblically examined
(7) Gold Crown degree – exposed and biblically examined
(8) Gold Star and Garter degree – exposed and biblically examined
(9) Crimson Arrow degreee – exposed and biblically examined
(10) Gold Link and Chain degree – exposed and biblically examined
(11) Red Cross degree – exposed and biblically examined
The Institution also possesses a final retrospective degree, which is essentially an overview of the 11 degrees that the candidate has traversed.
Red Cross Grand Charge – exposed
Other Info
Purchase direct: Inside the Royal Black Institution
Testimonies from former leading Royal Blackmen Rev. Canon Brian T. Blacoe (former Deputy Grand Chaplain of the Royal Black Institution), Malcolm McClughan (former Royal Black Lecturer) and David Carson (Chairman of the United Protestant Council).
A book for Blackmen to seriously consider by Cecil Andrew of Take Heed Ministries.
The “Protestant” Knight of Malta exposed
The solid and unrelenting opposition of GOLI to the RAP and the RBI
The history of the Royal Black Institution
The history of the Black degrees
For more information read Freemasonry: The Invisible Cult by Jack Harris