Introduction to the Order of the Illuminati
Illuminati literally means "one who is
illuminated" or "the enlightened ones," describing someone who has received
"the light" or some great knowledge." The Order of the Illuminati
was founded by Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830) on May 1, 1776. Weishaupt was
trained by the Jesuits and was a professor of Natural and Cannon Law at
the University of Ingolstadt in Germany. There is some debate about the
name of the Order when it was first created. Some claim it was called the
Order of the Perfectibilists. (1) Others say
it was the Ancient and Illuminated Seers of Bavaria or AISB.
(2)
Their outward purpose was "to attain the highest possible degree of morality
and virtue, and to lay the foundation for the reformation of the world
by the association of good men to oppose the progress of moral evil." (1)
The order was very popular at first,
as was the fashion of the time, and spread quickly across Europe. The Illuminati
boasted 2,000 members throughout Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark,
Sweden, Poland, Hungary, and Italy. At its conception, Illuminati members
were reputed to favor freethinking and radical politics. Some understood
the Order to be a Christian one, promoting a belief in deism and spiritual
perfection. However, this façade merely hid the true motives. (1)
As the conspiring reputation of the
Order began to spread, the Bavarian government abolished it, along with
many other secret societies existing at the time, for plotting a massive
overthrow of Europe's monarchies. At this point the membership declined
rapidly, and for some the history of the society ends here.
(3)
History and Origins
The Illuminati are widely believed to
be a sect or faction of the Freemasons. The Freemason, hence the Illuminati,
adopted their beliefs and teachings from the Knights Templar. The Knights
Templar was originally a religious and military organization during the
crusades. Its members became very rich through gifts of land and money
from European rulers. By the 1300s, the Templars deemed themselves the
"bankers of Europe," because of their enormous wealth and the breadth of
their organization. They were hoping to "become wealthy enough to buy the
world."
The king of France and the Pope then
conducted arrests and investigations of the Knights Templar. The Pope suspected
the king's investigation involved torturous methods and so held his own.
During these investigations, the Knights confessed voluntarily to a variety
of crimes including "spitting on the crucifix, committing obscenities,
and practicing unnatural vices (sodomy)." As a result of these investigations,
the Knights Templar was exposed as two-faced and evil. The Knights concealed
one doctrine for only their masters - the one that proclaimed Lucifer as
their god - and put forth a Christian front for the public.
The Pope abolished the order and it
fled underground, continuing only among its most trusted members. Hundreds
of years later, the Knights Templar surfaced as a "benevolent organization
of good works." The Templars took over the stonemason guilds of Europe,
which were then struggling to maintain their membership. The transition
of the Templars into the Masons occurred smoothly; the public merely viewed
the organization as a good one. It is at this point in history when Weishaupt,
a Mason, formed a secret society (the Illuminati) within the existing secret
society.
The Freemasons are a society that
exists even today, promoting the banner of equality and service. However,
interviews with current and former Masons of the 32 and 33 degrees displayed
huge discrepancies in the organization. The following information comes
from abstracts of the book "The Invisible Rung of Government," by an anonymous
author, published in "Conspiracy Nation."
When current members of the Freemasons
were interviewed, they did not express any knowledge of any higher religious
aims of the Order. They were infinitely loyal to the organization and believed
undoubtedly that it was an international secret fraternity based on good
works. However, former members of the Masons explained that the organization
was anti-Christ and Luciferically inspired, especially in its higher levels.
This means that either current members would not reveal any of their knowledge
because of binding oaths of secrecy, or that they were unaware of the Masons'
evil nature because they had not yet reached its highest levels. For the
book secret Masonic materials and writings were gathered from widows of
deceased Masons. These materials repeatedly referenced the Illuminati and
the Knights Templar, confirming that Freemasonry is a continuation of the
Illuminati.
(4)
Another Account of Creation (slightly less believable)
There are some who claim to trace the
Illuminati or at least its philosophies and plans back 4,000 years to Mesopotamia,
in the Sumerian era. The ruling king at that time was King Ur-Nammu. King
Ur established, through his influence, which of three great brotherhoods
would eventually gain dominion over the world.
During the Babylonian era, three warring
brotherhoods were established, the White Order, or White Brotherhood; the
Green Brotherhood, or Green Dragon; and the Yellow Brotherhood. The White
Order inhabited Greece, the Green Brotherhood operated (and apparently
still operates) in Asia, and the Yellow Brotherhood's seat was in Egypt.
The Green and Yellow Brotherhoods eventually merged into one, which they
called the Green Dragon. Because of the merge, the order's bloodline was
split in four directions and thinned, leaving no pure descendants of the
brothers. However the bloodline of the White Brotherhood stayed in a straight
line of descendants, from father to son, without breaking at all.
The White Brotherhood, as the foundation
of Ancient Greece, determined which civilizations were to be included in
the creation of the "One World Dominated Realm." The Greeks (and therefore
the White Brotherhood) were the founders of the disciplines and institutions,
such as politics, philosophy, government, the military, and education that
are the main sources of civilization in the western world today. In other
words, modern day "Western" societies all were created by and based on
the influence of the White Brotherhood.
The condition for each son to enter,
in addition to maintaining the pure bloodline, is that he must obtain multiple
master's degrees in disciplines related to the secret teachings. Hence,
the sons would be educated for 40 years, similar to many of our country's
prominent leaders.
Thus, the White Brotherhood laid the
foundation for the New World Order and passed it on to secret societies
to continue its work.
Another theory of the historical origins
of the Illuminati is that it began with the civilization on Atlantis. Atlantians
were believed to have an enlightened king and perfect religion and science,
the ultimate worldwide culture. When Atlantis was destroyed, the king migrated
to Egypt and settled in the Nile area, which accounts for the abundance
of Egyptian symbols in Freemasonry. From Egypt the king was able to pass
on his enlightened knowledge.(2)
