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Paul declares that: “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation.” (I Corinth. iii, 10.)

Paul declares that: “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation.” (I Corinth. iii, 10.)

The expression, master-builder, used only once in the whole Bible, and by Paul, may be considered as a whole revelation. In the Mysteries, the third part of the sacred rites was called epopteia, or revelation, reception into the secrets. In substance it means [the highest stage of clairvoyance––the divine] . . . but the real significance of the word is “overseeing,” from –– “I see myself.” [In Sanskrit the root ap had the same meaning originally, though now it is understood as meaning “to obtain.”]<ref>In its most extensive meaning, the Sanskrit word has the same literal sense as the Greek term; both imply “revelation,” by no human agent, but through the “receiving of the sacred drink.” In India the initiated received the “Soma,” sacred drink, which helped to liberate his soul from the body; and in the Eleusinian Mysteries it was the sacred drink offered at the Epopteia. The Grecian Mysteries are wholly derived from the Brahmanical Vedic rites, and the latter from the Ante-Vaidic religious Mysteries–– primitive Buddhist Philosophy.</ref>

The expression, master-builder, used only once in the whole Bible, and by Paul, may be considered as a whole revelation. In the Mysteries, the third part of the sacred rites was called epopteia, or revelation, reception into the secrets. In substance it means [the highest stage of clairvoyance––the divine] . . . but the real significance of the word is “overseeing,” from '''ὅπτομαι'''–– “I see myself.” [In Sanskrit the root ap had the same meaning originally, though now it is understood as meaning “to obtain.”]<ref>In its most extensive meaning, the Sanskrit word has the same literal sense as the Greek term; both imply “revelation,” by no human agent, but through the “receiving of the sacred drink.” In India the initiated received the “Soma,” sacred drink, which helped to liberate his soul from the body; and in the Eleusinian Mysteries it was the sacred drink offered at the Epopteia. The Grecian Mysteries are wholly derived from the Brahmanical Vedic rites, and the latter from the Ante-Vaidic religious Mysteries–– primitive Buddhist Philosophy.</ref>

The word epopteia is a compound one, from –– “upon,” and ––“to look” or be an overseer, an inspector––also used for a master-builder. The title of master-mason, in Freemasonry, is derived from this, in the sense used in the Mysteries. Therefore, when Paul entitles himself a “master-builder,” he is using a word pre-eminently kabalistic, theurgic, and masonic, and one which no other apostle uses. He thus declares himself an adept, having the right to initiate others.

The word epopteia is a compound one, from '''επί'''–– “upon,” and '''ὅπτομαι'''––“to look” or be an overseer, an inspector––also used for a master-builder. The title of master-mason, in Freemasonry, is derived from this, in the sense used in the Mysteries. Therefore, when Paul entitles himself a “master-builder,” he is using a word pre-eminently kabalistic, theurgic, and masonic, and one which no other apostle uses. He thus declares himself an adept, having the right to initiate others.

If we search in this direction, with those sure guides, the Grecian Mysteries and the Kabalah, before us, it will be easy to find the secret reason why Paul was so persecuted and hated by Peter, John, and James. The author of the Revelation was a Jewish Kabalist pur sang, with all the hatred inherited by him from his forefathers toward the [Pagan] {{Page aside|124}}Mysteries.<ref>It is needless to state that the Gospel according to John was not written by John but by a Platonist or a Gnostic belonging to the Neo-Platonic school.</ref> His jealousy during the life of Jesus extended even to Peter; and it is but after the death of their common master that we see the two apostles––the former of whom wore the Mitre and the Petalon of the Jewish Rabbis––preach so zealously the rite of circumcision. In the eyes of Peter, Paul, who had humiliated him, and whom he felt so much his superior in “Greek learning” and philosophy, must have naturally appeared as a magician, a man polluted with the “Gnôsis,” with the “wisdom” of the Greek Mysteries––hence, perhaps, “Simon the Magician” [as a comparison, not a nickname].<ref>Op. cit., Vol. II, pp. 90-91. The fact that Peter persecuted the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” under that name, does not necessarily imply that there was no Simon Magus individually distinct from Paul. It may have become a generic name of abuse. Theodoret and Chrysostom, the earliest and most prolific commentators on the Gnosticism of those days, seem actually to make of Simon a rival of Paul, and to state that between them passed frequent messages. The former, as a diligent propagandist of what Paul terms the “antithesis of the Gnosis” (I Tim. vi, 20), must have been a sore thorn in the side of the apostle. There are sufficient proofs of the actual existence of Simon Magus.</ref>

If we search in this direction, with those sure guides, the Grecian Mysteries and the Kabalah, before us, it will be easy to find the secret reason why Paul was so persecuted and hated by Peter, John, and James. The author of the Revelation was a Jewish Kabalist pur sang, with all the hatred inherited by him from his forefathers toward the [Pagan] {{Page aside|124}}Mysteries.<ref>It is needless to state that the Gospel according to John was not written by John but by a Platonist or a Gnostic belonging to the Neo-Platonic school.</ref> His jealousy during the life of Jesus extended even to Peter; and it is but after the death of their common master that we see the two apostles––the former of whom wore the Mitre and the Petalon of the Jewish Rabbis––preach so zealously the rite of circumcision. In the eyes of Peter, Paul, who had humiliated him, and whom he felt so much his superior in “Greek learning” and philosophy, must have naturally appeared as a magician, a man polluted with the “Gnôsis,” with the “wisdom” of the Greek Mysteries––hence, perhaps, “Simon the Magician” [as a comparison, not a nickname].<ref>Op. cit., Vol. II, pp. 90-91. The fact that Peter persecuted the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” under that name, does not necessarily imply that there was no Simon Magus individually distinct from Paul. It may have become a generic name of abuse. Theodoret and Chrysostom, the earliest and most prolific commentators on the Gnosticism of those days, seem actually to make of Simon a rival of Paul, and to state that between them passed frequent messages. The former, as a diligent propagandist of what Paul terms the “antithesis of the Gnosis” (I Tim. vi, 20), must have been a sore thorn in the side of the apostle. There are sufficient proofs of the actual existence of Simon Magus.</ref>

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