Isn Freemasonry the outgrowth of some Second Temple Jewish sect?
No. Again, the accusation is that Freemasonry is a religion, in this case an outgrowth or continuation of some movement in Hellenistic Judaism. There were three especially important movements during the Hellenistic period, which stretches roughly from the conquest of Alexander through the destruction of the Second Temple. They are Zadokite, Enochic and Sapiential Judaism. Each had its own literature and its own views. Zadokite Judaism was the religion of the priesthood. Priesthood was, according to Leviticus, hereditary. All Levites had duty in the Temple. Only those who were descendants of Aaron were actually priests. The descendants of one of his grandsons, Phineas, were the High Priests. At the time of the return from exile a family known as the Zadokites, supposedly the descendants of David s High Priest, Zadok, controlled the High Priesthood. Their holy writings consisted of the Torah, together with the books of Chronicles and the works of Ezra and Nehemiah. Their version of the c
