The vast majority of Freemasons in the world never progress beyond the bottom three levels of degree. But above them are another thirty higher levels in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, which owes its inspiration to the ancient Knights Templar. Even the 33rd degree is not the top because there are the Illuminati levels above that, and the 33rd degree itself is unofficially divided into two streams, one knowing far more than the other. At each stage, the initiate is told a little more about the true nature of Freemasonry and the real game plan. Those who have reached the 33rd degree are on a different planet in terms of what they know, compared with the Masons on the bottom three levels. Joseph Smith, the 'prophet' who founded the appalling Mormon 'church', was a 33rd degree Freemason. The men who go down to the local Freemasons' lodge in your town or city will not have a clue what their organisation is being used for. They have to be kept in the dark if the plan is to work and what better way of doing this than to use these distinct levels of initiation. Only those considered to be 'acceptable' progress to the higher levels and find out what is really going on. The vast majority of Freemasons are on the bottom three levels. They are the fodder and the front. Between the 4th and 33rd degrees, you find those of the 'right mind' who have influence in society, light up to presidents of the United States. Then you have the Illuminati levels, which you will not see mentioned in any Freemasons guidebook. Those are the people who actually run the show and they are the agents of the All-Seeing Eye cult. World Freemasonry is a massive pyramid of manipulation. It was not always like this. It is said that Freemasonry was once a society that was exclusive to those who worked as stonemasons and builders on the churches and cathedrals. It was then called Masonry. Their lodges were like trade organisations some historians claim, and their secrecy and rituals were designed to protect their profession from unskilled outsiders. Most of the Masons' work came from the Catholic Church, ruled from Rome. The immense wealth of the Church, most of it stolen directly or indirectly, paid for the construction of the great cathedrals on which the masons' income largely depended. But disaster came when Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1534 and formed his own Church of England after the Pope refused him a divorce. This event had many implications for the future and it ensured that many masons were made unemployed. Far from continuing the building programmes of Rome, Henry looted the monasteries and everything else he could get away with. He was broke, basically, and there were always wars to fight. One of his targets was the assets of the 'fraternities, brotherhoods and guilds'. The masonry societies collapsed in the wake of this royal mugging and the desperate lack of work for their members. Many of the lodges disappeared, along with their ancient records, and little is known about their true history. The lodges (branches) which survived did so by opening their memberships to people who were not stonemasons, or so the story goes. These newcomers - the businessmen, merchants, landowners, and aristocracy - were called 'speculative' masons and soon they far outnumbered the original members. This was the Knights Templar/ Illuminati manifesting on the public stage in the guise of Freemasonry. The first recorded initiation of a speculative mason in England was in 1646 when Elias Ashmole (don't say it too quickly) joined a lodge in Warrington. He was an astrologer and indeed esoteric knowledge was to be an important part of the new Masonry at the higher levels of initiation. Masonry had become Freemasonry and as the years passed, the only remaining connection with the stonemasons were the symbolic paraphernalia and names for the levels of initiation like apprentice, fellow craft, and master mason. The working tools of the stonemasons - the square, compasses, level, plumbline, gauge, gavel, and chisel - were still used in the bizarre ceremonies and rituals and the Freemason's apron was another throwback to the stone masons. But Freemasonry now had a very different agenda. The protocols describe the Masons on the lower levels of degree - the great majority - as a part of a 'show army' who are there only "to kick dust in the eyes of their fellows". Everyone is manipulating everyone else. Unless we know the secret society background of people employed by the controlling institutions, be it the police, politicians, doctors, military officers, editors and journalists, or government officials, and unless we know what that secret society truly stands for, how can we possibly know what agenda those who run a country or community are working from? These people pledge their total allegiance to their secret society in these ritual ceremonies, so what happens to their allegiance to the public they have been elected or appointed to serve? While people in the secret societies are allowed into such positions of control and influence without even having to acknowledge their membership, the whole system is open to the most outrageous corruption. And that is what happens. The system is outrageously corrupt. Not every member is corrupt; most are not. But it doesn't take many to have a terrific impact on society. Once you have Freemasons in the top positions, who decide which people are recruited or promoted within an organisation, you can make sure that fellow Freemasons get into the key positions of power. One generation of Freemasons follows another as the baton is handed over. When you have achieved this you can run an organisation or a country almost as you like. Or a world. Freemasons also commit themselves to helping each other in distress. That sounds very nice, but what about those who are not part of the club, the 'Profane', as we are called? Does that mean we are subject to lesser consideration when faced with a Freemason in authority? In at least a number of cases, the answer is most certainly "yes". The Freemasons have a series of signs and words which allow them to recognise each other, including the funny handshake. These also include the Freemasons' sign for "grief and distress" (i.e. Get me out of trouble), the verbal version of which is: "Will no-one help the widow's son?" The widow's son is Hiram Abif. These signs and signals come in very handy when you are arrested by Freemason police officers or appear in court before a Freemason judge. It doesn't always work, of course, but we are kidding ourselves if we think it doesn't happen. The political determination to tackle this dangerous injustice is simply not there, because either the politicians involved - of all parties - are Freemasons themselves or connected with the wider network, or they are frightened to act because their position depends on them not upsetting the secret society elite. Some leading politicians are high ranking Freemasons. Lord Palmerston, the British Prime Minister at the time of the opium wars against China, was the Grand Patriarch of the Grand Orient [Illuminati] version of the order. The former French president, Francois Mitterand (Committee of 300), was also a Grand Master of the Grand Orient.