The three disparate elements--religion (wisdom), stonemasons (strength) and Enlightenment (beauty)--provided a framework for Freemasonry to develop in the early 1700s. The biblical story of King Solomon's Temple, described in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, united these elements. Within a lodge, men of differing faiths accepted the Temple as a symbol from which respect and brotherly love could grow.

To Jews, the Temple was a culmination of their covenant with God; to Christians it was a reflection of the coming City of God. The Temple--as the house of the God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus--became a theologically neutral symbol for Freemasonry's spirituality and brotherly love to which all believers in a Supreme Being could relate.

Built in an ancient time and place, the Temple was also open to mythological interpretation. According to the scriptural passages, Solomon prayed for, and received, wisdom from God to build the temple.

The natural philosophers of the Enlightenment became increasingly enamored with Solomon's Temple The Bible's detailed description combined with the accounts of the ancient historian Josephus made it worthy of serious contemplation. Built in Jerusalem around 966 BC, the Temple stood for nearly 400 years before its destruction by the Babylonians. As the house of God, the Temple became the subject of many moral and scientific treatises. Some natural philosophers believed the Temple's architecture and ornaments held mathematical and geometrical keys to understanding the nature of God and His creation.

Early Scottish Freemasons used the Temple as a symbol to unify their initiation ceremonies.