| Episode number | MB27 (Part 27 of 42) |
|---|---|
| Original air date | August 17, 1993 |
| Broadcast | Hour of the Time, WWCR shortwave |
| Chapter title | In the Coils of the Coming Conflict |
| Primary texts read on air | In the Coils; or, The Coming Conflict by E.B.G. (Collins & McDill, Philadelphia, 1883) |
| Listen | Stream the series on archive.org |
Episode Summary
Episode 27 aired on August 17, 1993, and is structured differently from most episodes in the series. The first portion of the broadcast is occupied by Cooper announcing the Hour of the Time’s expansion to a new Florida station, WSAP, broadcasting over UHF TV channel 27 in Fort Lauderdale on the SAP channel, along with an upcoming move to live satellite distribution over SpaceNet 3. Cooper was visibly energized by the news and spent considerable time walking through reception details for Florida listeners and requesting donations for new equipment. He also read a satirical piece by P.J. O’Rourke from the July 1993 American Spectator, reprinted in Backwoods Home Magazine, in which O’Rourke argued at a Cato Institute gathering that the only two rules of governance in a free society are mind your own business and keep your hands to yourself. Cooper endorsed the sentiment completely.
The substantive reading for the episode begins after the second commercial break. Cooper describes holding an 1883 book published in Philadelphia by Collins and McDill, the second edition of In the Coils; or, The Coming Conflict, attributed only to the initials E.B.G. and entered in the Library of Congress in 1882 by A.P. McDill. A notice from Wendell Phillips on the front matter declares it the next great question the nation must take up and decide. Cooper characterizes the book as priceless and as one man’s battle with Freemasonry.
He reads a single letter beginning on page 237, written by a Dr. Warren Groves to a Mr. N.R. Dover of Princeton, dated simply Brandon, May 18th. The letter concerns whether Dover’s nephew, a Mr. Bates, should receive the support of Groves and his associates for a congressional seat. Groves states that the only objection is that Bates is a Freemason, and the rest of the letter is a systematic argument, drawn entirely from published Masonic sources, that a Mason’s primary obligation is to his lodge and not to civil government.
The citations Groves assembles are extensive. From Mackey’s Lexicon of Freemasonry, he quotes that the government of Grand Lodges is completely despotic and that unlimited obedience must be paid to Grand Lodge decrees without examination. From Webb’s Masonic Monitor, he quotes the declaration that the Masonic covenant is irrevocable under any circumstance, including expulsion, travel to countries without Masons, or membership in governments that persecute the order. From a Grand Lodge Report, he quotes the passage stating that Masons know no government save their own and are foreigners to all other governments. From Mackey’s Masonic Jurisprudence, he quotes the statement that treason and rebellion are altogether political offenses and cannot be inquired into by a lodge, and that a Mason convicted of either offense cannot be Masonically punished, his relation to the lodge remaining indefeasible.
Groves concludes that because Masons have sworn supreme allegiance to a foreign government, they should be required to take the same oath of renunciation demanded of immigrants before being permitted to hold office, sit on juries, or vote. He identifies the Most Puissant Sovereign Grand Commander of the United States as an ex-Confederate general whose hands are dyed by the blood of loyal citizens and who led a brigade of Indians in a battle of the late war. He argues that the failure to prosecute Confederate leaders after the war can be explained only by the Royal Arch Mason oath to aid and assist a companion Mason in any difficulty, even if he be in the wrong.
Cooper closes the formal reading and identifies the unnamed Confederate general as Albert Pike. He then observes, in his own voice, that many leaders in the patriot community are Freemasons, sworn to a one-world government of their own. He notes that the quoted Masonic texts were published before 1882, and that the older the document the more truth it contains because the lodges have since learned to be more careful about what they print. He closes with a pointed aside about the television series Star Trek, arguing that it promotes Marxist values, that the characters own no private property, and that Captain James T. Kirk’s name is itself a coded reference: K.T.J. reversed spells the Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem. He also states that Lieutenant Colonel James Bo Gritz is a 32nd-degree Mason of the Scottish Rite.
Key Claims Made in This Episode
Documented from the broadcast. The site records these claims; it does not endorse them. Dated claims also appear in the series timeline.
- Cooper claims that Masonic oaths, as documented in published Masonic sources including Mackey’s Masonic Jurisprudence, establish the lodge’s authority as supreme over all civil government, making every Mason a foreigner to any national government.
- Cooper claims the Masonic covenant is irrevocable under all circumstances, including expulsion from the lodge, and that no law of the land can nullify it, citing Webb’s Masonic Monitor.
- Cooper claims that under the Royal Arch Mason oath to assist a brother Mason in any difficulty whether he be right or wrong, Confederate leaders were shielded from prosecution after the Civil War by fellow Masons in positions of civil authority.
- Cooper claims the Most Puissant Sovereign Grand Commander of the United States referenced in the 1883 letter, identified as an ex-Confederate general who led a brigade of Indians in battle, is Albert Pike.
- Cooper claims that many leaders of the patriot movement in 1993 are Freemasons sworn to a one-world government, making their patriot credentials suspect.
- Cooper claims the television series Star Trek promotes Marxism and that no character in the series owns private property, identifying the show as a vehicle for conditioning audiences.
- Cooper claims Captain James T. Kirk’s initials reversed spell K.T.J., standing for the Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem, and that the character was introduced as relieving a Captain Albert Pike.
- Cooper claims Lieutenant Colonel James Bo Gritz is a 32nd-degree Mason of the Scottish Rite.
Primary Sources Cited in This Episode
| Source | Status | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| E.B.G., In the Coils; or, The Coming Conflict, 2nd ed. (Collins & McDill, Philadelphia, 1883) | Public domain (pre-1929) | Search archive.org |
| Albert Mackey, Lexicon of Freemasonry (various editions; Cooper cites page 183) | Public domain (19th-century editions) | Search archive.org |
| Albert Mackey, Masonic Jurisprudence (Cooper cites pages 510, 511, 344) | Public domain (19th-century editions) | Search archive.org |
| William Preston Webb, Webb’s Freemason’s Monitor (revised edition; Cooper cites page 195) | Public domain (19th-century editions) | Search archive.org |
| Rob Morris, Dictionary of Freemasonry (Cooper cites pages 29, 325) | Public domain (19th-century editions) | Search archive.org |
| Missouri Grand Lodge Report for 1867 | Public domain | Search archive.org |
| P.J. O’Rourke, remarks at the Cato Institute, reprinted in American Spectator, July 1993 | Not public domain; reprinted with permission in Backwoods Home Magazine | Library and periodical archives |
Notable Quotes
“The confederate general discussed in this letter by Dr. Groves is none other than Albert Pike.”
Cooper, MB27, August 17, 1993
“Many of the leaders in the patriot community are Freemasons. They are sworn to the order, to their one-world government of which they only are citizens.”
Cooper, MB27, August 17, 1993
Historians’ View
Albert Pike was indeed the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite’s Southern Jurisdiction from 1859 to 1891, served as a Confederate general, and faced some degree of controversy after the war, though he was pardoned. The attribution of Confederate survival after the war to Masonic oath enforcement is Cooper’s interpretive frame, not a documented historical finding. The Masonic texts Cooper quotes are genuine published works, and the passages read are accurate to their sources; historians of Freemasonry note, however, that these texts reflect aspirational statements about lodge authority rather than binding legal obligations that American courts have ever recognized. The Star Trek casting claims rest on wordplay, not production records; the character of Captain Pike in the original pilot was named by the show’s creator Gene Roddenberry and has no documented esoteric significance. Bo Gritz’s Masonic affiliation has been affirmed by Gritz himself in various contexts. We record all claims as broadcast; we do not endorse them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mystery Babylon episode 27 about?
The core of the episode is a reading from an 1883 anti-Masonic book, presenting an argument that Masonic oaths require members to place loyalty to the lodge above loyalty to civil government, and that this makes Masons unfit for public office. Cooper then identifies Albert Pike as the unnamed Confederate general in the letter and extends the argument to the patriot movement. Background on Cooper’s treatment of Freemasonry runs through the Freemasonry topic hub.
What is the book Cooper reads from in episode 27?
In the Coils; or, The Coming Conflict, published in Philadelphia in 1883 by Collins and McDill, second edition, attributed only to the initials E.B.G. and entered in the Library of Congress in 1882. The letter Cooper reads is from page 237. Cooper describes the book as a record of one man’s battle with Freemasonry. As a pre-1929 publication it is in the public domain.
Why does Cooper mention Star Trek at the end of episode 27?
Cooper uses the show as an example of what he calls mass conditioning, arguing that the series promotes property-less Marxist values and that its character names encode Masonic symbolism. The observation is offered in his own voice as a concluding illustration of the episode’s theme that Masonic influence operates through cultural channels people do not recognize.
Where can I listen to episode 27?
The full series audio is preserved at archive.org. We never host or distribute the audio ourselves; see our content policy.
Continue the Series
- Previous: MB26: America’s Assignment Pt 3
- Next: MB28: Lucifer, Jordan Maxwell and Anthony Hilder
- Topic hub: Freemasonry
- Related hub: Secret Societies
- Every dated claim from this episode: Mystery Babylon series timeline
- Full index: Mystery Babylon complete episode guide
- Books Cooper cited: sources and bibliography
- Background on Cooper: Who was William Cooper?
