| Episode number | MB24 (Part 24 of 42) |
|---|---|
| Original air date | June 30, 1993 |
| Broadcast | Hour of the Time, WWCR shortwave |
| Chapter title | America’s Assignment Part 1 |
| Format | Reading with commentary |
| Primary text | America’s Assignment with Destiny by Manly P. Hall (Philosophical Research Society, 1951) |
| Listen | Stream the series on archive.org |
Episode Summary
Episode 24 aired on June 30, 1993, and opens a new multi-part reading series drawn from Manly P. Hall’s 1951 book America’s Assignment with Destiny, published by the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles. The episode is notable for introducing a second voice to the broadcast: Tom Swift, identified as Cooper’s new research assistant, reads the second half of the program, the first time that role appeared in the Mystery Babylon series.
Cooper opens by asking listeners whether they believe history is accidental, then begins reading Hall’s text at length. The opening passage from Hall describes what Hall calls the Great Plan, the program through which the mystery schools, secret societies, and priestly brotherhoods have guided the long-arc development of civilization, from individual liberty to democratic governance to a coming marriage between corporate power and the state. Cooper pauses after the passage to clarify what Hall is actually describing: he identifies it as the thesis of Socialism under a democratic concept, a planned convergence of corporate and state power, and notes that Hall was an adept and 33rd-degree Freemason writing in 1951 about what he was predicting, not what had already happened.
The episode then moves deep into Hall’s account of the mystery cults of Mesoamerica, specifically the figure of Quetzalcoatl and the parallel culture heroes of the Mayan and Aztec traditions. Cooper reads Hall’s survey of Votan, Itzamna, and Quetzalcoatl, all described as figures who arrived from a distant eastern land, introduced arts and sciences, founded religious mysteries, and eventually departed with a promise to return. Hall suggests all three may have been initiates of ancient Secret Schools, possibly Atlantean in origin.
The Quetzalcoatl section is the episode’s longest and most detailed. Hall’s text describes the feathered serpent as a priest-initiate and teacher who came from the land of seven colors, established mystery rites, condemned human sacrifice, taught charity and peace, and was eventually poisoned by a rival priesthood. His physical description from Mendieta, a white man with a broad forehead, large eyes, and a flowing beard, dressed in a long white robe covered with red crosses and carrying a bishop’s crosier-shaped scepter, is read at length. The Codex sources are cited to support the claim that Quetzalcoatl was born on the day of Seven Canes, identified with the planet Venus, and that his heart became the morning star at his death. Cooper pauses to note the explicit identification of Quetzalcoatl with Venus, the morning star otherwise known as Lucifer, as a connection to earlier episodes in the series.
The episode also reads a passage from Las Casas citing an old Yucatecan’s account of the ancient Maya religion, which described a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit trinity with names Icona, Bacab, and Echuac, and stated that the Son Bacab was born of a virgin named Chibirias, was scourged and crowned with thorns, died on a cross with extended arms, and rose after three days. Hall and Cooper both present this as evidence that the core elements of the Christian narrative were present in pre-Columbian American religion, just as they appeared in Egyptian, Mithraic, and other mystery religions examined in earlier episodes.
Tom Swift takes over at the midpoint to finish the Quetzalcoatl section and begin the discussion of Mayan mystery schools. Hall’s text presents the Popul Vuh, the Quiche sacred book, as evidence of an elaborate system of secret initiation rites in the Americas, and suggests that manuscript records of great value from the pre-Columbian mystery tradition may have survived the Spanish colonial period and remain available to certain qualified persons. Cooper closes with brief remarks praising Swift’s debut performance and announces the series will continue over the next several nights, reading the full text of Hall’s book.
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 Manly P. Hall was a 33rd-degree Freemason and a priest of the Order of Mystery Babylon, and that his 1951 book America’s Assignment with Destiny was not retrospective history but a prediction of a coming planned convergence of corporate, political, and religious power under a Socialist world government guided by the mystery schools.
- Cooper claims the Great Plan described by Hall, through which secret societies and priestly brotherhoods have guided civilization toward a New World Order, is a real and active program extending from the ancient world to the present.
- Cooper claims, following Hall, that Quetzalcoatl of the Aztecs, Kulkulkan of the Mayas, and Itzamna of the Yucatecans were all the same person or type of person: an initiate of ancient Secret Schools, possibly Atlantean, who arrived in the Americas from the east, introduced mysteries and civilizing arts, and promised to return.
- Cooper claims, following Hall’s citation of the codex sources, that Quetzalcoatl was identified with the planet Venus, the morning star otherwise known as Lucifer, and that this identification connects the pre-Columbian mystery religion of the Americas to the Luciferian doctrine running through Freemasonry and the mystery schools worldwide.
- Cooper claims, following Hall’s citation of Las Casas, that ancient Mayan religion included a Father-Son-Holy Spirit trinity and a son figure born of a virgin, crucified with a crown of thorns, and resurrected after three days, proving that the core elements of Christian theology existed in the pre-Columbian Americas as part of a universal mystery religion.
- Cooper claims that the ancient mystery schools operated in the Americas just as they did in Egypt, Greece, and the Near East, with underground initiation chambers, priestly brotherhoods, and secret rites, and that these institutions were directly connected to the global network of mystery schools described throughout the series.
- Cooper claims that sacred manuscript records of the pre-Columbian mystery tradition survived the Spanish colonial period and remain in the possession of certain qualified persons today, having been intentionally concealed from the missionaries.
- Cooper claims that the word alumni, used for university graduates, derives from the word for the illuminated and that the graduation ceremony, including the square mortarboard, black robe, and the conferral of degrees, is a secular initiation ceremony descended from mystery school practice.
Primary Sources Cited in This Episode
| Source | Status | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Manly P. Hall, America’s Assignment with Destiny (Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, 1951) | Not public domain; read extensively on air | Library and used book copies; out of print; see our sources hub |
| Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages (1928) | Public domain | Search archive.org scans |
| Popul Vuh (Quiche Maya sacred text, compiled 17th century from earlier oral tradition; English translation by Kenneth S. Guthrie in The Word, 1890s; Delia Goetz and Sylvanus Morley translation, University of Oklahoma Press, 1950) | Public domain | Search archive.org scans |
Notable Quotes
“Those desiring substantial evidence of the unfoldment of the Great Plan should follow the suggestion inscribed upon the monument to Christopher Wren in Saint Paul’s Cathedral, and gaze about them.”
Manly P. Hall, America’s Assignment with Destiny (1951), read by Cooper, MB24, June 30, 1993
“Manly P. Hall was an adept, a highly degreed, in fact a 33rd degree Freemason…may have held many, many other degrees in the Secret Societies of Mystery Babylon. He was a priest of the Order.”
Cooper, MB24, June 30, 1993
Historians’ View
Mainstream scholars of pre-Columbian religion do not accept the thesis that Quetzalcoatl was an Atlantean initiate or that a single historical figure traveled the Americas founding mystery schools. The physical description of Quetzalcoatl as a bearded white man is a subject of ongoing debate among archaeologists and historians; most scholars attribute the tradition to post-Conquest mythologizing that made Cortes identifiable with the returning deity. The claim that ancient Mayan religion contained an exact parallel to Christian theology, including a crucified and resurrected son of God born of a virgin, is disputed by scholars of Mesoamerican religion, who note the Las Casas passage cited is itself a post-Conquest account filtered through Spanish Catholic categories. Hall’s identification of the feathered serpent’s heart with the morning star as a Luciferian connection is his own interpretive frame, not one found in academic Mesoamerican studies. We document all claims as broadcast; we do not endorse them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mystery Babylon episode 24 about?
Episode 24 begins a multi-part reading from Manly P. Hall’s 1951 book America’s Assignment with Destiny, which Cooper uses to argue that the mystery schools have guided civilization from the ancient Americas through to the planned New World Order. The episode covers Hall’s Great Plan thesis, the Mesoamerican mystery figures Quetzalcoatl, Votan, and Itzamna, and the Popul Vuh as evidence of pre-Columbian mystery school initiation. The material connects to the Mystery Schools and Ancient Religion hub.
Who is Manly P. Hall?
Manly P. Hall was a Canadian-born author, lecturer, and esotericist who founded the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles. Cooper identifies him as a 33rd-degree Freemason and a priest of the mystery religion. Hall’s best-known work, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, published in 1928, is public domain and was also cited in earlier episodes. America’s Assignment with Destiny, published in 1951, is not public domain; Cooper reads it extensively across episodes 24 and 25.
Who is Tom Swift and why is he on the broadcast?
Tom Swift is introduced by Cooper as his new research assistant. He reads the second half of episode 24, marking his radio debut. Cooper notes that Swift performed admirably despite it being his first broadcast and despite a windstorm that was striking the house during the recording. Swift appears again in episode 25.
Where can I listen to episode 24?
The complete series is preserved at archive.org. The site never hosts or distributes the audio; see our content policy.
Continue the Series
- Previous: MB23: Jordan Maxwell Interview
- Next: MB25: America’s Assignment Pt 2
- Series continues: MB26: America’s Assignment Pt 3
- Topic hub: Mystery Schools and Ancient Religion
- Topic hub: Luciferian Doctrine and New Age
- Every dated claim from this episode appears on the series timeline
- Full index: Mystery Babylon Complete Episode Guide
- Sources referenced: Sources and Bibliography
