The Question of Freemasonry

The following article is from the Christian Bulletin Board, COMPUTERS FOR CHRIST.

The question of the Christian stand regarding Freemasonry seems to confront our ministry at every turn lately. Because we have seen the exact parallels of the Masonic legends and rituals carried throughout the 'mysteries' of Mormonism, we have had to study deeply into Masonic origins, purposes and doctrine.

In doing so, we have had to come to grips with the sad fact that the esoteric doctrines of Freemasonry separate it, just as unequivocally as do those of Mormonism, from the Christian theology. This holds true for every branch of Masonry, from the Shriners to the Blue Lodge, the Eastern Star, the Demolay, Job's Daughters and the Rainbow Girls!

We know that this will cause offense to many Masons, and for that we are truly sorry. But we would rather that the Mason be offended at us and be restored to true fellowship with Jesus Christ, than to remain silent any longer.

This word of warning is not to the Masonic fraternity at large, but to those Masons who claim to be both Masons and Christians!

A recent newspaper insert, called "FREEMASONRY - A WAY OF LIFE" appeared in many metropolitan areas. It pictured Freemasonry as a family centered, fraternal, benevolent organization, "as American as apple pie!" (page 7)

Not only does the article demonstrate the strength of Freemasonry among our political leaders (both past and present), but makes much of its use of the Holy Bible and its foundational belief in God. Masonry has a very strong representation in the Christian denominations through-out the world. In many of the churches we visit, we finds Masons involved as deacons, elders, board members and even as pastors.

Their claim and the claim of every Mason to the outside world, is that Masonry and Christianity are totally compatible. They tell us that religion is the experience of relating to God, and Masonry the experience of relating to mankind. While separate, they can and do naturally coexist.

The above mentioned article explains its 'religious' position this way, "Masonry is NOT a religion in any sense of the word, yet it is religious. Church membership is not a requirement, yet membership in ANY church is no bar to admission. There is nothing in the requirements of Masonry to prevent a Catholic, a Mohammedan, a Jew, a Buddhist, a Protestant, a Mormon, or any member of any religion from becoming a member". (page 3)

On the surface, this might seem quite reasonable. We find no offense in being involved in social, civic and benevolent activities with people of other religious and ethnic backgrounds. In fact, it's really an integral part of the excitement of life! But, when it comes to our own personal worship of God, and His revelation to us of His Word, there are some very clear guidelines!

If Freemasonry is truly what it professes publicly, then "Bravo!"; it is a welcome fellowship. If it is being deceptive, then it should be exposed. It is that simple.

Let's see what Masonry TRULY teaches within its closed doors, and through its own published documents. NO 'Anti-Masonic' publications will be cited in explaining their TRUE theological position.

The key document from which we will quote is the most readily available and universally approved doctrinal book of Freemasonry, "Morals And Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry", By Albert Pike, Grand Commander, 1859-1891. Its title page states that it was prepared for the "Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree and Published by its Authority". Originally published in 1871, I have used the 1966 Edition. Except where other sources are noted, I will cite page numbers only, when using this work.

ALL TRUTH

(Masonry)..."The custodian and depository (since Enoch) of the great philosophical and religious truths, unknown to the world at large, and handed down from age to age by an unbroken current of tradition, embodied in symbols, emblems and allegories". (page 210)

TEMPLE OF RELIGION

"Every Masonic Temple is a Temple of Religion, and its teachings are instructions in religion" (page 213)

THE FOUNDATION

"It (Masonry) is the universal, eternal, immutable religion, such as God planted it in the heart of universal humanity. No creed has ever been long-lived that was not built on this foundation. It is the base and they are the superstructure" (page 219)

A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION

"Masonry is, in every sense of the word, except one, and that its least philosophical, an eminently religious institution - that it is indebted solely to the religious element which it contains for its origin and for its continued existence and that without this religious element it would scarcely be worthy of cultivation by the wise and good."..."Freemasonry is NOT Christianity nor a substitute for it"...."But the religion of Masonry is not sectarian. t admits men of every creed within its hospitable bosom, rejecting none and approving none for his particular faith"..."Masonry, then, is, indeed, a religious institution; and on this ground mainly, if not alone, should the religious Mason defend it." (Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Albert G. Mackey, Revised Edition, 1921, pages 618, 619)

BUDDHA

"The first Masonic legislator whose memory is preserved to us by history, was Buddha, who, about a thousand years before the Christian era, reformed the religion of Manous." (page 277)

REVERENCES ALL REFORMERS

"It (Masonry) reverences all the great reformers. It sees in Moses, the lawgiver to the Jews, in Confucius and Zoroaster, in Jesus of Nazareth, and in the Arabian Iconoclast, great teachers of morality, and eminent reformers, if no more; and allows every brother of the order to assign to each such higher and even divine characteristics as his creed and truth require." (page 525)

THE BAALIM

"Masonry, around whose altars the Christian, the Hebrew, the Moslem, the Brahmin, the followers of Confucius and Zoroaster, can assemble as brethren and unite in prayer to the one God who is above ALL the Baalim, must needs leave it to each of its initiates to look for the foundation of his faith and hope to the written scriptures of his own religion." (page 226) Note: The word, Baalim, is simply defined as "false god or idol". The Masonic author has included the God of the Christian in that category.

THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE BIBLE

The teachers, even of Christianity, are, in general, the most ignorant of the true meaning of that which they teach. There is no book of which so little is known as the Bible. To most who read it, it is as incomprehensible as the Sohar." (page 105)

THE INCOMPLETE BIBLE

"All truly dogmatic religions have issued from the Kabalah and return to it. Everything scientific and grand in the religious dreams of the Illuminati, Jacob Boehme, Swedenborg, Saint-Martin, and others, is borrowed from the Kabalah; all the Masonic associations owe to it their secrets and their symbols. The Kabalah alone consecrates the Alliance of the Universal Reason and the Divine Word;...

The Bible, with all the allegories it contains, expresses, in an incomplete and veiled manner only, the religious science of the Hebrews. The doctrine of Moses and the Prophets, identical at bottom with that of the ancient Egyptians, also had its outward meaning and its veils.

"The Hebrew books were written only to recall to memory the traditions; and they were written in symbols unintelligible to the profane... thus was a second Bible born, unknown to, or rather uncomprehended by, the Christians; a collection, they say, of monstrous absurdities.

"One is filled with admiration, on penetrating into the Sanctuary of the Kabalah, at seeing a doctrine so logical, so simple and at the same time so absolute." (pages 744-745) Note: The 'Kabalah is a book of ancient Jewish mysticism and magic.

THE SOURCE OF ALL GOOD

"Everything good in nature comes from OSIRIS - order, harmony, and the favorable temperature of the seasons and celestial periods." (page 476) Note: Osiris was the ancient Egyptian god whose annual death and resurrection personified the self-renewing vitality and fertility of nature.

MASONRY CONCEALS ITS TRUTHS

"Masonry, like all the religions, all the Mysteries, Hermeticism and Alchemy, CONCEALS its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be misled; to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it. Truth is not for those who are unworthy or unable to receive it, or would pervert it." (pages 104-105)

THE BLUE LODGE TO BE DECEIVED!

"The Blue Degrees are but the outer court or portico of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the Initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them, but it is intended that he shall imagine he understands them." (page 819)

WORSHIPFUL MASTER

"Worshipful Master: The Head and Chief of the Lodge, the Source of Light, of Knowledge and instruction in Masonry. He personifies the Sublime Art of Masonry and is the Spokesman thereof." (Arthur Waite, A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry,1970, page 24)

OBEDIENCE THE FIRST RULE

The first duty of every Mason is to obey the Mandate of the Master...The order must at once be obeyed; its character and its consequences may be matters of subsequent inquiry. The Masonic rule of obedience is like the nautical, imperative: 'Obey orders, even if you break owners.'" Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Albert Mackey, page 525)

THE ANGEL OF LIGHT

"To prevent the light from escaping at once, the DEMONS forbade Adam to eat the fruit of 'knowledge of good and evil', by which he would have known the Empire of Light and that of Darkness. He obeyed; an ANGEL OF LIGHT induced him to transgress, and gave him the means of victory; but the DEMONS created Eve, who seduced him into an act of Sensualism, that enfeebled him, and bound him anew in the bonds of matter. This is repeated in the case of every man that lives."

"It (The Principle or Angel of Light) but put on the appearance of a human body and took the name of Christ in the Messiah, only to accommodate itself to the language of the Jews. The Light did its work, turning the Jews from the adoration of the Evil Principle, and the Pagans from the worship of the DEMONS. But the Chief of the Empire of Darkness caused him to be crucified by the Jews. Still, he suffered in appearance only..." (page 567)

Note: This is, in its entirety, the exact opposite of Biblical doctrine. It places the 'saving power' and position of Jesus Christ at the feet of Lucifer and labels the Holy God of Israel a Demon. It denies the whole purpose of Christ's death on the Cross and puts Lucifer there, instead!

THE ENERGIES OF LUCIFER

"When the Mason Learns that the Key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the Mystery of his Craft. The seething energies of LUCIFER are in his hands and before he may step onward and upward, he must prove his ability to properly apply (this) energy." (Locked Keys of Freemasonry, Manly P. Hall, page 48)

YES, LUCIFER IS GOD

"That which we must say to the crowd is - We worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without superstition. "To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st and 30th degrees - The Masonic Religion should be, by all of us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian Doctrine.

"If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay (The God of the Christians) whose deeds prove his cruelty, perfidy and hatred of man, barbarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his priests, calumniate him?

"Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two gods: darkness being necessary for light to serve as its foil as the pedestal is necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive.

"Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy; and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil" (Instructions to the 23 Supreme Councils of the World, Albert Pike, Grand Commander, Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry, July 14, 1889. Recorded by A.C. De La Rive, La Femme et l'Enfant dans la Franc-Maconnerie Universelle. (page 588)

Note: The Word of God, the Bible, clearly places Lucifer in his proper place, gives God's reasons for placing him there. "How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit." (ISA 14:12-15)

THE GRAND ARCHITECT OF THE UNIVERSE

Masonic ritual is concerned with the recovery of the name of God - supposedly lost through the murder, during the building of Solomon's Temple of the Architect, Hiram Abiff - a 'Quest' not attained until the ROYAL ARCH DEGREE. It is here that the SECRET NAME of the DEITY OF MASONRY is revealed. That name is 'JAOBULON'. 'JAO' is the Greek word for Jehovah. 'BUL' is a rendering of the name, BAAL. 'ON' is the term used in the Babylonian mysteries to call upon the deity, 'OSIRIS'! The secret ritual book of the Craft prints the letters J.B.O. It states that: "We three do meet and agree - in peace, love and unity - the Sacred Word to keep - and never to divulge the same - until we three, or three such as we - do meet and agree." Thus, no Royal Arch Mason can pronounce the whole sacred name by himself!

What you see represented, then, as the god of Freemasonry, is a three headed monster so remote from the Christian trinity as to be so blasphemous as to damn the eternal soul of anyone who would dare to pronounce its name in a ritual of worship!

I AM THAT I AM

In the closing ceremonies of the ritual for the Royal Arch degree, the candidate is asked, "Brother Inspector, what are you?" and he replies, "I AM THAT I AM". Can you imagine that? When Moses asked God to name himself, God said, "I AM THAT I AM" and he said, this is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14).

Tell us how a Christian who is a Royal Arch Mason can take to himself the very name of the God of Israel? The God of the Christian faith said, "Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. (Isaiah 44:8, 9)

USURPING THE PRIESTHOOD OF JESUS

In the 19th level of Freemasonry, the Initiate receives the degree of GRAND PONTIFF. It is during this ritual that the candidate swears an oath of secrecy and an oath of total obedience "to any Chapter of this degree to which I may belong; and the edicts, laws and mandates of the Grand Consistory of Sublime Princes and Commanders of the Royal Secret, as well as those of the Supreme Council of the 33rd degree"..

It is then that the 'Thrice Puissant' anoints him with oil on the crown of his head and says: "Be Thou a Priest Forever, after the order of Melchizedek." After receiving the password (Emanuel) and the sacred word (Alleluia), he is dressed in a robe of white linen and given a cordon (a ribbon or sash of honor worn across the breast) of crimson color, with 12 stars representing "the 12 gates of the 'new city', and the twelve signs of the Zodiac, the twelve fruits of the tree of life, the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve Apostles" (Scottish Rite Masonry Illustrated, The Complete Ritual, Vol. 2, pages 26-27, E. Cook Publications, 1974)

It must be pointed out that what has taken place here, is the Masonic, Luciferian priesthood taking upon itself, the Holy Priesthood of Jesus Christ. That is a Priesthood that can be held by only one person and that one person is clearly defined in scripture as Jesus Christ!

Chapters 7 and 8 of the Book of Hebrews clearly explains that it was ANOTHER priest to be raised up, not a group of priests! This Priest would be our HIGH PRIEST and would be able to save from the Uttermost! He would have 'endless life'! The holder of THIS Priesthood would be 'holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens (7:26). This is Jesus, our Holy Lord and God!

This 'ritual' takes Christ's Holy Priesthood from Him, and the Grand Pontiff boldly puts upon his own breast! Even the 'Biblical' secret and sacred words fail to cover up the adding in of the 'signs of the Zodiac', a direct alliance with the powers of darkness and a demonstration of disobedience to

God's Word, in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, where it is said that he who "useth Divination" (consulting the signs of the Zodiac to tell the future), "or is an observer of times" (which is an ancient description for Augury or Astrology - again dealing with the Zodiac) "is an abomination unto the Lord"!

Again, we see a mirror image of Biblical truth. The Priesthood power of Jesus is given to Satan, the god of Masonry.

WASHED IN THE BLOOD

In the seventeenth degree, or Knights of the East and West, having completed the initiation and after revealing the password (Jubulum) and the Sacred Word (Abaddon), "the Senior Warden conducts the Candidate to the elevated vacant canopy at the right of the All Puissant."

"This is supposed to represent the end of the world when all good masons receive their reward by being conducted to a throne at the right hand of the All Puissant, having been purified by washing their robes in their own blood."

In the lecture which follows, between the All Puissant and the Senior Warden, the Book with Seven Seals, which none but one can open (Rev 5:5) is twisted to represent "A Lodge or Council of Masons which the All Puissant alone has the right to convene and open."

The Fourth Seal is represented by a skull or "Death's Head" and we are told it "is the image of a brother who is excluded from a Lodge or Council" The fifth Seal is represented by a "Cloth Stained with Blood." The All Puissant identifies this as a symbol "that we should not hesitate to spill ours for the good of masonry". (Scottish Rite Masonry Illustrated, The complete Ritual, Vol. 1, Pages 453, 456, 457, E. Cook Publishing, 1974)

What a gross misrepresentation of the Holy Word of God! First and foremost, It is Christ and He alone who 'hath prevailed to open the book and loose the seven seals thereof'. To presume that honor and power is to deny Christ, or yet in deeper perversity, to replace his power and authority with that of the All Puissant, even in the representation of the power to save and to enthrone. This is the very spirit of the AntiChrist!

Again, another clue to the true identity of the Masonic Deity is revealed in the 'Sacred Word' of this ritual, "Abaddon". In Revelation 9:11, we learn that "they (the demons and workers from hell) had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is ABADDON!"

BLOOD OATHS

Throughout the initiation rituals of the "BLUE LODGES" and through all 33 degrees of Freemasonry, the candidates are sworn to secrecy by bloody oaths. Such as is the oath sworn by the Entered Apprentice or first degree: "...binding myself under no less penalty than that of having my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by its roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea, at low-water mark". The Master Mason swears, "..under no less penalty than that of having my body severed in two, my bowels taken from thence and burned to ashes, the ashes scattered before the four winds of heaven.."

It is in this final 'Blue Lodge' degree that that candidate is laid out 'in death' and is raised from the dead by the 'Worshipful Master' of the Lodge, using the secret grip of the Master Mason.

Let no Mason deceive you! We again face this replacement of our Saviour's place by the power and authority of Lucifer. Paul said that if anyone should preach any other gospel 'than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed'. (Gal 1:8, 9)

The simplicity of the Gospel is this, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; By which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I have preached to you, unless you have believed in vain.

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Cor. 15:1-5)

The infinite power of Jesus was confirmed by Him when He said, "ALL power is given unto ME in heaven and in earth". (Matt. 28:18) This power is His alone! "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ!" (Romans 5:17)

Jesus was the one who rose from the dead. Jesus is the one with the power to raise from the dead. Jesus is the one who frees us from the sting of death!

The Mason who would call himself Christian and allow himself to partake of a ritual resurrection by the power of Lucifer is no Christian. He is a Satanist. He stands, having been born again and raised from the dead as a Master Mason, through the power of the Masonic god, whom the God of Israel cast into the pit! He and his 'saviour' pass the sacred word, Mah-Hah-Bone. Next, in the 'Five Points Of Fellowship, the new Master Mason solemnly vows "Breast to Breast: that you will ever keep in your breast a brother's secrets, when communicated to you and received as such, murder and treason excepted." (Duncan's Rituals, Revised And Complete, E. Cook Publications, 1974, pages 35, 96, 120, 121)

It should further be noted that in the Royal Arch Degree, the candidate swears to protect the 'brethren', "Murder and treason not excepted"! This places the Masonic oath above that of our courts and our country. What hope would you have against a Mason in a Criminal or Civil Court with a Judge who is a 32nd or 33rd degree Mason? None, by the nature of their oaths!

COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM

IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, AND HIS SHED BLOOD AT CALVARY, WE EXHORT YOU WHO CLAIM TO BE A MASON AND A CHRISTIAN.. "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." (2 Cor. 6:17) He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:11-12

"There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Tim 2:5

"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 3:10-11)

"God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:9-11)

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?" (2 Cor. 6:14-15)

ONE OR THE OTHER

We are adamant that there is no other choice for you right now. If you are a Mason who professes to be a Christian, you are lying before the Holy God of Israel! Either renounce your Christian faith or renounce Masonry. One is from on high and the other is from the pit!

Every 'Blue Lodge' member who reads this can no longer maintain his defense of ignorance. Today, you stand revealed! Today, you must make your choice! Every Mason, through the highest degree, has had the mask of secrecy ripped away. You are without defense. Choose Jesus or choose Lucifer. Renounce Jesus if you must, but do not stand in the assembly of His saints and mock Him!

Unless you repent of this evil, your presence in the congregation of a Christian body is a grieving of the Holy Spirit. We pray that you will choose Jesus, and you will repent and be set free from this wicked power unto whom you have submitted your very soul! If this is your desire, remember that we have this promise,

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". (1 John 1:9)

Provided by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 314
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Website: www.biblebb.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986