Truth Magazine

By Dudley Ross Spears

The title of this article is much like the question asked by Amos, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Anyone who has given serious study to what the New Testament teaches about the church of the Lord and what the Masonic Lodge stands for becomes vividly aware of the drastic difference between the two institutions. It is difficult to understand how one can know enough to become a member of the New Testament church and think it right to engage in those things which Masonry practices and teaches.

Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24). Every Mason who is a member of the Lord’s church ought to remember this each time he hears his brother Masons say something about their “Worshipful Master,” or “the Grand Master” of the Lodge. How a member of the church could call anyone “Master” in any respect is beyond comprehension. No one can be a faithful Christian without recognizing Christ as the one and only supreme Master of life. The loyal Mason has a “Master” of the Lodge to which he belongs.

The incompatibility of the Lord’s church and the Masonic Lodge is manifest in many vital and fundamental areas. Those who try to ignore or justify these incongruities “set themselves in opposition to themselves” (2 Tim. 2:25, MacKnight). The member of the church who tries to uphold the teaching and practice of Masonry is hopelessly self-contradictory and in almost complete disagreement with his brethren in Christ. When an honest person studies the matter in the light of biblical teaching, finding this inconsistency, he will either quit the Lodge or quit the church. It is the purpose of this article to amplify those inconsistencies and urge Christians to quit the Lodges and any other secret or non-secret religious societies.

One of the more blatant areas of disagreement between the Lord’s church and the Masonic Lodge is discrimination. Masons discriminate against anyone who happens to have been born with a physical deformity. In the physical qualifications Masons list is that one must be hale and entire. Here is what one of the greatest Masonic authorities said.

The physical qualifications contribute to the utility of the Fraternity, because he who is deficient in any of his limbs or members, and who is not in the possession of all his natural senses and endowments, is unable to perform, with pleasure to himself or credit to the Fraternity, those peculiar labors in which all should take an equal part. He thus becomes a drone in the hive, and so far impairs the usefulness of the Lodge as ‘a place where Freemasons assemble to work, and to instruct and improve themselves in the mysteries of their ancient science’.(1)

A further elaboration on the physical qualifications shows that Masons require a candidate to be “at least twenty-one years of age, upright in body, with the senses of a man, not deformed or dismembered, but hale and entire limbs as a man ought to be.”(2) If you happen to have been the victim of war or accident and are without one of your limbs or body parts, the Masons will not have you. The physical condition of a man does not affect the qualification of an individual for membership in the Lord’s church. Such discrimination is condemned (James 2:1-5). If there is the wonderful life in Masonry we are often told is there, why would they eliminate any from membership in such an organization? “My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons” (vs. 1).

All one must do to be a member of the Lord’s church is to have obedient faith in Jesus as the Son of God. When the first gospel sermon was preached, proclaiming the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, the audience cried out, “Brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). These convicted people were told, “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins . . .” (vs. 38). Those who gladly received the words Peter uttered obeyed the commands and were added to the church right then (Acts 2:41, 47). Even those who were physically deformed were qualified.

The nature of membership in the Lord’s church is such that is sinful to be a member of any other religious order like Masonry. The church of the Lord is the sum total of the saved ones. It is the sum total of all those who have been called out of “darkness and delivered into the kingdom of the Son of His (God’s) love” (Col. 1:13). Being in this called out group is being in the body of Christ, of which there is “but one body” (1 Cor. 12:20). Those in that body possess “all spiritual blessings in Christ” (Eph. 1:3) and are said to be “made full in him” (Col. 2:10).

Membership in the body of Christ, the church, puts one in a right relationship with the Father and in order to have that to begin with sinners are told “come ye out from among them, and be ye separate” (2 Cor. 6:17). Not only are we to sever our relationship with all darkness and sin, but we are to remain separate from it. That is why we appeal to Masons to quit the Lodge and be a faithful Christian. Sever your relationship with all darkness and error. Please read 2 Cor. 14-16 and notice the four contrasting pairs between which Paul says no fellowship can exist. (1) righteousness and iniquity, (2) light and darkness, (3) believers and unbelievers, and (4) the temple of God and idolatry. In these areas you will now see that Masonry is on one end and the church is on the other end of the contrasting elements – and no fellowship can exist between them.

There is a reply that often is made by Masons who claim membership in the church. They say, “Masonry is not a religious society and does not conflict with my service to the Lord.” Elsewhere in this issue this matter is dealt with, but I would just point out that Albert Mackey wrote, “Masonry, then, is indeed, a religious institution; and on this ground mainly, if not alone, should the religious Mason defend it”(3)Here is a man who knew more about Masonry than any of us today can know. He says that Masonry is a religious institution and should be defended “mainly, if not alone,” on the ground of its religious character. I urge my brethren who are Masons to either give up Masonry or defend it like the scholars and teachers of Masonry define it. Now notice the complete dichotomy between Masonry and the Lord’s church in these areas.

1. The Iniquity of Masonry. The term used in 2 Cor. 6 for “iniquity” means, “a lawless attitude.” It is the same as saying that something has no scriptural authority to exist. There is not the slightest authority in the scriptures for the existence of Masonry or anything like it. The Masonic claim to be able to trace its roots back to the time of King Solomon has no more merit than the Catholic claim to be able to reach back to Peter as their first “pope.” The word “iniquity” is defined, “What is not in harmony with the law, what contradicts the law.”(4) This article will show many contradictions Masonry makes to the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Here is how Masonry regards the inspiration of the Bible.

The Mason believes that God has arranged this glorious but perplexing world with a purpose, and on a plan. He holds that every man sent upon this earth, and especially every man of superior capacity, has a duty to perform, a mission to fulfill, a baptism to be baptized with; that every great and good man possesses some portion of God’s truth, which he must proclaim to the world, and which must bear fruit in his own bosom. In a true and simple sense, he believes all the pure, wise, and intellectual to be inspired, and to be so for the instruction, advancement and elevation of mankind. That kind of inspiration, like God’s omnipresence is not limited to the few writers claimed by Jews, Christians, or Moslems, but is co-extensive with the race.(5)

Can one be a member of the Lord’s church and hold such a view of inspiration? But some may say that they do not believe what the Masons say about “inspiration.” But would the same individual allow preachers, teachers and gospel writers to publish such things in the name of Christianity? It is done in the name of Masonry. The Masonic position on revelation equates the Koran with the Bible and any sort of “pure, wise and intellectual” writing or saying. Yet, the Bible claims that the scriptures alone are “inspired of God” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).

2. The Darkness of Masonry. The Mason never comes to the full light of Truth. He cannot. Masonry denies that there is such an attainable truth possible. Here is another reliable Masonic scholar and teacher who says,

The doctrines of the Bible are often not clothed in the language of strict truth, but in that which was fittest to convey to a rude and ignorant people the practical essentials of the doctrine.(6)

Perhaps you thought that the Bible was written language of “strict truth” but the Masonic scholars do not. Even though our Lord said of God’s word, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17), according to Masonry, that is not “strict truth.” However, when Peter referred to the word he called it “a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Pet. 1:19).

Now please observe that Masonry does not believe in an absolute truth that you can attain.

It is our duty always to press forward in search; for though absolute truth is unattainable, yet the amount of error in our views is capable of progressive and perpetual diminution; and thus Masonry is a continual struggle toward the light.(7)

Possibly you thought that truth was absolute and attainable – but not if you held the views of Masonry. But again, some may say “I do not agree with them on that.” Would you retain your membership in the church if every preacher that came along preached that? If not, then why maintain membership in something that officially has taught for years what you know is a contradiction to the Bible?

The last quote from Pike reminds us of a Biblical statement. Paul described some as, “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). That is Masonry, perfectly described. They are always in a “continual struggle toward the light,” but viewing it as an impossible task, for truth is, to them, unattainable. Even though Jesus said He is the truth (John 14:6), Masonry denies Truth is attainable. Albert Mackey said that every Mason should “strive incessantly for light, and especially for the light eternal!”(8) As a Christian and a member of the Lord’s church, you have all the light there is in the world and are commanded to walk in that light (1 John 1:7). Masonry admittedly does not walk in the light. They have never found it yet – how could they walk in it?

3. The Unbelief of Masonry. The requirement of a belief in God in order to be a Mason indicates the depths of their unbelief. That may seem paradoxical, but notice the requirement first, and then what they mean by belief in God.

A belief in the existence of God as the Grand Architect of the universe, is one of the most important landmarks of the Order. It has been always admitted that a denial of the existence of a Supreme and Superintending Power is an absolute disqualification for initiation.(9)

Here is what they mean when they talk about God. You will find it quite different to what the Bible says about God and what Jesus taught about God.

The religion of Masonry is cosmopolitan, universal; but the required belief in God is not incompatible with this universality; for it is the belief of all peoples. “Be assured,” says Godfrey Higgins, “that God is equally present with the pious Hindu in the temple, the Jew in the synagogue, the Mohammedan in the mosque, and the Christian in the church.”(10)

The apostle Paul wrote, “But to us there is but one God, the Father . . .” (1 Cor. 8:6). Ephesians affirms the same (Eph. 4:4). But Masonry allows that God is to the Christian exactly what Allah is to the Mohammedan and what Krishna is to the Hindu. And to those who do not believe this Masonic doctrine, again – would you remain a member of the church where you now worship if such were preached and not opposed? If not, why stay in the Masonic Lodge when it has been and still is one of their historic doctrines?

4. The Idolatry of Masonry. There are many things in Masonry which are idolatrous. Idolatry is the worship of images or symbols that represent a deity. This was strictly forbidden to the Jews and they were not allowed to have graven images of the likeness or representation of God (Exo. 20:3-4). But in the symbolism of Masonry, there are several such symbols and images. Albert Mackey tells us about “the All-seeing Eye.”

Both the Hebrews and the Egyptians appear to have derived its use from that natural inclination of figurative minds to select an organ as the symbol of the function which it is intended peculiarly to discharge.

On the same principle, the Egyptians represented Osiris, their chief deity, by the symbol of an open eye, and placed this hieroglyphic of him in all their temples. His symbolic name, on the monuments, was represented by the eye accompanying a throne, to which was sometimes what has been called a hatchet, but which I consider, may as correctly be supposed to be a representation of a square.(11)

Mackey affirmed that the important “symbol of the Supreme Being, borrowed by the freemasons from the nations of antiquity,”(12)

is a fitting representation of Masonry! This is pure and simple idolatry. If you think not – would you be willing to have the symbol of “the Allseeing Eye” put on the pulpit in the meeting house, on the Lord’s Table, or on the front of the meeting house? It is idolatry to the Mason just as much as it was to the ancient Egyptian who worshipped Osiris and made the same image – and Masonic teachers say it was borrowed by Masonry from the Egyptians.

The Bible teaches that we are to “flee idolatry” and to “keep yourselves from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:14; 1 John 5:21). The next time you look at your Masonic ring or your Masonic Bible or enter your Lodge, remember from whom the Masons borrowed that “symbol of the Supreme Being.”

No man can serve two masters. No man can be a member of the Lord’s church and the Masonic Lodge without making an effort to serve two Masters. The question is, what religion will the honest man take? Are you satisfied with the Lord’s church and its completeness? My friend, there is nothing in the mystical, superstitious and ludicrous practices and beliefs of Masonry; they are practices dangerous to your salvation. “Come ye out from among them and be ye separate.”

Endnotes:

1. Albert G. Mackey, Masonry Defined – A Liberal Masonic Education, Memphis, Tenn: Masonic Supply Co., p. 337.

2. Ibid., p. 337.

3. Ibid., p. 355.

4. Hermann Cremer, D. D., Biblio-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek, Edinburg: T & T Clark, p. 434.

5. Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Charleston, A. M. 5632, p. 225.

6. Ibid., p. 224.

7. Ibid., p. 223.

8. Mackey, p. 238.

9. Ibid., p. 166.

10. Ibid., p. 26.

11. Ibid., p. 28.

12. Ibid., p. 26.

QUESTIONS

1. What physical condition disqualifies one as a candidate for membership in the Lodge?
2. What is the difference in qualification for membership in the Lord’s church and membership In the Masonic Lodge?
3. What does Paul say Is that in which we are made full?
4. List the things that are contrasted in 2 Cor. 6:14-16.
5. What is meant by “iniquity”?
6. Can one walk in the light and walk as Masonry teaches?

 

Truth Magazine XXIV: 45, pp. 729-732
November 13, 1980

By Daniel H. King

One of the little-known facts about the Masonic way of life is its broad connections beyond the mere bounds of the lodge’s main body. Most people would be surprised to know that more than a hundred fraternal organizations have a relationship with Masonry, but they do not form part of its basic structure. Such are appendant groups or auxiliaries which exist apart from the main body of Freemasonry. Being primarily social or fun organizations they have no official standing but do draw their membership from the higher degrees of the craft. While they are especially prevalent in the United States, English Masons are forbidden to affiliate with any of these fun or quasiMasonic societies on pain of suspension.

A few of the major ones are the following:

1. Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Most of us will know them more commonly as “the Shriners.” This group is composed of Knights Templars or of 32nd degree Scottish Rite Masons. The Shrine has exactly the same aims and ideals as the Masons. It was founded in 1872 by two Americans, Walter M. Fleming, a physician, and William J. Florence, an actor. Shriners are noted for the hospitals they have established for Gripped and burned children in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. These hospitals provide free medical treatment.

2. Daughters of the Nile. Wives of Shrine members may belong to this organ of the group. Although the confinement of membership to men is vigorously asserted and jealously guarded, more and more women and girl’s orders have attached themselves to the lodges simply by organizing and limiting their membership to female relatives of Master Masons, or in some cases of Knights Templar (York Rite) or Shriners. Many of these orders use and sometimes own interest in Masonic halls.

3. Order of the Eastern Star. Includes women relatives of Masons and Master Masons. It was founded in 1808.

4. Order of Job’s Daughters. An organization for girls who have relatives who are Masons.

5. Order of the Rainbow for Girls. A character-building group for girls over 12. Members must be recommended by a member of the Masonic Order or the Eastern Star, but need not be related to a Mason. The organization has about 215,000 members in about 3,300 assemblies in the U.S., Canada, and several other countries.

6. Order of DeMolay. An international organization of young men between the ages of 12 and 21. Since its founding in 1919. De Molay has initiated more than 2’/z million members. The order has 2,200 local chapters in the U.S. and a few other lands. Each chapter must have at least 25 members and be sponsored by a group of Masons or a Masonic body. Membership is open to boys of any religious persuasion of good character who are recommended by two chapter members or a senior De Molay or a master Mason. Frank S. Land, its founder, gave the group the names of several historical figures and they chose that of Jacques De Molay (ca. 1243-1314) as their title. De Molay was the last Grand Master of the Knights Templars, a famous group of French Crusaders. The ritual for the De Molay Order includes secret ceremonies and is based on seven points: filial love, reverence for God, courtesy, comradeship, fidelity, cleanness, and patriotism.

Other groups of some importance in Masonry are: the Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm or the Grotto, the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, the Order of the Builders for boys, the White Shrine, and the Order of the Amaranth.

Members of the church of the Lord may be tempted to participate in some of these organizations thinking that they are simply fun groups that have no real or actual relationship with the Masonic Lodge. Too, they may be drawn to some of them on account of the high ethical principles which they advocate or the works of benevolence which they do. And at this point we would hasten to say that the Shriners especially are to be commended for the many charitable activities in which they engage. This is not a blanket commendation, of course, but credit would be given when it is due. Nevertheless, one must go on to say that our Lord forecast that the Judgment would see and hear many who call to remembrance the many acts of charity, etc., which they did – but performed lawlessly. Jesus remonstrates with them thus: “I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mt. 7:23).

To the Christian who thinks that he or she can be involved in these groups without sin, we offer the following: Elsewhere in this issue it has been demonstrated beyond question that Masonry is a religion and every Lodge is a Temple of religion (as per Albert Pike’s own words). Since it is a religion and a religious organization other than the one that Christ established, then we are left to conclude that it is a false religion. A Christian’s life is to be a manifestation of that which will glorify God (Mt. 5:16) through both example and influence. In addition, a child of the Father in heaven is to have “no fellowship (sharing, or joint participation) with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them” (Eph. 5:17). How is it conceivable for a Christian to consider his or her influence that which it ought to be while involved in one of the auxiliaries of a false religion? The purpose of such groups is obviously to promote Masonry and to spread its influence to others by encouraging the involvement of young men and boys, women and girls, in various phases of Masonic life and by drawing others to participate through their benevolent acts and charitable enterprises. Can a Christian seriously think that he or she can promote a false religion and be pleasing to the Lord? No Christian, you must make a choice. You cannot have Masonry in any of its forms and still please the Savior that redeemed you. I plead with you: do not be so foolish as to think so.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 45, pp. 728-729
November 13, 1980

By James Hahn

Through personal contact with members of the Masonic Lodge, I have been made aware of the fact that many members of the lodge have very little knowledge or understanding of the real meaning and teachings of the lodge. One member, when questioned about the ceremonies which he had been a part of and the oaths he had taken, said, “Yes, I did those things, but I didn’t really think about what I was saying or what they meant.” I am convinced that many members of the lodge are in the same condition as this man. They view the lodge as just a harmless (maybe even helpful) order that chooses to keep its activities secret. The initiation ceremonies are viewed as just harmless rituals one must go through to advance from one degree to the next higher one. It does not occur to them that the ceremonies involve them in the taking of foolish and profane oaths under the direction of one calling himself “The Worshipful Master.”

Religious Titles

Jesus said, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ” (Matt. 23:8-10).

Jesus is our one and only Master, yet Masons call the ruler or head of each lodge “The Worshipful Master.” The Worshipful Master is that one among Master Masons who is most to be honored and obeyed because he is magistrate or ruler or head of the lodge” (Mackey’s Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Volume 3, p. 1407). This man may not even believe in Christ, yet he is called “The Worshipful Master” by Masons. I say he may not even believe in Christ because, contrary to the contentions of some, one does not have to believe in Christ to be a member of the lodge. Mackey states, “If Freemasonry were simply a Christian institution, the Jew and the Moslem, the Braham and the Buddhist, could not conscientiously partake of its illumination; but its universality is its boast. In its language, citizens of every nation may converse; at its altar men of all religions may kneel; to its creed, disciples of every faith may subscribe” (Ibid, Vol. 1, p. 579).

In addition to calling the ruler of the lodge “The Worshipful Master,” we find these other titles worn by Masons: “Perfect Master” (5th degree), “Prince of Jerusalem” (16th degree), “Grand Pontiff” (19th degree), “Prince of Mercy” (26th degree), and “Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret” (32nd degree). No one can be a believer and follower of Jesus and be called by such titles nor can he call any man by such titles.

Oaths Taken

Before entering the lodge as an Entered Apprentice (First degree) and before advancing to each of the following degrees, the candidate must agree to take certain oaths binding him to secrecy and loyalty. These oaths can be found in several Masonic publications, including “Duncan’s Masonic Ritual and Moniter” and “Look To The East,” a ritual of the first three degrees of Masonry.

The oath taken by the candidate for Entered Apprentice is:

I, ____________________, of my own free will and accord, in the presence of Almighty God, and this Worshipful Lodge erected to him and dedicated to the Holy Saint John, do hereby and hereon (Master presses his gavel on candidate’s knuckles) most hail, forever conceal, never reveal any of the secret arts, parts or points of the hidden mysteries of Masonry which may have been heretofore, or shall be, at this time, or at any future period, communicated to me as such, to any person or persons whomsoever, except it be a true and lawful brother Mason, or within the body of a just and lawfully constituted Lodge of Masons; nor unto him or them until, by strict trial, due examination, or lawful information, I shall have found him, or them, as lawfully entitled to them as I am myself. I furthermore promise and swear that I will not write, print, paint, stamp, stain, cut, carve, hew, mark, or engrave them on any thing movable or immovable capable of receiving the least impression of a sign, word, syllable, letter or character, whereby they may become legible or intelligible to any person under the canopy of heaven, and the secrets of Masonry be thereby unlawfully obtained by my unworthiness.

All this I most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, with a firm and steadfast resolution to keep and perform the same, without the least equivocation, mental reservation or secret evasion whatsoever; binding myself under no less penalty than that of having my throat cut from ear to ear, my tongue torn out by its roots, and buried in the sands of the sea, at low-water mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours, should 1, in the least, knowingly or wittingly violate or transgress this my Entered Apprentice obligation. So help me God, and keep me steadfast (Look To The East, pp. 30, 31).

It is hard to believe that grown men would involve themselves in such foolishness. Such sounds like the actions of little kids playing. But this is not playing. This is the taking of profane and foolish oaths and then using the name of God and kissing the Bible. Such is nothing short of blasphemy.

The candidate for Fellow Craft (Second Degree) makes a vow similar to that taken by the Entered Apprentice and includes the following:

I furthermore promise and swear that I will not cheat, wrong or defraud a Lodge of Fellow Crafts, or a brother of this degree, knowingly or wittingly.

All this I most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, with a firm and steadfast resolution to keep and perform the same, without the least equivocation, mental reservation or self-evasion whatsoever; binding myself under no less penalty than that of having my left breast torn open, my heart plucked from thence, and given to the beasts of the field and the birds of the air as a prey, should I, in the least, knowingly or wittingly, violate or transgress this my Fellow Craft obligation. So help me God and keep me steadfast (Ibid., p. 96).

Does this oath imply that it would be right to “cheat, wrong or defraud one who is not a member of the lodge? A Christian will have no part in such profanity.

The oath taken by Master Masons (Third degree) includes much of the same affirmations as the first two. Included in this oath is the promise that “I will not violate the chastity of a Master Mason’s wife, his mother, sister or daughter, knowing them to be such” (Ibid., p. 154). Are we to conclude that the Master Mason would not be wrong if he were to “violate the chastity” of some woman other than a relative of a fellow Master Mason? How foolish can one be?

Some members of the lodge have told me that they do not take these oaths seriously and do not feel bound by them. If this be true, I am convinced that they are still wrong. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5:33-37 that we should not engage in false, profane or frivolous swearing. If Masons take these oaths seriously then they stand condemned for taking such profane oaths. If they do not take them seriously and do not feel bound by them, then they stand condemned for such frivolous swearing and using the name of God in such.

As we noted before, after making each of these oaths the candidate is asked to kiss the Bible. Such doings make a mockery of God’s word and no one who has any respect for God and His word will be a part of such.

Perhaps the oath taken by those entering the Royal Arch, or Seventh Degree, sums up the Mason’s attitude toward truth and right. Contained in this oath is the following:

I furthermore promise and swear, that I will assist a Companion Royal Arch Mason when I see him engaged in any difficulty, and will espouse his cause so far as to extricate him from the same, whether he be right or wrong ( Revised Duncan’s Ritual of Freemasonry Complete, p. 230).

Please not, a Mason’s loyalty to a fellow Mason comes before his loyalty to what is right. After taking this oath the candidate again kisses the Bible. Can you imagine such profanity?

I know that many have already become a part of this false religion and think they are doing something good. I hope you will give serious consideration to the material presented in this issue and will turn away from such. I am thankful that some have done so, however, many others are more devoted to Masonry than truth. These take the oaths they made very seriously. These may never change. However, I am convinced that the greatest good to be accomplished by these articles will be the prevention of many honest individuals from becoming involved in and deceived by this false religion. Friends, you cannot believe the Bible and be a member of the Masonic Lodge.

QUESTIONS

1. Do all Masons know a great deal about Masonry?
2. How do many Masons view the lodge?
3. What does Jesus teach about the wearing of religious titles?
4. What titles worn by Masons violate the teaching of Jesus?
5. Must one believe in Christ to be a member of the lodge?
6. What is wrong with the oaths taken by Masons?
7. Do all Masons take these oaths seriously?
8. If not taken seriously, would the taking of these oaths be wrong? Why?
9. Do Masons vow to put the doing of right above all else?
10. To whom is the Mason’s first and foremost responsibility?

Truth Magazine XXIV: 45, pp. 727-728
November 13, 1980

By Norman E. Fultz

Freemasonry is not “just a civic club” like Kiwanis or Lions. It is a fraternal order with a very large and complex structure. When Life Magazine published “The U.S. Masons, A Pictorial Essay in Color,” the centerfold was an elaborate pictographic representation of “The Structure of Freemasonry.” The accompanying article claimed that “One out of every 12 adult American males – some four million of them – are Masons, subscribing to the Masonic ideals of morality and brotherhood . . . . and the membership of U.S. Masons today is twice that of all the rest of the world. They have enlarged their circle by bringing wives, sons and daughters into allied organizations.”(1) The Scottish Rite in Kansas City informed me that they did not have figures readily available on the present number of Masons, but that Masonry has likely grown considerably since the publication of the article.

Even a casual reading of Masonic materials will show one that the religion of Freemasonry holds before its members the hope of a future reward. It would seem that only Masons who are members of the Lord’s church will attempt a serious denial of this fact. They know that if such is a fact, it is plainly contradictory to New Testament teaching that salvation is only in Christ (Acts 4:12; 2 Tim. 2:10), not in Masonry. We shall show from Masonic works that Masonry does offer the promise of a future reward, namely eternal life.

Five principles are necessitated by the idea of a future reward: (1) Something beyond the grave that could be considered a reward; (2) Man’s continuing beyond the grave to receive the reward; (3) Someone beyond the grave who can reward man; (4) Some grounds for making such a reward; and (5) A place where the reward can be enjoyed. Masonic teaching recognizes all these principles. They speak of “deliverance and joy”,(2) “a glorified state” and “what happiness, what delight, what increasing joy shall we reap together in the mansions of the blessed!”(3) They expect to “surrender the working tools of a busy life to the Grand Architect”(4) before whom they have sought to “practice thy precepts”(5) in a well-spent Masonic life, “thereby fitting our bodies as living stones for that spiritual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”(6) The Royal Arch Degree (fourth of York Rite) is itself “a symbolic representation of the state after death.”(7)

Masonic Teaching Extends Hope Of Salvation In The Lodge

In my copy of Morals and Dogma, on the front fly leaf is an inscription to C. Brewer Ziegler, “Trusting same will enlighten to a higher Education and strengthen in our common struggle forward to that undiscovered country” (sic). Mackey tells us what Masons mean by the “undiscovered” or “foreign country.” He says, “Heaven, the future life, the higher state of existence after death, is the Joreign country in which the Master Mason is to enter, and there he is to receive his wages in the reception of that truth which can be imparted only in that better land.”(8)

The monitors and manuals are easily accessible to the Blue Lodge degrees and, very early in his Masonic education, the Mason will be exposed to their numerous references to a future reward.

In Kentucky Monitor, its author, Henry Pirtle, disparages the idea that one becomes a Mason for economic reasons. He says the idea is “unMasonic” and “We did not join Masonry from monetary motives. What, in fact, are the true wages of a Master Mason? They are the rewards of a well-spent life, a glorious immortality, having nothing to do with wages either in material corn, wine, and oil, or in coin of the realm, paid to an operative stonemason, whether resident or traveling. The `foreign countries’ are that `undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns’ to support either himself or his family. The cardinal doctrine of Masonry is that the soul of man is immortal and Masonry teaches virtue as the way of living a life to attain that end – `That I may receive Master’s wages.’ “(9) How much clearer statement could one wish in declaring the hope of Masonry? Masons, who claim to be “Son of Light”(10) have a “Mediator or Redeemer”, Hiram,(11) whom they place on par with Jesus. But Jesus is the one “who brought life and immortality to light” and that “through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10). Christians, not Masons, are “children of light” (1 Thess. 5:5).

The Entered Apprentice (1st degree) is told when presented with his Lambskin or white leather apron, “It may be that, in years to come, upon your head shall rest the laurel wreaths of victory; pendant from your breast may hang jewels fit to grace the diadem of an eastern potentate; yea, more than these . . . . but never again by mortal hands, never again until your enfranchised spirit shall have passed upward and inward through the gates of pearl, shall any honor so distinguished, so emblematic of purity and all perfection, be bestowed upon you as this, which I now confer.”(12) He is later told, “By the Lambskin, therefore the Mason is reminded of that purity of life and conduct which is essential to his gaining admission to the Celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides.”(13) He is “taught to make use of it (the gavel, nf) for the more noble and glorious purpose of divesting our hearts and consciences of all the vices and superfluities of life, thereby fitting our minds, as living stones, for that spiritual building, that house `not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'”(14) Yet later he is told, “THE COVERING OF A LODGE is no less than the clouded canopy or starry-decked heaven, where all good Masons hope at last to arrive . . . .”(15) Should the newly initiated Mason begin to get the idea from all this that he has hope of salvation through the Lodge? If not, why not?

The Fellowcraft (2nd degree) is taught, “The Speculative Mason, therefore, is a moral builder for eternity, fitting immortal nature for that spiritual building which shall exist when earth’s proudest monumental piles shall have crumbled in dust, and the glory and greatness of earth shall have been forgotten.”(16)

The Master Mason (3rd degree) is encouraged “to look forward to a blessed immortality; and we doubt not that on the glorious morn of the resurrection our bodies will rise and become as incorruptible as our souls,” and “Then let us imitate our G.M.H.A. (Grand Master Hiram Abiff, nf) in all his varied perfection . . . . that, like him, we may welcome the grim tyrant Death, and receive him as a kind messenger sent by our Supreme Grand Master to translate us from this imperfect to that all perfect, glorious, and celestial Lodge above, where the Great Architect of the Universe presides, forever reigns.”(17) In the prayer at the closing of the lodge on Master Mason degree addressed to the “Supreme Architect of the Universe” it says, “May we so practice thy precepts, that we may finally obtain thy promises, and find an entrance through the gates into the temple and city of our God.”(18) 

In Standard Monitor (for the State of N.Y.), the Master Mason is told, “Let all the energies of our souls and the perfection of our minds be employed in attaining the approbation of the Grand Master on high, so that when we come to die, with joy we may hail the summons of the Grand Warden above to repair from our labor here on earth to eternal refreshment in the paradise of God . . . . He may be pleased to pronounce us upright men and Masons, fitly prepared, as living stones, for that spiritual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (p. 125).

The Masonic Funeral Rites Extend Hope Of Salvation

Space will not permit lengthy quotations from the monitors on “funeral services,” and while there might be some variation from one monitor to another, it is evident that from the opening prayer to the final “so mote it be” the objective of that ceremony is to declare the Masonic hope to Masonic brethren of the deceased and to his sorrowing loved ones. In his opening prayer, the Master says, “May we realize that Thine All-seeing Eye is upon us, and be influenced by the spirit of truth and love to perfect obedience, that we may enjoy Thy divine approbation here below. And when our toils on earth shall have ended, may we be raised to the enjoyment of fadeless light and immortal life in that kingdom where faith and hope shall end, and love and joy prevail through eternal ages.” He charges his fellow Masons to such a life that when they come to die “it may be given unto each of us to `eat of the hidden manna,’ and to receive the `white stone with a new name’ that will insure perpetual and unspeakable happiness at His right hand.”

The Lambskin, which has been laid upon the coffin and which is to be deposited into the grave is declared to be “an emblem of innocence and the badge of a Mason . . . . more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle, more honorable than the Star and Garter, when worthily worn.”

The sprig of evergreen (each Mason in the service is to wear one on the left lapel of his dark suit) is held by the Master who says, “This evergreen . . . is an emblem of our faith in the immortality of the soul . . . for by this emblem we are admonished that, like our brother, whose remains lie before us, we shall soon be clothed with the habiliments of death and deposited in the silent tomb, yet, through our belief in the mercy of God, we may confidently hope that our souls will bloom in eternal spring.” After the Master deposits his, “The brethren also advance and drop the sprig of evergreen into the grave.”

The immediate relatives and friends are addressed with expressions of sorrow for the death, but then, “we can turn our eyes to that bright land – to the shores that they inhabit; there is no mirage, no delusion there; that land exists; and those angelic strains of music, the voices of our loved ones, are whispered in our ear when no one else is by . . . . Then be comforted, for your friend (father, husband), our brother is not dead, but lives in that blissful world to which we are all hastening.”

Then as to the deceased, “So, in the bright morning of the world’s resurrection your mortal frame, now laid in the dust, shall again spring into newness of life, and expand in immortal beauty in realms beyond the skies. Until then, my brother – until then, farewell!” And the final prayer is that “we may be received into Thine everlasting kingdom, and there join in union with our friend, and enjoy that unintci rupted and unceasing felicity which is allotted to the souls of just men made perfect. Amen.” (Quotations in this section are from Kentucky Monitor, “Funeral Services”, pp. 171-181).

Now, kind reader, Masonry either offers heaven as a reward for a well-spent Masonic life or it does not. If it does not, then contrary to all its preachments on love and charity, it is void of real heart; for it deceives its members and their loved ones with its eloquent promises. It becomes a blind leader of the blind and shall bring its adherents to death without hope. If it does give eternal life, then Christianity is a sham and a fraud for the religion of Christ claims to be the only religion and His church the only institution wherein is salvation. (Please read Acts 4:11-12; 2:47; 2 Tim. 2:19.) Both claims, that of Masonry and that of Christianity, cannot be true. Which will you accept? The Christian who is a member of the lodge must make a choice. We pray it shall be a choice for Christ and his church.

Endnotes:

1. Life Magazine, October 8, 1956.

2. Masonic Manual of Alabama, p. 145, quoted by A.G. Hobbs in What About Masonry?, pp. 5-6.

3. Sermons In Which Are Explained And Enforced The Religious, Moral And Political Virtues of Freemasonry, Rev. Jethro Inwood, B.A.; Lodgeton, Ky., 1856; p. 100, note 5.

4. Kentucky Monitor, p. x.

5. Ibid, p. 224

6. Look To The East, Ralph P. Lester, p. 39.

7. Book Of The Chapter, Albert G. Mackey; 1858; p. 94. 8.

8. Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Albert G. Mackey, Vol. I, p. 269.

9. Kentucky Monitor, p. xiii.

10. Ibid., p. xiv.

11. Ibid., p. xv.

12. Ibid., p. 13.

13. Ibid., p. 32.

14. Ibid., p. 18.

15. Ibid., p. 42.

16. Ibid., pp. 73-74.

17. Ibid., p. 152.

18.

1. Why have Christians who are Masons generally denied that Masonry offers salvation?
2. Discuss the five principles necessitated by the idea of a future reward.
3. Study the quotations from Masonic works in this article and find the five principles in them.
4. What is the “foreign country” of Masonry?
5. At what degree of Masonic instruction is one first promised a future reward?
6. Who are truly “Sons of Light,” Masons or Christians?
7. What language to the Fellow craft and Master Mason also clearly indicates salvation in the lodge?
8. If Masonry does truly take men to heaven, what does that do to the claims of Christianity?
9. Why is Masonry a heartless system rather than lust an innocent fraternity if its claims of a future reward are false?
10. What are some passages of scripture that teach salvation is not in the lodge or any human institution?
11. What ceremonies conducted at funerals reflect that Masonry promises everlasting life?

 

 

Truth Magazine XXIV: 45, pp. 724-726
November 13, 1980