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What is Free Masonry and what do Free Masons believe? Question: "What is Free Masonry and what do Free Masons believe?" Answer: Free Masonry, Eastern Star, and other similar "secret" organizations appear to be harmless fellowship gatherings. Many of them even promote belief in God and good character. However, beneath this outward appearance, these secret societies hide anti-Biblical and anti-Christian beliefs and practices. The following is a comparison of what the Bible says with the "official" position of Free Masonry: Salvation from Sin The Bible’s View: Jesus became the sinner’s sacrifice before God when He shed His blood and died as the propitiation (payment) for the sins of the whole world (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8, John 3:16). Mason’s View: The very process of joining the Lodge requires Christians to deny everything Christ accomplished on their behalf. A person will be saved and go to heaven as a result of his good works and personal self-improvement. The View of the Bible: The Bible’s View: The supernatural and plenary inspiration of the Scriptures—that they are inerrant and that their teachings and authority are absolute, supreme, and final. The Bible is the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 1 Thessalonians 2:13). Mason’s View: The Bible is an important book. It is not the exclusive Word of God, nor is it God’s sole revelation of himself to humankind, but only one important book among many religious sourcebooks. It is a good guide for morality. The Bible is used primarily as a symbol of God’s will, which can also be captured in other sacred texts, like the Koran. The Doctrine of God: The Bible’s View: There is one God. The various names of God refer to the God of Israel and reveal certain attributes of God. To worship other Gods or to call upon other deities is idolatry (Exodus 20:3). Paul spoke of idolatry as a heinous sin (1 Corinthians 10:14) and John said that idolaters will perish in hell (Revelation 21:8). Mason’s View: All members must believe in a deity. Different religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.) acknowledge the same God, only call Him different names. Freemasonry invites people of all faiths, even if they use different names for the ‘Nameless One of a hundred names,’ they are yet praying to the one God and Father of all. The Doctrine of Jesus and the Trinity: The Bible’s View: Jesus was God in human form (Matthew 1:18-24, John 1:1). Jesus is the second person of the trinity (Matthew 28:19, Mark 1:9-11). While on earth, He was fully human (Mark 4:38, Matthew 4:2) and fully divine (John 20:28, John 1:1-2, Acts 4:10-12). Christians should pray in Jesus’ name and proclaim Him before others, regardless of offense to non-Christians (John 14:13-14, 1 John 2:23, Acts 4:18-20). Mason’s View: There is no trinity, therefore there is no doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ. A mason cannot invoke the name of Jesus when praying, or mention His name in the Lodge. Suggesting that Jesus is the only way to God contradicts the principle of toleration. The name of Jesus has been omitted from many biblical verses that are used in Masonic writings. Jesus is on the same level as other religious leaders. Human Nature and Sin: The Bible’s View: All humans are born with a sinful nature, are totally depraved, and need a Savior from sin (Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12, Psalm 51:5, Ephesians 2:1). The Bible denies that humanity, since the Fall, has within itself the capacity for moral perfection (1 John 1:8-10, Romans 1:18-25). Mason’s View: Through symbols and emblems, Masons teach that man is not sinful, just “rude and imperfect by nature”. Human beings are able to improve their character and behavior in various ways, including acts of charity, moral living, and voluntary performance of civic duty. Humanity possesses the capability of moving from imperfection toward total perfection. Moral and spiritual perfection lies within men and women. When a Christian takes the oath of Freemasonry, he is swearing on the following doctrines that God has pronounced false and sinful:
By swearing the Masonic oath and participating in the doctrines of the Lodge, Christians are perpetuating a false gospel to other Lodge members, who look only to Masonry’s plan of salvation to get to heaven. By taking the Masonic obligation, he is agreeing to allow the pollution of his mind, spirit, and body by those who serve false gods and believe false doctrines. As you can see, Masonry denies and contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture and numerous issues. Masonry also requires people to engage in activities which the Bible condemns. As a result, a Christian should not be a member of any secret society or organization that has any connection with Free Masonry. Again, for more information, we strongly recommend Ex-Masons for Jesus. Freemasonry stands condemned today for recommending that their followers read and study Blavatsky!! We find it totally revolting that Freemasonry's own symbol entitled, "The Old Wisdom Religion", lists 'Secret Doctrine' as one of the antecedent steps that leads to "Modern Freemasonry"! Divination is one of the most forbidden practices in Scripture, and God decreed the Death Penalty for anyone caught practicing it!! We highlighted the Scriptural texts during the above discussion of Astrology. Divination is defined as "the art or act of foretelling events or revealing occult knowledge by means of augury [signs and omens] or alleged supernatural agency". [Webster's Illustrated Dictionary]. Divination is absolutely forever condemned by God, and Freemasonry stands condemned for recommending that their members study it, and by logical extension, practice it! Eastern Thought is a general term which means the collective religious 'wisdom' from India, Tibet, China, or Japan. Since the mid-1960's when the Beatles first popularized Eastern Mysticism, America has been flooded with such false religious concepts, ideas which will be strongly utilized by Antichrist when he appears. Freemasonry totally loses its ability to call itself 'Christian' when it recommends Eastern Thought religions to its members. Esoterism stems from the word, "esoteric", which means simply, "limited to only a few people". Or it can mean, "difficult to understand". It can also mean, "confidential, not publicly disclosed". [Webster's Dictionary]. This term generally applies in a generic sense to all things occultic, and all things which must be hidden from public scrutiny. Certainly, Satanism must be hidden from public scrutiny because it seeks to destroy all things Christian and does practice animal and human sacrifices. Jesus advocated doing nothing in secret, so that He might be glorified by His followers living such open, transparent lives. Freemasonry labels itself here as be 'Esoteric', and therefore, disobedient to Jesus' teachings. Gnosticism is defined as "an ancient Hellenistic way of life, teaching transmigration of souls and a struggle between the forces of light and darkness". ["The New Age Dictionary", edited by Alex Jack, Japan Publications, Inc., 1990, The Year of the Golden Horse, New York, ISBN 0-87040-787-2, p. 71]. This very definition sounds anti-Christian!! Indeed, it is. The early Christian Church leaders struggled mightily with the Gnostics. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote his Epistle to the Colossians to combat Gnostic heresy. The Gnostics exhibited the same arrogance which Albert Pike exhibited in 'Morals and Dogma' when he proclaimed that only men of the advanced degrees could REALLY know the truth, and that all other members and nonmembers were to be lied to! Likewise the Gnostics believed that only they could know the inner, hidden spiritual truths. Like all occultists, Gnostics limited their "perfect" and "full" spiritual knowledge only to the "initiated". ["Be Complete", by Warren W. Wiersbe, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1981, ISBN 0-89693-726-7, p. 10-11] The Gnostics separated the inherently "evil flesh" from the inherently "good spirit", advocating that it does not matter what one does in the flesh, since it is inherently evil anyway! Thus, Gnostics advocated the most gross of fleshly sin, a heresy which Paul and the early church followers struggled against. Gnosticism also first propagated the Antichrist teaching that Jesus Christ was not 100% God AND 100% Man. Rather, the Gnostics taught that Jesus was merely an "emanation" from God, not actually a human being! Hmmm, does this not sound like Albert Pike saying that Jesus Christ came in fleshly appearance only, suffered, and died in appearance only?! [Pike, "Morals and Dogma", p. 567, Teachings of the 26th Degree]. Thus, Gnosticism gave birth to the lie which Antichrist will teach, that Jesus was not actually human. The Apostle John defines the teaching of Antichrist for us in 1 John 4:1-3, "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist ..." Freemasonry labels itself as being of the same cloth as Antichrist when they recommend Gnostic writings and beliefs to their members!! Hermeticism is the practice of religion by the Hermetic. This religion was "secret, occult, especially the Western mystery tradition". ["The New Age Dictionary", edited by Alex Jack, Japan Publications, Inc., 1990, The Year of the Golden Horse, New York, ISBN 0-87040-787-2, p. 81] Hermetics generally followed the ancient Egyptian Satanic Mysteries. The Roman Catholic Church instituted the Inquisition in the 5th Century to kill Hermetics. Thus, by encouraging their members to study and practice Hermeticism, Freemasonry, by definition, labels itself occultic. Knights Templar was one of the most deeply Satanic secret society in history. "The original Order of Knights Templar was founded in the twelfth century ... Trade ... made the Templars rich ... In October, 1307, [French King] Philip ordered the arrest of all Templars on French soil and the seizure of their property. There was reason to believe, said the king, that the [Templar] order was profoundly heretical; that its military monks, in fact, were black magicians ... At these trials, many of the accused Templars admitted ... to witnessing or participating in ... sodomy, trampling upon the crucifix, and worshipping some sort of mummified and fiercely bearded three-headed creature. The creature, swore some of the accused, was named Baphomet ... Some may well have been practicing homosexuals ... Templars were the custodians of secret esoteric teachings, later associated with Rosicrucianism and esoteric masonry." ["Mind & Magic," by Francis X.King, Crescent, ISBN 0-517-06036-1, p. 84-85] [Note: This is a Luciferian book] Thus, this Luciferian book on Magic ties this deeply Satanic Knights Templar to Modern Freemasonry! Christian author, Gary Kah, in his book, "Enroute To A Global Occupation", discovered from Freemasonry literature that accidentally fell into his hands, that Modern Freemasonry links itself to the Knights Templar. When we peruse some of the literature which Freemasons are encouraged to study, you will see repeated references to Knights Templar. Indeed, the 13th Degree of the York Rite is titled, "Knights Templar". [page 92, Kah] On page 102, Kah states that "The Templars represented the first wide-scale attempt to organize and mobilize the forces of occultism for the purpose of gaining control of the world." This, in a nutshell, is the New World Order. Kah continues, "Having embraced Gnosticism while in Palestine, and in touch with the sect of the Assassins, the Templar order degenerated, and some of its members ... were said to practice Phallicism or sex-worship, and Satanism, and to venerate 'The Baphomet', the idol of the Luciferians. The crime of Sodomy was a rite of Templar initiation." Please remember this horrible revelation that Templars practiced Phallic worship, for you will see this type of material on this recommended reading list!! Freemasonry is clearly Luciferian worship, despite their very clever, and successful, attempts to hide this fact. Homosexuality is very tightly tied in with the Knights Templar. In the paragraph above, we see homosexual practices such as Phallicism and Sodomy. The Luciferian book, "Mind & Magic" also quoted above, sodomy is listed as one of the crimes of Knights Templar. The Grand Master at the time when King Philip IV of France tried and executed key members, was named Jacques de Molay. Since de Molay was Grand Master of Knights Templar, we can rightly conclude that he was also involved in these Satanic, and homosexual acts. We find it highly disturbing, then, that Demolay is one of the orders of Freemasonry for young men! Magic is recommended study, and practice, for Freemasons! Magic is defined as the "accomplishment of ends through the application of psychic technology". ["The New Age Dictionary", edited by Alex Jack, Japan Publications, Inc., 1990, The Year of the Golden Horse, New York, ISBN 0-87040-787-2, p. 116] Since few people know what the term, "psychic" means, I looked that term up in this New Age Dictionary. Psychic is defined as "a trance medium" of the "realm of the paranormal. occult, or astral". [page 158] Therefore, "Magic" is practiced by someone who is a medium operating in the realm of the occult or paranormal. Again, this practice is completely forbidden by Scripture. [Isaiah 8:19, and others quoted, above] Freemasonry again is encouraging its members to study an ancient Luciferian practice which God has absolutely forbidden, under the penalty of Death! Mysticism , Mythology, Numerology , and the Occult Sciences are all occultic by the very nature of their titles. All derive power from the supernatural occultic forces, and they all seek to divine the future. Palmistry is defined as the "science of interpreting the palms of the hands". ["The New Age Dictionary", edited by Alex Jack, Japan Publications, Inc., 1990, The Year of the Golden Horse, New York, ISBN 0-87040-787-2, p. 147] Palmistry is used much the same way as one would consult the Zodiac to discover a person's likely personality traits based upon the "sign" under which one was born. For example, 'the mounts of Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Mars, and the Moon ... are used to shed further light on a person's destiny ... Jupiter: Strongly developed, this mount indicates ambition, success, and riches. If the mount of Jupiter is excessive, the person will be overly ambitious, even ruthless." ["Mind & Magic," by Francis X. King, Crescent, ISBN 0-517-06036-1, p. 169 [Note: This is a Luciferian book] This section then goes on to list the personality traits of all the planets listed above. Not only does Palmistry defy God's prohibition against divining the future, it also violates God's prohibition against worshipping Nature instead of worshipping the Creator [Romans 1:18-25] Qabalah [also known as Kabbalah. "According to Albert Pike, Gnosticism was an offshoot of Kabalism, an oral occult tradition, which was adhered to by a minority of the Jews. At some point, which remains uncertain, these occult teachings were reduced to writing, and the Kabalah was born. On page 626 of 'Morals and Dogma', Pike states, 'The Kabalah is the key of the occult sciences; and the Gnostics were born of the Kabalists'. Kabalism was merely a unique version of the ancient mysteries specifically designed to deceive God's chosen people. Unlike the other mysteries, its teachings dealt specifically with Israel, offering occult counter-explanations to the revelations of the prophets, complete with a cleverly disguised occult interpretation of the history of Israel." ["Enroute To Global Occupation", by Gary Kah, Huntington House Publishers, Lafayette, Louisiana, 1992, ISBN 0-910311-97-8, p. 99] Freemasonry identifies itself with the Kabalah, one of the most Satanic and occultic writings ever. It seems incredible to me that the New Age is so dependent upon the Jewish occult Kabalah, because their Plan deliberately targets the destruction of all Jews. Reincarnation is the oldest lie on Earth, and most definitely NOT Christian. This is one more nail into the coffin of the pretense of Freemasonry to be synonymous with Christianity. Consider what reincarnation is: it is the refined version of the lie which Satan told Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan told Eve, as he was attempting to convince her that she should eat of the fruit which God had forbidden. In Genesis 3:4-5, "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." This is the entire essence of the occult lie concerning both reincarnation and the Perfected Man. First, occultism teaches that man does not REALLY die; rather, his soul goes back into the reincarnation cycle, there to wait for its turn to be born again, usually into the body of an infant. Then, men must expect to live many lifetimes before they can become truly "Perfect Man". This is the occult lie. And, Freemasonry is encouraging its members to study it! Rosicrucianism is one of the oldest occult secret societies in Europe, dating back to the Fourteenth Century. The supposed founder of Rosicrucianism was a man named Christian Rosenkreuz. He was a "noble German born in 1378, who had traveled to the East in search of hidden wisdom ... In Damascus he first learned of the secret wisdom to be found in the mysterious Arabian city of Damcar. Here, he was taught much by the initiates of a mystical secret society, learned Arabic, and translated an unidentified book, the 'Liber M'. From here, he traveled to the North African city of Fez, in Morocco, where he learned to evoke the spirits of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. He subsequently returned to Europe and, after further adventures, he and four others founded the Rosicrucian Fraternity." ["Mind & Magic," by Francis X. King, Crescent, ISBN 0-517-06036-1, p. 102. [Note: This is a Luciferian book] The major entry point Satan seems to use to lead someone astray from the True God of the Holy Bible is the lie that the Bible does not contain all truth necessary for Salvation from sins and for a fulfilling life on Earth. Satan tempts men by promising them "secret wisdom", and when he gets them hooked into believing this lie, he then shovels all sorts of Satanic doctrines into their minds. Men will never learn!! We are so easily deceived when we stray from God's Book! By the brief description of the spiritual activities of Rosenkreuz, you can see that he is occult. Only occultism will "evoke the spirits of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water". Only the occult will worship these created elements! The true Christian will worship the Creator Who made these elements; the stupid occultist will worship the created elements!! P> Freemasonry advocates the study of Rosicrucianism to its members, even to the point of dedicating the 18th Degree called the "Knight Rose Croix" ["Morals and Dogma", Albert Pike, Sacred Geometry is only believed in by the occultist; the very fact that Freemasonry is advocating this subject to its members concretely PROVES it is occultic, not Christian. This nonsense is the ultimate instance of worshipping the created world rather than the Creator [Romans 1:25]!! Let me explain Sacred Geometry: it is the "art and science of describing the universe by number and universal patterns." ["The New Age Dictionary", edited by Alex Jack, Japan Publications, Inc., 1990, The Year of the Golden Horse, New York, ISBN 0-87040-787-2, p. 170] From this occult concept comes the idea that numbers possess inherent power, and that a person should attempt to order events in his life according to occult numbers. Because of a belief in Sacred Geometry, occultists generally, and Freemasons particularly, have always been obsessed with geometry and architecture. Tarot is yet one another nail in the coffin of the lie that Freemasonry is Christian. Albert Pike promotes the Tarot deck, saying that it "contains the Kabalistic alphabet" [Morals and Dogma, p. 777]. "The design and manufacture of esoteric tarot decks owes its origins to the theories of and eighteenth-century French scholar, Court de Gablin, who argued that the tarot was of ancient Egyptian origin, and the designs of the 22 cards of the 'major arcana' ... were degenerate versions of the secret symbols of the priests of the Egyptian deities, Thoth, Isis, and Osiris." ["Mind & Magic," by Francis X. King, Crescent, ISBN 0-517-06036-1, p. 174. [Note: This is a Luciferian book] Immediately we know that Tarot is of Satan, not God. Since Tarot originated within the Satanic Mysteries of Ancient Egypt, we remember that God brought physical judgment down upon the Egyptians for their false worship. In fact, God had inflicted physical punishment upon the Egyptian people long before He finally destroyed them, punishing them for their worship of false gods. "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee." [Exodus 15:26] Congratulations, Freemasonry, you are encouraging your members to study a religion which God found so offensive, He sent special diseases to the Egyptian people as punishment!! Tarot cards are used "in order to obtain answers to questions, analyze the nature of a situation, or to learn the general nature of what the future holds in store -- [and] is one of the most popular methods of fortune telling." ["Mind & Magic," by Francis X. King, Crescent, ISBN 0-517-06036-1, p. 172. [Note: This is a Luciferian book] Thus, we see that occultists use the Tarot card deck for the forbidden purpose of trying to foretell the future. Because Freemasonry teaches this Biblically forbidden practice [see Scripture references under "Divination"] we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this organization is Satanic, not Godly. Theosophy has already been covered by our treatise on Madame H. P. Blavatsky. But, we wish to reiterate that the House of Theosophy has been one of the darkest of the Satanic secret societies. It propagated the lie of the 'Secret Doctrine', prompting Hitler to launch his 7-year Holocaust, which murdered 18 million people. The House of Theosophy trained both Nazis and Communists in its Switzerland location in the 1920's-30's in the finer aspects of the occult. And, as you can see, in NEWS1052, the House of Theosophy continues to be at the forefront for the planning of the coming New Age Christ [Antichrist], and his False Prophet. Freemason damns itself when it promotes the writings of Theosophy. You will find, when we begin to list selected recommended writings, below, that they recommend all the past Directors of Theosophy, Blavatsky, Annie Besant, and Alice A. Bailey!! All these writings from these authors, were admittedly 'automatic writing', which is defined as "writing produced when a person goes into an altered state and a spirit entity takes over the person's writing arm and hand to communicate." ["The New Age Dictionary", edited by Alex Jack, Japan Publications, Inc., 1990, The Year of the Golden Horse, New York, ISBN 0-87040-787-2, p. 14]. Alice Bailey's "spirit entity was named "Master D.K.". All these so-called "spirit entities" are nothing more than old fashioned demon possession , to use the Biblical term. From these subheadings on the front page of this mail order catalog from Kessinger Publishing, you can see that Freemasonry is Satanic, occultic. But, just to make sure you get the point, we are going to list many of the books which Kessinger recommends to the Freemason to read and to study. You will clearly see the Truth about Freemasonry when you read these book listings. As you read this selected listing of the many books recommended to Freemasons, you are looking at a cross section of a Masonic "library"! Every one of these books have been selected by Kessinger Masonry publishing house for Freemason Brothers to read Even if you do not know much about the occult, you realize that the practices which God forbade in the Bible, as listed above, are found on this Masonic recommended reading list time after time after time. You will also find organizations that we have identified as occultic on this Masonic list. Notice how many times you find the words, "Magic, Tarot, Gnostic, Mystery or Mysteries, Alchemy, Astrology, Eastern Thought or Eastern Religions, Esotericism or Esoteric; Initiation; Phallic; Reincarnation; Divination; Qabalah (Kabbalah or Cabala), Evolution, Telepathy." Make note every time you see one of these occultic, Satanic words; then, you can add them up afterward. We have also taken the liberty of writing NOTES in square brackets [ ] to give you further information. One final note: we do not use quotes when we list these book titles, and the contents of them, since we are taking so much of what they say verbatim. Whenever we add commentary, it will be in double square [ ] brackets. If we do use quotation marks ["] it is because we are quoting from another source.
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Copyright ©2003-2007 J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries |
12/09/06