A recent issue of Time Magazine published an article on Freemasons.
(5.25.98) The article began with a quote from the
dread blood oath from the First degree, the one about
having your throat cut across and your tongue torn
out by the roots and buried in the sands of
the sea where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty four hours. It did
downplay the sinister aspects of the Lodge. The Lodge apparently
has dwindled down from 4 million members to 2.1 million. The
write up turned out to be an advertisement for the "family values"
of the members of the Lodge. It made a comparison to the Promise Keepers.
The average age at this point is 70. We noticed during the memorial service
(C-span 6.3.98) in Tempe, Arizona at the State University,
of former Senator Barry Goldwater, the Senator's brother Robert gave
the eulogy and alluded to the lost art of Freemasonry. He proudly
proclaimed his brother Barry's many successes and among them his climbing
the ladder to a 33rd degree Mason in the Lodge. The general
consensus was that Barry had earned a place in heaven.
God tells us we can't serve two masters. Masons deny Christ,
because they serve another god. Freemasons compare to King Solomon
in the Old Testament, who turned to Baal worship.
"And {God} had commanded him concerning this thing,
that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not
that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said
unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast
not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee,
I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give
it to thy servant." (1 Kings 11:10,11)
The following excerpt is taken from Ephesus Newsletter, volume 6 number
1, April 1998, by Larry Kunk. Let's discuss briefly the nature of Freemasonry
of men in the midst of our congregations who have met
in secret and portrayed Hiram Abiff in Masonic ritual. In ritual
- as Hiram, they have willingly died - rather than betray
their trust. They have been buried and then raised from the
grave. At the conclusion of the ritual, they were told that
they should imitate Hiram Abiff so that they can get into
heaven, to spend eternity with God. All Master Masons are familiar
with this ritual. They know that Hiram willingly died, was buried
and raised from the grave. They all know the name of Hiram Abiff.
The Masonic plan of salvation substitutes Hiram Abiff for Jesus
Christ. It replaces faith in Jesus Christ with imitation of Hiram Abiff,
as the critical requirement for spending eternity with God.
(Kentucky Monitor, Grand Lodge of Kentucky, .152) This
is the gospel of Freemasonry:
1. Hiram willingly died. 2. He was buried. 3. He was raised from the
grave. These facts can be verified by examining
Masonic ritual or by examining many Masonic monitors - small books
which are produced by the Grand Lodges and given to men after they are
raised to Master Mason. Most Masons deny that the Masonic ritual teaches
salvation. To admit the truth would allow us to immediately know that
they were not genuine Christians. They could no longer be pastors,
elders, deacons, or Sunday School teachers. Yet Masonic monitors,
which are written in plain, non-coded English, explain the meaning of the
ritual. Many contain the teaching that the meaning of
the ritual is that they have been redeemed from the death of sin.
(Indiana Monitor and Freemason's guide, Grand Lodge
of Indiana, p.145) Some state that the Master Mason represents
a man raised to the faith of salvation. (Ibid., p.142)
Beginning in 1946, and continuing through at least five editions, the Kentucky
Monitor states that Jesus is a savior for Christians, while Hiram
Abiff is a savior for Masons. (Kentucky Monitor,
p. xiv-xv) That statement alone reveals that
Freemasonry is a religion which is opposed to Jesus Christ. Freemasonry
must be renounced as a Christian. He must repent of it because a Christian
will never follow another, he has chosen to follow Jesus.