"When  I became a Christian I decided to find out more about  the Masonic  Lodge. I was a member for 18 years and held every  position  including Worshipful Master six times, a 32* member of  the Ancient  and  Accepted Scottish Rite, and a Shriner. I  loved  my lodge and had many good friends who were fine upstanding  members of the community. Being a Mason I had friends all over the world. If  I saw a Masonic ring all I had to do is say the  right  words and  I had an instant friend who would go out of his way to  help me. Hey!, my grandfather, father, father-in-law, and brother  are all Masons. I remember as a child, wishing I could be a Mason and know  all of the dark secrets that dad couldn't tell me about.  I also  had  an elderly friend about 92 years old when he  told  me that before he died he wanted to see me become a Mason.

"When  I  first heard that the Masonic Lodge was  not  consistent with the Christian belief my reaction was, "I don't believe it!". I've  always  believed in Jesus Christ and  didn't see anything wrong  with what they were doing. I knew all the rituals  of  the Blue Lodge and everything was just "playacting" when we did them. So I decided to look into this and show Christians how good of an organization  Masonry  is.  It took almost a  year  of studying, researching and prayer to come up with my decision- Deep inside I knew  what I had to do for my Heavenly Father  and  Savior.  The decision was easy but telling my friends and family that I  could no  longer  be part of the Masonic organization was  a difficult task.

"In  the Blue Lodge, which is the foundation and requirement  for all divisions pertaining to the Masonry, any man, except an Atheist, madman, or a fool, may become a member. The rituals continually  refer to the Supreme Architect of the Universe or God.  The problem  is that this God could be Buddha, Ra, Molech,  Baal,  or Satan  himself.  In Exodus 20:3&5 God says: "You  shall  have  no other  gods before me." "For I, the Lord your God, am  a  jealous God."  As the candidates goes through the degrees he is informed that he is not yet in light.

"In  Ephesians 5:6-12, Paul writes: "Let no man deceive you  with vain  words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of  God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore  partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in  the  Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit  of  the Spirit [is] in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful  works of darkness, but rather reprove [them]. For it is  a shame even to speak of those things which are done of  them in secret." (Ephesians 5:6-12)

"In each degree the candidate must take an oath swearing that  if he,  or any other brother, reveals any of the secrets of that  or any  other degree, they will be executed in a brutal fashion.  In Matthew  5:34-37, Jesus says: "But I say unto you, Swear  not  at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your  communication  be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever  is  more  than these cometh of evil." (Matthew 5:34-37)

"After receiving the first three degrees of Masonry the Mason  is now  eligible  to enter into the York Rite and  or  the  Scottish Rite.  In the Royal Arch degree of the York Rite, the  Companion Captain  of the Host is asked if he is a Royal Arch Mason and  he replies  I am, that I am." Moses, in Exodus 3:13, asked God  what name he should give ve to the people of Israel when they asked  what the  name of this god is that he brings to them. God replied:  "I am  that I am." Also in the York Rite ritual, in the  raising  of the Royal Arch three men join hands in such a manner to  form  a bungle, then the first person says Ya, the second, Bell, and  the third,  On-Yah  stands for Yahweh which is another  of  the  many names of our God the father of Jesus Christ, Bel, is the name  of Baal, a pagan deity. And On or Om, the name of an Egyptian deity.

"Also, in the Scottish Rite, one of the officer's title is Rabboni which is a name given to Jesus by Mary Magdalene found in John 20:16. The using of his name and combining it with other gods  or pagan  deities would seem to make any Christian  understand  that this  would  certainly  be blasphemous. Masonry  also  tells  the candidate in the third degree lecture that he will enter into the kingdom  of God by his own merits. In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul  says: "For  by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of  yourselves: [it  is]  the gift of God: Not of works,  lest  any  man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9)

I  once counseled a friend through all three degrees of the  Blue Lodge.  I was excited when he came up to me and told me  that  he was no longer a Mason, but was saved. He told me when he became a mason  he thought that he was automatically going to  heaven  because of all the information that was given in the three degrees.

"In  conclusion, I called the Grand Lodge of Ohio and asked if  I could  talk about Jesus Christ in the lodge and if we  could  end our  prayers in Jesus' name. Their answer was a definite  no  because  not only Christians are Masons, but so are Jews,  Moslems, Hindus and etc. I encourage anyone who is a Mason, to look  into these facts and compare them with the Word that God gave us.

"The Masons do a lot of good things for the community and encourage brotherly love just as Christians should.. Many Masons  don't take the oaths seriously and don't even remember the rituals that they  went through. But, as a Christian and the facts  that  have been  presented,  being a part of Masonry should be  out  of  the question.  I thank you for your time and attention and hope  that this  has  helped you in your understanding of Masonry  and  its conflict with Christianity. Please feel free to contact me if you would like any further information. (Together in Christ, James M. Baker C/O True Light Ministries: John 8:12, PO Box 23883,  Columbus, Ohio 43223" (Saints Alive, July/ August 98)

Abraham Lincoln, according to "Geheime Gesellschaften Verbindungen  und Orden [Secret Society Connections and the Lodge]  was  a Freemason. He gave birth to the Executive Order. He declared  war upon Confederate States without calling Congress into session.

Teddy Roosevelt, another Freemason issued a torrent of  Executive Orders. The book lists: the first Lodge in the U.S. was formed in 1731  in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin was one of the first  to join.  Others  were,  Washington,  Jefferson,  Monroe,  Harrison, Tyler,  Garfield, Mac Kinley. By 1892 there were 50 Grand  Lodges translating  into 12,900 Lodges with approximately  800,000  members.  Black brothers developed 32 Grand Lodges with 1318  Lodges and 29,000 brothers.

The Lodge spans across the world and most kings and queens,  many politicians, were and are members to this day. The list  includes Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy [Mafia], some Popes, Napoleon, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark,  Russia,  Greece, Turkey, The United States, Mexico, Africa,  Australia..
I was wondering why the commentator of the Washington Post on  C-span always refers to the Christian Science Monitor for being the best source of good honest reporting. They are listed along  with the Mormon Church as a Masonic brotherhood. Orren Hatch, the head of  the  Justice Department, on occasion brags about  his  Mormon connection when privately interviewed. Lodges often use names  to conceal their identity in example Odd-Fellows, Knights of  Columbus, Knights of Malta, Knights of Pythias.. Handgrips, passwords, compass and square and jewelry in form of rings, necklaces  etc.. is  how they communicate and reveal their identity. The  Ku-Klux-Clan,  Eastern  Star for women, DeMolay for young men  and  Job's daughters  and  Rainbow girls for girls are among them.  Of  late Masons are out of the closet and advertise for people to join and there is a trend to get young men interested in becoming  knights which leads to the Lodge.

Watchmen  on the wall have discovered that Ken Copeland  is  most likely  a 33degree mason. He uses Masonic language and  published several magazine and tape holder covers exposing his affiliation. He and his daughter used Masonic symbols on their magazine cover.

LDS Joseph Smith Jr.'s obelisk on his grave, as well as Jehovah's Witnesses'  founder, who has a pyramid bearing a  Templar  symbol for a pyramid tombstone. The same crown over the cross  decorates Christian Science books which points to a Masonic connection.

We  have often wondered why there are so many Freemasons  in  the Southern Baptist Convention movement: the Baptist movement  dates back  to the 1600s when a group of separatists were led  by  John Smyth  (who escaped from persecution in England), came under  the Mennonite  influence and formed, in Amsterdam c. 1608, the  first English Baptist congregation. Their doctrine was Calvinistic.  It was  that particular type that took root among Puritans and  Calvinists in America when Roger Williams established the church  in 1639.  The question of slavery became the dividing  wall  between the  original  Baptists and the Southern  Baptist  Convention  in 1845. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 1959 p.149)

Looking  further into history, we found the following: to  combat the  spread of Communism and its atrocities in the  1500s,  sects sprang  up.  Among them was a sect founded by a  priest  from  an island,  Friesen,  in the Eastsea above  Germany,  named  "Menno" Simons. Menno, a registered Freemason, founded the Mennonites,  a brotherhood of Freemasons. Due to Martin Luther's war ridding the churches  of the Masonic influence, the sect split into  Baptists groups in England and America.
The Jesuit Brotherhood run college campuses throughout the United States.  Mrs. Clinton spoke in a Jesuit college  12.4.98  C-span, managed  by the Jesuit Brotherhood, founded in 1540 in  Spain  by Ignatius  von Loyola a Catholic knight. Their military  name  was "Compagnie Jesus", a secret organization. In 1761 it was  decided by the French Parliament that this brotherhood of 30,000 members, should be dissolved. In 1814 Pope Pius VII resurrected the  Order which today enjoys worldwide recognition.