Should Christians Join the Masonic Lodge? By Jason Carlson

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1 Should Christians Join the Masonic Lodge? By Jason Carlson Rarely a week goes by when our ministry isn't asked a question about the nature and beliefs of Freemasonry and the Masonic Lodge. The questions that are especially concerning to me are the ones related to followers of Jesus Christ who have erroneously gotten caught up in the Masonic system. For example, one recent questioner wrote in and asked me, "Pastor Carlson, I recently found out that the Sr. Pastor of our church is a member of our local Masonic Lodge. I've heard mixed reports about Freemasonry and I don't know if my Pastor's involvement with this group should be of concern to me or not?" The answer to this question is simple, Freemasonry is a cult and followers of Jesus Christ have no business associating with the Masonic Lodge! Freemasonry as it is known today was formally organized in the 18 th century in England and Scotland. What originally began as a trade guild for stonemasons gradually evolved into a religious organization that masks its true nature behind a façade of fraternal and charitable activities. The journey into Freemasonry begins in what is called the Blue Lodge. These are the local chapters of Freemasonry found in towns throughout America. The Blue Lodge consists of 3 levels or degrees (1 st entered apprentice degree; 2 nd fellowcraft degree; 3 rd master mason degree). After going thru the 3 degrees of the Blue Lodge, the Mason has the choice to stay in the Blue Lodge or seek the advanced degrees thru the York Rite or Scottish Rite branches of Masonry (many Masons will do both branches). The Scottish Rite consists of 32 degrees and an honorary 33 rd degree, while the York Rite consists of 13 degrees. For those who attain the 32nd degree of the Scottish Rite, they can then petition to become a Shriner. What must a person do to join the Masonic Lodge? It is in this process where the truly occult nature of Freemasonry begins to reveal itself. To begin, each prospective Mason must go thru an initiation process where they are blindfolded, with a noose placed around their neck, and led, with a sword to their chest, into the inner room of the Lodge where an alter is set-up. Behind the alter stands a man called "The Worshipful Master." He is the master of the Lodge and presides over the initiation ceremony. All prospective Masons will bow down before "The Worshipful Master" and say the following, "I am lost in darkness, and I need the light of Freemasonry." Following this declaration, the initiate is required to take a

2 blood oath, swearing allegiance to the Lodge and pledging to protect all of the secrets of Masonry. This blood oath, repeated by every Mason who has joined the Lodge goes like this, "Binding myself under no less a penalty than having my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by its roots, and buried in the rough sands of the sea " Blood oaths such as this one are not limited to the initiation ceremony, but are repeated at each new degree as the Mason progresses through the secrets of Freemasonry. And what are the secrets one learns as they progress through the degrees of Freemasonry? It soon becomes apparent that Freemasonry is very much a religion and its goal is to unify the people and religions of the world under the banner of a universal religion, where creeds, doctrines, and individual faith are done away with and replaced by a universal brotherhood of good works. Dr. Albert Pike, the most universally accepted authority on Freemasonry who wrote what is termed by many to be the "Bible of Masonry" (Morals & Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Rite), said this, "Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion, and its teachings are instruction in religion" (p. 213). Pike also declared that 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 upon this foundation The ministers of this religion are all Masons Its sacrifices to God are good works and perpetual efforts to attain to all the moral perfection of which man is capable" (p. 219). One thing that is important to understand is that Masons do not discriminate against people of any religious background- they only require that their members have a belief in a god, any god. The name of a person's god is not important to the Masonic Lodge. Why? It is unimportant because as you progress thru the degrees of Freemasonry you will discover and learn the true identity of god, the Masonic god. Manly P. Hall, another prominent Masonic leader declared, "The true Mason is not creed-bound. He realizes with the divine illumination of his lodge that as a Mason his religion must be universal: Christ, Buddha, or Mohammed, the name means little, for he recognizes only the light and not the bearer. He worships at every shrine, bows before every alter, whether in temple, mosque or cathedral, realizing with his truer understanding the oneness of all spiritual truth" ("The Lost Keys of Freemasonry", p. 65). Thus, the goal of Freemasonry is to discover the true identity of god. Masons say that the name of the true god was lost when the architect of Solomon's temple, Hiram Abiff, was murdered; and so, the goal of Masonry is to progress through the

3 degrees of the Lodge to learn the true identity of god. This process further reveals the occult nature of Freemasonry. As you progress through the degrees of Masonry, to any discerning mind, it becomes readily apparent who the god of Freemasonry truly is. On the way to discovering the true identity of god, the Mason, in the 17 th degree of the Scottish Rite, is first given a secret password and a sacred word that will allow them to continue their progression through the degrees of the Lodge; this sacred word of Masonry is "Abbadon". What or who is "Abbadon"? Well, in Revelation 9:11 God tells us who Abbadon is. Abbadon is the king of the demons in the pit of Hell. And the name of this demon king is the sacred word, needed by all Masons, to advance in degrees so that they might discover the true identity of god. When the Mason finally reaches what is called "the Royal Arch degree" of the York Rite, they are told who the true god of Masonry really is. They are given the name of god that was lost during the building of Solomon's temple; and the secret name of the god of Masonry is "JAHBULON". The name JAHBULON comes from a combination of 3 deities: "JAH" stands for Yahweh, or Jehovah; "BUL" is a rendering of the name of the Canaanite god Baal; and "ON" is the Babylonian name of the Egyptian god Osiris. And this 3-headed monster, this union of Yahweh, Baal, and Osiris is supposedly the one true god above all other gods, whose identity was lost, but has been recovered by the Masons. As I noted earlier, to anyone with a discerning mind, it is clear that the Masonic Lodge is steeped in the occult. The identity of the 'true' god revealed in the blasphemous Masonic trinity is the ultimate verification of this fact. Whether the Mason realizes it or not, the god of Freemasonry is none other than Satan himself. Now, one of the most common questions we receive about Freemasonry has to do with the Shriners. This group- known for their charity work, the Shrine circus, the Shriners' children's hospitals, their presence in local parades- generally has a very positive public image. Again though, the truth behind the façade is much more sinister. To be initiated into the Shrine, to become a Shriner, as part of their blood oath at the alter of initiation, the Shriner must bow down, with his hands tied behind his back, and swear an oath in the name of "Allah, the God of our Fathers!" Now, it is important to remember that the Islamic god, Allah, is in no way connected to the true God of the Bible. Allah is a pagan, Arabic deity. Allah is a false god. Allah is not the God of Judaism and Christianity; and Allah's prophet, Mohammed, was a false prophet who has led millions of people astray!

4 As if that wasn't bad enough, most Shriners have no idea about the symbolism portrayed on the red fez hats they proudly wear. Each red Fez worn by the Shriners has on the front an Islamic sword and crescent moon prominently displayed and encrusted with jewels. The crescent moon is the most common Islamic symbol. In fact, it is found on the top of every Muslim mosque around the world and on the flags of many Islamic nations. The crescent moon represents the god of Islam, Allah, who was the pagan moon deity of Mohammed's tribe, the Quraysh of Arabia. When Mohammed conquered Mecca in Saudi Arabia by force in 630 A.D. he destroyed all of the 360 pagan tribal deities in the Kaaba and set up his tribal deity, the moon god, Allah, as the chief deity of Arabia. Later, when he tried to convince the Jews and Christians of Arabia to worship Allah, they refused, knowing the true identity of Allah, and Mohammed then began his bloody conquest of the Arabian peninsula, slaughtering thousands by the sword, the very same Islamic sword celebrated on the Shriner's red fez! Now, with all of this being the true nature of the Masonic Lodge, there are some important questions that any Christian involved in Freemasonry needs to answer: First, how can a true Christian ever say that they are "lost in darkness and need the light of Freemasonry"? The Bible says in 1 John 1:4-7, "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." If you are a genuine Christian you cannot be lost in the darkness. If Christ lives in you, you have the light that brings life to all men! Second, how can any faithful Christian bow down before a man called "The Worshipful Master"? In Matthew 6:24 Jesus said that we could not serve two masters. You can't claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ and then bow before a man you accept as your "Worshipful Master". Third, how can a Christian ever take a pagan blood oath? The Bible forbids the taking of any oath. In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus says, "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oath you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne, or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King Simply let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

5 Furthermore, James 5:12 warns us that the swearing of oaths leads to judgment. Considering the pagan nature of the Masonic blood oaths, any true Christian should take James' warning very seriously. Fourth, how can any true Christian participate in another religion, in particular a man-made religion where salvation is based on good works and the principle gods are Abbadon- the demon king of Hell- and JAHBULON- a pagan, Satanic trinity? Fifth, for Christians involved in the Shriners, how do you justify swearing blood oaths to Allah and wearing a red fez hat that celebrates a pagan moon deity and the Islamic sword which has killed thousands of your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout history? Does this not trouble your conscience at all? These are serious questions that any Christian involved in the Masonic Lodge, at any level, needs to answer. Freemasonry, to its very core, is a false, man-made religion that is totally incompatible with biblical Christianity. Any person who claims to follow Jesus Christ while also participating in the Masonic Lodge must repent and leave the Lodge at once. Jesus demands our full allegiance. We cannot serve two masters. This is an issue of eternal consequence. If you are a Christian and a Mason reading this article today, please know that you are in my prayers. Also, please remember, Jesus is the light of life and in him there is no darkness (John 8:12). He alone is the only hope of the world, the only source of salvation. We cannot earn or work for our own salvation. It is only found in the free gift of Jesus Christ, bought and paid for on the cross of Calvary, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Ultimately all of us will bow down before the true Worshipful Master, Jesus Christ (Revelation 5:1-14). My prayer for you today is that you will recognize this truth before it's too late, repent of your involvement in the Lodge, and once again make Jesus the one true Lord of your life.