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PART FIVE: THE OCCULTISM OF FREEMASONRY
' A. SECRET ORGANIZATIONS CONDEMNED BY THE WORD OF GOD
1. SECRECY IS HALLMARK OF OCCULTISM
The first characteristic of the Masonic Lodge which condemns it is that it is secretive. The Bible repeatedly warns believers not to do things in secret and in the dark. FOR A CHRISTIAN TO ALLOW HIMSEF TO BE BLINDFOLDED, SYMBOLICAL- LY CONFESSING THEREBY THAT HE IS BLIND, WHEN THE CREATOR GOD OF THE UNIVERSE ABIDES IN HIS HEART, IS AN ABOMINATION. Ephesians 5:6-13 warns against the deceit of those things which are done in dark and in secret. The Lord Jesus Christ warned that everything which is done in secrecy will be revealed in the light and that every word which is spoken in the dark will be shouted from the roof tops. (See Luke 12:1-3)
2. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECRECY
There is a difference between that which is secret and that which is confidential. There are many things in a Christian's life which should be confidential; there is nothing which should be secret.
a. SECRECY
1) SECRECY IS THE WAY AND THE PLACE OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE WICKED.
Psalm 10:8-9 identifies the nature of the "functional atheist" -- the one who would agree that God exists, yet lives his life as if He doesn't; it states:
"He sittith in the lurking places of the villages; in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den."
The functional athiest operates in secret to gain advantage over others and to achieve his or her covetous desires. Secrecy is also the method of those who attempt to influence another to abandon God; Deuteronomy 13:6 states:
"If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own should entice ("entice" is the translation of a Hebrew word which means "to make room for that which God has not made room for") thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy father."
The world always attempts to seduce God's people in secret. The works of evil are always done in secret or so the wicked thing, for indeed nothing is secret from God. There is no commandment or allowance for God's people to do anything in secret.
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2) THAT WHICH IS DONE IN SECRET IS SHAMEFUL
Jesus said that no one lights a candle and puts it under a bushel basket. That which is done in secret is not done for and because of light; it is done for and because of darkness, which is evil in the Biblical metaphor.
Ephesians 5:12 states:
"For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret."
There is nothing done in secret which is honorable and noble. All that is done in secret is selfish, sensual, sinful or Satanic. Romans 6:21 states:
"What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death."
The end of the activities of the Lodge is death -- eternal death in hell. Recently, a patient was witnessed to by a physician. When asked if he were a Christian the man responded, "No, but I'm O.K. with God; I'm a mason." Few will state it so blatantly, but it is in the heart and mind of every adherent to this occultic brotherhood.
3) SECRECY IS CONTRARY TO THE WAYS OF GOD
Jesus Christ said:
"I spake openly in the world: I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing." (John 18:20)
If the Lord Jesus Christ said nothing is secret, then His followers should do nothing in secret. There is no element, ceremony or practice of Christianity which should be or must be conducted in secret. There is no aspect of the Christian faith which requires a cloak of secrecy for success. In private devo- tion and in private prayer,believers are admonished to "enter into their closet" and "their Father which seeth in secret will answer openly." The issue here, however, is not secrecy, but confidentiality.
4) ALL THINGS DONE IN SECRET WILL BE REVEALED,
I.E., SECRECY IS AN ILLUSION
In his pride man pretends that he is sovereign, yet the Bible has revealed that man can do nothing independent of God's power and/or God's presence and knowledge. THEREFORE, THE PRETENCE OF SECRECY IS THE FUNCTIONAL DENIAL OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD BECAUSE MAN LIVES UNDER THE ILLUSION THAT SOMETHING CAN BE KEPT FROM GOD. David said:
"Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me: even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee." (Psalm 139:7-12)
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Jesus said:
"Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops." (Luke 12:1-3)
Furthermore, the writer of Hebrews, expanding upon this concept, said:
"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: But all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do." (Hebrews 4:13)
The Masonic claim to secrecy is an offense to the God of Light, the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing can truly be done in secret. It is an illusion of man's imagination for man to believe he can hide from God.
5) SECRECY IS USED TO PRETEND TO BE SOMETHING YOU AREN'T
In Luke 12:1-3, quoted above, Jesus Christ associated the hypocrisy of the Pharisees with the illusion of secrecy. THE ONLY MOTIVE FOR SECRECY IS EITHER A MAN IS ASHAMED OF WHAT HE IS DOING, OR HE IS TRYING TO GAIN SOME UNFAIR OR IMMORAL ADVANTAGE OVER OTHERS. Neither of these motives is Christian. Jesus Christ came to deliver man from the works of darkness and from the need to operate in secrecy, not to have His people involved in the occult -- in secret.
b. CONFIDENTIALITY
1) CONFIDENTIALITY INVOLVES THE TIMING OF THE RELEASE OF INFORMATION, NOT THE CONCEALMENT OF IT
Mark said of the Lord Jesus Christ:
"And He straitly charged them that they should not make Him known." (Mark 3:12)
Jesus was not operating in secrecy; He was just choosing the timing of the release of information about Himself. This is a legitimate decision. But, to have information which is vital to others, and permanently to withhold that information, is treachery. Paul "warned every man he met and taught every man he could all that he knew about the Lord Jesus Christ." (Colossians 1:27-29) He held nothing back for his personal advantage. He had no secrets; there was nothing which he chose to withhold in order to advance himself.
2) CONFIDENTIALITY PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY OF TIME FOR GOD'S VALIDATION WITHOUT THE CONFUSION OF MEN'S WORD'S
Matthew said:
"And charged them that they should not make Him known. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Essias the prophet,
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saying, Behold My Servant, Whom I have chosen; My Beloved, in Whom My Soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgement to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His Voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till He send forth judgement unto victory. And in His Name shall the Gentiles trust. (Matthew 12:16)
The fulfillment of God's prophesy about the Lord Jesus Christ required time. That time was provided by the maintaining of the confidentiality of Jesus' identity until the time in which the Father had chosen to reveal it. This is not secrecy; it does not attempt to exclude others by withholding information from them. The ultimate goal is, in God's time, to include all whom the Father has called.
3) CONFIDENTIALITY PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY FOR ACCOUNTABULITY WITHOUT FEAR OF BEING EXPOSED TO RIDICULE
Proverbs 11:13 states:
"A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter."
Leviticus 19:16 identifies one of the elements of holiness as:
"Thou shalt no go up and down as a talebearer among thy people."
The only secret which the Bible recommends is that of not betraying the failure of a brother or sister whose sin you know and/or whose trust you have been givin. Once again this is not secrecy, because that failure has already been confessed to God for forgiveness and to a faithful friend for victory in the future. This is a function of confidentiality which deals with the lim- iting of negative information to those who need to know,i.e., they are either a part of the problem and/or they are a part of the solution.
4) CONFIDENTIALITY MENAS THAT THERE IS SOME INFORMATION WHICH WILL BE CONSTRUCTIVE TO SOME AND DESTRUCTIVE TO OTHERS
Proverbs 16:23 states:
"The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips."
Proverbs 29:11 states:
"A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards."
It is not necessary to say everything you know in order to avoid the Biblical condemnation of secrecy. The motive in withholding information is most often the issue which distinguishes between secrecy and confiden- tiality. It is not wise to tell everything you know to everyone you know.
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5) CONFIDENTIALITY PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO BEAR THE BURDENS OF OTHERS IN PRAYER WITHOUT THE DESTRUCTIVE INFLUENCE OF GOSSIP
The Bible states:
"He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips." (Proverbs 20:19)
The man or woman of God will know much that he or she never speaks, but the motive is not secrecy, the motive is not secrecy, the motive is faithfulness. The prophets often demonstrated that "half the facts can be the whole truth", depending upon one's motive. Confidentiality allows for time to heal the pain of sin, after grace has healed the penalty, without others being injured by know- ledge of a brother or sister's failure.
6) CONFIDENTIALITY PREVENTS SPEAKING HASTILY AND BEFORE ONE UNDERSTANDS THE MEANING OF CIRCUMSTANCES AND EVENTS.
Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is said, kept many things in her heart for prayer, until she understood what she was to do about them. The Bible states:
"Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him." (Proverbs 29:20)
"But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)
"And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart." (Luke 2:51)
Mary did not understand what was happening to her and did not understand Who her Son was. Therefore she remained silent until she did understand. There is wisdom in this. Confidentiality allows the discovery of the bigger picture and/or the real situation before acting or speaking.
7) BEING TRUSTED WITH "SPECIAL" INFORMATION -- CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION --IS ONE OF THE BEST EXERCISES IN LEARNING HOW TO BE A FAITHFUL MAN
The Bible states:
"Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles." (Proverbs 21:23)
One of the most needful character traits in order to be a "faithful" man of God is loyalty. This is best taught in the arena of confidentiality. A person is given information which he is required to keep to himself. Information is power in the modern world. Often, even very personal information is used by one to impress or gain favor with another. When a person can be trusted not to use private information about another for personal gain, they are learning the lesson of confidentiality and are learning how to be a faithful man or woman of God.
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The Masonic oath of secrecy violates Scripture. The Bible clearly commands believers not to enter into oaths with other men. It also violates God's hatred of secrecy.
3. HUSBAND IS TO BE TO WIFE WHAT CHRIST IS TO THE CHURCH
It has often been the case that marriages have been injured because the Mason swears himself to secrecy in allegiance to his Lodge which excludes his wife and children. Wives often say, "The only thing which has ever come between my husband and me is the Lodge. He spends so much time and money there and tells me I can't know what they're doing."
A husband is to be to the wife as Christ is to the Church. Jesus said to the Church:
"Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you." (John 15:15)
If God, Jesus Christ, refused to keep anything from His Bride, the Church, then why should men who claim to love Him keep anything from their brides? No Christian organization would require a man to swear an oath to keep something from his wife. There are many things a man of God might not tell his wife, there is nothing that he cannot tell her. And, a man of God must never allow himself to be sworn to secrecy against his wife.
4. THE BIBLE NEVER COMMANDS THAT TRUTH BE SECRETED AMONG THE PRIVILEGED
If the Lodge has the truth, as it pretends, and if the Lodge has the Spirit of Christ, then it ought to be evangelizing the world with the truth. Truth -- which by definition must be revealed by God -- is never given to an individual or an institution for their own exclusive use. Truth is given in order for it to be shared.
There are a number of motivations for men joining the Lodge. Almost all of them have to do with gaining an advantage over others. Truth was never given to one man in order for him to gain power, privilege, or advantage over another. Only the imitation truth of the Devil can be so used by men.
5. EZEKIEL 8 REVEALS THE ABOMINATION OF SECRECY AND THE DEGENERACY WHICH FOLLOWS ITS ADOPTION BY MEN
In a vision Ezekiel saw: "the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy." (Ezekiel 8:3b) This "seat of jealousy" is described in Ezekiel's vision as:
"...every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of insense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not: the Lord hath forsaken the earth." (Ezekiel 8:10-12)
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"The seat of jealousy" is that which is done by God's people in the dark -- in secret -- and which reflects their belief that God is impotent, He cannot see them. Ezekiel 8 is a perfect picture of the Masonic Lodge. Three things about this vision relate to the study of Freemasonry:
a. For the prophet of God access to the chamber where these abominations took place was through a hole in the wall. (See Ezekiel 8:8) For the conspirators, the only access to the chamber was through a door. The Masonic Lodge has no windows and is often on the second story of a building to further increase its security and secrecy. Ezekiel saw through a hole in the wall. PAPERS SUCH AS THESE ARE A HOLE IN THE WALL OF THE LODGE, ALLOWING GOD'S PEOPLE TO SEE INSIDE AND TO FLEE FROM THE "SEAT OF JEALOUSY".
b. These men and their associates "worshipped the sun toward the east." (Ezekiel 8:16c) It will soon be established that the Lodge itself claims to be the heir to the Egyptian sun worship of the ancient world.
c. It was a chamber of symbols. All mystery religions use symbols which have secret and magical powers. The Masonic Lodge is filled with symbols which have esoteric and occultic significance. These will not be revealed to a man until he vows upon his death loyalty to the Lodge above all else, including the church and Jesus Christ.
The vision which was revealed to Ezekiel had immediate and direct meaning for Israel. Yet, that vision has implications for Christians today. They are to avoid and association with that which is done in secret. They are also to avoid anything which pretends to imbue symbols with magical powers. They are to avoid any semblance of reproducing in their lives a "seat of jealousy". The Masonic Lodge is a "seat of jealousy", and the men and women of the Lodge will stand before a Holy God and be judged for their association with it. IN ADDITION ALL WHO ENCOURAGE IT, WHETHER BY IGNORING IT OR BY NOT WARNING OTHERS ABOUT IT, WILL SHARE IN THAT JUDGEMENT.
B. FREEMASONRY WITH ITS LIES HAS NOT THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST
The word of God states:
"For there are many muruly and vain talkers and deceivers (intentionally deceiving others) specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not for filthy lucre's sake." (Titus 1:10-11)
The "intentional deceiving" of others is born of the god of this world, not the God of Heaven. In addition, the telling of lies "for filthy lucre's sake" -- - for the gaining of pecuniary advantage -- which is one of the greatest motiva- tions for men to join the Lodge, is evil.
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Anything that attempts to deceive man is born of the "god of this world", who is the great liar. God will not use a lie even to influence a man to embrace the truth. Masonry, which intentionally misleads and lies to its initiates, is born of the father of lies, Lucifer. Titus 1:16 is an excellent summary of the condition of church members who are active, enthusiastic members of the Masonic Lodge.
Posts: 4684 | From: Southern Black Hills of South Dakota | Registered: Jun 2002
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