Freemasonry - Chapter 1

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="129a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the Heart4God Website!"><U><B><IMG SRC="4b55a500.png" border=0 width="90" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin"><U><B>Writings by Date</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin Organized "><U><B>Writings by Topic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm"><U><B>Audio Files</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id690.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U><B>Videos</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id323.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings of Others"><U><B>Other Authors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id324.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id339.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions and Answers"><U><B>Q&A</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id328.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heart4God Email List"><U><B>Heart4God E-mail List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com"><U><B>Parables Blog</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id306.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="File Downloads"><U><B><IMG SRC="2b264140.png" border=0 width="100" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <B>Freemasonry - Chapter 1</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="c2827160.png" border=0 width="807" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="807" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1619 WIDTH="795"><div> Revelation 17:5</div> <div> And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.</div> <div> KJV</div> <bR> <div> I have chosen to begin this examination of Freemasonry by declaring up front that it manifests the Spirit of Babylon. This is something that I believe will become readily apparent as evidence is presented. If at the end of this presentation you disagree with the conclusions presented herein, then I can only leave you to the care of God.</div> <bR> <div> To begin I must define what the spirit of Babylon is. Throughout Scriptures the Holy Spirit has used two cities to stand as polar opposites which reveal spiritual truth. One of these cities is Babylon, and it is everywhere spoken of in the most negative terms, and it stands for the kingdoms of this earth which are ruled over by Satan. The other city is Zion, and this is itself a symbol of Yahweh’s kingdom and government and is everywhere referred to with the highest words of praise.</div> <bR> <div> Zion is marked by its devotion to the One True God whose name is Yahweh, and His Son Jesus Christ, Yahshua the Messiah.</div> <bR> <div> The first reference in Scripture to Zion is found in II Samuel 5:7.</div> <bR> <div> II Samuel 5:7</div> <div> David captured the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David.</div> <bR> <div> David receives praise from God as “a man after My own heart who will do all My pleasure” (Acts 13:22). This is a characteristic of those who are citizens of Zion. They live to do the pleasure of Yahweh. They have died to their own will and desires that they might satisfy the One Who created them for His own pleasure.</div> <bR> <div> Babylon does not share this same undivided devotion to Yahweh. The prophet Jeremiah wrote:</div> <bR> <div> Jeremiah 50:35-40</div> <div> "A sword against the Chaldeans," declares Yahweh, "And against the inhabitants of Babylon and against her officials and her wise men! A sword against the oracle priests, and they will become fools! A sword against her mighty men, and they will be shattered! A sword against their horses and against their chariots and against all the foreigners who are in the midst of her, and they will become women!  A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered! A drought on her waters, and they will be dried up!<I><B><U> For it is a land of idols, and they are mad over fearsome idols</U></B></I>. Therefore the desert creatures will live there along with the jackals; The ostriches also will live in it, and it will never again be inhabited or dwelt in from generation to generation. As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors," declares Yahweh, "No man will live there, nor will any son of man reside in it.”</div> <bR> <div> This prophecy is not merely against the actual city of Babylon and its inhabitants, but it is a prophecy against all those through the ages who share the same spirit as Babylon. As we look further at Freemasonry we will see that it shares the same spirit as ancient Babylon that Yahweh judged. Freemasonry is not a Christian organization devoted to only one God, and this fact is stated clearly both in the many Masonic websites present on the Internet, as well as in the writings of Masonic teachers.</div> <bR> <div> Freemasonry does not require that any man be a Christian to be a part of their organization. It merely requires that they not be an atheist. It is as acceptable to Masonry that a man be a Muslim as a Christian. They can be Jew or Hindu or Buddhist without objection. The writings of Masonry declare that all religions are to be revered. This also was a characteristic of Ancient Babylon.</div> <bR> <div> By the very honour which Masonry pays to the Bible, it teaches us to revere every Book of Faith in which men find help for to-day and hope for the morrow. For that reason, in a Lodge consisting entirely of Jews, the Old Testament alone may be placed upon the Altar, and in a Lodge in the land of Mohammed the Koran may be used. Whether it be the Gospels of the Christian, the Book of Law of the Hebrew, the Koran of the Mussulman, or the Vedas of the Hindu, it everywhere Masonically conveys the same idea -symbolizing the Will of God revealed to man, taking such faith and vision as he has found into a great fellowship of the seekers and finders of the truth. Thus Masonry invites to its Altar men of all faiths, knowing that, if they use different names for "the Nameless One of an hundred names," they are yet praying to the one God and Father of all...</div> <div> [Source: www.phoenixmasonry.org]</div> <bR> <div> Note that this quotation is taken from a Masonic website. These are not the words of an enemy of Freemasonry, but of its supporters. Although many men who have joined themselves to Freemasonry would describe themselves as ardent Christians, and would deny that they willfully embrace any other religion, they cannot testify that Freemasonry does the same. </div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 495 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="9bd70d40.png" border=0 width="624" height="468" ALT="Presentations X3 Drawing" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Muslim Mosque</B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 376 WIDTH="795"><div> In a multitude of writings Freemasonry declares that it embraces all the religions of the world, both present and ancient, and it has derived many of its symbols, practices and doctrines from religions other than the Christian faith. That this fact should have escaped the notice of even the most casual examiner of Masonry is difficult to comprehend. Consider that Shriners are all higher degree Masons and they have adopted a multitude of symbols, words, and practices from the Muslim faith. Many of their meeting houses are called Mosques, and they have adopted the symbols of Islam, the Crescent Moon and Star as their own peculiar symbol.</div> <bR> <div> According to The Encyclopedia of fraternities by Albert Stevens, Shriners take the following oath against failing in their obligations to the mystic Shrine:</div> <bR> <div> "In willful violation whereof may I incur the fearful penalty of having my eyeballs pierced to the centre with a three-edged blade, my feet flayed, and I be forced to walk the hot sands upon the sterile shores of the Red Sea until the flaming sun shall strike me with livid plague, and may Allah, the god of Arab, Moslem and Mohammedan, the god of our fathers, support me to the entire fulfillment of the same. Amen. Amen. Amen."</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2362 WIDTH="795"><div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="794" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 505 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="9c25f510.png" border=0 width="351" height="337" ALT="Presentations X3 Drawing" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Symbol of Islam</B></div> <div> <B>&</B></div> <div> <B>Shriner's Fez</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="9c1ccf30.png" border=0 width="460" height="499" ALT="Presentations X3 Drawing" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> The Crescent Moon and Star are symbols of the religion of Islam. Islam borrowed from the former worship of deities associated with the moon and stars. The Scriptures speak of this ancient worship.</div> <bR> <div> II Kings 23:5</div> <div> [King Josiah] did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven.</div> <bR> <div> In the ancient mystery religions the Sun was viewed as masculine and the moon as feminine. The Freemasons have borrowed their “mysteries” from ancient mystery religions. Note the female face on the crescent moon.</div> <bR> <div> Shrine Masons openly display the symbols of Islam. Their symbols are not Christian, and no apology is made for this. Yet many of those who are themselves Shriners testify that they are Christians. This is itself a symptom of the spirit of Babylon, for Babylon was a city that openly embraced many religions and deities. Babylon means “mixture” or “confusion.” The spirit of Babylon is revealed in its joining together many religions, resulting in a confusion of truth and error, of the holy and profane.</div> <bR> <div> Ezekiel 44:23</div> <div> "Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.”</div> <bR> <div> The disciple of Jesus Christ is given the following charge.</div> <bR> <div> II Corinthians 6:14-17</div> <div> Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,</div> <div> "I will dwell in them and walk among them;  And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.” </div> <bR> <div> The Spirit of Christ does not lead men to embrace false religions. The Spirit of Christ is called the Holy Spirit. The word holy bears within its definition the concept of being “separate.” The disciples of Jesus Christ are to separate themselves from the world, from sin, and most certainly from all idolatry that they might enter into union with the One True God whose name is Yahweh, and with His Son Jesus Christ, Yahshua the Messiah.</div> <bR> <div> Babylon is noted by its mixture and confusion. The spirit of Babylon is a spirit of spiritual adultery where many deities and many religions are not only tolerated, but embraced. As Jeremiah testified, Babylon “is a land of idols, and they are mad over fearsome idols.”</div> <bR> <div> Deuteronomy 6:14-15</div> <div> “You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for Yahweh your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of Yahweh your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.”</div> <bR> <div> Some may object that they are not a Shriner, and that the adoption of Islamic symbols, words and practices by the Shriners is merely a sham and is done in fun and not to be taken seriously. Yet God does take the matter seriously.</div> <bR> <div> Is it a trivial thing to provoke the Lord God to jealousy? Knowing that God sold His own chosen people into slavery to foreign nations when they mixed the worship of the One True God with the worship of heathen gods, is it then a righteous act for a Christian to join themselves to an organization that declares that Allah, the false god of the Muslims is the same as Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Is it pleasing in His sight to declare that Buddha is no different than Jesus Christ, Yahshua the Messiah, but that they all represent paths to God?</div> <bR> <div> Those who would carefully examine the teachings of Freemasonry will find an abundance of evidence revealing the worst possible confusion and mixing together of religions. Zion is a symbol of those who are purely devoted to Jesus Christ, while Babylon stands as a symbol of mixture. Babylon may accept Christianity, but it will not be bound to a single devotion to one deity.</div> <bR> <div> John 14:6</div> <div> Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”</div> <bR> <div> Hebrews 12:22-24</div> <div> But <I><B><U>you have come to Mount Zion </U></B></I>and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, <I><B><U>and to Jesus</U></B></I>, the mediator of a new covenant...</div> <bR> <div> As we proceed I will provide more references to Freemasonry’s confusion and mixture of a multitude of religions and their veneration of many deities. But this should suffice to reveal to you what the spirit of Babylon is. I want to proceed next to reveal to you Freemasonry’s association with Babylon, and its veneration of this city that is everywhere condemned in Scripture.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id548.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Freemasonry Chapter 2"><U>Next Chapter</U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>