Daily Devotional for Sunday March 18, 2012
Freemasonry
(Matthew 7:21; Titus 1:16; 2 Timothy 3:5; Hosea 6:6; James 3:10)
Every time I deal with this subject, I am inundated with outraged Masons that I would have the audacity to call their secret society what it is, a CULT. I was prepared for the onslaught because I knew it has been a very deep stronghold IN THE CHURCH. Joe Smith, founder of the Mormon cult was a Mason. He not only hijacked God's Word to write his blasphemous Book of Mormon, but incorporated the secret rites of Freemasonry in his cult. All top leaders in the Mormon church are Masons! That means Christian men involved in this cult are in a blood-oath relationship, an unholy alliance with men in the Mormon cult.
The fact is, the ONLY oath we should ever take is to Jesus Christ. A top level Mason is called "worshipful master," when Jesus Christ is the ONLY Master we are to worship. Lastly, Freemasonry operates in secret. Only evil operates in secrecy, in the darkness, while the things of God operate in the light. I am praying for those who have taken an oath to be part of this cult, this secret society, to leave immediately. As Jesus clearly stated, you CAN'T serve two masters.
Freemasonry IS a cult!!! The two people God used to help shape my early faith in the Lord besides my parents were my father's mom and dad. Grandpa and Grandma Keller were lifetime members of a little United Methodist church outside of Columbus, Ohio. They never missed Sunday service, Grandpa was an usher, Grandma sang in the choir, and they were at the church for about every event that was held. As a young boy growing up, I spent two weeks every summer with them and their church was a big part of my time there. Grandpa Keller was also a Mason and Grandma Keller was a member of the Eastern Star. It is hard to imagine my dear, Godly grandparents were cult members, but that is exactly what they were.
Freemasonry and Christianity are incompatible. While most see it as a wonderful social, civic, and philanthropic organization, in reality it is a secret religious society. Tracing its origins back to the stone masons who built Solomon's Temple, the modern day Masonic movement first appeared in Great Britain in 1717, and was first seen in the United States in Philadelphia in 1730. The terminology and symbolism of Masonry seems to come mostly from the actual craft of stonemasonry during the Middle Ages. The "free" in Masonry probably came from the "freestones" (stones that could be cut without splitting) with which Mason's worked. Stonemasons had three classifications for workers practicing their craft: Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. This is also the terminology used for the first three degrees in Masonry today.
Masonry is not based on the Bible (referred to as "The Great Light"), but on the Kabala, the ultimate source of Masonic beliefs (Morals and Dogma), which is a medieval book of mysticism and magic. Masons require one to believe in God to be a member, but the candidate is never required to say what god he believes in. Masons commonly refer to their deity as the "Great Architect of the Universe" (G.A.O.T.U.) or the Supreme Being. The name of Christ is seldom referred to in Masonic literature, apparently due to Masons not wanting to offend their non-Christian members. Freemasonry does not believe that Jesus Christ is God, nor that salvation is available only through Him. The reality of sin in the Biblical sense is denied. Masons think that any "shortcomings" can be overcome by greater enlightenment. Because they deny the reality of sin, Masons see no need for salvation in the Biblical sense. They see salvation as a step-by-step enlightenment, which comes through initiation into the Masonic degrees and their mysteries.
Most Masons join Freemasonry to be part of what they view as a prestigious, socially influential organization. However, their society is based on misrepresentations and false explanations. The symbolic physical penalties advocated by the Freemasons are violent and murderous. No faithful Christian can keep Freemason oaths, which endorse the death penalty for oneself and require members to persecute traitors to the organization. Oaths also obligate lodge members to protect lodge criminals and keep their secrets. The fact is, like in all cults, most involved in Freemasonry have NO CLUE what they really believe in or the satanic roots of Freemasonry. To this day, I firmly believe my Grandfather saw it as nothing more than a social organization, as did my Grandmother who was part of the Eastern Star, the women's organization of Freemsonry.
When was the last time you heard your pastor preach against this cult? Let me answer that, NEVER. A 1991 survey by the Southern Baptist Convention Sunday School Board found that 14% of SBC pastors and 18% of SBC deacon board chairs were Masons; it is also estimated that SBC members comprise 37% of total U.S. lodge membership. A 2000 updated SBC report found that over 1,000 SBC pastors are Masons. As you get into the more liberal denominations, I am sure those percentages are even higher.
I love you and care about you so much. Satan is a master of deception and knows how to draw people into his traps of destruction. Nobody can ever deny the wonderful charitable causes the Masons are involved in. But the Mafia also gives lots of money to charity. There is a local strip club that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for a children's hospital. Just because an organization does some "good works," that does not make it an organization that you should be a member of. Jesus Christ gave us the organization to be part of that is to do good works, it is called THE CHURCH!
Know that I am praying for you today. I have no doubt that many who are reading this message today are in the Masons or the Eastern Star. I want you to pray seriously today about LEAVING those organizations. Freemasonry is NOT of God, but is opposed to God. I already know that this message today will cause some short term hardships to Liveprayer by those who will stop supporting this ministry because I have spoken out on this cult. But my job is to share the truth of God's Word with you each day and shine the light on sin and expose deception. Man does not sustain this ministry each month, God does, and I do not have to answer to any man, but one day stand before God!
Jesus said that you can't serve two masters, you cannot serve God and also be a Mason. You need to make a choice today WHICH master you are going to serve, the cult of Freemasonry or God.
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller