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Masonic Documentation from Ephesians 5:11, Inc.The following types of Masonic documentation are available:
Establishing the facts concerning the incompatibility of Freemasonry and
Christianity requires having access to the documents which contain the evidence.
Freemasonry conducts its rituals, which contain the basic teachings of the craft, in secret. The public is not allowed to observe as new candidates are initiated as Masons. Although conducted in secret, portions of ritual and the official interpretations of the meanings of ritual are revealed in Masonic documents. Which Masonic materials should be examined?Documents published and distributed by the Grand Lodges should be used to establish the teachings of Freemasonry. No individual speaks for Freemasonry, either when he is telling the truth, or telling a lie. The authorities of Freemasonry are known as Grand Lodges. There is a Grand Lodge for each state in the US and one for the District of Columbia. A given Grand Lodge is the authority only in its own jurisdiction, however all of the 51 US Grand Lodges recognize each other as being regular. (Freemasonry remains segregated to a large degree. A separate group of Prince Hall Grand Lodges exists to govern lodges with African American members. Some of the "white" Grand Lodges have recognized Prince Hall Grand Lodges and have been recognized by them. White Grand Lodges in other states do not.) Grand Lodges issue charters for new Lodges, regulate ritual, and publish and distribute printed materials. Those printed materials are written by an individual, or a group of individuals. Printed materials speak for Freemasonry and they become authorized writings when they are accepted, distributed, or recommended by the Grand Lodges. The act of authorization gives authority to those writings. They can be used to establish the facts as to what Freemasonry teaches. Masonic ritual is available from Ephesians 5:11, Inc.Official Masonic Rituals are usually not printed as complete English text by the Grand Lodges. They are usually printed in the form of a cipher. Ciphers are code books which usually contain one or more letters for each word in the ritual. Complete rituals for the Blue Lodge ( the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason Degrees) for the state of Nevada are provided on this website. They were provided by a former Worshipful Master who became a Christian. He was a master ritualist. After he left the lodge, he typed the entire ritual in plain English, comparing his memory carefully with the official cipher. We are confident that this "exposure of the rituals of Freemasonry" is the most accurate exposure which has ever been published. Many portions of this ritual can be verified independently by comparing it with Masonic ciphers and Masonic Monitors. Some portions of some code books contain major portions of ritual which is printed in plain English, while other portions are in code. For example, the ritual for the Grand Lodge of Connecticut utilizes only code for the portions of ritual which contain the oaths, or obligations. The ritual for the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of California (available on CDROM) is printed entirely in plain English. Comparison of ciphers and rituals produced by the various Grand Lodges demonstrate that there are differences in wording, but no difference of character. Masonic Monitors are available from Ephesians 5:11, Inc.The Masonic Grand Lodge monitor for the state you are in is absolutely the best
document to utilize to establish the facts concerning Masonic
teaching. We are able to provide the
monitors for most states on CDROM. Masonic Monitors contain portions of Masonic ritual and often
explanations of the meaning of that ritual. Some monitors contain commentaries and other extensive information. Some are fairly terse, containing essentially only brief quotes from ritual. Some omit words from ritual, substituting asterisks in order to avoid revealing too much. A few utilize cipher for a very few portions of the ritual for the same purpose. The
content of Masonic Monitors consists essentially of a set of core elements from ritual plus optional elements which vary from Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge. The sequence of these core elements is essentially
uniform from state to state. The wording and punctuation varies slightly. There are groups of monitors which embrace the same exact wording, capitalization and punctuation for some sections, while other groups embrace another standard of exact wording, capitalization and punctuation. The
symbolic teachings contained in these core elements are identical in all monitors. Some monitors reveal more about a given Masonic teaching, while another may have additional information on another aspect. By studying several monitors from different
Grand Lodges, a better understanding of Masonic teaching can be gained. Other educational materials published by Grand LodgesIn addition to the Masonic monitor, a Mentor's Manual is produced by many Grand Lodges, if not the vast majority. Mentor's Manuals are printed in smaller quantities than Masonic monitors because the intended audience is much smaller. We have a growing number of these which we may choose to distribute on CDROM in the future. Mentor's Manuals are produced to instruct the mentor as he guides the new initiate through the Lodge's education program. Some contain the answers to commonly asked questions. They may contain more in-depth information on the meanings of a given Masonic symbol or, the nature of the Masonic god. For example, there is a reference in some monitors to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Many people who have a Christian background will equate that term with Jesus Christ. A Masonic church member might see that term in his monitor and believe that Freemasonry is therefore Christian in nature. However, Freemasonry does not actually lift up Jesus Christ in any way. The Mentor's Manual from the Grand Lodge of Florida explains that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah does not necessarily refer to Jesus Christ. They explain that the term can also refer to the Messiah of the Jewish Mason, or the mediators of the Eastern religions whose members are Masons. This teaching is in direct opposition to the teaching of the Bible. Scripture states that there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Messiah of all Jews. Unfortunately, most Jews reject Him. Mentor's Manuals often have a list of recommended books which may be consulted for more information. Other educational Grand Lodge documents are published under differing names. A common title is The Lodge System of Masonic Education. Some Grand Lodges publish Officer's Manuals. Educational materials distributed by the Grand Lodges.Many Grand Lodges have appointed committees to create educational materials which are used to educate new Masons. The Committee on Masonic Education of the Grand Lodge of Iowa has produced a small set of booklets which are issued as a man goes through the degrees. Those booklets have been reprinted by the Grand Lodges of many other states with little or no modification. We have several complete sets of these booklets from several Grand Lodges and partial sets from others. There are three or four booklets in the set. They are entitled, On the Threshold, The Entered Apprentice, The Fellowcraft, and The Master Mason. There are some useful statements in these booklets, such as recommendations that new Masons should read Masonic literature in order to gain an understanding of the deeper teachings of Freemasonry. Sometimes, the complete set is printed in a single volume for the use of the mentor. General Masonic literature recommended by the Grand LodgesThere are thousands of books authored by Masons, and printed by Masonic publishers for the consumption of Masons. One source for such books is Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Company. Often, Grand Lodge documents recommend Masonic books which may be consulted for further information. Some of these books have been written at the request of a Grand Lodge. Since the Grand Lodges are the authorities of Freemasonry, when Grand Lodge documents recommend specific books as valid sources of information concerning Masonic teaching, those books become authoritative. A given book may be proven authoritative within one jurisdiction through the Grand Lodge's authorization, while it may not be proven to be authoritative in another jurisdiction. In reality, the same books are found in Lodge libraries throughout the country. An examination of the bookshelves in the regalia shops on Great Queen Street in London, directly opposite the Grand Lodge of England, revealed that the majority of Masonic books they distribute are produced by American Mason publishers. They are the very same books found in American Lodges. Some English Masonic books are found in American Lodge libraries. Of course, some Masonic books published on both sides of the Atlantic do not enjoy wide distribution. In order to determine which books are recommended by the Grand Lodge of
your state, it is necessary to consult the Masonic monitor, the Mentor's
Manual and other Grand Lodge documents which you are able to
obtain. Some books are recommended by a substantial number of Grand
Lodges. Sometimes, Masonic books are presented to new candidates on
the night they become a Master Mason. The Builders, by
Joseph Fort Newton is one such book. The Builders is a book which directly links the
authorities of Freemasonry, the Grand Lodges, with the promotion of occult literature.
Other books are recommended by only a few. As time goes on, we are
gathering more Masonic materials. There is a role
for Masonic literature within the Masonic educational
system.. Masonic literature should be used in an attempt to
lead a man from the lodge only when it can be proven that his Grand Lodge
recommends the book. Otherwise, you will hear the claim that the
book represents only the author's personal opinion. No one speaks
for Freemasonry, they claim. That very denial disqualifies their
words in defense of Freemasonry as having any more credibility
than your words. We recommend the use of information found in
Masonic monitors in the effort to lead men from the lodge. General Masonic literature found in Lodge Libraries
Grand Lodges maintain Grand Lodge libraries. There are thousands of books
written by Masons for Masons. The larger Masonic libraries, such as
the Scottish Rite library located in the House of the Temple (Washington,
D.C.) contain tens of thousands of books. Some Masonic
libraries are accessible by the public. Sometimes, books may be borrowed by mail. Many local Lodges also contain libraries which are generally smaller. Those libraries may grow substantially upon the death of a well read member. Often the Grand Lodges produce lists which contain recommended books. SummaryIn summary, the best choice of documents for establishing what Freemasonry teaches
are as follows: Masonic books on CDROMThese books are commonly found in Masonic libraries. They are available on CDROM.
Please take note that all of these books contain Masonic heresy. You should avoid putting them in the hands of anyone who is not a mature Christian. They are provided here for apologetic purposes. One of the advantages of placing books on CDROM is that they may be made electronically searchable. All of the above are electronically searchable using the Adobe Reader, which is included on the CDROM. The individual pages from these books may be printed as desired, or the entire book may be printed. The pages appear as digital photographic images of the pages from the actual book. All drawings and diagrams are included.
General Masonic Literature must be used with care.In order to make certain that the teaching in a Masonic book is authoritative, and to maintain credibility, it is imperative that every item used from Masonic books be traced back to a Grand Lodge. Multiple sources which say the same thing, when coupled with Grand Lodge teaching which states the same doctrine, establish heretical Masonic teachings beyond question. A couple of examples from our tract Fatherhood of God - Brotherhood of Man demonstrate how this can be done.
Books by ChristiansMany books written by Christians who are exposing the truth about Freemasonry are excellent. The following books are available from your local Christian book store. Dale Byers, a Baptist Pastor, renounced Freemasonry after he realized that Freemasonry is incompatible with Christianity. Dale's book, I Left the Lodge, provides an example which illustrates why some are drawn into Freemasonry. Good works, well publicized, create a favorable image for the craft. We have met and talked with Dale Byers. He is a solid pastor who continues to preach the truth. We recommended Dale as a guest speaker in another church which was dealing with the Masonic issue. The message was well received; the pastor and congregation of the church were well served. Dale's book is available from Regular Baptist Press. They have given us permission to share the first twenty pages of the book with you. You may obtain the book at your local Christian bookstore. Please download and read the first part of the book. We believe you will enjoy it. You may contact Dale by email.
Former Worshipful Master Jack Harris has written two books which have been well received. The first, Freemasonry: The Invisible Cult In Our Midst, discusses Masonic symbolic teaching and compares it to the Scriptures. Jack's latest book, Armageddon Within discusses the consequences of allowing Masons to hold church membership. |
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Download Chapter One ofMasonic Rites and Wrongs |
Portions of I Left the Lodge and Masonic Rites and Wrongs published here with permission. We encourage you to purchase a copy at your local Christian book store. These works are copyrighted. Publication of these PDF files without permission is a violation of Federal Law.
Copyright 1999 Ephesians 5:11, Inc. Publication on another web site is prohibited.
