The Strand Study Bible

NUMBERS

303

NUMBERS

Additional offerings were also to be offered on the eighth day (c. Oct 22nd – Num 29:36) – 9 sacrifices a year For a total of – 1,222 sacrifices a year NOTE – Of the 613 laws found in the Old Testament, over 50 of them dealt with sacrificing. 8:19 God not only “secures” (purchases) our salvation with a gift (the gift of the SON – Jn 3:16) and “seals” (protects) our salvation with a gift (the gift of the SPIRIT – Acts 8:14-20 and Eph 1:13-14), He also “services” our salvation with a gift (the gift of God-called men and women – Num 8:19 and Eph 4:7-13). 9:3 Masonry is all about “ rites ” (ceremonial rituals). NOTE - There are four facts about Masonry that every Christian ought to know: 1. Masonry is a religion based upon Gnosticism (VGV), which is governed by scientific achievement (knowledge – Colo 2:16 ) Masons meet on a regular basis, use altars, pray, hold rituals, baptize, meet in temples, have deacons, and serve communion. Keith Harris in The Masonic Christian Conflict Explained notes: Every Masonic temple is a temple of religion. 1 According to Masons themselves, Freemasonry boasts of making good men better. And they do! They do it by believing in two essentials: (1) A Supreme Being ; and (2) Reverence for His Word . A Mason therefore is obliged by his Tenure, to obey the moral Law of the Bible; and if he rightly understands the Art, he will never become an Atheist. These two essentials establish beyond question the character of the Fraternity as a religious institution. In fact, almost every Masonic Lodge opens and closes with prayer given by a designated Chaplain. 2. Masonry is based almost exclusively on the Old Testament Scriptures According to Masonic teaching, Masonry teaches man to follow certain rites (Num 9:3): to practice charity and benevolence, to protect chastity (to abstain from unlawful sexual activity), to respect the ties of blood and friendship, to assist the feeble, guide the blind, raise up the downtrodden, shelter the orphan, guard the altar, support the Government (even if it becomes Communistic), instill morality, promote learning, love man, fear God, implore His mercy and hope for happiness, and to adopt the principles and revere the ordinances of all religions. Although the era of Solomon’s temple plays an integral role in Masonic lore, much of the symbolisms, appellations, and rituals stem from Egyptian legend. Freemasonry even preserves the traditional practice of Baal worship found in the Old Testament.. NOTE -As Christians, we need to remember what CHRIST didn’t say in John 14:6. He didn’t say, “I AM a way.” He said, “ I AM the way .” CHRIST is the “only” way to salvation. 3. Masonry (although religious and Trinitarians by nature) is universal Masons are taught to adopt the principles and revere the ordinances of the religion of the country or nation in which they abide for the sole purpose of assimilating themselves within that culture so that they can perform their masonry. Masonic literature states that the history of Masonry is the history of human philosophy. This speculative inquiry concerning the source and nature of human knowledge is taught degree by degree through rituals and oaths, which involve the candidate’s endless search for “light.” According to Masons themselves, time is a river, and books are boats, and the Bible is but one of those boats that have endured the rapids of time. Thus, by the very honor which Masonry pays to the Bible, it teaches men to revere every book of faith in which men find help for today and hope for the morrow, joining hands with the man of Islam as he takes oath on the Koran , and with the Hindu as he makes covenant with God upon Hindu literature that he loves best. Keith Harris in The Masonic Christian Conflict Explained notes: If Masonry were simply a Christian institution, the Jew and the Muslim, the Brahman and the Buddhist could not conscientiously partake of its illumination. But its universality is its boast. Keith Harris goes on to note: A regular or well-governed Masonic Lodge does not permit its members to pray in the name of Jesus; thus, the Mason who does recognize Jesus in the Lodge as the only way to God is not being true to Masonry. Likewise, the Mason who claims to be a Christian yet who does not recognize Jesus openly in the Lodge or pray in His name is not being true to Christianity . Whereas Christianity is non-inclusive and not accepting of any other system of belief (Deut 13:1-5), Masonry , like Hinduism and Mormonism (Joseph Smith was a Master Mason), is tolerant of all other religions, even to the point of assimilating elements from them. 4. Masonry , like every other religion out there , is a religion of “ works ” The Mason’s motto – Character determines destiny. Freemasonry is an international fraternity based on morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. By their own admission, Masons are interested in the temporal, not the eternal. Yet, according to Jesus in Matthew 16:1-3, “all that is not eternal … is eternally useless.” Whereas Masonry is based on helping men live better lives here , Christianity is based on helping men live better lives hereafter . NOTE – For those unfamiliar with American-Masonic history, I highly recommend three films: (1) Secret Mysteries of America’s Beginnings; The New Atlantis ; (2) Riddles in Stone: The Secret Architecture of Washington, D.C .; and (3) Eye of the Phoenix: Secrets of the Dollar Bill . 1 Harris, Keith. The Masonic Christian Conflict Explained , Madisonville, KY, The Olive Press. 2005. Print. Masonry... can assemble as brethren and unite in prayer to the one God who is above all the Baalim, must needs to leave it to each of its initiates to look for the foundation of his faith and hope to the written scriptures of his own religion. 1