The Masonic Lodge: What Goes On Behind Closed Doors? – Program 2

By: Dr. John Ankerberg, Jack Harris; ©1986

What is the significance of the Bible (or other sacred writing), Square and Compass found in the Lodge? What about the apron, the rough ashlar and the perfect ashlar?

The Three Great Lights and Three Lesser Lights of Masonry

Introduction

Tonight, John Ankerberg presents, What Goes on Behind the Closed Doors of the Masonic Lodge? In our prior program, a 32^nd Degree Mason met with a Christian scholar to find out whether or not Christianity and the Masonic Lodge were compatible. In that program, our Masonic guest said the Ritual was the authoritative source for all Masons. But what is the Ritual for the first three degrees of Masonry? What does it teach? Tonight, you will find out. Mr. Jack Harris, a former Worshipful Master from the state of Maryland, will reenact small parts of the ritual from the first three degrees and explain what he taught in the Lodge.

In Program 1, you will be introduced to the primary symbols in all Masonic Lodges and watch how a Candidate is received upon his being initiated into the Entered Apprentice Degree of Masonry.

In Program 2, the former Worshipful Master will explain to us the meaning of the Three Great Lights and Three Lesser Lights of Masonry.

In Program 3, what is the significance of the working tools of Masonry? What is the meaning of the white apron, and the Rough Ashlar, and the Perfect Ashlar?

In Program 4, how binding is the obligation taken by any Candidate initiated into the first three degrees of Masonry?

In Program 5, you will see the actual ceremony used at a Masonic funeral.

In Program 6, both sides will comment whether Masonry is a religion, whether or not it promises eternal life in the Celestial Lodge Above, what a Mason must do in this life, and whether Masonry holds the Bible’s teachings to be authoritative.

In preparation for this program, letters were sent to the Grand Lodges in all 50 states, asking them which Masonic authors and books they would recommend as the most authoritative commentaries concerning the teachings of Masonry. We will report to you what they said. Then we will compare the commentary of their recommended authors with some of the teachings of biblical Christianity to answer the question, Is Christianity compatible with the teachings of the Masonic Lodge? Please stay tuned.

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Program 2

Ankerberg: Good evening. This is the second program in our follow-up series concerning the Masonic Lodge. The reason for tonight’s program is that many of you have asked, “Are the teachings of the Masonic Lodge compatible with biblical Christianity?” Well, as our custom is, we allow others to present their own position. So to set the stage tonight, I’d like you to listen to Mr. Bill Mankin, a 32^nd Degree Mason, who on our previous series told us what the Masonic Lodge believes concerning their symbols, and in particular their symbol concerning the big “G.”

(Excerpt from former series)

Mankin: We have no creed, no confession faith in a doctrinal statement. We have no theology; we have no ritual of worship. We have no symbols that are religious in the sense of symbols found in a church or a synagogue. Our symbols are related to the development of character of the relationship of man to men. They are working tools to be used in the building of life.

Ankerberg: Why are you praying?

Mankin: We are praying to the same God, the one God, the all-creating God, the same God that is on the dollar bill, “In God We Trust,” and the same…

Martin: And the Hindus, too, and the Buddhists? They’re all doing that?

Mankin: Well, you’re nitpicking and that’s not really what this is all about.

Martin: No, no, no, that’s very factual. Just a minute, that’s the crux of the whole thing. The God of the Bible is not the god of the Hindus. The God of the Bible is not the god of the Buddhists. The God of the Bible is not Allah. The God of the Bible is the Lord, Eternal God, who became man in Jesus Christ. You cannot call Him by all these different names and say you’re talking about the One God. That’s biblical nonsense.

Mankin: We are not doing that.

Martin: You just said that a minute ago.

Mankin: When I say a prayer in Lodge, I say a prayer to my God.

Martin: But they’re praying to the same God?

Mankin: No. When I acted as chaplain, I said my own prayer. I didn’t even use the prayer which was provided. There was no point in doing it.

Martin: In a Buddhist Lodge, in a Zoroastrian Lodge, in a Muslim Lodge, are they praying to the same God you’re praying to?

Mankin: They are praying to their god.

Martin: To the same God you’re praying to?

Mankin: Well, no. I can’t say that.

Martin: Then they’re lost, right?

Mankin: Yes, but they’re still Masons.

Martin: But they’re lost.

Mankin: But they’re still Masons.

Martin: So all your Masonic brothers who reject Jesus Christ’s gospel and follow these things, even in the full light of Masonry, are lost?

Mankin: According to my beliefs as a Christian, yes.

Martin: Thank you.

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Ankerberg: So, do the Masonic symbols, as explained by the Lodge, conflict with the teachings of the Bible? Well, in order to answer that question we have asked that a former Worshipful Master of the Lodge, Mr. Jack Harris, would come tonight and reenact part of the actual ritual of the first three degrees of Masonry and explain to you exactly what he taught to more than 600 men in his Lodge concerning God, the Bible, man’s nature, and eternal life. Please listen.

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Harris: As a former Worshipful Master of a Masonic Lodge, it was my duty to instruct a candidate in many of the teachings of Freemasonry. One of the most important was an explanation of a letter “G” which you find suspended above my chair in the east. Let me tell you exactly what that means to Freemasonry, as explained to the Candidate. First of all, it alludes to the fifth science, geometry. Geometry, according to Freemasonry, delineates how God created the heavens and the earth in its various shapes and forms. But the most important meaning is as I’m going to give it to you at this point. The Master removes his hat and tells the Candidate, “It alludes to the sacred name of deity, before whom all, from the youngest Entered Apprentice in the Northeast corner, to the Worshipful Master who presides in the East, should with reverence most humbly bow.”

As a child of God, I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior several years ago. And I had a great deal of difficulty with Freemasonry’s definition of God. Because all through the Rituals as well as this explanation they call God “Deity” or “Grand Architect of the Universe,” or “Great Architect of the Universe.” They don’t give Him any specific name we as Christians know. You see, in Freemasonry they can accept the deity of the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist, whatever the religion or whatever the savior of any religion in the world, Freemasonry will accept them. But they do not name what those deities are, so they call him “deity.”

But as a born again Christian, I have a problem with this. In Isaiah 44:6, the Lord says this, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his redeemer, the Lord of hosts, I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” Also, as Christians, in Colossians 2:9, we are told that “in him [referring to the Person of Jesus Christ] all the deity is in bodily form.” So as born again Christians we see the Person of God revealed into the Person of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. He has a name: “the Lord Jesus Christ.” He is not referred to in any of our churches or Scriptures as just the name of “Deity.” This does present a tremendous problem to me as a child of God.

In conclusion, I find that the teachings of Freemasonry lead to a universal religion. The religion that Freemasonry teaches accepts saviors of all religions in the world, none being exclusive. But as a born again Christian, I am told in John 14:6 by Jesus Himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes unto the Father except by me.” So thereby as a child of God, and to be obedient to the Word of God, I must separate myself from the false teachings and the many false saviors that Masonry presents in all of their teachings.

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Ankerberg: Next, we want to turn our attention to the three great lights of Masonry. What are they? What does the Masonic Lodge teach concerning the Bible? First, we will listen to Mr. Bill Mankin, a 32^nd Degree Mason, talk about these symbols.

(Excerpt from former series)

Mankin: Every well-governed Lodge is furnished with a Holy Bible, a square and compasses. The Holy Bible is dedicated to God, it being His inestimable gift to man as the rule and guide of his faith.

Ankerberg: Let me quote from Albert Pike: “The Bible is an indispensable part of the furniture of a Christian Lodge….” I’ve heard that in almost all the books. Next line, “…only because it is the sacred book of the Christian religion. The Hebrew Pentateuch in a Hebrew Lodge, the Koran in a Mohammedan one, belong on the altar. And one of these, and the square and the compass, properly understood, are the great lights by which a Mason must walk and work.” Now, why? “The obligation of the Candidate is always to be taken on the sacred book or books of his religion that he may deem it more solemn and binding and therefore it was that you were asked of what religion you were. We have no other concern with your religious creed.”

Mankin: To ask a Mohammedan to swear on a Christian Bible would be ludicrous. It would be sacrilegious.

Ankerberg: So the Bible is not the authoritative book of the Masonic Lodge? That’s what Walter was saying.

Martin: That’s what I’m saying.

Mankin: When I wrote you the letter I said, “In the United States the Holy Bible is the rule and guide of our faith.” Yes, I said that.

Ankerberg: But then there must be something behind the Holy Bible, because it is not universal. It’s just for this square geographical area here, and over there, there is another authoritative book. That was where I think Walter was going.

Mankin: Well, it’s not whether or not it’s authoritative that is what’s meaningful here.

Ankerberg: That’s what he said.

Mankin: What you’re asking a candidate to do is obligate himself to the highest principles that he knows…

Ankerberg: According to what he thinks.

Mankin: …according to his religion. There’s no point in having him obligate it according to Dr. Martin’s religion or according to my religion.

Ankerberg: Okay, Bill, how do you like that in terms of truth?

Mankin: In terms of truth?

Ankerberg: Truth. Is truth that way?

Mankin: We’re not talking about theology. We are talking about a system of morality that is illustrated by the use of the square, by the compasses, by the level, and by the plumb.

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Ankerberg: So that you may compare the teachings of the Masonic Lodge with biblical teaching, I have asked former Worshipful Master, Mr. Jack Harris, to give us part of the actual ritual of the Lodge where he explained to the Candidate about the three great lights of Masonry.

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Harris: What I have explained to you previously is an explanation of the letter “G” which you have found above the Master’s chair. What I will give you now is the actual Ritual taught by every Masonic Lodge in the United States.

The three great lights of Masonry are the Holy Bible, the square and the compasses. The Holy Bible we take for the rule and guide of our faith, the square to square our actions, and the compasses to circumscribe our desires and keep our passions within due bounds. The three lesser lights are the sun, the moon and the Master of the Lodge. As the sun rules the day and the moon governs the night, so should the Worshipful Master endeavor to rule and govern his Lodge with equal regularity.

Many of you are probably wondering, “What does Freemasonry really believe about the Bible?” I would like to quote to you Albert Mackey, one the world’s greatest Masonic interpreters of Ritual, says this in his book, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, under the title of “Bible.”

The Bible is used among Masons as a symbol of the will of God, however it may be expressed. And therefore, whatever, to any people expresses that will, may be used as a substitute for the Bible in a Masonic Lodge. Thus in a Lodge consisting of Jews, the Old Testament alone may be placed upon the altar. And the Turkish Masons can make use of the Koran. Whether it be the Gospel to the Christian, the Old Testament to the Jew, or the Veda to the Brahman, it conveys the same idea, the will of God to man.

I had trouble with this as a born again Christian, when the Word of God tells me that there is only one way, one light, and one truth. But Freemasonry says that that is not true. Freemasonry says the Koran, the Veda, the Old Testament, the New Testament, or any Scripture from any religion in the world is sacred and reveals truth and light. In all of their teachings they talk about seeking light. But the Word of God tells me there is only one light, and that light is to be found in Jesus Christ. It also tells me in 1 John 5 that anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father. Freemasonry, in their religious teachings, does not honor the Son. Second Corinthians also tells us that there is an artificial light, Satan appearing as an angel of light. [2 Cor. 11:14] I find that the teachings of Freemasonry accepting the sacred writings of all religions in the world leads men to a false hope and away from the Person of Jesus Christ. That’s why, after eleven years serving as an officer in a Masonic Lodge, I left Freemasonry.

(Excerpt from former series)

Mankin: It’s not a religion. It offers no system of salvation. I’m going to have to read from this certain point because this is very, very important and something that you should realize, because we have none of the marks of a religion.

Ankerberg: Okay, let her go.

Mankin: We have no creed, no confession of faith in a doctrinal statement. We have no theology. We have no ritual of worship. We have no symbols that are religious in the sense of symbols found in a church or a synagogue. Our symbols are related to the development of character, of the relationship of man to men. They are working tools to be used in the building of life. These working tools have been used from time immemorial to build buildings, and all we are saying is that if you as an individual adopt the principles represented, and we’ll get into some of that symbolism later on, that you will be a better person. Not that you’re going to go to heaven.

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Ankerberg: If you’ve just joined us, you’ve been listening to Mr. Bill Mankin, a 32^nd Degree Mason, who was a guest on a previous series concerning Masonry. He said, “The working tools of a Masonic Lodge symbolically teach a man how to become a better person, not how to go to heaven.” We wanted to investigate the actual Ritual of the Lodge to find out if that was true. So we invited Mr. Jack Harris, a former Worshipful Master, to demonstrate what he taught in the Lodge.

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Harris: Okay, we’ve talked about the letter “G” over the Master’s chair, the three great lights and the three lesser lights. I’d now like to continue with the ritual and explain what the meaning of the apron is — another symbol of Freemasonry.

Worshipful Master (to Candidate): “I’d like to present you, Brother Smith, with this lambskin, or white leather apron, which is an emblem of innocence and a badge of a Mason, more ancient than the golden fleece or Roman eagle, or any other order that could be conferred upon you with this or any future date by king, prince or potentate, or any other person, except to be a Mason, and which I hope you will wear with pleasure to yourself and honor to the Fraternity. The lambskin has always been deemed an emblem of innocence. He therefore who wears a lambskin as a badge of a Mason is continually reminded of that purity of life and conduct which is so essentially necessary to his gaining admission into the Celestial Lodge Above.”

Harris: I would like to explain to you what the Word of God has to say about this apron. We read in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not a result of works, lest any man should boast.” Also in 1 Corinthians 6:11 we read: “Such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

In Freemasonry, if you notice, with the white apron, they said, “by your purity of life and conduct you will [not that you may or that you could, you will] gain admission into the Celestial Lodge Above where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides.”

But as a child of God, I know that the Word of God says it is only through the Person of Jesus Christ that I can possibly obtain admission into the Celestial Lodge Above. I find that this is in direct conflict with the teachings of Freemasonry which teach that it’s by purity of my life, not through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Why am I dressed the way that I am, with my high-hat, my apron, and my gavel? As a Worshipful Master of a Masonic Lodge, this hat represents a symbol of authority. Also, in a court of law the judge has a gavel, symbolizing his position of authority. As a Worshipful Master, I have total autocratic rule over my Lodge. The hat and the gavel symbolize authority that I have in the Masonic Lodge. My apron is a lambskin apron as was just explained to you. It is a badge of a Mason. It is very important to all Masonic people that they wear aprons. The apron represents a symbol of my purity, and it tells me that by my purity of life and conduct I will gain admission into the Celestial Lodge Above. No Mason can be buried or have a Masonic memorial service without that apron being on his body. No one can attend a Masonic church service without an apron on. And no Lodge member may attend his Lodge unless he first has his apron on, a symbol of purity of life and conduct.

I would now like to explain to you the Rough Ashlar and the Perfect Ashlar as given to the Candidate in the first degree. The Rough Ashlar is a stone as taken from the quarry in its rude and natural state. The Perfect Ashlar is a stone made ready by the hands of the workman to be adjusted by the working tools of the fellowcraft. The Rough Ashlar to the Mason represents his rude and natural state as he comes into the world. The Perfect Ashlar, that state of perfection at which he will arrive by a virtuous education, his own endeavors and the blessings of God.

As a born again Christian, I have tremendous problems with these teachings if you know when Masonry is talking about the Rough Ashlar, they are talking about the sin nature of the Candidate and they are going to take the sin nature of the Candidate, sanctify it and purify it, represented by the Perfect Ashlar, by a virtuous education, his own endeavors, and the blessings of God.

The Word of God tells me in Romans 3:10 that all men are depraved and an abomination before God when they come into the world. They come into the world sinners and bound for hell. “There is none good, no not one.” But, the Word of God also tells me that in order to perfect my life – as Masonry talks about the Rough Ashlar – is not through a virtuous education, it’s not through my own endeavors nor the blessing of God. It is through the shed blood of the Person of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for me on Calvary. This is the only way that I can be perfected from a Rough Ashlar to the Perfect Ashlar, according to the Word of God.

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Ankerberg: For this program we read and compared the authoritative monitorial manuals containing the ritual of the Lodges in the different states. We also wrote to each of the Grand Lodges in all 50 states, asking them which books and authors they thought most accurately conveyed the essential meanings of Masonry. Forty-two percent of the Lodges that responded recommended Henry Wilson Coil and one-third of the Lodges recommended Albert Mackey and Joseph Fort Newton. Authors recommended next in frequency were Claudy, Haywood, Cerza, Gould, Roberts and Pike, in that order. All of these were read.

Then, Mr. Bill Mankin, a 32^nd Degree Mason, was once again invited to come on our program, but he was denied permission by the Worshipful Master of his Lodge in Idaho. An invitation was also extended to Mr. Samuel Chandler, Grand Master of the Masons in Tennessee, but he said he would not be interested in making any response at all since, and I quote, “Freemasonry has survived all of its critics for years and will survive this attack also.” Our invitation to these men or other responsible spokesmen for Freemasonry remains open.

But we hope that no one will think that this program is an attack. We certainly believe that anyone who so desires can join Masonry. All we are interested in is comparing Freemasonry’s teaching with the plain truths of the Bible. Hopefully, Freemasonry will allow us to enter the discussion and disagree with them, since we have taken the trouble to document our position in their Ritual and the writings of the authorities they recommended.

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Paul Pantzer: As a non-believer, I felt that the Bible was the capstone of all that Masonry encompassed. The Bible was in the middle of the Lodge on the altar in view at all times from all points of the Lodge. To me, that made the whole thing worthwhile even if I ever heard any negative comments from friends outside the Lodge.

Harris: As Worshipful Master of a Masonic Lodge and all the rituals that I taught for eleven years, Masonry did teach how to get to heaven. They taught it with the apron that I wear for my purity of life and conduct. They taught it in the Hiram Abiff legend of the third degree. The immortality of the soul: through all their writings they say they are teaching the immortality of the soul to the Mason. The Word of God tells me, though, the only way to have immortal life is through the Person of Jesus Christ. Never at any Masonic ritual do they point that Jesus is this way of salvation.

Read Part 3