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What are the cultic characteristics of Masonry? Two which cannot be denied by any Mason are the requirement of secrecy and the taking of oaths.
Masonry is a secret organization. Ask any Mason what goes on at his meetings, and he will start evading your questions. He is sworn to secrecy. This is a classic characteristic of cultic groups, and it is an attitude that stands in opposition to Scripture. The Bible says: "Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God" (John 3:20-21).
The irony in all this is that, in actuality, the Masonic Order really does not have any secrets because thousands of men have come out of Masonry and have exposed all its "secrets" in many publications. These revelations have shed light on a second cultic feature.
Blood Oaths
Every Mason is required to take three blood oaths.1 For example, in the first degree of Masonry, as an Entered Apprentice, the person is required to place a curse on himself by swearing an oath that he will bind himself "under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across and my tongue torn out by the roots... so help me God."
It is incredible that the name of God would be invoked in such a demonic oath, particularly when the Bible commands us not to take any oaths at all: "Do not swear at all... simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one" (Matthew 5:34-37).
At the second degree, the Fellow Craft level, the Mason swears "to have my left breast torn open and my heart and vitals taken from thence and thrown over my left shoulder... if ever I should prove willfully guilty of violating any part of this my solemn oath or obligation... so help me God."
The third degree Master Mason swears "to have my body severed in two in the midst, and divided to the north and south, and my bowels burnt to ashes in the center, and the ashes scattered before the four winds of heaven... were I ever to prove willfully guilty of violating any part of this solemn oath... so help me God."
No Christian has any business putting himself under such oaths, even if they are not taken seriously. God takes them seriously, and so does Satan.
Further, in the case of married men, these oaths create a barrier to the marriage relationship because they put the Mason under an obligation to refrain from revealing his Masonic activities to his wife.
Also, in these oaths, absolute allegiance is pledged to all fellow Masons, many of whom do not even confess Jesus as Christ. This violates Scripture, for we are commanded not to yoke ourselves with unbelievers, "for what fellowship does darkness have with light?" (2 Corinthians 6:14).
The Different Levels of Masonry
In addition to the three oaths above that are required of all Masons, there are many other demonic oaths that are required should a person desire to go further in Masonry.
Most Masons are content to remain a third degree, Master Mason. Few venture beyond that point because each degree thereafter is expensive to obtain. But those who desire to go further have two choices. They can either pursue the Scottish Rite which advances by numerical degrees, beginning with the fourth and ending with the 32nd (the 33rd degree is honorary). Or they can seek to achieve the degree of Knights Templar by following the York Rite and its named degrees.
Both a 32nd degree Mason and a Knights Templar are eligible to become a Shriner. The Shriners are the most conspicuous part of Masonry. They wear red fez hats and ride motorcycles in parades. They are commonly referred to by other Masons as "the party animals of Freemasonry." Tom McKenney, who became one of the top leaders of Masonry before he found the Lord, states that the initiation ceremonies for Shriners are particularly childish, rowdy, and often vulgar and degrading.2
Most people are not aware of the fact that the Shrine is the Islamic expression of Freemasonry, making it clearly anti-Christian. The full name is "Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine," and everything about the Shrine is based on the Muslim faith and Arabic symbolism.
Other Demonic Oaths
All Shriners are required to take an oath in which they make several promises. They conclude the oath by saying that if they should ever break any of their promises, "may I incur the fearful penalty of having my eyeballs pierced to the center with a three-edged blade, my feet flayed, 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." This is said by the candidate while he is kneeling before a Muslim altar with his hand on the Koran!3
The Scottish Rite tenth degree oath is also particularly demonic in nature. Notice how it commits the oath taker to commit murder, if necessary:4
"I do promise and swear upon the Holy Bible never to reveal where I have received this degree... and in failure of this I consent to have my body opened perpendicularly and to be exposed for eight hours in the open air, so that the venomous flies may eat my entrails, my head to be cut off and put on the highest pinnacle of the world, and I will always be ready to inflict the same punishment on those who shall disclose this degree and break this obligation. So may God help and maintain me. Amen."
When Tom McKenney was awarded the honorary 33rd degree at a special ceremony at the Masonic headquarters in Washington, D.C., he was required to drink wine from a skull and say, "May this wine I now drink become a deadly poison to me, as the hemlock juice drunk by Socrates, should I ever knowingly or willfully violate the same [his oath]."5
One Christian writer expressed it well when he referred to Masonry's "horrid oaths" and observed that they contain penalties which would "shame a common cannibal."6
Notes
1) The blood oaths of Masonry can be found in many publications and in articles on the Internet. One good source is The Guide for Ministry to Masons by David L. and Donna M. Carrico (Evansville, IL: Followers of Jesus Christ Ministries, 1997), pages 14-19.
2) McKenney, pages 37-44.
3) Carrico, pages 17-19. See also: McKenney, page 40.
4) Zenith Harris Merrill, "Freemasonry: The Devil's Playground," accessed on February 10, 2007.
5) Jim Shaw & Tom McKenney, The Deadly Deception: Freemasonry Exposed by One of Its Top Leaders (Lafayette, LA: Huntington House, 1988), page 104.
6) Martin Wagner, Freemasonry: An Interpretation (Grosse Pointe, MI: Seminar Tapes and Books, 1912), page 556.
