Welcome to Truth Talk Live. All right, let's talk. Here we go. We are going to put it in not first, not second, not third, but we're going to put it in fifth gear right out of the gate today on this program as we talk to you about Freemasonry. Nothing controversial, nothing to see here.
Move along, move along. I got a buddy here who actually wrote a book on this topic and he's in the studio and what a blessing this book has been to a lot of people already as it's already been out for a couple months. Freemasonry and Expose shining light on the Freemasonry's, on the dark teachings of Freemasonry.
So I'm just going to address everybody out there listening. You got that uncle who's a 33rd degree Mason and you're like, they did some interesting stuff at the funeral, at the celebration of life. They're kind of like, I got a preacher into this. But then these other guys in some interesting regalia uniforms, weird looking hats. They did their little these little conniptions and I'm not exactly sure what all that meant.
And I'm not exactly sure how to handle that, how to reconcile that, how to rectify that. And so you picked a good day to listen to this program because we're going to talk about that here right now on Truth Talk Live. I'm Stu Everson, honored to be with you today, honored to be in the chair and honored to welcome my friend Greg Hennet on the air. Greg, God bless you, man. Good to see you.
Hey, glad to be here, Stu. I want to give the toll free number. I almost said fool free number. That would be that probably be good because the one show where the callers are smaller than the host. We love you guys.
The toll free number nationwide is 86634 truth. You got a question about Freemasonry. Maybe you don't think there's any problems.
Nothing to see here. Stu, why are you being so why are you nitpicking a historical treasured deal here? You know, what's what's the what's all the excitement? It's maybe it's a harmless tradition. I mean, after all, they do have a Bible in the lodge. Maybe you're a member of the lodge. I mean, you don't have to use your name when you call in. But Greg, out of the gate, what would you say the most controversial part of when you talk to Masons and put that right on your chin?
Talk talk right into that. What do you what do you see is the most controversial aspect of Freemasonry? Well, probably the fact that they are teaching heresy.
No, this is at the core of what's wrong. We're not objecting to their good works. They do good works. I would commend them for that.
The Shriners hospitals. I mean, we're not on here to knock the good things at all. No. And that will bring some of those up. But in terms of theological issues, in terms of doctrine, in terms of. There's there's a bit of an a kind of a simulation of a bunch of religions in that. Is that what you're saying in this book? Yeah, that they're essentially teaching universalism. One of their prime sources, Joseph Ford Newton, was known for saying there will never be a religion of brotherhood until there is a brotherhood of religions.
Wow. Now, you have to think about that a moment. What are you saying? And first of all, he's denying that Christianity is a rich religion, a brotherhood, which it most certainly is right. And secondly, he's saying we will have to have a brotherhood of religions. Now, you cannot reconcile different religions who have who claim a different deity and a different means of salvation. Satiriology. You can't reconcile them unless you absolutely surrender your core doctrines.
You're the tenants of you're saying you can't have it both ways. You've got to get it. OK, so you've heard what he said here. Now, let me read the back of the book. It's more more interesting. And we get in the weeds here is Freemasonry founded on myths.
Question is right for the back of your book. Freemasonry and expose a shining light on Freemasonry. Dark teachings by Greg Hennant, who's our special guest today, is also prolific writer when it comes to prophecy and books of the Bible. He's been a friend of mine in this radio ministry for some time. This is Truth Talk Live. I'm Stu Everson. Compatible.
Is it compatible with Christianity as Freemasonry religion to Masons take blood oaths? Wait till we get into some of that stuff. Wow. I hope you'll stay tuned the whole time. Hope you'll make this a podcast and make sure you subscribe to our podcast channel Truth Network and listen to it later, too, and share with your friends. Do they believe good works save them? Why do they why are they so secretive about many things? Are Shriners also Masons?
Do both groups good works outweigh their darker elements? So this is what you're covering here in this book. And you get into the what goes on in the lodge. You get into how do you become a Mason and you get into ultimately people that feel like the lodge is their church.
Why is that so scary and dangerous right there? Because it is it mimics Christianity. And so if you are not born again and you go into this organization, everything about it mimics Christianity. They use biblical characters, biblical events, biblical texts in their moral teaching of their degrees. And so the uninitiated, I would say the biblically illiterate initiate thinks he's getting Christian doctrine.
Wow. And so and there's a Bible there on the altar with a light on it. So there's a whole appearance of Christianity without the truth.
So they teach biblical symbolisms without biblical soteriology, biblical salvation doctrine. OK, if you have a question about this again, no questions, a bad question, dumb question. We want to hear from you. We want to get out the truth. Maybe you have a family member that is a Mason.
Maybe you say, hey, this is no harm. We have bake sales. We're raising money.
They give a lot of money to the poor, which we're not knocking that part. But what about the true beliefs? What about what Greg Hennant says, the author of this book, Free Masonry and Expose? The toll free number nationwide is 86634 truth, 86634, 87884. Wherever this show is live, you can call in. If you're in Lynchburg, listen to 93.7 FM.
You can call in. You know, you might be in Greenville, Spartanburg, by the way. Hello to my buddy Rick, who's listening for the first time to ninety six point nine FM in Greenville, Spartanburg.
He lives right near right on Wade Hampton Boulevard near the school. Bob Jones University here, the daily platform on there every morning at seven thirty on ninety six point nine eighty eight point three FM Spartanburg. So hello to all of our friends listening to all all the network stations strewn across the country.
You got a question about Masonry. We'd love to hear from you. Toll free eight six six three four eight seven eight eight four eight six six three four truth. Now, Greg Hennant, you have gotten the most pushback or backlash from this book based on what particular area? What's the biggest landmine you've stepped on as you've gotten this going? Actually, at this point, there have been no pushback.
Come on. It's been significant. And I think the reason is because the book presents irrefutable truth from a biblical perspective.
Now, if you reject the Bible, then you reject the very core of the basis of the arguments in the book, because we're using biblical arguments and operating from the position of sola scriptura that only the scriptures are the authority. You want to go there. We're going to go there more after the break and touch on some of these real hot points.
By the way, there's some inflection points. If you're you're out there, you're like, hey, my my daddy was my granddaddy was in this thing. It was amazing for him. We want to hear from you.
866-348-7884. How did you get going on this? But we'll talk more about that, why you wrote this book, because you really opened up a big old beehive. I'm about to post a poll, by the way, on Freemasonry. Is it good? Is it biblical?
Or is it bad and evil from the devil? On my Instagram and on my Facebook, at Stu Epperson. Check that out. We'll be back right here. Don't touch that dial if you want to phone in. 866-34-TRUTH. More Truth Talk Live right after this.
Hang on. Okay, we're not tiptoeing through the tulips. We're walking through a landmine talking about Freemasonry with my buddy Greg Hennant, who's written a book, Freemasonry and Exposé, shining light on Freemasonry's dark teaching. And this show is made possible, by the way, this segment of Truth Talk Live by our friends at VineTastic.
Now, God is our witness. You asked me something before the break. You were kind of thirsty. Talk about it. I did. So there's the brochure for VineTastic.
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How many books have you written? Eighteen. Okay, so that's your brochure, and there you are.
Crack it open. There's a bottle of VineTastic. Thank you very much.
I've got mine right here. We are grateful for these partners. We are so thankful. Without friends, and you hear all these, on all those people that carry this show, you hear from people who help underwrite this. Wonderful ministries like Transwell Radio, other friends and partners. Well, Le Bleu Ultra Pure Bottled Water, they have been partnering with us since our inception. Jerry, Candy, Judy, wonderful people, wonderful team over there. Kathy, they're amazing. And they came out with this new drink, Greg, that I've just shared a bottle with you on the air. This is all real.
None of this is scripted because I said, he said on Thursday, I said, well, just give me just 30 more seconds until we go back on the air. But this, if you're not that big on health, then, you know, that's fine. Tune out for a second, but let me tell you what these folks have made. Le Bleu Ultra Pure Bottled Water, they have come up with a new drink that has really gone gangbusters across the country because it's called VineTastic. And so it has, here's just right off the label, no sugar, no carbs, no calories, and no artificial sweeteners. So it's plant-based, sweetened.
That's impressive. And you tasted it, you know. And so anyway, so they're making this available at their website, vine-tastic.com, and they've made a promo code available for those of you that want to check it out that really do want to get ahead of your health. You're tired of all the bad stuff and diet drinks. You're tired of all the sugar drinks and the sugar highs. And the other thing is diabetes. You know, we've got 136 million folks in our country or more. It's a plague. This is just out of CDC recently who either are diabetic or pre-diabetic. And someone may have lost a family member this week to that, or you've been an amputee. And so these folks really care about health, and they really care about Christian Radio. And so we're tickled to death to talk about them for a second.
VineTastic.com is their website. More information is there. You can look at the science. The science doesn't lie. You can look at everything in it. And one stat that's fascinating to me, and I don't totally understand all this stuff, but it has over 300 parts per million of antioxidant polyphenols just in this little bottle here.
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So thank you to VineTastic and our friends at La Blue Ultra Pure Bottled Water. Freemason reading a hot topic. I mean, this is a very controversial subject. Someone says, well, my family member's a Mason. I mean, I just got a notification from a listener in Greenville who said my dad, I'll read this, he says my dad was a Freemason before he got saved and he became a pastor and now he's a retired pastor.
But, Greg, what set you off about that statement? Well, because that's used as an argument for so many things to get people involved in either false religion or, in this case, what amounts to a secretive cult. And the reason is that we should be loyal to our family, of course. But loyalty to God and eternal truth takes precedent over that. So let's get real direct here. Are you saying that being a believer in Christ, a true follower of Christ, a true believer, born again, a saint in Christ, is incompatible with being a Freemason?
Yes, I am. And to give you some information, the Roman Catholic Church declared Masonry a heretical sect over 300 years ago. And if you're a Catholic and you're a Freemason, you will be denied the sacraments.
And so you are considered in a position of grave danger for your soul. And you mentioned off the air, you've got documentation where evangelist Charles Finney condemned Masonry. Correct. And they came out pretty strong against him. Yes, in 1826. In fact, they had a great controversy that arose at that time. And he led what became an anti-Mason movement and even a political party. Wow. So the book is Freemasonry and Exposé.
The author is Greg Hennet. He's sitting right in front of me right now, shining light on Freemasonry's dark teaching. We're going to go deep here today on this. We're going to get into what he calls their core heresies.
I'm going to challenge them out of the gate. I mean, our founding fathers, Jefferson, Washington, some pretty legendary men, were Masons. Yeah, Benjamin Franklin. I mean, you pull out of Ben Franklin, you know, $100 says it's a good belief system. How could you go against the founding fathers, Greg?
How dare you? Yeah, I understand that. And well, here's the reason. Because these were good men, but they were natural men. They were naturally minded men. They were not spiritually minded men. They were not biblically taught in the core truths of Christianity.
That's clear. And so good men don't necessarily have spiritual discernment. Spiritual discernment comes from knowing the Scriptures and knowing God and walking with God.
And so in their case, they made a natural decision, or from the viewpoint of their reason, but it was not a biblically informed decision. Okay, in terms of the origins of the roots, talk to me about the roots. And by the way, a shout out to all our friends listening on 106.5 FM right now.
A guy's trying to call me from there. He needs to turn the radio on and listen to this about the truth about Freemasonry. The roots of Freemasonry.
Tell me, Greg, are these roots... I mean, this was a very practical... It was like a fraternity of people that were gifted. Talk about how that started. Yeah, it started with very gifted stoneworkers in medieval Europe. And so they created their own secret organization to preserve the secrets of their crafts as they constructed the great cathedrals of Europe. This is understandable.
There's nothing wrong with that. But then it merged into something else later, when they divided between operative and speculative masons. The operative masons were those who were actual stoneworkers, and the speculative masons were those who were also known as accepted masons.
They did not work in stonecraft at all. They were from other occupations and professions. So it's like a cooperative, collaborative group, just so that people wouldn't... You out all their trade secrets, and then suddenly they don't get paid. So it was kind of a practical, functional, economic opportunity.
It was, at first. But then they started entering these cryptic handshakes, these other things. A different phase. And so at that point, they developed their own core religious teachings and philosophies, which were clearly antithetical to the Bible.
Now I want to get into those. What is their biggest philosophy that contradicts Scripture? Like, someone listening out there, they've got a close friend that's a mason, maybe they're a family member, maybe they're in it themselves. They go to the lodge tomorrow, give them something to say or a question to ask that will help them.
And we want to do this in a gracious way. And by the way, we're not isolating and attacking masons. I've got all kinds of friends that are masons. Oh yeah, we're not attacking masons.
You weren't wincing in the word. The guy in the front row. I said, hey, by the way, Greg is writing a book about Freemasons a few months ago. And Tony's like, I'm a 31 degree mason.
How dare you? And so we're having conversations with him. We are, and we're actually trying to help them to see the light about the darkness that they are in. And there's a way to dialogue, to reason together, like Isaiah 55 says. So what's one thing, one question, we're going to a break in just about, what do we got? Have we got two minutes till the break? Okay, I want a break. Give one polemic, one apologetic to our listeners a question they can ask.
And we'll do a lot more on the other half hour of the show, but some of our listeners may not be here for that, or maybe in and out. Go ahead. Okay, the greatest heresy that they have is that they teach that if you keep the Masonic code, you will go to heaven. So this is overt works-based salvation. There's no question about it. It's incontrovertible. So that's in their writings. That's in their writings. And I've gone to their prime sources and read their own statements. I never attack a group based on their critics' opinions of them.
Because there's a lot floating out there. Good, bad, ugly. Right, right. You always want to go to the truth. If you want the truth, you go to the sources and examine them with a fair mind.
And all that they have to say on a given subject or context. And then you draw your conclusion and see, is it biblical or is it not? In this case, it's clearly not biblical. So you ask a question, you know, why do they teach that if you keep the Masonic standards, you're going to heaven? That right there.
Right. That is the core, because the one mark of all false religions is works-based salvation. Okay, we've got some scriptures.
Galatians 1, 9, namely. But we're back more Truth Talk Live. The truth about Masons. We want to hear from you. And we'll talk more with Greg about his book and some more deep stuff on this when we come back.
Don't touch that dial. Front and center exposing Freemasonry. Maybe you think it doesn't need to be exposed.
Maybe you think, Stu, what are you doing? There's so many other problems in our world. Why are you going after these folks? We're not really going after people.
We're just speaking the truth in love. My friend Greg Hennet has written this book. He's a Bible expositor, a teacher, preacher. He's written 18 books, Bible commentaries, devotionals, polemic theology, eschatologies. Loves writing about the second coming of Christ.
He's a native of High Point, North Carolina. And his latest book, I believe, is most controversial. But I think it's much needed because there's just so many things we swallow, lock, stock, and barrel as believers, without thinking through, well, what's the truth about that? And it may make us uncomfortable. It may create some discord or some tension in your relationships. But the whole point of that is to bring people to Christ. So Greg said, in fact, for those of you who just joined us, that he said, well, you can't be a professing, believing Christian, born again, and be involved in Freemasonry at the same time. If you are, there's some definite conflict there.
Greg Hennet, why is that? And what are some of these pitfalls? Because you get into this pretty deep. I mean, look at this book. Look at these chapters. And I want to encourage you to get the book. We have an author on it.
We never want to tell too much to hurt your chances of these kind folks listening, wonderful listeners of Truth Talk Live, picking up the book. But you give the historical perspective of how it started out of a very practical need. You need Masonry.
I'm not going to do woodwork. They were building cathedrals. They were building things that needed to be built. But you go deeper into the core heresies in chapter three. You penetrate the facade, a lot of facade, a lot of things that look like, in the name of God or in the name of this Christianity or this deity.
The big man upstairs would be a great term for Masonry. Because you don't want to talk about Jesus. In fact, one of my cousins had a funeral. I didn't hear one mention of Jesus. No, it's not in the text of any Masonic funeral talk. If it is mentioned, it is done so by an independent pastor who is there, but not by the Masonic authorities. I like this.
It's well researched, a lot of cliff notes, a lot of footnotes. We're still going to get probably high heat. My email is going to be lit up from all of you all. But let's reason together. Let's talk about this. If we're in error, and if you can show us none of this is true about Masonry, then we'll join the Masons. Absolutely.
Why not? But we're also not denigrating the good things that the Shriners and the Masons have done. Helped a lot of people, helped a lot of kids, raised money for very good philanthropic things. Probably helped some Christian missions and things of that nature.
But we are going to try to look objectively at the truth and how, like you said earlier, it holds up against God's Word. Now that's kind of how you started this journey, isn't it? Correct. Yes, this was begun as a research paper done at the request of Dr. Michael Shreve on this subject.
He has a website where he deals with apologetics and polemical issues. And so he wanted me to research it. I did.
And as I did, the further I went along, the more it looked like a book. Like, why not just bless a lot of people with this? Right. Yeah, right. But it's all about trying to distinguish what the Masonic Lodge actually teaches and how that compares with the statements of Scripture, with what God's Word says, infallibly, with inspiration. And that is our standard of Christian truth. Sola Scriptura is absolutely true.
Only the Scriptures are a standard for our faith, our belief, and our doctrine and our living. Right. So if I'm going to play the devil's advocate or the Masons' advocate and I'm sitting here thinking, okay, wait a second.
This has been an American pastime. You've got Jefferson Franklin. You've got Washington. You've got these great founders that are all Masons. You've got the Masonic prints and marks and lodge markings, emblems, all over the place in D.C. Washington, everywhere. Washington, different monuments.
It seems to be a part of both antiquity and modernity. And then you've got everyone knows a Mason, and maybe people listening are Masons. And they're nice people, and they're not hurting people.
So talk about the, give us the documentable evidence against them. If you were just to say, I'm talking to a 33rd degree guy who is like the mayor of the town. He's a wonderful man, a wonderful Christian man.
He teaches Sunday school and he packs the station wagon every week, takes the family to church. What do you say to him, Greg, based on this book and based on your research, as a believer in Christ? I would say the most convincing evidence here is that the Masonic Lodge is a religion. Now, I'm not stating that on my own. I'm using their prime authority, Albert Pike.
He said there's no question about that. I'm paraphrasing what he said, that it is a religion. I've got 10, 12 points here, actually, which identify them as a religion.
And the first one is they have a sacred religious text in their in their life. Now, you don't find that in the Moose Lodge or the Civitan's Club or no, they're not religious. Or rotary. No, or rotary.
No. And then they have an altar there, which is a very simple, a symbol of sacrificial worship. So they have an altar right in the center of it. They require that their members believe in a god, a deity. You don't have to name him, but you have to believe in the deity. Well, that immediately smacks of religion.
There's no question about that. And the reason they do not name a specific god is because then that would offend the adherence of other religions. So they say things like Mother Earth. Well, they would say things like the great architect of heaven. But they don't say Jesus Christ.
They do not use the name of, well, no. Now, Masons do talk about Jesus, and Jesus is in their teachings. But they extract certain parabolic elements, certain statements that he made. But they do not teach what is behind that, that they are claiming that Jesus, in effect, was one of many good religious teachers who could lead you to the same god through various religions, which is absolute universalism, false. Yeah, okay. So, you know, it's interesting, you find out a whole lot about what they lead by the funeral talks.
And there's a very explicit, talk about that. Yeah, because there they promised that the Mason, with no regard to his profession of Christ, or being born again, will go to the celestial lodge, because he is a good Mason. He's kept the Masonic lodge, the Masonic code. He's a master Mason, which is the third degree. That's just the basic blue lodge degree. So, therefore, because he's been a good Mason, been a good man, he's going to go to heaven.
That is absolutely false. How many degrees are there, and how do you achieve the different levels in that strata? There are 33, but the way you achieve that is by going through degree ceremonies. And these ceremonies, in each one, you are required to memorize certain verbiage of that degree.
You're required to memorize it, and then you recite that to the worshipful master, who is the leader of the lodge, as you are at the altar. Each one has some different moral teachings in it, some biblical, some not. And again, this mixture of Christian events, people, and text causes the biblically illiterate person to think, oh, I'm getting Christian teachings here. So, it's so close to the faith, but yet so far away. Now, let's talk about blood oaths.
This is really another inflection point. Is that real in Masonry, and what does that look like? Absolutely real and indefensible. They take an oath which states that if they betray the secrets of Masonry, that they agree to themselves having their throats slit from one side to the other, and having their body ripped open and disemboweled. It is a gruesome pagan oath. There's nothing Christian about it. No Christian could dare take that.
The only thing that a Christian should be ready to die for is Christ. Interesting. Now, when I was out visiting our Christian radio in Utah, and I went to the Temple Mount, and I went to the big Mormon temple, you know, the big conference center, I saw Masonic signs.
Absolutely, yeah. Embroider is not the right word. Engraved in the stone there.
I took a picture of it. There are many Masonic symbols that are part of the great temple there in Utah. So Mormonism, how is it connected? It's connected through Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith's father and brother were both Masons.
And so he became enamored with that, and he joined. And once he joined, then suddenly, a few months later, he received a revelation from God about Masonic things. And so many of the Masonic elements are incorporated into Mormonism. For instance, the apron that the Masons wear.
The white lambskin apron. You'll find that in the ceremonies in the Mormon temple. And that's just one of many. So he became a Mason.
He incorporated some of those elements into Mormonism, which we know is clearly a unbiblical cult, and the question about it. So you make it up to this 30, 31st, 32nd, 33rd degree, the highest you can go, and you want out. Is it hard to get out and talk about that process? I don't think so. I think in all fairness to Masons today, they can walk right out. Now, there was a time when this was dangerous. In 1826, one Mason was killed because he betrayed the secrets. He said he was going to come out with the secrets of Masonry. His name was William Morgan, and it created a great national scandal.
Probably something you don't want to advertise if you're sneaking out the back door. But talk about that, and talk about how interesting and even awkward it was for you as a scholar, as an author of this book. And by the way, if you just joined us, I'm Stu Everson. This is Truth Talk Live.
My guest is Greg Hennant, author of Freemasonry, an expose, subtitled Shining Light on Freemasonry's Dark Teaching. Special shout out to some wonderful listeners of Truth, Dayton, and Greenville, and all the way up in Lebanon, Ohio, on 106.5 FM. Craig and Lynn listening as they drive.
Shout to them and the children. Mariah and Luke listening to us right now. Great listeners up there.
We love our listeners in Ohio and Toledo, 106.5. Greg, you wrote this book, and it makes me think of this verse in Galatians 1, verse 9, which says, if we... Paul says me. Paul says we. He's the apostle Paul. He's not there to be a heretic. He's there to bring people out and to bring the gospel. If we or even an angel of light brings to you another gospel, let him be condemned anathema in the strongest terms. Of course, we know that this angel Moroni... He repeats that a second time. He repeats it in verse 10, verse 9, verse 10, and he goes on, and he goes on to expose the Galatian heresy. I want you to talk about that as it relates to like Mormonism, as it relates to Masonry, more specific, our topic today.
I want you to give information about how folks can find this book. It's a great resource, and I wanted you to give some good conversation starters for friends that are friends of Mason's. I hope you are. Why are you friends with them? To bring them to Jesus and to talk about it. Get in that movement, and you want to learn more about what you should do next. We'll talk more with our special guest on Truth Talk Live right after this. Don't touch that dial.
More coming up. They're trying to shine light on all the health crisis in our country, including this diabetes epidemic. Under 36 million Americans, nearly half our population, are plagued by diabetes or pre-diabetes. They made this drink, Le Bleu Ultra Pure Bottled Water.
They've been longtime partners of this show. They've made this new drink available called VineTastic. In this drink is a lot of things, and I'm just reading the label, ellagic acid, gallic acid, resveratrol, all kinds of antioxidant polyphenols, like 300 parts per million. It's got the good stuff in it that's healthy for your health, but your body's the temple, but it also doesn't have calories, doesn't have sugar, carbs, and it doesn't have artificial sweeteners.
It's plant-based, sweetened, and so they're really trying to take it, and it's infused with the antioxidants of the muscadine grape. They're trying to just really bless people, honestly, and this is a blessing. It's been a blessing to me because I'm craving that drink in the afternoon, and so I just grab one of these, sometimes more than one a day, and we're just grateful for Jerry, Judy, Candy, the whole team there at Le Bleu and their new beverage, VineTastic. Thank you for partnering with us and helping us make a difference and being underwriting partners on this show, and thank you to Pastor Doug, who's listening on the border of North and South Carolina.
Big shout-out to him, and if he ever, ever even thought about being a Freemason, we're going to straighten him out right now, Greg. They're asking me to give the website. This product, VineTastic, it can be found. Information can be found at vine-tastic.com, and they've offered a promo code for our listeners to help you get this more affordably, and the promo code is TRUTH.
Thank you, vine-tastic.com. Thank you, Pastor Doug, for listening. What do you say to a pastor, Greg, about this masonry thing? I mean, he's got masons all in his church.
You want him to step on toes? Yeah, I would say every pastor in America needs this book, and I'm not trying to sell books. I'm trying to sell truth.
Well, I'll be in the upstate in a couple weeks, and I know this guy who texted me, and so I'm going to take him a copy. If you'll give me a copy, I'll take you to Pastor Doug. Sure, sure, and here's the reason they need it, Stu, is because we're responsible as pastors before God to present the truth to God's sheep. If we don't know the truth, we can't present the truth, so the people are left in ignorance on a given subject.
This subject has not been adequately addressed for an entire generation. Other books written about masonry were mostly published in the 70s and 80s and early 90s, so we've gone a full generation, and now this truth needs to get out again, and pastors need to lead the charge. Now, that's going to require some courage. Okay, now I've got another text.
My mom was a mason based on her maiden name. What do you say to this individual? What do you say to people? They're family members. I mean, Greg, are you telling us to show up like a bull in a china shop at the next family reunion and start turning over tables? I mean, what do you do? I wouldn't advise that.
Jesus did that in the temple, but I don't think I would do that, but here's what I would say. First of all, they do have organizations for both women and youth, and the women's organization is Eastern Storm. The youth organizations are Rainbow for Girls and Demolay for Boys. I was a demolay in high school, at High Point Central High School. I was a demolay.
No kidding. So you were in it. I was in the lodge.
I was in the lodge. That's like the youth group version of this masonic church that they've created. Correct.
But they're trying to get you in Young, but then for those who just joined us, there's a lot of good being done by the Shriners, which is just a variation of it. Right. There's a lot of, of course, although folks don't know, those swords in the red, there's a... That stands for the blood of Christians that was spilled in Fez, Morocco in the 7th century as Islam spread across North America. Goodness.
And so they don't realize the strong... So that's documented. You're not just making this stuff up. No, no, document it. It's not a conspiracy theory. No, not at all. Not at all. And you're not... Let's make this... This is not a gotcha moment. You're not out to get the masons or the Shriners.
Just trying to show them what's behind these symbols and how serious this is. And also, on the other side of that, it's not about winning an argument. No. You know, Pastor Course used to say, you can win an argument but not win a soul.
Right. So really, no one wins an argument. So talk about how you use this information, Greg, to bring people to know Jesus, to point them to, wait, hey, now hold on, there's a better way.
How do you do that and what's the way to... How does that work? The first way is to tell them that the Bible teaches that works does not save you. And so by keeping the Masonic code, however excellent your behavior may be, your being is wrong because you were born in separation from God. So Jesus alone is the only way to remedy that problem. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. So it is only by coming to him and confessing we're a sinner, we need his salvation, that we can be saved by his cross. So there's no other way.
So we want to show that Masonic teaching cannot save, but Christ alone can. Yeah. And so that's what you're doing.
And this is one question in your book. How could something be so good, yet be so damning? Talk about that. Well, because good things should never be disparaged. They're good. And so in the book, I list all the good things that the Masons do, and I agree with them, and I affirm them in that.
The problem is that when good is used as a façade, which means affront, for something that is dark, and in this case, damning, something that leads to eternal damnation, then that good becomes bad. Right. The essence of the Gospel is the good news of Jesus who came to save sinners. Yes, absolutely.
Talk about how the whole movement of Masonry and all of its affiliates and adjuncts and connecting threads can feed in the narrative of not needing the Gospel. In other words, well, I'm a good person. And by the way, that's the number one. If you ask any unbeliever, the number one thing that they say, and I said before I was saved, is I do good deeds. My good is going to outweigh my bad. And I'm a part of this group that does all kinds of good stuff. Yeah, their mantra is we take good men and make them better men.
Yeah. Good fathers make them better fathers. So they use moralistic teaching. They very clearly claim to improve men, not just morally, but spiritually. And so there's nothing bad about that, but the problem is that this is the work of the church.
Yes. So by saying that, they draw men away from seeking to be sanctified, if you will, through the teaching of the New Testament. Right. So it's almost giving a false assurance. It's making a sinner feel better about his journey to hell by saying, well, you're going to be with Mother Earth and you're going to be with celestial headmaster guy.
Right. Well, in the great, right, in the great lodge, the great celestial lodge. But their teachings to that, that we are, that there are good men. Now, Jesus said there is none good but one that is God. And what he meant by that is that no man born in the natural state is good in the sight of God because we are children of a fallen race.
Wow. And so we have a fallen nature. Therefore, we need to be redeemed and be infused with the goodness of God.
And that comes through being born again. And going back to how we started all the, you know, all of history's famous masons. You got Samuel Clemens. You got, you know, Mark Twain, Walt Disney.
Right. You got 14 presidents. Will Rogers, 14 presidents. Jefferson, Washington, Douglas MacArthur, John Wayne was a mason.
I wonder if Perry Mason was a mason. OK. That would be a little bit. It'd be easy. You know, it makes sense.
I didn't find that in the research. OK. So. But honestly.
That's a stew-ism. But people that are in this. So. So.
But here's the question then. Can I be a good old boy Christian? I love the Lord. And I'm going to church.
I'm teaching science school. I'm in the word. You know, I'm growing. I'm sharing my faith. But I'm a mason. Talk to me about at what point does that become an unequal yoke like Paul identifies in one Corinthians, I think, Chapter seven.
Yeah. Well, here's the way the spirit of God works. He is the spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit only agrees with truth. And Jesus said that word is truth. Anything that is antithetical to the scriptures is not truth. And the spirit of truth will never affirm that.
He will never bear witness to that. So what we have here is that when you're a Christian and you get into the teaching of the church and then you are introduced into the lodge at the first degree ceremony, you will know something is dark and pagan because the initiation of the of the first initiation degree. And the in that ceremony, the mason is is is led from outside the lodge inside the lodge. He comes to the altar. He bows and he says to the worshipful master something to these.
These words may vary from state to state, but this is essence. I am in the darkness and I'm seeking the light of Freemasonry. Now Freemason apologists will tell you that's not a biblical light. That's not divine light.
That's just the light on how to be a better man. They told me that I talked to a lecturer here in North Carolina who was very experienced and very respected. You did your homework. You talked to their scholars, their leaders. You read their stuff, their source material. I went to I went to the prime publisher of Masonic Materials in America and talked to the owner.
And then I talked to a an excellent I would call him a leading lecturer here in North Carolina. So they will tell you that it's not divine light. But you go to the sources and clearly in their own Bible, in the heirloom Bible, which the masons used the big Bible on the altar. It clearly states that that is divine light. Even though they deny it, it's in there.
Go open the book. Oh, they do not. In fact, when you get into the writings of Albert Pike, he says this is an intentional deception.
They deliberately keep the true aspects of the court troops hidden for not only the public, but their own members. And so this is this is very, very wrong and very deceptive. Well, the enemy who's on the prowl, who seeks to destroy, who kills, steals, kills and destroys, who's proud like a roaring lion, he's the angel of light. He never calls darkness, darkness.
He always calls it light, always veils it or shrouds it in good deeds and good things. And so that's not to say that they're not doing good things, but to think that's going to earn my way to heaven. So you're saying someone that loves Jesus, that's a part of the masons, at some point there's going to be a conflict because they're if they take Jesus in there, they're going to be although maybe a lodge over here in this little town happens to be really on fire for Christ, and they say, we don't believe all that other trash. But if you go to their court, their founding documents, and if you go to what their bylaws are axiomatic rules and foundations, then you're going to find something different. Yeah. And actually, you're not going to find a Masonic lodge that's on fire for Christ. What you're going to find is some Christians who are biblically illiterate or vastly undertaught who are in who are unequally yoked, as you said. Wow.
So that's that can happen. Hence the book Freemasonry, an exposé, shining light on Freemasonry's dark teaching. Greg, how do people get a copy of this book as we wrap up? It's available through Amazon. It's available through our website, GregHannettMinistries.org, and it's available in both print and ebook. Maybe a book to give someone. It's a very, you know, it's a very conciliatory book. You're not attacking, slamming, but it's an invitation for folks to say, let's come reason together. Yeah. And we all need Jesus, and we all are part of things, and some of y'all have never been a part of Masonry, but you've got other idols in your life, and that's why we need to point you, why we do it on Truth Talk Live, to the truth, Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life. Amen. And share this podcast when it comes out.
