Church-Lodge1

INITIATIONS: FROM A BIBLICAL

PERSPECTIVE - A Candidate for Initiating, Passing and Raising

1. The application: An emblem of friendship
Proverbs 18:24 - "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Truer words were never spoken, for without friendship, you would have never received an application to join the Lodge. It is friendship, the highest form of love on earth, that your recommender presented the application, along with a fee, to the Lodge; it is because of friendship, that the Lodge received your application without knowing you, but knew the brother that brought the application to the Lodge. It is because of friendship, that they did only a cursory investigation on you, and voted positively on you. So now, you are before the Lodge as a candidate for Initiation as an Entered Apprentice Mason.

Psalms 20:5 - "We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God, we will set up our banners; the Lord fulfill all thy petitions." You were received in the name of the Lord, to show you that our fraternity is an honorable one, and has its foundation rooted in the Holy Bible and in other religious books. In Christian Lodges, the Holy Bible is the "rule and guide of our faith and practice" and it is by this rule and guide we seek to shape our lives. Freemasonry offers no plan of salvation, and in this verse, we assume that you have already worked out your own plan of salvation, so therefore, "we rejoice..."

2. The Balloting: Sheep or Goat
Leviticus 16:8 - "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat." You did not know the process for balloting for your candidacy, but since you are at this point, it must have been favorable. You represent a goat, among sheep, but the full story will be given at a later date, for you are an instrument that will be used in the erection of a beautiful temple.
1 John 5:15 - "And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that was desired of Him." You were caused to kneel in prayer, for no man should undertake such a journey as joining a Lodge of Masons, without first getting the blessings of God, or at least asking for them. This verse tells us that we have an assurance that He will answer our petitions. And what are you asking? Why, that the brothers already in the Lodge, will accept your petition based on the friendship of you and the brother that recommended you to the Lodge. Because they gave you a favorable vote (which you will never know who if a Black Ball had been cast), now you are a candidate for initiation.

3. The Lodge: A Mother's Love
Genesis 24:23 - "And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?" Yes, there is room, for "In my Father's House are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you." A Lodge always has room for new members, and if a person is willing to abide by its rules and regulations, then welcome! A Lodge is always in a feminine gender, a 'mother' if you will. The father is vacant, for you are a Widow's Son, but the Master of the Lodge is the missing father's substitute. However, in Psalms 68:5, we find "A father for the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in His holy habitation."
The daughter is interpreted as a 'widow' as found in 1 Kings 7:14 - "He was a widow's son of the Tribe of Napthali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to King Solomon and wrought all his work." Since he had been trained by his father (Master of the Lodge), he was a welcomed member of the 'Lodge' in the truest since. Since you are representing him, we welcome you, not because you are trained, but because we believe you are 'trainable.'

4. The preparation: Duly and truly prepared
Job 11:13-14 - "If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thou hands towards him;" 14/"If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles." From time immemorial, men have been prepared the same way you were, not to degrade you, but to put you on a 'common level' with every one else.
You were:
A. Neither naked nor clothed: Job 1:21 - And said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and the Lord taketh away; blessed is the name of the Lord." When you were born, you were naked in the sense of clothes, but you were clothed with the saving power of Almighty God and His protection, for you had no spirit in you. A slap caused you to inhale the "spirit" of God and you became a living soul.

B. You had your left shoe off, being 'neither barefoot nor shod.' See Ruth 4:7, and you will see that being thusly, you were entering a contract of renouncing; renouncing your former life, for a new life as a Freemason, or at least, wanting to be. As the 'near kinsman' renounced his right to redeem Naomi's lands and title, so you must renounce your life of bad decisions, errant ways, and despotic ideas.

C. Hoodwinked (Blindfolded) Deuteronomy 16:19 - "Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous." By being 'blind' you represented a newborn babe coming out of a womb, not able to see the beauty of the world around you, until the 'shock of enlightenment' which was a slap. Likewise, in the Lodge, you were blind (hoodwinked) until it was time for your own 'shock of enlightenment.'

D. Cable tow - 2 Kings 6:25 - (Cab): This is a unit of measure (dry), "and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver." This tells you that in times of trouble, you will receive a measure of God's grace, but it also tells you how little you are in the sight of the overall scheme of things. In modern times, a cable length is considered three (3) miles in length, but in Masonic terms, it is the limit of your ability to do anything, more especially for a worth and distressed brother.

5. The reception: Welcome to our house
Revelation 20:10 - "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever." By introducing 'torture to your flesh' it should always be a reminder of being false in your life, of making false statements, of swearing falsely to your oaths and obligations.

6. Circumambulation: Round and about
Joshua 6:3 - "And ye shall compass (circle) the city, all ye men of war, and go around the city once: this ye shall do six days." This you did in the Lodge, so that the Master and the Wardens could see that you were "duly and truly prepared." It was not enough for the escort to 'say' you were, for the seeing of the matter is one of the ways to be assured. This puts you in tune with a Masonic journey, depending on the help of others, as the children of Israel depended on God, for their mere presence was not enough to topple the walls of Jericho. With the help of God, they were victorious.

7. Altar of obligation: The place of Light
Exodus 27:1 - "And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be four-square: and the height thereof shall be three cubits." The altar is a pattern of life, given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, and reemphasized in in Hebrews, as 'the pattern on the mount.' This is the representative place where God would dwell with the Children of Israel, and it is here that you took upon yourself the solemn oath and obligation as a Mason.

8. The shock of enlightenment: A new Mason is born
Genesis 1:1-3 - Here, you learn the three entities of the Almighty God that we all serve: The Creator (Father), Genesis 1:1, the Spirit (the Holy Ghost), Genesis 1:2; and the Word (Son), Genesis 1:3. The Lodge is patterned after the same three and they are called Worshipful Master, Senior Warden and Junior Warden, called the Three Immovable Jewels of the Lodge.
They are situated in the East (place of Light); the West (place of dying Light), and the South (the route of Light), respectively, the direction of the sun. Masons always travel WITH the sun, the symbol of God's grace.

9. Friendly or Brotherly Grips: Glad to greet you
Acts 8:17-21 - This scripture deals with giving what you have, above all other possessions, the power of your friendship. As Peter and John had no money, they gave the cripple, 'such as I have, I offer freely' which was the healing power of the name of Jesus. By taking his hand, Peter transferred his 'power of friendship' to the cripple. While we offer no healing power, we do offer collective friendship, and the first sign of friendship is a handshake. It is called fides, meaning 'faithful.'

10. The Word: Divine inspiration
In this scripture, you will find that the word means strength, but it is not given as just a password, but as a commandment, and in the 14th verse, it tells us that 'the word is very nigh unto us, which is in the mouth, and in thy heart.' It means for you to have strength of character, strength of integrity and strength of dignity. Wear it inside, not just outside. Let it be a part of you, rather than a mere word.

11. Signs and duegards: By these signs...
"And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a savior, and a great one and he shall deliver them." A sign is a symbol of a message, the consequences of a contract gone unfulfilled. A duegard is the position you are in when you make the contract. To break the contract brings on consequences of dire straits, but there is a promise of a saviour if the contract is honored.

12. The Apron: Protection from the guilty
Genesis 3:7 - "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked: and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons." For the first time, you are introduced to an apron, a symbol of shame, an emblem of guilt, the shame of being naked, and the guilt of the sin to have their eyes opened. This was an introduction to knowledge, and when you are knowledgeable, you become more responsible to God and man. The apron does not cover the eyes, nor the ears, or even the mouth, but it does cover the one thing that is guaranteed to take you away from God, your creator, and straight to Hell. Therefore, it is covered by an apron, a plain white Lambskin apron to symbolize the covering of guilt and shame by the badge of a Mason, a constant reminder of his passions.

13. The Working tools: Nothing more nobler than work
Deuteronomy 27:5 - "And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them." Iron pollutes, and therefore, in the building of King Solomon's Temple, there was not heard the sound of ax, or nail, or anything of a metallic substance, in the seven years it took to build the temple. Iron rusts, and therefore, you were divested of all metal, so as not to tempt you into any bribery or other acts that would tend to pollute your entrance into Freemasonry.

1 Kings 6:7 - "And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone, made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in the building." Freemasons have been involved in building a long time, first as operative masons, then as speculative Masons building character. When speaking of the latter Mason, the word is always capitalized, just as Lodge is when used in a Masonic sense. Likewise Master, as in Master of the Lodge. This distinguishes the Freemasonry from the operative art which is still going on and is an honorable set of professional men and women.

14. The Charge of a Mason: No cross, no crown
Genesis 26:1-5 - This charge to Isaac regarding the promise God had made to Abraham, by telling Isaac to 'sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee." A Mason is charged to sojourn 'peaceably' in a land that is made up of people not always with him. So it is in the Masonic Lodge. You did not find angels, and since you are a human being, you are not an angel either. Therefore, we must, as Masons live exemplary lives so as not to bring shame and dishonor upon the Lodge.

We are to dispense charity, as all whom we come in contact with, has a call on our charitable attributes, but more especially the 'household of the faithful.' Isaac, the son of Abraham is the first born of the promise, and God is reiterating to Isaac His promise to Abraham. When we receive a charge as a Mason, it reiterates our duty we owe to God, our neighbor and our family.

In the 5th verse, a Mason is reminded of the great reward if he but follow the charges, rules and regulations of the Masonic order. "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statues, and my laws."

15. The three degrees of a Mason: As it is above...
Genesis 1:1-3 - Once again, we visit this set of scripture, for as we start here, we must end here. It is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, it's full circle, for what God starts, He finishes.
Entered Apprentice: Genesis 1:1 - "In the beginning, God..."
Fellowcraft: Genesis 1:2 - "...and the Spirit of God moved..."
Master Mason: Genesis 1:3 - "And God said, let there be light..."

There is no higher degree than the Master Mason's Degree, even though the number may go the 33rd Degree on the Scottish Rite side, or the Knights Templar Degree (14th) on the York Rite side. This is not meant to take away from any of the 'higher degrees' but fact is fact. Once you have 'learned to subdue your passion' what else is there but expanded knowledge? This knowledge, while important, is like advanced math, it brings on more responsibility, for each degree becomes more binding on the individual Mason.

Yet, it is needed, as the rest of the Bible is needed to expound on the scripture, Jesus' explanation on the two loves, God and neighbor. While Love God and Love neighbor are the two greatest commandments, the rest of the Bible shows us how, when and who to love.

So it is with Freemasonry, as there is no wasted degree, and we recommend ALL degrees to those that wish to be the Masonic adepts of the time. We say, get all when you can, while you can, and learn all you can, for it is a very rewarding experience. However, as a Master Mason, a 'sho 'nuff' Mason, if you have mastered your passions, you will have become fit timbers for that spiritual building, a House of God, not made with human hands, eternal in the heavens.

By mastering your passions, there is but one more level to attain, no matter what degree you may have, and that is eternal life, then your salvation will be complete.
Man does not attain perfection in an imperfect body, for it is subject to all the frailties of life, and at any moment, man can fall under the influences of the Evil One. All it takes is just one little chink in the armor of God, and the fiery darts of Satan may enter your spiritual body.

Therefore, by way of the virtues, man may arrive at the thresh hold of the righteous, and there he can depend on the mercy and grace of a forgiving Father that can look over those times when your armor was a little weak. This is what is meant by 'mastering' your passions.

You have obtained completion as Paul sough it; you have achieved the manhood of spiritual life, and no longer think, speak and act as a child.

The act of being Initiated, Passed and Raised, should teach you that life is a series of levels to attain, the macrocosm and the microcosm of that "which is above, so it is below."
You are now a Mason, A Freemason, a Prince Hall Mason! MAYBE!!!!!!!

MW Howard Woods - Grand Master for State of Arkansas