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 Most candidates within the Orange Order are ignorant to the British Israelism theology that permeates the Loyal Orders (the Orange Order, the Royal Arch Purple and the Royal Black Institution).The theology of the Loyal Orders certainly belongs within the British Israel camp. British Israelism views the Anglo-Saxon Protestant people of the United Kingdom as being the physical descendents of believing Israel. They attempt, by all types of imaginative theories, to prove that some of the most notable men of Scripture (Old and New Testament) actually immigrated to, or visited, the British Isles in their travels. Some within the Loyal Orders hold that within this choice nation of Britain the Orders occupy an elevated position – the equivalent to that held by the Levites before the cross. They feel they are the literal descendents of the Levitical tribe and the guardians of their supposed ancient secret practices. They believe that the Orders have preserved much of their teaching and practices. British Israelism is an obscure theology. The Orange Lecture Every new Orange member (saved or lost) is personally informed when he joins the Orange Order that he is “one of the elect.” He is taught this in his introductory catechism. The Orange Order gives this false assurance to every single new candidate when they join the order, regardless of his spiritual state, assuring him that he is saved, saying: “What art thou? It certainly doesn’t take a theologian to see the danger and error of such instruction. It is no wonder most Orangemen have no desire to be saved. (1) Every Orangeman is “one of the elect” because of his Lodge membership. It is astonishing that the Orange would be so naïve to take it upon itself to assure every new member that they have become “one of the elect” through simply joining the Order. It is even more alarming that professing Christians can sit comfortably within the Lodge while this false assurance is relayed to every member. This is done without the slightest protest from any of them, despite the fact that most would concede their Institution consists mainly of unconverted men. They must surely recognise the danger of indiscriminately bestowing the favoured spiritual title of “elect” upon every Orangeman without any due qualification. They must also see that this gives unregenerate men a false hope of salvation. The fact is - this is classic British Israelism! The Orange Order poem “What are you?” ends with the lines: “These are simple questions, to each your answer give Every true Christian knows that the word “elect” can never be attributed to an unsaved man as he is still outside of salvation, and therefore outside of grace. The Bible tells us that the elect of God refers solely to the redeemed, blood-bought, born-again, faithful, children of God throughout all the ages. 1 Peter 1:2 tells us that they alone are: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” This company consists solely of those that have come to God’s only appointed way of salvation – the way of Christ and the way of the cross. These are the only chosen people God recognises. Any Orangemen who are not born again of the Spirit of God are precluded from owning this sacred title, still being under the wrath of God and destined for a lost eternity. For the candidate to assume this title outside of salvation is for him to delude his soul and jeopardise his eternal destiny. Having given every candidate a false assurance, the Orange lecturers then amazingly and systematically elevate each candidate to the household of Israel and to the priestly tribe of Levi in particular. This teaching only serves to confirm the strong British-Israelism thinking that governs the Loyal Orders. The difficulty with this instruction is that it gives unregenerate men titles and promises which do not remotely belong to them, and offers them a false sense of importance which Scripture does not apply to them. We must remember that this promise is given to every Orangeman, whether saint or sinner. The theology of the Loyal Orders certainly belongs within the British Israel camp. British Israelism views the Anglo-Saxon Protestant people of the United Kingdom as being the physical descendents of believing Israel. They attempt, by all types of imaginative theories, to prove that some of the most notable men of Scripture (Old and New Testament) actually immigrated to, or visited, the British Isles in their travels. Some within the Loyal Orders hold that within this choice nation of Britain the Orders occupy an elevated position – the equivalent to that held by the Levites before the cross. They feel they are the literal descendents of the Levitical tribe and the guardians of their supposed ancient secret practices. They believe that the Orders have preserved much of their teaching and practices. The Royal Black Lecture When the initiate enters the 8th Gold Star & Garter degree, he is told, “Why do you wear that emblem? The Blackman is reminded in this catechism that he is of Israel’s tribe of Levi. This may seem odd to the outsider, but it is not strange to the Black candidate for this degree. He has been previously assured in his Loyal Orders’ trek that he was part of this priestly tribe. It would be imprudent for us to try and understand the meaning of this Black teaching without also taking into consideration other related preparatory teaching the candidate has already received on the subject in previous degrees. After all, these are essential preliminary illuminations in the candidate’s journey up the steps of the Loyal Orders. Like a child putting a jig-saw together, we must be acquainted with all the pieces before we can effectively put the puzzle together. In fact, it is only as we examine all the teaching the initiate has already received in preceding lectures, and specifically that which is related to the subject in view, that we can truly make sense of the beliefs before us and grasp their full import. British Israelism permeates itself through much of the theology of the Loyal Orders.! The degrees of the Orange Order and the Royal Arch Purple Chapter (through which every Black candidate is required to travel before being eligible to join the Black institution), along with the previous seven Black degrees that he has already travelled, are all important inter-connected elements in enlightening him into the mysteries and secrets of the Orders. All the varying practices the candidate undergoes and all the peculiar revelations he receives on his journey are essential individual segments of the overall mystical whole. Leave a piece out and the picture remains incomplete or unclear. This is why those who only travel as far as the Orange or Arch Purple never truly get the full picture. All the varying degrees, colours and initiations the aspirant experiences serve as important interdependent parts of a gradually unfolding overall message. When one piece is put in place, it helps put the next in place. The more components which come together the clearer the picture he receives of the esoteric content and mystical nature of these Orders.The fact is typical British Israelism gibberish! The Orange Order and British Israelism The Royal Black Institution and British Israelism View the full catechism of the Orange Order
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