A False Hope

The Royal Arch Purple Chapter hypocritically address the topic of ‘the three great lights’, in their recent book. In one breath they affirm that “true light can only be found in the Trinity.” In the next breath they amazingly declare that “everyday living will and can be enhanced by the help of those in the chain of fellowship who had received that Purple in the darkness of ignorance and brought it to the true light of understanding” (p. 193).

Masonic authority Albert Mackey pronounced that, “Darkness among Freemasons is emblematical of ignorance… the absence of light must be the absence of knowledge… In the spurious Freemasonry of the ancient mysteries, the aspirant was always shrouded in darkness, as a preparatory step to the reception of the full light of knowledge” (A Lexicon of Freemasonry p. 68).

The Royal Arch Purple Chapter makes a subtle point of highlighting the fact that the ‘chain of fellowship’ described, includes only those that have “received that Purple in the darkness of ignorance and brought it to the true light of understanding.” The Chapter then elevates this fake ‘chain of fellowship’ as the great hope to enhance men’s “everyday living.” Nevertheless Jesus said, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

This Arch Purple structure is carefully devised to draw men away from the only chain of fellowship that God accepts, the Church, towards a proud, arrogant, largely unregenerate institution. The believer has no need to undermine his privileged position within the body of believers by joining such an unscriptural invention. Jeremiah 17:5 says, “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm.”

In their recent publication (p. 192) the Royal Arch Purple Chapter repeats its sinful elitist attitude, stating, “It should always be stressed that we not only put our trust in God but we should all cultivate trust in our fellow men, especially those within the Institution.” Such instruction blatantly violates the teaching of Scripture.

Psalms 40:4 says, “Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud.” Whilst the Arch Purple tells its members, “we should all cultivate trust in our fellow men, especially those within the Institution,” the Bible directs the child of God: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Constantly throughout this degree the Royal Arch Purple is found mimicking Scripture. This is a practice that runs contrary to the principles of Protestantism and is more akin to Roman Catholicism.

Christian within the Royal Arch Purple, which body enjoys your ultimate allegiance and commitment? Where does your heart really lie? Clearly you cannot meet the demands of both bodies!

The Royal Arch Purple book (p.192) further teaches: “Only by showing trust in God and cultivating trust in our fellows can we hope to elevate our lives to a higher plane and so lead to a happier and fuller life.” Here again the Order deceptively couples trusting our fellow man with trusting God as necessary to “elevating our lives to a higher plane and so lead to a happier and fuller life.”

One does not need to be a theologian to realise such error cannot be found anywhere in Holy Writ. The Bible declares in that famous passage which set off the Lewis Revival: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psalms 24:3-5).

Such absurd teaching and arrogant elitism which has ensnared many believers within the Royal Arch Purple, must be completely purged out of the evangelical camp lest a “little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). Christians within the Arch Purple are clearly dividing their ultimate loyalty to God and His people, with a man-made sinful counterfeit.

We recommend a sound compelling book written by the great revivalist Charles Finney who was a former Freemason (The Character, Claims And Practical Workings Of Freemasonry):

THE KEY OF THE ARK

The Royal Arch Purple addresses the subject of the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ in its initiation. And in keeping with the whole ceremony they do so in the most mysterious manner possible. Teaching in catechism form, the lecturers repeat this dialogue:

Q. “Have you the central password?
A. I have
Q. Will you give it to me?
A. I will, if you begin. Q. Have you the key of the Ark?
A. I have.
Q. Where do you keep it?
A. In a little double-rowed ivory box, more precious to me than gold or silver.
Q. Will you give it to me?
A. No.
Q. Will you lend it to me?
A. No.
Q. Will you sell it to me?
A. No.”

The source and true meaning of this teaching is not apparent, but what is significant is where it isn’t found. Nowhere in Holy Writ does one find any instruction about the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ having a key, nor do we find the contents of this catechism anywhere in Scripture.

This teaching, like most within the Arch Purple is extra-biblical and is designed to support esoteric (occult) teaching. The Bible solemnly says: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).

A FALSE ASSURANCE

The Royal Arch Purple ceremony nears its end with a closing address on the symbols of the Order. After alluding to the Bible and other symbols (explaining their importance), they close in an erroneous manner by presenting a false gospel, with a solemn address on the subject of death. The Arch Purple here sanction the use of the ‘coffin symbol’, to the newly initiated candidate, as an ominous reminder of his weighty responsibility to the Order.

The address states that, “You can wear an emblem of the coffin, a representation of which you knelt upon, to take that part of your solemn obligation. It reminds us of death, which may come to everyone, break the brittle thread of life, and launch us into eternity. At this very moment the Angel of death has received the awful mandate to strike many of our brethren from the roll of human existence. If perchance we have escaped the numerous evils incident to childhood, and youth, and with health and vigour have arrived at manhood, yet and withal we too shall be cut off and gathered to the land where our fathers have gone before us.”

Furthermore, it continues, “Whilst reflecting upon the solemn thought of death, this degree teaches us that all must die; we follow our brethren to the brink of the grave, and, standing on the shores of a vast ocean, we gaze with exquisite anxiety until the last struggle is o’er. We see them sink into its fathomless abyss, and feel our own feet sliding from the precarious brink on which we stand. A few more suns, and we too shall be whelmed neath death’s awful wave to rest in the stilly shades, where darkness and silence shall for ever reign, around our melancholy abode.”

The true child of God does not share this awful dread of death, which the Royal Arch Purple so poetically describes. His hope is summed up in (the beloved) Psalms 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” One wonders whether this confusing Arch Purple address disguises the false doctrine of soul sleep?

The address comes to a close, in typically neo-Masonic manner: “But this is not the end of man, nor the glorious aspirations of the brethren of our Order, who, true to their principles, look for the manifestations of the three great lights in the east, representing Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. And bid us turn our eyes with faith and confidence beyond the silent grave towards the dawn of a glorious eternity.”

Then, as if to mimic Scripture they conclude, “Finally my brethren, by the careful regulation of our lives, pondering well our words, and the cultivation of brotherly love and loyalty, we may obtain our Great Grand Master’s approbation [authorisation and approval]. Then, when the embers of mortality are faintly glimmering in the sockets of existence, and death does come, and we are ushered into the Grand Lodge above, there shall be revealed to us the real secrets of the Ark of God; and we shall realise, for all eternity that the Great Jehovah has been our Guide.”

Here, at the conclusion of this offensive ceremony we see an abhorrent, counterfeit gospel expounded. In common with all secret societies, the Royal Arch Purple presents a false hope of salvation through an upright character and good works. Nevertheless, the Bible says: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We would recommend a very compelling book written by Masonic authority E. M. Storms called Should a Christian be a Mason?:

Nowhere in this closing address do we hear the Name of our beloved Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ mentioned, nor do we learn of His great atoning death on Calvary. As in Freemasonry, the Royal Arch Purple has an invented substitute called the “Great Grand Master.” This is a title, which Scripture does not allow, and is clearly unwarranted. The Bible declares: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Satan clearly knows there is power in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is in Christ alone that we find salvation and in His precious Name that we have victory. Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Well could the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland ask, in a text passed in recent years condemning Freemasonry: “Can a Christian be content with definitions of God which fall short of the Biblical revelation of God’s character?” Friend, a gospel without Christ is ‘another gospel’.

The Royal Arch Purple makes much in its address about the moral righteousness of its members without emphasising the biblical truth that such conduct will never render a man justified in the eyes of God. The Order expounds such teaching by conveniently ignoring the blight, which contaminates every man – sin. Sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden when Adam fell. The Bible says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Everyone since Adam has inherited his sinful nature. The Psalmist outlines this grim reality: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalms 51:5). It is this corrupt nature that ultimately separates man from God.

Regardless of how man sees himself or what grandiose titles he bestows upon himself, he is still a vile sinner in need of redemption. The Bible says that we are all “by nature the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3).

Salvation does not come through a ritual or obedience to a set of secret society rules invented by man. Salvation does not even come through being an upright person. The Bible says, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6). Man’s own garments are clearly stained by sin. Accepting one’s sinful condition means looking to God’s only provision for lost sinners, namely His impeccable sinless Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says, “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more” (Romans 5:17-20).

The Lord Jesus Christ (the spotless Lamb of God) voluntarily laid down His life for lost, hell-deserving sinners. The Bible says, “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation… For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:18&21).

The way by which God pardons a man’s sin, is through the shedding of blood. The Bible clearly says, “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).

Christ paid the believers’ penalty in full by His vicarious atoning death, thus relieving him fully of his guilt, and purchasing his complete redemption. 1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

We would recommend a revealing book written by David W Daniels – Should A Christian Be A Mason:

Like all secret societies, the Royal Arch Purple address carefully omits any mention of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. For a so-called Protestant Order to omit the blood from the Gospel is to propagate a false gospel. The Bible admonishes us, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:6-7).

The true believer can joyfully sing with the hymn writer:

“What can wash away my stain?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:13 states: “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Every true child of God should flee the very ground of this deceptive Arch Purple counterfeit.

We also find the bold assumption, throughout this whole initiation, that all Arch Purple brethren go to heaven whilst ignoring the clear scriptural requirements of true faith and repentance. The Bible says: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

Every sinner, whether an Arch Purple man or not, must come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith with a repentant heart. The Lord Himself said: “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).

Secret societies by their nature are cunningly designed to lure men away from God rather than to Him. Subtly embodied within every aspect of Arch Purple practice and doctrine is deceitful error. They sinfully point their initiates to an institution with its obligatory demands of loyalty to its own membership, as opposed to God ordained earthly relationships. This kind of arrogant teaching within the Royal Arch Purple leads its members to believe that acceptance of its forms and rituals guarantees eternal life.

The roots of such error, like every aspect of Arch Purple teaching, can be found in pagan Masonry. Freemasons receive the same false hope, when they are told, in the third degree, that “when we shall be summoned from this sublunary abode, we may ascend to the Grand Lodge above, where the world’s great Architect lives and reigns for ever” (Masonic Manual p. 73).

The ‘Grand Lodge above’ which secret societies so consistently refer to, is clearly not the heaven of the Bible. It is a fabricated alternative abode where secret society members are promised to ascend to, without trusting in Christ.

The true believer, who comes God’s ordained way, can rest with deep assurance on the words of Christ: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3).

For more information read Freemasonry: The Invisible Cult by Jack Harris

While the Royal Arch Purple remind their initiates of the certainty of death, they carefully omit to warn them of the solemn appointment which all shall meet after death, that of the judgement. Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” It is here that true justice will finally be exercised. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

While the Royal Arch Purple draws the attention of its candidates to the important matter of eternity, in this closing discourse, it is exclusively in the context of a heavenly reward for its brethren. By doing so, they make the unacceptable assumption that every Royal Arch Purple man is destined for heaven and eternal bliss without warning them of the grim reality of hell for all those who die outside of Christ. In fact the Order avoids the solemn subject of hell altogether.

Whilst the Royal Arch Purple Order is evasive on the doctrine of hell, the Lord is clearly not. Revelation 21:7-8 declares, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Evangelist John R. Rice in his book ‘Lodges Examined By The Bible’ (p. 54) declares: “Beyond any shadow of a doubt, then, the lodges deny the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are blind leaders of the blind, leading millions of men and women away from salvation by the blood. They lead them to depend upon their own righteousness and doubtless lead them to feel no need of regeneration, lead them to ignore the warnings of the gospel, and so lead them to fall at last unprepared into a devil’s Hell!”

The Lord encountered the same proponents of dead religion in his day, when he confronted the ‘religious’ Pharisees of the day. In doing so, He directly addressed the solemn subject of hell, saying, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” He then asserted, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23: 27&33).

In proclaiming a self-righteous gospel, as the Royal Arch Purple clearly does, they are leading countless souls to a Christless eternity. Iain H. Murray once cautioned, “Error, preached as truth, has contributed to the delusion of multitudes who are lost.” Christians who belong to the Royal Arch Purple Order, are countenancing, by their continued membership, a false hope of salvation for the unsaved. How sobering are the words of Scripture, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-8).

This ambiguous Royal Arch Purple concoction, like every other counterfeit emanating from hell, is ultimately designed to direct men away from God’s only provision for lost sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ. Such a deceptive address, not surprisingly, leaves the candidate in a horrible state of confusion and leads him away from the simplicity of the true biblical faith. The Bible instructs the believer to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:2-4).

Jesus calls His people out of error. He says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Which gospel do we choose?