Idol Worship

Lev 26:1
Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

2 Ch 24:18
And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.

   The Fate of the French Fraters

   On the night of the 13th of October of that year, when the Grand Master and his Knights were reposing in confidence in the Christian capital of Paris, they were seized in the House of the Temple, and, with many other Knights throughout the Province of France, were arrested and thrown into prison.
   Many were put to torture, to force them to confess crimes of which they were innocent, and those who survived the rack were condemned to languish in prison for years, without aid for their cause, and with scarcely sustenance to support life
At length they were lead out in bands of. fifty at a time and were burned to death at the stake..
   The Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, renowned on many a hard fought field in Palestine in defence of the Christian faith, after remaining in prison nearly seven years, and the Preceptor of Normandy, were the last victims of this relentless persecution. These illustrious brethren were, on the 18th day of March, 1314 burned to death before the assembled citizens of Paris, the glorious martyrs of a glorious order.
   Thus perished, it was believed, the Order of the Temple, dissolved and stripped of its privileges and possessions; by this fearful persecution by Pope and King.

Opinion
 

Our Freedom

    At the risk of offending some Shriners of very high rank and wondering whether the tenets and precepts of the Knights Templar will not be lost because of the recent decision of the Imperial Council to make Templarism uneccesary please find below a couple of quotes regarding the truth about what makes us all free which Knights Templar have long recognized and which the writers of the American constitution themselves recognized.

   "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke
of bondage.........Being justified freely by his grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"

The Captivity In Babylon (From the book of 2nd Chronicles)

{36:11} Zedekiah [was] one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
{36:12} And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD his God, [and] humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet [speaking] from the mouth of the LORD.
{36:13} And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.
{36:14} Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
{36:15} And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
{36:16} But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till [there was] no remedy.
{36:17} Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave [them] all into his hand.
{36:18} And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all [these] he brought to Babylon.
{36:19} And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
{36:20} And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
{36:21} To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah,
until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: [for] as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten year

Regarding Widows

{23:13} But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against
men: for ye neither go in [yourselves,] neither suffer ye
them that are entering to go in.
{23:14} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
devour widows ’houses, and for a pretence make long prayer:
therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
{23:15} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye
make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
{23:16} Woe unto you, [ye] blind guides, which say, Whosoever
shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall
swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
{23:17} [Ye] fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the
temple that sanctifieth the gold?
{23:18} And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but
whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
{23:19} [Ye] fools and blind: for whether [is] greater, the gift, or the
altar that sanctifieth the gift?
{23:20} Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and
by all things thereon.

Regarding Entrapment and Innocence

From the Book of Luke

{6:6} And it came to pass also on another  sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
{6:7} And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.

Alleghory

It has come to my attention that some of the brethern have been addressing matters to alleghory. The management cannot be responsible for what becomes of any such fraters in the afterlife.

Regarding The Truth
(From the Book of Jeremiah)

{5:1} Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places
thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be [any] that executeth
judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
{5:2} And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear
falsely.
{5:3} O LORD, [are] not thine eyes upon the truth?
thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast
consumed them, [but] they have refused to receive
correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock;
they have refused to return.
{5:4} Therefore I said, Surely these [are] poor; they are foolish:
for they know not the way of the LORD, [nor] the judgment of their God.
{5:5} I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for
they have known the way of the LORD, [and] the judgment
of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke,
[and] burst the bonds.
{5:6} Wherefore a lion out of the
forest shall slay them, [and] a wolf of the evenings shall
spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one
that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their
transgressions are many, [and] their backslidings are
increased.

From The Book of Mathew

{27:29} And when they had platted a crown of thorns,t
hey put [it] upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: andt
hey bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying,
Hail, King of the Jews! {27:30} And they spit upon him,
and took the reed, and smote him on the head. {27:31} And
after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from
him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to
crucify [him. ]{27:32} And as they came out, they found a
man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear
his cross. {27:33} And when they were come unto a place
called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

Masonic Voting
Let it be amply evident to all whom have eyes and ears that there are three options with regards to voting (ie. to vote "yes", to vote "no", or to simply abstain for any of a number of reasons).
A Masonic vote is never properly given with the arm elevated beyond the level.

The Money Changers

{11:15} And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went
into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and
bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the
moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
{11:16} And would not suffer that any man should carry
[any] vessel through the temple.
{11:17} And he taught,
saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called
of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den
of thieves.
{11:18} And the scribes and chief priests heard
[it,] and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared
him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
{11:19} And when even was come, he went out of the city.

Re:  A Rich Man

{10:23} And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his
disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into
the kingdom of God!
{10:24} And the disciples were
astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and
saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust
in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
{10:25} It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for
a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Re: The Swine

{5:1} And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
{5:2} And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
{5:3} Who had [his]dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
{5:4} Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been
plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any [man] tame him.
{5:5} And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
{5:6} But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
{5:7} And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, [thou] Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
{5:8} For he said unto him, Come out of the man, [thou] unclean spirit.
{5:9} And he asked him, What [is] thy name? And he answered, saying, My name [is] Legion: for we are many.
{5:10} And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
{5:11} Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
{5:12} And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
{5:13} And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the
swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. {5:14} And they that fed the swine fled, and told [it] in the city, and in the country.

The Wise Builder
From Mathew

{7:24} Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of
mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man,
which built his house upon a rock:
{7:25} And the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock.
{7:26} And every one that heareth these sayings of
mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish
man, which built his house upon the sand:
{7:27} And the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell:
and great was the fall of it.
{7:28} And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended
these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
{7:29} For he taught them as [one] having authority, and
not as the scribes.

Honour (Amongst Thieves)

It has been intimated by some that there is an honour system amongst thieves similar to the Masonic code of behaviour. It occurs to me that such are not really the same and that it has been demonstrated time and time again that there is no honour amongst thieves. Any comments that any frater may wish to make in this regard would be appreciated.

                              HISTORY FORGOTTEN

     This is worth remembering, because it is true. It's familiar territory, but those of you that graduated from school after the early 60's were probably never taught this.  Our courts have seen to that!
     Did you know that 52 of the 55 signers of "The Declaration of Independence" were orthodox, deeply committed, Christians?   That they all believed in the Bible as the divine truth, the God of scripture, and His personal intervention.  It is the same Congress that formed the American Bible Society, immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of Scripture for the people of this nation.
    Patrick Henry, who is called the firebrand of the American Revolution, is still remembered for his words, "Give me liberty or give me death"; but in current textbooks, the context of these words is omitted.  Here is what he actually said: "An appeal to  arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone.  There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations.  The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone.  Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price  of chains and slavery?  Forbid it Almighty God.  I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
    These sentences have been erased from our textbooks.  Was Patrick Henry a Christian?  The following year, 1776, he wrote this:  "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here."
    Consider these words that Thomas Jefferson wrote in the front of his well-worn Bible:  "I am a real Christian, that is to say, a  disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.  I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our creator."  He was also the chairman of the American Bible Society, which he considered his highest and most important role.
    On July 4, 1821, President Adams said, "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this:  "It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."
    Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President of the United States reaffirmed this truth when he wrote, "The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country."
    In 1782, the United States Congress voted this resolution:  "The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools."
    William Holmes McGuffey is the author of the McGuffey Reader, which was used for over 100 years in our public schools with over 125 million copies sold until it was stopped in 1963.  President Lincoln called him the "Schoolmaster of the Nation."  Listen to these words of Mr. McGuffey:  "The Christian religion is the religion of our country.  From it are derived our nation, on the character of God, on the great moral Governor of the universe.  On its doctrines are founded the peculiarities of our free Institutions.  From no source has the author drawn more conspicuously than from the sacred Scriptures.  From all these extracts from the Bible, I make no apology."
    Of the first 108 universities founded in America, 106 were distinctly Christian, including the first, Harvard University, chartered in 1636.  In the original Harvard Student Handbook, rule number 1 was that students seeking entrance must know Latin and Greek so that they could study the Scriptures:  "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies, is, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3; and   therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation for our children to follow the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."
    James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution of the United States, said this: "We have staked the whole future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."
    Today, we are asking God to bless America. But, how can He bless a Nation that has departed so far from Him?  Prior to September 11, He was not welcome in America.  Most of what you read in this article has been erased from our textbooks.  Revisionists have rewritten history to remove the truth about our country's Christian roots.
    You are encouraged to share with others, so that the truth of our nation's history will be told.  John 3:16.  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life!
    This information shared is only a drop of cement to help secure a foundation that is crumbling daily in a losing war that most of the country doesn't even know is raging on, in, and around them...
    Please do your bit and share this with as many as possible and make the ill-informed aware of what they once had.

Abel Quinones
National Sojouners
Monterey Bay Chapter