John Walker

Profession: Surveyor

After going through the various degrees of Craft Masonry, I went on to the order of the Royal Arch of Jerusalem and the Knight’s Templar.

Freemasonry was definitely a very important part of my life.

At the time, my wife and I were nominal believers. Every Sunday morning we’d go to church. However, to be totally honest, I just sat there, completely blank. Then some Christian books were placed at the back of the church and I picked one up. It spoke of people knowing Jesus Christ in a personal way, of people being healed, and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I wondered, “Are these things for real?”

About that time our company needed another surveyor. When the only man replying to my advertisement came in for an interview, he started out by saying , “Mr .Walker, the first thing you should know is that I am a Christian.” In response I blurted out, “Well, I go to church as well!” “Yes, but that is not exactly what I mean,” he replied.

In spite of these strange statements, the man impressed me very much and I offered him the position. That was when he really astonished me. He said, “Well, I can’t accept right now.” I asked if he had other offers, but he assured me that he did not. The salary was okay as well. I pressed him for an explanation. “There isn’t a problem,” he told me, “but I’ll have to go and pray about it with my wife. Only after the Lord Jesus Christ tells me to come to your firm can I accept.”

As it turned out, he did join us and, though he was never pushy about his faith, every month he would invite me to a meeting of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI). Finally, unable to find any more excuses, I went to a meeting. I was overwhelmed by the wonderful sense of love they seemed to have one for another. I was also convinced that they actually cared about me. A few months later, I very simply went upstairs one night, sank to my knees in my bedroom and invited Jesus Christ to be Lord of my life.

Some time after this, I read in the Bible that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will lead us into all truth.

After I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, I found that participating in the rituals of Freemasonry made me feel dirty. In July 1981, I was invited to a very rare event – the consecration of a Knight’s Templar Preceptory. Arriving early, I decided to go for a walk around the town. By chance, I came across a Christian bookshop. There, in the middle of the window, was a large book bearing the heading, “Can a Christian be a Freemason?” It hit me like a sledgehammer.

Afterwards, I went into that meeting under tremendous conviction. That was when I started praying every single day, “Lord, if You really want me to come out of this thing because it is not of You, You have to do something so dramatic that I know it is You speaking.” On the second Monday of October on my way home, the car radio would not work. About a mile from home a seemingly audible voice said, “John, ask anything in My name and it shall be given unto you. Command this radio to function properly.” All I could think of was that I had been working to hard. I did absolutely nothing. The voice repeated itself, this time with a greater urgency. After that I said, “Okay!” “In the name of Jesus, I command this radio to function properly!” Nothing happened! I remember thinking, “Lord, I’m sorry; I missed it.” “Good! You listened and you obeyed. Now leave the radio turned on. When you stop the car and start it again, the radio will work.” Arriving home, the garage doors were shut, I had to get out, and unlock the doors. When I started the car again to pull into the garage, to my surprise, the radio burst into life. I telephoned the young surveyor in my office and told him the story. He said was this was a small test of obedience and God would call on me to honour a greater test in the near future.

Five days later we had our normal chapter breakfast meeting of the FGBMFI. The main speaker had never shared in front of a group of people before, so had written everything out and was simply reading it. Then, about half-way through, he put down his papers and said, “The Spirit of God just came upon me. God told me there are a couple of Freemasons in this room. God’s word for you is that you must renounce it.” Well, my heart started to race. I knew God was speaking to me, and I responded in obedience.

The man who was speaking did not know I was a Freemason. I had never met the man before and nobody in the chapter knew that I was a Freemason. I had kept it a complete secret.

I now believe that it is absolutely necessary to renounce Freemasonry because there is an actual spiritual force behind it. The Bible says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12). Freemasonry draws from many different religions. It is steeped in Eastern mysticism and it acknowledges a belief in all gods. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). Jesus was the only person who ever had the authority to say that, because He was who He claimed to be, the Son of God. He paid the supreme sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. Many people have died for a lot of things, but He is the only one who rose again. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus is the only way to God. When someone enters a Freemason Lodge for the very first time, the ritual involves having a running noose around his neck and a naked blade pointed at the centre of his chest. A while ago a man rang me at about 11 pm. Introducing himself as Frank, he went on to explain, “I am in my late fifties and have never had anything to do with Christianity, but several weeks ago I was invited to a dinner put on by the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI). I invited Jesus Christ into my life that night.” “Immediately following this I began experiencing stabbing pains in the centre of my chest. It was sufficiently bad that I went straight to the doctors. They were unable to find the source of the persistent pain. Then, while at an FGBMFI workshop (seminar), I asked for prayer. The person I asked didn’t pray for healing, but rather asked me if I’d ever been involved in the occult or Freemasonry. When I admitted that I was indeed a Freemason, he asked me to telephone you, John.” After a quick prayer, asking God for wisdom, and a short discussion on the topic, I suggested that he would renounce all involvement in Freemasonry. He answered, “Let’s do it!” We then prayed together, asking Jesus to free him from all bondage related to his involvement inFreemasonry.

At six the next morning the telephone woke us up. It was the same man, “I have written all my letters of resignation,” he explained, “I told them that I’ve committed my life to Jesus. After posting them I used some petrol and burned all my regalia at the back of my garage. At that moment you prayed something wonderful happened. The chest pain instantly left. This morning it is still gone. The Holy Spirit has shown me that the pain related to the dagger pointed at my breast when I became a Mason. With that I knew I was totally free from the bondage of Masonry.” The dagger is one of the penalties of disclosure. With each degree there are rites and penalties should they not be undertaken. Since there are many books on the subject, these are ‘open secrets’. One significant point is that all these oaths are blood curdling oaths and in most lodges are sworn on the Scripture. Actually, the Bible teaches us not to swear oaths, “but that our yes should be yes and no, no.” I believe that swearing blood curdling oaths is dishonouring to the Lord’s Holy Word. Many Freemasons are taking oaths on the Bible because they believe they are Christians and it is based on religious ritual. In every lodge there will always be a book open on the “Worshipful Master’s Table”. In most British lodges the Bible is used, but in fact any sacred scripture is accepted. This means that in Islamic nations the Koran is used, in India the Vedas, and elsewhere even the Book of Mormon. They refer to them as “the volume of the sacred law.”

Freemasonry is actually a sort ofcounterfeit church.

They sing hymns, but with one difference – Jesus’ name is not in them. They say prayers, and have a chaplain. The whole set up is similar to a church. Freemasonry believes in a supreme being, who is not necessarily Jesus.

As stated earlier, Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” As a Christian, I believe He is the only one to validate that statement. He is the only one that rose from the dead. Jesus is alive.

Freemasonry teaches universalism. One of the devil’s most deceptive lies is that all roads lead to God. As a Christian, I know this is not the case. Jesus alone is the way to the Father. Jesus alone is Lord.