Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Well, the Bible gives him his due, so why shouldn’t we? The part that says ‘which deceiveth the whole world’ is pretty relevant today, isn’t it? When in the history of our world has crime been worse? And those whp do the crimes listen that that voice in their head, ‘Do it! You won’t get caught’ And if they are caught, that same voice mocks them as if they had somehow violated their instructions making it there fault for their failure to get away with the crime. ‘You weren’t smart enough, you didn’t listen well enough, next time you will succeed!’

Here is part of an article published by The Marshall Project: “The most striking number is this: About 45 percent of federal inmates are rearrested within five years of release. This is considerably lower than the more alarming calculation of the Bureau of Justice Statistics: 77 percent rearrested within five years. But the BJS number includes both federal prisoners and the far more numerous veterans of state prisons. The populations are different. Most murders, rapes, assaults and robberies are handled in state courts. The largest category of federal inmates consists of drug traffickers. A failure rate of 45 percent is still not something most institutions would celebrate. But it’s worth keeping in mind that when members of Congress talk about federal sentencing reform, they are talking about a significantly less menacing population than the legion of monsters sometimes conjured by hard-liners. Most of their new crimes are nonviolent.”

So this article goes on to say: “Prisoners released before turning 21 had a rearrest rate of about 68 percent; those released at age 60 or older had a rate of 16 percent. This is useful data for advocates of “compassionate release” of elderly inmates, who also tend to be the most expensive to house and tend to.”

Yet every one of them while serving their term of jail the first time simply looked forward to being smarter, being a better crook so they would not be caught. That is the second lie the devil uses to ensnare people. ‘It won’t happen again!’

Other lies include, ‘Try it! You can’t get addicted or pregnant or become a drunkard by doing it just once!’ ‘You need to live, try things, experiment, sample all that life has for you!’ ‘You can always settle down when you get older!’

The biggest method of deceiving the whole world is to convince them the Bible is fairy tales, there is no God, after all, who has ever seen them? Another lie is that Jesus was not God manifested in the flesh. If the devil can only get people not think that way then anything can be done without fear of eternal punishment. People can live this life on their terms instead of using the Bible as a crutch to help the weak hobble through life.

All this junk has been rehearsed in the ears of our young people for countless years. Who do you think encouraged Cain to kill Able his brother, then try to lie to God to cover up what he did?

The good part? Well, at least for those who want the violence to stop, the crimes to stop, the assaults, the murders, the rapes, the child abuse to stop. It will happen in the future for Christians. I sorry to say that for those who listened to the devil’s lies, your eternity will be one of torment. For the Christian, it is finally peace and rest.

Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

If you were to sit down and make a rational choice today, what would it be? Do you like the wickedness of the world so much that you will turn your back on the Lord Jesus Christ and the free salvation He offers?

1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The devil wants you to believe there is no God, no heaven and especially no hell. Are you going to fall for the big lie? Come to church this Sunday and let me talk to you about it.