The History of Satan & How to Tell the Truth From a Lie

Well, good afternoon, everyone. It's great to see all of you here. I want to thank Mr. McGuire for the refined sermonette. He only stole about a third of my sermon, so it wasn't too bad. But I also want to thank Abigail very much for that beautiful violin solo. That was just a very beautiful song, very well performed. And accompanied by, of course, by her mom. And thank Michael and Anna as well for the duet and the accompaniment on the piano. That's a very, very meaningful song. I don't know if I've heard that before, but very beautiful words are very meaningful for this day. So thank you all very much for getting off to a very fine start here. Of course, we're all here this afternoon observing the Cosmo Solomon Holy Day, the Day of Atonement, on which, of course, the only day of the year they were commanded to fast by doing without food and water. The Jews call this day, as many of you know, Yom Kippur. Yom being the Hebrew word for day, and Kippur being the Hebrew word which has a wide range of meetings, all for this day. Kippur can mean to cover, to cancel, to cleanse, to disannul, to forgive, to be merciful, to pardon, to reconcile, or to atone.

Also, the ten days between the Day of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah, and the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, those ten days between Trumpets and Atonement have special meaning to the Jews. They are called the Days of Ah, or the Days of Repentance.

I'd like to quote from an online article from Judaism 101, titled The Days of Ah, because a lot of meetings to this day ties into it. The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Ah, Yom Yim Norem, or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year repent before Yom Kippur. One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Ah is the concept that God has books that He writes our names in. Of course, we call that the Book of Life, and our names. Those baptized have made that commitment to God. Our names are written in the Book of Life.

Among the customs of this time, it's common to seek reconciliation with people you may have wrong during the course of the year. The Talmud maintains that Yom Kippur atones only for the sins between man and God. To atone for sins against another person, you must first seek reconciliation with that person, writing the wrongs you committed against them, if possible.

So, this then is how the Jews view the 10 days from tempest to atonement as a time for inward reflection, repentance, so their names can remain written in the Book of Life. In fact, Jews greet each other on the Day of Atonement in a very special way. They greet each other by saying, Gama Hatima Tova I probably didn't even pronounce it right, but it means, not Hebrew, but it translates into English as, May you be sealed in the Book of Life. That's how they greet each other on the Day of Atonement. So many Jews over in Israel today are probably greeting each other in that particular way. All the things I've mentioned so far do have to do with the meaning of the Day of Atonement, but I want to take us into a deeper meaning today.

Now, long ago, we go back a ways. So, way back in the 1960s, the Ambassador College published a Bible Correspondence Course. Let me probably take that. The Course had like 58 lessons in great detail. Lesson 37 of that course was on the Day of Atonement. How many of you took that course? Remember it? Anybody? How many of you remember the course was on the Day of Atonement?

Lesson 37. How many of you remember the picture that was on the front cover? The slide does. Everyone does. I've got it here so I can show it to you. He had the picture of two goats. Actually, it wasn't two goats. It was one goat. One was a positive. One was a negative. There it is. Two goats. One is a positive. The other is just a negative of the positive. They're basically the same goat. The caption under the picture is, Which one is the scapegoat?

Or the goat of departure, as it could be called, referring back to Leviticus 16. Or I could add, which one is the real goat, and which one is a counterfeit? Though they kind of look the same. They are the same goat, just different depictions. I also want you to notice a banner at the head of page 3. It talks today of Atonement. There's a banner. Atonement with God. Atonement with God. I would like to read a portion from page 3. I hear a portion of what it says here, because I think it's very, very interesting and very pertinent.

A woman with God is what it says at the beginning of this correspondence course, looking into the lesson. You have no doubt heard the claim that there is a great controversy between God and Satan. That Christ and the devil are in a running battle for men's souls. If this doctrine were true, then Satan indeed is winning. More souls are unsaved today than ever before in human history. Satan, according to this view, is made out to be actually stronger than Jesus.

But Satan is not stronger than Jesus Christ. Jesus is returning to rule this earth with a rod of iron to depose Satan and set up the kingdom of God. When Christ returns, he will not leave this world in the hands of the devil. For 6,000 years, Satan has invisibly swayed the nations. He has guided human governments, influenced men's civilizations, possessed mighty leaders, and inspired world wars. Satan has had his part in causing the misery, hate, suffering, and violent death that have plagued mankind since creation.

Only when Christ reigns supreme will this world have peace for 1,000 years. But what will happen to Satan? The Day of Atonement reveals the answer. It reveals Satan's fate in God's master plan. So, how can mankind become at one with God? And what will be Satan's ultimate fate? And how does all this tie into the meaning of the Day of Atonement? Not as fast on the Day of Atonement tie into the meaning of this day. Of course, I was covered in the sermon, but I'm going to cover it again in a little bit more detail.

But that's what we'll try to cover on this Day of Atonement in 2018. So, my title for my sermon here this afternoon is, The History of Satan and How to Tell the Truth from a Lie. The History of Satan and How to Tell the Truth from a Lie. When and where did it all begin? Let's go back to Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14, verse 12. How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning?

Lucifer is a Latin for the Hebrew word, halel, which is the Hebrew here. There were originally three great archangels, all whose names incorporated one of God's names, the word El, one of the names for God. There was Michael, which means who is like God. There was Gabriel, which means God is my strength. And there is halel, used here in Isaiah 14, 12, which means light-bringer of God, or morning star of God. Again, verse 12. How are you fallen from heaven, O halel, son of the morning? How are you cut down to the ground? You who weakened the nations. How did it all begin?

Verse 13. For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars or angels of God. I will sit on the mount of the congregation on the farther sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.

Halel wanted to be like God. He wanted to be at the very top of God's government and God's family for all eternity. He wanted to be a part of the Godhead. So let me ask this. When this happened, how many were in the Godhead? There were two in the Godhead. There was God the Father and the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us who became Jesus the Christ.

If Halel had become a member of the Godhead, then how many members would there have been in the Godhead? There would have been three members in the Godhead, and the Godhead would have become a Trinity.

Is that where the doctrine of Trinity really originated from? And why it's such a sacred doctrine, even though it can't be found in the Bible?

But when and where did it all begin? It began back when Halel rebelled against God and strove to exalt his throne above all the other stars or angels of God.

Let me ask this question.

What caused him to do that? And how does that tie into this day of atonement?

Let's go to Ezekiel 28.

Ezekiel 28 begins in verse 1.

The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre.

Then verses 2 through 10, following this, then apply to the human prince or leader of ancient Tyre.

But this all changes in verse 12.

Ezekiel 28 verse 11, Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me.

Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, You are the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. This then is addressing the king of Tyre, or the spiritual power behind the prince of Tyre.

This is now taken into a completely new realm.

It's very obvious from this verse and from the next few verses that this is not speaking of any human king or human leader.

This is speaking of Hallel, who became Satan.

Verse 12, You are the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in the garden of Eden, the garden of God.

Every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, topaz, diamond, barrel, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, emerald with gold.

What a beautiful being he must have been.

The workmanship of your temples and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.

This is a created being.

Verse 14, You are the anointed carob who covers.

You are one of the three great archangels that I created.

You are the anointed carob who covers. I established you. You are on the holy mountain of God.

You walk back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.

You are perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you.

What iniquity did God find in Hallelujah?

And does that iniquity tie into the meaning of the Day of Atonement, the Day of Trumpets, and the Days of Awe?

Verse 16, By the abundance of your trading, you became filled with violence within, and you sinned.

Therefore I cast you as the profane thing out of the mountain of God that destroyed you, O covering carob, for the midst of the fiery stones.

Actually, as we'll now read in the next verse, Helya really destroyed Himself.

Verse 17, How did you do that? Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty.

His heart became lifted up in pride. My margin says pride. Your heart became proud.

His heart being lifted up in pride was His downfall, which led to self-destruction.

How does that tie into the Day of Atonement? On the Day of Atonement, we flicked our souls through fasting, which humbles us, making us realize how much we depend on God for everything that we have, even the breath of air that we breathe.

And it helps us to realize that without God, we are nothing, and less than nothing, even as Job had to come to realize.

So the Day of Atonement should serve to empty not only our stomachs, but it should also serve to empty us of pride.

Now, how does that then also link back to the Day of Atonements into 10 Days of Awe?

What does Trumpets portray?

Trumpets portray the return of Christ and the resurrection of the firstfruits who are going to rule with Christ.

But before we can rule with Christ, we must first be emptied of pride.

We must repent of pride and be betrayed by the Days of Awe or the Days of Repentance. What did Christ tell ancient Israel after delivering them out of Egypt?

He told them a lot of things. I want to focus on one thing he told them after delivering them out of Egypt.

What did God say He would have to do before they could inherit the Promised Land?

Let's go back there. Let's go back to Leviticus 26.

We're just going to look at a few verses here. Leviticus 26, let's begin in verse 14.

The verse talks about if they disobey.

Leviticus 26, verse 4 says, If you obey Me, you'll get all these blessings.

In verse 14, he says, what's going to happen if they don't obey God?

But if you do not obey Me and do not observe all these commandments, if you despise My statutes or if your souls abhor My judgment, so you do not perform all My commandments but break My covenant, I will also do this to you.

What was one of the main things God would have to do?

Verse 19, I will break the pride of your power.

Now, I realize that this could apply to a nation, be prophetic of a nation, but it could also be prophetic of individuals within that nation because a nation becomes proud because of people who come proud and its leaders become proud.

But in each one of us, God is also going to have to break the pride of our power, for us to be in His kingdom as well.

How would God begin to do that?

I will break the pride of your power.

This is in talking to the nation now.

I will make your heavens like iron and your hearth like bronze.

Your strength shall be spent in vain, and your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees or land yield their fruit.

And it continues in there all the way down through verse 39.

But if we fear and have deep respect for God, what's one thing that we must hate?

If we really respect God and fear God, what's one thing we must hate?

Let's go to the book of Proverbs.

There's a lot of Proverbs that have to do with this subject, but let's look at a couple of them.

In the beginning, first one, let's look at Proverbs 8, verse 13.

If we fear God, what must He hate?

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.

What else? To hate evil, pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the perverse mouth.

I hate. The perverse mouth would tell a lie.

What comes with pride?

And in contrast to that, what comes with humility?

Let's go to Proverbs 11, just to go forward a little bit here.

Proverbs 11, verse 2.

When pride comes, then comes shame.

But with a humble, you're going to gain wisdom.

If you want to gain wisdom and really understand yourself and others, then you have to be humble.

If you're proud, you're not going to see things the way God sees things.

You're only going to see them from your own perspective, and that could be not a true perspective.

What else comes with pride?

Let's go to Proverbs 13, verse 10.

Very interesting verse. Proverbs 13, verse 10.

By pride comes nothing but strife, which tells us what?

It tells us that if we see strife and contention, then the source of that is pride, because that's what comes with pride, strife, contention, arguments.

Not be able to get along or reconcile with one another.

What will happen if we don't repent of pride?

Proverbs 16.

Proverbs 16, beginning in verse 18.

Pride goes before destruction. If we can't repent of pride, we can't get rid of it.

It's going to destroy us eventually.

And a haughty spirit before a fall is going to cause us to stumble, as my margin says, or fall.

Verse 19. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoiled with the proud. And everyone who is proud in heart is what? Going back just a few verses to verse 5 of Proverbs 16. Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord.

Why? Why does God hate that so much? Because it's going to prevent that person from being in God's family. And God wants all of us to be in His family.

Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord, though they join forces, none will go unpunished.

So can we now see and understand why fasting on the day of Atonement is so important?

If we are to be in God's kingdom as portrayed by the upcoming Feast of Tabernacles, we have to repent of and rid ourselves of any and all pride. In covering just a very brief history of Satan, let's move forward to the time of Christ. And this was covered in the sermon of the Net, but I'm going to cover it again because I feel it's so important. But moving forward in the history of Satan, what was the first thing Christ had to do at the very beginning of His earthly ministry? And again, let's go to Matthew 4, and I'm going to repeat some of this, but cover a little bit of the edition as well. Matthew 4.1. That's an important part of Scripture. I'm really glad that Ms. McGuire covered in the sermon. That's so very important. Matthew 4.1. Then Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted or tried, as should be, by the devil. What was the first thing Christ did in order to prepare Himself for this trial by the devil? Verse 2. And we had fasted forty days and forty nights after the word He was hungry.

He had to begin, as it was covered in the sermon, He had to be by fasting for forty days and forty nights. Why? To make sure pride could not enter into His heart, because pride will destroy a person. Satan is well aware of that. Matthew 4.3. When the tiptor came to Him, he said, If you are the Son of God, and as Ms. McGuire said, what do you mean, if? What do you mean if you're the Son of God? Satan here is trying to cast doubt into Christ's mind.

You know, has that ever happened to any of us? Have you ever had something where something happened that you didn't quite understand, didn't seem right, and all of a sudden you start to doubt? Is this really God's Church? Is this really the truth? Satan wants to try to pass doubt into our minds, but there's even more to it than that.

He said, if you are the Son of Man, you know, he implies this, because he says, If you're the Son of Man, then you have power. You have the power to command that these stones become bread. Use your power. Have some pride in your power. Satan is telling Christ.

Matthew 4, 4, but he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And again, as pointed out in the sermon, notice how Christ answered every time he answered with Scripture. He answered by quoting Scripture. And that's a good way to rid ourselves of pride. Go to God's Word, see what God's Word says, be accurate with it.

Give God's answer rather than our own answer. Give our own answer. That can lead to pride. Matthew 4, verse 5, Then the devil took him up into the holy city and sent him on a pinnacle of the temple. And he said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, You shall give his angels charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against the stone. So now Satan's getting pretty smart here. He says, I'm going to follow Christ. He's quoting Scripture. I'm going to quote Scripture. I'm going to answer with Scripture. There's only one big problem. Satan quotes the Scripture out of context. He quotes it wrong. He quotes it out of context, to twist it. Remember here, in Matthew 4, Satan is trying to get Christ to jump off a pinnacle of the temple. He's quoting from Psalm 91. That is not what Psalm 91, from which Satan is quoting, is talking about. Let's just hold your place here. Let's go to Psalm 91. Very interesting section of Scripture. Psalm 91, beginning in verse 7, A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked, because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling, for he shall give his angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways, in their hands as you bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone.

What is this talking about? It is talking about the righteous trusting in God, and being under his protection, especially read that first six verses. Psalm 91, verse 1, it's talking about God's protection. He who draws the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. And I will say to the Lord, He is my refuge, He is my fortress, my God, and Him I will trust.

Surely He shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge. His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor the destruction that lays waste at noon a day. And how will God protect the righteous? Verse 11, He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways, in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

And those two scriptures are the various scriptures quoted by Satan in Matthew 4, verse 6. And they have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with jumping off a pinnacle of the temple, which will be tantamount to committing suicide. I'm sure Satan would love for Christ to have done that. But going back to Matthew 4, what was Satan really saying to Christ, and what was he really up to? In essence, he was saying, don't you trust in God's Word? Don't you have pride and confidence in God's Word?

That was not the issue. It was just the opposite. Satan was actually trying to get Christ to doubt God's Word and to insist to follow the path of pride. So how did Christ answer? Matthew 4, verse 7, he said to him, it is written again, You shall not tempt or test, as my margin says, the Lord your God. Verse 8, Again the devil took him up to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory. He said to him, all these things I will give you if you will just fall down and worship me.

It's like he's saying to Christ, look, you're going to receive all this anyway, so why go through all that suffering first? Why have to go through all that suffering and death? I'll give you to you right here, right now. You won't have to go through all that. All you have to do is fall down and worship me. So Satan is trying to get Christ to doubt that he really was, really has to go through all this suffering and death that he came down to do.

You really don't have to go through all that. I'll make you king of the earth, right now. And you can rule the earth, right now. After all, I'm not either God of this world. Have a little pride in what you're sent here to do. Hey, look, I'll tell you what. I'll make a deal with you. You can be my prince, and I'll be your king.

How did Jesus respond to that? Matthew 4, verse 10, then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan, for as written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him, to Christ. So there's a brief history of Satan who would like to snare us as he attempted to snare Christ. So don't let doubts control your mind, and don't let pride be your downfall. Now let's move on to how to tell the truth and the lie.

But first, I'd like to ask this. What is Satan? What did Christ say to those who refused to believe in him, even after all of his miracles? Let's go to John, chapter 8. John, chapter 8, verse 44, You have your father the devil, he said, John 8, 44, and the desires of your father you want to do.

He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. I'll come back to this verse later, because there's some important lessons here I want to focus in on. But he's basically saying that Satan is the originator of lies.

As the originator of father's lies, how successful has Satan been? How many people has he deceived by the means of his lies? According to Revelation 12, 9, The great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. You can't get any greater success than that than to deceive the whole world.

So through his lies, Satan has deceived the whole world. Can that, or has that ever affected any of God's elect?

Will Satan work through individuals or show great signs and wonders to if possible deceive the elect?

Matthew 24. beginning verse 23. See, is that right? Oh, here. Matthew 24 verse 23. Then if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ, or there, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

So be on guard. Keep your mind on God's word. Why? Because Satan is going to try to work through some individuals and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. And only you and I can prevent that from happening. Now then, let's see how we can then determine the truth and the lie. How can we tell the truth from a lie?

You know, actually within that very statement that I just made is the answer. Because the truth is the truth. And a lie, a lie, is a lie. In other words, there's only one truth, but there are many ways of lying about that truth.

There's only one truth about any given situation, but many ways of lying about that situation. Let me illustrate this from just a few of many scriptures. It's amazing how many scriptures there are about that, but I'm just going to cut a few of them. Let's go back to Psalm 15. Psalm 15, this is a Psalm of David. We'll just look at the first two verses. Psalm 15, a Psalm of David. Lord, who may abide in your tabernacle? Who may dwell in your holy hill? Who's going to be in your kingdom and be in your family? The first two is the answer. He walks uprightly and works righteousness and speaks THE truth in his heart. Not he who speaks a truth. He can't speak a truth. He can't speak the truth. There is no such thing as a truth. It can only be THE truth about any given situation. And he who speaks the truth shall never be moved very end of verse 5, the very bottom there. Let's go now to Psalm 69. Psalm 69, verse 13. But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord, in the acceptable time. O God, in the multitude of your mercies, hear me, in THE truth of your salvation. Psalm 69, verse 13. There is only one truth regarding God's salvation. There is no such thing as a truth of God's salvation. It's THE truth. Let's go to Daniel. Daniel, chapter 7. Daniel, chapter 7. I'm not going to go into the prophecy here, but it leads into this point. There was THE truth and there was AY. Daniel 7, beginning in verse 13. Daniel 7, 13. He says, I was watching the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory in a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages, serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed. There's only one...excuse me, I should say, let's go on here in verse... verse 15. I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions on my head troubled me. So I came near to one of those who stood by and asked him, the truth of all this. I wonder what the truth is. Not a truth, but the truth. It can't be a truth. It's going to be the truth. So he told me and made known to me, the interpretation of these things... and there's only one true interpretation. There's only one right interpretation. Any other interpretation of the false, or a lie? Verse 17, I should say, excuse me, verse 17. Those great beasts which are four are four kings which arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. And then verse 19. Then I wish to know the truth about the fourth beast. Not a truth about the fourth beast. There is no significance. It's only the truth. Let's go forward just a few verses to Daniel 10. Daniel 10, verse 21. But I shall tell you what is noted in the Scripture of truth. No one upholds me against these except Michael, your prince.

And then chapter 11, verse 2. And now I will tell you the truth. I will tell you the truth. Three more kings will arise in Persia. Not a truth, but the truth about these kings. One more example of the truth from Christ Himself. Let's go back to the New Testament. Let's go back to John 8. We'll go back first and read verse 32. John 8, verse 32. Something to read a Passover. John 8, verse 32. And you shall know the truth. Not a truth. The truth. And the truth shall make you free. There is only one truth that can make us free. And there is the truth about Jesus Christ's new salvation, how He died for us and paid the penalty of sins for us. There is only one truth. That's the only truth that can make us free. And again, let's go to verse 44. Look a little more carefully. John 8, verse 44. And you are of your father the devil, Christ is saying here of the Pharisees, because of their attitude. And the desires of your father you will want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in Him. And when He speaks a lie, He speaks from known resources, for He is a liar and the father of it. Why a lie? Because of many ways of lying, but there's going to be only one truth. Now let's look at a few more scriptures that refer to being a liar. Let's look at the other side of the coin. Let's go back to Proverbs 19.

I've got to find myself. Proverbs 19, verse 22. What is desired in a man is kindness, but a poor man who may not have much is better than a liar. How can an individual sometimes become a liar? Let's go forward to Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30, verse 5. Every word of God is pure, and He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him, put their trust in God.

Verse 6, do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. How can an individual become a liar? By adding things to God's words that aren't accurate. Finally, one more section of Scripture from the New Testament. Let's go to 1 John 1. There are several examples here. 1 John 1. Begin at 1 John.

We'll just look at several Scriptures here. Refer to a liar. And you indicate there are many ways a person can tell a lie. There's only one truth. 1 John 1, verse 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 John 2. For He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him.

See, there are many ways for people to say, I know Him, and still not keep His commandments. But there's only one way for the truth to be in us. Only one way. 1 John 2, verse 22. Who is a liar but He who denies that Jesus is the Christ? Why a liar?

Because there are many ways for people to deny that Jesus is the Christ. Many ways. But there's only one way to accept Jesus as being the Christ. Only one truth. 1 John 4, verse 20. If someone says, I love God and He hates His brother, He is a liar. That's what God's word says. For you does not love His brother whom he has seen. How can you love God who He's not seen? But there are many ways.

You can say, I love God but still not love your fellow human beings. 1 John 5, verse 20. Last example here in John. 1 John 5, verse 20. And we know the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true. In His Son Jesus Christ, this is the true God and eternal life. There are many ways by which people can believe God, but there is only one way, one true testimony that God has given to His Son. That then tells us how to tell the truth and why.

There's only one truth of any given situation, but there are many ways of telling a lie. There's also another way sometimes. Sometimes observation can tell us. It's interesting, but you know what one of the safest airlines in the world is? They've got the safest record of any airlines in the world. Guess what airlines that is? El Al. Israeli Airlines. El Al. El Al is two Hebrew words meaning to the sky or skyward.

In fact, if you look at their airplanes, it says El and it has a Hebrew word for El. El El and then the Hebrew word for that. El Al. That's an Israeli Airlines and it means to the sky or skyward. That's what those two Hebrew words mean. But what may seem strange, what's really strange here is, of course, you've got to really go through the security to get into Israel.

But what may seem strange, passengers flying on El Al into Israel, they do not have to go through any metal detectors or hex frame machines. Instead, they simply have to train security personnel who ask boarding passengers a series of questions. Just simple questions like, where are you from? Where are you going? What specific place are you going to visit? Who are you going to be visiting? Why are you going to Israel?

How long will you be staying in Israel? Just simple questions like that. But they can tell by the way the person answers and they can tell by their demeanor if they're telling the truth or if they're telling El Al. They're very trained. They can tell by their demeanor. It's interesting. I just thought of this morning, but it was brought on an example a while back, too. Many years ago, there was a man in Canada. He was coming into the United States in the state of Washington.

He was coming through Blame, Washington. Blame is where you have to go through customs. He was coming from Canada in the United States, the U.S. Customs agent on the Canadian side of the border. When you come in, you get a driver in your car, they just ask you a few simple questions.

But the way this person seemed quite nervous, his demeanor didn't seem right. It seems like something's not quite right here. By the way he even answered his questions, it was a little like he was unsure of himself or something. So the customs agent had him take his car and set it aside. When they first opened the trunk, they found the trunk full of explosives. He was a terrorist trying to get into the United States to blow up a bridge.

But you can tell by the demeanor if you're trained. Let's now conclude. We're now observing God's most solemn holy day by fasting. And why are we fasting? Because Satan, who is filled with pride, wants to destroy us and prevent us from making it into the kingdom of God as portrayed by the upcoming Feast of Tabernacles. Now how can we prevent that from happening? By humbling ourselves through fasting because, as it says in James 4 verse 6, God resists the proud, but he gives grace and favor to the humble. So remember the history of Satan and that pride was his downfall.

And remember how to tell the truth from a lie, because in Scripture there's only one truth. There's only the truth and a lie. There's only one truth of any given situation, but there are many ways to tell a lie. So that then is the history of Satan and how to tell the truth from a lie.