THE REAL WORLD WIDE WEB

I watched a couple of episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond last night, and it was hilarious to see the lead character, played by the shows creator, Ray Romano, get deeper and deeper into trouble by lying to cover up his original deception. He kept "digging himself deeper into the hole," as we say. There is an oft used line from Marmion (an epic poem about the Battle of Flodden written in 1808 by Sir Walter Scott) that says, "Oh! what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" Today, we might say that when one lies, the deceit tends to "snowball" into an unmanageable fiasco. Lies tend to take on a life of their own, ever growing and threatening an ever widening group of people.

This destructive principle is well known, as it has been the plot of both comedies and tragedies from the beginning of time. The Bible is replete with liars. One need only look at Eve's conversation with Satan in the Garden of Eden, to see how a lie can have a devastating effect upon one's family; in this case, the entire human race (Gen. 3:1-24)! Cain lied when he told God he didn't know where his brother was (Gen. 4:9).

Abraham lied to Pharaoh, and again to Abimelech, about his wife's identity (Gen. 12:11-20; 20:1-18). Apparently, Abraham's son, Isaac, did not learn from his father's mistake because he, too, told Abimelech that his wife was his sister (Gen. 26:6-11). Isaac's son, Jacob, lied to his father to get his father's blessing, which by custom, belonged to his brother Esau (Gen. 27:1-30). The result of the enmity which began between the families of Esau (the father of the Arab nations - Gen. 25:12-18) and Jacob (Israel - Gen. 32:28), will continue to have devastating repercussions until the Lord returns to end it (Matt. 25:31-46; Rev. 19:11-21). And, according to the Word of God, Satan, the father of lies (Jn. 8:44), has corrupted all men with the "disease of deception" (Ps. 116:11).

Unlike the spider's web which does not entrap its creator, the web of lies woven by man eventually entraps its author. The Bible says, "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:23). Liars are warned of the seriousness of their offense:

"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" (Rev. 21:7-8).

Notice that "all" is only attached to liars. I doubt anyone needs to be told that all murderers and all idolaters are destined for eternal punishment, but since all of us are liars, to learn that all liars have the same destiny awaiting them, must come as quite a shock!

Does that mean everyone is going to hell? God forbid! In verse seven, the persons are described as being "unbelieving." Those of us who have believed the Gospel and responded by placing our faith in Jesus Christ, have been forgiven and promised that we would spend eternity with the Lord (Jn. 14:1-6; Rom. 10:9-13; 1 Cor. 15:1-4).

If you do not want to be considered a liar like the "father of lies,"
then place your trust in Jesus Christ, "the Way, the TRUTH, and the life!"