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In Rev. 12:9, Satan is called “…the ancient serpent…the one deceiving the whole world.” This has been true since the Garden of Eden, when he deceived Eve into believing she would not die if she ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.
We can see the results, especially in the fruits of fraudulent religion over many thousands of years. Worship of lifeless idols made with human hands. All in vain. Human sacrifices and countless other atrocities in God’s name.
Lies are a counterfeit form of communication that spread in much the same way as the truth, but with a seemingly higher rate of infection. Winston Churchill once said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth gets a chance to put its pants on.”
Have you ever been disappointed by a news report that days later was exposed as a complete lie? Or sat down to watch a TV show where plotlines and characters seemed designed to promote an ideology rather than deliver entertainment?
This is neither a partisan nor a new complaint. This phrase appears in the poetic liner notes to a Bob Dylan cd: “Dishonest garbage in popular magazines”. The cd’s title? World Gone Wrong.

In the late 1960s through the 70s, promotion and tolerance of illegal drugs was a staple of popular music. Several notable singers and musicians died as a result of this ideology. Songs and movies of that era romanticized or even glorified outlaws.
“Every cop is a criminal and all the sinners, saints”. Sound familiar? It’s from Sympathy for the Devil, recorded in 1968.

Yet, as a form of communication, lies are most effective when they have speedy conduits, preferably many of them. Not only that, but recipients, willing recipients, who then pass on the lie.
The Apostle Paul put it this way: “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.” (2 Tim. 4:3,4)

Modern media outlets and electronic forms of communication are too numerous to mention. Anyone who wants confirmation of what they wish to believe can find it in seconds on their phone. But what is true today may not be true tomorrow.
In most cases.

Notice these verses written circa 60 AD: “It was near the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pilate was governor over Judea, Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests…” (Luke 3:1,2).
The verses are very specific regarding times and places, as well as names of rulers, both political and religious. Factually, those verses have stood the test of many centuries.
Why?
Because Jesus said, “…your word is truth.” (John 17:17 New King James Version)

Although the Bible began to be written nearly 3500 years ago, it is completely reliable today, both as history, and as a spiritual diamond mine. A small example is in Romans 16:23: “Erastus, the city treasurer sends you his greetings.”
Romans was written by Paul in the Greek city of Corinth. A large Latin inscription in the pavement by the Corinthian theater reads: “Erastus, in return for his aedileship laid the pavement at his own expense”.
An “aedile” was one elected to oversee city finances.
Details like this give us confidence that what the Bible says about Jesus Christ is accurate, as well. The one spoken of in John 14:6 as “…the way, the truth and the life”.