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Alright, we're here in Revelation chapter 14, turn to Exodus 20, we'll go back to Revelation 14 later, but turn to Exodus chapter 20, Exodus 20. And so this is kind of the obligatory Christmas sermon here today, okay? And I will say this, that when you preach sermons, the most difficult to preach are on events. For example, at Easter time, you preach on the resurrection of Jesus, because everybody's already preached on it. So it's really hard to preach something and make it entertaining and different. So the last couple years, I've preached kind of the normal, generic Christmas sermon, but today's sermon is Jesus versus Satan clause, okay? Jesus versus Satan clause, you say, Brother Stuckey, I want that, you know, warm uplifting, really nice and cuddly sermon, that was last year, okay? Stay with us for one year. And then next year, I promise you will be a much softer sermon, but today's sermon is Jesus versus Satan clause, okay? You're turning to Exodus 20. Let me read you about this character, Santa Claus, okay? And who it's actually based off of. There's this person named St. Nicholas of Myra, who supposedly lived between March 15, 270 AD, so basically 17 to 1800 years ago, and he died on December 6, 343 AD, also known as Nicholas of Bari. He was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor during the time of the Roman Empire. Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nicholas the Wonder Worker. So supposedly, this person who Santa Claus is based off of performed many miracles. Now I would obviously, you know, doubt that to be the case, but I would say this, I'm not really preaching specifically against this person, because this guy lived 1800 years ago, and quite honestly, history might have changed who this person was, I'm not really sure about that. What I'm preaching against is the character of Santa Claus that we have here today, okay? So he's also known as Nicholas the Wonder Worker. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, prostitutes, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe. His reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus. So this character, who Christmas is based off of, supposedly performed miracles, he gave a lot of gifts to children, and he was the interceder, if you're a Catholic, for basically if you're a certain type of person. He's basically like a mini-god, okay? And here's the thing, the way we portray Santa Claus in today's world, we're literally giving attributes of God to Santa. Santa Claus is literally a god, the way we talk about him in today's world. And there's no dispute about that when I explained to you and showed you this sermon here today. We give attributes to this man, Santa Claus, that only belong to God. Now look at what it says in Exodus 20. Exodus 20, verse 16. Exodus 20, verse 16. You say, Brother Stuckey, why should I not teach my children about Santa Claus? Why should I not tell them that there's this man who lived and he's real? Well, because you're lying to your children. It's a lie. It's false. Exodus 20, verse 16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. You're lying. Not just to your neighbor, but to your own children who trust you, who respect you, who look up to you and trust every word you say, and you lie to them if you teach them about Santa Claus. Look, Santa Claus is fake. He's not real, so why would you tell your children a lie? Okay? Go to Proverbs 22, Proverbs 22, Proverbs 22. You say, Brother Stuckey, why are you preaching a sermon like this? Because the modern day Christmas is an abomination in the eyes of God. The way people celebrate Christmas in today's world is completely against the birth of Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ in today's world. You never even hear Jesus mentioned. You all hear all about Santa Claus. Even the songs on the radio, Santa Claus is coming to town, right? What does that have to do with Jesus Christ that actually did come to this world, born of the Virgin Mary, and died for us? It's a lie. Now, this story of Santa Claus, it really became big in England when Charles Dickens wrote the book A Christmas Carol, and our modern day Christmas is largely based off his story the way we celebrate it today. That was actually my favorite story before I was saved. Okay? Say, what's your favorite story now, Brother Stuckey? There's a lot of great stories in this book that are better than A Christmas Carol. Okay? And so notice what it says in Proverbs 22, verse 6. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. The Bible promises that if you train up your children correctly, when they get old, they're not going to depart from it. Now, look, we understand that all kids are makulit, they're malikot, they make mistakes, but when they're old, when they grow up, if you train them right, they are going to be obedient. They're going to be good children. They're going to love God if you train them correctly. But what if you're lying to your children? What are you training your children to be? A liar. Right? I mean, if you're lying to your children, what do you expect them to be when they grow up? If you just tell them things that are dishonest, you don't tell the truth to them, you're training them to be a liar one day. Okay? Go to Genesis chapter 20. Genesis 20. Genesis chapter 20. See, I want you to realize here today as Bible-believing Christians how serious and how dangerous this is. And we're just in the introduction right now, and look, I'm doing my best to get us done early today, but look, I'm a preacher, and I'll do my best to stay under the 40 minutes. I don't think it's going to happen, but we'll see. Okay? That's why Brother Chris had to cut out. We had to cut out some singing, because I've got to preach here today, all right? And so I want you to realize this, so even before we get into the points here today, that if you are lying and being dishonest to your children, your children are going to grow up and be the exact same. And I'll show this to you in the Word of God. Genesis 20, verse 1. And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the north south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and Sejourner and Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah, but God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, Behold, thou are but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken, for she is a man's wife. And Abimelech is told that Abraham is just sister, Abraham and Sarah are just brother and sister. This is actually Abraham's wife. And then the king of Abimelech, he isn't aware of this. And God comes to him in a dream, and warns him and everything, but he was lied to by Abraham. Now this shows us that even saved people can make mistakes. Saved people can do things that are wrong. But he is lying, okay? Go to verse 10. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou that thou hast done this thing? And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they will slay me for my wife's sake. So Abraham is basically making an excuse for lying. He should have just said, I was wrong. I messed up. I'm sorry. But he makes an excuse for lying. Now look, is there any question that he's lying? Not a question whatsoever. He even admits it. He's like, this is my wife. Now he is caught in a lie, and notice what he says. And yet, indeed, she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. Now let me say this. You're welcome to form your own opinions, but there is not a single verse in the Bible that says Abraham and Sarah are brother and sister. The only thing we have is the testimony of Abraham who just lied a few verses ago. Now I'm not saying they weren't half brother and half sister, but honestly, there is no verse that confirms that in the Bible. All we have is the words of Abraham, and do people always tell the truth? No. I mean, Abraham just lied, right? So here's the thing. Oftentimes, when people are caught in a lie, they oftentimes make another lie to make it seem like it wasn't so bad. Now I'm not saying it's up to you to form your own opinion whether you think they were half brother and half sister. I'm just telling you, this is the only verse we got in the Bible that would indicate that to be true, even though it's a commonly accepted fact. It might be true, but at the same time, I don't really trust Abraham's word when he just lied because many times when people are caught in lies, they'll admit that they lied, but they kind of make it seem like, well, you know, it's not really a lie though. It's like, I lied to you, but I didn't really lie, right? Because it's sort of true. We are, well, he might be lying again, right? We don't really know. Now go to Genesis 26, Genesis 26, regardless of whether they're half brother and half sister or not though, here's the thing. When you are being misleading, you are lying, right? Even if it's technically true, half true, that's a lie. A half truth is a lie, okay? He is being dishonest. He is being deceptive, okay? And that's confirmed by Abraham here, Abimelech, and God that basically he's being deceptive. He's lying about it. Whether he's being half true or not, hey, a half truth is a lie. Let me tell you something. The devil tells a lot of half truths in the Bible, but is he telling you half the truth or is he just completely lying to you? He's completely lying to you because when you only give part of the truth, you're actually lying, okay? Genesis 26, why is this so dangerous? Well, notice what it says in Genesis 26, and Isaac dwelt in Gerar. Now who is Isaac? He's the son of Abraham, right? Isaac is the son, and notice what it says in verse 7, and the men of the place asked him of his wife, and he said, she is my sister. Now I wonder where he learned that from, right? Why is it that Isaac lies and says, you know what? My wife is just my sister. Where did he learn that from? He didn't learn that from the heathen, right? The Bible says learn not the way of the heathen, but he learned that from his own dad, right? And look, I'm not saying Abraham was a bad guy. I'm sure he's going to accomplish far more than I will in my life, but we also should look at the word of God, and you can see good men and see the mistakes they make, and you see this is passed on to his children. And so look, Abraham lied. He was dishonest, and this was a trait that got passed down to Isaac. And this is a pretty serious lie, okay? In our modern day, we say there's white lies and I guess non-white lies, right? I don't want to say anything that would be, brother, suck, he's a racist, right? We say white lies. No, but you know, the Bible doesn't talk about this concept of white lies and non-white lies. But if there is a white lie, this is certainly not a white lie, right? You're saying, hey, you know what? She's not really, you know, my wife. She's just my sister. Notice what it says in verse seven. And the men of the place asked him of his wife, and he said, she is my sister, for he feared to say, she is my wife, lest said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah because she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass when he had been there a long time that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of the window and saw and behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah, his wife. Look, the bottom line is this, your lies will find you out. You will get caught. Look, if you are lying about something and you're always trying to cover something up, people will eventually find out because what do you have to do to cover a lie? You have to tell another lie. Isn't that true? And isn't this true with the story of Santa Claus, right? Parents tell their children, Santa Claus is real. And you know what? The children start to notice some holes in this theory, right? Like, well, how is he everywhere at once? And then the parents just start making up more lies to try to cover and everything, right? Why did I catch, you know, dad last year at Christmas eating the Christmas cookies and drinking the milk, right? And it's like lie after lie to cover up. And this is the truth. When you tell lies, what do you find yourself doing? Telling lie after lie after lie. And you know what? It gets worse and worse and worse and worse. You say, brother Stuckey, it's an innocent story. Well, let's see if that's true here today. Okay. Turn in your Bible to John chapter three, John chapter three, John chapter three. Because what I'm going to be doing is comparing the Lord Jesus Christ to Santa Claus. Okay. Now, we understand, and I'm not preaching a sermon on the nature of God. It's a deep topic. It's a whole nother topic, but we understand the Trinity and we understand that Jesus Christ was eternally the son of God, right? In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost have always been here because that is who God is. Okay. He doesn't become four. He can't become... No, he's three. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost. We believe in one God, but we understand that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh, right? We understand that Jesus Christ was deity. Something that a lot of these cults do not understand. And see, Jesus Christ, he actually had a heavenly nature. You say, why? Because he was all God and all man. He was actually God in human flesh. Now, John chapter three, let me turn there myself. John three verse 13, notice this statement by Jesus Christ, and no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the son of man, referring to Jesus Christ, which is in heaven. See, while Jesus Christ was on earth, what does the Bible say? Which is in heaven. You say, how could that be? Because isn't God omnipresent? Isn't God everywhere? Look, as I said, I'm not preaching a sermon about the Trinity. That's a whole deep topic, but look, God is everywhere. And Jesus Christ was God in the flesh and he had the heavenly nature. He had a heavenly nature. He was God. He's everywhere. So while he was on earth, you could still accurately say he's in heaven. Why? Because he's everywhere. He's omnipresent, right? Go to Revelation 14, Revelation 14, Revelation 14, you say, why does Jesus Christ mention that in John chapter three? Well, he explains how you have to believe to receive everlasting life. But isn't it true that you have to not only believe that Jesus did what he said he'd do, but that he was who he says he was? To be saved, you must understand that he died on the cross and paid for your sins and he rose again. You also have to understand who Jesus Christ is. Look, if there was somebody named Jesus, right? You know, like many people, when I used to go soul winning, like in Sacramento, there's a lot of people named Jesus. You know, people that are from Mexico, a lot of people named Jesus. Hey, but your neighbor Jesus, if you believe he died for you, that's not going to get you to heaven. It's the same name. It's not the same person though. You have to understand who Jesus Christ actually was, and if somebody doesn't understand that, they can't be saved. So look, during the gospel presentation, if they don't get it, you have to explain the deity of Jesus Christ. And look, I do sometimes during the gospel, I'll take some time to explain Jesus is God if people are confused about it, because if they don't believe that, they can't be saved. They have to understand who Jesus Christ is, okay? Revelation 14, verse 10, notice this, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and notice this, and in the presence of the lamb. Now who's the lamb? Jesus Christ. You say, but wait a minute, isn't this in hell? I thought hell was separation from God. No, no, those are those Bible commentaries you're reading. What does the Bible say here in Revelation 14? In the presence of the lamb. But how could Jesus be in hell? Because he's omnipresent. He's everywhere. There's nowhere where God is not, okay? So look, you know, when people do go to hell, it's not a separation from God. No, no, God's actually the one keeping the fire going. You're actually in the presence. And let me explain to you. These wicked people out here that hate God, they would want nothing more than to be separated from God. Like, man, separation from God, that sounds great, right? They're not going to be separated from God. They're going to be tormented in the presence of God. And the Bible says here in Revelation 14, verse 10, in the presence of the lamb. Why? Because Jesus Christ is God. He has the heavenly nature of God. He's God the Son. And guess what? God is everywhere. Okay? But you know what? Santa Claus is also omnipresent as well. Santa Claus is everywhere. Here's a quote from, you know, one of these things I read online, it says, children are taught that he is the person who performs miracles and wonders every Christmas Eve. He is able to create and deliver virtually any present any child can imagine. He can fly through the sky and deliver these gifts to billions of children all over the world, all during one night, and not just any old presents, but exactly the ones desired by each individual child. To accomplish this mission, he must have the ability to be present almost everywhere at once. Those call this the power of omnipresence, an attribute of their deity. Look, when you're teaching about Santa Claus, you're literally teaching that Santa Claus is everywhere at the same time. You're literally giving an attribute of God to this fake, false, mythical idol that people have created, Santa Claus. You're lying to your children, but this is a pretty serious lie. It's not just a fun, innocent story, because it's not like, well, Santa Claus just delivers to right here in passing, right? He just goes from house to house. He does it real quick. No, all over the world. How does he do that? Well, he's omnipresent. He's everywhere. And yet that is an attribute of God. Turn to Job chapter one, Job one, Job one. Let me explain to you somebody who is not omnipresent, someone who is not everywhere at once, and that is Satan. Satan is not everywhere at one time. You say, well, you say, Brother Saki, every time I sin is because Satan made me do it. No, I seriously doubt that. I think that's your own sin nature, your own carnal nature that is causing you to sin. Okay? Satan really doesn't have to force us to sin because we just kind of willingly do it. Okay? But you're turning to Job one. Let me quote you in first Peter five, eight, a very famous verse. You don't have to turn there. You're going to Job one, be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Why does Satan have to walk about? Because he's not everywhere at once, right? He's seeking whom he may devour. He's going from place to place, figuring out who can I destroy? Why? Because he's not omnipresent. He has to go from place to place. Okay? Now, look, I presume it doesn't tell us how fast he is, but I presume he's pretty fast, right? I mean, the fastest land animal is a cheetah. The devil's probably faster than a cheetah, right? I'm not really sure, but he's not everywhere at one time though. And usually what the devil does is he has devils. He has false fallen angels, which the Bible does not call demons. It calls them devils. He has devils that work for him that basically do kind of his bidding, right? Because the devil cannot be everywhere at one time. He can't do it all. He's not God. Now God could do everything. God could do anything, not the devil because he's not omnipresent. Job one verse six. Let me show this to you. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also among them. And so the sons of God here are not angels, okay? These are believers. That's a whole nother topic. And the Lord said unto Satan, actually, you know, let me, let me just park it here for one second because here in verse six, it says the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. Okay. Now the Bible says what manner of love we have bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Saved people are the sons and daughters of God, the children of God, not angels. Okay. But I want you to understand something. The Bible says the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. These are saved people. These are believers on Jesus Christ. But then it says Satan came also among them. What does that tell you? It means Satan is not a son of God. Basic grammar in Job one six shows you Satan came also telling you he's not one of the sons of God. Why? Because angels aren't sons of God. They aren't children of God. The sons of God came, the believers that are already in heaven. And guess what? Satan came also, what does that tell you? It tells you that he's not one of the sons of God. And look, people can try to go to the end of Job and use confusing verses. Basic English grammar here shows you right here that Satan is not one of the sons of God because he came also telling you he's not one of the sons of God. Okay. And if he was one of the sons of God, you know what the Bible would say? The sons of God came present themselves before the Lord and Satan was one of them. It doesn't say that. Satan came also. Why? Because he's not a son of God. Okay. And look, why would a fallen angel, why would a fallen angel be a son of God? I mean, that's a whole nother topic. It's a whole nother sermon, but look, it's disproved right here. But notice verse seven, and the Lord said unto Satan, whence comest thou or where did you come from? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down it. Basically, you know, I've just been walking around seeking whom I may devour. Why do you have to walk around Satan? Because he's not on my presence. He's not everywhere at one time, but you know who is everywhere at one time, Santa Claus. Jesus Christ and Santa Claus, right, are omnipresent. They're everywhere at one time. Okay. Look at Job one verse 12. Not only is Jesus Christ, is he omnipresent, but he's all powerful, which the Bible uses the word omni potent or omni potents. Okay. But Satan is not all powerful. Job one verse 12, and the Lord said unto Satan, behold, all that he hath is in thy power only upon himself, put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth because he's not omnipresent from the presence of the Lord. But what God tells him is put not forth thine hand on Job. Basically, you don't have permission to do this. You don't have the authority to do this. I will not allow you to do this. It'd be like, for example, if a boss gave instructions to one of his workers and he says, I don't want you doing this and that employee has to obey. Okay. And God's telling Satan, Hey, I'll let you cause some harm. I'll let you do these things, but you know what? I'm not going to allow you to put forth your hand upon him. Why is God able to do that? Because of the fact Satan is not all powerful. He's not omnipotent. Go to Matthew 28, Matthew 28, Matthew 28. But Jesus Christ, he is omnipotent. He is all powerful. There's actually a religion, which is, Hey, I can still see, so I'll still preach. All right. The government's trying to shut us down. No, I'm just kidding. And so there's actually a religion out there. It's a really weird religion. I mentioned them kind of before, whatever, but they basically believe in two gods. It's called Zoroastrianism. It was from the Persian empire. That was kind of like their religion. And they basically believe in two gods that were simultaneously here at the very beginning. Ahura Mazda is the good God. I can't remember what the name of the bad God is, but they're like both all powerful. And it's like this competition. Like which God's going to win, the good God or the bad God? It's a really tough battle. They're very close. And who's going to? It's not like that with God and the devil. And sometimes people try to talk about it like it's a tough battle. No, no, no. God could take on every fallen angel and the devil at one time. It's not a tough battle between God and everybody else. Okay. There's no comparison whatsoever. The devil is not all powerful. You know what? God is all powerful. And Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. You're turning to Matthew 28. Here is a quote where the Bible says, is anything too hard for the Lord, right? And the implication, the rhetorical question there, the answer is no, nothing is too hard for the Lord. Okay. With men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. What is that? That's omnipotence. That's called all power. And what does it say in Matthew 28 verse 18? And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, all power is given onto me in heaven and in earth. All power, literally that's what omnipotence is. Okay. Now look, we understand that Jesus Christ was born in the Virgin Mary. He humbled himself. He became obedient onto death, even the death of the cross. Like I said, you know what? That's a really deep sermon to talk about the nature of God and the Trinity and things like that. But realize this, that Jesus Christ was God in human flesh. God was manifest in the flesh. And one proof we have of that, other than verses, like I just quoted, God was manifest in the flesh, or Matthew 1 23 in our bulletin, one way we can tell that is there are certain characteristics that only belong to God. Being everywhere at one time, being all powerful, those belong only to God, but yet they're shared by Jesus Christ. Why is that? Because Jesus Christ is God. Okay. Turn in your Bible to 1 John, 1 John chapter three, 1 John three, 1 John three. But there's somebody else who's also all powerful, Santa Claus, right? I mean, he can deliver any gift that you want if you're good, right? Any gift, no gift is too big for Santa Claus, right? I mean, if you're really good, he will deliver you that gift. And you know what? He can carry them all at one time, right? Every gift somehow can just fit in this container or whatever, and he just carries this giant stocking or whatever, giant bag, and he gives every single one at one time. And it's like, how is he able to do that? Because he's all powerful by the way we teach Santa Claus. Now realize something here. I'm not preaching against celebrating Christmas here today. We're having a Christmas party, and I have no problem with calling it a Christmas party, right? At our house, at our condo, we have stockings, right? I have a stocking for myself. My wife has a stocking. Our kids have stockings. We give gifts to one another. Nothing sinful about giving gifts. But here's the difference. We're not going to be teaching our kids about Santa Claus. We're going to be teaching them about the Lord Jesus Christ. Look, I think it's great to establish some traditions at your household. Maybe read the Christmas story. Read about the birth of Jesus Christ. Maybe get into some sort of tradition where you're reading the Gospel story and the birth of Jesus Christ. And here's the thing, the greatest holiday, I don't care what anyone says, is Christmas, okay? It has always been my favorite holiday, right? In the U.S., a lot of people are like, Thanksgiving, no, no, no, it's Christmas, okay? Christmas, in my opinion, is the greatest holiday, and you know what, you have good memories from being a child of various traditions you had. And here's the thing, if you would actually make that holiday about Jesus Christ, you know what, that would actually keep a tradition in the heart of those children when they grow up. But unfortunately, when people celebrate Christmas time, it's all about gifts. It's all about Santa Claus. They never read the Bible together. They never sing, oh holy night, or hark the herald angels sing, or oh come all ye faithful. No, it's just all about Santa Claus. Santa Claus is coming to town, right? Or you know, I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus, right? That's a song, I don't know if that's a song here in the Philippines. I was always like, what a weird song, where like the point of the song is like, the Santa Claus is actually dad, but the child doesn't know it. It's like, what a perverted story to tell your children. It's like a child catches mom kissing Santa Claus. It's like, what in the world? And that's all over the radio at Christmas time in the US, okay? Now, how about singing songs like hark the herald angels sing? Joy to the world, right? Songs that are actually about Jesus Christ. Now, another attribute of God, not only is he everywhere, omni present, not only is he omni potent or all powerful, but also omniscient, having all knowledge. First John 3 20, okay? First John 3 20, for our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Okay? First John 3 20, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Now we understand God has all knowledge, and look, obviously we believe that Jesus Christ is God. Let me even show you the context going back to verse 16. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Did you know that God actually died for you? That's what it says in First John 3 16. You know, I love this verse to prove the deity of Jesus Christ because of the fact it's very easy to remember. First John 3 16, so easy to remember, right? You know, hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. Who is the he referring to? God. Right. God died for us, and I thought that was pretty basic, but apparently you have to thunder it forth to make sure people don't teach other things. God died for us, and there's nothing wrong with saying that. That's what it says in First John 3 16, and look, God knoweth all things, okay? Now turn your Bible to John 1, John 1, John 1. So this is an attribute that Jesus Christ shares with God, the heavenly nature, okay? Now here's the thing. Guess who else also has all knowledge? Santa Claus. You say, why do you say that, brother Stuckey? He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. I mean, he knows when you're awake. How's that possible? He has all knowledge. He's omniscient. He knows if you've been bad or good, because he's everywhere. He sees what you do, right? When you decide to do something wrong, right, Santa Claus sees you. That's what we're teaching kids. Isn't that true? Now look, God sees everything you do. God knows if you've been bad or good. God knows when you're sleeping, and yet we're teaching people that Santa Claus knows that. Because here's the thing. Satan doesn't know everything about you. He doesn't have all knowledge. Only God has all knowledge, and yet we're teaching people that Santa Claus sees every single action that you make, okay? Now look, I don't know about you, but that's kind of scary. That's kind of creepy when this man who we're saying is not God. Actually this man with this big gnarly beard and everything sees everything you're doing. When I was a kid, my biggest fear was Santa Claus, right? Because in the US, we would have these fire trucks that would go around, and they would throw candy at the houses and everything, and there'd be Santa Claus with these elves that would pop off the fire truck and run to the house and everything. So look, I had a basketball hoop in my front yard. So I'd be out shooting hoops, and I'd hear that siren. I would quickly run inside the house, lock the door and everything. It was creepy to me. It's like this man sees everything I do, and now he's all over the world, but now he's coming after me. He's like, he's all over the world, and yet he's right here coming after me. It's like, man, I'm locking the doors, right? Kind of creepy. But that's what we're teaching people about Santa Claus, that he has all knowledge, okay? Now look, obviously we know that Satan does not have all knowledge. He is not aware of everything. These are attributes that only belong to God, the heavenly nature, okay? You're in John 1. What about this? Not only all knowledge, all power, and being everywhere at once, but the fact that God is eternal. He never had a beginning. See, the Bible says about Jesus Christ, I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the ending, right? Jesus Christ has always been here because he's eternally the son of God. He is eternal, and that is an attribute that belongs to God. Nobody else can say that they're eternal because everybody else was created, okay? But God is eternal. John 1, 1, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And see, the Bible says this, the word was God. And so Jesus Christ here is the word, the word was made flesh and dwelled among us. And look, he was at the very beginning, okay? But catch me if I'm wrong, I don't really remember in the Santa Claus stories his beginning. He's just kind of always been here. And when you grow old, Santa Claus doesn't change, right? His beard is still the same length, still the same size, still wearing the same clothes and everything. He doesn't grow old. He's just always here, right? Santa Claus doesn't have a beginning, right? Nobody says, well, you know, he was born, you know, these were his parents. No, no, no. I mean, he's just always been here, right, according to what we teach about Santa Claus. Now, when I was a kid, I watched this movie with Tim Allen. It was called the Santa Claus. Has anyone ever seen that movie? It's like from 25 years ago. No, I'm showing, you know, I'm older than, you know, a lot of you young people know. But you know, I saw that movie like a long time ago in the US and in that movie, Santa Claus actually had a beginning because Santa dies and then Tim Allen becomes Santa Claus just automatically, which is kind of bizarre as well. But look, you know, in your general story about Santa Claus, you never hear about he was born and then he became Santa. Because I mean, here's the thing, he never changes his age. So I mean, if he was born as a baby, then you know, when did he become Santa? It doesn't make sense. There is no beginning to Santa Claus in the story that we're telling people. We have no beginning and we have no ending for him. He's just always going to be kind of here on earth. That's kind of like being a God. Okay. That is an attribute that belongs to God that he's eternal. But Satan turned Ezekiel 28, Satan in Ezekiel chapter 28, we're going to see, he does have a beginning. Satan was created. I mean, people have a morph view of Satan today. I think there's a lot of people out there that literally believe that the devil has always been here as well. And it's kind of like this battle with God and God won the battle. No, no, no. Satan was created by God. Okay. He does have a beginning. Ezekiel 28 verse 13. And this is a dual prophecy and part of it is referring to the devil. But notice what it says in Ezekiel 28 verse 13. Thou has been an eat in the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy covering, the Sardis, Topaz, and the diamond, the barrel, the onyx, and the Jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold. The workmanship of thy tabards and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have set thee so, so thou wast upon the holy mountain of God. Thou wast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. So look, the Bible's teaching us that the devil actually was created. He's not eternal, right? He was created by God. And he's going to burn forever in the lake of fire one day. But you know what? He has a beginning. Okay? Now go to Isaiah chapter 14, Isaiah 14, Isaiah 14. I mean, there's a lot of weird, morphed views about the devil, right? The Mormons, the Mormons teach that both Jesus and the devil were created by God. And they're kind of like, they were basically fighting up in heaven to see who could be the savior. And the devil wanted to be the savior of the world, and Jesus Christ wanted to be the savior of the world. And they're like, they're brothers. It's like a Jacob and Esau story in the Mormon church. This is literally what they teach. Okay? You can check it out on YouTube or whatever. This is what they teach. They teach that basically the devil and Jesus were fighting for that top spot, and they both kind of gave God their plans of salvation. And God liked Jesus's plan of salvation better than the devil. So what ends up happening is, and here's the thing, you have to understand, Mormonism is a white man's religion. Now the Mormons are trying to change that, but this is an American white man's religion. And so up in heaven, all the angels are white. But then all of a sudden, the devil, along with one third of the angels, they were cursed with black skin, and basically, you know, black people have the curse of God on them. Literally, that's what the Mormons teach about their skin color. They don't want to admit they teach that anymore, because the US has become a very ethnically diverse country, so it doesn't sound really, you know, politically correct in today's world. That's what they teach, though. And basically, the devil and Jesus were just brothers, but no, no, no, Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He has the heavenly nature, but the devil was created by God, okay? Isaiah 14, verse 13, for thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. See, the devil says, I will be like the most high. Why does he say that? Because he's not the most high. He's not God. He wants to be God. But you know what? That job, you know, doesn't have an opening, my friend, because there's only one God that we worship. He wants to be like the most high, but you know what? He's going to be thrown down in hell for all eternity, okay? Now turn in your Bible to 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15. You say, Brother Steggy, how could you say he's going to be thrown down in hell? He's going to be thrown down in the lake of fire, okay? Well, you know, they're used synonymously throughout the Bible, okay? And so number one, when it comes to Santa Claus, he shares a heavenly nature with Jesus Christ. Now, let me say this. I've said before that in the United States, there's not really much idolatry, and that's for the most part true because there's less Catholics, right? There's no Hindus, you know, very few Hindus, very few Buddhists, less Catholics, and they don't really take Catholicism that seriously. So you don't see all these idols everywhere. There is one idol you see everywhere, and that's Santa Claus, my friend. You see people who have Santa Clauses everywhere, and you know what they do in the U.S., because people often have a lot of money. So they just, if you have money, you just spend it on something, and it's like a collector set. You can get a Santa from every country, right? You got the German Santa, you've got the French Santa, you got the American Santa, you got the Filipino Santa, and it looks a little bit different, but there's like literally a Santa for each country, right, that looks a little bit different, but still maintains the beard, okay? And so basically, you know, it looks different for the specific culture, but people literally have like a collector set. I mean, this is the money they spend, right? This is their idolatry. It's like you pay 40 bucks per Santa, you've got 100 Santas, it's like 200,000 pesos you spend on idols of Santa Claus. And people literally have this. It's an idol. It's no different than the Catholic Church having these idols of Mary or Peter, whoever they have, okay? Especially because with Santa Claus, he actually shares the heavenly nature of God. You've literally got a mini devil in your house that you're basically worshiping. Look, it's not an innocent little story, okay? I mean, if you want to teach your kids an innocent little story, a fun little story, and tell them, hey, you know, this is just kind of a story, it's not really real. Yeah, but you know what? This is not an innocent story. And if you're looking for an entertaining story to tell your children, look, there's lots of them. Right. I mean, the story of Jonah, it doesn't get more entertaining. Even Hollywood's trying to take these stories because they got nothing better, right? I mean, if you ever watch sports, what do they always talk about in battles where you got this big, you know, really good opponent and then someone else is a big underdog? It's the David versus Goliath battle. Is that not true? They always talk about the David versus Goliath battle, okay? Why? That's like the most famous story, one of the most famous stories of all time. The stories of the Bible are very entertaining. It's like you don't have to search for these false stories. And certainly if you're going to teach your kids something, don't come up with a demonic story with Santa Claus where he's sharing the heavenly nature. Now look, I do believe as a parent, you should teach your kids about Santa Claus to tell them it's false at a young age. We will tell our kids, hey, there's this false idol that people are worshiping as a God. We'll tell them that at a young age. Say why? Because they need to be aware of it in today's world. But certainly don't tell your kids, hey, you know what? This story about Santa Claus, he's real, it's true and everything. You're lying to your children. And you're telling them about basically a mini God that's basically fighting against God for their worship and affection for Christmas time. It's not an innocent story. Number one, the heavenly nature is shared between Jesus and Santa Claus. Number two, let's talk about the hope. See, if you believe in Jesus Christ, your hope is found in Christ, okay? First Corinthians 15 verse 18, then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept for since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. So here's the thing, our hope is found in Christ and since he did rise again, we know that we will one day get the glorified body. Our hope is found in Jesus Christ and we know that story is true. We believe on Jesus Christ. We're saved. We're on our way to heaven. And you know what? It's a hope that is steadfast and sure the Bible says. Go to Hebrews chapter six, Hebrews six, Hebrews chapter six, Hebrews chapter six. Now look, if this was a story that nobody believed that basically they're taught this story, but they say, hey, this isn't a true story. It's just kind of, you know, kids are taught this story like it's real with Santa Claus. They're literally told by their parents, hey, Santa Claus is real, you know, and this man's going to come around and give gifts and everything. And he knows what's inside your heart. And if you're good, you're going to get these gifts. It's like, look, you know what? If you're trying to get your kids to be obedient, you have a better way than just giving rewards to say, hey, you know what? If you're good, I'll buy you ice cream if you're bad. Something called a spanking, right? If you're trying to get your kids to be obedient and you can't, you know what? Threaten them with the spanking, okay? And look, you know what? And actually spank them if they do wrong. And guess what? That is what's going to make them be obedient. But telling them a story, well, you know, if you're good, Santa Claus is going to give you something nice. If you're bad, he's going to give you a lump of coal. Ooh, that's terrible, right? No, I think the spanking is a little bit more intimidating to the children, okay? Hebrews 6 verse 18, that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enter into that within the veil. Whether the forerunner's force entered in, even Jesus made in high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. So the Bible speaks about Jesus Christ and our hope. And look, we have an anchor, okay? That is sure and steadfast as we sing, okay? When you believe on Jesus Christ, you're guaranteed going to heaven. You don't have to worry about it. You don't have to doubt about it. You don't have to question it when you're making mistakes because we have a hope that is sure and steadfast, the Bible says. Go to 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter chapter 1. You say, brother Stuckey, you know, if I don't tell my kids about Santa Claus, I just don't know what stories I'm going to tell them. Well, start reading your Bible. I mean, if you know your Bible, you've got plenty of stories. And look, the stories in the Bible are interesting. But here's the sad reality. And look, I'm not asking for a show of hands, but the majority of saved people have never read the Bible cover to cover. They've never read the Bible cover to cover. And it's like, if you don't know anything about the Bible, how are you going to teach your kids? Because here's the reality. I will do my best to preach to you and teach you the entire word of God. But the reality is that is only three hours in a week. Three hours of preaching, okay? See, the Bible says you're supposed to teach your own children. And look, the vast majority of the Bible you need to know as a father and as a mother. And look, the moms are around the children more than the husbands. So guess what? The moms need to know their Bibles. You need to read your Bibles and have this desire every single day to read your Bible, get it read cover to cover every year. But I mean, in today's world, it's laughable how little knowledge people have, even saved people. And look, you know, I'm not trying to guilt you too much, but I am trying to motivate you. I am trying to, okay? Because, you know, we're going to be starting our New Testament Bible reading challenge in January. And look, you know what? You should have a goal to try to read the New Testament in January. I mean, we're going to do all the work. We're going to give you the charts. We're going to give you the organization for it. We're trying to motivate you. I'll preach a sermon about it to try to motivate you and everything. We're going to try to motivate you. We're going to give the schedule to you. There's going to be several of your brothers and sisters at this church that are doing the Bible reading schedule. People are going to be talking about the Bible here at church. But you know what? You have to put in those 45 minutes in the morning to read through the New Testament. And what that means is maybe you don't know what's going on on Facebook. Maybe the latest drama around the world you're not aware about. Maybe you don't know whether there's nine vaccines or 10 vaccines out there with the coronavirus, okay? Maybe you don't know everything that's going on in the world, but you know what? What you're going to know is the Word of God, though. And I'll tell you what? We need to be able to teach our children. Don't have this attitude. Well, it's Brother Stuckey's job to teach my children. It's not my job to teach your children. It's your job. I mean, you ought to be able to teach your children more than I am because you're around them more than me. It's my job to teach my children. Now, it's my job to teach you the whole Word of God. But let me tell you something. The biggest thing I can do to change your life is to motivate you to read the Bible for yourself. And here's the reality. If you do not read the Bible, you are at the mercy of the people that you're listening to for knowledge. And if they're wrong, you're wrong automatically. If I say something wrong, and look, here's the reality. If you listen to your sermons, you know, if you preach sermons, you know, the other guys that preach, you know what? Sometimes you say things accidentally that are wrong when you listen to the replay. It's like, whoa, I didn't even mean that. And then here's the thing. You know, if you're just kind of like a mindless robot that doesn't read the Bible for yourself, you're just going to repeat it. Hey, Brother Stuckey said this. Like, I accidentally said that. It's like I preached an hour-long sermon about how the pre-trib rapture is wrong. And then it's like, oh, we heard Brother Stuckey say it's pre-trib. It's like, I just preached an hour against it. But see, if you're not reading the Bible for yourself, you know what you're going to do? You're going to believe everything you hear. You're not going to understand the context. And you're going to be at the mercy of the person you're listening to. And here's the reality. Even if you have the right knowledge, you're not going to have the ability to teach it to your children. I mean, I can stand up here and do a calculus problem. And you might be like, you know what? I get it. I understand how he got that. But are you ready to teach somebody else that same thing? Right? I'm not down on you. My math was my subject. That's what I love. I can't teach on most anything. But you know, here's what I'm trying to tell you this. You might be able to understand how to solve a calculus problem. Okay, I bring this down. I put this number in here or whatever. But are you ready to teach it to somebody else? When it comes to the Word of God, you might know that it's a post-trib rapture. Congratulations. Can you teach your children that? Right? You need to be able to teach what you believe. And don't think that it's just my job to teach your children. Look, I'll do the best I can. But the reality is, if you don't teach your children, there's going to be a big void in their life. You need to learn what we preach, what the Bible says. You need to learn it, read it for yourself, so you can teach your children. You can teach your wife. You can teach your... Not just the gospel. Hey, praise the Lord if you know how to give the gospel. But that's a small part of the Bible. I'm glad that you're able to get people saved. But what if somebody asks you a question about, why do you spank your children? And you're just like, oh, Brother Stuckey said. Right? It's like, and just like Brother Chris was saying, no, you ought to know why you do it. You ought to know why you believe. Are you able to teach it? Look, I'm not down on you if you're kind of new at church and new at reading the Bible. Here's the thing, though. You know, there comes a time where you go from student to teacher, right? There comes a time where you ought to be spiritual, as the Bible says. You ought to know what the Bible says. And what that means is you need to read the Bible for yourself. You say, why? Well, because here's the thing. Think of the example the Bible is trying to give you. Because with a baby, you spoon feed them. But as they grow, you expect them to feed themselves, right? I mean, you expect, I mean, there's many things. My son just eats on his own. He's fully capable of doing that. Some stuff, we still have to help him out. But look, here's the thing. If he's 20 years old and I still have to hold my son in my arms. And like, I'm not trying to be insulting if someone has like some sort of medical condition or whatever. I'm just trying to give you an example here that, you know, you would say if at the age of 20, he can't feed himself, something's wrong there, right? There's something wrong spiritually if you've been saved for 20 years and you can't feed yourself. You don't know what the Bible says and you can't teach anybody else. Okay, look, you need to start reading the Bible for yourself. And look, don't even wait till January. You know, just start reading now and then on January reset yourself and join the challenge. And look, it's a challenge for all of us because it takes all of us. And look, all of us are busy. I'm just so busy in my life. We're all busy. And in our modern day with inventions like the audio Bible that you can use. And look, I prefer to just read the Bible. But you know, if you have to resort to the audio Bible, then praise the Lord, resort to the audio Bible, right? Find a way to get the word of God inside of you. Don't just rely on me, okay? Now, where were we in the Bible? Did I say Ephesians 2? 1 Peter, 1 Peter 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 3, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again onto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. See, a hope is something that we know is sure, it's guaranteed, but it's something without the physical evidence at this point. But it's a hope that is sure and steadfast. There is no question that when I die my last breath, I will go to heaven. No question whatsoever. You say, why? Because our hope is sure and steadfast. So when I screw up, it's still sure and steadfast because we're trusting on the Lord. Because he didn't screw up, okay? Go to Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians 2, Ephesians 2. But with Santa Claus, where's your hope found in? Your good works, right? If you do good, you get rewards, right? You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town. He's making a list and checking it twice. Gonna find out who's naughty and nice. Well, according to the Bible, there is none righteous. There's none righteous. None of us are always nice. I mean, good night, who is always nice? What a ridiculous statement. Is anybody always nice? It's like, no, sometimes we're in a bad mood, right? Sometimes you're tired. Sometimes you're cranky. None of us are always nice. And if it came down to how good we were, guess what? We'd all get a lump of coal in our stockings if the Santa Claus story was true. And yet almost everybody's good. Isn't that true? When they teach about Santa Claus, you have to be really, really bad to get a lump of coal in your stocking, right? You gotta be one of those kids that like, you know, tortures an animal to get a lump of coal. Otherwise, you know, you're gonna get some sort of reward, right? Isn't that what we teach with Santa Claus? Not what we, but what some people teach. That's what they teach with Santa Claus. That, you know what? Only the truly bad... I thought the Bible said narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. And few there be that find it. I thought few people went to heaven. And yet with the Santa Claus story, almost everybody's good. Almost everybody gets some sort of gift. Notice what it says in Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. When it's saying lest any man should boast, it's saying no man is gonna be able to be my yabong. See, nobody in heaven can say, you know what? I'm here because I deserve to go to heaven. Because we all deserve to go to hell. None of us deserve to go to heaven. There's not a single person that can boast and brag and say, well, look at me, right? I fast twice in a week. I give tithes of all that I possess, right? And then the Pharisee gets cast down to hell, okay? See, nobody's gonna be able to boast and brag because you know what? You deserve to go to hell. And the only reason why you're saved, the only reason why I'm saved, is because of the fact somebody gave you the gospel from the word of God. They explained it clearly. And then you believed when you heard it because you could not believe it on your own by reading it on your own. You had to have somebody explain it, then you believed it. You got saved and you have eternal life. Not because of what you did, but because of what Christ did and because of what somebody did to give you the gospel. See, the whole gospel is set up to force you to be humble, right? Because you can't get saved on your own. It's impossible to get saved on your own. You need somebody to actually give you the gospel and you didn't get saved by your good works. It's because of the work that Jesus Christ did. But with Santa Claus, your trust is found in your good works. Turn to Revelation 14. Revelation 14. You say, brother Stuckey, you sound in a bad mood this morning. Man, I'm in a great mood. What are you talking about, right? You know, I'm fired up now. I'm excited. I'm in a great mood. I love Christmas, right? What I don't love is I don't love Santa Claus though. I don't love this teaching of Santa Claus, right? And it's like, you know what? It needs to be preached against. It's not some fun little innocent story because he actually shares the nature of God and his attributes. He's eternal. He's all powerful. He has all knowledge. He's everywhere. He's, I mean, those are attributes that belong to God, okay? So first we saw the point, the heavenly nature that Jesus and Santa Claus share. We saw the difference in the hope. And now let's talk about hell, okay? See with Santa Claus, if you're really, really, really bad, you get a lump of coal. Well, I'm sorry, but that's not really much of a punishment. To a child. It's like Santa Claus is literally teaching, you know, pretty much don't spank your children. If you're really bad, you just give them a lump of coal, right? You just don't give them a gift if they're really bad. No, if they're bad, you spank your children. That's what the Bible says, okay? But you get a lump of coal if you're really bad. Well, what about with Jesus Christ? If you don't believe, you burn in hell for all eternity, okay? Revelation 14 verse nine. And the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, these are people that take the mark of the beast and the Bible is going to show clearly everyone who takes the mark of the beast will spend forever in hell. They will never have a chance to go to heaven, right? You have these dispensational teachers that say, hey, I mean, if you take the mark in your hand, if you cut off the hand, right? The mark's gone so you still have a chance. Or if it's in your forehead, if you pluck out the eye, then you can somehow, you know, look, I already preached on mark nine. That shows you the weird kind of teaching that people have on something. People say you can take the mark of the beast. No, no, no. When you take the mark of the beast, you are damning your soul to hell. It's not an accidental mark. And I get it. People are kind of worried like, oh man, they're giving scanners and stuff at all these different places. It's not the mark of the beast, okay? But yes, the technology is there, you know, but the technology has been there for a while, to be honest. The mark of the beast is when somebody willingly worships the devil, right? Willingly worships this image, worships the antichrist. That is what's going to actually take the mark of the beast. And look, as a saved person, none of us are going to do it. So how do you know that? Because of the fact we have eternal life. Eternal means it never ends. What does the Bible say about hell? It is the second death, all right? So God's promising you, you will never spiritually die. You will never go to hell, okay? Here's the thing though. If somebody takes the mark of the beast, the Bible says they are damned to hell. What does that show you? It shows you no saved person is going to take the mark of the beast. It's something that people are literally worshiping the devil, okay, to receive that mark. But it says here in Revelation 14 verse 10, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever. And they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast in his image. And whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. So the Bible says they're going to be tormented day and night forever and ever, okay? Now there's some cults that like to teach that hell is just annihilation, right? I think the Jehovah's Witness, I believe Seventh-day Adventists, I believe they teach that annihilation. And so they teach basically you just kind of burn up. But wait a minute, it's not your body that gets thrown in hell when you die. Now one day, yes, their body will be thrown into the lake of fire. It will be resurrected. There's coming a day, the Bible says. But I want you to realize this. Notice what it says because they'll say, well, in verse 11 where it says, the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever. What they'll say is this, well, you know, basically they burn up and then it's just, they're gone, but it's just still the smoke is just coming up, you know, for all eternity. Well, then why does it say they have no rest day nor night? Because they're still being tormented. The implication is they have no rest because of the fact they are still feeling the pain and they have no rest, okay? Now go to Revelation 20. Revelation 20. Revelation 20. Revelation 20. Now let me turn there myself. I want to look up something really quickly. Revelation 20. Go to Revelation 19. I want to show you something. I want to disprove this annihilation doctrine real quick. Look at Revelation 19 verse 20, all right? And the beast was taken, okay? This is referring to the Antichrist. Revelation 19 verse 20. Revelation chapter 19 verse 20. And the beast was taken and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and then they worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. So the beast and the false prophet are going to be the first ones cast into this lake of fire, okay? Go to Revelation 20. Revelation 20. Now here's the thing. If hell is annihilation, if you just go there and you're just annihilated and you're done, then that means they should be out of existence as they're cast into the lake of fire, right? If that's what is a true doctrine, I mean if they just burn up and they're gone, it's just complete destruction, complete annihilation. They should be gone. What does it say in Revelation 20 verse 10? And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. Not were, they are still in the lake of fire. Why? Hell is not annihilation. It's tormented day and night, forever and ever, where they have no rest day nor night and they are still there later on. Why? Because you don't annihilate when you get thrown into hell. And look, we know Luke 16, right? When people are thrown into hell, which is not a parable in Luke 16, they're there forever and then one day hell will be relocated to the lake of fire the Bible teaches. They are not annihilated. And that's the scariest part about hell. Because here's the thing, if hell was literally just annihilation, then the pain lasts like half a second, right? I mean, you just get thrown into hell and then you burn up. I mean, that's not really any suffering. And you have to understand something, God is fair and just. There must be a judgment where people get properly what's coming to them. And the people that were really, truly evil, wicked people, not just your average, unsaved Catholic person, but your truly wicked, disgusting pedophile, not the Catholic member, the Catholic priest. The Catholic priest is going to burn far more than the Catholic member because they're responsible for teaching the false doctrine and they're responsible for being a pedophile and a sodomite. And so guess what? They're going to suffer more. But if you're just annihilated, how is that fair? When it's not an equal punishment. Because us, when we go to heaven, we're going to get rewards at the judgment seat of Christ for the good we did. God is fair and just. It must be a just punishment. So look, and look, that's obviously up for God to determine what is just and fair. But if just everybody's annihilated who goes to hell, that's not fair. That's not proper, okay? It says where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. And you know what? I got saved not because I was afraid of a lump of coal in my stocking, right? I got saved because I was scared about hell. Because you know what? Hell's pretty scary, my friend. So I mean, if you've ever burned yourself before, you know, I've burned myself before, and it's like, man, that pain lasts for a while. Just like a small little burn. It's like for a couple of hours, you're just, you know, I remember just walking around for hours. You put ice on it, but ice really doesn't help very much, does it? It's like you're walking around, you're in pain, you're like, oh, it's terrible for imagine burning forever though. That is what hell is, okay? Tormented day and night forever and ever. Let me give you in conclusion a couple quick dangers of teaching about Santa Claus, okay? Number one, which I talked about, is it just completely gives you the wrong perspective of God, right? Especially because you know what? Children usually, it is possible for children at the age of five, six, seven to get saved. But you know, honestly, sometimes it takes those children a little bit longer. You might take them to the little bit older, even in a good church, it's going to take them a little while sometimes. Here's the thing though, if you're teaching them about Santa Claus, it's going to make it hard for them to believe on Jesus. You're giving them a wrong perspective of who God is. And look, any wrong perspective is going to be bad, but especially kids at a young age that don't know their Bibles, they're just learning everything. You're giving them a completely wrong perspective about God, okay? But you know what? You're also losing credibility with your children. You know, your children at a young age, look, we have, you know, people that are new parents and soon to be new parents and everything. Here's what you learn about your kids. Your kids believe you're the greatest thing in the world. My son thinks I'm the strongest man and the smartest man and I can fix, I mean, he'll hand me something and expect me to fix it. I'm like, how can I fix this? It's broken, right? But he thinks I can do anything, right? That's what children think about their parents. And here's the thing, children believe everything their parents tell them, everything. I mean, literally, here's the reason why, because it always happens at school. Some kid learns Santa's not real and they break it to everybody else. And you know what the reaction of all those children are? I just don't think my parents would lie to me. Because it doesn't logically make sense, but in the back of your head, you trust more in what your parents say, even if it doesn't make sense. Why? Because you trust them. And look, you know, once you're, and I just remember, because I was taught Santa Claus growing up and I remember finding out he wasn't true at school when I went home and everything, and I was just like, I was like, man, you know, I don't know, because I just didn't think my, and it's like, you're like, man, why'd you lie to me? It's like, literally, you lose credibility with your children if you teach them about this. And look, I'm not down on you, if in the past, you taught your kids Santa Claus. Look, the past is the past. We got a lot of people that are gonna be new parents. You know, I'm a young parent and everything, but we need to teach our kids the Word of God and not teach them these fairy tales and say they're real. Okay? Now, you're gonna lose credibility with your children. Here's the other thing. If you're giving gifts to your children, you know what that means? It means your sweat and blood worked very hard to make that money to provide those gifts for your children. And then all of a sudden, you turn around and give all that credit to Santa Claus. Like, why would you? I'm not that, I'm too selfish to give credit to someone who doesn't deserve it, right? But I'm gonna tell my kids, hey, no, no, I bought this for you, right? It's my hard work that bought that gift. But look, if you work really hard and then teach your kids, well, there's this man that's just kind of out there, you know, he's the one who got it for you. It's like, man, you're really losing a lot of credibility with your children. It's like, why don't you ever buy me anything? Right? It's like, it doesn't even make sense. Why would you do that? Right? But you know, here's the big thing. Honestly, it just destroys Christmas completely. And look, here's the thing. I got saved when I was in college, so I have a different perspective on life and things like that now. But here's the thing. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, but we didn't really celebrate it like I think we should celebrate it growing up. It wasn't all about Jesus Christ. Of course, we talked about Jesus and you know, we didn't really go to church much, but we went to the Christmas service. You know, that's the common one, right? But you know, it really destroys the meaning of Christmas because I want my children to grow up loving Christmas time because we're focusing on the birth of Jesus Christ. And look, I'm not against celebrating Christmas at all, but I understand why people say, well, it's a pagan holiday. We shouldn't celebrate it. Because when you look at how people are celebrating it, it gives a bad taste in the mouth for Christmas. I mean, if Christians were actually celebrating it by reading the Bible and singing O Holy Night and Hark the Herald and whatever song we're about to sing. What's that? Away in a manger. Away in a manger. Now, nobody would have a problem. They say, man, that's great. Singing about Jesus Christ. Nobody would have a problem. But the reason why people have a problem with it is because we're teaching this fairy tale about Santa Claus and it's not about Jesus Christ. And last I checked, Christmas was spelled C H R I S T not C L A U S E. Okay. And so look, you know, let's keep the meaning of Christmas about Christmas time and let's teach our children. Look, I'm all for you. Establish some traditions at your house. Maybe pick certain meals that you eat every single year that are special or whatever. You know, read the gospel story. Read Matthew chapter one. Read the beginning of Luke and everything. Read those stories and make Christmas memorable and then sing those Christmas hymns together that are about Jesus Christ, not about Santa Claus. Make it about Jesus Christ, not about Santa. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and just getting to see your word on this topic, God. And help us to make Christmas a very special time of the year to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. Help all of us to keep this about Jesus and about you, not about, you know, all about presents and things like that. Obviously, we're not against giving presents and having traditions and things such as that. But help us make the real meaning of Christmas about Jesus Christ. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.