December 20, Day 354 – Truth Emerges
- Dr. Eric Stricker
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
In Ezra 4:6–5:17, we see the historical fruitlessness of opposing our awesome God, His purposes, and His people. In chapter 5, we see an age-old issue that always seems to be initiated by the enemies of God. Here, the enemies of the Jews wrote letters of accusation and fabrication to King Artaxerxes against the post-exilic Jews to discredit them and their efforts. This letter resulted in a temporary setback on the construction work in Jerusalem. However, tomorrow we will see that, after a legitimate search of all the legal records, the truth emerges, God vindicates His people, and He blesses their work. Sooner or later, hidden truth always comes to light. How does that happen? Because our God is the God of all truth, and He is in full control of the reality that He has created. God – Who is the Truth by nature and by character – exposes and reveals Himself. Jesus said, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs” (cf., Luke 12:2-3). This is an eternal, spiritual principle that cannot be violated.
Psalm 145 is a praise song written by David to “exalt” God (verse 1). Today we consider the first part – verses 1-7. David recognizes God as King, and his intention is to praise God “every day for ever and ever” (verses 1-2). Indeed, our God should be praised daily and forever because He is “great – most worthy of praise – and His greatness no one can fathom” (verse 3). Think about the words that David uses to describe God: “mighty acts; glorious splendor; majesty; wonderful and awesome works; great deeds; abundant goodness; and righteousness” (verses 4-7). In literature, such are the words that we use to describe a literary hero. But in reality, these words can only describe the One Who is inconceivable – beyond our capacities to grasp – and this is precisely why we worship Him. He is no ordinary god. Nothing and no one else is like Him. We worship and serve the one real God Who stands behind all reality. This God excites our imaginations by being the Unimaginable One, and properly so. He is worthy of all our praise and worship because “He is unfathomable” (verse 3).
In Revelation 11, we learn about God’s two tribulation witnesses who will “prophesy for 1,260 days” (verse 3) – about 3.5 years – or half of the tribulation period. Specifically, these two witnesses are not identified, but here their actions are similar to those of Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament. Truly, we can do no more than speculate about their identity, but we should recognize – far more importantly – that God’s purpose for these witnesses relates to the strength of their “testimony” (verse 7). “They have power to shut up the heavens” (verse 6), thus, to certify the authority and veracity of their divine message during a time when God will be completely ignored by belligerent and evil men. Their testimony will be so trustworthy and convincing that Satan himself will attack and kill them; men will “gloat over” their deaths and “celebrate by sending each other gifts” (verse 10). But in a demonstration of His awesome power and authority, God “will resurrect them and strike terror in those who saw them” (verse 11). Any celebration of this kind during the tribulation will be short-lived and put down. In verse 14, the structural parenthesis closes with “the end of the second woe, and the seventh angel sounds his trumpet” (verse 14-15). At this point, we see the twenty-four elders in heaven falling down to praise and give thanks to God “for destroying those who destroy the earth” (verse 18). This is the truth, and it will come out.
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