Truth is the daughter of time

Do not ignore the source of wisdom, knowledge, and discernment of good and evil

If mathematics is the language of physics, then biblical inquiry is the language of destiny. The universe, robbed of mankind’s musings, and our moral impact, is a cold and desolate arrow in time toward a dead future. Happy Monday morning with that depressing thought. However, if we can describe the heat death of the universe in mathematical terms, we can also describe the glorious future of divine revelation, beauty, righteousness, and wisdom, in the warmth of God’s love.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy. A spiral galaxy seen close up and almost face on, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.

One of the most studied, and troubled, passages in the Bible is the prophecies written down by Daniel in chapters 11-12. In those chapters, Daniel writes a vision he received while praying. If you know your Bible stories from Sunday School, Daniel was taken as a boy into the captivity of Babylon, and given a high position by the king, where he avoided death in the lion’s den, as an angel “shut the mouths” of the lions, after defying a royal order to worship an idolatrous statue of the ruler.

In chapter 11, the near-term prophecies of kingdoms and rulers were set out, and pretty specifically. These things happened as Daniel wrote them, received from the angel Gabriel. From Matthew Henry’s commentary, we see that Daniel was given the future history of the Persian and Grecian empires, along with the Egyptian and Syrian rulers, and the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes, whose appearance had such an effect on the Holy Land that it set up 400 years of silence from the prophets, and the rise of political sects that existed at the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Needless to say, there is a lot to unpack. I am not going to get into that, because people spend their entire lives studying it. However, the accuracy of Daniel 11 is there to prove the reliability of Daniel 12, which speaks of some things still yet to occur even today.

In Daniel 12, the angel breaks the fourth wall, speaking of the prophecy in terms of itself, and how it would be studied by many. But Matthew Henry’s commentary hit me like a ton of bricks. Daniel 12, verse 3 reads: “Those who are wise shall shine / Like the brightness of the firmament, / And those who turn many to righteousness / Like the stars forever and ever.”

The commentary adds three points, which I’ve quoted here, complete with italicized text from the original:

1. There is a glory reserved for all the saints in the future state, for all that are wise, wise for their souls and eternity. A man's wisdom now makes his face to shine (Eccles. 8:1), but much more will it do so in that state where its power shall be perfected and its services rewarded.

2. The more good any do in this world, especially to the souls of men, the greater will be their glory and reward in the other world. Those that turn men to righteousness, that turn sinners from the errors of their ways and help to save their souls from death (Jam. 5:20), will share in the glory of those they have helped to heaven, which will be a great addition to their own glory.

3. Ministers of Christ, who have obtained mercy of him to be faithful and successful, and so are made burning and shining lights in this world, shall shine very brightly in the other world, shall shine as the stars. Christ is the sun, the fountain, of the lights both of grace and glory; ministers, as stars, shine in both, with a light derived from him, and a diminutive light in comparison of him; yet to those that are earthen vessels it will be a glory infinitely transcending their deserts. They shall shine as the stars of different magnitudes, some in less, others in greater lustre; but, whereas the day is coming when the stars shall fall from heaven as leaves in autumn, these stars shall shine for ever and ever, shall never set, never be eclipsed.

Do you see people with joy on their faces, who talk about the future with a rush of excitement? Do you see people whose countenances seem unfazed by the chaos, war, injustice, and evil in the world, yet they speak with urgency regarding the state of one person’s soul? Do you see people with a light in their eyes betraying the seriousness of their commitment to do good, but without the angst of someone who doesn’t know what good is?

There are such people. When you meet one, you literally feel their energy. Some are lifted up by the encounter, and others are made uncomfortable. I’ve met some people like this. One of them was the evangelist Steve Hill. Steve Hill had terminal cancer, and recovered from it a dozen years ago, to write a book titled “Spiritual Avalanche: The Threat of False Teachings that Could Destroy Millions.” After the book was published, Hill’s cancer returned, and he died on March 9, 2014 (just short of a year later). I recommend you read the book, if you are at all concerned with the state of the modern church in America, and worldwide.

In Steve Hill’s presence, people felt his penetrating gaze and concern for the state of their souls. That was all that mattered to him, one conversation at a time. When he preached, the power of his words was magnified by the Holy Spirit, and many believed on Jesus Christ after hearing him. There have been many other preachers with the same commitment, humility, and discernment. As Matthew Henry noted, “the day is coming when the stars shall fall from heaven as leaves in autumn,” some stars shall shine forever. Some preachers find themselves full of their own notoriety and celebrity, and fall to pride and human lusts. Others stand firm in righteousness.

Like mathematics gives and answers to eternal puzzles of the physical universe, we can also discern which preachers and teachers are answering with truth, and which are spinning tales to tickle ears, if we study the Bible ourselves and arm ourselves in the language of moral destiny.

On the prophecy itself, Daniel heard that he should “seal up” the meaning, as it would not be understood until the times had come for its revelation. People would continue to study the words, trying to gain understanding. Daniel 12, verse 4 reads: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Matthew Henry’s commentary adds:

1. Those things of God which are now dark and obscure will hereafter be made clear, and easy to be understood. Truth is the daughter of time. Scripture prophecies will be expounded by the accomplishment of them; therefore they are given, and for that explication they are reserved. Therefore they are told us before, that, when they do come to pass, we may believe.

2. Those things of God which are despised and neglected, and thrown by as useless, shall be brought into reputation, shall be found to be of great service, and be brought into request; for divine revelation, however slighted for a time, shall be magnified and made honourable, and, above all, in the judgment of the great day, when the books shall be opened, and that book among the rest.

The events in Daniel 11 already happened before and during the advent of Christ. The events in Daniel 12 are reserved for us to see and understand as they unfold. We all want to live in the peace of our own sureness that the future will be secure for us. Christians should be compelled, driven, to study the Word of God, in order that our faces might “shine as the stars,” and our presence would bring a power others can feel in their lives.

But many don’t feel that nudge, because as knowledge increases that proves the Bible’s promises, it also increases in every other worldly area. We are drowned in a firehose of data and information. Many say they have the answers to the world’s problems. But those answers are not rooted in righteousness, or good, or the humility, service, and joy that God’s presence brings. The world’s answers are as dead as the universe bereft of our own lives.

Remember, in three days, the events of the world were altered forever by the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But the preparation for those three days was foretold, and well prepared, hundreds, even thousands of years, in advance. In one day, the modern state of Israel became a nation. But what Satan meant for evil in the Holocaust, God used for good by gathering His people Israel. The Six Day War was meant for Israel’s destruction, and was planned for years by its enemies. But in one day, Jerusalem came to King David’s people.

October 7th, 2023 was one day meant for evil. But God has been preparing things out of our sight for many years. The things that are meant for evil are used by God to further his purposes of good. We have a choice, all of us, to determine which side of these events we take. But know that the prophecy given to Daniel will happen.

As for me, I have a lot of repenting to do, as I’ve chosen poorly many times, deciding to take the political route and forego the joy that shines on the faces of people who choose righteousness. Even a little study into the Word of God hits me like a brick to the head. What have I been doing?

So today, I chose to study further, because that knowledge will help any of us shine like the stars. Politics can wait, or better yet, go on without me for a day. Truth is the daughter of time. Soon, we will all know the future because it will have happened. What I do today will determine my own countenance. I choose to be like the stars.

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