Not Hidden

Jeremiah 23:24 “Can anyone hide himself in secret places,
So I shall not see him?” says the Lord;
“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.”

The Raven Rock Mountain Complex located in Pennsylvania a highly restricted military installation complete with an underground nuclear bunker. It’s part of a continuity-of-government plan incorporating remotely-located, hardened and secured facilities that could be used to run military operations and even the entire country in the event of a national emergency such as a nuclear war.

Functioning as an underground nuclear bunker with an emergency operations center it functions as a system of bunkers for a catastrophic emergency.

Throughout the world, there are bunkers in hills, rocks, and canyons that people have decided would be necessary in the advent of nuclear war or as a protection from attack.

I have bad news for all those who think they have punched their ticket to survivability…..

In the last days, during the tribulation, no rock will be able to hide people from the wrath of God.

Revelation 6:12-17 “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The question of “who is able to stand” is rhetorical in nature. The answer is: no one will stand when the judgement of God falls upon a lost and fallen world.

Sin has Weight

Traditionally sin was perceived as doing wrong, but the question remains, what does wrong look like? In an ever changing society that attempts to redefine sin, it seems the need to change the boundary between what is good and evil occurs so regularly that eventually, there will be no boundaries.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

For those who embrace a world philosophy, they must likewise embrace the consequences of where that philosophy leads.

1 Corinthians 15:56 “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.”

The bunkers that were designed to save lives in the advent of disaster will be the graves of those who think they provide salvation. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, the letter to the Romans was a stark reminder that everyone who has ever lived, lives under the condemnation of God’s law.

World Philosophy

Have you ever heard the philosophical question that was meant to stump those who hold a belief in God?

“Can God make a rock so big that He can’t lift it?”

This question, like many questions about God have a catch to them that draws conclusions before leading people scrambling for an answer and confused. The mockery is an attempt to show contempt for those who believe in God, but the logic fails. If God can make a rock so big He can’t lift , He would be limited in power and therefore not omnipotent. If God can’t make a rock that big, He is likewise limited in His power and thus negating the fullness of His power.

The hidden illusion is how the question assumes that God is bound by physical limitations as we are. The Lord is not bound to the flesh nor is He limited in understanding.

Jeremiah 23:24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.”

Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

Acts 17:24 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.”

Since God is Spirit and not bound by temporal reality the answer to the question fails from the start…the question does not apply. Applying physical limitations to a Spiritual God is a trick meant to decieve.

Just as the world attempts to box God into a framework that they can control and subsequently deny Him, they will do all they can to subvert God’s plan and purpose for mankind.

God’s Plans

The judgement that is coming upon this world will occur regardless of how mankind attempts to stop it.

As the Lord is not bound by the rock, mankind cannot hide in the rocks either.

The presence of the Lord fills Creation….

There is not a place you can go that He is not there….

Just as those who refuse Him cannot hide, believers who are called by His name need not fear that they might be separated from Him.

Psalm 139:7-12 “Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

When the awesome day of the Lord arrives, He will search the farthest reaches of Creation to bring His people home.

When the judgement begins, there is not a place a person can hide that will allow them to escape the tribulation that is to come.

A Decision

Just as the children of Israel rebelled in the desert before God, many continue in that same rebellion today. God’s love has been revealed, His power cannot be disregarded, and in the midst of His presence there is great fear.

Knowing Jesus brought His people into a right relationship with the Father, brings peace in the midst of the fear.

For those who have rejected Christ, the fear is substantial. If you think mankind is scary, wait until the world realized the fullness of God’s wrath. He has been holding it back for thousands of years, in the last days it will be released upon the earth and a time of great trial will be unlike anything the world has ever seen.

Remember how Israel responded to God’s presence…..

Exodus 32:1 “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

When people think there is no judgement and are eft to their own vices, they fall away quickly. Forming god’s into images that suit them, they hope they will not hold them responsible for their actions.

But the Lord does not delay…He is not slow in keeping His promises as some think.

Just as Moses came down from the mountain and held the law up before the people, Jesus will return and everyone will be held against the law as well.

The law of God is written in stone…it will never change.

Exodus 32:15-16 “And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.”

Moses made atonement for the sins of the people, an atonement that was incomplete.

Today, the God’s people know the atonement that is perfect. For those who have received His atoning sacrifice, they look forward to the coming King. The choice to live in fear of God as a sinner unjustified is foolish. To embrace the Savior is to allow His grace to redeem you and make you acceptable as a son or daughter of the King.

As God’s people have much to look forward to in hope, the world has much to look forward to in despair.

The Lord knows His people and He knows those who are not His–He leads the faithful in righteousness, while every act, every thought, and every word spoken will be measured.

The world has no idea what is coming—let God’s people be found faithful to bring the light of the gospel to them.