"Fall Over Us And Hide Us"

John's words continue: "And the kings of the earth and the top-ranking ones and the military commanders and the rich and the strong ones and every slave and every free person hid themselves in the caves and in the rock-masses of the mountains. And they keep saying to the mountains and to the rock-masses: 'Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?' " -Revelation 6:15-17.

When Hosea was pronouncing Jehovah's judgment on Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, he said: "The high places of Beth-aven, the sin of Israel, will actually be annihilated. Thorns and thistles themselves will come up upon their altars. And people will in fact say to the mountains, 'Cover us!' And to the hills, 'fall over us!' " (Hosea 10:8) How were these words fulfilled? Well, when Samaria fell to the cruel Assyrians in 740 B.C.E., there was nowhere for the Israelites to run. The words of Hosea express the feeling of helplessness, abject terror and abandonment that the conquered people felt. Neither the literal hills nor the mountain like institutions of Samaria could protect them, even though they had seemed so permanent in the past.

Similarly, when Jesus was being led to his death by the Roman soldiers, he addressed the women of Jerusalem and said: ""Days are coming in which people will say, 'Happy are the barren women, and the wombs that did not give birth and the breasts that did not nurse!" Then they will start to say to the mountains, 'Fall over us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us over!' " (Luke 23:29, 30) The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E. is well documented, and it is evident that Jesus' words had an import similar to that of Hosea's. There was no hiding place then for the Jews who remained in Judea. Wherever they tribe to hide in Jerusalem, or even when they fled to the mountain top citadel of Masada, they were unable to escape the violent expression of Jehovah's judgment.

Now, the opening of the sixth seal has shown that something similar will happen during the coming day of Jehovah's wrath. At the final shaking of this earthly system of things, those committed to supporting it will desperately seek for a hiding place, but they will not find one. False religion, Babylon the Great, has already failed them miserably. Neither caves in the literal mountains nor symbolic mountain like political and commercial organizations will provide financial security or any other kind of help. Nothing will shelter them from Jehovah's wrath. Their terror is well described by Jesus: "Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."- Matthew 24:30.

Yes, those who have refused to recognize the authority of the victorious Rider of the white horse will be forced to admit their error. Humans who have willingly been part of the seed of the serpent will be faced with destruction when Satan's world passes away. (Genesis 3:15; 1 John 2:17) The world situation at that time will be such that many will, in effect, ask: "Who is able to stand?" They will apparently assume that no one at all can stand approved before Jehovah in that day of his judgment. But they will be wrong, as the book of Revelation goes on to show.

Next time: Sealing The Israel Of God