What is the significance that those who are false will point people to the wilderness or inner rooms for where to find Christ and the salvation from the worldly struggles for which they are seeking deliverance? Notice that the KJV translates inner rooms here as secret chambers and think: What does an inner, private room have in common with the wilderness in regard to seeking God? See Mat 6:6, Mar 1:35[1], Luk 5:16; cf. Mat 3:1, Act 7:30. Should we be surprised that those who are false would seek to counterfeit that which is true? In what way do false Christs and false prophets often distort this commendable manner of seeking God in quiet solitude by enticing people to seek salvation in that which is hidden or esoteric, and offered only to those select initiates who will pledge themselves to their cause? How do such “secret truths” of a false salvation contrast with the truths of Christ’s salvation? Cf. Mat 10:27, Joh 18:20, and think: Are Christ’s truths really mysterious or difficult to understand? See Luk 18:16-17? Are they cryptic and kept from anyone who earnestly seeks to understand them with a good and honest heart? Cf. Deut 4:29. Contrast Christ’s kingdom with the many hidden religions and secret societies throughout history, such as Gnosticism, Mormonism, and even fraternal organizations like the Masons or the Elks.
While Christ was found throughout His ministry “here” and “there”, in the wilderness and in the inner rooms, is that where Jesus says He would continue to be found? See Mat 24:23,26. What does this remind us about the significance of Christ’s advent into space and time, and the completion of His ministry upon the earth to effect salvation for mankind? Is that to be repeated again? Rather than being here or there where those who are false will try to convince people that a savior from their troubles is to be found, where does Scripture say the true Christ and His salvation is to be found today? See Heb 10:11-13, and recall our previous study in Mat 22:44 on Christ’s completed work that continues to this day to work itself out through His word (Mat 24:35) until His enemies are put beneath His feet—even while He is at rest, seated at the right hand of God, interceding for us; cf. Mat 26:64, Mar 16:19, Act 2:33-35, 5:31, 7:55-56, Rom 8:34, Eph 1:19-20, Col 3:1, Heb 1:3,13, 7:25, 8:1, 12:2, 1Pe 3:22. Are we then to believe that Christ who sat down at the right hand of God because His work on earth was finished (Joh 19:30, 17:4) will appear here or there to provide people a worldly salvation from their enemies while He Himself has been waiting from that time onward for His enemies to be made a footstool for His feet (Heb 10:13)? Are we entering into His rest (Heb 4:1,9-11) and seeking salvation through the washing of the water of His word? Or are we seeking a different Christ to save us from our worldly enemies, while the true Christ is waiting for us to fall at His feet in submission to the salvation He has already wrought and save us from our sins into His kingdom of righteousness where, like Christ, we destroy our enemies by reaching out in love to make them our friends, or they destroy themselves by rejecting the light of the truth? See Mat 5:43-48.
1. The Greek word eremos used for wilderness is also used as an adjective for a secluded (NAU), lonely (NAS), deserted (NET), or solitary (KJV) place.↩