God will judge the secrets of men, revealing the hidden desires, lusts, passions, and motives of their hearts, as well as their outward actions. On the day of judgment, all these hidden things will be brought into the open, demonstrating that God's judgment is right, correct, accurate, and impartial. The secret motives of evil powers behind the scenes are known to God, and they will not escape accountability, no matter how many secrets they hold. All secret thoughts and plans will be exposed during judgment, ending all deceptions of concealment. People will be seen as they truly are and will receive the punishment they deserve. Those with pure motives and hearts, often falsely accused and persecuted, will have their secret motives brought out, approved, and rewarded by God. Jesus Christ, entrusted by God, holds the power to search the heart, know the thoughts, and understand all motives and plans of the mind to execute this judgment.

Little of what we think is private stays hidden. Companies, hackers, and governments gather, store, and profile personal data, and even a layperson with patience can piece together a stranger's life from social media and public records. Every post, like, and even non-click feeds a digital profile that may someday be used against us, as in China's social credit system or in sudden firings over a liked tweet. Anonymity is a thing of the past, and "free" services cost us our privacy, since "if you're not paying for it, you are the product." Luke 8:16-17 says that nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Hebrews 4:13 says no creature is hidden from God's sight, and all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. God knows everything about us, and that transparency is good because He is shaping us into His image. Exposure to human data-gatherers, by contrast, offers no evident upside and raises the question of whether speech that seems free eventually comes at a price.

God reveals His secrets according to His sovereign will, disclosing them to some while hiding Himself from others for the purposes of that same will. His cloud serves both ends: it conceals enough of His glory to protect humans from destruction, yet it also announces His presence and becomes the place from which He teaches. At the Transfiguration, the cloud hid the Father's glory from the three disciples, but from it He revealed a truth He deemed exceedingly important, that the words of His Son carry more weight than those of Moses and the prophets. In the same way, the cloud at Sinai enabled Israel to hear Moses. Ezekiel was given more insight into the inner workings of God's cloud and portable throne than anyone else, an example of God exercising His prerogative to reveal knowledge as He chooses. The smoke that is absent from Ezekiel's description may have been removed so the prophet could see more clearly. Smoke, by contrast, is God's way of saying, "Keep out." Because a smoky environment is inimical to man, God can ensure His privacy by it, and by controlling the density of smoke He controls exactly how much of Himself He reveals. Humans can therefore know of God only what He wants them to know.