Revelation 6:12-17 NKJV

12 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.13 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.14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain
and island was moved out of its place.15 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,16 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!17 “For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to
stand?”

6:15–17. As a result of these first six seal judgments, many unbelievers will want to die
and to hide from God, but will be unable to. The great day of his wrath is the day of the
Lord, the predicted time of God’s judgment of the earth and its inhabitants (cf. Joel 1:15;
2:1, 11, 31). The day of wrath is contrasted to the present “day of grace.” Is come means
God’s day of judgment “is here”—it has finally arrived, having begun with the first six
seals. King James Version Study Bible

“The Apocalypse is molded by the great discourse of our Lord upon 'the last things'
which has been preserved for us in the first three Gospels (Mat_24:4; 25.; Mark 13:5-37;
Luke 21:8-36; compare 17:20-37). The parallelism between the two is, to a certain extent,
acknowledged by all inquirers, and is indeed, in many respects, so obvious, that it can
hardly escape the notice of even the ordinary reader. Let any one compare, for example,
the account of the opening of the sixth seal with the description of the end (Mat_24:29,
Mat_24:30), and he will see that the one is almost a transcript of the other.” (Milligan).
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Seven Signs
1. Megaseismos – or megaquake.
2. Sun blackened
3. Moon like blood
4. Stars fall from sky
5. Fig trees drop fruit
6. Sky recedes like a scroll
7. Mountains and islands are moved

Seven People
1. Kings of the earth
2. Great men
3. Rich men
4. Commanders
5. Mighty men
6. Slaves
7. Freemen
A false peace, followed by war, famine, a worldwide pandemic with a 25% mortality
factor, and vicious persecution of believers has its climax in the sixth seal. All of the
seals represent the Day of the Lord i.e. The Tribulation or Daniel’s Seventieth Week.
That the unbelievers didn’t recognize the first five seals as such is their problem, not
God’s. The Day of the Lord doesn’t start with the sixth seal, it’s just that men finally
recognize and accept that the catastrophes are supernatural.

Some things are worth noting in this passage. Great earthquakes are now happening such
as the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia. I believe the one in Rev 6 is worldwide. Stars
falling from heaven wasn’t understood in the day of John but meteor showers or even an
impact with a large meteor would have catastrophic results. The sun darkened, the moon
as blood and the sky rolled back were not understandable before 1945. Only in our
generation has there been firepower sufficient to displace the atmosphere and cause this
phenomenon.

Finally, men hiding in caves – isn’t that a familiar phrase since 2001? Martyrs being
beheaded – society hasn’t seen that in 500 yrs until the recent Muslim fanatics. I am
constantly amazed at exactly how accurate the bible is – things that have baffled
prophecy scholars for centuries are now perfectly understood. World wide commerce
with no money – just numbers? Can you say debit card? The whole world watching an
event live? Hello – satellite tv. Tracking people with something implanted under their
skin? Child’s play for the NSA.

We are the final generation before the return of Jesus Christ. Are you ready?