Revelation 6:12 - 17

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?”

In the previous lesson (Revelation 6:7 – 11) John and we saw results of the Roman persecution of the Christians. The information released by the opening of the 6th seal shows changes in the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire is one which is persecuting Christians and now the leader of the Empire, Constantine, becomes a Christian. The government is in chaos and experiencing an upheaval. This upheaval was like a great earthquake shaking the foundation of the government.

Remember this part of the prophecy is written using symbols. The great earthquake symbolizes the great change in the government leadership throughout the empire. The darkening of the heavenly lights also show the great disturbances felt within the government.

There were men in high positions who lost much of their power when they went from becoming an empire run by idolaters to one which now supported Christianity. One of the teachings of Christianity was to worship only one God, and to stay away from idolatrous activities. These are the stars of heaven, the changes in the higher positions of the Roman government.

“Untimely or late” figs refer to fruit which is not yet ripe but falls during a storm, the upheaval in the government caused by Constantine's conversion to Christianity caused many in power to be cast aside because they were of an idolatrous belief.

The change in leadership caused much fear to be spread among those who had much power, the ones who had been persecuting the Christians now were on the opposite side, the rich, the business men, the governors, the commanders and so on. These now had much to fear, before they had been taking the belongings, torturing, and killing Christians. Now they could be facing the same things. They wanted to crawl in a hole and hide.

The disappearance of this reign of terror and persecution was like a scroll being rolled up and put away, the book is closed on the Roman Empire's persecution of Christians. The leaders of the nations, cities, and provinces were like the sky, covering all of the empire and ruling with authority, the mountains and isles represent the different local governments which had to change because of the change of belief coming from the top.

These individuals were in so much fear they wanted to be like the ones who crawled in a hole and pulled the cover over them, hidden from the new power, which included the Lamb. The change in religious belief had turned their world upside down.

These pagan rulers were beginning to feel the effect of Christianity on their lives. They were in fear of the wrath of Christ.