Revelation 6:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,

NIV: Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

NASB: Then the kings of the earth and the eminent people, and the commanders and the wealthy and the strong, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

CSB: Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

NLT: Then everyone — the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person — all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

KJV: And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

NKJV: 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,

Prior verses described terrifying natural disasters associated with the Lamb opening the sixth seal of God's judgment. According to this verse, the cataclysmic judgments unleashed terrify mankind. No one feels immune to the disasters that strike the heavens and the earth. Every rank and file of society will panic. John lists "kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals, and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free." Nothing exempts those listed from suffering the judgments. The heads of governments, statesmen, military leaders, the wealthy, CEOs, industrial giants, scientists, influential figures, free citizens, and enslaved people will flee to the mountains and hide among the rocks.

In that day the powerful will be powerless to withstand God's judgment; the wealthy will not be able to buy their way out of His judgment; and scientists will not be able to apply a scientific formula to make the judgment disappear. No influential figure will be able to persuade the Lamb to reverse His decision to unleash the calamity. The situation everyone faces will be grim and deadly!

Revelation 6:12–17 continues the episode of Jesus' opening of the seven seals of God's judgment. The first four opened seals brought devastation at the hands of four horsemen. The fifth opened seal revealed a company of martyrs under the altar in heaven. This sixth opened seal launches horrific terrestrial and celestial disturbances that cause earth's mighty men to hide among the rocks of the mountains. These men call upon rocks to fall on them, hiding from the face of God and from the wrath of the Lamb. They know the day of the wrath of God and the Lamb has arrived.

This chapter typifies the dramatic, heavily symbolic description of end-times events for which Revelation is famous. John sees a series of visions corresponding to Jesus opening the first six seals of the scroll He received in chapter 5. The first four seals unleash four horsemen, respectively symbolizing a world leader, war, famine, and death. The fifth seal reveals the prayers of martyrs pleading with God to avenge their deaths. The sixth seal unleashes massive natural disasters. In response, the people of the world cower in fear, admitting that they are suffering under the wrath of God.

The largest section of Revelation extends from chapter 4 to the end and describes events ''that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). Chapter 5 focused on a scroll containing God's judgment on sin and a search for someone to open it. Only Jesus is worthy to open it. When Jesus took the scroll from God, He received praise from every creature in heaven and on earth. Now, in chapter 6 our attention focuses on the events that transpire when Jesus opens six of the seven seals, one at a time. This process will continue through chapter 8.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''