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The Cry of the Wicked

Revelation 6:15-17

There are three lessons to be drawn from the responses of sinful men to the great judgment of the sixth seal:

Sin's horror (v. 15). Kings, captains, great ones, rich, strong, slave and free—the entire fabric of human society will be terrified. No one escapes; no one is exempt.

Sin's hiding (v. 15). When the day of the Lord comes, John sees people seeking somewhere to hide. They hide because their sins bring the wrath of the Lamb on them. The terrible thing about sin is that it makes us fugitives from God. The supreme thing about the work of Jesus is that it puts us into a relationship with God in which we no longer seek to hide.

Sin's hardness (v. 16-17). Instead of calling upon God, these evil men try to hide from the wrath of the Lamb by seeking escape in death. To them, death is preferable to facing God's wrath. But death only changes their state of existence; it does not deter judgment. One of the most amazing truths of the book of Revelation is the hardness of people's hearts. As the intensity of God's wrath is multiplied, the stubbornness of sinful humans only increases.

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