Revelation 6:15: 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;

When the seven parts of the cosmos are in commotion at the end of the sixth seal,¹ seven symbolic classes of men, representing all wicked people,² will be universally afflicted.³ They include: (1) worldly rulers (i.e., kings of the earth),⁴ (2) influential people in society that bring about evil (i.e., great men),⁵ (3) the wealthy that are filled with pride (i.e., rich men),⁶ (4) military commanders over armies that fight against God and goodness (i.e., chief captains),⁷ (5) strong and powerful men that dominate others in their wicked ways (i.e., mighty men),⁸ (6) servants of sin (i.e., every bondman),⁹ and (7) people that freely choose a wicked course of life for themselves (i.e., every free man).¹⁰ The unrepentant people in these classes will be spiritually unprepared for the destruction at the end of the sixth seal and they will remain spiritually unprepared going into the seventh seal.¹¹

When the seven final signs of the sixth seal occur, great fear will come upon the seven classes of wicked people. They will seek spiritual refuge in the most unlikely of places symbolized by the dens of wild beasts.¹² They will make their spiritual condition worse as they figuratively try to hide themselves in the rocks of the mountains which pose the greatest physical danger during an actual earthquake.¹³ John is indicating in this verse that the wicked will act irrationally to avoid the wrath¹⁴ of God and Jesus Christ.¹⁵ Their spiritual acts of self-preservation will do them no good unless they repent as spiritually rational people would do.

Revelation 6:16: And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb

The wicked will attempt to hide from the final calamities of the sixth seal, but they will find no consolation or security in the dens and in the rocks of mountains.¹⁶ In their anguish,¹⁷ they will cry for the mountains and rocks to crush them to death¹⁸ rather than face God who sitteth on the throne¹⁹ and the wrath of the Lamb.²⁰ The wrath of God and the Lamb will strike great fear into the hearts of the unrepentant²¹ who will attempt to hide from the effects of their sins rather than openly confessing and repenting of them.

The end of the sixth seal is the first of several great days of wrath.²² John sees Christ as a Lamb in this vision because Christ's judgments are just and rooted in his atoning sacrifice as the Lamb of God.²³