John saw the Lamb begin to open the seals, starting the time of the judgment of God. We initially see the first horse go out, a white horse whose rider bent upon conquest, but this conquest will bring with it a lot of destruction. And we then that is exactly what we see: Wars, scarcity of food, death by plagues and famines as well as by the wild beasts of the earth. The martyrs even call out to God asking for Him to avenge their deaths, but they are told to be patient because more people yet must be killed.
All of these things happening will make the people, including the kings of the nations, run to the mountains and the caves so that they can be saved. But even in the midst of these “protected” places, they experience such terror that they call out to the mountains and caves to simply fall on them because of their fear of the God’s wrath. God’s judgment is so strong that it strikes fear in the deepest places within even the greatest of men and women on the earth:
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. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
Revelation 6:15-17
So frequently, we think that we are in control. We think that we are an advanced society. We think that we have everything in hand. And yet, in this book of Revelation, we see that it all comes crumbling down. Through nothing more than a call for the riders of the various horses to come, God and His Christ send his judgment out into the earth causing terror amongst everyone. There will be no resistance and there will be no standing against their wrath. When it comes, it will not only be known, but it will also be felt. Deeply.
So for us, we must know the One who will bring judgment. We must come to the Father through Christ. And only through Jesus may we pass through the coming judgment into eternal life.