The Revelation of St. John (1558) - Page 8

Earthquake, the black Sun, the blood-red
Moon, falling stars. The powerful hidden
in caves. Revelation 6.
original Latin: "Terremotus, Sol niger, Luna sanguinea, stellę cadentes. Potentes absconditi in speluncis. Apo.6."

Earthquake, black Sun, bloody
Moon, falling stars, and the powerful
hide themselves in mountains and rocky clefts.
Revelation 6.
original German: "Erdbidem/schwartze Sonn/blutiger Mon/fallende stern/Und die gewaltigẽ verbergen sich in berge und felsen klüffte. Apo.6."

This woodcut illustrates the terrifying events of the opening of the Sixth Seal (Revelation 6:12–15). In the visual language of the 16th century, these celestial signs—a darkened sun and a moon turned the color of blood—signaled the Apocalypse (the final uncovering of God's judgment).

The artist depicts a literal interpretation of the biblical text: stars are shown physically falling from the sky like "untimely figs," while the landscape itself is fractured by a massive earthquake (referred to in the German text as "Erdbidem").

Crucial to this scene is the social inversion it portrays. Below the celestial chaos, people of all ranks—kings wearing crowns, nobles, and commoners—are shown fleeing in panic. They attempt to hide in caves and among rocks, crying out for the mountains to fall on them to hide them from the "wrath of the Lamb." This imagery emphasized to contemporary readers that on the day of divine reckoning, worldly power and status provide no protection.