And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Ver. 12. There was a great earthquake] Understand hereby those horrible commotions and confusions that occured in the Roman empire upon those ten bloody persecutions, and the earnest supplications of the saints which can work wonders in heaven and earth. The death and destruction of the persecutors was (as it was said of the death of Arius) precationis opus non morbi, the effect of faithful prayers calling for full and final vengeance. (Socrates i. 15.)
The sun became black] It is ordinary in Scripture to set forth horrible commotions of commonwealths by such figurative expressions as these, Jer 4:23-31 Joel 2:10,11 Isaiah 13:10 .