Revelation 4 began with Jesus telling John, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” As we enter chapter 6, it is important that we remember that the things that John was seeing were coming from heaven, they were still the “things which must take place.” Jesus, the Lamb of God, had taken the scroll from the Father and in this chapter He begins to open the seals. With each seal something happens on earth by the authority of heaven. These things are not out of God’s control. They are not what we might call “an attack of the enemy”, but they are purposed by God. It may be difficult for us to understand and even opposes what we have been taught or believed, but the Scripture is clear. Jesus holds the authority over all things. He opens the seals, He contains or loosens judgment, and He is in the midst of everything that happens. This week, we will discuss the opening of the first four seals of the scroll, and we will see what are often referred to as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. But, what I hope we will discover is that they have no authority outside what God has given them. They are not to be feared and that time is not to be dreaded. It will be “the beginning of sorrows”, but it will also be the first steps of Jesus’ return to earth. This is how His kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven. It’s not earth rising against heaven, it’s heaven preparing earth for it’s King.