Chapter 6

1I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” Seal number one. Big reveal.

2I looked, and there in front of me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out like a winner, bent on winning. Winning. Out there winning. So much winning.

3When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”

4Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. He was given a large sword. Red. Big sword. Very bad guy.

5When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there in front of me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.

6Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day's wages, and six pounds of barley for a day's wages. And don't damage the oil and the wine!” A day's wages for a loaf of bread. Inflation. Terrible inflation. Worst inflation in history. Groceries through the roof. Who did this?

7When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”

8I looked, and there in front of me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and the grave was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild animals of the earth. Pale horse. Pale rider. Low energy. Very deadly, though.

9When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of the people who'd been killed because of God's message and the testimony they'd kept. The loyal ones. Martyrs. The real heroes.

10They called out in a loud voice, “How long, boss, holy and true, until you judge the people of the earth and pay them back for our blood?” Payback. They want payback. How long? They want to know how long.

11Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just like they'd been. Wait a little longer. Two weeks. Retribution is coming. Be patient.

12I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a huge earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red. Huge earthquake. Bigger than anybody's ever seen.

13And the stars in the sky fell to earth, like late figs drop from a fig tree when it's shaken by a strong wind. The stars. Falling. Like figs. The fig tree again. He never liked that fig tree.

14The heavens rolled up like a scroll, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. Moved. Everything relocated. Biggest relocation ever.

15Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everybody else, slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. The generals. The elites. Hiding in caves. The so-called powerful. Hiding.

16They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb! The anger of the Lamb. Very angry lamb. You don't want to make this lamb angry.

17Because the great day of their anger has come, and who can stand up to it?” Nobody. Nobody can stand up to it.