Revelation
The End Begins

Revelation 6:1-2
I 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!" 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

The seal is opened and one of the directors of the drama, (the four living creatures), call forth the antichrist. The Church has been in heaven for a time, (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8), and he has yet to come into his power but now he is commissioned to begin his evil work.

He rides a white horse as will Jesus, (Revelation 19:11-15), and he has a bow but no arrows. He rides to conquer but is not given power to reign as Jesus and His saints will reign! He is a man that arises from near obscurity but has the power to overcome through peace as well as war.

Daniel 7:7-8
“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast-terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. [The Revised Roman Empire*] 8 "While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; [one rising from the renewed Roman Empire – European Union*] and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.” (* added commentary)

Daniel 8:23-25
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. (KJV)

Daniel 11:21-24
And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. 24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. (KJV)
[peace - OT:7962 shalvah (shal-vaw'); from OT:7951; security (genuine or false): KJV - abundance, peace (-ably), prosperity, quietness.]

This rider has already been honored more in many ways than has Christ Himself. He has been so because the world loves darkness more than light. (John 3:19-21) He will come in as a savior and will cause many to prosper and yet he will bring all into his web of deceit and domination. And he shall make war on God’s holy people and against the Lamb but he shall be defeated as God’s people are rescued and he and his prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. (Daniel 7:21-22, Revelation 19:20-21)

As the spirit of antichrist is already in the world, (1 John 2:18, 4:3) we are seeing the patterns and types of this man who shall be worse than Hitler and Stalin combined but shall be as subtle and as deceitful as President Obama and various leaders of Europe. He is now, whether in power or to come to power and he will attract all for he shows himself as coming to save – not to destroy. Yet he shall bring God’s people back to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and will bring forth the coming of the risen Lamb to earth and so his terribleness will serve the purpose of God both in the judgment of many and the salvation of the chosen.

Zechariah 12:8-10
“On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
(See all of Zechariah 12)

As terrible as this rider is and as much notoriety as he has already claimed, who is that turns to Christ because of him? Who is that turns from sin to escape his evil and destruction? No, the world shall run after him until it is too late and they shall see that he was their judgment, not their savior and that he was their destruction and not their blessing.

Romans 2:5-11

John 3:36
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.”

Revelation
The Death Riders

While we are seeing all of what is to come today, today’s headlines are nothing compared to what these horsemen will one day bring. What we see and will see increase is just the beginning. The real pain is yet to come. (Mark 13:7-8)

Revelation 6:3-4
When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

The first rider – the antichrist, (vs. 2), had a bow but no arrows. He is a conqueror and will cause the death of many, but is not given power to randomly destroy life. The rider of the red horse is given a large sword to bring death. Violent and brutal death is his purpose and mission. It is not just war that he brings but tribal warfare, civil wars, race wars, terrorism, and deadly civil unrest. Peace and civility will be taken from the earth. What we have seen and see today of these tragedies will be nothing as compared to what this rider will bring.

Revelation 6:5-6
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

What can be expected from wars, deadly riots and hatred but famine and greed? People will be dying from violence and hunger. The lack of food supplies will only increase the violence. Rationing will create more tension and offer little help. Drought, floods, brutal winters and summers will all add to the mix and bring world wide shortages of food. The world has never seen lack at this level of severity – not at this level of need and want. The hungry will be everywhere and yet in the midst of all of the need there will be the right things for the right people as the oil and the wine will remain untouched. This will only add to the frustration as food riots add to the lack of peace and death count.

Revelation 6:7-8
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades 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 beasts of the earth. (Five horsemen – not four?)

The first three riders would be more than enough to cause the earth to tremble but there is so much more yet to come. Add to control, terror, and want Death himself followed by his friend Hades, the tormenter of the unrighteous dead. One fourth of the world’s population is to die and this besides those that will be killed through the reign of the antichrist, the death due to the swordsman, and the many that will die from starvation.

The fears over worldwide pandemics will one day be realized as Death rides unchecked through the earth. Aids, bird flu, influenza, small pox, tuberculosis and even the black plague will have their way with the population. Cholera, malaria, staph infections and diseases that we have yet to hear of will destroy millions. (Also the drugs rushed to market to help the dying will kill their fair share!) Perhaps many will die from radiation sicknesses as terrorists and countries use nuclear weapons against one another due to the world’s lack of peace.

Wild animals, starving from the hungry ravishing their food chain, misplaced by the destruction of their habitat due to the wars that will be waged everywhere and lured to population areas to feast on the corpses that will be left in the streets will also attack and kill many living.

To make it worse on the dead they will enter into immediate torment as Hades follows to keep the dead in misery. Their hunger will continue, their disease will never cure, and their pain and anguish will live on even though their body is dead. (While the above scenario for Death and Hades would seem to fit Africa and Asia – possibly South and Central America, with world travel and just the unknown of the time to come will any area be exempt?)

But take heart for one day Death and Hades will ride no longer! 

1 Corinthians 15:25-26
For he (Christ) must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Revelation 20:13-15
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The antidote for all of the above is so simple. There is no need to fear or to plan out a defense. All we must do is to believe on Jesus.

Acts 16:31
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household.”

See Hebrews 2:3, 12:25-27

Revelation
Martyrs and Devastation

Revelation 6:9-11
When he (Jesus) opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

Revelation 13:7
He (the beast) was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

To serve the Lord during the tribulation will be very dangerous and as this seal is opened a reign of terror will begin against those that believe. We see those that will be martyred for their faith during the first half of the Tribulation. They wait for justice. They know that from the beginning of their faith that death awaits them and yet they believe. (I believe many of these will be backsliders and family of those that knew Christ and they realize that judgment awaits and so they will now believe.) (Oh what a waste of the opportunity of today!) Their wait is based on how quickly the others that are to believe are also martyred for Christ. Why must they die for their faith? Perhaps it is kindness to them as if they are martyred they cannot turn away from Christ as the days grow harder. Maybe it is their lot for putting off believing in Jesus as the Lord of their lives. Whatever the reason, many will die for Jesus. That these wait under the altar show their place in God’s heart and that their salvation is different from that which the Church experienced as their ultimate righteousness is not by faith but in the laying down of their lives.  Yet while their spirits wait for their bodies to be glorified they are given white robes to reward their trust in God in such perilous times.

Revelation 6:12-14
I watched as he (Jesus) opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Haggai 2:6-7
For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake and make tremble the [starry] heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land; [Heb 12:26.] 7 And I will shake all nations and the desire and the precious things of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts. [Isa 60:5; Matt 2:1-12.] (AMP)

Joel 2:28-32 (Isaiah 13:9-13, 34:4; Joel 3:15, 2 Peter 3:10-12)

Matthew 24:29

Global warming is coming but it is not as they say for it will be global judgment. Man has loved creation more than the Creator (Romans 1:22-25) and now creation will be altered and become a threat to man as never before. (The animals that man has treasured are already dining on mankind! Rev. 6:8) (This should be very scary as we are seeing a rise in deaths from “natural” disasters now!) This will be an earthquake that seems to be set off by tremendous volcanic eruptions all across the world with great intensity in the Pacific ring of fire.

The sky will darkened due to all of the ash and this will make the sun hard to see and hard for its light to get to earth. The moon will take on the reflection of the lava flows and the sun and through the ash will be blood red. The intensity of the earth’s shaking will open it up to collisions with meteors and other planetary bodies as the earth is moved and put in the path of objects that now miss us. (The moving of the earth will cause the sky to appear as though it has folded up!) The tides will be greatly changed and islands will be covered over, coastlines will be removed as mountains are moved and every fault line shakes with the wrath of God!

How will the inhabitants of earth react? Will they humble themselves in repentance before God?

Revelation 6:15-17
Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 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! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

No one can stand before the wrath of the Lamb.

Psalm 110:5-6
The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.

Revelation
The Wind, the Sealed, and the Raptured 

Revelation 7:1-2
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.

What an eerie experience. After an earthquake as the world has never experienced, one so strong that the earth is literally moved over (Rev. 6:12-14), total stillness. Not a breath of wind anywhere. The angels that control the winds and all answers for the four regions of the earth, (See Zechariah 6) are about to unleash judgment form the four corners of the earth. There is about to be a windstorm as never seen that will involve not only the elements but the upheaval of governments and powers, but all is paused.

Revelation 7:2-3
Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

What is about to happen is devastating and have such an effect on people everywhere that some must be protected to carry out a special work for the Lord.

Revelation 7:4
Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

(See Rev. 7:5-8 for a listing of each tribe. Dan is noticeably absent from the list. Many believe this is because Dan was the first tribe to go into idolatry. Also the name of Joseph is given for the tribe of Ephraim as Joseph was his father.)

For a picture of the sealing process we can look back at Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 9

As for the 144,000, these are men who have not been with a woman nor do they have even the thought of a lie in them. (Rev. 14:4-5) They have given themselves to Christ in a special way at a time when their people are still not open to Christ and they will be kept in a special way.

Revelation 7:9-10
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

With these the Church, the angels, and the creatures join in a song of praise to the Lamb!

Revelation 7:11-12 

Revelation 7:13-15
Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes-who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation 6:9-11
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

There time has come. The number of Gentile martyrs has reached its fullness. How great is the mercy and compassion of the Lord and how great the faithfulness of these that are before Him now. The Lord is so kind and merciful as He could say that the time that any Gentile can be saved is over but He is always desiring that all come to repentance! (2 Peter 3:9)  And oh what a celebration and spectacle as all bow, sing, and play their praise to Jesus for the work of salvation!

These new saints they receive a special blessing for their torture and death – they receive peace and a special commission to serve God in His heavenly Temple and later in the Temple of the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 7:15-17
Therefore,
“they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16 Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation
The Seventh, Silence, Love and Fury

Revelation 8:1
When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Why?

No one yet knows. Most likely because the judgments that are about to come upon the earth are so terrible that there is nothing to do but to sit in silent wonder. Why every man and woman on earth has not repented to this point will amaze all in heaven to point of shock that this next seal had to be opened at all. Yes, many on earth have been deceived and many have hardened their hearts but still they saw through all that surrounded the opening of the first six seals that God was demanding justice for those that rejected His Son.

John 3:16 - 17
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Yes, the redeemed will marvel at what is to come upon the earth but perhaps we will sit in silence for we realize that it was only by the grace of God that we are in heaven watching instead of still being on earth. We gaze in silence, awestruck by the love of God for man. The thought may seem strange at such a time but God gave His love to man. Man was warned about the wrath of God and he made jokes about God’s judgment and denied God’s love asking how a god of love could judge man? Yet they missed God’s love for His love is seen in His Son that the world has by-in-large rejected.

John 3:35-36
“The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.”

The love of God is real and it is so freely given in Jesus!

1 John 4:15-17
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Every man, woman and child in heaven will look at themselves and then look to the Father and the Lamb and stand amazed at how we were delivered by love!

Romans 5:8-9
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

But the silence ends as eight angels take their place in the unfolding drama.

Revelation 8:2
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

The trumpets will soon sound in their order and the fury of God over the rejection of His Son will be felt upon the earth. But first there is another scene in heaven that must be observed.

Revelation 8:3-4
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand.

The angel has a golden censer and he stands before the heavenly altar. This is not an altar of sacrifice but the pattern for the altar in the Holy of Holies in the earthly tabernacle. The incense when put in the fire would create a cloud to hide man from before God. Then man must be hidden from God’s view because of sin. (See Exodus 30:7-8 and Leviticus 16:12-13) In heaven the incense is not to hide man but to honor God and those that have prayed for the salvation of souls and for the appearing of their Savior. This cloud is a vindication of the patience and forbearance of God in waiting for men to repent. This offering of incense is not a covering for man from God but an indictment of man before God for there are those that believe and have believed and their prayers show their trust in God’s Son. (See Acts 9:11)

To offer the incense there must be fire – the fire of judgment. In the fire of judgment are the sounds, sights, and feeling of God’s wrath to come.

Revelation 8:5
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

Revelation
Trumpets of Deliverance and Destruction

Revelation 8:6
Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

While we are about to look into trumpets that announce and begin destruction upon the earth, (the first four trumpets), and upon man, (the last three trumpets), there is trumpet call that brings deliverance.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

What a difference between the trumpet of God and the trumpets of the angels! The trumpet of God is deliverance to the children of God from this earth, the release of the Church to go home to our Father! It is the gathering sound for all that have believed on Jesus. The bodies of those that have died in Christ will be changed and joined with their waiting spirits while those who are alive will be changed as we rise to meet Jesus in the skies! This is not symbolism or a Christian fantasy but reality. The trumpet call of God frees the Church to be who we really are, the literal children of God – immortal and like our Savior n every way! (See also 1 Corinthians 15:49-57 and 1 John 3:2)

By the time the angels’ trumpets sound the Church will have been in heaven for maybe two or two and a half years – (or more depending on when Israel signs the seven year treaty with the Beast, See Daniel 9:27). We will have missed so many horrible times, events, and disasters. The earth with its inhabitants has already withstood more than anyone would think that they could and yet more is to come.

Revelation 8:7
The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

Here is the way to prevent global warming – everyone in the world believes on Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Otherwise there is no point to combating global warming even if it were true! This judgment is already on top of those that devastated much of the earth and now what is left will be consumed in thirds. There will be no grass left, fires will rage and add more smoke to an already smoke and ash filled sky. But there is no recovery point for another trumpet sounds.

Revelation 8:8-9
The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

A new volcanic eruption of new proportions? A meteor? The result is devastation, loss of life, loss of sea life, damage to coastal areas, other interconnected waters, loss of food sources and income. The stench will be horrible. Disease will follow and yet there is more.

Revelation 8:10-11
The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water- 11 the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

A star falls and lands in an area where many fresh waters are interconnected or breaks apart and hits many fresh water sources. (I would think in the area of where Europe and Asia meet, but it could be anywhere, the results are the same.) The waters are not just bitter in taste but are contaminated. Many will die from water that cannot be cleansed. (Notice how these judgments strike at the wisdom and worship of man. Man has worshipped the elements and prided himself in his knowledge in overcoming such things as the need for pure water and now mighty man has found that he is no match for the Creator that he denied.)

Revelation 8:12
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

The loss of light will be the first effect felt but as far as the sun there will be a loss of heating for the earth and the growing season will be damaged. Vitamin D deficiencies will further weaken already weak immune systems and common diseases will kill many. The sun and the moon will already be hard enough to see and receive their light and benefits because of all the smoke and ash in the atmosphere, but now they are judgments against man and testimonies to the power of God.

Revelation 8:13
As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!"

Revelation
Eagles, Locusts, and Demon Soldiers 

Revelation 8:13
As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

Matthew 24:27-28
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. (NKJV)

The eagle announces for he and his fellows are ready to feast on the dead. The masses already dead are not enough to bring the remaining to repentance nor to satiate the wrath of God upon the unrepentant.

Isaiah 63:1-6

(Why do men live their lives in such rebellion against their Creator, even to such great peril?)

Revelation 9:1-2
The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. (Star – See Rev. 1:20, Abyss – Bottomless pit) 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.

You have to read it to believe it and then you can’t imagine it!

Revelation 9:3-13
(Sealed of God – Rev. 7:3-8 Abaddon and Apollyon – Destroyer)

What is there to say that will help? Once again the sun and moon are darkened and pure torment is released upon man. The major difference in this judgment and the others is that no one dies, they only suffer. Yet the fallen angel Destroyer is released to torment as well. (Jude 6) And with the next trumpet come four more of his fallen companions to trouble the earth.

Revelation 9:12-15
The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come. 13 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

Does the altar now speak? Does the place of repentance now speak against the unrepentant? Isn’t the place of mercy also the testimony of judgment if mercy is not desired? Or is it the souls under the altar that cry as one? (See Rev. 6:9-10) At this point, what does it matter, the results are the same. Terror and death.

Revelation 9:15-19

A third of those left killed by 200 million demonic warriors mounted on demon horses. The terror of it all would be bad enough but there is death in all that they do! Yet to what avail? It is for judgment not repentance. Tears alone do not bring repentance. (Hebrews 12:16-17 from Genesis 27:30-40)

Revelation 9:20-21
The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood-idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Revelation 22:10-11
Then he (an angel) told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy."

See also Matthew 13:11-16

Revelation
The Little Scroll