Revelation 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

  14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

  15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

(There is a voice from the four horns, commanding someone to loose the four bound angels.

He is commanded to loose the four angels bound in the great river Euphrates.

That these angels are bound, is it possible that they are fallen angels,

and too dangerous to have been loosed before this?

The Euphrates was one of the four rivers in the beginning that came from the river of Eden:)

Genesis 2:14b And the fourth river is Euphrates.

(The Euphrates is the be the extent of the promised land:)

Genesis 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

(The Euphrates is the river that Babylon was built upon, which flowed under its walls.

Which river, the Medes and Persians stopped its flow under the walls,

and thus made a way for them to enter and take Babylon.

It will also have its waters dried up to make the way again,

for the kings of the east, at the time of the battle of Armageddon.)

Revelation 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

(It says that those four angels were prepared for exactly this time,

and for a specific purpose, showing the total sovereignty of God.)

Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

  41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Romans 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

I Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

II Chronicles 29:36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.

Proverbs 19:29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.

Proverbs 21:31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.

Psalms 7:13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.

I Corinthians 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 4:6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

  7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

  8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

(Jesus, in mercy and grace, prepares things.

He prepares our hearts for the gospel, and prepares for the gospel to come to us.

Jesus prepares the way before us, he prepares us for service, and prepares us for home to be with him.

In the beginning, Jesus had already prepared mount Calvary,

then later he prepared the tree that would be used for his cross.

He prepared a wonderful future for those who choose to repent and believe,

and he prepared a terrible place for those who won’t.

His preparations, especially those from the beginning, attest to the greatness of his sovereignty.)

Revelation 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

(These angels were prepared, not simply for a specific year, but for a specific month.

They were prepared, not simply for a specific month, but for a specific day.

They were prepared, not simply for a specific day, but for a specific hour.

Are the hour, day, month, and year all mentioned to identify exactly when this judgment begins?

It doesn’t actually say.

Are the hour, day, month, and year all mentioned to identify exactly how long this judgment lasts?

It doesn’t actually say.

Or could they all be mentioned to identify exactly the beginning and the ending of this judgment?

It doesn’t actually say.

Is “hour” used similarly in other places?)

Luke 22:53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Revelation 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Revelation 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

(Is “day” used similarly in other places?)

Luke 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

Zephaniah 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

  16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

(This day also begins with the trumpet, the sixth trumpet.

And this day also is associated with the River Euphrates:)

Jeremiah 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

(There were some other horrific things that happened on a specific day,

in a specific month, in a specific year:)

Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

II Kings 25:1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.

(However, by stating hour, day, month, and year,

is it possible that we can see that Jesus is in perfect control, with perfect timing?)

Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

(Didn’t the LORD work things out perfectly, so that Mary and Joseph

had to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be taxed right as Jesus was born,

while also for two years bringing wisemen from the east

following a miraculous star to arrive at Bethlehem to see the newborn King,

as well as all the host of heaven showing up to shepherds in the fields that night,

and then to bringing those same shepherds of sheep to see the newborn Lamb?

The LORD’s timing is perfect, planned from the very beginning.

The planning, preparation, and perfect timing of this judgment should comfort believers,

that Jesus is safely in control.

Shouldn’t we think about everything that Jesus has planned for us, in this world and in the next?

Jesus prepared for the gospel to come to us, he is preparing us to be more like him,

and has prepared a place for us to be with him.

The gospel came to us at the right time, our trials and blessings are perfectly timed,

and Jesus will take us to him at the appointed time.)