The 10 Horns

(A Comparative Study)

Introduction

In this prophecy is seen a revival of the Roman power in the nations of Europe that arose from the breakup of the ancient Roman Empire. Although they have remained fragmented over the centuries, they have once again come into sharp focus as a powerful economic force that has proven to be the catalyst in much greater world unification. The influence of Rome has once again become the unifying and motivating force, moving the world toward a central government of religious and political power.

Revelation 17

(The 10 Horns)

Revelation 17:12: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast."

Without further study, we can see that whoever these ten kings are they have not received any royal power, "as yet." Since this is a time prophecy, we must establish a time setting for this vision.

Prior to AD 1798 these ten horns, whoever they are, haven’t been involved in a kingdom; "they have received no kingdom as yet." It doesn’t say, they haven’t received their kingdom(s). There is an important difference. In other words they haven’t been involved in any kind of union "as yet." However it says in the last part of verse 12 that they "receive power as kings one hour with the beast." There are seven beast powers in Bible prophecy. Which beast power is this verse talking about? It is talking about the same beast as in the verse above: "The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition" (Rev. 17:11). Which beast is that? (Papal Rome, the one that had been and is now coming back)

Sometime briefly before the coming of Jesus you can expect these ten kings to be involved in a confederation, a union, an alliance with Papal Rome. We know it is just before the coming of Jesus because they, "receive power as kings one hour with the beast"(vs.12), just before they, "make war with the Lamb" (vs. 14).

If that’s happening just before the coming of Jesus, it is imperative for us to know who these ten kings are. There is a lot of confusion as to their identity. Some people are sure they are the United Nations that will take control of the world at the end of time, while others say they are the fourth Reich that is coming back to rule the world. Still others think they are the Trilateral Commission, and some think they are the Illuminati. Do you get the picture?

Sometimes it’s all right to turn to your most trusted spiritual advisor for answers, but this is one of those cases when it is too important to do that. Don’t call your favorite uncle, who has been a Bible student for years, or go across the street and ask your neighbor who they think the ten horns are. It is absolutely necessary that we let the Bible interpret itself.

Starting with Daniel 2 we will trace the original ten divisions and positively identify them in each of these prophecies.

In Daniel 2:28 there is a key point. "But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days."

Dan. 2:40: "The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: for as much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise." The Kingdom of Rome was the fourth kingdom.

Dan. 2:41: "And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay."

Rome fragmented into the ten original divisions, which most historians agree, was complete by AD 476. These divisions were likened to the ten toes of the image. When the first three world empires, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece went into the history books, their world controlling power went with them. Not so with the fourth kingdom, verse 41 says that the fourth kingdom "shall be divided; but there shall be in it (the divided kingdoms) of the strength of the iron." The strength of the iron (Rome) would continue in those divided nations.

Anytime there is a mixture of "iron mixed with miry clay" (it is talking about chunks of iron and lumps of clay), what is the strong part of the mix? (The iron, right?) Even so in the modern nations of Europe today, expect Rome to be the dominating influence.

Verse 42: "And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken."

Verse 43: "And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay."

Ever since Daniel wrote these seven mighty words of prophecy, "they shall not cleave one to another," Satan has set out to prove them wrong. Many have attempted to unite Europe; including Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm, Hitler and Mussolini, but all have failed. No one has proven the prophecy wrong.

By building each prophecy on the foundation of the previous prophecies, we see that each one is simply adding more detail. No prophecy undermines or takes away from the prophecy before it. When you view all the prophecies together, you get an unmistakable identification of each power and a clear picture of our own day in Bible prophecy.

The first seven verses of Daniel 7 are a review of Daniel 2 with additional information given about each power. Verse 7 picks up the iron kingdom of Rome and its divisions, the same divisions first brought to view in Daniel 2.

Dan. 7:7: "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and break in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns."

The Bible doesn’t leave it to our conjecture who the 10 horns are. Dan.7: 24 states specifically that, "the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise." Verse 23 tells us that they arise out of the fourth kingdom, that of Rome. The ten toes in Daniel 2 are these ten kings of Daniel 7. Both represent the fragmented nations of the Roman Empire.

There is a key here in Daniel 7 and without this key it cannot be positively shown what’s happening today. Verse 20 says, "and of the ten horns that were in his head." This is the only place in Scripture that tells specifically where those ten horns are: they are all on the head of that fourth beast. And why are they all on the head of that fourth beast? Because the fourth beast is Rome and the ten horns are the fragmented Roman Empire. The Bible places them on the head of the fourth beast and that’s where they are to stay. As we continue to trace the prophecies down to our day, you’ll come to understand why this is a most important key in understanding the prophecies of Revelation.

REVELATION 12 - THE 10 HORNS REPRESENT THE 10 DIVISIONS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

In Revelation 12:3 there is a most interesting and important connection between the prophecies of Daniel 7 and Revelation 12.

Rev. 12:3: "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads."

If this were an isolated prophecy, and all that was available for us to study was Revelation 12, you’d tend to think that the horns would go on the seven heads. The problem is there are ten horns and only seven heads. In our study of Revelation 12 we learned that Pagan Rome was one of the seven crowned heads of the dragon, Satan. Now, here is the answer (I hope you have fixed indelibly Daniel 7:20 in your mind; that those ten horns stay in the head of the fourth beast.) Since Pagan Rome is one of the seven heads (Rev. 12:3), and the ten horns are in the head of Pagan Rome (Dan. 7:20), where do you place the ten horns on the seven headed beast? They all go on one head, right? They are all on the head of Pagan Rome and represent the divided nations of Europe.

• Between Revelation the 12^th chapter and Revelation the 13^th chapter, we see a shift in power from the Empire of Rome to the Church of Rome.
• The first ten verses of Revelation 13 depict the accumulation of powers outlined in the prophecy of Daniel 7, and gives additional information to the identity of the little horn power.

Rev. 13:1: "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."

The connection to Daniel 7 is in verse 2.

Rev. 13:2: "And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."

How did Satan, the dragon, go about giving his power and seat and great authority to Papal Rome? The answer is in verse one where it says, this creature came out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns and had, "upon his horns ten crowns."

Who were these 10 horns? The divided nations of the Roman Empire that gave their civil power to the Church of Rome for 1260 years. The strong representation of the church in control of civil power is made in this chapter by the ten horns wearing the crowns.

Verse 3: "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."

The creature in verse one was depicted with seven heads on it. In verse three, John sees, "one of his heads as it were wounded to death." In your mind’s eye you can see these heads (powers) coming down through time; head number five (Papal Rome) being given its power and seat and great authority by head number four (Pagan Rome), and head number four had those ten horns in it.

We aren’t tracing through these prophecies simply for an interesting review of history. To understand what’s happening today, we have to go back and understand what has already happened. It is interesting and intriguing to see what happened 2500 years ago, but as we see how Bible prophecy relates to us today, it becomes even more meaningful. Revelation 17 brings this prophecy down to our day. The beast in Revelation 17:3 is depicted with seven heads and ten horns on it.

Rev. 17:3 "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."

(The explanation of the ten horns begins in verse 12.)

Rev. 17:12: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast."

Which beast did John see receiving power with the ten kings? The same beast he saw in verse 11, the one that "was" and "is not," and is the restored eighth head. Verse 8 makes a positive identification of this beast. "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit." This is the resurrected papal beast of Revelation 13:3, "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed." There is no logical reason to think that when it comes back as the resurrected beast of Rev. 13:3, that the ten horns represent anything different than they did when it went into its bottomless pit experience. The representations must remain consistent.

Now, with that in mind, look at verse 12. You’ll see some significant things there because it says, "the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet." The Bible does not predict that Europe would ever collectively support any of the previously mentioned attempts for unification. What it does predict is that just before the coming of Jesus, for some brief, unspecified length of time, the nations of Europe will receive, "power as kings one hour with the beast." According to this prophecy, some time briefly before the coming of Jesus, you can expect to see these divided nations of Europe involved in a confederation with the Papal beast.

Rev. 17:13: "These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength to the beast."

If you have kept abreast of specific developments in Europe during the 1990’s, you know that in 1992, under the Maastricht Treaty, twelve nations were directly involved in the European Economic Community. Today there are fifteen member nations with 400 million consumers. Their economic base is larger than that of the United States or Japan. Consumers mean money. This is not taking place in a secret corner of the world; this represents the world’s strongest trading block. It is the first time since the days of the Holy Roman Empire that Europe has been in a position to speak with one voice. Newsweek was unaware that it was describing the fulfillment of Bible prophecy when it reported, "the European Economic Community is tightening its political ties in order to ‘speak as a single voice’ in world affairs."

Drawing of the Tower of Babel Peter Bruegel, 1563	The Council of Europe’s Symbol

The official motto of the Council of Europe: "Europe, many tongues, one voice." The Bible says, "these have one mind." (Rev.17: 13) One doesn’t have to look hard to find similarities between these two pictures. In fact, one may have to look hard to find differences. An obvious difference is that, in 1563, Peter Bruegel couldn’t have pictured that modern crane. What does that modern crane suggest? It’s under construction, right? Why not just picture it complete? The poster is a symbolic representation of the rebuilding of the Tower. Another difference is the robot-like people at the base of the modern tower. The selection of the inverted pentegram stars (the sign of Satan), identify the project with a satanic force and illustrate the boldness of those in charge.

The original Tower of Babel represented a citadel of iniquity and rebellion against God. It was the first step in an evil scheme to control the world. The original tower built on the site of ancient Babylon was never completed. The depiction of the modern rebuilding of the tower does not represent a literal tower, but is a symbol of Satan’s plan carefully laid centuries before to lead the world into opposition to God. (See study of modern Babylon, Rev. 17, part l, vs. 5.)

The motivating power behind the European Economic Community (Common Market) has the same objective today. The following article appeared in a City of Rome newspaper in the late 1980’s when this powerful new system was emerging. The article shows how the Church of Rome views this powerful economic bonding of the nations:

"Vatican Hails Market: The Vatican now considers the Common Market a work of Divine Providence. Not since the days of Charles V has a Roman Catholic force been so strongly willed. Not since the end of the Holy Roman Empire has the Holy See been offered a Roman Catholic rallying point like the Common Market. If the Pact of Rome, which created the Common Market, had been signed within the walls of the Vatican, it could not have favored the church more. Of the original 175 million population of the first six countries, 134 million of them were Roman Catholic. Small wonder the Catholic Church is smiling benignly over the formation of what one Vatican official defined as the greatest Catholic super state the world has ever known. The Holy See has set aside one day a year to honor the Madonna of the Common Market when prayers are said and candles are lit in all the churches for the intervention of the Virgin Mary in what is, after all, the greatest Roman Catholic business deal in all of history." J. Opie, City of Rome Newspaper, late 1980’s.

"These have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast" (Rev. 17:3). This exact biblical outline is in the process of being fulfilled today:

• In 1992, there were 12 member nations directly involved in the European Economic Community.
• In 1994, America joined Europe in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). By the time the signing of the GATT was complete, 120+ nations had joined in world trade. (The GATT was a "necessary component for the New World Order." NPR News)
• In 1995, the GATT was superseded by the World Trade Organization with 134 nations directly involved. The WTO is actually under the umbrella organization, The World Constitution and Parliament Association. The WCPA projects that between 1995 and 1998, the stage will be set for the emergence of the New World Order and for a global leader to emerge. (The WTO has the ability to "police the nations" NPR News)
• At the end of 1998, world leaders began calling for a global leader to head up the economies of the world.

This has been directly influenced by, and is the underlying motivation for, the economic bonding of Europe (the ten kings) in 1992.

1992 - European Economic Community - 12 Nations

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1994 - General Agreement on Trades and Tariffs - 120+ Nations

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1995 - World Trade Organization - 134 Nations

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Global Leader?

GLOBAL LEADER:

It is through the agency of its ten horns that the beast achieves its objective. The beast’s objective has always been to unify the world with the Roman church being once again in control of civil and religious powers.

According to Bible prophecy, there are two powers that give rise to the final beast power. The beast with two horns like a lamb (Protestant America) will "cause the world to worship the beast"(Rev. 13:12), and the ten horns (Europe) will, "give their authority to the beast"(Rev. 17:13). In 1992, these two powers stepped into their prophetic role at the exact same time:

Rev. 17:11, "And the beast that was, (papacy during 1260 years) and is not, (papacy after 1798) even he is the eighth, (papacy with deadly wound fully healed) and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." One can only imagine who the global leader might be.

Daniel 2:45 "Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." The stone cut out of the mountain without human hands represents the literal Second Coming of Christ as He sweeps away all opposition and delivers His faithful people. "The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." It is a certain and sure promise of God that, in the days the ten kings are instrumental in bringing about the world union of nations, Christ will return.

We are indeed heading for a final showdown between the power of heaven and the powers of earth, but God says the nations of Europe will not bond in a lasting union. "They shall not cleave one to another" (Dan. 2:43). A brief bonding of "all nations" (Rev. 14:8; Rev. 18:3) prior to the coming of Jesus will not constitute a failure of the prophecy.

Three Scenarios:

1. There will be a United States of Europe and nothing will happen. In which case, Daniel 2 will finally be proven wrong. (Judging the future from the past, this isn’t a realistic assumption.)
1. The Power that guides the galaxies and calls every star by name is able to overwhelm all earthly power. If God wants to derail the plans of the European Union, He is well able to do so. When the end comes, however, Daniel 2:44 promises that the ten kings will be in the position they are in today.
2. After tracing Bible prophecy from ancient Babylon to the present time, and having found every world power to have risen and fallen in perfect accordance with Bible specifications, we should have no reason to doubt that the final prophecies will be fulfilled with the same accuracy. The Stone Kingdom, representing the Second Coming of Christ, could very well be God’s answer to the Common Market.

Summary

As Satan unites the nations for the last great conflict, he sets in motion the final stage of his masterpiece of deception that has been in opposition to God and his people from the beginning. Political powers are even now moving to unite with apostate religious powers to share the brief joys of Babylon’s cup. As Satan rallies the nations against God’s people, Jesus Christ, the Lamb will appear and bring all earthly powers to an end. Our victory is dependent upon the mighty power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Upon Him we can rely with perfect safety.

Short Cuts

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