When We Look Further at the Ten Horns of Daniel 7 What Do We Find?
Daniel 7: 19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse
from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his
nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
his feet; 20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other
which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and
a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his
fellows. 21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed
against them; 22 Until the Ancient of days came,
and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that
the saints possessed the kingdom.
We see the Antichrist warring
with his allies against God’s people during the great tribulation period until
Christ returns to retake the earthly kingdom. The Battle of Armageddon seen in
Revelation 19 is where Christ takes over the kingdom. At that time the kings of
the earth will be judged, as will the Antichrist. It is during the Millennium,
the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth, that the saints will possess the
kingdom.
Revelation 20:4 And I
saw the thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and
I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the
word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither
had receievd his mark upon their foreheads,or in their hands; and they lived
and reigned with Christ (upon planet earth) a thousand years.
Continuing in Daniel, we read,
Daniel 7: 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon
earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns out of this
kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after
them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak great words
against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and
think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a
time and times and the dividing of time.
Daniel 7: 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume
and to destroy it unto the end. 27 And the kingdom and
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be
given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
God is the ultimate Judge. The Antichrist and his kingdom will be judged, as will the kings of the earth. The saints shall then rule and reign with Christ for that 1,000 year Millennial period just as we read from in Revelation,
Revelation 20:4c … and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.
Where Else Have We Seen the Numeral Ten in the Prophecies of
Daniel?
In Nebuchadnezzer’s dream the
ten horns or kings are seen as ten toes on the feet of the great image of a
man. Let us look at Nebuchadnezzer’s dream.
Daniel 2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image,
whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was
terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of
silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs
of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou
sawest till that a stone
was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of
iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Daniel 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold,
broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for
them: and the stone that
smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Daniel 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath
given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And
wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of
the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them
all. Thou art this head of
gold.
Daniel 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and
another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40 And
the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in
pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it
break in pieces and bruise.
Daniel 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. 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.
Daniel 2:43 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. 44 And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
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.
In Nebuchadnezzer’s dream, the
10 kings that join with the Antichrist are depicted as the ten toes. Some are
made of clay and some are made of iron. Symbolically that is representative of
the fact that some of those nations will be stronger politically than the
others. A dictatorship would be considered a strong “iron” government. While a
democracy controlled by the people would be looked at as a “clay” or “broken”
or weaker government.
Nebuchadnezzer’s image had two iron legs and the feet and toes were partly iron and partly clay. Some Bible scholars believe, as a result, that the ten countries joining together with the Antichrist will be partly dictatorial types of government and partly democratic types of governments. Others believe the world will be divided into 10 trading or economic blocks which will join as a One World government, which the Antichrist will eventually control.
Still other scholars take a
more literal interpretation and believe the 10 nations will come out of the old
Roman Empire, 5 out of the former western Roman empire, and 5 out of the former
eastern Middle Eastern Roman empire. The five nations from the former western
Roman empire could include such nations as: Britain, France, Spain, Italy,
Switzerland, and, or, Portugal. The five nations out of the former middle
eastern part of the eastern Roman empire could include such nations as: Greece,
Egypt, Lybia, Syria, Turkey and, or, Iraq.
Another eschatology scholar
believes that the Antichrist is related to Russia. If that is true, he says the
10 nations of the former Soviet Union could return into the Russian fold as
tensions between Israel with its ally America and Russia increase. He,
therefore, sees the ten nations as former members of the USSR rejoining Russia
as the threat of conflict with America grows.
However it occurs, and however
difficult it may seem at present, we know God’s word will not fail. The Antichrist
is a screwd politician and demonically inspired. World events could move
suddenly in a direction that would enable such an alliance to be made and bring
the prophetic group of nations together which ever they may be. But at the
moment, we are speculating and we will no doubt understand more fully later as
these events begin to take place.
Revelation says,
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. 13 These
have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 14 These shall make war with the
Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and
King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Revelation 17: 16 And the ten
horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall
make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will,
and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God
shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which thou sawest
is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
The destruction of Babylon the Whore is one of the main endtime events. It seems to take place near the end of the great tribulation period or during the wrath of God. It could involve nuclear weapons as we have seen in some of the prophecies about the wrath of God and the “day of the Lord.” The destruction of the present day American Empire would bring on a total world confusion which could result in a new world order with a new empire in control. However, the rulers of the world who are behind the scenes may wish to maintain a semblance of stability as long as possible while they peacefully transfer power away from America toward the Antichrist. Let us look at the sixth and seventh vial of the wrath of God and see if it may be talking of Babylon’s detruction. If it is, then Babylon’s physical destruction occurs during the 75 day or 2 ½ month wrath of God.
Revelation 16:12 And
the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, and the
water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be
prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth
of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the
false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the
earth and of the whole world, to gather together them to the battle of that
great day of God Almighty…16 And he gathered them together into a place
called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Armageddon is a valley north
of the city of Haifa in Israel. It has been used a battlefield before.
Napoleon, when traveling through Israel, remarked that it would be a wonderful
place for a battle. When the sixth vial was poured out it was to prepare and
gather the nations together to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty,”
the Battle of Armageddon. The sixth vial is the preparation and gathering of
the nations to the Battle of Armageddon. Now let’s look at the seventh vial,
the last vial of the wrath of God.
Revelation 16: 17 And
the seveth angel poured out his vial into the air, and there came a great voice
out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. 18 And there
were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such
as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so
great. And the great city
(Babylon the Whore or Jerusalem?) was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in
remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the
fierceness of his wrath.
In the verses above, it seems
that at the time of the seventh vial is when Babylon the Whore is judged, as
she comes “in remembrance before God.” If Babylon the Whore’s political
manifestation today is America, then it would be at that time that some great
American city, perhaps New York, would be destroyed in one hour by fire, as we
have seen in Revelation 17 and 18 previously. However, another possibility is that the “great city”
mentioned in the above verse could be Jerusalem. Let us look at Revelation 11.
Revelation 11: 8 And
their dead bodies shall be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom
and Egypt, where our Lord
was crucified.
The city where our Lord
was crucuified in, was Jerusalem. In the above verse, the city is called the great city. Therefore,
the great city in Revelation 16:18 may be talking about Jerusalem, or it may be
talking about the great city of the comercial system of Babylon the Whore. The
verse also says that “great Babylon came in remembrance before God.” Is there any
clue to understanding which great city the verse is talking about? Are there
any other verses in the Bible speaking about a great earthquake around the time
when Jesus comes back? Let us look at Zechariah 14.
Zechariah 14: 1
Behold, the day of the Lord comes, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst
of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle…3 Then
shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in
the day of battle. 4 And
his feet shall stand in that day upon mount of Olives, which is before
Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the
east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and
half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the
south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of
the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in
the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
We see that Zechariah
prophesying about the Lord’s return speaks about a great earthquake taking
place in Jerusalem running north to south. Let us read a bit more from
Zechariah’s vision.
Zechariah 14:6 And
it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night:
but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light…9 And the Lord shall be king over
all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
Obviously, Zechariah is
talking about the Lord’s return at the end of the wrath of God preceeding the
Millennium. We will look at one last verse where Zechariah describes the battle,
possibly the Battle of Armageddon.
Zechariah 14:12 And
this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have
fought against Jerusalem; Their
flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in
their holes, and their
tongues shall consume away in their mouth.
Zechariah could very well be
describing a nuclear confrontation and the effects of a nuclear explosion on
those humans close enough to the blast to just consume away, or to have their
faces melted by the blast. In Isaiah we have a similar depiction of the “day of
the Lord.”
Isaiah 13:6 Howl
ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the
Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall
melt: 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them;
they shall be in pain as a woman that travails: they shall be amazed one at
another; their faces shall
be as flames.
We see similar imagery to what
Zechariah saw. Are men’s faces melting away from the heat of a nuclear blast?
Let us continue in Isaiah.
Isaiah 13:9
Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land
desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the
constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in
his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
In Ezekiel 38 and 39 we see
similar imagery when the Antichrist forces are destroyed by God.
Ezekiel 38:22 And I
will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon
him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great
hailstones, fire, and brimstones.
Ezekiel 39:4 Thou shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 Thou shall fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, says the Lord God. 6 And I will send a fire on Magog (the Antichrist’s home land, possibly Russia), and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles (which may be England, USA, and Australia): and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Is the Lord talking about
nuclear fire as we have seemingly seen described in some of the other verses?
Will he allow sinful man to almost destroy himself. Or will He Himself produce
the fire and brimstone that will rain down? God often uses natural ways to
bring about His judgments. He often uses one nation to bring about the
destruction of another nation as He did when He used Nebuchadnezzar to destroy
Jerusalem. However, if the destruction of Babylon the Whore doesn’t take place
until these prophecies occur, that would push her destruction to the end of the
wrath of God period. It could also be that the great city that experiences the
great earthquake could be a great city of Babylon the Whore.
To go to Part 5 click HERE
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