Revelation 7:12-18 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” 15 And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
The angel explains more about the images on the beast. The ten horns are ten kings. It is difficult to know what the historical allusion or reference might be for these. Ten signifies completeness. They reign briefly for one hour. Is this time frame literal 60 minutes or figurative for a short time? Often in the Bible, “hour” simply means an appointed time that has a limited duration. These kings agree with the beast and shared the same purpose: to make war with the Lamb and presumably the people of the Lamb. The beast gives his kings the power to rule, just like the Roman emperor gave authority to the various kings of the empire (like Herod the Great). Could this all be historical to the first century?
The waters in verse 15 represent the vast peoples of the earth who have been deceived by the beast and the kings. These ten kings will hate the city/nation/people of Babylon. In the next chapter, they will rejoice and also mourn at its destruction. The beast and his entourage will hate the prostitute and bring her to ruin. See Ezek 23 with allegory of Oholibah. In the first century, the various conquered people did not like Rome. Emperors did not like the senate. This raises many questions about the world today. It is not difficult to see patterns or possibilities, but I won’t speculate at this point.
The chapter ends with God’s control. This is all God’s plan. This emphasizes God’s sovereignty. This is where we should end our thinking instead of speculating about the beast or prostitute today. If we are part of a nation or group that has been deceived by the lure of the world and the false promises of the beast or anyone who opposes Jesus, then we must be on guard and put our trust in the Lamb.
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