December 12: BANNER OF PEACE
The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. Revelation 17:12
The angel is explaining to John the shape of things to come. But let us take a moment to glance back at the fall of pagan Rome. Unlike the empires that preceded it, Rome was not conquered by a bigger and stronger power. Instead, it was carved up from within. At that time, it divided into ten literal nations (represented by the ten toes on the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2). Daniel’s vision reinforces this now historical fact (7:7) but adds an important detail in the next verse: three of those original ten were obliterated by the rising papal power, the little horn (v.8,24). The remaining seven developed into modern western Europe. These countries have remained separate, exactly as Nebuchadnezzar was shown in his dream (see 2:43), in spite of all the attempts to unite Europe into a single power.
And now we look ahead at things still to come. The angel identifies the collective secular powers of today’s world as ten horns who will choose to become the integral support, the backbone, of the religious-political confederacy between the satanic trinity: the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They have received no kingdom as yet. However, they will voluntarily lend their support; they will be promised authority, peace, prosperity, and security by joining the one-world government. These promises will be accompanied, as we are already seeing, by gross losses of liberty.
Of course, there will be many more than just ten countries whose leaders will unite with the beast power. The ten horns symbolize the united powers of the world in the last days. The number ten is very often associated with testing, trials, tribulations. Hundreds of Biblical laws are perfectly summed up in the Ten Commandments, the law by which we are to be tested and judged. It is truly the law of liberty.
The prophetic time principle of a day for each year (Ezekiel 4:6) would mean that the authority for one hour that these cooperative ten kings [will] receive will have a duration of only about fifteen days. It is ironic that after all of the failed attempts to unite Europe, the world as a whole will be so desperate for peace that it will be readily deceived into uniting under Satan’s banner of disregard for the law of God. Regardless of how your country fits into the end-time scenario, you as an individual are invited to step under the Lord’s banner of peace that will last for eternity.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7