The Identity of the
7 Heads and the 10 Horns
on the Beast of Revelation 13
by Phillip Goodman
(Focus on Jerusalem Prophecy
Commentary: I have often been asked numerous questions about the identities of
the seven heads and the ten kings of the Last World Beast. This article by
Philip Goodman is an excellent exposition delving into this subject. I highly
recommend it to FOJ readers.) (Darrell G. Young-March 2004)
7 Heads and 10 Horns on the
Beast: What Are They?
The Beast of Revelation 13 is
described as follows:
And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads,
and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
Revelation 13:1
The Beast of Revelation represents both a king and a kingdom, But the full
meaning of the Beast can only be understood to the extent that we can understand
the meaning of the features of the Beast, particularly the 7 Heads and the 10
Horns, which are the most prominent and consistent features according to both
Revelation 13 & 17.
Can We Expect An Answer?
We have what amounts to a
prophetic and historic template in our quest for the identity of the 7 Heads and
10 Horns. I shall call it the "Greek Template." In Daniel 7 & 8 there are
prophecies related to the Greek Empire. In the Daniel 7 prophecy, verse 6 tells
of a Beast with 4 Heads. The prophecy in chapter 8 tells of a Beast having a
large broken horn, followed by 4 Horns, followed by a single horn. Conservative
prophecy scholars are virtually united in recognizing that both prophecies
describe the post-Alexandrian Grecian Empire of the late fourth century BC. We
shall find also that the Heads and Horns of the Revelation Beast relate to
empires and rulers. Great light is shed on their meaning by the "Greek
Template."
Since most (but not all) of both of those prophecies about the Greek Empire
have been fulfilled in history, and since the two prophecies combined apply the
symbols of Heads and Horns to the unfolding history of that empire, then it
seems reasonable to apply the Biblical and historic information gleaned from
these prophecies as a basic "template" to aid in the identification of the Heads
and Horns of the Beast of Revelation.
Furthermore, since all of the prophecies of the Bible which have already been
fulfilled, from those forecasting the fate of nations and empires to the
Messianic prophecies, have been fulfilled just as precisely as predicted, then
we should expect to find the same in both the past historical record and the
historical "stage-setting" for future fulfillment. The Bible virtually
guarantees as much when it says,
"Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I
am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning And
from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be
established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'... Truly I have spoken;
truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it. Isaiah
46:9-11
We should expect this prophetic precision to be applied specifically to empires
and emperors and kings and kingdoms:
And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and
establishes kings... Daniel 2:21
Here is my working thesis. The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, which
present us with such a prominent display of these symbolic "Heads and Horns" to
reveal future history, portray for the most part the prophetic unfolding of
history in broad and obvious strokes. For instance the statue in Daniel 2, to
date, spans 2550 years of history in a relatively few short verses. Therefore we
should expect that these predictions would also be broad and obvious in a scan,
or "birds-eye" view, of history. Thus, the working out of these prophecies are
more likely to rise to the surface in a survey, rather than a detailed study, of
world history. And indeed, they do.
What Is The Meaning Of The Heads
"After this I kept
looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four
wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it."
Daniel 7:6
As previously mentioned, most students of prophecy are agreed that this beast
represents the kingdom of Greece after it was divided into four parts following
the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. This agrees with the prophecy in
Daniel 8 which also shows the four fold division of the Greek Empire in the form
of 4 Horns on a goat, and specifically identifies Greece (vv. 21-22). In the
case of chapter 7's 4-Headed leopard, then, the Heads are kingdoms.
As we survey the four kingdoms of both Daniel 2's statue and Daniel 7's
beasts-that is, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome- we find other
references which connect the Heads to kingdoms. Where Revelation 17:9-10 says
specifically that the 7 Heads of the Beast are "seven mountains on which the
woman sits, and they are seven kings," we can let scripture interpret scripture
by going to Jeremiah 51:25 and find that the "mountain" described in that
passage is actually a kingdom!-specifically Babylon. Behold, I am against you, O
destroying mountain, Who destroys the whole earth," declares the LORD, "And I
will stretch out My hand against you, And roll you down from the crags And I
will make you a burnt out mountain.
The same result is found when checking out the symbol of the "great mountain"
that struck the statue of Daniel 2 and destroyed it. The official interpretation
that is given shows it to be the victorious and literal kingdom of Christ in
verse 44. Thus the "Mountains" and "Kings" in Revelation 17:910 are seen as
Mountain-Kingdoms elsewhere in scripture, with the further connection in the
Revelation 17 passage to "Heads."
We continue our search and find a definite identification of beast Heads
with beast kingdoms in Daniel 7.
Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast... and the
meaning of the ten horns that were on its head... Daniel 7:19-20
Connect this verse with its angelic interpretation in verse 24, which says
"As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise..."
There is a very important disclosure here. What is the meaning-rather, the
"exact meaning"- of the 10 Horns that come out of the Head of the beast (Rome)?
The answer is given. The Horns are 10 kings that arise out of "this kingdom."
Whereas in verse 20 the Horns come out of the beast (obviously his Head), in the
explanation the Horns (10 kings) come out of a "kingdom." The Head and the
kingdom are equated.
A Consistent Identification Of
Heads With Mountains With Kingdoms
In summary, what have we
found? When we look at the four kingdoms of Daniel 7 (with a total of 7 Heads-
count them!), we find that Babylon is viewed as a Mountain-Kingdom, Greece has
split into 4 Head-Kingdoms, Rome has ten kings coming out of a Head-Kingdom, and
the whole lineup is followed by the great Mountain-Kingdom of Christ. That is
four of the five kingdoms (4 earthly kingdoms, followed by Christ's kingdom),
and six of the 7 Heads seen in Daniel 7!
Therefore, in revisiting Revelation 17:9-10, a much clearer picture emerges:
The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven
kings...
The meaning of the Heads is that they are Mountain-Kingdoms-that is, dominant
kingdoms- upon the landscape of world history. The 7 Heads are 7 Mountain
Kingdoms.
CONSIDER THIS: The 4 Kingdoms of Daniel 7 have 7 Heads. They are Babylon,
Persia and Greece-which includes 2 former empires, Egypt & Syria (Assyria), & 1
future empire, Turkey (Ottoman Empire)-& Rome. All reappear under the 'umbrella'
of a re-emergent Rome in the End Time.
What Is The Identification Of The
7 Kingdoms?
Remember when we said to
count the Heads of the four beasts of Daniel 7? Here is another way to look at
it. Take this passage from Revelation 13:1-"And I saw a beast coming up out of
the sea, having ten horns and seven heads"- insert the word "four beasts" in
place of "a beast," and mentally paste it at the end of Daniel 7, verse 3.
Here's how it would read:
"And four great beasts were
coming up from the sea, different from one another. And I saw [four beasts]
coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads..."
Now, when you take this
description of the single beast of Revelation and apply it to the four beast of
Daniel, and then read the ensuing descriptions of those four beast, you find
four beasts "coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads." Again,
count them. And remember that Revelation 13 applies certain features of the
"lion," the "bear," the "leopard," and the 10-Horned fourth beast of Daniel to
its own unified beast. The utilization of these same features confirms that the
same 7 Heads of Daniel's four beasts are present in Revelation's unified beast.
Therefore, since we know the identification of the Head-Kingdoms of Daniel's
four beast, we can apply them to the Revelation beast. The 7 Heads of
Revelation's beast are the Head of the Lion (confirmed by "his mouth like the
mouth of a lion," v.2), the Bear (required by "his feet like those of a bear,"
v.2), the Leopard (with his 4 Heads dominating the beast, explaining why the
beast "was like a leopard), and Daniel's 10-Horned Beast (since the 10 Horns are
said to be on a single head, Daniel 7:20).
The "Mirror Image" Of The Daniel
& Revelation Beasts Images
It is clear that the
Revelation beast is a mirror image of Daniel's four beast. Daniel's four
beasts-kingdoms have been combined into the unified beast of Revelation at the
end time. But that is exactly what the prophecies teach. The world's kingdoms
will unite into a single Antichrist-kingdom at the end of history. Whereas
Daniel foresees his four kingdoms as a series of four snapshots through time,
Revelation portrays the same 7-Headed kingdoms united into a single snapshot at
the end of time. This is further confirmed in Daniel 2:35. There the four
kingdoms depicted in the statue survive in some form throughout history, all
four destined to be destroyed at the same time at the end of history.
Since the Revelation beast is a mirror image of Daniel's four beasts, then it
follows that we can learn the specific national identities of Revelation's
7-Headed, united kingdom from its "reflected" image in Daniel's 7-Headed,
multiple, pre-unification kingdoms, especially when we take stock of our "Greek
Template."
The Identity Of The 7 Beast-Heads
Of Revelation
CONSIDER THIS: There are 4
beasts in Daniel 7. One of them (the leopard/Greece) has 4 heads. We can surmise
the other 3 each have 1 head-a total of 7 heads. Revelation 13 shows a composite
beast, which includes all 4 of the Daniel 7 beasts. This beast also has 7 heads,
& is said to look "like a leopard," which, as a 4-headed beast, would dominate
the appearance of the Revelation beast (along with the 10 horns). Therefore, the
7 heads on the Revelation beast are the same 7 heads that are on the Daniel 7
beasts, & the identity of those heads (kingdoms) are known.
It is generally accepted, with good reason, that the four beasts in both
Daniel 2 and 7 represent the kingdoms of Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and
Rome, in that order, reflecting the order of their appearance. That accounts for
four of the 7 Heads. The other 3 Heads are found on the Greek beast. Who are
these 3 Head-Kingdoms? Here, fulfilled prophecy, or history, comes to our aid.
After the death of Alexander the Great, as many as 13 sub-kingdoms and fiefdoms
within his vast empire vied for power. But four dominant sub-kingdoms rose head
and shoulders above the rest. These are the 4 Heads of Daniel 7's Grecian beast,
and are also represented by the 4 Horns of Daniel 8. These kingdoms, using their
geographic and political modern place-names, were,
1. Greece
2. Turkey
3. Syria
4. Egypt
Therefore, the 7 Heads of
the Revelation beast, being essentially a mirror image of the 7 Heads of the
Daniel 7 beasts, are to be identified as follows:
1. Babylon- the "lion"
2. Persia- the "bear"
3. Greece- the "4-Headed leopard"
4. Turkey
5. Syria (Assyria)
6. Egypt
7. Rome
All of these kingdoms are
bound together by three common denominators: They were absorbed into the Roman
Empire, they "tread under foot" not only Jerusalem but also the heart of the
full Abrahamic-promised land which is Mesopotamia, and they bullied the Jews
throughout history. At the end of history they will be united into the single
"beast" kingdom of Revelation 13 and 17 to do likewise.
Where Are The 7-Heads-Or
Mountain-Kingdoms-
Located On The Timeline Of History?
Daniel 7's four
beasts-kingdoms rule linearly, one after the other successively through time
according to Daniel 7:4-7. And, from Daniel's prophetic point in history, there
are four and only four human kingdoms predicted to dominate (remember, these 7
Heads are Mountain-Kingdoms) Mesopotamia and the land of Israel before the
return of Christ and the establishment of the eternal fifth kingdom.
First, the 4 human Mountain-Kingdoms,
'These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise
from the earth, Daniel 7:17
Then the 5th, Eternal Mountain-Kingdom,
But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the
kingdom forever, for all ages to come. Daniel 7:18
The Roman Empire, the fourth kingdom, would continue to exist in some form
until its fatal encounter with the Kingdom of Christ, the fifth and final
kingdom. But here we encounter, in Revelation 17, what at first sight seems to
be a problem with the chronological account of the 7 Head-Kingdoms. That passage
says,
... they are seven kings [or
kingdoms, as we have seen; see Daniel 2:38-39 for king-kingdom dual reference);
five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must
remain a little while. Revelation 17:10
Since the kingdom of Rome
is John's reference in this passage, and since we have identified the 7
Head-Kingdoms with those of the 7 Heads in Daniel 7, then if we apply the 5 have
fallen (before Rome and John's time) to the Daniel 7 passage, we find that we
actually have 6 Heads in Daniel 7 (Babylon, Persia, and the 4 Grecian) that
existed before the Roman Headed beast. The solution to this dilemma is again
found in our "Greek Template."
First, the Grecian beast (the leopard) is a single kingdom, even though it
has multiple Heads (remember, Daniel 7 says there are only four kingdoms, Greece
being one). Therefore, the 4 Heads of Greece are sub-kingdoms within a larger
kingdom. The prophecy of the Greek Empire, as we've seen, parallels history in
this respect. And two of those 4 kingdoms had previously in history qualified as
Mesopotamian-ruling, Jew-dominating empires, or Mountain-Kingdoms. Egypt and
Syria (Assyria) had already fulfilled that role prior to the rise of Greece.
This accounts for the "5 have fallen" prior to Rome:
"Five have fallen"
1. Egypt
2. Assyria
3. Babylon
4. Persia
5. Greece
Revelation 17:10 continues
on to say "1 is." That of course was Rome. But notice that it continues on to
say "1 has not yet come, and when he ["he"= king-kingdom identification] comes,
he must remain a little while." Who is this 7th Head-Kingdom that would be
destined to rise to Mountain-Kingdom status after the Roman Empire?
Back to the "Greek Template," where we find that the 4th Head-Kingdom,
unaccounted for thus far, is Turkey. Turkey at the time that John wrote the "5
have fallen, 1 is, 1 will come" passage had never entered the elite club of
Mesopotamian-ruling, Jew-persecuting Mountain-Kingdoms. But later it did- as the
super-kingdom known as the Ottoman Empire. They were [in 15-1600s] not only the
most important Islamic empire, but the largest & most powerful European state as
well.
[Ottoman Persecution of Jews] World War I almost killed the Zionist
movement... the Ottoman Empire sided with the Bermans, portending calamity for
the Jews. To the Palestinian Jews it spelled physical disaster. Every Jew
suspected of sympathy with the Allies- the knowledge of a little English was
considered proof of sympathy- was hanged; 12,000 Jews were deported because they
were not Turkish [Ottoman] citizens; and Zionism itself was declared illegal."
And that is exactly what is required by the Revelation 17:10 phrase "1 will
come," or, more precisely, "one has not yet come, and when he comes, he must
remain a little while." Turkey is the Mountain-Kingdom that "will come," the 7th
Head of the beast of Revelation. Throughout the sixteenth and early seventeenth
centuries, the Ottomans were not only the most important Islamic empire, but the
largest and most powerful European state as well. It was the greatest of the
modern states."
The rise of the Ottoman Turkish state from a regional power in Asia Minor in
the mid-15th century to the greatest empire in Europe and the Middle East by the
mid-16th was a dramatic one.
But how can this be when Daniel's fourth beast is the final kingdom? Since
Daniel's forth kingdom is Rome, this would also mean that Revelation's sixth
Head (Rome) will be the final kingdom! (John looked backward from his
perspective in the time of Rome to include not only Daniel's first three
kingdoms in reverse time- Greece, Persia, and Babylon, but before Babylon was
Egypt and Assyria; Daniel was looking forward beginning with Babylon)
The answer is again found in the Grecian beast (the leopard of Daniel 7). In
that passage you have 4 Heads-Kingdoms. Three have shrunk back over time to lose
their former dominion as Mountain-Kingdoms (Greece under Alexander, Egypt and
Assyria), but not their existence. Therefore, Greece is portrayed as a single
Mountain-Kingdom subdivided into 4 parts. It never becomes 4 separate kingdoms.
Greece is a single kingdom enveloping 3 additional subkingdoms which still
retain their identity- in both prophecy and history, by the way- as Grecian. The
picture before us is one of 4 Heads within a single kingdom.
The same will be true with Rome. The Roman Empire, in both prophecy and
history, also went, and will go, through a similar process of fragmenting and
dividing, while never losing its identity or aspiration as the Roman Empire.
Here is that splintering process of the Roman Empire that will persist right up
to its final form as a Revived Roman Empire controlled by 10 Kings: First, the
great Mountain-Kingdom was divided into eastern and western parts, as depicted
in the two Roman "legs" on the statue of Daniel 2.
"In AD 293, Emperor Diocletian decided.to shift the center of the Roman
Empire to the east. The new state, [was] known as the Byzantine, or Eastern
Roman Empire. Then the western half divided into 5 parts split up among the
Germanic tribes who continued to carry the mantle of Rome. The German rulers saw
themselves as the heirs of Rome.
Subsequently Rome continued to retain a semblance of its identity as "Rome"
during the era of the great Frankish ruler Charlemagne. Charlemagne unified
western Europe & recreated an equivalent of the old Roman Empire...[his
coronation by Pope Leo III] made him legally heir to the western Roman emperors.
The Roman tradition of unity had never completely died out. Pope [Leo III]
hailed Charlemagne as "Emperor of the Romans. Thus was revived a title which,
changed later to "Holy Roman Emperor," was to last until 1806.
The next stage in the perpetuation of the identity of "Rome" in the western leg
came through the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire was a successor state
to the empire founded in 800 by Charlemagne, who revived the title of Roman
Emperor in the West."
The very name of the holy Roman Empire recalled the unity which ancient Rome
gave to the classical world fifteen centuries earlier.
The incipient Roman Empire continues today in its western leg in the form of
the European Union, with the same 5 nations cited earlier continuing to dominate
its existence. These 5 nations, Spain, Britain, France, Italy, and Germany,
duplicate in history what the 5 toes on the western leg of the Daniel 2 statue
foresaw- 5 dominant kings. Today in the European Union the majority of the
voting block in a weighted formula in the European Parliament belongs to
precisely these five countries. In the East, Rome retained its identity as the
Mountain-Kingdom (Roman Empire) through the Byzantine Empire. In AD 293, Emperor
Diocletian decided, for military and administrative reasons, to shift the center
of the Roman Empire to the east. The new state, known as the Byzantine, or
Eastern Roman, Empire. The Roman emperor Constantine named his capital [at
Byzantium] New Rome. Throughout their history the Byzantines described
themselves as Romans, and saw their empire as the continuation, without break,
of the Roman Empire. Then, after a thousand years, the Byzantine Empire gave way
to- the Arab-Mohammedans? No. As great as that Islamic Empire was, it was never
absorbed into the geographic, political, or cultural environs of the Roman
Empire. The Arabs did not qualify as the 7th Head.
Did the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire give way to the other super-kingdom
that arose after the glory days of ancient Rome, that of the Mongols. No. For
neither did the Mongols qualify as the 7th Head. They too were alien to the
Roman sphere of dominance.
In the Eastern Roman Empire, the successor state to Byzantium was Turkey. Not
Turkey as we know it today, but Turkey in its glorious reign as the Ottoman
Empire. The Ottoman Empire qualified indeed as the 7th Head- the 7th
Mountain-Kingdom!
The Turks [Ottomans] were among the great imperial powers of history. Theirs
was the last in time and the greatest in extent of the four Middle Eastern
empires, following those of the Persians, the Romans, and the Arabs, the Ottoman
state was above all else a universal empire. The Ottoman Empire was one of the
largest political structures that the western part of the world had known since
the Roman Empire disintegrated: it ruled eastern Europe, western Asia and most
of the Maghrib, and held together lands with very different political
traditions, many ethnic groups- Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, Armenians,
Turks and Arabs, and various religious communities, Sunni and Shi'i Muslims,
Christians of all the historic Churches, and Jews. It maintained its rule over
most of them for 400 years or so, and over some of them for as many as 600
years.
One and only one kingdom rose to Mountain-Kingdom status after the primacy
of the original Roman Empire, and, importantly, within the geographic sphere of
that empire, to carry forward the tradition of Rome in the eastern leg- and that
is the Turkish-Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire inherited the mantle of the Eastern
Roman Empire- the Byzantine Empire- and carried it forward into the 20th
century. In 1453 it the Ottoman Empire absorbed what was left of the Byzantine
Empire. The Ottomans had changed from a nomadic horde to the heirs of the most
ancient surviving empire Byzantium of Europe. The Ottoman's achievement was to
reunite the Byzantine empire under a single sovereign. The Ottoman empire, which
reached its height under Suleiman the Magnificent, was far stronger than any
European state. They were the missing link among the former Mountain-Kingdoms in
the 4 Heads of Greece because their hey-day had "not yet come, and when he
comes, he must remain a little while," 470 years to be exact. Turkey- the
placeless 4th Head on the Grecian beast of Daniel 7- achieved its
Mountain-Kingdom rank to the level of the other 3 Grecian Heads later in
history, causing it to become the 7th Head of the Revelation beast. (Note: The
issue of the beast himself, who is "also an eighth Head, and is one of the
seven, "Revelation 17:11, is answered in depth in my book the Assyrian
Connection.
Does Rome Continue To Exist
As we have seen, history
follows in the fore steps of prophecy, testifying that the eastern leg of Rome
itself continued on from the Byzantine to the Ottoman Empire. No Bible believer
should be surprised that these various divisions and fragmentations of the Roman
Empire show up in history. For they were first recorded in prophecy.
The statue of Daniel 2, in its Roman "legs," which represent the first
division into east and west Rome during the fifth century, continues to shatter
into "iron and clay" parts, not only in the feet stage, but in the "toes" stage,
and then further into 10 toes.
These dividing stages are also evident in Daniel's beasts in chapter 7,
where Rome sprouts 10 king-kingdoms matching the 10 toes of chapter 2, and then
further sprouts an 11 king-kingdom (the Antichrist) matching the "8th Head" of
Revelation 17:11. But in both Daniel and Revelation, Rome- the 4th beast and the
6th Head-never ceases to be Rome.
We see then, that from what we know of the Greek 4-Headed "Template," the
rise of a subsequent Head-or Mountain-Kingdom- as a sub-sector of the Roman
Empire, is not only a cut out of the Grecian mold of Daniel chapter 7, but is a
fact of history. The Ottoman Empire did not replace Rome. It perpetuated the
eastern half-the "Grecian," territory and culture- of Rome. The Ottoman Empire
filled the void left by the decline and fall of the Byzantine Empire.
The Ottoman Empire, the
7th Head, the 7th Mountain-Kingdom, existed within the fragmented but perpetual
Roman Empire as both a phase of the old empire and a link to the coming Revived
Roman Empire, just as the 4 Head-Kingdoms of Greece perpetuated that empire as a
single "beast-kingdom." The Ottoman Empire did not supplant Daniel's 4th and
final Mountain-Kingdom- or Revelation's 6th and final Mountain-Kingdom. The
prophecies do not allow it. History does not support it.
Who Are The 10 Horns?
We have seen that from
early on, the breakup of the Roman Empire resulted in 5 dominant states emerging
in the west from the Germanic invaders. There appeared in the western empire
what has been called a 'horizontal' continuing division' which was to remain in
other forms until our own time. In Germany, England, France, Spain and northern
Italy, barbarian kings ruled, although the sense of belonging to the Roman
Empire still existed.
By the ninth century, in the treaties of Verdun and Meersen, these 5
sub-kingdoms, matching the 5 toes of Daniel 2's western leg, had taken on the
rough shape of modern Europe.
The unity which Rome had imposed was shattered forever. In the West,
the Germans had set up new kingdoms- Visigoths in Spain; Franks in Gaul [which,
under the Treaty of Verdun in 843, became the forerunner states of France and
Germany]; Angles and Saxons in Britain; Lombards in Italy. At Meersen (870 AC),
the familiar outlines of Europe began to take shape, and thus these five nations
came to be the dominant nations of Europe today. They are,
1. Britain
2. France
3. Spain
4. Italy
5. Germany
The dominance of these
realms in Europe since the breakup of the Roman Empire, and their eventual
evolution into modern states which still exert their collective will on the
European Union, fits perfectly well the historical correspondence we would
expect. They have set the stage in the western leg for the emergence the 10
Horn-Kings predicted to rise at the end time. But what about the eastern leg?
Which nation-states will fulfill the 5 remaining Horns (or toes) in the eastern
part of the revived Roman Empire?
First, the 4 Heads on the Grecian leopard in Daniel 7 and the 4 Horns on the
Grecian Goat in Daniel 8 refer to the same 4 breakout kingdoms in
post-Alexandrian Greece. Thus, both the Heads and the Horns designated the same
4 sub-kingdoms- Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt. Heads and Horns are used
interchangeably in the prophecies. Since the emphasis in both Daniel and
Revelation is on the eastern half of the Roman Empire (that is, Egypt, Assyria,
Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Turkey, all playing a prominent role in the visions
of the final Roman beasts, were enshrouded within the eastern realm of Rome),
then surely these beast Heads will be represented in their end time stage among
the 10 Horns.
Therefore, it is a reasonable expectation, based on the "Greek Template,"
that the Horns in the east (toes on the eastern leg) will represent those
end-time kings who rule over the later day versions of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,
Persia, Greece, and Turkey.
Daniel 8 presupposes just such a configuration. In that passage it is
predicted that the 4 Horns of the Grecian goat (again, Greece, Turkey, Syria,
and Egypt) will have an encore reign at the end time, even playing a major role
in the rise of the Antichrist .The passage refers to "the latter period of their
reign." "And the broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place
represent four kingdoms [Greece, Turkey, Syria, & Egypt] which will arise from
his nation, although not with his power. And in the latter period of their
rule..." Daniel 8:22-23
CONSIDER THIS: It is AT THE END TIME THE 4 GRECIAN KINGDOMS REAPPEAR -
"understand that the vision concerns the time of the end...I am going to tell
you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the
appointed time of the end... In the latter part of their reign...but seal up the
vision, for it concerns the distant future." Dan 8:17, 19, 23, 26
Amazingly, these very same kingdoms-Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt- were
the dominant breakout kingdoms at the demise of none other than the Ottoman
Empire. By the end of World War I Syria, Egypt, and Iraq emerged
semi-independent under the British and French mandate system. The wrap up of
World War II assured the final status of all of them as sovereign states. The
Ottomans conceded Greek independence in 1832. In 1920 the Ottoman empire was
dismembered: Syria... Lebanon... Iraq... Palestine... the Hejaz and Armenia...
Anatolia... Turkey
In 1923, by the Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey surrendered only her remaining
non-Turkish territories (chiefly Arab [Syria, Iraq, Egypt, etc.] ) but retained
her Turkish areas: Constantinople and Asia Minor. [modern Turkey] Turkey, no
longer an Empire, was now reduced to a national state.
All of this is clearly far more than mere historical coincidence: Let's take
stock. Ancient Rome splits off in its eastern sector as Byzantine Rome, with
Byzantium's mantle passing to the Ottoman Turks (as the 7th Head), which then
splinters into dominant states in Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt among several
lesser realms.
Add to this lineup of eastern "Horns" those of the required Babylon and Iran
(Persia), and there emerges 6 eastern Horns. Isn't this one more than the
required 5 Horns, or toes, in the eastern sector of the emerging Revived Roman
Empire? Not at all. It's time to count again. Count the Horns in Daniel 7's
passage.
And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up...
Daniel 7:20
There are 10 Horns- plus an 11th- who it turns out comes us subsequently, but
contemporaneously, and emerges as the Antichrist.
Thus, there are in fact 10 Horns, plus an 11th, representing in prophecy
and in both past and emerging history the following nation-states which will
make up the political constituencies of an expanded European Union, or Revived
Roman Empire. Represented among these 10 Horns are the 7 Heads, or
Mountain-Kingdoms (reckoning the Roman Head as represented in the western leg
nations) which join into a single union of nations to form the beast of
Revelation:
1. Britain
2. France
3. Spain
4. Italy
5. Germany
6. Greece
7. Turkey
8. Syria
9. Egypt
10. Iraq
11. Iran
The political and
geographic landscape looks very familiar today for anyone who has studied these
prophecies- He is the God who "removes kings and establishes kings..." Daniel
2:21