Rev. 17:12, 13  "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."

In Daniel Chapter 7, Daniel has a vision of four beasts that had seven heads and ten horns.  From the description in this chapter, it would appear that the ten horns came up in the days of the Roman Empire.  Prophesies of these ten heads are in the following verses in Daniel Chapter 7:

          1.  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 brake 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. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. 9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire."

          2.  Dan. 7:20 "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."

          3.  Dan. 7:24 "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."

Now we make the following observations from Daniel Chapter 7 regarding the prophesy of the ten horns.  These horns arose in the Roman Empire about the time of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  These horns represented ten kings and the horn that arose after the ten kings, arose at the time of the Lord's ministry on earth.  Thus, these ten horns could not be the same ten horns that are prophesied of in the book of Revelations.   The ten horns in the time of the writing of the book of Revelations had "received no kingdom as yet."  They were to arise at a future date.  Their time of reign is to be very short (one hour) and they would reign with the beast.  Since they would reign with the beast at a future time, and the sixth head of the beast is Rome, then they would of necessity reign in the time of the seventh head.  This seventh head is described in the twentieth chapter of Revelation and we will discuss the seventh head at that time. 

By implication, the Lord judged Judaism with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., yet Judaism lives on through her harlot daughters.  Judaism will continue until the end of time on earth. 

Rev. 17:14  "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." 

These that make war with the Lamb are the Dragon, the Seven Head, Ten-Horn multinational political beast, the False Prophet, also called the Beast with two horns that appeared as a lamb but spoke as a dragon, the image to the beast or Anti-Christ, and the woman, Mystery Babylon the Great.  This is the great host that the Dragon has gathered to make war with the Lamb and those who keep the commandments of the Lord and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.  This is a spiritual warfare.  It is designed to destroy the true worship of Jesus Christ and have all the world worship the dragon. 

The warfare is not the warfare the Lord fought and prevailed against sin, death, hell, the devil, and the grave.   The Lord has already fought and won that war.  Is. 40:1, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins."  A big part of the gospel message is to tell the Lord's people that the war is over and their iniquities are pardoned through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  In Revelation Chapter 12, Michael, the archangel (Jesus Christ), had fought against the dragon and prevailed.  The dragon was cast out of that first heaven (Israel under the law covenant) and the Dragon "went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."  Thus, the battle lines of this war are between those who worship God in Spirit and in truth and those who worship the Dragon.  The Dragon can only prevail if he can eliminate the true worship of Jesus Christ.

There are three major areas of attack against the true worship of Jesus Christ.  First, they attack the true worship of God through attacking the Lord as being the Lamb of God.  They deny that he is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.  They deny that he is the end of the law for righteousness.  Most say that he is just a step that man must take in order to get eternal life.  Thus, they deny the Lamb is the efficient cause of eternal justification for all the elect.  The scriptures plainly teach in the Old Testament types and shadows and in the New Testament that the sacrificial atonement by Jesus Christ is the one and only cause of our eternal justification before God. 

Second, they deny he is Lord of lords.  The word Lord indicates a master-servant relationship.  To own the Lord as Lord is to confess him as Master and that you are his servant.  The scriptures teach "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."  A servant is supposed to do his master's bidding.  When men take it upon themselves to do contrary to the commandments of their master, they deny that person is their master.  The Lord has not set up preacher schools, Sunday schools, missionary societies, hierarchal ecclesial bodies, nor called for women preachers.  Nor has the Lord set forth a salaried ministry or tithing as a New Testament practice.  There is a wicked saying, "I am the captain of my ship, I am the master of my fate."  Anyone who holds to that saying has denied the Lordship of Jesus Christ. 

The Lord is Lord of lords.  The Lords people are themselves lords.  They are to rule over their mortal bodies:

          1.  1 Cor. 9:27 "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

          2.  Rom. 8:13 "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."

          3.  Rom. 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Third, they deny the Lord is King.  The Jews said, "We will not have this man to reign over us."  Multitudes, today, who claim they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, do not recognize him as being the ruler of their lives.  They deny his Kingship and deny his spiritual kingdom.  Those who promote a future reign of Christ on earth have denied his spiritual kingdom on earth that exists today.  They will not live by the teaching of his word, and they will not worship him in Spirit and in truth, nor conform their assemblies to the biblical pattern of worship. 

These attacks on the teachings and practices of those who own him as the Lamb of God, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings are an effort to destroy the true worship of God. 

However, those that are with the Lamb are called, and chosen, and faithful.  Some have said that this calling and choosing is the calling and choosing of the covenant of redemption that is set forth in Rom. 8:29, 30.  No doubt, everyone who is with the Lamb was chosen before the foundation of the world to be a child of God and is called here in time by the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit.  However, the calling and choosing of this passage is not the calling and choosing in the covenant of redemption.  Notice the order in the covenant of redemption.  The choosing took place first, before the foundation of the world.  The calling comes later, here in this time world.  In the above passage of scripture the calling is listed before the choosing, indicating that the calling precedes the choosing. 

Those who are with the Lamb are called by the gospel to repent, be baptized and press into the kingdom of God and serve the Lord.  When they respond to the gospel call, they are chosen of God to be his servants in his Church.  According to Acts Chapter 2, the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.  When it comes to eternal salvation, none are added, because they were all chosen before the foundation of the world.  But being added to the church is a salvation to the service and true worship of God that those who respond to the gospel call are partakers of.  Furthermore, those who are with the Lamb are faithful.  When someone hears the true gospel, responds to it with repentance and water baptism, and continues faithful in the service of God, he lives victoriously over the enemies that attack the Lord and his church.

Rev. 17:15-18 "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 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."

As we have previously shown that the "whore," called "Mystery Babylon," and also known as "that great city," was Jerusalem with her perverted religious works system of Judaism.  God had elsewhere pronounced judgment upon Jerusalem and the adherents of that perverted religious system:

          1.  Matt. 22:2 "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city."

          2.  Matt. 23:31 "Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."

          3.  Matt. Chapter 24.

          4.  Also see Mark Chapter 13; Mark 12:1-9; Luke Chapter 21; Luke 20:9-19; and Luke 11:47-51.

While the "whore" sat on the back of the beast she spread her fornication (religious works system) throughout the world and she was the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth and they have filled the world with these false works systems.  While these works systems are still in the world today and mislead many of God's people, yet the mother of these systems was judged of God as He said he would do. 

As we have already shown there are two sets of ten kings set forth in the word of God.  There is that set of ten kings set forth in the book of Daniel and which were fulfilled in the days of the Roman Empire.  It was during this time at about 70 A.D. that Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman Army with great multitudes of the Jews dying of starvation and of the war and lesser multitudes being captured and dispersed abroad.  Those disciples who had fled to the mountains as the Lord had warned were delivered from the destruction of Jerusalem.  The whore's desolation and destruction is dealt with more fully in Chapter 18.