Who Are The Ten Kings of The Antichrist Kingdom? ~The Traditional View~
Pastor Leslie Chua
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.”
“Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.”
“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. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.”
In the study of eschatology, one of the commonest topics of discussion is the 10 kings of the Antichrist kingdom.
These 10 kings are represented by the 10 horns of the beast in the Book of Revelation and the 10 horns of the fourth beast in the Book of Daniel.
Separately, in Daniel chapter 2, the 10 kings are also hinted. The Babylonian monarch, Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed of a great image of exceeding brightness. This statue has a golden head, silver chest and arms, bronze middle and thighs, iron legs, and feet and 10 toes of partly iron and partly clay. According to God’s revelation to the prophet, Daniel, the 10 toes are 10 kingdoms. These are the domains of the End-Time empire of the Antichrist.
In recent years, we are witnessing many biblical signs of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. One prominent and significant sign is the rise of totalitarianism in the West, which is a foretaste of what the Antichrist regime will be like. The mainstream media propagandistic distortion of the Russia-Ukraine war, Big Tech censorship of contrary opinions relating to the COVID-19 crisis and mRNA vaccines, and ridiculous climate change and decarbonisation agenda are testimonies of a dystopian shift toward increasing surveillance and control.
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There is a general consensus to the traditional view of the identity of the 10 kings. These 10 kings will come from 10 nations in Europe.
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Given that and several other considerations, many prophecy watchers are seriously thinking about who these 10 kings may be.
Who are the 10 kings of the Antichrist kingdom? Who are the 10 kings in the alliance that give their power and authority to the Antichrist?
There is a general consensus to the traditional view of the identity of the 10 kings. These 10 kings will come from 10 nations in Europe.
Here are the reasons.
Biblical Prophecies Centre Around Israel
Biblical prophecies centre around the nation of Israel. The focus is on Israel and the influence and impact of the surrounding nations on Israel.
Notice that in the prophecies of the succession of empires in the Book of Daniel, reference is made only to those empires that had dealings with Israel.
The golden head of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream represents the Babylonian Empire. The silver chest and arms represent the Medo-Persian Empire. The bronze middle and thighs represent the Greek Empire while the iron legs represent the Roman Empire.
All these 4 empires dominated Israel in succession. The Babylonians attacked and destroyed Judah and carried the Jews into exile in Babylon. The Medo-Persians allowed the Jews to return to Israel and reconstruct the walls and temple in Jerusalem. The Greeks invaded and captured Israel while the Romans exercised an iron grip over the Promised Land.
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Biblical prophecies centre around the nation of Israel. The focus is on Israel and the influence and impact of the surrounding nations on Israel.
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The prophecy in Revelation chapter 17 verses 7, 9, and 10 about the beast with 7 heads and 10 horns refers to the empires in the ancient Near East region where Israel is situated. These empires are Egypt. Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the End-Time Antichrist kingdom.
The prophecy is very specific – “This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while” (Revelation 17:9-10).
At the time when the apostle, John, received this vision, 5 empires were already gone – Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, and Greece. “One is” refers to the Roman Empire, which was the existing empire then. “The other has not yet come” refers to the Antichrist kingdom which is in the future at the end of this present age.
So, as you can see, biblical prophecies are Israel-centric and they concern the kingdoms situated around the geographical location of Israel. While there were other big empires in places such as China and India, they are not referenced in biblical prophecies.
The Revived Roman Empire
In Daniel chapter 7, Daniel saw 4 different beasts in a vision. First, he saw a lion with eagles’ wings, followed by a bear, then, a leopard with 4 wings on its back, and finally a terrifying and dreadful-looking beast that was exceedingly strong. The fourth beast was different. It had 10 horns. After that, a little horn emerged among the 10 horns and uprooted 3 of the horns (Daniel 7:1-8).
The 10 horns are symbolic of a 10-nation confederation from which the Antichrist, represented by the little horn, will emerge.
Notice that the 10 horns grow from the fourth beast, which represents the ancient Roman Empire. In other words, these 10 nations with the 10 kings will emerge from the Roman Empire of the past. Their roots trace back to the Roman Empire. That is the reason the Antichrist kingdom is often known as the Revived Roman Empire.
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The clear and obvious inference is this End-Time 10-nation Antichrist kingdom will rise from Europe, where the original Roman Empire had occupied geographically in the past.
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We will arrive at the same conclusion when we look at the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The 10 toes, representing the 10 kings and 10 nations, extend from the 2 iron legs, which represent the Roman Empire.
The clear and obvious inference is this End-Time 10-nation Antichrist kingdom will rise from Europe, where the original Roman Empire had occupied geographically in the past.
In recent years, some Christians have speculated that the Antichrist may come from China because the Chinese government is autocratic and China leads the world in surveillance and control technologies.
I cannot agree with such a view, which is flawed from the biblical perspective. The 10-nation confederation of the Antichrist will rise from Europe, which is the seat of the Revived Roman Empire.
The European Economic Community (EEC)
Back in the 1980s, many prophecy watchers believed that the so-called one-world government of the Antichrist would come from the EEC or the European Economic Community.
The EEC was the forerunner of the European Union or EU. The EEC was created when 6 European nations – Belgium, West Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
In 1973, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom (U.K.) joined the grouping taking it to 9 nations. Many Christians held their breath as they anticipated 1 more European country to join the EEC taking the tally to 10 nations.
It happened in 1981 when Greece became the tenth member of the European Economic Community. Greece’s membership caused quite a stir in the prophecy watcher community at that time.
5 years later in 1986, the bubble of anticipation for the formation of the 10-nation one-world government was burst when Spain and Portugal joined the EEC.
In 1993, the European Economic Community was renamed the European Union. Soon, many other European nations join the economic bloc.
Today, there are a total of 27 member nations in the EU. It would been 28 countries if not for the withdrawal of the U.K. from the bloc in 2020.
The 10-Nation Confederation will Emerge
Nothing in God’s plan has changed. The prophetic future of Europe had been cast in stone. The biblical prophecies of Daniel and John concerning the 10 horns will certainly come to pass someday in the future.
I am confident that we will see a disintegration of the EU. The number of EU member-states will dwindle to 10. Alternatively, it will break up and, in its place, 10 European nations will rise.
Is this impossible?
Not when you look at the current state of the EU. In its recent election held in June, the so-called far-right parties rattled the traditional powers in the European Union with major gains in parliamentary seats.
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I am confident that we will see a disintegration of the EU. The number of EU member-states will dwindle to 10. Alternatively, it will break up and, in its place, 10 European nations will rise.
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The same phenomenon is happening in the elections of individual European nations. The right-leaning nationalist parties made significant gains in the election results.
Many Europeans are sick and tired of the policies of their left-leaning governments. They are frustrated with the green regulations to fight carbon emissions and climate change, which have caused gas prices and electricity bills to skyrocket. Unchecked immigration from the Middle East and Africa has resulted in a sharp increase in crime rates and cultural incompatibility.
These nationalist parties decry globalism and their representatives are suspicious of the globalists’ agendas championed by the EU.
The politics in the Western European countries will continue to change, and change rapidly going forward. I strongly believe that the current political and economic structure will crack soon and give way to a new grouping with 10 nations. It will certainly happen one way or another.
Who are the 10 kings in the Books of Daniel and Revelation?
They are the political leaders of the 10 European nations that will give their power and authority to the Antichrist.