1) Revelation 17: The prophecy of one hour

After having understood Daniel, where a goat is used to symbolise Greece and the horns are the kingdoms that arise, we can turn to Revelation where similar images are used for nations. In the revelation to John he is shown a vision of a beast (an animal representing the empire arising from the Roman empire) with successive horns (or kingdoms).

He is told that in the future, after the time of the 8th Horn that must continue for a “short space”, there would be a time where 10 kings have power with the Beast for one prophetic “Hour”. An hour is one twelfth of a Jewish day. If a day equals a year (Ezekiel 4:6), then one hour equals 30 days, or a month, which is still a very short time. The answer is given in Revelation 8 where there is “silence”, or peace, for “half an hour” (Revelation 8:1), which translated into a period of peace of 15 years from 324 until 337AD the death of Constantine. This was a day which equals a year of prophetic days. Therefore 'one hour' is 30 years.

This 30 years is a time period from a start date when the kings 'have one mind' to the time the Lamb, or Messiah, shall overcome them. This is a prophecy of “the times and seasons” of the coming. And it is for those living in the last 30 years to understand. The nations involved would be revealed only at the time when the prophecy begins to be fulfilled.

And the ten horns which thou saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

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. (Revelation 17:12-14)

The Beast, the 7 heads and 10 horns

The 10 kings are associated with the Beast. The ten kings are 'ten horns' on the beast, which John saw,

I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)

The woman is the apostate religious system that by being involved in politics becomes a harlot, answering to the church establised by Constantine. This woman rides 'the Beast' which is the old pagan Roman power. This beast has a peculiar character “it was”, that is, it existed at the time of John; it “is not” or is removed (by Constantine in 313AD), but even though removed it “yet is”, indicating that in reality it had not been removed and in effect was incorporated into the Catholic system (Revelation 17:8). The Beast has seven heads which are seven mountains, or seven empires/regimes on which the woman “sits”, or reigns over.

In addition there are 7 kings, or type of rule.

There are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space. (Revelation 17:10)

At the time of John, Rome had gone through 5 forms of government. After his day they changed again to Gothic rule, and out of this came another, the very last one, which only continued for a short time.

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition. (Revelation 17:11)

The beast which “is yet” becomes the eighth king, or form of rule and that is the Holy Roman Empire as it comes out of the seven. This describes when the Catholic system rules as a nation. The eventual fate of this eighth “king”, or form of rule, is to 'go into perdition'. After the end of the Holy Roman Empire come 10 kings.

The 10 'horns' on the Beast = kings who Rule

In this territory of the seven heads (empires/nations) there are the 10 horns on the beast which are 10 kings. These kings are not ordinary kings, in that they don't have a kingdom.

And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. (Revelation 17:12)

What kind of people are 'kings' who don't have a kingdom? This is not speaking of people like the exiled king of Greece. These 'kings' are the people who shape the real political world. Since the Second World War the world has been shaped by the leaders of the powerful nations. And the phenomena of the treaty.

Once treaties were signed only as a result of war or for an alliance, but the leaders of certain nations now sign treaties to shape a new political entity. The European treaties since 1948 are signed to show they “agree” or have “one mind”.

One of the most significant was the Treaty of Rome in 1957. It was signed by “The Six”: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC). The treaty was in force on 1 January 1958.

We note in the prophecy that they do two things

These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. (Revelation 17:13)

Power relates to “ability” or capacity and fits very well with the economic exchange that occurred first. Then they give their strength.

Strength is exousia or privilege, influence, authority, liberty or jurisdiction, or in modern terms civil rights. The nations of Europe have given authority to the new political entity, the European Union, that they have made. This first occurred in the Single European Act (appropriately SEA, as 'sea' symbolises nations Jer.51:42, Eze.26:3, Luke 21:25) which was signed in 1986, but was extended by the Maastrict Treaty of 1992.

Since 1948 there have been many treaties of “one mind”.

• 1948, Treaty of Brussels - a Western Union – March 17 between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Signed first by Prince Charles of Belgium, as reigning Prince Regent of Belgium and 15 others including 3 other monarchs including King George VI of the United Kingdom. This became NATO in April 1951.

• 1952 23 July, Treaty of Paris - European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), 18 April 1951 between France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands. The treaty came into force on 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 July 2002.

• 1958 January 1, Treaty of Rome (two Treaties) the European Economic Community (EEC) and the less important European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) signed March 25 1957. Both signed by The Six: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and West Germany.

• 1967 July 1, Brussels Merger Treaty- establishing a Single Council and Commission of the European Communities Merging the judicial, legislative and administrative bodies of the three European communities Signed by "The Six". European treaty which combined the executive bodies of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the European Economic Community (EEC) into a single institution. Signed on 8 April 1965.

• 1987 July 1, The Single European Act (SEA) first major revision of Treaty of Rome. They removed barriers between countries. It reformed the institutions. A single market by 1992 was set. The forerunner of the European Union's later Common Foreign and Security Policy. Signed at Luxembourg on February 17, 1986, and The Hague on February 28, 1986. It went into effect on under the Delors Commission which had 12 member nations (not six as previously).

• 1993 November 1, The Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on European Union, TEU) signed February 7, 1992 in the Netherlands after final negotiations on December 9, 1991 between the members of the European Community and entered into force on November 1, 1993 during the Delors Commission. It created the European Union and led to the creation of the Euro. Of the 12 nations 2, Denmark and Britain, did not ratify).

• 1999 May 1, Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, signed on October 2, 1997. “a greater emphasis on citizenship and the rights of individuals, more democracy in the shape of increased powers for the European Parliament, a new title on employment, a Community area of freedom, security and justice, the beginnings of a common foreign and security policy (CFSP)”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Treaty

The Nice Treaty was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003. It reduces the sovereignty of national and regional parliaments and places power into a centralised bureaucracy.

That many nations should over the years make agreement after agreement to give of their own power to another entity is unheard of in history. In the treaty of Paris 1951 the Queen of the Netherlands proclaimed they were,

“RESOLVED to substitute for historic rivalries a fusion of their essential interests;..giving direction to their future common destiny;”

The Treaty of Paris (1951) and the Treaty of Rome (1957)

“were the first international organisations to be based on supra-nationalism”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Rome

Truly the nations have given “of their power and strength”. But it has not happened overnight. The work began for the 1999 Treaty in Messina, Sicily, on June 2, 1995, forty years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome and was completed the night June 17-18, 1997 in Amsterdam. At that time,

“The European Parliament endorsed the Treaty on November 19, 1997, and after two referenda and 13 decisions by national parliaments, the Member States finally concluded the procedure” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Treaty

We may conclude from this that the 'one hour' or 30 years may have a staggered end time. The latter days are a 'season' or a short period of time. This is quite reasonable in the light of history where serious wars will last over 4 years.

10 nations with one mind

The first time the nations have “one mind” is in 1948, however this is only preparation for the Treaty of Rome in 1957 which was signed by six nations. In 1967 six nations formed the EEC. In 1987 twelve nations formed the first political agreement. But two of them were shown to be not of the number by 1993 when there were 10 nations with 'one mind'. This is ten kings who give their power (economic) and strength (rights/authority) to 'the beast', the Roman based European Parliament. They have since collected around them more nations, but the core is the first 6 (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Germany) becoming 10 with the addition of Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland.

This began with three agreements between six core nations. They have declared the nature of the entity they are making. This is 6-6-6. This is the number of the beast. It becomes 12 or doubled in 1987. But John is told there are 10 kings and this corresponds to the 10 toes of Daniel's image. It is to be noted that Goliath had 12 toes and though uncommon it does occasionally occur. But time has revealed the 12 were really 10.

That more nations join them afterwards (in six successive enlargements) is neither here nor there (the EU is currently composed of twenty republics, six kingdoms and one grand duchy). The 10 kings, or political leaders were the ones who made the agreements for the other nations to join. (It is an irony that the UK and Denmark both had input into the financial structure of the EEC but neither joined the Euro!)

Therefore the prophetic 'one hour' or thirty years most likely begins in an era from 1986 to 1993. It therefore may end when the Lamb, the Messiah, overcomes this Union when it steps forward to oppose Israel from 2016 to 2023. This is not a time, or a day but a quite broad “season”.

• Site Index

Sections

• Site Contents
• God & the Bible
• BFn Notes
• Consider
• The Living Word
• Faith In Action
• Quotes
• About this Site

• What's New
• 2pi Bible Pages