Here in the Midwest, there’s a lot of talk about the Big Ten when collegiate sports reach the peak of the season—the conference playoffs. But in the book of Revelation, God forewarned us that a different “Big Ten” will take the court one day, in earth’s final battle game.
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Certain numbers are used frequently in the Bible. When speaking of God, the most popular number is probably seven. And like the numbers three, four, six, and twelve, it is used throughout the book of Revelation. The number SEVEN is often used in the Bible to signify completeness or perfection; FOUR represents the earth, or totality; THREE is used with the Trinity; TWELVE can represent God’s people (based on 12 Old Testament tribes or 12 New Testament apostles); and, the number SIX is often associated with the Antichrist or evil (Rev. 13:18).
But have you given the number TEN much thought? You may be surprised to learn that it has a long history in the Bible.
After dwelling in Canaan—the land of promise—for 10 years, Sarah wrongly asked her husband Abraham to lay with her handmaid in order to give her a son (Gen. 16:1-3).
Abraham gave Melchesidek, the king/priest, who was a type of Christ, a tenth (or tithe) of his increase (Gen. 14:20).
In a conversation with the Lord, Abraham bartered his way all the way down to only ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, hoping to save the city, where his nephew Lot resided, from destruction (Gen. 18:32).
Jacob endured the hardship of having his wages wrongly changed ten times, by Laban, his father-in-law (Gen. 31:7).
Genesis 42 records the account of Joseph—who was sold by his siblings when he was young—meeting his ten brothers after he became the governor of Egypt.
Refusing to let God’s people go, God visited the pharaoh of Egypt with ten plagues, which only served to harden his heart (Exod. 7-12).
After instituting the wilderness sanctuary, God gave His covenant people the law in the form of the Ten Commandments, to keep and obey. (Ex. 20; compare Rev. 11:19; 12:17; 14:12).
The Israelites had ten days to search their souls of sin, in the ten days leading up to the Day of Atonement, the annual Day of Judgment.
Immediately after Daniel arrived in Babylon, as a captive, he requested a ten day trial with a special dietary lifestyle, after which he and his young Hebrew friends might “prove” themselves before the officials (Dan. 1:8-14).
Daniel 2:42, the king’s vision of the statue concludes with the ten “toes,” which represents the last “kings” (verse 44) or nations on earth, when Christ sets up His eternal kingdom.
In Matthew 25, Jesus shared a parable about ten virgins who waited for the bridegroom’s return. When he arrived, only five were prepared to enter the wedding—the others were forever shut out.
And in Revelation’s seven letters to the churches, the saints in Smyrna (2:8-10) are warned about a coming time of trial that will last “ten days”—symbolic perhaps of the ten years of severe church persecution under the Emperor Diocletian (A.D.303-313).
So, what does God’s law, tithe, the plagues on Egypt, and the others, have in common? In one form or another, they were all a TEST—tests of endurance, loyalty, character, and faith. And according to Revelation, God’s people will face one last “10-test” just before Jesus returns: “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. 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.” Rev. 17:12-14
Regardless how Christians interpret this part Revelation, all seem to agree that we must be watching, as the last days unfold, in order to recognize these “ten horns.” The “ten horns” have already been interpreted for us as “ten kings.” So, we might look for: 1) ten end-time “political leaders” (so LaHaye) to rise up in support of the secular beast power; or, 2) these “ten kings” may represent the totality of all the earthly kingdoms that support the beast as it wages a final attack against God’s people—“The ten kings are really all the mighty ones of this earth in every realm” (so Hendriksen. Note that the ten toes of the image in Daniel 2 also referred generally to all the last powers on earth.)
No doubt, in the final hour of earth’s history, God’s remnant will know exactly who the “beast” and the “ten kings” are. The good news is that no matter how bad things may become—it may even appear as if God’s true Church is about to be annihilated—this final event will be limited to only “one hour,” thank God!
Having said all that, let’s zoom in now on what I believe are the most important words in the above text: “And the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings.” When all is said and done, this is all that matters!