The Beast From the Sea in Revelation 13 is one of three main players in the final one-world system. The other two are the Beast From the Earth and the Great Harlot.

We saw the Beast From the Sea consists of seven heads in The Beast from the Sea: Part 1 – Seven Heads. These heads represent kingdoms (Daniel 7:17 & 23). The first five heads/kingdoms – Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece – have already fallen. The sixth, the Roman Empire, was present when Revelation was written. The seventh and final world kingdom is still in the future. It will come out of the sixth head, in an unknown/mysterious manner, have as its leader the Antichrist (seventh head), and will devour the whole earth.

We are now going to see that the Beast From the Sea has ten horns and what that means.

Who or What are the Ten Horns?

The first glimpse of the ten horns is found in Daniel and Revelation 17 further explains their purpose and relationships. We begin with portions from Daniel 7. Remember the sixth head = the fourth beast in Daniel.

“After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. Daniel 7:7 NASB

“Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head.” Daniel 7:19-20a NASB

“This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth and trample it down and crush it. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise;…” Daniel 7:23-24a NASB  [Emphasis mine]

The fourth beast is a revived beast from the Roman Empire. It is different from the previous beasts in several ways. It is more dreadful and devours the whole earth. And, it has ten horns.

So, the ten horns are ten kings that will arise during the final world kingdom and will have great authority. They will rule simultaneously

Side Note: There is another ‘little horn’ that will arise after the ten. We will consider this little horn which is greater than the ten in another article.

Out of the fourth beast will come a revived beast that has ten horns. The ten horns are ten kings that will arise (ruling simultaneously) and have great authority. This revived beast is different from the previous beasts in that it is more dreadful and devours the whole earth.

Side Note: There is another ‘little horn’ that will arise after the ten. We will consider this little horn (greater than the ten) in another article.

What is the Purpose of the Ten Horns?

Revelation 17 gives some of the specific functions and relationships of the ten horns. The scarlet beast in verse 3 refers to the Beast From the Sea. The beast in verses 10-13 refers specifically to the Antichrist.

“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.” Revelation 17:3 NASB

10 “And they (the seven heads) are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 The beast which was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. 12 The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.” Revelation 17:10-13 NASB [Emphasis mine]

Notice the ten horns (kings) are both described as an integral part of the beast but also distinguished from the beast. They give their power and authority to the Antichrist, but the Antichrist has greater authority.

Also notice there is an “eighth” beast in verses 10-11. He is the eighth but he is also one of the seven. It is distinguishing the eighth beast as a “uniquely positioned” beast/king. He is the final king, and he is also a king who “dies and comes back to life” (Rev. 13:3). And he is especially described here as the one who “goes to destruction, just like in Revelation 19:20! The representative heads of the first six beasts were all pagan kings. But this one is different and we will see that in Part 3 – The Antichrist. (Also see Will Christians Know Who the Antichrist Will Be?)

So these ten horns are upon the final head (seventh) of the beast, but yet can be distinguished from the beast via their powerful and, yet, supportive role.

What Authority Do the Ten Horns Have?

We will now see in Revelation 13 that the ten horns have crowns. What does this mean?

“Then 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. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. Revelation 13:1-2 NASB [Emphasis mine]

Each horn possesses a crown (diadems in Greek). This is probably because they are authoritative. From Rev. 17 they receive kingdoms which more than likely refer to particular regions of the whole.

Now let’s look at the ‘beast coming up out of the earth’ which also has some relation to the beast with the ten horns.

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast (i.e. beast from the sea) in his presence….And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:11-12a, 16-17 NASB [Emphasis mine]

We might describe this beast from the earth as the “Chief Implementation Officer” of the beast with ten horns. He exercises, i.e. carries out in practice, the will of the ten horns. He does this in his presence, that is, with seamless interface/interaction. He is in lock-step with the beast from the sea.

The great authority of the ten horns includes total control of a commercial system over the whole earth via a mark on the right hand or forehead. It is centralized, planned, controlled and purposeful administration of monetary power. It only works when both buyers and sellers accept how it is carried out. And the only way to be part of this great beast system is to give oneself in subjection to its requirements.

What Do the Ten Horns Mean For Us?

In the ancient world, kings conquered, plundered, occupied, and set up their rule. It was diverse but local in that it only covered certain geographical territory. And other kingdoms would be able to carry out their reign in other places. But the main thrust of the authority of these two beasts is “over the whole world” and it is not, first and foremost, military or political. It is via a means of commercial submission/stranglehold across the entire face of the earth. This is beyond the scope of normal reasoning in the ancient world. But we have high-speed internet, and a massive banking system and potentially “virtual” money. There have been entities at work like the European Commission, the Club of Rome, the Council on Foreign Relations, Global World System, and the Millenium Development Goals to deal with all things “Global.” And we have instantaneous identification capabilities (QR Code) and “trading regions” (U.N. Regional Groupings) of the world. So it is not beyond normal reasoning in our present world! In our technological, interconnected and large corporation world it would not be out of the question for ten horns to reign monetarily.

Remember, God has ordained that these things happen for the purposes of His coming judgments. But we can ultimately take comfort in our Lord’s words: “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

There is yet more to learn about the Beast from the Sea. The “little horn” that will arise after the ten horns is known as the Antichrist, and we will see his purpose and characteristics in Part 3.

For More on the Book of Revelation & End Times

Is Revelation in Chronological Order?
Five Reasons Why Revelation is Hard to Understand
When was the Book of Revelation Written?
The Beast from the Sea Part 1: Seven Heads
The Beast from the Sea Part 2: Ten Horns
The Beast from the Earth Part 1: The False Prophet
End Time Events: A Brief Overview
War on Israel – Ezekiel 38
The Church’s New Agenda
Will Christians Know Who the Antichrist Will Be?