10 Horns
towards8Revelation 16:12-16 speaks of kings who will come from east of the Euphrates to gather for a great war at Armageddon, a place in northern Israel (Armageddon - BibleAtlas). These kings are the 10 horns of Revelation 17:16-18 that will attack and destroy Babylon (Jerusalem) because, first, it mentions the beast and the false prophet; second, immediately after that passage, the fall of Babylon (Jerusalem) is described; and third, just as the Iranians came from east of the Euphrates to conquer the original Babylon in Chaldea (Dan 5:28), so the Iranians will come a second time from east of the Euphrates to destroy the Babylon from Revelation, which represents Jerusalem.
The 10 kings are the revival of the 7th empire, representing the 10 toes of the statue in Daniel 2 and the 10 horns of the 4th beast in Daniel 7. As I explained in my post "Sea Beast," the 7th empire was the Caliphate. In my post "Great Babylon," I explained that Babylon is Jerusalem. Thus, the 10 kings will unite and destroy Jerusalem. I will now show where the 10 kings will come from.
Old Testament
The Old Testament is full of foreshadowing. This means that past events can offer clues about the future. In Isaiah 21:2 it says, "Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media; I have made an end of all the groaning she (Babylon) has caused." God is calling Elam and Media to attack Babylon. Elam and Media were located in what is now Iran. So, the verse could be translated as, "Iran, go and besiege Babylon!" In Jeremiah 51:27-28 it says, "Lift up a standard in the land, blow a trumpet among the nations! Set apart the nations against her (Babylon); summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up the horses like bristly locusts. Set apart the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their prefects, and every land under their rule." God calls upon the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to fight against Babylon. Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz were located in the area of present-day eastern Turkey, South Caucasus, and northwestern Iran. These kingdoms belonged to the Median Empire, which stretched from eastern Turkey to Central Asia. It was an Iranian empire. In other words, God is calling upon Iran to attack Babylon. Now, someone might object that the passages in Isaiah and Jeremiah refer to the siege of Babylon in 539 BCE. While this is true, as already mentioned, the Old Testament is full of foreshadowing. This means that past events can contain clues about the future.
Hadiths
Not only the Bible but also Islamic texts indicate that the fire will come from Iran. In Mishkat al-Masabih 5461 and Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2269, the Islamic prophet Muhammad is credited with the prophecy: "When you see the black standards have come from the direction of Khorasan, go to them, for Allah's Caliph, the Mahdi, will be among them. Nothing shall turn them back until they are planted in Jerusalem." It is said that an army with black banners will come from Khorasan, led by the Mahdi, and its destination is Jerusalem. The word "Khorasan" is Persian and means "where the sun rises" or, in other words, "the eastern province." Khorasan is the region that encompasses Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. In Islam, the Mahdi is a figure who will appear at the end of time and will be the leader (Caliph) of the Muslims. He will revive the Caliphate, which de facto collapsed in 945 CE.
Conclusion
With all this information, we can conclude that the 10 kings are to be found within the borders of Greater Iran.
