Matthew Poole and continuators on Revelation 17:12

12 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 .

Possibly by ten Kings here are not meant Monarchs but Governments.

Which were not in being in Iohn's time, nor in many years after.

But should, during some time of the Beast's Reign, have power with the Papacy, employing their power with his, to establish his Idolatry. But who these Ten Monarchs be, or what these Ten Governments are, I must confess my self at a loss to determine: It is plain they should be 1. Such as should be contemporaneous with the Reign of the Beast. 2. Such as employed their Power in conjunction with his. 3. S[illegible: 1 letter]ch as should afterwards be Instruments to ruine the Papacy, v. 16, 17. The Beasts Reign being 1260 years, there hath been, and will be such a variety of Princes and Governments, as it is very hard to determine who they shall be. But their being contemporaneous with the Beast, makes me think it cannot be [illegible: 2 letters]derstood eithe[illegible: 1 letter] of any that were in the World before the year 606, when the Beasts Reign began, (tho the Mystery of Iniquity was working, and the Image of the Beast was making long before;) as also that the Ten Barbarous Nations that disturbed Italy from 410, till near 600 could not be me[illegible: 3 letters]; being all before Antichrist came to any Reign, nor did they ever shew any great love or hatred to the Pope; sometimes serving, sometimes opposing him, as suited their respective Civil interests. I am very inclinable to think the Prophecy to concern some Kings nearer the end of Antichri[illegible: 2 letters] 's Reign, who though for [illegible: 1 letter] while they serve the Papacy, yet shall at last be Instruments to ruine him; but who they are shall do this, or when it shall be I cannot determine.

Marginal references: Dan. 7.20. Chap. 13.1.