Revelation 17:12-13; Receive Power as Kings for One Hour

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Revelation 17:12-13  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. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 

The reign of the ten kings will be for one hour, this adverbial accusative of time indicates a very short time (Beckwith), much shorter than the beast himself (cf. Revelation 13:5). [Robertson, Word Pictures, 6:433; Kiddle, Revelation, p. 352]

Revelation 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 

They have the same hatred toward and opposition to the harlot in v16 (Lee).

Revelation 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 

The present tense anticipates the time in the future when they will receive the kingdom [Alford]. The word for “mind” occurs in 1 Corinthians 1:10 where Paul exhorts the Corinthian church to unity.

1 Corinthians 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 

Their unity in giving their power and authority to the beast is part of God’s sovereign plan (v17).

Revelation 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 

The dragon had given power and authority to the beast (Revelation 13:2), but in quite a different way these kings will do the same. Again, a present tense “give” points to the future when they will receive their kingdoms and therefore have power and authority to give.

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1995, 301]

In the current European Union, its head is appointed rather than elected. If this is the plan for the 10 economic blocks where each head is appointed rather than elected. It is not surprising they will surrender their power to their appointer.