According to the Bible, how many of such world powers would there be? The answer was given to the aged apostle John and shows where we are in the stream of time. An angel told John: “There are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived.”—Revelation 17:10.
What five world powers had already come and gone by John’s day? Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. Which one still existed? Rome. And which power had “not yet arrived”? The Anglo-American World Power of our day. These are the world powers with which God’s people, ancient and modern, have been primarily concerned.
In the book of Revelation, this seventh world power had also been described as having “two horns like a lamb.” (Revelation 13:11) Why two horns? Because the British Empire and the new American nation, joined by common language, principles, and policies, were soon working together. They became, in many respects, a dual English-speaking world power.