539. 'And ten horns' signifies much power. 'A horn' signifies power (n. 270), and 'ten' signify much (n. 101). The dragon is said to have much power because the salvation of man by faith alone without the works of the law, which faith is understood by 'the dragon', seeks to entrap minds, and then confirmations persuade. It entraps because when a man hears that the damnation of the law has been withstood, and that through faith alone in this the Lord's merit will be imputed, he can indulge in the pleasures of mind (animus) and body and not be afraid of any hell. The power that is signified by the dragon's 'ten horns' results from this. That he did have such power is manifestly plain because of the reception of that faith throughout the Reformed Christian world.