'Powers' in the Bible
Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous [those in right standing with You];For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.
Do not cast me off nor send me away in the time of old age;Do not abandon me when my strength fails and I am weak.
O God, my heart is steadfast [with confident faith];I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.
So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly] wisdom,And apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly];
In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpentWith His fierce and great and mighty sword [rescuing Israel from her enemy],Even Leviathan the twisted serpent;And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
They shall devastate the land of Assyria with the sword andThe land of Nimrod within her [own] gates.And He (the Messiah) shall rescue us from the Assyrian (all enemy nations)When he attacks our landAnd when he tramples our territory.
So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns [the powerful Gentile nations] that have scattered Judah (the Southern Kingdom), Israel (the Northern Kingdom), and Jerusalem (capital city of Judah).”
I asked, “What are these [horns and craftsmen] coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns (powers) that have scattered Judah so that no man raised up his head [because of the suffering inflicted by the Gentile nations]. But these craftsmen have come to terrify them and make them panic, and throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”
with the chariot with the black horses going toward the north country; then the one with the white horses follows after them [because there are two northern powers to overcome], and the chariot with the dappled horses goes toward the south country.”