Seven, as the number of perfection, is regarded by Stuart, Hengstenberg, and others, as a combi nation of four and three, the signatures of the uni verse and of God, and therefore signifying the union of God and his creatures. It is thus all-compre hensive and complete. To this we demur, as we do to the derivation of twelve, the signature of the church, from 3 X 4=12, and of to from 7 and 3, which last involves an absurdity. More naturally does seven spring from the six creative days com pleted by the day of rest. Hence, too, the uni versal use of the number. We may add here, that three and a half, being half the perfect number seven, is the signature of incompleteness and imper fection, and therefore possesses striking significance as used to denote the duration of the persecutions of the church, both in Daniel and the Apocalypse.
We must finally notice the number of the Beast,' = 666 (Rev. xiii. 17, I8).* The Beast is the world-power in its hostility to the kingdom of God. The number of the name is plainly the num ber made up by the numerical power of the letters composing the name added together. But here the proposed interpretations are multitudinous.
That suggested by Iremeus (C. H., 1. v., c. 29, 30), followed by many protestant interpreters—among the rest, but very sceptically, by Alford—is one of the (but not the) oldest, viz., Xarapos=- Latin, i.e., beast, or kingdom—A 30, a 1, 1- 300, e 5, L io, v 50, 0 70, s 200=666. Some have suggested droordrns, with reference to Julian ; Bossuet, Dio des Augustus; Hengstenberg, Adonikam, because it is said (Ezra ii. 13), the sons of Adonikam were 666 (see Com. in loco) ; Benary j112, or, drop ping the final nun in Nero, to suit the Var. Lee., giving therefore either 666 or 616. This interpre tation is favoured by Stuart. Bengel refers the 666 to the number of years the Beast was to exer cise his dominion ; but that surely is not the num ber of his name (see Stuart's Corn. on the Apoc., Ex. iv. ; and for the full literature of the subject, Rabett's Aaretpos, and Thom's Number of the Beast). The enigma seems as yet unsolved. On the subject of number generally, see Stuart's Corn. on the Apoc., Introd., sec. 7 and Excursus ii. ; Winer, R. W B., Zahlen.—I. J.