London. — “Have you found any difficulty with Daniel 7:23,24, compared with Revelation 17:12-16? Would not the number of the kings be reduced to eight?”
It does not appear to me that the little horn in Daniel 7. is called a king. I suppose he is what is commonly called the head of the Roman Empire, and in Revelation 17, “an (not, the) eighth.” He comes upon the scene after the ten kings are already there (Dan. 7:24). His first act is to subdue, not necessarily to destroy, three kings. The ten kings will continue, though these three may have a limited place and power compared to what they had. The little horn becomes prominent over them all, and his blasphemous actings and words become the occasion of God’s judgment falling upon the whole Gentile power (Dan. 7:11).
I am much interested in your remarks upon Revelation 13:18. ED,
Our correspondent writes: ― “There is another subject which has come to my mind lately on reading Rev. 13:18, For the number of the beast is the number of a man, and his number is Ch, X, S (χξς).’ Why is this stated in the three double letters, instead of being written at length, as all other numbers are in the New Testament? The chief reason perhaps is, that they are a convenient mark to put upon the followers of “the king” (Antichrist), but may there not be another reason also? They might be initial letters of three words, characterizing some blasphemous expression of “the king,” something of this sort―Christou Xulon Stauros (Christ’s Cross, a mere block of wood).
“We have a sample of this kind of acrostic in the adoption of the fish by the early Christians as a symbol of the Church, because the Greek for fish’ is Ichthus, which is the initial of Iēsous Christos Theou Uios Soter (Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Saviour).” F. G. S.