2. If Christ had been received instead of being cut off, when would the seventieth week have come in?
3. Will Elijah be the preparer of the way, as was John?
J. H.
Answer: 1. There is nothing that I see to reconcile between John 2 and Dan. 9, for the seven weeks (forty-nine years) refer to the building of the street and the wall, not of the temple—still less of that building begun by Herod the Great.
2. The cutting off is not tied to the sixty-ninth week, but is predicted as that which should be (it is not said how long) after the sixty-nine weeks. This leaves a margin which some have filled up with a seventieth week. But the fact is, that if Christ had been received, there could have been no such period as the seventieth week.
3. John Baptist’s coming was only Elias to faith, or “if ye will receive it.” His coming in power will he actually before the great and terrible day of the Lord, as the other was in spirit before the day of grace.