3d. "And to make reconciliation for iniquity." Was this also performed at his death? Yes. See Col. i. 20," And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself." Heb. ii. 17, "Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren; that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."

4th. "And to bring in everlasting righteousness." "This must be by Christ's obedience," says the objector, "and cannot be at his death." Not so fast, dear sir; let us hear the testimony. Romans v. 21, "That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." And, "By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Again, see Phil. ii. 8, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Paul says, "I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain;" evidently showing, that by Christ's obedience unto death, he brought in everlasting righteousness.

5th. "To seal up the vision and prophecy." What does "to seal up" mean? I answer, It means to make sure, certain, unalterable. Consult Esther iii. 12, viii. 8. Solomon says, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm;" that is, make me sure in thy love, and certain by thy power. John says, “He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true." John iii. 33. Paul to Rome, xv. 28, "When I have performed this, and sealed to them this fruit;" that is, made sure the contributions. Again, to Timothy, 2 Epistle, ii. 19, "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." Therefore the death of Christ would make Daniel's vision sure; for if a part of the vision should be exactly fulfilled, as to time and manner, then the remainder of the vision would be accomplished in manner and time, as literally as the seventy weeks had been.

6th. "And anoint the Most Holy." The Most Holy,

in this passage, must mean Christ; for no human being can, or ought to claim this appellation, save him whom God hath anointed to be a Savior in Israel, and a King in Zion. See Acts x. 38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power." Also, Acts iv. 27, "For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." Heb. i. 9, "Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

It will next be requisite to inquire, When was Christ anointed?

I answer, When the Holy Ghost descended upon him, and when he was endued with power from on high to work miracles. See Isa. lxi. 1, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek: he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

After Christ was baptized by John, and after being tempted of the devil forty days in the wilderness, he went in the spirit into Galilee, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as his custom was, and he stood up to read. They gave him the book of Isaiah. When he opened the book he found the passage which I have just quoted. After reading it he shut up the book and sat down. He then began to say unto them, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears," Luke iv. 1-21. This passage plainly proves that Christ was anointed on or before this day.

Other things were to be done in the seventy weeks, such as, The cutting off of the Messiah, but not for himself. This can mean nothing less than the crucifixion of Christ. See Luke xxiv. 26, 46, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day." Rom. v. 6, "For when we were without strength, in due

time (or according to the time of seventy weeks) Christ died for us."

If

"And he (Messiah) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." What covenant is this to be confirmed? I answer, It cannot be the Jewish covenant, for that was confirmed by Moses many hundred years before Daniel lived. There being but two covenants, it must of necessity be the new covenant of which Christ is the Mediator; Moses having been the mediator of the old, and Christ afterwards of the new. these things are so, and the gospel covenant is meant by Daniel, then the time the gospel was preached by John and Christ is here called a week; for Christ himself preached more than seven days. Christ kept three passovers with the Jews after he began his ministry, and oefore he nailed the ceremonial law to his cross. This is strong evidence that a week is seven years, and that Daniel's 70 weeks are to be understood as meaning 490 years.

Again, "In the midst of the week he should cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease," or, as all Hebrew scholars agree, "In the last half of the week," &c., is the more proper translation; and it is evident that this translation would harmonize with the other parts of the passage, "the sacrifice and oblation to cease."

What sacrifice and offering is this, which the Messiah was to cause to cease? I answer, It must of course be that one offering and sacrifice for sin of which all other offerings and sacrifices were but types. It could not be the Jewish sacrifices and offerings, for two good

reasons.

1st. This is but one sacrifice, and the Jews had many. It does not say sacrifices; therefore it cannot mean Jewish sacrifices, nor offerings.

2d reason. The Jewish sacrifices and offerings did not cease in, nor even very nigh, the last half of the week in which the Messiah confirmed the covenant with many; and, even to the present day, they make oblations, if not sacrifices. It must mean that sacrifice and oblation which the Messiah was to make to God for sin, once for all. It must mean that sacrifice which is the antetype

of all the legal sacrifices from the days of Abel to the days of the Messiah. Let us hear what Paul says, Heb. vii. 27, "Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's; for this he did once when he offered up himself."

See also Heb. x. 11, 12. "And every priest standeth daily ministering, and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God." Many more passages might be brought to show that all sacrifices and oblations which could take away sin, or in which God the Father could be well pleased, ceased in Christ's one sacrifice and oblation. But I have given enough to satisfy every candid, unprejudiced mind; therefore I shal!, II. Try to prove when the seventy weeks began, and when they ended.

The angel Gabriel tells Daniel, ix. 25, "Know, therefore, and understand, that, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."

In this passage we have a plain declaration when the seventy weeks began: "from the going forth of the commandment." But what commandment? we may inquire. I answer, A command that will finally restore the Jews from their captivity under which they then were held in bondage; also to prepare the way for them to rebuild their city, repeople the same, and raise up the decayed walls, settle the streets, and cleanse the city of Jerusalem; and these things would be done in troublous times. So much is expressed or implied in the declaration of Gabriel, which I have just quoted.

Who would give the command? is the next question. I answer, It must be a king who had power over the Jews to release and restore them. It must of necessity be a king over the Medes and Persians, or it would not be in agreement with the vision in the 8th chapter of Daniel; for he is expressly told by Gabriel that the ram

he saw, and which was the first thing he did see in the vision, were the kings of Media and Persia. And now this same angel Gabriel has come the second time, and tells Daniel, plainly and distinctly, that he has come to make him "understand the vision." What vision? The one Daniel had in the beginning, in the 8th chapter. See Daniel ix. 21-23.

Then Gabriel begins his instructions by giving him seventy weeks of the vision, and then shows him, verse 24, when his seventy weeks begin; or, which is the same thing," the vision." To read and understand the matter thus far, infidelity itself must blush to deny the premises.

Then, if we have settled this question, the next ques tion would be, Which king of Persia, and what commandment? I answer, It must be the fifth king of Persia noted in the Scripture of truth; for the angel Gabriel, the third time he visited Daniel to give him skill and understanding into "the vision," says, "But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth," Dan. x. 21. This shows that he was instructing Daniel into a vision which he before had seen, and written in the Scriptures. See Dan. vii. 1, "Then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters." Dan. x. 14, "Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days; for yet the vision is for many days." What vision? The one noted in the Scripture of truth, says Gabriel. Then, in Dan. xi. 2, he begins his instruction to him of the vision, which he was commanded by the voice between the banks of Ulai to make him understand, by saying, "And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all." This fourth king was the ram pushing, and was the fifth king of Persia, being the fourth from Cyrus, who was then standing up. See Dan. x. 1.

The kings, as Ezra has named them in his 4th chapter and 7th chapter, were, 1st, Cyrus; 2d, Ahasuerus; 3d, Artaxerxes, (the first ;) 4th, Darius; 5th, Artaxerxes (Longimanus ;) this last being the king who gave a commandment to Ezra to restore all the captive Jews who were willing to go to Jerusalem.