<p>1:16 <i>And many of the children of Israel shall be turned to the Lord their God</i>- &ldquo;Many&rdquo; &ndash; relatively- would be converted to the true ways of God by the work of John the Baptist, whilst numerically the majority of those who heard John&rsquo;s message eventually turned away from it, culminating in their crucifixion of the Messiah. See on Mt. 20:16. Or it could mean that many potentially could have been converted. Or many were converted- but fell away. This is the sense in which &quot;many&quot; is used in :14. &quot;Many&quot; were to rejoice at John's birth and significance before God. But how many did? &quot;Many&quot; potentially could have done.</p><p>The idea of hearts being turned to the Lord alludes to the intended work of the historical Elijah (1 Kings 18:37) which was to be achieved by the Elijah prophet who heralded Messiah (Mal. 4:6). This was only potentially true; Elijah only converted a minority. John the Baptist is prophesied as achieving this with &quot;many&quot;; but again, this did not happen. And so the prophecy is rescheduled for fulfilment in the work of the latter day Elijah prophet. As we go out into this world and meet apparent disinterest, we need to remember that potentially, people can respond. They are actually actively resisting what is potentially possible for them.</p><p>We note too that this passage and 1 Kings 18:37 speak of the Elijah prophet turning hearts to the Lord their God, whereas Mal. 4:6 speaks of hearts being turned in reconciliation within families, the fathers to the children and vice versa. This is the two-dimensional approach taken in the New Testament, especially in John's letters; reconciliation to God involves reconciliation with our brethren, and the two cannot be divorced from each other.</p>