Knock knock.
As always, the magus was immersed in the Bible when he heard a knock at the door. His knees crackled as he stood, stiff from sitting so long. Feeling his eyesight blur and his body not what it used to be, he stretched widely to loosen up. The knocking came again.
Thump thump thump, thump thump thump, thump thump thump thump thump thump.
It was much louder and heavier than before, filled with impatience. Frowning, the magus forced himself to move and open the door. Outside stood the culprit, scowling and clearly displeased.
“Old man, are you deaf now too?”
Shaking his head at the nonsense, the magus replied,
“Thanks to you, I’ve realized my hearing is just fine. I could hear the sound of your hand breaking from all the way over here.”
The man grunted and pushed past him into the room. Despite the harsh words, this was a long-time rival who had become, perhaps, a friend. They had fought countless times since youth, always interpreting the same information in opposite ways. But after so many years, they’d developed a grudging affection-a closeness forged through endless debate.
The man dropped into the magus’s chair, fanning himself irritably.
“Bring out some good wine. I’m dying of thirst.”
“People don’t die of thirst.”
“I do.”
“Well, that’s good then. All the more reason not to give you any.”
“Your mouth seems lively enough, so you must be fine.”
“Of course I am.”
“I hadn’t heard from you in so long, I thought you were dead. Too bad you’re still alive.”
“Indeed. If I were dead, I wouldn’t have to see your ugly face anymore. That would be nice.”
“Heh, so you do think like me sometimes after all.”
The man suddenly burst out laughing. The magus frowned, wondering what he was up to, but since this was nothing new, he decided it was better for his sanity to just ignore it.
“Anyway, what’s the real reason you came?”
“That’s what I should be asking. What have you been up to? I haven’t heard from you in ages.”
“I’ve been busy verifying some important materials.”
“What materials? Are you still hiding things from me? What is it? Hand it over.”
The magus almost burst out laughing at his friend’s expression, as if he was ready to devour him. Thinking how simple his friend was, he was tempted to tease him a bit longer, but decided it was better to end the banter. Though he had his own understanding of the Bible, he was curious how his friend, with a completely different perspective, would interpret it.
“That there.”
Following the magus’s slight nod, his friend looked at the book in front of him with a look that said, “What on earth is this?” It was a book filled with tiny handwritten notes, evidence of extensive study.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“It’s a book written by a man named Daniel.”
“Daniel?”
“Yes, a man who served as prime minister from King Nebuchadnezzar of Neo-Babylonia to King Darius of Persia. It contains prophecies about Rome, so I’ve been checking related books lately.”
“Prophecies about Rome are important, sure. But in the end they’re just prophecies, aren’t they? Prophecies are inherently vague and open to interpretation either way.”
“That’s generally true. But the prophecies in this book are different. Events from past centuries are predicted with incredible accuracy. I’ve never seen such precise prophecies in my life. The prophecies and history align remarkably well.”
“Well, past history could be like that. Depending on when it was written, it could be dressed up to look like prophecy.”
“That’s why I’ve studied this book for so long. Actually, not just this book, but the entire Jewish Bible.”
“By Bible, you mean the Jewish scriptures?”
“That’s right.”
“You wasted months studying just the Jewish scriptures? I must be crazy for worrying about you.”
“What’s wrong with Jewish scriptures?”
“Remember how much our country suffered helping that Jewish prince-Antigonus, or whatever his name was? What’s the point of studying the scriptures of a country that’s practically a Roman vassal now, even if it’s ruled by King Herod?”
The magus knew he could never break his friend’s stubbornness, no matter how much he tried to persuade him. So instead of further explanation, he handed over the materials on his desk. He did this knowing that despite appearing stubborn, his friend was honest when faced with actual historical sources. If he were someone who only voiced opposing opinions, they wouldn’t have become this close. They were able to acknowledge each other because they saw in the other the conscience a scholar must have.
“Fine. Just take it and read it.”
“What’s the point of reading it?”
“Don’t you know me? Am I the type to waste months on meaningless materials?”
His friend, who was about to flare up in anger, closed his mouth.
“Our oath was to seek truth through reason, not emotion. That’s our pride as scholars! Just read it and judge for yourself.”
His friend still wore a stern expression. Knowing that at times like this, if he just handed it over, his friend would pretend to accept reluctantly while actually being pleased, the magus rolled up the book of Daniel and pressed it into his friend’s hand. Thus, his friend left, as if being pushed out the door. Having already thoroughly studied the Bible himself, all that remained was to hear his friend’s opinion.
* * *
How can he just give away something this good? That friend always tosses things at me when I pretend to be angry. Actually, I’m the one with more hidden materials. Ha!
Just as the magus had predicted, his friend’s mouth stretched into a wide grin as he took the book of Daniel. For him, getting new materials was always a joy-especially when they were free from a friend. However, this excitement didn’t always end well. The world was full of absurd, strange materials, and he often got annoyed and tossed them aside while searching for gems among the rocks. Especially with materials from disliked nations like this, his annoyance could explode into anger, so in that sense, this challenge could possibly lead to a bad result. But since the friend who gave him the material insisted so strongly that he read it, he was confident it wouldn’t be a waste of time.
Though he had never expressed it, there had actually been several times in the past when he sincerely agreed with opinions his friend had given. At those times, not wanting to show it, he deliberately argued the opposite opinion even more, but inwardly he was repeatedly amazed. The reality that such a friend acknowledged him made him feel even better. But upon actually arriving home, he set the book aside and began doing other work. He had a rule: never read important documents when his emotions were turbulent. When it came to new material, he preferred to read late at night, when no one would disturb him.
As always, after finishing dinner and taking a short walk to calm his mood, he entered his study. In the center of the dark room was a large table, with wooden stairs leading up to the roof beside it. On the roof were several devices for observing stars-some of which weren’t actually necessary. Given his competitive nature, he had bought everything anyone said was good, even if it meant going overboard.
When he lit the oil lamp, bright light shone on part of the wide table. That was the space where he would read the book. Though his elaborate routines sometimes made it hard to focus, it was these very habits that had elevated him to his current position. Trusting his own methods, he resolved to fully understand this book and find new insights that would surprise his friend.
As he began reading the book of Daniel, he found prophecies about events of the past few centuries with an unbelievable degree of accuracy, just as his friend had said. He, too, was amazed at the prophecies recorded in Daniel. Given his more straightforward nature compared to his friend, the impact was even greater for him. There were many times when his simple approach brought him closer to the truth, much to his friend’s surprise. He was the type to get absorbed in factual historical material.
How can this be possible? Is this really real?
Though there were some parts he couldn’t understand, he was astounded by the prophecies that aligned with past history with increasing accuracy as he read on. The prophecies he had known before were either open to various interpretations or just predictions about one or two events. He had plenty of such prophecies among his own collected materials. But unlike those, these prophecies were very precise and predicted a whole series of events in order, not just a few isolated incidents. Moreover, they described the histories of various nations that had risen and fallen in the Near East, not just one or two.
After reading and rereading Daniel late into the night, he wanted to read the rest of the Bible his friend had studied. He couldn’t judge the truthfulness based on just this material. His friend, who had more sources than he did, must have noticed things he hadn’t. He couldn’t keep this to himself. With that thought, he closed the book. Outside the window, darkness was fading and dawn was breaking. Though he had stayed up all night, his mind was still clear. In this state, he felt like he could go to his friend right away and snatch-no, borrow-the rest of the books. But that would feel like admitting defeat, so he decided to wait until late afternoon. After all, he didn’t have many friends.
Listen to the audiobook now.
