“Just summarize it already.”
This friend had shown up early in the morning, demanding things as if it was his right.
“Summarize what?”
“Obviously, the rest of the Bible you said you read.”
“Why should I summarize it for you?”
“Did you throw that book at me without even being ready to explain it? Thanks to you, I thought I was going to die trying to interpret numbers that weren’t meant for me.”
“So, did you understand those numbers?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Only a non-human could understand all that at once without any other information. Did you get it?”
“No.”
His friend’s expectant face twisted as if he’d just eaten something foul. His already unattractive face looked even worse.
“Wait, so you acted all high and mighty when you didn’t even know yourself? I must be crazy for rushing over here this morning.”
“I didn’t say I don’t know. I just said I don’t understand.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I know what Daniel is saying, but I don’t know exactly what those numbers mean.”
His friend’s face was turning red and blue again. What can you do about that temper? Tsk tsk. I’d better answer before he collapses clutching the back of his head.
“Christ.”
“What are you talking about now?!”
“You asked me to summarize the rest of the Bible, right? Not just Daniel, but the entire Bible can be summed up in one word: Christ.”
“Christ means ‘the anointed one,’ right?”
“Yes, that’s right. It refers to anointed kings, priests, patriarchs, prophets, atoners, and so on.”
“But you’re saying all of the Bible is about Christ?”
“Not exactly. The Bible includes the Torah, which is the Law, historical books, prophetic books, and writings like the Psalms. Of course, not all those stories are directly about Christ.”
“But you said it summarizes to Christ?”
“I said that because ultimately, what the Bible aims to say is Christ. If you look at the Bible, it doesn’t say why God chose the Jews-only that He chose them because of Abraham’s faith.”
“So?”
“To understand that, we need to look at what God is trying to say throughout the Bible. The God who created the world, who is self-existent, who called Himself ‘I am who I am,’ wouldn’t have chosen the Jews for no reason. If He just needed a people to serve Him, the Jews would have been the worst choice-they betrayed Him again and again, no matter how many miracles He showed them. Yet God didn’t abandon them. For sins that any other god would have wiped them out for, He only punished them-and even gave prophecies of restoration. Why did He do that? Ahem.”
I cleared my throat unnecessarily. My simple friend was now completely absorbed in my story, as if he was never irritated. His eyes were urging me to get on with it. Sometimes I wonder how this friend became such an excellent scholar and magus, observing and interpreting the stars. But if you’re fooled by his appearance, you’ll miss his true worth. He’s truly remarkable.
“Israel had a monarchy, but more precisely, it was a theocracy under God’s rule. Throughout Jewish history, God continually coaxed and guided them, sometimes judging their serious sins, but always leading them. And He kept telling the story of one and the same being.”
“The purpose of God ruling Judah was to make Christ known?”
“That’s right. Prophecies about Christ appear throughout the Bible. As you know, the Bible basically has a story structure.”
“Right.”
“When we write, we use various methods to reveal the theme. Sometimes the story seems unrelated to the theme, and sometimes sub-themes are introduced. But there’s always one true theme that ties everything together. In a typical story, that theme is shown little by little at first, then becomes clearer toward the end, with foreshadowing along the way. After the story is complete, you realize, ‘Ah, so that’s what it was about.’ If you read the Bible carefully, you’ll notice this pattern, and from this perspective, the Bible is a book meant to reveal Christ.”
“Isn’t that a logical leap?”
“It may seem like a leap, but anyone who’s written stories will understand what I mean. The real theme of the Bible is Christ.”
“Well, Daniel does talk about an anointed king. But that part was a bit hard to understand.”
“Which part do you mean?”
“It clearly says at the beginning that an eternal kingdom will be established, but later it says the king is unjustly killed. And it says no one can continue his mission-what does that mean? An eternal kingdom is established, but the king is unjustly murdered? Do you understand this?”
“If you think of that kingdom as a country with earthly boundaries, it’s impossible to understand. We need to look at it differently. In the book of Isaiah, it says Christ bears the suffering and sorrow we should receive. It’s written that we have peace through his punishment, we are healed by his wounds, and the iniquity of us all was laid on him. So being unjustly killed can be seen as another mission of Christ.”
“Where in the world is there such a ridiculous mission?”
My friend’s expression showed he couldn’t accept this, but I had nothing more to say. What can I do? That’s really what’s written in the Bible. All I could do was shrug.
“Okay, let’s just say for argument’s sake that being unjustly killed makes sense. But how do you explain the eternal kingdom?”
“What is a country? There are many definitions, but basically, it’s a country if there’s land, people, and a ruler. If you think of it that way, it fits: Christ is the ruler, those who believe in him are the people, and the territory he rules isn’t just physical land, but something more.”
“What are you talking about? What other meanings?”
“Basically, Christ came to re-establish God’s kingdom. So he’ll actually be called a king. But because he must be unjustly killed, he also has the image of a suffering servant. The Bible contains both these images of Christ. If these two don’t refer to different people, the only way to resolve the contradiction is to see him as a king who came to suffer. The kingdom he rules actually exists, but it’s revealed through the lives of people who believe in him-not as visible land. Wherever people believe in him, that place becomes his kingdom, and if people keep believing, even if he dies, his kingdom becomes eternal.”
“Hmm... difficult...”
“Anyway, for these reasons, even though I don’t exactly understand the numbers in Daniel, I said I know what not just Daniel but the whole Bible is trying to say.”
“Then tell me more about this Christ. You said Christ means the king who will re-establish the Jewish kingdom, right? But hasn’t Christ already come? The Jews have their own kingdom now.”
“Christ is supposed to come as a descendant of King David. The previous Hasmonean dynasty was from the tribe of Levi, and the current Herodian dynasty is Idumean, so neither is related to Christ. That’s why I’ve heard the Jews are still waiting for Christ.”
“I see, so the Christ figure the Bible speaks of hasn’t come yet.”
“That’s right.”
“But didn’t it say this Christ would come during the time of Rome? The fourth kingdom, strong as iron on one side and weak as clay on the other.”
“I’m certain of that.”
“Then that means Christ is coming in our time... The Jews must be in an uproar, waiting for the king they’ve longed for. I wonder if that king will side with our country rather than Rome.”
“Well, the Jews are such a peculiar people...”
“Yeah, those selfish people who believe only they are chosen. That’s why I dislike the Jews.”
“Don’t dislike them too much. After all, it’s because of the Jews that Christ can come. If they weren’t such a proud people, who else could have preserved God’s word all this time?”
“But you keep talking about Christ, but doesn’t this Christ have nothing to do with you or me? If he’s the king of the Jews, maybe he’ll help our country, but that’s just a national issue, not a personal one, right?”
“I thought it had nothing to do with me at first, too, but it seems that’s not the case.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“As you know, Daniel talks about the last days of the world. We don’t know if the numbers there refer to actual dates or to God’s own timetable. But it’s certain that when the time of this Christ comes, the last days of the world will come.”
“Come on, isn’t that just talk? You say an eternal kingdom will come, but also that the last days will come-isn’t that a contradiction?”
“It doesn’t seem to be a contradiction. It seems the victory of that eternal kingdom means the last days. Anyway, when I read that prophecy, I thought: ‘If this Bible is telling the truth, maybe the last days could come before my time is up. Then what should I do?’”
My friend is listening again, his expression intrigued.
“So I decided.”
“Decided what?”
“To believe in God.”
“Huh? Don’t talk nonsense. How can you abandon our gods and believe in a foreign god, and from such a weak nation as the Jews? Does believing in that god save you or something?”
“Even Gentiles can be saved if they believe in God.”
“Okay, let’s say that’s true, but you didn’t even believe in the existence of gods before. A man of pure reason saying he’ll believe in God? That’s laughable.”
“I don’t really believe in God yet, either. I’ve just decided to try believing.”
“Try believing, huh? That won’t create faith, but do as you please. Just don’t regret it later.”
“I won’t regret it.”
“Fine, fine. Regret it or not, do what you want! But how exactly are you going to believe?”
“Well, I’ll wait for Christ and try living as God says in the Bible.”
My friend’s expression suddenly changed. When he makes that face, it means he’s thought of something.
“So! How are you going to wait for Christ?”
“Live according to God’s word...”
Suddenly, I feel like I’ve been hit on the head. Yes, this is it. This is why I can’t help but respect this friend. He sometimes points out things I haven’t thought about. He’s right-blindly living according to the word may not be the same as truly waiting. If God only wanted us to live by His word, He would have just given us the word. But God revealed Christ to us. So not just living by the word, but how to wait for Christ is something we need to think about.
“Hey, friend.”
“Yes?”
“Let me teach you something. If you do as I say, you might be able to know when the Christ you’ve been waiting for is coming.”
What on earth is he trying to say, building up suspense like this?
Listen to the audiobook now.
