Destiny

THIRTY-ONE

Jacob Kogen returned to the table as the waiter finished refilling the wine glasses. Marcus waited for Jacob to sit, met his eyes and said, “I want you to understand that I don’t have any illusions about why I’m here. If I do find something more, something about Israel, what if it’s nothing you can use?”

“Use? What do you mean?”

“If you are looking for a biblical prophecy that might help Israel claim all of the West Bank, it could all be a mirage.”

“Or, Paul, it might be a vision. This has nothing to do with politics.”

“Everything has something to do with politics. It’s inbred in us like an incestuous hand-me-down curse that’s as much of our genetic cell-base as evil. We can’t scrub the smell out of our pores, even if we wanted to.”

“My dream is one day the spirit of God will cleanse the hearts of mankind.”

“My dreams are darker — like seeing the shooting of a Syrian general, shot on the beach in Cyprus. I’m sure you heard about it.”

Jacob didn’t blink for a long moment. A woman in the far corner laughed at a whispered joke. A paddle fan overhead whirled. “I read about it, why?”

“Because I think I saw it or something like it in a dream, maybe a nightmare, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s connected to the prime minister.”

“Perhaps it all ties in with your name in Newton’s papers. Some kind of plan, if you will.”

“My plan is to return home soon.” Marcus took a long drink from his wine glass.

“I’m sorry you don’t believe in the inherent goodness of man.”

“Do you, especially after all the crap the Jewish people have been through?”

“I have to believe, because I trust in the good and love of God. Yes, there’s wickedness, but I like to judge that it’s overshadowed by good. The scientist in Newton understood the higher force. He said it was what put the planets in motion. I think Newton believed that with his heart, and his intellect.”

“It may be easier to explain gravity than the force you mentioned.”

“They are both unseen but yet felt.”

Marcus said nothing.

Jacob smiled. He sipped his wine as the server brought two plates of fish and steaming vegetables. “This restaurant serves fish that were swimmers in the Sea of Galilee yesterday and even this morning. Bon appétit. Now, please show me what you have on your laptop.”

“It’s on my flash drive.” Marcus plugged in the flash drive and worked the keys, stopping, eyes boring into the screen and watching. He ate silently while the processor crunched coding.

Jacob said, “This could be dessert.”

Marcus said nothing, his eyes following the computations on the screen.

“What do you see?”

Marcus looked above the screen, meeting Jacob’s eyes. “I’m not sure, but it might be one prophecy Newton uncovered in the Bible.”

“Please, tell me what you see.”

“Newton used the Hebrew calendar to figure timelines and events. Based on information he pulled between seven books of the Bible, basing much on Daniel’s prophecy of seventy weeks, he calculated something no one knew. According to what I’m seeing here, Newton decrypted numbers that indicated the redemption or return of Israel would happen in 1948, and he made that prediction two-and-a-half centuries before it happened.”

Jacob stared at the screen, then looked away, the candlelight dancing across his spellbound face, marvel in his damp eyes as moisture welled. His hand trembled reaching for his wine. “You have already made your trip worthwhile. You do have a gift. One day I hope you will realize who gave it to you.”